TW: SWEARING, YELLING, ALCOHOL
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~~~~ Tubbo's P.O.V ~~~~
I stare intently at the maps on my office wall. Since I last spent time with them there was a couple of new red X's and O's on areas we had checked and areas for more searching. We've found no trace of Technoblade anywhere. Well, not nothing.
I groan and run my hands through my hair pressing down on my skull. It was like he was teasing us, fucking taunting us from the treeline. Footprints or tracks of horseshoes through the snow. He was too good, slipping away just when we think we've caught him. Always an elusive few steps ahead.
This was proving impossible. I reach over to my desk and grab my drink. I let the repulsive flavour of the whisky wash over my tongue, I cough and put the cup down again. I know I shouldn't be drinking it, I don't want to be drinking it, but it's all that came to mind. I stare at the stupid glass on the desk, only Fundy and Big Q knew about the issue. Tommy was never here long enough to give a shit.
I wish Y/N was here, everything would be different if she was here. Maybe I'd be happier, a little lighter. Maybe I wouldn't be alone in a dark office surrounded by unfinished paperwork, dodging political hot potatoes. Maybe we'd be out in the field making flower crowns or laughing at Tommy or baking something at the house. Maybe she'd play the guitar for us and Niki would sing with her.
Y/N always knew how to make things better, how to cheer me up. She was the most incredible person I knew, and I forgot that. But I know it now, I know it well, you only realise what you have when it's gone. I push my emotions down somewhere in my body. I can't think about it. Maybe Y/N would have distracted me from everything that happens here, from everything I can't stop thinking about... But she's not here, I just need to suck it up.
I'm about to have another sip of the dreadful whisky when Quackity comes smashing in through the door. His expression is pale and panic-stricken, my insides immediately tighten and form knots.
"Tubbo, Tubbo you have to see this," Quackity pants leaning heavily on the doorframe. He must have run the whole way here. I say nothing, I don't grab my suit jacket despite the freezing winter weather outside, I just follow Quackity down the hall and out to the town.
It's a particularly quiet day in L'Manburg. Tuesday, everyone's working fields or their trades or spending the day inside or at the hospital with those who were injured in the whither attacks. I shiver at the memory. Quackity and I speed walk down to the town centre.
"What is it Quackity? I don't see the prob-" I stop short of my sentence when I see him.
An awfully pale man stands in the middle of town, but he doesn't stand, he floats. His feet hover just off the ground and he cheerfully smiles at some young girls and waves them goodbye. He's wearing a yellow sweater and black jeans, the thing that makes me freeze is the fringe of brown curls poking out of his beanie. He turns around and I see his face. But that's... impossible...
Quackity stands a little bit behind me as I walk incredibly slowly to the steps. As we walk down the steps, the man sees us and grins wider than I thought possible. A bright smile reached his eyes and pinched his cheeks. He enthusiastically waves and floats towards us.
"Wilbur?" I somehow manage to make my voice work as I hit the landing of the steps. The floating man waves again brightly.
"What are you doing here?" I ask in a threatening tone.
"O-oh... well I'm just having a look around town, it's very lovely here. Everyone is so nice! Well, maybe not that one man who yelled at me... But everyone is lovely!" Wilbur sounds different. Completely awestruck, I watch as the man continues to talk.
"You know, I was just helping some really nice girls with their flowers. They were very sweet, I was drifting through the town you see, and they were there too. I saw them picking some blue and yellow flowers from a garden bed on a windowsill and I told them that they were my favourite colours. I love blue and yellow! They told me they were picking the flowers for the people in the hospital. They were so delightful I had to help them and they were so kind too! And-"
"Wilbur, how are you alive?" I cut off his ramblings. Wilbur furrows his brows and looks at me confused.
"I'm not Wilbur, I'm Ghostbur! And I'm not really alive, although, I'm not quite sure how I'm here either Mr President," He says.
"So you're a ghost then?" I clarify. He nods.
"So Ghostbur and Wilbur are different?" I ask. He nods.
"Do you have any of Wilbur's memories?" I ask. Ghostbur seems completely different to Wilbur. So much happier and lighter and incredibly polite. Everything Wilbur wasn't when he died.
