Chapter Text
The blade rested firmly on his neck and Dream swallowed thickly, staring at the man holding the sword up to Tubbo's throat. "You'll regret this."
"It's just business." The man shrugged, face hidden under his hood. "You take your bounties, I take mine. The blood of a Chosen goes for a lot these days."
He clenched his teeth, not looking at the men who surrounded him, his friends. Many different tragedies had brought them to this point, but they won't let some cloaked man get the best of them.
Dream froze, entire body stilling at the piercing sound echoing out of the cave in front of him. It was loud and high and it rattled his eardrums, like a bat had been given steroids. He frowned, looking up.
It was still daytime, why were they awake?
Next to him George froze as well, and he could hear Sapnap curse somewhere behind him. Dream ignored them, hand clenching his axe as he took another step forward, out of the trees and into the small clearing the cave sat in. Above him, the sky was streaked with red and orange. The sun was setting.
They had to be quick.
There was another sound, this one lower, like a growl, and Dream knew it was directed at him. He took another step forward and only had a few seconds to react as a dark shape flew from the cave. Going on instinct he swung down, chopping the creature in half, right down the middle.
A phantom.
The creature died on impact, a short, screeching sound leaving it before it went silent. Dream looked back into the dark cave, but there were no other sounds. The nest was quiet, for now. "George."
Hearing his cue George stepped up, a bottle of poison in hand. He had made it himself- made it potent and made it long lasting. If that didn't kill the nest, the fire Sapnap will start after definitely will.
Honestly, this was a pretty easy bounty. The hard part was just finding the nest. Dream grinned behind his mask, bending down and chopping off the dead phantom's head. They needed proof to receive the bounty money, and a head always worked.
Just as he was putting the head in a bag the nest seemed to come to life, multiple sounds echoing through the cave. George's eyes widened, and he threw the potion inside.
At the same time two phantoms flew out, narrowly avoiding the bottle and diving straight for George. Their talons wrapped around his shoulders and suddenly he was airborne.
"Jesus Christ-" Dream murmured as George screamed, being carried up higher and higher into the air. They'd drop him once they got high enough, he's sure of it. "Sap, do you have a bow?"
"George has it." Sapnap either hadn't seen what happened, or he was too busy staring at his sword, which was alight with flames. Dream let his friend get on with their job. He had a George to save.
But he didn't have a bow. Damnit.
He pulled a throwing knife out of his pocket, looking at the small thing before looking at George, who was getting farther and farther away. As it was, the phantoms were too far for him to hit them with the knife. No normal human could throw it that far.
Luckily, Dream wasn't a normal human.
He took a deep breath, and with pinpoint accuracy he threw the knife. It sailed through the air, embedding itself in one of the phantom's chest, killing it instantly. Immediately the other started falling under the weight. George grabbed it's talons so that it couldn't let him go, causing them both to fall semi softly to the ground. The moment they landed Dream was there, chopping straight through it like the last one.
George sniffed, glaring. "Watch that aim, Dream. You almost hit me!"
"I just saved you!" Dream wasn't actually upset, and he knew George wasn't either. This is just how it was sometimes. "I feel like I deserve some praise. How about a 'I love you'?"
"How about no." George smirked, patting his shoulder in a silent thankful gesture. "Did my potion hit?"
"Yeah." Sapnap called from the mouth of the cave, standing in the smoke that was billowing out. The air was filled with snarling screams of dying phantoms. "Be ready with the water."
Dream backtracked a bit, finding the two buckets they had left in the treeline and lugging them over. George took one of them, and before Sapnap could tell them to do it (he wouldn't ever tell them, which is why they just have to guess. The guy was too obsessed with fire to ever stop it) they threw the water into the cave.
"Aw." Sapnap pouted as the fire hissed and died, looking genuinely upset. He coughed at the smoke. "You couldn't of waited a little while longer?"
"We have stuff to do." George said sternly, peeking into the cave. "Maybe we should take some phantom wings as well, to show we actually destroyed the entire nest."
The bounty was for the nest, not a single phantom, but he didn’t think they would really notice. Dream shrugged, uncaring either way. The three got to work, pulling charred corpses out of the cave and cutting off their wings. Dream worked on the three uncharred corpses outside of the cave, cutting their wings off and stuffing them into the bag with the head. Above him, the moon started to shine.
He heard another piercing shriek. He heard multiple. George and Sapnap looked outside the cave, confused.
