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Looking back on it, it wasn’t Techno’s smartest decision to decide picking up his take-out while still in full costume was a good idea, but in his defense, getting changed was too much of a hassle and this was the first time it has ever actually gone wrong. Normally, people just kind of screamed and handed him money before, eventually, giving him his order in fear. And, to be fair, it wasn’t his dumbest decision either, but waking up in the middle of an empty room, with Dream tied to the chair opposing him was really not a great sign.
And just as Techno’s luck would have it, he was tied down too.
Fantastic.
Great.
An absolutely wonderful way to start off his day.
He couldn’t help but audibly groan and at the noise, Dream’s head shot up. He was still wearing his mask, thankfully, but it was enough to tell how relieved he was by the way his shoulders slumped.
“Finally. You’re awake. I’ve been up for like, twenty minutes at this point, man,” Dream complained, “I was bored.”
“Says you,” Tehno grumbled, eyes scanning the room around them. It was a decent size, but other than the two of them and the dim light above them, the room was completely empty. No windows either. The only exit seemed to be a large door to the right of them. “You literally spend all your time at my base sleeping.”
“Oh, so, do you want me to stop?” Dream challenged, “Because I’m completely fine with doing that.”
“That is not what I said,” Techno shot back, turning to face Dream once he’d established there was nothing around them that was of any use. “Unless you want to back to being handcuffed and carried to my base. That can be arranged.”
Techno knew Dream well enough to know when he was glaring, even behind the mask. “Why are you so- ugh . I don’t like you. I regret waiting for you to wake up so we can get out of here. I’m gonna just leave you here next time, you ungrateful ass.”
“Next time?” Techno asked, one eyebrow arched. “You’re plannin’ on getting us kidnapped again?”
Dream sighed, shifting in his chair, presumably doing something with his hands. “Oh, come on. You’re twisting my words now. That’s not what I meant and we both know it.”
“ Sureeee .”
“Remind me to hit you when I get out of these ropes. Several times. With a stick, preferably,” Dream muttered, still wiggling around in some sad attempt to get out and becoming increasingly frustrated when nothing happened. “Godammit. What the fuck are these enforced with?”
Techno rolled his eyes. “C’mon it can’t be that bad.” He pulled against the restraints, fully expecting them to snap under the pressure and being surprised when they remained firm.
A frown appeared on Techno’s face and he tugged again, putting more energy into it and still, nothing.
what the fuck
L
when ur power is literally enhanced strength and it fails <//3
that is so rude
“Told you,” Dream quipped smugly from where he was sitting, pausing in his own attempt to just watch Techno struggle.
What a dick.
“You say that like it’s a good thing that you were right,” Techno shot back. “Now we’re just both stuck here.”
Dream huffed. “Relax, drama queen. It’s fine. We just need to-”
“Need to what?” A new voice said and both of their heads shot to the side, watching as a new figure stalked in. He was rather short, wearing a white shirt, red suspenders, and beanie with a mask secured tightly to his face. It was similar to Dreams, though his was square and with a :] instead of Dream’s typical round smiley face. And, probably the most noteworthy of his character was the sharp pickaxe he held in his hands, glinting dangerously.
And maybe he should start listening to Phil when the elder told him to learn what kind of stuff was appropriate for certain situations because the second his eyes landed on the supposed weapon, he burst out laughing.
Dream’s head shot back to stare at him, alarmed, and he angrily whispered, “What the fuck are you doing?” while their captor stiffened up.
He looked almost at a loss for what to do for a moment before he strode forward, pickaxe held out in a clear threat. “Wanna explain what’s so funny to you, Blade? As far as I see it, you and your little friend here are both trapped.”
But all that did was make Techno laugh even harder. Once he finally had a grip on himself, he got out, “No, no, you’re right. It’s just- A pickaxe? Really ? You got the two biggest names on both sides trapped in your basement and you’re usin’ a goddamn pickaxe against them?”
The two went silent for a moment before a small snicker left Dream. The man looked over to Dream and waved the pickaxe at him in what was probably meant to be a threatening manner, but considering the circumstance, just made the other burst out into a wheeze.
