Any trace of autumn disappeared as I arrived back into the Northern region where snow caked the cold ground in several feet. My black snow boots are a lifesaver in this part of the world.

The sun was beginning to dip below the horizon once I made it to the spruce doors of the second story of Techno's house, the houses casting long shadows on the snow.

But before I went inside, my gaze snagged on something out of the corner of my eye.

Techno was sitting on my tower that detached from my room, facing the rising moon. His golden crown glinted in the pale light, the sparkle catching my eye.

I quickly made my way across the yard and into my house, ignoring the way it felt empty without Tommy.

It would be too much to think about how Nyx wouldn't be able to fall asleep with Tommy in front of the fire or how quiet the night would be without his soft snoring. Tommy's absence would be noticeable and painful.

But hopefully, I wouldn't have to be away from him for long.

In my dark room, I softly crept past the sleeping wolves on my bed and climbed the swaying ladder to the tower above. The trapdoor at the top was silent on its hinges, serving as a block to keep the cold out of my room.

Up here, the wind was colder, but the view was amazing.

Mellow and misty moonlight made the spruce trees sparkle from their wet and frozen limbs. On nights like this when the sky was clear, bundles of stars were visible, including the lotus.

Techno had his legs dangling over the side, his blue cape fanned out behind him. I silently moved next to him, letting my feet hang over.

We sat in silence for a few seconds, the day's events still fresh in our minds.

I could tell by the way Techno kept his eyes on the horizon that he was hurt. Tommy's choice to join the other side had been a low and unexpected blow.

"Does Phil know?" I broke the silence, keeping my voice quiet.

Techno nodded, still not saying anything. I didn't push more about Phil, glancing at the dark house below us.

Techno's father was most likely asleep. He was an early riser and went to bed extremely early most nights.

I fiddled with my thumbs for a second, admiring the fine seamanship Phil had done with my gloves. But it wasn't enough to keep my energetic mind quiet.

"About tomorrow-"

"I'm going to destroy L'manberg with Dream," Techno stated flatly, his voice darker and gruffer than normal.

I blinked several times in disbelief, trying to understand what he just said.

Maybe he had just misspoken or was making rash decisions while he was hurt. I brushed it off, blaming it on the latter.

"Stop staring at me like that," He grumbled, keeping his head forward. "I meant what I said."

Okay, now I was really confused.

I scrunched my brows together and tilted my head. "Techno if you're just mad about Tom-"

His eyes snapped to mine abruptly, words dying on my tongue.

Anger was written all over his face, but the color of his eyes is what stopped me.

A dark ribbon floated in Techno's eyes with red intertwined, the brown just a blurry background. The dark blots were actively moving, floating with the red brought out by the voices.

I scooted back an inch, making some space between us. A fury I had never seen from him before surfaced, reminding me of his ancestor, Sir Billiam.

"Dream has done nothing wrong to me, unlike Tommy. Tommy has betrayed me over and over, just like the rest of my family," He spat his words, not breaking my stare. "Dream is the only one who understands why we need to get rid of L'manberg."

"I understand-"

"No, you don't. You were just off with Tommy and Tubbo, probably plotting against Dream and I." He looked away from me, his jaw set. "You probably joined their side, didn't you?"

I shook my head, confusion taking control. What the hell was happening with him?

I ignored his question, placing my hand lightly on his shoulder to make him look at me. "What's wrong with your eyes?"

He just shook my hand off, leveling his gaze with mine. "Why don't you just leave me alone?"

The words stung deeper than I imagined, kicking me swiftly in the heart. I was off guard, and Techno took advantage of my vulnerability around him.

He had never been angry with me, ever. Usually, he offered me kind smiles and hugs reserved just for those he loved the most.

The look on his face was foreign, one I had never seen directed towards me. Not even when I was trying to kill him many months ago.

"Better yet, just go live in L'manberg with the government. You would probably enjoy being controlled and told what to do all the time."

The confusion vanished into anger, my emotions escalating quickly. I didn't know what was going on, but that wasn't him.

"Techno, what the hell-"

Everything clicked at once.

The twitch of Dream's fingers with DreamXD's power, the swift and evil look in Techno's eyes in the Dream lands.

DreamXD had sent a drop of darkness into Techno, planting it there like a seed. The god had known that Techno was practically my brother and wanted to use him against me.

I quickly scrambled for Techno's bare wrist, worry matching my anger levels. Once I got a hold of his wrist, he twisted away from me, standing.

"Techno, give me your arm," I said, standing as well. "There's darkness in you, making you act-"

He chuckled, the sound slowly and darkly erupting from deep inside his chest. The corner of his mouth tipped up in an almost snarl, revealing a sharp canine.

