One cannot die to Herobrine's wrath without being broken beyond repair. The simple words which repeated in their mind, a constant melody even in the incorrect definition of the afterlife.
An endless field of grass, as far as the eye could see. Grass a shade closer to yellow than green, reaching up to his knees when he finally managed to stand. Glancing around to see a small house which resembled his own, a woman relatively aged sitting on the front porch; a closer look and one could see the glowing white eyes staring into his own soul.
"Dream?" Her voice soft, Dream's vision clearing to see the light pink hair flowing ever so slightly, a shade duller than what he can remember her having. "You aren't supposed to be here, not yet."
He was not too sure what she was saying, simply starting to make his way towards the house. His mind grew slightly foggy, knowing she was a woman of importance. Someone critically important in his life, someone he had not seen in a long time.
"Well, what if I adopted all three of you. Could be all five of us, a little dream team. How does that sound?" She got up to be greeted by two little ones hugging her as she watched the little boy take off his mask, green eyes sparkling.
The memories slowly returned to him, the woman who cared for him when the world stripped everyone else away from him. Nadia, I think that was her name.
Dream could not pinpoint precisely why such a grand sentimental feeling bubbled in his chest, though he figured he simply missed Nadia. After all, he remembers it being a very long time since their last talk. The fogginess of his thoughts was interrupted by the attempt at conversation. "My sweet child," her voice was soft as tears streamed down her face, rushing over to wrap her arms around the other. "Dream, what did they do to you? Why are you here? Oh dear, you aren't supposed to be here."
The memories slowly surged back to him for a few seconds and the numbness of this moment was quickly replaced by emotional agony. His grip tightened as slow tears turned into thrashing sobs, only feeling the soft circles being rubbed against his back as he cried. Nadia! The woman who gave so much to him, the woman who saved him, the woman he could call his mother. "I'm dead, Nadia. Aren't I?" The sobs slowly started to calm as he let go, slowly analyzing the face of the woman in front of him.
When he knew Nadia, she was a ray of sunlight. Light pink hair with lavender eyes, skin hardly aged despite being his guardian. Energetic and bright, a constant sugar-like laughter filled the household whenever she returned from work. This seemed different, not very old but skin wrinkled under the eyes, eternal eyebags. The once rosy-pink hair had an undertone of gray while the purple eyes were nothing but a piece of a broken memory.
"Soon, you will be or maybe you won't. Something is coming, I can feel it. For now, let us have a small chat." She gestured to the porch of the house, the only object interrupting the endless field. "You will not be here for long; we can talk to fill the time."
Dream slowly accepted the offer with caution, sitting down on the porch as a soft cool breeze blew by. The wood as aged as she was, brushing his hand on the smooth planks. "It hasn't been the same without you," Dream said softly, a part of him not wanting to make eye contact with her. "Even after you came back, they weren't the same."
As much as he loved the woman who sat beside him, she had killed. Then again, so had he.
"I know you all took it harshly, though as much as I wish to distance myself from my past, I never manage to," Nadia smiled, laying her hand over Dream's, as comforting as she could. "I know you aren't very fond of the man, but Zayne was the one who saved Sapnap's life. He was the one who possessed Sapnap and well," she tried to gesture it with her hands. "He floated him down as best as he could. If Sapnap didn't have the pendant, he would be as good as dead."
Dream did not want to think about any of the alternatives to the event; it was already difficult to remember as is. The emotional pain hurt so badly, feeling his only younger brother slipping away, agony to remember it. "Do you regret it?"
"Excuse me?"
"Philza's father," Dream twiddled with his thumbs, the eye contact never being met with someone he once considered his everything. How the world changes, how the world keeps changing. "Do you regret it?"
"I do, I would go and take it back if I could," Nadia let out a shaky breath. The memories were hard for anyone to recollect, especially as she was the only one who had the entire story. "Perhaps I would've pulled him over the cliff, or at least not have lied as much at his funeral. I hope he is doing alright in the afterlife," she mumbled, looking off into the distant. "When I am done with my imprisonment, I might finally be able to apologize. I do wish I could apologize to his son; he seems like such a nice man."
"Will you be done soon?"
"I will, this is my last day here."
Dream nodded, unsure of the emotions which sank deeper into his chest. A certain emptiness in his heart as he grew closer and closer to his adoptive mother once more. "Thank you for keeping your promise, Dream," Nadia wrapped one arm around over Dream's shoulder as the two sat in a relative silence. "No matter what happens, you did good out there."
A small glow of gold appeared in the distance, a smile growing on Nadia's face. "I knew it," she grinned, wiping a few stray tears away. "They came back for you, off you go."
Dream turned his head towards the sight, the hypnotic sensation he felt grew difficult to ignore. Yet, while there was the feeling of going, there was the strong pull to stay with Nadia. "Would you mind telling me what it is?"