“Blade! You can’t just say that. What the hell is wrong with you?”
“What! Am I wrong?” Techno challenged.
“No, but still,” Dream insisted, sputtering out words in between his wheezing. “Your timing .”
“Fine,” Techno said, forcing his voice to become completely monotone and turning back to the man, who appeared to just be kind of staring at them in shock. “I’m sorry. man. I’m absolutely terrified of your scary pickaxe. Please don’t hurt us.”
“Blade. What the fuck is wrong with you” Dream forced out as his laughter doubled.
“What? I apologized! What do you want from me? ”
“He’s gonna kill us now. He’s actually going to kill us now and it’s your fault.”
“With that thing? You seriously tellin’ me you think we’re gonna die to a glorified toothpick?”
A loud cough interrupted them both and slowly, they turned their heads to see the man, still standing there with his stupid pickaxe in hand.
wtf is he planning on doing w that thing LMFAO
im sorry but why a PICKAXE?? like where did he even get that from what
hes trying his best </3 let him be
bestie he literally kidnapped us??
HES TRYING HIS BEST </3
“I think I made your dosage too high when I knocked you out,” He muttered before clearing his throat. “But that’s beside the point. I should introduce myself. You can call me HQ, and I have some questions for the two of you. But first..” HQ took a dramatic pause, spinning the pickaxe and then pointing it at Dream, the edge going right to his throat. HQ pressed in ever so slightly and almost immediately, a trickle of blood appeared against tan skin. “I want you to know that I’m not fucking around with this. Those binds were made specifically to contact powers, yours included, so I can assure you there’s no getting out of this. No matter what XD’s plan was.” Hearing Dream’s ‘superhero’ name was kind of strange, to be honest. The other had let it slip very early on to knowing each other and Techno had practically forgotten its existence by this point.
Then there was ‘HQ’? What was up with people these days and just using letters for names?
“Fine, fine,” Techno said, carefully eying the spot where HQ’s weapon was still positioned against Dream. “What do you want?”
“I want to know what the hell you’re teams are doing against each other,” he bit out, finally moving the pickaxe away.
Techno stared at him blankly for a couple moments. “ What ?”
“Well, it’s mostly you two, but I know that something is up between your two groups. Some sort of alliance, and that ends here . The two strongest groups can’t be teamed up. Especially considering your history, it would-”
“Okay, stop right there.” Techno interrupted. “I started a side business, call it a daycare center, if you will. Because a certain someone acts like he’s allergic to sleeping of all things and I’m the only one who can keep him down. So-”
“Oh, fuck off. I don’t even need the sleep anyway,” Dream countered while HQ tilted his head in confusion. “I was doing just fine on my own before you decided to butt in.”
“You literally passed out the second I picked you up.”
“I did not . You asshole.”
“What the fuck, man.” HQ started. “That can’t be real.”
“I know!” Dream exclaimed followed with a groan, “It wasn’t even the longest I’ve ever gone without sleeping. It was just like, what, three days? I was fine.”
“Bruh, no,” Techno commented before Dream could defend himself even further. “I don’t think you’d slept for more than four hours consecutively ever before this.”
“Yeah, no, you can’t-” HQ started before he stopped himself. “What the fuck am I even talking about. That’s not what I’m here for. I’m here to figure out what the hell is going on. I don’t want your dumb fucking cover story. I want answers.”
“It’s not a cover story, he’s just stupid,” Techno deadpanned, ignoring the offended squawk that came out of Dream in return.
“HQ, can you punch him for me? I’ll literally give you ten bucks if you punch him for me right now.”
“I’m not going to punch him for you. Why would I even accept ten-” HQ started, exasperated before cutting himself off with a sigh. “Is this a distraction or something? Is that what you’re trying to do? Because I’m not falling for it. Blade, I’m sure you’re aware that if I wasn’t for him and his team’s interference, you could take over this entire city with ease. So, if you stuck an alliance that’s the entire city at risk. I can’t let that happen. Even besides that, you’re both too powerful for my liking. Especially with the amount of influence XD here has.”
technically he’s not wrong but also bruh just let us chill
i mean im pretty sure Dream is actively breaking at least four laws whenever he hangs out with us
and?? good for him.
