"Tommy he's going to be back-"

"He's not yet, though. I'm not leaving her until I have to."

Tommy's voice tugged at my sleeping mind, pulling me out of my dreamless sleep and back into reality. As I came around, I could also hear a fire crackling and a harsh wind blowing outside.

My magic flooded my veins with relief, already beginning to work on the wound that now crossed my abdomen. The wound gave a painful pulse, as a reminder it was there, making me groan.

There was some shifting, and I felt someone near where I was laying. My senses and mind felt foggy with pain and sleep, but I could still faintly hear the quiet, wispy sounds of Ghostbur floating towards me.

"Y/n?" Tommy asked, hesitantly.

I pried my heavy eyelids open so I could peer up at my friend. He was leaning over me slightly, with the ghost right behind him. Both had a fearful expression plastered on their face.

But, behind the fear, Tommy looked a hundred times better.

His hair had regained a sandy shine, and his clothes were a little cleaner. His blue eyes were clearer, reminding me of the teal water that filled the ocean near L'manberg. The cuts and scrapes had been taken care of as well.

White feathers stopped just below his knees, his wings tucked in against his back. When I had passed out, the wings were wet with clumps of snow. Now, they were dry and smooth.

Ghostbur moved around Tommy, holding out a glass of water for me. At the sight of water, I realized how dry my throat was.

With a lot of effort, I pushed my bruised and battered body into a sitting position. The ever-present gash on my stomach burned, making me flinch.

"You look like shit," Tommy said as I downed the water. I rolled my eyes and swiped my arm across my mouth to brush the excess water off my lip.

As I did so, I noticed the scabs that covered my knuckles and how my nails were split from the rough Nether floor. The scrapes from crashing through the broken window were healed though.

A wave of memories flooded through me at the sight of my hands.

I almost died to Dream.

I bit back at the emotions trailing the memories and cleared my throat. "Well, considering I almost died, I think I have an excuse to look like shit, thank you very much."

This made Tommy smile, one side of his lips quirked up. "No need to get sassy, woman."

I laughed but quickly stopped. The air left my lungs and the slice throbbed, stabbing at me. I would have to ease up on laughing for now.

Tommy's smile disappeared, and worry replaced it.

Ghostbur stared at me curiously, his dark, dull eyes wide. "Y/n, what happened to you?"

Not just from the pain, but also from the stream of memories, my eyes begin to water. Heartache burned in my chest, but the hot anger replaced it in seconds.

"I ... I don't want to talk about it." My voice was wobbly, with restraint on my anger. "Just know that something happened and I got hurt."

"But-"

"Tommy." My gaze softened. "Look, I'm here and I'm alive. I'll tell you later when I'm ready."

If I wasn't ready to even think about what happened, then I sure wasn't ready to tell someone else. Also, Tommy hadn't seemed mentally stable after experiencing Dream's manipulation, so I didn't want to add to his stress.

Tommy stared at me for a second, before relaxing. "Alright, but I don't think you'll be able to get out of Techno asking you. Ghostbur said he's been stressed out since he came home to you being half-dead."

Ghostbur piped up, "Since I brought you two in from the snow, and Tommy hid, he's been asking me what's happened. I just had to force him out of the house cause he wouldn't leave your side."

For the first time, I glanced around at our surroundings, searching for my friend.

A fireplace was behind the cot I was laying on, the source of the snapping, and chests were pushed against several of the walls accompanied by a crafting table and brewing stands.

Outside the windows, the world was completely white with snow. The double door across from me creaked with a strong gust of wind, next to a ladder. The room was lit by a lantern, hanging above, and the roaring fire behind me.

I turned back to my friends. "He's out there?" I pointed to the blizzard outside.

"Yeah, he needed to get out of the house. Also, I wanted to be able to see you." Tommy said, glancing out at the storm.

"Why haven't you been able to see me?"

"Because I'm hiding under the house. Techno doesn't know I'm here," He gave me a pointed look. "So you better not say anything."

I crossed my arms over my chest, careful of the bandages wrapped around my stomach. "Of course I won't say anything." My gaze softened. "But, I do want to talk to you soon, about ... recent events."

The image of large explosions and a tall pillar flashed into my mind as I referenced the moments after I had been hurt.

He nodded hesitantly, opening his mouth to say something. He was cut off by the sound of heavy footsteps outside of the door.

"Shit." Tommy gave me one last look, mimicking a zipper over his mouth. I nodded and he scrambled down the ladder, the door opening a second after his blonde head disappeared.

