George and the rest had received a similar phone call from Wilbur. Everyone had quickly agreed that they'd obviously help rescuing the kids. Wilbur had given them Techno's and Dream's coordinates and told them to get to their location as fast as they could.
Sapnap drove about twice the speed limit all the way to the place. They eventually stopped just outside a forest. Wilbur had called them once more and said that there'd been a slight change of plans and told them to wait on the side of the road instead.
George sat anxiously awake in the passenger seat. Quackity had taken over to role as driver to let Sapnap rest. The ravenette had been awake for over 48 hours and they'd finally managed to convince him to let someone else take over, at least while they waited.
It didn't take long before Sapnap had blacked out in the backseat. George threw the sleeping hitman a glance and found that Karl laid passed out with his head on the other's chest. Their connection was unmistakable, although admittedly a bit surprising.
Quackity caught George's gaze. George had expected some joke or sarcastic comment from his friend. But Quackity's dark eyes remained clouded by thoughts.
"It's interest how quickly things can change, you know?" Quackity said as his gaze settled on something unspecified in front of them.
George sighed. "Yeah, tell me about. It difficult to imagine that we were once just regular college students."
Quackity nodded slowly. "Do you think we'll ever be normal college student again when this is over?"
When this is over. The thought felt unreal. Would it ever be truly over?
"I've no idea." George answered. His mind directly began wondering back to the same place as always: Dream. He wasn't sure that things could ever return to what they once were, even if he was somehow given the chance to go back and leave all behind. Was he supposed to just forget about Dream's existence and ignore his dad's true identity?
He let out a low, humorless laugh. "Honestly, I ever even wanted to go to college. I used to dream about becoming a gardener or at least own a little house with a garden, but my dad thought that I wasted my potential."
A small smile spread across Quackity's face. "Yeah, me too. I wanted to open my own casino. I even had a name planned out; Las Nevadas."
Sun beams began to rise above the horizon. George allowed his gaze to follow the light and as he did, a memory resurfaced that felt fitting in their current situation. ""I wish I had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me."" George quoted. From the corner of his eyes, he saw how Quackity furrowed his brows. George followed up with the explanation behind his quote. "It's the number one thing people tend to regret when they're about to die.".
"Seems reasonable." Quackity answered quietly before silent invaded the car once more.
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Quackity was the first to spot the car that was heading towards them. Three individuals stepped out of the car, but not the three that they were expecting. George's heart dropped when he noticed that Dream was missing. Instead of Dream walking with Techno and Wilbur, was Techno's dad Philza, beside them.
George practically flew out of the car and sprinted towards his brother and engulfed him in a tight hug. The other four passengers weren't far behind, and Techno began explaining the situation as soon as they'd all gathered. George anxiety levels reached an all-time high when Techno said why Dream wasn't with them.
"That stubborn bastard." Sapnap muttered as he'd heard what Dream had done.
George felt himself getting restless. "We need to get going then."
"And we will." Philza ensured. "However, Schlatt's desperate and has gone from being the hunter to the hunted. Which most likely means that he'll do anything to make sure he survives."
"Then what do we do?" George asked desperately.
Techno chimed in with the answer. "The only thing we can do; approach slowly and from there evaluate our options."
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The time it took to get there felt excruciatingly long. George kept fidgeting with the straps on his dark blue hoodie to distract himself, though it hardly helped. To make sure not to give away their position, they collectively agreed to walk the last bit.
George felt unpleasant shivers as the house appeared. They all took shelter behind a big log that laid on the mossy ground.
George heard how Techno cursed as three people stood guard in front of the main door.
The pink-haired guy pulled Sapnap closer and whispered something before he spoke to the rest of the group. "Right. Sapnap and I will infiltrate the house. Karl and Quackity, you two will be the distraction–"
"How?" Quackity interrupted.
"Sneak over to the opposite side. Thereafter, start shouting or something. Anything to catch the guards attention. The you need to run." Techno stated calmly. George glanced at his friends. They were clearly nervous but didn't object.
"And the rest of us?" George questioned.
"Stay here and be prepared to get the children once we've rescued them."
"But–" George tried to object but fell silent when he met Techno's gaze.
Techno proceeded to hold up three fingers. Quackity and Karl started crawling around to the other side while the rest waited in suspense.
Screaming was soon heard, and George knew the plan was set in motion. Sapnap and Techno shared a knowing look before they too began approaching the house.
Minutes passed by. George's head was killing him with worrisome thoughts. He hated that he'd to stay behind. That's when an idea started to form in his head.
He recalled the small window that led into the basement.
Before anyone could stop him, he started sprinting with his back hunched down to avoid being spotted. The glares from Philza and Wilbur were obvious despite not looking their way.
