It's raining fireworks (not hallelujah)
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In which your friend commits genocide
and you're forced to clean up the mess he made
... Alexa, play Watcha Say by Jason Derulo-
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-Georgesspotify on twitter

At first, you were completely and utterly confused. It didn't make sense to you why Schlatt would ask techno, of all people, to join him on the stage. He had absolutely no reason to - Techno wasn't on his side and Schlatt knew that.

Then worry took over - was Schlatt going to do something to Techno as well? He couldn't, could he? He had it all in his mouth, he wouldn't stand a chance against Techno. Had he blackmailed him, maybe? Or had Techno made yet another deal he hadn't told you about? Either way, nothing in Techno's face changed when the president called his name. No surprise, no anger, no nothing. He was just his usual, monotone self.

He stood up, all eyes on him. He turned his head to look at you, who was still being held back by George. His mouth was a straight line, showing nothing but determination.

Something was wrong - well obviously, taking how Tubbo was trapped but something was wrong with Techno as well.

"Techno-" you said his name warningly but shut your mouth when George tightened his grip around your shoulder. You cursed under your breath.

Your eyes searched for Tommy and Wilbur on the roof, but you couldn't find them anymore. The small crowd sitting in their chairs seemed just as surprised as you - everyone except George and Techno - probably Sapnap too, you just couldn't see him from here. And then, of course, Schlatt and Quackity. This had been planned.

You bit your lip harshly and looked at the stage. Techno had gotten up there with ease and stood now in front of Tubbo with crossed arms.

"Now that we have Tubbo right where we want him, I think it's time to give him a lesson. So Techno, if you would be so kind..." Schlatt's voice echoed dangerously through the land, making your heart stop.

Techno took out his crossbow and rested it on his shoulder. "You want me to..?"

"Yes." Schlatt smiled victoriously. "I want you to take him out."

"What, to dinner?"

"No, not to dinner you idiot, I want you to kill him!"

Everybody froze. Even Quackity looked at the President in disbelief.

Techno had to be playing a double game. He had to. At any moment now, he would free Tubbo and point his weapon towards Schlatt, saying that his time as president was over. Right? He wouldn't kill Tubbo. He wouldn't do that. Techno was on your side, and he knew as well as you that Tubbo would only have one life left if he shot him. He couldn't gamble with that.

But then why did George prevent you from going anywhere? He wouldn't do that unless he knew what was gonna happen... Because he knew that you would try and prevent Tubbo from getting killed.

Your eyes winded as you realized. You remembered the day you and Techno visited Manburg, and you had seen Schlatt. Techno had sent you to hide in the forest, but maybe it wasn't to protect you. Maybe it was because he wanted to speak with Schlatt alone.

This wasn't Techno playing Schlatt. This was Techno playing you. You, Tommy, and Wilbur. But you couldn't believe it. Techno was your friend. Your dear friend, he wouldn't turn his back on you like that. There must be something to the story you didn't know of. You refused to believe otherwise.

"Do it now, Techno. And make it hurt!" Schlatt demanded as Tubbo's eyes began watering. The boy backed as far as way as he could, head shaking from side to side in shock.

"Schlatt, you can't do this! Let him go!" Niki cried from beside you.

"He's just a kid!" Jack backed her up. Everyone else was just frozen in their seat, either eager or terrified to see how the situation unfolded.

Techno aimed his crossbow at Tubbo with... Was that fireworks?

Panic rose inside of you. Techno was going to do it. At that moment you couldn't care less about the cold blade being pressed against your neck, you began struggling under George's touch to get free. George whistled for help, and soon you were being held down by not only him, but also Sapnap, your best friend in the whole world.

"Let me go!" You ordered, trying to get free but they wouldn't budge one bit. You desperately looked at the stage again where your one friend was about to murder your other friend.

You seriously needed new friends.

"Any last words, Tubbo?" Schlatt laughed, but Tubbo was too scared to move or speak. Schlatt sighed, shrugging.

"Tubbo, I'm gonna do this as painless as possible," Techno said slowly, ready to fire.

Your heart was beating out of your chest. You didn't care what George and Sapnap did to you, you needed to stop this madness. "TECHNO, STOP! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?"

Either he didn't hear you or he just chose to ignore you - because even when you screamed as loud as your lungs would allow you, the crown-wearing pig-wannabe didn't budge.

"If you do that again, you'll regret it," Sapnap spoke warningly in your ear, his nails cutting into your skin.

You did it again. "TECHNO, IF YOU DON'T LOWER THAT BOW RIGHT NOW, NO MORE POTATOES FOR YOU, FOR A MONTH! I'LL BURN THEM ALL AND-" Sapnap harshly pressed his hand against your mouth, drowning out your voice.

