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Tommy’s heart exploded in a shower of red, white, and blue sparkles.
Tubbo, his best friend, boxed in and publicly denounced as a traitor.
Techno, his brother, summoned to serve as executor.
And Wilbur, his president, his brother, nowhere to be seen.
As soon as the fireworks went off, Tommy was moving almost without thought. The instant he appeared on the stage he had smashed through the fence keeping Tubbo in place. The panicked boy had fallen into his outstretched arms with a desperately relieved gasp, and they were out of there with another enderpearl.
Really, they were lucky the fireworks had hit Schlatt and Quackity too, and the confusion allowed him to get Tubbo away. But as he knelt with blood on his hands, he couldn’t bring himself to be grateful.
Techno had disappeared, and he hadn’t seen Wilbur since he pearled off the roof, when he had ran for the button.
"How could you?"
Niki was shouting, furious and defiant in the face of Schlatt’s wrath, and Tommy didn’t even try to pretend he wasn’t terrified for her.
(The last victim of Schlatt’s decisions lay cradled in Tommy’s arms, burnt and bleeding and broken.)
Niki’s voice cut off with a gasp, and Tommy whipped his head up, fearing the worst.
There was someone at the back of the crowd, and the breath left Tommy’s lungs in a sharp exhale as he recognised the tall figure.
It was Wilbur.
The real Wilbur, not whatever paranoid, unstable, violent man had been stalking the caves of Pogtopia for weeks.
With his head held high Wilbur strode down the aisle, Manburg residents parting wordlessly before him. His coat flared behind him, and for just a second Tommy could have sworn it was blue, not brown.
“If you’re going to kill anyone, kill me. Don’t hurt anyone else.”
This was his Wilbur.
His voice carried low and clear for the first time in weeks, and if Tommy was less of an alpha male he could have cried.
(He ignored the tears welling in his eyes , and how Tubbo shakily reached to wipe them away.)
Schlatt was saying something, his magnified voice a menacing echo, but Tommy was focused on the way Wilbur stood tall, unarmored, weaponless, crossbows aimed at his back.
Leaning back on his heels as if in boredom, Schlatt smiled. “I was going to continue with the festivities, but if you’re feeling a little woozy after seeing Tubbo shot, then I suppose you could just get lost.”
Techno slunk out of the woods to stand by Wilbur’s side, subtly angling his shield to protect the defenceless man. Wilbur had never liked wearing armour. His appearance flared the rage simmering in Tommy’s chest, though it was quickly cooled by Wilbur’s steady gaze.
“You had one job Technoblade.” Schlatt’s voice dropped low with anger. “What’re you even doing here?”
He nearly missed Techno’s mutter of “I’m just tryin’ to protect Wilbur, though he’s not making it easy.”
Sometimes he forgot Wilbur was Techno’s younger brother too.
“Don’t hurt anyone else,” Wilbur repeated, hands curling into fists.
“I’m not going to hurt anyone, do I look like I’m the bad guy?”
“It sounded like you were going to go for Niki.”
Schlatt hummed. “I could kill Niki.” His tone was conversational as he leaned over the microphone, one hand idly gesturing to the crowd. “I mean, she’s been a thorn in my side since the very beginning.” He grinned as Fundy and Quackity stepped forwards, crossbows raised.
Wilbur slowly backed up, ducking behind Techno’s shield as an arrow splintered the wood.
Weapons were drawn, and the brothers fled with cries of “Run, Niki, run.”
Tommy watched as they disappeared into the trees. He took a deep breath. He needed to get Tubbo back to Pogtopia.
( As he retreated, he didn't notice Fundy and Quackity turn on Schlatt, voices raised in anger and guilt.)
Tommy didn’t think he’d ever been more grateful than when Niki pulled healing potions out of her bag.
They set Tubbo down in an out-of-the-way nook, away from the shouting and conflict in the main passage.
The burns spread across his chest and down his arms. Tommy held Tubbo’s hand as Niki cleaned and bandaged, trying to ignore the pained whimpers and breathless gasps.
Tommy sat with him until he fell into a restless sleep.
Niki gave him a soft look as he stretched and stood up. “I’ll stay with him,”she said, smoothing a hand down the blanket and tucking it tighter. “You go see what’s happening out there.”
‘Out there’ was a mess.
Wilbur paced back and forth, gesturing with sharp movements and a raised voice at Techno. The latter was leaning against the wall, crossbow gripped loosely in one hand. His white shirt was splattered with blood.
As he ducked out of the cave, Wilbur turned to him with a grin on his face and a wild look in his eyes.
Tommy’s heart sank.
“Tommy!” he laughed, throwing his arms out. "It’s exactly as I predicted, it's perfect!”
“No one has any honour here, we’re all just doing as we’re told.”
Techno made a dry comment about corruption, and Wilbur turned on him in an instant, laughter replaced with a snarl.
“This isn’t about me, this is about blowing up Manburg, this is about finishing it all.”
The shout echoed to the edges of the ravine, fading to silence, until Wilbur’s attention slowly drifted back to Tommy.
“You haven’t said anything to Techno yet.” Wilbur’s voice was sly and manipulative, with an undertone of dark delight at the prospect of violence. “Why don’t you tell him how you feel? After all, he hurt your Tubbo.”
Tommy was quiet.
“Why’d you do it, Techno?”
The hybrid immediately launched into a tirade about peer pressure and orders, but Tommy barely heard it.
He knew it wasn’t entirely Techno’s fault, he knew they should have done more, but he hurt Tubbo.
Tommy had never been good at controlling his anger.
The only thing he could hear over the blood roaring in his ears was Wilbur laughing with manic glee.
“Tommy, you’re trying to use words. But the thing about this world is that the only universal language is violence.”