"You think just because I'm siding with Dream that I'm suddenly filled with darkness?" He growled, making me take a step back. "I don't need some dark god to tell me to destroy L'manberg."

"But Dream-"

"Dream what?" He stepped towards me while my back bumped a pillar. "Dream has been more of a friend than you have."

Everything went still, even the moon seemed to stop its ascent to the West. The stars held their breath, suffocating me in tense silence.

If the sting from before was bad, this was a million little sting marks from a swarm of darkness.

The darkness really knew how to push me to the ground and kick me when I was down. It never relented, even going to lengths like controlling Techno.

My face hardened and I stood up straighter, marching up to Techno. Anger bubbled and snapped like molten lava in my veins.

The anger pushed unspoken secrets and words up to my mouth, shooting them at him like bullets.

"Dream is the one who tried to kill me in the Nether. He manipulated Tommy to the point of almost taking his life," I hissed at the dark entity. "And your 'friend' is trapped in his own body with a dark god controlling him. Your friend isn't even real."

As I finished, the dark pools disappeared for a second in his eyes. Desperation and humanity replaced them, similar to the look I had seen in Dream's eye earlier.

But as quickly as it came, it vanished back into the iron grasp of the darkness.

I was quickly realizing that I was afraid of the dark and what was in it. For the past year, I've had to fight and crawl my way through the dark.

And Techno was the breaking point.

"Give me your hand, now."

He pulled his sword free, the moon reflecting on the blade. "And why would I do that? So you could use your pathetic powers on me?"

I reached towards him but he stepped back, keeping a considerable amount of space between us. If I could just keep a grip on his wrist for just a second, I could send light into him.

"I don't need saving, y/n." He scoffed, raising his sword. "I'm not like Wilbur or Tommy."

I froze, watching as he continued to lift his sword, not towards me, but his own head. The pink braid I braided many hours ago was pushed to the side, revealing a tiny braid made of brown and pink tufts.

And I realized with horror that Techno's sword was raised to cut the braid off.

The one thing he had left of Wilbur, the darkness was about to destroy.

"I'm done being weak for my family," He growled, muscles tightening in his arm to strike. "And that includes you."

The sword was brought back in a swift motion and moved towards the hair with unnatural speed. It was only inches away when I lunged.

My hands connected with his arm, stopping the sword from reaching the braid. He wavered but quickly switched his target to me.

"Techno, this isn't you-"

"You don't even know me!" He shouted, the darkness trying to manipulate me.

It knew my weaknesses and where to hit the tender spots. Lies was the only language the darkness spoke.

So I clamped down on my emotions and forced my ears to go deaf to the fake words. Techno needed saving and only I could do that if I locked out the words.

I made a move for my sword at my sheath but Techno saw, swinging his sword at my hand. Dodging it, I flung myself towards the other side of the tower floor where the fence was only a few feet from the roof below.

Without hesitation, I vaulted over the spruce fence and landed in a crouch on the wooden stairs of my house roof. They were slippery with melted snow and threatening ice.

"Techno, I know you're in there!" I shouted with my hands cupped around my mouth. I needed to reach the real Techno. "Fight back, I know you're strong enough to."

In response, a shadow loomed over me and proceeded to land a few feet in front of me on the roof. Techno's dark eyes blazed with anger and godliness.

"He's not in there. Not even the Blood God could stop this," The thing in Techno said, prowling towards me.

My steps backtracked, mindful of the dangerous conditions. There was a chance that the snow could catch me softly with its layers, but I didn't want to risk it.

"Y/n, this was inevitable. Stop fighting and you could join your lover and brother," It crooned, using Techno as its puppet.

I didn't respond, instead honing my instincts on Techno's movements. I had rarely beaten Techno in a fight, and the darkness only made him stronger and quicker.

When I didn't say anything, he growled and advanced onto me. He swung his sword in a wide arc, aiming for my arm.

I quickly ducked and moved away from him. It was like a dance, each of us moving in steps and rhythms, but we were moving with aggression instead of grace.

When he was bringing his arm back down from the swing, I sprang towards him, reaching for his exposed wrist. My fingers grazed him but he shrunk back, taking a step away.

There was no way I could use my magic on him without potentially hurting him, but I couldn't just let him kill me.

So I raised my hands, calling a wind strong enough to hold him back from me. Pieces of pink hair whipped free from his head, the small braid at the nape of his neck long forgotten.

