#techno gift exchange

[bee-dot-exe]

Hey @totallynotbat, happy gift exchange day, I know we haven't talked much, but thanks for letting me write for you, I don't know this is exactly what you had in mind, but I hope you like it! And thank you @technoblade-gift-exchange for putting this together, also haven't talked a whole lot, but I appreciate you, I had fun! I hope you all enjoy!

Emerald

1,933

It's kinda sad, but it's also kinda sweet, no major warnings otherwise

A thin quilt covered the earth. Sections of saffron like the edges around a bruise, and burgundy trying to compete with a glass of wine, and sepia as the chlorophyll bled out with the final remnants of summer. A patchwork blanket of color like a kaleidoscope around and beneath me.

The occasional sector of basil melting into olive grass playing a game of peek-a-boo in the areas of earth where the blanket felt shy. Stray sticks of paper that lollipops once clung to and wrappers that once surrounded a piece of chocolate taking turns with the leaves in leading a waltz as the breeze lead its orchestra.

Dia de los Muertos.

Flyers with information on the day of celebration or stories made in spirit of the holiday were taped by the corners onto the sides of buildings or tacked onto signs made of oak or cork still hung from yesterday.

Posters with each island residents' face made with white paint to look like skeletons rested on pastel backgrounds, and were hung by two pieces of wood held together by a spring on rows of thick spiderweb and string, both of their ideal intended use was for holding clothes to keep dry, connected between two trees.

I let my feet guide me through the nearly ankle deep river of color, a series of rather satisfying crunches emitting from my path, which gradually changed to slabs of pastel blocks, which lead me to an archway that looked to be made of quartz.

Lanterns with flames dyed scarlet and lemon and cerulean hung on silver chains and rested overhead.

More banners made of spiderweb, with sections of cloth or perhaps tissue paper hung in the colors of the rainbow and then some, and supported by two thin stalks of wood which were placed on either side of the archway.

I walked through. There was a decoration every time I shifted my eyes or turned my head.

Lanterns, pots with flowers planted in them, flyers with short stories, a giant rainbow papier mâché amalgamation of animals.

I heard footsteps fade from crunching leaves beneath them to tapping as they reached the smooth surface of the pastel path. The person they belonged to coming up behind me and then standing at my side.

"Oy."

"How's it going, Fit?"

"Not bad, not bad."

"Heard I missed out yesterday, sorry about that."

"No worries, but yeah, hell of a day. Come on, I'll show you around."

Bits of tissue paper streamers were strewn about on the ground, some still dancing as they fell from the trees around us, occasionally getting caught in the branches on their journey.

A stray candy wrapper sometimes blew by like a tumbleweed, a few getting stuck in a group of leaves that had gathered in places around where the event was held.

"So I'm sure you heard about the eggs that stopped by."

"I did. Real shame I missed them."

"It is, and I know it's not the same, but you can visit their offrenda's over here, say hello, tell them you miss them, whatever."

"Lead the way, mate."

First we visited Juanaflippa.

Her alter had rows of potted lilacs and pink alliums lined up at the sides, and a few more pots scattered around the center.

A dozen or so pink candles were settled on the steps, some inside of skulls as a holder, most by themselves.

There was a shield, a few different swords, a couple of green apples, and some empty pink signs.

In the center of the alter was a painting of her wearing her glasses sitting in a gold frame.

I took a piece of flint and steel and relit the candles that had become flickering sparks of orange and thin plumes of smoke.

"Hey Juanaflippa.

Hope you're doing well. I don't know if that was really you that came back to visit us, I think maybe this means probably not, but I don't know.

Your dad really misses you, we all do, but your dad's a bit of a mess right now, more so than usual. Things are a bit off for him, physically and emotionally, not gonna lie.

We all miss you so much. We miss your little glasses and your backflips.

I hope you're doing alright, wherever you are."

Next was Bobby.

His alter had rows of potted turquoise flowers along the sides, along with a few violet and red ones, and a handful of the aquamarine ones in pots scattered around the center.

A dozen or so royal blue candles sat on the steps, some in skulls as a holder, most by themselves.

There were a couple of tridents, a gun, and some empty blue signs.

In the center of the alter was a painting of him wearing his denim overalls sitting in a gold frame.

