Long Live L'Manberg

Chapter 20: Politics is Power

Four weeks had passed since the infamous L'Manberg revolutionary war. Word had traveled fast, the country's shocking victory being the talk of the town. L'Manberg stood proud, finally recognized as its own separate nation. Gone were the days of battle and war, yet still, one glaring problem remained.

"Tommy, we need to re-establish our power."

Wilbur and Tommy sat high upon Power Tower, watching the sun's rays cast a brilliant light over the new, rebuilt L'Manberg. After a month of reparations, new additions to the grounds, and some slight civil unrest, Wilbur still remained deep in thought about the changes he wanted to make to better his newborn nation. Even after gaining new supporters, the country still seemed somewhat frail. L'Manberg was loosely thrown together with no formal acknowledgment established to the outside world. Some members of the Dream SMP didn't even know it existed. The sad truth was- who cares?

And that's just it. He had to make them care.

"There's an issue here, Tommy. I became president by default, no one actually voted me in." Wilbur twiddled with his thumbs as he leaned over the ledge, observing his people down below. "They don't listen anymore. They don't care what I have to say," Wilbur sighed in defeat. For the last couple of weeks, ordering around a group of teenagers was proven exceptionally difficult, especially when no one would listen. Lately, it had been getting under Wilbur's skin. L'Manberg needed a wake-up call. "For all I know, they never wanted me in office. They never actually got to pick their leader."

Tommy fiddled with his thick hair as he joined Wilbur, watching their newest members Jack Manifold and Niki Nihachu converse with Tubbo and Fundy as they harvested crops inside the walls of L'Manberg. "I mean...when you signed the Decree of Independence, you did self-proclaim as the president. We all just went along with it." He wasn't sure about the rest of his friends, but he believed his brother was a fine president. His levels of decorum and composure were practically unbeatable, not to mention his greater maturity.

Wilbur snapped his fingers in return. "Exactly! We don't have any control over these people anymore. We've lost our grip, and there's only one way to get it back!" Not following, Tommy scratched his hair, a dumbfounded look plastered along his face. He wasn't really seeing eye to eye with Wilbur on this whole situation. Wilbur was the perfect leader, and yet here he was believing that everyone wanted him out of office. Wilbur sighed, a gentle smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.

"Right, listen. I was thinking...what better way of making people believe that you're in charge than having them vote for you?"

An eager look appeared in Tommy's eyes as he slowly began to understand the plan his brother was hatching, the gears in his head visibly turning. "Go on..?" 

Wilbur leaned in and hushed his voice, despite the fact that there was no one around within earshot to hear their plan. Tommy felt all tingly inside, a feeling he hadn't felt since Wilbur burst down his door and suggested they started a drug empire. That mischievous feeling had finally returned, and Tommy suddenly felt right at home again.

"How about this, Tommy? We hold an election, we don't tell anyone else, and we shut the ballot when the only candidates running are me as president," Wilbur pointed pridefully to himself, "and you as vice president," he extended a long finger toward Tommy. Nodding his head, the boy continued to catch on. "So, when the time comes, they'll have no choice but to vote for us?" 

"Correct!" Wilbur beamed with pride at his sneaky plan, going in to give Tommy a high five. Tommy's eyes sparkled with joy, a toothy grin appearing along his mouth. "That's a brilliant idea, Will. Let's do it!" 

"Excellent! Then let's start right now!" Wilbur removed his hands from the pockets of his overcoat, striding towards the exit ladder. He placed his leather boot on the top bar of the ladder when Tommy suddenly called out. "Wait, Will!" Wilbur abruptly paused, looking up at his brother. "What is it, Tom?"

Tommy felt odd being the bearer of bad news, but he just couldn't help but notice a few holes in their plan right off the bat. There were many opportunities for error that needed to be addressed before moving forward, or else this plan could have a disastrous result. "I love the plan, I really do!" Tommy prefaced with a cheeky grin. "But, isn't it all a bit...risky?" Wilbur cocked his head as he crept back up the ladder. "Risky?"

"Don't you think someone will eventually catch on? We might be biting off more than we can chew here," Tommy worried, a little unsure of how this all was to be handled. If this went south, they could be breaking the trust of many. Wilbur tittered lightly, beckoning for his right-hand man to stand by his side. "Tommy, let me teach you a little life lesson."

The boy looked into the eyes of his brother, who was gazing at the giant lake beneath them before meeting his eyes. "In life, you are meant to take risks. If you don't, you are throwing away your shot." Tommy nodded, realizing the truth behind his brother's words. If they were to officially establish themselves without any competition, they needed to take a risk or two to make that happen. It was part of the plan, and they needed to be all in for this to work.

"And besides, what's life without a little risk?"

At those words, Wilbur jumped off the ledge of the tower and into the lake underneath. 

"Will!" Tommy screamed as he dashed over the ledge only to find his brother completely unharmed, laughing as he swept his damp hair from his eyes. Tommy let out a huge sigh of relief, chuckling at Wilbur's reckless behavior. It seemed so unlike him, especially due to the conditions they were under this past month. It was nice to see Wilbur finally loosen up after being the stickler that lead the revolution for so long. He was almost returning to his old self.

It took Tommy a few steps backward, a long deep breath, and a running start before he found himself flailing in the air, plummeting down into the water below. He let out a terrified scream before he hit the water, creating a large ripple effect. Wilbur shielded his face from being splashed before looking around for the blonde boy.

"Tommy?" Panic quickly spread all across his body as Tommy failed to reach the surface. He darted his head left and right, but his brother was nowhere to be found. Wilbur then yelped as he felt something creep up behind him, dunking him into the water with an obnoxious laugh.

"Ha! I got you so good! I saw that look on your face!" Tommy guffawed as the two splashed water in each other's faces. The duo then began to swim toward land, off to enact the first phase of their plan.

"Off to L'Manberg!" Wilbur shouted as he used his arms to swim to shore. Tommy paddled behind, pushing himself forward as he cried out. "Off to rig an election!"