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Chapter Text

In this story, the events will not occur as they did in the actual war between the Dream SMP and L'Manburg. The game here is similar to a VR Game but in this glitch, the boys feel the damage and can die but suffer the pain of death before respawning. They cannot escape or disconnect from the game until the war is declared to be over.

Chapter Text

It was pretty late in the night when the boys decided to log onto their Dream SMP server. It had been a while since they all got together and went online due to the fact that they all lived in different time zones and had very busy lives of their own. Each gamer sat in their game chair and put on the VR headset that prompted them with the Minecraft opening screen.

"Can you guys hear me?" George spoke aloud. The words echoed into the game and each player replied with their own version of a "yes".

Technology had advanced pretty far to the point where VR games were the new norm. These games were accessible via a VR headset. The headset was similar in appearance to headphones. These games, however, sucked players into their game of choice and let them play with their own consciousness. Either way, there was no harm in these games, the damage sustained was never relayed to its players in pain, but simply in vibrations. A harmless way of notifying players that they were in danger.

A simple "Escape Game" and each player could exit the game where they could return to real-life where they could remove the headset.

"Okay, now that we're all here..." Dream started. His character was a clear resemblance of his appearance, but his signature smiley face mask adorned his face. The green hooded character walked around in circles around the other players. He pointed his enchanted sword out to the sky, a playful display of leadership, before continuing his speech.

"Men of Dream SMP... If we look to the far left, we can see a hideous building that blocks one of my views of the sun setting. This building was created none other than by these traitorous men!" Dream accused as he pointed the sword at five of the men that stood before him.
All eyes moved to the men that maintained their ground against the hooded man.

"We've decided to succeed from the Dream SMP, that's right" Tommy stated. He looked at Wilbur, the president of their new land.

"Why?" Sapnap interjected, before bringing a piece of bread to his lips and taking a bite. Crumbs falling onto his clean white shirt.

The group stifles a laugh before they look back to Wilbur, who was standing with a bow in hand. A smile twitched on his lips but he quickly regained his composure. "That's right. We, the men of L'Manberg have decided to succeed from Dream SMP. Why do you ask? For our freedom."

George took a step closer, his goggles gleaming under the sun above them. A smile and look of confusion fell upon his face. "Freedom you say. What more freedom do you need? You're allowed to explore the land, to create your own homes... what more do you need?" he asked as he opens his arms with a half spin.

Dream smiled, he loved to see his friends enjoying a little roleplay in the server. It helped make game sessions different and not so repetitive. He enjoyed the creativity and freedom of expression within his server, he was a writer after all.

Dream stepped forward once more, clearing his throat as he gained the attention of his peers. "SO. As the creator of Dream SMP, I consider this 'succession' a blatant insult to my land", he turned to squint his eyes accusingly at the members of L'Manberg before taking a deep breath and turning to the men on his side, "as a result, I have no choice but to declare the following-". His tangent was cut short by the English blonde beside Wilbur.

"Can you get on with it already!" Tommy exclaimed, a short laugh falling past his lips. Tubbo hiccuped a small laugh and Wilbur looked at the two, silently telling them not to laugh. This only caused more laughter to erupt from the rest of the members, Fundy and Eret. Dream looked at the group of men laughing and then back at his team. Sapnap wanted to laugh but resisted to urge and instead adjusted the bandana on his head and looked back at Punz who was looking at the ground, trying to keep his smile hidden.

George scoffed before looking back at Wilbur. A silent plead for him to get his group together and put an end to the laughing session. The boys were itching to move by now. The speech was dragging on too long now and they just wanted to run around and tend to their houses and inventory. Dream let out a small laugh and then proceeded.

"Fine. I Dream, creator of Dream SMP, declare war on L'Manberg. I give you 24 hours to make a decision among yourselves, and then I expect to see WHITE FLAGS outside of your monstrosity of a building. Signaling your surrender. 24 hours! If I do not see WHITE FLAGS by the end of those 24 hours, the war will proceed!"

