alright, after this, the chapters will have stuff from the 16th nov streams! but it won't exactly follow the timeline, and some things will be changed simply because i didn't wanna re-write everything and lemme tell you, it's not that fun, but yk, i tried my best to keep the essence of it all and a lot of the quotes and shit will still be there, so this is just a little heads up! :]

Nia, Niki, Sara and Stela spend their time outside of the ravine unlike Tommy, Tubbo, Wilbur, Fundy and Quackity, all getting last minute supplies for the war.

Technoblade is nowhere to be found, but Nia figures the man has a secret base of his own that he hasn't told anyone about, because she's noticed that many Pogtopians have a knack for stealing items that aren't theirs.

"I'm not sure if I want to fight in this war," Niki voices her opinion out loud, her view changed since the last time she actually spoke of it.

Sara looks at Niki with a look of understanding, nodding. She's been thinking the same thing for quite a while now, wondering whether reclaiming Manburg is worth all the trouble.

Nia and Stela glance at each other with raised brows.

"You know, for the longest time, I fought for L'Manburg with everything that I had," Sara starts, a defeated sigh leaving her lips. "But a lot has changed. Wilbur has changed. And to be fair, the main reason I've been fighting for the country and revolution was because of my loyalty to Wilbur, and because I genuinely believed that Dream was abusing his power to hurt the people of L'Manburg."

"Yeah," says Niki, nodding. "But Wilbur's changed. He doesn't— I don't think he cares about L'Manburg anymore."

"I've been trying to talk to him, you know?" Sara continues talking. "He just— he dismisses everything I say about L'Manburg and what would happen if we won . . . or lost.

"Not to mention that whenever I asked if he's doing okay, he just— he laughed at me and said he was brilliant." Niki looks down at her hands, sadness lacing her voice.

"And how can you fight a war for a country whose leader doesn't believe in it anymore?" Sara concurs.

"You fight simply to take down the government. Because it's what caused the problem in the first place. If it weren't for the government, none of this would've happened," Nia finally gets a word in, getting both Sara and Niki to listen to her.

But they both shake their heads. "Governments aren't necessarily bad," says Sara. "It's the people in power."

"No, it's human nature overall," says Stela plainly. "Humans are easily corrupted and power corrupts. It's just as easy as that. Hence why governments shouldn't exist in the first place."

Nia smiles, glad that she has someone who agrees with her.

Niki and Sara have nothing to say, pressing their lips into a thin line. They still disagree, clearly, but they don't want to argue with Nia and Stela.

Technoblade walks towards them not long after, the red cape flailing behind him. They only have three days until the war, and nobody seemingly knows what to do with themselves. They can train, they can tend to their armor and weapons or they can simply wallow in self-pity until it will be time to fight. Some choose to spend time with their friends in case it would be their last day, though Nia doesn't think that's going to be the case.

At least she's hopeful in that regard.

"Have you guys been sitting here since I left?" Technoblade questions once he's within earshot.

The four women glance at each other before nodding.

Technoblade wants to say something, his lips parting, but he never does. Before he makes a sound, he abruptly turns his head in the direction of the woods around Pogtopia, gazing into the forest intently.

Nia does the same thing, noticing the rustling of bushes and leaves that would have been normal if there was at least a breeze. But there is none on this beautiful, sunny day. She narrows her eyes at the woods, catching sight of lime green.

Standing up instantaneously, she draws her knife, while Techno grabs his crossbow, pointing into the woods.

"Guys, c'mon, there's no need for that, is there? I haven't come here to fight."

Dream's white mask appears in front of them, the smile taunting them as he takes strides toward the group of Pogtopians. His netherite axe hangs on his hip, fastened to a black belt, as he walks. Nia can imagine Dream smirking underneath the mask.

"What do you want, Dream?" Sara takes the incentive, stepping forward to face the masked man. She stares him down, despite being shorter than him, and Dream chuckles. He's not threatened — at least not really — but he's definitely amused.

"I just came to talk," the green man says, shrugging nonchalantly.

"What the fuck." Tommy walks out of the ravine just in time to see the five Pogtopians standing in front of Dream, who has his arms stretched out, unconcerned about possibly being attacked by anyone.

