"Tommy, I know you'd never thought you'd hear me say this, but take your place on the podium and give us a speech. Or should I say, president-elect. Tommy Innit."
You chuckled slightly, watching Tommy splutter in disbelief as his brother gestured him up to the podium.
You glanced to your side. Karl stood by you.
"We've done all we could do, couldn't we?" you murmured to him.
"I guess," he said in response.
The two of you sighed, turning your heads to the stage in sync.
"Hello everyone." Tommy took a deep breath, others greeting him back, before continuing. "Hello. Well, it looks like we've won. And- and I never thought I'd say this, but even after the hardships, the tyranny that we've been through, after everything, it was meant to be."
Through his sunglasses, Eret's eyes widened and he let out a laugh. "That's my line!"
"It was always meant to be." You smiled, squeezing Wilbur's hand briefly.
"Er, and, Wilbur," Tommy chuckled slightly, "thank you. For making me the president. And- and I know you said I never would be, I couldn't be. And after a bit of thinking, I decided... yeah. I can't be."
Gasps erupted all around.
Tommy continued. "And as much as this is everything to me, as much as this would have been everything - I've still got unfinished business. Because Dream, you've still got those discs."
Dream grinned lightly, making a motion as if to doff a hat.
"Until I've got those discs back, it's not fair for me to take my place in L'manberg. L'-" the blonde stressed the 'L'- "-L'manberg. So, Wilbur, I know you had your points where we thought you were gonna, y'know, fuckin' blow the whole place up - I know that's just talk now!"
Wilbur looked down, corners of his lips upturned, then back up.
"So, we did this, and there wasn't a single explosion." Tommy had a satisfied look on his face as he surveyed the crowd. "Wilbur? Take your place on the podium. And Dream? This isn't over."
You reassured Wilbur with a simple nod, him then speaking into the microphone. "Alright, I'll keep this brief as possible. Tommy, that was... good of you. And, so, the first thing I'll do is to scrap that flag. It's not our nation anymore."
Fundy's cheers and Quackity's celebration made their way into your ear amidst Wilbur's words. "Yellow, black, red, white, and blue. That's how it should be. However, I also cannot be your president."
Again, the crowd murmured in confusion.
"Techno, you've taught me a lot," Wilbur noted. "You taught me that government isn't the way to go. So, let me hand off the presidency. To say goodbye to my nation, my L'manberg, and there's only one other person who I want to come up to the stage."
Wilbur sighed, this one seeming to symbolize a final rest. "Let me welcome your next president of L'manberg. Tubbo."
Tubbo's face split into what you think may have been the biggest possible grin on a human being, his entire aura seeming to jump up several steps. Your eyes remained on Wilbur, watching him exit first from the stage, then from the area.
Only thing left to do was... wait.
"Um, well-" Tubbo paused, laughing as he took in the audience. "I've been- been put quite on the spot right here. Wasn't expecting to be surrounded here by my friends, my enemies - who I don't hate all that much, I'll be honest."
"But I enjoy our unity, the most diverse of people brought together by what frankly is the strangest circumstances. Whether we were fighting against each other or together."
"Yes, our country has damage. But I think of it as a piece of wood, a piece with a bunch of nails stuck into it. Even after you take them out, the dents are still there." Tubbo looked at Tommy for approval. The latter gave him a strong nod and smile. "The holes are still there. But we can fill them. And, y'know, that's what I'd like to do as president. Not to be an agent of chaos, but one of healing. Of repair."
"So..." Tubbo trailed off, looking at those gathered. "Now everyone's here, now everyone's in unity... Why don't we fix this place up together?"
Cheers erupted in the crowd, as you allowed yourself a smile.
You watched Niki and Eret cheer, turned to see Jack's scream of victory. You looked to Tubbo's descent from the podium, his embrace with Tommy. You observed Quackity and Fundy, arms around each other's backs and fists in the air.
"You holding up alright?" Karl whispered. You flinched slightly at his sudden appearance.
