Nightmares night after night, and he didn't even remember all of them. But he woke up one day to a cracked headboard after he'd struggled too hard against the tangled blankets his mind had interpreted as restraints, and another time he found himself halfway out a broken window and he was bleeding from slashes in his arms and chest. The Voice's were especially loud at night now, and they were rapidly returning to what they had been all those years ago, before he'd ever met Philza: demanders of blood. Technoblade cursed himself repeatedly as he picked glass out of his wounds, wincing and hoping against hope he hadn't woken Philza or any of the others.

"I thought I was healin', guys? What-ow-what happened? Why's this happenin'?" He drew in a sharp breath as a particularly jagged shard came out. "Why're you still hungry?"

We tried.
Blood NAM NAM NAM -Thorn
Hey, we're only in your head
It's a long way down...E! -Wasp81
Hungy Voices -whynotapinecone
You should know
Blood God.
Remember?
It's been years.

"Yes." Techno answered. "Did you expect I'd forget?"

weren't listening to us -Lemon
Oh, you forgot. -Thorn
Nooooooo{ooooo
Typos lol -StarRadahn
Look, it's hungry in here -Rose
Mmmmmlet'sgohavecookies -J_Raptor

Technoblade laid the glass down and put his head in his hands. "You're goin' to get loud again, aren't you?" He asked, though he already knew the answer. When they chorused, their words were too jumbled for him to properly distinguish them. Techno wanted nothing more than for them to just be quiet for the rest of his life.

No, you don't -Magnum
Truly? -Moss
Hey, can you say nerd?
Who do you think we are? -RavishRider28
I don't think you do remember.
Who wants to play a game?
Yeah, right.
Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeew! -Board
Lads and Lasses...
It's all in your head.

Techno didn't answer them this time. He pushed off the bed and went downstairs for a broom. Wilbur passed him on the stairs; Techno felt the boy's stare lingering on his back, but he didn't turn around. The broom handle felt foreign to his hands when he picked it up and retraced his steps to his room. Glass grated against itself and clinked endlessly, and Techno swept his floor several times to make sure he hadn't missed anything. He also decided to knock out the rest of the window, as it was just jagged pieces now and he didn't want to slice himself up again.

He'd nearly forgotten about his injuries during this process, and when he looked around again, Technoblade realized his blood was smeared over many of the surfaces in his room. He sighed heavily and left to put away the broom and throw out the glass. Once more he saw Wilbur, this time sitting on the stairs, but still he didn't speak to the boy. Techno wasn't sure what to say, or even what Wilbur was doing there. He just walked past him.

To Techno's dismay, Philza had been woken up by the nightmare, for he was sitting in his armchair in the living room when Techno tried to go outside to throw the glass in the trash pile near the garden. Philza looked sleepy and he was holding a glass of water in both hands with a blanket wrapped around him. "Mate?" He said as Techno was about to open the front door. The hybrid stopped and glanced back at him. Philza put his glass down on the stool beside him. "Was it a nightmare?"

Techno nodded, but said nothing. He wondered suddenly what he looked like, and glanced down at his hands. Dried blood streaked or smudged on his fingers, his arms, trailing from his palms, spotting his shirt....He looked a sight.

You think that's bad?
B r u u u h -Thorn
We used to be so used to blood...
Now it's like a call to an old home. - miradragonz
911, what is your emergency? -Lemon
HELP, I'M COVERED IN BLOOD AND IT'S AWESOME! -Rose

Technoblade winced at the rising volume of the Voices and turned his face away so Phil wouldn't see. He didn't know his ears were pressed flat against his skull, which the angel knew the meaning of very well. But before Philza could move to help him, Techno opened the front door with a jerk and clomped outside.

Some of the Voices were singing. They sang songs of war and battle, of course, of bloody combat like he only experienced in his most violent dreams. They were reminding him of all those years ago, before Phil, before Kristin, before this family, when it was just him and them, killing and fighting wherever he found conflict and bringing death to any who stood against him. Techno slumped against the wall of the house, hands over his eyes. "I'm not...not that person anymore." He told them. "I stopped when Wilbur was born. I don't...I don't hurt anyone like that anymore."

Punz? Forgot about him? -Magnum
And Dream? -Moss
You forgot.
You forgot.
You forgot.
We remember, though.
Heehee, pog! -Maggieslarue
Blood we spilled, souls we killed.
Pacts we kept while orphans wept.
Blood we drank in darkness dank.
Blessed from fire with war desire.
Blood god, roam and leave this home.

Technoblade shivered. No matter how much he tried to deny it, the memories he recalled were not wholly abhorrent to him. The feel of a good sword in his hand, swinging swift and hard enough to cleave flesh from bone, to send a head spinning off into the chaos of battle. To splinter fingers from hands, or peel the top of a head right off and leave it to bleed dry. Blood and bone and spewed liquid on the stained ground. Technoblade lowered his hands from his face.

