This is for the whumptober prompts: magical illness, near death experience, frostbite, "give me your hands."
Technoblade went to the Nether at least once a week.
He didn't need anything from the Nether that often. Most materials he gathered there did not run out that fast. His chests were full, his backup chests were full, and the Syndicate storeroom was overflowing with random crap they didn't have much use for. Techno had accidentally retired more successfully after starting his secret organization than he ever managed before when he was actually hoping to retire. It was funny how life worked out sometimes.
Despite all that, he still went to the Nether as often as he did because it felt like coming home.
Sometimes Techno thought to himself that he had subconsciously decided to live in the Arctic - the place most opposite to the Nether one could probably find in the Overworld - on purpose. Nostalgia wasn't in the top five emotions Techno dwelled on, and Chat would probably make fun of him for that level of introspection. But it was true all the same.
When Techno did go to the Nether, it was usually for one of three reasons: resource gathering - as mentioned, that wasn't needed anymore. Travel - when going anywhere on the server further than a stone's throw away, crossing through the Nether would save some time, though Techno didn't travel that far very frequently either. So that left Piglin trading.
The sounder Techno did business with occupied a bastion north of the portal Phil built up on the hill near their cabins. They were a mid-sized group that had settled down there with most other biomes within walking distance. Techno would always run into a hunting or foraging party long before he'd be at the bastion itself. If he could, he traded with them.
The piglins took a liking to him more than to humans, but if Techno dared to try and set foot into the heart of their sounder his gold wouldn't do him much good. Understandably so, walking into an inhabited bastion was a bit like walking into somebody's bedroom uninvited. It'd be incredibly cringe of him.
Today, Techno had set out with a pocket full of gold nuggets. He'd resmelt the pieces out of a recent amour project he'd fiddled with, so they were perfect for bartering. The Nether's hot air settled around his shoulders with the heavy warmth of a cloak, welcoming him home. Netherrack crumbled under his hooves as Techno instantly went off the beaten path and crested the slope up to higher ground. There was a small outcrop between two lava lakes. From there, he usually went straight ahead until he either found some members of the sounder to trade with or he spotted the arched spires of the bastion, which was his sign he needed to wander back to the portal. Piece of cake.
And Chat thought he wasn't a walking GPS?
After a good ten minutes, Techno finally found what he was after. The recognizable shape of a piglin standing on the raised plateau to his right caught his eye. In fact, there were a whole bunch of them. They were all kind of idling on the spot, looking around and making distressed noises. That… didn't look like a group collecting mushrooms.
Techno climbed the incline behind them. When he got close enough to be noticed, he grunted a few short breaths to make sure they'd heard him coming. He shifted his crown straighter and rolled up his sleeves to around his elbows for good measure, so the gold jewelry around his wrists would be clearly visible. He didn't usually have any trouble with these guys. He had enough of a piglin look to him to receive less hostility than others would. But if the lot were already in a bad mood, something small might set them off. Showing off his gold would be a good way to pacify them.
Aside from a few glances, none of them paid Techno any mind. Their attention was aimed at the scene playing out below them. Techno pushed through the crowd with some purpose, peeking over the edge to see what the matter was.
Oh.
Techno did not have the same visceral disdain for soul fire that normal piglins did. They recoiled at the slightest hint of blue glow. Covered in hoglin blood and with the burn marks of a blaze freshly brandished into their skin, a piglin would run at the mere sight of those flames. The fear ran deep, instinctual. It was a part of them.
And while Techno did not share that fear, that didn't mean he was fond of soul fire either.
It was hard to describe his reaction to it. He avoided soul sand plains like the plague, taking detours whenever he did encounter one in the Nether. The blue fire did not scare him on that same primal level, but it certainly made him feel unnerved. An intense gut feeling of danger. So when he looked down the hill, he felt an odd pang of sympathy for the poor shoat that got itself into a rough spot.
Maybe it had tripped or it had played too close to the edge and rolled down the hill, landing in the soul sand beneath. The friction would have been enough for flames to spark and there it sat, frozen in absolute fear and surrounded by soul fire on all sides. It didn't dare move, hunched to curl in on itself and make itself tinier. Techno could hear its constant, high-pitched squeals of fear.
