TW: SWEARING, YELLING, FIRE, BLOOD, VIOLENCE
You may notice that the timeline kinda messes up in this chapter. Ignore it I'm doing this for dramatic effect <3
Also didn't proof read so if you see errors lmk in the comments <3 I will fix them
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~~~~ Tommy's P.O.V ~~~~
The tree branch digs into my butt but I'm too cold to give a shit. The fireworks reflect their hundreds of colours in my eyes as they explode in a fury of sound and anguish far away in the distance. The pops come out of sync with each burst of colour as sound struggles to keep up with the light it travels with. Colours of red, blue, yellow, white and black bloom in the sky like flowers. L'Manburg's colours.
It was Christmas eve and they were having a party, without me. I didn't even know, Dream didn't even tell me. He probably didn't want me to feel left out, he probably didn't know I'd be able to see the fireworks from all the way over here.
But I heard the booms and climbed the tree and I can just see the explosions. Joyful and proud on the horizon. The only other sounds are the waves crashing onto the shore and the flapping of my shitty tent.
It was colder than usual tonight and darker, or maybe it just felt that way. I was too far past the point of caring. I watch the fireworks until they no longer make bold shapes in the sky. But still,s I sit, only now I watch the nether portal. Maybe now that it's over someone will come and see me. But nobody does.
No presents this year, no big roast, no warm house, no friends. Nobody at all. I clutch the compass that hangs around my neck as I leap off from the branch. I don't want to rick the thread snapping and the compass falling on the floor.
My toes slip in and out of the holes in my sneakers as I walk to the campfire. I hadn't eaten tonight. There were no fish to catch and Dream didn't bring food when he visited this morning.
I rub my hands together and hold them in front of the fire trying to get warm. I unconsciously run a hand through my hair and adjust the bandana around my neck. I pick up Y/N's journal from where I'd left it at the entrance of my tent and hug it to my chest. She would've visited me.
Tubbo didn't even visit me today. It's Christmas, we always used to spend Christmas together. As kids, on Christmas eve he would come to my house and we'd try to stay up all night looking for Santa. We've never managed to stay up the whole night. We'd always fall asleep.
At least I would get one Christmas gift tonight. I look up to the skies and smile, the clouds had cleared for the first time in ages. The stars were on show for everybody to see. I remember Y/N loved looking at the stars. We'd do it on top of the van with Fundy and Jack sometimes, it was fun.
I look back down at my fire and catch sight of my hands. They looked like skeleton hands with skeleton fingers. I was so skinny that even my fingers had given up on me. Real food was hard to find and when I did find it I barely knew how to cook.
Behind me, I hear the swirling of the nether portal. Did somebody come? I whip around and look at the portal, but only Ghostbur steps out. I should be grateful, but I can't get Y/N and Tubbo out of my head.
"Hello Tommy!" he waves cheerfully.
"Why are you here?" I grumble and turn back to my fireplace.
"Oh... Well because parties are for everybody! You shouldn't be alone on Christmas eve," Ghostbur floats at my side and crosses his legs. I guess ghosts can't really sit.
"How much do you remember about Pogtopia?" I ask Ghostbur. I look at him and his brows and furrowed in thought.
"What is Pogtopia?" he says perplexed and I sigh.
"The cave where we used to live when you were alive. Y/N and Techno and Tubbo lived with us there too," I look back at the fire. How could he not remember?
"I don't remember that..." Ghostbur trails off guiltily.
"You only remember good things don't you?"
"Yep."
"But Pogtopia wasn't all bad!" I sit up straighter thinking about everything we did together in the ravine.
"We'd play games and pranks and we'd go hunting and train with Techno and mess around a lot! Wilbur was happy when we did those things! He was laughing!" I feel my frustration building and my voice rises with it.
"Was Alivebur really happy?" Ghostbur asks. He sounds like he's far away, although these days everything feels like it's years away.
