The result of the meeting was a trial for Tommy, which ended up getting him suspended from his position and put on probation.
Dream and Tubbo were equally relieved by this lightening of Nightmare's supported sentence of exile.
Dream knew Tommy, probably better than anyone else on the server. If left without friends, without even enemies, he would be the first to wither.
But did he really? Did Dream know him better than anyone?
Watching Nightmare, Dream narrowed his eyes behind his mask.
If anyone else would know that, it was Nightmare. He had suggested exile because he knew what it would do to Tommy. After all, Dream and Nightmare were the only two who realized Tommy's true importance.
Somehow, Tommy was at the center of every conflict. Every single one.
There was something there. Dream didn't know if Nightmare was the one behind it. If he wasn't, then Dream didn't know exactly how much Nightmare had noticed.
But whatever Nightmare's involvement, there were many designs centering on this world, and Dream dreaded to consider that the Nightmare might be the best among them.
Dream considered just letting Nightmare have what he wanted. After all, if they could all be united, whether or not under a tyrant...
A tyrant. What was the...
Technoblade.
The strongest piece on the board, and no one knew where he had went.
His role wasn't over yet.
Fire. Death. Destruction.
Blood.
No, it was far from over. The memories swirled in reddish haze confirmed that.
But Nightmare wasn't happy with this outcome. He pushed for more punishment, insisting that exile was the only option.
The members of the cabinet met one more time with Nightmare, and Dream went along with them.
The first time where they were both in the same room. Dream and Nightmare. Even though it was just the cabinet and not the general populace of the server, there would be repercussions.
But not now. Now, there were other important things.
They were discussing more about Tommy's sentence, talking themselves in circles. And Nightmare was talking circles around those. Eventually, Tubbo conceded to lengthen the amount of time that Tommy was suspended from power for.
Yet Nightmare still wasn't satisfied.
"It's not enough!" he insisted. "It's never going to be enough until I see him walk out of L'Manburg with my own eyes and never return."
Nightmare was adamant. But Tommy had an idea. After requesting and receiving an ender chest from Dream, Tommy pulled out a single piece of leather.
"Recognize this, Dream?" he asked with a mocking tone.
Apparently, the leather was from Nightmare's old horse, Spirit, dropped upon its death. With it, Tommy attempted to force Nightmare to tear down the walls. After all, Nightmare didn't have the discs on him, so he couldn't threaten Tommy to do anything.
Dream, frankly, was shocked by how stupid Tommy was being. After just getting around Nightmare's aggressive prosecution, he was trying to get on Nightmare's bad side again? It just didn't make sense. Even his logic about Nightmare not having the one of Tommy's discs that he was still in possession of. After all, couldn't he just go and get it?
Dream was barely able to stop himself from sighing, remembering at the last moment that the other people around him could hear him now. So he kept his posture rigid.
And to Dream's surprise, Nightmare agreed. In Tommy's eyes, he was forced to. But that was not the case. Dream could see it. Nightmare's shoulders did not bow, his back did not bend. He was not defeated, hadn't even taken a hit.
So when, in the middle of tearing down the walls he had built, Nightmare turned around and started to build them up again, Dream was not surprised.
But Tommy was.
"What are you doing?" he asked. "I have Spirit right here, and I'll burn it! I'll burn Spirit, I will!"
"I don't care about Spirit, Tommy," Nightmare said, a hint of amusement in his voice. "I care about your discs."
"What? But they're my discs!"
"No, Tommy. They're my discs," was Nightmare's response. It was spiraling again. They were spiraling again. Nightmare and Tommy, a top spinning to their own destruction.
"Why would you even-" Tommy started, but Nightmare didn't let him finish.
"Do it, then," he said. "Do it right now. Burn Spirit in front of me! I don't care! It's just a horse, Tommy! I don't care about Spirit, I don't have any attachments to Spirit. I have attachment to your discs."
"But they're my discs!" Tommy spluttered again, but Nightmare wasn't listening any longer.
Turning to Tubbo, he said, "You have three days. If Tommy is not exiled within that time frame, then I will raise these obsidian walls up to the build limit. Three hundred blocks tall, Tubbo. And maybe I'll make them a few blocks thick. And I'll be watching them, I'l have people watching them."
Dream knew what was coming. The true root of the conflict, aside from Tommy's discs. He knew the words, before they were even said.
"L'Manburg can be independent, Tubbo.
"But it can never be free."