Quackity checked his phone. The announcement was starting soon. He hadn't heard back from Sam. Not that Sam had any real reason to feel he needed to call Quackity after Wilbur left, but he'd requested it. He tried to remind himself that no news was good news, that perhaps Wilbur hadn't actually gone to Pandora's Vault. It was entirely possible he'd kept his promise. Sam hadn't sent him a message saying Wilbur had arrived, either, and he'd requested that, too.
That look in his eyes as he was leaving, though! It was hard to believe he could have gone anywhere else with such a heartbreaking stare. It f-ing killed him to remember it.
Wilbur could just be gone.
There really wasn't anything to hold him here. Sh-tty house, sh-tty burger stand, one... was Ranboo even really a friend? And then there was Quackity, himself. Well... there was one thing to hold Wilbur, if he still wanted to be held.
If Wilbur had any f-ing sense, he'd be gone and he'd stay gone.
He checked his phone again. Tubbo and Sam were supposed to be here. He didn't need them, but it would look more impressive to have all the shareholders together as a united front. He sighed. On the other hand, they'd be just finding out about Wilbur, too. It might be better if their reactions weren't caught on camera. Of course, there was no reason to worry how they'd react if Wilbur didn't show up.
He nervously twisted the ring on his thumb.
The door to the room creaked open, his head snapped expectantly. "Wilbur?" he whispered.
No. A pair of short horns led the way as Tubbo's cloven hooves clopped into the room, he was carrying a mess of cords with him. All the tension evaporated from Quackity's body. F-ck. He should stop expecting Wilbur to come through that door. Wilbur had to be smarter than that. He had to be smarter than coming back.
"Hey Tubbo. Have you heard from Sam?" he asked, trying not to sound too disappointed.
"Well, don't sound so happy to see me. Not even going to ask how I am first?"
"Sorry. It's been a long day. Have you heard from Sam?"
"Not since yesterday morning. Here, I brought some extension cords and connectors, just in case." He started hooking up the camera system. "Hey, do you think he might be sick?"
"Maybe. Or maybe he finally got somewhere with Foolish."
"Nah, I saw Foolish on the way here. Maybe he just got tied up. You know, Pandora's vault and all. Can't be easy to be the warden."
He hadn't asked about Dream's condition that morning, he didn't want to know. If it was bad, if he was somehow still alive, Sam might be too busy dealing with that. There was no f-ing way Dream had f-ing survived that! It was the worst f-ing thing he'd seen in his whole f-ing life. And he'd done it! He'd done that with his own bare hands!
He shoved his fists into his pockets. He could feel them tingling unpleasantly. Change the f-ing subject, Quackity! he shouted to himself.
"Are we ready to go?"
"Yeah," Tubbo said, plugging the last cord in. "Just let me..." he pressed the power button and the camera came to life. "And that's it, ready to air."
Quackity checked his phone and frowned. A message from his bank, he'd have to take it later.
Tubbo's phone buzzed. He looked at it. "Sorry, I'm just going to take care of this real quick." He ducked out of the room.
"Four minutes!" Quackity called after him. He thought he heard a muffled cry. He was about to check when he heard loud footsteps behind him. He spun. "Wilbur," the word came out almost like a sigh.
Wilbur fought with his cufflink. "Sorry, I'm not used to wearing a suit. I hope you don't mind I used the suite entrance."
"F-ck no." He didn't even hesitate. He closed the distance between them, grabbed Wilbur's collar, pulled him down, and kissed him. Wilbur's arms wrapped around him. He'd missed this so much. He'd thought he'd never have it again. He felt something solid and rectangular against Wilbur's chest. His brow furrowed. "Wilbur, what are you hiding in your coat?"
His phone beeped the two minute warning.
"Just something I picked up I thought you might want." Wilbur tossed the book down on the table.
Quackity looked at it for a moment, then his eyes went wide, a grin spread across his face as he grabbed it and began flipping through the pages. "Oh my f-ing God! It's the resurrection book!" He clutched it to his chest, despite the bloody cover. "Wilbur! Where did you get this? I've been trying to get this for-f-ing-ever! You don't know what I've f-ing done to get this book! I can't believe it!"
