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purpled (@burpled)
@bloodgodtechno morning! beat nolife's record yet? :))
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The grip on his phone tightened and it felt like he would crush the device in his fist. He gnawed on his lower lip angrily, his teeth digging into the flesh and nearly drawing blood. "Little shit," muttered Techno, running his free hand through his pink locks. It wasn't like he could try to beat this record either- the orphanages around the country were either guarded so heavily that even he couldn't break through or they were destroyed. He strolled through the abandoned streets of a countryside town that he'd come across with a black backpack lined with pink. Even for someone like Techno, the area was chilling. Bugs crawled through the cracked roofs and walls of the houses and the glass of the windows was broken through. Rowdy graffiti layered over the buildings and garbage littered the roads.
Techno had come to this lonely town at first just to visit. It was one of the few places he could walk around in without the fear of being found. After all, he really couldn't pace the streets of Los Angeles anymore, could he? This was a good substitute, as dauntingly creepy as it was. He could almost feel the chills of any ghosts that wandered the town.
An audible crunch sounded under his feet. Techno looked down at his boots and to his surprise saw a newspaper. In this time and age? A newspaper? Out of curiosity, he stepped aside and reached down, picking it up gingerly. It dated a couple of years back and wasn't a newspaper originating from a small town like this. No, it was one from the cities. The newspaper name was faded out, the ink simply little scratches, but the end of the headline stood boldly against the yellowed paper. 'Girl Goes Missing After the Death of Ender Attack'.
Techno's heard of the Ender Attack. It happened when he was in school. He remembered it clear as day, it was the talk of the city for a few days and remained as a story that parents told their kids. Many people had gone missing in the few days the villain of the attack reigned before his death, yet reappeared with no problem mere hours after they had been reported missing with no memory of where they were taken. He never bothered to look into it but he once knew a few people who had tried to do research papers on the incidents and had little luck whatsoever. It was quite a peculiar event.
Techno tossed the paper aside, watching for a few seconds as it flew into the wind and then continued on his walk. It would do him no benefit to research about it now. His school days were over for good and it was more beneficial to push away everything related to school.
His mind shifted to the topic of NOLIFE, or what Purpled had referred to the group of idiots trying to dethrone him as. Techno felt his lip twitch upwards all of a sudden- what? Did he find the group funny in their attempts? Probably. Definitely. His face forced into a scowl (that's more like it) and he kept walking. Who did they think they were, doing the same things he did, acting like they had a right to Techno's trademark? They were exactly like the stupid fans of Techno's, the ones that caused their own downfall by following him like puppies. A metal taste filled his mouth and he realized that he was chewing on his bottom lip so harshly that it drew blood. The ache fell away when he moved his teeth but the taste didn't shake.
A rather large beetle crawled across the road in front of him, a black spot scurrying across the pavement that caught Techno's attention. He crouched down, watching it run from one side to the other.
He blinked, and the beetle was weakly wiggling its little thin legs. He had a stick in one clutched in his fist and it was very obvious to him what had happened. "Heh," Techno snickered to himself, raising the stick again and driving it into the struggling bug again, putting it out of its misery with one quick and accurate jab. His gaze lingered on the carcass before he stood up again, dropping the stick and letting it clatter to the earthy ground.
Was he pissed that the record was broken by someone who wasn't himself? Yes, yes he was. His pride wouldn't allow it. The bag on his back felt a little heavier as if his trusty sword was upset at Techno for betraying it with a stick. His brain was wild, wasn't it? When he stood himself up once again, the extra weight had vanished. It was definitely just his mind tricking him into feeling things he wasn't supposed to feel. His imagination had been fucking with him for the past few days. Every strange emotion he felt he pushed away, which turned out to be a good strategy because he forgets they exist until they resurface once more. Techno doesn't know if this is the right way to handle things, but he doesn't care. It certainly was the most appealing option.
———
Technoblade (@bloodgodtechno)
@burpled so cocky, arent you? dyou act this way in real life too? maybe we should find out.
