︵ . . CHAPTER EIGHTEEN ❜ ━━━ ₍ 🥀 ₎
stay alive . .
Everything was gray and white, almost like winter.
The brunette opened her eyes to find herself lying down in a mound of snow, or so she thought. Hastily, she sat upright from her back and squinted at the empty environment. It was like a blank canvas, except everything was brighter and it seems that it was raining ashes. An ice cold shiver trailed down her spine, she had never seen anything like this before.
"You need to wake up."
Rexha flinched at the haunting voice that boomed out of nowhere. She knew it all too well. The brunette nervously lifted her chin up, eyes dilating at what she saw. Looming over her was a tall, daunting figure of what seemed to be a woman dressed in colors of wisteria and black.
Somber eyes locked gazes with Rexha. Those emotionless whirlpools of dark brown instilled fear in her. These eyes were different from the ones she knew.
"You're running out of time."
The brunette looked at the looming figure in confusion. Rexha opened her mouth to argue. But before she could even utter a single word, darkness had completely taken over her vision and the last thing she saw was the same figure that appeared to be the resemblance of her mother.
𓆸
Beads of cold sweat trailed from her temple as she took a sharp gasp of air. The brunette immediately sat upright from her bed. Rexha must have been that exhausted to pass out with her cloak and Technoblade's cape still hanging on her from all the trekking she did.
Rexha ran her shaky fingers across the roots of her hair in an attempt to regain composure. Her hands felt clammy at the terrible dream she had. It was rather eerie and haunting from all the other nightmares she had. Entirely different from her usual ones.
Something was not right. It was silent, too quiet for her liking.
"Ghostbur, are you there?" Rexha called out and immediately reached for the lantern beside her bed, turning it on to see the spirit missing.
Usually, she would find him playing his guitar or messing with her stuff as he stayed. But this time, however, he was nowhere to be found. This wasn't a good sign. Ghostbur would at least leave a note of sort if he needed to leave to see Tommy or Technoblade. He left no mark behind.
"Ah, sh!t."
An eerie feeling washed over her as the atmosphere became heavy with tension. The brunette bolted in action, wasting no time to get up and rummaged through her cupboards, taking out bottles of potions that she had brewed from the ingredients she gained from the Nether with Ghostbur. Rexha made sure to grab the trident that she hid underneath her bed and filled her thigh holsters with all the enderpearls she had.
Something was approaching her fast. She could feel two presences of people coming for her. As time went by in a matter of seconds, she began to understood what her nightmare had finally meant. It was a premonition, a kind of dream she did not have until today.
The hinges of her sanctuary's entrance gave out the moment, she drew out the trident that Technoblade gifted her. Rexha directed her head at the presences of uninvited guests. Her crimson eyes hardened at the sight of two unfamiliar faces. All of them were clad in the same netherite armor she had.
"Was saving your president not enough?"
Despite her evident display of threat with her trident, Rexha spoke in a calm yet almost monotonous voice which it impossible them to tell if she was brimming with anger or just sarcasm in general.
Just like rumors, news spread quick. She had heard about the so-called Butcher Army of L'manberg. These people aim to take out the enemies of the nation that were officially written on their hit list.
"We won't hurt you, if you come with us peacefully." The guy with a crown on the top his head returned her question with an authoritative response. "I'm Ranboo, part of the Butcher Army."
She eyed the young man head to toe. Rexha furrowed her gaze, which instilled an uneasy feeling upon him. Grazing her analytical eyes into his heterochromia eyes of emerald and crimson, she realized that this was not an ordinary human but rather an enderman-hybrid. It made her wonder if he could teleport. Because if he did, it might put her in trouble.
Her gaze then trailed towards the other person who had vibrant locks of hair and fox-like eyes that glared deep with malice. Rexha figured this familiar face she knew as Fundy was a fox-hybrid of sort. She recalled seeing him join the revolution against Schlatt.
Rexha was well aware that she was not the only person they had their eyes on, which could only mean one thing. They already got Technoblade. They wouldn't have gotten her exact location if they didn't have her compass and the only person who had that was no other than him.
"What makes you think I'll submit to you, or to that damned country?" She spat out bitterly.
A frown faltered onto Ranboo's face. "You leave us with no choice then."
Shortly afterwards, Fundy lunged towards the cloaked woman with a netherite axe raised in the air. Rexha immediately slid to the right and narrowly evaded his attempt. She proceeded to bring her leg in the air, kicking him hard to the side with her heel digging harshly against his waist. As the man stumbled, the other charged at her next.
