If you can't beat him... Blow up his country
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In which you realize Tommy is the only one
who hasn't lost his sanity - and that says something
___________________________________________

-Shadow1nk on instagram

   It didn't take a long time walking around in Pogtopia before you located their voices. Your friends were inside a room or so and you could see them through a pair of iron-bars that worked as a window. It was Wilbur, Tommy, and Dream.

   Dream had his usual green outfit on, but Tommy and Wilbur were harder to recognize. They weren't wearing their usual uniforms and you couldn't really see their faces properly from here. But their messy mops of hair the chaotic energy that radiated from them weren't to be mistaken.

   Wilbur was wearing a long, brown coat and a black beanie, covering most of his hair. Tommy had a white shirt with red sleeves on, and a bandana around his neck. Both said things were dirty and covered in either dirt, dust, or dried blood. Several bandages were wrapped tightly around his hands and arms - you guessed it was from mining.

   It was weird seeing them without the L'manburg clothing, but you guessed you couldn't really expect anything else now that there was no L'manburg anymore.

   A smile appeared on your face upon seeing them again, but it quickly disappeared when you realized something was wrong. Tommy looked angry and skeptical, Wilbur looked cold and determined, and Dream looked - well, his mask prevented you from seeing his expression, but his posture told you he was his usual, mysterious self. 

   Dream had told you that he was on Tommy and Wilbur's side now, but it still seemed very odd to see them in the same room without wanting to decapitate each other. 

   You quickly debated whether or not to make an entrance. You wanted to say hi to Wilbur and Tommy, but it didn't seem like great timing. Besides, you were sure that Dream wouldn't be too happy to see you.

   So you decided to do what you did best: Eavesdrop.

   "No, nonono, you don't understand Tommy!" Wilbur was almost laughing. From the bars you weren't able to get a good look at him, considering the fact that he was 15 feet away from you, but you could tell something was off. That something about him wasn't like it used to. "If we can't have Manburg, then no one- No one can have Manburg! We'll burn the place to the fucking ground, I want it all gone! God help whoever is caught in the crossfire!"

   Your eyes winded. What was he saying?

   "Wilbur-" Tommy tried desperately, but Wilbur kept going. Dream was standing cross-armed, looking amused at the scene.

   "Everyone is always saying it's crazy how everyone's against Schlatt." Wilbur lowered his voice to a whisper. "But no one's against Schlatt. Everyone is pulling the biggest ruse on us! Literally, they've got us all by the fucking scruff of our necks! Tubbo says he's our spy, Fundy is telling everyone he'll revolt against us, and then we have Eret giving us god damn potatoes, tricking us into thinking he's our friend? It's bullshit! It's all bullshit!"

   You gulped, the air around you turning cold. You were slowly beginning to notice what was so off about Wilbur, and it scared you. It was his eyes. They were constantly wide. But it wasn't in shock, like you or Tommy's. It was in something that looked like insanity. Madness. They were blank and managed to give the illusion of containing every single emotion in the entire world at the same time, while also showing absolutely no emotion at all.

   The corners of his mouth were turned upwards, locked in a constant smile of psychosis. The brown curls that escaped his beanie were wet in sweat and clung to his forehead like he himself clung to the idea of blowing up Manburg. He didn't just look like someone who had gone mad. There was no doubt in your mind. And it was beyond hurtful to see.

   You didn't understand. Or maybe you just didn't want to face the sad truth of the situation. You thought he wanted to take Manburg back, not blow it all up to the ground.

   Wilbur had once made it clear for you that he was willing to go any lengths for the sake of L'manburg. You knew this had included killing, but not once had you taken him for a guy who was willing to commit a massacre. 

   Maybe you were just missing the context of the conversation. You had just walked in on them, maybe you misunderstood it all. You walked a little closer to the tiny window. None of them noticed your presence. You doubted they would.

   "Wilbur," Tommy tried again. You could see the panic in his face very clearly. "It's not too far gone, okay? There's a reason I gave up the discs, there's a reason we wrongfully threw (Y/n) out. It was to protect L'manburg. It's not too far gone. We can restore it, build it back to its former glory, you don't- you don't have to just decide that it's all over now. You're being reckless, Wilbur. You're being insane."

   And by that, you knew this wasn't a misunderstanding. Wilbur was being blinded by the faint memory of his once strong-standing nation. It was haunting him. Corrupting his mind. He was willing to do anything in the name of L'manburg, and Tommy was being the responsible one trying to prevent him from doing so.

   You didn't know what the heck Dream was doing. He wasn't even participating in the conversation. He was just observing how the two pawns in his game acted up by the strings he had just pulled. 