Tommy scoffed, "May we depart now? You green tyrant?".

Dream smiled and nodded.

"You may."

Chapter Text

The enchantment room that George and Dream were in was mostly silent, apart from the sound of George killing spiders in the mob spawner. The lack of conversation was a little disconcerting to George. Dream was rarely ever silent, especially during roleplay in the server. George tucked his sword back into its holster and walked up to Dream. He was lying on a bench between the bookshelves. His feet propped against the side of the shelf, one foot crossed over the other. He failed to notice George approach him as he played with some flint and steel in his hands.

"You're awfully quiet. It's a little concerning Dream..." George trailed off. He leaned against the enchantment table that faced his friend. George removed the goggles from his head and began to clean them with his pale blue shirt.

Dream continued his silence for a little longer, causing George to look around the room, almost as if searching for something else to say. He opened his mouth, but words failed to fall past his lips. Eventually, Dream filled the silence with a laugh. It almost seemed lighthearted, but it remained somewhat sinister.

"Psychopath..." George scoffed with a smile before getting up to leave the room.

He brought the goggles back up to his head, sliding them into place, neatly atop his dark brown hair. Two steps forward, and Dream sat up. George could hear the approaching footsteps of his friend before he felt a large hand fall onto his shoulder. A small pat from Dream.

"Follow me, I have an idea, but we need SapNap," he said, walking past the shorter individual.
George smiled before catching up with Dream and following him out to the community house.

The day was unusually bright that day, and the walk to the community house just further emphasized the sun's heat. "God, it's so hot," George complained, raising his arm to shield his eyes from the sun. "No, it's not" Dream scoffed, "This is like a typical night in Florida," he finished. George rolled his eyes, and Dream laughed. "Oh, I'm Gogy! I can't stand 80-degree weather! Oh no! I'm melting!" Dream laughed, pushing the doors to the community house open. "Whatever, piss baby," George remarked, slowly relishing in the cool atmosphere of the building.

SapNap whipped his head over in the direction of the boys. He was busy cooking food that he had been collecting earlier that day. SapNap reached into the chest beside him, gathering more coal to fuel the furnaces in front of him. "What do you losers want?" he chuckled, dusting his hands off with a rag that lay on the crafting table beside the furnace. "I knew you'd be here," Dream remarked, motioning his head towards the furnaces. "What's that supposed to mean?" SapNap asked, looking back and forth between the ovens and the boys that were approaching him.

The tall hooded man stopped in front of SapNap and pointed a slim finger at the bright orange and red flame that decorated his friend's white tee. "Pyromaniac, much?" Dream teased and looked at the furnaces.

"I swear Sap; you could just sit here for hours, watching the flame bubble within these things. I've seen it with my own eyes, man..."

SapNap sighed and sat on the stairs that were a few feet behind the bunch. The wood planks whined and creaked as George took a few steps back, allowing his friend to walk past him. "Great, a psychopath and a pyromaniac. This war should go smoothly, I'm sure," George stated as he looked out the window that pointed towards the tall black stone building that belonged to the members of L'Manberg.

"It will go smoothly; you have to understand that these are advantages" Dream quickly defended.

"Ad-advantages? You've met Tommy, haven't you?" George half laughed, half exclaimed.

"You mean the not 6'3" British bitch boy?"

"SapNap-" George paused.

"Yes! It goes perfectly with my plan! We need to intimidate them into surrendering, and what better way to do that than to show them what we are capable of?" Dream nearly shouted. He opened the clay-colored pouch that he kept tied around his belt loop and pulled out a piece of flint and steel.

The light that sparked within SapNap's eyes was indisputable. The dark-haired boy leaned forward more, a clear display of increased interest for what the hooded man was about to propose. He looked over to George, who was staring intently at the flint and steel, trying to figure out what exactly Dream was suggesting.

