176.

"Dream. Dream what the fuck."

Dream peeled his face off the pillow with quite a bit of effort and turned his head so he could see Tommy. "Brrgh?"

"Dream," Tommy repeated, looking rather frazzled around the edges. "What the fuck. Why the fuck. What."

The other looper didn't appear to be too distressed, so it probably wasn't urgent. Dream buried his face in the pillow, then made a noise of affront when it was ripped away.

"Dream, wake up! This is serious!"

Dream groaned loudly but reluctantly sat up, leveling Tommy with a glare. Tommy crossed his arms and glared right back.

"You installed hoverboots into Sam Nook," he accused.

Dream blinked. ". . . Those exist?"

"Yes, they-- you invented them, Dream, what the fuck--"

"I did?"

"According to Sam, yes!"

". . . Huh."

"And on top of that," Tommy continued, "You gave the fuckin' killer robot the ability to T-pose. Now he's following me like some fucking bodyguard or whatever and T-posing at everything he considers a threat!"

"Nook's not a killer robot," Dream protested blearily. Then the rest of Tommy's words caught up to him. "Wait, I gave him what?"

Tommy pointed to the window, where Sam Nook loomed like a benevolent sleep paralysis demon. He was, indeed, T-posing - and given that Dream's bedroom was on the second floor, he was hovering a good distance off the ground. Dream squinted at him, then nodded slowly.

"Huh," he said. "Okay then."

"Okay then? Okay then?! Dream, he's following me around--"

"He's supposed to protect you, Sam designed him that way--"

"--which would be fine if he stopped T-posing every five seconds! What the fuck were you on when you coded that?!"

Dream frowned, digging through his memory. "Uh. . . I think I was experimenting with how much my body could take before I had a heart attack. So. I consumed enough sugar to stock a store for Halloween, then chugged a couple cups of coffee and a Monster I stole from Karl." He shrugged. "Blacked out and woke up here. 'M guessing I made the new programs and the hoverboots sometime around then."

Tommy stared at him. "How are you not dead?"

"Spite and caffeine tolerance," was the answer. "Now get out. I want to sleep."

"But what about--"

"Ask him politely to stop. Out."

"Dream-- "

Dream pulled his blanket over his head and began snoring loudly.

177. (credit to Nekuu!)

"This isn't creepy or stalkerish at all."

"I think we're long past stalking when it comes to worrying about morality," Dream deadpanned. He sunk a little lower in his crouch and squinted through his spyglass.

Sapnap, Karl, and Quackity stood a little ways away, oblivious to their presence. Quackity had just said something that had Sapnap flushing red, the tips of his hair set aflame by his embarrassment. Karl doubled over, cackling. Sapnap's blush only grew darker. He punched both of them in the arm, but the gesture was offset by his smile.

Tommy wrinkled his nose. "Right. So why are we stalking them?"

Dream lowered his spyglass so he could grin at him. "Well you see, they didn't get together until after the Manberg Era. But what if we set them up before Schlatt gets here?"

"How exactly are we supposed to set them up?"

A glint appeared in Dream's eye. "I have a few ideas."

~~~

Tommy and Dream watched as Quackity picked up the vase of flowers they'd left by his front door. The duck hybrid scanned the area, a look of puzzlement on his face. When no secret admirers presented themselves, he shrugged and retreated into his house, taking the flowers with him.

"That's the third bouquet," Tommy whispered. He held up a hand for a high-five, which Dream returned. "Mission accomplished, boys."

"We'll have to tail them to see if they mention anything to each other. I'll take Sapnap, you take Quackity. We should be fine as long as we're following at least two of them."

"Aye aye, captain."

~~~

Dream waved at Tommy. Tommy, who was crouching on the roof opposite him, waved back. As one, they turned their attention to the trio walking down the path between the buildings.

"Someone left me flowers," Sapnap was saying. Dream perked up, then ducked down when Karl glanced up. When he was sure he hadn't been spotted, he crept back to the edge and peered down.

Quackity grinned. "Got a secret admirer?"

Sapnap grinned back. "Maybe. It wouldn't happen to be you, would it?"

"I would if I thought you liked flowers. Didn't peg you as much of a flower guy, though." Quackity rocked back on his heels. "You know, I got flowers too. Whole bunch of marigolds and forget-me-nots."

"I got marigolds too!" Karl exclaimed. "No forget-me-nots, though. I had gladiolus."

"Gladi-whats?"

"The flowers with the long leaves? They look like they grow together on the same stem?"

Sapnap snapped his fingers and pointed at him. "I got those! And the forget-me-nots too!"

