Dream cast a wary eye over his visitors before he seamlessly slid into character: a no-nonsense dictator with a penchant for violence. He only hoped he could hold the façade.
"I haven't seen Tubbo in the past few days," Wilbur began.
"Well, Ranboo was in Las Nevadas the other day," Quackity offered, "and he said Tubbo wasn't feeling well."
BadBoyHalo hummed. Unlike his human companions, Bad was a demon hybrid. He preferred to take his time before responding, seeing every chance to communicate as an opportunity to manipulate. "You know, I haven't seen Philza around either."
"Do you think their disappearances are connected, Bad?" Dream asked. The demon halfling nodded, his glowing, white eyes narrowing in suspicion. But before he could commit to a verbal response, Wilbur intervened.
"It doesn't matter," the Brit answered. "We're here to discuss the constitution of The Five Crowns." The former revolutionary pulled a folded paper from the inside of his trench coat. He slightly adjusted the placement of his glasses, and read: "We, The Five Crowns, are all in alliance to unite the server in five equally independent nations to put an end to unnecessary warfare."
Wilbur raised a questioning gaze to look each member of his audience in the eye. "Are we all still in agreement?" Everyone nodded, indicating their approval of the terms.
"Of course, we're in agreement. Nothing's changed there," Bad hissed. "Does no one seriously know where Tubbo is?"
"No, he hasn't stopped by the prison," Dream monotoned.
"I haven't seen him in Las Nevadas," Quackity said.
"And I haven't seen him in that fortress near your border," Wilbur replied.
The man knit his brow into a question as he turned to Dream and asked, "Did you send Ranboo to complete Phase One?"
"Yeah," the fake criminal confirmed. "He was sleepwalking a week ago when he visited the jail. I triggered his enderwalk, and I ordered him to complete his task the next day."
"And what were the results?"
Dream sighed. "Ranboo swung by the morning after the fire. The house was burned down, but he didn't say if Tubbo was dead or alive."
"Interesting," Quackity muttered. "When I asked Ranboo about Tubbo, he avoided the question. He may be hiding his husband's whereabouts."
"That's right!" Bad shouted, pointing a long, ebony finger at the mayor. "He obviously doesn't want to sign the constitution. It only makes sense!"
Dream knew the missing goat hybrid was in serious danger, but the question was...how much? "How do you suggest we find Tubbo?" he asked.
"We'll give the boy three days to turn himself in," Wilbur replied. "After that, we'll initiate a server-wide manhunt."
The demon hybrid scoffed. "I don't know why we're still giving him a choice in the matter," he griped. "We should just force him to sign it so we can move on. Peace is inevitable; Tubbo just needs to learn to accept it."
"I agree," Dream responded. "Tubbo is the key to achieving server-wide peace. We need to find him."
Wilbur leveled a pensive stare at the formerly masked man. "I think you're forgetting, Dream, our little problem with your current monarch?"
"Ah, yes," Dream nervously bluffed. "Eret. Of course. I thought we decided to go with Quackity's approach."
A wicked grin spread across the mayor's face, his eyes dancing in violent delight. "Say no more," he chuckled darkly. "Your wish is my command."
"Then it's settled," Wilbur finished. "All of us should keep an eye out for the child, and prepare to advance on Eret's castle. There's no time to waste."
Techno, who still stood facing the corner, banged his head repeatedly against the obsidian wall. When was this stupid meeting going to end? On and on the leaders went, babbling an unintelligible series of consonants and syllables. Gods, he wished he'd learned enderman; it was nothing like the language of piglins, let alone English.
The warrior breathed a sigh of relief when he finally, finally, heard the humming of the platform- they were leaving. But as time stretched on, Dream wasn't ending the act. What is he doing?! Is he enjoying this?! Techno panicked. Let's make the Blood God stand in the corner like an idiot! Yeah, guys, let's put in time-out forever! Well, I'm not having it! "Dream, I swear-"
"They're gone."
Techno whirled around to find that his cellmate was right. The platform was docked back at the send-off station, and Sam was nowhere to be found. "Oh. Uhm, how was the meeting?"
The ex-dictator slowly turned to face the piglin, his eyes filled with both fear and regret. Drawing in a shaky inhale, he replied, "You might want to sit down."
Scary...What is Quackity's plan for Eret? And what will Dream and Techno do about it??
Vote to help the convicts escape!! :DD
And, as always, thank you so much for the reads and support!! Y'all are more wonderful than chocolate and s'mores. <333
[Image Credits] "Handshake - Men" (Cropped Slightly) by Amtec Photos (https://www.flickr.com/photos/141761303@N08/37969911295)