It went surprisingly well. His heart leaped as he glanced through the window and saw the three children being held in the same cell as the one he'd been captured in. The window was obviously locked. He debated on how to break it without causing too much noise. Although that problem got resolved when scream erupted from inside the house. He wasted no time and drove his uninjured foot through the window and cleared away excess glass with a spare shirt from his bag.
He dropped his bag in the basement and just then remembered how high the distance to the floor was. He took on deep breath before he hauled himself through the window. The landing went surprisingly well. He'd really mastered the "roll to redirect the impact"-technique.
The basement was empty not counting the children. All three of them looked startled but thankfully uninjured. "Tommy, Tubbo and Drista, right?" George whispered. They all nodded. He to ahold of the iron bars and suddenly cursed himself for never forcing Dream to teach him how to pick a lock. But the universe must've been on his side for once. Because the door was ripped open and abruptly closed by no other than Dream himself the second that thought had formed in George's brain.
"Dream!" He hissed. Even with the mask, it was clearly Dream. Dream glanced around the room before his eyes found the broken window and then he turned towards George.
"George." He said quietly with tremendous amount of confusion. Under other circumstances would George have thrown himself at Dream and hugged him tighter than ever before. However, he couldn't lose focus.
"Dream! You need to pick the lock."
Dream wasted no time and the door flung open in a matter of seconds.
"Okay, we're going to help you out through the window. Then you'll have to run as fast as you can to the right and find a big log. Philza and Wilbur are waiting for you." George instructed and he saw how their eyes lit up when he mentioned Wilbur and Philza.
Dream followed George's instructions and lifted each child up so that they reached the window. Everything surpassed smoothly until it was only Tommy left. The door swung open just as Dream was about to help the blonde boy.
The man had a gun and seemed eager to use it. "Let the child down, or I'll shoot!" He yelled.
George glanced around and realized that there's no way they could get Tommy out unharmed. Tommy must've concluded the same thing as he began shouting at the other two to run. They hesitated for a second before a bullet was launched.
Dream reached for his own gun while George ran towards Tommy and body shielded him while simultaneously dragging him into the cell as the cell was out of reach for any bullet.
George lost sight of Dream. One more bullet was launched, and George wasn't religious, but prayed to any sort of higher power that Dream was still alive.
Everything fell silent. Tommy held a steady grip around George's torso and George hugged the blonde boy's shoulders. Quiet footsteps got closer and closer. It wasn't until Dream's masked face peak around the corner that George dared to breath.
Dream ripped the mask away and George was relieved to see that Dream seemed to be his normal, at least sort of sane, self. The three of them formed some sort of group hug. Dream's presence induced a well-needed calmness.
Though, Dream soon broke free from the hug. "Quick, you two. I need to help you out through the window." Dream demanded.
"What about y–"
"Not now, George." Dream said, cutting him off.
The trio made their way over to the window. They successfully got Tommy out, but that's where their luck ended.
Three men stormed into the basement. "You." One of the men said and pointed at George. "Back into the cell." George wanted to object, but Dream's pleading look made him reconsider. So, he followed the order. Tommy was smart enough to run.
"Remove your weapons if you wish to live!" The same guy commanded Dream. The blonde reluctantly put away his gun, knife, and bag before raising his hands in a surrendering gesture.
"To the cell with you too." George saw how Dream clenched his jaw but obeyed.
One of the men hit the back of Dream's head the moment he stepped inside the cell. The blonde lost conscious and fell forward. George just barely managed to catch him before he hit the floor.
The door locked behind them and the men soon left the basement.
George sat with his back against the concrete wall with Dream's head placed in his lap, much like how he'd done the last time they got captured together.
George couldn't help but wonder if this was how it was going to end. Back in the same place, with the boy who'd kidnapped him, who he fell in love with.
And who he, without a doubt, still loved.
He let his fingers run through the blonde locks and noticed how Dream's breathing found a slower and steadier pace. He placed a soft kiss on Dream's forehead. At least if they died now, they'd die together.
Then George suddenly spotted his bag and remembered the needle with the cure that Wilbur had given him. George figured that the chance of them dying was rather high, but if they somehow miraculously survived, then it was crucial that Dream had received the antidote. George just hoped that he could manage to not get Dream's emotions to turn off.
He took a steady grip of the needle and inserted the liquid into Dream's neck.
Dream had probably sustained a minor concussion, which meant that he should gain back his conscious shortly.
An extreme tiredness washed over George as his head fell back against the wall. He closed his eyes but let his fingers continue to run through Dream's hair.
They managed to save the kids and were finally reunited. That was all that mattered in the moment.
A/N: We're approaching the end of this story. My prediction is that it's like 2-3 chapters left.
I'd just like to thank everyone who's given this book a chance. Especially those of you who've voted and left comments along the way! <33
I'm so excited to begin putting the finishing touches on the last chapters and publish the end!! (it will hopefully not disappoint hehe)