The thing about enchantments was that they weren't close to being foolproof.

Some spells had more powerful effects and the manner in which you applied them to items could change how effective they were. But curse of binding was not renowned for its potency. A stubborn enough opponent would be able to force their way through it with ease.

Technoblade knew a thing or two about stubbornness.

The magic had left angry red welts on the palms of his hands, digging into the metal as he had. Pulling at where he knew the weaker points of the chain would be, the spots it had been welded together. As soon as they brought Ranboo back from the stage Techno had grabbed him and ran. They were still running.

The forests that grew around this server were dense, thick with undergrowth and bushes that would make it a pain to traverse for long periods of time – let alone at night. It was impossible to find their way and it was small too. Sooner or later they'd run the risk of ending up where they started again. Technoblade ran and didn't stop until the air was cutting into his lungs, making it impossible to breathe. Ranboo was wheezing and panting, almost unable to keep up.

So he paused. Ranboo doubled over immediately, hands on his knees.

"We got out?!" he asked then, unbelieving. The adrenaline hadn't worn off yet, Techno was still high from it as well.

"We got out," he said, laughing. Something quiet and pleased that turned into a full-chest joy. "We got out – man, did you see their faces?! We're out!"

"We're out!" Ranboo repeated and threw up his arms before wincing when it hurt his side. "Ouch, okay, enough running. Plenty of running."

"Yeah..." Techno reached into his pocket. The communicator hadn't fallen out. The voices said it would – some of them had tried tricking him into thinking it already had. But it was still there. "Let's see if we can work with this thing?"

Techno fiddled with the button, watching the screen light up. There was barely a sliver of battery left. It didn't have any connection to the server's network either, though it was searching around attempting to make one. "Hm."

"What does 'hm' mean? Is that a bad 'hm' or a good 'hm'?" Ranboo asked anxiously, the jubilation over their escape already dying out. It was only step one, part one. They weren't any closer to getting home if they couldn't get the communicator to work.

"It's gonna need a moment," Techno said, showing Ranboo the screen. "We shouldn't stay out in the open, they're looking for us."

They walked for a little, until they could find a spot more guarded by trees. Techno sat down to wait, balanced the communicator on his leg. Ranboo sank onto his knees next to him. The chains still constricting his hands rattled with the movement.

"C'me here." Techno held out his hands. Ranboo outstretched his own arms. Techno took hold of each cuff in turn and broke them off, hissing when the enchantment burnt him.

When he was done the communicator dinged. Techno picked it up, smirked at the sight of the full bar signifying they could send out a message. "Okay, who do we text?"

Ranboo leaned closer into him to watch as well. "Well, uh, Phil... I was thinking Phil."

"Get the old man to bail us out, cringe." But Techno was already typing away. He send the message, followed by the coordinates of the server.

[You said: Hey Phil if you're free could you come pick us up? I think we're lost. Ranboo says hi btw. ]

The screen flickered, inching closer to losing battery life.

[Phil said: on my way]

"And now we wait." He put the communicator back into his pocket. It would fall without power and turn off within a few minutes. They had done all they could.

Ranboo messed with the knife in his hands. Technoblade had seen Mel hand it to him, but they'd been too much in a hurry to take anything else. At least one weapon was better than no weapon. The danger hadn't passed yet. It could easily take a day or two for Phil to arrive, and in the meantime, they'd be sitting ducks out here.

They needed water and food. They needed shelter to sleep, rest. They needed to stay on the move to make it harder for the handlers to track them. They needed-

A branch broke nearby.

Both of them went motionless, the sudden quiet absorbing even the background noise of life so prevalent in the woodlands. Not a bird moved from within its branch cage and no wind dare stir the smallest leave. Slowly – ever so slowly as to not make the tiniest sound – Techno pressed back against the tree he was sitting near.

The one footstep was followed by others. It was only three people, split off from a larger group to cover more ground. And Techno wanted to curse himself because he knew they hadn't gone far enough. He knew these forests were not frequently traveled ground so their wild dash into freedom must have left a convenient little trail behind anybody could track.

As far as hiding went, they had done an abysmal job.

Voices reached them, too labored to be comprehensible. Those in pursuit had been running. That explained how they'd managed to catch up relatively quickly. Ranboo looked at Techno, and he looked back. Neither of them dared to so much as breathe.

Just as the group was passing them by without a clue, the communicator shut down with a loud ding.

L
L
L
E
why do those things even make a sound when they shut off
L
E
that's called comedic timing

Technoblade shot upright before the echo had faded. The man closest to their location was halfway turned, Techno wouldn't allow them to get their bearing enough to attack. He wrestled them to the ground, pried their sword from their hands and turned it on them instead. They pushed back but he braced his knee in their gut and sunk the sword into their throat. Blood gurgled from their lips.

The other two had realized what was going on by then. One was younger, inexperienced. Techno didn't recognize them, they hung back and were obviously scared of him. The other one had long hair and was wearing amor. Techno had seen them around the armory before.

"Well, if it isn't the runaway slaves. How about you surrender to us now and we won't harm either of you," they said it with such malice, Techno knew it was a lie.

But he had a sword now, a weapon. And the numbers were even. This was a whole different playing field from the arena.

They saw his non-compliance and sighed, raising their own blade. Techno caught their attacks, but noticed the second handler move around from the corner of his eye, trying to flank him. Ranboo was on them before they could think about it. He only had the knife so it was less than ideal, the odds were probably still in their favor.

Especially since they were a rookie; flailing and clumsy. They lashed out and cut Ranboo across the cheek, a lucky hit. The man fighting Techno panicked.

"Hey, we actually need that one alive!"

And it was all the information Techno needed.

He'd caused too much trouble, he wasn't worth it anymore. They were going to kill him, and then they were going to take Ranboo back and sell him to the freak willing to spend half a fortune on him. Techno wasn't about to let that happen. With the handler distracted it wasn't hard to overpower them. Ranboo had stabbed the other guy, leaving the two of them alone in the misleading quiet of the forest. It was impossible to tell how many others might be out there looking for them.

All they knew was that they wouldn't be alone for long.

"You're bleeding," Ranboo said.

Techno hadn't even noticed it, but they did manage to deliver a cut to his thigh that was looking rather badly. Not too bad, nothing he couldn't walk off. Easily ignorable, he decided. "We should leave before more show up," he said. Picking up a bandana from one of the fallen handlers, he wrapped it around the wound.

Ranboo looked out at the forest with a frown, calm and deceptive. The one thing hiding them from their enemies, but also hiding the danger from them. Their biggest ally and their greatest foe.

And the one thing that would hopefully keep them alive until backup arrived.