Dreaming of Demons (Dream x oc)

[43] To Try Everything

"So you're sure about this?" Ranboo held a crease in his brow as he mulled over everything I had told him on our way back to Karl's house in Kinoko.

"Yes," I answered confidently, "Well, I'm sure about the Demon, but not so sure about which of these rituals will actually work." I held up the book Tubbo had given me.

Ranboo stared intently at the book, as if trying to decipher the contents hidden behind the cover. His gaze fell to the floor and I could practically see the gears turning in his mind. But his expression was hard to read. What was he thinking?

"It's okay if you don't want to do it," I told him softly, "We're not forcing you to. I just thought it would be worth a try."

He looked up, nodding his head sharply. "I'll do it."

My brows shot up, surprised with how confident he sounded with his answer. "Really? Are you sure?"

He shrugged. "I mean, I'd rather not be possessed by a demon for the rest of my life. That'd be really unfortunate."

A knock sounded at the door and we all glanced at each other before Karl stood up to answer it.

"Hey, I brought some stuff for you guys." Tubbo's cheery voice floated into the house, and Karl opened the door wider to let him in. He was holding a box in his arms that he set on the kitchen table, looking quite proud of himself.

"It's a bunch of ingredients I thought you guys might need for that stuff." He pointed at the book in my hand. "Have you tried anything from the book yet?"

"Uh, no, but we were just about to."

"Y'know, me and Tommy have tried some of the rituals in that book before, I could help you guys out."

My brows rose at the casual mention of him and Tommy attempting exorcism rituals. The thought of them trying to exorcise someone was almost comical. It wasn't such a far-fetched activity for the two, though. Either way, I would be grateful for any experience with this.

"Sure, why not?" I replied.

After gathering a few more supplies—we wanted to be extra prepared—the five of us headed out to a secluded spot near Kinoko. We all agreed that trying rituals in the house could be dangerous, and we wanted a good amount of room to work with as well.

Sapnap fell in step with me, and I could feel him watching me closely. "Hey, Taryn," he asked quietly. "is it really true that Quackity...tortured Dream?"

I looked over at him, trying to pick apart the hardened expression on his face. So much had been revealed to him in just the past couple of days, so much that completely disintegrated the reality he had been living in. I didn't blame him for being doubtful.

But he was asking about the truth and I had to give it to him.

My gaze fell away from his, my voice a whisper. "Yes, it's true."

He didn't respond, and the weight of my words sunk heavily between us. There was so much I could say, but I didn't even know where to start explaining. My thoughts roiled in my mind and all I could do was glance at him again. "I'm sorry."

He didn't look at me, instead watching the ground under his feet as we continued to walk, a hard set to his jaw. His lips parted, and it took a while for him to finally form words. "Did he—did you see this?"

I swallowed a lump in my throat, trying to wish away the sudden memories. "Yes." I answered quietly. "Quackity—I saw...I saw blood on his shirt and he had an axe. He was walking outside of the prison, and I knew something had happened. He tried lying to me, but I figured it out." I took a breath, pausing my spill of events. My next words were so quiet, they barely made it out of my throat. "And there was...a lot of blood in the cell. It was bad. I thought—I thought Dream was dead at first."