The Rise and the Fall ~ A Dream SMP Story

Be Ready

Bees POV

I walk back to Pogtopia when I hear someone in the woods behind me. I turn to see a familiar beanie and wave of brown hair.

"Where have you been?" I hiss at Wilbur. All that time Tommy, Dream and I spent bandaging up a broken Tubbo he was MIA. A flash of anger flew through me. But it was a flash, a fleeting moment of light that was gone in the blink of an eye. Wilbur looked terrible. His eyes were wide and surrounded by red puffy bags caused from stress and lack of sleep. He ran his fingers through his tangled hair. He was mumbling something to himself and was staring at the ground. He walked right by me, like I didn't even exist. "Wilbur!" I say, a bit louder. He stops mumbling his gibberish and stares up at me.

"I lost it." Was all he said, staring blankly in my eyes. I walked closer to him, wrapping an arm around his tense shoulders. He relaxed a little to my touch. I knew Wilbur went through a lot. The first war was enough blood and death to tourcher one person for a lifetime. And yet, Wilbur was the voice in all of that, he was the one person we all leaned on for all that time, we needed him to reassure us and tell us everything would be okay. But we also needed him to be the voice of the revolution, the hope. But now, all of that pressure and all that stress is rebounding. It's our turn to be that for him. He needs someone now. But we might be too late to take the role.

"What did you lose, Will?" I ask softly.

"The damn button. I couldn't find it." He growls, but not at me, at himself. I had to suppress a sigh of relief. That button would have destroyed everything Tommy, Tubbo and I have been fighting to get back. If we blew it up all the bloodshed of every war in our past would have been for nothing. Tubbos pain would be for nothing. But instead I just stayed silent as I walked Wilbur into Pogtopia. He stumbled a little, he needed sleep. He wasn't thinking clearly. But now that I think about it, I think we all need more sleep than we were getting. I quietly slipped Wilbur past a sleeping Tubbo and Tommy and brought him down to the main part of Pogtopia. I took some wool and woods and quickly constructed a small bed for Wilbur. He sat down on the bed once I finished. I sighed looking at the soft sheets. I needed sleep too but someone had to keep watch.

Wilbur pulled off his jacket and threw it to the floor. I rolled my eyes looking at the warm grey jacket. I picked it up and placed it in a chest near by. When I turned back to Wilbur he was sitting still on the edge of the bed.

"You need sleep, Will. Lay down." I insist but he ignores me. I sit next to him on the bed.

"Have you ever wondered how you'll die?" He asks suddenly. The question catches me off guard and it takes me a moment to find an answer.

"Yes. I have. Why do you ask?"

"Have you ever heard the saying 'You either die a hero or live long enough to become the villain'?" Replies Wilbur, ignoring my question. "I never realized how true that is till now."

There was a moment of silence as we both thought. I stood to leave when Wilbur grabbed my wrist.

"Will, get some sleep please." I plead. Wilburs hand still holds my wrist.

"Stay?"

I pause. Hearing the sadness in his voice. He sounded so broken. It was the most human he'd sounded in days.

"Fine. But only for a little." I give in. Wilbur doesn't smile but I can see a change in his features and his touch relaxes. He climbs under the cover and snuggles into the pillow. I lay on top of the covers next to Will. Close enough for him to sense my presence but far enough away that once he's asleep I'll be able to slip away. It doesn't take long for Wilbur to pass out. I know it's been days since he's gotten sleep. Honestly I couldn't believe anyone could sleep after today's events. I know I couldn't.

I stood from the bed, looking down at Wilbur. Even in sleep I could see the anger in his features. I turned and walked over to a chest and opened it, hoping to find food of some type. But instead, the chest was filled with the blue, ripped fabric of our old L'manburg uniforms. I smile as I think back on the memories. I dig through the chest finding our old flag folded on the bottom. It wasn't the big flag, for that flag had burned and withered away. I took the flag and slid it in my backpack so I could have it on me just in case. I head back upstairs to keep watch, the night is cold and I sit in the grass, wrapping a blanket around my shoulders to keep warm from the chilling, night breeze. I listen to the trees rustle around us as the wind passes through them. In a way it was nice to know that somethings will never change. Todays been a long day. But everything will be okay now, Tubbos safe, Wilburs in bed, Tommys sleeping, and Dream has finally earned my trust.

The sky was yellow and the clouds were pink giving the last moment of the day a colorful glow that made me smile. I leaned my head on Dream's shoulder as we stared off into the horizon. If only everyday could've been like this. I closed my eyes and opened them again. But now I was looking up at Dream, his hands were underneath my back and legs supporting my body as he carried me inside. The sky was now dark and the stars were sparking brightly in the distance. I smiled up sleepily at Dream who laughed lightly at me. My heart warmed as I felt Dreams heartbeat through his sweatshirt. I leaned into him more as he carried me, finding comfort in the steady beats. They slowly lulled me back to sleep...

I opened my eyes to the forest around Pogtopia. The sun was rising in the distance and the ground was covered in a wet dew. I shivered as the cold seemed to stroke my bones. I curled my blanket tighter around me. My back and shoulders were sore from sleeping in a weird position.

I stood up and stretched, waking myself up a little. I walked inside to see Tubbo still sleeping, he was snoring a little and it made me smile. I looked over at Tommy who was sitting on the floor head in hands. I saw something small and clear fall from his face, it splashed on the ground with the tiniest plop. I moved to sit next to him, he jumped when he felt me next to him. When he realizes it was me he sighs and looks back down at the ground. I know he blames himself for Tubbo getting hurt. I blame myself too. If we would've realized earlier than he would've never gotten hurt. We should've never let him leave that night he came a few weeks ago. He would've been safe in Pogtopia, smiling and laughing. But instead he's in pain after being shot in the side with a firework.

"What do we do?" Tommy asks, turning to me. His eyes are full of worry and I can tell that he's scared. An emotion he doesn't show much.

"Our first priority is to heal up. Sleep, eat and build up our supplies. Something tells me Schlatt will take everything that happened yesterday and turn it against us. We have to be ready for war."