You have chosen: Choice A
Final Votes:
146 votes for Choice A
131 votes for Choice B
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You stood, Nick's hand falling from your back, "I want to go to Pogtopia," You decided.
The boys exchanged a look. George raised his glasses, fixing them atop his ruffled brown hair, "Are you sure that's a good idea, (Y/N)?" He asked softly, getting up from the forest floor, "I mean...with Technoblade there and all, I don't think—"
"We're going," You interrupted the boy, "I'm going, at least. You all don't have to come with me."
"We're coming with you," Clay was leaning against the trunk of a nearby tree, "No way in hell are we letting you go in there alone."
The other two nodded. Nick stood and went to prepare the horses for travel. George followed to help.
You watched the two go, allowing yourself a small smile as Nick shoved George into a nearby bush. The British boy shouted an obscenity back at the ravenette, who was doubled over in laughter.
A gentle hand rested on your shoulder, "How are you?" Clay asked, turning you to face him.
You stared up at your...well, you weren't sure what you were. But it definitely was not the right time or place to ask.
"I'm...I'm not okay. But..." You trailed off, glancing in the direction of L'Manburg, "I don't really want to talk about it right now." Your voice wavered slightly with the threat of more oncoming tears. Clay tugged you into his chest, rubbing your back in an effort to soothe you.\
"We'll get through this, you and me. I'll always be here for you." Clay whispered his promise, sealing it with a gentle kiss to the top of your head.
The sound of clopping hooves had the two of you separate, and you quickly wiped at your eyes to make sure no tears had escaped.
"You two lovebirds ready?" Nick asked, stepping into one of the stirrups and swinging his other leg over the top of the horse. George did the same.
Clay gestured for you to mount the horse first, then he followed, sitting comfortably behind you. He reached around you to grab the reigns, squeezing his legs slightly and clicking his tongue to get his horse moving.
You leaned back into Clay's chest as your little group trotted into the dense woods, closing your swollen eyes. You hadn't realized how exhausted you were...maybe going back to the base would have gotten you some well-needed sleep.
But it was too late now. You had made up your mind. You were going to see your brother, whether he liked it or not.
You could sleep on the way.
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As it turns out, the back of a horse was not the ideal place for you to catch up on sleep, so you were just as tired as you were a handful of hours ago.
You slid off of the horse, waited for Clay to do the same, then led the animal into the little pit the boys had made for their own horses. Nick and George followed your movements, and soon the little hole was crowded with four horses and one...skeleton horse?
You weren't going to ask.
The hole leading into the small room above Pogtopia was already opened, making you feel uneasy. Were they okay?
You led the other three into the room and down the stairs, the incoherent sounds of conversation echoing off the stone walls.
"Hello?" You called as you carefully made your way down the stairs. Everything immediately went silent.
You sent an uneasy glance to the boys over your shoulder. Dream had donned his mask, so you couldn't read his expression. George had pulled down his glasses, and Sapnap's face had gone stoic.
They were in battle mode.
"(Y/N)?" You heard Tommy's voice ring out, breaking the silence.
"Yeah. I brought a few friends," You warned the group of Pogtopia, rounding the corner at the bottom of the staircase.
The atmosphere turned immediately hostile.
You quickly scanned the room, noting a few new faces. You recognized most: Niki, Tubbo, and Fundy were there, along with Eret and Quackity. Those two surprised you...why were they here?
There was Ponk, who you'd been introduced with but weren't too familiar with.
And then there were two new faces. One had green hair, wearing a mask like Dream's. This mask, however, was in the shape of a creeper. The other looked like...well, a cat. You assumed he was like Schlatt, carrying more animalistic traits than human.
"By friends you mean the tyrants we went to war with?" Tommy practically growled, storming up to your group, "What the hell were you thinking?!"
You raised your eyebrows at the boy, "They're on our side. Calm down."
"Calm down?! Who the fuck do you think you are, telling me to calm down? I could—"
"Tommy." Wilbur's soft, but firm, voice traveled down from the rafters, causing everyone to look up.
Wilbur was sitting on a crevice in the wall, looking down on everyone. One leg was pulled up next to him, the other swung lazily. You weren't quite sure how he got up there, but that didn't really matter at the moment.
He tilted his head at you, frowning, "I am very sorry for your loss, (Y/N). I know Jordan was a very close friend of yours."
You clenched your jaw and nodded. You didn't trust yourself to speak, worried the tears would come bursting through the dam if you tried.
Tommy's eyes softened with realization, his rage immediately dissipating. "Oh, yeah. I'm really sorry." Tommy hung his head and backed away, embarrassed that he'd made such a big deal over something so insignificant.
"It's okay," You mumbled, turning your attention to the small group behind him. There was one face missing. "Where's my brother?"
"I'm here," Techno answered, his monotone voice coming from behind you.
You spun, a new fire lit in your heart. You hadn't noticed him when you'd first come down, so you assumed he'd been harvesting potatoes.
