I sit with Sam at the edge of a table, both digging into a plate of vegetables that have been stewed beyond recognition. We've taken to spending a lot of our free time together, even though there's not much to say, because the silence suits us fine enough. Because Sam was attacked by Schlatt, he got the green light to directly involve the Badlands in the fight, so he stayed behind to receive the troops when they arrive.
Dream left for the front a few days ago, but it's not close enough to the front to be too worried, even if I didn't get the daily updates on his wellbeing. Tommy, Tubbo and Niki are here with me, working in the medical bay or in the armoury. Sapnap and Eret are both heading different prongs of the army, similar to Dream. Punz works in and out, him and Danny locked away in a meeting room most of them time, or spending the day with Dream or Sapnap.
"You know we still have no idea who tipped Schlatt off." Sam says through a mouthful of food.
I screw up my nose, glaring at him from across the table. "Don't speak with your mouth full."
He rolls his eyes, aggressively chewing until he gets his food down so he can speak again. "We got some some resistance people to start working on it."
"Could have been anyone, you know that."
"I'm just worried about them releasing more shit."
I nod, mindlessly stabbing my fork into the almost shapeless mass on my plate. "Anything on Wil?"
"I've put everyone on alert, but so far nothing."
"I can't believe he'd just disappear after we've finally started the war, it just doesn't make sense."
"Well he's not exactly the picture of stability Rosie, you can't really predict what he's going to do."
I almost snort directly into my lunch, clapping a hand over my nose and mouth. "I know, but he was pretty set on this."
Sam shrugs. "Probably didn't happen in the exact way he pictured it so now he's off in the woods to have a sulk."
"Jesus christ." I mutter, shaking my head. "It's a miracle this got off the ground, everyone in charge of this shit is crazy."
"It's a requirement apparently." Sam smiles at me. "Hey, at least the second boyfriend is well-adjusted."
I grin back. "I figured it out eventually, only took me two tries."
"Number one has been doing alright out there, I do have to say."
My voice shortens involuntarily. "He's committed."
Sam knows why I immediately close up. We've talked about this concept of an after for a while now, even back when I lived in the ravine, right after the festival and Quackity's death, we've both seen it coming. He knows the acknowledgement of Punz and Dream makes me remember, he knows it's all I'm thinking about.
Once, while we were both observing some soldiers with food poisoning, Nina suggested I should make them duel to the death so they'd figure it out for me. It grows to be a favourable option each day.
The silence is broken when Niki slides into the empty spot next to Sam, looking exhausted. Her icy blonde hair is pulled back into a ponytail, but the fly-aways stand up on her head like a blond halo. Her cheeks are flushed red from exertion, and she barely manages a nod in greeting.
"Rough day?" Sam asks, turning to Niki, who just lets out a long sigh in response.
"Apparently so." I answer for her. She moves on to ignores the both of us, digging in to her plate of food.
I turn back to Sam. "Anything on Schlatt?"
"Nothing new, he hasn't been sighted for a day now. We just assume he's bunkered down out of the action."
"You should put more pressure on him."Niki suddenly says, before immediately shovelling a spoonful of vegetables in her mouth. We both turn back to her, Sam weary, and me nodding enthusiastically.
"That's what I said."
Sam scowls. "You know it's not happening."
Niki doesn't even look up from her plate, but shrugs anyway. "He'll snap eventually, may as well be to our benefit."
I raise my eyebrows pointedly to Sam. "Exactly what I said."
"The resistance are terrified of him, they'll never agree to it, and so no-one else will either." Sam sighs. I've heard these words recited again and again.
"These people are so- they're just so useless." Niki hisses at her food.
There's tension in the armies, between the resistance and Dream's troops, and the incoming Badlands soldiers, the difference between duty and moral conviction and revenge, a clash of different people with starkly different attitudes to this fight. I can hear the chatter at the bedsides in the medical wing, the contempt in the voices of the resistance, the mockery in those of Dream's army.
There's a reason we call them The Resistance, still, even though we're technically the same. Different stories, different allegiances. The resistance falter for the same reasons they've been able to make it this far, this ideological conviction that weaves through them, as much apart of them as anything else.
It keeps them together, but it makes them stubborn, blind to other options, blind to the nasty, cruel arenas where a war is truly won.
