I'm a Healer, But...

9

Wilbur's so mad that Techno gets there first, the one to throw a knife straight through Dream's hand. He wanted to play hero, just this once-It's fine. He'll get his hits in. "Hi, Dream," he says, filling his voice with fear . From the way Dream staggers back, it works."What- what the hell?" Dream reaches up, slamming his mask back in place, but Wilbur still gets a glimpse of his face- he looks so boring. Why does someone so plain get to threaten someone like Tommy?Dream takes a step back as he grabs the knife in his hand, pulling it out- he's always been reckless in fights, that would cause some real permanent damage if he didn't have a healer back at the Organization. Good thing he won't be making it back there. "Theo," he snarls, rage-disbelief, still paying more attention to Tommy than them.Tommy has already stepped to the side, further down the alley. He already looks so much less scared now that they're here. "I- I said you were my jailer, Dream. Guess who just got new ones, bitch!" Fear-hate-SATISFACTION.They're gonna have to correct that later. They might keep him, but it's not a prisoner situation. Probably. Whatever."Dream," Wilbur sing-songs. "Looks like it's just you out tonight, huh? No Pandas, no 404 to back you up?""I don't need them to handle you , Siren," Dream hisses, gripping Techno's knife with his good hand."How about us?" Phil asks from above before dropping down, letting his wings slow his fall. Techno isn't so delicate, jumping down and hitting the ground hard."....Theo," Dream says, his mask turning to face Tommy. "What have you done?""I made some new friends, fucking obviously." Tommy's confident now, gripping his own- no, Techno's- knife tightly. "Turns out I had options, bitch."Dream laughs, high pitched and panicked . "Are you fucking kidding me? Come on . All the work I did to keep you safe and you run straight to the Syndicate over a little argument?""Uh, yeah. Keep up, Dre.""...fine. Fine! I said I'd bring you home, Theo, one way or another." Dream reaches up, pressing something on the side of his mask.Tommy hisses. "Shit, that sends an alert to-""Really?" Dream snaps, and Tommy hunches his shoulders. "Whatever. The others will be here soon, so all I have to do is hold you off," he tells the three of them."Good luck with that," Techno says, stalking forward as he hoists his axe.Wilbur only gets a glimpse of Tommy closing his eyes before the violence starts. The alley isn't the best for fighting- Dream is cornered, but with Tommy behind him they can't push him too far back. That, combined with the narrowness of the alley, makes it difficult to team up the way they normally would.It also means that Techno, standing closest to Dream, gets the most hits in. It's so unfair, Techno is actually going to be Tommy's favorite when they're done.Dream is still parrying or avoiding most swipes of the axe, though his injured hand is mostly useless at this point. It's pretty pathetic to see the world's number one hero like this- but then again, he's really only number one because of his friends that are always behind him. Wilbur wonders who will fill in the gap when he's gone.A nearby fire escape groans, Wilbur only noticing when a piece of it falls, almost landing on Phil. Wilbur has to drag him out of the way so his wing doesn't get skewered by a metal railing. 'Good luck' is such a bullshit power- it's just bad luck renamed. But luck is still luck, and power and skill will outdo it.While Wilbur is saving Phil's stupid ass, Techno swings the axe at Dream's neck- it would be a messy cut, if it landed, but it would be enough. Dream would still bleed out before the other heroes could arrive, choking on his own blood, on his knees and suffering for daring to threaten Tommy-It doesn't land.Because Dream grabs Tommy by the arm, pulling him between himself and the axe. Tommy yelps, his eyes opening just in time to see the axe swing towards him. Techno barely stops it an inch from Tommy's face."Dream," Techno growls, but Dream shoves Tommy at him- Techno immediately dropping the axe and pulling Tommy to his side- and jumps.Wilbur realizes a little too late that Dream is jumping for him." You. What did you do to him?" Dream asks, a hand around his throat, squeezing tight enough that Wilbur can't even laugh the way he wants to. "What, did you make him believe that you were a better option ? Convince him he hated being safe with the heroes?" He only loosens his grip when he actually wants an answer.Wilbur uses that opportunity to laugh the way he wanted to. "I didn't use my powers on him at all, actually!""....you sound way too proud about that, mate," Phil comments.Techno snorts. "Yeah. Like you just got your thirty day chip for not psychically manipulatin' people into likin' you." Despite his nonchalance, his words reek of worry and... something piglin that Wilbur can't sort out."Bullshit!" Dream interrupts them. "Theo isn't this stupid, he wouldn't run to the Syndicate-""Yeah, but I did, so keep up." Tommy's still shaken by almost getting an axe to the face- reasonably so, Wilbur thinks. He's still trying to play strong. It's endearing, honestly."Bullshit." Dream tightens his grip on Wilbur's throat again. "Siren- no. Wilbur Soot- ""Wait- wait, Dream-" Tommy has gone from shaken to scared-please-no-"Wilbur Soot," Dream repeats, louder. "Theo will pick me."Suddenly, his throat burns where Dream's hands are. It's unfamiliar, a pain he's never felt before in his life- and it's growing, the pain worsening and