Chapter Text
The rhythmic beating of heart monitors, hurried orders between doctors, silent prayers from worried friends and family.
This was the sight Philza and Techno were greeted with. It wasn't something they were unfamiliar with, though. They've both seen their troops in similar conditions. Once, Philza even refused to leave Techno's bedside until he woke up after he took an explosion meant for him. But even then, they were helpless to do anything but hope and pray.
And that's exactly what Philza did, offering a silent prayer to Kristen, begging her not to take these poor souls before their time.
Techno gently tapped his friend's shoulder. "C’mon Phil, let's find the person in charge."
It didn't take much time for them to find who they were looking for—Head nurse Hannah. The one who personally patched Techno up, and the one who kept Philza company in the long nights he spent next to Techno.
"Commander, General! Uh, what brings you here? Are you guys hurt? Does someone need medical attention?" Hannah asked, her voice full of compassion and worry.
"No, nothing like that Hannah, we won't take up much of your time. We were wondering if you could let us take a look at the transport list? We have some children we'd like to get out of this area as soon as possible."
"Children...of course! But, as much as I'd love to, it's not for me to decide. It's up to him." Hannah said with disdain, completely opposite of her previously kind tone.
The two turned and saw who Hannah was pointing at. It was a man in a suit, standing apart from the rest of the white-clothed medics. Spotless shoes and clothing amid blood-stained floors, with an extremely punchable expression on his face that just screamed, "I'm above all of this!"
"That...argh. He's a representative from the hospital everyone is being sent to. He gets to decide who goes, and who stays. But all he cares about is 'Who can pay for our services?', so he's only choosing the people that look well-off. That doesn't even make sense, since the government's covering all expenses, but he just won't listen! To top it off, he's a prejudiced-"
Hannah cut herself off before she could finish. "I'm sorry, sirs...just thinking of how people can forsake the lives of people just for the sake of greed...it makes my blood boil."
"Don't worry, I feel the same. Let me have a word with him." Techno's voice was calm, too calm, and his eyes betrayed him.
They were blood red.
Techno approached the man, who raised an eyebrow at him.
"You, give me full access to the hospital transport list."
The man scoffed. "Excuse me? Who are you to tell me-"
Crack. The man couldn't even finish his sentence before Techno's fist connected with his face, making him fall to the ground in pain, blood spewing out from his nose.
"General Technoblade. By going against my orders, you, by extension, are going against your nation. Now, do not make me repeat myself." The voices rejoiced in the blood spilt, egging on Techno to further brutalize this man. Techno really wanted to, but he had to fight hard not to comply.
He quickly handed over his tablet, hands trembling, before scurrying away like the rat he was. It contained all the details of who were chosen for "urgent" transport.
"That was amazing, sir!"
"Please, you saved my life. Call me Techno. I trust you with this Hannah. Sort out the people that actually need real care, then the children and women."
"Definitely! But let me put the names of those children you mentioned."
Once Hannah noted the names of Tommy, Tubbo, and Ranboo, she hurried off to confer with the other medics on who to move.
"Ruthless as ever, Blade," Philza remarked.
"Heh, like you wouldn't have ripped him to pieces yourself."
Phil rolled his eyes. "True."
The duo let out a sigh of relief as they saw some of the beds with severely injured patients being moved out, along with some of the children and their mothers being led to the transports. They moved to find Tubbo, wanting to check up on him.
They asked one of the hurrying doctors, and figured out where Tubbo was. He was in a makeshift "room" with curtains draped around it. Phil gently pushed the curtains open, and their hearts were absolutely crushed when they saw him. Puffy barely even began to describe how bad his injuries were.
But most jarring to Philza, were the horns protruding at the top of his head. Not the fact of the existence of the horns themselves, but the similarity to those that President Schlatt has. Or...more accurately, HAD. But nobody else knew Schlatt wasn't a full human.
Phil found it out purely by coincidence. 8 years ago, when he was a mere sergeant. He was the appointed bodyguard for Schlatt for that day, roughly a week before his election campaign, and he stormed into his room after hearing pained groans.
He saw Schlatt cutting his own horns off.
He swore him to secrecy, and in return promised to give Philza much more leniency if he was elected, hence why he was let off the hook for many cases of insubordination, and why he strove to take the blame for Techno most of the time. He had good reasons for disobeying though!
To this day, Philza never found out why he did that, or how long he's been doing it for. But some questions were better left unanswered, until today.
"Hello, Tubbo? Can you hear me?" Philza said, crouching next to his bed.
Tubbo groaned into his oxygen mask. Mumbling a quiet "hello" and smiling, raising his hand to wave weakly. Even while barely conscious, he was still so positive. Why is it that the kindest are the most cruelly punished?
"My name is Philza. This Technoblade. Do you know where you are right now?"
