[Survival Of The Fittest]
The brutal cold wind whipped and blew past the Kamado siblings, the roaring frigid wind blowing past them as the feeling of death washed over the pair. Tanjiro waded through waist-high snow, all the while carrying Takeo on his back—the weight of which did not help matters any further.
He bit his lower lip as his movements slowed. He had to continue to move. If he didn't… he would most likely die.
Tanjiro looked back at Nezuko, who had fallen behind. She had been shivering in the frozen wasteland that Kumotori mountain had become, as the world around them had been seemingly trying to kill them.
"Brother… I… Can't… Continue…." Nezuko stammered as Tanjiro grabbed her arm.
"No, Nezuko, we have to keep moving forward! Please!" The boy begged, snow obstructing his vision as he could feel his sister's grip weaken.
All around them, there was nothing. Nothing but snow and cold. Tanjiro began to curse under his breath. First, it was their family, and then it was this stupid blizzard. How many times was the world going to shove a metaphorical stick of dynamite in their face and have it blow up?!
Noises that they had never heard before swarmed around them, growling, hissing, and howls of anger and rage. Something was out in the darkness, which only drove Tanjiro to pull his sister along even more.
Hell or high water, Tanjiro Kamado was not one to give up even if it meant certain death.
"Come on! Nezuko, we need to keep moving!" Tanjiro hollered, grabbing the tween's arm as he lifted her, looking down at her with worry-filled eyes. "We have to make it there before this gets any worse!" the boy begged as Nezuko picked herself up, nodding as they continued to walk.
They had to make it to the shelter that was supposedly up ahead. If they didn't, then their entire bloodline would be killed off in succession, one night after the other.
But as they walked, something plopped into Tanjiro's mind. It was an ineffective, itty bitty little insignificant thought, but one that only now made sense to the boy.
"How would Dream follow us?"
It had been a question on his mind for only two minutes, but it was a valid one. How would he wade through the snow? Would he be able to make it?
Then another question followed after that, one that he had been meaning to ask for a while.
What was Technoblade up to?
How was he going to survive the blizzard? Did he have a place to stay for the night to pass it over? He genuinely didn't know, and he had grown worrisome over it.
He hoped that they were alright.
An hour would pass, and the hopes of them finding the so-called shelter had begun to dwindle. Did Dream lie to them? Was it all a ruse to get them killed?
Nezuko had begun to slow even more as time went on, her breath becoming laboured as the blizzard picked up in ferocity.
For the rest of the hour, they had thought that they would die in the snowy wasteland, their fight for life being meaningless in the end.
But then, as if someone had been watching over them, guiding them, the world finally gave them a break. A much-deserved one at that.
They could barely see the actual structure. All they could see were the number of lights on. But, regardless of consequence, It was all the confirmation they needed. Without thinking twice about how a building this large appeared out of thin air, they entered the house—the shelter that Dream had promised them.
Upon entering, they felt a wave of heat hit them, warming their cold bones. The feeling of the heat washing over them refreshed them as they basked in the warmth. They gazed around the area and were impressed with what they saw.
The interior was clean, with no signs of wear or decay over time. It was like someone had cleaned the place before leaving, and it remained in that state ever since.
Nezuko closed the sliding door behind them, putting Hanako down gently on the floor, her body freezing as she fell on her hands and knees. She looked back, her breathing ragged as Tanjiro put Takeo down by the stairwell to what they assumed to be the second floor.
"Pardon my language, brother…." Nezuko started, catching her breath. "But that fucking sucked," Nezuko spat as Tanjiro let out a weak laugh, his eyes heavy from a mixture of being tired and being stuck in the blizzard.
They had never been stuck in a blizzard before. They came close to being stuck in two blizzards, but thanks to their sickly father, they were able to get inside before it got too bad. Those were the last years they had with their father, and it was spent filled with terror of whether or not he was going to make it, spending every moment they could get with him.
Ever since then, they associated blizzards with him. Each blizzard showed them that he was okay up in the skies in Heaven.
