"You couldn't do one thing for me! All this time, not even one thing! And it was for your own good!"
Tubbo was not happy. Tommy had forced him to choose between the two things he loved most.
Friendship... And freedom.
But it wasn't that simple. If it was, Tubbo would have chosen friendship every time.
No, this was freedom for the whole nation of L'Manburg. Against that? Tommy's case had a hard time finding purchase. Or, it would have, had Tommy not already been Tubbo's best friend.
Even without any supernatural sight, Dream could easily tell that this decision was destroying Tubbo. His friend? Or his country's continued liberty?
How could he choose? How could Tommy make him choose?
Resentment. It battled with his trust, his love for Tommy. Dream knew it would tip the scale for Tubbo.
There shouldn't have been a contest. But as the days passed, Dream watched Tubbo drawing closer to a decision. The decision that would save L'Manburg.
Nightmare did not care about anything. He had no attachments, aside from power. That was all he cared about, all he wanted. The discs, and Tommy's betrayal, gave him that power.
And Nightmare would not let go. He had L'Manburg in a choke hold, and he knew it.
Dream could see him, standing on top of the obsidian wall as the debate inside continued in the background. He was holding blocks of obsidian, and watching. Waiting. For the final decision.
The people of L'Manburg were uneasy, but they didn't know exactly what was going on. They tried to go about their lives. And Dream? He just watched.
Standing atop the camarvan, as had become his custom, he watched. L'Manburg, and the Nightmare looming over them.
Sometimes the two locked eyes. Nightmare and Dream.
Were they really so different? Or were they two sides of a coin, each on the opposite side? And what would happen if one coin got flipped?
Dream hoped he would never find out. If they got into a tug-of-war with morals, he wasn't sure he could justify supporting Tommy. If it was a question of opposing Nightmare, he could easily stand behind that.
But his self-imposed pseudo-patronage of Tommy?
Tommy didn't deserve it. And they both knew that.
So there was no discussion. They just watched.
There was nothing hidden about Dream's presence now. Everyone would see. Of course, there was a high chance that the members of the Greater Dream SMP hadn't seen him, since he had only been inside L'Manburg, but he couldn't count on such an advantage in battle, because Nightmare could easily notify them about Dream.
Dream didn't listen when Tubbo met with his cabinet one last time on the third day. It was today that they would have to hand their decision over to Nightmare.
At least, Dream didn't listen until he heard the name.
Technoblade.
He blinked, confused, but realization quickly followed as he listened to their conversation. It was a good thing that his momentary consternation had been hidden behind his mask.
Tommy was suggesting that they recruit Technoblade to fight alongside them against Nightmare. And Ranboo and Quackity both agreed, eager to end the tyrant's reign of terror over them.
They had had enough of Nightmare's influence upon their country, and they wanted him gone. What better way to do that then by killing him, and what better person to do it than the Blade himself?
But Technoblade was not the answer, and Tubbo knew that. Even if every member of his cabinet was against him, he would be heard. Tubbo reminded Tommy and the others that they were still a nation held together by a government, and Technoblade was an anarchist. If they brought him in, it would require an exceptional amount of posturing and incredibly precise manipulation to stop him from just destroying their nation again.
Technoblade brought destruction behind him, like the red cape on his back. It swept over everything in his path, and was colored with the blinking of TNT, the black and blue glow of a wither's skulls, and the blood of anyone who got in his way.
No, their nation would not survive another encounter with Technoblade, ostensibly on their side or not.
But then, after much discussion, Tubbo agreed. Dream was shocked, but a part of him was relieved. Even if it was stupid, even if it made no sense, they would fight back. They would not let Nightmare control them.
But when Nightmare arrived, Tubbo said something else that shocked Dream.
"Dream, I have decided... That Tommy will go into exile."