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George took a shaky sigh. He looked up at the sky. His goggles clouded the bright sun. He was ready.
"Dream? XD? Are you there? Hello?"
"George! Hello!"
George turned around to his godly friend. DreamXD wasn't his friend, he didn't want to be killed so he had to be the god's friend.
"I'm ready, XD."
"Awww, so soon? You don't wanna talk with lil' ol' me? Your best friend?"
George huffed and rolled his eyes. "Can we just get on with it?" He snapped. DreamXD tilted his head with disgust, the colourblinded man knew that he pissed off the god and quickly asked a bit nicer. XD smiled, pleased with his friend.
"Are you ready? This might hurt a bit."
"Yeah, I'm ready."
George inhaled and exhaled as he slowly closed his eyes.
"George....George....George....George...."
A sudden shift was felt. There was a ringing in his ears, he could still hear XD calling out to him. He felt sick to his stomach, throwing up would have been nice. The ringing became louder and louder. Almost like something sharp was scraping against a chalkboard. He couldn't hear DreamXD's voice anymore, which was worrying. Very worrying.
Was he about to fall asleep again? Another ridiculous dream? Not another one....please no...not again...
"𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦! Hey, are you there?"
His eyes cracked open. He was lying on an uncomfortable surface. Definitely not the floor of his house. He got up carefully. His body was aching. He was in a room created with obsidian. The exit out of said room was blocked by a continuous stream of lava. Where was he?
"George? Hello?"
The voice was immediately recognized. George turned around to his friend, Dream, in a corner. He was shocked to see him in an orange jumpsuit.
That's when it clicked.
This must be the prison. Pandora's Vault.
Dream staggered over to George and hugged him. George was quite uneased but gladly accepted the hug.
"Guess orange is the new black, huh?" Dream asked with a smile.
"It seems so." George chuckled.
Still cracking jokes. That was his Dream. Such a funny guy.
"I know you're worried about me. I understand completely. But trust me, once I get outta here and take off this very ugly jumpsuit, I can hang out with you and Sap again!"
The Dream that always puts his friends first, disregarding himself sometimes. The Dream that cares.
"Just like old times?"
"Just like old times."
George liked that. He missed the times where he would be sitting on a hill with Dream and Sapnap, they would be talking about stupid shit for hours. But things took a turn for the worse. Dream urged George to sit on the floor with him. A familiar grin was behind that mask.
"Did I also tell you that I grew out my hair? I mean, it happened naturally, but it still grew out! Do you-Do you like it?"
The British man smirked as he moved over to his best friend and stroked his long, dirty blonde hair. It felt soft....and real. Too real.
"Yeah, I like it. Long hair fits you."
"Really! Thought I was the only one! Anyways, enough about me. How have you been, George? I haven't heard from you or Sap in a while. It's been eating me up."
He always puts his friends before himself. George found it endearing, even though there were occasions where the three boys had arguments over Dream's enormous compassion for his best friends. But it was still endearing. That endearment tasted sweet and refreshing. That was his Dream. The Dream that he remembered.
"I've been doing alright, Started farming again, as a pastime since all I do is sleep."
Dream laughed at that joke.
"-and Sapnap, I guess he's doing other things. Heard he started a kingdom with Karl. The Dream Team really fell apart, huh?"
Those words held water, because they were true. The trio was separated by unexpected circumstances that George wished never happened. He wished that there weren't any wars, that's when things fell apart. That's what tore apart the boys. Things will never be the same again. Nothing will feel the same way ever again.
Dream scoffed in disbelief. “Seriously? Stop talkin’ crap! The Dream Team always sticks together no matter what!” He stated.
George nervously bit his lower lip as his stomach churned at the outburst. This didn’t feel right. Something was wrong. He didn’t like this anymore. His mind was hollow, as if the memories of old times decayed and disappeared. A strange feeling that came over him. What was this feeling?
“Well, yeah. I-I guess so.”
He felt comfortable. This was his Dream. His best friend. Before….everything. Before he lost his friend to corruption and destruction. This was the Dream he’s recently heard of with his old personality. Almost like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. An apple in a group of vegetables. A dog surrounded by cats. A fish out of water. Everything seemed out of place. This wasn’t right. None of this was right.
George never wanted this, Of course not, this was just messed up. He scrambled up from the rough, dark ground and began to yell on the top of his lungs.
“DreamXD! Get me out of here! XD! Get me out!”
George felt Dream’s cold hands on his shoulder. They used to be warm, but now they’re just freezing.
“George, what’s wrong? Are you okay? Talk to me, man.”
“You’re not Dream! You’re not him! I should-I shouldn’t be here! DreamXD! Let me out! Let me out!”
He continued to yell. He shouted until his throat ran dry and his voice became hoarse. His throat stung as he swallowed. He groaned in defeat.
Suddenly, he had a lightbulb moment. His blue and brown eyes casted longingly at the never-ending flow of lava. This had to be the only way of getting out of…..whatever the hell DreamXD trapped him in. George took off his goggles and smiled bittersweetly at Dream. He knew that wasn’t the real Dream, but he had to at least say goodbye.
George pulled him into a hug, crying on his shoulder. As much as he didn’t want to leave, he had to.
“Dr-Dream, I have to-I have to go now.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“You’re not real, obviously. None of this is real. And honestly? I wish I was hugging you outside of a prison cell.”
They broke free from their hug. There was no point in staying here. It didn’t feel right. It’s time to go home. The cell began to glitch and lose its form. Textures mixing and separating from each other. Objects melting and slowly disappearing from view. The “Dream” was fading away. Something about him fading away seemed sadly symbolic. George sighed and did a running start. There was no turning back now. He jumped head first into the lava.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
George awoke from the shock. He was heaving as he frantically took note of his surroundings. He quickly pinched himself.
“Ow.”
Okay so, this was real. All of his surroundings were real.
"George! George, are you alright?"
And DreamXD was real, thankfully.
George tried to process what happened. That felt real, almost like his dreams. Eerily realistic.
"Soooo," DreamXD started happily, "how was it? Was it ideal for you?"
George furiously stared at the god for putting him through that hell. Does he not care enough?
"What the hell was that, XD? That wasn't….that wasn't even Dream!"
"Well, I'm. Deeply. Sorry. Fusing your memories was a very difficult task. Could you at least thank me so my efforts wouldn't have to be in vain? Could you at least do that?"
"I-fine. Thank you."
"You're welcome!"
George was tired. Physically and emotionally. He knew he lost Dream forever. And he will never come back.
A funny feeling grew in his chest, causing it to ache. That was normal. All of this was normal.