ɪɢɴɪᴛᴇ | ɢʜᴏꜱᴛɪɴɴɪᴛ ᴀᴜ

Chapter 14 - fear of what's to come.

(Hey guys, so sorry for the long ass pause, BUT I SHOULD BE BACK NOW LOL)

(Drawing made by me :) )

Word count: - 1370 -

Tommy awoke to the sun hitting his face through the crack in the wall, his house didn't have that much of a foundation, but home was home. He stretched, momentarily forgetting why he was so sickly worried about today, until it all hit him, the day before, the message in his house, his house smelled of ash from the previous day. Suddenly feeling incredibly nauseous, he got to his feet, shaking like a leaf in the wind, be brave , be brave , he repeated in his head like a mantra.

Suddenly someone burst through the front door, making him jump, "TOM!- oh you're already awake", it was Tubbo, he had ridiculous bed hair and it looked like he hastily threw his clothes on as they were all messy, but it was still Tubbo, chocking back a sob, he flung himself onto his friend, hugging him tightly, "Toby..promise me, whatever happens today, to not do anything stupid, can you promise me that?" He asked, his voice wavering with unshed tears. Tubbo blinked and patted Tommy on the back, "Don't you worry, it's me and you against the world remember?" Tommy nodded into his shoulder, smiling wobbly as his shirt smelled of dirt and honey.

Suddenly, they heard someone clearing their throat, looking up he saw Ranboo, "Uh, im not ruining a moment am I?" They asked, rubbing their neck awkwardly. Tommy let go of Tubbo, wiping his face, when had he started crying?

"Nah, no moment interrupted..now.." Tommy paused, growing nervous, "I guess..it's time, right guys?.." He quietly said, looking at his friends, Ranboo's eyes hardened and he nodded, determination shining in his eyes, Tubbo smiled, "let's go beat up a green blob!" He said, and they all laughed, if for the last time, Tommy didn't know.

They split off, Ranboo and Tubbo going to collect their weapons, armour and other stuff that they needed for the journey. Tommy had gone off to find Ghostbur, who was found tending to Friend, Tommy was grateful that Friend had infinite lives, he couldn't imagine Ghostbur being sad.

"Hey Ghostbur.. I wanted to ask about an image I saw in my house, I dunno, I thought maybe you'd know what it was all about?" He asked, nervously rubbing his arm, Ghostbur looked up, "Oh hey Tommy! Yeah sure I'll help, I don't know if I'll remember it either but, you can show me!" He said, with that voice of his that always sounded like it was on the verge of tears, Tommy nodded and lead him back to his house, showing him the picture of the alive versions of themselves on a stage of sorts.

Ghostbur squinted at the image and looked to be deep in thought before turning to him, "Well Tom, I can definitely tell you I have absolutely no idea what it's about! Also have some blue you seem really sad" he shoved some blue into his hands and Tommy sighed, "Yeah okay, thanks for trying anyway.. I better get going.." he drifted off, suddenly feeling very sad, he knew he was a ghost but..what If dream did something to him and he never saw Ghostbur again?..

Ghostbur tapped him on the shoulder, "hey..what's wrong? Where are you going?" Oh that's right, Ghostbur doesn't know what he's up against, sighing, he delved into an explanation of what dream left for him in his house. Ghostbur seemed quite worried, "Take this blue with you okay? You've got this Ghostinnit, I believe in you, even though I don't remember why dream is a bad guy, i can see he hurt you a lot, and that's not okay, you deserve a lot better" he said firmly and seriously, Tommy was caught completely off guard, he had never heard Ghostbur so serious before, blinking back tears he nods at him, "Thanks Ghostbur, and thanks for always being there for me" Tommy smiled at him, he grinned back, "of course! Ghosts got each other's backs after all! Now go and save the day!" He pat Tommy on the back and ushered him out of his own house, laughing slightly, Tommy gave a final wave to the ghost of Wilbur and left.

Before he knew it, he had met back up with Tubbo and Ranboo, they gave him gear, a shield and a sword, slipping into the armour, the reality of the situation was heavy on his chest, he was about to go fight dream, the dream who had locked him up.. shaking the doubts that were creeping up out of his head, he put on the helmet, Tubbo took out the compass.

"Okay guys..this says to go North" Tubbo said, putting on his serious voice, Tommy nodded and looked into the distance there was someone running towards them, is that Niki?.

Niki had ran up the them, out of breath with a basket clutched in her hand, "Guys..before you go, I..I wanted to give you some bread, hand made from my bakery, as a good luck." A cold and fierce look settled on her face, "as good luck to defeat Dream, not just for us, but for everyone, for all the people who lost their lives when Dream and Techno attacked, for all the tears, for the destruction of Lmanburg and everything that made it special." She said, her voice heavy with hatred and hope. She handed them each a loaf of bread, she winked at them, "I may or may not have splashed some strength potions on them".

Tubbo grinned at her, "oh my gosh thank you so much Niki, this seriously means a lot, we won't let you down, or anyone for that matter, we promise". She smiled at them, and with a couple of hugs she was waving them goodbye as they walked up North, towards Dream.

They were in silence for a while, before Tommy spoke up, "Hey guys?..what do you think he has planned for us? It can't be anything good.." he muttered, pulling his helmet down more on his head. Ranboo sighed, "I..don't know, but don't think too much about it, whatever Dream has in store, we've got each other's backs" he encouraged him, smiling at him with their such kind eyes, Tommy found himself smiling back, even if slightly, even if it was uncertain, he remembered his dream, he remembered his mother visiting him, with a new sense of hope, he knew his mother was watching, he wasn't sure if she could help, but the thought made him feel better.

They spent about a day travelling, scaling mountains, going across oceans, until finally, Tubbo stopped them.

"Guys, I think this is it" he whispered, nervousness evident in his voice, Tommy glanced at what Tubbo was looking at, there was a singular lever on the floor, in the middle of nowhere, yep, this was definitely it, Tommy took out his sword.

Tubbo went down to pull the lever and hesitated slightly, he looked back at them and Ranboo gave him a thumbs up, Tubbo pulled the lever and stepped back, pulling out his own sword with Ranboo in tow.

Nothing happened for a second, everything was quiet, it was almost eerie, then suddenly the ground started to shake, and a huge entry way opened on the ground, he could see stairs that went down underground, swallowing, he noticed his mouth was suddenly very dry, he asked, "does anyone have a torch?"

Ranboo fished into his pockets and took one out, he wasn't gonna ask how it was already lit and not burning his clothes..

They creeped down the steps, their footsteps echoing off the walls, he felt more and more nervous the further they descended. After what felt like forever, they emerged into a huge cave that was obviously not natural, the walls and floor were made of quartz, but the thing that made his heart jump into his throat and his blood to run cold was there in the middle of the room, sitting on a rock was dream, he had his mask off and was smiling down at them.

"I've been expecting you, Tommy."