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Sapnap stepped out of the Nether portal, purple swirls tumbling about him with the thoughts screaming in his ears. Dream was out. Dream had escaped.
It was a nightmare, crawling its way through his skin to sit as a nagging feeling at the back of his head, causing turmoil in his mind any second he tried to clear his thoughts. Dream was out. A murderer was on the loose.
Deep breaths weren’t helping, his hands trembled against his will and he pressed the heels of his palms to his eyes. Dream had escaped and he hadn’t stopped it.
The server was in panic mode, the loud ringing of the prison alarms cutting through what had been a peaceful day less than an hour prior. The plentiful twittering of birds had gone silent, stray feathers littering the ground from hurried takeoffs to get away from the chaos.
The chaos which the admin caused.
Primes, how had everything gone so wrong in such a short time? Had it been out of the blue or had he let himself relax too much? The SMP was prone to conflict and it had been too peaceful for too long. Surely they should have all realized something was bound to happen.
Not this. This wasn’t supposed to happen.
Sam had told them that the prison was safe yet his words were proven to be untrue time and time again. Had he had something to do with what had happened? Had he grown tired of being the Warden and let Dream escape? Had Dream somehow manipulated him into it? Or had Sam been torn by their past as friends that he had disregarded everything horrible Dream had done? Sapnap didn’t know and didn’t dare think about it. He wasn’t sure he could face the memories without breaking.
He leaned against the obsidian frame of the portal, lava boiling in his chest. How had they let Dream escape? Who had been a part of the breakout? Techno. Phil. And Niki and Connor too! How could they have possibly escaped with the rest of the SMP after them? He kicked himself, bunching his fists. He should have done more.
Dream was out there somewhere, free of shackles and free to do anything he wanted. To go after anything he wanted. Anyone he wanted.
Dream had many victims and even more enemies but there were some he would be more eager to go after now that he was free. Would he go after Punz for betraying him? Or maybe Sapnap himself was on the list for revenge after having chosen the others over his best friend.
No. Dream wasn’t his best friend. He hadn’t been for a long time.
But surely Dream would have a plan on where to head to? He had had nearly a year to sit in prison thinking about nothing else but what he would do if he ever escaped. That had now happened. So he would have a clear plan on what to do.
During their games as kids Dream had always been the hunted, running from the others as they chased him around the forests. But deep down Dream had always been the hunter, creeping on his prey while they weren’t looking. So he was positive the man would go after someone.
But who?
The realization set in cold and freezing, inching its way through his veins and into his heart, halting its panicked beats. A single conversation rang through his ears, clear as day.
“I can’t- I can’t let him hit me, I can’t go through that again-”
“Tommy, just get back if you can’t handle it!”
Tommy. The one person that Dream had hurt the most of all of them. The kid he had manipulated and abused for weeks before eventually beating him to death in a dark prison cell. Tommy, who was terrified of even hearing the man’s name, and petrified knowing that he had escaped. Tommy, who had disappeared during the battle.
Tommy. Dream would go after Tommy.
The certainty hit him like a brick and he was up and running before his thoughts could catch up, racing toward the Prime Path with his injuries burning and stinging with each step. There would be time to tend to them. Not now. He had to get to Tommy. He had to get to Tommy before Dream did.
Punz stood on the path and stepped forward in an attempt to stop him but Sapnap shot past him, eyes glued to the rising path before him, hoping he wasn’t too late.
The sword in his hand hummed with enchantments, his shield cracked and splintered, his boots covered with blood and grime from the battle not long ago. Each footstep was heavier than the last, dragging him back when all he was trying to do was move forward.
Tommy would be fine. Dream had run far away from the server, he would be hiding somewhere gathering his supplies, he wouldn’t be back, Tommy would be safe-
The doors to the wooden hut engraved into the side of the hill sat flung open, hanging barely from their hinges. Blocks placed in a panic littered the front yard, a last defense against something sinister, something hunting.
Dream was there.
“Tommy!” Sapnap yelled, scrambling around the blocks to the doors. Dirt lay kicked up from hurried footsteps, followed by clear imprints of someone walking slow. Stalking. “Tommy!”
There was no one in the main room, the chests lay strewn open to find weapons or armor. Blood flecked the ground, each spot proof of an injury from a crude attack. The blood looked fresh.
The door to the backroom sat closed, inviting him forward.
Tommy had to be okay, Sapnap had made it there in time, it was just some game, nothing was wrong! Maybe Tommy had gotten injured during the fight at the prison and the blood was from them! And he had rummaged the chests for bandages- yes that was it! Tommy would be okay once Sapnap opened the door, he would greet him with a big smile and mischievous eyes, he would walk in and find-
Blood.
So much blood.
Sapnap froze, unable to take in what he was seeing. A figure loomed over the still body, axe shimmering with fresh blood and enchantments, the letters carved into the wood filled with blood. The Axe of Peace dripped crimson off its blade, a crude and evil testimony of the life it had taken.