"Yeah." The word was short, almost cut off. "Just worried, y'know. We've gone through everything. Done everything we could. Gave up two lives each."
You recalled his sudden deaths prior to today. The first one sacrificed to Techno's fireworks, the mindless violence. The second to Sapnap's flames, Karl's switching sides impacting the ravenette the most.
And then, your own. Both because of betrayal. Both for a sacrifice.
"Hey."
Karl used his hand to gently - albeit awkwardly - grab yours. "You said it yourself. We've done all we could do, right?"
"Yeah," you responded, focus dropping to the floor.
"It'll be fine. It'll be-"
"KARL! GET DOWN!"
You shoved Karl onto the ground on his back, falling down and crawling back with him. A loud thud echoed across the bloodstained grounds, followed by a scream.
Techno stood, panting, staring down the crowd.
"Listen to me."
The celebrations grew silent. All eyes moved to watch the pig hybrid as he spoke.
"I did not spend weeks planning this revolution, giving you guys gear, for you to just go replace one tyrant with another."
Your chest almost caved in on itself.
"No, no," you muttered, heart pounding against your ribcage. "Karl, this wasn't what was supposed to happen, Karl, it wasn't-"
"Don't you see what's happening here?" Techno's eyes blazed red. "Don't you see history repeating itself?"
"Y/n, calm down, it'll-"
"Schlatt wasn't the problem, all of you! It was government! Power corrupted!"
"No, no- you don't understand- it has to-"
...
Hiss...
...
Your heart dropped to your feet.
That is, until it was blasted into the air.
-----
The first thing you could hear after the ringing was Tommy's scream.
Instinctively, you tried to find the source - never quite letting go of your care for him. Your legs weighed down on you. You forced yourself to stand.
The first thing Karl saw after the void was you.
Your eyes were wide, your body shaking. But he could still see you. Under the scars, the blood, the tears - was what you could have been in a different time.
Time.
He numbly reached for his book. A watch found its way into his hands.
November 16th. He could turn it back. A year. Maybe two. That's all it-
"Karl."
The dark blonde turned to see your face. Dirt-caked. Bloodied. Desperate.
"I can't."
He paused. "What?"
"I can't do this anymore. Can't keep- can't keep going back."
"No- no, c'mon, Y/n, c'mon love, we can do it. This is the one, I'm sure." Karl grabbed your hand tightly.
"It's been, what, a hundred times you've said that now." You chuckled humorlessly before speaking again. "We've tried everything. We started a new country. We joined Dream's side. We killed Dream. We killed Wilbur."
You squeezed his hand gently. "The Dreamon Hunters tested me this timeline. I can't continue much longer."
Karl's heart stopped. "They-"
"They found a Dreamon. If I keep going back... there'll come a point where I won't be able to anymore."
It was then Karl noticed the shrapnel embedded into your chest.
You looked down, matching Karl's gaze. "Maybe it really wasn't meant to be."
Karl took a choked breath in, an unsteady one out. His face contorted, conflicted between denial and resignation. Explosions and fireworks shrieked discordant tunes into his ears. At last, after a long silence, he settled.
"Well, we'll go out in style, then?"
You smiled bittersweetly. "Just how I wanted to."
The last kiss you'd ever have was passionate. Tender. Your arms wrapped around your lover in a long and warm embrace. A last message of protest against the loss of life, of love in the SMP.
Everything started to give way around you. The buildings. The people. The entire world collapsed in on itself, becoming the town that never was, never will be.
Your eyes were shut, air of no more worry to you. Maybe your love could have lived on for longer. But, in this life, only one more thing to do came to your mind.
y/u went off with a bang.
-----
1460 words (without a/n)
Header by @keebruhelf on Twitter
i'm feeling angsty and you get to as well! again, sorry that updates are slowing down a lot D: my mental state has been quite all over the place as of late, but i am hoping for at least once every other week.
i hope you enjoyed the chapter! constructive criticism is always accepted. if the next chapter is up, feel free to hop over there. if it is after midnight for you, go to sleep. this is a threat. :))))
-Partially Human