i wish you a very destructive (happy) 16th November anniversary !

Anticipation fills the woman's veins as she quietly makes her way towards her equipment, putting it all on. She knows that she will either have to wake up the other Pogtopians or wait for them to wake up. But for the moment, she enjoys the silence, the only sound filling the spacious ravine being other people's peaceful breathing.

Nia claims a piece of bread, carrots and steak for herself as breakfast before making her way out of Pogtopia. She checks the golden apple given to her by Technoblade, making sure that it's still in the small pouch on her belt.

She moves slowly so as to not make a sound, but her weapons still rattle quietly as she ascends the stairs. Only a few people stir in their sleep, but none of them fully wake up.

It's very early in the morning, Nia finds out. The sun hasn't even begun to rise, and she regrets not having a clock anywhere in Pogtopia. Nevertheless, she sits down in front of the entrance to the cave, enjoying her breakfast, breathing in fresh and cold air.

It calms her pounding heart.

She has never fought a war before. And while she realizes this might not be as bad as a fully-fledged war could've been, there is still the notion of death hanging right above her head.

Nia sits on a rock by the river, staring at the plain across. It's filled with flowers that are waiting for the sun to come out. She hugs her knees to her chest, simultaneously watching the sky.

It turns from a star-filled dark blue to orange within the next hour of her sitting there in peace, listening to cicadas and the rustling of leaves. In a way, she can sense the forest and the nature around her are trying to calm her. She even spots a crow, sitting on a log, gazing straight at her.

"How long have you been up?" questions a familiar voice.

Nia turns her head slightly, catching sight of Technoblade without his mask on. His hair is in a braid this time, but otherwise he's in his full gear, just like Nia. He's much more stacked, she'd say, having as many weapons on him as possible, not to mention the potions as well.

Something shiny on his fingers catches her attention however. "What are those?" she asks, pointing at the two rings on his hand, both made out of iron, but shining with a translucent gem that somehow resembles the stars on Sara's halo.

"Wither stars," says Techno proudly, not even trying to hide it. A smirk makes its way to his lips as Nia blankly stares at him. "I did say that I have the materials to summon two creatures of mass destruction." He shrugs.

"Do you plan to use them today?" Nia asks bluntly.

"If it's necessary." Technoblade nods.

She does so as well. She can understand that reasoning.

"Is everyone else still asleep?"

"They'll be out in a minute. We should be heading out soon. It's almost time," Techno says, his gaze rising to the sky. It's covered in red, orange and yellow, mixing with a light blue as the sun slowly rises.

Nia smiles thinly.

Like Technoblade said, the rest of Pogtopia made their way outside of the ravine within the next ten minutes. They're fully equipped and ready for battle. Or they at least think they're ready for it.

Once they all gather, even with allies that don't come from Pogtopia, they take the Pogback Bridge, which leads them to Eret's eastern tower. They think they'll be fine, getting to Manburg without much trouble.

However, their hopes are crushed the moment they get shot at by people residing at the top of Eret's tower. Nia squints her eyes, seeing that it's Dream, Schlatt, Punz and Sapnap shooting arrows at them.

The Pogtopians and their allies either block the projectiles with their shields or their swords.

"We need to get to the tower!" Quackity shouts.

"Our ranged weapons can't reach them!" Technoblade informs everyone, trying his best to hit the enemies atop the tower, but it's impossible.

"Let's storm the tower and take it for ourselves!" Tommy advances forward, weapons blazing. He runs toward the entrance of the tower with a wail-like scream, his sword held high in the air.

Everyone follows the young blonde, until it comes to climbing up the ladders, and Techno purposely pearls on top of the ladder to be first in line to face off the Manburgians and its collaborators.

Shooting and being shot at will definitely never be an activity Nia likes. She tries to block as many arrows as possible, slicing some in half.

"Let's get a bit closer to them, shall we?"

Stela approaches Nia and Technoblade. They look at her weirdly, but she grabs both by the shoulder and teleports them, leaving nothing but purple particles behind.

It feels like being reduced to a single atom at first, eventually materializing at a completely different spot — the top of the tower, where Schlatt, Dream and the rest have climbed up.

"I'll get the others," Stela says, leaving the two anarchists on top of the tower.

Nia faces Dream. They gaze at each other briefly, before the princess notices Dream and his friends all clutching ender pearls in their palms.

"Good try," Dream remarks, a smirk obvious in his voice.

"See you later!" Sapnap exclaims, throwing his pearl down from the tower and toward Manburg.

The same action is repeated by Schlatt and Punz. Dream gives Nia and Techno one last nod and a mock salute before throwing his pearl and jumping off the tower for dramatic effect.

"I hate him," Technoblade grumbles under his breath.

Nia has a hard time, trying not to laugh. "A fucking show-off."

Stela appears with Sara, both women staring at the anarchists as they stand at the top of the tower alone.

"Where are they?" the tall woman asks.

"Manburg," Nia answers. She watches her allies shooting at them from the tower. "We need to get down there."

"Can you take us down?" Sara looks at Stela with a raised brow.

"Duh." Stela nods. "Just grab onto my shoulders or something."