"Well of course! Yes! They're all really wonderful but I'm a little confused... You see... My memories are really good but the stories the townspeople have told me are very confusing. A lot of people also yell at me, which is very scary..." Ghostbur moves back a little and bows his head. Wilbur would never have been this vulnerable, ever.
"Quackity, I would like to ask that you add this to today's records and return to your work. Can you please notify Fundy? Also, tell Fundy to tell Niki. Make sure that they get the whole story, not a word of bias or lie." I looked back at Quackity. His eyes were wide, millions of emotions and thoughts swirling beneath the surface. Eventually, he pulled himself together and dashed off towards the office.
"Ghostbur, let's have a walk. Do you know what Wilbur did?" I ask and start walking towards the office again. Ghostbur followed not far behind.
"See, I-I don't know what Wilbur did but everyone's told me that Wilbur was a bad guy," Ghostbur explains. We walk into the government building and start heading up the stairs to the top floor.
"No, you weren't a bad guy. In your life, you definitely did more good than wrong. But you're missing a couple of key facts. Would you like me to explain to you the facts or are you fine with not knowing?" I ask trying to reassure the ghost. He was the opposite of Wilbur to be sure, he was vulnerable and sweet. It made me feel sympathetic towards him. We stand and look out an open window looking out over the town square.
"I think I've heard some of them. I apparently blew all of this up but I don't remember that."
"Yeah, that did happen but that's not the major plot point you appear to have forgotten."
"Tell me one and then we'll see how I like it and then if I like it tell me the others," Ghostbur says and starts floating back down the stairs.
"You remember the election right?" I ask.
"Yeah, I remember,"
"So you got forty-five per cent of the popular vote as Pog 2020,"
"Yes yes, and then we won," Ghostbur states simply and floats out the door again down to the town square. I huff and skip after him to keep up. We walk towards the square but Ghostbur leads me around the back of the government buildings to a small shack overlooking L'Manburg.
"See, that's where the story strays from the truth a little bit. Actually, the coalition government of Swag 2020 and-"
"I-eh-ah I changed my mind I don't want to hear this anymore," Ghostbur rounds the corner and goes into the shack.
"I'm just going to hide in my shed," Ghostbur says.
"This is yours?"
"Yeah I live in here, it's very small but cosy," I notice something rather peculiar about the shed.
"Uh, Ghostbur do you want me to ask for materials for a roof for your shed?" I look up at where the roof should be. Ghostbur floats back out through the door without anything to open it.
"No no that's perfectly fine, see, I helped to build some of the houses and I built them all with the idea that they'd all kind of look similar. But today I've seen a couple of buildings that don't look very similar and I think it looks bad. I know that Quackity designed them and I-I-I love Big Q, he seems like a lovely guy and I remember him being alongside us for a while but I don't like what he's done and I think it looks a bit shit..." Ghostbur trails off shyly making me laugh a little. I don't remember the last time I laughed.
"Yeah, that's fair," I say smiling.
"I want to build a crane!" Ghostbur says enthusiastically.
"You want to build a crane? That's a great idea actually! We can use it to help L'Manburg's reconstruction. There are still some unstable craters beneath L'Manburg we're fixing currently, a crane would be a big help!" I think through the idea.
"I would like to build a nice crane though, one that can stay, I thought that it might be nice to haunt,"
"You want to build it here do you?" I say gesturing to the ground in front of us.
"Yes please, I would,"
"That's perfectly fine! We'll make it functional and you can design it so that it looks how you like it," I say.
"Oh, that's wonderful Tubbo! Thank you," Ghostbur says and smiles brightly.
"Uh Tubbo, another suggestion, maybe you should remove the courthouse at some point that might be a good idea." Ghostbur points to the old stone courthouse on the other side of the hill.
"Yeah don't worry it's all going, the courthouse was particularly ugly," I say. I look down and see a glint of light reflecting off someone in the grass next to the shed.
"Is this a lodestone? Why do you have a lodestone?" I ask.