But after this? No more, he would no longer be associated with blizzards. Blizzards were awful, and their father was never awful to them.
Tanjiro glanced down at Takeo, his body shivering as the eldest boy frowned. He needed to get them to someplace warm, along with him and Hanako. As Nezuko stood up, Tanjiro snapped his fingers, getting her attention.
"We need to get those two to a bed… then we'll warm up somewhere," Tanjiro stated as Nezuko picked up Hanako and Tanjiro picked up Takeo again. The weight of the younger siblings proved to be a lot more for them to handle due to the cold that had affected them.
As they walked up the stairs, Tanjiro had the sense as if something had been watching them. The redhead glanced behind his shoulder, the sliding door closing ever so slightly. A lump settled in his throat. Did something follow them inside?
Was it that organization that Dream had been talking about?
No, that wasn't possible. Maybe it was just Dream….
Yeah, it had to be…
Walking up the stairs to the second floor, they came across several rooms. They picked the closest one to the right. Entering the room, they were greeted with candlelight and books, shelves filled with novels and diaries. But there was one thing that stood out to them the most, that being a bed. As soon as they saw it, they put the pair of younger siblings down onto the red mattress.
Upon doing so, the two watched as the pair of younger siblings immediately huddled together like a magnet. The action caused the two older siblings to look on in shock.
They moved! But… why didn't they say anything?
Was it like…
No! Tanjiro refused to believe that his siblings were stuck in…
Stuck in…
"W-Wait, are they actually…." Nezuko left the question open-ended as Tanjiro put a hand on both of their faces, giving Nezuko a firm nod in response. The younger of the two felt tears threaten to leave her eyes. "I-It's just like father…" the ravenette said, covering her mouth as Tanjiro grit his teeth.
The eldest sibling remembered that their mother had stated that their father had slipped into a coma, which meant they were trapped in their body, unable to speak, move, but they could make gestures to show they were alive, small, impartial things.
Subtle movements.
And that, that had been a subtle movement.
Tanjiro wanted to scream. He tried to cry out into the void, but nothing came. All he could do was stare in pain and horror.
He was going to lose them.
He was going to lose his family, and all he'd have was Nezuko…
"N-No… I don't want to lose you two… I can't afford to lose anyone else…." Tanjiro said, falling to his knees as he held onto Takeo's hand, putting it into his face. Tears freely fell from his eyes as Nezuko put a hand on his back.
"It's okay, brother, we'll be able to help them. Once Technoblade-san returns, I'm sure we'll be able to help Hanako and Takeo," Nezuko said, causing Tanjiro to look up at her. She was smiling. Even in a time of pain and suffering, she was smiling.
In a way, Tanjiro wanted to be like Nezuko. There was a part of his little sister that screamed heroism. He didn't know what exactly it was about her that made her seem idealistic, and maybe it was the fact that she more resembled their father than their mother, or perhaps, just perhaps, she had a brighter worldview than him.
Whatever the case was. Tanjiro wanted it. He wanted that part of Nezuko that made her shine in their darkest hour.
She was like a beacon in the dark, the sun rising from the night sky, casting down a light of guidance onto the world.
At least, that was what he saw her as.
Their family had been cast in a shadow of darkness since the day their father died. When he did, the blizzards seemed only to get worse, and sickness became more prevalent.
The death of their family had been the final straw that broke the camel's back.
The Kamado family was cursed to forever be stuck in a perpetual cycle of evil and darkness.
But as quickly as those dark, evil things came, their call for help was answered.
He heard the sound of creaking wood. Tanjiro's eyes fell on the doorway, and in the doorway stood a man. The man was tall and was dressed… strangely. His eyes were a burning red and a smile as wicked as all wicked smiles could be.
His hair was matted, the hat on his head crooked, and he had scars decorating his face. His skin was whiter than snow, and he wore strange gloves on his hands.
But the one thing that struck the pair as even weirder about this already mysterious stranger was his accent.
"Or perhaps, I could help…?"
