Rivalry or? [dreamnoblade]

Chapter 5: Manhunt

     "You better not be leading me to a spot where you can murder me." Techno joked.
     "No, of course not. Would I ever do that?" Skeppy replied.
     "I dunno, maybe." The two laughed as they walked through the woods. The path was marked, but not very clearly, so having a guide was a massive help. Soon they came across the smallest of clearings. A man was sitting on a makeshift bench.
     "Skeppy!" He called.
     "Hey Bad!" Skeppy replied. "Techno, this is BadBoyHalo, Bad, Technoblade."
     "Nice to meet you." Bad said, sticking out his hand.
     Techno shook it, "Likewise."
     "I'm heading back now, good luck." Skeppy waved, already a few feet down the path.
     "So, Techno," Bad said, relieving him of the burden of conversation. "It's going to start in a few minutes, your job is to sit on this bench. I'll be watching to make sure everything goes well, and when I give you the cue, you step out."
     "And then what?"
     "I don't know, Wilbur said you two could just freestyle smack talk each other or something. He said you don't do well with scripts."
     That was true. "I'll figure it out then. How long will it be?"
     "Practice was anywhere between thirty minutes and two hours, so hopefully somewhere in between. I have to get in position, just make sure the audience doesn't see you."
     And with that he was gone and the forest was quiet. Techno pulled out the book he had brought, a suggestion from Skeppy and started reading. Soon he was interrupted by Dream in the distance. "Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the grand Dream Team Manhunt!" Boy he was loud. The crowd was impressive too, it was pretty overwhelming where he sat, he could only imagine how deaf Dream must be. "I must find two keys and two boxes, before my friend ties me up." So this was the setup. The flyer was a little vague, but this makes sense. After the plea for donations, the challenge started.
     Techno couldn't see anything, but he heard the two rustle bushes, break tree branches, and taunt each other. The audience was eating it up too, whooping and hollering with every action. He could only imagine what it looked like. A few times they came close enough to his side of the forest so he could see them. Not clearly, just a flash of green or blue mostly. Once, Dream had to stop for breath where the audience couldn't see him. Techno saw his back as Bad ran up to give him water. And quick as can be, Dream was back in it. All in all, it was a thrilling experience, he had forgotten to read his book. Before he knew it, Bad was walking up to him and he knew it was time. He was up and getting ready before Bad could say, "You're up."
     Techno saw Dream's back as he whooped triumphantly at the crowd. He walked until he could barely see the audience and declared, "So, you think you're better than me."
     The crowd went silent. "Technoblade, what're you doing here?"
     "You didn't answer my question, do you think you're better than me?"
     "So what if I am." Dream retorted, stepping back as Techno moved forward. He made it so as much of the audience could see as possible.
     "Well, I won't stand for that, back it up, right here, right now." The audience gasped.
     "Hitting a man while he's exhausted, how petty." Dream laughed.
     Techno knew it wouldn't have happened anyway. "Fine, but you'd better be ready next time, I won't hold back." Techno walked back until he was out of sight again.
     The audience went crazy. Bad went to help Skeppy with organization and collection donations while Sapnap took a break, going into the woods with his friends.

     The manhunt went better than Dream had ever imagined. The close calls, the strategy, the secrecy. And the audience loved it. And of course, the cherry on the cake, the surprise appearance of Technoblade. He was ready for a celebratory drinking party. "Hahaha! That was awesome guys!" He said, wrapping his arm around Sapnap as he walked towards them. He removed his sweaty mask and drew in George for a big hug. "And it'll be even better next time, even if we don't have Technoblade."
     Dream then noticed something was off. George wasn't exceptionally affectionate, but right now he was really stiff. "Uh," George stuttered.
     Dream followed his eyes to right in front of them. It was Technoblade, the shiny gold crown and bright red coat gave it away, but it was also someone else. The man. The bulky man with pinkish hair who had been watching their shows. The man who offered him a drink when they were both stressed out, the man who fell asleep at the foot of his bed after getting him a cup of water. The man who was really stressed out because they'd just challenged someone way stronger than them. Technoblade.
     And Dream had taken off his mask.