""

Leaves Nia's lips. She wants to step forward and do something, but she something keeps her rooted in place as she watches Technoblade stall and avoid the obvious call for execution.

"What?" Technoblade cocks his head to the side, staring at Schlatt. "Do you want me to get him some breakfast? Get him a nice coat? Wh-what do you mean take care of him?"

"Maybe, uh, maybe show him the nice five-course dinner, you know?" says Schlatt, using an euphemism, hoping that Technoblade will understand. But he understood the first time around. Very well. He just doesn't want to hurt Tubbo.

"Alright, then, I'll take him now." Technoblade nods, glancing between Schlatt and Quackity. Though they continue to speak, naming different meals. None of which are real - at least not in this sense.

"Maybe that restaurant over there?" The piglin points in a distance to a random spot.

"There's no restaurant there," Fundy mumbles under his breath, making a face.

"I-I don't want to," says Tubbo, shaking his head.

"Tubbo, you're not hungry?"

"No, no, I'm not hungry."

"Tubbo. You are very hungry. Let's go to that restaurant there," says Technoblade, a desperate edge to his voice that can be easily missed. He knows what Schlatt is asking of him, and he's trying his best to avoid that outcome.

"Tubbo, please," Nia whispers, looking at the brunette boy. But he's too busy glancing in between Schlatt, Quackity and Technoblade.

"Technoblade. We're running on a tight schedule here."

"Alright, then. What do you want from me, Mr. President?"

"I mean . . ." Schlatt glances between Tubbo and Technoblade. "You know I call you in only for special favors, right? You and I . . . we go way back, right?"

"What are you talking about, Mr. President?" Technoblade raises an eyebrow at him.

"Schlatt, what are you actually talking about?" questions Quackity, seemingly catching up onto Schlatt's thinking process and his aim.

"This man needs a special favor," says Schlatt, looking at Tubbo. "Techno. I need you to take him out."

"What?!"

"To dinner?" asks Technoblade, playing dumb.

It takes everything in Nia's power not to laugh in this situation. She stands up from her seat, only to be approached by Punz, who shakes his head and forces her back into the chair.

"Punz, what are you doing?" she asks, staring at him in disbelief.

"No interfering," the man says. "Just keep watching and let it happen."

"But they want to-"

"Let them be, Nia. The chaos has to start somewhere."

"What?"

Punz shrugs, and Nia notices something lime green in the distance behind the blonde mercenary.

Dream is here. He's watching, and he's waiting.

What the fuck is going on?

"I want you to kill him!" Schlatt exclaims, pointing at Tubbo. "You're gonna kill him right now!"

"WHAT?!" The crowd choruses.

"Oh, now I get it," Technoblade lies.

"You're gonna kill him right now, on this fucking stage!" Schlatt screams at Technoblade now. "And make it hurt!"

"Wh- uh." Technoblade looks around himself at all the people watching him, his gaze darting between the crowd and the President.

"Schlatt, it's a festival, man!" Fundy tells the man, shaking his head in disagreement.

"Techno, you can't!" Niki calls out. "Techno, don't do it! You have a saying in this, don't listen to him!"

"Don't do it, Techno!" Sara's voice is heard.

"You can't do this, Schlatt!" Another person shouts.

Nia glances up at the building on her left, catching a glimpse of Tommy and Wilbur. They're both watching, still. Neither of them looks like they're going to interfere and stop Schlatt from having Tubbo killed. By Technoblade of all people. Their ally. They should at least try to help him.

Nia wants to, but clearly, she's being watched.

"I don't want traitors in my own fucking country, are you kidding me? My right-hand man!" Schlatt calls out to the people that protest Tubbo's execution. He turns to face Tubbo, looking him in the eye.

"I'd rather rule alone than with you." Sighing, Schlatt looks away. "You fuckin'- I can't even look at you." He shakes his head.

"Oh, I'm in a high-stress situation, I deal with these poorly," Technoblade comments, making it quite an obvious cry for help. Nobody hears him, or they deliberately ignore him, while Nia frowns.

She bites her lip, clutching onto her axe even tighter. She can see Dream sitting in a tree in her peripheral vision, his stupid mask smiling at the scene in front of him. He's obviously enjoying the whole situation.

"Schlatt- Schlatt, are you sure? We haven't- we, uh, we have him trapped. He's jailed. I think that's enough for, uh, breaking the constitution." Quackity steps in, trying to prevent the execution along with everyone else.

