TW: SWEARING, YELLING, FIRE, BLOOD, VIOLENCE, TRAUMA, EXPLOSIONS, CRYING, SEVERE DISTRESS
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Techno's meeting with Dream went smoother than any of us could have hoped. Techno didn't mind that Dream was here, but at the same time, he didn't seem entirely comfortable with the idea. He reacted similarly to Phil I guess, impartial, quiet, minimal to no opinion on the issue.
We were sitting at the table and then Ranboo walked in with Dream who had left his mask off. Technoblade was defensive about having a stranger in the house but as soon as Dream spoke he knew who it was.
Techno stood up and shot Tommy a look who was sitting beside me at the table. He was visibly tense but he didn't hide causing confusion. After a rushed explanation that Dream didn't want to take Tommy back, Techno sat down and went back to looking at the map he had spread on the table.
After that things were pretty normal, well, as normal as they could be. Dream has been staying in the house for the past few days but it was inevitable that he would have to go into the SMP since he was the only true monarch. If that wasn't enough reason then he had been wearing the same clothes for nearly a week and desperately needed to change.
The coffee I brewed tasted bitterer than usual and Dream had been mostly silent all morning. Neither of us wanted him to leave. Ranboo left for L'Manburg yesterday to update Tubbo who left Captain Puffy to look after Michael for the time being.
Dream yawns drawing my attention away from my thoughts.
"Did you get much sleep?" I ask curiously. I had slept soundly all night and since Dream and I shared my room I assumed he had too.
"I tried," he shrugs and I sigh. "I've just got a lot on my mind, I'm not super fond of the idea of leaving you behind again."
"Dream, I'll see you soon, I'm not going anywhere," I reassure him. He turns around in the kitchen agitatedly and leans on the bench in front of me leaving little room between our faces. I curse the blush that was slowly forcing its way onto my face.
"That doesn't mean I like the distance any better," he mutters. It was almost funny how I was thinking the same thing. I glance at his lips and then feel my next action come to me like instinct. I lean in and press a soft kiss to his lips, I taste coffee on his breath. It tasted just as bitter as my coffee but it also felt sweet. It was definitely better than coffee.
Dream pulls away with a sad smile on his face, I could see the mischievous glint in his eye.
"Now I really don't want to leave," he grumbles. I press my palms on his shoulders pushing him back teasingly. He frowns comically at me reminding me of Tommy when Techno tells him off about eating the golden apples in the house. I can't help but giggle quietly.
I sigh as Dream makes his way to leave. He hadn't brought anything with him besides his axe so all he had to do was walk out the door. I follow him feeling a bit like a lost puppy and step out into the strangely cold and humid spring air outside. The Tundra has a funny way of coping with the change in seasons, I wasn't one to question it.
"Well, I guess this is where I leave," Neither of us knows what to do. We stand facing each other awkwardly with our hands at our sides.
"You'll be back soon though and I think I'll start seeing people again. Who knows?" I try to keep the air light but it's still thick with longing and melancholy.
"I can't wait for the day that you come home," he pulls me into a hug and finally breaks the tension. I do my best to memorise everything about him. His scent, his warm hug, the feeling of his breath tickling the bare skin on my neck, his heartbeat.
I knew he was referring to the house I lived in with him, George and Sapnap. But I can't help but wonder if I'll even feel at home there anymore. It's been so long; we don't even know where George and Sapnap are.
"I'll see you soon," he mumbles and tightens the hug. I bury my nose into the crook of his neck.
"See you soon."
I watch Dream as he walks away. He doesn't look back, we both knew if he did he'd probably turn around and not go back to the SMP at all. I groan internally when I hear the voices rise and start to fuss. They'd been so quiet whilst he was here, it was almost like heaven.
"He has people who depend on him," I tell them. Although, I feel as though I'm telling myself that too. It doesn't help.
I turn to go inside but can't stop the sad pang that echoes through my body when I realise that I'm the only one home. I groan and grab my cloak from the hook and adjust my crown before heading to Techno's house.
I'm surprised when only see Tommy and Techno in the main room with Steve. Usually, Phil would be making tea, cleaning up after breakfast or digging through papers.
"Where's Phil?" I ask and hang my cloak on its peg between Techno and Tommy's cloaks.
"He lost a crow or something I don't know," Techno grumbles making me smile.
Techno had something against those crows. He was always calling them dumb or stupid especially when one of them got lost. It's usually only the younger ones who get lost or are silly and get distracted by corn or get scared by scarecrows.
"They're just birds Techno," I shake my head as he goes on about how they're mean to be smart.
The chomp of teeth through a golden apple steers him away from his thoughts. The room drops to silence and we all look at Tommy who was halfway through a bite into his apple.
"In my defence," he says finishing his bite. "I thought it was going to be quieter than that."
I sit in the chair at the desk and watch as they bicker. Tommy deflects all of Techno's scolding with jokes and dumb ideas. They were a good distraction, but the voices kept directing my mind to the absence of one person.
A massive slam fills the room as Phil bursts through the door.
I jump in my seat and Tommy falls over backwards in his landing with a groan on his back. Steve snorts irritatedly but then lays back down. I look at Phil and notice his expression. Something is wrong, something is very wrong.
"Phil, what is it?" Techno notices too and is already on his feet making his way to an out of breath Phil.
"The Community House... it's been destroyed," I feel the temperature in the room drop a few degrees.
"Wait what?" Tommy rolls over leaving his half-eaten apple on the floor as he rubs his sore back.