None of the other piglins dared to go anywhere near the soul fire - and by extension the shoat trapped down there. They were fussing, caught between a desire to help their younger sounder member and an inability to force their bodies closer to something that projected such terror in their minds. Techno knew then that if he left, the shoat would not be retrieved. The foraging party would be forced to return to the bastion without it eventually. And then it would be killed by some random mob, if it got lucky. Or it would starve slowly if not.
And, well, for all his bits about orphan death, Techno couldn't exactly let that happen, could he?
No, Chat, not because he was going soft. He hadn't grown a conscience, okay? But if he left the shoat to die, maybe that would ruin his reputation with these piglins. Or they'd move to another bastion to be further away from the soul sand, then who would Techno trade with?
Helping was totally the selfish and smart decision here.
Techno removed his gear - not the gold, he wasn't an idiot. Just enough so it wouldn't weigh him down. If he tumbled down the hill and broke his neck, they'd all be worse off for it. His hair was already up and out of his face, so he didn't need to fear it catching fire.
Really, all he had to do was get in there, grab the shoat, and get out again. How hard could it be?
The descent was quick enough. Some of the netherrack crumbled under Techno's hooves but he used his pickaxe as a cane to keep his balance. With careful consideration and a bit of patience, he managed to get down until he found the grainy, slightly unbalancing texture of sand. The plains were made of thicker layers packed close enough together to offer a solid surface, but there was always a blanket of loose sand on top. It made walking on them particularly unpleasant.
This close, Techno could feel the freezing burn of the soul fire.
Sucking the heat out of everything nearby while also catching like flames and scorching anything in its path, soul fire was neither cold nor warm. It was one of magic's fun little contradictions.
Techno would prefer to make this quick.
"Come here, little guy." He held out his arm, trying to lure the small, cowering piglin towards him. "If you don't want to end up as hoglin chow, we need to get you out of there."
Predictably enough the shoat didn't move except to oink at him some more in distress. Techno wasn't going to get it to come over to him.
Which left him going over there as the only option.
He wrapped the length of his cloak over his shoulder and arm, hoping to protect his skin from the worst of it. If the shoat got out of this with the tips of its fur slightly singed, it had nothing to complain about. Then he took a running start. Passing through the flames quickly was the trick to escaping from most harm. Techno powered through them, only hissing slightly when he could feel the cold trail over his body.
Yeah, soul fire was not his favorite thing to deal with.
He emerged on the other side, no worse for wear. That was half the job done. The young piglin clung to his leg, wailing with terrified little noises. Techno could hear the sounder up on the cliff grunt in worry and dismay. For the moment, all of them had seemingly forgotten he was not one of them. Concern had drowned out what little distrust they felt towards him.
Techno scooped the shoat up in his arms, trying to ignore its anxious wiggling as soon as he took a step toward the soul fire. He couldn't blame it for not being stoked on the idea of having to pass through the flames, but they had no choice. Techno tried to use his cloak to cover it too.
"It's just going to be a moment, in and out," he muttered. It oinked softly, burying itself into his chest.
In and out.
With another deep breath, Techno passed through the fire again. He couldn't move quite as quickly with his new burden but it was still only just a moment. A flash of blue burned his closed eyelids and the shoat whined softly. It kicked in its panic, hitting Techno's elbow and hip. But he held fast. There was a short, vibrant sting when its squirming pushed back some of the fabric covering Techno's arm and he could feel the soul fire flickering along his flesh. Then they were through.
Immediately, the shoat twisted itself out of his arms, jumping down and climbing the netherrack back up to its family. Techno watched it go, barely able to feel upset about the lack of gratitude. He climbed the slope after it and bartered with the piglins as he usually did, upon which he did notice they seemed to give him more favorable trades than they usually did. So maybe that was a form of showing thanks for him saving their little one. When he was done, Techno went home.
As soon as he passed through the portal, the cold arctic wind made Techno recoil.
His arm burned. He looked down and noticed that where the soul fire had touched him, the skin was discolored and almost grey in pallor. He touched the wound gingerly, hissing when that made it hurt more.
Yeah, that was… huh.
Ignoring Chat's advice, Techno pulled his sleeve down over it and kept walking. It would probably be fine. Techno had gotten burned before, more times than was normal for a piglin. He wasn't completely invulnerable to fire like some other netherborn. A health potion would do the trick.
