The Hunt

♡ ̆̈XXIV✩

Dream let out a heavy sigh as he walked out of the dungeon, pulling the door shut. He had just finished questioning the prince about the letter, getting only a little information from the young man. However, he felt himself unable to complain about the amount. Although it was little, it was better than no information. They had something to work with. Now that he knew the King and Queen of the Nether had a secret code with their son in a case such as this, he and his group of hunters, plus Quackity and possibly Karl, could determine the Nether's true intentions regarding their dimension.

If the letter was true and the secret code was solely there to keep Sapnap in the Overworld, King John and Queen Rosa would bring all their personnel. However, if that code was true and it was all a lie, it meant something was going down between the Nether and the Overworld. Although Dream knew, so far, that the Netherian King and Queen had sent their son to death row in the Overworld, part of him felt doubt.

What kind of parents would send their child to death? There could be many reasons why they would send Sapnap to the Overworld, but not a single reason that Dream could think of made sense as to why the parents would send the prince to his inevitable death. "Dream! Where were you?" Punz asked, stopping his brother in his tracks.

Dream looked up, realizing he had been staring at the ground. He was now standing in the central room of the castle with the other hunters, Quackity and Karl chatting happily in the corner. "I was in the dungeon. I thought you guys were searching for portals using the tracker," he said.

"We did," Sam said. He held out the device, leaving it in Dream's hand. "It doesn't work anymore."

"What do you mean it doesn't work anymore?" Dream questioned, staring at the group in disbelief and confusion. Puffy sighed as she stepped forward, "The moment we reached the area where we saw the prince on the first night he arrived, it began to spasm out of control."

George nodded as he fixed his glasses. "I think the crying obsidian left behind from the original portal disturbed its frequency," he said. "There's a whole bunch. I think all the original obsidian from the portal is gone."

"So, the portal he came through no longer exists," Dream scoffed, letting his arms fall. He looked down at the portal tracker. "Is there a way we could fix this? Maybe then we could find a different portal."

Sam shrugged. They all turned around to look at everyone behind them. Bad wasn't there, he was busy arguing with Skeppy in his cabin back outside the borders of Everlost. Niki was occupied with her bakery, keeping it in top shape and her customers happy. The only people left, who weren't a part of their group, were Karl and the guard, Quackity. "I don't think we have the right equipment to fix the tracker," Sam said. He crossed his arms as he turned his body to the two friends in the corner. "But I think someone could travel back in time and get an extra from the Nether before the prince arrives."

"Isn't that dangerous?" Puffy asked. "What if Karl gets caught? Let me tell you, he isn't the best at being sneaky. He could disrupt time and cause a catastrophic sequence of events!"

Punz tilted his head, "As long as he keeps himself out of view from anyone, he should be fine. He'll have to find the Piglin that dropped the tracker in the prince's bag. If that Piglin had access to one, he surely has more somewhere."

"Shouldn't there be trackers we could trade for here?" George questioned.

Dream shook his head, stepping away. He approached Karl, gripping his shoulder. The brunette turned to look at him, fear written across his face. "Yes?" he squeaked. Dream turned to look at his friends, waiting for their approval. Puffy frowned as she nodded. "You have a job to do," the blonde said. "Your time-traveling abilities will finally come in handy."