To most people, after finding the fortress, they'd expect a celebration of joy, but there was none here.
Only the silent fear looming over them.
They had been searching for months, and they never really expected to find it anymore. But when they did the trauma of the first fortress began transforming back into reality.
The first fortress.
Dream wasn't part of that fight, but he was certain he would've died if he had been. It was where 5000 players were killed, all in a day.
It was where Technoblade had died.
And though they all knew it was coming, the reality of finding another one was nothing short of terrifying.
The last time they found a fortress, thousands died.
So how were they so sure it wouldn't happen again?
They weren't.
The trio waited in the hall for the announcement. The players were all gathered there, whispers filling the room.
The atmosphere was tense and crowded, and by instinct Dream found himself gripping George's hand. He didn't notice though, feeling overwhelmed by the situation surrounding him.
Dream watched as a young boy entered the stage, is blonde hair now in a mess, as his scouting group followed him, their clothes tattered and armor deteriorating.
Of course it had to be Tubbo and TommyInnit to find it.
But as Tommy stepped on the stage to make the announcement Dream noticed the bags he had under his eyes and how his legs were shivering.
He was a victim, shoved into the game by force. Like Sapnap, he'd seen it all, and watched the deaths first hand. But he looked fine. At first glance he seemed just like a slightly more serious version of who everyone knew as TommyInnit.
But Dream could see through the facade.
The brave face he put on was a cover up from the trauma he'd seen. He was too young for this, but he was skilled, meaning he was shoved onto the front lines, and he pretended it was completely fine. He pretended he was okay with this world.
And in a way they all did too.
And when he spoke, everyone's greatest wishes and worst fears came true. "Everyone, we found the fortress!"
***
The announcement went over the location of the fortress and how they managed to find it.
Dream spoke too in that meeting, going over the plan he and many others has worked on to perfection.
And when it was over, the players flooded out rushing to make their preparations.
Dream knew those two would never let him live it down that they had found the fortress before him, and yet that wasn't even the first thing on his mind.
For it was George.
It was always George.
He sighed. It was already the next day and he was making his was back towards the blacksmiths. The usually quiet store was filled to brim with players, many of them requesting new armor and weapons for the journey, but there really was no rush.
They had time.
When Tommy's scout team had found the fortress, they didn't enter it. Only noting down the coordinates and rushing back. They couldn't risk having the achievement displayed in chat for everyone to see, so as far as Dream was concerned, they didn't know.
For now their enemy was the fortress, not them.
He squeezed through the players, making out his friends in the crowd. George was sitting on one of the nearby chairs, his legs dangling just above the ground.
God, he was short.
And he seemed giddy too, like a child happily examining a toy. If you could call a newly made diamond sword a toy.
"So how's the sword, Georgie?" Dream asked, causing his friend to jump slightly.
"The hell don't call me that!" He rebuked as Dream took a seat next to his friend. "Besides its super light, I thought it'd at least be heavier than the stone one."
Dream laughed. "Yeah, cause I told Callahan to make it that way."
George titled his head as he looked at his friend. "Why?"
"Cause you're so short you wouldn't be able to hold it." Dream teased, causing his friend to playfully punch him in the shoulder.
It was obviously a joke, the real reason being what he'd been able to gather about George's fighting style the day before.
From what Dream knew, George was fast, he could easily dodge attacks and switch directions, his height being helpful in that scenario. His hits weren't particularly strong, but if he could find a way to strike the enemies' weak spot that wouldn't be a problem.
So the sword he had made ended up being thinner and lighter, that way it wouldn't slow him down.
"And it was cheaper too."
George rolled his eyes as he admired the sword. "I didn't even know you could make stuff outside of crafting recipes."
"It's not really a different recipe," Dream replied. "I guess it's just a modified version of a normal sword, do you like it?"
"It's diamond, duh I like it." He said, not really answering Dream's question. It didn't matter though, the grin on his face answered it for him. "But why do we need so many people for the fortress?" George asked, watching all the players running back and forth.