"Ghostbur, could you close the door?" Techno was walking in the door backward, with something in his arms. Snow was stuck to his dark boots and the edge of his cape.

His red cape had been replaced by a light blue one, with a thicker lining of fur around his neck. Stretched out pink curls fell from his short ponytail, his crown pushed slightly to the side from the wind.

"Sure, Techno!" Ghostbur said, cheerfully. He seemed to forget about me and floated over to close the door.

As he closed the door, a strong gust of wind pushed through, ruffling the sheet over my cot. Not even the fire right behind me could stop the strong chill that went down my spine, irritating the slash.

Techno set down what he was carrying, and stood back up. The thing shook once to rid the flakes from his fur and looked around curiously.

I couldn't stop my excited shout when Ghost turned to see me, after successfully getting his fur clean. "Ghost!"

While Techno jumped and spun on his heel to face me, Ghost bounded over to me, jumping onto the cot. The bed tilted with the new weight, but I closed my eyes and smiled as the dog licked my face.

Ghost seemed to sense my injury and carefully stepped around it. After a moment, he settled on my side, pushing me to the edge.

"You're awake?" Techno stared at me in disbelief through black goggles.

Now that he was turned around, I could see that he was wearing a dark blue, loose long sleeve shirt, with white gloves. He had a red sash around his waist, with a brown belt just below it.

There was a black cloth covering the bottom half of his face, stopping just below the snow goggles he wore. Why he chose to live in a place where it's constantly snowing, eluded me.

I smirked at him. "I see that you've lost the red cape."

He pulled down the covering and I could see that he didn't return the smirk. Pulling off the snow goggles and cloth, he placed them in a chest while he talked to me. "So, you show up at my house, almost dead, and the first thing you mention is my new cape?"

"Yup."

He sighed, turning back to face me. Seriousness painted his face, yet I could see the hint of amusement in his dark eyes. "Why am I not surprised?"

I shrugged, the bruise on my back aching. I looked around at the house. "To be honest, I did not expect your house to look like this."

He sat down on a chest, crossing one of his legs and leaning back against the wall. "Did you expect me to be living in a dark, cold cave somewhere?"

I got a laugh out of him when I nodded. "Well, I prefer a comfortable, modest cottage to a cave."

Ghostbur had disappeared, probably down with Tommy. It was surprising that Techno hadn't found his brother living below him yet, considering how observant the man was.

But I would stick to my word. As close as I was to Techno, Tommy was like a brother to me and he had learned to trust me. I wouldn't break that trust by snitching.

"Care to tell me why you were bleeding out a few days ago?" Techno pulled me from my thoughts.

"Wait, I've been out for days?" I said, surprised.

"About four days."

My mind instantly went to my friends back at home. I had disappeared without warning for days, and they had no idea where I was.

Unless Quackity told them I escaped with Techno.

Anxiety spiked my heart rate, making my hands begin to sweat. I could have easily died out in the snow and they would've had no clue as to where I was or why I suddenly didn't come home.

Ghost noticed my change in emotion, pushing his head under my hand. The feeling of his soft fur grounded me, as it always had when I began to panic. I watched the dog instead of looking up at Techno.

"Y/n, I'll take care of whoever did that to you, but you have to tell me who it was." Techno's voice was gruff, but I could sense some gentleness underneath.

Ghost's chocolate brown eyes looked up at me, his tongue hanging out of his mouth. My eyes stayed on him, trying to calm my anger and worry.

As much as Dream deserved to pay for what he did to me, I wanted to be the one to deal with him. Techno could easily take care of him, but I wanted to confront him for what he did to me.

And if I told my friend who did this to me, there would be no stopping him from marching out into the snow, straight to Dream.

"I'm not ready to talk about it yet." I finally looked up at him, meeting his gaze. "But when I am, and I'm ready to confront the person, I will tell you everything."

He was silent for a moment, a calculating look on his face. When he didn't say anything, I feared that he would push me and continue to ask who had done this.

But, he leaned forward, his gaze softening. "Fine, but you will tell me who it is one day."

I nodded. "I promise." I looked back down at my dog, my anger being replaced with worry. My voice was barely a whisper, "How bad was it?"

"Ghostbur said that when he found you in the snow, you were passed out, your heart rate was slowing, and blood was everywhere." I could hear the worry in his voice. "By the time I got home from the execution, he had cleaned up the blood and got you inside."

"Was Ghostbur the one to stitch the gash?"

"Yes, and he bandaged you." I looked up at my friend when I noticed the dip in his tone. He was looking away as he continued, "I would've helped but the voices were already so bad, and there was blood everywhere..."