Dream took a step closer and held out the two items in front of SapNap before giving him a menacing look. "I'm giving you these two things, and I trust that you know what to do with them."

Silence.

SapNap stood up and took the items from the taller's hands.
He looked up at the boy and then at George, who stood there with a confused look on his face.

"... I- I'm not gonna lie here. I... I have absolutely no idea what I'm supposed to do with this"

Laughter erupts from the three boys, mostly from Dream. "Go-God..." Dream broke out laughing, "...dammit SapNap!"

"Okay, come on."

The trio walked out, bumping into Punz in the process. The white hooded man looked over to them, and Dream waved him over.

"Punz, you're coming with us! Let's go!"

"Where are we going?" Punz asked and looked at SapNap before asking, "What're we doing?"

"We are going to give a warning to the idiots of L'Manberg. Step one of our scare tactics is to set the trees around here on fire. We have to make their land look like a wasteland! Make their land ugly like them!" Dream said. 

The boys began to get hyped, smiles falling to their faces as their bodies itched to participate in some war activities. 

He stopped at the top of a hill, staring at the sight before him. The black stone building stood tall in the middle of a water moat, smaller grey buildings surrounding it. 

He turned to his teammates. The corner of his smile could be seen, peeking from behind the smiley face mask. He pulled his hands out of his hoodie and pushed his hood down, pulling his mask up to rest on his messy mop of hair. George couldn't deny the fact that Dream effortlessly too leadership. Dream had his fair share of emotional outbursts and incessant jokes. But Dream was always there to assume the role of a leader when needed. The rest of the boys admired him truly. Yes, it was a game, but even offline, Dream was one of the most responsible and empathetic people they'd ever met. 

Dream raised his hand up, moving it to move their attention over to the land before them. The soft hues of sunset began to wash over the world.

"Look, guys.

Everything the light touches is our kingdom.

King's time as a ruler rises and falls like the sun.

One day, the sun will set, and my time here will rise with one of you...

As the new king."

The words were like a heavy blow to the boys' chests. What more inspiration could they ask for?

"We, as the men of Dream SMP, must fight this war. Scare them, fight them, gain victory. To do this, we must work as a team and show them that they made a grave mistake. Our first step is lighting these trees that surround their land on fire. Tarnish their natural resources, something we are plentiful in."

"I am going to give each of you a piece of flint and a piece of steel. Burn the trees, and when we are done, we will build a wall of stone over their water and around their building. Ready?"

The boys nodded, each taking their items from Dream's hands and deciding on a direction to run in. 

SapNap could see the heads of L'Manberg members peeking past the iron gated windows. Curiosity was overwhelming them as they saw their enemies formulating a plan. 

"GO!" Dream shouted, he too taking off in his own direction and lighting trees on fire. 

Tommy and Wilbur ran out past the doors of their empire and out to the bridge above the moat. "What are you doing, you green bastard!?!" Tommy shouted. He pulled out his arrow and grabbed an arrow. "I'm going to kill you, idiots!" He cried and aimed his arrow. 

"No!" Wilbur yelled as he pushed the bow down, resulting in the arrow being shot at the ground. 

"What the hell!" Tommy questioned, shoving Wilbur off of him. 

"Let them. It's what Dream wants. They want us to fight back or surrender, but we won't. If we shoot before them, they will fire back, and we are not prepared. We need to use these few hours we have left to prepare. We  can't give in." Wilbur said, pulling Tommy back inside. Tommy resisted being pulled back, staring at SapNap as he lit another tree on fire, looking back and making eye contact with the boy. The sinister smile sent chills down Tommy's back, and he stopped fighting back, letting Wilbur finally pull him in. 

Most of the trees were gone within minutes, and Dream was already working on placing cobblestone blocks in the water and towering around L'Manberg. 

Fundy and Eret took in the damage of the land as they watched from a tower within their territory. "Dream is psychotic. This war is going to get messy..." Eret said in an amused voice. "How are we ever going to win this?"

