y/n pov

We left at dawn, walking on the worn path towards our used-to-be home. Fog pooled over the trail, the sleepy looks in everyone's eyes barely visible through the haze.

Dream's eyes seemed to be the only ones wide with energy with the approaching war. I urged my magic to wake up by placing my hand on the swaying hilt of my netherite sword, reminding myself of what was to come.

Our little trip to this camp was short, only a few days, so it was safe for us to leave our animals under the watchful eye of our neighbor, Ponk. He had promised to stay neutral for now, feeding the pets while we were gone.

We had to move away from our homes to protect ourselves from the threat of war and to plan our strategies in secret without the risk of any prying eyes.

L'manberg could be dangerous when they wanted to be.

Wilbur, their navy-clad leader, was always the calmest and most level-headed when it came to their group. He was the one to build the nation from nothing but dust and now he was their leader, diving into a battle with passionate cries, his friends rallied around him.

But sometimes, Wilbur had moments of pure desperation. He would lock himself away so no one could see, hiding his wounds, ones that cut a little too deep.

I had only seen him like that once. It was when he first moved to the Dream lands with young Tommy and Tubbo clinging to him like a lifeline.

Wilbur had been tired and scared after traveling so far to find safety amongst people who could help him care for his younger brother and almost adopted one. His mental state was hanging on by a thread, madness lingering just beyond.

Wilbur's dark eyes filled with chaos flashed in my mind. I shook away a chill that wasn't from the cold, with the lingering imagery. He had healed from that, he was better.

At least as far as I could tell.

Everyone ahead of me was in conversation, discussing war tactics and different fighting styles. I ignored them for now, not concerned with battle just yet.

I looked at the surrounding dark forest, snow still covering the treetops. The sun would rise soon and melt it away, just like this rebellion. And hopefully, peace would return quickly on its heels.

As I breathed in the scent of the wet soil, my fingers tingled with magic. If I concentrated enough, the pulse of each plant nearby could be felt and heard in the radiant sun rays, thanks to my earth powers.

When I first moved here, people were shocked about the powers, but that wasn't surprising. Most people are when they meet someone who was born with strange elemental powers and had no recollection of her past.

At this point, everyone was used to them though. I grew to love everyone around, but when they screamed rebellion, I knew what I had to do. All I wanted was to protect my friends, I couldn't lose them.

They were my one and only weakness, next to copper. The metal shut out all my powers.

As if in response to the thoughts, the magic rose up. It had taken years to finally master all the elements. It didn't take more than a thought to summon the power that was wanted. The powers had always been there, as long as I could remember, unlike any memories of previous family.

While deep in thought, I had accidentally slowed down and the team was out of sight. The dirt trail was quiet, the birds returning to their chirping once the noisy group had passed.

Not wanting to catch back up to them, I decided to turn into the forest, a shortcut I knew well. This would take me straight to L'manberg, where the rebels would be waiting with their striped flag raised.

Flowers bloomed from the ground as my fingertips brushed against shrubs and ferns. The flowers were lotuses, a golden tint to them, shining in the early morning sun.

Lotuses had always been the flower to follow me, a strange meaning behind them that I couldn't quite grasp. They brought warmth and comfort to my magic when they were created by my hands.

They managed to survive without standing bodies of water, with the support of my magic. It was an odd sight, but I never thought twice about it anymore.

I exited the forest, straight into a clearing where the black and yellow walls stood. Through the gates, the camaravan was lit on top with its fire hot dog, the windows full of potions tinted with light below.

From here I could see them running around, preparing for the fight. I felt pity for them. They truly didn't stand much of a chance, knowing from personal friendships with some of them and the steady adrenaline thrumming in my veins.

I sighed and continued further into the clearing, straight into their line of vision.

They froze, not out of fear but because I wanted them to. Roots I summoned held their feet to the ground in their spots, turning to look at me wide-eyed. There was no harm in my teasing, but it was good for them to know what they were up against.

