Tw for blood, mentioned injury, and swearing.
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Dream's head was foggy, clouded by drowsiness. He gingerly opened his eyes to see a very concerned George break into a smile of relief. He was sitting up. When did he sit down?
There were makeshift bandages on his arm and leg, and probably one on his side - but Dream could already see dark splotches appearing over them.
"Oh thank god you're awake! You lost a lot of blood Dream. I- I wasn't sure..." George trailed off, and Dream could guess what he wasn't saying.
George cleared his throat and continued, "Do you think you can stand? We kind of have to get moving."
"I-" Dream's tongue felt heavy in his mouth, and the world was still a little blurry. "Fuck... I d'know..." he slurred. Why couldn't he just take a nice nap instead, huh? Dream let his head roll back and sighed, missing George's relieved smile morph back into a frown.
The brunet glanced over his shoulder, to where Sapnap and Niki were helping Ran and Boo. The two looked okay - if a little shaken and unsteady.
He looked back at Dream, noticing the stark contrast of red and green on his hoodie. Had colours always been this bright? Adrenaline still surged through George's veins from the conflict, making his limbs buzz and each injury fade to a dull ache. "I'm going to have to carry you then, okay?"
The masked mutated hummed non-commitantly. George knew he probably needed urgent medical attention, as the makeshift bandages wouldn't last long, but they could all be in much more danger staying here.
As carefully as he could, George lifted Dream, quietly apologising when he whimpered from the pain.
"Hey, don't worry Dream. Well get through this mkay?"
Dream didn't have the energy to respond.
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Niki and Boo walked side by side, Ran trailing a little behind his counterpart. Niki noticed with a warmth that they were holding hands. It was no doubt they were probably shaken up, and Niki couldn't imagine what it had been like while Halo was controlling them.
Her concern may have been a little overbearing though, because she'd asked the enderboys how they were doing at least eight times in the past half hour.
"Niki, relax, we're okay!" Said Boo with a smile.
Ran nodded, "Slight case of tinnitus, but that's not really a problem." he laughed.
Niki sighed, and bit the inside of her lip.
"Hey Niki?"
"Hm?"
"Are you okay?"
The mutated in question swallowed the lump in her throat. There were no physical injuries that a good night's sleep couldn't fix, but Niki new that that wasn't what Boo was asking. The albino mutated looked at her expectantly, his brows creased in concern.
"Yeah." she lied.
The counterparts exchanged glances.
"Okay but..." Ran clicked his tongue, "You can talk to us you know? Or Ranboo, or anyone else."
Niki looked at the ground ahead of her, avoiding her friends' eyes. "I know."
Unfortunately, what she didn't know was if she'd ever be able to wash the mental blood of the fox mutated from her hands. If Niki hadn't threatened Halo, if she hadn't said anything, then maybe he'd still be alive. Niki may not have been the one to actually kill Fundy, but to her it was as much her fault as it was Halo's.
Ran and Boo weren't stupid, and they didn't need a heightened sense of empathy to know Niki wasn't okay.
All three of them had killed before, and Ran remembered that Niki was definitely the one that took her first kill the hardest.
He knew she must be feeling guilty, and he wanted to tell her it wasn't her fault. Niki just needed some time to collect her thoughts first.
Maybe it was the tinnitus, or maybe it was the distracting abundance of unsettling thoughts in his mind, but Ran failed to notice the figures appearing ahead of them until they sprang forward in ambush.
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Today was going to be great! Captain Puffy and her squad were going to save that hostage (well, both the hostages she supposed), and get justice for the mutated that was killed.
Even fate blessed her as the sun shone through the trees for the first time that week.
Brimming with confidence, Puffy lead her ducklings through the shadows cast by the greenery in an ambush formation ahead of the humans.
And to think, just a few month ago her squad would have been starting their first training, now they were confronting a group of humans in a hostage situation. Captain Puffy was proud to say the least!
She signaled to four of her ducklings to circle behind and get ready to grab the hostages, while the rest of them would deal with the humans. One of them was badly injured, and Puffy cursed her sympathy towards him.
"Now!" the Captain yelled, and the squadron leapt out of the trees with practiced presicion, startling the humans.
The two mutated were pulled back into the trees and away from the humans. Captain Puffy didn't see what happened to the girl that was next to them.
"Woah hey what's going on?!" one of the humans cried, notching his bow and raising it. Captain Puffy noticed him leaning heavily on one leg - the other was probably injured.
"Don't move," Puffy warned, rasing her own bow. "You have been charged of murder, kidnapping, and trespassing. You will cooperate and come quietly, or we will have to attack."
The humans exchanged glances and worryingly, they look more confused than guilty.
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Sapnap's ability to process the crazy things happening to him broke long ago when he saw his best friend Halo in the form of a demon.
It shattered when a pig man held a knife to his throat while a man with wings confronted George.
It was abso-fucking-lutly smashed to smithereens when a child went inside his head to save him from the virus.
Sapnap didn't know that it could break any further, but now a sheep lady with rainbow hair and a pirate's attire was accusing him of kidnapping and trespassing while one of his best friends was bleeding to death in his other best friends arms.
It was too much.
"What the Fuck are you talking about? We didn't kidnap anyone! And this is the middle of The Fucking Woods! How are we trespassing!?" Sapnap yelled.
The sheep lady was immediately taken aback, and the people surrounding them tensed for action.
Hah, as if Sapnap had enough energy to fight off these bastards after the day he'd had.
Regaining her composure and authority, the sheep lady calmly said,"We have evidence of you attacking a mutated settlement a week ago, and you must've taken the hostage as you fled."
"Oh you have to be kidding me," Sapnap laughed. And then he laughed some more. He was aware of George giving him sideways glances but he didn't care. "We were attacked, we were part of that 'settlement'."
"So you're mutated?" the sheep lady questioned with a piercing stare.
Sapnap stuttered, "W- well no but-"
"But I am," George interrupted, "and Niki is and Dream is, and Ran and Boo are our friends not our hostages."
The sheep lady said nothing.
"Please," George implored, "Niki can prove it to you, or even just ask Ran or Boo! Our friend is dying. Can't you at least help him before you try arresting us?"
"Yeah, what he said!" Sapnap added lamely, noting with some degree of uncomfortable-ness that George was in tears. But something else was wrong... "Wait hold on, where are the others?"
Sure enough, as George turned around expecting to see Niki or Ran or Boo, they weren't there.
"I instructed my squad to get the hostages away from here. If your other friend, 'Niki', interfered... Well they would've stopped her." The sheep lady said sternly.
Sapnap and George blanched.
"Until we have proof of what you say, I won't trust you, but I will help your friend." she added softly.
The sheep lady turned two the two soldiers next to her, and told them to go find the others. It was decided that George, Sapnap, and Dream would be taken back to the city now.
When the others arrived, they would be notified straight away.
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Pufyyyy!!! And her ducklings!!!!! If it wasn't clear the 'ducklings' is just a nickname for her squadron.
And just fyi Puffy would never admit to calling them that but the king toootally knows hehe.
And one more thing, hands down I'm not sure how to get from this point in the story to the end of the story (which I have in mind), so uh yeah, we'll see how it goes I guess.
Sincerely, Mr Sandman (man me a sand)