"Sam." Eerily, one of the resistance men materialise at the end of the table, clutching a dirty bit of paper in his hands. He wordlessly passes the note over to Sam, who furrows his brows as he reads it.
"Sam?" I nudge his leg with my foot underneath the table, trying to get his attention, but his eyes are glued to the paper, not even acknowledging me. "Sam, what is it?"
"Uh it's Wilbur." Sam eventually says, sounding thoroughly confused. Even Niki looks up.
"Wilbur?"
"Yeah- yeah it says some scouts saw him in L'manburg."
Both Niki and I freeze instantly, and I know, I know she's had that same stab in the gut feeling that I have.
"Where? Where in L'manburg."
Sam's forehead creases again as he squints at the paper. The man from the resistance is still standing there, looking down at all of us. I can't read his expression. "Doesn't say, but this scouting party was somewhere up North, last I can remember."
Niki and I meet eyes again, the shock mirrored on both of our faces. I've known Wil for long time, and Niki probably knows him better, even through everything, even through his descent into madness.
Wilbur isn't stupid or insane enough to just be wandering around behind the enemy frontlines, despite what people may thing. He hasn't lost his mind so completely he has no bearings of his sense of self. In fact, he never really lost his mind. What he lost, was anything that he cared about, anything that tethered that instability to something to stand for, he lost his values, his beliefs, and with that, everything else around him.
He still has his mind, now I can see that.
"What?" Sam glances between us, more concerned than confused. "What do you two know?"
"It was him." Niki's the first to form the words. I'm quick to follow.
"Wilbur leaked the information, he's the one that told Schlatt."
"You can't know that." The resistance man finally speaks up, complete disbelief washed over his face. "Not from that- he's crazy, maybe the bombs just set him off-"
"He's not crazy, not like that." I shake my head. "He's not just wandering around, he's still- he's still smart, even if he has completely lost what he stands for. He knows what he's doing. He will only be there for a reason."
"Okay but still." Sam interjects. "We don't know what that reason is, he might not be the guy."
"No, no it's him." Niki's staring at a spot on the table, mouth set into a grim line. "It's him."
"He got picked up by some of the transporters, he's heading back here now." The resistance guy finally pipes up, and all three of us whirl around to gape at him.
"You thought we only needed to know that now?" Sam demands.
"When?" I snap, interrupting Sam's indignation. The guy turns to address me.
"He should be back any minute now, I only got the note because they sent a guy ahead-"
Niki and I both fly out of our seats, ignoring Sam's words of apprehension, almost toppling the benches we were sitting on. Our trays lay forgotten on the table as we wordlessly march out of the mess hall, into the open air of the base camp.
"I can't believe him." Niki is bordering on distraught and horror, a half step behind me. I can't bring myself to hold Wilbur in high enough esteem to be particularly shocked.
Angry? Oh yes. Betrayed? That would involve some measure of trust or respect.
Wilbur has been loyal to one thing, one person, for a long time now.
"Wilbur!" I shout, when I round one of the shower blocks and see him and his little group emerge from the treeline. I'd say he looks terrible, but considering it's not a change from the usual, it's not really worth a mention. His head snaps up when he hears me, eyes widening at the sight of me and Niki.
We close the distance, and several of the transporters peel off, accompanied by concerned little glances at the three of us. Wilbur actually looks relieved to see us, hurrying forward.
"Niki, Rose, thank god, I didn't know what happened I just- I ended up in fucking L'manburg and I-"
I don't get to shut him up, because Niki shoves him so hard he almost topples over. The remaining people in the group are frozen in surprise.
"I can't believe you!" She shrieks, shoving him again. "I- I knew about you and what you wanted and I still can't believe you would do that!"
A lot of people have stopped, a small crowd forming, all watching this spectacle unfold silently. I glance around, watch everyone avoid eye contact, dipping their heads or focusing in on tent canvas and grass.
I grip Wilbur by the arm and drag him over to one of the meeting rooms. Niki follows angrily behind, slipping into the room that I practically throw him in. Once the door slams shut, I shove him down into a chair, looming over him. He's still stammering that same story.
"What's going on? Please, I don't know what happened-"
"Wil, shut up." I snarl, slamming my hand down on the table next to us. "We know."
"What? I don't-"
"We know that you're a slimy fucking traitor who sold a lot of good people out, who sold my brother out. We know Wil, we know."
