Neverending blackness surrounded me as I passed out, the quietness of Alyssa's home fading into hissing, no, whispering above me. I was laying on my back, wrapped in some kind of cloth. My vision was fuzzy as I attempted to open one eye, only instantly closing it after the harsh lights blinded me.
That's when I felt it.
The burning that I had slowly become used to over the past couple months started out strong, coating my limbs. Getting hot quickly, I struggled in the cloth, trying anything to get the stifling blanket off of me.
The whispering grew louder, hushed voices making remarks I could almost hear, but not understand. It was like my brain understood they were talking about me, but I just heard gibberish.
The heat kept growing, and I opened my mouth to plead for help, but instead found that I could only wail and scream, like I had forgotten how to speak properly.
I kept thrashing in the blankets, burning and crying in the eternal heat.
"Nix!"
I woke up with a start, my heart running a mile an hour while I sat up quickly.
Dream sat next to me, a hand on my arm, checking to see if I was alright. I was in Alyssa's house still, on the ground next to the chair that I had previously burnt.
It had been a nightmare, one that I recognised.
"Are you alright?" He asked softly.
"Yeah...sorry. Am I still..." I trailed off, not finishing my own sentence.
"No, you're...extinguished?" Dream answered, looking for the right word.
"Good." I let out a sigh of relief, slowly but surely getting up off the floor.
"I think we should leave for a bit, I uh...I think you gave Alyssa a scare." Dream rubbed the back of his head, walking over to the front door.
I followed quietly, sneaking a glance over towards the kitchen. I really really wanted to explain things to Alyssa, even though I wouldn't know what to say. She's rightfully scared, if I was in her position I would be too. But I just wish I could talk to her.
"Dream?" I whispered, walking alongside him towards the community house.
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry."
"What? What do you have to be sorry about?" Dream asked incredulously, cocking his head to the side.
"Well I- I don't know. Alyssa? The fact that I'm not human, that I set a chair on fire? That I ruined breakfast." I rambled on, trying to come up with something. I felt guilty, even though I knew that none of what happened was entirely my fault.
"You're right, you should apologise." Dream faced forward again, his voice becoming serious.
"Sorry" I shrunk back, feeling shame wash over me.
"Now what will we eat for breakfast? The sausage we lost can never be recovered." Dream sighed dramatically, opening the door to the community house and holding it open for me.
"Oh" I shuffled inside, not knowing how to respond.
"Come on, that was a joke. You have nothing to apologise for. Maybe the chair and breakfast actually..." He stopped for a second to contemplate.
I knew he was trying to cheer me up, but I couldn't shake the gross feeling in my stomach. I know that I looked like I was handling this well on the outside, but on the inside I was a mess. If I wasn't human, what was I?
"Nix," Dream touched my shoulder, shaking me from my thoughts. "Look at me."
Taking a deep breath, I looked up, seeing him slowly move the mask to the side of his face, his hunter green eyes watching me carefully.
"I promised you that we would figure this out together, right?" He continued when I nodded.
"And I'm keeping my promise. Please don't stress about this, we will deal with this together, okay?"
Looking at his face, I really did believe him. I still didn't understand why he wasn't treating me like I was some freak, but I was so glad that he wasn't.
It's time to be brave, Nix.
"Okay, together doesn't sound too scary." I willed a small smile to my face.
Dream seemed satisfied with my answer, and pulled me into a warm hug, his woodsy scent slowly becoming more recognizable to me.
I liked this, whatever the hell it was.
"Okay, so sausage for breakfast is off the table, literally." He joked, pulling away from me.
I rolled my eyes and walked around him, looking through various chests for food.
"Our options are stale bread, or slightly mushy apples." I sighed, wrinkling my nose while digging through the chests.
"Stale bread it is." Dream shrugged, catching the almost rock solid loaf when I tossed it to him.
"So what's on the to-do list for today? Besides finding out that I can burst into flames at will." I ask while chewing a piece of bread. Ugh, maybe I should've gone with the mushy apple.
"Actually, I received a letter this morning from Schlatt. He didn't like where we left things off last night." Dream's annoyed tone told me all I needed to know about how he felt.
"Alright, let's go have tea with the devil."
Dream barked out a laugh and hooked arms with me, both of us taking another bite of our breakfast and cringing.
...........................................................................................
Once we arrived in Manberg, we were instantly greeted with loud yelling and a very pissed off couple.
"I know exactly what I'm talking about, and you know nothing!" Schlatt growled, using a pickaxe to chip away at the whitehouse building, which had already been half destroyed somehow.
