Chapter 1: In the Beginning . . . (August 2020)
Chapter Text
Maybe she should have known something was wrong from the start.
Maybe, when she had first received that letter from Wilbur, inviting her to a new server, she should have torn it up and forgotten about it. Prime knows that would have saved her a lot of trouble in the end.
Maybe it would have been best to forget about him entirely.
***
Niki had been ecstatic to receive the letter. She hadn’t heard from Wilbur in weeks! She had no idea if he was even alive out there, but if this letter was to be believed, he wasn’t only alive: he was thriving.
Or at least that’s what it seemed like.
He said that he had found a new server, one where people could live in equality and peace, and that he was the founder and leader of a new country called L’manburg. Not only that, but he wanted her to come join him!
Niki couldn’t believe her eyes. A new server? A new home? New friends? How could she say no, especially after having lived alone for so long out in the wilderness between servers.
And so she set out.
It took her a few days, but with the coordinates that Wilbur had left in his letter it was fairly easy to navigate to. Soon enough, she broke out of the thick forest, and found herself in a walled-in area with a few scattered spruce and birch trees, and a small creek winding through all.
“Hello?” she called out timidly.
No response.
A little louder: “Hello, anybody?”
After a pause, a familiar voice called, “Niki? Is that you?”
Wilbur! “Yes, Wilbur, I’m here!” she shouted, looking around in joy to find her old friend. After a few seconds, she spotted him, standing proud on the top of the wall, next to two smaller figures she didn’t recognize. His old-fashioned, military-esque coat and tri-corn hat made his silhouette stand out against the bright sky, painting him in a bit of a heroic pose.
Niki sighed fondly. Of course. Wilbur had always had a flair for theatrics.
“Oh, I’m so glad you made it!” he exclaimed as he hopped off the wall, jogging towards her only to wrap her up in a big hug. She closed her eyes, unable to keep a grin off her face. Oh, she was so relieved: it had been way too long since she had last seen him.
“How was your journey here?” he asked, in his lilting accent. He pulled away to look her in the face, his hands firmly planted on her shoulders. It was then that Niki got her first really good look at him.
He looked different than she had remembered, but… it seemed like this was a good different. He stood tall, not hunched over as he used to – and now more so than ever, she could truly appreciate their height difference, as he towered almost a foot above her. His curly brown hair was tucked under a large tri-corn hat – an accessory that few could pull off, but it suited him. He still had his round glasses that she had known for years. His coat (navy blue with gold and red trimming) was perfectly ironed, and fit him to a T – again unlike the Wilbur she used to know, who seemed to live solely in oversized sweaters. His white trousers were neatly tucked into knee-high black boots.
As for his expression, he seemed… he seemed really happy. And she didn’t think it was all due to her arrival… no. This place must really have changed him, she thought.
“It was wonderful, actually,” she replied. It was true. It was like the way had been personally prepared for her. No monsters had attacked her at night, no endermen had suddenly appeared in front of her (as was their habit), there had been no treacherous terrain or bad weather of any kind. In a way, it was comforting: it was like the world had been telling her that this was where she was meant to go; this was where she would finally be truly happy.
She hoped that was true.
“Well, you’ll have to tell me all about it later,” Wilbur stated, pulling her out of her thoughts. “But first, let me introduce you to everybody!” He gestured to the two boys who were trailing awkwardly behind him – the same figures she had seen silhouetted on the wall. One was tall, almost as tall as Wilbur was, with striking blue eyes and blond hair. He wore a white t-shirt with red sleeves, together with a simple pair of jeans and sneakers. The other was shorter – about Niki’s own height – with curly brown hair sticking up every which way. He was wearing a loose green button-down that had a few too many rips, tears, and skid marks for it to be considered formal wear anymore. The two seemed younger than Wilbur by a good few years, probably in their mid-teens at best.
“This here is Tommy, my right-hand man” – the blond boy’s chest puffed out a bit at the title – “and this little guy is Tubbo, Tommy’s right-hand man.”
“Hey, I’m not little!” Tubbo protested, but both Wilbur and Tommy ignored him.
Tommy held out his hand to Niki, shaking vigorously when she accepted. “Nice to finally have a woman around here,” he stated loudly in a coarse northern accent.
“Tommy!” Tubbo hissed, elbowing the taller boy in the ribs.
What? Were there… were there no other women in this server? Niki’s brow furrowed, but she nodded quickly to cover her confusion. “Pleasure to meet you, Tommy.” She turned to greet Tubbo as well, but the brunet was scuffling with Tommy. She smiled and let them be.
She turned back to Wilbur. “So, how did you get here? How did little shy Wilbur become the founder of a server? I’m proud of you!”
Here, Wilbur’s expression faltered a bit. “Oh, well, I was just-”
“Wait, Niki, you thought bitchboy here founded this server?” Tommy interrupted, suddenly paying attention again. Tubbo chuckled in the background.
“Well, didn’t he? That’s what he said in his letter,” Niki said, confused. She searched Wilbur’s expression for an answer, but he was pointedly avoiding her eyes.
“Niki, this server is called the Dream SMP. It was created by a man named Dream. Do you think this dickhead would have the guts to start his own server?” Tommy laughed.
“I- I mean… I know I haven’t seen him in a while,” she started uncertainly.
Wilbur let out an embarrassed laugh. “I never said I made the server, Niki, I just- I just started a nation here! Which, speaking of, I should show you!” He hastily turned on his heel, shooting a glare at the two boys before gesturing at Niki to follow him.
Hmm.
Something was up.
Pushing down her concern for now, she turned and followed behind the three.
//
L’manburg was beautiful.
Despite the large yellow-and-black walls surrounding the country, and the “hot dog van” (complete with a flaming hot dog statue on top) that stood in the exact middle, L’manburg held the natural beauty that came from a land yet untouched by man. It wasn’t large, by any means, but from the few other citizens that Niki had met so far, size didn’t seem to matter as much as community mattered.
Wilbur had explained it to her on the way. He had created L’manburg as a sanctuary for the travellers that had found their way onto Dream’s server. According to his account, Dream and his friends had a horrible history of discriminating against him, Tommy, Tubbo, and anyone else who had discovered the server without an invite from Dream himself.
So, L’manburg was a country separate from the “Greater Dream SMP,” yet they acknowledged that they were technically on Dream SMP soil.
“Dream wasn’t too happy about that one, the bitch,” Tommy had interrupted. “I swear, he has it out for us, man,” he grumbled.
“We’re good now,” Wilbur reassured him; though Niki could tell that there was a slight undertone of worry in his voice. Tommy and Tubbo ran off after that, with some half-muttered excuse about a beehive…? Niki wasn’t really sure. Boys would be boys, and all that, after all.
What was really going on behind the scenes? Something wasn’t right here…
“And finally, Niki Nihachu,” Wilbur interrupted her thoughts with a smile, throwing his arm out in a grand gesture, “may I introduce my son, Fundy.”
Niki’s eyes widened in shock.
Standing in front of her was a young boy, maybe around Tubbo or Tommy’s age, though she guessed a bit younger. He had a black cap nestled in a mess of red hair, some of which… poked upwards? He wore a simple black jacket over a white t-shirt and black jeans, and behind him… a russet orange tail swayed. Which meant-
“Well, he’s not actually really my son,” Wilbur amended. “But I found him out in the woods a few months ago and it’s like… it’s like he’s attached himself to me? He’s the first natural-born citizen of L’manburg, actually. I mean, I assume he was born on these lands, since foxes don’t migrate…”
Niki was still standing there, staring at him, mouth open wide. Fundy looked down sheepishly, playing with a loose thread on the edge of his jacket. “Wilbur! Why didn’t you tell me before?!”
Wilbur winced sheepishly. His hand found its way to the back of his neck, rubbing there as he tried to explain. “I didn’t- I wasn’t sure if he’d wanted to stick around, and-”
“Oh, never mind,” she said, stepping forward and holding out her hand. “I’m Niki. I’m a friend of your father’s.”
Fundy shot an uncertain glance at Wilbur, then took her hand. “Nice to meet you,” he said quietly.
Wilbur leaned forward and whispered, “He’s shy. He’ll start warming up to you soon enough, don’t worry.”
Niki took a step back, turning to face Wilbur head-on. “So. You came here, built a country, adopted a son, and this is the first time I’m hearing about it?” There was no malice in her voice as she accused him, though.
At least Wilbur had the decency to look embarrassed. “Yeah… but, you’re here now! Do you want to join me, or… I mean you don’t have to,” he rushed to amend himself. “But, I mean, I would really like-”
“Hey, who’s this?” a new voice called out.
