Techno led a dazed and bloodstained Nessa back to Pogtopia, keeping an arm around her waist, in fear she would collapse if she was to walk alone.
The moment they arrived in Pogtopia, they were being interrogated by Tommy and Niki, both of them were furious at the warriors.
Unfortunately for Techno, Nessa was still in a state of shock, leaving him to defend the two of them, on his own.
"YOU KILLED HIM, TECHNO! WHY DID YOU LISTEN TO SCHLATT?!" Tommy bellowed, furious he had to watch his friend die infront of him again.
It had brought him back to the final control room, where he first saw the light leave the other boys eyes.
Tommy never wanted to see that again.
"I was in a very high pressure situation, Tommy! What did you expect me to do?!" Techno said back, his voice slightly raised as he defended himself.
No one noticed the gleam in Wilbur's eyes when the teenager argued with the God.
"Why don't you fight it out?" Wilbur said.
He was craving some control, after loosing the button today he needed to be in charge of the situation, so he chose to manipulate Tommy's anger in a way that entertained him, to prove to himself that he was still in control.
"What?"
"Heh?"
Sounds of confusion came from Tommy and Techno, their faces displaying their emotions clearly.
"C'mon, Fight! Tommy, Tommy think of what he did to Tubbo, he killed him without mercy right infront of you!" Wilbur said, his frantic voice matching his eyes.
Tommy's face fell blank as he turned back to Techno, his voice eerily calm when he spoke again.
"Why did you kill him Technoblade?"
Blood for the blood god
Kill the child
Orphan obliterator
Spear him with a trident
Permanently silence him
Blood for the blood god
'the voices' Technoblade wanted to say. He wanted to explain, that it wasn't just the people they could see that were pressuring him. It was the voices, it always had been, and it always would be.
"I was in a high pressure situation Tommy, there was like twenty guys there, who would have jumped me if I didn't" Techno explained his voice tense as the voices screamed in the background, a constant unwanted symphony in his head, a melody he would live and die to.
"Tubbo, how do you feel about this? Do you forgive Technoblade? I know I do!" Wilbur said, giggling manically as he finished his sentence.
Tubbo started explaining his stance on his public execution, which inevitably ended with his forgiving his killer.
Tommy wasn't pleased with that, turning to his friend, gently shaking his shoulders.
"Tubbo, he killed you!" Tommy said, disbelief and confusion lacing his tone.
"I know, but he was under a lot of pressure" Tubbo explained in the tone of voice he reserved only for Tommy.
"Tubbo, rile him up! I don't know about you, but I want to see them fight" Wilbur said, trying to instigate a fight Tommy would lose.
"Tommy, if you want to settle this in the pit with Technoblade you can, but I forgive him" Tubbo said, taking his usual neutral stance.
"Techno... You killed my best friend" Tommy started, in a dark tone.
"I think you should fight in the pit" Wilbur interjected, not even bothering to hide the insane grin on his face.
So they did.
Next thing Techno knows, Niki and Tubbo are pulling him away from a bloody, bruised and unconscious Tommy.
He lost control again... For the second time that day, he let the voices win.
He looked around the ravine, as Tubbo and Niki took Tommy away to heal his wounds in his room.
His eyes soon fell upon Nessa, who was sitting motionlessly, staring past him to one of the stone walls.
She was still covered in the blood of innocence, her hair was a tangled bloodied mess, and her already red dress was now a darker shade of crimson.
"Come on" Techno sighed, walking towards her.
She continued to stare blankly, giving no sign that she had heard him.
"Nessa? Come on, you have to get cleaned up" Techno said gently, so he didn't scare her.
Her eyes flickered over to him, an empty look had replaced her usual teasing glint.
He found he missed it.
"Do you need any help?" Techno questioned, already regretting asking.
She wouldn't make eye contact with him, so she stared at the scar running across his jaw, slightly nodding her head.
With a sigh Techno walked closer to her.
"Can you stand?"
Her response was a feeble attempt at standing, only for her legs to cave when their shaking became too much.
Without another word, Techno slung her arm over his broad shoulders and picked her legs up.
He began the climb upstairs, which was much more difficult than usual with the six foot, muscular woman in his arms.
With her face buried in the fur of his red cape, the only indication that they were outside was the cold wind that breezed over them, as if it was greeting them as old friends.
Making his way towards the river, Techno set her down on the riverbank.
Slowly sliding herself into the cold water, she started washing off the crimson fluid she was drenched in, with shaking hands.
Techno noticed how she was struggling to cup the water in her shaking hands, and made his way to sit behind her.
"Is this okay?" Techno asked, noticing how she had tensed up as he say behind her.
With a barely noticeable nod of her head, he started cupping water in his large hands, bringing it towards her head.
"What happened today?" They asked eachother, perfectly in synch.
"I was under a lot of pressure... So I snapped" Techno said.
"Bullshit"
"What?" Techno asked, slightly taken aback at her harsh reaction.
"We both know we could have easily taken them all out, before they could draw their swords. So, what happened" She said firmly, unaware of the warmth that had gathered in Techno's cheeks, when she had said she would have been by his side. She would have fought by his side.
"It wasn't just the people you could see that were pressuring me" Techno said.
"What do you mean?"
Don't tell her
We can trust her
One of us?
Don't do it
Drown her
Blood for the blood god
"I hear voices" Techno breathed, so softly, she wouldn't have heard him, had she not been sitting so close.
She froze.
He had to be lying, she had never met anyone like her before, she had always been alone in the company of her head.
As they sat, Techno washing her hair, Nessa getting lost in her head, Techno noticed something weird.
The water coming from her hair was no longer stained a light red, it was now running a dark black colour.
Confused he continued washing her hair.
Only to notice...
Her roots were pink
----------------
AN-
Hey kiddos
Sooo, boom, plot twist!
MCC tomorrow!!