Trigger Warning: Violence, Gore, Mentions of Death, Mentions of Abuse, Mentions of Trauma
“Hello! How may I help you boys?” Niki smiled at the two men who had appeared at her doorstep. The shorter of the two had dark brown hair and different colored eyes, one red and one grey, and the larger one wore a black mask and hood that made it impossible to see his features. Some may assume that one who would hide his face must be a criminal, but Niki knew better. A criminal on the run would never draw that much attention to himself. He would only wear a mask like that if he was currently stealing or killing people, and, well, most criminals would not go out of their way to rob a small farm. No, based on the two’s weapons, they were either mercenaries or bounty hunters, none of which Niki wanted at her farm. Of course, they had seen the two before Niki allowed herself to speak with them. All the farmhands had gone into a hidden basement in the barn, which used a trapdoor in the floor as an entrance. The only one who remained working in the field was Tubbo, so as to not draw suspicion. Niki could easily claim that she had a few others who went to town. This wasn’t the first time people had come here, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. She knew what she was doing.
“Are you the owner of this farm?” Eryn questioned. “Yes, I am. Do you need anything?” Niki continued to smile cheerfully. “One of your farmhands has been stealing chickens from a lady in Jamuran. Young fox animorph. He claimed he used to live here with his uncle and brother,” Eryn explained. Niki hadn’t wanted to send Fundy off. Not because she’d be missing a farmhand, people came and went all the time after all. She didn’t want to for precisely the thing they had just said. She was worried he’d give away information, whether he meant to or not.
Niki frowned, “That boy doesn’t work for me anymore. His endeavors are not my problem.” Mercenaries and bounty hunters wouldn’t care about some kid stealing chickens. They knew about someone here, maybe multiple people, but who? And why were there two of them? Bounty hunters never came in pairs. Neither did mercenaries, though she had started to assume that this wasn’t the case.
“The lady insisted that we come and inform you,” Eryn lied. Techno scanned the area, looking for any signs of life other than the cows and sheep in the distance, “This is a nice farm you have here. May I ask where the farmhands are?” “I don’t have very many. It’s a small farm. One of them is feeding the horses, but the others have gone out to buy a couple of things.” Niki hesitated, “I don’t believe I got your names.” “We didn’t give them,” Techno shrugged. Niki took a small step backwards, “I think it’s time you boys leave. You’ve gotten what you wanted.” “Can I do it the impatient way?” Eryn asked Techno sarcastically. He had not been happy with him after what he did to Fundy. “Yeah, go on,” Techno shrugged. Eryn swiftly pulled Niki’s arms behind her back and put a knife to her throat, “Where’s Tom-” Niki threw her leg backwards into Eryn’s shin and ripped the knife out of his hand. She rushed for Techno, but he quickly jumped to the side. The knife managed to graze his shoulder. “Shit,” Eryn mumbled, backing away. Techno landed a roundhouse on Niki’s side, causing her to lose her balance. He punched her face. She grunted and attempted to jab the knife into his chest, but Techno grabbed the knife by the blade before it hit him. Blood dripped to the floor. “TUBBO!” Niki screamed. Eryn watched as a boy with long dark hair ran out of the barn. “Stop!” Eryn warned him. “You can’t win. You’ve already angered him. Tubbo didn’t listen to him. Eryn rolled his eyes and jumped in front of Tubbo, stopping him in his tracks, “Stay back or he’ll kill both of you! He can’t stop himself!” “What the hell does that mean?” Tubbo shouted angrily, attempting to shove Eryn out of the way. Eryn held his ground, “Biology and crap. I don’t know! Just if someone hurts him, he kills them.” Tubbo looked over Eryn’s shoulder. Part of Techno’s mask had fallen a bit. “Holy-” Tubbo ran off. Eryn turned back around. Niki was bleeding. She was no longer trying to fight back, just avoiding Techno’s attacks.
Niki held her own for a while. Eryn sighed when Techno had finally pinned her. He held up the knife, but it never came down. It actually went up, Techno going with it. A winged boy was holding Techno by the armpits up in the air. Techno struggled to get back to Niki, but to no avail. He didn’t seem to have any intentions of hurting the boy. “Tommy?” Eryn called out in question. “Techno, stop it!” The boy commanded. It was definitely Tommy. Tommy shot himself higher into the air. Techno had told Eryn that Phil had done that to get him to calm down. It apparently tended to work.
Tubbo was at Niki’s side, and so was another man. Tall, with half white skin and half black. He was a hybrid of somesorts, but Eryn couldn’t tell what.
Eryn walked over to the three. Niki was conscious. She had a stab wound in her left shoulder and cuts and bruises in multiple other places on her body. “I’ll go get some bandages,” the hybrid announced, standing to his feet and jogging for the house. “Would he really not have stopped until I was dead?” Niki mumbled. “Nope,” Eryn shook his head. “He would kill someone who so much as bumped into him, and there’s not much you can do about it.” “I still never got your name.” Eryn smiled, “It’s Eryn. That piglin up there is Techno. I’m assuming you two are Niki and Tubbo? Fundy mentioned you guys.” Tubbo’s eyes lit up, “Is he alright?” “Yeah, he seems fine. He’s certainly something. Likes to take advantage of his fox form.” “What’s that mean?” Tubbo questioned. “He’s a bit of a thief. Liar too.” Tubbo frowned, but Niki chuckled, “What else would you expect from a kid growing up here?” “Well as long as he doesn’t turn out like his father then it’s fine by me,” Tubbo decided. “Wilbur?” Eryn asked. “Stepfather,” Tubbo corrected himself. “My father.” “This is a weird family tree,” Eryn mumbled.