Both of their heads whipped around to see a new figure approaching them from the wall gate. He was dressed entirely in green, from head to toe, and had more weapons strapped on him than Niki had seen together in her entire life. His face was completely covered in a simple white mask that was adorned with a black smile. He seemed to be almost as tall as Wilbur. He was… unsettling, to say the least.
Niki looked to Wilbur for explanation. Her friend had gone stiff, standing at attention and carefully watching the man approach.
“Dream,” he whispered out of the side of his mouth.
Niki’s eyes widened again. Her heartbeat quickened just a tad as she unconsciously took a step back. Her gaze shot to Eret, the person currently on guard at the gate. They sent her a simple defeated shrug, as if that was all the explanation that was needed.
If this truly was the server owner, there wasn’t really anything they could do to stop him, could they?
Dream was only about ten feet away from where Wilbur stood when he stopped. The two men stared at each other for a good minute, leaving Niki in a suspended silence while she anxiously awaited their reactions.
There was obviously a lot of tension between the two, that was painfully clear to see; and if she hadn’t heard from Wilbur about how Dream was, she would have been a lot more confused than she was now. Even as it was, she couldn’t tell the extent to which their animosity stretched, and that worried her. She used to be able to read Wilbur like an open book. But now… he seemed completely shut off.
“Who is this?” Dream asked, finally breaking the silence.
“No greeting, Dream? We may be… opponents,” he said carefully, giving Niki a sideways glance, “yet isn’t a bit of courtesy expected at this point?”
Dream simply stared. Or at least, he didn’t move. It was hard to tell what (if any) expression he had behind the blank smile of his mask.
Niki felt she was going to hate that mask.
Summoning her courage, she stepped forward. “My name is Niki Nihachu. I’m an old friend of Wilbur’s. He invited-”
“I asked her if she could visit for a bit,” Wilbur cut her off. He didn’t break eye contact with Dream.
She looked up at him in confusion. “But I thought you said-”
“Trying to expand your country, I see… what was its name again? Mantopia?” Dream continued coolly as if she hadn’t said anything.
“L’manburg,” Wilbur corrected him.
A little ball of frustration was starting to take shape in Niki’s chest. Why were the two men acting so stand-offish? She had expected there to be some animosity between them, seeing how Wilbur had described Dream… but again, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.
“Ah, right, that was it. L’manburg,” he said slowly, as if he were tasting the word. “And what makes you think a woman would want to settle in a place called L’manburg?”
“That doesn’t-” Niki began again, but was once again cut off.
“We are open to women,” Wilbur said, taking a step forward. “Actually, whose fault is it that there aren’t more women on this server, hmm, Dream? You’re the one in charge of invites. What does that say about you? Why aren’t there more women on your SMP?”
“I never intended for this server to be for anyone other than my friends,” Dream stated, still as cool as ever – except, when Niki glanced down, she noticed his hand loosely resting on the hilt of his sword. A silent warning. “The rest I have allowed to stay here for the time being, but that does not mean it is permanent. You had no right to claim this land as your own.”
“I never stated it was mine. The country is mine, yes, but the land remains yours.”
Niki was so confused. “Wilbur, what are you-”
“Shut up, Niki,” he said harshly. “This is none of your business.”
“But this is my business!” she cried out, angry at being spoken over yet again. “You told me that it was safe here, that this was yours; I never signed up for this!”
“You should listen to the woman, Wilbur,” Dream cut in.
“This is between us, Dream,” he exclaimed, whirling back to the masked man. “The point is, this is my country, and you are not welcome here. Please vacate yourself from the grounds immediately,” he said curtly, recomposing himself.
“So… you are claiming these lands in the name of L’manburg, then?” Dream said, something sinister slithering in his tone.
Niki didn’t like that.
She may not have a clue what was going on, but there was one thing for sure: Dream was not pleased.
And you never, never wanted to piss off the creator of the server you would be living in for the foreseeable future.
“Wilbur-” she tried to interject again, laying a hand softly on his arm; but she wasn’t surprised when he cut her off yet again. Disappointed, yes. Hurt, yes. But not surprised.
“Yes, actually, Dream,” he spat. “I do claim these lands in L’manburg’s name. And I declare independence from you and from the Greater Dream SMP, starting from this moment onwards.”
Niki froze.
The air shifted. Dream drew himself up to his full height, pulling out his sword. “Well then… in that case, I want to see white flags - white flags outside your base by tomorrow, at dawn, or you are DEAD!” he shouted.
More figures emerged from the trees, many people that Niki didn’t recognize, all with weapons drawn. Her heart began to race. She had fought off the monsters that roamed the world at night, she had learned how to survive on her own; but she was useless in a fight against other human beings. And this was assuming that she had a weapon of her own, which she did not.
“Wilbur! What have you-”
“Niki, run.”
She gaped for a moment, torn between the fear of the real threat in front of her, and a desire to make a stand with her friend.
Wilbur drew a knife out from his jacket. “Niki, I need you to leave before you get killed. Now GO!” he roared.
Niki turned tail and fled, tears of fear streaming down her cheeks.
Chapter 2: The Campaign . . . (September 2020)
Summary:
Niki tries to run for office, but quickly learns that maybe it wasn't worth the trouble.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
The war waged on for weeks.
Niki, not cut out for battle (yet), spent most of her time holed up in the house that had been given to her by Wilbur. During that time, she grew close to Fundy, who was always eager to show her his newest trick. Together, they planned to build a bakery after all the fighting was done, and they would sell cakes and muffins and cookies and all sorts of sweet stuff for the inhabitants of L’manburg.
And when, after too much time and too much bloodshed, Tommy traded his beloved music discs in exchange for peace and for L’manburg’s independence, they did.
And they hoped for a happier future, but…
The war had changed everybody. Of course it had. Tommy was a bit more loud, Tubbo was a bit more quiet. Fundy flinched if his father raised his voice too suddenly. And Wilbur himself?
Wilbur was riding on the rollercoaster of victory.
So much so, that he got cocky.
Niki would never had expected it to have happened the way it did, but suddenly… there was an election? It seemed like no one knew about it one day, and the next it was the only thing people were talking about.
Wilbur had apparently decided that he was not the example of the democratic leader he aspired to be. So, his solution? Run an election.
Except his name (with Tommy as his running mate) would be the only one on the ballot.
His reasoning was that, while he was rightful ruler of L’manburg, the people deserved to feel like they had chosen him to lead. In his mind, it was a flawless plan.
Until it wasn’t.
Quackity, the server’s newest member, saw what Wilbur was trying to do. He decided, in justice’s name, to take a stand against Wilbur and ran his own campaign, swearing that he would abolish this false democracy that Wilbur was building.
Niki wasn’t sure how much of it was true, or how much of it Wilbur really meant, but hey. At least there wasn’t another war over this, right?
Fundy came to her a few days after the first campaign event (a debate).
“So, Niki, I was thinking,” he started.
Niki chuckled. “Oh, that’s never a good thing, is it?”
“Stop that!” he laughed good-naturedly. “I was just thinking about this whole election thing that Wilbur and Big Q have got going on.”
“Mhm?”
“And I was just wondering if, maybe… you would want to team with me and we could run our own party?” he rushed out, as if embarrassed to ask.
Niki paused her work, looking at him in surprise. “You want to run against your father?”
“I- I mean, I was- I just wanted to- I didn’t-” he stammered, before finally giving up with a sigh. “Yeah, I do,” he said quietly.
“Can I ask why? Or is there even a reason?” she asked gently. “There doesn’t have to be a reason, I was just curious.”
“I just…” Fundy avoided looking her in the eyes. “It’s nothing, don’t worry. I was just thinking it would be fun, is all!” He plastered on a smile, but Niki could tell that he wasn’t telling her everything.
That was okay. He had a right to his secrets. But… did she really want to run for a position of leadership?
She had seen how Wilbur was reacting, and how the citizens were now stirring at the prospect of potentially gaining power. If she was being honest, it left a bad feeling in her stomach to see how attitudes were changing. L’manburg was no longer simply a sanctuary for persecuted individuals; it was a country of its own, with laws of its own, with positions of power basically up for grabs. Regardless of the morals of having a one-party election (and calling that democracy), Niki didn’t like how the people were now split into factions.
Did she really want to contribute to the growing discord between L’manburg’s citizens?
Then again, did she really expect to be a contender at all? She certainly didn’t expect to win, if she did decide to join Fundy; they would be joining too late in the campaign to really secure any major part of the vote…
Maybe… maybe this could be just for fun.
“So, to be clear, you would be running for president, and I’d be your vice president?” she asked.
Fundy’s ears perked up. “Yes! I already have an idea for our party name as well: Coconut 2020,” he whispered conspiratorially.