"He was less happy towards the end," I mumble. He was mad, completely bonkers. We tried to help but we never understood, we never really knew how insane he was. He was another person, not Wilbur.
Were there things he didn't tell us? There must have been. Wilbur wasn't just who I could see but he was who I couldn't see too. He had to make that TNT sometime and he had to organise that meeting with Dream away from us. Was there more than one meeting? Did Y/N know? Did anybody know? Or were we all pawns in his grand plan? Nothing but pieces on his board game of death.
Secretly, Wil was someone else, I knew that. But was my brother there at all? Surely he was, you can't get rid of an entire person so easily. Maybe he was there sometimes. In the jokes we shared or the games we played. Maybe he was there when he trained with us and we talked about the good old times. But he wasn't there all the time. That's why Ghostbur doesn't remember.
I grip on tighter to the notebook and feel the compass press into my chest with the pressure.
"Why don't I remember?" Ghostbur asks. Unable to put my thoughts in words I simply reply "I don't know."
~~~~ Y/N's P.O.V ~~~~
The atmosphere at the table was as tense as the storm outside. It was late in the night now although it didn't feel like Ranboo and I had arrived that long ago. The tea that I had cradled in my hands had long gone cold and I was still yet to finish the cup.
"Techno, you remember Freya?" Phil's eyes are locked on the wooden table.
"Yeah, Mum," Techno replies. I didn't know his mother's name.
"I loved Freya so much. She was everything to us, but like most people, she wasn't my first love. There was somebody before her who I loved nearly as much," Phil starts. He glances around the table; giving us all a look that says "strap in, this will be a long story".
I lean back into my chair enjoying the warmth of a blanket I had fetched earlier from upstairs. It was rather cold despite the glowing fireplace. I try to focus as much as I can not wanting to forget any details.
"Enderians were the race blessed by the gods, or so the stories told. They were the creation of a demigod who nobody could name nor remember. They lived in a city in another dimension the demigod created to protect them from the impurities of the human race.
Over this city, a goddess ruled; keeping order and protecting the land with a giant obsidian scaled Dragon. Many people sought the magic of this city but they were never a match for her, the daughter of Hades.
Similar to the culture of her people, she adorned herself in violet silks and velvets so deep they looked black. Gold jewellery hung delicately from her ears, neck, wrists and fingers. Her eyes and lips were dark shades of crimson like the poppies and red marigolds, flowers of death, that she wore on her belt and the large hat that shadowed her face.
One day, this goddess wanted to look upon the people who so desperately craved the treasures of her city. Hades granted her a single day to walk among them."
~~~~ Phil's P.O.V ~~~~ About 24 Years Ago ~~~~
The wind rippled my clothes as I flew high over the fields of golden crop that was ripe to be harvested this week. I scan the ground searching for black feathers and cheeky caws or the yells from a vendor in town as blackbirds take their food.
The crows had gone missing. They weren't in the house when I woke up and they didn't come when I called for them. It wasn't unusual for them to fly about but they never strayed too far. But this morning they were nowhere in sight.
I land in a corn maze and check the scarecrow. It was the most useless creation I'd ever seen, so useless the crows shit on it.
My ears perk up as I hear a distant caw in the corn maze. I roll my eyes and head towards it hoping that they weren't eating the corn again. If they damaged the crop I'd never hear the end of it from the farmer who owned the land.
"There you little shits are, I thought you'd-" I pause when I see what they're doing.
A lady sits on the fence, crows sitting all around her. She giggles as they cheekily peck one another or pick as some corn that was on the ground. I felt my cheeks heat up; she was beautiful. I couldn't quite see her face under her large black hat but I knew her eyes sparkled.
"Are they yours?" she asks. I nearly trip over once I realise she's talking to me.
"Uh yeah, they are. Although, they shouldn't be bothering a fine lady such as yourself," I tip my hat in a manner that I hope is gentlemanly and glare at the crows. If they were people, I'm sure they would be eye-rolling me.