When he got home, he started by putting his stuff away. Just because he bartered for other reasons than an actual need for items didn't mean he wanted all that crap to weigh down his inventory. Techno had a sorting system, more or less. The type of sorting system that made Phil frown, but meant Techno could always find what he was looking for.
Chat called him a liar. Techno ignored that too.
By the time he was done, he was exhausted. It was barely sunset. Then again, Techno hadn't slept that much because he'd been working on the armor project. So it was entirely possible he overextended himself without noticing again, and this was his body catching up with him. Techno was no stranger to that. He grabbed a health potion and pulled up his sleeve. The fabric came free a little soggy, peeling away a layer of skin. It wasn't bleeding, exactly. If anything, the flesh seemed charred shut. Techno poured a bit of the potion on it, barely reacting to the pain. It wasn't very vibrant, more so a dull and throbbing pulse. When he pressed his fingers into the skin, it left an unpleasant tingle through the numbness.
"This is why you don't mess with soul fire," he told Chat absently.
While unlikely, Techno wondered if piglins perhaps had an idea of the full effects of soul fire burns and that was why they stayed away from it so vehemently. It would make sense. They were smart enough to stay away from wither skeletons too, and this seemed to be somewhat similar to the withering disease.
Maybe there'd be info on it in one of his books.
As Techno tried to walk towards his bookcase, he found his head swimming with an unexpected wave of dizziness. Stumbling into his table, he shot out a hand to grab it for balance. Behind his closed eyes, his head was bursting.
Okay, yeah, he definitely overworked himself. Nap first, research later.
Too tired to bother with the ladder, Techno dropped onto his couch. There was a blanket lying over the back, one of Niki's creations. Techno pulled it down to spread it over himself. He looked around the empty cabin before remembering he brought Steve outside this morning. For a moment, Techno considered getting up and fetching him. But the weird shaking of his hands deterred him.
Within minutes, Techno had drifted off into a fretful, uneasy sleep.
Cold.
Why the heck was it so cold?
Did he forget to close a window?
"Oops. Sorry, mate. I didn't mean to wake you." Phil's hand touched his shoulder for a moment and Techno hummed, leaning into the touch.
"Hm?"
"I didn't know you'd still be asleep," Phil said. "Just wanted to grab some stuff."
Heh? Still asleep?
Forcing his eyes open, Techno winced at the bright sunlight.
"You fell asleep on the couch, huh? Did you stay up late again?" Phil asked. He was standing near Techno's chests, searching for something. He had that frown on his face, trying to find some method to the madness. Techno smiled to himself. Watching Phil pull out a ball of yarn and shake his head was a form of entertainment in itself.
Techno could feel himself start to drift off again.
"Techno?" Phil prodded without looking over his shoulder.
"Yeah," Techno said. He tried to push up but flinched and fell back when it made fiery agony travel up his arm and into his shoulder. Phil probably would have noticed if he wasn't so occupied digging through Techno's supplies. Recovering with a quick swallow, Techno used his legs to swing himself upright instead.
"You okay?" Phil asked.
"Yeah," Techno said again. He pulled the blanket into his lap, automatically looking over at the door. But Phil hadn't forgotten to close it behind him. Why was it so freaking cold in his cabin? "Got a bit caught up in the armor trims, might have overworked myself."
"Unsurprised." At Phil's deadpan, Techno snorted lightly. "Are they done, at least? It would fucking suck if you put that much effort in them and they're not ready for the meeting later."
Oh right, Syndicate meeting. Techno had kind of forgotten about that. The thought of having to get through the pond and underground tunnel into that dreary stone room made Techno feel nauseous. He could sit this one out, maybe. Then again-
"Techno? What's the matter with you today? I might as well be talking to a wall." Phil turned around with a laugh building in his chest. However, the way his eyes narrowed at Techno betrayed an underlying edge of concern, scrutinizing Techno a bit more thoroughly.
"Sorry, I suppose I slept worse than I thought after all," Techno said. "They're done."
Phil nodded, observing him a few seconds more. Techno stood up and was very grateful when his legs decided not to give out on him. He felt weirdly trembly, though that might be the cold. Flexing his fingers only brought a profound sense of weakness.
Like the sensation didn't quite reach his nerve endings.
"Did you see Ranboo yet today?" Techno asked, hoping to change the topic. Ranboo was coming down from Snowchester for the meeting, but sometimes he got distracted and forgot.