“Coconut? Why coconut?”
“Well, I was thinking, maybe our whole campaign is based around the bakery!” he said excitedly. “We could promise cookies for everyone, and that we will build more bakeries around L’manburg if we win. Who doesn’t love cookies?”
“That still doesn’t explain why you want to call it ‘Coconut 2020,’ Fundy,” she laughed, heart already feeling lighter. Of course Fundy wanted that to be their campaign promise. She felt a bit silly that she had ever considered him to be actually serious about wanting the presidency.
“There are coconut cookies! It just sounded good, what do you want from me?”
“You mean, your favorite cookies?” She looked at him pointedly.
“I mean, I-I wasn’t thinking about that, but now that you mention it-”
She laughed, cutting him off. “I have some out back. Come on, I know you wouldn’t pass up the chance.”
“Thank you Niki!” he called back, already skipping past her.
She rolled her eyes. Well, at least she’d have an excuse to hang out around Fundy more.
//
Niki and Fundy worked on setting up the details of their campaign quietly, making sure that no one found out about it until they were ready. After all, they wanted to make sure everything was perfect before they got up in front of everyone and announced it.
But they were quickly running out of time.
Endorsement speeches were set to be happening that week, and the actual voting was happening a week after that. Again, they didn’t really expect to win, but they were definitely going to give it their best shot.
The night of the endorsements came, and they were ready.
Both of them dressed up in suits, with matching red ties. They snuck up behind the platform where the speeches were going to be given, Niki toting a large bag filled with baked goods on her shoulder. Fundy led the way. People began filing into the plaza below, taking their seats and whispering among themselves.
Wilbur, Tommy, and Quackity were talking amongst themselves on stage, waiting for everyone to arrive. George (Quackity’s running mate) was nowhere to be seen. The torches lit up the stage and the plaza with a soft, flickering glow, setting an atmosphere that really didn’t fit the event that was about to occur.
Soon enough, every seat in the plaza was filled… and the event began.
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,” Wilbur began, the microphone screeching a bit and making everybody wince. He let out a nervous chuckle. “Ah, apologies for that. Allow me to welcome you to L’manburg’s first endorsement speeches of the 2020 election!” He began clapping, and the crowd joined in, if a bit hesitant at first.
Niki wondered if half of them even knew what the word “endorsement” meant. She hadn’t known a week ago, but that was because she had never had cause to. And she figured that many of them were the same way. Wilbur was the expert on politics; most of the others had lived on their own in the wilderness before finding their way here.
“First, I will allow the opposing party to speak their endorsements, and then we will go,” Wilbur explained. “Quackity, if you would-”
It was then that Fundy decided to step out of the shadows. “Good evening, ladies and gents!” he said, with all the flair of a game announcer. Wilbur, Quackity, and Tommy all whipped their heads around at the interruption. Fundy continued as if nothing was out of place. “I hope you are all doing well on this fine evening!”
For the first time, now that she was out on the stage (following close behind Fundy), Niki could really see how big the crowd was. Wow. All of L’manburg had really turned out for this event. She swallowed nervously as butterflies began churning in her gut.
“Fundy? What the hell are you doing here?” Wilbur asked, voice quiet now that he was turned away from the mic. Fundy took this opportunity to step forward and bring the microphone to his mouth, so that everyone could hear him. Wilbur didn’t try to stop him, probably just in shock and confusion that Fundy was there in the first place.
“Hello everybody! I know this comes as late notice, but I would like to announce officially that Niki and I…” – he paused for dramatic flair – “will be running against Wilbur and Quackity in this election!” Copying what Wilbur had done, he began clapping, but the audience remained awkwardly silent. A ripple of whispering began, too far away and too quiet for Niki to make out.
Her heart was fluttering rapidly with nerves, but she steeled herself. “Yes, that’s right-”
“Niki, the microphone,” Fundy hissed. She flushed red with embarrassment. Right. No one could hear her if she didn’t speak into the mic.
She stepped forward, Fundy and Wilbur stepping back to give her space. “That’s right,” she repeated. “Fundy is running for president, and I am running for vice-president. Our campaign is called…”
“Coconut 2020!!” her and Fundy cheered together.
…
Silence from the crowd.
Wilbur cleared his throat awkwardly. “I’m sorry,” he said stiffly, “but it is too late to announce your campaign. The ballot is closed. If you would, kindly exit the stage and let us continue with tonight’s activities.”
Niki gaped at him. Since when had he become so haughty? The Wilbur she knew had always been able to take a joke, roll with a bit… maybe she had underestimated how serious he was about this election. “Wilbur-”
“I said, please exit the stage and let us continue with tonight’s activities,” he repeated through his teeth.
“Yeah, leave us alone,” Quackity echoed. “This isn’t the time for your pranks, fellas. This is serious business.”
“But it’s not a-”
“Yeah, Niki, let the big men talk,” Tommy said teasingly (though he shot a glance at Wilbur as he did so).
“But-”
“NIKI!” Wilbur shouted, rounding on her. She flinched, taking a step backward under his wrath.
“Wilbur, I was just going to-”
“This has been very stressful for me to organize all of this, so I’d appreciate it if you would stop with all of these jokes, and let the men handle this for once,” he threatened.
Niki just stared back at him, feeling tears beginning to prick the back of her eyes. She refused to blink, knowing that they would fall if she so much as moved a muscle.
“Dad- Wilbur,” Fundy interjected, “don’t take this out on her, man, it was-”
“You’re not off scot-free from this either, son,” Wilbur said, turning on him. “But I’ll deal with you later. I have a presidency to win, after all.”
Niki didn’t like the gleam in his eyes.
Fundy glared at his father for another moment, before grabbing Niki’s hand and walking offstage. Wilbur’s voice grew fainter as they left to join the crowd, apologizing to the audience for the delay and starting off the event again.
And when neither George nor Quackity’s endorsement showed up, Niki didn’t laugh. When Wilbur and Tommy’s first endorsement spoke, she didn’t applaud. And when Wilbur and Tommy’s second endorsement, a man by the name of J. Schlatt, took the stage and announced that he would be running his own campaign instead, Niki left for good.
Notes:
If you enjoyed it, please consider leaving kudos or a nice comment! I'd greatly appreciate it :D
Chapter 3: A New Era . . . (October 2020)
Summary:
Schlatt and Quackity decide that Niki's been getting off too easy in Manburg, and decide to "remedy" that.
Notes:
Minor tw for: alcohol use, being drunk, verbal abuse (y'know, the usual when it comes to Schlatt)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The election went horribly wrong.
Fundy had been able to convince Wilbur to allow Coconut 2020 onto the voting ballot, but as they expected, they received the least amount of votes. Schlatt’s party was right above them, then Quackity. Wilbur had won the election – or at least he would have, if it hadn’t been for Quackity’s vengeance.
Quackity had made an agreement with Schlatt after the botched endorsement speeches, that if both of them were to lose, they would pool their votes and Schlatt would become president with Quackity as his vice president.
Their combined votes made up forty-six percent of the vote.
Wilbur had gotten forty-five percent.
Schlatt had won the election. And his first decree?
With laughter that bordered on maniacal, he exiled Wilbur and Tommy from the country they themselves had founded, and ordered them to be chased down and killed on sight if they were ever to be seen inside the country’s borders again.
Niki could only watch in shock as the people all around her showed their true loyalties, chasing down a young man and a teenager who were running for their lives.
She had been sure they would win.
What was L’manburg without Wilbur? That was like a human without a heart… it shouldn’t be able to continue living.
Wilbur and Tommy disappeared into the night. No one seemed to know where they had gone, but as long as they weren’t inside the borders, Schlatt seemed not to care.
In the days following, it seemed as if Schlatt didn’t care about much of anything, really.
The president was always drinking. He was never alone, always accompanied by Quackity, Tubbo, or Fundy – sweet, sweet Tubbo, who was unable to resist when Schlatt demanded he become his right-hand man. (“You have a smart brain, kiddo. You should use it,” Schlatt had said.)
And Fundy…
Niki hadn’t known the extent to which Fundy’s bitterness went. He had kept it well-hidden from her, that was for sure, and she had been sure she was the one who knew him best. Fundy was quick – eager, even – to betray his father, burning down the flag Niki herself had made, and making a new one to replace it. Whenever he could be found with Schlatt, he hung onto every word the drunk said, and enforced his decrees without hesitation.
Schlatt even went so far as to rename the country. “L’manburg is a thing of the past!” he shouted into the microphone. “From now on, we shall be known as Manburg – because we don’t take no L’s!!”
The crowd cheered. All except for Niki, that is.