Hours later and the Dream Team walked over to L'Manberg once again, hoping to see white flags. A whole day had passed in the server by now. A full 24 hours in Minecraft was only a few in real life, but time felt different in virtual reality. 

The members of L'Manberg walked out, looking around at the destruction the enemies had caused earlier. So much gone, and the war was yet to truly begin...

The sun had just risen, and there was a brisk breeze that blew past the men. Chickens could be heard nearby, and all men stood on guard, prepared to fight any hostile mob that approached. Dream looked at the men and opened his arms out, waving to the lack of white flags. "Where are the flags? Do you really want to continue with war?" 

Wilbur looked to his men before taking a deep breath and looking to his opponents.

"Independence or death,

If we get no revolution...

Then we want nothing.

We would rather die than give into you,

And join your SMP!"

Dream was nothing short of surprised. "Yes," he thought. "We can continue." 

George's face was adorned with a look of shock. He took a step forward, drawing his sword out and looking at the men across from him. SapNap saw this and drew out his bow, watching the enchantment glow in his hand. Punz drew no weapon but took a step forward, falling in line with his team. 

"As you wish. The war will proceed. Tomorrow morning, in real-time, we log back in and begin. For now, we rest." Dream proposed.

"Fair enough. Tomorrow morning it is!" Tommy interjected, beating Wilbur to the agreement. 

"Escape Game" Tubbo was first to say. "What? Escape Game. Escape Game!" Tubbo's voice took a slight panicked turn, and the men broke character to look at him in confusion. "It's not working!" Tubbo shouted. 

"What do you mean it's not working?" Wilbur asked. 

"Escape Game" George tried but remained in-game. 

'ERROR: WAR IS IN SESSION. FINISH WAR TO ESCAPE GAME.'

Dream scoffed, reading his player screen. 

The players looked at Dream. "What are we going to do now?!" Fundy screamed. Panic begins to creep upon the men, but neither showed it. 

"If I declare it over, we should be able to exit, right? I didn't even know this rule existed, must be part of the update. So stupid." Dream stated as he walked back and forth between the groups of players. 

"Dream's right, it probably just a stupid update or a glitch," SapNap agreed and aimed at the sun, before shooting an arrow, "stupid game."

"I declare the war over." Dream said confidently.

'ERROR: UNABLE TO ESC WAR, NO ACTION HAS BEEN TAKEN. WAR VICTORY ACHIEVEMENT NEEDED TO ESC/END WAR.'

Chapter Text

By the time the boys made it into their homes, the sun was setting.

Wilbur sat on the edge of his bed, taking off his boots and laying back across the bottom of his bed.

War.

Would Dream be willing to declare L'Manberg independence? Or will they be forced to give in to the SMP? How long will this last? So many questions ran through Wilbur's mind, each one increasing his worries regarding the war.

Before turning in for the night, Wilbur and Dream met up; the first battle would take place at the grounds of L'Manberg.

'We have the upper hand. We are familiar with both of the nations' lands while they only know their own.'

With that final thought, Wilbur stood up, taking the covers off his bed and walked over to the corner of his room. A bright and hot flame danced in the slight breeze that came from the windows in Wilbur's home. He slowly reached over and extinguished the fire in the lantern, leaving him standing in the dark.

'We will win, no matter what it takes. We will win, and Dream will die, trying to defend his nation...'

The intrusive thought caused Wilbur to shake his head. To say Wilbur was confused would've been an understatement. This war is just a game, why was he thinking like that?

'That's not me. I love my friends more than a ridiculous war. What the hell was that thought about?'  Wilbur thought as he laid down. His curly brown hair tickled his neck, and he turned onto his side. Sleep was what he needed; he's not in his right state of mind, right?