"I'm sorry Tubbo." Techno simply said without a hint of regret in his voice. You cried out Tubbo's name from behind Sapnap's hand as Techno fired the fireworks, letting them explode as they met Tubbo's skin. The boy fell to the ground, a terrified look forever frozen in his dying eyes.

You sank back down in your seat in horror, your body turning numb. A tear escaped your eye.

Techno fired again, making sure his target was dead - but the tiny explosions the fireworks caused were so huge that it hit everyone on the stage - including Schlatt and Quackity who now fell limp to the floor as well. They had died in the crossfire. Your eyes widened.

You felt George and Sapnap loosen their grip around you as they gasped. That hadn't been a part of the plan. You took advantage of their shocked state and jumped out of their grip, throwing yourself forward.

You fell to the ground, forcing your body to get up. You looked back at the two boys who had apparently lost interest in you as they watched their president's body dissolve. You followed their gaze up to the stage, where Techno was slowly turning around.

His shoulders went up and down in a laughing manner. His one eye was twitching and he had a huge, mad grin on his face that told your legs to run for their lives.

What happened afterward was absolute chaos.

A crying Niki was being held back by Fundy as she screamed Tubbo's name repeatedly. Tommy, who had been hiding on the roof the whole time, threw an enderpearl at the stage and appeared right next to Tubbo's limp body. He wrapped his arms around his friend, crying his name.

Techno rose his crossbow again and started firing fireworks down at the crowd in front of him. Everyone screamed and either hid behind their chairs or ran for their lives. A mixture of screams, cries, and explosions filled the air, making it impossible to hear anything else. Techno was committing genocide.

When Tubbo's body had disappeared completely, Tommy's sorrow turned into anger. He started fighting Techno, but the pink-haired anti-hero didn't even bother turning around. His armor was way too good for Tommy to actually hurt him.

You avoided each of the falling fireworks with ease. You had only been able to because they hadn't mainly been aimed at you, but you weren't the least thankful - you were just as furious at Techno as Tommy was. And with a good reason - the guy had just committed a massacre for crying out loud. Not cool. He was grounded for at least a month.

You would've come to Tommy's rescue if it hadn't been for two men blocking your way. It was the guy with a red, orange, and black balaclava mask, and the one with a purple hoodie. You'd seen them earlier but never talked to them. They had their eyes narrowed at you.

"You're a traitor as well, aren't you?" One of them spoke, ready to fight you. They both held an axe in their hand.

You were in a bad mood, so you debated whether or not to tell them about the firework that was about to hit them from above. "I can't be a traitor if I wasn't even a part of you guys, to begin with." You simply spoke. "And I'd move if I were you."

At first, they huffed. Then their eyes widened in realization, but by then it was already too late. A firework exploded right at their feet, sending them flying backward. They had armor on, so it wasn't enough to kill them, but it sure was enough to slow them down.

You ran around the panicking crowd and up the hill, heading for Tommy and Techno. You had just gotten to the little house you had to enter, in order to get on the stage when you heard Quackity's voice from the mic. He had already respawned. "Everyone, go after Tommyinnit! Kill him! Right now!"

And just like that, the panicking people stopped panicking as soon as they had been given a purpose. Everyone began running up the hill toward you. You absolutely hated this festival.

You went through the door and locked it behind you. You ran onto the stage and found Tommy battling Quackity instead of Techno who just stood in the very same spot, looking as if he had just woken up from a trance. You ran up to him, trying your hardest not to slap him right then and there.

"Shit, we have to go." He mumbled as he looked at all of the angry citizens who were on their way to kill Tommy. He looked like one who had just realized the seriousness of the situation - the situation that he had caused.

"Yeah, no shit, Techno!" You yelled. "What the hell were you thinking!? You killed Tubbo! Are you even aware of the-" You got interrupted by the loud banging on the door you had just locked. You forced yourself to calm down. You couldn't lose your cool. You could go off on Techno when you all had returned safely to Pogtopia.

"Does everyone have an enderpearl?" You asked your friends and they nodded - Tommy having trouble doing so, as he was busy fighting Quackity. "Aim it at that tree." You pointed to a huge tree, making sure they both understood which one you meant.

Then you ran over to hold Quackity back, while Tommy searched for an enderpearl in his inventory. Quackity struggled, but he really wasn't that difficult to keep in place.

"Go, find Tubbo, Niki, and Jack, and go back to Pogtopia. I'll try and hold these guys off."

"(Y/n)-" Techno tried but you shot him a death glare.

"Techno, you're gonna protect them with your life, do you hear me? If another one dies on your watch, our friendship is over, understand?"

Techno didn't say anything, so Tommy took over. "This is no time to play the hero, (Y/n)! Why can't you come with us?!"