"Remember this version of minecraft is different, and the fortress is fucking huge." Dream explained. He was about to continue but was interrupted by George's giggles.
And he had it admit it was a little cute.
"What?" Dream said, obviously trying not to laugh.
George didn't stop though, grinning to himself. "Is it the biggest thing you've ever seen?"
"You're such an idiot."
***
Dream sorted through his chest, double checking his armor's enchantments. He could barely concentrate though, his mind instead wandering back to his friend.
"Where's George?" A voice suddenly asked, causing Dream to turn back in shock, only to see Sapnap leaning onto the wall by the door.
"Ever heard of knocking?" He replied, causing his friend to roll his eyes. "And George is enchanting."
"The hell, you gave him your lapis for that didn't you?" Sapnap teased, a wide smirk on his face.
Dream just laughed at his friend's antics. "As if. I didn't need to, we have so much extra."
His friend hollowly laughed as he approached Dream, his footsteps seemingly getting heavier as he approached him. Dream didn't mind him, continuing to distract himself from his numerous thoughts by searching through his chest.
"I know you're worried about him, Dream."
Dream jumped at the mention of it, immediately looking back at his friend. After seeing his expression, he let out a defeated sigh, and a slight chuckle to cover up his nervousness. "Was I that obvious?"
"I saw you taking glances at his reactions to just about everything you said earlier." Sapnap laughed. "You were hoping he'd just back out of it."
Dream chuckled. His friend could read him like a book, and though it frustrated him, he couldn't help but smile at it. "Do you think he knows?"
"Nah, he's a dense dumbass." Sapnap joked. "I'm just surprised you haven't told him to just stay here though."
"I know he'd just go anyways." Dream admitted. "George's too stubborn for that, it'd be pointless and he'd just get upset."
Sapnap nodded in agreement. Dream knew George better than anyone, and he was right. George wasn't the type to just sit there without doing anything, and though Dream would normally admire that part of him, in this situation it was anything but desirable.
"And also, we're short on players willing to fight." Dream sighed. "The board would grill me to death if I told them I wanted to leave someone like that. And everyone else will just hate me even more."
Sapnap shrugged, as he eyed his friend carefully. "Well, I just came here to say you really don't have to worry anymore. George wasn't half bad from your fight yesterday and he'll be fine after a bit of practice."
"I went easy on him." Dream argued causing his friend to laugh.
"Duh, it was pretty obvious." Sapnap laughed. "But don't tell him I said this twice, he wasn't that horrible. And I'm being serious here, why are you so worried about him?"
"It's the nether fortress, of course I would be."
"But its specifically George?" Sapnap teased, raising an eyebrow. "You need to stop being so protective of him."
Dream's face went pink at his friend's words, and suddenly he was extra thankful his skin came with a mask. "I'm not being protective! You say that like we're a couple."
"I thought you were."
"You suck Snapmap."
The two stayed quiet, Dream thinking about what his friend had just said.
And as much as Dream hated to admit it, Sapnap was right. Worrying about George was pointless when there were so many other players with worse innate skill and knowledge, and yet he couldn't help it.
"Listen I know you were against George logging in in the first place." Sapnap said, making his way out. "But you need to learn to put more trust in him, for both of your sakes."
Trust.
Why was that so hard for him?
Maybe it's just that it got more difficult to give the more he didn't want to loose someone, the more someone mattered to him.
Maybe it was because giving trust just made the losses harder.
Or maybe it was because George's life was more important to him that anything else.
For reasons he'd rather not admit to anyone, or rather, himself.
[A/N]
Writing Dreams third person POV is hard because I keep wanting to just go back to George's smh. Btw lot more people will be making cameo's but they won't really be playing major roles.
I didn't see anyone mention this, but at the start when Dream was rapidly gaining achivements it was because of the game's time running faster than the real world.
And SAD-ist's animatic-
*Insert pls vote here FINALE* :))))
Also anyone know any mcyts who could be in Slytherin and Ravenclaw?