I took a piece of flint and steel and relit the candles that had become flickering sparks of orange and thin plumes of smoke.

"Hey there Bobby.

Sorry I missed you yesterday. I hope you're doing alright.

Your parents miss you so much. I can tell your apa is sad sometimes, but he doesn't really show it, he doesn't show that side of him with anyone though, you're probably not all that surprised. He seems happy when he's with Cellbit though, you're probably not super surprised about that either. Your mom also gets kinda sad, but she's doing okay otherwise I think. Did you know she had wings? You'd like them.

We miss you, buddy. Your little dungarees and you giving us those blue flowers.

I hope you're doing good out there."

Then Tilín.

Her alter had rows of potted lilacs and some other red flowers along the sides, and some of the red ones in pots around the center.

A dozen or so crimson candles were settled on the steps, some in skulls as a holder, most by themselves.

There were some feathers, a piece of cake, a block of dynamite, and some empty red signs.

In the center of the alter was a painting of them with that little red bow on top of her head sitting in a gold frame.

I took a piece of flint and steel and relit the candles that had become flickering sparks of orange and thin plumes of smoke.

"Hi Tilín.

Hope you're alright.

Your dad doesn't talk about you a lot, I'll be honest, but it's not because he doesn't care about or miss you, he just doesn't know how to show or talk about things sometimes.

But he misses you so much, we all do. Your little ribbon and giving us red flowers.

I hope you're okay out there."

And finally Trumpet.

His alter had rows of potted daffodils and some other red and yellow flowers, some of both kinds were also scattered in the center.

A dozen or so yellow candles were settled on the steps, some in skulls as a holder, most by themselves.

There were some books, a few spiderwebs, and some empty yellow signs.

In the center of the alters was a painting of him with his propeller hat sitting in a gold frame.

I took a piece of flint and steel and relit the candles that had become flickering sparks of orange and thin plumes of smoke.

"Hey Trump.

I'm really sorry I missed you yesterday. But you weren't alone. There were so many people here for you.

I heard that even your dad was here. I'm sorry not everyone was there for you before and if you felt alone, no one deserves that, no matter their age. You didn't deserve what happened to you.

We all miss you and your little rainbow propeller hat so much.

I hope you're alright wherever you are. I hope you're happy. I hope you never feel alone again."

"Oh, sorry Fit, to be honest, kinda forgot you were here for a minute there."

I said as I heard a throat clear behind me.

"No worries, no worries, didn't wanna interrupt anything, thank you for saying those things though, I think they needed it, I think you kinda needed it too."

"Yeah, that felt kinda nice, thanks for bringing me by."

"I uh, I actually have one more thing to show you, if you'll follow me."

"Yeah, I'm really glad I uh, oh---"

We walked up to a set of red wooden stairs. An alter. An offrenda.

And in the center was a painting in a gold frame of a person wearing a skull with tusks, had long pink hair, a fuzzy red cape with white at the neck, and a crown.

Technoblade.

"Oh my God, dude, really?"

Fit just slowly nodded.

We stood and stared for a minute.

"Hey Fit, could you do me a favor?"

I reached for the camera in its bag around my neck.

"Yeah I gotcha."

There were rows of different leaves and potted flowers in blue and red along the side, and a few red and pink flowers in the center.

There were about a dozen white candles, all of them were lit.

There was a diamond sword, an emerald, a totem, a skull, an ender pearl, a crown, and a potato around the painting.

"I gotta leave something, hold on, do you have an anvil by chance?"

"I gotcha covered."

Both of our voices shook slightly.

Fit put down the anvil and I made a name tag, Toothpick, which I put on a diamond pickaxe, and placed that on the step between the totem and sword.

"This was really nice."

"It was really thoughtful."

"They really didn't have to do this."

"Yeah."

"Can I ask you for one more thing?"

"Of course."

"Can I have a second alone with him?"

"Take all the time you want, buddy."

I heard the leaves crunch as Fit's footsteps retreated and sat down on the ground in front of the alter. I brushed my fingers along blades of grass and the petals of one of the pink flowers in a pot beside me. I finally let the tears stuck to my waterline fall.

"Hey mate.

Has it really been almost a year and a half? That feels impossible.

