Writing my own lore from here on out. Nothing from here on is canon, unless I accidentally predict something ;)
This chapter also has given me time to write A LOT abt Techno and Dream. I'm obsessed with how I wrote this.
Trigger warnings for graphic torture. Okay bye bye lmk what you think :)
-
"Why doesn't he remember me?"
"Did he forget me on purpose?"
"Did I do something wrong?"
"Is it my fault?"
Quackity cried for hours in your arms last night. You just laid in bed as he laid on your chest and cried, voicing his worries and questions between his sobs. He cried himself to sleep that night, and you laid there, wondering if this would change anything between you two. It was selfish thinking, but it was uncontrollable. The words he cried echoed in your head, and it made it easy to space out as you stared at the lava bubbling in front of you.
Sam snapped. "Hey. Don't tell me we're back to square one, Y/n," he chuckled, slight annoyance braided between the words of his joke.
You blinked and looked at him for a moment and shook your head, pushing some of your hair back from your face. "Yeah. I just... It was a long night last night. Long night," you murmured, furrowing your eyebrows back at the lava. "When is Quackity visiting?"
"Soon," Sam responded, turning back to the switch board he was adjusting. He slid a cartridge in with a click, his eyes crinkling with a smile that was hidden by his mask. He slid the switchboard back into the obsidian wall and stood, handing you a key card. "There. You have a key to the main vault now, in case anything happens. Me and you are the only guards on duty right now, so if Technoblade tries to pull anything, you'll be able to get over there," Sam told you, watching you pocket the key card. "Most of Technoblade's strength lies in his weapons and armor, though - while he is strong, he can't strangle someone in full netherite with able weapons. You don't have any reason to worry, and I doubt anything will come of this. If anything, Quackity will get revenge on what Technoblade did to him."
You looked down at your hands, not realizing they had been trembling. You flexed them into fists for a moment, feeling your cheeks heat up before nodding. "Okay. Sorry."
Sam's black eyes crinkled again, his green tail swishing behind him. "Don't apologize. It's natural to be nervous. It's the same feeling I got every time someone visited him before this - this is just your first time experiencing it. You're okay. It'll be okay."
You were grateful for Sam and the relationship you developed with him. At first, he was a hardass guard that was intimidating and borderline rude to you. But, after working with him for around five months and getting to know him beyond Sam the Warden, you found out that he was sweet, a hard worker, and genuinely cared for and wanted to protect the people around him. You quickly became one of the people he looked out for - he would wait outside of the prison for you to arrive for your shifts, and he gave you time off whenever you asked because he knew how hard you worked. This job almost started to feel like a real job you liked, and not a job you had to do to pay off a debt you caused because you cheated.
You didn't regret cheating, though. Where would you be right now if you hadn't done it?
"It'll be okay," you echoed, returning a smile. The sound of a vault door opening behind you made you jump, your nerves already too high strung to handle a sudden noise.
You turned and watched Quackity step into the room, the purple armor he donned shimmering in the dark setting. It cast an ominous shadow onto Quackity's face that was slightly unnerving. You haven't seen Quackity like this for the past three months, and you weren't sure if you'd ever get used to the headspace he slipped into when he visited the prison. It was such a drastic shift from the Quackity you got used to. It was like he put on a mask whenever he stepped near Dream and Technoblade's shared vault.
Despite his hard attitude, he came up to you and gave your cheek a kiss. "If this is too much for you today, you don't have to watch. I don't want to put you in a position where you feel like you have to watch me do this. I'll be safe," he assured you, pulling away and looking down at you with a concerned gaze.
He was always so considerate with you. So considerate and thoughtful.
You shook your head. "No, Q, I'm gonna stay here with Sam and make sure you're safe. I would rather two guards be here than one if something happened, and if it gets too much for me, I can always just look away," you responded with a smile, reaching up to touch his cheek. Your thumb absentmindedly ran over the edge of his scar before you leaned up and gave him another kiss. "I love you. Stay safe and leave the cell if you feel you need to."
Quackity smiled back down at you for a second before turning to Sam and nodding, pulling the pick axe off of his back and giving it a confident spin. You couldn't help but smile at the action - it seemed he was going to give Technoblade a matching scar today.
"Bring down the lava, Sam."
Sam nodded and slid the key card in. A series of clicks were heard around the room, and the lava slowly began to drain.
