Chapter Text
War is easy, something that repeats over and over. Once you know the key points, how to get the upper hand it becomes annoying, dull even. It was a problem that the pigman wasn’t used to. War is the reason behind his power, his riches, it was the reason so many feared him and why so many respected him. But time after time it was becoming a chore, something that with each guest to his castle he began to dread. His tribe didn’t understand, they were living in a time of prostaitry, no more famine nor fear of monsters that called the Nether home alongside them. The Warlord brute spent most of his days inside the walls of his black stone bastion, watching lava drip from the sky and listening to the crying of ghasts in the distance. On slow days when no one came looking for him, he would slip into the overworld to enjoy the sky and feel the wind, but in the end he always had to return, back to the mundane routine of war.
Today was no different, he stepped foot back into the Nether, its heat rushing him as if it was greeting him, as it did so did his subjects. So many voices, all saying something different but all ending the same. Overwolders had gotten into a nearby bastion taking anything that already hadn’t been taken, killing the last few pigmen that had avoided his slaughter. This wasn’t anything new, overwolders often came into the Nether, looking for Fortresses and their riches. Why this was any of his concern was the question he wanted to answer. Letting his subjects talk he waited until they finally quieted and let him speak, “Why is this of our concern, Overlanders come and go as they please, often taking what is left after our wars.” His voice was deep and gruff, it held in the air as he looked over the crowd.
“The overlanders were here, on the lower levels,” one single voice called out.
The large brute turned towards the voice, “Where are they now?”
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“Dream, I don’t know if we should be here.”
“I agree with George, this bastion is different then the rest, it's not crumbling like the others and the pigmen here seem to be of higher intelligence.”
A masked man looked back at the band of hybrids he called friends, “Just because it's bigger than any we have seen doesn’t make it any different. Just make sure your gold armor piece doesn’t break.”
The others exchanged nervous looks, but kept picking away at the blackstone walls, they eventually stopped when they hit an obsidian layer, “Alright, I’m going to agree with Sam and George on this one, this isn’t normal and I don’t want to lose all the loot we got from the last bastion we hit.” a lanky demon hybrid said, “Come on Skeppy, let's head back to the portal.”
Dream watches as the others gather their things to leave, “Really, a little obsidian is going to make you turn away?”
“That's not normal Dream, at least let us head back, drop our stuff off and plan a better way to get in,” Sam argued back.
“Fine, fine, but we are coming right back,” Dream picked up his bag walking after the others, “we can come back, whip out the pigmen and then we can loot free of risk.”
“I was fine with letting you go and live, but if you are going to risk my clan that changes things.”
The band of hybrids flinched at the sound, looking up the wall of the Bastion they saw the largest brute they have ever come across in the Nether. “What the fuck is that,” George whisphered slidding behind Sam and Dream.
The pigman leapt down landing behind the band, “Now what to do with you.”
“We haven’t taken anything! Or hurt any of the pigmen inside!” Dream stammered back. He had moved his way to the front of his friends, Sam and Ranboo, following making a baier between the smaller hybrids and the large brute.
“True, you’d be dead if you did, but you also mentioned coming back and doing just that.”
“We will leave Mr.Pigman, back to the overworld. There is no reason to hurt us. We will make sure Dream won’t come back.” Ranboo said.
Dream scowled behind his mask at the half Enderman, “You couldn’t stop -” he was quickly silenced by the others, grabbing him and pushing him behind Sam
“Technoblade.”
“What?” the creeper-taur replied.
“Not Mister Pigman, Technoblade, its to formal, Mister Pigman.”
The hybrids shot each other glances, “Ok, Technoblade. Would it be alright with you if we went back to our portal and left?” Sam asked, stepping forward slightly.
“No.”
“Why not.”
“Too much of a risk. I spent a long time building this place and keeping those who trust me safe.”
“We will fight you if we have to,” Dream said, pushing his way to the front again. He had pulled out his ax.
Techno cocked his head to the side and chuckled, “Then you would all die.”
“There is one of you, if you haven’t noticed and eight of us!”