They do as Stela tells them, the group of four suddenly appearing at the bottom of the tower, grass under their feet. Stela leans on the wall for support, breathing heavily.

"You okay?" Techno checks.

"Yeah. It's just more draining to teleport three people at once." Stela nods, waving her hand at them dismissively. "Go win the war. I'll tell everyone else to get their asses down here and to Manburg."

"Alright—" Nia nods— "let's go."

Running toward Manburg, they come across Purpled, who shoots at them. Techno blocks the arrows, staring him down. Which, strangely enough, makes the boy stop and let them run past with a nod.

Nia raises a brow at him. He seems confused about what is going on.

"I'll take Sapnap," states Sara, running off in the direction of the boy whose dark hair is held back by a white bandanna.

Nia hesitates and wants to stop Sara, but she remembers that Sapnap is currently her enemy. She watches Technoblade walk off, clashing swords with Punz and Karl.

The rest of Pogtopia and their allies are closely behind, Stela joining Sara in an effort to overpower Sapnap. The others help Technoblade take on Punz, Karl and now even Purpled and Schlatt.

"Aren't you going to help your friends?" asks a cocky voice. Nia turns to face Dream.

Firmly gripping her swords, she eyes the blonde's tall figure. He takes a hold of his axe, coming at her. He swings his axe with full force, and Nia defects the sharp edge with her swords, stepping aside.

Taking a fighting stance, Nia fights her mind. A part of her refuses to fight Dream; she doesn't want to hurt him. It shows in her composure as she goes into defense while Dream keeps swinging his axe at her.

"Fight me, Nia!" Dream exclaims, stopping his advances. "Why are you holding back?"

Nia hesitates. "I don't want to hurt you, Dream."

"This is war, Nia. That's not how it works." Dream shakes his head, stepping closer to her. "You have to fight no matter what."

"Fine," Nia huffs. She points the tip of her sword to his neck with a raised brow.

Dream chuckles. He switches quickly, pushing the blade away from him, his axe cutting through air as he aims for Nia's upper body. She jumps back, dodging the hit by a hair.

Nia blocks his hit with her swords next, the metal making an uncomfortable sound as it slides off one another.

Pushing Dream back, she grunts. He loses his balance, allowing Nia to land a blow to his abdomen. The blade slides on the netherite chestplate, and subconsciously, she's glad for it.

Nia doesn't advance further, wavering. She gives Dream time to regain his balance. Dream is her enemy, why can't she fight him?

"C'mon, Nia. This is sad." Dream tries to provoke her, but it doesn't work on her. His axe cuts through the air warningly again, but Nia doesn't even blink.

She stares at Dream as he swings again, the sound of its swish dangerously close to her face. Nia's hand shoots up and she wipes her cheek with the back of her hand. There's blood.

The two start dancing once more. Nia mostly jumps back, dodging every hit Dream comes at her with. It annoys him. It's obvious in his fighting style as he slowly goes from patient, thought-through hits to strength-based swings with the goal of hitting anything.

This time, when Nia hesitates again, seeing that she has a clear hit that could bring Dream down, he takes advantage of her dazed state and advances with all of his might.

Nia reacts as fast as she can, but the force of the hit makes her stumble, her foot catching on a rock on the ground. She falls, blocking a swing from Dream.

If Dream kills her now, it will be fully, entirely and utterly her fault. Because she would let him.

Damn her loyalty to a boy who might not even exist anymore.

"This won't kill you, Nia. I promise." Dream swings his axe one last time to finish the fight.

Nia wants to stand up and block it. But another part of her gives up. If Dream ends the fight, she won't have to worry about hurting him anymore.

Forcing her eyes shut, she braces herself for the hit, expecting the axe to come in contact with her flesh and cut through.

But it never comes.

She hears metal clashing before her, her eyes rising to see Technoblade and Dream fighting. Her eyes widen at him, as Techno throws Nia a single worried glance. He gets lost in the fight easily, Dream being yet another opponent worthy of his time.

"Go help the others, Nia," Techno shouts while blocking Dream's swing. He retaliates with a hit of his, his sword clashing with Dream's armor.

Nia clambers up to her feet. She looks around, seeing the Pogtopians fighting off Sapnap, Punz and Karl. Purpled stopped fighting entirely.

Wilbur is nowhere to be found within the crowd, and George also doesn't seem to be anywhere, though Nia would think the boy would fight on Dream's side.

She heads toward the bigger crowd of people where the fight is happening, looking over her shoulder to see that Techno is no longer fighting Dream.

"Where—"

"He pearled away," says Technoblade immediately. "I don't know where," he adds.

They jog toward their allies together, helping them overpower Karl, and eventually circling both Sapnap and Punz.

When Dream appears, they corner him as well, their weapons pointed at his head. He raises his arms in defense — a sign of surrender.

Technoblade and Nia exchange glances.

"PUT YOUR WEAPONS DOWN!" Wilbur's voice spreads across Manburg, reaching all ears that need to hear it.

The Pogtopians exchange glances of confusion, though they do as they're told, listening to the leader of the revolution.

One question lingers in the air: Where is Schlatt?

"I have something to say," Dream appears by Wilbur's side. "Everybody be quiet, okay?"

"But only if my enemy insists."