PHOENIX

Chapter Thirty Two: Speech

"When was Wilbur spotted?"

"About ten minutes ago, he could be anywhere around here at this point" Niki replied defeatedly, leading me to an exit nearby.

"Shit...We'll find him" I reassured her, just as a ringing from a microphone stopped us in our tracks.

"Hello again, everyone!" Schlatt's voice boomed through the mic.

"Oh god, what does he want now?" I complained in a hush tone to Niki.

"I wanna start by saying, I do make fun of Tubbo a lot. I mean, he does fuck up all the time, but at the end of the day, Tubbo is the guy who made this entire thing happen!" Schlatt chuckled, and the audience let out a couple awkward laughs, not sure whether to agree or call Schlatt out.

I zoned out as he talked, noticing Karl slip away from his partner, and head into a shadowed hallway. Must be looking for a bathroom or something, I thought to myself, turning back to face the president.

"So without any further ado, I think I'll put big man Tubbo up on the mic!"

The crowd clapped, and Tubbo traded places with the tall man.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen. A wise man once told me that L'Manberg was like a lettuce. There are so many layers of tasty and healthy goodness, and once you wash all of the caterpillars off of the surface, it's a pretty goddamn good meal" Tubbo read loudy off of a pile of note cards in his hands.

Even though Tubbo was preaching for Schlatt, I was kinda proud of how far Tubbo had come. He's not the same person he was months ago, but then again, nobody is anymore.

"I said that!" Schlatt interrupted from beside Tubbo, and Tubbo nodded in his direction.

"All of this around us, is thanks to democracy, and Schlatt"

"AMEN!" Fundy cheered with the rest of the room.

"With that in mind, I'd like to thank everyone for coming to this wonderful event!" Tubbo finally looked up from his notes, smiling at the audience.
He looked happy, which scared me a little. Was Tubbo believing the words he was saying-

A low, dark chuckle sounded from Schlatt's direction. The room was silent, as the president looked up and over at Tubbo's confused expression.

"What's wrong Schlatt?" Tubbo shrank back, the nervousness in his tone making me feel overprotective.

"Nah I was just....You know we like to have fun. Anything else in that speech?"

"Uh...no. Let the festival begin!" Tubbo announced quickly, his eyes darting up to look at something above the crowd.

I followed Tubbo's eyes, turning around to see Tommy watching silently from a small balcony above. My eyes widened, and I nudged Niki with my arm. I heard her let out a small gasp, seeing what I saw. If Tommy was alone, that meant Wilbur had left.

Niki and I shared a worried glance, but didn't have time to say anything before Schlatt motioned for his guards to surround Tubbo on the stage. I tensed up, gripping onto Niki's arm.

"Schlatt? What are you..."

"We like to have fun around here, don't we?" Schlatt repeated, a glimmer of entertainment in his eyes.

Authors Notes: THIS BARELY A CHAPTER, BUT I FEEL BAD FOR TAKING SO LONG TO UPDATE THIS STORY. I've been overwhelmed by college stuff, and just can't find the time to write anymore. I will try and continue, but I'm not promising anything consistent. Once again, please excuse the fact that literally nothing happens in this chapter (it's only half of a chapter but it's all I have right now). Anyways I hope you all have a luminous day!