There isn't a moment where you aren't on my mind. You're on a lot of people's minds. You'd probably be flattered though, make some kind of probably sarcastic comment, prick.

Wish you came by yesterday, maybe you did, who knows. Wish I was there to see if you did or not. Wish you could hear me telling you this right now, maybe you can, it's probably not impossible.

Chayanne, that egg kid of mine you maybe have heard me talk about, your nephew. You're his hero. And he's so much like you. I wish you could meet him.

I honestly don't know which of you is better at pvp, you both can put up a fight until the last second, you're both stubborn as all get out, and you both could win.

And Tallulah, Wilbur's egg, she's been staying with me since he had to go do his music and things, she knows about and admires you too.

You'd go kinda soft on her, guaranteed, she'd win you over. She'd give you poppies and play you music and make you laugh.

We all miss you, so goddamn much, take care wherever you are, okay Tech?"

After the tears on my face had dried and it felt like it had been quiet for long enough, I put my hand on the bottom step next to the pick one last time as a send off, then went through the archway to find Fit.

[michygranger23]

Hi @raiweljace !! I was your Secret Santa for the @rivalsduogiftexchange event!! I chose your prompt "Techno comforting Dream in prison", and I maaaayy have gone a bit bonkers with the angst, cause really, if they’re in prison together, there has to be some c!Dream angst XD (so that’s a warning for a bit/mild of blood/gore below the page break!)

"Even if the blood isn’t new, the stab wounds, the broken bones and every little cut in his body still feel very much recent. He can still feel the shears in his body, Quackity’s roaring laughter and shouting ringing in his ears, and…Techno’s hug? Huh? When did Techno hugged him? Did he had another panic attack? That most be it, or else he would be hearing Techno’s jokes about their situation once again. It….felt nice, being touched without pain. But he can’t get used to this, because he knows Techno won’t be here for long. But perhaps, just this once, he can lean into the touch that doesn’t bring suffering to his body and mind, and pretend that everything is fine, just for a moment, he can pretend he’s being hugged by a real friend"

OK WOW I WASN’T EXPECTING TO GET ANGSTY THERE AGAIN NIJVEFFJIRNVF, THAT JUST CAME OUT OF MY MIND JUST A MINUTE AGO I SWEAR XD!!

ANYWAYS!!! I really hope you enjoy your gift a lot!! I had LOTS of fun making this, pushing myself to experiment with digital art and new techniques!! Happy Holidays and New Year :D!!

[transbeeduo]

Gift I did for @fields-of-nightshade for the @technoblade-gift-exchange !!!! Thank you for being so patient with your gift!! I hope you like it!!!

[nekole-doodles]

Here's my gift for @graysontheslime for the @mcytblrholidayexchange ! I struggled quite a bit of this and finished it last minute, but I am way more proud of this than I expected to be :D I really hope you enjoy your gift, happy holidays :]

https://archiveofourown.org/works/61787164

I also did a few doodles for the fic while I was brainstorming how to continue it and decided to clean them up and include it in the gift too! I might add a few more soon :>

[eldest-of-katts]

My comic for the technoblade gift exchange!

Yay! I finished it!

I didn’t mean for it to be eight pages, but I guess that’s how it turned out lol.

@technoblade-gift-exchange and @totallynotbat​ my giftee!

Unseen dialogue:

Hey, pig-me! You have GOT to teach me how to use a sword.

I thought you knew that already, you were the one piloting me around the whole time I used it.

Yeah, but clicking is WAY different from actually fighting with one. And besides, I just wanna look cool!

transcript and image IDs under the cut

Image 1: A comic page with two panels separated by a diagonal line. The top panel shows Techno’s cabin at night illuminated by the fire inside, his beacon, and the northern lights. The second panel shows Techno sitting inside and reading.

Image 2: Similar comic page. Top panel shows a door with phil’s hat hung up on a hook next to it. There is an impact bubble with the words “KNOCK KNOCK” inside. The bottom panel has the door open to show piglin dsmp!techno welcoming CC! Techno into the house with the stars visible from the door. Dialogue reads: CC!- “Halloooo... great to see you” DSMP!- “Hey, man. C’mon in”

Image 3: cc!Techno smiles at the viewer, he says “A LOT has changed since we last, Um, talked. The bottom panel shows Techno’s wheelchair set up in front of his computer, which is on a folding desk. He says “We got a new gaming setup.”