"Alright, no no no, fuck you!" Quackity responded, seething with rage. "Find yourself another vice president. Fundy had the right idea leaving."
"Damn." Dream exclaimed quietly.
Fundy left?
"You literally have the citizen moral so fucking low to the ground, this place might've been better with different kinds of leadership! You're being a dick, man!" Quackity annunciated each word with his hands, only for Schlatt to roll his eyes and scoff.
"Why don't you learn how to be a real fucking man!" Schlatt taunted.
Quackity flinched back, and even from where I stood, I could see tears starting to form in his eyes.
It hadn't ever really been acknowledged by Schlatt, but Quackity and him had something together. Quackity was eager and a little naive, basically giving in to Schlatt whenever he called him pet names. I wasn't sure exactly what went on behind the scenes, but while I was in Schlatt's cabinet, they acted like lovers.
"I think it's time for you to go." Schlatt said coldly, turning away from his vice president.
Quackity stood still, a tear or two falling from his face. At first, I thought he was going to apologise to Schlatt.
But then in the blink of an eye, he grabbed a nearby bow and arrow off the ground, aiming it directly at Schlatt, who was facing the other direction, still tearing down the whitehouse.
Dream stiffened beside me, and I looked up at him, wondering if he was going to step in at all.
Quackity released the arrow, hitting Schlatt in the shoulder, the same one that he had been shot in last night.
Schlatt let out a string of curses, turning around to Quackity, who had already taken off down the hill, running towards the woods...running towards Pogtopia.
"GET OUTTA HERE YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" Schlatt gritted out, his voice booming across the empty area.
Schlatt hobbled down the whitehouse steps, finding the nearest medic and getting them to treat his arm. Dream and I left our unintentional snooping spot and slowly made our way to where Schlatt was.
"Hey, big man! And Nix, what a lovely surprise!" Schlatt's voice was completely different from what it had been only moments ago, and he looked as sleezy as ever.
"Glad you're enjoying this." I cross my arms, instantly wishing Quackity had done more than injure his arm again.
"I am, and good news! The vice president spot just opened up in my cabinet!" Schlatt said enthusiastically, making direct eye contact with me. "You'd make a great vice president, and I already know how good you look in a pencil skirt-"
"What did you want to talk about Schlatt?" Dream moved, blocking me from Schlatt's vision, his voice steely and cold.
God, that protectiveness did things to my insides.
"Right, so let's cut to the chase here. I need your support." Schlatt smiled.
A snort left my mouth, and a small chuckle sounded from Dream. Little did Schlatt know, Dream was supplying Wilbur. Which reminds me, I'm gonna need to have a conversation with Dream about that.
"Why would I support you, Schlatt?" Dream questioned, the laughter in his tone clearly getting to Schlatt.
"Well, I have something very powerful that you would be very interested in," Schlatt replied, gesturing to us to move further away from where there were citizens.
"What would that be?" Dream asked interestedly.
"This," Schlatt produced a small book from inside his suit, holding it up for us to see. "A revival book."
I would've laughed, called Schlatt crazy and not even give the book a second glance. But something inside of me became restless when looking at the leather. On the front cover there was some kind of totem, with eyes glowing green, literally glowing. After finding out that I can literally light on fire, a revival book isn't too crazy of an idea.
Dream stood quietly, staring intently at the book in Schlatt's hands.
"It can bring anyone back from the dead, as many times as you want." Schlatt continued on, noticing the interest in Dream's stare. "With this book, death isn't permanent."
"Holy shit." I whispered, not being able to take my eyes off of it.
"So, if I support you from now on, you will give me that book, which holds the power to revive the dead?" Dream asked warily.
Schlatt nodded, smirking.
"What's the catch?" Dream's voice hardened.
Of course. Dream wasn't that dumb, there was obviously a catch.
"If I die, you have to revive me. Only string attached." Schlatt replies.
"Huh." Dream crossed his arms, sizing up Schlatt. "You drive a hard bargain."
"Hardly." Schlatt disagreed. "I would say your side of the deal is sweeter."
"Which makes me cautious." He shrugged.
Would Dream take this deal? I wasn't even sure how this would end. A revival book for support, what a one sided deal. For Dream this would be everything. But for me...that means joining Schlatt's side, even worse, going against my family.
"And I don't ever have to give the book back?"
"Nope, just revive me if I die."
Dream hesitated, then stuck his hand out to Schlatt.
"Deal."
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Author's Notes: the word breakfast was said too many times in this chapter. Anyways everyone have a luminous day!
(PS, I started writing a little short story on Drista and Lani as gods, called Deities. You should check it out!