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-And the last thing he saw was the dragon’s ever bright green flames engulf his body. He screamed as he desperately attempted to summon his shield and crawl away, but he was able to do neither of those things as he sank to the ground, his world going black.
…
…Was it over?
…There were no monsters in the void, nobody to protect or fight, nothing to fear-
“-ddy… TEDDY!”
Goddammit.
The bear awoke with a start, eyes frantically darting around as he patted himself down and felt the patch heart sewn onto his chest. It beat faster than a rabbit’s heart. He was alive, he realized. But how..?
“Oh, shit, that actually worked.”
“Told you so.”
“And for once, his nose doesn’t grow!”
“Everyone shut up and go get Merlin and Witch Cat, they’ll be happy to know he didn’t croak.”
Teddy slowly sat up to look at the three bickering boys in front of him. Their general silhouette and voices were vaguely familiar, but in his dazed, panicked state, he could hardly tell why.
“Hello..?” He asked, holding his head to deter an incoming headache. All three of them turned towards him, and then looked at each other.
“Ohhhh, that’s- Pan, you’re the fastest, go get them already!” The wooden puppet panicked, bouncing its leg.
“Okay, fine, fine!” The boy in green, ‘Pan’, reluctantly agreed and zipped away, leaving a sparkling trail as he flew. Wait. Kids aren’t supposed to fly, are they-?
“I- err- welcome back?” The kid in a plastic yellow crown offered. “Just- shoot, Pinocchio, what are we supposed to do?”
“I dunno!”
“Isn’t your father the smartest guy we have on the team aside from-“
“Please, god, shut up…” Teddy groaned. The remaining two turned to him sheepishly.
Puppet boy Pinocchio sighed. “Teddy, look, we’re sorry, there’s so much to unpack and we don’t have any time to explain it-“
“WE’RE BACK, HOLY FUCK!” ‘Pan’ shot past the puppet and crown boy, skidding to a halt about three feet away. A very odd crowd was hot on his tail - a cloaked porcelain doll, a concerned looking wizard guy, and a gigantic black cat were among them. Teddy winced at his volume, his headache shooting up like he was just stabbed in the back of the head.
The large cat was the first to approach, staring down at him. “Hello again, Teddy. It seems you have, for lack of better terminology, died.”
Teddy gave the cat a blank stare before he realized who she was. A plethora of emotions crossed his face - confusion, rage, deja vu. “You… you’re the one who caused this, weren’t you?!” Headache all but forgotten, the bear staggered to his feet and reached for a pair of scissors he didn’t have.
A tall lady in a green dress - the sleeping mantis, as he recalled - took a step back. “Should we do something..?”
“No,” said the Witch Cat. “Let him rant. He deserves that peace of mind.” And thus, the dream guardians settled in to listen to an angry Build-A-Bear about nine inches tall tell them all off for a crime they didn’t commit. He used every insult he could possibly think of in the heat of the moment, and left no deed unsaid.
When he had finally finished, he took a moment to catch his breath. “Well?” His eyes darted from person to person in a glare sharper than any weapon he could wield.
“Only a good third of that was true,” muttered Peter. His shadow, just barely visible against the darkness of the pocket dimension, nodded along. Teddy started towards him with the intent to beat the ever loving crap out of him, but was stopped by the Witch Cat.
“He speaks the truth, Teddy. We will explain everything if you have the heart to listen.” She hunched down to his level, blue eyes meeting black button ones. Teddy opened his mouth to retort, but silenced himself when he noticed the strained looks of the others.
With a reluctant sigh, he mumbled, “Fine, but let me have my scissors back. Being around you lot without a weapon makes me feel antsy.”
The explanation was brief, yet very detailed. The real dream demon was Lighty, who had been leading Teddy on from the start. Teddy was a dream guardian who, after being abandoned, had his memory wiped, and everything he saw was just the other guardians doing their best to protect Alicia. By the end, the bear was silent and hanging his head in shame.
“Regardless,” finished Merlin, the wizard who nearly killed him, “we are all glad to find you alive. I must apologize for setting you on fire, however…”
“No, no, it’s fine. I just- need a second.” Teddy took a seat on the floor, feeling another headache pound at his skull. He couldn’t even begin to process the fact that he was a dream guardian with amnesia, much less the fact that he basically attacked his own family. “I- oh god, there’s so much for me to process here-“
“We know,” piped up Little Red. “So just relax. Lighty can’t find us here.”
The bear began to think of a witty comeback, but the lull of sleep reached him first as he fell back, headache all but disappearing.
“Goddammit, Merlin, you actually murdered him,” Peter groaned.
“I shall go make him tea and pray that is enough compensation for this,” sighed the magician as Teddy at last got a chance to truly rest.