This is exactly why kidnapping Dream in the first place was a bad idea.
wtf man i thought we were over this
“I wouldn’t do anything that hurt the city!” Dream protested. “Besides, I’m getting kidnapped. I don’t even have a choice with this.”
“Oh, come on ,” Techno said, rolling his eyes. “You come willingly at this point.”
“Forgive me for not wanting to be handcuffed and kidnapped.”
Ignoring him, Techno turned to HQ. “Ignore him. He’s always so dramatic.”
HQ, however, didn’t appear to be very amused by any of it. “Can you stop your fucking arguing for like, five seconds? Holy shit. If I don’t get answers in the next thirty seconds, I’m going to start hitting people.” He threateningly raised up his pickaxe once more and Techno really had to stop himself from laughing again. When a moment passed without either of them talking, he lowered it down, apparently pleased. “ Thank you . Now, to explain how this is going to work. I’m going to be asking you some questions. If I’m not happy with the answer, the other one of you is getting hit. Understand?”
“Wait but-” Dream started, only for HQ to hit him with the side of his pickaxe. It didn’t look to be that hard, but Techno stiffened at the sight anyway. “Fine! Okay! Jeez, I just had a question.”
man can we just fight him already
what a bitch
fr that was so out of line.
blood? his blood perhaps? stares
“Well, I didn’t ask if you had questions, I asked if you understood,” HQ snapped back.
“I understand,” Dream replied, voice practically dripping with sarcasm but HQ seemed to accept it.
“Good, now shut up. My first question is for the Blade. How did you manage to get XD on your side?”
Techno just stared at HQ for a very long moment and when the other made no movement to correct himself, he repeated, “How did I…manage to get XD my side?”
“Yes. Were you exploiting a weakness of his? I have intel you overpowered him and got him into handcuffs several times. That should be impossible. Did you force him into an alliance? Or, did he turn willingly? I wouldn’t put that past him either, frankly.”
He deserves an award, frankly, for not bursting out laughing again right in HQ’s face.
“We don’t have an alliance,” He answered instead, “I mean, our last fight was like, what- last week? He stopped me from assassinating the governor. Again. Like an asshole. And, again, it’s literally just him being a moron and not wanting to sleep. I make him sleep and he gives me a good fight, it’s an exchange. ”
Well, it was kind of a lie. Technically 404 was actively going against them to give him information in exchange for making Dream sleep, but that was a separate matter.
Besides, that never stopped either side from going up against each other. Even if both their punches were pulled just enough to make sure no long-term harm was caused, it was never enough to actually let Techno do whatever he wanted. They were still very much established ‘hero’ and ‘villian’.
Which did get annoying whenever Dream stopped him from going through with something but Phil barred them from arguing about ‘work’ while they were in the base so it worked out decently enough.
“You can’t seriously expect me to believe that,” HQ said, exasperation clear in his voice. “That’s ridiculous.”
Techno shrugged. “Look, man, I don’t know what you want from me. That’s what happened.”
“That is not what happened,” HQ said, disbelievingly.
“That is actually what happened,” Dream quipped, “I was there. It was very annoying. He kept me there for like, thirteen hours the first time. Plus the fighting. I had to fill out paperwork for it and everything.”
“What is it with you heroes and your paperwork?” Techno said, making a face. Seriously, maybe he should start trying to get Dream to convert to his side just to get him out of that hell.
“Well I can’t just get kidnapped by ‘ the Blade ’-” Dream said, his tone mocking, “-and not have to fill out on a report on it.”
Techno groaned. “Why are your bosses obsessed with me?”
“No idea. Maybe it’s the whole killing politicians and causing millions in property damage thing.”
Techno paused for a moment as if considering it. “Nahhhh. I doubt it. Maybe they’re just big fans of mine. I wouldn’t blame them.”
Dream snorted, “Yep. I’m sure that’s what it is.”
“Do neither of you understands what ‘stop arguing’ means?” HQ said, rudely butting into their conversation once more. Had no one ever taught this dude manners? “Whatever. Even if that was true, how did you manage it? He didn’t go willingly by the sounds of it.”