-
Click click click click click click click.
Techno's ears perked as the clicks sounded around his and Dream's small cell. The clicks made the dog that sat beside them raise his head, but Dream still slept soundly against his arm. He didn't want to move too much so he didn't wake up his newly made friend. He was finally peacefully sleeping, and he wanted to stay that way for as long as possible.
In the months before Technoblade arrived, Dream had been roughed up pretty bad, and the sight wasn't pretty. He remembered the first time the lava enclosed him in his new cell and he was able to take in the severity of his wounds - an eye was bruised and swollen, his nose was broken, and there were slits across his shoulders, arms, legs, face, and any other exposed skin that Techno could see. He had lost weight, his hair had grown into a matted mess, and his voice was raspy and strained as he shouted for him to leave while he could.
In the months that followed, Techno helped Dream heal.
Now, Dream slept peacefully, the wounds on his arms having turned into scars, as his hair stayed long and brushed out. Technoblade would soothe him out of nightmares and would coax him to sleep when the prisoner was afraid that he would wake up to his captor holding an axe to his throat.
While they sat together in the prison, Techno always made sure to be near Dream, just in case he felt the pull of the ender pearl back in the Syndicate, he would be able to grab his fellow prisoner and bring him out.
Technoblade would be damned if he left the prison without Dream. He wouldn't wish this place on his worst enemy.
"Hey, Dream. Wake up. Wake up."
It took a couple minutes of nudging to get the prisoner to awake completely, and by the time Dream gained awareness of this situation, the lava was completely down, and Technoblade could see his captor being brought over the gap on the stone brick platform. Techno grabbed Dream's thin arm and pulled him up to his feet, giving his back a pat and murmuring - "Look alive, Sunshine."
Techno could feel Dream tense under his grip, and it made the piglin's heart quiver a little. Despite the fear that Techno could feel coming off of him in waves, Dream pushed Techno's hand off of him and straightened his torn prison issued jumpsuit.
Techno just reached out and held onto him again when Quackity stepped into Pandora's Box. This time, Dream let him.
The two prisoners stared at Quackity for a moment, and the gambler stared evenly back, his dead eye almost coming off as purple in the low light. The lava reflecting on him made him look sinister, and, for once, Technoblade felt the hairs rising on his arm from the mere sight of an opponent.
Quackity stepped forward, and then Techno was filled with the urge to shove him into the lava behind him.
Without thinking much of consequences - like usual - Techno lunged out and put his hand on Quackity's chest, going to harshly shove him back into the bubbling liquid while still holding onto Dream. He was quick to learn that Quackity was much stronger than when they had their fateful duel, and quickly faced the repercussions of his underestimation.
Somehow, him and Dream were separated, with Dream towards the corner and Techno on the floor beside the lava. Techno was breathless, too - whatever Quackity had done had knocked the breath out of him.
That was a first.
Techno laughed breathlessly as Quackity shouted at him and waved a pair of shears in his face. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back as he slowly began to regain his breath.
"That was worth an attempt," Technoblade laughed dryly, only to get a stinging slash to the face by the tool. He'd faced worse in his long life, but fuck, that fucking stung.
"What the fuck is wrong with you two?" Quackity shouted, brandishing his blood covered steel as he turned to face Dream, who was, quite literally, cowering in a corner. Quackity only laughed in disbelief and looked between the two prisoners, one winded and one cowerding. "Okay, okay, you know what? I was gonna ease into it! I was gonna ease into it, but now I'm not! Now I'm not gonna fucking ease into it! What the hell was that?!"
Technoblade just laughed a little bit and turned to put his bleeding cheek on the cool obsidian. He looked across the trench of lava and at the two guards standing at the opening - Sam had a drawn bow aimed at Technoblade, and the other was holding onto Sam's arm with their own sword drawn.
Dream saw the two guards at the same time.
"Why is he pointing a bow at us?"
Techno sat up and stood, wiping the blood that dripped down his cheek as Quackity turned to look at the warden. He watched as Quackity lifted a hand and pointed at him.
"Sam. Keep that on Techno. Keep him in check. Keep this fucking guy in check," Quackity spat, his brown eye glinting with fury before he turned and began to jab at Dream, who had stood and stepped close to him. "Dream, get the fuck back. Get the fuck back!"
