Long Way Home

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Where we were meant to be...

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After swiftly packing his belongings and saying his farewell to Carl, Techno met his best friend in front of his portal. The two walked in and chatted as they made their way to the rooftops.

"I thought Wil mentioned she didn't travel on the rooftops of the Nether?" Techno asked.

"She didn't, but I did." Phil confessed. "I had gotten news about the revolution. Thinking y/n was home like Wil promised, I went to check on her. To keep her from, you know, running back into danger." Phil's movements became slower as he spoke his next words, "But when I saw the barren streets and an empty beachside house. Something told me she never came back home."

Techno watched as Phil's expression fell as he pondered the idea of his son lying to him. One little lie isn't enough to tell someone they changed right? Only if Phil had noticed the other "little" lies his old son let his father believe.

Time had passed and soon enough the duo was met with another glowing portal. It was a lot further than Techno had imagined it to be. The sight of it was relieving after a long walk. But the moment the pinkette watched the blonde walk through, panic settled. His heart began to pound as he stood and watched the portal spin and twirl within itself. He took a deep breath to calm the voices screaming at him to leave and took a step to the other side.

There he was met with an overgrown portal entrance that had hanging lanterns and flowers planted around it. A dirt and cobblestone path decorated with soft lights and hanging fruit bushes paved the way from where the two stood. Looking into the distance Techno could see houses. Gray smoke floating out of the chimneys and bright lights sparkled from the town streets. It was night time, but that wasn't enough to disrupt its beauty.

"Are you ready to go?" Phil asked an anxious pigman.

"Mhm," Techno got out with the best of his ability.

Phil and Techno began walking towards the town. The pinkette tried his best to calm himself down the entire time. If the townsfolk knew he killed their beloved hero, what would he do? They would surely chase him out and ban him from ever coming again.

Suddenly, Techno was brought back to reality when his surroundings became darker. He looked up and was met with the back of a large statue. Quickly walking around it, not taking his eyes off the stone person, he eventually was met with the statue's face.

"You like it?" His old friend asked.

It was a statue of her. Y/n was in a long flowy gown, her long hair was slicked back, and she held the moon in her hands. She was made of dark polished deepslate. Every inch of her was carved perfectly.

"Techno? Techno~" A soft feminine voice called from the other side of shielded eyes.

The pinkette slowly opened his crimson eyes. He scooted up and leaned his back against the wall. Techno covered his face with his hands.

"Well you're finally up and pretty," The h/c haired woman made a joke and grabbed the mask sitting beside his bed. "Don't worry I didn't peek," She handed the mask to the man. Y/n kept her focus on the bedside table.

"I wasn't worried about that," Techno said, graciously taking the mask in his hands and swiftly strapping it onto his face.

Techno finally looked towards the only other person inside the room. She didn't sport her usual turtleneck and tights. Instead she was in a long f/c dress. The pinkette couldn't help but stare at the young woman.

"Don't look at me like that!" Y/n laughed. "I know it's not exactly an efficient outfit."

He wanted to compliment her. But every inch of him was denying to do so. The voices, his incapability to just talk to women in general, you get the idea. So, he settled for whatever the hell you can call his response.

"So what led to this change?" Techno asked.

"Got some build up of blood and dust on my other set of clothes and... everything else. This was all I had left from the clothes Niki gave me." She responded.

"Well, it's um...

It's... breathtaking," Techno responded.

The blonde let out a small laugh, "Yeah, the people in the town made it the first time she saved this place. They always keep it in good shape, even after all of these years. It looks brand new."

Techno finally took his eyes off the centerpiece and found a book sitting on a lectern in front of it. The book was titled The Origin of New. The pinkette began to open the book until he was interrupted by Phil grabbing hold of his hand.

"Let's save that for later," Phil suggested.

"Oh my gosh! Mom! Oh my gosh!" A young lady's voice could be heard from behind the two.

Techno and Phil looked behind them and saw a little girl holding her mother's hand while jumping up and down.

"It's Technoblade and Philza! They're both here!" She shouted.

All of a sudden more people started to exit their houses and greet the two men. They weren't swarmed and definitely were not being chased out of the town. The young girl's tone proved it. She was excited to see the two.

