"Niki, why did you bring me- oh. It's you."
Your small smile that had formed over speaking with Niki quickly disappeared once you saw Eret.
"Eret wanted to say something to you, and I figured it was about time you two caught up." The shorter woman rubbed the back of her neck.
Eret wrapped his hands around his forearms, looking sheepish. "Yeah, I... um... I just wanted to properly apologize. To you."
You tilted your head slightly. "Go on."
"I'm sorry. For... everything." Eret removed his sunglasses, looking directly into your eyes. "I thought that what I was doing - betraying you, betraying L'manberg - I thought it was for the greater good, which it truly wasn't. I wish I could undo everything, but it's too late for that. The closest thing I can get to that is your forgiveness."
You let out a long breath. Your eyes shifted to the ground, then to Niki, then back to Eret.
"I can't forgive you," you said quietly. "Not yet. I can accept- I accept that you did what you thought was right. I just... need time."
"I understand." Eret held out his hand towards you. You raised your eyebrows, and he tilted his hand to the side. You tentatively took it in your own.
A small pattering of applause interrupted the moment.
"Took you two long enough!" Niki teased playfully. "Now that all that's done with, we need to figure out a plan to get Schlatt out of here."
"Wait, wait, wait," you interrupted. "He's in on this?"
Eret nodded. "I don't think what Schlatt is doing is right. He's gotten rid of L'manbergian history. He's become a dictator, not a president."
"Yup. So, here's what we have so far." Niki began walking along the Prime Path, gesturing for you to follow. "Wilbur somehow was able to connect to my comm. He told me that they didn't have enough resources to get more people into Pogtopia yet."
"Pogtopia?"
"That's what they're calling their base."
"Checks out."
"Anyways. Tubbo is working with Wilbur and Tommy as a spy, so we can trust him. At this point... I don't know if we can say the same for Fundy."
Niki exhaled softly before continuing to talk with you and Eret. While the conversation started with serious strategizing, it eventually became light joking around.
"That's true, I don't know either," Niki giggled.
"It's all up in the air," Eret agreed. Suddenly, Niki shrieked and you whipped your head around to see what happened.
What you saw shook you to your core.
The flag that you stood behind, you fought for, you lived under for years was being burned down by one of the very people who'd created its nation.
"No!" Niki cried. "Eret! Y/n!"
Your hands clasped to your mouth.
"Fundy, you bastard!" Eret yelled. Fundy himself turned around, eyes triumphant with a dark glint.
"DOWN GOES THE FLAG!" he shouted. "A NEW ERA IS UPON US!"
You ran down to where he was standing as Eret pulled out a water bucket and tried to douse the flames.
"Fundy, how could you?" you yelled. "You son of a bitch!"
Fundy only laughed, giving you a mocking salute as he walked backwards. "The flag shall be rebuilt. We shall rebrand our nation."
You were about to run after him when Eret called out for your help. You pulled out a water bucket and quickly threw it up towards him. Still, the fire refused to be extinguished until most of the flag was gone.
-----
"Yo, Y/n. Schlatt needs you."
"Thanks, I'll be there in a sec."
You adjusted the collar of your suit and walked to Schlatt's office. You heard him beckon you in after you knocked on the polished door.
"Yes?"
"Heyyyy Y/nnn," Schlatt mumbled. You glanced slightly distastefully at the bottles of wine perched on the desk, as well as his red-stained shirt.
"You've been drinking. How much?"
"Not muuuch," he spoke, stumbling over his words, "only, uh, four glasses."
You groaned internally, tugging the sleeves of your shirt above your elbows. "Let's not get drunk again, m'kay?" Schlatt grabbed your arm, and you pulled it away quickly.
"I'm not druuuuunk," he protested. "It was only... a... few."
"Sure, and look where you are right now. Sit up-" you hoisted him up by one arm "-thanks."
Schlatt complained as you took the drinks and tucked them safely into one of his cabinets. You made sure that he wouldn't knock himself out and went to grab a glass of water.
Quackity looked up from the paper he was reading, giving you a sympathetic look when he noticed what you were doing.
"Again, huh?" he commented.
"Yup." You sighed and brought the water back to Schlatt's office, sliding it onto the desk and nodded at him to take a drink.
He took a few drinks from it, gradually emptying the cup. When he was finished, he let out a satisfied aah.
You stepped up to the desk to remove the glass, but he grabbed your tie and pulled you closer. The scent of alcohol was heavy on his breath.
"Stay a bit longer?" he whispered, voice husky. A small gasp escaped you and you involuntarily shrunk in on yourself.
"Aww, c'mon, don't be so shyyyyy," Schlatt slurred.
You sharply pushed him off you and stepped out, your boots clicking against the floor as you tried to calm your rapidly beating heart.
From outside the window, Wilbur seethed silently.
The moment Schlatt had gotten close to you, he'd turned and barely stopped himself from interrupting the two of you then and there. He had to remind himself that he had too much on his hands already.
Instead, after returning back to Pogtopia, Wilbur quickly went into his own room and slammed the door behind him. Neither Techno nor Tommy dared interrupt him. As both of the two were family friends with the Soot family, they knew how he was in his moods.
He pulled out paper and began writing in an intense fervor, eyes narrowed as he scribbled down words. His thoughts were filled with anger at you, at Schlatt, at you and Schlatt, at you and Schlatt together-
Wilbur slammed his head onto his desk, his quill slipping out of his hand and clattering across the floor. When he pushed himself back up, he looked back at the paper.
Words and unintelligible notes in the margins were scrawled all over it, but Wilbur could make out a distinct set of lyrics along with the chords.
He grabbed the guitar that was set in the corner of the room, strumming a C major chord and cringing at the sound. Using a skillful ear and hand, he tuned the guitar carefully.
Played once again, the tune sounded much better. Wilbur sighed and began playing out the notes. He let out a short whoop before beginning to sing.
"First and foremost: oh, let it be said
My dear, I was gonna wait for you
So this is not an act of spite
It's a visceral coming-to."
"He won our country
And that's something that I can't do
But what I can do is spit the truth
And it all leads back to you"
Wilbur spat out the last line, almost carelessly plucking out the chords. His voice wavered slightly as he transitioned into the second verse, then after that the chorus.
"Is he better than me?
Has he seen more to this life?
Can he love more? Is he just more?
Are you good enough to be his wife?"
"Sure, he broke me, will he break you?
Oh, I don't know what I'm to do
Yes, I don't know what I'll fuckin' do"
Wilbur's voice cracked as his head fell back on his chair and his eyes filled with blinked-back tears.
Will he break you before it's too late, Y/n?
-----
1300 words (without a/n)
Header by @/SAD-ist on YouTube (edited by me)
Wimblur Söt angst purely because I felt like it, also thank you for 17 in #lmanberg and 14 in #pogtopia 👉👈
As I write this author's note late at night, thank you for reading! Drink some water, vote on this chapter, and remember you are valid :]]] Seeya around!
-Partially Human
EDIT May 13, 2021: Small edit to fix a canon blip, all fixed now!