You took a hold of Quackity's elbow, that he had sent flying into your stomach. "Well, someone has to make sure you guys stay safe. You're on your last life, Tommy. Tubbo is too, now." You shot Techno another glare. "But don't worry, I have a plan. Now go, before they burst the door down. And take this with you."

You gave Techno your bow and all of your arrows. Your two friends looked at you as if you had lost your mind. Why in the world would you give them your main weapon, when you were about to get attacked by a bunch of angry men?

They were about to hesitate. "Adiós!" You said in a clear tone. their eyes widened in an okay-she's-speaking-another-language-we-better-get-the-fuck-out manner. They threw their enderpearls and disappeared into the sunset.

You let go of a shocked Quackity. He stumbled forward trying to maintain balance. You were ready to fight him in close combat, when he turned around with a look that made you scrunch your nose. "Dude, you speak Spanish too?"

At first, you were confused. You didn't even know 'adiós' was Spanish, you just knew it meant 'goodbye' and sounded very angry when spoken firmly. You just decided to play along, killing time. Talking was better than fighting.

"Uh, yeah. A little bit." You lied.

Quackity gasped, his brown eyes wide. "Did we just become best friends?"

What was wrong with this guy?

You laughed awkwardly. The boy in front of you looked as happy as ever. He dropped his weapon and scratched the back of his neck. "Because if that's the case, Schlatt has said he'd be more than happy to have you on our side. I would too, I've been so lonely. Seriously, no one is nice to me around here."

When you didn't answer, he cleared his throat. "Uh, I didn't know about Schlatt killing Tubbo, by the way. I'm sorry about that."

His genuine tone made you rose your brows. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all. A little strange, sure, but not so bad. "I can't do that. But, I mean, if you ever get tired of Schlatt, you can always hit me up-"

You got interrupted as the door finally got burst down, and several people ran onto the stage. You recognized the two guys from earlier (who addressed each other as Ponk and Purpled) and Punz, Sapnap, and George. They all had their weapons aimed at you, and you rose your hands in defeat.

Quackity ran to your rescue and stood in front of you in a T-pose. He shot his chest forward, took off his shirt, and...-Wait, he took off his shirt??

"If you're gonna hurt my new bestie, you'll have to go through me first!" He warned. Then Schlatt appeared in the doorway and the confident boy froze.

"Quackity, get over here," Schlatt ordered calmly. Quackity gulped and slowly did so, his head hanging down. He mumbled a 'sorry' but you were just shocked he was even willing to defend you in the first place. What was up with that?

"(Y/n), so we meet again." Schlatt smiled. Your body tensed up as it always did when you were near him. "I see you've stayed behind in order to save your friends. That's quite heroic. But also very unfortunate - well, for you at least."

You gulped. You didn't know what he meant. You tried your best to gather enough courage to respond. You didn't want him to notice how much his presence bothered you.

"See, if your friends had been dumber, they would have just ran through the tunnels and back to your little base. That way, my men and I could follow the tunnels afterward and kill them all while they were sleeping. Unfortunately for you, young lady, they decided to destroy the tunnels. I believe they did it with that explosion-arrow of yours. And now we can't follow them. That's why I want you to tell me the location of your so-called Pogtopia. That way we can avoid any trouble."

They had destroyed the tunnels so they couldn't be traced? Smart move.

You narrowed your eyes. You focused your mind to save your friends, distracting yourself from the fact you were having a conversation with the man that killed your friend. "I'm sorry, I can't do that."

Schlatt sighed. You still had your hands held high for the many men not to shoot at you. You were standing on the edge of the stage, back facing the land of Manburg. "Look, I quite like you (Y/n). But if you won't elaborate, I'd have to get an answer out of you by force. Now tell me where Pogtopia is."

"I'd rather die." You hissed truthfully. You saw George shake his head warningly in the corner of your eye.

Schlatt took out a sword, stepping forward. "Then I have some good news for you."

You let out a shaky breath. You weren't afraid of dying. You did have a plan after all. Every moment you spend here with Schlatt and his men, was another moment for Tommy and all of your friends to get away. It was simply Schlatt himself that made you sick. The blade he was holding right now, might have been the blade he used to kill your friend.

Remember, you said to yourself. Schlatt still has two lives left.

"Schlatt, don't," Quackity spoke quietly from the sideline. He had put his shirt on again. Schlatt ignored him.

The president rose his arm. "This is your last chance to speak up, (Y/n). No one's here to help you."

You just closed your eyes waiting for the pain. This was going to hurt like hell, but it was all a part of your plan. If you died now, you would respawn in the place you've last slept - Pogtopia. You would get sent straight over to your friends, without anyone being able to follow you. Sure, you were going to lose one of your lives, but you didn't mind that if it meant protecting everyone else.

But just as you thought it was over, you heard the sound of an enderpearl landing right in front of you, followed by a familiar voice;

"I wouldn't be so sure about that."