"A totem," she replied quite simply, adjusting her position on the steps of the porch. "Though I suppose in the end, it is your choice. There are countless people who have refused the totem," Nadia sighed, watching as Dream did his best to not look at the glowing light. "They refuse to grab it, and I suppose it disappears. The body officially dies, and the totem can be used for another person."
Dream hesitated, slowly reaching for the item. "I will not be the same person, will I?"
"No, Dream." She responded, tone downfallen and sympathetic. "You have lost yourself; I don't know what it will be like if you decide to go back."
"What if..." his speaking went from slow to fast paced, jumping with questions. "What if I decide to stay here?"
"You will remain the person you are, get to arrive to the true afterlife with me. You will see all the people you have loved and lost and finally, be able to rest in peace."
Dream stood there in silence, the voices of his brothers ringing in his head.
"You will be praised as the greatest hero to have ever lived, making the ultimate sacrifice of your own life to bring peace to those on Earth. Perhaps they will build a statue, a grand statue."
Dream looked away, gripping Nadia's hand. "Peace? For real?"
"Yes, dear," Nadia smiled, truly understanding the meaning behind the expression on his face. "You will finally be free," she extended her hand out for Dream to accept. The tension grew thicker by the second as her smile was soon replaced with a frown. Not of disappointment, nor stress, not even of sadness either, but of understanding. "Home?" She asked, Dream nodding.
"Home."
~
His eyes opened once more to the cold ground; cave walls built around him. Within the walls, bright crystals shone brightly, the same material as his eyes slowly darted towards the chains which held him. A man before him, a feeling of resemblance much too strong to ignore, glowing white eyes and ragged clothing. "Let me go! Let me go!" He thrashed as the chains weakened, faint shouting in the background of his mind.
"Hold him down!"
"No don't hold him down!" The words sounded somewhat familiar, though the situation was much too familiar and fearful to bear. The chains tightened as he lay back down, unable to pinpoint from where but understand the sudden feeling of being watched by many.
Herobrine.
"Herobrine?" The words clicked in an instant, the thrashing became stronger until the chains broke. He managed to free himself, the faint voices becoming louder and louder and the cave walls slowly started to fade. The other faded away as rocks started crumbling towards the ground, a faint light appearing in the distance, surely the exit.
With no other instincts to interrupt, he ran. Running towards the exit of the cave as the rocks continued to crumble, slowly losing any resemblance of stability he may have had before. Rushing towards the cave's exit as rocks continued to crumble, slowly covering the exit.
I... I am going to make it!
"Dream!" A voice echoed around the room as he jumped through the remaining space, the rocks crumbling down. The voice did not matter, he made it! He was safe! He looked around expecting the brightness of the outside world only to realize the cave walls still surrounded him. Turning his back to see the newly fallen boulders in the exit, the air slowly falling silent from the collapse.
"Dream, you need to stay."
He crumbled to his knees, slowly starting to sob. Tears staining the cave floor, the crystals in the walls lacking their usual shine as the surroundings continued to fade. "I don't want to stay," he cried, trying to shake away the growing touch of comfort which continued to surround him. "I don't want to die!"
"Dream, look at me."
Slowly lifting his head up, the surroundings of a cave replaced by the walls of a clinic, soft brown eyes looking deeply into his own. A dark undertone placed right under the eyes, exhaustion radiating from his face. Slowly, the man's hands moved to touch his shoulders, the exhaustion forcing him to let them land.
"Dream, you are safe here. I know it's scary, but you need to calm down and tell me how you are feeling."
Dream, to him, it was a name mentioned far too much to not be his own. Dream nodded slowly, trying to figure out the person in front of him. All around him, there were eyes watching, as if everyone in the room was too scared to make a sound. "I feel tired," he stayed in place, seeing two people off in the distance of the room. One with dark black hair and eyes, a white headband tying his hair back while the other had a dark hood on, red accents on the outfit. "I just want my family... I miss them."
"Do you know who your family is?"
Dream thought about it for a moment, slowly shaking his head. He had family, he was certain of the fact. However, no matter how much he tried to come up with a single memory of family, a single memory of anything at all... nothing came up other than the void of knowing something used to be there. Dream hardly knew his own name, tears pouring as he realized he knew nothing about himself. His head turned toward the mirror placed in the room, his reflection having white eyes staring right at him.
"Do you know who I am?"
Dream shook his head once more, a small sob escaping the person sitting on the ground beside him. "I'm sorry, I wish I could tell you! I wish I could-"
"Hey, it's alright, no need to worry," soothing circles were rubbed against Dream's back, Dream slowly falling into the warm embrace of the other. "Let's restart then, my name is George."
The Dream everyone once knew was lost, for he had lost himself. The Dream the world knew has died, never to be seen in life or afterlife. As the shell of a man slowly fell asleep in George's arms on the ground of the makeshift clinic that day, George could only do his best as tears continued to pour.