Across the hills that surrounded L'Manberg, the boys of Dream SMP were restless. George sat on his bed, back against the wall as he stared at the threatening sword in front of him. George was just sharpening his sword earlier, the weight of the handle resting comfortably against the palm of his hand when he accidentally nicked his finger. The sting that radiated from his finger was real. His brows furrowed as he watched a drop of blood drip from his small cut. "Huh. That's weird." George said out loud. Was his game glitched? They're not supposed to feel pain, much less bleed. 

'Maybe it's just in my head,' he thought.

None of the other boys had mentioned anything similar to what he experienced. George stood up and put his sword away, resting it on top of the chest that decorated the corner of his room. He just imagined it. There's no way he got hurt. Slowly, he removed his goggles from his head and put them on the stone slab that stood beside his bed. He couldn't help but stare into the darkness as he laid on his bed. He wished he could exit the game and rest in his actual bed. Funny how he already missed his real-life room. He only wished he spent more time decorating his in-game home because now he felt lonely in the darkness.

Dream was sitting in the pet house where all their pets lived. His unnamed dog was sitting in front of him, frantically shaking its tail while Dream softly pet one of its ears. 

"What do you think? Is it my fault what we're in this mess? I swear it was just a game, I didn't know this war achievement existed..." Dream softly asked his dog. The dog tilted its head, noticing the change in Dream's tone. It whined and nudged its head against Dreams hand, a small attempt to comfort its owner. "What am I saying? It's just a  game, right? I'm just overthinking this," he said as he stood up. He gave the dog a piece of meat before walking out the door and shutting it behind him. "Goodnight," he said as he walked back to his house with a bow and arrow in hand, always prepared for hostile mobs that could threaten his night. 

-

By dawn the next day, Tommy was dressed and running back and forth between his comrades' houses. "Wake up, you idiot!" He screamed as he practically dragged Tubbo out of his bed. "I'm up! I'm up!" Tubbo whined as he slipped his feet into his boots. Wilbur stepped into the doorway, still groggy himself and yawned. "We need to be in the fortress within the next 10 minutes. I'm going to head over and start the preparations. I don't doubt that Dream and his men are almost here," Wilbur said and gave the two boys a nod before walking out. 

Fundy and Eret were jogging up the fortress when Wilbur opened the gates. "Hurry in lads. Get suited up," Wilbur rushed and shut the gate behind him, making sure to look out for the enemies behind him. 

When all the men of L'Manberg were suited up, Wilbur smiled at them. "We can do this. Today is only the first battle, do not exert yourselves, my men. This battle, we weaken them. Scare them to show them that we are capable of that and more." He looked around the sun barely beginning to rise, before continuing, "Remember not to use the best of your weapons at first." His eyes fell to the ground before him before looking up at his men with a powerful look that made Eret breathless for half a second, "And most importantly, do not fire first." Wilbur stated and turned to start walking to the main gates. 

The men marched out of their fortress, each with their weapon in hand. 

Dream and his men were fast approaching. Wilbur stared at the hooded man walking over, enchanted bow in hand while George and SapNap followed close behind, Punz trailing behind, killing a zombie that was pursuing them. There was an anxiety that was bubbling within Wilbur; the war was about to begin. His palms were sweaty, and suddenly, he couldn't remember his suit ever being as hot and uncomfortable as it felt at that moment. 

Dream turned to his men, the cold morning breeze felt like needles on his exposed face. "Find your places. Remember everything I told you guys back there. I will join shortly," he said before turning back and walking up to Wilbur. 

Both nations scattered among the land, each in their places for fire. 

Tommy stood beside Tubbo, the grip on his bow was deadly, but Tommy refused to let up. Their blue coats blew with the cold wind, but sweat droplets were already threatening to peak past his hat. His piercing blue eyes were dead set on the green hooded man. And if looks could kill, Dream would have been spitting up blood while withering on the ground. Fundy sported his enchanted sword, both hands on the hilt with a gentle grip. He looked at the men across from him and swallowed hard. 