Image 4: This page is predominantly green and blue. The top panel shows CC! techno meeting up with Wilbur in his garden, and a dotted line shows that they’re six feet apart. CC!Techno says, “We met up with friends,” The bottom panel shows Techno’s youtube channel at 15million subs, “We payed for my siblings to go to college. We more than reached 10mil. Made Merch too,”

Image 5: CC!Techno sits turned away from the camera, clenching his fist. he says, “and... I Died.” The bottom panel shows C!Techno looking shocked and sad.

Image 6: C!Techno says, “I won’t pretend to know what death is like,” He is viewed in profile from the shoulders up, looking down. “But,” he says, “I HAVE been looking for a buddy,” He faces the camera, one eyebrow lifted in challenge with a half-smile on his face, “If you’re up for the challenge.”

Image 7: CC!Techno rolls up one sleeve to strike the one-arm-curled flex pose, he says “I’m MORE than ready.” The next panel is split into three. In the first, C!Techno puts on his cloak, in the second, CC!Techno puts on his merch hoodie, and in the third, they clasp their hands saying, “Let’s go”

Image 8: The entire page is black and red, not split into panels. The silhouettes of Techno and Techno are red on a black background and above them there is a white text bubble reading, “ON ANOTHER ADVENTURE”

All pages have the artist’s watermark, “EldestKatt 2023″ in the bottom right corner.

[thal-chandra]

@y-akkun Here's your gift for the @technoblade-gift-exchange V2 ! :D I hope you like it <3

[eeriefeelingsat3amuwu]

Hey @curoopeez ! I was your gifter for the @technoblade-gift-exchange this year! I hope you enjoy this little Rivals thing I wrote for you!

[trashland-llamas]

Acanthus

Written as a part of the @extremetimedchallengeexchange ; prompt was flowers thus here is Techno ruminating on the flowers that most remind him of his friends

Can also be found on AO3

Techno needed some form of practical application for the recent information he'd just perused. Mountains of books on floriography covered the tables in his reading nook. He didn’t want to start a garden as it’d take valuable time from preparing for the Doomsday war. What little farmland he had being used for potatoes. On the other hand, worksheets would be too boring and besides, why waste paper on that when it could be used for potential maps? Sitting on his plush suede chair facing the window overlooking a ravine, he decided to come up with which flowers his friends would be. 

Sorrow filling his senses when he thought of what he and Phil had gone through. They’d truly gone to hell and back. He regretted how he’d dealt with the avian’s house arrest. Hating that Phil was used as a pawn to gain his attention in attempts to kill him. Just another instance where he was treated more as a machine than a man. Retirement had always sounded too good to be true and hence the reason these regrets would follow him to the grave. Within his mind, the pictures of anemone and asphodel formed. A field of colorful bulbs  with lilies mixed in on a grassy knoll. Mentally dragging his sword against the ground, dropping it as it felt akin to molten lead. The story of Aphrodite and Adonis—his time in prison with Dream being his stay in the underworld. He recognized Phil was remorseful at the fact that it’d taken longer than expected to rescue him. But they were both hopeful for the day tyranny no longer existed in the SMP and they finally know peace. 

His brain shifting from times of new to times of old, Techno turned to the man that’d picked up his sword. The forced poet, burdened with the weight of the world on his shoulders. Wanting a place for anyone considered abnormal to call home. Techno thought the bluebell was fitting as it’s sap was used in bookbinding and arrows. A true diplomat in every measure which is why it was so disheartening to see him go mad towards the end. Losing to someone like Schlatt would make anyone disregard constancy to the wayside. The color reminding him of the softness Ghostbur brought to the server. A polar opposite to the only man able to humble him so dearly, coerced to honesty.

‘The heavens have lost their zone of gold. And earth her robe of green.’ The lines from one of the Brontë’s summed it up best, Techno thought to himself. Wiping the dust off, he placed the crown back on the mantle. Walking up the stairs to the closed room. If he were to open it, there’d still be discarded clothes all over the floor. The boy that looked up to his older brother as if he were the stars. How his story resembled that of Hamlet, a boy aged by pain and betrayal.