"We know you're the one that tipped Schlatt off." Niki says quietly, from where she's leaning up against the table, arms folded.
In an instant, the pleading eyes, the white face, that mask, slips, and the cool, smug demeanour drapes back over his frame, slouched slightly in the chair. It's like flicking a fucking light switch.
"Aren't you clever?"
I scoff angrily. "You're a fucking idiot, and you're a bad liar."
He just shrugs. "You thwarted my plan with Dream, so I had to find another way, had to introduce some chaos."
"You are the most spineless person I've ever met." I can barely keep my anger from rising, as I leer down at him, my face inches from his. "You risked everything, you understand that? Sam and Dream could have fucking died! You could have killed so many people, you had no idea what Schlatt was going to do, and did you care? No! Of course not! Because no one ever matters to you, do they Wilbur? The only thing that matters is whatever pathetic little idea you've clung onto!"
"Ouch Rose." Wilbur says dryly, clutching his chest to mock me. I just stare at his uncaring face, like it taunts me, unable to even form anymore words.
Instead, I punch him in the face.
I don't even register the bruising feeling of my knuckles colliding with his cheekbone and nose, the boil of anger fizzing my blood until I explode, arm swinging. Wilbur's head snaps back violently, almost upending him out of his chair, as he shouts out in pain and surprise.
Niki looks fairly shocked, but doesn't even make an effort to move off her position on the table, just surveys the scene. Wilbur sways forward on the chair, hunched over and clutching his face, little dribbles of blood leaking through his slender fingers.
"You fucking asshole." I'm shaking, my fist still balled tightly by my side.
"You didn't need to punch me." Wilbur wails pitifully, through the hands covering his face.
"You are unbelievable." I almost laugh in disbelief. "You are fucking unbelievable."
The door flies open, clattering against the wall, to reveal Sam, who doesn't actually seem all that shocked at the scene in front of him.
"What'd he say?"
"He did it." I answer stiffly, shaking out my hand and standing next to Niki. "We were right."
"She fucking punched me." Wilbur complains, pinching the bridge of his nose and tilting his head back.
Sam ignores his wailing, and instead pushes him back, slamming him upright against the back of the chair. "Why'd you do it?"
Wilbur, upper lip and nose smeared with bright red blood, says nothing, staring down Sam. His bloodied lip curls into a sneer.
"Why?" Sam snaps again.
"You wouldn't understand." Wilbur says, the sneer turning into some sort of smug smile. "How could you understand? You came here for a sister you don't even know, with nothing but a group who wouldn't help, what could you possibly know about this?"
"What would you know about family?" Sam says, deathly calm. "You, the man who betrays anyone that's ever meant something to him for his pet project of the month? You, the man who's own son left him? I came here for my sister, yes, and I'm staying to help save her home, for the people she cares about; so tell me what I don't know."
"You're here because you think it'll make up for all the time you missed, all the time you weren't there." Wilbur's head lolls around, but his dark eyes are fixated on Sam, lit up with a sick kind of glee. "But you know what Sam? I was there. I found her half-dead in the fucking woods, I saved her, I gave her a life, a purpose, a home, I gave her L'manburg. I gave them all L'manburg! You left her to die-"
"Don't you dare." I hiss, stalking forward from the table. "You don't know anything."
Wilbur's smile broadens at my anger, basking in its glory. "But I'm right, aren't I Rose? Who was there?"
"Don't sit there and fucking pretend like you were the perfect father figure." Sam spits. "You traded her for the home you say you gave her, you handed her over to Dream to be eaten alive. You couldn't even raise your own fucking son! I might not have been able to be there, but I will never fuck up as badly as you."
"You know what Wilbur?" I crouch down, hands on my knees, right at his eye level. "I thought this was new, the way you are, I thought you'd just fucking lost it. But you know what I see now? You have always been this selfish, pathetic little man, who lifts himself up like a god, who will use whoever he can to keep what he wants, who has always been nothing."
Little flinches betray Wilbur and his smug expression, the way his eyes crease when he winces, or his lip twitches in annoyance. The knuckles on his hands turn white, as he grips onto the armrests of the chair so tightly I could swear I heard the wood crack.
"I knew you couldn't understand."
Sam scoffs. "Humour me."