Technoblade stared at Kokushibo, interest in his eyes as he smirked. Someone was summoning him? That was an exciting prospect. Technoblade hadn't thought that he would be summoned by someone who had an interest in him. Usually, if he were summoned, the summoner would attempt to kill him with either a surprise army attack or a surprise attack that they had arranged themselves.
The two stared at one another for a moment, until finally, Technoblade broke the silence, his hand distancing itself from his sword.
"Who exactly wants to speak to me?" Technoblade asked as Kokushibo narrowed his many eyes.
"If I were to say his name, I would die. Now, will you come with me or not. Either way, my master will meet you soon, regardless of whether or not you will like it." Kokushibo stated as Technoblade narrowed his eyes.
"Well then, Mr. Upper Moon, take me to your master, I suppose. I don't have much to do right now anyway," Technoblade stated as he heard the sound of a string being strummed. Within an instant, he was standing within a massive castle made of various entrances, stairways, as well as a woman holding what appeared to be a wooden, stretched-out banjo.
He stood upon a platform in the middle of the vast and empty room. Technoblade had an ominous feeling wash over him. The sense of dread slowly started to drip down his forehead. He was not afraid, merely exerting a great amount of caution.
"So this, is the elusive Blood God?" A feminine voice spoke out, a pair of red, cat-like eyes staring down at him. They wore their hair in what appeared to be a bun, all of it as black as the night sky. They wore a black kimono with the same type of colour as the figure's hair, though they had a tie around their waist indictive of the night sky.
Technoblade looked beside him, noticing that Kokushibo had knelt where he stood. "My Lord, I have brought you what you asked for. Shall I leave you two alone?" Kokushibo asked as the woman snapped her fingers, the other woman holding the strange instrument strumming it once more as Kokushibo fell through the floor as the sound of sliding doors echoed throughout the castle.
"I take it you're the person that guy wanted me to see?" Technoblade asked as the woman raised her head, a judging glare fixated on him as Technoblade gave the woman a glare of his own. "Well, speak up. You're wasting my time. I'm currently busy trying to learn what these so-called "Breathing Techniques" are. I—" Technoblade couldn't finish as a giant flesh worm-like thing came speeding towards him.
Technoblade's eyes flashed, his sword coming out of its sheath as he cut the object at the speed of light, turning it into mincemeat before grabbing the stub and cutting through its side, the mass of flesh exploding into a bloody mess.
All of this happening within a singular second.
The woman stared, impressed as she gave the man a smirk.
"I have to say, I'm impressed. I had suspected you to be weak. Though I must ask. How did you come into existence? I don't remember turning a human into a Demon with that kind of strength." The woman asked as Technoblade sheathed his sword.
The woman had created that thing and used it to attack him. Wrong move. However, Technoblade didn't react. He waited to see if she would do something else. After a few seconds of silence, Technoblade relaxed. The woman hadn't moved, nor had she stopped staring at him. It was like she had been studying him since the moment he walked into the room.
Finally, the piglin decided to answer the woman's benign question.
"I'm a traveller, from another land you would not have heard of, ma'am," Technoblade replied as the woman scoffed.
"Ma'am, I see, so you genuinely do not know me. Good, I'll keep it that way. For now, that is. However, let me ask you this. How are you able to stand within the rays of the sun without burning up? You are a Demon, are you not?" The woman questioned, her eyes now fixated on him like a predator does its prey.
Technoblade scoffed, causing the woman's eyes to narrow once again. "Lady, I don't think you know who I am. Tell me. You seem like an intelligent woman, so indulge me. What makes you think I'll reveal my secrets to someone I've just met and tried to attack me?" Technoblade questioned, this time causing the woman to look at him with indignation.
"You dare speak to me like that, even though I could snap my fingers and end you?" The woman spat as Technoblade scoffed, angering the woman more.
Threats. Technoblade hated threats. To him, they were empty promises meant for those who had no spine. From what Technoblade had already witnessed, this person, who had called him weak, or assumed him to be, was weaker than him and dared to threaten him?
What. A. Joke.