"He was loitering around the cow farm earlier so he definitely came home already," Phil said. "It's almost noon."
Almost noon. Techno had slept for over twelve hours. Unless he was starting to hibernate, that was incredibly unusual. With the shivers running along his back, it didn't feel like his body was preparing to hibernate either.
Techno didn't know what was going on.
"Better prepare for the meeting then," he said. He walked towards his table, the chair looking mighty tempting. Man, maybe he was getting sick.
Phil started to head towards the door. "You said you were done?"
"The animals don't feed themselves," Techno said. And since he neglected to do that last night, he couldn't postpone it until he felt better.
"Pretty sure they do," Phil answered. He opened the door, allowing a sudden rush of cold air to fill the room. Techno gritted his teeth before being able to speak.
"Bruh, I can't afford to lose any more foxes." Phil laughed at his response.
"Fair enough. See you in a bit then, yeah?"
Techno wanted to go back to bed.
He really just wanted to climb the ladder to his upstairs nook and make a little nest and sleep for a million years. That sounded just about tempting enough to drown out Chat's annoying cries about him forgetting something. He felt cold and miserable. And not at all like he just took a twelve-hour nap.
But Techno didn't want to cancel the meeting. That'd be too cringe.
So he put on as many layers as he could without completely impeding his ability to move around, before heading outside to brave the icy terrain.
It was totally terrible and Techno definitely didn't yelp when opening the gate to the stables made a flurry of snow fall from the roof and onto his neck. It wasted no time soaking into his scarf, raising goosebumps on the back of his spine. Carl huffed at him, finding humor in his misery.
Why did Techno bother with these pets if they only wanted to watch him suffer?
After clearing out the dirtied hay and making sure Carl's feeding troughs were clean and full, he went to the hounds next. Techno didn't want to go through the whole routine today. The little physical activity he'd done so far had winded him, sapping energy out of him like a leaking faucet. So he simply opened the door and let them free roam. Most of the dogs sped away to wreak havoc on the unsuspecting fauna in the cabin's vicinity, though a few stayed behind to sniff at Techno's heels and bump their snouts into him. He offered them a few pets.
At least until one of them saw that as permission to jump up against him. Its paws tried to find purchase against his arm, putting pressure that had Techno cry out sharply at a sudden burst of intense pain. He half-fell back against the wooden post. The hound in question whined and apologetically pushed against his leg, but Techno hushed it while rolling up his sleeve.
Oh… That's what Chat was trying to tell him he forgot about.
What had been a small burn mark the size of his palm at most, had somehow spread like a living thing. The frostbit flesh crept down to Techno's wrist and over his elbow. When he touched the skin around it, he felt nothing. Not even the cold that seemed to be affecting him so much today was something he was aware of on that part of his body. Only the very center of the wound burned a bright blue, like embers stuck underneath the tissue. That-
That wasn't normal.
He should probably do something about that.
But before Techno could, whatever little strength remained him decided to snuff out - a flame doused. The soul fire beneath his skin flared hungrily, fueling itself. Techno sagged back against the fence and then onto the ground. He was so cold, he might as well be freezing. Desperately, he pulled his cloak tighter against himself. But it was no use when he was growing more chilly by the second.
Freezing from the inside.
One of the hounds licked at his face. Then it ran off.
Techno did try to get up again. Let it be known that he didn't just lie down and accept his dire fate. For what it's worth, his fingers scrambled at the frozen ground in an effort to push himself upright. He tried to raise a voice suddenly so weak that it could barely reach above a whisper. He really did try.
The soul fire burned inside his arm, inside his chest.
Techno was so cold.
"Techno?!"
Something licked his face again. Techno frowned. The person who was yelling sounded like Ranboo, but Techno certainly hoped that wasn't Ranboo who just licked him. That would be incredibly gross.
He blinked to clear some of his blurry vision, watching the hound nudge against him and Ranboo running up to them not far behind.
Huh, clever dog.
"Techno?" Ranboo said again, more urgently. "What happened?"
Techno opened his mouth to respond - despite Chat's misgivings he had a great quip locked and ready to go - but it refused to come out. He couldn't breathe around the coldness creeping up his throat.
