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George’s heart was in his throat as he sprinted towards the battlefield, breath whipped from his lungs every single step.
Gasping, he kept his gaze forwards. Up ahead, he could see the broad, jet-black wings of the dragon. The shimmering green underscales the same shade as emeralds hidden away in a cave and glittering in the sunlight. Come on, George. You need to get there faster. He grabbed his bow from his hip, nocked an arrow, and kept running. As he cleared the crest of the ridge, he spotted more of what was happening.
Dream was the dragon. He’d escaped from the prison a while back, then vanished for a little while. That day was the day he came back. Instead of hurting anyone, though, or setting the world on fire like they expected, he kidnapped Tommy and the others. Glancing between Dream’s claws, arrow drawn back against the string until the fletching brushed just beneath his eye, George spotted the kids. Tommy. Michael and his parents, Ranboo and Tubbo. Fundy with his kid Yogurt. Aimsey, Eryn, even Purpled. None of them were hurt. Or at least, the kids weren’t hurt. Glowing golden ichor, dragon’s blood, dripped down to the long grass and the exposed stones and gravel around them, coming from heavy wounds cutting through Dream’s scales. Sharp jade hazel eyes snapped around, the spikes on Dream’s tail were at their full spread, and he was curled around them defensively. Like he was trying to protect them.
Sapnap lunged in, trying to find a gap in Dream’s defenses. Arching his neck, Dream grabbed him by the back of the shirt and threw him back. Not hard, not even that far. Just far enough to keep him from reaching the kids. Hissing, Dream flattened himself to the ground a little more, wings fluttering down to his sides. He’s trying to make himself a shield, George realized, swallowing nervously. He’s scared for the kids, hurrying forwards, he focused the arrow on a target and fired.
Dropping down with a cry, Sapnap grabbed onto his arm where the arrow had struck. When he turned to look, his eyes found George. “George! What the hell?”
“Let me!” George yelled back, sprinting down the slope and stumbling. “Get everyone back, now! Let me handle this!” Hesitantly, Sapnap got up. Grabbed his sword. Glancing from Dream to George, he sighed and then nodded. George hurriedly placed himself between the pair, keeping his face to Dream and his back to Sapnap. As soon as he couldn’t hear anyone else moving, George took a breath.
Dream was leering over him, looking down at him. There was a wild, untamed look to his eyes, the fear still holding steady, but with a bit of recognition, too. Because I never threatened to kill him. I didn’t claim his last life as mine, George realized, thinking back to when he’d heard about Sapnap’s promise. Dream is afraid of Sapnap. But he’s never been afraid of me.
He doesn’t need to be.
“Hey, there, Dream.” He whispered. Slowly, he reached up. Dream arched his neck, hissed lowly. Not as a threat. Just a warning. His horns rattled together with the movement. There was a deep slash over his face, parting the scales to show where they met the skin and where infection had begun to settle. There was a viciousness to the wound, something recent and probably from a fight somewhere in the woods. Other wounds were a little older, but he’d only been gone for about a week. Maybe the one on his snout had reopened again, instead of having been made, in the time between his disappearing from the prison and when he showed up again. “It’s okay, I’m not here to hurt you.” Slowly, he put his sword down. Settled his shield on the ground. His bow, too. He slipped off his quiver. Started to unlatch the straps of his arms. He set them aside on the ground, pushed them away with his foot.
Looking up at Dream, he took a slow breath. Smiled reassuringly. Reaching up, he held out his hand. Dream blinked, head dipping a little bit. He stretched his head forwards, hesitated. Then, he touched his muzzle to George’s hand.
“It’s okay. It’s okay, Dream. I’m not here to hurt you, sweetheart.” George reassured, resting his other hand on the underside of Dream’s jaw. Then, he held onto him. Exhaled and focused. There was a low hum, and he felt the spread from himself to Dream. Cracking open his eyes, George looked up to see the spread of his own icy blue magic across the bloody gold slashes over Dream’s body. Smoothing his thumb over Dream’s jaw, George exhaled. Dream opened his eyes.
Pulling back, Dream blinked at him. Tipped his head to the side. His horns rattled again, and there was a bit of recognition flashing in his eyes again. Then, he exhaled softly. George looked up at him, smiled a bit.
There was a snap, a flash of black and green scales, and then claws locked around him. He heard some of the kids yelping, scrabbling to try and keep themselves from falling. George looked up as Dream’s massive wings blacked out the sky. Then, Dream launched into the air. Gravity pulled at George’s body.
Dream flew off so quickly that George passed out.
+++
George woke up lying on the cool floor of a mountain cavern.
Blinking, he took in a slow breath. Exhaled slowly. Then, he tipped his head to the side. Immediately, he saw the current issues. Spotted the kids slowly.
