Quest for the Emblems

Chapter 19

After they arrived back at Ragnor they retrieved their supplies, and had Philza who was visiting for a war meeting, take the wyverns back to Valor.

"Next stop is the Nether, it's part of Jasmire right?" Dream asked.

Skeppy and Bad nodded, but they didn't look particularly happy.

"What's wrong?" Wilbur asked.

"Jasmire is hot by itself, but the Nether is a whole new level. Lava lakes everywhere, and some of the strongest mobs that you've ever seen." Skeppy replied.

"You've been there?" Eret asked.

"Once, and I never went back," came the response.

The rest of the day was spent gathering up more supplies before they set out the next morning. The trip was taking longer than expected, and everyone was growing tired from being on the road.

"There's a village up ahead," Fundy yelled from up above.

"Tommy?" Tubbo called, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

Tommy didn't say anything, he jumped off the wagon that Wilbur and Niki were driving, then held out his hand for Tubbo. The boy quickly took it and they ran ahead of the party.

"Where are you boys going?" Niki asked, but they didn't answer, instead they just kept running faster until they reached the village.

"Uncle Schlatt!" They yelled at a man.

"Tommy? Tubbo?" The man responded as he ran towards them, and gave them a hug. The trio laughed as they embraced. The rest of the village came to inspect what all the commotion was about, and were quick to welcome the boys back.

"You boys should have told us that you were coming, we would have prepared a feast for you," another man said.

"We missed you Uncle Quackity," The boys said, running up to give the man a hug, "and you have to make a feast either way."

"What do you mean?" He asked.

The two boys gestured to the party behind them.

"Wilbur!" Jschlatt greeted with a wave. "It's good to see you."

The party looked at Wilbur for an explanation, "He trained with me in Valor, he moved all the way out here after he got married."

"To who?" Eret asked.

Overhearing their conversation, Quackity raised his hand, "Me," he said with a smile.

The village laughed as the rest of the party dropped their jaws in shock, "Now if you would excuse me, I have a feast to plan." Quackity said as he headed to the center of the village to inform the rest of the plan.

"Please stay for the night, you guys look exhausted." Jschlatt requested. The party happily agreed, and soon found themselves enjoying the atmosphere of the village.

Tommy and Tubbo were showing off their skills to the other children of the village, and when they revealed that some of the party members were part of the emblem knights, the newcomers found themselves surrounded by adoring fans. They spent the rest of the day coaching some of the children on fighting techniques. When night eventually came, the group gathered around a large bonfire, and feasted on all the food that the villagers and Quackity made.

"How I missed your cooking," Tubbo told Quackity between bites.

"This is absolutely delicious, you are an amazing cook." Niki commented.

Quackity smiled brightly at that comment and Jschlatt draped an arm over him. "It's the only thing that he's good at," he said earning him a punch to the stomach by Quackity, that caused the group to burst into laughter.

Music suddenly started playing so the village children joined hands around the fire to dance, and Tommy and Tubbo excitedly joined in. Wilbur and Jschlatt shared a look before they bowed in front of their Niki and Quackity, who laughed before taking Wilbur and Jschlatt's hands and joining them in the dance. 

Sapnap and Skeppy also dragged Karl and Bad to join in the fun, while Eret and Fundy found enjoyment at watching their awkward movements. No one except Dream seemed to have noticed George slip away. He decided not to follow at first, but became increasingly worried when the sage didn't return and went to look for him.

He found George behind a house, seated on the ground, with his legs pulled up to his chest and his head duck in between.

"George?" He called.

Dream felt the wind get knocked out of his lungs when he saw George's tear stained face.

~0~0~0~0~0~0~

George was genuinely enjoying his time at the feast, but when everyone got up to dance he felt like something had stabbed him in the chest. And no, it was not because he felt lonely, or because he couldn't join in the fun with the person he wanted.

He tried to ignore it at first but his breathing started to get erratic, so he decided to look for a secluded spot behind one of the houses. Once he was alone, he felt his legs give out from under him, and his ears started ringing annoyingly. He leaned onto the wall of the house as images flew through his head. It was almost like his nightmare, only this time more detailed.

He was sitting on the ground of a castle made out of some sort of purple blocks, with his ankles chained to the floor. In front of him was the large black dragon with a purple core, he looked past it to see his friends struggling to fight it off. They were calling his name over and over again, and he could only scream and cry as the dragon finished them off one by one, till only Dream remained.

"Run!" George yelled at Dream, but the man refused and continued fighting. The dragon soon had him underneath its talons, and was gathering a fire in its mouth to finish him off.

"No! Please, I don't... I can't lose you," George sobbed.

He watched as Dream look at him with sad eyes and his mouth moved, saying words that George couldn't hear, before the dragon released its purple flames that swallowed Dream whole.

"NO!" George yelled and sobbed, then he was back in reality.

George sunk to the ground and curled up into a ball, before allowing the tears to fall, it wasn't just a nightmare. It's really going to happen, they'll all get killed, and I won't be able to do anything to save them.

"George?" a voice suddenly spoke up.

He looked up to see Dream's face contort from confusion to worry.

I can't let you die, I won't let you die.