Snow mixed with the wind, biting at his face. He growled, clawing at the wind and pushing his legs hard. But no strength could get past the wind, not until I was further away.

Taking my chance, I ran towards the other end of the roof, weary of the increasingly solidifying ice. With the dropping temperatures and lack of sunlight, the stairs were freezing over.

I reached a spot, and quickly clustered my magic in my feet, and brought my boot down on the wooden slat. There was a loud crack and the roof broke in from the force of my magic, snow already falling in a pile.

As I jumped down into Tommy's room, I heard Techno scream my name with someone else's voice. It was rough and firey, unlike his monotone words.

"Y/n!"

I ignored him, releasing my magic around him. Tommy's room was still despite the chaos above, thick shadows laying across his bed which he had left a mess.

Heavy footsteps sped across the roof where I had just been, but I was already moving into my room and whistling.

Instantly, Ghost was next to me, awaiting orders. Nyx was a little slower, her puppy eyes still half-closed with sleep as she jumped off the bed to the other side of me.

Thud!

Techno was now in the other room, barreling towards my room. My heartbeat was crashing in my ears, racing with anxiety, anger, and concern.

I scooped Nyx into my arms, nestling her soft head into the crook of my elbow. Patches, who awoke from her slumber on the bed, wrapped around the back of my neck where I placed her.

My other hand had to remain free for what I needed to do.

A sharp whistle pierced the air as I ran onto my balcony, but Ghost didn't need the command to know to follow. The white fur of his back was raised, his hackles standing almost upright.

With another thud, the door to my room fell through, revealing a furious Techno on the other side. He seemed taller and scarier with the way the darkness filled him, controlling his lust for blood.

The red in his eyes was almost glowing, darting to my arm. I glanced, seeing blood blooming there from a stray piece of the roof stuck in my arm.

Hurried whispers filled the air, speaking backward or too quickly for me to catch. I could only imagine they were talking to him, urging him to give me a slow and unmerciful death to fulfill their thirst.

Ghost growled, backing up with me so that we were pressed against the fence of the balcony. Icicles were frozen to the railing, coming to a deathly tip.

"Techno, you're stronger than this," I urged, keeping my palm out to face him.

"The Blood God is dead!" The darkness bellowed, whispering rising in volume. I caught the word 'blood' somewhere in the midst.

I just shook my head, bending my knees slightly. Ghost saw, his body tensing with the next step.

"That's where you're wrong," I smirked. "Because Technoblade never dies."

In one sharp movement, light shot from my hand in a dazzling beam into Techno's chest, right into his heart like an arrow shot from a bow. Then I was jumping and falling, Ghost right next to me.

Techno shouted from above, his voice less cold and closer to normal. My light may not be enough to free him, but he could use the light to protect himself against the darkness in his mind.

Inches from the snow, I caught Ghost and I with my wind, Nyx whining from the unexpected jolt. She had never experienced that, while her brother had plenty of times. Patches claws dug into my cape, clinging to me.

Emotions melted away into the instinct for survival. Every single lesson from Techno and Dream's training rose to the surface, guiding my feet towards the side of the house.

Techno may still be my brother and a huge chunk of my heart, but he was a threat to me at the moment. I would probably hate myself later for running, but at least I would be alive.

Ash was pacing in her stall, hay crunching underneath her black hooves. Her ears pricked and turned to where I came rushing around the corner, already unlocking the gate.

There wasn't time for tacking up or even grabbing some essentials. I could faintly hear Techno's crashing inside the house as he approached the front door.

I kept Nyx wrapped in one arm and placed Patches in my lap after I mounted, grasping at Ash's soft grey mane. Red droplets spilled onto her fur from my arm.

"Ash, get us away from here," I whispered, patting her neck quickly.

She huffed in response, white puffs curling from her speckled nostrils. In an instant she started galloping, breaking past the gate and stall, the sky becoming larger as we made it into the world.

Ghost ran next to us, his strong limbs pushing hard. We would be able to slow once we got further away, but he could make it till then.

The front door to my house swung open, hitting the wall with an ominous smack. Techno fell through, a whirl of pink hair and light blue cape.

And as Ash carried me away from my brother, the home I had built in my heart, I swore I saw the darkness lessen in his eyes. The dark pools quacked and struggled to keep their hold there, my light fighting.

I truly didn't want to leave him, but the combination of darkness and blood voices would not be safe for me. This night could end in a totally different way if I tried to stay.

"I'll see you on Doomsday," I whispered, letting the wind carry my words into the night.

~~~~

uh ohhh well...

anyways, love u all sm and I'm so proud of you! have an awesome day, stay hydrated, and safe