Quest for the Emblems

Chapter 17

The rest of the party also realizes it, but nobody dared to move. Encased by what looked like ribs, exactly were the heart should be, was a glowing green gem.

Come on think, there's got to be something that we can do without attacking it. Dream thought as he still held onto a frightened Tommy. He noticed Bad waving his hands around as if trying to grab his attention.

The minute that their eyes met, Dream knew what the man was thinking. He nodded to show his agreement to the plan, then signaled Tommy to stay still, while he and Bad crept closer to each other.

Bad signaled over to Karl, asking him to fire off an arrow. With shaking hands Karl complied, and just as expected the beast ran over to where the arrow landed. George watched as the two men crept closer and closer to the beast. He had no idea what they were planning to do, but he decided to trust them.

"Dream, Bad, look out!" Sapnap suddenly yelled as a creeper exploded from behind the two.

The noise enraged the beast who immediately went on a rampage. Sapnap grabbed Karl while Wilbur grabbed Niki, and carried them to safety. Skeppy ran over to help Tommy while Tubbo was being guided by George. Wilbur then went back for Fundy and Eret while the others joined in the battle.

The Emblem Knights fought hard with Karl and Tubbo supporting them from afar, but their attacks seemed to bounce off the beast.

"Is this guy immune to attacks or something?" Skeppy asked as he dodged the monster.

"It's core is exposed, I can steal it if I get closed enough." Bad explained.

George tried to freeze the monster in ice, but only managed to get the feet, leaving the monster only partially immobilized.

"Bad go!" George yelled.

Bad quickly rushed forward to grab the emblem, but the monster broke free of the ice and sent Bad flying into the cave wall, knocking the man unconscious. Skeppy was instantly at his side, and carried him over to Niki who did her best to heal him. Skeppy just sat there holding his hand, despite knowing that the other knights needed his help he couldn't bring himself to leave his friend's side.

The monster who was now free started heading towards George. The sage tried to run but slipped and fell. As the beast brought his hand down to crush him, the brunette cast a barrier around himself. George's breath hitched in his throat as cracks started to form across his barrier, he tried his best to hold out but to no avail. The barrier soon shattered and he braced for the impact.

Suddenly the whole cave went silent. 

George looked up to see the monster slowly disintegrate before his very eyes, revealing Dream standing behind it with its glowing core in his hand. George didn't have time to react before Dream suddenly wrapped him in a hug, Sapnap and the rest smiled at the sight.

"Dream?" George breathed out, the blonde tensed a bit before pulling away. He looked like he was about to say something when they heard Skeppy crying. They ran over to see Bad still unconscious, while Niki was focusing hard to heal him.

"Why isn't he waking up?" Skeppy croaked.

"I don't know. He's breathing but won't open his eyes," Niki honestly answered.

"Let's get him to the surface, then let me take a closer look," George suggested.

The group quickly headed out of the cave, with Skeppy caring Bad in his arms. Once out, George took a closer look at the unconscious brunette. The rest of the party tried to hide their worry by setting up some tents for the night, while Fundy and Eret headed back to Valor's palace to deliver the emblem.

"Skeppy, I need to bring Bad into one of the tents okay?" George informed gently.

Skeppy gripped Bad's hand even tighter, "He's going to wake up right?" he asked in a shaky voice.

"He will, but I need to get him inside a tent okay?"

Skeppy nodded and carried Bad into the tent that they shared. Sapnap followed closely behind them, and peeked inside as Skeppy laid Bad down on one of the cots.

"Can you leave us alone Skeppy?" George asked with a smile.

Skeppy looked at him with fear and worry in his eyes, the prince looked like he was about to cry.

"He will be alright Skeppy, but I need to be alone with him." George explained.

Skeppy was about to object, but Sapnap came and grabbed him gently by his shoulders. "Come on Skep, why don't we make some food for Bad to eat when he gets up." Skeppy nodded sadly then allowed Sapnap to guide him out of the tent. George shot Sapnap a grateful smile, who returned it before heading out.

Once they left, George listened around to make sure that no one was nearby. He then slightly opening the top of his robe to reveal a beautiful, glowing, blue gem sticking out of his chest. The glow flickered on and off to the rhythm of his heartbeat, well technically it was his heart.

He brought both hands to the gem and felt the power surging through him. He then lifted his hands over Bad, and watched as the boy's body glowed in a warm blue light. When he saw Bad's fingers slightly twitching George stopped immediately and quickly covered his chest.

Bad's eyes opened slowly, "George?" He croaked.

"Welcome back Bad," George said with a smile. "Do you want me to go get Skeppy?" He asked, and Bad nodded with a weak smile on his lips.

George walked out and saw the party huddled around a campfire. Skeppy was sitting besides Sapnap and Karl who were trying to engage the dark haired man in conversation, but he just continued to stare at the fire with sad eyes.

When Skeppy noticed George heading his way, he immediately stood up and braced himself, as if he was expecting some bad news.

George gave him a genuine smiled, "He's asking for you, grab some food for the both of you to share before going to bed."

A look of relief washed over Skeppy's face as he ran and hugged George, "Thank you," He whispered before grabbing two plates of food and running into the tent.

George let out a sigh as he and Sapnap exchanged looks. They both wondered just how long George could continue to keep his little secret.