Could no one else see what was going on? How Schlatt was changing things for the worse, not the better? He had even hinted at expanding their borders, which directly violated one of the core tenets of L’manburg’s founding principles. He was going to burn the country to the ground; whether metaphorically or physically was yet to be determined.
Niki tried her best to live her life and not bring attention to herself, since she had see how others had learned the hard way what it meant to stand out in Schlatt’s Manburg. She went about her day, ran her bakery, made a living; but she felt so, so alone.
Her friends had all left her behind.
And so, on this particular day, when she found herself face-to-face with President Schlatt on her way back home from a trip to the river, she ducked her head and tried to pass by without attracting attention.
But of course, even she could not be that lucky.
“Hey, lady,” Schlatt called.
Damn it. She stopped and turned, bowing her head with a respect that she believed he didn’t deserve. She wasn’t about to get killed for it, though.
“President Schlatt,” she replied quietly. The less confrontational she was, the quicker she could leave. Hopefully.
Her skin crawled when Schlatt took another step towards her. True to form, Quackity was trailing not too far behind; perhaps acting as a bodyguard, or moral support.
“Moral” support. Niki almost rolled her eyes at the thought. As if anything Schlatt had done could ever be considered moral.
“Where you heading on this fine day?” he asked, his words slurring together just a touch. He wasn’t even that close, but from where she was standing Niki could make out the distinct scent of whiskey absolutely reeking from him.
“Just to my bakery, sir.”
Schlatt raised an eyebrow. “You have a bakery?”
Did he really not know about it? The country was small enough, everyone knew everything about everybody else. Was Schlatt that far up his own ass that he couldn’t even be bothered to remember the businesses that existed here?
“Yes, sir,” she said, less timid now – yet still careful to repress the small spark of anger that always surfaced whenever she saw Schlatt’s face.
“Hmm…” Schlatt stroked his ugly mutton chops as he seemed to ponder her simple answer. What, can your tiny little monkey brain not comprehend a simple yes? she thought bitterly.
“If you own a bakery, then why haven’t I ever received taxes from you?” he asked.
Niki froze. Her head whipped upwards, finally looking Schlatt in the eyes. “Taxes? I- there aren’t any taxes required from citizens in L’manburg,” she responded, heart beating just a tad faster. She couldn’t have forgotten something as important as taxes. Had she?
“It’s Manburg,” he corrected gruffly, smile dropping from his face.
“Right! My bad,” she laughed nervously. “Manburg.”
“Maybe that traitor didn’t tax anyone,” – Niki didn’t need a name to know that Schlatt was talking about Wilbur, though technically Wilbur had never been a traitor – “but things have changed around here, if you haven’t noticed, sweetheart.”
She hated that.
“Do not call me sweetheart,” she muttered under her breath.
“What was that?”
“Nothing, sir.”
“Anyways, as I was saying,” he continued, “we do things right around here now. And because this is now the glorious country of Manburg, there is now a Women’s Tax. Pay each of us ten diamonds, right now, and we’ll consider it paid; but this is the only time we’ll be so lenient.”
Ten diamonds?! Each? She assumed he meant for him and Quackity, but where was she going to find twenty diamonds? She never had been that rich. She wasn’t a miner. She was a baker who did so for fun and for the greater good of the community. She never expected anyone to pay her… but then again, why the fuck was Schlatt taxing her? She had never heard of this policy before, and she thought she would have heard complaints from other citizens due to the exorbitant price he was demanding.
And what was that bullshit name? A women’s tax? She was the only woman in-
Oh. Ice cold anger began trailing up her arms, freezing her in place. She was the only woman in Manburg. This wasn’t a tax. This was a mugging.
“What, cat got your tongue?” Quackity teased, coming up behind Schlatt – most likely drawn by the mention of diamonds.
“No, no, I was just-” she stammered, then took a deep breath to compose herself. It would not be beneficial for her to lose her temper now, especially in front of the two most important people in the country. “I’m afraid I don’t have the diamonds right now, but I can get them to you by next week, if that’s okay?” she said icily. She could take a week off, go mining; it might be a long week that would leave her sore, and she’d get behind on baking, but if it got Schlatt and his goons off her back, then it would be worth it.
She was no longer concerned with fighting. She just needed to survive.
And she needed them to accept this offer, or else… she didn’t know what she would do.
Neither men answered for a moment. Her heart raced in suspense.
“Well, then, I suppose you wouldn’t mind if we looked for something of equal value in its place?” Schlatt proposed.
It wasn’t really a question, and Niki knew that.
He turned to Quackity. “You’ve been here longer, you know your way around. Take me to the bakery.”
“Yes sir,” Quackity crowed, beginning to prance off in the direction Niki had been travelling – in the direction of her house.
Niki could only watch in dread as the president and vice-president of Manburg marched to ransack her bakery.
//
Schlatt and Quackity absolutely tore apart the bakery.
They kicked the door in (ignoring her offer to simply unlock it for them) and began tearing through all her chests, ripping baked goods off their displays, searching through the back rooms (which only held her supplies, though they were loath to look in the flour bin – how dare they even consider getting a speck of flour on their suits!! Niki rolled her eyes at them. Typical men.)
When they had gone through all of her own stuff, and come up empty-handed, they turned on her with a frown.
“You have to have something here that’s worth something!” Schlatt roared, face even redder than normal. “You can’t run a business without an exchange system, bitch! Where’s the money?”
Niki stared unflinchingly up at him, long since resigned to her fate. “I don’t ask for payment for the things I bake. They are for people who want them, and I expect nothing in return.”
“That’s a fucking bad way to run a business,” Quackity snorted. “Leave it to a woman to run a bakery out of the goodness of her heart.” He spoke the last words mockingly, throwing up air quotes around them.
Niki remained silent. They weren’t going to listen? Then she wasn’t going to speak.
They didn’t seem to notice. Schlatt turned back around, muttering to Quackity: “Explore around the back. I know there’s a second floor to this place. Maybe the bitch is hiding the goods under her bed or something.”
“Yes sir!”
“Wait, you can’t-” she began, indignant at the blatant breach of her privacy. But, little to her surprise, Schlatt cut her off.
“What, you have something you wanna say to us? Are you scared we’re gonna find your secret stash?” He grinned evilly.
Niki shut up.
“That’s what I thought,” he said in a satisfied tone.
She stayed behind, unable to do anything but watch (again) as they looked into every corner of her private living area. The only thing that bolstered her is that she really hadn’t been lying. She didn’t have anything of value, nothing that they wanted. No diamonds, no gold, no emeralds, and of course she had no netherite. She didn’t keep weapons (besides her knife, but that was always hidden on her person).
She knew what came of openly carrying weapons in Manburg. If you weren’t a guard or in the cabinet yourself, weapons were confiscated on sight. She didn’t keep animals or tend to a farm; she used the community farms to gather goods for the bakery.
That was another reason why she didn’t make anyone pay for the items they took from the bakery: she was just taking resources that were already available to all of them and doing the work to make something more palatable.
Again, their search turned up fruitless. Enraged, Schlatt turned on her, swiping an empty flower pot off her dresser and letting it shatter on the ground. She flinched at the loud noise, automatically recoiling, her hands flying up instinctively to cover her face.
“WHERE ARE THE DIAMONDS, BITCH?” he screamed, spittle flying from his mouth. Out of the corner of her eye, Niki could see Quackity frozen as well, his skin paler than she had ever seen it before.
“I don’t have any,” she whispered. It took everything in her willpower to keep her hands steady.
This was exactly what she had been trying to avoid. Schlatt did not deserve to be president of Manburg- no, L’manburg. L’manburg didn’t deserve the abusive dictator that Schlatt was.
“Schlatt, sir-” Quackity flinched as the man turned his fury on him. “Maybe she has something hidden outside that we could take instead.”
Schlatt grumbled, but seemed to have deflated from his outburst. “There’d better be,” he grunted threateningly. With that, he stalked out, Quackity hot on his tail.
Niki shot him a glance as they left. Quackity mouthed I’m sorry to her, but she didn’t bother responding.
After they were safely out of earshot, she collapsed onto her torn-up bed, and tried desperately to keep herself from crying too loudly.
They needed Wilbur back. Soon.
Notes:
If you enjoyed it, please consider leaving kudos or a nice comment! I'd greatly appreciate it :D
Chapter 4: Grief
Summary:
Post-November 16th, people are learning how to cope with their new roles.
Chapter Text
After the Schlatt incident, Niki was more cautious than ever. She managed to keep away from the president and his men, though on multiple occasions she heard that he was looking for her for one reason or another.