George had a sword similar to his, but Fundy could only imagine which enchantment George had chosen to with his weapon. It was a little comical to see the men in L'Manberg dressed in coordination with each other while the members of the Dream SMP remained in their casual hoodies and t-shirts. Each man, however, sported their enchanted armor. Fundy could see SapNap's signature flame tee past the glowing chest plate and the black long sleeve that covered his arms from the sun that was rising in the sky. 

Punz watched Eret as he raised his helmet to his head. He left his hood down, opting for a more secure head covering. Eret had chosen otherwise and chose to remain without a helmet. He looked back at Wilbur and Dream, watching them shake hands before departing from the middle. At this, Eret quickly drew his sword, but the glowing tool seemed to weigh him down. Punz mentally noted it.

SapNap watched Dream turn away from Wilbur and start walking back. His grip on his bow tightened, and he reached for an arrow from his quiver. He readjusted his grip, the black tape on his fingertips contrasting against the pearlescent enchantment of his bow. 

Dream reached up to the mask atop his head before he slowly lowered it, simultaneously hiding the sly grin on his face that matched that of his members. His archery glove clad hands reached for his hood as he pulled it to cover his messy hair. 

A small nod of his head towards his men was all it took. George lowered his goggles to cover his eyes and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. 

Tommy's hand itched, wanting to use his bow, but he restrained. "Do not fire first." Wilbur's voice echoed in his head. 

'Fire the arrow. Fire it at George and Dream will be quick to respond. He's protective over his elder. Aim and fire.' a voice in Tommy's head taunted. He shook his head, disagreeing with the demon inside of him.

' No, Wilbur said we would not fire first. Why aren't they shooting? He's waiting on us, isn't he?' 

His arm slowly brought the bow up, aiming at George. Wilbur quickly looked at him and gave him a disapproving look. 

"Tommy. Do not fire. I know you have a thing for breaking the rules, but now is not the bloody time for that!" Wilbur hissed at him. He looked at Dream, who looked up, realizing that Tommy aimed the arrow at the shorter brunette a few yards from him. "GEORGE!" Dream shouted, raising his shield as he looked between Tommy and George.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion. In the way, Tommy's hand adjusted his grip on the belly of the bow and pulled the string back, aiming the sharpened arrow. Wilbur turned back to Tommy, starting to run in his direction, watching Tubbo also run towards his friend. Tommy could see Wilbur shouting, "NO!" but he couldn't hear him. Everything went silent, except for the voice in his head. 

'Fire!'

Before he could comprehend the thought, his body acted and released the taut string from his fingers. Next thing he knew, he was on the ground, both Wilbur and Tubbo, on top of him, but they were too late. They turned, watching the arrow fly directly to George. 

George moved to dodge the arrow but didn't move fast enough. The arrow nicked his arm before falling to the ground behind him. 

Red was all SapNap saw as he ran towards George with Dream and Punz close behind. 

A shout of pain erupted from the older as he took a couple of steps back, taken aback from the momentum of the arrow.

His hand let go of his sword and reached up to where the pain was coming. It was warm, too warm. He looked up and saw the scared look on Punz's face and then looked at his arm.

Blood.

"H-He's... he's bleeding, Wilbur," Tubbo gasped before standing up and jogging to the group across from him. 

Dream heard the quick feet coming closer and closer. Without hesitation, he reached back, pulling an arrow from the quiver slung across his back. Quickly, he pulled the tail of his arrow against the string and aimed. 

Tubbo stopped in his tracks, his hands up. 

"Don't come closer." Dream threatened. 

"Why did you shoot Tommy! I- oh my god. He's bleeding. What the hell?" Wilbur said, becoming overwhelmed by the string of events that had just unfolded. 

"W-Wilbur, I don't know what happened! I didn't want to! I tried to resist it but I- I swear, a voice in my head told me to do it! I didn't even aim it, it's like my body took control over itself and fired it! Holy shit, why is he bleeding?" Tommy stammered. He stood up, chasing after the rest of the men that were approaching the opposing team. 

