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"Would I lie about this?”
In front of Tubbo and the rest of his cabinet was the ruined remains of the Community House, the build that had started it all. “Tommy blew up the Community House,” Dream said, anger in his voice.
And it just didn’t make sense. Why would he do this? Tubbo imagined he would be quite spiteful after everything, but destroying the community house hurts more than just Dream, or just him. Everyone on the server cared about the community house, or at least had some sort of feeling about it.
Dream blamed them for it. “You are affiliated,” he said. “You have the disc.”
Mellohi. It was in his ender chest, the sign of the bond that Tommy and him had shared. Once shared? He didn’t know. Thinking about Tommy and their bond, or rather the lack thereof, hurt. He didn’t want to think about the disc and what it meant, because he still remembered that the disc meant everything to Tommy. He didn’t want to betray him, but… hasn’t Tommy betrayed him? Betrayed L’manburg?
They tried to argue with Dream and explain that they weren’t affiliated, but Dream isn’t one to take no for an answer. As President, one must keep the peace. That’s what Tubbo thought, but he’s been ridiculed for it, for exiling Tommy to keep them all safe. Dream is powerful, and maybe Tubbo was the only one who wasn’t naive enough to think that they could do anything about it.
Tubbo was lost in his thoughts as Dream continued to plead for the disc, until an invisible figure wearing armor dropped down beside them. The figure was outraged, and his voice was too familiar when he said, “You don’t need the discs.”
Because apparently Tommy’s been here, watching, and the only time he’s willing to reveal himself is when his prized possession is threatened. Because the discs matter. (It stings, but he pushed that thought away.)
Technoblade was with him too, reminding Tubbo of their alliance. Tommy was teaming up with the man who killed him, who helped destroy their country. “Does this look like something I would do?” Tommy questioned.
And it did. Tommy always thinks before he acts, and this whole thing was reminiscent of when he burned down George’s house. He was in denial, refusing to take responsibility for his actions. Technoblade backed him up, but how trustworthy is Technoblade anyway?
“I mean… the fact that you’re here kind of… proves his point. You’re not.. Where you’re supposed to be.”
Tubbo’s words are quiet and make him cringe, thinking back to exile. Dream agreed with his point. And again Dream reached his point: “Listen, Tubbo, just give me the disc.”
It was just so exhausting. This argument didn’t matter. If Tommy destroyed the community house, he was never going to admit it. He lied about burning down George’s house, so why wouldn’t he do it again? Everything just matches up. His behavior, his recklessness.
He goes into his enderchest, looking at Mellohi. The disc that meant everything. “You’re not gonna give him the disc, are you?!” Tommy yelled.
“You’ve literally proven time and time again that you can’t be trusted!”
It hurt to say, but it was true. Why does he always have to pick up after Tommy? Why is it always his responsibility to do what’s right, and Tommy can just… can just wreck everything for his own purposes? How is he able to do it without caring about how they feel?
Briefly, Tubbo wondered if he’s focused on past events as well, things that go back to before the war, before he was even elected President.
Tommy kept babbling, trying to reassure him that they were back. “I don’t think that’s an option anymore,” Tubbo quietly said.
A moment of silence fell between the two. “You won’t even stick up for me, right at my lowest point. You know what he did to me in exile, Tubbo.”
“I thought you died!”
“You’re the shit friend, Tubbo.”
“Yeah, well, at least.. This has your name written all over it!”
The two continued arguing, feeling like the other wasn’t listening to them. Perhaps the words did reach their ears, and they heard it, but they weren’t listening. “Trust me,” Tommy pleaded.
“I did trust you. Once. The first time all of this happened. And I won’t make the same mistake twice.”
Tubbo finally mustered up the courage to take out Mellohi. As he pulled out and turned back to face Tommy, the boy again accused him of betraying him, of being a bad friend. Instead of defending himself, he threw it back in his face. He didn’t care anymore.
Somewhere along the way, Tubbo pulled his shield up, and Tommy ate a golden apple. And then he started fighting him. The other people surrounding them seemed aghast; none of them anticipated seeing the two fighting. Tommy and Tubbo were seen as an inseparable duo, and yet here they were.
As they fought, Tubbo tried to focus on it, instead of Tommy’s continued verbal argument. He couldn’t ignore it, though.
“I went for the discs --- Tubbo, the discs --- The discs were worth more than you ever were!”
Tommy’s anger filled words caught him off guard. His grip on his axe slackened, his jaw dropping in disbelief. He couldn’t believe Tommy would say that and mean it.
It caught up to Tommy, and he noticed the look of regret in his eyes. But the damage had been done, and the voice in Tubbo’s reminded him: You’re not actually surprised, are you? The discs were all he’s ever cared about. He made that clear ages ago.