After Dream stumbled back against the wall, there was a moment of tense silence as both prisoners were held frozen by two different weapons.
Quackity let out a low sigh and then lowered his sheers, bowing his head so he could pinch the bridge of his nose. There were another four seconds of silence before he straightened up and walked closer to Dream, opening the shears and putting them against his neck, pinning him to the obsidian wall behind him.
Techno wanted to knock him away, but that would promise an arrow in the back, so he could only stand there and helplessly watch his newfound friend get tortured.
Quackity began to talk, his voice low, as if he was whispering to Dream.
"This is what's going to happen, okay? And I don't know if you guys expected my visit today, but I'm gonna tell you what's gonna happen, Dream, okay? I am sick and tired of all these stupid ass prison- prison visits, okay? So I have... I have one thing, and I have one thing only."
"Why are you even here?" Techno interrupted, mainly because he couldn't stand this fucking guy.
Quackity looked back at him with annoyance and disbelief before shaking his head. "That's what I'm about to explain, Techno! So, allow me to explain-"
"Could you hurry up?" Techno interrupted again, a small smile curling on his lips and showing off his boarish tusks.
Quackity shot a look that proved the man was clearly off his rocker.
Techno laughed again and put his hands up to his shoulder mockingly. "Fine. I'll only stop because you have a sharp weapon," he chuckled a bit, making light of the situation and the tool in his hand despite the fact that his wound still stung like a bitch.
Quackity laughed in response, his laugh veiling anger. He pulled away from Dream and turned, waving his shears while Dream collapsed and coughed, massaging his irritated throat.
"Y'know what, Techno?" Quackity asked as he stepped forward, pointing the shears at Techno as he forced him back. "I would fucking appreciate it if you stood riiiiight over here. As far as possible. Got it?"
"Only cuz you have a sharp weapon," Techno quipped, and then sealed his lips when Quackity gave him yet another sharp glare.
Techno stood beyond the netherite block line and simply watched as Quackity stepped forward to Dream, who was still on the floor. Quackity crouched down in front of him and grabbed a fistful of Dream's starch white hair, yanking his head back to force the prisoner to look up. Techno bit onto his cheek when he saw the paper thin slits on his throat left by the shears, the only injury Dream has had since Techno arrived.
"I've been trying to get this fucking revival book for the longest time, Dream- and I think today's the day you're going to give it to me. And you wanna know why today's the day that you're gonna give it to me?" Quackity asked, his grip never loosening on Dream's hair, even as he trembled.
"You said you would stop coming after Technoblade got here," Dream whimpered, the pitiful sound slipping past his chapped lips.
Quackity laughed. "Yeah. And I did. Did I not?" Quackity asked, sarcasm dripping from his hushed and dangerous voice. There were a couple beats of silence before Quackity let go of Dream's hair and stood. He looked the prisoner up and down for a moment before shrugging and putting his shears away, this time pulling out his axe. Dream audibly paled at the weapon being drawn. Techno bit onto his cheek harder.
"It's been a while since I've come to visit you. You seem pretty unharmed. You seem alright so..." Quackity trailed off, flipping the handle of the heavy axe in his hand as he turned back to look at Techno and the Warden behind him. He shrugged yet again and turned back to Dream. "I kept my word, but now I'm back and... This should be the last time I come and visit you, so let me ask you something... Is today the day you're gonna give up the book? Is it gonna be the day?"
Techno could see tears gathering in Dream's emerald eyes.
"I- I've told you... again and again, I'm- I'm not giving you the book," Dream answered, his voice trembling as his eyes flickered between the torturer and his device.
Quackity fell silent, again. Much like Technoblade felt Dream's fear coming off in waves, he could feel Quackity's anger coming off him in angry pulses. The man looked down at his axe and at the light of the lava glinting from the dark purple blade before shrugging and turning around.
Before Technoblade knew it, there was a sharp pang in his stomach as Quackity hit him with the bottom of the axe's handle. The pain was sharp for a split second, but it was enough to make Techno double down and clutch at his gut. Techno felt Quackity dig his foot into his side, making him fall over onto his side with a grunt.
"A shame that the only person who can get you out is gonna die, Dream," Quackity said, his voice taunting as he dropped the axe and pulled out the shears again. Another slash was given to him, but this time it was down his face, the cut searing white hot. "Your only hope is trapped in here with you, and he's going to die right in front of your very eyes."