"K...kinda. The doctor told me I had slight...amesha?"
"Amnesia?" Techno corrected.
"Y...yeah...I don't know what it means." Tubbo frowned.
"It just means you've forgotten some things," Philza explained.
A look of despair fell on Tubbo's face. "W...what? Am I going to forget more? I don't...want that!"
"No, it's okay. It was only slight amnesia, which means you’ve only forgotten a little bit. And you're stable now, so you won't forget anything more if you focus on healing and are safe. I promise, you will be as long as I'm here."
Tubbo seemed to understand this, nodding silently and choosing to trust Philza's words.
"Now, I'll ask again so you can try and remember some things. Do you know where you are?"
"Y..yeah. I'm in Pogtopia. I know there were...big booms. And everything hurt after that..."
"It's okay, we're going to get you out of here as soon as possible. We'll take you to Manberg. We have very good medical technology. It'll be like the pain never existed, so just hang on for a bit more." Techno held his hand tightly, comforting him.
"Can you tell me what else you remember?" Philza asked.
"Uh...my name is Tubbo...and I don't have a mommy or daddy. I'm...8 years old...I-" Tubbo's began to cough, hard. The smoke in his lungs seemingly not completely cleared.
"It's okay, don't force yourself. We'll be back soon, some people will bring you over to the truck, and we'll make sure you get proper protection on the way there."
Techno and Phil left Tubbo to rest, closing the blinds behind them
"Hey Phil, why were you so insistent on asking him questions?"
"I was worried. And I thought maybe we could try to find his parents. But I guess probably not."
That wasn't a lie. Philza told himself. That was partially what I wanted to do. And yeah. Just having similar horns didn't mean they were related. There are thousands of goat hybrids in the world! It's probably just a coincidence. No need to tell Techno all about it.
"Well, I sent Niki a text earlier, and she said she'd be happy to take the kids in for now."
"Ah, that angel of a woman. We need to get her something the next time we see her."
"Techno, Philza!"
They snapped their heads around to the person calling their name. It was Hannah again.
"The truck for the kids you mentioned to go on is ready. We're going to move Tubbo right now. Where can we find Tommy and Ranboo?"
Techno stepped forward. "I'll handle that. Tell me where I should take them."
"Do we really have to go without you?" Tommy said, clinging tightly to Techno's hand.
"Yes Tommy, but don't worry. A very nice lady named Niki will be there to pick you up. Just keep an eye out for a woman with pink hair, and the smell of cookies. We'll see you all again once we handle everything here."
Techno had picked up Tommy and Ranboo from the tent they were in. It was quite a shocking view for onlookers, seeing the ruthless General Technoblade, showing so much tender care to two little children, hand in hand with them.
"Really? Pinky promise it?" Ranboo asked holding his pinky out, expecting Techno to do the silly gesture.
Techno chuckled softly, wrapping his pinky around the tall boy's.
"Me too!" Tommy waved his finger expectantly.
And Techno did the same with Tommy, giving him the same affection as Ranboo.
Softnoblade. Softnoblade. Stop wasting time with these children. Go hurt someone like you did to that man! Blood for the Blood God!
Techno brushed them aside, refusing to give in to their demands. There was something much more important at hand.
"Let's go. Better not keep Phil waiting. There's also someone we'd like you two to meet."
Techno brought the children to where many of the trucks were idle. They found their designated one shortly. Philza was speaking with Puffy, who was the appointed guard for this transport. The truck was packed to the brim, save for the back, which had a stretcher with Tubbo on it.
“Ah, there they are!” Philza said, relieved.
“Great, we can go soon. I’ll speak to the dri-Hey, Foolish, sit down! No fighting with the other kids!" Puffy yelled as she moved to the front, leaving the group behind.
Tommy wrenched his hand away from Techno, running up to Philza. He extended his pinky at the other, a determined look on his face.
“Techno promised we would see him again, so you have to too!”
Philza looked down, and completely understood how he was feeling. He was terrified of losing more people. He intertwined his pinky with the small child’s, before scooping him up suddenly into a big hug. He lifted him up high, and placed Tommy onto the truck on the seat next to Tubbo.
Ranboo was next, and Philza pulled him into a tight embrace before plopping him down next to Tommy. The two immediately took notice of the bedridden boy.
"Hi! I'm Tommy!" He waved at the boy lying down.
"I'm Tubbo."
"My name's Ranboo."
"Whoa, you have horns! They're so cute!" Tommy was completely fascinated, reaching out to touch them.
"Tommy! Be gentle, Tubbo is injured." Techno chided.
“It’s okay Mr Techno. It feels nice actually…” Tubbo smiled.
“You don’t...look okay. What happened?” Ranboo asked.
“Oh, I got hurt in one of the big booms…”
Ranboo looked stunned. “Wow, and you survived? You must be really strong!”