God, it still hurt. Though he would never see it, he did everything he could in order to protect Tommy. It never worked out the way he thought it would, and exile was worse than he could’ve ever imagined. Is it his fault for being so naive? Is it his fault for picking the logical solution over the emotional?
He knows why Tommy feels betrayed, but sometimes it felt like he was too stubborn, too unwilling to see from his point of view.
“Give him the disc.” Tommy’s voice was soft, and his gaze was locked onto him. Not on the disc.
“You want me to give Dream the disc?”
It was hard for the other boy to admit it, so Tubbo took a deep breath in and handed it over to Dream, who smirked to himself.
Tommy began conversing with Technoblade, having a bit of a falling out, but Tubbo was focused on everything. Clearly Tommy regretted his words, but he still thought it.
“Listen. Tubbo.”
“Yeah?” he replied to Dream.
“I— well thank you for giving me the disc. I just wanna say that you’re an idiot. You are an absolute idiot. And you have no power, and you are the worst president that has ever been president-elect, cause you’re no president at all! No listen, listen! You’re not even president!”
A hollow, empty feeling enveloped the boy. He swallowed nervously, finding himself enraptured by Dream’s words. The man was tearing him apart, ruining any confidence he had in himself and his presidency. He didn’t have a lot of confidence to begin with.
“You’re not even president! Quackity is more president than you. I’m more president of L’Manberg than you! You listen to— you get pushed around by everybody on this server.”
“—’Cause you are an idiot! You are a buffoon. You are a fool. You fall for everything.”
That’s true, he told himself. I am… a fool.
“You just gave me the one thing that I needed to destroy L’Manberg! I don’t care about L’Manberg. I don’t care about anything. I’ve said this before: the only reason that I have not destroyed L’Manberg is because you had the disc. I had to be friends with you to get the dumb disc back. I don’t care about you. I’m not your friend, okay? I cared about getting the disc back. And I got it back. I got it back. And that— that— that’s the only thing that really matters. You can’t even run your nation right. Ranboo is a traitor! One of your most trusted friends.”
“No, no, that’s not true,” Tubbo interrupted. This was one of the few things that he felt like he could argue against, mainly because it didn’t have to do with his character. And he trusted him more than he probably should. When he didn’t have Tommy, he had Ranboo. Hell, he had even opened up to Ranboo about how he felt like Schlatt.
Ranboo’s the only person he’s opened up to recently. He felt like he was the only one in the cabinet who listened to him. Maybe he had been wrong…
Dream handed him a book, his memory book. Dream explained more and was feeling all smug, but he was focused on reading it. Most of it had nothing to do with his supposed betrayal, and it was just him reminding himself of things.
It wasn’t wrong for him to write down these things. And was it so wrong to meet up with Technoblade and Tommy?
( He knew Tommy wasn’t dead, and didn’t tell you.)
(He’s been hanging out with your murderer and someone who’s been a constant threat to L’manburg.)
(He is a traitor.)
It was all running through his mind.
“Tubbo,” Dream said, “ L’Manberg is weaker than it’s ever been, and it’s because of you. You have destroyed everything. You have ruined your friendships. You have ruined L’Manberg’s allies. You are a horrible president, Tubbo. “
Everything really was his fault. He exiled Tommy and left him out there to die. He let his cabinet push him around, fearful of what he could become if he put himself before the needs of his people.
“Yeah, you’re right,” Tubbo replied quietly.
Dream then called for Technoblade’s help to destroy L’manburg, the next day. He was going to destroy it, just like Wilbur did.
And there was nothing he’d be able to do about it. Dream and Technoblade are the most powerful people on the server, and they were going to destroy his country.
Everything he tried to accomplish as the President had failed. Everyone believed it, too. When Dream was yelling at him, reprimanding him for being such an idiot, nobody disagreed. Technoblade audibly agreed, but everyone else was silent. They couldn’t defend him, because it was true.
Tubbo was the one who ruined L’manburg. He took the crater that Wilbur had left him, built it up, and failed to protect it. Was L’manburg ever worth it? Should he have even tried to fix it?
After Dream and Technoblade left, everyone dispersed, getting ready for the fight. He could tell that nobody really had the fight in them anymore; even back during Manburg, they’d been so ready to put their lives on the line for their beloved country. Their sense of pride had left when a coward like Tubbo had become President and led the country.
Naturally, Tommy dragged him along, trying to gather more supplies for the fight. The remnants of their argument still filled the air around them. It wasn’t the same. Nothing could ever be the same.
He failed the country, and he already accepted tomorrow’s defeat in his mind. The only hope he had was that he could make a small difference. It’s better to go down fighting.
Maybe he failed at everything else, but Tubbo found it was quite easy to be a soldier. He’ll just do what he knows best tomorrow.
Even if that means dying.