The Tale | Dream SMP

I - Chapter Twenty-Four

Dream sat on the edge of the cliff, his legs dangling off of the side, staring down at the view below him. Smoke rising up from within the tall, black brick walls, coming from the hot dog van. Or, as Wilbur called it, the "hto dog van."

It was so stupid. The fact that a disorganized group of people led by an even more disorganized man could even think of starting a revolution to get independence.

It didn't matter. Dream would defeat his enemies. He always did.

But those enemies... they had been his friends. Good ones, too. Even Tommy. They had all been his friends.

George, Sapnap, Bad.

And now, Fundy, Wilbur, Tommy, Tubbo, Eret, Niki, Thunder.

He had just invited Nihachu and Jack Manifold to the lands with the prospect of getting to know them better before they were immediately snatched away by Wilbur. Tommy and Tubbo were both still children, and the only adult figure that had even semi taken care of them was Wilbur. Naturally, they would follow him.

Fundy... his case was different. He was more like what had happened between Dream and his close-knit group of four, which was why seeing him felt more like a stab to the stomach than a punch.

Ultimately, none of his friends ever stayed by his side for long.

It doesn't matter, he told himself again. I still have Sapnap and Bad and George. As long as I can keep them, then everyone else doesn't matter. I don't care.

Convincing himself was hard. But facing the truth was even harder.

At least one of the people in L'Manberg was still faithful to him.

Dream got to his feet, gazing down at the new nation below him. "Nation" was too heavy of a word, but unfortunately, there was no other way to describe it. It was a nation. One that he didn't intend to let survive.

"L'Manberg," he said, smiling slightly. "L'Man, L'Child. I give you everything, and yet you still want nothing to do with me. I give you peace, and yet you call it tyranny. No matter what I do, I can never please everyone. So you know what? I don't want to anymore." He closed his eyes and sighed. "Tommy, Wilbur, and the rest of L'Man-Child-berg. We... are at war."

He turned around to face Sapnap, who was standing behind him, listening silently. There was soot on his clothes and a few burnt patches, hinting at where he had just been. George wasn't present, still busy doing the task Dream had assigned to him. "There is no mercy. We have burnt down Tubbo's house. We have planted canons around your land."

The loud boom of a canon going off rattled the ground. Dream's smile widened as he turned his gaze back to L'Manberg. More smoke was rising from within its boundaries. "We have shot one warning shot into your walls. We have no mercy, no mercy for you!"

Dream's voice had risen up into a shout. "Do you understand? We will come, we will burn down your houses, we will kill everything inside your walls, and we will take back the land that is rightfully ours. If you do not surrender..." He chuckled lowly, then yelled, "I want to see white flags! White flags, outside your base, by tomorrow, at dawn, or you are dead!"

The silence of the forest greeted him. His words rang through the air before they vibrated out of hearing, letting the rustling of the wind take control again. Dream sighed and sat back down, once again closing his eyes. A second later, Sapnap sat down beside him.

"L'Manberg," the man said quietly.

Dream nodded, his eyes still closed. He pushed his mask away from his face, resting against the side of his head, letting the sunlight hit him. It was warm, so nice and comforting, in a time of turmoil.