Good Things Never Last

Chapter 6

"Uh, guys? Sorry to interrupt but we may have a problem"

Everyone slowly turned to face Tubbo, who was peeking out the window, obviously terrified of whatever he was seeing. I approached the boy and gently placed my hand on his shoulder.

"What is it Tubbo?"
He whirled back to face me, a horrified expression on his face. His gaze darted from person to person in the room until settling on Wilbur.

"They're surrounding us Wilbur"
The boy then stood up and moved over to his leader from his seat in the corner of the room.

"They're at each corner sir"
The smile that had been on Wilbur's face moments before had completely vanished.

"Right everyone, I want you all to wait here. I'm going to go out and see exactly what their intentions are, okay?"
We all nodded and watched as Wilbur walked through the threshold with Tommy close behind him. Eret, Fundy, Tubbo, and I exchanged glances before following the pair, entirely disregarding what Wilbur had said only moments before.

As I approached the door, I noticed Wilbur standing outside with Tommy close behind him.

"Stand your ground Wilbur. See if they shoot."
Tommy's attempt at whispering was absolutely atrocious. I heard him from where I was standing, and I'm sure Dream did as well. Wilbur took another step out into the open with Tommy following him, but the pair were met by an arrow that flew past their heads and slammed into the door frame where Tommy had stood only moments before.

"Gentleman"
Wilbur managed to keep his words steady, not a sign of fear in his voice, at least not that I could hear.

"How are you?"
He went on in a calm manner, earning a giggle from both me and Tommy.

Silence.

No one moved or talked, and that was all that could be heard. I couldn't even hear people breathing around me. The seconds we stood there seemed to stretch on for hours, anticipation filling the air until we heard a soft thud coming from our group's left.

I snapped my head towards the sound, looking for the source of it. I caught sight of him almost instantly. He was dressed in glowing netherite armour, wielding a shining axe in one hand and a shield in the other. His hood was pulled up over his head, completely hiding his hair. But my gaze was drawn to the mask, the mask with its psychopathic smiley face on it, shining as the sun hit it.

"Good, we're good Wilbur"
His voice was hushed, and he sounded threatening. He must have had a grin on his face. You could practically hear it.

"How do you like the view of our nation?"
Wilbur took another step forward. Tommy was quick to move right behind him as I finally stepped through the doorway, surveying our surroundings to assess the situation. Three other men all towered above us, peering down from our country's high walls. They were all as well-armed as Dream, though they seemingly lacked his ego.

"Wilbur sir, aren't we a little outgunned here?"
Eret's voice was as calm and collected as Wilbur's. He stood slightly behind my left shoulder and I could see their concerned expression out of the corner of my eye.

"We're out outgunned, outmanned, outnumbered, outplanned..."
"You know, I thought this place was a trailer park at first"
My head shot up as I watched our enemy come to stand in front of us, leaving us metres away. From beneath his mask, I felt his burning gaze on me, just as I had the first time I saw him. He was taller and more built than I expected him to be up close. He had fingerless gloves wrapped around the hilt of his axe, still dressed in the classic green sweatshirt and black trousers, standing tall and proud as if he'd already won.

"Haha, very funny"
Wilbur's voice jolted me out of my daze, entirely oblivious of the fact that I had been staring at the masked man. I quickly looked away as I watched the masked man tilt his head ever so slightly as the dead eyes of the mask stared into my soul.

"Now listen..."
"YEAH BITCH... sorry sorry, I'm just trying to hype you up Wilbur"
I jumped slightly at the change of volume, gaining a chuckle from Fundy as he patted me on the back.

"Dream, it seems like you've gained the upper hand. We will meet you in the field... but on our own terms"
"YEAHHHH"
Rolling my eyes at my brother's antics, I walked over to him.

"Tommy shush"
I nudged Tommy with my elbow and glared at him, only to find him grinning wildly as he shoved me. Returning my gaze to the ongoing conversation, I saw Dream pull out an ender pearl before quickly throwing it, and he just seemed to completely vanish a couple of moments later.

The next thing I knew, an arrow went flying through the air and grazed Tommy's cheek. I took a step back and immediately turned to see where the arrow had come from.

"OI YOU BASTARD, WHAT WAS THAT FOR?"
The man who attempted to shoot my brother appeared to be smaller than the others, and his dark hair was topped with bright white clout goggles, making him stand out. He just stood frozen with a surprised expression on his face, as if he hadn't intended to let go of the arrow.

"Listen guys, listen, I'm old. I'm old and frail. I'm too old to be doing this stuff"
Subtly flipping the goggles guy off as he pulled out an ender pearl, I turned to face Wilbur, who'd lowered his voice to a whisper.

"Y/N, I'm putting you in charge of this army. You have the skills. You have the practice. You'll know what to do"
My eyes widened in shock as I stepped back a little from the group of L'Manburgians.

"Wilbur are you sure?"
There wasn't even a moment of silence before he replied.

"Positive"