We're so close to the end now - It's been a wild ride

When evening fell, neither of them wanted to sleep.

Not for a lack of needing it. Techno was exhausted, and he knew Ranboo was running on fumes. Under different circumstances, he would have forced them both to slow down and rest. Their chances would be much better if they weren't an inch away from falling apart into pathetic heaps at a moment's notice.

The harsh truth of it was that they couldn't afford it. They were out of water and food. The berries had managed to ward off the worst hunger pains, but they didn't change the fact that neither of them had a proper meal in almost two days. Their bodies had to be tapping into reserves just to keep them going – and after weeks of living the coliseum lifestyle, they hadn't that much to spare. Sleep was out of the question between their aches and pains, the nervous energy running through their veins, and the slowly increasing sounds in the distance.

Technoblade wasn't the type of person who lost hope or believed in 'luck'. Even he had to admit that he would be surprised if they got out of this unscathed. It would take some madly convenient timing on Phil's part.

(Though on the other hand, convenient timing had always been Phil's thing. One of the perks of having Death herself in your corner, perhaps. Or maybe it was simply a Phil attribute in general.

Either way, if the Avian did manage to save them in the nick of time, Techno wouldn't complain about it.)

They had to be prepared for if he didn't though.

Techno tapped Ranboo's shoulder, signaling he needed a break. They'd been stopping intermediately every half an hour or so, for Ranboo to be able to take the weight off his ankle. The compression had helped enough to allow him to walk maybe but it hadn't accounted for him being used as a crutch for the majority of the hike. Techno was slowing them both down.

Ranboo nodded, shuffled over to a more convenient place to sit down. There was a fallen log a few feet off for them to settle on. Techno leaned back gratefully, the wound in his thigh pounding still. Any brush of his other leg against it – or even the fabric of the bandage pressing into it when he moved wrong – sent fresh pain through him. Walking made it so the injury couldn't close, a small but dark stain spreading against the cloth from where Techno kept reopening the cut by accident.

And he had hoped they'd be able to outrun whoever was chasing them, but Techno wasn't a fool. There was no smarter move than admitting defeat sometimes.

"Change of plans," he said, watched Ranboo's head perk up. He steeled himself for the reaction his next statement would get. "You need to go on without me."

"Hm," Ranboo answered – almost as if he were considering it. "That's not going to happen."

Of all the times for the kid to grow a backbone, Technoblade would have really preferred if it hadn't been right when he could have benefited from Ranboo's pushover attitude.

"Ranboo, I'm serious," he started and interrupted Ranboo's quick 'I'm serious too' before it could go anywhere. "Those assholes aren't going to give up chasing us and if we continue like we have we won't stay ahead of them forever. We need to split up."

"What difference will splitting up make? You won't go any faster without me." The tone of Ranboo's voice betrayed he already knew what Techno was leading towards, but he hadn't accepted it yet.

"No, but you will be faster without me."

Yup, that facial expression said it all. Ranboo wasn't an idiot either.

"We're very close to the server's portal. All you need to do is go ahead and make sure you catch Phil as soon as he arrives, come back with help. I'll cover your tracks and lead them in the wrong direction." Technoblade explained it as rationally as he could, given that they were actively running out of time. The sun was setting, dusk creeping ever closer. In the darkness it would be even harder for them to continue, and easier for the hunters and their dogs to chase them.

Ranboo didn't budge, didn't move a muscle. "I'm not going to let you be caught and killed for my sake."

"I won't. We only need to buy a little time."

And despite knowing better, every inch of Techno hoped the other would comply. Would see the logic in this decision and not make a fuzz about this. Ranboo had to leave him behind, for a little bit. Techno wanted him to.

Ranboo, on the other hand...

"You're uh... you're not going to leave, are you?" Techno asked. Ranboo was sitting where he had dropped down, rotating his ankle slowly to loosen the muscle.

"Nope," Ranboo replied. Techno kind of wanted to strangle him, but that'd be counterproductive. He hadn't gone through all that trouble of keeping Ranboo alive only to murder him now.

"And there's nothing I can do to change your mind?"

Ranboo curled his leg back in, tail tucked behind him. Then he unsheathed his sword – the sword he had stolen. "Not a thing."

"Ah well, It was worth a shot." Techno pulled out his own.

They didn't speak, enjoying the silence while it lasted. Techno felt an eerie calm settle over his very bones, the warrior's repose before facing the battlefield. They did not need to win. They needed to last, to hold out until reinforcements arrived.

The dogs could be heard long before Techno could see them. Their barking faraway, then echoed off the hollow of the trees to trick them into thinking it would be closer than it was. But it was a person who stepped out of the bushes in front of them first. They didn't get a second blink in before Techno had his sword through their throat.

The noise drew more towards them. Between the darkness and the wood's thick cover, Techno had a hard time knowing where they came from. He fought defensively, covered his back. Risky maneuvers were out of the question when one wrong move could do them in. An agonizing burst of pain in his thigh alerted him that the cut had torn open, torn deeper. Techno couldn't flinch – couldn't falter. He would stand his ground until his leg gave out if need be.

Ranboo's presence was a constant in his peripheral, a quick shape of fluidity. Taking out men before they could approach. Techno was damn glad to have him there, but he could see the attack's slow down. He could see Ranboo's energy draining as if it were a physical thing.

They were running out of time.

Techno didn't see the final blow coming – it caught him in the side before he could pull back. It threw him over, buckled his knees and made him put too much pressure on it in a fruitless attempt to stay upright, and then he was toppling. He rolled out of the way of their second strike that would have lopped his head clean off. Then their boot landed on his ribcage.

More pain shot through him like fire. His entire leg was agony at this point, refusing to bend or kick or even twitch weakly. His lungs ached from trying to catch his breath and he was heaving, spitting up blood or bile. His head swam, dark spots invading his vision.

The handler who had him pinned put their sword to his chest, only hesitating to deliver what Techno was sure would be a very swift death. That one second turned out to be his salvation.

"Finally got you!" This cry from one of their companions caught their attention. Their head turned and Techno needed to capitalize on that. He needed to move, this was his last and only chance.

Except his entire body was paralyzed – a duality of pain and fatigue. Curled up on his side, merely keeping his eyes open was a Herculian task. No matter how much he wanted to, Techno couldn't get his worn muscles to obey him.

And thus he was helpless to do anything but watch as the Blond who was the bane of their existence above all else dragged Ranboo forward by his hair. The sword was gone, he'd been disarmed. He was bleeding from a split lip, his ankle had given out. The man's eyes were full of sadistic victory as they pressed their blade close to Ranboo's eye socket.

The handler who was nearest to Techno clicked their tongue. "Boss said we needed that one alive." They didn't sound entirely too bothered by it, probably more worried about their paycheck.

"He did, he did." The blond laughed and it was the nastiest sound Technoblade had ever heard. "He said alive, didn't say shit about undamaged. I'm sure he'll fetch them a nice enough price with an eye or two missing."

Chat rampaged. They screamed and cursed and tore at the foundation of his mind hard enough Techno was afraid he'd gone deaf, unable to hear anything but them. Their anger fueled him, fed him. Oh so easily it usually was to harness their rage. But it wasn't enough this time – not nearly enough. He still couldn't move.

As the man turned the blade in their hand, prepared to get their sick trophy, Technoblade came to the sickening realization he might have failed to upkeep his promise after all.