SapNap and Dream had their arrows pointed at the men of L'Manberg, threatening to shoot if anyone took a step closer. George stood up and wiped his hand on his pants. "What the hell? Why am I bleeding? Why does it hurt? Is my game glitched?" George asked Punz as the blonde pulled out a white bandana and tied it around George's arm. 

"What's going on?" Fundy asked, now scared about the injury George sustained. 

"I didn't- I don't know how that happened- George. I'm sorry-" Tommy tried, but SapNap stopped him. "Shut up, Tommy, we're about to figure this out, right Dream?" the younger asked the hooded leader. The panic was evident in SapNap's voice, and Dream felt helpless. He didn't know what to do, but his hands were becoming shakier the longer he held the bow in his tight grip. 

"Right?!" SapNap stressed, pleading for Dream to reassure him that everything would be okay. 

George's hand reached for his sword, and he pulled it out, pointing it towards the blonde brit. 

"George, what are you doing?" Punz's voice seemed distant in George's head. It sounded muffled, and so... unimportant. 

'Charge at him. Fight him. He hurt you. Do it!' the strange voice screamed. George flinched and lost his stance for a second before his body recovered. 

'No, he's my friend. He didn't know.' George tried to convince himself. 

'He has to pay, make him pay. He hurt you. He's capable of hurting the rest of your friends!' the voice rang inside his head in the worst way possible, making him wince at the echo.

He could see Dreams confused face in front of him, waving his hands in his face, trying to elicit a reaction from the elder. He felt like he was drowning, with no control over his own body or thoughts. He resisted the urge to fight Tommy, shaking his head, further confusing his friends. "Stop-" he cried, but his own body betrayed him. 

George shoved past Dream. His body charged at the boy a few yards from him; his sword swung back before he brought it down, striking the younger. Tommy blocked the hit with his shield before falling from the impact. 

"George!" SapNap shouted, running to his friend and pulling him off the younger. "What the hell, man?" 

George was breathing heavily at this point. "What just happened?"

Chapter Text

Wilbur could feel the panic and anticipation practically dripping off of his team members. Tommy looked like he wanted to cry. Dream was holding George back from the back of his shirt. 

"You selfish and childish bitch!" Tommy yelled at the elder. There was newfound anger that was seeping into the boys' bodies, and neither knew how to control it. 

Punz grabbed the hilt of his sword and felt his body become heavy with anger and the desire for revenge. SapNap directed an arrow at Tommy, almost challenging him to disrespect George again. Fundy watched the scene unfold before him. There was nothing that could mend the situation at the moment. 

It was almost as if a switch had flipped within their heads. One moment, they were friends, but then they stood there, looking at their adversaries.  

Dream could barely manage to formulate a coherent thought as he struggled against the intrusive thoughts that were invading his mind. Had he a lack of self-control, there was no doubt in his mind that he would have already fired at Wilbur for looking at SapNap and George with threatening eyes. He shut his eyes, a searing pain halting his logic and reasoning before his conscious was no longer a valid player in the war. 

SapNap was the first to fire an arrow. Tommy quickly reacted, raising his shield to block the threat. 

At this, the men of L'Manberg ran. The went back to their previous positions, creating the barrier of distance between them and their enemies. Punz had pulled out his sword by that time and began running towards Eret. Dream watched Tommy pull back another arrow and aim it at him. Dream countered this with the same action, pointing an arrow at the younger and backing up to hide behind a stone pillar. 

There was a shout of pain that came from Dream's left side. Fundy now sported a pretty deep slice on his forearm. He raised his sword and swung it at SapNap, creating a laceration on his chin. "Too much distance between you and him," the voice in Fundy's head countered. "Get closer." 

