LOSING GAME ➳ dreamwastaken

𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞

Dream was exhausted. He had fought both Reverie and Technoblade, both of whom had defeated him, and now he was trying to fight Tommy and Tubbo with a fractured arm and a wounded leg. Not to mention the fact that Dream had not slept all night because he had been busy rowing Reverie across the waters to the Vault.

Reverie hated feeling helpless. As she watched Dream slowly but surely being overpowered by Tubbo and Tommy, she felt as though she was folding in on herself. The edges of her vision grew dark as her other senses began to fail her. All she could focus on was her panic.

As she begged Techno to release her, to let her help Dream, she was aware of how pathetic she sounded, but she didn't care. She cared about Dream too much to sit by and watch as he was defeated and killed by Tommy and Tubbo. She hated herself for it, she cursed herself for it, but she knew that as long as she lived, she would always carry care for Dream. She only wished the others could see reason and lock him in the prison instead of killing him. It would give him endless time to wallow in his guilt and come to terms with his own wrongdoings.

"Techno, please," Reverie sobbed. "Techno—"

He ignored her. It hurt him to hear her desperate voice, knowing that she was in so much pain and he himself was the source of that pain, but he also knew that as long as Dream was loose, the kingdom could never truly live in peace. As long as Dream was around, they would never get free.

It was Tommy who pierced Dream with his sword. It was Tommy who stepped behind Dream when he was distracted by Tubbo and plunged his sword into his back. It was Tommy who extracted the blade and watched as Dream fell to his knees before him before ultimately keeling over. It was Tommy who stood there, a blank expression on his face, as Dream's blood pooled at his feet and stained his shoes. It was Tommy who tossed the sword that was dripping with Dream's blood aside.

It was Tommy who said, "Checkmate."

And it was Reverie who screamed.

With a blank expression identical to Tommy's painted on his face, Techno removed his foot from Reverie's chest at last. Tubbo was breathing heavily, his eyes blown wide, but it was easy to identify the look of relief that he was displaying. Tommy clapped his hand down on Tubbo's shoulder before the two boys pulled each other into a tight embrace.

Techno took Reverie by the hand and helped her shakily to her feet. Reverie didn't know what she was supposed to do. Once again, she felt helpless. All she could seem to do was stand and stare at Dream as blood rushed in her ears.

Putting his hand on her shoulder, Techno gently nudged Reverie forwards and nodded, telling her to approach Dream. With trembling legs, Reverie unsteadily stepped forward until she was standing over Dream.

His breathing was ragged and weak, small and unsustainable breaths escaping every few seconds. Blood pooled in his mouth, contrasting greatly against the paleness of his skin. The freckles that adorned his cheeks and peppered his nose had never looked so vivid, and the green of his eye had never looked so pale.

Reverie stared down at him, inhaling and exhaling shakily, as tears began to build in the corners of her eyes. Dream let out an incomprehensible mutter, catching Reverie's attention.

Dream continued to attempt to speak but to no avail. Incoherent mutters full of strain rolled from his lips but, when he lifted one of his heavy hand and lay it atop of himself, revealing his palm, Reverie understood what he was trying to say.

After hesitating for a moment, Reverie got to her knees. Despite the fact that he had manipulated her one too many times, despite all the pain and suffering he had caused and, despite the fact that he was, quite simply, insane, Reverie clutched his frail hand in her own.