And then, when Schlatt announced a festival, “to celebrate Manburg’s strength,” as he put it, Niki considered not attending at all. But since attendance was apparently mandatory, that might make her stand out more, she reasoned; and so she went.
She wished she hadn’t.
When Tubbo stepped up to the microphone to give his speech, nervously clearing his throat, Schlatt and Quackity boxed him in, trapping him on stage in front of each and every citizen of Manburg. Everyone was confused… until Schlatt began talking.
He called Tubbo a traitor. Claimed that he had been in contact with Wilbur and Tommy, that he was a filthy spy. Niki’s heart leaped out of her chest at the news. She didn’t know if it was true, but if it was…
She pushed the thought out of her head as Schlatt continued his crazed speech, going on and on, Quackity echoing his words every so often for emphasis. He called Technoblade up to the stage – Technoblade, the wandering half-piglin warrior, nicknamed “Blood God” (for good reason). He hadn’t been around long, showing up shortly after Wilbur and Tommy’s exile. She didn’t think he was officially a member of Manburg, since he only showed up occasionally; but her apprehension rose when Schlatt was calling him up there.
Schlatt had ordered Technoblade to kill Tubbo. Not in so many words, but the message came across clear enough for the Blood God to understand.
And then, when Tommy showed up out of nowhere, running to save his friend, and when Wilbur (Wilbur!) shouted at him to stop, and when the entire crowd erupted into chaos, Niki turned and fled.
She was not a fighter. She had no qualms about running from a situation she was not equipped to deal with. Besides, this was her chance to get out of Manburg for good without anyone noticing.
“Get her! She must have let them in!” Schlatt screeched from the podium. He was too far gone. His paranoia was eating him up from the inside, suspecting anyone and everyone of betraying him.
Ponk, Punz, and Sapnap were hot on her tail for a good bit, but in the end Niki’s lithe form lost them in the woods, outpacing them until they gave up.
That night, Wilbur found her and took her back to their base that they had built a little ways off from Manburg. They called it “Pogtopia,” and it was neatly hidden along the bottom of a natural ravine. The path down into Pogtopia was a bit treacherous, but they all returned safely.
It turned out that Tubbo had been a spy, taking information from Schlatt and Quackity and relaying it to Tommy and Wilbur. Fundy, though still in Manburg, was also a spy. Niki was relieved to learn that Fundy hadn’t just turned on everybody and gone to Schlatt’s side; but she was miffed that she had been kept in the dark about everything.
She had been in real danger, as an original L’manburgian in Schlatt’s Manburg, and as the only woman on the entire server. And yet they had seemingly forgotten about her.
Wilbur had changed. That much was obvious. As the weeks passed, and he was unable to infiltrate Manburg again, he began an assassination plot. Schlatt needed to be taken down.
Refugees appeared almost daily, all in some way or another having fallen victim to Schlatt’s discrimination or paranoia. Even Quackity himself, who had been Schlatt’s number one supporter from the very first day, showed up and personally apologized to Wilbur.
But at that point Wilbur was too far gone.
In his mind, L’manburg was already dead. Manburg was a disease. Schlatt was a tumor. If he couldn’t have his L’manburg back, then… no one could have L’manburg. He didn’t sleep, dark hollows prominent under his eyes. He began joking about TNT, about destroying Manburg from the ground up; and the more he repeated it, the less people believed he was joking.
So it really should have come as no surprise when, on November sixteenth, after a successful coup, Wilbur acceded his position as leader to Tommy (who refused it on grounds of “unfinished business” with Dream). Tubbo was officially appointed president of L’manburg, and as he was giving his inaugural speech, a huge series of explosions rocked the country. A crater opened in front of them, somehow (luckily) not touching the plaza so no injuries occurred; and across the gap, Wilbur, kneeling with a crazed look on his face, tears streaming down his cheeks, desperately pleading with a new figure that most of them had ever seen before.
And they all watched as the other man ran his sword through Wilbur’s chest, only to immediately wrap him up in an embrace so tight they might have thought him an errant father reunited with his son for the first time in years.
Which, as it turned out, was exactly the case.
Philza, Wilbur’s father (and Wilbur’s killer) moved into New L’manburg as they rebuilt. Their community had gone through so much just within the span of a few months; finally, maybe, they could have peace.
But of course, they would never be so lucky.
Some new people arrived in the aftermath, close on Philza’s tail. A tall teenager, with mottled black and white skin (he claimed to be half enderman, which seemed plausible given his height), and a sheep hybrid by the name of Captain Puffy – another woman! Finally!
She and Niki grew close, and things slowly went back to normal.
People seemed to be realizing, now too late, that Wilbur had been twisted long before he had actually been exiled. While it was really difficult to deal with the fact that he was gone now, sometimes it hurt even more to remember how he was before all of this, before he had arrived on the Dream SMP.
More often than not, the days blurred together in a haze, and Niki went about her routine robotically, just focused on living from one day to the next.
But one day, she had a feeling something was going on. She was hanging out with Puffy, having a conversation about nothing in particular, when she saw Tommy and that tall kid – Ranboo, if she was remembering correctly – skulking around the main path. Shortly after donning black leather armor, they snuck off to the west.
Which was odd, because there wasn’t much in that direction.
Curiosity piqued, she wrapped up her conversation with Puffy and went off after them. They had a bit of a head start, but it wasn’t hard to track them. They might have been trying to be quiet, but they were far from stealthy. They left a trail though the underbrush a mile wide.
When Niki caught up to them, they were… what were they doing? She couldn’t tell at first, they were around the back of the house. They seemed to be having fun, whatever it was. They had come upon George’s house on the outskirts of the inhabited part of the server – a quaint little cottage, with mushroom-esque trimming and a small garden out front.
Suddenly, the two boys came around the front, laughing at something or other. Niki smiled a bit ruefully to herself. They were probably just playing a harmless prank. They were still children at heart, and they deserved to act as such – not as the war-trained soldiers that Wilbur had fostered.
She turned and walked away, leaving them to their devices.
//
Maybe she should have interrupted them.
Because here they now stood, a day later, fifteen-foot obsidian walls surrounding the entire country, while an angry man in a smiling mask yelled at Tubbo for justice.
George’s house had burnt down.
No, according to Dream, it hadn’t simply burnt down; it had been set on fire.
By Tommy.
“It had to have been him, this has his name written all over it!” he insisted, getting far too close to the young president for comfort.
Did he really…? Niki thought. She knew better than to interrupt the two – past experiences had shown her how useless it was to speak her mind, especially when Dream was involved.
“Dream, are you absolutely sure it was him?” Tubbo tried to placate him, but the words only seemed to fuel his anger.
“Who else would it be, Tubbo? Who else? Is there anyone else in this country, in L’manburg, who would dare touch George’s house? NO. Only Tommy would have the sheer audacity to violate the peace. And as long as Tommy is still within the walls of L’manburg, he is a threat. I demand that he be exiled from the country,” Dream finished, crossing his arms with finality.
“Exiled?” Tubbo paled. “Surely not… you don’t…” He took a deep breath, seeming to compose himself. “This is a serious matter, Dream. I will investigate this personally, when Tommy returns. Until then-”
“Until then, the walls stay as they are,” Dream hissed, bringing up his sword threateningly. Tubbo’s hands flew up.
“The walls stay up,” he said amenably.
“Well, then… for the sake of your country, I hope you make the right decision.” With that, Dream turned and swept out of the wall, covering his retreat with more obsidian.
Tubbo immediately deflated, hand coming up to rub his eyes as he sighed deeply.
Niki was conflicted.
On the one hand, she had seen Tommy and Ranboo hanging around George’s house just yesterday, and it had been intact then, so that implied… But on the other hand, was it worth telling Tubbo that his best friend was guilty of the crime Dream was accusing him with?
She reached out tentatively, giving the boy a gentle pat on the shoulder. Tubbo didn’t react.
“Tubbo? You doing okay?” she asked quietly.
He breathed shakily. “How do you think, Niki?” he barked out.
She didn’t respond.
Changing the subject, he continued: “I’ll go find Tommy. We will hold a trial tomorrow.” He took yet another deep breath, squared his shoulders, and walked away.
Niki stayed for a bit, thinking about her position.
She knew that it was most likely Tommy who had burned down George’s house, either him or Ranboo – or both. She didn’t know Ranboo that well yet. Perhaps he had done it and pinned it on Tommy…
But in all honesty, it was probably Tommy’s fault. Tommy had a history of destroying things without a second thought, without considering the consequences. And then, it was his stupid attachment to his music discs that had set him and Dream against each other in the first place.