"It's alright, Techno. I know how bad the voices can be." I gave him a reassuring smile when he looked back at me. "And anyway, I heard that you did your part after I was cleaned up."

"What did Ghostbur say?"

I stifled my laugh, not wanting to hurt myself. "He said you never left my side, and how he had to force you out of the house because you were acting so bad."

Techno frowned and fiddled with the brewing stand at his side. "I wasn't that bad. I was simply making sure no one tried to kill you." His frown turned into a smirk. "Again."

I rolled my eyes but ultimately smiled. "Mhm, sure." I dragged out the ending of the last word.

"Anyway, I also brought Ash to where I am keeping Carl. So, she's safe. We can go back to get the rest of your stuff once you're healed."

I paused, staring at him. "Wait, you want me to live here with you?"

He gave me a look like I was dumb. "I thought that was obvious since you don't really have a place to live."

"I live with Puffy-"

"Until you found your own home."

"How-"

"Phil kept me updated on how you were doing."

A warm smile found its way onto my face. It made my heart heal a bit to know that my friend had been looking out for me, even if it was through other eyes.

"Aww, Techno, we get to be housemates!" I whooped.

"Yeah, yeah, but we're building a house next to mine soon. There's not enough room here for all four of us." Even though his back was turned to me as he sorted through a chest, I could sense the joy in his voice.

Techno may never admit it, but I knew he was happy I was here with him.

"Four?"

"When you're better, we're going to get Phil out of his house arrest."

Ah, I had forgotten about his father.

I shifted slightly as my stomach gave a painful throb from sitting in the same position for too long. Ghost put his head on my lap to support me once I was comfortable.

My mind drifted back to my friends back in the Dream lands.

"How did you get Ghost and Ash out of Puffy's house?" I asked while he pulled off his cape.

He hung it up neatly on a hook next to the ladder. "I talked to her. She knows you're safe with me, and I told her to tell Sam." He picked up a sheath with a sword in it and sat back down.

"What about Sapnap, George, and Karl?"

"I also told her to tell Sapnap, who I assume will tell the others. It doesn't matter if anyone knows where you are. They'll stay away." His voice turned grave with the last words.

I mean, it did matter if a certain someone knew where I was because he would most likely be angry with me after trying to kill him and splitting his mask.

But hopefully, if Dream did find out, he would be smart enough to stay away if he knew Techno was guarding me while I healed.

When I pulled myself out of my thoughts, Techno was shining my molten sword. Flecks of my own blood mixed with Dream's were gone, the rotten memories being wiped away with a wet cloth.

"You know, I could help you clean that. It is mine-"

"No, you're not doing anything till you're better." He didn't look up from the sword as he spoke, but I could hear the protective side of him coming out, like an older brother.

"But-"

"You're not messing up those stitches Ghostbur worked so hard on, and you're not hurting yourself more by trying to help me with simple tasks." He sheathed my sword and continued, "So make yourself comfortable, because you're bed-ridden until I say so."

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest. "When did you become so strict with my health?"

"Since you almost died a few days ago."

"It's not like it's the first time," I mumbled under my breath.

His head snapped up, his dark eyes giving me a serious look. I smiled sheepishly at him and raised my hands in defeat.

I scooched down into my cot, slowly to not disturb my bruises and wounds. Ghost shifted with me, moving over to the edge to give me some space.

Surprisingly, the cot was comfortable, with the soft blanket over me and the crackling fire behind my back. Although, I tried my best to not look at the red stains on the bed, from a few days prior.

I glanced out at the raging blizzard. Snow pounded the glass, relentlessly, despite the summer season. Any signs of heat or sun disappeared as soon as we crossed into the Northern regions.

"Since I have so much time to do nothing, why don't you tell me what happened after I left on the execution day. And, how you ended up complying with the Butcher Army."

He leaned back against the wall, getting comfortable. He glanced at the netherite pickaxe he had used as a weapon.

"Well, they came to my base..."

~~~~

I FINALLY GET TO WRITE ABOUT TECHNO, TOMMY, AND US YESSS (oh and she's alive lol yay)

also, just wanted to clarify that our relationship with techno is just platonic. As much as I want to, we won't have any romantic feelings, we're just friends :)

guys if you couldn't tell, I am very excited to write some happy chapters with the three of us + Mr. minecraft and ghostbur of course. So strap in, cause here comes some SBI content :)

hey you all should go read Play with Fire by SaltyHarry11

AND you should also read Third Wheel by Omphea

show them some love for me

anyway, see ya in the next part! stay hydrated my frennnsss