"Not enough." Schlatt shakes his head.

"Are you sure?" Quackity questions Schlatt further. "Wh-I, uh, he's jailed!"

"Technoblade." Schlatt looks at the anarchist, choosing to ignore his Vice President.

Nia watches the man grab the crossbow off his back, loading it with the fireworks he brought. She bites her bottom lip, feeling blood in her mouth. She looks at Punz, who's watching the action.

He's not enjoying it, but he's not doing much to stop it either as, apparently, he wants it to happen. He wants the chaos that will ensue afterwards. Or, maybe, he doesn't want it. But the person who pays him does. And Dream's sitting in a tree not that far from here.

Everyone else just seems shocked. Frozen in place. Unable to move or do anything to possibly stop Schlatt or Technoblade.

The princess takes a deep breath. "Oh, fuck this," she mumbles under her breath, standing up from her seat to get to the stage.

An arrow flies past her head, and she swiftly spins around to face Punz with a bow in hand, loading another arrow. She narrows her eyes at him, the crowd now struggling to keep their attention on both the stage and the seating area.

"Punz, don't do this. Just let me stop Techno from killing an innocent kid." Nia shakes her head, gazing at him.

The man shoots another arrow as Nia makes a step toward him. She manages to catch it, a deadpan adorning her features. She doesn't even have time to be surprised about catching the projectile, because she's never done it before.

"It has to happen, Nia. It'll help destroy the country faster," says the blonde man, but it doesn't sound like his words.

The two of them ignore the happenings on stage.

Grabbing the axe off of her belt, Nia walks up to Punz, hitting him with the blunt edge of the weapon with all of her strength before he even gets to draw his sword. The man immediately goes down without much of a fight.

She notices a dent in his netherite helmet, wondering how she managed to do that, but doesn't stay long to question it as she sprints to the stage, watching Technoblade shoot from his crossbow.

Due to the multishot enchantment, it hits Schlatt and Quackity, too, but unlike Tubbo, they're still capable of walking, running off the stage. Hurt, but alive and breathing. Tubbo goes down with the bang, collapsing on the floor.

The box around the boy falls apart, also because of the fireworks that Technoblade uses as charges.

Nia jumps up onto the stage, running up to Tubbo and hugging the boy to her body. He's covered in several burns, and Nia wonders how much each of them must hurt as the boy struggles to breathe. He's not dead yet, but very close to it.

"Tubbo," Nia whispers to the boy. He doesn't reply with words, only a few weak sounds. The woman licks her lips, removing hair from the boy's eyes only to see more of his skin burnt on his face.

"Tubbo, listen to me, okay?" she says, bringing him closer, trying to not put pressure on the spots where the burns are the worst. "You are going to be okay, you hear me? You will be fine. You're going to get out of this alive."

Breathing loudly, hoping that Tubbo will follow her example, she holds onto the young boy. A tear slips down her cheek as she desperately listens for Tubbo's breathing rhythm and tries to feel his heartbeat.

It's all there, just faint.

She can hear Tommy and Technoblade arguing in the background as Tommy has attacked Technoblade only after he hurt Tubbo, instead of interfering sooner.

Nia closes her eyes, concentrating. About a half an hour prior to this, Fundy has told her that her touch healed him. A part of her is still doubtful of that ability, but if there ever was a good time to use it, then that time was now.

Tubbo's heartbeat suddenly stops, his shallow breathing unhearable, too.

"No, no, no, no, no," Nia repeats over and over again, as she holds onto Tubbo, hugging his body. "Please, healing powers, if you exist, please, work," she cries out desperately, not wanting to let the boy die. "Just fucking work!" she screams.

Suddenly, a green light appears, engulfing Nia and Tubbo. It covers them in a cozy, warm feeling that disappears as fast as it appears.

When Nia looks at Tubbo now, his burns are still on his skin, except they're healed, leaving only scars.

The boy coughs violently, sitting up from Nia's lap with a wide look in his eyes as he wonders what's happening. He eyes the stage with a confused expression on his face. Tommy and Technoblade are gone by now. It's just Nia and Tubbo.

"Nia?" he questions. "Wh-what- what happened?"

The princess smiles widely, a breath of relief leaving her lungs.

"Oh, thank God, Tubbo," she says. "You're alive."