"Ma'am, it seems that I've come to a conclusion." The piglin said, his eyes glowing red as the Kanji showed up in his eyes once again—血の神 (Blood God)—as he stared the woman down.
This time, it was the woman's turn to feel fear. They could feel the pure power radiating off of the man, and they had to have it! But just before the woman could send out another worm-like appandage to devour the man, they felt the sensation of a blade being inches away from their neck, the metal cutting into their flesh as their eyes widened.
"To quote you just a few moments ago, 'You truly know nothing of me. Good!'" And with a slash so fast that they couldn't stop it, the blade cut through the neck of Muzan Kibutsuji, their head nearly falling off as a sonic boom erupted throughout the castle, alerting several Demons within the area to gather and watch.
However, it was not meant to be.
The fight that the weaker and lowlier Demons had gathered to watch did not commence as they had all thought. A deeply mortified and awestruck Muzan glanced at The Blood God, who had stopped in his tracks completely, an annoyed expression on his face as blood leaked from Muzan's neck, drenching their Kimono.
Technoblade pulled his sword away, flesh regrowing in its place as the piglin stood beside the now-shocked Muzan.
"You're lucky, ma'am. That was the first time the voices ever told me not to kill someone. Consider yourself lucky. Now tell me, why did you summon me here? Surely it wasn't only for you to attempt to kill me?" Technoblade spat as Muzan regained their composure.
In their perspective, they thought that this Demon was weaker than an Upper Moon, or perhaps a tad bit stronger, but with the speed that the Demon moved with, and the fact that it had enough force to nearly cut their head off AND create a sonic boom of all things…
The fear rose immensely after that. With precision and power like that… It was almost similar too….
"I need them on my side… this is without question." They thought, looking at the Demon who had brought upon them the fear of God.
He was a broad man with long pink hair, a white blouse, and a pair of red pants with tall black laced combat boots. Despite his fragile shape and appearance, he was far more powerful than what he appeared to be. His blazing red eyes and his sharp teeth were truly indicative of that of a Demon.
But what shocked Muzan the most was that this Demon was able to withstand the sun and stand in it like it was nothing but a mere pathetic worm under its boot.
They wanted that. They needed that, but for whatever reason, a little voice in the back of their mind told them that attempting to kill them would only bring them to an early grave.
So, they decided to wait.
Besides, having an ally as powerful as this one, coupled with the fact that he already had an immense hatred for the Demon Slayers…. Yes, their plans to eradicate the, by far, most annoying nuisance in their pursuit for world domination would finally begin to move up into its next phase.
So long as they didn't blow it up in their face.
"I wanted to test you, to see if you truly were what the legends say you are." Muzan lied, the Demon seeming unimpressed. Quickly continuing onward, Muzan cleared their throat. "I wish to extend an offer to you. You and I share a common enemy in the Demon Slayer Corp. You for morality reasons, I, for others," The Demon King stated as Technoblade narrowed his eyes.
"And you know this how?" Technoblade questioned as the woman scoffed, their expression turning into one of boredom.
"I have eyes and ears everywhere, Blood God," the woman started as they sighed. "My offer to you is simple. We join forces. You take control of the Lower Moons while I keep in charge of the Upper Moons. Our goals are similar, far too similar. If we join forces, perhaps we could destroy The Demon Slayer Corp once and for all?" Muzan said, extending their hand towards Technoblade.
The gesture was something Technoblade hadn't expected. He scanned their face for anything that could've even remotely suggested deceit yet came up empty-handed, so to speak.
The Voices, on the other hand, were having an internal spat about it.
"Weakling! Kill the weakling!"
"We don't pair up with pathetic parasites!"
"KILL HIM! TAKE HIS PLACE!"
"No! Do not! This will benefit our Blood God!"
"Join forces with the Fallen King!"
"Take the deal!"
Technoblade blocked out the voices. They were having an internal argument. This… person's deal was interesting. Control over a group called the Lower Moons? The same enemy? It really was a tempting deal.
