E-404 | Dreamnotfound

Chapter Seventeen

"How are we going to kill that creature?"

"I'm not sure yet," George sighed, "We don't know what its attack or weakness is."

Dream nodded, "The bad thing about that is, we'll have to gain that knowledge from battling it ourselves."

"That's true. Do you think we can?"

Dream swallowed. He knew George was looking for his direction. He knew that the both of them were so incredibly afraid of what Technoblade deemed as a Bane. And yet, he was still the one making the decision. A choice that could ultimately kill both of them.

"I think we can do it."

That way, if the two of them couldn't handle it, no one else would have to go down with them. He couldn't bear the thought of not only George, but also possibly Sapnap, Philza, Karl, or anyone else dying.

"Okay. I'm with you, Dream."

The blonde could evidently see a thousand spare emotions floating through the other's eyes. For someone that couldn't remember many things, Dream had noticed that George seemed to carry one thing with him despite anything: emotions. And those feelings had somehow made their way to Dream.

"We have to be extremely careful, are you sure?"

Oh, how much Dream hoped that the brunette would decline his decision. He wanted, needed, for George to back out. Even so, he knew his friend never would.

"Yeah."

"Okay. We'll have to find it first, then we'll see if there are any visible weaknesses. If not, we may have to get into combat to see how dangerous it is."

"How can we avoid dying?"

Wasn't that the grand question?

In response, Dream reached into his bag, pulling out something that shimmered brighter than the nearby lava.

"Here, take a few. I thought they might come in handy."

"What are these?"

George observed as the other handed him an apple with yellow coloring.

"Golden apples. They help regenerate some health."

"Three? Thanks."

"No problem."

Dream rose his fist, signaling for the other to do the same. And there, they bumped into each other for one last team gesture. It was more than that, however. It showed they were both willing to do whatever necessary. It showed that the two of them were doing the mission together. It was a promise they'd each make to one another: to make it out alive, together.

With that the two of them left the small overhanging they had hidden beneath and was greeted with a red-filled landscape which they'd been too much in a hurry to actually take in. The duo didn't have any working device, because of the nether making them dysfunctional, in which to check the time, but Dream figured that it'd been at least an hour if not more since their encounter with the creature. It couldn't have gone too far.

George was sure that the farther they moved into the nether, the more noticeable the small whispers of the Bane called out. Dream seemed to be unaffected as if he couldn't yet hear it. The brunette was nervous, about as anxious as he was before, but he knew he had to dismiss it all. There was no backing out. Killing the Bane was necessary to reach paradise. The lives of so many rested upon his shoulders. And for that, his determination to kill it outweighed the anxiety.

As the two continued walking, the sounds only grew louder until George couldn't ignore them.

He whispered out into the darkened environment, "Do you hear that, Dream?"

"Hm? Is it the monster?"

The duo stopped in their tracks.

"Yeah," the shorter's voice was somewhat shaky, "You can't."

Dream shook his head.

"As if it's calling for me."

"We must be getting close."

The blonde was partially concerned. The two were more connected than he had previously thought. He wasn't sure what that meant, but he intended to find out.

They continued on until Dream could eventually hear its haunting voice as well. Steadily turning a corner, the two were met with a large cave with a tall, high ceiling. It was also mainly open in the entrance, exposing the terrain further back to any potential threats.

And that's when they spotted it. Through the smoke, they could faintly see the outline of what looked to be a human body, however, it was much larger. Clicking noises came deep from its throat as the sound resonated throughout the cave.

Dream noted that the smoke seemed to cover any exterior weaknesses and shielded it's weapon from their eyesight. They'd be going in completely dark as they had expected. They had to figure out something, anything about the creature. That meant combat.

George rose on his tippy-toes in order to reach the other's ear. He had to be quiet enough to conceal their presence, "It'd be bad to just rush in there, so maybe I should use an arrow."

Dream gave a nod, leaning down to the brunette's ear, "Don't directly hit it, try hitting a nearby wall farther away from us so we can observe how it reacts."

Sucking in a quiet breath, George carefully brought his bow to a draw as he held onto the arrow. With Dream there for reassurance and the small coverage hiding the lower half of his body, he aimed towards the opposite cave wall.

The archer released the arrow, watching as the monster reacted while he retreated into cover.

Horror struck his body. He couldn't make out clear distinctions due to his vision which began to blur.

It had all happened so fast. Too fast.

He'd seen them.

He could make out every single detail that rested within the monster's scarlet eyes.

Numbness banged throughout his entire body, washing over his limbs. He felt so incredibly sick to his stomach, his breath shaky.

He was falling with no one to catch him. No one to keep his fragile body from dropping beyond the ground. Was he even in existence any longer? He felt as though he were nonexistent.

What was only a few seconds seemed like minutes to the brunette. He tried to control his breathing, to stop his chest from rapidly rising in panic, but it kept him from performing any bodily functions.

He was aware of everything happening. He was aware of the fact Dream was looking towards his direction, probably with concern, as he doubled back to look at the creature. He was aware of how aggressive the whispers had become.

None of it mattered. His body was crumbling, breaking under some invisible weight that kept him paralyzed.

His ability to hear was heightened from the inability to move and the desperate cry was thousands of times louder than it actually was.

"George!"