Tommy who was raised on the precipice of war. His first memories of frolicking in the field with his friends. To the trench foot he got during L’Manberg. Techno only realizing how much Tommy had lost himself when he showed up in the arctic. How he stared into the fire as a mug of hot chocolate and oversized clothes warmed his soul. Shyly asking Techno if he could sleep with him due to the night terrors and the need for something familiar after everything he experience at Dream’s hands. Alas the final picture held bluebells, stinging nettles, queen of the night, anemones & asphodel.

[void-chara]

if I have ever complained about rendering PLEASE disregard that. Number one favorite part of the art process nothing else compares it is so fun

[pizzainator]

Hello this is my gift for @desolatediver for the @mcytblrholidayexchange ^_^ (ao3 link)

I'm still pretty new to fandom exchanges but I had a great time with this! :-D

sketch & background under the cut

as you can see in the pencil sketch I originally had Techno holding a lamp, this is because I was going to have the scene be during night and have that be the main light source in the drawing- when I started drawing the background though I ended up doing something very different instead and I thought the fog worked for something more mysterious. (I was also playing Silent Hill at the time so I was a little inspired by the fog in that game as well)

I didn't include Steve from the sketch because I thought it made the situation feel a bit more dangerous without him there.

[starsandwriting]

^Resident long-suffering gothic heroine

---------------------------------------

Heeere's my gift for @starlight-and-the-moon as part of the @mcyt-halloween exchange. I hope you like it!

I present to you: Techno's chat but instead of disembodied voices in his head, they manifest as thorny vines bursting out of his skull. And also eyes. Good luck king.

[ranboo5]

My @technoblade-gift-exchange entry for @pizzainator !!!! POV you are BadBoyHalo

U just said you wanted anything w/ peerpressure or Syndicate, which ofc is a joy of all time... I decided 2 go with the egg stream bc it's such a lovely example of Techno's witticisms and genre savviness and is one of my favorite streams ever in general. I also saw some really fun stuff in your taste in reblogged art and decided to do smth wackier w/ the drawing – I'm kind of glad I did it was a lot of fun. +Have some spare doodles I did while concepting and such too!!

Thank u for the fun request ;v; I am no longer thinking as much as I used to abt DSMP on account of toki pona eating sm of my bandwidth, but my love remains and the prompt was lovely... I hope u like it!!! Have a lovely day

[somehowmags]

my gift for the @technoblade-gift-exchange! my giftee was @thekittymuffin, who asked for something cute/sweet so i decided to take that literally! here’s a hot choclety techno alksjdfhaldfh

[sand-stinger]

gift for @ranboo5 for part of @technoblade-gift-exchange !!

a series of events, fortunate for techno but not for many others

[simplepotatofarmer]

Fandom: Dream SMP Rating: Teen & Up Warnings: None Apply Characters: Technoblade, Dream Word Count: 2,438

Summary: after the prison, dream has been staying with techno as he heals. it's a long process and not one that's been easy. to see how far he's come and how far he has to go, dream finally convinces techno to spar with him again.

(link)

hi, @zethsnex! i wrote you this fic for the @technoblade-gift-exchange! i really hope you enjoy it <3 <3

[blueinkphantom]

Deeper Down

While Dream was inside the prison, the world had expanded. Now, weeks after breaking out and staying with Techno, he discovers some of the expansion and even Techno finds something new.

Rivals duo gift exchange present for @sunny-child-of-the-sky, hope you enjoy!

Thank you, @rivalsduogiftexchange, for hosting. And happy holidays to everyone!

Water was dripping down from the ceiling. It was a new sight to some extent. New in this context with this liquid. An unknown purple liquid dropping from obsidian is familiar. A translucent one from stone less so.

There were many times where he went mining. Be it at the start with his friends as they began making their home or later as he gathered resources late into the night. None of the caves he remembered had these sharp pointy stones. Nor did they have this faint glowing light in the distance.

Despite his anxieties, one look towards Techno made him relax. The piglin regarded the surroundings with a relaxed smile on his face as he went further ahead.

Swallowing the spit that had started collecting, he tried to copy Techno and relax a bit as he sped up. They were far enough down that even if someone followed them, they would have noticed by now or it would take them a good while to actually reach them.

