"The doctors said you only have about.. eight hours, Alex."
"I-I see. I have to write the script. Dad?"
"Yeah?"
"Can you, say it.. in place of me"
"Alex, you.. you don't have to you know."
Alex's dad knelt by his bedside. He stared at his pale son. Alex was skin and bones by now, the cancer had worsened. Yet, he still had that gaze of someone not yet done. A warrior not yet completed his mission, a King not yet done guiding his people.
"You've done so much, for so many people Alex. You.. you can rest if you want. You can stop."
Tears slowly streamed from Alex's father's face. Alex's mouth formed a small smile.
"I know Dad, I know."
Alex breathed.
"But I need to do this. I don't think I'll rest well without doing this."
A moment of silence. Alex's dad got up.
"I.. I understand. I can help you say it. I'll leave you to it."
The door closed. Alex sighed and looked out the window. The sun was slowly sinking behind the clouds, forming a beautiful sight of orange and yellow.
"Alex."
Alex turned to the chair by his bed. There sat a pretty man, with fair hair and long pink hair spread across his shoulders. He was dressed in an ordinary white tunic and long brown pants. He donned a pig mask and an axe lay by his side.
"Technoblade."
Technoblade sat forward.
"You don't have long, you know."
"I know." Alex sighed once again. He straightened his glasses and stared at the laptop in front of him.
"Remember when we first met, Alex?"
"I do. That was a long time ago."
The very first time they met, was shocking, literally. The spirit of the King, Technoblade had spooked the hell out of Alex. To be fair, who would expect a spirit to just suddenly appear? The funny thing was that Technoblade could only appear in the form of a small pig with a crown and robe at that time. It was said that as Alex grew, Technoblade would grow too.
"You remember dominating in Blitz?"
Alex let out a weak laugh.
"That was a time, you grew into a normal-sized pig during that."
"Please, I don't want to remember those horrific ages of being a pig."
Technoblade continued.
"Then it was Skywars, and what, Bedwars?"
Alex nodded.
"The amount of those games you uploaded racked up to hundreds, huh."
Alex smiled.
"Yea, it was a fun time."
Technoblade brushed his hair and fidgeted around. Alex looked at him.
"You've grown a lot since then, Technoblade."
"So have you."
Alex laughed.
"Not much has changed, really. I'm still the same, normal man I've always been. I wouldn't have amounted to much if I didn't meet you."
Technoblade sighed,
"You underestimate yourself too much."
He got up.
"Alex, you're no normal man."
"As far as I know, I don't have any powers." Alex joked.
"You have the power of the heart."
Technoblade turned to face Alex.
"The human body is made up of many things, Alex, literally and metaphorically. You can do things to change of course, like exercising. Though you may not have an impressive physique, Alex, you have a heart."
Technoblade walked to the window.
"The biggest heart there is."
He once again looked back at Alex.
"I've lived for a very long time, Alex. Even after my inevitable passing, I somehow found you. I existed in you, I was a part of you. Not once in this very long life I've had, have I seen someone with a heart as big as yours. Your heart is what made you, Alex, you. Everyone who truly knows you know you not for your victories in battle, or the achievements that you've made. They know you for having the heart to fill a room, a server, a call. You have the most special gift of them all, to be able to make everybody smile."
Technoblade smiled.
"I've been a part of your journey, Alex, I've seen you. Even in the worst of times, you seem to never stop caring for others and making others happy. I was a king, a rather cold one, in fact. I thought I saw all. Being with you for the past 23 years, made me see more. That I was wrong, and that there was someone better than me. Alex, you, are greater than me."
A tear started forming in Technoblade's eye.
"The greatest person need not be the strongest or the ablest. Anyone can be great, but the sole answer to being the greatest lies in their heart, Alex. To help, forgive, and give without question, made you the greatest of them all. You could never seem to do it, Alex, to stop. I've watched you make others laugh with your wit, I've watched you care albeit sacrifice. As long as it could make someone else's day, you would do it."
Technoblade smiled.
"You, my friend, my journey partner, are the greatest person I've ever known and met."
Tears had already started falling down Alex's cheeks, yet he smiled. He smiled as hard as he could. The room seemed to brighten as he adjusted himself on his bed.
"That was.. a speech."
Technoblade laughed a little.
"I've never really thought much about helping, you know. It's just an option, a route that I chose to take at every single turn, at every crossroads. I guess you could say it was my goal. To be able to make other people's day, even if it was just a little. I liked seeing their smiles, my heart seemed to feel their happiness. But, up till the end, I guess I'm still human, and I got diagnosed with cancer."
Alex let out a shaky breath.
"I- I'll miss this, you know. Talking to you, waking up every day, tasting food, playing with Floof. I'll miss all of that. Being able to play games with my friends..."
Alex's voice trailed off.
"Alex?"
Tears ran down his face more fiercely than before.
"Oh, my friends... I- I'll miss them, I'll miss them so much. I want to talk to them again, I want to play games and I want to laugh, eat, and chat with them. I miss them. Tommy, Nikki, Wilbur, Phil... oh Phil."
Memories flew back to Alex like the gust of wind carrying leaves. Minecraft Monday, MCC, DreamSMP. Tears continued running as Alex hugged his legs.
"I'll miss them."
Technoblade walked over to his side and patted his back.
"There there."
The eyeholes of his mask seemed to shape into a look of someone also about to cry.
"It's alright to cry. It's alright to want something, it's alright to miss something. No man is without his partners, no man is made without his friends."
Alex rubbed the tears away.
"You always had a way with words, Techno."
"I could say the same about you."
Alex breathed.
"I guess... every journey needs to end."
"That is what makes a journey, one."
"But still, f*ck cancer, yeah?"
Technoblade laughed.
"Yeah."
Alex stared out the window once again.
"I guess, ours here is about to end."
Technoblade stayed silent.
"It's okay. I had a happy time. Being part of you was the happiest I've ever been."
Technoblade nodded.
"It goes the same for me."
Alex nodded back.
"Hey Techno?"
"Yeah?"
"Why can't we take on the kingdom of God?"
"...weren't you an atheist?"
"Well yes, but hypothetically speaking if there was a god.."
Technoblade sighed.
"I myself do not know."
"Then we'll have to find out."
"You and your wit.."
Alex smiled. He stared back at his laptop.
"I think I can begin writing this now."
"I believe you can, Alex."
Alex looked back for what could possibly be the last time he would ever be seeing Technoblade again, once he was done.
"It's been fun."
Techno grinned.
"Same here."
Alex looked back at the laptop, as Technoblade once again took a seat by his side. He took a breath and reached for the keyboard.
End.
(Before anyone asks. I'm not coming back to write or update any of my previous works. Yesterday, Technoblade, one of my favourite YouTubers, died. I can't seem to find any closure on his death other than writing this, which I'm not sure will give me the closure I need but still. This is a farewell tribute to him. Even in the process of treatment he still kept going, raising funds for charity and making people laugh and smile. This is my token of gratitude and a nod to him. He deserves to be looked up to and remembered. This is my goodbye to him.)