Technoblade reached up and wiped the blood off his face, inspecting it on the back of his hand for a second. He was almost sure that Quackity cut through his cheek - either that, or Techno had chewed a sizeable hole in it while watching Dream get tortured. He spit the blood out onto the obsidian with a small laugh, despite the severity of his situation.
"You played this really bad, Quackity... You're trying to kill someone who's best friends with a necromancer?"
That earned him a kick to the ribs.
Technoblade quickly learned that most of his strength came from his assets - without weapons or armor when his opponent obviously had the upper hand, he was an easy thing to beat.
Techno closed his eyes, trying to hide the fact that they were watering beyond control. He suddenly found that he had a newfound respect for Dream. This man had gone three months of enduring this and possibly worse, and yet he never gave up what he was defending.
He heard a quiet yelp from Dream, and then Quackity began to talk again.
"Dream, give me the revivebook. This is your last warning," Quackity threatened, the shwink of the axe being picked back up accompanying his words. "You don't want me to go after someone else after Techno. I think you know exactly who I'm talking about."
Dream's labored breaths filled the room before he whimpered yet again.
"If I give you the revival book, you kill me. Am I- If I give you the revival book, you might as well be killing me and Techno!"
Finding the strength in himself to stand, even with the stabbing pains in his ribs, Techno arose. "True, true! Where's our leverage after he gives you the book? You'd have- You'd just kill us instantly!" he pointed out, feeling the blood drip down his chin after he straightened up completely.
Dream nodded frantically, looking up at Quackity from his place on the floor. "The only- The only reason we're even in this prison is because I have the revival book! If I- If I give it up, then I'm dead, and he's probably dead," he pointed out, pointing at Techno with a shaky hand.
Quackity looked down at Dream, his grip on his shears tightening to the point to where his knuckles were white. There were a couple tense seconds before Quackity pocketed his shears and pulled out a weapon that was all too familiar.
"Well then, I guess we might just have to speed up the process," Quackity shrugged, flipping the blood stained iron pickaxe and turning to Technoblade with a sickening grin. "You remember this, Technoblade?"
Technoblade laughed, but this time, it was nervous. He raised his hands to his shoulders, but this time, it was to show that he wasn't a threat. "Now, we don't - we don't have to get THAT gruesome," he stammered as he backed up while Quackity pushed forward. He was only met with another chuckle and another flip of the weapon.
"You remember who gave me this scar, Technoblade?" Quackity asked rhetorically and gripped the pickaxe with both hands. He took another step towards Technoblade, his fingers on his handle adjusting his grip. He continued to walk until Technoblade felt the obsidian on his back.
Not only did he feel the obsidian.
He felt the slight pull of an ender pearl.
Fucking FINALLY.
His slight distraction was quickly interrupted when the pickaxe was raised above his head. Techno's bright eyes flicked up to the weapon, and the horrific realization came to him when he realized the stasis chamber might not be fast enough to avoid terrible maiming and possible death.
"I have a pickaxe, Technoblade," Quackity laughed, his laugh terrifying and maniacle, "And I'll put it THROUGH YOUR FUCKING TEETH!"
Techno barely dodged the pickaxe. The pull was stronger, and he only had to evade the blade for a few more seconds. Unfortunately, he was slightly too slow, and the pickaxe ripped a slash through his shoulder. Despite the searing pain, Techno was able to keep his mind clear enough to focus on his end goal.
Get Dream OUT.
Techno dodged yet another slash and nearly threw himself at the other fragile prisoner. He heard a shout of pained protest, but then he gripped onto Dream's arms as tight as he could, and before the pickaxe could impale both of them, they disappeared from the cell with a pop of displaced air.
-
You stood in stunned silence beside the warden, your eyes wide and jaw dropped as the two most high security prisoners disappeared in front of your very eyes.
You couldn't see Quackity's face. He had his back turned to you two as he stared at where Technoblade and Dream had been mere seconds ago. His shoulders rose up and down with heavy breathing - either from adrenaline or anger - and he gripped his pickaxe so tightly that you were afraid he would snap the handle.
He stood there for a few seconds before he looked over his shoulder, making eye contact with you.
Quackity's eye was bright and narrowed with pure fury.
Shit.