Part 13: The Festival Beginnings

TOMMYINNIT'S POV

Tommy rose from bed, feeling extremely apprehensive. Today was the Manberg festival, and Wilbur was going to blow the whole thing up once Tubbo's speech was over. Tommy had tried arguing, multiple times, but Wilbur had been adamant in his plan. He had it memorized: Tubbo would give his speech, and at the very end, he would say 'let the festival begin', and would run away from the podium. Wilbur would run to the button room and blow up the entire place.

In the end, Tommy had agreed to not resist Wilbur, as he just couldn't oppose his best friend, but Tommy was having an internal conflict, day after day, wondering whether or not he was doing the right thing.

From outside, Tommy could hear Wilbur stirring as well, and he stood up, stretching and sliding on a clean pair of pants and shirt. He had barely gotten any sleep; in fact, for the past few days, he couldn't have had more than 10 hours of sleep, combined. Instead, he would stare up at the ceiling, images of fire and explosions and fleeing people flitting across his imagination. His few hours of sleep were usually punctured by vivid nightmares of Schlatt's evil grin and Wilbur's lunatic laughs, side by side, closing in on him, shutting him away with no way out.

Tommy shivered slightly and walked out of his room, greeting Wilbur curtly. He exited Pogtopia, poking his head out into Manberg for a moment. There was nobody around, so he hauled himself out of his hiding spot and sat down, a little bit away from the entrance of Pogtopia, so, if he got discovered, they wouldn't find Pogtopia.

Tommy crossed his legs, leaning back on his arms, staring out at the quiet place he had fought for and eventually called his home, which Wilbur was now threatening to blow up. A slight breeze streamed through the trees, causing the grass to sway and ruffled Tommy's hair a little. He sat up a little straighter, watching as the sun rose over Manberg, outlining the buildings sharply against the warm light. The world was so quiet, so peaceful, but not for long. Soon, Tommy caught the distant sound of talking voices, and he felt someone put their hand on his shoulder.

Tommy jumped, whipping around and pulling out an axe, ready to strike, but he relaxed slightly when he recognized Techno.

"What are you doing here?" Tommy whispered.

"I could ask the same to you." Techno raised a single eyebrow, and Tommy rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. Let's go back. I can hear someone coming." Tommy beckoned and they both disappeared back into the entrance to Pogtopia. Techno continued down the path, but Tommy paused, feeling an urge to listen in on the voices' conversation. Techno looked over his shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Techno hissed. "Come on."

"I'll follow you in a moment, I just want to listen." Tommy hissed back, making sure he was fully hidden.

Techno huffed under his breath and walked away, muttering obscenities, but Tommy ignored him, listening in carefully.

"Well, what do you have to offer me, Schlatt?" Tommy could recognize Dream's voice.

"Oh, I have a very valuable... well, how should I say it, skill, to offer you. I'm sure you'll appreciate it very much." Schlatt responded in his usual unsettling manner, but Dream didn't seem fazed at all.

"What is it, then?"

Tommy sucked in a breath. Dream's negotiating with Schlatt? I thought he was on our side; or, at least, he was against Schlatt.

"Here, look." Schlatt seemed to be handing something over to Dream, and Tommy craned his neck over to try and see, but his vision was blocked.

"Hm. That's a tempting offer." Dream commented, seemingly resentfully impressed.

"What do you say?" Schlatt continued in a smug voice.

After a few moments of silence, Dream agreed.

"That's a good deal. I'll help you out."

"Good." Schlatt drawled. "I'll be off, then. Got a country to run."

"Good luck." Dream replied simply, and Tommy could hear the sounds of footsteps towards where he was hidden. He whipped his head around, hiding himself and holding his breath. The footsteps paused.

"Probably just an animal." Dream muttered to himself, and when Dream's footsteps finally faded out of hearing, Tommy finally let out a breath. He began walking, then running towards Pogtopia. Wilbur was probably looking for him at this point.

Tommy arrived, out of breath and sweating slightly. Wilbur gave him a once over, then, with narrowed eyes, beckoned Tommy over.

"Where were you?"

"I went up to Manberg to get a breath of fresh air, you know," Tommy explained hurriedly.

Wilbur inspected Tommy's expression for a little longer, then decided to let the matter rest.

"You know the plan?"
Tommy swallowed, deciding it was useless to continue arguing. "Yes."

"Good," Wilbur replied. "Let's go and watch the festival from afar. Be careful."

Techno stepped forwards and met Tommy's gaze for a moment, before following after Wilbur.

The trio emerged farther away from Manberg this time. Wilbur gestured up a tall tree, and they both began scaling it, except Techno hesitated on the ground, looking up at them.

"What are you waiting for? Come on, Techno."

"Wilbur, I was invited."

Wilbur merely stared at him with a frown on his face. "What?"

"I was invited. To the festival. As an 'old friend' of Schlatt." Techno replied blankly.

"Oh. Well then, you go ahead."

Tommy could tell that Wilbur was not pleased, but Wilbur didn't make a big deal out of it, thankfully. Wilbur squatted down on a wide branch and patted the space next to him for Tommy to join. They parted the branches in front of them carefully, gazing down at the slowly growing crowd at the foot of the rebuilt presidential podium. They both watched for a while, the people congregating and chattering quietly amongst themselves, stopping only when Schlatt stepped up the microphone.

"Welcome, citizens of Manberg... and friends," Schlatt seemed to sneer, "to the Manberg festival."

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