“He was literally just tired but, trust me, you couldn’t take him down even in that state,” Techno said, looking over HQ judgementally.
“Well, I got him here, didn’t I? I got both of you here. You really shouldn’t be so quick to underestimate me.”
Which…okay. Fair play to him, actually.
Phil would probably end up giving them both a whole ‘be more careful’ talk after this and it would be deserved. But that was more an issue of them being stupid instead of him, y’know, actually being powerful.
“Wait, how did you even get us here?” Dream asked, confused.
HQ shrugged. “Blade walked into my restaurant and I saw an opportunity. Getting a coffee to you had always been pretty easy. And both of you are somehow dumb enough to drink them without checking what’s in them.”
“Wait a minute,” Dream muttered. “ Blaze is the one that gives me my coffee and he gets it from…Q-”
“ Shut up, ” HQ hissed.
“What the fuck, dude?” Dream asked, sounding genuinely surprised, “I doubt Blaze would appreciate you kidnapping his teammate.”
“Well, you’re putting him in danger by working together and this entire fucking city! He would understand.”
“We’re not working together,” both Techno and Dream protested simultaneously.
“How do you even know me?” HQ said, threateningly. “Do you know who Blaze actually is?”
“We’ve worked together for years, do you seriously think I don’t know his secret identity?” Dream asked, almost as if it was obvious.
“So you do? How do I know you won’t use it against him?”
Dream sighed, “I wouldn’t hurt him. Besides, he knows who I am too. It’s equal footing.”
HQ huffed and when he spoke again, there was an edge of offense in his tone. “Well, he never told me that. He doesn’t tell me a lot of things, apparently.”
Immediately, Dream began to backpeddle. Hard. “Oh, it’s just protocol. We’re not meant to tell other people we know anything about each other so. It’s nothing personal, I promise.”
Techno, meanwhile still had no idea what the hell kind of exchange was going on between the two of them. He seemed to be missing a key piece of information so he was kind of just stuck sitting there, watching it all play out.
“Well, I’m his fiancee ,” HQ stressed and Techno choked on air. Seriously? “He shouldn’t be hiding things.”
“He’s just trying to keep you safe,” Dream argued. “The more you know, the more in danger you are. Plus, as far as he knows, you’re a civilian. Not some weird vigilante or whatever it is you are.”
“Well, I can take care of myself. That isn’t an excuse for him to keep things from me. Like I keep telling him and K-” HQ said, appearing to gear up for a rant before stopping himself and realizing what he was doing. “No. No. What the hell. We are not here to talk about my relationship. Stop distracting me. Look, Blade, give me the truth as to what happened or I’m bashing XD’s face in with this.” He held up his stupid pickaxe once more but it was quickly becoming apparent that he wasn’t kidding around. Even if it was a dumb weapon, Techno didn’t doubt that it could be used for some sort of damage, but, just as Techno opened his mouth, to maybe protest or come up with some sort of lie, Dream spoke for him.
“Wait. Why am I getting hurt based on if Techno talks or not? For all you know, he could actually hate me and he’d enjoy it. That doesn’t make any sense.” Techno looked at Dream, confused. They both were well aware that was a lie and Techno wasn’t exactly sure where the other was going with it until Dream continued. “You should just hit him instead.”
“ What ?” Techno said, flabbergasted as he tried to figure out what the hell Dream was doing.
Dream cocked his head just the tiniest bit to the side, signaling Techno to go along with it. “C’mon, it’s not fair. He’s been arguing with me the whole time . How do you know he’s not being serious?” Ah, stalling for time, then.
“Well, if I say the truth then you’re just going to get mad at me for saying it. How’s that fair?” Techno argued back, falling into their typical routine without a second thought.
“I don’t know. That’s a you problem.”
“I’m not going to answer now just so that you get hit in the face. I hope it hurts.”
“You wouldn’t,” Dream responded, shifting ever so slightly in his chair. “I’m literally going to punch you the second my hands are free.” Probably untying his hands, somehow.
“I would,” Techno said, shooting a glare at Dream. (He wouldn’t.)