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When Purpled enters the warehouse again, he hears hushed talking. Not the cheerful talking he hears whenever Sammy and Deo play each other in low-quality mobile games, or when Eighty is showing off his quirk again. Instead, it's angry with the most prominent voices being Eighty's and Deo's. They're arguing, it's clearer than ever. Purpled rolls his eyes because they couldn't go a week without Eighty and Deo getting into some kind of petty banter (for the adults of the group, they sure acted childishly). As he moves closer, the words grow clearer and he can actually hear the sentences
"...just children, we can't let them go alone..."
"...even if they are children, they're experienced children, they're not going to die..."
With a pang, Purpled realizes they're talking about him. Him and Sammy. He feels himself walk towards the voices, limiting the noise from his footsteps as much as he could.
"But they might," said Eighty sternly. There are two thuds on the ground following his words, as if he was stomping his feet indignantly. "Look, I trust you, both you and I know that but I'm not letting them fight Technoblade, the most infamous terrorist America has seen in decades, on their own!" There's a pause for him to take a breath. "They can't take him. We either go together as four, or we don't go at all."
Purpled's lip curls. Eighty thinks that he and Sammy can't take on Technoblade? Does Eighty know how much Purpled and Sammy practiced together? The two knew each other's every thought and move and even Techno wouldn't be able to take a two versus one against actual competent opponents. Sure, he's taken on up to ten before, but against low ranked heroes that didn't know what they were doing. Purpled knows he and Sammy were above that.
"And what," Deo argues. "you think the government is going to look at the fight and think, 'huh, I guess we'll just let them battle it out?' Hell no! They'll intervene and as terrible as the heroes and police are, they're not entirely useless,"
He stops himself. "Okay, yes, they're entirely useless," Deo corrects himself before continuing. "But they have access to technology we don't have access to. It doesn't matter if we send one or go as four, they'll meet us with even more numbers, plus there's Techno-"
"If you think," Eighty starts shakily. "that we're going to send Purpled and Sammy off to fight like disposable troops-"
"I'm not saying that! But if there's less of us, there's more chance of us being caught if we all go together! They'll pick us off before we had a chance to get away, and Techno will get off scot-free because he doesn't have to worry about his friends being caught, he can just run."
There's a long pause following this. Purpled can practically feel the thinking on both sides. For a few hopeful moments, he thinks Eighty might actually be convinced, but he's proved wrong.
"No."
Purpled can tell Deo was as shocked as he was. "...what?"
"No, no!" Eighty repeats firmly. "I don't care what you have to say, I don't care what your bullshit reasoning is, but my answer is no. Those two are not going alone, either we all go together or we don't go at all. That is final."
There's footsteps that go from loud to faded, then finally gone completely. One of the two had walked away, and it was pretty obvious who. Deo lets out an exasperated sigh before treading away too, and Purpled was left alone in the area. He didn't know where Sammy was (probably taking a nap) so he couldn't spill out everything he heard just yet. He's just left to think. Annoyedly.
After all, Purpled knows he's not weak. Sammy isn't either. There isn't a single one out of the four of them that's weak and he's sure of that. Did Eighty think he was weak? Did the countless duels not prove him wrong? It's not like Purpled relies on brute strength too. He didn't want to come off as cocky, but he wouldn't call himself stupid either. What did Eighty expect him to do, run in front of rain of quirk-cancelling bullets? Lunge straight for Techno without any prior thinking of the other's counters?
After all these years, did Eighty not trust in his abilities?
He feels a buzz in his jean pocket and reaches straight for it, pulling out his phone. Techno's replied to his tweet. With a little smirk, he begins typing out a response, as he always did.
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purpled (@burpled)
im up for it
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There. Sammy could help him find some way to get a location through to Techno without the authorities finding out. He knows that once the others find out (more specifically Eighty), he'll get chewed out for not consulting them before sending such a dangerous message out. When the day comes, Purpled would bring Sammy and defeat Technoblade once and for all. NOLIFE would become the most feared name in the country, and Eighty would trust his abilities again.
He smiled at the thought. It was too good to be true.
The fanart in this chapter is made by the ever-so-talented @beecuzscience on Twitter! Please go check them out :)