His sword was slippery in his palm, threatening to fall. His arms, weak and stiff, could barely hold his shield up. His chest, empty yet filled with fire as Dream turned and gave him a twisted smile.
“Hello, Sapnap.”
Blonde curls coated in blood. Blank grey eyes that had once been such a vibrant blue. Skin that had shone with life, split lips that had once spread in a smile that could brighten up the entire server. A once red and white shirt that now sat as a single color, soaked through from the sickening gash on his throat and chest. Above a heart and pulse that had brought the world alive.
Sapnap’s breath caught as he moved his gaze to the man before him, still dressed in his bright orange prisoner’s outfit, but covered in armor caked in crimson. He hadn’t even taken the time to change before coming back to torment his victim, Sapnap thought, sick to his stomach.
“Did you miss me?” Dream asked, cocking his head.
Sapnap's world spun. “Miss you?” he spat, gripping his sword. “Miss you!? You’re sick! You’re a monster, what the Hell is wrong with you!” He struggled to keep his eyes off Tommy's prone form, fearing he might throw up. Not yet. Not before the bastard had paid for what he had done.
“Come on, Sapnap, don’t act like you care-”
He swung his sword with a cry, aiming for Dream’s neck. The man brought his axe up in defense, barely flinching as the two weapons met with a clang. Sapnap wasted no time bringing the blade back around and thrusting it toward the man’s chest.
Parried. Sapnap kicked out. Dream sidestepped and spun the back of the axe into his shoulder. Sapnap fell back with a cry, feet hitting the warm liquid on the floor. Bile rose in his throat and he rushed forward once more.
But no matter what he did, Dream seemed to know his every move, there to stop the attack before it had even begun.
“I told you I was going to kill you!” Sapnap screamed, tears threatening to pool in his eyes. “I told you I was going to take your last life!”
“There’s a difference between being confident and being stupid, Sap,” Dream said with a smile. “I’ve always been better than you. Don’t think you’ll win now.”
With a cry, he leaped forward again but Dream was faster. He brought the axe around to hit Sapnap’s sword to the side, then brought the hilt to his knuckles. The weapon clattered out of his hand. Before he could react, the axe came swinging around and severed the leather straps holding his chest plate up. It clanged to the ground.
He scrambled for a weapon and missed Dream’s boot as it landed on his chest, sending him to the ground, gasping for air. Several of his ribs were broken, he knew, short of breath.
The edge of the blade came to a stop on his neck and Sapnap raised his eyes to the man who now held his life without mercy.
Dream’s eyes were emotionless and guarded, but behind it, all Sapnap could tell he was angry. “I thought you were my friend, Sapnap.”
His anger simmered. “And I thought you were mine,” he spat.
“We could still be.”
Sapnap shook his head, careful of the blade on his throat. “Not after what you’ve done.”
Dream looked him up and down, then glanced at Tommy. “You can’t save him anymore. It’s useless. And if you choose to stay by the side of these people, you will die along with them.”
“I’d rather die alongside friends than live beside a monster.”
Tense silence passed between them once more. Sapnap was painfully aware of his hands pressing against the wet ground, the still figure next to him.
“I’m leaving,” Dream finally said. “And you’re not going to stop me.”
“I’m going to kill you,” he growled.
“No, you’re not.”
“And why is that?”
“Because I’m the only one who can bring him back.” The axe swung away from his neck and Dream stepped back. With a final scoff at the body and Sapnap, he turned around and stalked off.
Sapnap sprung to his feet and grabbed his sword, then shot out of the room and into the summer day outside. But Dream was nowhere to be found. Like a ghost, he had disappeared into the wind.
Heat climbed Sapnap’s throat and he scrambled back inside and lowered himself next to Tommy. True to Dream’s word, it was too late. Two blank eyes stared at him but Sapnap could almost imagine how they had been filled with terror only moments before he had arrived. If only he had been moments earlier. . .
He ran gentle fingers through Tommy’s hair, sick at the way the strands stuck together with sticky crimson. It was wrong. No child should have so much blood around them, much less coming from them.
He didn't look at the wound. Didn’t dare face what he had failed to stop.
Dream hadn’t been out of prison for an hour and he had turned his eyes on the one person that feared him the most. Tommy should have been safe. His murdered and abuser had been locked away, he had supposed to be safe! And Sapnap had failed him. Because even with the entire server on the lookout, hunting their prisoner, somehow he had still gotten through to Tommy.
He didn’t apologize. He didn’t dare speak. Nothing could make right what had happened in the tiny house in the hill, home to a young and broken boy. Home was supposed to be safe. But Tommy had never known safety. And he never would.
Sapnap wouldn’t kill Dream. Not while Tommy was still gone. But he wouldn’t let Dream be. He would gather his supplies, he would brew potions, and set traps. He would make Dream suffer and bend to his will.
It was years since they had last played together but for the first time in years, the Manhunt had begun.