   "What's the point, Tommy?" Wilbur asked. "What's the point in rebuilding this entire place from scratch? Do you know how much blood was shed to get L'manburg to the point it was at? Do you know what would happen if we managed to get L'manburg back again? More blood would be shed, and we would be the illegitimate rulers of a nation. The only reason that Dream is working with us, is because of the fact that we are the enemies of his enemies! Isn't that right?"

   Wilbur turned to look at Dream who just shrugged. "I mean, you're not wrong."

   "Wilbur!" Tommy raised his voice, becoming desperate. He tried his hardest to sound as convincing as his panicking voice would allow him to. "The reason we made L'manburg in the first place, was to start our own nation! The reason that we went through the bloodshed and pain, was because we needed L'manburg! And if there isn't L'manburg, what even is the point in all of this?"

   But his words didn't go through. He might as well have spoken a whole different language.

    Wilbur just kept smiling, and the whole situation sent shivers down your spine. You had expected much to happen while you were gone, but this was too crazy, even for you. Straight-up unbelievable. Four weeks, and the only one who hadn't lost his mind was Tommy? Tommy?

   You forced yourself to look away from the scene, and onto your surroundings, eyes searching for something you didn't even know of. Where was Techno even? Dream said he was here. So was he a part of this? Did he want to destroy Manburg too?

   "I know what you're doing." Wilbur sang, making your gaze return to him. He stepped closer to Tommy who took a step back. "I see it in your eyes, I hear it in your voice. Tommy, you're scared that people are gonna think differently of you. Tommy, when I said you weren't gonna be president, see that wasn't a challenge. That's true. You're never gonna be president, Tommy."

   Your face began matching Tommy's terrified one. The young boy was backing away slowly, from the person he had looked up to for as long as he could remember.

    Wilbur's left eye was twitching, and he was breathing heavily. "I know you, Tommy. You're trying to sound like you know what you're doing, in order to prove me wrong. But Tommy, none of us know what we're doing. We're screwed, we were screwed the minute we were thrown out. Schlatt knows, Tommy. He's smart, he knows that if we fight him - even if we were to beat him, we've lost. There's no in-between, he knows we've lost. But do you know what? Do you know what that means?"

   "What does that mean..?" Tommy mumbled, not wanting to know the answer.

   Wilbur walked over to Dream and put an arm around his shoulder. You frowned at the sight - so did Tommy. "That means we can do what we want. We have a man on our side, who literally rigged our nation with TNT. We can do the same to them. We can rig the festival with TNT, we can kill them all, Tommy."

   You had to cover your mouth to not to make a sound. The festival you had seen posters about in Manburg - they were gonna blow it all up. They would kill everyone attending it.

   Wilbur had lost it. Did he realize that meant killing Tubbo, Niki, and Jack as well? and for he and Tommy - they'd be... They'd be executed afterward if they didn't get caught in the explosion as well... And they were on their last life. This wasn't a good plan, this was a suicide mission. Literally.

    Wilbur was being irrational - and this was coming from you, who could only ever think about murdering the president of the nation Wilbur so baldy wanted to destroy.

   "Haven't you noticed, Tommy?" Wilbur continued. "Everyone who's claiming to be on our side, they're lying to us! Tubbo is lying to you! He would drop us at the second he realizes we're not in the lead anymore-"

   "Stop it!" Tommy demanded, taking a warning step forward. "Tubbo is not like that!"

   "Oh, please! He's even giving a speech about democracy at the festival!"

   "Tubbo is not like that!" Tommy repeated angrily. "Listen Wilbur, you're not thinking straight right now. This whole plan, it's stupid and-"

   "Listen." Wilbur sighed. "I know that rigging Manburg is not gonna help us get it back. I'm aware of that. But sometimes. in order to feel comfortable and safe, you have to be ready to give up the things that you're worried you might lose."

   That would have been a very good quote if he wasn't talking about murdering all of Manburgs citizens.

   "Wilbur, listen." Tommy crossed his arms. "I'm not gonna stop you. But I won't go through with this either. You're being an idiot. You're saying everyone's against us but they aren't. You're just being paranoid."

   "Tommy!" Wilbur almost yelled, which shut the boy up. "Can't you see? You don't have to play the hero anymore! We're the bad guys now, we're the villains!"

   You were completely speechless. You felt like you were doing something illegal by listening to their argument. You felt like they'd kill you instantly if they saw you, but you just couldn't leave - besides, your mind had such a hard time comprehending what was happening that it wouldn't let your legs move even if you wanted to. 

   So should you step in, instead? Help Tommy? Because it was Tommy who was in the right here, wasn't it?

   "I don't think you guys are the bad guys."  Dream's smooth voice echoed through the stone walls. You had completely forgotten he was there.

