Chapter Text
Dream had never felt panic swell through his body quite like he had before what should’ve been his last death. He expected to wake up in limbo, or maybe not at all, but waking in the server was possibly worse than any limbo he could’ve experienced. Though that wasn’t something he was aware of when he pulled himself to sit up despite the pain that shot through his body.
The destruction that surrounded him made him hesitate, something he hated doing, as he remembered the events that led up to this. Something had gone wrong. Everything, actually, had gone wrong. The more Dream took in of the destruction, the more dread that settled into his chest.
The fact that he was alive at all was a blessing, and he had no business questioning that. He was the only one alive from what he could tell. To some on the server, he was sure that might’ve been a part of their blessing. But for Dream?
“Punz.”
Dream scrambled to get up, adrenaline flooding through him as he looked around for any sight of that white hoodie he’d grown so comfortable with seeing. When he didn’t see it, he started digging. Only then did it click for Dream. He’d survived because he was an admin. Punz was not.
He stopped digging just briefly as the thought settled in. No one else had any way of coming back unless the Revival Book was still in play. From the look of the server, though, Dream could only assume it wasn’t. That wouldn’t stop him from looking for it, though, if it were possible.
Unfortunately for Dream, the Revival Book wasn’t what he found. Dream’s hand hit something metal, and he froze as he processed what he’d likely found. He tilted his head slightly, his eyes shutting to prevent the feeling of emotions he refused to feel. He opened his eyes and dug around the metal.
As soon as he was done digging, Dream settled on the rubble he was sitting on with a heavy sigh. Seeing Punz dead wasn’t something that had ever bothered him before, regardless of the circumstances. In Dream’s opinion, Punz had always looked ethereal when he was dead. Death had always been a good look on Punz, if you asked Dream.
But in the here and now, in a death that Dream couldn’t control, Punz’s peace had been taken away from him, and Dream had no way to give it back. Punz’s hoodie was stained with dirt and blood, most of which Dream was sure was Punz’s own. That ashy blond hair was matted and sticking to the skin it could reach. Dream leaned forward, his head landing on Punz’s chest. He felt like he was drowning in the need to feel Punz breathe again, for his heart to beat.
What was there to do? He had no idea where the Revival Book was, if anywhere, and even if he were to look, he refused to leave Punz here, dead or not. He had more respect for Punz than that, considering Dream had given him every reason to leave and Punz had stayed anyway.
Dream took a deep breath before coming to a decision. He was going to get Punz back to his base on The Greater SMP and settle him in there while Dream came back to look for the Revival Book. It would also give him a reason to check out the mainland for any damage there.
Picking Punz up was no easy feat, unfortunately. Even with the strength Dream had been rebuilding, Punz had a lot of muscle and was decently tall. And dead. Nevertheless, Dream did manage to get himself and Punz onto the mainland, even with a lot of effort.
The annoyance and anger that shot through him when he saw Punz’s house was nearly gone. It’d been exploded so badly that the whole thing was nearly gone, and Dream could tell it hadn’t been whatever Tommy had been apologizing for. If there was any type of explosion pattern Dream recognized, it was TNT.
“Wonderful.”
Dream grumbled with an eye roll to match the sarcasm. Punz’s tower was intact, but there was absolutely no way in hell Dream was making that climb. So he settled for outside the house, just until he had the materials to rebuild the area. This was Dream’s house too, he supposed; he’d have to rebuild it at some point.
Now the only step left was to actually walk away. It wasn’t like Dream could stay here and find the Revival Book at the same time, obviously. Punz being alone, dead or not, didn’t feel right, though. It wasn’t like Dream wanted to be alone either, as he found himself holding that familiar gold medallion.
He could remember asking about the medallion and Punz’s vague answer about why it never came off. Dream had just laughed at the time, giving Punz a hard time for such an interesting attachment. He remembered teasing Punz for never taking off or for being so touchy about it being grabbed.
It was a silly thing to reminisce on, but the idea of never hearing Punz get falsely annoyed at a question weighed heavily on Dream’s heart. Punz had made every effort to help and save Dream through every bit of hell, and Dream had no way to return that effort. Maybe that was why he pulled the medallion over Punz’s head and slipped it over his own.
It was a reminder of what he needed to get back.