"Oh, well, my memory is quite bad and I forget where to go sometimes, so I have a compass that's linked to this lodestone that leads me home. Actually, you can have it Tubbo, you need the compass more than I do. I don't think I'll be leaving L'Manburg for a long time but I know you're often out on presidential business." Ghostbur pulls the compass out of his pocket. It's a rather dignified compass, made of obsidian with gold accents and a white face with black needles.
"Oh, thank you Ghostbur!"
"Tubbo, I was thinking about something recently. So as you know I-I've been president, I've... I've walked down the same road you're walking down. And while I don't remember everything about my time I do remember that... Uhm well everyone who's been president hasn't met a very pleasant end," Ghostbur said nervously.
"Yeah, I've realized that as well. I really hope I'm not going to be the next in the long line of presidents to die dreadfully."
"Yeah, none of them have had a very good ending and all of the times when they die... It's a good thing... which is- which is worrying."
"Well, Ghostbur, I think about it like this, I'm the third president of L'Manburg right?"
"Yes?"
"Well, third time's the charm, right? And in history, the third president of the United States was regarded as one of the best presidents ever."
"I suppose you're right then, I hope you last Tubbo, you're a very good kid from what I remember and I'm sure you'll be an even better president," Ghostbur smiles and I smile back.
"Thanks, Ghostbur," I check my watch and let a moment of silence pass us by.
"Crap, I have to go, JSchlatt's funeral is in a few minutes, I have to get down there,"
"Who's that?" Ghostbur asks innocently. He must not remember, although I have no idea how he could forget.
"Oh right, he had very bad cholesterol, smoked and drank far too much. He died from what we think is a heart attack but there were possibly some cancers involved too. We never found his body since the place where we put the body was blown up in the war." I explain.
"That's been blocked out of my memory, I don't remember that," Ghostbur said.
"You were actually at his side when he passed,"
"It's very worrying hearing all these things that I don't remember..."
"I imagine it would be, would you prefer if I stopped bringing stuff up?"
"I would, I would prefer that."
We stand in silence for a moment watching L'Manburg. The town's population was still rather small, understandably so. If I heard that a nation was constantly under threat I wouldn't live there either. The people who lived here were either like Seth Black, wealthy merchants who sought to reap the benefits of living next to one of the wealthiest kingdoms in the world. Or they had ties to the revolution, had family who lived nearby. our growing economy and architecture was also an attraction. I suppose we were hard to trust though.
"Thank you, sorry to have said that so bluntly but it worries me, hearing these things..."
"I'm sure it is,"
"That's not me, Tubbo. You know that's not me, I'm Ghostbur, different from Wilbur..."
"I understand Ghostbur, don't worry," I reassure him. We share an understanding look and then return to watching L'Manburg for a while longer.
****
~~~~ Tommy's P.O.V ~~~~
I watch my feet as I walk and listen to the sound of Philza's voice. We are walking along the prime path, I wanted to spend some time with Phil, it had been a while since we really talked. We're walking towards my base and L'Manburg, Phil lives there now, he has a house there and everything. I'm spending the night at my base, I need some time away from the house.
Phil has been talking about the adventures he's had since he left. Explaining why he left. He says he was searching for some answers and researching ancient magic. I didn't understand half of the shit he was blabbing on about. His black wings dragged behind him as he walked. The one that has been injured in the explosion had healed, but it would never regrow the feathers he lost ever again. He was grounded forever.
"Phil, what was Mum like?" I ask abruptly. A question that had been burning on my mind for a long time. Phil stopped walking, I saw his eyes widen and memories resurface in his mind.
"You know I never really know her, I just want to know something about her," I watched Phil like he was a frightened mouse. Like he would run away any second now. Gradually I saw Phil's eyes turn glassy and a melancholy smile graced his features.
"Your Mother was the most amazing woman I've ever met. Wilbur looks just like she did, with big brown eyes and curly brown hair. She was brave like you and always spoke her mind, she was smart and charismatic like Wilbur. She was perfect," Phil chuckled at something.
"Can you tell me a story about her?" I ask feeling significantly younger than I am.
"Her death ruined me, you know? It ruined all of us, even Technoblade, and she wasn't even his biological mother. I remember when you were very young, you must have been about five or six years old, Wilbur was about twelve or thirteen and Technoblade was probably fifteen or thereabouts. Your Mother loved painting and that day she had been working on it, it was a painting of you and your brothers in the field by the house. You know, the one Technoblade went on his potato tangent in with the neighbour's kid," I burst out laughing.