spreading out from his throat. Wilbur chokes, reaching up to try to pull Dream's hands off of him, but even when Dream releases him the agony doesn't stop.Wilbur falls to his knees, clawing at his neck on instinct to try to get it to stop, letting out gasps and chirps of distress. Flakes of blackened skin fall to the ground and he freezes despite the pain. That's- that's what happens when someone is Withering. Something he's seen dozens, hundreds of times at his father's hands-How did Dream do that to him?He can barely hear the screeching and growls, lost between his nerves burning and the ocean of fear-rage-pain-pain-pain-pain-How long does it take to die from Withering? About an hour, he thinks, but already his throat is starting to burn out, the nerves dying and silencing him. He wants to cry out, call for his family, but he can't. He can't even stay on his knees, collapsing completely as the Withering continues to spread.Such a short time for his nerves to die. Will the rest of the hour just be him trapped in his body as it dies? Will it be a relief, compared to the burning, the feeling of his skin falling off? Will it be a new level of hell to not even feel as his body falls apart until he's just blackened bones?He writhes as it crawls up and down his body, his arms and torso the next victims of the Withering. He can't stop moving , his body twisting and thrashing on its own. Each movement comes with more flakes falling away from him, and he cries soundlessly. Wilbur can barely tell when he's struck with more waves of emotion, it all blending together in a disgusting sludge- they're so angry, so scared for him, so aware he's going to die.The burning completely overtakes his hands just as someone holds one of them. He tries to pull it free, the pain too much to take, though if he was in his right mind he'd also be terrified of infecting someone, of the disease spreading to Techno or Phil. They have a tight grip, refusing to let him go even as he does his best to try to escape.Wilbur tries even harder to speak, to beg them to let go, but all that comes out is a breath. Everything is sounding so distant as the Withering starts to affect his ears, but he can make out yelling- Dream, Dream yelling- "Theo! Theo-""Dumb fucking bitch," Tommy says loud enough for Wilbur to hear him. He's the one kneeling next to him, holding his hand, oh god Tommy's going to Wither too- "I fucking told you you had a paper trail, that anyone could look you up and know your name, and you didn't even fucking- primes, Wilbur, you're the dumbest. Second dumbest, I think Dream takes first, thinking I'd pick him after he literally threatened to kill me -" There's a loud noise in the distance- the whoosh of an axe, the wet sound of it hitting meat- and Tommy flinches. "Oh, primes, that's-""Tommy!" This time, it's Techno's voice that he hears over the pain consuming him. It's clearer than Dream's screams, he must be closer. Wilbur shakes and tries to curl up, not wanting Techno to touch him, for his favorite brother to have to go through anything like this. "The healer," he roars, rage-fear-desperation . "Where is he?!""Wilbur, Wil," oh, and Dad has arrived, too. He can barely get out Wilbur's name through his chirps, please-be-okay I-love-you-so-much blending in with the fear-fear-FEAR so overwhelming it's almost as bad as the pain itself."We only have an hour- less," Techno says, so furious-scared that his voice barely sounds human, can barely be understood. "Where- how far is-""It's fine," Tommy says, squeezing Wilbur's hand. "He's going to be okay.""He's- do you- do you know what this is, Tommy?" Phil asks, clearly already in tears. "It's Withering, it's not okay, the only cure is a healer, and not- not even all healers can-""This healer can," he insists. "Wilbur's fine, he's gonna be okay.""Then we need to get him to the healer ," Techno snarls. "Where are you hiding them? WHERE ARE THEY?""To-mmy," someone says, and everyone goes silent. It takes Wilbur far too long to realize it was him. But- his throat is gone. He felt it die, desperately tried to speak anyway, was silenced, unable to cry out or beg for the pain to stop- "Tommy," he says again, voice strained.It's then that he realizes he can hear just fine. It wasn't that Techno and Phil were coming closer, it's that the burning stopped, easing up so gradually he didn't even realize the pain was dulling normally rather than just burning out as his body died."I'm right here," Tommy answers him- both of them- and squeezes Wilbur's hand. "Hi, Wilbur."Wilbur starts to move his head- it hurts, his neck hurts, which means- he can feel it again. The skin stretches painfully as he tries to turn to look at Tommy, but he can move it, he's- he's-Tommy is kneeling next to him. Their eyes meet through the sunglasses- they're dark enough that Wilbur has never gotten the chance to see Tommy's eyes, but he can see them now. They're glowing, bright enough to be seen through the lenses, and Wilbur gapes at him."Wh... wh..." Wilbur tries to speak, but the words are still slurred, his whole body too weak. Now that he's paying attention, he can feel it . He should be grateful- he is grateful, to be healed, but he can also feel his nerves regrowing, new skin replacing what flaked off. It's horrifying. It's such a relief.His head falls to the side, unable to support itself for long as his body repairs itself, and he's stuck looking towards Tommy-Towards their hands, held together. A bouquet of Wither Roses growing between their palms.