There was a gust of wind, talons closing around his arms and shoulders. He heard George shout, saw Sapnap's eyes widen, before his legs were off the ground and he was suddenly flying.
"Dream!"
The first thing he realized was the pain- a straining, stinging thing caused by the pressure in his shoulders and the claws piercing them. The rest of his body hung limply from the phantoms' grasp for a second, before his mind kicked in and he started flailing. His friends were calling his name, but there were three or four phantoms holding him up, meaning they flew away even faster. A single arrow nicked one of the phantom's wings, causing it to let him go, but the other three didn't stop. No other arrows followed the first one.
Curse his luck.
"Dammit-" He hissed, struggling. The phantoms weren't taking him straight up, thankfully. It was more diagonal, far enough up that if he fell he'd break something but close enough to the ground that his legs would hit the occasional tall tree as they passed. He swung his legs up to miss the next one, one of his ankles already swollen from the first time he bashed it against a passing tree. "Shit!"
This wasn't good.
Phantoms are strange creatures that not many know anything about. The only thing people are sure about is that they’re allergic to the sun and they're carnivores- as in they eat the flesh of everything, even humans. One of their main moves is carrying their prey high up in the air and then dropping them to their death. Either that or they separate their prey from a herd and then gang up on it- eating it while it's still alive.
Dream had a feeling that's what would happen to him, if he didn't get out.
His arms were pinned the way they were now, but he's a flexible man. He wiggled his arms a little bit, before using his core muscles to bring his legs up and around one of the phantoms. The creature screeched, scratching and clawing at him. The other two flapped widely, trying to stay flying without losing their balance.
The one he was holding hissed, arms scratching and clawing and a single claw got hooked on his mask, cutting one of the ties and yanking it off his face. He watched, unable to do anything as it fell and disappeared into the forest below.
Dream still couldn't use his arms, but now that he was on top of it he could use his legs to kick one of the phantom's wing joints. Phantom's have notoriously weak bones. It snapped on contact and Dream let go, watching it disappear under the treeline. He took a vicious pleasure in its death- he might never find that mask again. He liked that mask.
Another phantom bit his shoulder, going so deep he could feel it zap into his spine and travel down to his legs. He screamed in pain.
An arrow emerged from the trees, catching the other phantom through the neck.
They started to fall.
Dream immediately freed his arm from the dead phantom, using it to tear the other phantom's jaws off of him. His fall was slowed by the still alive phantom, and he grabbed a tree branch as they fell, using the momentum to swing his other arm into the tree. The phantom slammed into the tree with it, and Dream stomped on it's head hard, crushing and killing it instantly.
Free from the phantoms' grasp but now injured he sighed, looking back the way he came. His shoulder buzzed with sharp pain, like the teeth were still in them, and he groaned. He couldn’t even walk with his busted ankle, damnit.
Sapnap and George will find him if he stays here and waits, right? They didn't get too far, right? Someone had shot down that phantom for him, right? Who else would be out here besides the three of them?
"With the situations you get in, I'm surprised you're still alive."
Dream froze at the new voice, before the tone caught up to him and he realized that it was familiar. He smiled, before remembering his mask was gone and forcing his face into indifference. "What are you doing in such a remote town?"
"The same as you." The voice got closer, and he saw figures appear from the woods. "Well, maybe not completely. Is saving your life going to be a reoccurring thing between us?"
Dream snorted, wanting to cross his arms before remembering that his shoulder was hurt. He watched as three people emerged from the treeline, eyes catching each one before settling for the one talking. "Hey, Techno."
The other man nodded, arms crossed. Next to him Wilbur frowned, taking another step forward before jogging over, concerned. "That doesn't look good." The man took his arm and Dream held back a surprised flinch, unprepared for someone other than Sapnap or George touching him. His wound bubbled in pain as Wilbur poked along its entirety. "Phil, are phantom's the one with infected bites?"
"That's most mobs, Wilbur." Phil was much more cautious as he approached, patting Techno's shoulder as he left his side. He approached Dream like one would approach a wounded and cornered animal. Dream didn't know whether to be offended or pleased. They had known each other for years now- he would've thought Phil would've known he'd never hurt him by now. "Potions get rid of infection, we just have to get him one. Where's George and Sapnap, Dream?"
Dream blinked, realizing that he was swaying on his feet. That might be from blood loss. "L-Lost them when the phantom carried me off."