“I…guess I am! I’m a big, strong man!”
“Hey, that’s my line!” Tommy pouted.
"Heh, they've known each other for less than a minute and they're already...like brothers," Techno commented
Phil grinned watching the adorable scene unfold, clinging to the side of the truck. "I see you three are already getting along! Now, I'd like to ask you two for a little help."
"So, Tubbo is still a little hurt right now, but Puffy can't keep her eye on him 100% of the time because she has to help others too. Can you two stick with Tubbo for the ride and watch over him? If there's anything you can't help him with, just call for Puffy and she'll come running."
Tommy nodded enthusiastically. “Hear that Tubbo? We’re your bosses now!”
“Not bosses, Tommy,” Ranboo shook his head. “We’re going to keep him safe for da- Phil!”
“Wait, what did you say Ranboo?”
“Nothing…nothing.”
“Nuh uh, that wasn’t nothing! And as your new boss, I’m going to call you Boo!”
“What? How are you the boss? That doesn’t make sense…”
“Shouldn’t I be the boss, because you guys are taking care of me?” Tubbo joked.
“Alright, you can all be the bosses of each other.” Puffy came to the back, raising her hands in false surrender, and the three children all cheered in unison.
“Settle down now, we’re going to be leaving soon,” she said as she vaulted over the back of the truck, landing in front of Phil and Techno,
"I think I'll have a few grey hairs by the time I'm done with this ride..."
"Keep them safe, Puffy." Phil placed his hand on her shoulder, handing over the documents required for getting the refugees into Manberg.
"Wouldn't think otherwise, Phil. Stay safe, you two."
“Wouldn’t think otherwise,” Techno copied.
The truck revved to life once Puffy boarded, and carted off the people it carried into the distance.
The trio found various ways to keep themselves entertained, though it was mostly Tommy speaking. Whether it was playing made up games, arguing over silly things like “what’s the best way to eat a Dorito”, or sharing things about themselves, there was never a dull moment between them.
But then, Tubbo asked a question that carried a weight he did not know about.
“Hey, Tommy, Ranboo, where are your parents?”
Ranboo’s eyes got cloudy with tears, and Tommy’s mouth fell open like he didn’t know what to say for once.
“Wha…did I…You guys…I’m sorry! I…only make things worse…” Tubbo’s eyes began to well up with tears too.
“No…Tubbo…you didn’t know. It’s not your fault…it’s just…my mommy and daddy died when the big booms happened. I miss them so much…” Ranboo choked out, putting on his mask before tears could flow out.
“My big brother died too because of the booms, I…want him back,” Tommy said, unusually quietly.
“I…I don’t think I knew my mommy and daddy. I was in that orphanage since… forever.”
“So…does that mean you don’t have a family anymore too?” Ranboo asked through the tears.
“I don’t think I ever had a family…I was all alone. Nobody there liked me. Said I was annoying and weird…called me ‘stupid goat’.”
Tommy laughed weakly. “Haha…I guess that’s something we all have now.”
All three of them were crying quietly now.
“My big brother…Wilbur. He used to sing for me when I was sad. I’m not as good as him but…I want to do it for us now.”
Tommy began to sing softly, remembering the song Wilbur sang for him in the past. Ranboo’s hand inched closer, holding Tommy’s as he hummed along with him. Tubbo reached up, grabbing onto Tommy’s leg, tenderly tapping to the rhythm.
The song was interrupted by a soft gasp from Tubbo.
“Guys, look up. The sky is so pretty.”
They turned their heads up, and were met with a breathtaking view. Comets were soaring through the infinite expanse of space, leaving a trail of stardust behind them that almost made them feel like they were on an otherworldly plane. It was like Death herself had added her own touch to the sky, paying tribute to all the fallen souls.
Though Tubbo was still bedridden, he seemed to have more energy than ever when talking to Ranboo and Tommy. Almost like being in the presence of the other two revitalized him. They didn’t mock him like the others; they didn’t hate him for being different.
Tommy felt like a weight had been lifted from his heart. Actually talking about his pain out loud with people that could understand it…it made things so much easier. The hole Wilbur left in his heart still felt hollow, deep. But…slowly but surely, that hole was being filled again. By Ranboo, by Tubbo, by Phil, and by Techno.
Ranboo felt like he lost his entire world when his parents died. That there would never be another happy moment in his life. No more hugs, no more laughs, no more jokes;
No more family.
But oh, how wrong he was. He had already been proven completely wrong by the four people he had only met today.
They were just three children, torn apart from their families by war. But still, by being with each other, they could be happy. If only for a moment.
Tommy and Ranboo leaned against each other, while Tubbo lay on his back. The three looked up at the gorgeous night sky together. None of them said anything, because no words were needed.
They only needed each other.