“I’m going to hit both of you if you don’t shut the fuck up,” HQ said, bluntly, before humming at his own thought. “Maybe that’s what you need. A bit of pain to convince you to cooperate without being two of the most annoying fuckers I’ve ever met.” Techno couldn’t help but grin at the insult and the second he did, HQ’s arm was swinging back, pickaxe in hand.
Techno moved to dodge, but just as he did, a gloved hand shot out to grab HQ’s, stopping the pickaxe midair before pulling the other’s arm behind his back.
Dream, freshly out of his binds, stole the weapon out of HQ’s hands while the other squirmed, trying to get out of the hero’s hold to no avail. A moment later, Dream was bringing the wooden end of the pickaxe down over his head. Hard.
The man crumbled immediately, falling to the ground in a heap and Dream let out a small hiss, “Shit, maybe that was too hard.”
“Are you stupid? He literally kidnapped us,” Techno questioned, glaring down at the blondes as he crouched down next to him, appearing to look for a pulse.
“Okay, he’s still alive. Good,” Dream said, with a sigh of relief as he stood back up and went behind Techno to untie his bindings. “And he’s my best friend’s fiancee, do you have any idea how pissed Blaze would be at me if I killed him?”
Techno stared at him in disbelief. “How is that your only worry right now? Again, he kidnapped us.”
“Blaze is going to be pissed at me for even touching him, dude.”
Holding in an exasperated sigh, Techno responded. “I don’t know how you’re still alive, frankly, considering your self-preservation skills. You should be trying to kill him.”
Dream hummed, almost carelessly. “He’s a pretty chill guy normally, actually. I’m not sure how he didn’t recognize me, honestly.”
“He was about to torture us.”
“To be fair, he did think I was a traitor,” Dream chimed just as the binds fell free, releasing Techno from the chair. Techno flexed his sore hands gratefully as circulation began to return to them.
“Oh, and I’m sure you did a wonderful job convincin’ him against that,” Techno replied, sarcastically. He stood up, stretching his limbs out after being stuck in the same position for so long.
“That is…” Dream started, staring down at HQ as if he’d just realized how badly he incriminated himself. “That is a problem for future me, I think. I need to figure out how to explain this whole thing to 404 and Blaze first. For now, I’m just sending a message to paramedics to get to this address and getting the hell out of here.”
“Sure. Help the same dude that just kidnapped us both,” Techno said, with a small huff.
“Techno, you also kidnap me. Consistently. Do you not even realize how hypocritical you are?” Dream said, looking up from his communicator to stare at him judgmentally. Okay, well his mask was still on so Techno couldn’t see it, but he could just tell .
Techno went silent for a moment. “Y’know I’m startin’ to think maybe you just a problem with Stockholm syndrome, Dream.”
“Oh, fuck off. My hands are free. I could actually punch you now. I hope you know that.”
“Sure,” Techno said, rolling his eyes but knowing better than to keep egging Dream on. “Anyways, wanna go for a quick match at my base? Chat got all riled up for nothing.”
YEAH!! BLOOD!!
BRUH I STILL WANNA FIGHT THE HQ MOTHERFUCKER???
yeah why is dream such a spoil sport wtf
just take what we get before we start arguing over this for the next hour
hhhhh fINE
“Wanna make it public?” Dream offered. “And be a bit more dramatic than usual to make sure this doesn’t happen again. Having people know that we’re on decent terms is never going to end well.”
“Why not,” Techno said with a shrug. “I don’t really care as long as you get them to shut up. And, after I kick your ass, wanna come over for dinner? Tubbo finally got Phil to let him bring that Ranboo kid over so it’ll be interesting.”
“Sure. I’ll come over. After I kick your ass.”
Techno snorted, “We’ll see about that.”
Dream flipped him off and shoved his communicator back in his pocket. “Paramedics on their way- race you to city hall.”
And without even waiting for an answer, Dream was off, leaving Techno standing there dumbly with HQ still laying on the floor.
It was unfair. Dream not only got a head start but he could also run practically at the speed of lighting so, logically thinking, there was no way Techno would be able to get even a mile within winning.
Still, he shot after the hero with barely a second thought.
There was no way he was letting that idiot get there before him.