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Technoblade believed in absolute reciprocity. It was a well known fact. You give back what you take. Keep the balance equal the best you can. So when Sam announced that after this week there would be no more visitors allowed at the prison for an undisclosed, but likely incredibly long time, due to the untimely death of Tommy, Techno had decided it was his sign to take his first, and only, visit. If Dream ever planned to cash in that favor, it better be now or never, and Techno preferred to get it out of the way if he could. Before Dream got locked up it hadn’t bothered him too much, instead he had been more interested than worried about the when. Sam’s prison was pretty tough though. Not too hard for Technoblade of course, but Dream would likely struggle to get out on his own, and if the masked man never had another chance to ask Techno to cash in, then the balance would stay uneven and that just wouldn’t do.
Sam had fixed Techno with a suspicious look when he first stepped through the portal into the prison. Fair enough, the timing was all too convenient for Techno to be making his first appearance. The Blade quietly uttered one sentence to explain himself, and the warden’s guard went down. Sam’s suspicion was replaced with a solem sadness that seeped into his every action. They went through the forms quickly and quietly, Techno only hesitating when asked for where he lived before figuring his retirement had been blown several times already, might as well. He was glad for the efficiency, he didn’t want to waste time.
Soon enough, Techno was in the prison cell, Dream sitting cross legged across from him. His eyes glanced around the room, finding that any trace of Tommy having been here had been erased. Dream had waited a few moments before speaking, his voice quiet under the pop of lava and the gentle thrum of redstone behind the walls. “What brings you here? I didn’t expect you to be my last visitor.”
“Well, Sam’s closing up shop soon and I wanted to catch a glimpse of your big fancy house before it was too late. You were right, biggest house on the server.” Techno crossed his arms with a self satisfied look.
“Har har. But seriously, out of everyone to come see me, you were near the bottom of my list. Not the very bottom, but close enough.” Dream gestured for Techno to join him on the floor, an invitation he elected to ignore.
“You’re right, I wasn’t really planning on coming here unprompted either. However, seeing as things are about to get a lot harder for you, I figured I’d come see if you want that favor. Up to you, if prison life is the luxury you desire, good on you. But if you do eventually want out, and plan to enlist my help, I’d rather you do it now and save me some trouble.”
Dream seemed to contemplate this for a minute. “You have a plan? Sam’s been on high alert since, well. You know. Just you being here right now probably has him ripping at his hair. I think he was hoping nobody would take him up on the last week's notice. It was more of a courtesy than anything.”
“I’ve taken care of that, he has trust in me right now. I’d assume you have a general idea of weak points, you’ve been in here for awhile now. It’d be dumb if you weren’t paying attention.” Techno slowly swept the room, arms crossed behind his back while he gazed across each piece of obsidian, and every crack and blemish within them.
“I’m curious how you got on his good side. Didn’t realize you and Sam had a positive bond.” Dream gave it a few beats, and when Techno didn’t respond he slowly rose to his feet. “You’re right though. I do have a bit of an idea. C’mere.” With a smirk, Techno stepped forward and listened in to Dream’s hushed plan.
Two hours later and they were out. Dream being the idiotic genius he was, had managed to craft a spool of string out of a cobweb that had formed in the corner of his cell behind the chest, and that was truly the key to tripping the redstone. Apparently someone had also started carving out a tunnel underneath the prison, though who it was Dream wouldn’t say. Techno would follow up on that though, with the mining fatigue he could tell it was a several month endeavor. Regardless, he had gotten Dream out and the two were far into the woods now, the blare of the prison alarms a faint rhythm in the distance.
“Thanks for the help.” Dream panted, wiping under his mask with the sleeve of his prison jumper. “We’re all even now. If you wanna owe me another favor though, hit me up. I’m sure you’ll be able to contact me somehow.”
“ We’re even. But you’re not.” Techno rolled his shoulders, taking in the confused stiffening of Dream’s frame. “The balance isn’t even, not by a long shot. Poor Theseus is too weighed down on the scale. We need to lighten that up.”
“What are you even talking about?” The other gave a nervous grin. “Tommy’s dead, getting even doesn’t matter to him anymore.” The voices roared in his head but Techno kept his wits.
“It matters to me. It matters to Tubbo. It matters to Sam.” Techno took a heavy step forward, his cape swaying around him and his axe gripped tightly in hand. “Sam let his guard down because I told him I planned to give you a piece of my mind about Tommy. I didn’t lie.”
Dream held his hands up, back pressed against a tree. “Why would you even care?” He tried. “Tommy betrayed you! He used you. He used everyone! It’s better for the server that he’s gone, it’ll save us so much trouble!”
“It will save you the trouble. Not that it’ll matter in a few moments.” Techno raised the axe.
“Why bother even breaking me out then?” Dream’s words came out in a rush, panic clearly taking over. “Why not just kill me back in the cell? Sam would have turned a blind eye and you know it!”
“Remember Dream, I believe in absolute reciprocity. I owed you. I got you out and paid back my debt. You should be thankful I let you take one last romp to the woods, get a bit of fresh air instead of off-ing you as soon as we were out of that tunnel.” His hands were clenched so tightly around the handle of his axe he was surprised it hadn’t splintered yet. Techno stopped caring about ignoring the voices. They screamed. They reminded him of Tommy sometimes, but not now. Now they just reminded him of himself.
Whatever bullshit excuses Dream was screeching fell on deaf ears. It didn’t matter anymore, his favor was done. The axe swung down cleanly, and the blood barely got on his shirt. Techno slipped off the mask from the decapitated head and tied it to his belt. The scale grew a bit lighter, and the voices cheered. It wasn’t perfect, Dream’s sins still far outweighed Tommy’s, but Technoblade had done what he could to help. Hopefully it would ease the burden on the young blond’s soul. Hopefully it would ease the burden on his, even just a little.