Techno let out a sharp laugh. "Yeah, imagine our surprise when we looked up and saw you flying through the air."
While his words weren't mean, his tone was definitely teasing and Dream flushed, annoyed at the fact that the man he would maybe consider his rival had to see him being carried off like a damsel in distress. That really wasn't lucky for him. "Shut up, there were a lot of them."
He wished he had a better comeback for Techno's quips and teasing, and while Dream was a smart person something about Techno made it very hard for him to actually have a smart retort. It's annoying but he has no real defense against it. What was the most annoying is that Techno seemed to realize that too.
He counts it lucky that Wilbur put too much pressure on his wound just then, and he jerked, a cut off scream leaving his throat before he clenched his jaw shut. Wilbur apologized immediately, but it was clearly more of an afterthought- his attention focused on what he was doing. Dream understood- comfort was not something bounty hunters had the luxury of having, especially during hunts.
And that's what they all were, really. They were bounty hunters- some of the best in the land. Both his group and Techno's group ranked in the top three for freelancers, they always got the job done. They were known by name only, which was also good, because if everyone knew their faces then hunting would be much harder.
It's not like they hunted things that would recognize their faces often anyway. The occasional witch, pillager, and evoker might know their name and could recognize their face if they knew who they were, but usually they only hunted mobs that were causing villagers trouble. Like a phantom nest that carried off livestock and the occasional child. They were perfect for jobs like those.
He inhaled sharply, determined to stay quiet for the rest of the time. The wound wasn't pretty, but he's had much worse in his line of work. He was not going to look weak in front of his rival's group, no.
Techno looked at him, catching his eyes. Whereas Dream wore a mask to hide his features all the time, Techno took his off during hunts, letting everyone see how he was different. His eyes glowed in the night light, a dark, deep red that always reminded him of blood. He wondered if his own eyes were glowing green right now. Of course they were, stupid question. He blames the loss of blood.
Techno stared at him for another minute, just enough to make him uncomfortable, before digging into his bag and pulling out Dream's mask. "You dropped this."
The shock on his face was evident (he was way too used to wearing a mask, way too used to not having to hide his expressions-) so he tried to dampen it, holding out his hand. Techno still didn't come any closer, instead tossing it over. Dream caught it with his good hand, trying to figure out how to put it on.
Phil took the mask before he could, sliding it on his face in a practiced manner and Dream had almost forgotten that the man used to help him do this, when he was younger and had just gotten the mask. "Thanks."
Phil didn't respond to him verbally, ruffling his hair softly before turning back to Wilbur. "Told you we should've bought those potions."
"I needed new cords for my lute." Wilbur frowned halfway through his excuse, as if wishing he had bought the potions instead too. "How far away did they carry you, Dream? We need to find George."
Dream only half heard, relishing in the fact that his mask was back on. He's become dependent on it, sadly. "Uh-"
Right on time, a voice broke through the woods. "Dream?"
"Over here!" He called, voice cracking, probably because of his earlier screaming. There was a second of silence before he could hear the sounds of sticks cracking and huffing. Sapnap broke through the treeline first, eyes finding Dream before looking around at everyone else. He lit up. "Phil!"
"Hey, you twerp." Phil's voice was warm, as it always was with the youngest bounty hunter. He had taken a liking to Sapnap the first time he met him, and while Dream didn't know exactly why he thought it had something to do with the fact that Sapnap was the youngest hunter and Phil was a father through and through. He thinks Wilbur also pushed for the new bond, tired of having to deal with his dad lamenting over only having one kid. Now he basically had four or five, but that was another story altogether.
"Dream-" George finally appeared after him, pushing past Sapnap and stopping in front of the man in question. No one even had to ask- he was already searching through his bag. "What is with you and getting into the most ridiculous situations-"
He found a healing potion and handed it to Wilbur, because even though he was the resident alchemist Wilbur was the resident healer. The taller man took the potion and uncorked it, smelling it for a second before taking the end fabric of his sleeve and tearing it off. He poured around half the bottle on the fabric before placing it on the wound. "Drink the rest of it." He handed the bottle to Dream.
Dream took it, pushing his mask up slightly to drink. Instantly he felt the smaller cuts littering his face and arms heal, felt the swelling around his ankle lessen, and he breathed out a sigh of relief, balancing his weight on both legs. "Much better."
"How'd you guys find him?" Sapnap asked, turning to Phil with eyes wide. It always made Dream laugh, the way Sapnap looked at the oldest hunter like he was his idol.