“So?”
“You’re outnumbered.”
“No I’m not, it just makes it a fair fight.” the pigman laughed, brandishing his own netherite ax.
“Dream, can we talk for a second,” Ranboo asked, something had clicked for him.
The Halfenderman smiled nervously at the pigman and pulled Dream back into the center of the group, “Dream,” his voice came out in a nervous whisper.
“What.”
“He has a netherite ax, Dream.”
“So?”
“Oh fuck,”this time it came from a short goat taur that Ranboo was standing over, “that means he can go into the overworld with out turning into a zombie pigman!”
“You guys are too slow,” Techno said. He walked up to the group and was standing over one of the hybrids.
“Jesus Christ Mate,” Philza cried, sliding away as his feather puffed, “Don’t do that.”
Dream made an attempt to attack the Pigman hybrid but was stopped by several of the others. The Pigman laughed, gripping his ax a bit tighter, “No,no let him go, it would be fun.”
Ranboo started to say something but was quickly interrupted, “I’ll fight you for it then!”
The pigman raised an eyebrow, “For what?.”
“If I win we get to go!” Dream yelled back, shaking the others off and pulling a shield off of Sam’s side.
“And if you lose?”
“I won’t lose.”
Techno chuckled, “If you lose, then you have to stay here until your clan finds something to buy you back.”
“Fine.”
“DREAM!”
“It’s fine George, I don’t lose, when have I ever lost?”
The other hybrids started to protest but Techno had grown bored, he lunged at the small human, surprised when they blocked his blow.
They exchanged blow after blow, each demonstrating their skills as they did, but as a short period of time passed it was clear that the pigman had something that the human did not; stamina. The heat of the nether and drain of the expedition into its scorched lands had withered Dream more than his adrenaline had let him notice at the fight's start. More and more of the pigmans blows where meeting their mark. Finally his shield dropped the brutes ax making quick work of his armor. Dream still tried to fight back but it was clear that he had met his better.
Techno landed a solid kick to the human's chest, shattering the armor he had been wearing in the process. His hoof carried through and knocked both the wind from Dreams' lungs and the human to the ground, “Get up and it's your life I’ll be taking next.”
He stepped over Dream as a few of the others reached for him, “Once a month you can return with whatever you think his life is worth. If I find it acceptable you can take him, if not you leave and return the next month. Come any sooner, come armed, come looking for an attack and I will kill him.”
Techno waved his hand, motioning the other pigmen who had been watching to come down, the band of hybrids shuffled together as they were slowly surrounded, “They will escort the rest of you to your portal.”
He grabbed Dream by his shirt collar and waved smugly as the others were pushed into the warp forest and out of site. They had put up a bit of a protest but it didn’t matter in the end.
The human fought his grip, while Techno lifted him up to his eye level before dropping him. A few clan members jumped down from the ledge above, weary of the human at the brutes feet. One placed down a chest near Dream, “Put everything you own into the chest.” the human hesitated, “NOW!”
Dream sighed, “You’ll give it back right?”
“Why would I want broken armor and the scraps I left in defeated bastions?” Techno retorted, “This is so you can’t stab me or anyone else while you work.”
“While I work? What do you mean?”
“You dug your way into the side of my house. Did you think I would just let it stay like that!” the pigman was looking at the hole in the wall, “Like little rodents or something.”
Dream frowned behind his mask, the pigman was acting differently, now that the others were gone. Relaxed almost, was it the fact that he was no longer outnumbered, or maybe because he had won. The human spaced out thinking about his situation, only brought back when the pigman shook him. “Are you listening to me?”
“Yeah! Of course I am.”
The pigman snorted, “Get to work, they’ll bring you in when you are done.”
Techno droned out whatever the human was yelling at him, as he made his way back inside his bastion. His clan members looked relieved to see him back, “The overlanders fell, their leader is now my captive. The ones left alive will bring us riches from their lands. None of them are to be harmed unless they move to harm us first,” he bellowed.
The crowd cheered, and he made his way back to his chambers.