ace of spades

nine - invincible like i've never been

"Now, Tommy I think I have something that belongs to you." His head tilted slightly at the remark. "When Dream went all batshit he seemed to forget about them." Pulling from my satchel were the two discs. I'd taken them from my enderchest earlier, originally planning to give them to him when I helped him escape, but had forgotten them in my room.

When he saw the green and purple discs in my hands his eyes lit up. Gently he took them, like if he moved too fast they'd snap.

Standing from the table we sat at he moved to where a jukebox was placed in the corner of the small room. Putting the green disc in and smiling at the quiet tune that emitted

Minutes, maybe hours passed, but soon the sun pressed through the doors and cracks in the dirt hut. We barely exchanged words, just for a moment we'd enjoyed the sound of the music no longer sour. But it came time to put an end to this.

They were expecting us as much as we were them. Stood at the bottom of the steep stairs leading to Tommy's house were the trio of men. Dream's mask was pulled over his face, George's glasses over his eyes, and Sapnap. He stood there looking at the stairs rather than Tommy and I. Refusing to make eye contact.

"Gentlemen, what brings us the pleasure?" George's head almost shook at the accent in my voice, one that long ago would've rooted in the same as his.

"C'mon Maya all we," I laughed at the name. "What?" Dream spat his words out.

"Apologies, but that's not my name darling."

Now one thing about identifiers is they can see given names. Full names, aliases, nicknames. Everything. From the moment Dream had opened the door the first night I'd arrived here he'd seen my name. Displayed right in front of him. When I introduced myself with my middle name instead, he cocked his eyebrow but quickly brushed it off.

So, there was no need for second introductions. He was already scoffing the name that was in front of him the whole time.

"Adrielle we just want to apologize." There was no remorse in his voice. This was no apology.

"Well why would you want to do that? I betrayed you didn't I?" I couldn't resist smiling through my words. "Or did someone forget in their little temper tantrum last night who had the real upper hand in the end."

It was as if on queue Tommy pulled the discs from the enderchest beside him. Dream's mask covered his entire face, but he radiated anger. If these discs were so precious, how could they have simply slipped his mind.

When no words were spoken, but the knuckles clutching Dream's sword turned white, I nudged the boy next to me with my foot as a signal to him to return the discs to safety.

"What if we end this? No fight. Both of us can walk off unscathed, just take the peace sat on the table." No words were exchanged after this. Dream spun on his heel and quickly marched back to the community house, George on his ankles in a similar fit of rage.

Sapnap stood at the bottom of the stairs, unmoving for a moment. Rather than flushed anger, he looked up to Tommy and I and smiled. It wasn't wicked, it wasn't foreshadowing to something to come, it was pride. He chuckled to himself and slowly walked back to the community house in tow of his two friends.

"Are you telling me it was that easy? I could've just made some declaration and they would've left?" Tommy and I's gaze remained on the horizon in front of us.

"I don't think those three plan on fighting me from the opposing side any time soon."

The sky was turning. To our right the sun slipped behind the hills, behind the trees, behind the oceans to the west. I didn't realize there was a smile spreading across my face, nor did I see the one plastered across Tommy's.

It was a perfect ending. A happy one. We'd won, settled a past few months in the matter of hours. And all it took was switching sides. For the innocent, for the vulnerable, I was prepared to fight if it meant protecting those caught in the crossfire.

When the wind drifted through the trees, it was like the perfect ending to a song. The rise and fall. But before it finished, the song cut off. Suddenly everything was still. The words cut the air like a knife, and every hair on my neck stood.

"You're pretty shit at following a plan." The words did not come from Tommy though. They came from behind us. And with a stupid grin across the length of his face, there stood my eldest brother.

Wilbur. 

~

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