The Two Week Deadline - Dreamwastaken

Chapter 7 ver. 1

A/N - Just like in the last book, chapter 7 will have two versions! This one's Wilbur's the other will be. . . I'll let you guys guess. Also, I can't do math, so don't attack me later in the chapter. :)

Everything was going downhill. Dream was dying, everyone was worried sick, and nobody knew what to do. Wilbur had no idea what to do. He'd already spent 3 whole hours looking for a cure, spending all his time in his secret potion room. He had no cure, no solution, but he didn't want to tell Sapnap or George. They'd either get pissed and destroy the world, or they'd go insane and destroy themselves. He didn't want either. 

Pulling his hands through his bleak brown hair, Wilbur buried his face in his forearms. He groaned, thinking more about himself than we should be. He couldn't help it, though. He wondered if this would happen if his soul were to settle. But. . . what was his unfinished business? Perhaps it was with Philza, regarding his final death. Maybe it was with Tommy, his former right-hand man. Or maybe it was with himself, torn between being glad he blew up L'manberg and being sad that he destroyed his friends' homes. 

Whatever it was, he wouldn't be fading anytime soon. He liked his life now, and he didn't want to change it by fixing his "problem" and disappearing. 

Wilbur looked at the clock - 2:55pm. It was almost time for Sapnap's check-in. He dusted himself off and fixed his hair, trying his best to look calm and collected. 

Right on time, a knock sounded, and Wilbur opened the door to Sapnap's tired features. Somebody was clearly not getting enough sleep. 

"Hello, Sapnap." Wilbur greeted, not bothering smiling. 

"Please tell me you have something." Sapnap pleaded, getting straight to the point. 

"I-i don't, but I'm trying my best." Wilbur promised, as Sapnap's face broke even more.

"Please, Wilbur." Sapnap practically begged. "You have to find something soon. Dream needs to live. If he doesn't. . ."

Wilbur's eyes softened, heart breaking in sympathy. Sapnap stared at Wilbur with two teary eyes, one black and one white. 

"If he doesn't, I'll die. George'll die. We'll all fall apart." For a split second, Wilbur could've sworn the raven's black eye turned white. Looking again, it was black. Wilbur snapped back to attention, and shook his head.

"There's no need to beg." Wilbur smiled sadly. "Dream. . . when Dream first came to our family, we were all really hesitant in bringing him in, but he. . . he feels like family now. He feels like a baby brother to me now."

Sapnap just stared at him with a surprised look.

"Maybe if I talk to Dream, I can figure out a solution." Wilbur offered.

"Yes, yes. I'll take you to him, c'mon." Sapnap nodded hurriedly. 

————————————————————————

The musky scent of an abandoned castle filled Wilbur's nose as soon as he stepped into the castle. Looking around, the place looked deserted, too. He followed Sapnap up the stairs and down the hall, finally stopping in front of two doors, most likely Dream's room. 

Taking a deep breath, Wilbur pushed open the huge doors, stepping into the sound of soft sobbing. Looking up, Wilbur saw Puffy and Dream hugging, tears streaming down their cheeks. Dream was the first to look at him, eyes widening in surprise. 

"Wilbur?" Dream pulled out of Puffy's hug and ran over to him, stuffing his wet face into Wilbur's soft shirt. 

"Hey, little guy." Wilbur smiled.

"Why are you here?" 

"I need to ask you some questions to find a cure." Wilbur explained. 

". . . okay." Dream waved Wilbur over to the bed, the two of them sitting down on the soft covers. 

"Okay, so how long has this been happening for?" Wilbur asked, pulling out a pen and notepad, filled with notes from earlier.

"A week." Dream replied quietly. Sapnap bristled from the other side of the room.

"How often?" Wilbur asked softly.

"It started out every 5-ish hours, just my fingertips." Dream answered. Wilbur nodded, then wrote down a few more numbers.

"And now?" 

"Every 3 hours, I think." Jotting down a few more numbers, Wilbur frowned at the results of his calculations. No, he did something wrong, right? Checking again, Wilbur exhaled raggedly. All his calculations were right. And numbers don't lie. 

"Oh, god." Wilbur paled even more as all his blood drained from his face in horror. 

Nonono. . . this can't be. . . 

"What?" Sapnap asked, panicked.

"Dream. . . you only have two weeks left to live."