Techno wasn't sure what had come over him recently.

What had come over the voices.

They were annoying as it was, but every single fucking time he tried to have a regular conversation with a certain new recruit- they went absolutely ballistic.

It was old news at this point- but it was so-... ARGH-

Even after he would leave her alone- they carried on with their antics- unnecessarily loud and overbearing- only farther hyped up by any small interactions they could witness.

It was annoying.

Like thousands of flies buzzing past his ears.

And when the excitement for her passed? Their call for blood was even louder-

Like they were frustrated he wasn't giving them what they wanted-

The arm wrestle?? They couldn't stop chanting about how 'smol' she was- because apparently they liked that fact a lot-

Picking her up? Great. They got louder- and they got even more encouraged to get even louder-

Tommy could taunt him all Tommy wanted, but the moment she started taunting him?

He crumbled almost immediately- he physically couldn't stop himself from doing what she said- and it was horrible- and disgusting- but seeing her smile made him feel so sickeningly happy- that-

No.

He needed to put distance between each other.

Just because she was so willingly ready to return gifts for gifts didn't mean she would hold the same value towards him as he would her- neither did the fact that she laughed at his jokes- or asked about his well being- or even cared--

Point be said- he couldn't catch a break.

Not a single break- and if he did- it was when he brutally killed something and felt the rush of victory wash over him and briefly, ever so briefly, satiated the itching of his mind.

Giving in to the voices only made them louder. So spilling blood just made them hungrier in the long run.

Forget trying to catch momentary breaks.

If he wanted to fully find rest- he'd have to....

Retire or something-

Maybe that sounded good.

Maybe he should try that once Pogtopia finally gets rid of that unsightly thing called a government.

When the sixteenth rolled around- the voices were excited- obviously.

They were so excited to watch everyone's reactions to what Techno had done- and Techno allowed himself the smallest inkling of pride at what was accomplished.

Everyone would be protected.

Giving things to people always soothed something in him that he didn't know needed to be soothed- so seeing people happy about the supplies was good.

Wilbur didn't take any of the armor he made- and he wouldn't lie in saying that made him just the smallest amounts... disheartened-

Because Techno made it for him- and was it not good enough? Was he not good enough?

But then came her.

He tugged her away- and of course such a neutral person didn't know how to put armor of all things on-

So of course he had to help-

And of course he had to give her regen potions after-

And of course she thanked him- it's human decency-

Something swelled in him- happy with the thanks- reveling in the attention she placed on him- content-

And for once- the voices completely dropped.

Dead silence filtered through his head as he looked down at her- suited in his armor- using his sword- giving him that sweet squinted smile-

If she asked him to kill someone- he almost certainly would-

But then Fundy interrupted- and he remembered this was the finality to a war- and the voices remembered they were there, growing so much stronger after giving his undivided attention to exactly what they wanted to see-

FUNDY-

FUNDY WHAT THE FUCK-

FUNDY INTERRUPTED THAT CHEEKY FOX-

SOFTNOBLADE

HE INTERRUPTED-

BLOOD

SOFT MOMENT RUINED-

FUNDY

BLOOD

WHAT THE FUCK-

BLOOD-

BLOOD-

TECHNOSOFT??

WHY DID HE INTERRUPT-

Of course Techno was fed up- so rather then say anything that his voices were saying, he just completely ignored what Fundy said, and nodded with a 'good' and went on with his life.

All those fed up voices got directed into the battle- chasing down everyone he could find- spilling as much blood as he could- tearing into people as much as he could before they would flee- because they all fled- they all knew he would kill them if given the chance-

...

He got a picture with you when the fighting ended to try and distract the voices, managing to reel them in just enough to make physical sentences and thoughts-

CLOUT CLOUT

GOOD CONTENT 101

CLOUT

HAHA PICTURE GO BRR

CLOUT

His distraction? Very much working. They liked the picture-

...