And right on time, my team appeared around the corner. Annoyance was hinted at in Dream's walk towards me, his ax swinging in clipped strides.

Uh oh.

"You were supposed to stay with us, not wander off," Dream said to me as George and Sapnap snickered behind him. Dream was always the one to be the leader in moments like these, never the rest of us.

I looked at the two laughing, unbothered by Dream's scolding. I winked at them with playful intentions, turning back to Dream with steady eyes while the three laughed even harder at my defiance.

"What?" I said with a shrug. "I've already gotten their attention." I pointed to their feet that were still rooted.

Dream turned to them and watched as they tried to use axes to cut away at the roots. As much as they tried, the roots just kept growing back. Wilbur paused to look up at us, anger slightly showing on his face below his brown curls.

"Okay y/n, you can let them go," Dream said, amusement hinted in his voice. His masked face turned towards me. "Next time, wait for us."

"Fine. I was just having some fun," I huffed back at the smiley face.

Dream turned to face the group, already leading again. "Does everyone remember the plan?"

We nodded in agreement. Sapnap practically bounced, he was so excited. I couldn't say I felt the same as him.

With our nods, Dream turned back to face L'manburg.

"Gentlemen, let's negotiate."

-

Standing in front of them now, the group looked much scruffier. They seemed exhausted, yet pride shone in their eyes. They looked at each other like they were family, no matter their different appearances. Wilbur, Tommy, Tubbo, Eret, and Fundy stood tall at their entrance.

The most similarities shown were in Tommy and Wilbur, their sibling blood showing true. Not much of Wilbur's appearances showed in Fundy, his orange-haired son who was half fox. It didn't matter though, they clearly didn't rely on blood to make bonds.

I could practically feel the nerves radiating off of them as we came to a halt a few feet from the grassy entrance. It was in Tommy's twitching fingers, Fundy's swishing tail, Tubbo's widened eyes.

"Gentlemen, what a lovely day, isn't it?" Dream was confident, he knew we could win.

I looked up to see Tommy's eyes on me. He waved a small wave. Before the war we were friends, and then he turned to his country.

I returned the wave. I missed him and Tubbo, who stood at his best friend's side.

In moments like this, it felt odd standing on the other side with Dream. I had known the latter far longer than any of the L'manbergians, as well as Sapnap and George, so it had only felt natural to stand with them in the war. Especially when I just wanted peace.

But there was something else that had drawn me into war. Sure, I had the creeping suspicion that if this nation went on any longer, it would cause deep divisions past friendships, but something ancient whispered to me.

My magic heard it, sensed the way it was spoken by a dark and a light voice, each angry with the other. Perhaps it was just the nightmares getting to me though.

Wilbur stepped forward, eyeing us. "Indeed it is. Why are you here, Dream?"

"To make sure you are still wanting to go to war with us. It is a big decision, you know?" He said sweetly to them, making Tommy agitated.

"We sent Punz to you with my message," Wilbur said, his voice as hard as ice. There was a glint of patriotism in his dark eyes. "That's all the confirmation you need."

"Fine, then there will be war," Dream called out. His voice changed to a cool calm, dropping the sweet act. "Since there were no white flags, we will begin our attack."

I eyed the burnt trees and cobblestone walls surrounding the nation. Perhaps the threats hadn't been enough for them to back off.

As we turned to leave, Sapnap turned to Tubbo. Mischief sparkled in his eyes like flames. "Oh, Tubbo, I would watch out for your house. The wooden one."

We turned to leave, leaving Tubbo glancing widely at Wilbur in alarm. Sapnap had always been known for his love of fire, so it wasn't hard to read between the lines in the threat.

Dream gave us the signal and Sapnap and I veered left to go to Tubbo's house. Sapnap bounded up the hills and past Tommy's dirt Embassy, the rest of our group stopping just behind us at the tower.

I could see the excitement in the way he quickened his pace, his hand slipping into his pocket to pull out flint and steel. It glinted in the morning light, black and silver.