However, a part of him felt… wrong, even considering this deal. There was something that made Technoblade untrusting of this so-called "King." He felt as if that if he agreed to the deal, he would be strapped down by the contract and forced to listen to them…
Then, an idea popped into his mind. And he smiled wickedly.
"Alright, I'll bite. But, I have some conditions of my own that YOU will follow. Otherwise, this would be pointless." Technoblade stated as the woman's eyebrow raised.
"Oh? Well, do tell, Blood God, what are these conditions?" The woman questioned as Technoblade huffed. Good, they were taking the bait.
"Condition number 1: You'll treat me as your equal. Condition number 2: Sever your control of the Lower Moons and hand them over to me, if, of course, you're serious about this impromptu union. And finally, Condition 3: You have absolutely no control nor say in what I do. If you have a disagreement with something I want, you'll have to be diplomatic about it. After all, we are business partners, not a bickering married couple." Technoblade stated as the woman looked away.
Muzan, for their part, upon hearing the Blood God's conditions, knew that he had a plan. They could do the first and third condition, but the second one? Why on earth would he fully hand over their soldiers to him!
Then, it clicked to the Demon King.
It was a trust act.
The Blood God was intelligent. A bit too much for their taste. If they were able to hand over complete control of the Lower Moons to him, then that would mean The Blood God would fully trust them, and therefore, any hatred that the two had would blow away in the wind.
Snapping their fingers, The Biwa Demon strummed the instrument in their hand as six Demons appeared before Technoblade and Muzan.
"These Demons, Blood God, are your new team. Meet the Lower Moons. The weakest of the group, Lower Moon Six—Kamanue. His Demon Blood Art allows him to control the wind around him. The next one is Lower Moon Five—Rui. His Demon Blood Art allows him to make and control steel fibre spider webs. Lower Moon Four—Mukago. She has the ability to send commands to those and control anyone or anything with her words. Lower Moon Three—Wakuraba. He has the ability to shoot thunder out of his hands and create thunderstorms within a short area around him. Lower Moon two—Rokuro. He does not contain any special ability that would make him unique, but his strength is something that anyone would want to have on their team. Then, there is Lower Moon One—Enmu. His ability is to put people to sleep and manipulate their dreams."
Upon Muzan finishing his explanations, he snapped his fingers as Technoblade jumped down in front of the Lower Moons. His eye's staring over them, judging them as he hummed to himself. "Hmm… alright. And you will be handing them over to me, completely, correct?" Technoblade stated as the Lower Moons looked at him as if, in their eyes, he had just committed a grave sin.
But the one most offended was Wakuraba.
"How dare you talk to our master as if—"
"Silence, Wakuraba!" Muzan interrupted as he looked over at Technoblade. "I will relinquish control over to you. Do whatever you see fit with them." Muzan stated, waving the Lower Moons away as Technoblade smirked.
And for the first time, Muzan stared in shock and horror at what they saw, though their facial expression did not show it, mentally, they felt as if, for the first time in their life, that they had finally found someone worthy enough to call a rival.
Technoblade's arm began to split open into a cacophony of thin veins with sharp-tipped needle-like endings as the Lower Moons stared at the pink-skinned piglin before them. A smile came onto Technoblades face as, internally, he laughed in glee.
He hadn't done this in a long time. Not since his last battle before coming to Pogtopia. Each ending stabbed into the necks of the Lower Moons as he began to pump his blood into them as he began to kill off any control the woman behind him had with the Demons, effectively making them his to control as he saw fit, just as she said.
Muzan felt the cells they had placed inside the Lower Moons get destroyed. They no longer had control over the Lower Moons, intrusting them to The Blood God.
But now, with this display, Muzan finally was able to figure out just what exactly The Blood God was.
He was another progenitor Demon, one that had existed far longer than they had been around and one that had conquered the sun years and years ago. A bit of Muzan was relieved. They knew that, without a shadow of a doubt, that the Lower Moons were at the very least in good hands.
Not like Muzan cared about their wellbeing, they were merely pawns in their game of chess with the Demon Slayers, but a well-cared-for pawn was a grateful pawn.