The more Niki thought about it, the angrier she got. Tommy had certainly enabled Wilbur towards the end, instigating him to become more and more insane with his all-or-nothing attitude towards… towards everything. Sure, Tommy was still a teenager, but he should have grown up more by now.
Especially since he was the vice-president of a country. His actions had consequences, consequences that would affect the entire country. Consequences that were currently affecting the entire country. Because Tommy didn’t know when to stop, here they were, with walls obstructing all travel in and out of the country.
Maybe Dream wasn’t overreacting as much as she thought he had been…
She made her decision.
//
The trial was held at noon the following day.
Tubbo, Quackity, Fundy, Ranboo, and Tommy were all there when Niki arrived, loosely circled in the makeshift courtroom that Tubbo had hastily repurposed last night.
Quackity and Fundy were loudly arguing with Tubbo, insisting that he couldn’t really be thinking of following Dream’s orders. Tubbo wouldn’t meet their eyes, simply mumbling that he had to make sure.
“Make sure of what? We know Tommy didn’t do this, it was just a lie by Dream to get control over you!” Fundy insisted.
“George’s house is burnt down, that much is true. I checked yesterday,” Tubbo said quietly.
None of them had seemed to notice Niki’s entrance. That was fine. She wasn’t needed just yet.
“Alright,” Tubbo spoke up, shushing Fundy as he stood. “The trial will commence. Minutes man, are you prepared to take down the minutes of this meeting?”
Ranboo nodded at him, diligently pulling out a notebook and pen. “Yes, sir.”
“Alright-”
“Oh, come on, bitchboy,” Tommy cut in. “Let’s get this over with. You really don’t believe that green fucker over me, do you? No, of course you wouldn’t-”
“Tommy! Be quiet!” Tubbo shouted, clearly already nearing his limit, even though the trial had just begun. Tommy seemed a bit taken aback, so he snapped his mouth shut.
“Tommy Innit, you have been accused of arson, destruction of property, and griefing on land beyond our borders. Maybe we can make this easier for all of us: simply, did you do so?”
Tommy glanced around at everyone in the room. “No…” he said slowly, dragging the word out.
He was lying. He had to be. Niki’s frustration from yesterday grew. This was serious; this trial would impact them all, no matter what the outcome was. The least he could do was cooperate.
“See?” Quackity said. “Now let’s stop bowing to Dream and get going. We’ll just tell him to fuck off, Tommy didn’t do it. What’s he gonna do-”
“He’ll kill us, for one,” Niki interjected, standing up. “He has full enchanted netherite armor and gear. So does Sapnap. So does Punz. Both of whom answer to Dream.”
Quackity just rolled his eyes. “There’s how many of us? And how many of them? Just three? C’mon, even if they do have netherite, it’s not a fight they can win.”
“You don’t remember the original war for independence, do you?” Niki asked coldly. “It was the same back then. Just Dream and his friends against everyone else. And that was one of the bloodiest events to date.”
“But we’re better now,” Fundy argued.
Tubbo stayed silent, as did Tommy.
Niki rolled her eyes. “He already walled L’manburg in. What’s to say he couldn’t just starve us out? We’ll run out of food eventually. It’s useless.”
“Niki… are you suggesting we just give up?” Quackity side-eyed Tubbo, as if to make sure that he was paying attention.
“I’m suggesting we try our best to just fucking survive!” she burst out. “Tommy burned down George’s house, I saw him do it! Him and Ranboo, both of them, they were there the day before yesterday, and they were messing around that area. It had to be them!”
“Ranboo?” Tubbo questioned.
The half-enderman fiddled with his pen nervously. “Yes?”
“Is this true? Were you also involved?”
“W-well, there’s this- there’s this thing,” he stammered. “I, uh, I kinda… I kinda have trouble remembering things a lot of the time, so…” he trailed off.
Quackity narrowed his eyes. “So?”
“No, Niki was partly right,” Tommy said, serious this time. “Ranboo wasn’t involved. It was… I did it,” he admitted. “But keep Ranboo out of this, none of this is his fault. I did it.”
Niki watched as the others turned to face him… but to her frustration, none of them seemed to be taking this as gravely as it deserved to be treated.
“Okay, well, thanks for being honest, Tommy,” Tubbo said.
“Yeah, it’s none of Dream’s business, anyways,” Fundy spoke up. “It’s George’s house. If George is upset, he can come tell us himself.”
“Did none of you hear me? We can’t take this lightly!” Niki insisted.
“Niki, are you in the cabinet?” Quackity asked suddenly.
“No, but-” But I’m a citizen who is fearful for the fate of this country, she wanted to say, but of course they wouldn’t listen.
“Then be quiet. This is our decision. Do you really have it out for Tommy, hmm?” Quackity accused.
“I don’t have it out for Tommy! I just think he should be held accountable-”
“We’re not going to exile him. Period. We don’t answer to Dream, do we boys?” Quackity, Fundy, and Tommy cheered. Ranboo seemed confused, looking between the cheering trio and the quiet president.
Tubbo seemed to be lost in thought.
“Tubbo,” Niki pleaded. “You have to see where I’m coming from, can’t you?”
The boy president refused to meet her eyes. “Niki, kindly leave the courtroom.”
“What?”
“He said leave, bitch!” Quackity crowed, giving her what he probably thought was a playful shove. Niki glared at him.
The last thing she wanted to do was leave. Not now. Not when everybody seemed to be blind to reason.
But they were too far gone, too cocky. They wouldn’t listen to her.
She swept out of the courtroom without another word, ignoring the cheers that erupted the moment she was gone.
When New L’manburg fell because of their folly, she could look them straight in the eyes and say, “I told you so.”
And when, a week later, she learned that Dream had forcibly escorted Tommy outside the Dream SMP borders… maybe she smiled.
Chapter 5: Doomsday . . . (January 2021)
Summary:
Niki decides she's had enough.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Niki was done.
Done with the wars, done with the fighting, done with the goddamn people on this godforsaken server.
They had been existing in relative peace for so long.
A record, really.
And then…
“Tommy blew up the community house!” rang through the crowd at the Green Festival. An event that was intended to celebrate peace, rebuilding, and community was torn apart as they rushed to the center of the server, where the community house once stood.
Now, it was just a crater, splintered wood beams and crumbling stone the only monument left to its memory.
The community house was the oldest building on the server still standing. There was an unspoken agreement among everyone that the community house was never to be touched, no matter how many wars and conflicts they went through.
And now it was no more.
Dream stood, emblazoned in his infamous enchanted netherite armor, on the tallest support left standing. “Don’t you see?” he shouted. “Tommy has been here, I know it! This has his name written all over it!”
Niki’s heart dropped. This did seem like something Tommy would do – it was a lot like things he had done in the past. How had he come back? He was no longer welcome here; he had been exiled, for Prime’s sake!
“I know he’s here,” Dream stated. The citizens began murmuring among themselves, casting suspicious glances at each other. If Tommy truly had done this, if Tommy truly was here, then someone had to have let him in.
Tubbo – who was standing at the front of the crowd, trying to negotiate with Dream – insisted that Dream was lying. “We haven’t seen him since I exiled him. For all I know he’s fucking dead! Please, just leave us alone for one goddamn minute, will you?” he begged.
Dream didn’t seem to hear him. “I’ll make you a deal: how about you give me Tommy, and maybe I won’t make another obsidian wall around L’manburg – and if you don’t…” Dream chuckled darkly. “Well, let’s just say L’manburg won’t ever see the light of day again,” he threatened.
Suddenly, a voice spoke up from the crowd. “Dream, don’t do this.”
A chorus of gasps rang out. Tubbo’s eyes widened. “Tommy?”
A tall figure wearing a helmet pushed their way to the front of the crowd. “Hey guys,” he said sheepishly.
“Tommy, what are you doing here?” Niki asked harshly. She had never wanted to see his face again – though whether that was because she was angry at him or because he reminded her of Wilbur, she wasn’t sure. Did it even matter?
Tommy caused more problems than he was worth. If Tommy hadn’t been so arrogant, Dream wouldn’t be on their tail. If Tommy had just fucking grown up, they wouldn’t be here right now, in the ruins of a historic building, pleading with Dream for mercy. All because a teenager couldn’t learn.
“Hi Niki,” Tommy responded, not seeming to catch her tone. Or if he did, he didn’t show it. “I didn’t- I didn’t do this.”
“Are you sure?” she asked skeptically – mockingly.
“See, I knew he was here!” Dream crowed.
“Tommy, what are you doing?!” a new voice called out.
Everyone turned in surprise.
Technoblade.
Is Technoblade working with Tommy? Niki was shocked. She thought Tommy hated Technoblade’s guts, ever since he had come this close to killing Tubbo at the Red Festival – only three or so months ago.
