Apples of the Earth: A Technoblade x Reader (ON HIATUS)

Chapter 40: Quiet

I'm pretty proud of this chapter, ngl. lmk what you think after!
TW: BLOOD. LOTS OF IT.

The floor was damp under Technoblade's hooves as he walked over the grassy field. Wind whistles in his ears and the sun's warmth dried his shirt. It was a hectic morning, but the afternoon was much more tranquil. He looked over to his left, where he saw the quiet village he had just came from. Smoke rose above it, but the village was still so quiet. Looking away, Techno continued towards his goal: a stream running through the valley. He knelt on it's banks and dipped his hands in the water, letting it slip between his fingers and cool his palms.

It was quiet. It was finally quiet.

But while Techno had finally found some peace, Phil was panicked. With each strong flap of his wings, he felt them push off the air around him and send him soaring faster. Further ahead, Phil saw smoke spread through the air above a village. It wouldn't have been so worrying if it weren't for the vast magnitude of the smoke. It was as if the village had been used as a massive bonfire. He angled his wings for a descent, holding his bucket hat in one hand and a sword in the other. 

As he got closer and closer to the ground, he realised there was something horribly wrong. 
The village was utterly silent, save for the sound of crackling flames. Over the brick walls of the village, Philza saw an orange glow through the smoke. His heart sank. Techno had stopped in that village of their neighbouring kingdom on the way to the capital. He was there as a representative for the recently declared war on Minecraft, Phil's kingdom. 

As Phil landed in the field, he felt bile rise in his throat. From above, he had thought the field was full of poppies or red flowers, but that wasn't the case. That wasn't the case at all.

The field was stained red with blood and bodies.

It dripped from blades of grass, soaked the ground under his feet, filled the air and coated his tongue in iron. How could this have happened? Phil put the question to the side in his mind, knowing he had more important problems at the minute. He filled his lungs to capacity and yelled as loudly as he could muster.

"TECHNOBLADE!"

There was no response, so he began running across the field. He scanned the plains a hundred times over, searching desperately for his son. He suddenly came to a stop when his foot hit something hard. Looking down, he stepped back in shock. An iron sword lay discarded on the floor, the blade coated entirely with gore. Alongside it were indents in the grass: footprints. About the size and shape of a boar's hoof. Technoblade's hoof.

Phil took off in a sprint, following the footprints towards the stream flowing through the open valley. When he got there, he stumbled to a stop. There, sat by the water, was a child covered head to toe in blood. His shirt was red and dry, and his pink hair was flattened against his back. Phil cautiously approached him and knelt by his side, eying the trail of red behind the boy. 

"Techno, what happened?" The boy in question didn't respond, staring emptily into the water. A hand was in the stream, painting a trail of red in the water. Phil placed a hand on Techno's shoulder, and became worried by how cold his son felt. Techno whispered something, but Phil could barely hear it. "What's quiet, mate?" Techno finally looked to his father.

"The voices. They've finally gone quiet."

Phil was taken aback. "What voices, Techno?"

"The ones in my head. They were so loud. They're quiet now."

The silence lingered around them once again. Phil slowly put his arm around his son and brought him to his chest. "What happened, Techno?", he asked again, no louder than a whisper. His embrace became tighter as he heard Techno's shaky inhale and the boy's shoulders began to shake. Techno tried to push his father away, but the grip on Phil's shirt and the way he buried his face in his father's chest showed there was no intention behind the attempt. Phil let his adopted son cry. Technoblade appreciated the quiet, but said nothing.

"I'm a monster, dad. I hurt everyone. They're covered in red, and they won't wake up. I tried to wake them up, but they won't. I don't know what to do."

Phil didn't know what to say. What could he say? His son had wiped out a village of their neighbouring kingdom, in order to satiate voices he heard in his head.

He said nothing, and just held his composure as his son broke down in his arms.

___________________________________________________________

"After that, our kingdoms went to war. Everyone thinks they started the fighting, because they declared the war, but it was because of me. Phil covered it up as an assassination attempt on the convoy to hide the real cause for the massacre. Phil helped me keep my mind in check, and that strengthened my control over them. If they were hungry enough, they could probably still take over, like they did that day. I can do nothing but focus my energy elsewhere to delay the next inevitable massacre."

(Y/n) was completely silent. She could barely look in his direction after what she had just heard. "How-", she stopped herself when she hear her voice shake. "How old were you when it happened?"
"I was ten."
"... And you blame yourself for it?"
Techno paused. She sounded more shocked by his blame than the actual event.
"How can I not blame myself?"

"Because you were a child, Techno."
"That's no excuse-", he retorted, but (Y/n) immediately argued.
"Would you blame a child for the actions of a dog they couldn't train?"
"No?"
"If the dog dragged the boy around when they tried to walk it, is it their fault if the dog bites someone?"
"No, the boy wasn't in control of it."
"If the child was never taught how to train the dog, is it his fault that it isn't controllable?"
"No! I don't see where you're going with this."
"Were you in control of the voices?"
"I-"
"Were you told how to keep them in check?"
"Well no but-"
"Then how was it your fault?"

Techno went to retort, but stopped himself.
"You weren't the one who did it, Techno. You had no way to control them, so you aren't to blame for their actions.", (Y/n) declared, maintaining eye contact with him. Her determined face softened as she watched tears well up in his eyes. She scooted towards him and let him hide his face in her shoulder as tears silently soaked her sleeve.

Neither said a word. All was quiet.