LOSING GAME ➳ dreamwastaken

𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠

Daunting clouds of impending doom hung in the air like ominous shadows. As a new day dawned, purged of sunlight and drizzling cold water droplets to the earth, Pogtopia armed themselves for the final battle.

Wilbur had promised Tommy that, were they to defeat Schlatt and take back L'Manberg, he would not press the button to blow up L'Manberg. Reverie, however, had other plans. The chances of Pogtopia triumphing today were slim—almost impossible, but were they to somehow win back L'Manberg, resulting in Wilbur not blowing the nation up, Reverie had decided that she would press the button herself.

It was just as Eret had said.

It was never meant to be.

Dream had informed Tommy that there was a traitor in their ranks and, quite naturally, Reverie was Tommy's leading suspect. Though it made sense in theory as she had stood before Tommy and declared that she would stop at nothing to destroy Manberg, Reverie wasn't quite sure that she could be labelled as a traitor if she had been up front and honest about her plans all along. She had told Tommy that she was going to blow Manberg up, so when she did it, would she really be betraying him?

Technoblade led the squadron through the trees, hacking away at obstructing branches with his axe. Reverie followed closely behind Techno with Wilbur at her side, and the others were not far in their wake. Since the passing of the Festival, more people had become conscious of Schlatt's tyranny and made the choice to join the rebellion. This included Fundy and the vice president himself, Quackity, who had grown aggravated by Schlatt's dictatorship. They had, after all, won the election in coalition, but Schlatt acted as though he had full power and Quackity had none.

Another new addition to Pogtopia was Eret, who had shown up just that morning and denounced his loyalty to Dream. Reverie recalled the memory with a fond smile.

"I am no longer King," Eret had said. "I chose to see what's right over loyalty to Dream."

As they walked side-by-side, Wilbur took Reverie's hand in his own and she smiled up at him. Then, she noticed something that was most peculiar and out of sorts.

"You're not wearing your hat," she stated pointedly.

The corners of Wilbur's lips twitched, like he wanted to smile but held it back. Flickers of bittersweet sorrow flashed through his deep eyes.

"I didn't want to get it dirty," he said.

"Everyone in here," Technoblade called, disappearing into the ground through what looked like a wide rabbit hole. "Into the secret base."

Reverie grimaced in distaste. She had not worn her only pair of good jeans just for them to get frayed and soiled before she had even gone to war.

The tunnel sloped downwards like an uncomfortable slide, and Reverie received many small cuts as her arms scraped against rocks in the earth. At the bottom of the slope, she tumbled out and Techno helped her to her feet. One by one, the others flew out of the tunnel, landing with loud grunts of pain in a heap on the cold stone floor. They found themselves cramped in a tiny room, lined with bookshelves. An enchantment table stood proudly in the centre of the room.

As everyone muttered indignantly, Reverie gently ran her fingers across the surface of the enchantment table. She had only ever seen an enchantment table once in her life because, though it was a strange law, citizens were not allowed to own a personal enchantment tables. There was one in the Community House, but it was expensive to use so Reverie kept her distance, and their was one in the grand library of Dream's castle. That was the one she had seen. She remembered being in awe of the enchantment table when Dream showed it to her, and he had found her excitement rather amusing.