Tubbo was just staring at Tommy. He looked like he was seeing a ghost.
“I didn’t blow up the community house,” Tommy announced, turning to everyone else. “This wasn’t me.”
“It had to have been you,” Dream argued. “Who else would have done this?”
“Who else would have done this? I don’t know, maybe you, dickhead,” Tommy spat.
“Tommy, we can still leave,” Technoblade called out from the edge of the crowd. He was looking around, sword in hand, most likely calculating which way was easiest to escape to. “You don’t have to do this. We can come back another day.”
“No, Techno. I can’t-” Tommy faltered. “I can’t keep this up. This,” – he gestured around him – “This isn’t me. I’m becoming someone I never wanted to be.” He finally looked Tubbo in the eye. “I’m sorry, Tubbo. Is there… is there still a place for me here?” he asked – a hint of hope in his voice, but also resignation. As if he didn’t expect to be forgiven.
Good.
He shouldn’t be.
“Tommy…”
Wait… was Tubbo seriously considering it?
“No, Tommy, you can’t just come back,” Niki cut in angrily. They couldn’t let him back. Dream had outright threatened them – explicitly for once! – and they thought it would be okay to defy him? Surely…
“There’s always a place for you here, big man,” Tubbo said, ignoring her.
Dream laughed from above. “So, you will not turn him over?”
“No, Dream. He’s my best friend,” Tubbo said resolutely. “And if you have a problem with that, then you can leave. It’s none of your business what I do in my country.”
Technoblade cleared his throat. “Tommy, are you sure you want to do this? Are you sure you want to go back? They betrayed you, Tommy! They cast you out and now you want to join them again? We said we’d take it down, we’d take the government down together, Tommy. You and me, just like old times!”
“Techno, I never agreed to destroy L’manburg,” Tommy said quietly. “I don’t want to become another Wilbur.”
Silence fell over the crowd.
“Well, in that case,” Dream said, “you have twenty-four hours to prepare. I will be here at three o’clock tomorrow, and that will be the last you’ll ever see of your precious L’manburg.”
He turned, readying his trident. “Remember this: you had a chance to escape this fate, but you made all the wrong decisions. See you tomorrow!”
And with that, he shot into the distance.
Uneasy murmuring began to weave through the crowd.
Niki couldn’t believe it.
“Tubbo, why-”
“Not now, Niki.”
“But you just-”
“Alright, I’m out of here too,” Technoblade deadpanned. He, too, pulled out a trident and whooshed away.
“Let’s get away from here,” Tommy said, looking up at the ruins of the community house apprehensively. He climbed his way out carefully, Tubbo hot on his heels. The rest of the crowd followed, stopping when Tommy turned around on the Prime Path in front of Eret’s fortress.
“Alright boys, Big Man Tommy Innit is back! And there’s stuff to get done, so let’s get to it!”
Niki only half-listened. They were going over strategies and preparations for tomorrow, but, of course, they didn’t have much. When one of L’manburg’s principles was “No armor within the borders,” not many people kept armor or weapons. They were virtually helpless, and twenty-four hours of work was going to do nothing in the grand scheme of things.
Tubbo had condemned L’manburg by accepting Tommy back.
“Alright, everyone’s got their tasks, right?” Tommy seemed to be wrapping things up. People were beginning to disperse. “Okay. Tubbo, Quackity, I want to speak to you privately…”
Niki watched as the three wandered off, talking quietly among themselves.
Was this her fate?
To watch in silence as everyone around her ignored her warnings? The multiple times that Niki had tried to speak up, had tried to make the people around her see reason, only to be dismissed? As, again, and again, and again, her predictions came true?
She scoffed. “We’re doomed.”
“C’mon, Niki, don’t be so pessimistic,” Fundy said.
She whirled on him. “Oh? ‘Don’t be so pessimistic?’ I shouldn’t be pessimistic? We’re going to fucking die, Fundy. Why should I be anything but pessimistic? Tell me that.”
Fundy floundered for an answer.
She didn’t let him answer. “We are doomed, because Tubbo can’t see beyond his own selfish feelings, and because Tommy is- because Tommy is back,” she ranted. “Everywhere he goes, he brings war, and ruin, because he doesn’t know when to fucking stop!”
“Niki, don’t be so harsh on him, he’s just-”
“Just a what? Just a boy? He’s seventeen. He should know better by now,” she seethed.
“He’s not the problem,” a voice above them said. Niki turned to see Ranboo halfway up the steps of the fortress, tail lashing back and forth nervously behind him. “It’s Dream.”
“Don’t you think I know that?” she asked, laughing hopelessly. “Because Tommy was so reckless, Dream is-”
“But that’s the thing! It’s Dream that’s doing all of these things, not Tommy. Dream is the reason everything has gone downhill. Can’t you see?” Ranboo looked around at everyone who was staring at them now, waiting to see how the argument would unfold. “Sending Tommy away is exactly what Dream wants. We can’t give that to him. Tommy is a human being.”
“And so am I! And I’m saying this is the wrong decision; do I not deserve a say in this?” She looked around wildly.
Everyone avoided her eyes.
“Huh,” she said, quietening down. “Well then, don’t say I didn’t warn you when L’manburg gets razed tomorrow.”
She left.
If they weren’t going to listen to her, what was the point in staying?
And tomorrow, when she stood in the light of the blaze she had set to her own house, while TNT rained down around them, destroying every last bit of the L’manburg she had once loved…
Maybe she laughed.
Notes:
If you enjoyed it, please consider leaving kudos or a nice comment! I'd greatly appreciate it :D
Chapter 6: Syndicate . . . (February 2021)
Summary:
Niki learns that maybe the problem had never been her, but the people she surrounded herself with...
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
It took a while, but Niki slowly healed.
She left that night, after Dream and Technoblade had laid ruin to New L’manburg, and went off on her own. She had learned the hard way that if anything were to get done, you had to do it yourself.
And so she built.
She found a huge underground cave, miles from any inhabited part of the server, and staked her claim. She decided she would build a place where she could help those who were in need, those who were too small to be listened to – just as she had been.
She stocked up on weapons, she stocked up on food, she worked hard from dawn till dusk (and oftentimes far into the night) to make the cave habitable.
It was a simple life, and she was content, even if she was alone.
One day, she decided to go exploring. She had been underground for far too long that week, and she needed the fresh air. Besides, it might be useful to know more about the surrounding area.
She packed up a bag with her tools and some food for the way, and set off towards the north.
//
A few hours later, she found herself trekking through snow, as an arctic biome spread out before her.
She had considered turning around a bit ago, but she had seen something that had piqued her interest – a beam of bluish light, shooting up to the heavens.
A beacon.
Beacons didn’t appear out of nowhere. Someone had to have put it there.
And so, she marched on.
Once she reached the site of the beacon, she looked around for signs of habitation. Surely someone wouldn’t leave a beacon out here in the middle of nowhere and not return for it? But there was nothing, not even freshly disturbed snow tracks.
Niki scanned the landscape.
Nothing, nothing, nothing…
What were those? She skidded down the hill that the beacon was set on, and made her way over to where a small pool lay, only half-frozen over, in the middle of the arctic.
Another one lay about thirty feet away, of a similar size. And another thirty feet from that one, and so on, until the landscape hid them from her view.
Niki assumed it was a path for those who had tridents, since they only worked in water, and even though snow was simply frozen water, tridents didn’t work with snow. Magic is finicky that way sometimes.
She trudged her way along the path laid out in front of her, breath puffing visible in front of her face for a moment before dissipating into the cold air. At one point, she passed a Nether portal far off to her right, but she left it alone for now.
Finally, she made it to a small valley nestled inbetween two hills, and there she saw what she had been looking for: a small(ish) two-story cottage, with a cow farm and a beehive outside, a few arctic foxes tied to a fencepost, and a sturdy chestnut horse in its own pen outside. Smoke wafted into the air from its chimney, indicating that the place had at least been recently inhabited. A fence ran around the whole area, probably to keep the nighttime mobs out.
Niki kept her head low, cautious of being seen. She didn’t know who lived here, if she knew them or if they were complete strangers; perhaps they were dangerous people who attacked trespassers. Better safe than sorry.
She made it almost to the base of the house without being seen, or seeing anybody herself. She stopped outside the horse’s pen, taking in the magnificence of the creature before her. Surely this place had not been abandoned. The horse was in perfect shape, healthy and well-taken care of. He snuffled her jacket as if searching for treats.
“No, I don’t have anything for you, buddy,” she whispered, smiling fondly. She reached up to rub between his ears, reading the embossed leather halter. “Carl…”
He nickered, as if in answer.