He knows that despite Nia's fighting stance, she wouldn't attack him. Just as she wouldn't let anyone else attack him. Which, admittedly, she hates and will have to get over if she's to fight him in the war against Manburg. But right now, she wouldn't let Dream get hurt.

"Dream," Tommy grumbles. "The fuck do you want, Dream?"

"I want the other Pogtopians to get here," says Dream. There is cockiness in his tone as he turns his head toward the tall blonde boy. "I have some things to share." Nia can hear the smirk in his voice.

"Ohh, of course, you got things to share, you fuckin'— you fuckin' green ass motherfucker." Tommy glares at Dream, who laughs in amusement as Tommy struggles to find a proper and effective insult. If anything, Dream gets a kick out of Tommy's hatred for him.

"What's going on?" Wilbur is the next person to leave Pogtopia. He freezes momentarily, spotting Dream, but then a smile spreads across his features, taking strides to the front line of people standing in front of Dream.

"Hello, Wilbur," Dream greets him contentedly.

"Where's everyone else?" Sara questions, turning to Wilbur.

"They're gonna be here any second. I think Fundy and Quackity still want to work on their swordsmanship a bit. And Tubbo would hate to stay behind," the tall man replies, shrugging.

True to his word, Fundy, Quackity and Tubbo soon emerge from the entrance to Pogtopia, the first two clutching wooden swords in their hands. Tubbo only grins at Tommy as the blonde is the first person he notices.

Fundy and Quackity stop in their tracks, soon, their eyes fixated on the green figure standing in front of them. Tubbo stands next to Tommy, realizing he's not paying any attention to him but Dream who stands before them without a care in the world. He knows he could hurt a bigger part of the group before Nia and Technoblade could even try to stop him. They'd spend more time trying to make sure everyone else is alright rather than advance at Dream.

"What do you want, then?" Nia narrows her eyes at Dream, cocking her head to the side.

"I just come bearing news," Dream chuckles. "Unless you've already heard, of course." His gaze fixates on Nia before he continues, "but, uh, after striking a certain deal and coming to an agreement with Schlatt, I'm now obliged to protect Manburg if any advances toward the country are made, so . . . seems like we're gonna see each other on the battlefield — though on different sides."

The Pogtopians exchange glances, but none of them are really shocked as they've seen it coming. Quackity has said Schlatt has something that would make Dream want to change his alliances. And that is exactly what happened.

Dream notices how unfazed the citizens of Pogtopia are, clenching his fists. He expected a better reaction out of them — more confusion, perhaps. Or anger, at him and everything else. However, they just don't. They merely stare at the man with their arms crossed and their eyes narrowed.

"And another thing," Dream adds, trying his best to get another — and better — reaction out of the Pogtopians. They blankly stare at him, awaiting his news. "I just wanted to let y'all know that—" Dream chuckles— "one of you is a traitor."

This time, people gasp, a cacophony of "what?" leaving their lips. The only people staying quiet are Technoblade, Nia, Stela and Wilbur.

Stela, because she doesn't care. But Technoblade and Nia exchange glances, knowing that they both want to destroy and decimate Manburg rather than restore the past glory of a country that used to be. Wilbur, he stays glued to his spot with a deadpan. While Techno and Nia both seem to be worried about this information, thinking that Dream is talking about either of them, Wilbur is unfazed.

It's not that he doesn't care. It's more like he already knows. He knows there's a traitor, and he knows who it is. Nia examines his relaxed stance and untroubled expression properly, coming to a single conclusion — an obvious one at that.

Wilbur is the traitor.

"There's a traitor among us?" questions Fundy, disconcerted.

"Well, have fun with that information," Dream says, leaving the Pogtopians by themselves.

"Who the fuck is the traitor here?" Quackity exclaims. "Show yourself now."

"Quackity . . . do you really think that's how you discover traitors?" Stela looks at the boy with a raised brow.

He doesn't respond to that.

Nia approaches Wilbur, who as one of the few people unbothered by this information stays out of the crowd while everybody else tries to figure out who could possibly be the traitor.

He looks at her, smiling. "What's up, Nia?" he questions.

"It's you, isn't it? You're the traitor," she says bluntly. Wilbur's smile only grows as he gazes at the princess. "You made a deal with Dream," she adds.

He chuckles. "Nia, darling . . . How are you so clever?"