And right now, their new shiny rook was about to wipe the floor with Ubuyashiki by next year.
"Now that they are yours, Blood God, let this be the beginning of a blooming partnership. Betray me, and I will bring down my rage upon you." Muzan thought as they closed their eyes.
When Technoblade was finished, his arm returned to normal, sealing up completely. Technoblade watched as The Lower Moons fell to their knees, some coughing violently as the wounds in their necks began to heal. He had pumped just enough Blood into them to make them more potent than they were before, as well as giving them a unique gift that would come in handy later on.
For Rui, he felt an overwhelming power surge through his body. He was filled with more power than he had ever felt in his life, yet, he also felt limited. That was when Rui looked up at his new leader, and a name came to his mind, first and foremost.
"Technoblade… that is your name…." Rui muttered, his eyes widening, fearing that he would die upon saying his new master's name. Only for it not to happen.
"Congrats, kid, you know my name," Technoblade stated, turning to Muzan as he smirked. "I believe this meeting is done now, right? I'll tell you anything I find about the Demon Slayers, including if I find their base. You'll do the same, I assume?" Technoblade questioned as Muzan nodded.
"Good, we have an understanding. Now, how do we leave?" Technoblade asked as Muzan snapped his fingers, the strum of a biwa echoing out through the castle as Technoblade, as well as the Lower Moons, fell through the floor as they were sent away from the infinity castle.
Muzan smirked. "Game on, Ubuyashiki. Now, what is your next move, I wonder?"
Dream ran. He had to run as fast as he could. Something wasn't right. Before he had thought to leave the note for Technoblade, he skimmed through a book left by the bed of the two little children. When he read the book, a tinge of nervousness filled his mind.
He thought it wasn't possible.
He thought that they were the only ones trapped here.
But if what that poem said was right…
If he had followed them, or god-forbid was here before they were…
Dream knew that he had no choice but to forgo the letter, grab the food, and run. The kids were in danger, grave danger, and as much as he didn't want to do it, he had to help them, that was, of course, if he hadn't already gotten to them.
But what was in the book that caused Dream to be so terrified? If not for himself but for the kids?
As the book lay open on the table, the words written in a red viscous liquid, the book read as follows:
Darkness twas all I could see.
No lights, no sound, no way to flee.
Bells and whistles and departing noises.
Filled the air as I am remembered by roses.
Hate and grief, war and blood, all those who follow know my story.
Gods are less forgiving than the devil, paying for crimes and wanton glory.
I met a man coated in green. He gave me a chance, and I gave him my hate.
Once is the falsehood upon my name, the second time, it won't be in vain.
A new lease on life is what I now have, and I will no longer bring pain.
No. Pain is too vast in this endless sea.
Perhaps, it shall be death I bring to pleasure me?
Yes, death will be a fine choice because no one would ever have the gall to stop me.
Because, after all.
Nobody said the British man had to be the one to protect thee…
To Be Continued.
Okay, so I know I've been releasing these chapters in quick bursts. For those who can guess who the character is, be my guest. If you guess correctly, you'll win a prize (Not really, but whatever).
Now, I know for a fact some people aren't going to be happy with the fact that I've given Technoblade all these fancy powers. But you have to remember, as this story was only following the canon to the Dream SMP lore until the point where Technoblade was locked up in The Prison, I have full reign to do whatever I want with the character.
I also want to state that there will be no romance in this story—though I can be swayed—as I feel as if romance would ruin the flow of the story's natural progression. There's a reason why Shonen authors save the romance for the end of their stories.
Don't get me wrong. I don't hate the idea of there being a bit of soft romance or crushes, but full-blown make-out sessions with characters are a strict nope.
If anyone is interested, here is the link to my p-a-t-r-e-o-n: h-t-t-p-s : / / w w w . p-a-t-r-e-o-n / g-o-b-b-l-e-g-u-m-2 (Remove the dashes and spaces)
P-a-t-r-e-o-n-s:
Weezee Freak