He crossed his arms and sighed, a strand of his long pink hair falling from the ponytail it had been tied back in. "(Y/N), about Jordan, I'm—"
"I don't want to hear it." You interrupted, "You're one of the most powerful men in this nation, Dave. You're an extremely skilled fighter and everyone knows it." You stepped closer to your brother, pointing a finger at him.
"You are so much stronger than Schlatt. But you followed his orders! You were going to kill me. Why the hell did you follow that man's orders?!" You asked, now inches away from your brother.
Techno could see the rage and the pain in your eyes, and you could see the regret in his.
But his answer was the last thing you'd expected: "The voices made me, (Y/N)."
His voice was so soft, so full of regret that you almost believed him.
Almost.
You scoffed, crossing your arms and shaking your head, "Unbelievable. You're lying to me. Again."
Techno worked his jaw, "I'm not lying to you, (Y/N)."
You narrowed your eyes at your brother, your voice rising, "You can never accept any kind of blame, can you? You always have to blame something or someone else. First it was the oracle, and now it's the voices in your head. Why don't you just take the fall for once in your life, Techno?! Once!"
"You just mercilessly committed mass genocide! You betrayed everyone!" You continued, unable to calm yourself now.
"(Y/N)," Dream began, but was cut off by laughter from above.
Wilbur had been trying to contain his laughter, but was unable to hold back any longer.
The cavern fell silent, unease churning in the pit of your stomach.
"What's so funny?" Tubbo asked hesitantly.
Wilbur wiped away a tear, leaning back against the wall and heaving a sigh, "Oh...oh, I'm sorry it's just..." Wilbur chuckled, shaking his head, "It's exactly like I predicted. It's all just a travesty."
You glanced at Dream, whose stance had suddenly become rigid. All three of the boys seemed on edge.
"Okay, tell you what," Wilbur stated, standing and balancing himself on the edge of the crevice by holding on to a protruding sliver of stone, "For today...L'Manburg's safe. I won't blow it up. I gave (Y/N) the choice, and she chose not to blow it up, so—"
"You...you were going to..." Niki interjected, unable to bring herself to finish the sentence. The poor girl looked pale - she seemed to be the only one who hadn't heard of Wilbur's plan.
Wilbur sucked in a breath through his teeth, looking down at Niki sympathetically. "Oh, right. Sorry Niki, you missed that part. I was going to blow up L'Manburg. Completely destroy it in a huge fireball..."
"Wil—" Niki began, but was cut off by Wilbur.
"Look, Niki. You're safe here. Don't worry," The maniac's gaze drifted over to you and your brother.
"Technoblade!" He laughed. Wilbur reached forward, grabbing onto one of the rafters and swinging down to the ground.
You narrowed your eyes as he landed in front of you, annoyed that he was encouraging your brother's actions.
"Ooh~," Wilbur grinned, moving around you to get to your brother. He placed a hand on Techno's shoulder and stood slightly behind him, leaning into his ear, "Watch out, Technoblade. (Y/N)'s mad at you. Look at her eyes. She's pissed at you, she's angry."
A small smirk formed on Techno's lips and he chuckled, shaking his head at you.
Wilbur chuckled as well, letting go of Techno's shoulder and leaning back against the wall, "Go on, (Y/N), say something. I know you want to."
You stared at Wilbur, who held your gaze, a lazy smirk settling on his lips. You broke eye contact with him and turned to your brother, fighting back a new wave of hot tears.
"Why'd you kill him, Techno? Why did you kill Jordan?"
Technoblade shrugged, "I was under peer pressure. You have to understand."
You scoffed, "Again with the peer pressure? You can't just do that, Techno, you can't just kill someone and call it 'peer pressure'! What's wrong with you?"
"A lot of things, really."
"You killed Jordan when you were asked to by the president! And he's not even your president! He was trying to steal the throne out from under you, do you not remember?!"
Technoblade let out an annoyed sigh, not smiling anymore. He was done joking around. "Listen, if I hadn't followed his orders there were, like, twenty guys out there who would have killed me on the spot."
You gestured to the trident on his back, "You can literally fly."
"Did you see any water up there?"
"There are two waterfalls on the sides of the podium!"
"I don't think I would have been able to get there in time."
You were about to open your mouth to say something else when Wilbur cut in, "Well, I don't know about you, (Y/N), but I forgive Technoblade."
Whatever words you were about to say died in your throat. "What?"
"I forgive him." Wilbur shrugged.
"You barely knew Jordan, that's easy for you to say. I, on the other hand, do not forgive him."
"Me neither," Tommy joined in, earning sounds of agreement from everyone else.
"Wilbur, he just murdered Jordan!" Tubbo added.
"And what do you want to do about it? It's too late to save the poor sack now," Wilbur shrugged.
You staggered backwards, the words piercing you like a knife to the chest.
