The old (Y/n) can't come to the phone rn.
Why? Oh! because she's dead
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In which you meet Niki and...
Jack Manifold? Jack Mani-fall-off-bridge?
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-schlippyaxe on twitter

A long time ago, longer than any person would be able to remember, hell sent humans the evilest disease of all time. A disease that would spread, spread, and spread - it was eternal and couldn't be stopped no matter what you did. There was no cure and when you got infected, the disease would only grow on you. And you would eventually take it to the grave. It could easily be the death of you.

That disease, the humans called 'love'.

And it was about to be the death of Schlatt.

Not because it was him who had got caught by the disease - but because you had. The love of your best friend who had died by Schlatt's hands. You had got caught in the sickness and hadn't realized it before it was too late. You had completely lost yourself in it. It was this disease that had changed you - that had turned everything you used to be morally against into a to-do list.

You've never really been the angry type of person - or at least a person to hold grudges. But it was amazing how a person could change from one moment to the other. You could finally understand how it felt to have a mindset like Tommyinnit's.

You waited for at least an hour after Dream had left you alone, to make sure he was fully gone. Then you went straight down into Techno's basement, taking at least twenty ender-pearls.

You didn't think of the consequences of stealing from your friend. In fact, you didn't really think of anything. You didn't feel anything. Ever since Dream told you what Schlatt had done, it was like a shadow had crawled upon your face, darkening your vision and mind. And it wouldn't go away. It entered all of your air-ways and wrapped itself around your heart like a blanket.

It felt heavy and it hurt at first. But as time went by all you felt was protection.

You were completely and utterly emotionless. The last time you had felt like anywhere near this, was when your parents had died. You had been in a very dark place in life back then too, but that all changed when you met him. But this time, it was different. You weren't a kid anymore. And he wasn't around anymore to light up your dark.

And this time - you were angry. No, furious. At a person, you didn't even know. All you knew, was that he had taken the life of the person that meant the most to you - and he was going to pay for that. You didn't care how far you had to go in order to satisfy your need for justification.

You opened the door and went outside, with no intention of ever coming back. You locked the door behind you, and did the one thing Dream had forbidden you; Returning to L'manburg.

You weren't going to walk straight to Schlatt's house and kill him right then and there. You were angry, not stupid. Dream had said he had people working from him - and that he was starting another war. And every war had sides - Tommy, Wilbur, and Techno being on one, Schlatt and his men being on the other. So what you were going to do, was finding Techno and the others. That way you could figure out a way to take down Schlatt together. Your only condition was that the one dealing the final blow would be you. Even if that meant betraying them in some way, you really didn't care.

Dream had said that Tommy, Wilbur, and Techno were hiding in the forest around L'manburg. Or well, Manburg. The area surrounding the land was huge, and there was no way you'd be lucky enough to find them. So you had decided to walk straight into Manburg, to not only get a better look at the whole situation but also find someone who might know where your three friends were hiding.

That way you could also meet all of the new people that had apparently come to Manburg since you left. See who were your friends and who were your enemies. You had thought everything through. And you were ready.

The outside was just as cold as you felt on the inside. The sun was high in the sky, and it didn't snow. The weather was perfect.

You took out an enderpearl and aimed it in the direction you were heading. You threw it with full force, bending time and place. Even though it made you a little sick, you continued on doing so, until you reached your destination.

-

Enderpearling was a very quick way to travel. But you would have preferred if you have had a horse or something because when you finally reached your destination, you were very close to throwing up. Your stomach had twisted and turned each time one of your pearls had landed, and your face was very green as a result.

If it hadn't been for the iconic walls of Manburg, you wouldn't have been able to recognize it at all. So much had been built since you had been here last, it was absolutely crazy - and it had only been a month.

There was raised a very large flag by the walls. It was pitch-black and the logo was one you didn't recognize. You guessed it was Schlatt's work.

You felt your heart pick up its pace in anger, from just thinking his name. It made it hard to breathe and it reddened your vision. You really hoped that you wouldn't stumble upon the president around here - if that was the case, you didn't know if you'd be able to hold yourself back. You needed to wait until you had found Techno and the others.

Still, bottling up all of those negative emotions could only result in something bad. But for now, you would have to just deal with it.

