Through It All ~ Dream Team SMP ✅

->Four<-

Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. I tried to calm my nerves, my palms sweaty with anticipation. By the time our planning had been completed, my bruises had from that night had nearly healed. Of course, new ones replaced them quickly, but that was the price of a roof over your head in this city.

All my expectations of L'Manberg were shattered. Everything was a lie. There was no way to seek my fortune, no. There were only three factions. The rich, the criminal, and the poor. Right now, I was on the fine line between the last two. This is a city corrupted with unruly people, and as his world crumbles under the weight of its own futility, Dream sits on the throne doing nothing. In the past few weeks, I'd come to sympathise with the revolutionaries. Maybe there was something to their words.

Having had my head cleared of fantasies of living a good future dulled me to reality, and I began to see the sense in their reasoning. How dare he sit by, not even showing the world his face as his people are murdered and stolen from each night, right under his nose? Maybe that's what pushed me over the edge and finally convinced me to go through with the heist. Robbing the Palace. A bit of revenge.

I didn't like the smirk on Skeppy's face as he and The Blade slid off through the smashed window. It was almost like they knew something I didn't. I paced relentlessly, happy to just be on the lookout rather than doing the actual stealing. I shook my hands out by my side, trying to calm down my stress for the job.

Eventually, I got curious, sheathing my iron sword and dropping from the tiled roof into the courtyard below. The others would likely have my head for doing so, but I needed to do something or I'd die of boredom. I glanced through the nearest window, heart pounding. A little bit of movement to keep me going and invested, wouldn't hurt, right?

I squinted through the frosted glass. The room behind it seemed to be a sort of office, with a handsome acacia desk and stacks of books lining the walls. What caught my eye, was a glint from the desk, a flash of purple against the dull background. I pressed myself up against the window, staring in further. I could make out the shape of a small circle, emblazoned with purple in the middle. What was it? I looked around hastily, temptation luring me to the mysterious object. The area was deserted.

I'm about to break into Dream's Palace. What is wrong with me?!

I tried to turn and walk away, but there was something magnetic about it. I had to have it. I rotated my neck in indecision, scratching my head. Fuck it. I jabbed my elbow into the glass, flinching at the high and clear sound of the window shattering. At first, I swore I heard movement, and ducked behind a ledge, trying to steady myself on behind the quartz pillar I'd hidden behind. After deciding there was nothing there, I slowly revealed myself and climbed cautiously through the window.

I dropped soundlessly onto the stripped birch flooring, scanning the area. I scuttled over to the desk, trying to keep myself grounded in reality and not have my mind overtaken by the overwhelming quantity of adrenaline pumping through my blood. The object that had caught my undivided attention. I picked it up in my pale, slender fingers by the edges, terrified to break it, despite not knowing what it was and not knowing how breakable it was.

The object was circular and composed of a material I couldn't begin to describe. Dips ran along the edges, giving it a ridged texture beneath my raw and blistered fingertips. It felt wrong for me to touch. The captivating nature of the disc-shaped item contrasted with my rough appearance and lack of self-care made my chest tighten. My brain was screaming at me to drop it and leave, but I just couldn't.

I looked at the purple center which is what had first caught my eye. It was a label, denoting something. I read it over and over, and the word still didn't make sense. Was it in another language? I had no clue.

Mellohi...

What a funny word.

"Mellohi." I whispered, trying the sound in my mouth. I frowned. It was curious, the way it rolled off my tongue and tasted like sweetened honey. It was a disconcerting taste, like when you know you should stop eating something sugary, but you can't stop yourself. It's addicting.

I swore suddenly, clapping a hand over my mouth as a loud crash resonated from outside. I don't know what forced me, but I hastily stuffed the object in my cloak, going to investigate. I vaulted out the window, hissing in pain as I braced myself on the sill, the broken glass digging into my palm. I gritted my teeth, removing the clear material from my hands, and shaking them slightly to distract myself. I bit back a cry of pain as I used my bleeding hands to climb back up from the courtyard. Fumbling for my sword, I ducked behind the ledge I'd been camped by earlier, awaiting other sounds.

"Tommy." My head whipped up at the sound of Skeppy's weasely voice, and I peeked over the curve of the tile, spying his sandy hair. The Blade was beside him, he seemed to be holding his side, as though in pain. Each of the men held sacks brimming with what I could only assume was gold. They'd done it. They'd actually done it.

My eyes widened as they approached. The Blade's waist was bleeding heavily where he held it. I did a double-take, thinking he'd changed, not realising he was still wearing his white shirt, only it was now stained crimson with blood. What I'd assumed were shadows around the other man's eye was actually a purple bruise. They looked bad, but I felt no remorse. Now they knew the pain they inflicted upon me.

"Well, boy, did you take care of the guards?" I swallowed. I hadn't actually seen any guards, not that there were ones to be found in our current position. We were on the roof. The soldiers patrolled the bottom floor. I coughed dryly, nodding my head.

"Uhuh, yep, all done." I forced a smile that didn't quite reach my eyes. Skeppy nodded his approval, smirking.

"Then let's get out of here before those bastards that beat us up raise the alarm." The pig mask-wearing man urged. I quirked an eyebrow. They'd been seen. Excellent. Time for an escape. This was not what I bloody signed up for, although admittedly, it was either this or dying of starvation on the streets; so not much of a choice. I sheathed my sword, mumbling to myself.

"What was that?" Skeppy asked sharply.

"Uh, nothing..." I replied sheepishly, trying to hide my discomfort as we skirted the roof, pressed up against the walls of the tower that poked through the skyline. I followed the two across the length of the castle. We came to the chink in the wall we'd entered by, and found a problem. Guards. And lots of them. We couldn't exit any other way, as this was where we'd burrowed in. We were trapped. I looked over at Skeppy and The Blade, to convey my concern, only to find them grinning, malice painting their faces. I saw the bigger man's eyes flash darkly from behind his mask. I didn't like the looks on their faces.

"Well Tommy, this is it. You've served us well." Skeppy started. I blinked rapidly, confused.

"You have our thanks."

"For-for what?" I backed away as they advanced, unaware that I was getting closer to the edge.

"Well Tommy, I thought you were smart... You were clearly never of any real value to us. You will now serve your final purpose. The distraction." The Blade's words only just clicked the missing pieces into place.

I opened my mouth to scream, but it was too late. With a wicked smirk, the masked man pushed me off the roof, chuckling quietly. I lay powerless to defend myself as the guards began to call out, pointing below to my unresponsive body. I heard one last phrase issuing from The Blade's mouth before he left.

"Blood for the Blood God."