I Can't Remember

[23] This Is What You Wanted, So Why Are You Whining Now?

*A Few Hours Ago*

They all slowly got up, each one of them giving Dream a comforting gesture as they walked inside the Nether Portal, directly into the Stronghold.

*Ten Minutes Ago*

Walking through the halls was a daunting task of its own. Every turn taken was a new danger lying ahead. Even one wrong twitch could lead to an arrow in the head. The halls were barely lit and extremely narrow. Tubbo's claustrophobia did not help at all.

Tubbo didn't usually lie to himself, not since the Red Festival anyway, and he wasn't going to start now. Therefore, it didn't take a lot of convincing for him to say to himself, 'This plan is fucking nuts!'

*Now*

"This way guys," Dream called as he waved them over. They did it. They found the Portal room!

They entered the room... to be immediately swarmed by Silverfish.

Tommy started hacking at them, apologising to 'Sally' every few seconds as if she was actually there to be offended. Tubbo sighed to himself and wearily started helping his friend. While it didn't take long for them to clear out the place and break the spawner, it was definitely a hassle.

As Dream was finishing off the rest of the infested blocks, Tubbo walked to the Portal.

At first, he shivered at the sight of the Ender Pearls. He would never get used to seeing them, the eyes reminding him too much of his lover's eyes. Except Ranboo's eyes were bright, glowing, and full of life. It was as if they had magic of their own, young and free. The Pearls had a different magic, older, darker, and deeper. Their glassy exterior restricted any motion that would have been possible before. Not to mention the purple bases of the Pearls, Enderman blood.
Everything about them reminded Tubbo of the cruelty that people inflicted on the poor creatures every day.

Shaking off his disgust, he went to count how many Pearls were on the Portal. One at the end of the side, one on that corner, one in the middle of the left– three Pearls.

There were only three Pearls there.

How would they get nine more Pearls so quickly?

"Guys, there aren't enough Pearls here," Tubbo mumbled. Dream and Tommy immediately turned towards him and started examining the End Portal's frame. Out of the twelve concave spots around the frame, only three were occupied. Ranboo stayed behind Tubbo, resolutely facing the other way.

Tommy took a quick glance at his inventory. "I have five more," he said.

"I have two," said Tubbo.

"So we only have to find two more," said Dream, already moving towards the door. "Come on, guys, there's usually some treasure chests to loot around the Stronghold, we should be fine."

"Alright then," shouted Tommy. "Ranboo and I can go together!" he dragged him away before any complaints could be heard.

After a few minutes of walking around, Ranboo turned to look at Tommy. Tommy stopped walking, an inquisitive look on his face.

"Hey, any reason you wanna do this with me?" Ranboo timidly wondered.

Tommy was quick to answer, "Yeah! It's 'cause you're my friend! Come on, Ranboo, I think I saw a chest there!" He ran in the direction he pointed.

Ranboo grinned and ran after his friend.

They searched the hallways for hours. Every chest they checked filled them with more disappointment. It seemed like their luck just did not want them to get the good stuff. At this rate they would never find–

"Hey, Ran, I found some more Pearls!" Tommy shouted. Ranboo turned towards Tommy, wincing at the volume.

"I'm right next to you Tommy, do you have to shout? Also, where's Dream? Didn't you say he messaged you?"

"He said he went the other way to hopefully get Gapples. Dunno why he didn't just take some of mine, I told him that I have plenty."

"Hey, you never know how much you may need!" Ranboo dragged him to the library of the Stronghold. "I swear to god, if he's gotten himself into trouble agai–ah!"

Tommy looked back to see Ranboo on his knees, holding his head.

"Yo, what happened big man?" Tommy asked worriedly. Ranboo shook his head.

"It's nothing, I just–" he screamed again, making Tommy hold onto his shoulders to keep him from falling completely. "–oh god, that hurts so bad."

Tommy held the distraught boy in his arms as he screamed. He tried to shush him as he cried out his refrain of "Please, no, it hurts." Tommy looked around in desperation, not sure what to do. He needed someone who knew what to do, and he was not it. All he could do was try to soothe his friend. Ranboo was growing tired now. His shouts and screams turned into pain-filled groans and whimpers.

The noise soon attracted Tubbo's attention, who slid down next to Ranboo as soon as he reached the doorway. Tubbo cradled his husband as he mumbled and groaned in pain. Tommy did the same as he looked around again.

Where was Dream?

His question was answered by a scream.

Tommy's blood froze in his veins.

With a quick "stay here" directed at Tubbo, and a reassuring squeeze on Ranboo's shoulders, Tommy maneuvered himself out of the group's tangled mess on the floor and ran towards the voice. The voice which sounded suspiciously similar to a certain green bitch.

The sound guided him to a large room– the Portal room. Tommy gaped at the surroundings. The grey walls had turned an ugly black, and the energy in the room seemed to scream 'anger'. Someone had messed up and the gods were angry.

Before he could wonder what had happened, he saw Dream on the floor, holding his head and curled up as tightly as he could; the Book of Revival lay next to him; a Wither Knife was stabbed through its middle and a purple substance was oozing out of it. Wisps of golden energy also seemed to emanate from it, which were going towards Dream, and somewhere outside the room.

Dream's left arm, left side of neck and part of his face had severe burns which were still bleeding. He had his right arm on his neck, gasping for air. The golden energy kept entering his body, seeming to phase through his skull and into his brain.

"Dream!" Tommy ran towards him, finally snapping out of his reverie.

He tried to shake Dream, but it didn't work. Tears were coming out of his eyes as he kept gasping for air. Tommy's shouts grew from worried to desperate.

"To– Tommy, I–" Whatever Dream was going to say was cut off by a coughing fit. Then, he finally took in a deep breath.

"Fuck, that hurts," said Dream, wincing at every breath. At least he was breathing now. The pain must be lessening, was he feeling better now?

"Wh–what's–" Tommy struggled to complete his sentence. His hands were covered with a soft green glow. The glow reminded him of trees. Of nature. Of home. Of Dream.

"Dream?" Tommy inched towards the man. His breaths were slow, ragged. His eyes constantly fluttered open and close. Blood tears mixed with salt ones as they cascaded down the side of his face. Tommy put his hands on Dream's shoulders, only for the man to flinch away. Tommy retracted his hands, only to put them back, this time slowly.

Dream's muscles tensed and relaxed, mind unsure of his surroundings. A part of him was tired, desperately wanting to shut down. The other side was scared and hypervigilant. Whose voice was that? Whose hand was that? Could it be trusted?

Did he even have time for such questions?

[09-06-2023]