Tommy was having a panic attack. His quick, hyperventilating breaths cut through the still air of the cavern. He was panicking. Understandable. He had just been kidnapped by the draconic form of someone who had been abusing him, even though George knew for a fact that it wasn’t…actually Dream. There had been something different about him. What, George didn’t know. He just…he had a feeling. That wasn’t his Dream, but it was Dream’s body. And Dream was currently in dragon form, probably trying to calm Tommy down but unfortunately making it worse. Much, much worse, actually. Like, a whole lot worse. As for Tubbo and Ranboo, they were nearby but not too close. Arms wrapped around their son, Michael, a very clearly newly-resurrected Ranboo had buried his nose into the fluffy part of Michael’s head, the little bits of fluff. As for Tubbo, he was wrapped around them both and holding onto them as tight as he could. Eryn had pressed himself against the wall, holding onto his hair. Their eyes darted to George when he pushed himself up. Wide and dark, they swallowed nervously and pushed back into the wall again. As for Aimsey, he was just sitting there in confusion, clearly wanting to go to Tommy but also not sure if he should go to Ranboo instead. Fundy was in his full fox form, tail wrapped over his nose as he was wrapped around Yogurt protectively. Then there was Purpled, with his weapons drawn and his back to the wall again.
Pushing himself up, George stumbled to the side. Time to do damage control, he decided. Hurrying over to Tommy, he gently shooed Dream away. Then, he dropped down. Touched Tommy’s arm. “Hey, sweetheart. Focus on me, focus on me.” He said. Blinking, Tommy looked up at him, gasping unevenly. “Is it alright that I’m touching you?” George waited for a second. Nodding, Tommy rasped in another breath. Nodding in response, George gently took one of Tommy’s hands. He pressed it to his chest, kept his other hand nestled on Tommy’s arm. “Okay, okay. Breathe in, with me. Like this.” Slowly, he inhaled. Tommy nodded. Tried to do the same.
It took several tries for them to actually breathe evenly together. When he was confident Tommy wasn’t going to hyperventilate again, George hurried off and then looked around. Found some blankets tucked into a little side cavern. Coming back, he took one of the blankets and then rested it around Tommy’s shoulders. It was a fluffy, baby blue one, and Tommy looked at him gratefully. Smiling, George touched his cheek, gently rubbed a thumb over his cheek.
“I’m going to go take care of everyone else, too, okay?” Tommy nodded. Standing up, knees popping with the movement, George inhaled slowly. He went over to the Beloved-Underscore family, settled a couple blankets around them and gave a little stuffed animal that he managed to find to Michael. The little piglin boy cradled the toy close, looking at him with a large, thankful eye. Smiling, George nodded and then stood up again. He did some quick once-overs of the group, figuring out who he needed to check in on next. Aimsey would be good for a second. Eryn and Purpled, too. Fundy was the one he needed to worry about most.
Walking over, George crouched down by Fundy. Gently settled a hand on the fox’s shoulders. Eyes snapping open, Fundy looked up at him with wide brown eyes. “Hey. Let me check on Yogurt?” He asked, resting a blanket over Fundy. Pulling away, Fundy nodded, exhaled softly. George swiftly checked over Yogurt, wrapped a blanket around him as well. Then, he settled Yogurt down by Fundy, and both of them looked at him gratefully before curling into one another again.
George went with Eryn and Aimsey next, giving Eryn some food to help him calm down. Then, he checked in on Aimsey. Asked them if they needed help. Aimsey shook their head. Let George know that he wasn’t someone to worry about for the moment, that he would be okay. Then, he went to Purpled. Purpled was still holding onto his weapons, a sword settled in each hand. Eyes narrowed, Purpled watched him.
“Hey, kid. It’s alright. You can put the weapons down, no one’s going to hurt you.” He explained softly. Swallowing, Purpled looked at him cautiously. “I know, I know. It’s scary. But we’re going to be fine, okay?” Swallowing again, Purpled let out a shaky exhale. George was standing right in front of him now. And he reached forwards. Gently, he settled his hands on Purpled’s. Slid the hilts of the swords into his hands instead, and he slipped them into the belt loops at his back. He’d put them somewhere else in a moment, once he got food for everyone else. But first, he just needed Purpled to put the weapons down in the first place. “We’re going to be fine, I promise.”
“Okay.” Purpled murmured, dropping his gaze down. Purple eyes darted to meet George’s own dark brown. He exhaled shakily, and George smiled. Gently touched his shoulder and rubbed a thumb over Purpled’s shirt. Then, he offered him a blanket. Willingly, Purpled took it. He went and settled down against the wall. Closed his eyes and leaned his head back to close his eyes.
And now to handle Dream.
Heading over to the dragon, George gently touched the side of his jaw. “Do you have any pieces of jewellry? A necklace?” He prompted. Looking at him, Dream hummed. Turned his head to look at one of the other nooks in the cave sides. Nodding, George hurried over. Bending down, he slid his hand into the nook, managed to pull out a necklace with a long chain and an emerald pendant. The chain length didn’t matter. What mattered was the pendant itself. Or, it would, in a moment. Once George had messed with it.