Karl frowned. ". . . So we all got flowers, just different combinations of the same three?"

"Maybe it's a sign," Quackity joked. "The gods are warning us about the apocalypse."

"Through flowers?"

"I've heard stranger things on other servers," Karl admitted. ". . . Do you think anyone else got flowers?"

Sapnap shrugged. "Probably. Or we just all have the same secret admirer."

Quackity whistled. "Aiming for all three of us, eh? They've got guts."

Karl's answering laugh was lost to the wind as the three moved out of hearing range. Dream sighed and mentally marked their first scheme as a failure.

~~~

"Plan B," Tommy said. He whapped the whiteboard with a stick, accidentally smudging some of the diagrams he'd drawn. "You take 'em out for a group picnic with George, then leave for urgent business."

"So. . . we're bringing George into this?"

"Perifally."

"Peripherally."

"That's what I said, bitch. He can participate. Once."

"Uh-huh. I'll talk to Gogy if you get the food."

". . . Are you asking me to cook?"

"Pay someone else to do it. You'll give us all food poisoning."

"That was one time!"

~~~

George squinted at him. "Let me get this straight," he said. "You. . . want to set up Sapnap with Karl and Quackity."

"Yup," Dream said.

George looked at Dream, then glanced past him and made a face. Dream turned. There was a window at his back, but there was nothing but blue sky through it. When he turned back around, George's strange expression had smoothed out.

"Right," he said. "Okay. I can help with that. What do you need?"

~~~

"This is really good," Quackity said through a mouthful of fried chicken. "Did you make this?"

"Yes," Dream lied, very carefully not looking at George's deadpan face so he wouldn't burst out laughing. "Uh, it was--"

His communicator buzzed with the alarm he'd set half an hour previous. He pulled it out, stared at it for a moment, then shot to his feet. "Fuck," he blurted, making a show of glancing frantically back towards the other picnickers. "Uh-- sorry, I-- George, we really gotta go, I forgot about the thing we talked about--"

Karl moved to get up. "Wait, your picnic basket-- the blanket--"

"It's mine," George interrupted. He stood, brushing bits of grass off his legs. "Just drop it off at my house when you're done."

"Gottagohavefun!" Dream grabbed George by the arm and dragged him away. Once they were safely concealed in the treeline, George yanked his arm out of Dream's grasp and turned to him with an unimpressed look.

"For the record," he said, "I still think that was a stupid idea."

"Psst, Dream!" Both Dream and George looked up to see Tommy perched on a leafy branch. The teenager gestured impatiently. "Get up here!"

George snorted, turning on his heel. "I'll leave you to it."

Dream watched as he marched off, then shrugged and clambered up the tree. He accepted the spyglass Tommy handed him and settled in for a long wait.

Twenty minutes ticked by with no visible sign of a developing relationship, at which point Sapnap checked his comm, frowned, then said something to the others. Karl and Quackity nodded, pushing themselves to their feet. They began packing up the picnic blanket.

"Well," Dream said blandly. "Looks like that failed."

Tommy compacted his spyglass with a huff of annoyance. "Are you serious? We put so much time into that picnic--"

"Technically, George and Sam did most of the work--"

"--and they don't even have the fuckin' decency to finish all the food. Unbelievable. The audacity--"

"Sam did most of the cooking. I don't think either of us have the right--"

"Un. Fucking. Believable."

~~~

"Plan C. We set up a blind date at McPuffy's."

"Isn't that a bit. . . straightforward?"

"Listen, Dream, it's been a month. Desperate times call for desperate measures."

~~~

"Oh Prime," Tommy said. "They're actually idiots."

They were hiding in the kitchen, peering through the crack between the swinging doors. Even though Karl and Sapnap were sitting side by side, they maintained a minimum five-inch distance between them at all times. Seeing as Karl was notorious for being a very touchy-feely person, this was not a good sign.

"He hugs everyone," Tommy muttered. He glowered at the colorfully-dressed man. "But nooo, the one loop we try to set them up he's suddenly social distancing and-- oh come on! His hand was right there! You were so close to brushing it!"

"Patience," Dream chided. Tommy kicked him in the shin. Dream yelped, jerked away from the doors, tripped over a stray pot, and knocked over a stack of oil draining racks. The resulting commotion had all three restaurant patrons pausing and looking over towards the kitchen doors. Tommy hastily ducked down before they saw him through the tiny plexiglass windows. When ten seconds had passed and nothing happened, he huffed and relaxed.

"Fuck, Dream," he grumbled. "Be a little louder, why don't you?"

"I wouldn't have tripped if you hadn't kicked me--"

"Blaming me? Real mature of you, Dream, I thought you were the responsible adult--"

"--neither of us are responsible adults, you know that--"

"What are you doing back here?"

Dream and Tommy yelped, spinning around to face Puffy. The woman stood at the back entrance of the restaurant, head cocked and arms crossed.

"Puffy, I promise there's a good explanation for this."

Puffy raised an eyebrow when Dream failed to provide said explanation. "And that would be. . .?"

". . . Give me a second to think of one."

Puffy sighed. "Right. Both of you, out, right now. Shoo. I don't need you stalking my customers."

"We're not stalki--"

"Yes, yes you are. Now either clean up the mess you made with those racks, or get out."

Meekly, Tommy and Dream got.