"They're no bother, I find them rather charming," she says as one of the crows nuzzles into her cheek. The woman chuckles a sound that sends my heart racing even faster. Her voice was silly like honey and had an accent I couldn't place. I swallow and force myself to keep it together.
"Do you live in the town nearby?" she asks.
"I live just outside of it," I answer. I probably shouldn't be telling a lady I've just met where I live but my better judgement was long gone.
"Do you mind showing me around?" she asked bashfully. I nod quickly and whistle for the crows. Begrudgingly, they fly off into the sky, no doubt to spy on us from afar.
I lead her to the town square first since I couldn't think of any other place to take her. I couldn't take my eyes off her. She looked at everything around us like it was the first time she'd a small provincial town before. She never seemed to touch the ground, she glided down the uneven roads like they were made of ice. Her eyes never stopped sparkling and her smile never wandered from her face.
"Well, this is our town square. The town is pretty small so this is where everything is-" I'm cut off by the school bell.
She watches in wonder as the kids run out laughing with their school bags bouncing on their backs. Some of the kids watch her, it wasn't often somebody this finely dressed was in our town. Most kids return home or start playing games with one another.
I see a small hand reach up and tug on her dress from the other side. Her eyes widen as she looks down at the little girl who'd caught her attention. The little girl sways nervously from side to side. The woman bends down and smiles gently.
"Hello there," she chuckles.
"I just wanted to say that I think you are very pretty," the girl mumbles and smiles at the floor.
I feel my heart melt as my new companion reaches up to take a poppy from her hat.
"Thank you very much, I think you're very pretty too," I swear she smiles brighter than the sun. The little girl bounces on her heels and carefully takes the poppy before running off again.
"Are all the children so lovely?" she asks me.
"Most of them are yes," I stutter and she smiles at my flusteredness.
We continue walking about the town. Despite the small size of the town, it takes us all afternoon. Now and again we stop as she looks at the people of the town or I somehow manage to make her laugh. With every laugh or smile or longing look, I find myself falling deeper into the feelings that swirled around in my chest.
We were walking past one of the wheat farms when she stops again and looks out on the golden crop.
"Everybody here has a family," she comments wistfully.
"Yeah, I guess so," I say surprised by the somewhat random comment.
Then she looks at me, but she looks at me differently from how she's looked at me today. Her eyes don't just sparkle, they glimmer with something beneath the surface. Like how a fish swims under the surface of a pond. It takes my breath away.
"Do you have a family?" she asks, I see the tips of her ears turning blush pink.
"No, but I would like one someday," I said quietly feeling my own cheeks turning pink.
I can't help but fall into her eyes. I hadn't noticed yet, but they were a deep red just like her lips. Deep red like the poppies and marigolds in her hat. They were stunning and enough to convince me that maybe love at first sight is real.
"Come on," I said, and reached out my hand for her to take. "I have one last thing to show you."
She takes my hand and holds it warmly, we fit together perfectly. I lead her away from the village, to the place I never showed anybody. As we walked the afternoon turned to evening and the sun began to set making her all the more beautiful.
We climbed the small hill that I travelled to almost every day. We stood at the edge of the cliff and looked upon the world laid at our feet. The village and its patchwork collection of fields and houses. It all glowed in the dimming light.
"Why have you brought me here?" she asked curiously. I only smirked and opened my wings waiting for the updraft that I knew was coming.
I felt the wind flush up against my face and I leap into the air. I felt the weightless phenomenon as the wind pushed against my wings holding me in the air like giant hands. I look down at her and she watches me in awe.
I glide over her to the other side making her giggle. I watch her for just a moment. Her skin was illuminated by the sunset making her look as if she was made of gold. To me, she was made of gold. One of the most precious things I had ever seen and I didn't want to say goodbye at the end of that night.
I set myself back down on the ground; my grin unable to leave my face. She giggles at my silly expression and sighs pensively making me frown.
"Thank you, Phil, for showing me your town. It was lovely," her eyes suddenly became sad and she looked at the sun that had started to touch the horizon.