He couldn't-
"Wait. Give me your hands." Ranboo was in his face suddenly. Or maybe the past few seconds sped by so fast Techno's blinking couldn't keep up with them. He raised his shaking arms.
Ranboo made a noise that sounded more Enderian than Overworld Common. He often did when he was surprised or panicked.
That didn't spell a lot of good things for Techno. He glanced down at his blackened fingers.
He couldn't move them anymore, but at least he didn't feel the cold in them.
"Don't- Don't move, okay?" Ranboo asked. There went another great opportunity for Techno to show off that scathing sarcasm he was so well known and universally adored for. He'd really like to tell Ranboo that he wouldn't be going anywhere even if he wanted to. "And don't fall asleep. I'll be right back, just. Don't sleep. Please."
That was a harder task. Techno realized Ranboo left at that point and he'd really hate to disappoint the guy. See, the problem was that Techno was currently more exhausted than he'd ever been in his entire life. This horrible coalescence of fatigue and coldness and burning seared in the majority of his ribcage and no matter how hard he tried, Techno couldn't ignore it.
So maybe he did close his eyes for a few seconds. Just a breath or two.
When he woke up, he was inside.
There were blankets wrapped around him, enough that Technoblade knew he should be getting overheated from the sheer amount of thick wool burrowing him into the couch.
He was shaking.
"He's awake," Ranboo said. He was kind of standing off to the side, messing with some potions at a table. Techno wondered if he had missed the start of the Syndicate meeting.
"Techno?" Phil again. Gentle fingers brushed his hear away from his face. Techno couldn't properly feel them, only the vague tingle of ice-numbed skin. "Techno, how long ago were you touched by the soul fire? It's very important."
Techno shook his head. He'd answer that if the air wasn't frozen solid in his lungs.
"We need a timeframe," Phil insisted. "As close as you can manage. Come on, you prick. I'm not letting you die on me in such a ridiculous fashion."
Trying to suppress a laugh, Techno concentrated on the movement of his throat to force the sentence out. "Yesterday. Evening, I came back at sundown," he managed after a bit, wheezing around the words.
How had that completely exhausted him?
"Okay," Phil said as he sat back. "Okay, we can work with that." There was relief in his voice, that had to be a good sign too.
He stood up and got to brewing.
"Do you want me to bring Steve in here?" Ranboo asked. He was wringing his hands, eager to help but at a loss for what to do. Techno nodded, forcing himself to speak once more.
"Emotional support could be nice, yeah."
If he was going to almost die from some unknown soul fire disease, he might as well do it while snuggling his extremely dangerous and adorable pet polar bear.
Steve should be warm, but Techno was just so unbearably cold. He still threaded his fingers through the bear's short fur. And then he lay there and waited.
"Drink this," Phil said eventually. He kneeled next to the couch. When Techno only vaguely nodded, too weak to do much more, Ranboo stepped up beside him and slid an arm behind his back to help lift him upright. Phil put a glass bottle to Techno's lips, starting to tip it over.
It burned.
Techno swallowed and choked around the fiery liquid, and he tried to cough but Ranboo kept holding him. Phil tipped the bottle back more, nearly forcing it down his throat.
"All of it," he said firmly. "You have to drink all of it, Techno. Please."
So despite how much it hurt, he kept trying.
Then the bottle was pulled away, leaving Techno to gag. His insides felt on fire. He couldn't remember ever being in this much pain. Phil pulled on the blanket enough to free his arm and inspect it.
Techno barely cracked his eyes open to see the blue flames dim slightly.
"I think it's working," Phil sighed. "Gods, I fucking hope it works."
"I think it looks a bit better than earlier," Ranboo offered meekly. Techno felt bad for scaring him but didn't have any energy left to speak - let alone apologize.
"You should rest," Phil told him. "We'll need to repeat the process every hour until the soul fire is extinguished, so you have to conserve your energy." He gave Techno a weak smile.
Techno nodded and closed his eyes. Resting sounded nice. He could agree with resting.
Phil went back to the brewing stand, presumably to fix up more of that horrible concoction that had saved Techno's life. Ranboo helped him lay back down again and tucked the blankets around him. He didn't get up from where he was sitting next to the couch though, continuing where Phil left off in slowly brushing through Techno's hair to keep the strands away from his face while he shivered.
And where Ranboo's fingers trailed, Techno could feel the vague sense of warmth returning to chase away the cold.