It should be fine. It will be fine.

And then he saw where the light came from. Green. A lot of softer greens hanging from the roof of the cave in the form of vines. Golden glowing berries hung on the vines, giving it all a soft look. More of the grass colour was on the ground, covering the floor and sprouting little plants that reached to about his hips. It got broken up here and there by clay and water. Some of the plants carried vibrant pink flowers. It was beautiful in all meanings of the word.

Dream didn't even notice how mesmerised he was till he hit something soft but sturdy and his companion let out a chuckle. "Something caught your attention?"

"What is this?" Dream asked, eyes still on the surroundings instead of on Techno.

"This is a lush cave. Beautiful, ain't it?"

The agreement was left unsaid, obvious alone in the awe that Dream's eyes held.

A splash sounded from one of the more distant pools of water. While both of them perked up on it, Techno was the first to get closer. "Come here. There's something I think you might like."

Dream stepped closer, tail swishing behind him as his view of the pool got bigger and bigger. Once he got near enough, he bent down a bit, curious at the sight of an unfamiliar mob.

"Axolotls. The cutest little predator," the piglin whispered from next to him, quieter as if to not disturb the tiny creature. "Home here in the lush caves and transportable in buckets."

Sinking down to his knees, the shifter took a closer look. Green glowing eyes were nearly fixated on the pale pink skin that reminded him of the person next to him. The animal noticed him and looked up a bit.

"Hey," Dream muttered as he lowered one hand closer to it. It swam closer to it. Slowly brushing along his hand which then turned to pet it a bit. A faint chirp sounded from it as it nuzzled his hand. Another one in pale blue and pink colours plopped into the water and also neared him. Its skin looked an awful lot like the snowy landscape he had been living in since he got out of prison.

"Seems like they like you. Wanna take ‘em with us?" A bucket was held out to him. He looked back and forth from the axolotls to the bucket before shaking his head.

"Better not." It would just end up dead again. If not by someone using it against him then probably by his inability to care for it. He knew nothing about these animals. He might consider it after he learned a bit about them but even then. He doesn't want them to get hurt just cause they are his pets. Just cause he made the mistake of growing attached and showing it.

"Suit yourself. I've been working on an aquarium for a bit. Just needed to find of 'em again." Pink hooves filled the bucket with water before guiding the axolotl inside, doing the same with the second one. It looked fitting. Two pinks so similar and yet so different with one being from the Nether and one finding its home in water. Adding a drop of whitish-blue to it 

Backing out of his kneeling position, Dream glanced once more over this section of the cave before following Techno once more.

They continued on further down, encountering several other more familiar mobs on the way. None were a problem to deal with. Even if Dream's iron left leg was sometimes still rubbing uncomfortably against the stump.

More ores were found as well. Iron and gold mostly but also some diamonds.

He missed this. Ventures out into the mines to explore and gather resources, side by side with someone else who didn't aim to stick a sword into you. A way to spend time together, prepare for possible future problems, collect material for gifts and for Dream specifically, see how much progress he made since the prison break. Endurance, strength and speed all have improved. His balance with the new prosthetic had also gotten better.

Once they reached a dead end in their path they started mining down the wall in front of them with Techno leading the front and Dream working on making the path wider in case they left this way too. They kept this rhythm going until another cave opened up and by the first look, it was big too. Not that Techno could make out much based on his squinting.

With night vision to his advantage, Dream went further along first, taking note of a structure made from the same stone the cave was, just formatted into bricks and other forms. Here and there a soul lantern lit it up but with the darkness of the area, it hardly made a difference.

"This is... new." Techno noted, looking at the unfamiliar surroundings just as Dream did.

Their footsteps echoed despite the vastness. Then they heard a tick or something. Something that sounded similar to a creature chirping in low tones. It was immediately followed by a screech. Both stopped. This was loud enough that many blocks away it could still be heard, potentially even through the walls. They suspected a trap. Expected something or someone to pop out from somewhere and go for the kill. But as they waited and waited, nothing showed up.

More careful of the sound he made now, Dream sneaked closer to where he heard both.

