AFTERLIFE (DreamNotFound)

We Need To Go Deeper

George jolted, his eyes wide as he gasped for air and sitting up like a lightningt, breathing hard, he was feeling like was drowning. A gentle hand caressed his back, and reassuring whispers traveled around the air, it was calming, but George didn't have time to be calm.

"Dream..." He looked up, shaking and tearing up. "What do I do now?"

He slumped against Dream's chest, crying and sobbing and hiccuping, Dream circled his arms around him, letting him cry everything out.

George was in trouble, he and his friends, they were captured by the King of the South, they lost Dream's ashes, and guided the King to the totem of undying, and now he was going to bring back the Ender Dragon, now the world will succumb in the war, and everyone will be murdered because an insane emperor wanted to win a war using magic beyond his powers, because George was a fool, everything was his fault.

"Don't say that." Dream murmured, George looked up, not realizing that he was talking aloud. "It's not your fault, George. How could you know? You just wanted to bring me back to save our Kingdom, you never agreed to the war, you wanted as much as I did to live in peace and protect our people, your intentions were noble all along."

"But we now are lost, how are we going to escape? How are we going to survive? How are we going to get your ashes back?" So many questions, and George was afraid of the ones with only one answer.

"I know, I know that you are scared, I'm scared too. Now my friends are in danger, now my home is in danger, and I can't do anything to help, I can just sit in here, hoping for your and Sapnap's safety, and wishing to bring you in here again because I don't want to be alone."

"Why I am here? Why I'm having so painful headaches?"

"As you already know, our souls are connected, you're the only one who can bring me back using the totem of undying, no one else can." Dream squeezed George against him, they both afraid of let the other go. "When you are close to my remains and the totem, it means that you have the chance to bring me back, but it's like you have limited time, because if you don't hurry, your energy will be drained more fast than when I bring you here in your dreams. If you return now, you'll probably will be exhausted to even walk."

"I wish I could just stay here, with you forever." George mumbled, eyes still puffy and voice hitching.

"I want to stay with you forever too. But we can't, at least not now. We never had the chance to meet when I was alive, if you die now, we won't be able to see each other again."

"I don't want that."

"Yeah, sorry for being a coward and not daring to try and talk to you before." Dream chuckled.

"Yeah, good job at hiding in hay bales."

"Oh god, did Sapnap really tell you that story?" Dream placed a hand on his mask, like if he was double covering his blush.

"I guess we both are cowards."

"George, you and Sapnap are smart and strong, the best people I have ever met, I want to live with you more than anything, I want peace, I want the King of the South to dissapear annd never bring war and destruction again, I want to meet your new friends... You can still have a chance, the totem will work just once, if you manage to bring me back first, there's no way that the Ender Dragon returns, and we could end the war."

"You're asking me for too much Dream. I want every single one of those things too, I want you alive again, but I don't know if I will be brave enough to do it."

"You are brave, Sapnap is brave, you're not alone, George, you can try, you can try and save the world."

George sighed, really determined to stay in Dream's arms as much as he can, but he knew he had responsabilities first.

"I promise that if you bring me back, I will hug you like this every night from now on." Dream teased.

"Shut up." George blushed deeply, but that sounded nice though.

"Alright, time to wake up, I'm sorry for draining your energy, and remember, you have limited time as soon as my ashes are near the totem, you have to be quick before fainting again." 

"Wait, you know that I always forgets about this dreams, how I'm going to remember that?"

"Don't worry, now that you discovered the totem, we're more connected than ever, and well, you fainted because it take you long to join it with my ashes, you are now capable to remember this dream."

 "Fine." George nodded, afraid of the unknown, but willing to make an effort for Dream.

***

Yeah, he was entirely exhausted.

His head hurted, but not as much as before, and he felt so tired, that he just wanted to roll over, and sleep for the next ten years, a muffled voice however, kept him from passing out again.

"George! Are you okay?" That sounded like Bad.

"Bad?" He groaned, trying his best in getting up.

"Here, drink this." Bad offered a bottle. It tasted familiar, George noticed that it was a potion of regeneration, just what he needed. He immediately felt better, and was able to get up by his own.

"Bad? Where are we?" George looked around, they were on in the surface? On a field? "Where are Skeppy? And Sapnap?"

Bad looked down.

"They are still inside, we managed to escape and drag you out, but I was the only one capable to made it out, Sapnap and Skeppy were captured."

George groaned, he was happy that at least not all of them were captured, but of course he was now fearing for Skeppy and Sapnap's safety.

"And I have a little good news." Bad smiled. And behind his backpack, he pulled an urn.

"You retrieved Dream's ashes?!

"Yeah! It was hard to remove them from the King's hands, I'm glad that you put that unbreakable enchantment on it." Bad tried to  cheer them up, it was kinda working, but not entirely.

"But there's not point if the totem of undying is still in the King's power, we have to find him and revive Dream before he tries to revive the Dragon first."

Bad nodded.

"You have a plan?"

"We're both alchemists, and we have resources to make potions. We are going to make lots of invinsibility and strenght potions. We sneak in with a longer lasting potion, we find Sapnap and Skeppy and give them the strenght potions, take the totem from the king and bring Dream back." George explained, Bad seemed satisfied with the plan, it wasn't perfect, but it could work.

They hurried and make all the potions that they could get, strenght potions, invisibility potions, and they also crafted some arrows of poison, remembering that they knew how to use bows.

"Bad, you are my friend, and I really appreciate your help and company, but you must know that this will be entirely dangerous, and we might die." George warned, they both were now a few meters away from the mine entrance, backpacks full of potions and bows ready.

"I know George, but I will stay by your side until the end, and I will fight to save my friends." Bad smiled, determined to keep going with George.

I'm not alone. He thought proudly, Dream was right...