Between the Lines of Fear and Blame

"What happened to Tommy and Tubbo? I caught small bits of vision through the phantom's eyes of Tommy alone by an ocean, they spent a lot of time together there."

Eret's rage returns with a righteous fire, having only learned about the truest extent of exile from Sam mere weeks ago. "During Tubbo's run as Second President, Dream forced him to choose between the nation he inherited and his best friend. He chose his nation without his council's backing and Tommy was hauled off to isolation for several months. Forbidden from returning to the lands of the Dream SMP, he lived alone with only Ghostbur for company between Dream's visits."

Eret barely noticed how tight they were clenching their tea cup until the handle shattered, the Ruler cursing as they let the broken cup fall. Blood wells around their wounds as Wilbur's eyes grow wide, shrinking away from the wound while the Monarch clenches their fist tighter. "He sheared any connection the boy had to the mainland and tortured him, when Tommy finally returned he was a shell of the sunshine boy we were fond of. A paranoid bloom too afraid to show his colours, barely alive or responsive to any of us. Technoblade took care of him for a while until things fell apart between them. I haven't seen Tommy in a while but each time I do I feel a renewed urge to put an axe through Dream's ribcage for what he forced him through."

With blood dripping to the floor Eret finally releases their fist, pulling a healing pot out to drink before spending some time wrapping it in bandages as Wilbur listens to the rant with a storm of emotions raging across his face. "After a lot of planning, himself and Tubbo took off to confront Dream 'one final time', their words not mine. He regained his discs and killed Dream twice in the process, before Sam offered to haul him off to the prison he built where he sits rotting to this day."

Eret remembers the sadness when Tommy's death message flashed across their communicator, hearing from Ranboo mere hours before he went to see Dream to get some closure. Clearing their throat as it tightens up, thinking of just how much poor Tommy had been through while they recounted the events between Wilbur's death and now.

"Tommy died a third time when he went to visit Dream, becoming trapped due to outside circumstances until that bastard beat him to death in Pandora's Vault. We all thought that was the last we would ever see Tommy until a week later Dream revived him, proving the power's existence to all."

Wilbur's face is pale in the crackling firelight, hands clenched together in a white-knuckled grip, tea forgotten at this point. Coughing out in the smallest voice, he asks. "What about Tubbo?"

"He left the mainland's soil a while ago, somewhere up north in the biting winter where he established Snowchester. A new independent gathering of people that he swears it isn't a country so Techno doesn't come knocking. He's down two chances but seems to be making the most of his third, settling down with Ranboo and their son in a mansion Foolish built."

"Foolish?" Wilbur asks, questioning the new name while Eret realises he would have no idea who the shark totem hybrid was.

"Someone who appeared on the server just after Dream was tossed in prison, an excitable guy with a good heart and a habit of building massive structures." Eret's voice becomes tinged with regret, remembering how he gave up a life on the Monarch's behalf. "Someone far too kind for this cruel world we walk, he splits his time between Snowchester and the place he calls his Summer Home. A location very far from here where he builds huge sandstone pieces adorned with precious metals, a beautiful place to visit."

"I missed so much." Wilbur comments, Eret nodding along with the statement.

"You did, this world is strife with conflict and constantly shifting sides, it's exhausting to keep up with." Adjusting their crown as it slid forward, they attempted to return to the topic beforehand while packing away their medical kit.