"happy" december 16th!

After Dream stranded her in the middle of L'Manburg because of Niki's appearance, she was left alone to fend for herself. Luckily, Phil offered her a place to stay while they waited for the butcher army to either return victorious with Technoblade captured and tied up, or get back defeated.

Nia hopes for the latter. She knows Technoblade is capable of fighting them off and winning, but when have the odds ever been on her side? Fate favors those who create, and Nia has usually been the bearer of destruction. Even if indirectly.

The princess eats her breakfast in silence, watching Phil move about his kitchen and preparing more dishes than necessary. She figures that the man is simply bored out of his mind, forced to stay in his home because of the ankle monitors that have been forced on him.

He can't go further than his porch without a painful electric current being sent through his body, and it's nearly impossible to take them off, too. At least the conventional ways have not been successful in taking them off. Phil can't take the ankle monitors off without them hurting him. Nia has figured that if she tries to do it, he might be able to break free.

A ruckus in the center of L'Manburg gets Nia's attention. She goes to look out of the window, while Phil storms out of the door and to the front of his house immediately, having seen what's happening. A single glance through the window is enough for Nia to see Quackity ride a familiar horse, followed right by Technoblade whose hands are tied by a leash that Quackity tugs along.

Nia's lips part as she stares at the scene.

"You actually got him," Phil says loud enough for everybody to hear as the butcher army leads Techno to the center of L'Manberg. Quackity gives Technoblade's leash to Tubbo, going to tie Carl to a fence further from the stage.

The piglin doesn't seem to care, his attention on Phil. Techno turns to him fighting against his captors. Tubbo, Fundy and a boy that Nia assumes is Ranboo have to hold him back.

"Phil! Phil, what did they do to you? Phil, what did they do to you, Phil?" Techno stares at the blonde man. They gaze at each other, old friends reunited. Though under terrible conditions.

"He's on house arrest, Technoblade," says Tubbo.

"They put these ankle monitors on me. I can't leave the house," Phil elaborates further.

Technoblade turns to his captors. "Leave Phil alone! He did nothing. Just take me!"

Nia watches Ranboo push Technoblade toward the podium, followed by Tubbo, Quackity and Fundy. She could see Ranboo mutter a quiet 'sorry' to Techno for pushing him, though the kind gesture is easily erased by Quackity and Fundy shoving Technoblade right into the animal cage that Tubbo has opened. The members of the butcher army cheer for the anarchist, trapped in a cage for animals, ready for slaughter.

Phil comes back inside the house, just about enough to still have a clear view of Technoblade and the butcher army. Nia approaches him, and Phil shakes his head as if to say 'do not engage'. She nods in understanding, but grabs her equipment nevertheless.

"Maybe put on your armour," Phil whispers.

"Technoblade, this isn't actually a trial," Quackity announces.

Nia has to fight every urge in her body to storm in and stop them from executing Technoblade. But with Phil standing in the door, she knows the man would stop her and advise her to wait for a better moment to strike.

"Technoblade, this is an execution," states Tubbo, followed by delighted cheers.

"Tubbo, I'll let you have this one. Please, explain to our companions why we're doing what we're doing," says Quckity, beckoning Tubbo closer to him and pointing at Fundy, Ranboo and the other L'Manburgians that volunteered to be part of the butcher army. Tubbo nods.

"Technoblade has robbed our country of everything that made it special. Of everything that defined what it was. He stepped in, when he shouldn't have. He raised chaos. He ruined the government . . ." Tubbo makes a speech that should validate their choice of executing Techno without a fair trial. Though he stops when somebody starts throwing snowballs at the butcher army. "Punz is throwing fuckin' snowballs at us," says Tubbo.

The man mentioned drops in, throwing potions at the L'Manburgians, hitting them and pushing them away from the podium and Technoblade. Some of them fall into the lake underneath.

"What?" exclaims Tubbo, confused.

"What are you doing?" asks Ranboo.

"Phil?" Nia addresses the man, and he averts his attention from the butcher army to the princess. She presses her lips together. "I'm going to try something now, and it might end up hurting, so I'm sorry for that in advance," she says.

Grabbing one of the strength potions she's made with Phil a day ago, she takes a gulp, feeling a surge of power flow through her veins. She grips her sword tightly with both of her hands. Pointing the tip of her sword toward the first ankle monitor, she swings and breaks it into pieces.