"Is she here too?" One of the townsfolk asked.

"New's coming back?" Another one asked excitedly.

Phil simply put his index finger up to his lips and all of the people that surrounded them remained happily quiet.

"Sadly, I can't say anything. However, if you can, it's about time to prepare for the Moon Festival!" Phil commanded in a joyous tone. He threw his arms up into the air then turned back to Techno as everyone around them dashed off cheering.

"I need to meet with the town's mayor. Help the citizens out," Phil told him.

"What am I supposed to do? I don't know what the festival is even for!" Techno argued.

"Keep it that way!" Phil laughed. "Help them lift stuff or, I don't know, judge something?"

After that Phil was lost in the crowd, leaving Techno like a lost puppy. Feeling useless and lost, the pinkette gave up in trying to find other things to do and approached the nearest person.

It was a young man with brown hair and green eyes. He stared at Techno for a moment before getting flustered and stuttering. It was the opposite reaction the pigman thought would happen. He gently placed his hands on their shoulder, calming the young man down a bit. Eventually, he was able to ask Techno to help him decorate "New's house." Whoever that was, Techno had no clue. But he blindly followed with boxes of decorations anyways.

The young man, who Techno had found out to be named Charles, and he soon found their way to a house by the beach. It looked barren yet peaceful. The home was a ways away from the actual town and had a clean beach that surrounded it.

Wonder who lives here. Might have to kill them for it.

The two got to decorating the exterior of the house. Charles told Techno the townsfolk forbid each other from going into it without the presence of "New." They said it was bad luck and just awful to do in general. Which made sense to Techno so he kept away from prying.

"Tadaa!" Charles cheered, waving his hands towards the house. "It looks great! Just like how she'd decorate it herself."

There were (fav flowers) paired with complementing flowers almost everywhere. Lots of beautiful greenery and fairy lights. Each phase of the moon hangs on different sides of the house. Techno was proud of his skill. Charles struggled decorating the house, stressing about how everything should look just like how "New" would do it. It led him to overthink the entire process, but Techno just took the reins and eventually started decorating. After seeing how perfectly Techno was decorating, the young man followed.

"Wow, the house looks good lads!" Phil complemented from behind the two.

"Thanks! Technoblade did most of the work though. But I never doubted him. It is said in the books how he knew New deeper than anyone else," Charles said astounded by the pigman.

Techno furrowed his brows and looked for any clarification from Phil. But the crowman just kept smiling.

"You still helped too! So, be proud of yourself Charles," Phil patted the young man's head.

"Thank you, sir!" Charles smiled. "Well, I'll leave the two of you be. You both must be tired after your trip here. Goodnight!" He waved and skipped back to the village.

"I know her deeper than anyone else?" Techno quoted, questioning the brunette's words.

"You'll see," Phil smirked. "Let's head in for the night. Tomorrow's gonna be a long day!" He said while walking into the beachside house.

Techno hesitantly followed, remembering what Charles had told him earlier.

"Are you sure we can go in?" Techno asked.

"Don't worry. Her home might as well be my own while I'm here," Phil explained.

The two walked into the dark beachside house. Phil switched the lights on and plopped himself on one of the living room couches.

"I'm gonna rest here for a while. There's a door with a crown engraved on it, that's yours," Phil said, covering his face with his striped hat.

The pinkette walked towards the door closest to him. On it was the letter "B," signifying that it was the bathroom. The next door had stairs engraved on it. But, it was an iron door. Whoever New was, she must have been extremely cautious. Then there was the archway to the kitchen, dining room, and first floor to the library. He found the stairs to the second floor. There he found another bathroom, what was most likely Phil's room, a guest room, the second story of the library, and his room. Before he entered, there was another door at the end of the hallway. Another iron door with a black stained glass circle for a window. The lights were out in the room, so Techno couldn't see whatever was on the other side. But it didn't stop him from being overly curious.

His exhaustion got the best of him, however. So eventually he quit trying to peek into the room and entered his own. A large red bed was placed in the corner, bookshelves aligned one of the walls, a closet, a desk littered with old papers and books, and a small envelope that sat on his bedside table. Techno decided to look further tomorrow, so he plopped himself on the bed and slept the night away. 

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1790 words

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