"What do you mean the Community House is destroyed?" I try.
"WAIT WHAT?!" Tommy finally catches up.
"We don't know what happened. I was looking for the crow but when I came out the nether portal there was a big crowd of townspeople. The Community House was nearly completely torn apart. It's barely standing."
I share a look with Techno and Tommy. This was an act of war against the SMP. The Community House has been a part of the city long before Dream's parents ruled the country.
"We need to get a closer look," Techno says. We all nod and grab our things. We tighten our boots and Phil goes back outside to saddle our horses.
Our cloaks billow behind us as we sweep out the door and run down the stairs. I set my hood over my head and so does Tommy, Techno and Phil. I pull out an invisibility potion for each of us. They were from the emergency supplies so they wouldn't last long, we'd have to be in and out of the place quickly which meant if they wore off we'd have to keep our faces hidden.
Phil holds the horses still as we hastily mount. The horses sense our anxiousness and start dancing about beneath us. We'd have to take them through the nether.
Then it hit me. I was going into the SMP.
I would be surrounded by people who know who I am and will undoubtedly have questions. I just have to stay hidden and get us in and out before we're exposed.
As soon as Phil is mounted we set off at a gallop towards the portal. The ground thunders beneath us as we burst through the strange purple wall and into the burning heat. The horses didn't seem to be phased by the sudden change - thanks to Techno's training - and we continued quickly over the bridges to the main portal.
Our approach brings knots into my stomach and my heart into my throat. Was I doing this?
My choice was taken away from me the minute Tommy, Techno and Phil disappeared through the portal and back to the overworld. I would have to follow them now.
The scene was unlike anything I have seen before. There were so many people, it was unnerving. People from the SMP and L'Manburg had come to see the damage.
From what I could see, the building was barely standing. The roof had been ripped off and the second floor had crashed onto the ground floor. Only the brick walls stood, although it seemed as though they could be blown to the ground by a gentle breeze. Wreckage littered the lake and the paths were damaged and were unstable.
The look on Tommy's face brings me back to my senses. It was like something inside of him had shattered.
"Potions," Techno mumbles.
I take the vial from my pocket and down the substance pushing all other thoughts to the side. We slip off our horses and lead them away from the crowds where we wouldn't be seen. People had gathered to the edge of the paths until the places where it was unsafe to stand.
As we moved closer to the small crowd at the base of the stairs to the nether portal, I could see some familiar faces. At the front of the main path stood Tubbo, Fundy, Quackity and Ranboo. On the other path, I could see Dream and Eret.
I moulded into the crowd not knowing where Techno, Phil or Tommy had disappeared to. It was a tight squeeze to slip past people without them noticing. Eventually, I made it to the front of the crowd. I made sure to stand a few paces in front of the crowd staying careful of the unsteady splintering wood.
The building that had once cast looming shadows in the late afternoon had been reduced to rubble. Up close I could see now that there are gaping holes where the doors had once been. Shattered glass and bits of wood lay on the floor as well as at the bottom of the lake. There was shattered stone and bits of dirt from the window boxes in the water too. The usual crystal clear water was murky and brown.
There was a stink in the air that told me exactly what had done this. Sulfur creates a massive stink after explosive reactions. It was in the metallic sting of gunpowder and I could smell it now clinging to the broken walls like sweat.
Someone has blown up the Community House.
I feel a strong breeze sweep through the building and blow my hood from where I had pulled it over my head. I pull it back and then look down at my hands. The invisibility potions wouldn't last much longer. We had to move to higher ground.
I look around for Techno and Phil but then realise that they're invisible too. I just have to trust that they're in a safe place. I start to work my way back through the crowd when something bumps my shoulder. I spin but see nothing. But then I notice the shifting of people and confused murmurs.
Tommy.
I curse and follow the shifting looking for him. I find myself back at the front of the crowd.
Where the fuck did he go? I feel anxiety prick at my senses and worry make a pit in my stomach.
That's when I hear the creaking. I look at the path in front of me and see the burnt and loose planks of the path were moving. Tommy was going into the Community House.
I look down at my hand frantically again and notice invisibility slowly fade. I need to get him out of here before he causes a world of trouble. I yank at my hood as the wind howls. Being invisible was the last of my problems if Tommy was in the middle of the Community House.
The gasping and whispers of people behind me tell me that I'm no longer invisible. That the symbol of the Antarctic Anarchist Empire was bold on the back of my cloak for all to see. I notice Tommy's invisibility fade. The crowd bursts into murmurs as Tommy's cloak is there for all to see.
Behind me, I hear screams and I know Techno's invisibility is gone too. I look over at Tubbo and Ranboo and they shoot me a worried glance. I don't have to look to know Dream is watching me worriedly from the opposite side of the lake. The wind picks up again and I hold my hood.
Something's wrong.
The voices are no longer incoherent, they could feel something just as wrong as I could. They shout various warnings and I can't contain myself anymore.
"Tommy!" I call to him and the wind blows wildly blowing off his hood. The crowd stops murmuring and suddenly there are shouts and yelling. They all know he was supposed to be dead.
"TOMMY!" I shout as loud as I can over the crowd and the voices.
He looks up at me with wide terrified eyes. Like a dear in headlights, he was frozen. He had seen something. I force myself to strut down the beaten path towards him and notice something under his hands.
It was red.
"TOMMY RUN!"
That's when the bombs went off.
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*evil author noises*