"Maybe I should go back." He found himself murmuring. "No, no, wait!" He shook himself. "What are you sayin'? I'm not leavin' Phil or the others! Are you insane? Stop tellin' me these things." He smacked himself in the face and covered his ears.

Once we remember, there's no going back.
I smells conflict heehee -StarRadahn
Let us go back!
Phil and the others will be safe. -Wasp81
Nooooooo, I wanna stay! -J_Raptor

Technoblade sighed. "Thank you." If J_Raptor responded, Techno never heard it, for the rest of the Voices rose in protest and jabbered incoherently, their words effectively blurring each other out of comprehension. They laughed and chattered, some screaming, some gnashing their teeth or crying lonely in the background. Techno pressed his hands to either side of his head.

Free! Free!
Potatoes
Nam nam blood for the blood god -RavishRider28
Can we go back? -Thorn
I want to see more blood!
It's all his fault, you know... -Magnum
Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee!
Angels can't see us, can't hear us!
Look out! -Lemon
Kill Punz and Dream. Kill them both. -whynotapinecone
Run!
Yes! Yes! Grab it! -Cloud_Sunset
It's a-mio! -StarRadahn
Avenge Mumza!
Time for death!
Blood! Blood!! BLOOD!!!
TEAR OUT THEIR EYES!
FEED US THEIR SCREAMS!
REMEMBER WHAT THEY'VE DONE!
IT'S ALL HIS FAULT!
IT'S ALL HIS DOING!
KILL! KILL! KILL!
FIND THE DUCKLING.

He was running. He could hear nothing but the Voices and red rage clouded his sight and he was running hard down the hill. There was a faint scent by the trees, only a day old. It smelled of dust and blood and leather. Techno followed it through the bushes, past the pond, down a narrow, narrow footpath that led him, winding and wandering until his anger had risen into his teeth and his blood pounded in his ears, to a small house. He never slowed.

A shrill scream cut the air as soon as he broke through the door. Techno cleared six feet in one bound and grabbed Quackity by the collar of his jacket. He shoved the boy up against a wall. "You!" He yelled, shaking Quackity until the boy's teeth rattled. "The angel's not here to save you this time."

Quackity's eyes widened in horror. "You-you promised!" he gasped. "You promised you'd leave me alone!"

In response, Technoblade raised Quackity over his head and smashed him into the floor. The boy yelped, choked, and tried to struggle, kicking against Techno's legs and writhing to get out from under his hands. Techno glared at him with blood-shot eyes. "You still killed my brother."

Before he could hit the boy again, someone's hand grabbed his arm. Reflexively, Techno twisted, making his new opponent lose his footing. But the man only stumbled, and kept his feet. Through his anger, Technoblade noticed only a few details: curved horns, green in his clothes, a broken bottle. His focus shifted to that instantly; it was a weapon.

"Get away fr-" and the man got no farther. Technoblade gave a roar and shoved him hard, sending him crashing into the opposite wall. Hunching both shoulders, Techno reached far back into himself, into the remnants of a part he needed. He found it. He found what was left of Fray.

Turning back, he stomped with all his strength on Quality's back. A single snap rang out and the boy shrieked. Techno then turned to the still-crumpled form of the man and strode forwards. "His father." He said aloud. "His father! Not to die. No. But payment is due!" This time he heaved the man over his head, growling and snarling, and dashed him into the table. It cracked and tumbled backwards with the man into the farther wall. Technoblade picked him up, holding the man's face close to his own. "Stubborn goat. Your son is a murderer. I'll kill him. Then you can have him back. Fair is fair." The man moaned in his hands, his eyes fluttering. He was nearly unconscious already. Techno snorted and tossed the man aside.

Quackity was limp on the ground. His eyes were open, his body trembling, but he couldn't move. Techno knew it. He stared down at the boy's broken back, at the golden wings that sprawled helpless over him. He knelt beside Quackity. "Wilbur blew up. Your back is broken. I'll let you bleed out and think for a long time. Never touch family again. My family. Precious and sacred. Never hurt them. I'll rip you apart if you do." Rising to his feet, he kicked Quackity in the side, and a single rent opened up. Blood instantly flower and began pooling round the boy's body. Techno grinned with bestial joy. "Brother thanks you." He said. "The fray is ended." The Voices cheered aloud for the first time in years.

Techno left the house and walked up the path back into the trees. Slowly Fray retreated and Technoblade regained himself. The blood faded from his vision somewhere close to the edge of the forest leading towards his home. There he sat down. He was suddenly so tired. But the Voices were gleeful as he had not heard them in so long.

