The Boy With The Arrows

C H A P T E R • F I F T Y

TECHNO's POV

There was blood everywhere.

The tip of my sword dripped with it, the same red that glistened on the blade of Dream's axe. Thick coats of it paved the ground before me, and trickled from the hands of Schlatt. It was everywhere I looked, dark, blazing, inescapable. Feeding my anger, fuelling my connection with my nature. Because of all the people who deserved to suffer on this day, the sixteenth of October, Jett was the last I would have chosen.

My mind seemed to move sluggishly through the ocean of red, wading in it up to my neck. Everything, in fact, happened in slow motion around me, a side effect of my nature, I knew. To the rest of the beings who inhabited this world with me, time continued as it always had. But anger, fury, a blinding desire for more, more, more blood gave me wings. And never before had I allowed it to consume me, but now I wanted to sink below the surface, and allow my blood to flow like it never had before.

"Dream," I spoke steadily, his name feeling heavy on my tongue. "I'm gonna need you to back me up."

The blonde's eyes beheld me steadily, and they widened as we made eye contact. Perhaps he could see the blood flowing in my gaze. I was reminded of our childhood then, of times we'd stood side by side, when something seemed to just click. There'd been no one capable of defeating us then, and I hoped that it would be the same now.

Dream nodded wordlessly, something wild entering the green eyes that stared back at me. He looked like someone who had nothing left to lose. I understood something about him, something my brothers did not, but perhaps it was the same thing my sister saw that made her fall so much in love with this man she was prepared to die for him. It was an unadulterated passion, a complete and utter determination to fight for the people he loved, and the things he believed in. It was an untamed kind of chaos, mixed with a startling intellect and judgement.

It was something I could work with, something that would be the difference between our failure and our success. If Schlatt wanted a Red Festival, we could give him one.

And so I stepped forward, and allowed the blood to consume me. I could feel it thrumming excitedly in my veins, urging me to fight, to kill. And I reached for it, connected with it, my element that empowered me in battle like nothing else could. And Dream stepped with me, equaling my stride, as we battled our way towards where Jett had fallen. The two halves of her broken and bloodied totem of undying had fallen out either side of her hoodie pocket, proof that it had failed when the sword had split it in half.

Dream had been thrown backwards by Jett's efforts to save him from Schlatt's longsword, and the Manburg soldiers were standing between us and Jett's body. They did not appear to be protecting it, however, and I was sure Schlatt could not know the knowledge that Dream possessed. Knowledge he had sworn never to use, with the exception of these particular circumstances.

"How long does it take?" I asked Dream, as we fought.

Dream grunted, hurling yet another soldier aside, before responding to my question.

"Twenty, maybe thirty seconds. Schlatt will know, though. As soon as I begin the process, he will know what's happening."

"It will be that obvious?" I wondered. "There's no way he can suspect..."

"Don't underestimate him," Dream said firmly. "Think you can handle them for thirty seconds on your own?"

I smirked.

"Dream, I don't think you understand. I was born to do this."

The rest of our company, having no idea what we knew, were trying to reach Schlatt. I noticed Sapnap with tears rolling down his cheeks as he fought furiously beside Rae and Punz, as I glanced around at each of them to confirm they were okay. Phil, I hoped, was safely behind the army protecting Tommy and Tubbo from any harm.

My sword became an extension of my arm, and I began to move as though I was dancing. I was tuned in completely to what I was doing, allowing it to overwhelm me and take hold of me, feeling power in my veins, and determination in my heart. I would kill them all, if I had to, to get to my sister.

The arrival of Karl, Bad, and the Badlands army coincided with Dream and I making it to Jett's body. As if Sapnap needed any more to deal with today, it was very obvious that Karl was not there by choice. Chains held his hands together, leather cuffs wrapping around his wrists tightly, caramel eyes wide with fear.

"Techno?" Dream's voice broke in on my thoughts, and I shook my head to clear it.

"Do it," I stated. "I'll protect you. Go."

Dream crouched beside Jett's body, gingerly arranging her hands at her sides, before taking flint and steel from his pocket, and setting her alight. He closed his eyes, and began to concentrate. I focussed on the sudden influx of soldiers who arrived at Schlatt's command, and as I caught the eyes of the president, I smirked at him. For once, he was in complete shock, and it felt so, so good to have the upper hand against him. His response - the only response he could give, was to raise his hand.

The familiar pain began to creep over me like a blanket, but I continued to grin at him manically, embracing it as it consumed me. Every part of my body felt as though it was on fire, but I refused to fall, determined to protect Dream with my body. The soldiers had paused in their attacks, unsure how to come at me in a way that would be successful, so many of their fellows fallen on the ground around me.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dream let out a heavy breath, and take a folded piece of paper from his pocket, casting it into the fire.

This was it, I thought. If this didn't work, it was all over.

It happened suddenly, and without any grand flash of light, or strike of lightning.

One moment, Jett's dead body was burning on the ground.

The next, the fire was gone, and in its place, Jett crouched on the ground, trident in hand, but somehow missing her helmet. Strands of her blonde hair blew into her face, and when she raised her left hand to run it through them, the bracelet was re-attached at her wrist. Ocean eyes raised to meet Dream's, and their expression was filled with a feral kind of determination.

"Jett?" Dream's voice was somehow hesitant, but when he reached out a hand to my sister, she took it without hesitation.

"I'm going to kill him," was her response, voice unwavering.

I might have gasped had I been anyone but myself, noticing that as she rose to her feet, blue-green water seemed to swirl about her feet, and drip from her trident, before vanishing.

And I believed every word she said. The fire might be out, but the tsunami that extinguished it had only just been born.

A/N: did you expect to get a Techno POV?
Haha I've been planning this for over a year, I'm so happy I finally get to share it with you guys.

Please leave a vote if you liked it :) I appreciate you all.