Chapter 21

"Techno!" I call casually, leaning against the open door. Tubbo stands in the doorway meekly, holding an envelope with a red wax seal in his small hands. I peer at Tubbo, taking in his short stature and bees zooming around his head. He had always had a few bees around him at all times, but I had never really asked about it. There were much stranger things to be seen. Like a man named Bad, an abyss hidden in a black and red cloak. Bad is the nicest person you could ever meet but his soulless white eyes still scare me to this day. That is much weirder than being able to control bees.

"Why are you staring at me?" Tubbo asks, suddenly wiping his cheeks. "Do I have something on my face?"

"No, no," I assure him, waving away his concerns. "I was just thinking…"

"About the festival?" Tubbo asks sympathetically. "I'm sorry that I can't invite you."

"Oh, don't worry," I grin arrogantly down at the short boy. "I'll be there."

"You-" Tubbo stutters unsurely, "But- You're not allowed in Manburg?"

"I've been meaning to talk to you actually." I say, disregarding his worries. "How would you feel if I blew up Manburg?"

"I-" Tubbo gapes at me, "Blow it up? How?"

"I got a little… financial help," I shrug, "And I'm planting bombs under the festival soon."

Tubbo stares at me, not knowing what to say.

"Listen, you're doing a speech right?" I ask.

"Yeah…"

"When you finish your speech you'll say, uh," I try to think of a line, something for him to say to notify me. "I don't know, something and then you'll need to run."

"Why?"

"Because I'll be blowing it up. Manburg is done."

As I say the last line menacingly Techno walks out from behind me from in the depths of the ravine. He greets Tubbo gruffly and takes the envelope, opening it roughly with a knife that I hadn't even noticed he had. I lean over and over his shoulder and read:

Dear Technoblade,

The nation of Manburg humbely invites you to its festival to celebrate all things democrasey.

From Tubbo, on the behalve of Schlatt, President of Manburg.

The letter is scrawled on fancy golden paper, multiple words misspelled and random inkblots everywhere.

"Thanks, Tubbo," Techno says, shoving the letter into his pocket, "I'll be there."

Techno gives me a look as he walks off and I stare at his retreating figure. Tubbo draws my attention back when he says exactly what I had hoped he would say.

"I trust you and I'm with you."

~~~~~

I pull my brown trench coat closer to my body to appear smaller than I am. I jump at every branch that breaks and every owl that hoots into the night.

"Calm down," Dream says, walking calmly. "It's late, we'll be fine."

"Easy for you to say." I hiss. "You're not wanted in this nation."

We continue to walk further into Manburg in silence. Over the hill I can see the podium, nearly restored back to its old glory. As we walk over the hill, I see a pile of objects up to my shoulder. We get there I gasp audibly,

"That's a lot of TNT…" I breathe, "All this to get Manburg back?"

"L'Manburg," He corrects, nodding. "And yes, I want L'Manburg back as much as you do and if this is the way we do it I'm going all in."

He heads down the hill as I goggle at him. Did he just say L'Manburg? That was the first time he had recognised us as L'Manburg and not just the rouge part of the Dream SMP. He walks behind the podium and beckons me over. In the moonlight he looks like a nightmare, a beast you would find in the forest.

I touch the TNT tentatively then jog over to join Dream. He points at the back of the hill that supports the podium and I look closer. A button sits nestled in the side of the hill and I turn to Dream.

"Is this the button?" I ask, wondering if he is stupid. "What if someone-"

"No. That's so you can get to the button." He says shortly. He presses the button and a portion, no bigger than a regular door, slides across. It reveals a short hallway leading to a small empty room. I can tell that Dream Is revelling in my surprise and delight.

"This is the button room. I'll do some Redstone work and there'll be a button in there that will blow up Manburg once and for all." Dream looks at me, hands on his hips and I nod slowly. "What I need you to do is put the dynamite into the holes Skeppy and I dug."

I had never officially met Skeppy but had seen him with Bad. They live together in a great big mansion they had made nearby. He is a shorter man, Bad only being taller because he would float off the ground, made completely of a diamond like jewel; you could see straight through him. He had an odd face, unsymmetrical like Quackity's, but it looked like he had suffered a stroke. His mouth drooped down on his left-hand side and a reptilian-like tongue hung out of his lips. It's good to know that he's at least not an enemy.

I got to work, gently placing a few explosives in each hole. The holes only went down a couple of metres, but I was not brave enough, nor did I have a death wish, that would make me want to drop the bombs from any height.

After I finish, I walk up to the room again, still open from before. I walk down the hallway, looking around. The walls are Blackstone, which is another thing, like a small book, that was probably an omen for something.

The room at the end of the corridor is cramped, I could almost touch the opposite walls with my fingertips. A chair was in the centre, Dream was probably using it for something. I sat down in the seat and gazed at the empty wall in front of me. It felt like the walls were closing in on me slowly but I let them, it wasn't scary like claustrophobia. It was like a warm hug from the one person that you needed it from the most. I wonder if my father would be proud of me.