TOMMYINNIT'S POV

Tommy beamed up at Tubbo as Tubbo stepped down from the podium.

"Great job, man!" Tommy exclaimed.

"Yeah." Tubbo said, sounding a little breathless. There was a brief pause, then he clapped his hands together. "We've got some work to do."

Tubbo instructed everyone to tear down the festival decorations before taking Tommy to the side for a private conversation.

"Hey, what's up?" Tommy glanced around at all the citizens of L'Manberg bustling around them, tearing down the festival decorations, and felt a brief squeeze of pride.

My L'Manberg. It's back.

"Tommy, you've been by my side for a long time." Tubbo laid a hand on Tommy's shoulder. "I understand that you can't be the president because you have unfinished business, but when that business is settled, I would really appreciate it if you would be my vice president."

Tommy grinned widely. "Of course, Tubbo."

They embraced briefly before everyone went to clear up the decorations, chatting warmly, a festive and cheerful air surrounding them. As Tommy tore down one of the benches, a thought suddenly struck him, and he turned to Dream.

"So, was that traitor thing just bullshit, then?" Tommy asked, attracting Dream's attention. Tommy leaned against the bench and looked at Dream expectantly.

"Oh, no, there is a traitor." Dream laughed lightly, seemingly unfazed by the way everyone who had heard his words stopped and stared. A silence fell upon them, and the air seemed to drop by a few degrees.

"What?" Tommy asked, his grip on the bench slipping a little.

Dream merely smiled, and on the other end of L'Manberg's demolition project, there was the sound of fireworks and a shocked shout.

Tommy whipped his head around and sprinted over to Tubbo as Tubbo stumbled backwards, but Tubbo was more shocked than hurt. A chorus of confusion ensued, a cacophony of sounds broken only when Techno shouted above all of them.

"Everyone, listen to me!" Techno screamed, and silence fell again. Tommy stared, wide eyed, and Tubbo trembled next to Tommy.

"I did not spend weeks planning this revolution, getting you guys gear, for you to go in and replace one tyrant with another." Techno seethed, his crossbow causing everyone to give him a wide berth.

"Don't you see what's happening here? Don't you see history repeating itself?" Techno asked, incredulous that everyone could be so blind to the truth before them. "Do you think Schlatt was the cause of your problems? No! It was government."

Tommy gritted his teeth. "I don't care what anarchist beliefs you have, but if you're determined to believe them, you can leave." He spat.

Techno paid Tommy no attention, and instead, the entire place erupted with chaos as people attacked one another, and everyone defended and struck blindly, unsure whether the person before them was friend or foe. Fireworks went off, shouts and screams of panic echoing through the air.

Tommy climbed onto a rooftop where he scanned the fighting mess for his friends. He shot an arrow into the fray, hoping to catch an enemy, but didn't dare shoot anymore arrows.

"You know who the traitor was, Tommy?"

Tommy whipped his head to the side to see Dream sitting casually at the edge of the rooftop.

"Who?" Tommy asked through gritted teeth.

"It was Wilbur."

Tommy blinked, startled. "No, it's not. It's Technoblade. He just fucking betrayed everyone. What do you mean?"

In the shouts below, one voice rose above the din and attracted Tommy's attention.

"Where's Wilbur?" Fundy cried. The L'Manbergians slowed in their fighting and scanned their surroundings as the question was echoed.

The realization came upon Tommy slowly, the slow peeking of the sun over the horizon after a long time spent in the darkness. But it was too slow to change anything.

Explosions rocked the world as Tommy stumbled back, leaping from the rooftop and rolling to safety as he watched TNT decimate everything he had loved with no mercy.

Dream let out a condescending cackle. "Yes!" He screamed, unfazed in the face of the explosions.

"L'Manberg!" Tommy cried, watching on helplessly.

When the explosions finally settled down, there was a deathly silence as Tommy scrambled over rocks and through spilled water as he tried to reach Tubbo. Suddenly, he stopped.

