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If there’s one thing Wilbur regrets never teaching Tommy, it was how to aim.
The younger boy was a good soldier, determined and fierce. Sometimes, as Wilbur watched Tommy train the other soldiers, he wondered if Techno would like him. If he would admire Tommy’s fire and skills, impressive for being self taught. Techno has always admired loyalty, and Tommy’s has always been unmatched.
But Tommy was young and impulsive. Reckless, Techno would scold if he was here. Techno always believed emotions were a weakness, they cloud judgment and can be the reason you die in battle. But Wilbur, still naive and cocky, always argued otherwise. He wanted to believe in the good of others, that conflict can be resolved not through violence, but through compassion—words .
And look where it got L’Manburg: betrayed, weakened, a failed ideal. Wilbur was an idiot to ever think he could be different from his family, that he could change the order of how life operated. He failed everyone, and everyone knows this now, except for Tommy.
Sweet, brave, idiotic Tommy. Tommy who challenged Dream to a duel, all because he can’t admit defeat, all because he wants to make Wilbur proud.
Now, Wilbur watches as red and green walk away from each other with every count that comes out of his mouth. He hopes Tommy wins, for L’Manburg—one last “fuck you” to Dream—but also because if he dies, Wilbur won’t be able to live past the guilt. All two lives taken because of Wilbur, because he can’t be a good leader. He created L’Manburg to protect everyone, and it backfired tremendously.
But Wilbur knows Tommy, knows his strengths and weaknesses. He knows Tommy has never learned how to use a bow, at least not properly. In terms of combat, archery has always been Tommy’s weakest technique. It doesn’t help that Dream has been known for cheating, and Wilbur wasn’t sure who to watch. Dream or Tommy, his eyes kept flickering between the two; the former for any suspicious movement, the latter in fear of the worst happening. Dream was taunting Tommy, and Wilbur felt his anxiety spike as Tommy’s temper rose. He was becoming too emotional, not attentive— he’s not going to be ready.
—
Wilbur sees the moment Tommy realizes his arrow is going to miss its target. Dream shot his early, but not that it mattered because Tommy has always been quick on his feet and was already in the process of jumping in the water, the arrow ripping a piece of blue fabric. But that didn’t matter, because Tommy missed his shot, and just put himself at a disadvantage.
Tommy lost, Wilbur knows this the moment his body hits the water. He blinks, and Dream is drawing his bow again, another blink, and the water is transforming into red. Wilbur screams, Dream’s laughter muffled as he doesn’t hesitate to jump in the water. He reaches blindly until he snags onto heavy material, and struggles to kick as Tommy continues to bleed out into the water that once provided the younger boy comfort, onto the same bridge he and Tubbo were once playing on earlier that day.
It’s tainted now, is Wilbur’s only thought as he’s powerless to save Tommy. He’s numb as Tommy’s chest stops moving, blood marring his own clothing and hands. Someone has to drag him away, even after Tommy’s body has already respawned.
This is Wilbur’s fault. If only he was better; a better leader, a better fighter, a better strategist. He’s tainted, everything he touches is bound to come to ruins, and he was an idiot to think L’Manburg would be different.