An Abandoned Dream (Discontinued)

Five

"I visited him?"

"Quite often," Only to burn and take away everything he'd made to keep himself sane. That was what Ghostbur couldn't bring himself to say, not when Dream seemed to relax tremendously after hearing his response.

It still felt wrong, leading Dream on like this. But what else could he do? Ghostbur prayed he wouldn't be the one to see the other's face fall when it all finally came back to him. Would Dream be angry with him? Would he revert to his old self, or would he close himself off and leave to deal with the guilt alone. Ghostbur would be lying if he said he had never felt that way before. He'd wanted to run from his mistakes and their consequences so many times previously.

Watching as his son cheerfully conversed with that traitorous man had hurt more than anything else he'd been unfortunate enough to experience. But he'd learned long ago that had only happened because of what he'd done while still alive. And Fundy was happy now, and that proved to be enough for him when he honestly thought about it. It was difficult remembering what Eret had done, other than hearing about it from others. But in the end, he chose to forgive the man. So many had done the same for him despite his crazed actions.

Dream nodded, mostly to himself, and the two of them fell into a comfortable silence that was complemented with the steady beat of footsteps and soft whispers of the teens as they conversed.

---

"Are you sure about this, Tubbo?" Tommy warily asked as they stood in front of the Community Portal. Tubbo looked at Tommy, who stood to his left with a nervous expression in place of the cocky smile he'd gotten used to seeing all the time.

"I'll handle it," He reassured and rested a hand on the taller's arm. Tommy looked at the appendage before his eyes shifted to Dream, who was staring at the portal in silence. Tubbo followed his gaze and stepped around the blonde to approach the masked male. "You'll come out with me first, okay?" Dream nodded. The teen could sense his nerves, which must be reflecting the way Tommy was acting. It was quite evident that Tommy was the one Dream trusted the most out of the three of them, and Tubbo understood since his friend was the one who had helped Dream first. It made sense, so he didn't question it.

"Just let Tubbo do the talking, and you'll be fine," Ghostbur reassured and took the knapsack Dream held with a reassuring smile. Tommy met Dream's eyes and nodded resolutely to the older male.

"You can trust Tubbo," Tommy told him, and the small teen smiled widely in response. Tommy returned it with a shaky one of his own before directing it to Dream. "He'll handle it," He repeated Tubbo's previous statement, and the young president felt his heart swell at the amount of trust Tommy was putting in him despite all that had happened. Dream nodded and stepped forward to the portal. He looked back to the others expectantly, and Tubbo quietly laughed before joining him.

Tubbo stopped just shy of the portal's threshold and took a deep breath. He turned back to Tommy and Ghostbur, a solemn expression replacing his nervous smile.

"Make sure you follow close behind," He instructed grimly. "Just-" He took a shaky breath before swallowing thickly. "Just let me do the talking," He used Ghostbur's words. The three other men nodded resolutely, and Tubbo returned it as a determined glint entered his eyes. It wouldn't be easy to explain, and he was sure not everyone would settle with Tubbo's decision without doubts, even if they told them Dream agreed as well. He turned to Dream once more and nodded again before stepping into the shimmering purple void with the other following close behind.

Tubbo's stomach flipped from both the short burst of vertigo and his nerves, but he swallowed down the feeling and clenched his jaw. When the violet haze gave way to a blue sky and gray stone, Tubbo stepped out of the portal's center. Tubbo's blue eyes stayed forward as he scanned the radius for those who had been guarding the gateway to the Nether before he left that morning. He heard Dream stop to his right and took another deep breath.

Sure enough, footsteps could be heard pounding upon stone steps, and two figures began to approach them, donning netherite armor. It glinted a deep violet as the plates shifted when they moved in the sun, and Tubbo raised a hand to shield his eyes from the blazing light.

The first to reach them was Sapnap, who quickly tore off his helmet, allowing his sweat-slicked hair to be seen. His dark eyes flitted from Tubbo to Dream several times before settling on the taller's silent form. The second guard to approach was Punz, who stopped and looked between the three, seemingly waiting for someone to speak up.

"Gentlemen," Tubbo greeted, and both older males looked to him as he began to speak. "We seem to have a problem on our hands," He started and side-eyed Dream, who had yet to speak up. Tubbo breathed a sigh of silent relief and returned his attention to the men in front of him.

"Is it bad?" Punz asked calmly. His pale blue eyes flicked to Sapnap, who had taken to frowning in Dream's direction. A frown formed on his face when he noticed how tense Dream looked behind the very obvious facade of a calm expression. Dream hood was strangely pushed back, showing his wavy locks, and his jacket and jeans were scuffed and caked with dirt as well as blood.

"Hard to say," Tubbo answered, and Punz looked back to the teen.

"Why did you need to tell us about it?" Sapnap asked, finally tearing his eyes away from his friend. He crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow. "We aren't a part of your cabinet or anything, so why bother?" Tubbo nodded along to his words.

"It may seem rather personal for some of you," He released and looked to Sapnap, causing the other's frown to deepen utterly. "I also needed to let you know beforehand not to shoot Tommy," He added, and both guards' eyes widened before looking to Dream for confirmation. Tubbo looked worriedly to the taller, knowing the sudden attention might be making him uncomfortable.

Dream, however, managed to keep calm and looked to Tubbo. The brunette smiled softly and gave an encouraging nod. The older of the two looked back to the other two men. At this point, it was clear that he was supposed to know these two, but nothing came to mind when he looked at them. It felt as if he was continuously ramming into a stone wall. Ghostbur had told him he shouldn't try to force himself to remember and let the memories come naturally, but Dream hated how empty he felt without them. He'd been stripped of his memory and, by extension, his identity.

But he wasn't alone. He had Tubbo and Ghostbur, who seemed more than willing to help him. He also had Tommy, who had been the first one to support him. And even if he didn't remember what the boy was like, it was apparent to Dream that he wasn't a shitty person. Dream looked at the two guards before pushing down his thoughts. He could do this. He only had to say one thing.

"Tommy is no longer exiled," He stated, voice showing no room for argument. The second the words left his mouth, the portal hummed to life again, and another figure stepped through. Tired blue eyes raked across the perimeter before they landed on the small group. Ghostbur floated by Tommy's side but drifted more to the side as the living teen made his way to stand next to Tubbo.

"Sapnap," Tubbo called, and the ravenette snapped his attention to the short male. "Get George," He told him with a grim expression that made the older's stomach churn unpleasantly. "I need to speak with both of you," Sapnap nodded slowly before backing to leave. His black eyes scanned the small crowd once more before he turned fully and left the area. Punz nodded to the young president before taking his leave as well.

Once both of them had left, the group released a collective sigh of relief. Tubbo ran a hand through his hair before looking to Tommy, who shot him a tired smile.

"Told you I could handle it," He snarked, and the blonde barked out a laugh while ribbing the other with his elbow.

"Never doubted ya for a second there, Big T."

Thanks so much for reading and I hope you guys enjoyed! Another big thanks to Moony for editing!

Editor's Note: It would have been posted sooner if I actually edited when I was supposed to, so my bad tehehe;;; pwease forgive me uwu