The floor changed from dark greys to an even darker teal with spots of brighter bits that seemed to glow in and out. Then there were tentacles? It looked like tentacles, wiggling around in a pack of four. At the same time as he heard someone drink a potion behind him, the tentacles glowed and emitted that same sound as before. Further away from it came the screech. with glowing circles disappearing into the air.

It was strange. New. Dream stepped closer to the screecher. A similar-looking block but instead of four tentacles. it looked like it had four bones going up at the corners. Inside swam two teal-coloured souls in circles, reminding him of the pattern that one pool in Kinoko Kingdom had.

Curious, he started to reach with one hand inside it only to have it gripped by another and pulled away.

"Just cause it's not lava, doesn't mean you should just stick your hand in it," Techno whispered close to his ear, likely to avoid another screech. "I doubt you know what it might do and I'd prefer not to find out unless we are prepared for anything."

"Fine." Dream gave in. Techno let go and they continued with slow and quiet steps, both fascinated by the surroundings.

There was a chest in one of the structures but no doubt would it cause another screech so they left it for now.

Something like a hallway greeted them next. Stretching for a good while in both directions. They went up the steps to find wool, surprisingly enough. Not even carpet but completely wool on the floor. It was soft and as both quickly realised it was quieting their steps.

An idea popped into Dream's head on how they could still reach what was inside the chests. And by the looks of it, Techno realised as well.

"Let's first check this place out some more. Just to make sure no one is here." Dream nodded.

More darker stone, deep slate as Techno once picked up, was following as well as the strange alien patches of what Dream guessed, for now, was some kind of plant. A plant that could detect sounds and let out screeches.

Maybe he could sneak some into his inventory later to bring to Punz.

Maybe he could come back here with Punz at some point. Or maybe even Phil. This looked like something Phil would be interested in. Heck, maybe he even knows something about that.

At some point, their path dissolves. Ruins of the rest of the hallway scattered across the floor with some noticeable dark oak planks and what looked like basalt that piqued Dream's curiosity again.

Nothing in comparison to the blue flames beneath a giant frame that he spotted in the distance though. He stopped where he stood and turned to his companion. "Techno, look." The piglin did, following where Dream was pointing to.

"Huh. You know. This place is starting to look more and more like the old place of a ritual. Crumbled in structures. A strange unknown something that looks almost like it infected the place. And now this. Do you think they did sacrifices? Maybe they're another eggpire just in blue."

"What? A blue eggpire?" Dream looked around again. He didn't know much about the eggpire. It seemed to get worse after he was locked inside. Punz and Techno explained a good chunk of what had gone on in that area but with one of them having been somewhat mind-controlled and the other one being rather clueless most of the time on what is going on, it wasn't as detailed as Dream might have preferred.

"Exactly. Exactly. Hey, maybe they had a rivalry. The red cult versus the blue one. Who will win? An ongoing rivalry for centuries until red gained the upper hand."

"And each one's leader once had a kid that fell in love with the other." Dream joked with him.

"Romeo and Juliet-style. Just hopefully with more impulse control. Fanfic material right there, I gotta say."

"Oh my god." They headed further along towards what looked like another hallway, partly crumbled and with arches over the floor and candles on the side. Burning candles. Though it didn’t look like they could melt.

Up another flight of stairs and they reached the giant frame with the soul fire beneath it. More of these tentacle things were there and even more candles.

His leg once hit too loudly on the floor and made an echo of clicks start. A light from above quickly caught his eye as he spotted a redstone lamp that went out a second later.

So plants that can give off a redstone signal. Sam would like this-

Sam. Could this be a trap built by him? It could be but also if he knew of sound-detecting redstone-signal-emitting plants, he would have already used them in the prison. Not only now.

More time was spent exploring. Some of the buildings repeated with differences in details and how much they had already started wasting away. At some point, they had started collecting the wool and covered the screecher and the tentacles in it. Or rather tendrils as Techno had corrected him.

"Tendrils are part of a plant. Tentacles are like those things on the squids, part of an animal."

At some point, they had decided to separate for a small while. With no threat so far spotted, not even mobs, they deemed it safe enough for each to be alone for a bit.

It was just Dream's luck that he headed in the direction where this area seemed to stop and mobs did spawn. Specifically skeletons and zombies. Usually not a huge threat but the screecher still made him uneasy so he tried to keep quiet. Something the mobs didn't try.

