The Antarctic Empire

14. Battleground

It had been a week since they had been thrown down here. A whole week.

Wilbur had joined them on the second day, in the cell across the hall from theirs. He looked tired and beaten up, but other than that, he was okay.

The guards had helped them as much as they could, bringing them bandages and food when they were able. It wasn't much, but it was nice.

Sally and Fundy must have escaped in the chaos, they decided. And news from the guards told them that Dream and his army were on the verge of breaking in to help.

These people really had it out for royals, and they were strong.

Over it all, Tommy couldn't help but worry for Tubbo and his family. He hoped they had made it out before the castle went under siege. If something happened to his best friend... he didn't know what he would do.

~•~

Tommy slumped against the wall of the cell, body bruised and aching, all of his muscles were tired. He wondered what they were up to, upstairs. He could hear people walking, talking, sometimes even laughing. He wondered who all was up there.

They had stopped questioning the three after the first few days, realizing that they were stubborn enough to not give anything away.

Funnily enough, they were trained to go through this sort of stuff at a pretty young age.

You die before you give anything away.

~•~

Tommy awoke to Technos arm around him. The ground was cold and hard, but he could feel his brother breathing.

He reached up and felt the bandage that was wrapped around his head, partially covering an eye. The rebel group was not quick to grant mercy to the royals, even though Tommy was still young.

The castle was silent. It had been a long time since it had been quiet, completely quiet. Even down here, they usually heard someone out up the stairs. It was late, but there was always someone up there moving around.

It was weird.

He sat up slowly, to not wake his brother.

There really was no sound. That wasn't normal, and it certainly didn't help the growing pit in his stomach.

"Techno, Techno wake up." Tommy whispered when he heard a lone pair of footsteps running towards the stairs. His brother sat up quickly. He stood next to where Tommy had gotten up, shielding him with his body.

Wilbur stirred awake in a moment, just as the footsteps echoed down the stairs.

There was a small figure that appeared in the dim glowing light, dressed in all black, holding a ring of keys.

"We don't have much time, okay?" The figure spoke, unlocking their cells. None of them moved.

"Are you coming or what?" He asked, pulling off his hat.

It was Tubbo.

"Tubbo!" Tommy cheered, rushing forward and hugging him.

"Come on, Dream and his army are pushing them out of the castle!" He grabbed Tommys hand. "Sally and Fundy are up there too, Wil, they're safe." He said, before tugging Tommy up the stairs. The two older boys followed along.

The castle was a mess. Paintings were broken and torn on the ground, windows smashed, and the carpets were ripped up. Tommy frowned as they ventured through the remains.

He could hear fighting up ahead as they got closer to the front gates. There was blood on the floor here, bodies littering the ground, and weapons. Tommy grabbed a sword off of one of the bodies, his brothers following suit.

Guns were used, but only were held by the highest officials. And their kingdom usually never used them.

Speaking of which, he heard a gunshot from up ahead, flinching.

"Dreams up here!" Tubbo said, weaving through the mess at the front gates. They saw Dream in all his glory, without a scratch on him. He wasn't in formal attire, rather, armor.

"King Tommy, good to see you." Dream clapped him on the back. "Technoblade and William, good to meet you." He extended a hand.

"We don't have time for formalities. I'm Techno, and that's Wil. What do you need?"

"Well, we have it pretty under control." He looked out over the fighting. Most of it seemed to be over, remaining rebels were being handcuffed and led away. "We came as soon as I heard. I apologize we were not able to save King Philza." He looked genuinely sorry.

"No one could have predicted it." Wilbur said, shaking his head. "It's alright."

"Wil!" They heard a yell. Through the chaos, coming towards them, was Sally. She had a bright smile on her face as she raced towards her husband.

"Oh thank god." Wilbur muttered, catching her as she threw her arms around him.

"Thank god you're safe." They heard Sally say softly. "Are you three okay?"

"We're all fine, love." Wilbur responded quietly. "Where's Fundy?"

"With my family. When everything happened, the guards took us out the back and straight to my families house. No one ever found out where we were. Tubbo and his family came with us, to be safe." She explained.

She pulled away from the hug long enough to put a hand on his face and kiss him deeply, and while Tommy wanted to joke around and gag, it didn't seem like the right time.

"Alright, Tommy." Dream looked to him, after a moment. "I know this is a lot for you, but you are king now. What do we do with the remaining rebels?" He asked, giving him full control over the situation.

Tommy took a deep breath.

"Terrorists or not, they still get a trial. Try to see if they'll tell you if there's more of them. Anyone found guilty gets life in prison." He nodded.

"Are you sure?" Dream asked. "We can sentence them to death."

Tommy shook his head. "We don't need more death." He looked out over the bodies. "And all of them, set up a system to identify them so their families can claim and bury them. Those who aren't claimed will get blank gravestones in a week."

He looked at his brothers, who seemed impressed.

"And someone find my dads body. He needs a proper funeral."

~•~

Hiiiiii all. I hope you enjoyed!

The last chapter will be out tomorrow.

Thank you all for reading!