Hideaway: A Dream SMP AU

1

L'Manburg was still so beautiful, with the floating lanterns and shimmering water— yet darker, somehow.

Tommy peered over the edge of the roof of the house he'd chosen to perch on, Technoblade close behind.

Below, Tommy saw happiness. He saw smiles and laughs. He thought, just for a moment, a brief flash, that this festival was a peaceful event.

Then he saw Tubbo.

New L'Manburg's president was smiling. He looked every inch the cheerful yet composed leader.

But Tommy knew Tubbo better than that. There was a glint in Tubbo's wintry blue eyes, a shimmer of dark determination tinged with fear— the way Tubbo had looked as he exiled Tommy, the way he'd looked on November 16th.

Tubbo was planning to hurt someone today.

As Tommy watched, Tubbo and his cabinet vanished into the Camarvan, their heads close together. So the cabinet was in on this, too.

When they emerged, Tommy's uneasiness grew.

Quackity and Fundy were now wearing blood-splattered aprons over their clothes.

Techno let out a low growl. "That's what they wore when they came to kill me," he muttered. "That's what they wear— the Butcher Army."

The Butcher Army.

Tommy had heard about Tubbo's failed attempt to murder Technoblade, but he hadn't quite believed it until this moment, watching Tubbo stride confidently among his blood-splattered friends, a dark glint in his eyes and a cheerful smile on his face.

He's enjoying this. Whatever he's doing, he's enjoying it.

The thought sickened him, and Tommy closed his eyes, trying to block out the feeling.

Microphone feedback blared suddenly, and Tommy's eyes flew open with a wince. The cabinet was on the podium. Tommy watched as Tubbo beamed at the crowd, his smile friendly and excited. To anyone who didn't know Tubbo as well as Tommy did, he seemed completely at ease.

"Friends." Tubbo's voice was steady, but Tommy was certain he wasn't imagining the undertone of fear in the word.

"We're gathered here today to... celebrate." Tubbo's voice dipped on the last word, so slightly it was almost imperceptible.

"This is... oh, I'm so bad at speeches." Tubbo's smile turned genuine for a moment, and just for a second, Tommy saw his Tubbo, his sweet, harmless best friend.

A ripple of friendly laughter passed over the crowd, and Tubbo continued, now smiling for real, his words tinged with a new warmth.

"Right, right, right. Friends, we are gathered here today to celebrate. I'll be honest. It has been... a hard winter for everyone."

Is he talking about exiling me? Does he regret it? Does he wish I was down there with him? Tommy wondered for half a second, then brushed the thought away. Tubbo didn't care about him.

"But... I want us all to join together. We've got some games planned for everyone. I want us all to band together as a community. A collective, if you will. And work together to better the nation, moving forward."

Work together to better the nation? Some of these people aren't even L'Manburgian. What does he really want?

"So I really just want everyone to have fun today. The idea of today is to have fun. If you don't have fun, you're doing it wrong."

That elicited a few laughs, but not from Tommy.

If that was even remotely true, you wouldn't be acting like this. If all you wanted was to have fun, you wouldn't have called this a festival.

"So, without further ado, I'd like you all to go collect the games. I know Fundy has some games planned, and Ranboo. They've been busy working in the decoration department."

Tubbo was silent for a long moment, staring at the crowd, and Tommy was suddenly sure that he was seeing himself on a different podium, surrounded by a different cabinet, about to say the words that could destroy his country—

And Tubbo said them, just like he did months before.

"Let the festival begin!"

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So, yeah. And so we begin.

I'm not quite sure if Tubbo is a villain here or not... I didn't really make him one on purpose; I just tried to portray him the way Tommy would've seen him in the moment.

In case you didn't read the book description, this is not the same universe as Runaways. They didn't run away together. It's just another book with the concept of "what if."

Should I make this a thing? Like, the "What If" series? Should I make more?