That name sounded familiar… but before she could place it the door to the cottage creaked open. “Carl, I just fed you, what-” The deep voice cut itself off as a large figure stepped out into the light.
Ah.
That’s where she had heard it before.
“Hello, Technoblade,” she greeted, her heart racing just a tad. After all, the last time she had seen the Blood God, he had been laughing in the middle of a rainstorm of explosions as blood trailed down his hands.
Yeah, not the most pleasant memory she had.
The half-piglin gave a surprised grunt, as though Niki was the last person he had expected to see outside his house. She didn’t blame him. She had practically disappeared since that day… though it seemed as though Technoblade had done the exact same thing. “Hello. Carl seems to have taken a liking to you,” he deadpanned.
“It seems so,” Niki agreed. She gave the horse one last pat before turning fully towards him. She hitched up her bag on her shoulder nervously. “Haven’t seen you in a while, Technoblade.”
“I could say the same about you.”
Awkward silence stretched out between them.
“Oh, well I was just-”
“Did you want to-” They both spoke at the same time, then stopped again.
Niki flushed with embarrassment. “You first.”
“I was just going to ask if you wanted to come inside and warm up for a bit?” Technoblade asked.
“I mean, I don’t want to intrude or anything, I’ll be fine-” she tried to say, but he waved it off.
“It’s fine, I don’t get enough company as it is,” he joked. “Phil will be glad to see something other than my ugly mug for once.” He let out a deep rumbling laugh, and Niki couldn’t help but feel her nerves ease just a tad.
She followed behind him as Technoblade returned inside and led her to a living area. “Phil! Come down, we have a guest!”
“What did you say, mate?” a faint voice called from somewhere above them.
“I said- oh, nevermind,” he grumbled. Then, turning to Niki: “Sit down, make yourself comfortable. We’re in no rush so take as much time as you need.” He turned and left the room, presumably to go fetch Phil from wherever he was in the house.
Niki looked around, drinking everything in.
It was not in the least how she expected the home of the Blood God to look like. A fireplace crackled in a stone hearth, casting a gentle flickering glow over the room. A couch, designed to fit three or perhaps four people, sat in front of it, layered with well-loved blankets in various shades. A complementary recliner sat diagonally from it, right next to the fireplace. An entire wall was outfitted with bookshelves that were stocked to the brim with books. A hook in the corner held the infamous red cloak that Technoblade was usually seen in, and the peculiar green-and-white striped bucket hat that Philza loved to wear.
It looked like… home.
Much more of a home than she had had in a long time.
“Oh, hello Niki!” Philza called, entering the room, followed closely by Technoblade.
Niki rushed to blink away the wetness that had suddenly seemed to well up in her eyes, and smiled softly. “Hi, Phil. How have you been?”
“Oh, you know, working too hard for these old bones,” he joked. “Take a seat, stay a while,” he urged, gesturing to the couch.
Hesitantly, Niki sloughed off her bag and sat down stiffly. Technoblade moved as if he were going to sit next to her, but Philza nudged him in the ribs, and after a pause, he changed course, going to sit down in the recliner.
Philza took a seat on the opposite end of the couch from Niki, seemingly aware that she was not entirely comfortable around them yet. “So,” he began, “what have you been up to, Niki?”
From others, the question might have felt invasive; but somehow, coming from Philza, Niki felt as if he were genuinely interested in her goings-on.
“Oh, you know, starting up a new project. Takes a lot of work, as I’m sure you know,” she said vaguely. She didn’t want to give away too much – she still wasn’t sure what their attitudes toward her were yet, despite how calm and laid back they were being at the moment.
Philza nodded. “Oh yes, I know the feeling.”
There was a short silence again, but this time it felt less awkward and more… comfortable. The fire crackled in the hearth.
“What brings you up around these parts? Just out of curiosity,” Technoblade asked, tilting his head.
Niki found this answer slipping out of her much more easily this time. “I’ve been exploring recently,” she explained. “I chose a random direction and just… went, I guess. And I found here.” She shrugged. “I wasn’t particularly looking for you, but…”
“Here you are,” Philza finished.
Something felt wrong about this scene.
Here Niki sat, in an enclosed space close by Technoblade, the Blood God, the man who had blown up New L’manburg and enjoyed doing so; and Philza, the Angel of Death, who had run his sword through his own son’s chest on his very first day on this server.
And yet she didn’t feel endangered by either of them.
Maybe what felt so wrong was that it felt so right.
“Techno, do you think we should…?” Philza pulled Niki out of her reverie, apparently asking Technoblade some unvoiced question.
The piglin hybrid simply grunted again, giving him a short nod.
“Should you what?” Niki asked, looking between the two of them.
“Niki,” Philza began carefully, “you don’t have to answer this if you don’t want to, but… what is your view on governments?”
Niki glanced at Technoblade, then back to Philza. They were both watching her carefully, but she sensed no judgment in their gaze. The little wave of unease that had begun to bubble up simmered down.
Again, the sensation felt so wrong because of the people she was with, but she felt safe here. She couldn’t tell why, but… her gut had been right so many times before, maybe it was time to follow a positive lead for once.
“I think… I think that governments and power can twist good people into the worst kind of people,” she stated honestly. “Government is good in theory, but not in practice. And that’s because the people in the government are… well, people, and people are prone to error. Power corrupts, you know?” It wasn’t really a question she had thought much on before, but now that they had brought it up… hmm.
Philza nodded sagely. “I think that’s a very good assessment, Niki,” he said quietly.
“Why…” She paused, hesitant to question them. “Why did you ask?”
“Just wanted to know what you thought,” Technoblade said easily.
They… wanted to listen to her?
“Of course we do, mate,” Philza smiled.
Niki blushed. Had she said that out loud? She hadn’t meant to.
“Oh… well, I just-” She faltered, not knowing what to say.
“It’s okay.” The warmth in Philza’s voice seemed to wrap her like one of the blankets that she was sitting on. “But… if you don’t mind, we’d like to show you something, if that’s alright with you?” Phil asked.
Niki nodded mutely. As loath as she was to admit it, her emotions were getting the best of her just now, and she didn’t trust her voice to remain steady.
The two men stood up, and she followed suit, trailing behind them as they took her outside.
They led her down a steep stairwell, hidden well in the hillocks of the rough terrain, down, and down, deeper and deeper into the earth. The way was well lit with torches, and there were no mobs to surprise them in the tunnels.
Soon enough, they led her to what seemed like an ancient underground temple, with crumbling stone bricks covered in moss. And in front of them…
A table?
It was oddly shaped, just a solid frame of peculiar-looking blocks and filled in with the distinct blue wood of the Nether’s warped forests. Eight seats surrounded it, all facing neatly inwards towards the single item that sat upon the table: a lone black rose.
Niki’s eyes felt impossibly wide, taking in the old beauty of the place.
“Neat, isn’t it?” Technoblade asked, sounding amused. “Phil fixed the place up all nice. But yeah, now that we’re here” – he turned to face Niki – “I wanted to give you a proposition.”
Niki slowly tore her eyes away from the table, focusing on the huge piglin hybrid in front of her. “What?”
Philza chuckled off to the side while Technoblade continued. “Me ‘n Phil here, we’ve put together a bit of a group, you see… As an avid anarchist myself, I thought it only right that we gather like-minded people together so that we can make sure a repeat of… certain governments… never happen again.”
“We’re calling it the Syndicate,” Philza supplied helpfully.
Niki’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. Were they… were they just being nice to her so that they could spread their- their anarchist club?
“You don’t have to join if you don’t want to,” Technoblade continued.
Oh.
“And that’s really the only rule of the Syndicate. We won’t make you do anything you don’t want to do. We just want to help make sure that no governments spring up again. No repeatin’ history here,” he chuckled.
“Well, there is one other rule,” Philza said. “We would just prefer if you didn’t tell anyone who’s not a Syndicate member that it exists. It’s easier to work when it’s a secret.”
Niki pondered it for a moment.
On the one hand, they could be using her, preying on her past to try and shape her for their needs…
On the other hand, they seemed genuinely friendly, despite everything that they had done.
In the end, it all boiled down to: could she trust them?
…
She had spent so long not trusting people… Perhaps this would prove a mistake, but…
She had to start somewhere, right?
***
As she lay in bed that night, wrapped up in warm blankets in a different person’s house, feeling safe for the first time in a long time, she sighed contentedly.
Maybe things were looking up after all.
Notes:
Alright, that's the end, folks! Thank you so much for reading, I really hope you liked it!
As always, please don't forget to leave kudos or a nice comment if you enjoyed it, and I'll see you next time :D
- Raena
(follow me on Twitter! @raenathedutchie)
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