Cupping the gem in his hands, George raised it to his lips. Inhaled slowly. Whispering words to it, he felt the thrum of magic around him. Felt the rocks around him shake a bit, loose pebbles floating into the air. There were a couple gasps from the kids, they didn’t know he could do this. Behind his eyelids, George could see a faint blue glow that was likely coating the walls around them as the world lit up with his magic. He finished the spell in a breath, opened his eyes as the light faded.
Then, he turned to Dream.
The dragon lowered his head as George approached, holding out the chain. He allowed George to slip it over his horns. Sure, he didn’t know what George had enchanted it with. Not yet. But the trust that was so clear on his face…it made George’s heart ache. Dream walked with his heart on his sleeves and in his hands. And currently, Dream was letting George hold his heart in his hands instead. Letting him hold his life, too.
There was a burst of icy blue magic that cut across where the wounds had been before. They crossed over the scars as well, then blurred out his form. He shrunk down, tail and wings remaining but becoming smaller, more proportional. Thankfully, he still had his clothes. They weren’t the best clothes. Rather, Dream was wearing a ragged, sliced-up and blood-spattered orange jumpsuit. From the look of it, it was his blood, not someone else’s. The spatters were placed at the slashes themselves, where blood from the underlying wounds wet the fabric, and where blood from injuries to his face, his nose or mouth or ears, would have dripped. But this didn’t just clearly prove that Dream had been tortured in the prison (by Quackity or Sam, maybe both, if George’s dreams where he watched the prison had been right).
George had been right that it wasn’t their Dream causing havoc on the server.
Cradling Dream’s cheek, running a thumb across one of the now-faded Dreamon marks, George looked at him. He needed a haircut, Dream had never let his hair get this long. Too easy to grab in a fight, too easy to use against him if it got tangled in something. He kept it in an undercut, the top just long enough to brush above his eyebrows. George could do that for him. More than that, though, Dream’s hair wasn’t brown like it had been since he found that mask, since he had changed. It was almost golden instead, shaded with brown and a dark, sort of burnished gold color. The sort of dark, orange-toned yellow that made up portrait frames or elegant jewels. Opening his eyes—they were different, too, a soft jade hazel compared to the harsh, bright burning green they had been the few times George had seen him without the cursed mask—Dream looked down at George. Reaching up, he touched George’s hand with bruised, broken fingers. This was George’s Dream. They’d have to handle other things later. Sapnap and the other server members who didn’t know. Quackity and Sam would be punished.
But for now, George had something else to deal with. There was a sort of hesitance in Dream’s face. He was scared. The touch on George’s hand was desperate, questioning. He doesn’t know if I love him anymore, George realized. Because of what’s happened with the monster taking hold of him. George smiled at him softly. I can fix that.
Leaning in, getting up on the balls of his feet rather than settled back on his heels, George pulled Dream a little closer and kissed him.
Dream’s other hand went to his hip, held him steady. It wasn’t a long kiss by any means. A comfort, not a make out session or an ask for something more. (Making out. Not…no. George was ace. On top of that, Dream was still a bit shy about some things, like just not having a shirt around George in general in a setting like the beach. He was not going to press Dream into doing that in a high-stress situation.)
When George settled back on his heels again, he rubbed his thumb over Dream’s cheek. There was a soft look on his partner’s face. Smiling softly still, George whispered, “It’s good to have you back.” Dream smiled. Then, someone cleared their throat behind them. Turning, George looked back. Saw everyone else staring at them.
Tommy, the brave soul he was, broke the silence first. “Uhm, excuse me. Can we have an explanation?” He asked. There were a couple nods. Holding onto Dream’s hand, the one that had settled on his hip, George turned to look at him.
“Don’t go anywhere.” He teased softly, fingers intertwining with the man’s. They’d need to do some medical, he didn’t like the way that Dream had pain in his eyes and his stance. He was tired. This was a story he would need to tell.
“I’m not planning on it.” Dream replied, and George smiled. Then, he pulled him over to the others, summoned a medical kit. There was another soft gasp, this time from Aimsey. Laughing, George turned back to the medical kit, had Dream sit against the cavern wall.
“Alright, and I’m only going to say this once,” he began, looking around. “So you better listen. It started…hmmm, I would say three years ago for you all, but for us, it was a while before that. I’m talking about the Dreamon, first.” Tubbo’s eyes widened. Looking at him, George smiled, “You’re a smart kid, Tubbs. This isn’t your fault. Anyways, way back when we first got to the Essempi Lands, there was…something there. Something that we couldn’t quite explain. So this idiot,” he knocked on Dream’s shoulder lightly with his knuckles, and Dream laughed, “decided to go out on his own one day. He came back with this mask…”
They were going to be there for a while.