~
George remembers it much more clearly than he could ever bargain for.
The way Dream lay on the stretcher lifelessly for a split few seconds before Tommy (of all people) came rushing in, totem hand. "Wait!" He remembers the younger male shouting before practically throwing the golden totem at Dr. Alloy, tears in his eyes. "Use it! Bring him back!"
George remembers vividly the golden glow filling the halls before going still, Dream still laying on the stretcher but breathing. Dream still on the stretcher but his heart strongly beating.
Yet, the rest of the day seemed a blur as the exhaustion which plagued his mind grew stronger, never bringing him the rest he deep down ever so desired. Dream, or whoever seemed to inhabit the body, had gone to rest with much more supervision than what was initially planned for. Only doctors allowed in, the others forced to stand on the sidelines in hope the news returning be at least somewhat positive.
Between the three of them in this makeshift clinic established for the final stand, the only noise which came around would be from anyone not in the group. The steps taken with haste, the cries of those who had stared death in the eyes, but no audible sound coming from George, Sapnap, or Bad.
However, the silence screamed in the three of their minds as millions of questions scattered around them. Nobody bothered to break the silence until someone else came to break it for them. "I figured you three would still be here," Dr. Alloy stepped out of the room. She also remembers it clearly, the last time the three would sit around waiting for news of their loved ones. "You guys seem to get into trouble a lot."
"It's what we are best at," Sapnap commented, getting a dry laugh out of the doctor. Nobody else bothered to share the laugh, Sapnap hardly grinning to get the joke across. Sapnap was the only one sitting down, granted his leg was still in critical condition.
"He's still asleep for now, heart rate still close enough to normal," Dr. Alloy opened the page of notes, George doing his best to listen as attentively as possible. "So far, he looks like he will be fine physically. We will not be sure until he wakes up," she sighed, eyeing the condition of the other three.
George could clearly see the way she tried to visually examine the three of them and at this point, he knew if the circumstances were any different, she would surely admit each of them herself. Perhaps not Bad but the haphazardly wrapped injury where Sapnap could not stand, and the exhaustion which was practically killing George. However, it seemed they were the least of her worries based on the condition of her other patients.
"He does not remember anything, does he?" Bad mumbled before lifting his head. "He didn't even know his own name. He doesn't remember any of this."
"He seems to understand complex concepts, at least from the small glimpses we got while he was conscious," Dr. Alloy told the others, slowly flipping the page to the rest of the notes. "Based on how Dream was acting, we can assume he experienced extremely realistic hallucinations. All we can confirm is the possession has become too much; Dream has lost himself."
"Do we know-"
A shrilling scream came from the room, making the others jump up with fear as Dr. Alloy rushed into the room, Dream sitting up as tears continued to pour, assistant doctors trying to hold him back. Without anyone to hold them back, the three entered the room without any hesitation. There he was, sitting on the bed thrashing as the doctors tried to hold him back.
"Is he okay? I didn't mean to hurt him!" He shouted, freeing himself from a doctor's grasp as they tumbled towards the ground. "Is he going to die? He can't die, he can't die!" Any expression of panicked green eyes was nothing but a memory, the glowing white eyes staying permanent.
"Dream!" George rushed over the quickest, Dream's facial expression immediately softening. "Hey, it's okay. We are here, all of us." The doctors could do nothing but watch as George ran to comfort his brother, Dream immediately quieting down and going still. "Did you have a nightmare? You can tell us if you want to."
"Not a nightmare, a memory," the way Dream's voice fell, without any string of emotion attached to them shattered George's heart. "When I hurt you... I didn't mean to." The words were hardly above a whisper, only allowing George, Bad, and Sapnap to hear him. No fiery passion behind the message, just the hollow words on their own as if a young child was reading them off a page.
"It's in the past, I'm still here, Dream. We are all here," George reassured the other, slowly stroking Dream's hair. "I know it's a bad memory, but there are plenty of good memories we have made too."
"Yeah!" Sapnap jumped in with the hopes of bringing a smile to Dream's face. "There was this one time where you chased down a chicken when we were kids. The butcher was not happy about that one!" He forced a laugh, the rest laughing along as Dream remained silent.
"I hope to remember that one day," Dream mumbled.
"We hope so too," Bad nodded, exchanging a worried look with his younger siblings. "We'll help you through it, that's what brothers do!" How the words ached in his soul, tears threatening to pour in an instant.
Dream nodded, empty gaze darting around the room. "George, I can answer your question now." George tilted his confusion as Dream continued, voice empty and hollow. "I know who my family is..." his voice trailed off. "It appears as if they care for me very much."
A single tear poured down George's face as he forced himself to smile through it all. "Yes, Dream," he let out a sympathetic laugh. "Yes, they do."