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When leading his troops to battle the general always walked at the back of the army, burning any bridges his army passed. One day, his captain decided to march alongside him. It wasn’t long before she spoke what was on her mind.
“This bridge we’re walking on connects the two peaks of the mountain, saving us days of travel and allowing us to set up before the enemy arrives. Seems like a shame to put a torch to it.”
The general could only shake his head in response.
“When the soldiers know retreat isn’t an option, the only thing they can do is to keep moving forward towards victory.”
.
.
.
In the last hour before dawn, Pandora's Vault blocks all traces of moonlight. Had it been sunset, the prison would be casting long and looming shadows, creating a menacing atmosphere to match the look of it.
Ranboo wonders if it was a design choice or a simple quirk of fate.
Regardless of the reason, it poses something of a problem now. Dream could use all the natural light he can get during their already rare meetings but without the moon, he has to settle for what little light the stars provide. Choosing a different - better - time is not an option worth considering. Not when every single meeting carries the risk of compromising the key their ploy hinges on.
Not when their escape plan is the only thing stopping him from scrapping the whole thing when his doubts start to linger too long.
Every time they meet, he finds Dream in a worse and worse condition. The sheer fact Ranboo is allowed to see his dazed swaying and lethargic reactions tell him more than Dream himself ever will. Things started to turn bad once Ranboo was barred from visiting the prison. Recently, it became even worse.
There's only so much Ranboo can do to help. Disinfecting and cleaning wounds he can't wrap. Smuggling painkillers strong enough to leave anyone senseless and numb. Giving him a breath of fresh air to remind him the world is more than just his cell. That he is more than just his cell, despite how the sweetened juice was too overwhelming after months with only the taste of raw potatoes and the shivers which wrecked his body as he stepped into air not boiled by lava.
It's the powerlessness of it all which really kills Ranboo at the end of the day. The reason he's doing it all in the first place is to protect the people he loves. Yet, in order to keep Michael and Tubbo safe, he has to sacrifice Dream. The extent of help he can offer is limited to the likes of protein shakes to supplement the limited diet or a bucket and a washcloth to get rid of some of the grime. Provided the bastard even allows him to help.
He brought scissors once, back before the sight of them caused tremors to run up and down Dream's hands, yet Dream refused even a trim, claiming that it would be too visible. Citing how the neat and straight cuts would stand out like a sore thumb when he's not supposed to have access to any sharp edges in his cell.
(He was right. Ranboo hates that he was.)
"What if we just… stopped? Gave up on the whole thing and retired peacefully somewhere far away?" Ranboo asks the air, then looks behind his shoulder to wait for an answer.
Dream stares blankly at the sky.
Ranboo turns around and tentatively reaches out. “Dream?”
Dream flinches back, his whole body shuddering.
Ranboo steps back and waits for Dream's gaze to focus back on him.
"...Ranboo?" Dream asks, blinking. He looks around. "We're outside."
"We are."
Dream doesn't respond. His eyes jump around between the sky, Ranboo, their tunnel to the prison, and back towards the sky again.
A bird chirps in the distance.
"We should head back," Dream says and makes no move to start walking.
Ranboo sighs but doesn't object. This time when Ranboo reaches out Dream doesn’t even twitch, moving unresisting and pliant under his touch. It's not long before they’re back in the tunnel, Dream's arm heavy across his shoulders.
"Ranboo?" Dream whispers, just before they enter the prison proper.
"Yes?"
"Don't take me outside again. Please."
He wonders if being outside was too much for Dream after being so long inside. If the dim light was too bright, the soft breeze too harsh, the cozy meadow too vast. He wonders if it’s possible for someone to lose the desire to see something else when all they know is a single, unchanging room day in and day out.
Or maybe...
Maybe the desire isn’t too small. Maybe the desire is so large it threatens to swallow everything which argues otherwise.
"Okay."
They can’t give up now. Not when it means all their efforts would go to waste, that their sacrifices were for nothing. Not when they would be surrendering to whims shaped only by their fears and weaknesses. Not when Ranboo knows Dream will forever hold it against him if he lets everything the man endured go to waste.
The lava’s heat slams into them. Dream’s breath hitches.
No, giving up is not an option.
They can only keep moving forward.
"Okay Dream. I won't."