When we approached the front of Tubbo's house, Sapnap didn't hesitate. Scraping of flint and steel resulted in fire jumping onto the home, erupting on impact to eat away at the walls.

I watched him from a distance, a small guilty feeling filling me. I loved Tubbo and hated to do this, but all was fair in war.

I gave in and let flames erupt from my hands, directed towards the house. Heat warmed my skin as ruby and gold mixed to rip at the stripped logs and melt the glass windows. It was jarring, to say the least.

The flames soon engulfed Tubbo's house, leaving nothing but a few remains and black chars. Sapnap stepped back to stand with me, satisfaction in his eyes.

"Isn't it beautiful?" He faked a tear, laughing at himself. I playfully punched him in the arm but soon we heard shouts arise. Tubbo was running with Tommy on his trail towards his house, just cresting the hill.

Before we could see his response, we turned and ran. As we retraced our steps, I heard Tubbo scream after us, yelling to get us, but there wasn't much anyone could do until we stepped out of the Holy Lands.

All of a sudden, as we passed the stone outline of the Holy Lands, arrows started raining down on us. I turned to look for who shot them but there was no one.

An arrow appeared out of thin air a few feet from us, skimming the ground next to my boots. Invisibility potion. Smart of them.

"Y/n let's go! We need to make it to the tower!" Sapnap yelled over his shoulder as we ran towards the column looming in the distance. "Dream, George, and Punz will meet us there."

"Watch your shoulders, Sap!" I called back, flinging my hand out backward with a swipe of wind. It arched wildly, but there was no reaction by the invisible person. They had moved in time. "Someone has an invisibility potion!"

At last, we reached the tower next to the Embassy, where Dream was waiting. He looked relieved as we climbed up the rungs of the ladder. The ghost archer began to flash as the potion wore off and Fundy appeared running into the dirt house, bow in hand.

There was a final part of this stage of the plan. As peered over the railing, ready to throw flames, I saw Wilbur, followed by his team, run into the embassy. He looked up at us, determination in his eyes.

"You won't win this!" He yelled at us. Dream just shook his head, sighing.

"How naive of them," Punz muttered, watching them with almost amusement as if a cat was watching its prey.

Taking that as a signal, George pulled back his bow, aiming at the ground near the base of the tower. Red just poked out enough for him to find the target, awaiting its spark. But George was the best archer in our group, so that was enough for him to set the arrow go.

As the arrow went flying, I remembered my role and sent flames onto the point. Its flaming tip dug into the corner of hidden TnT, sending the ground quaking and caving in a second later.

The L'manbergians screamed in surprise, dropping their weapons in sudden shock. Eret disappeared from view as the ground fell through below him, Fundy scrambling to grab him with Tubbo on his heels.

The five of us ruptured into cheers over the explosives, winning our first battle. It was short but satisfactory.

What we didn't call for was one stray stick of dynamite flying from impact, moments away from exploding below the base of the tower. Its sound was muted with the other, louder explosives but it was enough for us to look at each other with realization.

Sapnap scrambled for the ladder to escape below, but it swung away from him with the sudden swaying of the tower. The base was crumbling with splits climbing up the walls with terrifying speed.

"Brace for impact!" Dream shouted as we tried to grasp onto each other, the floor crumbling below my feet.

I fumbled for the only thing in reach to grasp, which happened to be Dream's arm. My navy hoodie quickly lurched upwards around my wrists with gravity and wind as we fell.

Dream held tightly to me, tugging me tight into his arms. The ground was growing closer and closer, explosives still going off below the ground. Perhaps we had overdone it on the dynamite.

I gathered as much wind as I could in my hands, throwing it below our falling forms in hopes of catching us. All it did was slow our fall, but it still wasn't enough, the ground approaching with sickening speed.

The last thing I saw was Dream holding me tightly as we fell, my mind blacking out on impact.

~~~~

well there they go

have a wonderful day or night and make sure to take care of yourself

ps this is the re-written version, that's why comments are weird lol