"And you just made a grave mistake to defy with the likes of me." A smile graced her lips.
Rexha brandished her trident and retaliated against the ender-hybrid with an effortless swing and twirl, successfully fending off his sword. Her eyes were clouded in an atrocious haze of anger. These people were ungrateful. If it weren't for her, they wouldn't be relishing victory for L'manberg. Not only that, they were playing right into Dream's hands.
Fundy recovered from the recoil he took from her kick and quickly scrambled back up. She sensed his presence from behind before he could do a thing. Rexha brandished her trident once again and successfully inflicting a gash his face which elicited a hiss of pain from him. She proceeded to charge at him head on, the materials of their weapons eliciting an eerie screech as she pushed him against the wall with force only for him to sweep her off of her feet.
The brunette pushed herself up with the help of her trident, before her back landed on the floor and used momentum to use her legs to kick and step on Fundy's netherite chestplate as a support to perform a wall flip. She harshly dug the heels of her boots square into his jaw before regaining footing on the ground.
Rexha watched in satisfaction as Fundy collapsed, clutching his jaw in pain with blood trailing from his lips. She glanced behind her back to see Ranboo frozen in place, frightened at how she was able to turn the tables against him and Fundy in a matter of seconds. Taking a step towards him, he cautiously raised his sword.
Rexha questioned calmly, lowering her weapon down. "Tell me child. Where is Technoblade?"
"You're too late. He's already paying for his crimes in L'manberg. We were sent here to buy Tubbo and Quackity time." He mustered the courage to speak his truth.
That was the tip of the iceberg for her. Rexha knew that if she were to spend anymore time with them, Technoblade could be done for good. Tubbo might not be an expert at combat just like her, but he made a good strategy to send these two as a distraction. Without another second, she took a sharp breath and grabbed a fire charge from her thigh holster.
Bright, orange flames quickly spread throughout the place the moment she flicked the piece of charcoal and gunpowder infused stone to the ground. Ranboo and Fundy hurried their way outside. The two of them took sharp, yet deep breaths before looking around to find the woman gone without a trace.
"Oh, no." Fundy uttered in a panic as he clutched his pockets and utility belt.
Ranboo asked in concern. "What is it?"
"The compass is gone. I think she stole it from me."
𓆸
'We're friends after all.'
Panic coarsed through her veins along with a rush of adrenaline. She felt as if she were running for dear life. Rexha couldn't afford to lose Technoblade the same way she lost her mother. She could only hope that she wasn't too late. A string of luck was exactly what she needed right now.
In a span of thirty minutes, she had arrived in the familiar fields and structures of the nation she had betrayed. Rexha hadn't been here for a long time and was stunned to see how much it had changed under Tubbo's administration.
The brunette made her way through, eyes frantically searching for a familiar hog-masked man. Upon running, she noticed how the houses and shops were empty. It was as if everyone had went elsewhere until a familiar voice had boomed from the speakers that hung from the light posts.
"Technoblade has robbed our country."
Rexha felt her blood run cold when she heard Tubbo's voice.
Using her gift of sense, she continued her way towards the center of L'manberg and found every citizen gathered before a gallows along with their president and the person they ought to sentence to death. Her eyes watched Technoblade calmly make his way up the platform with constraints adorning his wrists. He showed no signs of resistance. It was as if he was welcoming the scythe of death with open arms.
This was preposterous.
If Rexha knew at least one thing about L'manberg, they were a country built on independence and peace, not bloodshed or violence. She tightly grasped the staff of her trident and felt her composure slipping away like the last time she had been in here to save their president from an execution. History was repeating itself, all over again and it was this country's curse. Dream had crossed the line once again.
Tubbo's speech drowned in the background as Rexha stealthily ran towards the gallows and took out an enderpearl from the holster strapped to her thigh. Utilizing it, she instantly made her way to the front. Her sudden appearance elicited a series of petrified gasps and looks from the crowd. Flicking the black and red cape adorning her figure, she brought out more fire charges and scattered them to create a ring of fire that shielded the people away from her and the gallows.
"Rexha! What are you doing—The young boy was cut off by a blade pointing directly to his neck. His deep ocean orbs stared at the woman's angry haze of red. "I thought Ranboo and Fundy took care of you. Where are they?"