You walked into L'manburg, a funny feeling filling your body. A feeling of being home, but also a feeling of being on unknown and dangerous land. It wasn't because of the fact that L'manburg had changed drastically - it was the fact that you had changed.

You got surprised to see the ground had fully recovered - the hole that had been caused by Dream's chain explosion was completely gone. It looked as good as new. How did they even fix that?

It had only been a month since you left but it felt like much longer. It felt ages ago since you fought alongside the people of L'manburg in the war against Dream. It felt surreal.

Almost everywhere you looked were gigantic posters. Some of them had restrictions on them, some advertised about an upcoming festival and others just showed a large picture. One specific caught your attention.

It showed a man wearing a suit and a red tie. He had curly brown hair, an evil and victorious look on his face, and... Were that horns? Above his face was written 'President of Manburg', telling you that it was Schlatt.

It tingled in your fingers, the urge of ripping down the poster and rip it into pieces being overwhelming. So this was the man. The devil himself. The one who had taken everything from you. And you were gonna take his life in return.

You kept your breathing in tact, and when you had calmed a bit down, you continued walking around.

You were about to see if there were any familiar faces in the van (that had gotten some upgrades as well) when you felt a presence behind you. You stiffened and turned around, ready to draw your bow if necessary.

It was two people who you didn't recognize - they had noticed you as well and were staring at you with confused looks, from a five-foot distance. You got surprised at seeing one of them was a girl - that was a rare sight around here. She had two blonde locks, while the rest of her hair was brown, shoulder-length. She was very pretty and had an innocent look on her face. The boy beside her was much taller than her and had very short hair. You couldn't decide whether it was blonde or brown in the sunlight - but his eyes were brown for sure, and they looked surprisedly at yours.

The thing that caught your attention the most though, was the clothes they were wearing. The L'manburg uniform. You didn't have yours on right now, but it was exactly the same.

"Who are you?" The girl asked, walking closer. Her voice was extremely soft. You could tell she was surprised as well upon seeing another female. You didn't know what it was about her, but you wanted to protect her with your life.

You hadn't prepared for human interaction this soon. You couldn't greet them with eyes longing for murder and a depressed aura. You had to pull up a facade.

Smile, you said to yourself but it was like you had forgotten how to. The corners of your mouth turned upwards, and you hoped it didn't look like a face-spasm.

"I'm... Uh." You hesitated. Would it be a good idea to tell them your name? You would like for Dream and his friends to not know that you were here yet. And even though they had the L'manburg uniform on and they looked trustworthy, you figured it would be best to keep a low profile.

"No way!" The guy spoke, looking at the bow in your hands. "You're (Y/n), aren't you!?"

Bruh

Your eyes winded. They already knew you? Well, so much for staying hidden. You were sure you hadn't seen them before... "Uh, yeah. How did you know-"

"(Y/n)!" The girl happily exclaimed, clapping her hands. "Oh, it's so nice to finally meet you! We've heard so much about you. Oh, Tubbo is going to be so relieved!"

"I'm Jack Manifold, and this is Niki." The guy, Jack, smilingly said, reaching a hand out to you. "Welcome back."

Well this was a nice surprise. You had feared that everyone in L'manburg would still think you were a traitor, and despise you with every bone in their body. But these two seemed really happy to see you.

Still confused, you shook Jack's hand. You forced a smile. "It's nice to meet you. Uh, but how exactly do you know me?"

Niki smiled, as she walked beside you. "Jack and I came to L'manburg not so long after you left. L'manburg had just gotten its independence since Tommy traded his last disc for it. Dream had explained to them that you weren't a traitor, and we've hoped you would return every since. They're very sorry, (Y/n). For doubting you and make you leave in the first place."

You didn't even know what to say. Niki's kindness was something you didn't know how to deal with right now. They had hoped you would return all this time? "Uh, it's... It's no big deal, really."

You were surprised that Tommy had managed to get independence in the end. But you were glad that he did, even if it cost him his disc.

"Everyone is going to be so happy." Jack placed a hand on his side. "We've heard how good you are with that bow of yours. With you on our side again, we might be able to take Schlatt down."

Niki gasped, and looked around with a scared expression on her face."Jack! You can't say that out loud! You don't know who could be listening..."

You rose a brow and looked around as well. "That's why I came here, actually. Uh, to help you guys, not to take Schlatt down. Not at all. Couldn't be me."

