How the world works

2

Dream returned to the greater dsmp and everyone was dismayed. Sure, they had expected it. But no one was truly prepared to grasp what it meant if they two friends journeyed off to fight Dream.

"Where's President Tubbo? And Tommy?" Asks Niki. But she knew the answer. 

"They're not coming." Dream said, pulling out the cat disc. The crowd took a collective breath but no one dared speak out. It's Dream, afterall. Unless they all banned together, they would easily be crushed.

"So, will there be a Ghostinnit and a Tubboo?" Punz asks finally and Dream laughs. 

"I have my doubts. We'll see." He responds. Everyone disperses and Dream takes a deep breath. Control. He's finally gaining it back. Only a few anarchists to go and it can be sustained. 

Punz catches up to him and Dream nods for him to speak.

"Are they dead?" Punz asks rather worriedly. Dream laughs.

"They wish." He responds.

"Did you use... it?" Punz counters. Dream simply shakes his head.

"Then what? I don't want to go through what happened to Lazar and Vikkstar again. It didn't really bother me but... well. You can't pay me enough to see that again." He says. Dream finally stops walking and makes sure there's no one around. 

"The reason I paid you was to keep you quiet. If you think you can blackmail me or if you don't shut up, you will find yourself right next to them." He threatens and stocks off briskly. Punz doesn't follow.

Far away in a land of ice and snow, two retired warriors sit roasting marshmallows over a campfire. Suddenly the taller of the two collapses, grasping his head. The other of the two isn't too concerned, for he knows his friend is plagued with voices in his gear that aren't his own.

"You good, mate?" Phil asks and the taller stands a tad shakily and breathes deep.

"They're upset. There's a tyrant out there, Phil. And someone has to stop him." He says rather dramatically. Then rolls his eyes and sighs.

"Yes, chat. I'll bring the bell." He half laughs and helps his elderly friend to his feet.

"Retirement didn't last long, did it?" Phil jokes as he extinguishes the fire. The pigman shakes his head and crosses the vast yard to their cabins, side by side in the center of a clearing. Halfway across, he tilts his head to the side and stops.

"Seems we don't have to go anywhere after all. He's coming for us." He says gravely. Phil's smile melts away and they both wordlessly mount their defenses. Trap pits, land mines, arrows, rockets, and the works.

Sure enough, from their perch in Phil's attic, they watch a single figure stalk out from the woods. He walks through the snow and leaves no footprint. He easily side steps the land mines and hops the pits effortlessly. Only one man alive could do that. Plus he's in neon green which makes it an easy figure to recognize. 

"Dream." Says the pigman, his voice monotonous. 

"Techno! Phil! I came to visit you two!" Dream calls up to the two friends. 

Techno looks down over the shaft of his arrow, not buying the act.

"What do you want, Dream?" He calls back, ready to let fireworks fly.

"I come bearing an offer, of sorts." Dream replies. You can hear the grin in his voice. 

"I'm not one for blackmail, mate. If you don't leave, we'll fucking blow your ass to hell." Phil calls down.

"Who said anything about blackmail? I just want to talk." Dream replies. To any normal person, his tone of voice would raise the hairs on your back. But Technoblade is the killer of thousands and Phil is older than time itself and has seen all the war the world has to offer. It takes a lot to razz them.

After some awkward negotiations, the three agree to meet in full armor out back because no one trusted the other side to play fair.

"So. Tyranny. You know I can't just sit here for that, not even for a homeless tyrant."  Techno starts.

"First off, I have a house and I'm not doing this right now. Secondly,  who said I'm a tyrant?" Green boiiiii counters. Phil looks to the sky where hundreds of crows scream down at the three warriors. The blade simply points a single finger to his temple. Dream laughs. 

"Fair enough, so let's get to business then. Not blackmail, a genuine offer." Dream says, leaning against the wall of Technoblade's house.

"And what would that be?" Techno asks, an eyebrow lifted. 

"Simple. I want your help. Tyranny doesn't work. I know that. The harder you grasp them, the more they slip through your fingers. I just want order." Dream begins. Phil glances at his friend's face and bursts out laughing. 

Technoblade looks like someone just offered him a piece of coal in exchange for a netherite block. 

"Listen to me, order isn't a bad thing. You need it to function. And to have order, someone has to be in charge. And it's the Dream smp. Not the Tommy smp. Or the Tubbo smp. It sure as hell isn't the Wilbur smp. It's the Dream smp. I just want my rightful dues." Dream begins to grow angry. Once again, the warriors find themselves undaunted in a situation that would leave any other weak in the knees.

"I'm not hearing an offer but I can smell a great opportunity for blackmail." Techno says, unsheathing his sword. Its glow illuminates Dreams mask and the snow around them. Phil does the same.

Dream puts his hands up in a half hearted defensive manner.

"Listen, it's a mutually beneficial offer. You guys can stay here, wild and free and shit. I won't bother you, you don't bother me. I go about my business and you get to live peacefully." Dream says. He finds his arms pinned to the wall by two simultaneous swords tearing through the fabric of his sweatshirt, narrowly missing his flesh. 

"Now why shouldn't we kill you?" Phil asks, almost sounding bored.

"Hate to pull this card but fine. I have three innocent people locked away in an undisclosed location. It's not on any map. I'm the only one who knows where it is. If I die, they go with me." Dream sighs. Technoblade smirks.

"Like I'd believe a hobo." He laughs. Dream laughs too, finally unsettling the pair. He reaches into his pocket and lifts an eyebrow to the ax that has materialized at his neck.

"Overkill, much?" He asks, taking in the inventory of the now three blades pinning him to the wall. He continues anyways and produces two discs. The disc's. The silence speaks more than words could. 

"Say what you want. You two get attached to brats. And I have two in my basement. Tommy and Tubbo. So go ahead, kill me. I'll be back, of course. And they'll be the only ones to pay the price here." Dream nearly whispers this line but it carries across the world it seems because they all know. It's true.

Dream pulls himself off the wall nonchalantly and wanders to the greenhouse to pull up some potatoes. 

"Well, I have some kids to go feed. I'll be back tomorrow, think about it." He calls over his shoulder and disappears into the woods.

"He 'Just wants to talk' my ass." Phil grumbles. Techno says nothing. They both know, they're trapped between a rock and a hard place. Let's just say, this is check and mate.