Wilbur's warm smile had turned ice cold.
Quackity's brow furrowed, his smile faltered. "Wilbur, where did you get this?" he asked, cradling the book to his chest. There was only one place he could have gotten it. He'd broken his promise.
"We'll talk about it later," Wilbur whispered, putting on his shades. "We're live in three... two..."
"Good evening, Las Nevadas," Quackity said, looking at the camera and, behind it, the dozens upon dozens of screens showing him Las Nevadas through his army of hidden cameras.
Not everyone was watching, he could see Fundy in the bar with Foolish. Niki and Jack Manifold were having a turn at the card tables. He should have checked for her earlier, he could have had her escorted out so she wouldn't have to find out like this. She'd probably be upset. In one camera, all he saw was the face of a curious crow on the outskirts of town. Well, he smirked, they'd all be watching in a second.
"I'm sure you've noticed we've been adding some new construction projects expanding Las Nevadas. It is my pleasure to announce to you that, starting today, we are entering into Phase II." He pressed the clicker and a graphic of their design for the new, larger Las Nevadas appeared on the screen. "In Phase II we'll double the size of Las Nevadas..." he continued on, talking about the many glorious aspects of Phase II. He kept his business-like smile on as his eyes scanned the cameras. This was supposed to be Tubbo's job. Where the f-ck was he? Where were any of them? He didn't see Charlie, either. He glanced to his side. Wilbur was there, still stone-faced. He looked so f-ing hot in that suit. Quackity wondered if anyone had recognized Wilbur yet or if they thought he was just another businessman.
"Of course, none of this would have been possible without a new addition to our team whose tireless efforts have helped us grow Las Nevadas. For the past few months, he's been working as our silent partner, but, today, silent no longer. May I introduce the newest member of the Las Nevadas board, Wilbur Soot."
Fundy dropped his sandwich, Manifold knocked over his drink, Big Q could almost hear the gasps as dozens of faces snapped toward the television screens. He turned. Wilbur took off his sunglasses and a smile played at his lips. There was no mistaking who he was. Quackity could see people shouting at the screens, oddly, only Niki seemed calm, taking a sip of her drink.
"Wilbur, would you like to say a few words?" Quackity said.
"Of course, Big Q." He gave Quackity a small smile and stepped forward. "Good evening, Las Nevadas. I am here to tell you... well... how should I put this? Quackity is planning to resurrect J. Schlatt."
"What the f-ck!" Quackity shouted.
"He has the resurrection book in his hands right now. He tortured Dream to death to try and get it."
Wilbur stared at Quackity, his gaze froze the blood in Quackity's heart. He suddenly realized how very alone he was in the room. "Wilbur, I can explain," he hissed.
"Oh, no explanation needed, my good man, I saw your face when I handed you the book. I guess I just wasn't a good enough puppet for you anymore," Wilbur spat. Wilbur faced the cameras again. "I think we can all agree that's not quite the type of man we want running this country."
"You were never a puppet to me, Wilbur! Let's just talk about this!" he begged.
"Oh, you mistake me, this isn't... this isn't a conversation - this is a hostile takeover."
"You can't do that!"
"Oh, actually, I believe I can." Wilbur held up a paper from the prison. "This morning, Sam generously gifted all of his shares in Las Nevadas to me."
"That still doesn't give you the majority!" Quackity protested, the only part of his brain still working was his business sense.
"No, but this does."
Ranboo stepped out from the darkness, his eyes glowing bright red and green. Behind him, two other forms emerged. Quackity froze in horror at the round, smiling mask, perfect and unbroken. On the other side, Technoblade held his trident.
He was going to die. He was about to f-ing die. The man he'd loved, who he'd trusted, was about to murder him.
His legs gave out on him. He fell to his knees. He could have faced Dream or Technoblade with his usual cool charm, but not Wilbur. The betrayal was just too much.
Ranboo stared blankly at the camera. "I vote Quackity be removed from the board of directors."