"Wilbur!" Tommy skidded to a halt as he met Wilbur's gaze. Wilbur was standing in a small cave that had been exposed by the explosions, and next to him Philza stood, staring wide-eyed at the destruction. Wilbur was saying something, a delusional grin on his face, and he gave a sword to Phil. People began to gather around him, watching in horrified shock at the scene unfolding in front of them.

Phil's hands clenched into fists as he turned back to Wilbur, and he pushed the sword away. Wilbur said another few words, and Phil gritted his teeth before answering. The ringing in his ears obscured their words, along with the leftover explosions.

Phil took the sword, observing it with what seemed to be extreme agony. Without looking at Wilbur, Phil held out a hand and helped Wilbur to his feet. Phil squeezed his eyes shut and drove the sword through Wilbur's chest. A strange light lit up Wilbur's eyes, and then he fell limp against Phil. Phil collapsed, kneeling to the ground, cradling Wilbur's head in his arms as he cried, racked silently with hard sobs.

Tommy had felt that sword too, a phantom twinge in his chest as he watched on in shock.

"Wilbur." Tommy whispered. At that moment, he didn't know whether to feel angry or sad or regretful or anything. All he felt was anguish, and the inexplicable pain of loss.

He squeezed his eyes shut, but he forced them open when he remembered he still had a battle to fight. When he scanned the wreckage, looking for Techno to take him down, once and for all, Tommy's heart dropped into his stomach.

"No! Stop!" Tommy shouted, sprinting towards Techno. The path he ran on was not safe, and rocks tumbled into the void beneath him, but his only thought was to stop Techno from spawning those withers.

"You stay over there!" Techno snarled, holding out his crossbow and aiming it straight between Tommy's eyes. He skidded to a halt, almost falling into the crater beneath him, but he steadied himself at the last moment. He gazed on at Techno, feeling so helpless as Techno stood in front of two signature t-shapes of soul sand.

"Do you think you're a hero, Tommy?" Techno said softly. His voice carried across the thin path between them, but Tommy heard it, all right. "Is that what this is?"

Tommy was taken aback by the question. He took a hesitant step forward, and Techno merely drew back the crossbow threateningly. Tommy stopped, bewildered by the question. At least they were buying time. Buying time until... what? Who would save them now.

Don't think that. There's got to be a way out.

"I just... I just wanted L'Manberg." Tommy said, his voice small and confused. "That's all I ever wanted."

"You wanted power." Techno said, his tone icy cold.

"I didn't!" Tommy protested, feeling goosebumps rise along his skin. "I just wanted..."

Techno shook his head condescendingly. "Tommy, you just did a hostile government takeover and then immediately installed yourself as president. That's still a tyrant." He said scathingly. "The thing about this world is, the good things don't happen to heroes." Techno's voice sounded bitter, almost as if he had been hurt before, and a flash of vulnerability in his gaze shocked Tommy into stillness. It hardened immediately, and Techno lowered his crossbow to his side.

"Let me tell you a story, Tommy. A story of a man called Theseus." Techno said, gazing at Tommy as though they were alone, ignoring the hostile, agitated people surrounding him. Tommy stared, wordless.

"His city-state was endangered, and he sent himself forward into enemy lines, he slayed the Minotaur and saved his city." Techno's voice rose. "You know what they did to him, Tommy?"

Tommy found his throat tight, and he clutched onto the sword at his side. "What did they do?" His voice was faint, and he felt so small.

"They exiled him." Techno said, baring a hint of his teeth. "He died in disgrace, despised by his people. That's what happens to heroes, Tommy."

Tommy felt a chill run down his spine. He stepped forward.

"You want to be a hero, Tommy? That's fine." Techno leered calmly.

"Don't do this." Tommy said, stepping forward even as the rocks trembled underneath his feet. "Techno, we're so close. I'm not the hero. No one's the hero." He scrambled up when he tripped, trying to get closer to Techno so he could probably bowl him over, stop him from doing anything.

"You want to be a hero? Then die like one!" Techno screamed, anger lacing his voice as he placed the wither skeleton skulls upon the soul sand, spawning two withers from the depths of hell.

"No!" Tommy screamed.