   "We've fought against people." Wilbur listed. "We've killed people to get leadership of this country - and we didn't really do much with it. We lost an election fair and square, and now we're trying to fight our way back in. I don't know, that sounds like a villain to me."

   Dream shrugged. You locked your eyes on his figure. He must see the stupidity of this, right? The pure madness that Wilbur was suggesting? Dream was smart, and if what he had told you was true, about how he had changed, he simply had to help Tommy out here. He had promised you to protect Tommy and Tubbo - and an explosion, blowing everything up, was exactly the opposite of that.

   It was still weird to see Dream after your little conversation yesterday. He had basically left you to drown in your own tears, but you weren't focused on that right now. Your urge for stepping in was growing bigger and bigger by the minute, and you didn't know if you'd be able to hold yourself back any longer - even if you didn't know how they would react when seeing you.

   "I think you have vested interests, Dream. I think you would enjoy a conflict between Pogtopia and Manburg. And I'm here to facilitate that! So Dream... Let me be your vassal."

   Tommy's mouth fell open along with yours. 

   "I understand you have a lot of TNT under your possession," Wilbur placed both of his hands on Dreams shoulders.

   "Come on Dream, decline. Please, decline." You whispered and bit your lip. Sure, you didn't trust nor like Dream - but he had been very cooperative about your deal, and you were quite thankful for the information he had given you about Schlatt - so you had hope in him.

   But Dream just smiled evilly. "I do indeed. I have a bit."

  You punched the air silently. He had one job.

   Wilbur smiled as well. "Then I want to set this up! I want to rig the city."

   Dream searched through his inventory and found a stack of TNT. It was ready to appear in his hands.

   "Dream no! Don't give it to him!"

   "I have to, Tommy."

   Of course, Dream would give Wilbur what he wanted. Of course. He hadn't changed a single bit.

   It felt like you were sinking deeper and deeper into the cold stone-floor by the minute you just kept standing there. You needed to go in there. You needed to stop this madness.

   Tommy repeated himself desperately, but Wilbur kept ignoring him. "You might as well drop it, Tommy. Remember, Dream doesn't really want us to win. He just wants both Manburg and Pogtobia to be weak." Wilbur turned to Dream and held his hand up assuringly. "And Dream, I'm not scolding you - that's smart. You're a smart guy, I'm glad we can help each other out. I promise, Manburg and Pogtobia will be nothing more."

   Dream smiled. His finger was threatening to summon the TNT and give it all to Wilbur. "I do want Manburg and Pogtobia to be nothing more. I want L'manburg to be something."

   "But why do you want L'manburg, Dream?" Tommy questioned. He sounded tired. "You're the reason we had to make L'manburg in the first place."

   "Schlatt is ambitious, and that's a bad thing. He has an eternal hunger for power and land, and he... He has something on me." He answered. "You guys, having your own little nation where you just frolicked around in the flowers, that's fine by me, I don't care."

   "It wasn't fine when we had our war."

   "I had a change of heart."

   Bullshit.

   "I'm as ambitious as I've ever been, Dream. I'll blow it up." Wilbur promised, reaching his hands out. Dream pressed the little slot in his inventory, and the pieces of TNT appeared in his hands.

   "Don't give it to him, Dream! This isn't right!" Tommy warned, stepping forward.

   "You were never in charge, Tommy." Wilbur just said, his eyes shining with insanity. "You were never in charge of the situation."

   And with that, Dream transferred the stacks of TNT into Wilbur's inventory.

   Tommy cursed loudly and found his bow. He aimed it directly at Wilbur, his hands shaking slightly. "Wilbur! Wilbur, look at me!"

   Wilbur slowly lifted his head and looked at the tip of the arrow that was pointed right at him. He almost looked at it with amusement. He didn't flinch at all.

   "Hand me that TNT," Tommy threatened him loud and clear.  

   That was it. You couldn't take it anymore. You couldn't care less about how Dream would probably kill you right on the spot when he saw you, and you didn't give a damn about the possibility of Tommy and Wilbur still being mad at you. You were going in. Tommy needed help. The future of Manburg, Niki, Jack, and Tubbo was in your hands.

   You stood up and headed towards the entrance of the room. It was like a magnetic force was pulling you to it, making you walk three times faster.

   "Tommy, I'll have to step in." You heard Dream say, as he stood protectively in front of Wilbur. He had his axe drawn. You also heard Wilbur whisper 'YEEES, DADDY DREAM!' under his breath, but you chose to ignore that.

   You appeared in the doorway, drawing your bow as well. "So do I, apparently."

   You walked in front of a completely shocked Tommy, and pointed your arrow at Dream and Wilbur. Your eyes were angry. Determined. "You heard what Tommy said, Wilbur. Give him that TNT."