Yeeeesssssss!
Vengeance is satisfied! -Rose
Still think he should've paid more. -Thorn
E!
That was interesting. -Moss
Glad to have helped. -συμπλοκή
Phil's going to be so disappointed... -J_Raptor

At these last words, both Techno's ears dropped. But he shook is head in a moment. "I...I won't go back. He killed Wilbur."

Yes. We avenged the baby brother!
We spilled blood. -Thorn
Blad -Board
Blonde
That was good. -Lemon

J_Raptor stayed quiet, but Techno could hear a few other Voices murmuring under their breaths about how he'd taken it too far. Techno snarled. "Are you kiddin' me? Not half an hour ago you were literally screamin' bloody murder in my head! Don't you pretend this isn't exactly what you wanted from me." Most of the conflicted Voices quieted down at that, but there were still others who protested. They were allowed to speak.

I never said anything.
We knew it was a bad idea, Techno.
Sunshine will say we went too far. -Jerry
We did promise.
Who wants an ice cream cone?
We promised, Techno. -J_Raptor

Techno clenched his fists and brought them to his head. "How many of you thought this was a bad idea? 'Cause I heard nothin'. Nothin' that stopped all the rest. And now I wish I had, because I just killed a child! What am I goin' to say to Phil?"

Nothing.

The hybrid stared up at the sky. "Nothin', huh? Nice long term strategy, that. He'll find out. They'll tell him as soon as that boy revives. And then what? Why should I say nothin'?"

They won't tell. -Lemon
They'll be too scared. -Magnum
We scared them.
Powerful us.
Heehee!
Ants dance in a trance in France

"They won't, huh? But I should. He'd want me to."

Don't.
Yes, do. Maybe Phil can help. -J_Raptor
Don't tell him, Technoblade.
Don't do it.
Nerd
Why're you all so mad? -Jerry
You tell him and we'll lose him.
Don't you dare.
Blood is not to be shared.

Lose Phil. Techno traced the outlines of a cloud with his eyes. "I won't lose him." He answered. "He won't leave. He already showed us that." But he already knew what he was going to do. He waited until the sun was high in the sky, when Phil and the kids would be playing, and then snuck back to the house. He slid in through his own window and sat down on the bed. "He won't leave." Techno repeated, eyes fastened to the door of his room. "He wouldn't."

The Voices quieted for a while. Their chatter was subdued enough for Techno to distinctly hear the twittering of Philza's flock outside. They were playing with Wilbur and Tommy. He could hear their croaking laughs mixing with the boys' high-pitched giggles and Philza calling for them to be careful. Slowly Techno rose and went to the window again.

The grass, bathed in golden light, was waving delicately in the breeze sweeping down over the treetops. Flowers balanced and swayed from side to side. He saw Ranboo and Kai, hand in hand, trotting over the meadow. Kai's wings were outspread, feathers rippling as they caught the wind. Ranboo grinned and said something to his young brother. The laugh that broke from Kai in response made Technoblade's heart ache with affection.

And then he stepped back. "I shouldn't have done it." He murmured. "Now I don't belong again." He watched Ranboo's black and white hair flow behind him. At his side, Kai's hair, grey but still with that red streak right around his shoulders, fluttered like his pinions. The boys were leaping now, letting the wind play around them. It looked such a picture.

Techno's hands were still bloody. His hooves, too. The shoulder of his shirt was torn. None of the blood was his own. Neither foe had landed even a scratch.

We avenged. We protected them. -Thorn
Nobody will try to hurt them again. -Rose
We'll kill any who try.
Blood.
Blood
Blood!
Potatoes, not carrots.
Blood for all.
Silent protector, Techno.
Techno protec

Without a word, Technoblade went into one of the bathrooms and washed his hands. Red seeped down the drain, mixing with water and running freely. Techno cleaned his hooves carefully.

Don't need to tell. -Magnum
I dunno... -Moss
Me neither. -Wasp81
Hush. They'll only be sad.
Sad! Sad! Sad! Sad! Sad!
Philza would want to know. -J_Raptor
Hush.
Keep them safe.
Secretly safe.
Secrafe.
Sh.

The towel felt soft on his skin. Technoblade put it to his snout and sniffed. It smelled like roses. "Kris." He murmured. Then he put the towel away. Going downstairs, he turned right and opened the door under the stairs, which led down a small hallway to the library. There, he searched for a particular book, one he knew should be somewhere on the top shelf of the farthest case. It was the only place he'd felt safe to put it, where curious children's hands wouldn't reach it, and curious eyes wouldn't think to look.

"There it is." Techno murmured, taking The Art of War down from its hiding place. He sat down in a window bay, opened the book and began to read. The Voices cheered quietly. Techno couldn't deny that he felt just a little satisfied with his decision.