"You are mistaken if you think those two stood a chance against me." She spat out bitterly, eyes hardening into a dark glare that striked a cold shiver across his spine. "Release Technoblade at once! Do not make me repeat myself."
"He's here to pay for his crimes." Tubbo argued with reason.
"I think you've forgotten who saved you from the same execution you're sentencing him to. If it weren't for neither of us, you wouldn't be standing here as the very president of L'manberg." Rexha scoffed, bringing the trident closer to him as he backed away. "You're a fool for playing right into his hands!"
A wash of guilt splashed across his face for a split second before it was replaced with insistence. Tubbo unclipped the sword he had on his waist and brandished it only for her to deflect it back with the end of her trident. Rexha repeatedly swung the weapon with force, showing no mercy for the young boy. Somehow, he managed to keep up but was nowhere near her level.
Flicking her eyes up, she saw Quackity who unscathed his own sword to fight. The brunette gathered momentum with a quick dash, she brought her feet to the wooden post of the platform they were standing on before raising her trident and brought Tubbo down with a much bigger force in seconds. She quickly recovered and lunged towards the remaining person.
"Pull the lever!" Tubbo screamed.
Quackity immediately grasped the lever and pulled it down as ordered before swiftly taking out his blade. He managed to land a hit on her as Rexha was caught off by Technoblade who ascended in the air. Her eyes twitched at the sight of him gasping and struggling for air with his hands trying to pry off the rope encasing his neck.
She stumbled backwards from the recoil of Quackity's attack. Rexha raised her trident as soon as he charged towards her, repeatedly stroking his netherite sword. Their weapons clashed against one another with such force.
"R-Rexha!" Technoblade's voice reached her ears.
Blood rolled down her cheek, a fresh cut inflicted on the side of her side from Quackity's sword. Minutes felt like seconds with everything was on the line. Rexha took a step back away from him, evident that she was not the right state of mind with all the pressure weighing on her shoulder.
"You'll soon follow him." Quackity tormented, his eyes filled with hubris.
Did he really think a drop of blood meant anything? This was nothing, but a scratch.
Rexha scowled at him defiantly. "I think you've forgotten that I've died once before and I outran death. What makes you think I can't do that again?"
Rexha lunged towards Quackity, swinging her weapon at the perfect timing to retaliate against his sword. Each strike began to build with more and more speed to the point his attacks began to grow sloppier. Just when he had thought he had the upper-hand, she took it right from his grasp and pulled a trump-card on him. She kicked her legs in the air, striking him in the abomen with harsh force.
Using that momentum, she leapt into the air before throwing the trident to sever the noose. Rexha, still in mid-air, she caught the weapon back after it retracted back to her hand as it was enchanted with loyalty. She curled into a ball to ease her fall with a forward roll before scrambling to Technoblade who fell and was now wheezing.
Tubbo and Quackity watched in awe, their jaws fell to the floor at the stunt Rexha pulled within a minute.
Rexha got rid of his constraints and grasped his shoulders to sit him up from his back, her crimson eyes stared at his in concern. "Hey, are you okay? I'm here now."
He reached for the hog-mask that was adorning his face and removed it, before leaning against the brunette. Chin resting on her shoulder, arms encased around her figure tightly. Rexha relaxed at the thought of Technoblade being safe and alive. She really thought she lost her only friend. The remaining person who cared for her.
"I thought I lost you. They said they were going after you next." He breathed out a sharp exhale.
A playful scoff trailed from her lips. "If they really wanted me dead, they'd have to do a lot better than that."
Rexha narrowed her eyes at Quackity who was now beginning to stand up after regaining composure. She hastily heaved Technoblade back to his feet, quickly unclipping his red cape that she had over her black cloak and hung it back to his before handing him the trident he gifted her.
Rexha and Technoblade turned around and pressed their backs together as Tubbo and Quackity began to inch their way towards them. From a distance, she was able to spot the two men that Tubbo sent to go after her in her sanctuary. It appears that Fundy and Ranboo had survived the flames, and were now running towards them to join the fray.
As Technoblade grasped the staff of his trident, she unclipped both of the netherite swords she had on her waist. The anarchists readied themselves into a stance.
"Stay alive." Technoblade glanced at her for a split second.
Rexha smirked at him. "Together."
︵ . . ⌗𝗔𝗨𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗥'𝗦 𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗘𝗦 ❜
i am a throwing slipper to anyone's face who ships rexha and technoblade together romantically.