The board of directors? That didn't even matter right now! He could feel Dream's murderous eyes on him. He took a deep breath, calming himself as best he could. If he was going to go out, it was going to f-ing own it. "Obviously, if anyone was being played, it was me. I risked everything betting on you, and I f-ing lost it all." He managed a slight smirk at his husband. "You can kill me if you want. But my feelings were f-ing real. I f-ing loved you, Wilbur Soot. I still do." He shook his head. "Don't throw it all away."
"Killing you would be what you deserve." Dream stepped forward, but Wilbur held up a hand.
Wilbur stared down at Quackity for what felt like an eternity. Then he turned away from him. "You have until morning to leave Las Nevadas. This country is now under the control of the Syndicate." He turned and walked back toward the suite. "Cut the feed."
The video switched to static.
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Quackity sat on the curb as the sun just began to brighten the edges of the night sky. He took a long swig from the green bottle in his hand. Behind him, glass littered the edge of the sidewalk that kissed the building, where two previous bottles had met their end. He stared at the camera mounted on the lamppost and raised his bottle to it. "Well, Wilbur, I am absolutely f-ing wrecked so why shouldn't I get absolutely f-ing wrecked?" he shouted. "I know you can hear me! I f-ing lost it all! The biggest f-ing Bad Beat Story Las Nevadas has ever seen!" He took another swig.
"The f-ing joker of hearts, again. And everyone f-ing knows it!" Dumb-ss f-ing sh-t he was he'd said it on f-ing camera. "At least I got a few f-ing pity bottles out of it."
A crow hopped toward him.
"Get out of here," he said, lamely swatting at it.
The crow dodged his hand and hopped closer.
"I said, f-ck off!" he shouted, trying harder this time to hit it. It easily dodged. He felt dizzy, catching himself hard on the pavement before he could go down.
The crow pecked at the gold rings on his fingers.
"You want shiny things? Is that what you want? Here!" he shouted, pulling off the golden rings and throwing them, each making a satisfying clinking sound as they hit the ground and skittered across the pavement. "Take them!"
He reached his thumb, twisting the ring off. He stared at it drunkenly. The ruby seemed to wink at him from its place inside the silver. He turned it slowly. Forget-me-nots. He'd been easy enough to forget. Asphodel. My regrets follow you to the grave. He winced, remembering the pain of Wilbur's death. The way the news had cut through him like Phil's sword had through Wilbur's body. A scar he was intimately familiar with.
He slowly opened his eyes and stared up at the camera. He very deliberately slid the ring onto his ring finger. "I'm going to get it all back, Wilbur! All of it! Including you. I'm going to get you back! I swear it. I'm not giving up so easily. I'll show you what I'm made of! I told you I was all in and I am. Tu eres mi marido." He swirled the bottle around, watching as the liquid sloshed about in it. "Until the day you're not," he mumbled.
He stared at the slowly lightening sky and began to sing softly, "Well the darkness came and then it went, we built a home and watched it sink, and from the rubble there emerged L'Manberg... My L'Manberg, My L'Manberg, My L'Manberg..."
"My L'Manberg." Wilbur sang softly as he watched the small screen, so close his nose was almost touching it, Dream and the other members of the Syndicate sat at the table behind him. Ranboo's eyes still glowed as Tubbo stood behind his husband, his ears down, hands on the half-Enderman's shoulders, looking both concerned and nervous as his eyes darted from Dream to Technoblade to Phil. Wilbur's fingers went to his ring almost automatically.
"Are you having regrets?" Dream asked.
Wilbur turned from the camera. "No."
"Can I kill him, now?"
"Give him until the sun is over the mountains, then you can do with him what you like. I don't want anyone to be able to make the accusation I wasn't fair when I said he had until morning. I don't want to taint our first sunrise as a new country with his blood." He stared out the window to where the sun was just beginning to peek out from behind the craggy, black mountains. The golden rays of the sun fell on Las Nevadas, his city glowing before him. "This is my sunrise! This is my dawn!"
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End of Part I