Dream stepped forwards, placing his hands on your shoulders to steady you. He wasn't going to let go unless you asked him to.
"You think I don't know that?" Your voice was softer, now. "You think I don't wish that it was me instead of him? He was practically my father. He did more to raise me than this bastard ever did." You gestured to Technoblade.
That seemed to hit home for your brother. He tensed, sucking in a sharp breath. "(Y/N), I've already apologized—"
"I don't care!" You stepped out of Dream's gentle grip, placing two hands on Techno's chestplate and shoving him backwards. You'd caught him off-guard; he stumbled backwards, placing a hand on the wall behind him to catch himself.
"I want you to get out of here. Get the hell out of here and go be with your president!" You snapped.
"You think you can destroy Manburg without my help, (Y/N)?" Techno asked.
"That's what you care about right now?" You asked, shoving him again even though there was nowhere to go. You needed to release all your pent-up anger and grief somehow.
"This is good, this is good..." Wilbur added, circling behind you, "Go on, (Y/N), tell him how you feel. Look into his eyes and let it all out," He whispered into your ear.
Tears welled up in your eyes, no matter how hard you willed them away. You looked into your brother's eyes and shook your head, "I hate you, Dave," Your voice was wavering with anger and pain, but you didn't care anymore, "I fucking hate you."
Techno grew suddenly still, the look in his eyes glazing over and becoming something more distant and cold. His gaze drifted away from yours, and he nodded as if he were agreeing with someone or something.
Then, he looked at you again, his expression emotionless.
Before he could respond, Wilbur clapped his hands together, "Ooh! You know what? I have a brilliant idea. Follow me," He grinned, practically skipping off towards one of the corners of the cavern.
Everyone started after him. You were about to do the same when Dream pulled you aside, "Are you okay?" He asked. You wished you could see his eyes, but he wasn't going to remove his mask in front of all these people.
You nodded, wiping your eyes, "Yeah...I'm okay."
You really weren't.
This was the second time your brother had betrayed you; taken something from you. And he wasn't going to own up or apologize for it.
Every cell in your body despised your brother at that moment.
You and the three boys followed the rest of the group to see Wilbur standing in a little pit in the ground. You frowned in confusion.
Wilbur spread his arms out wide and turned in a slow circle, "This was originally built to keep horses down here but, uh, we decided it would be better if they stayed outside. It got a little too smelly for my taste. Anyways!"
Wilbur climbed out of the pit and stood in front of the group, pointing at you with one hand and at Technoblade with the other. "Why don't the two of you duke it out, hm?" The man looked extremely proud of himself for coming up with such an idea, "A battle to the death!"
"No." Dream spoke up, his tone cold, "I'm overruling you here, Wilbur. No one is fighting to the death."
Wilbur sighed, making a show of rolling his eyes, "Fine. But you can at least battle it out. No armour, no shields, no weapons. What do you say?"
Technoblade answered by removing his armour and dropping it to the side, along with the rest of his gear and his glasses. Then, he slid into the pit, turning and looking at you expectantly.
He still looked so cold. So distant. Like he was possessed.
Someone tugged on your sleeve. You looked down and saw that it was Tubbo.
"Before...um, before you make your decision, if you think about it...he's kind of got a point."
"What the fuck, Tubbo?" Tommy shouted, "He literally just betrayed us!"
"Right, but...I'm not saying I forgive him. Jordan was an amazing man and he didn't deserve what happened to him. But it was the four of you against an entire nation! He might have been able to take on two or three men but ten? Twenty?" Tubbo shook his head.
"We were sitting in the trees the entire time. We could have helped." Nick added.
"But we didn't know you were there. For all Techno knew, he was alone against the entire government." Tubbo added softly. He obviously didn't want anyone to get angry at him, but this was his opinion.
He didn't want anyone hurting themselves without knowing all the sides of the story.
You glanced down at Technoblade, who nodded, "He's not wrong." His tone was void of all emotion.
You turned to Dream, wanting to know what he thought. He shook his head, warning you not to do this.
One last look at Technoblade told you that he was prepared to go down swinging.
You had a choice to make.
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This choice will be like the duel on the pathway.
Please do not spam vote. One vote/comment per reader.
Choice A: Duel against Technoblade. He will ignore the voices and let you win, because he wants to make amends.
Choice 1B: Duel against Technoblade and lose. You will land a few hits but, in the end, will be badly beaten. You will go home with the Dream Team.
Choice 2B: Duel against Technoblade and lose. You will land a few hits but, in the end, will be badly beaten. You will stay with Pogtopia.
Choice 1C: Do not duel against Technoblade. You will go home with the Dream Team.
Choice 2C: Do not duel against Technoblade. You will stay in Pogtopia.
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eyo sorry for the 2 week wait and the shorter chapter -_-
imagine promising yall a chapter and not following through lol couldn't be me
hopefully this choice isn't too confusing or complicated!
stay awesome, yall! I love each and every one of yall :)
thank you for 150k!