PHOENIX

Chapter Thirteen: Election Day

We raced down the hill, Wilbur beating Tommy by a couple seconds and me falling way behind both of them.

"I won that, it's not my fault your eyes are all broken and shit" Tommy refused defeat, crossing his arms.

"Sure, Tommy" Wilbur laughed, a genuine smile on his face.

I doubled over, barely being able to catch my breath, "You guys are freaks, when will I be able to outrun you?"

"Hopefully never" Tommy responded.

"That would be a scary day" Wilbur nodded in agreement.

"Hello fellas"

I looked up to see Quackity and Schlatt, both wearing suits. Quackity wore a huge smile as per usual, and Schlatt had a mix of annoyance and boredom on his face.

"Took you long enough" Quackity patted Tommy on the shoulder.

I stood straighter, throwing a glare in Schlatts direction. I didn't mind Quackity, he didn't seem to have malicious intentions. But with Schlatt, I could never tell when he was kidding or when he genuinely wanted to see us gone.

"Gentlemen, I have the results in my possession" Wilbur announced, facing Schlatt and Quackity.

"Forged" Quackity Joked, hiding his words with a cough.

Wilbur made direct eye contact with Schlatt, two old friends split apart by one's own greed.

"Schlatt, I didn't know you were serious about this" Wilbur tried to smile, but failed when Schlatt didn't smile back at him.

"Oh I am," Schlatt put his hands in the pocket of his jacket, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it.

"Things are going to be different in L'Manberg" 
Schlatt's eyes moved from Wilbur's face to mine, smirking when he saw the hatred in my eyes.

With a final nod in my direction, Schlatt swiveled back around to where the podium stood, Quackity following close behind him.

I huffed in annoyance, wanting to punt Schlatt back to whatever ditch he came from.

"Good luck, you two" I hugged them, saying a final goodbye before sitting down in the front row of the audience next to Tubbo.

"My fellow L'Manbergians, thank you for coming here today. I have with me, the election results of the parties" Wilbur's voice boomed around the area. Schlatt and Quackity stood on either side of him, their suits contrasting Wilbur's L'Manberg uniform. In my opinion, that alone should tell us who cares the most for L'Manberg. Tommy was behind Wilbur, and George was behind Quackity. Schlatt stood alone, still smoking his cigarette.

"Without further ado, I want to go through the election results" Wilbur took out a slip of paper from his pocket, unfolding it and reading off the words.

"With sixteen percent of the vote, coming in third place, is Schlatt." Wilbur announced, the crowd gasping and whispering among themselves.

I couldn't help but smile, knowing that Schlatt lost so horribly put me in a better mood.

Schlatt slowly blinked, releasing the smoke from his cigarette, completely unbothered. It was such a Schlatt move to pull, starting up something and then acting as though he never cared in the first place. Trust me, I had seen it firsthand.

"That leaves two parties" Wilbur glanced in Quackity's direction.

"George, hug me" Quackity grabbed onto the brown haired man, then proceeded to get pushed away by George.

"In second place, with thirty percent of the popular vote...is......" Wilbur paused for dramatic effect, waiting a few seconds before continuing, "Quackity"

Me, and the majority of the crowd gasped in surprise at Wilbur's words, hope spreading in my chest.

We had done it, we had won.

Tommy pumped his fist in the air, celebrating the victory, while Quackity was crying in next to George who lightly patted him on the back before shrugging.

"Meaning the winner of the popular vote, was Tommy and I" Wilbur quickly added, before shouts of celebration were heard. Tubbo and I joined in the chaos, cheering and clapping.

"Listen," Wilbur's voice cut back through the crowd, silencing everyone once again.

"Please stop celebrating, everyone. Two nights ago, after the announcement of Schlatt's party, Quackity made a deal with Jschlatt'' Wilbur looked back at Schlatt, his voice growing quieter.

"He said, no matter what happens, Quackity would pool his votes with Schlatt's votes"

I felt a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach, already knowing where this was leading.

"Tommy and I, had forty five percent of the popular vote, meaning that the coalition government of Schlatt, and Quackity got forty six percent of the popular vote" Wilbur declared, the sadness in his voice picking up through the microphone.

Cries of outrage were heard all throughout the audience, people shouting things and other shedding tears. It seemed even though people had voted for those parties, no one had really wanted them to win.

The look on Tommy's face matched mine perfectly, and off to the side of me, I could hear Niki's protests along with Eret and Fundy's. There's no way.

"Tonight, ladies and gentlemen, Schlatt has been inaugurated" Wilbur barely managed to get out, as Schlatt, Quackity and George's laughter exploded throughout the area.

It was almost like a dream, or a nightmare, with Wilbur backing away from the microphone and Schlatt taking his place. Wilbur slowly made his way down the stage, sitting in the far back of the audience. The entirety of the crowd was silent.

"Wilbur?" Tommy's voice shook with disbelief.

"Tommy, get off my podium" Schlatt smiled, blowing his cigarette in Tommy's face.

Tommy's face remained in shock as he climbed down the steps, each person's gaze following his movements.

Schlatt waited until Tommy took a seat next to Wilbur, letting the silence create an uneasy feeling in my body. This can't be happening.

Schlatt started his speech by tapping on the microphone, creating feedback that pierced all of our ears with a screech.

"Well, that was pretty easy" Schlatt tossed his cigarette on the ground, smashing it with his foot.

"You know what I said, the day I decided to run for president? I said things are gonna change. I said, you listen to me, this place will be a lot different tomorrow" He paused, getting closer to the mic, "Let's start making it happen"  

I turned in my seat to look for Wilbur and Tommy in the back, but a familiar green hood caught my attention again, just like on the debate day.

Dream was watching from afar, on top of the L'Manberg walls. His gaze fixed on Schlatt, the white mask almost completely covered by his hood. He was such a little creep, watching us all the time. I didn't like it one bit.

"My first decree, as the president of L'Manberg, the emperor, of this great country," Schlatt raised his voice, practically shouting into the microphone.

"Is to revoke the citizenship, of Wilbur, and Tommy"

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Author's notes: I feel so bad that I didn't include coconut2020 in this, just pretend it's there. Also for the last line I wanted so badly to write Wilbur Soot and TommyInnit, but I haven't been using Tommy's full name at all throughout this story so It would be weird if I had used it now. Not much else to say, I have been writing random paragraphs for future chapters when I get inspired by something. I literally just wrote an entire page of a chapter that happens after the second war lmao. I'm a little ahead of myself but that's fine. Hope whoever reads this has a nice day! Thanks for sticking along with me.