Good Things Never Last

Chapter 15

My head jolted towards the sound of the ear-wrenched scream as it filled the air. As the fumes from the explosion quickly made their way to my lungs, I started to squint in hopes that it would make the blurry image in front of me clearer through the smoke. I could make out something bright green through the constant greys that surrounded me, and just to its right was something that appeared to be bright red.

No matter how hard I tried to see through the smoke, I was left with fuzzy blobs of randomly placed colours, leaving me confused and unsure about what was going on.

For a while, I just sat in amongst the rubble, trying to piece together what was going on and what my next move should be. I also had a really bad headache from where I hit my head on impact with the ground after my fall. Obviously my foggy surroundings weren't helping much either, and straining my eyes to make sure I wasn't in danger while having a pounding headache didn't make for a good combination.

Sighing to myself, I went to lie back down on the debris, but my back came into contact with something that wasn't there before. The next thing I knew, two slim arms managed to snake their way under my own under my forearms and then wrapped themselves around my waist before pulling me to my feet. Due to the fact I was still oblivious to what was going on around me in the current situation I'd managed to get myself in, I found my flight or fight instinct beginning to take control.

As I began to wriggle in my captives hold, I lashed out with my legs. Thrashing around in an attempt to break free, I quickly realised that the hold on me was growing tighter with every move I made.

"Shhh, it's okay Y/N it's me, it's Wilbur"
At his words, I stopped wiggling around and just went ridged. I mentally facepalmed as I finally recognised the pleasant scent of books filling my nostrils instead of the potent scent of ash and gunpowder that had been assaulting my senses moments beforehand.

"Sorry Will, I got a bit..."
I was cut off by the horrific scream that had led me to get up from my dazed position in the first place. The high pitched noise managed to make me wince slightly as Wilbur realised his grip on me slightly, but still allowed me to put most of my weight on him so I could stand upright.

"Oh shit, Y/N we need to go help him, NOW"
"Help who Wilbur sir?"
Wilbur instantly raised his right arm and draped it over my shoulder to keep me glued to his side. With a brief glance in my direction to see if I was alright, the brunette started making his way towards the tortured screams, dragging me along beside him.

"Tommy"

That was the point at which everything came together in my head. Looking through the fog once more, I could see Dream standing on a stone perch, his lone green sweatshirt striking out against the swirls of grey and black that were slowly dissipating. Some hair strands appeared to have slipped out from beneath his hood and sat on top of his mask, which was covered with some sort of red substance.

Blood

Held tightly in Dream's arms was a young blond boy. He was slightly shorter than the man holding him, but there wasn't much of a difference. His fluffy golden hair seemed to reflect the sun's light that shone down onto them. His eyes seemed to be darting all over the place as he scanned the area for anything or anyone that could help him. It was the red t-shirt that he wore that made me notice him in the first place, although the usual white torso of it was drenched in his own blood.

The older male behind him had a shining blade against the teenager's neck, making sure to keep it steady so he could apply pressure at any time. Sapnap stood in front of the two, a small knife in his hand, teasing it along the younger child's arm. He added pressure every once and a while just so he could make the boy scream in agony.

"Let him go!"
Tubbo's muffled sobs echoed across the wasteland of a once beautiful nation as Fundy held him back as he tried to make his way forward to rescue his best friend.

Wilbur and I came to a halt about ten feet from the two men tormenting the youngster.

"If either of you lay another fucking finger on him, I swear I will slit both your throats and let you watch one another bleed out!"

To say I was angry would've been an understatement. They had the audacity to detonate a bomb in my home and then try to murder my younger brother right in front of my eyes. Yeah, I wasn't happy.

"Then he'd be dead, wouldn't he princess?"
He nudged the boy in his grasp, making my brother wince as his neck pushed up against the axe blade.

"Just please let him go. He shouldn't have to be involved with something like this at such a young age. He should be at school, not wrapped up in a war. I'll do anything, please"
In that moment, I was willing to kneel down to him and beg if it meant my brother wouldn't be harmed any further.

"Please Dream, let him go"
My voice was barely a whisper at that point but I refused to let the anxiety that I felt known as I kept a straight face.

"Wilbur does the girl speak for you as well?"
I turned my head to look up at my leader, whose facial expression was a lot more confused than I expected it to be.
"What do you mean by that Dream?"
Wilbur stepped forward a little, still dragging me along with him.

"Are you willing to do anything to save little Tom's life here?"
"Of course I am Dream. He's like my little brother. You can have anything if it means he'll get to live another day"
"Anything?"

"Anything"

Dream paused for a moment, seemingly gathering his thoughts, and as he searched his mind for the best possible outcome he could get from such an opportunity.

"Okay then, I'll let Tommy go, I'll leave L'Manburg alone for the time being as long as I get...

Her"