Nia mumbles under her breath as she stares at Schlatt and Quackity standing in front of the young brunette boy, trapped in a box with no means of escape.

She glances at Technoblade, who seems equally as confused.

In fact, nobody in the audience knows what's going on.

"I know what you've been up to, Tubbo," Schlatt repeats his previous statement, a malicious smirk appearing on his face.

Tubbo visibly starts to panic, tugging at the suit jacket he's wearing. His expression doesn't help either as he momentarily frowns, his eyes flickering from one place to another in a desperate attempt of getting out of trouble by avoiding direct eye contact with Schlatt.

The boy looks at Nia for a moment. She bites her bottom lip, currently not finding a way to get Tubbo out of trouble without dying. Not just her, but both of them. Manburg versus Nia are not favorable odds.

But she knows she cannot let Schlatt kill this boy. He's too young to die. He's still a teenager. It doesn't sit right with Nia nor anything she stands for.

Tubbo's involvement in this predicament in itself is horrible. So is Tommy's.

And if there is anything that Nia got out of hanging around Tommy and Tubbo, it's that the two boys care about each other profoundly, which is what got them into this mess.

Schlatt making Tubbo a cabinet member and keeping him inside Manburg was a sly and clever move. A blackmail, a threat of sorts. If Pogtopia attacks, Tubbo will not come out of it unharmed.

It's the same situation with George. Except that man is an adult.

Tubbo? Tubbo is still a child. And so is Tommy. They shouldn't be dealing with any of this shit.

"Wh-what- what have I been up to, Schlatt?" Tubbo stutters, still trying to avoid Schlatt's eye.

He makes it painfully obvious that he's lying to Schlatt and knows exactly what the President is talking about. The question is how Schlatt knows.

"What have I been up to? He says!" A maniacal laugh leaves the President's lips.

"Schlatt, I-" Tubbo tries to speak but fails as Schlatt starts talking over him.

"You've been conspiring!"

An audible gasp leaves the audience. Nia looks at the back seats to catch a glimpse of Sara and Niki, both shocked about the outcome of this festival.

To be fair, Nia did say something will most likely go wrong. She doesn't trust festivals nor big events anymore. Though the last one she attended prior to the Manburg festival did help her flee her kingdom.

"You've been conspiring with those idiots! Those tyrants! The tyrants that we kicked out of this nation! That we kicked out of this great country months ago!"

Schlatt spreads his arms vigorously, pointing from Tubbo to the grounds of Manburg.

Nia notices that if Schlatt pointed just a few more metres up, he would have pointed out the hiding spot of Tommy and Wilbur, who Nia had spotted only moments before.

They catch her gaze, and she notices how panicky Tommy is. Wilbur, on the other hand, is calm. She can see the wheels in his head spinning as he ponders the best option out of the situation.

He cannot and won't blow up Manburg if Tubbo's stuck inside. Nia wants the country gone, but not at the prince of an innocent kid's life.

Nia shakes her head to which Wilbur responds with a nod, knowing what she's trying to communicate.

"Tubbo, I don't know if you know this, but . . . treason isn't exactly a respectable thing around here."

There are traces of disappointment in Schlatt's voice, almost like for a second, he actually believed that Tubbo's loyalty belonged to him.

"I know what you've been doing . . . It all adds up, buddy. The fucking tunnels, your absence from great events, I mean, you walked off in the middle of this one!"

Schlatt is pissed. That much Nia can say, following the President's expressiveness. However, she doesn't know where he's going with all of this.

Or, at least, she denies the worst possible option.

"Uh . . ." Tubbo tries to escape the box he's been put in again, unsuccessfully.

"You walked off in the middle of this one, Tubbo! Don't try to tell me that you've done nothing wrong! Because everybody knows it! I sees it with my own two fucking eyes, what you've been doing!"

Nia sets her hand on the axe on her belt, tightly gripping its wooden handle. She will attack if she has to in order to protect Tubbo.

Technoblade glances at Nia, shaking his head violently. To him, this was supposed to be a reconnaissance mission. But so far, it doesn't look good for Tubbo, and Nia might attack the President.

That is the very exact opposite of getting information.

"I, uh . . ." Tubbo scratches the back of his neck. "I can't get out, Schlatt."

His voice is pleading and panicky. Being in the box makes him uncomfortable and anxious. Tubbo becomes more and more shaky, the longer he stays inside.

"Do you know what happens to traitors, Tubbo?" questions Schlatt calmly.

"N-no?"

"Nothing good."

Schlatt turns around to face the crowd of people staring at him in shock. Tension lingers in the air as everyone awaits Schlatt's verdict. What is he going to do to the boy?

"Technoblade," Schlatt calls out for the anarchist.

Nia turns around to face him, shaking her head. Do not go there. But the problem is, he can't hear her. And he, similarly to Tubbo not doing well in the box, does not react well to being the center of attention. Because, despite the mask on Technoblade's face, his eyes obviously search for a way out. His gaze even lingers on Nia, hopeful that she might get him out of this.

There is no way out. Nia doesn't have any ideas either. Unless Technoblade chooses to flee completely. But that would hurt Technoblade's ego and reputation. Two of the few things he cares about. Technoblade never dies, and he never runs either.

"Technoblade, could you come up here, please?" Schlatt asks the half-piglin, beckoning him over to the stage.

"Uhh . . ."

"Come up here, Technoblade. Come up to the podium," Quackity repeats Schlatt's request.

"Let's just send a quick message," says Schlatt with a smirk adorning his features.

He watches Technoblade make slow steps toward the podium with all of his weapons on his person. He clutches his trident as he gets to the podium, standing in front of Schlatt, Quackity, and Tubbo in a box.

"Now that we've got Tubbo in that- in that Tubbox," Schlatt laughs, looking at the crowd, waiting for them to laugh along with him because of the pun.

Technoblade chuckles nervously. Nia cocks her head to the side, eyeing him with an interest. She fears what Schlatt will ask of him. Not just for Technoblade's good, but for Tubbo's as well.

Only a few people in the crowd chuckle, one of them most likely being Fundy, who Nia has noticed is trying to earn Schlatt's approval every moment he gets. Although he's not succeeding that well.

"Here, you can stand here Technoblade."

Quackity points at an extension of the podium, right in front of Tubbo. The boy in the beanie pushes the anarchist in its direction slightly, scared that Technoblade might attack him if he does anything more.

"Uh . . . uh . . . what's going on here?" Technoblade questions, facing the President, Vice President and Tubbo.

"Schlatt- Schlatt- I'm actually- I- I can't get out, Schlatt," Tubbo continues to panic.

"Tubbo," says Schlatt, looking at the boy. "As a perpetrator to these awful, awful people that you've been helping-"

"Schlatt, I don't even know what that means," Tubbo interjects the President's speech.

Schlatt gives him a look, his brows furrowed. "Honestly, I don't even know either, I just wanted to say it." He shrugs.

"Oh, okay, um," says Tubbo.

"Technoblade, please." Schlatt looks at Technoblade. "Please, if you could- if you would be so kind-"

"What are you asking?" Technoblade raises an eyebrow at the President.

"Take care of him."