PHOENIX

Chapter Thirty Eight: Love

The date was set. November 16th. The day L'Manberg would go to war for a second time, but under a different name, a different leader.
I never knew exactly who declared war first, Wilbur or Schlatt, but it didn't matter at this point.

This was it.

I shuddered at the thought of war, remembering what it was like the first time, the betrayals, the death.

"You good, Nix?" Sapnap asked from beside me, scrubbing the sword he was holding clean of any grime that was previously on it.

Everyone in the SMP territory had been preparing for war, getting old weapons out and training before the big day. Dream had made the announcement that our side would be supporting Manberg in the war, and almost immediately there was a somber tone to the air.

"I'm...dealing with a lot of stuff right now, and I'm doing my best to keep it together." I say slowly, grabbing an axe from the pile of weapons and wiping some dust away.

"I get that. Trust me." Sapnap responded knowingly.

"Hmm?" I look up from the axe, watching Sapnap's expression change from his normal chilled-out look to one full of frustration.

"Just...Stuff with Karl I guess." Sapnap sighed, setting down the sword and looking up to the sky, as if he was visualising it in his head. "And Quackity."

My eyes shot up in surprise, and I scooted closer, focusing all my attention on the drama.

"Quackity?"

Sapnap let out an awkward chuckle after seeing my over interest in the subject.

"Yeah well he's...something else." Sapnap flushed a little. "Karl and I both really like him. I really like him."

"So what's stopping you?"

Sapnap tensed up, looking away from me.

"I'm...really bad with jealousy." He admits quietly. "And I hate being the third wheel. What if Karl..."
Sapnap trails off, his voice growing hoarse with emotion.

"What if Karl leaves me?"

Anger tugged at my heart when he said that. If anyone were to break his heart they would personally have to answer to me.

"Karl wouldn't do that, he loves you, I can tell." I lean against Sapnap, who looks down at me, his eyes glassy. "Besides, if you're that scared then just tell Karl. He'll stop for you."

"But that's the thing, I-" Sapnap struggles to get his words out. "I want Quackity. Just as badly as I want Karl."

Oh. Got it.

"So go for it. Love is scary, but if you really want both of them, then go for it." I sigh into his shoulder.

"Yeah, I guess. The other thing is that Quackity is with Pogtopia." He grumbles.

"Ha," I let out a short laugh. "That's something we have in common. The ones we love are against us."
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For the weeks in between the festival and the war, I stayed at Eret's castle. Multiple things had stopped me from going back to Alyssa's house, the main one being Dream and Callahan. I guess Alyssa was having a hard time dealing with the fact that I was...whatever I was, and I don't blame her.

Moving my stuff out of her house was hard, and I knew I would miss the dinners we would have, the gossip we would share, the cozy little library at the end of the hallway. This wasn't the first time I had to leave what I considered home behind.