"I remember that painting, you hung it up by the dining table but then it got shoved in the attic..." I say starting to remember.
"Yeah... Anyway, Techno and Wilbur were being mean to you and you were really upset about it. Instead of coming exploring in the forest with us, you locked yourself in your room. Your Mum said she'd deal with it so we left. Eventually, she coaxed you down the stairs and sat you on her lap in front of the painting, which was nearly finished. You asked her if you could paint some of it and your beautiful Mother agreed. The painting was finished when we got home, it was perfect apart from three or four rushed brushstrokes in the bottom corner," Phil and I walk a little further in silence.
"I don't remember that," I mumble. Phil hums.
"I didn't think so, but that was your Mum," we close the fence behind us and walk to the front of my base. I notice Phil stops beside me. I frown and turn, looking away from our feet and instead at his face. His eyes are wide and his jaw had dropped open. His black wings were poised as if he could fly away any second.
"Phil what the fuck are you-" I gasp when I see what Phil is staring at.
"Oh Hello, Tommy! Hello Phil!" the man says. He's hovering above the floor and is wearing a yellow sweater and beanie.
"What the fuck?!" I scream.
"Wilbur?" Philza asks. Wilbur frowns and sighs deeply.
"I'm not Wilbur! I'm Ghostbur, why does everyone keep calling me Wilbur?" He asks the question almost to himself.
"You're Wilbur's ghost?!" I yell again caught completely off-guard. The ghost nods, that's when I realise that he's actually translucent.
"How is this possible?" Phil hasn't moved, I don't even think he's blinked. I look between the two entities.
"I don't know," Wilbur stammers honestly. Or rather, Ghostbur.
"Anyway, I came here looking for you Tommy! I wanted to talk to you, I noticed it was such a lovely day and it would be nice to talk to you since I remember lots of good things about you. We were brothers! I also remember lots of lovely things about Dadza, hello again Phil!" Ghostbur beamed happily and waved excitedly at Phil.
"I... I have to go, sorry Tommy, come to my house if you want to talk more," Phil touches my shoulder but doesn't take his eyes off Ghostbur. Ghostbur and I watch as Phil nervously skitters down the path towards L'Manburg.
"Did I do something wrong?" Ghostbur asked confused.
"I erm uh well Ghostbur... wait... HOW THE FUCK DON'T YOU REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED?" I yelled growing more and more confused.
"Oh right, well, you see that's the thing, I don't remember much about Alivebur or his life. I remember lots of nice things but I keep hearing about all these not so nice things and I don't really quite understand..." He trailed off, his words made a lot more sense now. I watch the Ghost a little terrified, he was Wilbur, and yet he wasn't at the same time? I cough trying to make my nervousness.
"You said you wanted to walk?" I ask.
"Oh yes! I do! I wanted to show you something I found along the prime path that I think you can explain to me. It's called the Holy Land? Anyway, I met the most delightful young girls today when I was in town. They told me lots of stories about you, Tommy,"
"Yeah, women often do that about me. I'm known as the big man around here, lots of bitches to be had," I joke and puff out my chest.
"I'm not so sure about that, I remember we used to call you a child and we bully you about that," Ghostbur says. I frown and start to explain to him how I'm not a child.
We walk to the holy lands and talk about a lot of things. Mostly me and how I'm not a child. Even though we're having fun, I can't help but be unnerved by the ghost. Who looked just like Wilbur but was the total opposite.
~~~~
HELOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
You might be wondering why there was no Y/N content in this chapter... Well, that's for a very special reason, it's because Y/N is going through some major character change. Next time you see her, she's going to be very different...
So you guys know, when you don't see Y/N, something is going to be different about her in the next chapter. And it's gonna be MENTAL. It's also because the idea I have is too frazzled or complicated to put into words so I choose to leave y'all in suspense ooh.
I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A WONDERFUL MORNING/EVENING/NIGHT/DAY
YOU'RE AMAZING ILY YOU'RE A GREAT PERSON <3<3<3<3