When you questioned why he took a selfie with you, he shushed you with a bloody hand- accident-

Mistake-

The voices froze- he froze-

Your eyes bore into his own- blood dripping down your chin-

He wouldn't even begin to think of how far up a tree he just drove himself-

So many thoughts- so many sudden things he wanted to do that he quickly beat down as you got distracted by Tommy.

He was not having a good time.

..

Schlatt was a disappointment.

The new government was a disappointment.

Did they really think he'd sit idly by while they repeated a past mistake??

So maybe pinning Tubbo to the ground wasn't the most reasonable thing- it was spur of the moment- and he really was going to talk things through- but then everyone started attacking, and the voices got so loud that he just... gave in-

Tommy?? He could bleed a little in his life-

Quackity? He ran around half naked anyways- he was all but begging to get cut into-

It was a viscous cycle- that came to a grinding halt when he caught sight of Dream corning you- kicking you to the ground because you had no idea how to properly hold a stance-

The voices- that were usually so divided in targets, and wants, and feelings- all narrowed into one singular mantra in his head-

BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD-

They needn't say more-

For once he had the same thoughts- There was no him and the voices- they were one singular entity, swarmed with the thirst of violence-

He was there, in front of you, clattering his blade against Dream's- fully ready to murder-

Every hit against Dream was necessary- he didn't deserve a quick death- he deserved to feel the blood drain from him-

Dream tried talking to him- reasoning-

But his words held no meaning- filtering through his head and falling out into nothing-

Dream ran- and even if Techno wanted to give chase- you took priority-

Your own blood was running down your face from where Dream hit you-

Wrath coursed through him- but he shrugged it off- shrugged it all off, just to properly look you over.

"It'd be stupid of me to ask if you're hurt-" He begins, and you look up at him, "But are you hurt?"

You had numbly shook your head- opening your mouth to ask the return question of, "Are you?"

Because of course you're wondering if he's fine- you never worry about yourself-

"Any and all blood on me comes from someone else's veins." Was what he said.

But on the inside, no.

Techno was not okay.

Because his voices were overwhelming- and you were hurt- but the battle continued and you left to find Tommy because somehow you both liked to cling to each other-

The battle raged- L'manberg was exploded- dead and gone at last-

But that wouldn't deter them.

They loved their governments too much-

There needed to be one last nail in the coffin- one last piece of advice to fully drill in that fact-

Techno took it upon himself to pick up the mantle.

Withers- battle-

You looked horrified- and something in him flinched at that. Did- did he burn bridges?

He probably did.

Rubble was turning to dust under the withers explosive power-

How sand and skulls made something so powerful? He would never know- but that was how they were made-

But then- then something happened.

To you.

It looked like a panic attack- where your breath ran ragged, and you folded in on yourself, crossing your arms tightly against yourself like you were trying to hide from the world-

Your figure bubbled for a moment- deathly looking horns tearing through your head-

It- it looked like scales- scattering across your skin as you grew- the straps of the armor he had made you forcefully popping off, netherite clattering to the ground-

You looked like you didn't care at all- panic glossy in your unfocused eyes-

Whatever your body was trying to turn into froze- a cut off chemical reaction-

An arrow had made its way to your chest- based on the position, he could assume your lungs had caved in from the force of it-

Scales emerged all around the arrow- a delayed reaction- an attempt to protect what was already lost- and you deflated- figure pulling back all your bones and muscles until you were just... you- the you he knew- choking on your own blood and staring at the sky-

Techno didn't know what to make of it- didn't understand anything he just saw- but he ran to your aid regardless- hearing Tommy scream for you before getting blown away by a wither-

You may hate him now-

You may despise him for what he did-

But he wouldn't just let you die-

He pulled your limp body up into his chest- tugging you close like that was enough to hide you away from the raging battle-

God- how does he fix this-

You're dying-

A few lingering scales were lining your jaw- and he watched them condense and fall off into the wind.

Oddly-

They looked a lot like ancient debris.