Good Things Never Last

Chapter 64

"This is our stop Y/N"
I stopped to analyse the blackstone fortress-like building, the smile that was once present on my face slowly fading away.

"But the portal leads to land I'm forbidden to be within Dream. I can't go"
He just laughed as he walked under the big archway, dragging me behind him.
"I think you've forgotten who owns that land Y/N"
"Oh yeah"
I had completely forgotten that the owner of the land, who was so self-centered that he was named after himself, was standing right next to me.

So I made my way to the portal, allowing the purple colour to consume me whole. Once I'd successfully returned to the overworld, two arms wrapped around me, assisting me in gaining familiarity with my surroundings. He let me go after a second too long and straightened up his hoodie, sending a smile that I couldn't see my way.
"Well I need to go. I'm sure you're capable of finding your way back from here"
"Wait, hold on, so you're just leaving me?"
"Yeah pretty much"
He quickly squeezed my hand before turning around and walking away.
"Bastard"

I groaned, running my hand through my hair as I watched him disappear over the horizon before turning to face the spruce forest, my posture drooping dramatically.
I knew it was going to be a long walk.
I became disoriented after about five minutes. I'd been subconsciously going around in circles and every time I tried to move forward, I ended up near the same tree stump. I was beginning to get frustrated as darkness began to fall, leaving the forests in an eerie atmosphere as shadows moved in the moonlight while I slumped down onto the stump. I sat and thought for who knows how long, trying to come up with a reasonable way out of there without getting lost further in the maze of trees.

I heard the muffled noise of a twig snapping, but I didn't pay much mind to it, too lost in thought to care. What I did notice was the icy hand that rested on my shoulder a few moments later. I froze, my gaze falling on the hand that was wearing a fingerless glove. There was just one person I knew who wore those.
"Holy shit Clay, I thought you were some serial killer or something"
"Sorry"
"Sorry? There's no cocky comeback or teasing?"
Silence. As my breathing became more rapid, the air around me thickened. Something didn't feel quite right. I gathered enough bravery to swivel around on the tree stump, expecting to see the blond smirking down at me once I did.

But what I actually saw startled me.

There was a man that stood, towering over my smaller figure. A man who sounded identical like Dream yet didn't look anything like him. He wore a mask but it didn't have a smiley face carved on it. There was an X to my left and a D right next to it. Both symbols had a dark liquid seeping out of the markings but seemingly deteriorated as soon as the liquid dripped down from the mask. A sort of halo hovered above his head. It's golden colour glimmered in the moonlight. It somehow sat still as the night breeze brushed against it. He was dressed in an emerald green cloak with a hood that sat atop his head with a single tuff of blond hair poking out from beneath it.

My gaze continued down until it stopped at where his feet were supposed to be, yet there was nothing there. He was floating roughly fifteen inches off the ground with no legs in sight, only the hem of his cloak.
"Dream?"
"Hello"
His voice echoed, like he was standing in the middle of a cave as the noise rippled off invisible walls.
"I can help you get home"
I tilted my head, a bewildered expression on my face as I looked up at the floating figure.
"Sure, why not. You seem interesting"
I was definitely hallucinating. My lack of sleep was catching up with me.

So we both set off through the woods, making small talk every once in a while as we travelled.
"So Y/N"
Definitely a hallucination. I never told him my name.
"Yeah Dream, what is it?"
He stopped and turned to face me, his figure towering over my own.
"It's DreamXD"
"Oh right, my apologies, you just look like someone I know"
He just nodded as he faced away from me.
"I heard you're helping Techno"
I furrowed my eyebrows at his comment. I hadn't mentioned Techno once.
"Yep, indeed I am!"

Was I dreaming?

"Well I feel like I could give you something to help you out"
He stepped closer to me, his voice becoming deeper.
"What do you mean?"
He chuckled darkly, slightly shaking his head, or what I believed was his head.
"I could give you some stuff to help"
We just stood in silence for a second as I raised my head up at him.

"And we could even be F̶̛̫̖͉̫̠̬͔̜̣̰͂̈̉̋̒̕ŗ̵̠͖̣͓͕̫̗̟̋̋̎i̵̢̺͓̙͕͗̇̒͌̃͐͝ͅͅę̷̦͉̠̤̍̋n̶̛̗͛̎̊̉̐͌͛̕d̷̨́͊͒̓̔̑̍š̴̖̤̜̮͇̮̞́͆̆̈́̾͂̇̚͝"

As goosebumps rushed up my arms, I awkwardly giggled, distancing myself from the man.
"Yeah, that would be nice. You've been really kind, taking time out of your day to help me get home. I don't need anything else"
"That's okay Y/N!"
His voice turned sweet and joyful as he chuckled.
"Clay?"
The mask suddenly snapped to meet my gaze, causing me to jump.

"Oopsie, ђє'ร ﻮ๏ภє"
He stepped closer to me.
"ɭєՇ ๓є ﻮєՇ ץ๏ย Շђє คг๓๏ยг"
I instinctively reached out and softly placed my hand on his shoulder, surprising him.
"I don't need the armour to be your friend DreamXD. You've already done enough"
I forced a smile at the end of my sentence. Something didn't seem quite right, but I knew deep down that I shouldn't upset the entity that sat before me.

"¥ðµ'rê ßêïñg §êl£lꧧ ¥/ñ. Ì ¢åñ hêlþ ¥ðµ, måkê †hïñg§ êå§ïêr £ðr ¥ðµ"
I shuddered, my thoughts beginning to argue with one another about what to do. Yes, he could help and make things easier for us, but why would he want to? There must have been a reason. But, if I agreed, Techno could finally relax with his brother and friends like a normal family instead of working away.

"Are you sure?"
"₱Ø₴ł₮łVɆ"
I smiled again, this time a genuine smile, at the thought of both Wilbur and Techno finally getting a break.
"Do you want anything in return? I've got gapples, potions, weapons-"
"All I need is your friendship Y/N, I've never had a friend before"
His voice turned back to how it had been before, sweet and soft, sounding awfully like Dream when he was trying to be nice. I hesitantly stuck out my hand, locking eyes with the letters sitting on the mask.
"You have yourself a deal DreamXD"
His gloved hand met my own, grasping it tightly.
"Good"

I turned to pull my hand away, only for his grip to tighten, his nails digging into my wrist.

"Ÿ̶̬̞̟̖́̐̐̋͑̀́̈͂/̸̧̤̲͖̰̱̱̟̫̦̿̓͛̎̃̊̈́́́͝N̵̝͎̩͚̜̹͐̇́̓͛̍̅̚"

I turned my head, trying to find out where the unknown voice came from.

"Ÿ̶̬̞̟̖́̐̐̋͑̀́̈͂/̸̧̤̲͖̰̱̱̟̫̦̿̓͛̎̃̊̈́́́͝N̵̝͎̩͚̜̹͐̇́̓͛̍̅̚"

I started squirming, trying to find someone, anyone as the masked man pulled me closer to him.

"Y/N!"

Tommy? I couldn't talk, I couldn't move, all I saw was black.

"Y/N!"