"Techno heard him shouting." Phil tilted his head towards the quietest hunter. Techno had moved even farther away, chopping the phantom he had killed into pieces. As he watched, the man dug into its wings, pulling something out and pocketing it. "It was his enhanced hearing and sight- I could barely even see Dream from where we were."
George helped Dream sit down. Wilbur grinned from behind them, much less worried now. "Since we saved his life-" he started. "-how about we get part of that bounty?"
"Hmmm." George hummed. "Eh, can we give Dream back?"
"Hey!"
"It's fine." Techno said while the others laughed, still working on that phantom. "We finished that other bounty anyway- and besides, I'd rather have some membranes over emeralds."
"Membranes?" George perked up. His goggles were on his forehead, so Dream could see his eyes sparkle- he always got that look when potions were involved. "Phantoms drop membranes?!"
Techno nodded, tossing over a piece. George caught it, pushing his goggles over his eyes and staring at it intently. Dream almost laughed at his fascination.
"Well, it's good we found you." Wilbur cut in after a moment, face happy and warm. "It would've been annoying, having to look for you all across the continent. Techno's been wanting to ask you something for a while now."
Techno shot him a half hearted glare before sighing. "We were wonderin' if you'd be interested in teaming up with us, for a little bit."
Dream arched an eyebrow, even though Techno couldn't see. "Team up? You mean travel around together? Why?"
He shrugged. "No particular reason-"
Phil cut in. "Wilbur was trying to create a new potion and wanted George's help with it-"
"Dad!" Wilbur looked both amused and embarrassed. "I can make potions by myself, easy! Besides, Techno's gotten bored of sparring with us, that's why he's asking!"
It almost immediately erupted into chaos between the two, with Sapnap joining in just for fun. It was obvious that each group wanted to join up for a bit- they were good friends, after all. That didn't mean Dream would let this go, though. He needed to tease when he could.
"Awe," Dream grinned, happy the show was on the other foot for a change. "Have you missed us that badly?"
Techno pinched the bridge of his nose. "Look, Tommy's been bugging me about seeing Tubbo for the last month and I am this close to killing and burying his body."
He laughed, because even though Techno's entire group seemed to have a different reason to want to travel with them he knows his group isn't much different. Dream likes hanging out with them all, as does George and Sapnap. Both George and Wilbur are foreign, along with Phil, and love to talk about the best things about where they were born (which just happens to be music and alchemy). Sapnap, as said before, very much idolized Phil and Phil loved stepping into the father role of literally everyone he sees. Dream liked listening to Phil talk about the history of mobs and never turned down Wilbur when he wanted to do something. He also loved sparring, and the only one on his level was Techno. Not to mention Tubbo, who liked the entire group almost as much as he likes Dream's group, while also being Tommy's best friend.
"We'll have to figure out how to split bounties." Dream said after a moment, causing the chattering to dull. "But other than that, I'm cool with it."
"Me too." George said as Sapnap said, "Same." With the confirmation from those two, it was official.
They were now a joined group. For how long, he didn't know. He'll just enjoy it while it lasts.
So, together, as a newly formed group, they walk back to the village, bounty in tow.
Days away, another bounty hunter was being paid for their own bounty. He smiled, dropping the decapitated human head on the table. It clumped on the wood and shifted slightly, touching the vials of corked blood stacked next to it. "Pleasure doing business with you."
"Oh, you're not done." His contractor grinned, a twisted little thing. "I need more blood than just that. It's much too little."
The bounty hunter frowned. "But they're pretty rare in the general population. It took me a while just to find her." He tapped the head's cheek. The dead head slid slightly.
"You'll be paid accordingly." The contractor promised. "And you'll have help. I have several specialists that have studied these types of humans for a long time. They, along with a few of my members, will accompany you."
The cloaked hunter grunted, as if still unsure. "Got anything to track one down? A compass or something?"
"Go east." The contractor said. "Some of my members saw one, a child, traveling with a group. Once you find them, you won’t need magic to track them. They can't hide from you- their eyes give them away."
The bounty hunter shrugged, seemingly accepting the bounty. He turned, throwing up the hood on his cloak and walking out. "You have a deal." he agreed, leaving.
“Remember,” The contractor called out as he left. “If you see a red eyed one report back to me, immediately.”
The cloak hunter waved to show he heard before fully leaving the room. He had things to hunt.