"I needed a war, you couldn't bring it to me, so I let Schlatt know I was receiving some help. Nothing major, I need us to win at the very least, but just something. I knew you were having a meeting." Wilbur leans forward, regaining all of his melodramatic gusto. "I was going to turn you into martyrs."
"You could have ruined everything." Niki says angrily. "People were injured, they could have been killed, we had to launch an assault unprepared, do you have any idea how many lives we've lost because of it? Do you even care Wil?"
Wilbur softens slightly, gazing up at her. "I make hard decisions Niki, it's what I've always done."
I look at him with contempt. "Bullshit. Your hard decisions are just throwing people to the fucking wolves with no care about what happens to them, as long as you get your results."
"It has to be done Rosemary."
Sam stands up, grabbing my shoulder as he does, and pulls me to face him, away from Wilbur. "So he did it because he wanted a war, now we know. None of that shit matters, not about him, or the past, or L'manburg and Fundy, not now. We have to figure out what we're gonna so with him."
"We need to let the others know."
"Dream's coming back up tomorrow to talk to me and Punz, we should ask him, I'll let Danny, Sap and Eret know as well. Should we make an announcement?"
I'm running through the list of people in my head, when I realise. Tommy and Tubbo.
I'll have to tell them. I'll have to break whatever remains in their hearts for Wilbur.
They'll want to see him, to talk to him, and I have no right, no fucking right to stop that, and even so everything inside of me refuses to allow myself to let them.
"Tomorrow. After we know what we're going to do."
"Oh that sounds scary." Wilbur pretends to shiver, positively beaming. "You gonna execute me?"
"Wil." Niki grimaces, sliding off the table. "Please, just stop, just talk to us."
"I don't think Rose and Sam are very willing to talk."
"I'm going to get someone to lock him up, stay with him." Sam says in exasperation, slamming the door behind him. Wilbur looks between me and Niki.
"So Rose, is now the time you go all crazy and rip me apart?"
"Jesus fucking christ." I mutter, looking over him, over this man, this person I used to know. Used to love, and trust, and care about. "You are- you are irredeemable Wilbur. You are never coming back from this."
"Coming from you."
"When Sam comes back, and they throw you in confinement, I'm going to have to walk out of this room and tell Tommy and Tubbo about what you did. You know they're worried about you? They were here, working, fucking worried about you, and what were you doing? Sneaking around with fucking Schlatt trying to ruin everything. Do you get that Wilbur? You are never coming back from this."
"You were in the ravine when the attack came, you knew it was coming." Niki's face drips with disdain. "You knew."
Wilbur swallows. "I knew."
Another realisation suddenly dawns on me. "You'd already tipped them off. You went back."
The blood drains from Niki's face. "Oh my god."
I grab the collar of his shirt, yanking him toward me. "What the fuck were you doing back there?"
Wilbur's face turns red as he struggles to get the words out. "I- was-s- just-t-"
"What were you doing?" I hiss, knowing full well he can barely breathe, a vein sticking out in his forehead as he splutters, choking for air.
"Rose." Niki says sharply, and I let him go. He reels back in his chair, coughing and spluttering, clutching at his throat.
"I was going back to try and get Schlatt to blow it up, convince him he was going to lose and that he shouldn't leave anything behind."
I don't hide the repulsion I feel, letting it show freely on my face. "You never fucking change, do you Wil?"
Niki's face matches mine, but she doesn't say anything. There aren't really any words that truly get it right. She turns on her heel instead, opening the door, and I can hear Sam almost at the building with another man.
Quickly, I lean down again, right in his face. "Tomorrow, when Dream gets here, and everyone knows about who you really are, they're going to rip you apart."
I don't hear his response as I follow Niki out the door.
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A/N Hello everyone!
Really interesting chapter to write today (I say today as if I haven't been slowly adding to this for over two months, and then wrote 2000 words in one night). I think it was really interesting to revisit Wilbur, and have some of that family dynamic rehashed, especially with Sam, her actual brother, being there too. Lots of fun guilt and feelings all jam packed in there. Anyway, through this I realised there's a lot of loose ends with Wilbur that were addressed but never properly concluded. A lot of that will be fixed when I do a final edit of this book after I'm done writing, but I'm loving going through it in this chapter and the next.
I hope you enjoyed!
Oopsies x