SapNap retreated, grasping his chin. Fundy took the chance to take a few steps back, gripping his arm to stop the bleeding. George ran to SapNap and began to place blocks. He created a wooden wall, five blocks wide, and two blocks tall. "Get behind the wall!!" George shouted, aiming his bow and arrow at Wilbur as he backed up. 

Dream watched as Tommy continued to aim at him. The new fort was just a few blocks away. "If you run, he'll shoot. Aim, fire, and run." 

His hands were sweaty. He studied Tommy's position. He watched Wilbur attempt to shoot at the wall that George had built. He opened his fingers, keeping the belly of the bow between his thumb and his palm. A quick stretch of his fingers and his death grip returned. The bow quickly pointed at Tubbo, and Tommy's eyes went wide. His teammate was not aware of Dream's sudden change of target. 

"Fire at me! Come on, you stupid green tyrant! Stop hiding!" Tommy shouted as he took a step closer to the stone pillar. 

Dream took the opportunity of Tommy's momentary distraction and pointed the arrow again at Tommy. His right hand pulled the string as tight as he could before he released it. Quickly after, Dream looked towards George, who was watching him and sprinted as fast as he could. 

Tommy evaded the arrow, letting it stab into the ground behind him as he aimed his arrow at Dream and releasing the taut string. If Dream had started his sprint just one second before, Tommy would have shot him right in the torso. 

Dream watched the arrow fly right in front of him before he dived. He landed on his hands and knees behind the safety of the wooden fort. 

Tommy ran back to Wilbur, where he helped Tubbo build a wooden wall to shield them from the onslaught of arrows that SapNap and Punz were shooting. 

"What are we to do? What's the plan, Wilbur?" Tommy asked as he peeked past the wall. 

"We need to hurt them. That way, their attacks are less aggressive and less effective. They're behind a fort, so we need to build up and shoot at them-"  Wilbur said, trying to formulate an active attack. Tubbo interrupted him quickly, "No! We dig. If we make them think that we are going to shoot from above, then they will focus on that.

Meanwhile, two of us will dig down. Wilbur covers the entrance holes. We won't dig directly down, dig down at first, go three blocks deep, and one digs right, the other left, and we then dig straight ahead until we reach them. Fundy, look at how many blocks we need to dig forward." Tubbo quickly explained. His mind was working at 100 miles per hour as he tried to think up of the plan. 

"That's brilliant, Tubbo!" Tommy encouraged and grabbed his friend by the shoulders, shaking him with happiness. 

"Right, so who digs and who shoots?" Fund asked, flinching when an arrow strikes against the wall, causing a thud to echo. 

The sweat was dripping down their faces, making them wish they had started the war later when the sun was not so hot. 

"Tubbo and Fundy dig down. We shoot from the top. Do you guys have shovels? We need blocks to build up, build two out and two up, platforms for us to shoot as well, and most importantly, be careful my men."

Chapter Text

Hey!

I'd like to first come forward and say that I am sorry for the lack of updates. This story did not have much of a popular uptake when I first started it, so I wasn't exactly pressured to continue updates. I work and go to school and well getting a degree, do be stressful. Aside from that, I struggled with personal issues that hindered my social interaction on any platform and my ability to create any type of content.

Either way, I do like this idea and miss writing so much now that I'm on summer break. My only issue is that I am no longer up to date with the SMP and what transpired in the past few months. Although the plot is not closely related to what actually happened on the SMP, I do use those events for context and possible inspiration. While I do plan on doing some research, it would be lovely if any of you would like to send me a brief summary of what happened or possibly ideas you think would be interesting to explore in the writing of this story. (Make sure to mention which of those categories your response applies to.)

I will include the link to an anonymous google forum that you can use or you can comment below. Again, I'm sorry to anyone who awaited an update, as you all know, life is hectic haha. Thank you for the lovely comments I received in prior chapters, it really does mean the world to me. I hope to hear from some of you soon <3

LINK to Google Forum <3