"Tommy, explain to me what happened again— and don't leave out any details."

The boy shivered under his brother's scrutinizing glare, stuttering for a few seconds before once again explaining the events that led to this moment. He was pulling his fingers with every ticking second, doing his best to recount every moment replaying in his mind. When he finished, his brother let out a loud sigh, rubbing his forehead harshly.

"So, what you're saying is you lost Tyche in a game of hide and seek?"

"Yes and she just disappeared! Well, I guess that's the point of the game—anyway, I called out for her and even broke the bet we made but she never came out of hiding.

Clenching his teeth, his brother dug his nails into his own palm. It was difficult not to swing at the blonde boy in front of him but he knew that it would only cause more problems.

"I'm sure she's still out there Techno," Tommy claimed, trying his best to ease his brother's worries.

"We already checked Tommy!" Technoblade shouted, his anger getting the best of him as he slammed his fist on the arm of his chair.

Tommy jolted at his outburst, taking a quick step backward and shrinking into himself. As prideful and confident as he is, seeing Techno that angry would strip anyone of their courage. Technoblade took another deep breath, closing his eyes for a few seconds.

"The guards have already thoroughly searched within a 50 chunk radius of where you lost her."

Tommy gulped, eyes carefully following Techno's movements.

"There's no reasonable explanation of why she would go missing like that unless there's another party involved. That being said, I need you to go back to the overworld and inform Phil of her disappearance."

Tommy nodded, although his curiosity (and big mouth) still got the better of him. "Why wouldn't you go?"

Techno tilted his head and rolled his eyes at the boy. "Because you're human, Tommy. If any of this does have to do with people in the overworld, then obviously someone like me would raise suspicion. Not to mention, if you just kept an eye on her like you were supposed to, none of this would have happened."

Tommy bit his tongue, nodding again firmly at his brother's explanation.

"I'll provide you all the potions and golden apples you want, just please help me this one time."

Tommy's heart stopped, eyes blowing wide at his plea. He already knew that the situation was serious but actually hearing those words fall from Techno's lips seemed to make it more real. After all, it wasn't every day that the blood god said please.

•••

Tyche was unlike anyone you met before. The more you talked to her, the more unfiltered she was. She was like a little ball of fire, both in her sassy comments and passion for certain subjects. For a 9-year-old, she seemed very educated, especially in the English language, and had no problems teaching piglin. She was very enthusiastic about talking about the nether and seemed to love it whenever you served her baked potatoes.

Even with such an age difference between the two of you, you felt like she was slowly becoming a good friend and you almost felt protective of her. You knew that if she were ever in danger, you'd be there in an instant. Maybe it was because the relationship reminded you of the one you had with your parents... or maybe it was just because Tyche didn't treat you differently like everyone else did.

Today, you decided to get her out of her room and take her to the garden. It was mid-afternoon, the sun glaring down on you. Not many were outside because of the immense heat, one reason why you decided to take Tyche outside today. Tyche was used to the heat and thoroughly enjoyed it. Also, fewer people meant fewer rumors. You didn't want Tyche to be involved in any sort of drama in the mansion but, at the same time, you didn't want to keep her cooped up in her room all day every day.

"Woah, what's this one?" Tyche inquired, kneeling next to a bed of flowers.

"Those are called bleeding hearts," You smiled, crouching down next to her.

"And this one?" She pointed to the other bed next to her.

"Those are gardenias."

The little girl beamed as she gazed at the flowers, taking a large breath in to take in the smell.

"Do they attract bees?"

"The gardenias definitely do."

The girl giggled to herself. "I'll have to tell my uncle that."

You froze for a second at her comment, eyes scanning over her face. One thing you noticed while you spent time with her was that she rarely talked about her family and when she did, it was always small comments here or there.

"Why is that?" You questioned, keeping your voice light in hopes she'd explain.

"My uncle really likes bees. He doesn't capture them or anything but he really likes seeing them fly around and stuff."

You let out a chuckle, "Well, that's definitely interesting. Not many people like bees."

"Mhm," Tyche agreed, "But they're really important for the world. Without them, we wouldn't have half the food we eat and most flowers would disappear."

You smiled at her little rant, watching as her face expressed her delight. "You're really smart," You complimented.

Grinning at you, the girl threw her long pink hair over her shoulder. "Of course I am, what did you expect?"

Laughing loudly at her comeback, you took a second to enjoy the moment you were in. If it wasn't for Tyche being here, you would have never experienced this much joy. Ever since your parents passed away, you haven't taken a break from your work and only focused on pleasing those around you. It finally felt like for once your mind and soul were free, only focusing on the small girl and the flowers.

No stone walls, no dimly lit rooms, no Gresham's.

Only you, Tyche, and the flowers.

Your bliss unfortunately ended short, though. Tyche let out a long sigh, making your attention switch instantly to her, eyes narrowing.

"What's wrong?" You asked softly, leaning closer to the girl.

"I miss my family."

Your heart dropped at her statement, the smile you adorned earlier turning into a frown. In a way, you knew how she felt. The more you thought about your parents, the more you wanted them back. The more you wanted to spend at least one more day with them. But it also helped to think about them, to remember them. Sometimes it helps to remember all the fun things you did with them.

"Tell me about them."

"Um, well my dad can seem scary but he's actually really soft," She started, eyes meeting yours for a second before diverting just as quick.

"Really?"

"Yeah. He's the one who taught me how to speak English. Believe it or not, even if he has to put up a selfish disguise, he thinks a lot about others." A very small smile started to form on her face as her eyes glazed over. "He still doesn't get along very well with my uncle, though. He likes to give him a hard time."

"Tell me about your uncle," You continued, recognizing how Tyche was gradually becoming more comfortable.

"I actually have two. The one that my dad likes to tease a lot is really... um, full of himself."

You covered your mouth to keep yourself from laughing.

"Not in a bad way!" Tyche immediately defended, "It's just he's really confident and—I guess—determined in a way. He doesn't give up on anything, even if everyone knows it's impossible." The hybrid's smile dropped almost immediately as she mumbled. "He's probably still looking for me."

"What?"

"I was playing hide and seek with him in the Nether when they took me."

Your eyebrows furrowed at her statement. Didn't Sir Gresham tell you she was trespassing?

"Who's 'they'?"

"The guards."

"The royal guards?"

"No," Tyche huffed, starting to seem annoyed, "The guards that took me here."

You shook your head as your heart started to beat faster. That didn't make any sense. The only guards allowed in the Nether were the royal guards and anyone who tried to pass by them was just asking to die.

If what Tyche was telling you was true (you had no reason to think it wasn't), that means that Sir Gresham lied to you about Tyche trespassing and, for some reason, the Greshams somehow traveled to the nether without being caught.

The thought made you start to breathe faster, your mind racing.

"Are you okay?" Tyche asked, pacing a hand on your arm.

Your wide eyes snapped to her. As you stared at her, it dawned on you. Whatever happened, you wanted to be able to take care of her, to protect her. Somehow, you needed to get her out of here and back safely with her family. You didn't care about anything the Gresham's were planning, you weren't going to take part in any of it.

•••

Early post for reaching 100 reads! Thank you so much!

This is one of my favorite chapters so far. For some reason, I loved writing Techno's POV even if it was only for a little bit.

Not sure when exactly the next chapter will come out but it will be soon!