Phil closes his eyes, expecting a bolt of electricity, but nothing happens. The second ankle monitor deactivates itself, falling off his foot at once. Nia grins at the success. Phil gapes at her, perplexed that it worked.

"Now take your stuff, we're helping Techno get out of here," she says with a smirk on her lips.

Phil smiles, nodding.

"Hey, Techno," a ghost of a man Nia once knew appears before them, staring straight at the cage in which Technoblade is trapped. He has a blue sheep on a leash, and a rueful expression crosses Phil's face.

"Hi, Ghostbur," Techno greets the ghost, a small smile sneaking onto his lips.

"I've named him Friend."

"That— that's fantastic, Ghostbur. I'm just not in the best situation right now . . . I'm about to die, Ghostbur," Techno says, turning his attention back to the butcher army fighting Punz.

Nia jumps in as well, Quackity gaping at her. None of the butcher army members expected the woman to make an appearance. Punz gives her a subtle nod as the two fight off the L'Manburgians. Many of them end up pushed into the lake. Phil swoops in as well.

"Phil, how the fuck did you get out?" questions Fundy with a raised brow.

Phil shrugs. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"BIG Q, PULL THE LEVER! PULL THE LEVER, BIG Q!" Tubbo screams at Quackity as they fight against Punz, Nia and Phil.

The princess blocks Tubbo's advances, making her attacks non-lethal. For all she knows, the boy is still a teenager — although president — and she doesn't want to hurt him any more than necessary. Any more than he's already been hurt.

Striking at Tubbo's abdomen, she shoves him to the ground quite harshly, She gives him a warning look. Stay down, it says. Nia takes off after Quackity afterward, who sprints toward the lever of the execution contraption.

She watches him pull the lever, a 'NO!' leaving her mouth as she tackles the boy to the ground. Looking up, she sees Techno clutching a Totem of Undying which activates the moment the anvil comes in contact with him. One moment, Nia watches Technoblade be squished to death and the next he's back, easily getting out of the cage, unharmed.

Their eyes meet briefly, before Quackity rolls Nia over, trying to get the upper hand. However, she can still feel remnants of the strength potion that she took a sip of. Nia kicks Quackity off her, the back of her sword hitting his chest. Swinging her sword, she slashes his leg, and the boy collapses in pain, clutching the wound.

Techno has run off and Nia catches a glimpse of Dream instead. Going after him, she puts herself in his way. Dream cocks his head to the side, a smile on his lips, just like the one painted on his mask.

"Where is he?" she asks. There is no need to specify who she's talking about. Dream knows. Instead of telling her anything, he points toward the entrance to the sewers underneath the Dream SMP.

"It was nice seeing you again, Nia," he says, when the princess takes off in the direction he sent her to.

"You too, Dream," she calls back, sprinting inside the sewers.

"You have done so much fucking damage to everything we've been building, Technoblade! And if there's a fight that I intend to win, it's this one!"

Nia can hear Quackity's voice, straining her legs as she attempts to reach Technoblade in time. How did Quackity get to him before she did?

"I have a pickaxe, and I will put it through your teeth!" Technoblade exclaims.

Nia approaches the duo just in time to watch Technoblade force the sharp edge of his netherite pickaxe through Quackity's teeth all the way to his eye. Her lips part in shock, not expecting to see such violence. She knows Technoblade's stance toward violence, but she's never anticipated that she would get to witness something like this.

Techno turns to look at her just in time. His content smile drops immediately, seeing what he would describe as disgust and disappointment cross Nia's features. Their eyes clash once more, and she wants to say that it's fine and that she'll just stay behind and make sure that Quackity doesn't die, but Techno only grabs a compass from the ground and dashes before she gets the chance to do so.

Nia bites her bottom lip, running up to an unconscious Quackity and kneeling by his side. He's bleeding from his side, thigh and face. She focuses on Quackity's most serious injury first, healing the wound on his head. Though it leaves a scar from his brow to his top lip.

Next are his other injuries, which are not as fatal. When he wakes up, it'll feel like he's hungover, but at least he'll be healed and not on the brink of death.

With a rueful smile donning her lips, Nia takes off after Technoblade.