Niki and Jack looked at each other and nodded. Then they walked into the van, asking you to follow. You did so, and once making sure the coast was clear, they started telling you about the situation of Manburg. How after they, Schlatt, and his men had come here, they had held an election because they figured a president would be fitting for the land. They told you about how Tommy and Wilbur had run against Schlatt - and somehow Schlatt had managed to win with a dude named Quackity. About how Schlatt then had banished Tommy and Wilbur from the new 'Manburg' afterward, and how the two were now hiding for their lives in the forest. And with them gone, Schlatt continued to rule the country with madness. They told you how Schlatt had forced Tubbo to be his right-hand-man and hunt Tommy down as well, against the poor boy's will.

And for some fucked reason, Eret had apparently become king.

You were blinking uncontrollably, trying to take it all in. It was worse than you had thought.

"Schlatt, he's..." Niki began quietly. "He's way worse than Dream. He's pure evil. He doesn't want the best for Manburg, he only wants the best for himself. Jack and I, we... We just don't know what to do. We can't just sit around and do nothing, but then again... We'll get punished if we were to object any of Schlatt's orders."

Your clenched your fists, your nails burying themselves into your flesh. You breathed out, trying to stay calm. Your hatred for Schlatt was growing every minute. "Don't worry. I'm here to help now. We'll figure it out."

Jack placed a hand on Niki's shoulder and nodded. They looked at you with hope in their eyes. Like you were their savior. But truth was you couldn't care less about the saving of the old L'manburg. You just wanted revenge.

"Do you know where they are? Tommy and Wilbur, I mean."

Jack shook his head. "No one does. But it must be far away - otherwise, Schlatt would have found them by now..."

You cursed under your breath. How were you supposed to find them then? Should you try and search for Dream? He probably knew where they were. But then again, you were pretty sure Dream wouldn't be too happy to see you here...

Then Niki's eyes lit up. "Tubbo! You can ask Tubbo! If anyone knows where they are, it's him."

Your eyes lit up as well. You had missed Tubbo. "Where can I find him?"

"The white house. Well, if he isn't out on a quest for Schlatt, that is. He's always near Schlatt in case Schlatt needs him."

You really tried to control your angry heartbeat. But upon hearing that not only had Schlatt done something to you, he was also using one of your good friends, it became hard to control yourself in general. You wanted to end him.

You just nodded, straightening your back. You took a tight hold of your bow, and brushed some dust off your shirt. "Then I guess I'm going to find Tubbo."

You were about to say your goodbyes to your two new friends when Niki grabbed your arm. "Wait, (Y/n)! It might not be a good idea for anyone to see you. Jack and I weren't the only ones who awaited your return. Schlatt does too - he knows you're important to Wilbur and Tommy, so it wouldn't surprise me if he wants to control you like he controls Tubbo..."

"Niki and I can show you the way to the white house." Jack eagerly added in. "We can distract Schlatt while you speak to Tubbo. Does that sound like a plan or what?"

You thought about it. It sounded like your best shot was to go with them - and they both seemed trust-worthy.

You nodded, and they both smiled.

"But what if we run into someone on the way? Who's on our side?" You asked, tilting your head.

"You'll drink this," Jack spoke, handing you a potion. You examined it to see it was an invisibility potion. You've never tried one of those before - the thought of your body disappearing always sounded scary to you, and you would always avoid them. But now you were willing to go any lengths to take Schlatt down.

"And... We're kind of the only ones in Manburg who's on your side... It was a good thing we were the ones who found you, otherwise..." Niki stopped speaking.

You bit your lip. That meant Sapnap, Punz, George, and Eret were all on Schlatt's side. Of those, you knew of, of course. Then you gasped. "What about Fundy?"

Niki looked down, shaking her head slowly.

You gasped again. Had Fundy betrayed Tommy and Wilbur? But... Wilbur was his dad.

This went much deeper than first assumed. And that's when you decided you could probably handle having two goals at one time. To get revenge and to save your friends. You were going to make things right again. You were going to free Manburg, going to bring Tommy and Wilbur back, free Tubbo, and reunite with Techno.

You didn't care if your lust for revenge would swallow you along the way. Because most of all, you were going to get revenge for your old friend's death.

And if it meant losing yourself in the process?...

Then so be it.