"Glitch!" I pant as I approach my friends. "Techno, Thor, JD!"

They all turned to me, abandoning the villains as they rushed over.

"Wonder!" Techno wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me close. I leaned into his touch, feeling safe and secure with him. "Are you alright?"

"Quackity brainwashed his friends!" I exclaimed. "They believe that we did things we didn't do! Ballora thinks that I killed her, when I didn't, and she was trying to exact her revenge on me. I got away, however."

I noticed that Glitch remained silent as we spoke, a somewhat disgusted and disturbed look on their face. Before I could ask them what happened, JD spoke up, pulling out his briefcase from under his jacket.

"I still have that bomb." he told us. "If we set it off now, we can be rid of them!"

"No!" I shouted. "If we set it off, we'll be killed!"

"It's a timed bomb!" JD reminded me. "We'll have time to get out!"

"So will the villains," Techno said. "How long is it set for?"

JD opened the briefcase containing the bomb. "The only way to find out is to press the button-"

"Which is something that we cannot do unless absolutely necessary," Thor interrupted.

"We have to do it now!" JD argued. "While we still have time!"

"No!" I snapped, reaching out to take the briefcase from him. "We're not blowing up the casino and risking our lives to try and kill them!"

"Yes we are!" JD yanked the briefcase out of my hands.

Movement flickered in the corner of my eye, and I refrained from retorting as I turned to face it. While we had argued over the bomb, the bad guys had taken our distraction to their advantage, and had surrounded us before we noticed them. Before I could shout a warning, they all jumped towards us, weapons slashing and fists flailing, catching us all off guard. It was nearly impossible to tell who was friend or foe amidst the chaos; all I could see was a blur of movement. I raised my arms in order to block any incoming blows, when I suddenly heard a shout from Pur- Springtrap.

"EVERYONE STOP!"

We all froze, and as I glanced around at my surroundings, I suddenly knew why. JD had been tackled by Mabel, causing the briefcase to fly out of his hands. In the chaos, a hand had unintentionally pressed against the button, causing it to activate. The timer had turned on, revealing a number, which decreased every second.

01:58.

01:57.

01:56.

We all froze in horror as a ticking sound filled the air, signaling the bomb's activation.

"No..." Quackity breathed. Terror flooded his face as he began to panic. "No, no, no! My casino!"

"Who hit it?!" Glitch shouted. I realized that in the chaos of the scuffle, anyone could have hit it. The only one closest to the bomb was Ballora, who looked just as frightened as I felt, but I didn't say anything. I didn't know if she had been the one that had activated the bomb, but it certainly looked like it from where I was.

"Does anyone know how to disarm a bomb?!" Quackity screeched amidst the growing panic of the group around him.

"I can."

We all turned to Technoblade, who was not nearly as scared as the rest of us. He seemed almost...calm, in a way. "I think I know how to deactivate a bomb like this."

"You think or you know?!" Quackity demanded.

"Shut up, Quackity!" I shouted, before turning back to Techno. "Tech- are you sure?"

"I'm able to do anything, Wonder, as long as it ensures your safety." Techno reassured me.

"But...what if you can't?" I asked, barely noticing Comet shouting at the others, directing them out of the casino. "Wh-What if you die?"

"Wonder, I meant what I said before." Techno told me, a small smile on his face as he brushed a hand against my cheek. "Technoblade never dies. I'll do anything in my power to make sure that you're alright. I love you, Wonder. I always will."

I sniffled, a tear forcing its way from my eye as I pulled him into a quick hug, not wishing to linger too long. "I believe in you, Techno. And I love you too." I said, smiling, before turning away and running out of the casino.

As I quickly made my way through the broken glass doors and out onto the parking lot, I could see my friends and my enemies congregated together at the other end of the paved area. Some of them were still running, trying to get away from the building, afraid that it might still explode. I bolted towards them, reaching them in a matter of moments.

"Is everyone alright?" I asked. Glitch, Thor, and JD nodded.

"We're fine-" Comet tried to say, before I interrupted her.

"Not you!" I snapped. "You're the bad guys!"

"Oh. Well, we're fine anyway."

I turned back to the casino, hearing all go silent behind me. For a moment, it was peaceful, and I started to believe that everything was alright. All I could hear was the sounds of the wind blowing, and birds chirping around me.

Then the earth shook, and Las Nevadas burst into flames.

A massive boom filled the air, and a ball of fire rose up into the air as the bomb detonated, enveloping the entirety of the casino. The walls instantly began to collapse, and bricks and chunks of burning drywall were sent flying in every direction. The shockwave sent us reeling backwards, the majority of us unable to keep our balance from the force of the explosion. Debris flew everywhere, choking the air and settling on our bodies, coating us all in a thin layer of dust. I flung up my arms to shield my face from harm.

It seemed several hours until the debris finally settled. I sat up, coughing on the dust that still polluted the air, looking around at my surroundings. Where a grand casino had once stood moments ago now lay mere rubble, the building that so many had come to love gone in an instant.

A strangled, ear-splitting scream of anguish came from behind me, and I didn't need to turn around to know who it was. Quackity's casino had been everything to him, almost like a second home, but now it was gone. I could barely begin to imagine his pain.

As I shakily rose to my feet, a single thought permeated my mind, and I was consumed with terror.

Techno.

I began to unsteadily walk back to where the casino had been, to the spot where me and Techno had last spoken, stepping over chunks of debris as I went, praying that he had been somehow able to get out of the casino before it blew up. Something familiar caught my eye, and I quickly moved over to it, practically climbing over mountains of rubble. As I got closer to it, I could see that it was a dirty leather strap, attached to something half buried in debris. I moved aside large chunks of the wreckage, attempting to uncover what it was connected to.

A pig's skull, worn as a mask. The very same one that Techno had. He would never leave it behind.

All of the air rushed out of my lungs, rendering me unable to speak or breathe properly, and my entire body went numb. My hands began to shake violently as I picked up the mask, and I suddenly realized what happened.

Technoblade hadn't been able to get out in time. He had been caught in the explosion, and now he was gone.

I fell to my knees on the pile of rubble, and wept.