"Before I go, I have a gift for you but I need a feather please," she asked softly and I immediately obliged plucking a feather from my wing.
I watch as she crushes the feather in her palms. When her hands open, the feather is gone and in its place was a black rose. The blackest darkest rose I'd ever seen in my whole life. I'm stunned to silence. How did she do that?
She holds out the rose, I take it hesitantly and hold it between my fingers. She gives me a last mournful look and then suddenly hugged me. I was taken aback at first but then quickly melted into the embrace.
"Goodbye Phil," she pulled away and pressed a gentle kiss to my cheek. She stepped back and as the sun finally disappeared below the horizon, she disappeared. Forever.
~~~~ Y/N's P.O.V ~~~~
I shake myself and wipe the tear that had fallen down my cheek. Techno and Ranboo were completely silent, even the fire ceased its crackling.
"What happened to the rose?" I ask quietly, I nearly whispered. Phil straightens himself in the wooden seat and threads his fingers together. He stares out the window at the storm before continuing.
"That evening, I went home feeling pretty messed up. I didn't know what had happened to her, I didn't even know her name. I put the rose in some water so that it wouldn't die and set the rose on my nightstand.
When I woke up the next morning, the jar I had put the rose in was on the floor and the rose was missing. I looked around and couldn't find the rose but I heard a noise in the main room. I went out and there you were Techno."
Phil looks away from the window and instead at Techno. They locked eyes and I swear both of their eyes were just as teary as mine.
"You were sitting there on the floor with the rose in the front pocket of the white shirt you were wearing. You were playing with my mini axe of all things so naturally I took it away and picked you up. You looked at me with those big white eyes and I knew immediately that she had given you to me."
Phil finally finishes his story and wipes his face with his hands. Techno is as stoic as ever.
"So what does this mean?" Technoblade asks thickly.
"Y/N can sense your energy so clearly because your mother was the Goddess of Death," Phil mutters.
"So Freya wasn't my mother?"
"Don't be fooled. Freya loved you just as much as she loved Tommy and Wilbur, and I know you loved her as they loved her too," Phil reassures Techno.
"Technoblade, you're a demigod or some kind of warrior god," I say looking up from my hands. Technoblade and I share the same look. We're closer than we thought we were. Both descendants of something much bigger than ourselves.
"I have never done anything particularly godly, and what would I be the god of anyway?" Technoblade tries to direct the conversation away from his mother. We silently decide to let him.
"You're the best fighter I know," I say.
"You've been fighting since you were a toddler," Phil chuckles remembering something we don't understand.
"Guess that makes me a blood god," Technoblade jokes and chuckles drily.
"You may not be far off," Ranboo tries to continue the joke. We all laugh a little trying to shake off the seriousness in the room.
"You alright mate?" Phil asks gently looking at Techno.
"Just processing," he sighs tiredly, it's been a long night.
"If Freya was here I know what she would say. She'd say that you're her little warrior and say that you're incredibly strong for taking on the truth. She'd tell you that she loves you and that you're her favourite eldest son," Phil and Techno both chuckle nostalgically.
Whilst their laughing I see Steve nudge Techno's knee. He smiles sadly at the big bear and scratches the top of his head. Unable to keep still, I stand up and join Steve at Techno's side and hug his shoulders.
"This doesn't change anything Techno. You were a blood god before and you're still a blood god now. It's just that we have a name for it now," I say hoping that my words make sense. I feel techno hum in thought before speaking again.
"Technoblade the blood god," he tests his new title on his tongue letting the words roll off it in a particular manner.
"I like it."
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HELOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
WHO ENJOYED THE MUMZA CONTENT?????? BECAUSE I KNOW I DID!
I have a feeling that there will be more short chapters like this since we're going to crunch it till the finish. I can see the end and we're gonna get there.
I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE AN AMAZING MORNING/DAY/EVENING/NIGHT <3 <3 <3
YOU ARE AWESOME :)