A zombie stumbled too far down. Screech.

A skeleton shot an arrow right next to one of those tendril things. Screech.

But unlike before, it didn't stay at the screech and silence after. Instead, the floor started rumbling as if someone had lit TNT beneath it. A deep groan seemed to echo endlessly. His vision shrunk. Darkness ebbed in right as he spotted something crawling out of the ground from near where the last screech was.

Pounding. A heartbeat so loud he could hear it clear as day but he wasn't sure if it was his own or the creature's that seemed to glow out of its chest in beat with the thumping. Or rather souls. Those were souls. Souls in the middle of an open ribcage inside of a giant creature the same colour as whatever had spread in this place.

Frozen, he stared as the creature walked towards the skeleton. More groans echoed as tendrils on the side of its head were somewhat wiggling. There seemed to be no eyes. Not that they would help much in this darkness. The creature stumbled along until it was next to the skeleton, the two arms were raised before rushing down, the skeleton instantly crumbling.

Without removing his gaze from it, he carefully stepped away. Maybe he could create enough distance to it that it won’t realise he’s there. There are still some mobs its focus was pulled to.

He succeeded with it surprisingly. Once the mobs were gone, it only took a short while for the giant to also retreat. Somehow it crawls back underground, presumably till another screecher alarms it.

Hopefully, Techno has no-

He jumped back when something brushed his shoulder, only to realise that it was the man in question. Luckily the floor was wool and he had long since been trained to not make any sounds even if it would have been reflex.

“You alright?”

Dream nodded, not trusting his voice to be quiet enough. He looked for the nearest way out and pointed with his head to it, looking at Techno in what hopefully came across as the right message.

“You wanna get out? Sure. After whatever you just summoned, probably the safest option. Well, then it’s goodbye to the creepy cult site.”

The way out was luckily smooth. No screechers or tendrils were near as blocks were placed and destroyed. They even managed to come across a section of the cave they were in before which sped things up. A small bit. Before they got lost again.

Moonlight shone down on them as they finally exited the cave system.

Deciding to take a break before they headed back, they started a small campfire with freshly gathered wood while they also made a bit of a barricade so they wouldn’t be disturbed.

Techno placed some meats on one of the logs on the campfire. “Having any hunger yet?” Dream wasn’t sure and as if his friend could already read his mind, he settled on placing a few more meats. “I’d say we chill here till the sun rises. Can’t take too long based on where the moon is.”

At that, he looked up and spotted said object rather quickly thanks to its current position in the middle of the sky.

“What was that giant thing?” Dream asked after a bit more silence as the meat cooked.

“The thing that you summoned?”

“I didn’t summon it! Some zombies and skeletons wouldn’t stop making noise.”

“Sure, sure. And these skeletons and zombies were also the reason it didn’t attack you?” Techno raised an eyebrow with a smirk on his face. 

“Yes! Because I was being quiet and sneaking away while they continued making noise.”

“Mhm. Sure. I believe you. Just like your house that is totally 100% real.”

“Oh my god.” The exasperated tone devolved into a few chuckles all while Techno grinned before looking as if he just remembered something.

“Speaking of mobs, how much inventory space do you have left?”

“What does one have to do with the other?”

“I'm getting to it, man.”

“Uhm. About five slots. Why?”

“Pog. Would you mind hanging onto the two axolotls? My inventory’s kinda full and I could use a few empty slots.”

Dream squinted at him. “Sure.” 

“Perfect. Here ya go.” The two buckets got handed over to him. Both axolotls idly swam in their temporary home until they got home.

“Also, all my creativity with name-giving has been sucked dry by my hound army and chat is not being helpful right now. You wouldn’t happen to have any ideas on what to name ‘em, would ya?”

The suspicion aimed at the piglin and possible hidden goals from this didn’t lower. Deciding it’s best to just play along, however, he looked back down at the two that didn’t seem disturbed by his presence.

“Coral,” he uttered, petting along the pink axolotl’s surface. “and Spectre.” The cyan axolotl bumped into the other before swimming along his hand. Dream pet the other with his left hand to prevent a potential fight while a chuckle left him.

“Coral and Spectre,” Techno repeated the names while looking at the scene. “Maybe chat would have had better name ideas.” 

“EY!”