Ranboo and Tommy arrived at the same time. Ranboo swiftly began to wrap the stab wound to stop the bleeding along with any of the other worse parts. Tommy dropped Techno, who took off his mask. The two faced each other. “How are you alive?” Tommy’s voice trembled. “I’m an innocent man,” Techno shrugged. “Right, you three help me inside and give them a moment alone,” Niki commanded. Ranboo and Tubbo helped Niki to her feet while Eryn held the door open for them before going inside.
“It’s really you? You are Techno, right? This isn’t some prank?” Tommy reached to touch Techno, but stopped himself. “Yeah, it’s me,” Techno replied softly. “How long have you been here?” “I came here only a couple days after we split up.” Tommy choked on his words. Tears began to form in his eyes. He wouldn’t make eye contact with Techno. “Oh Tommy,” Techno squeezed Tommy into a hug. Tommy cried into Techno’s shoulder, muffling his quiet wails of both grief and joy. Techno slowly lowered himself to his knees, with Tommy following his every move. Tommy soon cried himself to sleep.
Techno kicked at the door until Tubbo finally opened it, allowing him to carry Tommy inside. He laid him gently on the armchair before plopping himself on the ground. “Techno, this is Niki, Tubbo, and Ranboo. There are a couple other people around here, but they aren’t very social,” Eryn explained. “Right. Sorry about earlier,” Techno turned to Niki. “You’re fine. I’ve had worse injuries,” Niki reassured him. “How long do you plan on staying?” Tubbo asked. “The three of us are leaving as soon as Tommy wakes up. We wouldn’t want to be a bother,” Techno responded. “Three?” Tubbo interrogated. “Me, Eryn, and Tommy.” “Who said Tommy’s going with you? What if he wants to stay here?” Tubbo sounded angry. It was clear that he didn’t want Tommy to leave. “Because I’m his brother, and he belongs with me. Not some rundown farm in the middle of nowhere.” Techno knew at the mention of Wilbur’s life, Tommy would easily join them. It was just getting Tubbo to allow him to go. “You abandoned him for five years while I’ve been here taking care of him and making sure he doesn’t do anything irrational. Why would he go with you?” Tubbo raised his voice. Niki and Ranboo said nothing. They had no opinion on the matter. They never expected Tommy to stay forever, and recently he was becoming more trouble than it was worth to keep it around.
“Abandoned? You think I fucking abandoned him? I sacrificed my life to make sure he stayed alive. I became a slave to make sure he could get away. I don’t know what the hell you think happened, but I did not abandon my brother.” “We don’t know what happened. Tommy hardly ever even mentioned you guys, and he gets upset anytime one of us brings it up,” Ranboo spoke up. “The only person he ever brought up was Wilbur. He used to go to town every time Niki went to make sure his poster was still up.” “He was upset because he thought something happened to me. Not because I treated him poorly,” Techno shook his head with frustration. Everyone sat in an awkward silence. It didn’t take long for Tubbo to storm out of the house with no warning. Eryn soon followed after him.
“Why are you following me?” Tubbo turned around when he reached the barn. “Fundy said that you were scared of Tommy. Why?” All Eryn had heard about Tommy were things from Techno’s childhood, and he didn’t sound like the type of person that would make you send a child to go live on his own. “I wouldn’t have sent him away if I didn’t have to,” Tubbo responded vaguely. “Why don’t you like your father?” Eryn questioned. “Why is that any of your business?” Tubbo asked impatiently. “Most people I come across are easy to read. They’re mundane. I’ve met two interesting people in my life. One is Techno. That’s why I originally got close to him. He was different. I wanted to talk to him and learn more about him. You, my friend, are the second.” “You must not get out much.” “Quite the opposite. I get out too much. I’ve been a mercenary since I was ten. My father dragged me into the job after my mother died. I’ve met enough people to realize they’re all the same. They just want money. Love. Fame. Humanity sucks, and that’s the gist of it.” Eryn crossed his arms, staring at Tubbo, who refused to make eye contact. Tubbo let out a sigh and lifted up his bangs, revealing multiple scars on his head. “Ah, abuse. I see.” “So what about your father? When’d you leave him?” Tubbo put his arm down. “He didn’t work for the right people. Ended up with a decent sized bounty on his head, that fool,” Eryn explained. “So he got caught?” Tubbo looked up at Eryn. Eryn chuckled, “I turned that idiot in.” “You turned your own father in?” “I didn’t care about him and he didn’t care about me. That money was the most use he ever brought me,” Eryn shrugged. “Oh.” Tubbo looked back down. “Oh, don’t be so down in the dumps. We just had a really bonding moment there! Both our fathers suck!” Tubbo couldn’t help but smile a bit. “Do you mind telling me what’s up with Tommy now?” “Right,” Tubbo sighed. “So for a bit over two years now, Tommy’s been showing some abnormal qualities that he didn’t have before.” “Qualities?” Eryn questioned. “Yeah. An increased amount of strength and speed. Even his senses seem heightened,” Tubbo went on. “Are you sure you aren’t imagining this?” Eryn asked skeptically. Tubbo shook his head, “I thought so originally too, until I realized that he hasn’t eaten since the abilities showed up and he doesn’t seem bothered by it at all. And the only other person other than himself who doesn’t seem concerned about it is Ranboo.”
Hmmmmm… I hope you enjoyed part 15! If you have any questions or want to be pinged tell me in the comments!
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