Chapter Text
If Techno never saw the forced casualness of Quackity’s saunter or Sam’s stiff march coming over the horizon of his land again, it wouldn’t be enough. He would rather go back and erase all the times they had before but that wasn’t possible. And truthfully, Techno wasn’t surprised to see those two and Sam’s goons trailing behind coming across the snow covered yard. He had hoped that the last visit, letting them search his home, would have been the end of it but he should have known better.
Dusting off his hands on his pants, Techno closed the gate to the paddock where Carl was eating, nose buried deep in a bucket of oats. He wished he had time to put on his armor but there were potions in his belt loop and he put his hand on the hilt of his sword.
“What’s wrong, mate?” asked Phil, stepping along the bridge that connected their cabins. From his position, he couldn’t see the approaching party, but worry was clear on his face.
“We’ve got company,” Techno said.
The seriousness in Techno’s tone hit Phil and he immediately backtracked to his cabin, hitting the button, and reaching in to grab his bow and quiver. Nothing else had needed to be said about the situation; they had fought plenty of battles together and knew each other well. He came to stand next to Techno.
“The hell are these bastards doing back here again?”
“Oh, I’m gonna assume that it’s not for a nice chat and cup of tea,” said Techno, rubbing a hand over his chin. “Ranboo and the baby aren’t over there, are they?”
“Not that I know. I think they went to meet Tubbo.”
Techno’s expression was grim.
“Good.”
“Hey, Techno, what’s up man?” called Quackity the moment he got close enough. Any hesitation that might have been present vanished when he saw that it was only the two of them. He grinned. “Sorry for barging in like this but, see, I heard you’ve been lying.”
“Hey, Quackity, good to see you, too. I’m doin’ great, thanks for askin’.”
“I’m not going to stand here all day listening to you two bicker. Again,” Sam said. There was tension in the way he was standing, a sort of anxiousness like a dog that was ready to snap.
“Then maybe you can tell me what the heck you’re doin’ here.”
The grin on Quackity’s face grew wider and he took a step forward.
“See, I happened to hear that you’ve gotten yourself a new pet.” Quackity shoved his hands into his pockets. “A little bunny rabbit. You know what I’m talking about. Hand it over and we’ll leave without a fuss.”
Phil blinked in confusion, lowering his bow just slightly, looking from Quackity to Techno.
“You’re here for a damn rabbit?” he asked, incredulous.
“Stay out of this, Phil,” snapped Sam. “Give us the rabbit. That’s the only thing we want.”
Tightening his grip on the hilt of his sword, Techno rocked back slightly on his hooves.
“Seriously, what’s with you and wantin’ to kidnap my pets, Quackity? If you want a bunny, I can help you get your own,” he said.
The smile on Quackity’s face turned cold.
“Nah, I appreciate the offer but I want that rabbit, Techno, so you either give it to us or we’ll take it and we’ll take you and Phil here as well. It’s your choice.”
Techno drew his sword.
“That’s gonna be a problem, Quackity, ‘cause I’m kind of attached to that rabbit and if any of you even look at Phil, I’ll have to kill you.”
At the words, Phil notched an arrow and pointed it at Sam. Behind him, Antfrost and Bad shared a nervous glance. Whatever they had been expecting, Phil didn’t think it had been this and that was something that could work to their advantage. He looked over at Techno and wondered what exactly he was thinking.
“This is your last warning, Technoblade,” said Sam, leveling his trident towards him. His expression was hidden behind the half mask he wore but his eyes simmered with anger. “The rabbit, now.”
“Hey, Phil, can you go open the door to the cabin for me?” Techno asked.
“Mate?”
Techno glanced at Phil and gave him a slight nod.
“It’s fine, Phil. You heard what they said, we gotta do things the easy way. Go get the rabbit.”
Phil hesitated but lowered his bow and trudged up the stairs. Nothing about this made sense and when he opened the door, the rabbit was hunched in its basket, eyes bulging and trembling. It was just a rabbit. It had to be just a rabbit or else he really didn’t like where this was going. He scooped it up and was surprised that it didn’t struggle at all. Petting it on the head, Phil turned back to the door.
The scene was exactly as he had left and Phil felt his heart pounding in his chest, mimicking the way the rabbit’s heart was beating. He scratched its ear.
“It’s going to be okay, mate,” he whispered.
“See,” said Quackity and that smile was back on his face, something gleeful and eager present. “I told you that this would be real easy if you just did what we asked.”
“Yeah, you did, Quackity,” Techno agreed, thumbing the cork off one of the potions on his belt. “Drop the bunny, Phil, and get the heck out of here.”
In one swift motion, Techno had downed the potion and swung his sword towards Sam, catching the prison warden off guard. The sword slammed into his arm, forcing Sam to stagger back slightly. He parried with his trident and Techno was really wishing he had put his armor on but this day was supposed to just another day, he was supposed to be feeding his animals and not in the middle of a fight.
An arrow whizzed past Techno’s head and thudded into Antfrost’s shield. Then another one landed right in front of Quackity who scrambled backwards, the gleeful smile was now gone and replaced with a look of panic. In the snow, the rabbit was frozen in fear. Techno could smell it, hot and sour and bone deep. He took a step back and glanced down.
“Run,” said Techno and swung his sword again.
Run.
It was the one word that cut through the panic and the terror.
The rabbit could run. It had run before, had run for a long time, and it would do it again.
Its feet slipped on the snow for a second before gaining purchase and the rabbit ran, through snow and under the fence made out of wood that smelled something like mushrooms and into the woods where the ground was covered with moss and pine needles.
The rabbit ran until its chest hurt and its legs felt like water.
It ran until it couldn’t run any longer, tumbling down a hill when it couldn’t come to a quick enough stop. It landed on the ground and got to its feet after a moment. It needed a place to hide, somewhere it could rest, until it was strong enough.
Strong enough for what, came the voice.
I don’t know, it thought, strong enough to do something.
To do something stupid, the voice replied and it sounded like the pigman’s voice.
Yes, the rabbit thought.