Work Text:
The candles had nearly burnt themselves out. Dream tapped the front of his mask as he continued looking over the documents on the desk in front of him. He’d been pouring over the records for the SMP for what felt like forever. The downside of being in charge of the server as a whole. Sapnap had told him that there were threats from other servers that said there would be consequences for their dishonesty. They called them liars and frauds and manipulators. Things that made no sense if everything had been run to the way Dream instructed.
He’d spent the last three days with his Admin panels combing through the world code to look for any errors. He’d found none and was completely exhausted. Originally he had the intent to sleep and recharge before doing his next round of checks but he hadn’t had the time. In fighting between his server members that was escalating quickly and required his attention. While he was down there he found out there were deals going on that left everyone at a loss. All of it had been traced back to the palace.
The error wasn’t in his system. The error was in his people.
He’d had Sapnap and Punz increase security around the castle. He talked to George about how the staff was and basically interrogated him. Part of him felt guilty but he could see from the look on George’s face that he understood. He may be king but only because Dream put him there. The role of Admin made the weight of the world so much heavier.
He was trying to run through the financial and trade records between servers. Cataloging everything that looked suspicious to him and everything that was out of place. There were things that shouldn’t exist. Any server deals should have gone through him. How these had been happening under his nose he didn’t know and he intended to find out.
Anger was something he was unfortunately becoming known for. L’Manberg had only proven his strength when he was given certain motivations. He wasn’t going to apologize for the poor soul that decided to undermine the integrity of his SMP.
With a quick type on his communicator he sent a message to George and Sapnap. He’d been keeping them up to date with what he was doing. Wanting to make sure they knew where he was and he knew where they were in case any of the servers decided to try to follow through on any of their threats. They’d be able to handle it. That much he was sure of. But he still wanted to do this with as much peace as possible. Contrary to what the people of L’Manberg said, he wasn’t a monster. He wasn’t a tyrant. He never wanted war.
You whisper to DreamTeam: I found some things in the record keep. Want your opinions before I go investigate further.
There wasn’t going to be a response beyond that. He knew. They didn’t need to. They both would be on their way and they’d confirm what he was already seeing.
The best way to remove a stronger opponent was to have someone else do it for you.
L’Manberg wasn’t even the culprit. It was sympathizers. He didn’t know which was worse. If it had been the rebel drug nation that had formed calling him a tyrant or that his own people had lost sight of what was happening so dearly that they sought to have him killed.
Standing up from the desk he felt his legs shake and his head spin. He’d been sitting too long. Rolling his neck until he heard loud pops and carefully stretching out his limbs he allowed himself a moment to breathe. He didn’t even remember the last time he’d taken the mask off. Or when he’d laid down.
Groaning softly he put his hands on the desk and let the firm wood under his palms ground him. He was exhausted. He might be an Admin, capable of running on little and doing outlandish things, but he was still human. He still needed rest. He couldn’t run forever, even with his magic and abilities that wasn’t possible.
His world tugged at him a little but he didn’t react. It could wait. It was fine. He just needed to stand for a little while longer. He could wait until George and Sapnap got there. They could hold things together until he had slept and eaten something.
The world pulled stronger. Urgent. The overwhelming feeling that if he didn’t move he would die flooded through his body and he moved before he even so much as thought about it. The glass of the window shattered just a second later.
Dream was already summoning his axe from his inventory. Nightmare was a familiar and welcome weight in his grip. The blade had carried him far and hadn’t let him down yet. He doubted it would fail him now. There was an arrow embedded in the desk, skewering a paper he couldn’t remember clearly into the wood. People followed behind it. Dressed in black and completely hidden. The sudden wind from outside blew out the candles closest. The room had been dim before but now it was lit by the few straggling flames and the light of the moon outside.
He was out of time for peace.
The world pulled around him. Warning him of the first moves as the assassins rushed forward. Dream cut up at them quickly. Pushing himself back and out of the corner of the cramped room. Three he could handle. But more kept coming in. Armed with weapons he couldn’t see. A frown tugged on his lips and he made a choice before he could think of any reason against it.
He charged them.
None of the assassins expected it. One against six. It wasn’t the best odds. Especially since he was exhausted. But he was still leagues better than them even when he was at disadvantage.
It took a God to give him a rival after all. This was nothing.
Crash after crash he dodged and cut at the people around him. He was aware it wasn’t a quiet endeavor but he didn’t particularly care. Swing after swing nightmare moved like an extension of his body. He cut down person after person but they kept coming. It felt like he took one down and another took place.
They were good, he would give them that. His muscle’s pulled and yelled after so long with inactivity to this. He felt sharp lancing pain tear through the flesh above his ribs and spun himself away before it could get worse. The small knife had escaped his notice before but now that its blade was painted red with his blood he was paying keen attention to it. Nightmare’s enchantments hummed along the blade as he twirled it and delivered the final blow to the person that dared to cut him.
The numbers were falling. It would be okay.
A hand was on the back of his head. Around the strap of the mask and buried into his hair.
Without thinking about it Dream brought his elbow back into the man’s gut. The hand fell away but in the process of turning he missed the other one bringing up one of the candlesticks. The man fell dead at his blade when he felt the metal connect with his skull.
Where the hell are George and Sapnap?
The blurry thought that they were being attacked as well forced him away from the wall he’d fallen against. He opted to go without nightmare for this one. Choosing instead to wrap his hands around the assassin’s throat and squeeze. Slamming their body into the desk and enjoying the struggle they put against being strangled.
The door to the office slammed open just as he stepped away from the body. He slipped on blood and limbs. His arms and legs were shaking. He felt dizzy, sick. Nightmare returned to his grasp but there was no need.
Sapnap and George stood awestruck at the door. Both of them taking in the scene and staring at him with a blend of worry and amazement.
“You got them all.”
He nodded at Sapnap’s words. Nightmare vanishing away to his inventory while he tried to move around the desk. His side flared in pain and he brought a hand to it, hissing lightly as soon as he touched it. Both of his friends were with him in a second. Hands supporting him and helping him move to the hallway where they lowered him to the ground by the wall.
“They got you a little bit too.”
Dream grumbled at the phrasing. No one got him. They tried. But to get him they would have had to kill him. And he wasn’t going to let anyone do that.
“Just a scratch. Little bang.”
George hummed and reached for the strap of the mask. Freezing the instant Dream flinched at the touch. His head felt heavy. He wanted it off but he wanted to be sure first. He didn’t want anyone but them to see him. He wasn’t ready for that.
“Safe?”
George nodded. Sapnap hesitating a second at the question before double checking the hallway and confirming.
“Let us help you dude. You’ve been doing all of this alone. You almost got killed in there. Let us take care of you and then we’ll do this together.”
Both of them knew he was going to fight it. They knew him too well not to. So Sapnap leaned closer as George pulled away the mask and looked him right in the eye when he spoke.
“You protect us. Right?”
He waited until Dream nodded. A confused look pulling over his features while he stared at Sapnap’s determined expression.
“We’re family.”
Another nod. A bloodthirsty look in Sapnap’s eyes. A furiously protective one in George’s.
“No one touches our family.”
No. Dream would not apologize for the poor soul that decided to attack him. He would not apologize for the hell they would unleash on them. The server was his family. Dream would protect them until his dying breath. And maybe, just maybe, they’d protect him too.