The Tale | Dream SMP

I - Chapter Twenty-Three

Tommy's heart felt like it wanted to stop beating. War? Against Dream? It seemed surreal.

"War?" Fundy asked dubiously. "Are you sure? That seems hasty, doesn't it?"

"War is always hasty," Dream said calmly, clasping his hands together. "It is instinctual, and it is hardwired into us."

"That's a horrible reason to want it," Tommy scowled.

He looked over at Wilbur, expecting backup, but the man was completely silent as he stared at Dream. There was a look of deep concentration on his face. In an instant, Tommy could tell that Wilbur was thinking along the same path as Dream.

The thought was depressing. But also... he was worried. If Wilbur was to follow the same road as Dream, then things wouldn't be good. He had to do something. Quickly.

"Just give us freedom," Tommy said. "Then we can walk away from this without any injuries."

"I'm not concerned about injuries," Dream said mildly.

"Neither am I," Wilbur said, narrowing his eyes.

"Well, I am," Tubbo butted in. "Can we leave? Please?"

Tommy glanced over at Fundy, waiting for a response. He wanted to know what Fundy thought the most, because ultimately, it would decide whether the man was trustworthy or not.

Fundy was staring at Dream as well, but it was different from Wilbur's stare. While Wilbur's gaze was defiant, Fundy's was worried. Unable to accept what was in front of him.

He doesn't want to believe that Dream is like this.

The thought was comforting, in a way. To see that those close to Dream were beginning to see what was wrong with him. Sure, Fundy wasn't as close as maybe George or Sapnap, but it was still a step.

"Dream," Fundy said quietly. "What are you doing?"

It was hard to tell because of the mask, but Tommy could see Dream look over and focus on Fundy. There was no way that the man was just noticing him, but Tommy could feel the surprise registering from him. "Fundy?"

"Don't tell me you just noticed me," Fundy said through gritted teeth.

"What are you doing here? With them?"

"What?" the man asked sarcastically, pushing to the front so that he was in front of Wilbur, as close to Dream as possible. "I'm not allowed to be here because you didn't let me?"

"That's not---"

Fundy's tail swished irritatedly. "And now, you want to start a war. Just because you don't want a handful of people doing their own thing."

"It's not just 'a handful,'" Dream snapped, getting out of his shock. "It's basically half of the entire population here. I created this SMP for peaceful coexistence. It feels like all of you have forgotten that."

"We haven't," Tubbo spoke up. "We just... don't really... like your way of peace."

"Peace is universal."

Tubbo shook his head. "It's really not."

It might've been Tommy's nerves, but Tubbo seemed... sad.

"We will have independence," Wilbur snapped. "This is our peace. Whether you like it or not."

"I won't let you," Dream said. His voice was calmer than before, but colder as well. "This is war. My SMP versus you, Manberg."

Tommy bristled. "L'Manberg, you---"