~~~

"WHY ARE THEY SO DUMB?!" Tommy wailed. Dream watched, both amused and disturbed, as he repeatedly banged his head against the wall. "THEY'RE JUST. SO. FUCKING. DENSE. WHY."

Karl hovered next to him, tugging nervously at the sleeves of his oversized hoodie. "Uh. . . Tommy, maybe don't--" he cringed as Tommy's head connected with the wall again. "--you're going to give yourself a concussion."

Tommy stopped mid-facewall and spun around, grabbing him by the shoulders. Karl blinked, eyes wide with confusion.

"Tommy? What?"

Tommy began shaking imperceptibly.

". . . Tommy?"

Dream carefully sidled over and pried Tommy's hands away. "Hey, Tommy, let's. . . calm down a little bit."

Tommy twitched. "Hey, Karl," he hissed. "Did you know. . . that Quackity and Sapnap really like you?"

Karl frowned. "I mean. . . yeah? They're my friends."

Tommy nodded. "Yeah, but like. They like you enough to platonically marry you. Probably. You should go on a date with them."

Karl giggled nervously. "Uh. . . no? I don't think they, uh, feel that way?"

Tommy stared at him. Karl inched back, likely sensing the threat of bodily harm.

"Excuse us," Dream said with strained cheer, then trapped his fellow looper in a headlock and dragged him out of the room.

"I am going to murder them," Tommy said as soon as they were out of hearing range. "I'm actually going to smother them with their pillows."

"No murdering the people we're trying to matchmake."

"They deserve it for being so fucking dense! Are you telling me you don't want to stab them?"

". . . Maybe a little bit," Dream admitted. He glared when Tommy opened his mouth. "But no. No stabbing."

"You're no fun."

~~~

When Dream opened his door to find Sapnap lounging on his couch, he was sorely tempted to shut it and crash at Tommy's place for the day. They'd spent nearly two hours coming up with increasingly elaborate schemes to get the three idiots to open their fucking eyes, and he simply didn't have the braincells left to deal with Sapnap's particular brand of lovesick denseness.

"Hi, Dream," said Sapnap.

Fuck. He'd been noticed. Dream reluctantly stepped in, shutting the door behind him. "Why are you in my house."

"Friend privileges," was Sapnap's blithe response.

"Friend privileges don't cover breaking and entering."

"Yes they do. And I didn't break and enter-- you really think I'd do something so uncultured?" Sapnap placed a hand over his heart in mock-offense. Something metallic flashed with the motion, catching Dream's notice.

"Wait." He stepped forward, his half-built retort forgotten. "Wait wait wait. Give me your hand."

Sapnap snorted. "Look, Dream, I'm flattered and all but--"

Dream rolled his eyes and snatched Sapnap's wrist, swinging it up so his hand was in clear view. Two rings shone in the sunlight, their gold bands lying snug around Sapnap's finger.

Dream stared down at them. Slowly, he looked up at Sapnap, who had begun sweating.

"Ahaha. . . surprise?"

"How long," Dream said, sounding completely and utterly dead inside.

"Uh, well, you see--"

~~~

Dream inhaled. Exhaled. Inhaled again. Held his breath for a couple seconds, then exhaled when he no longer felt like reaching across the table wringing Sapnap's neck like a wet towel.

"So," he began in a perfectly even tone. "You're engaged."

Sapnap shrugged. "Yep."

"You've been engaged."

"Uh-huh."

Dream's eye began twitching. ". . . And why exactly didn't you tell us?"

"Because your attempts to set us up were funny," Sapnap said unrepentantly. "And also good excuses for dates."

"I see." Dream pushed his chair back and stood, summoning his axe. Sapnap suddenly seemed to realize the danger he was in, because he shrunk back into his chair and raised his hands.

"Hey-- we can talk about this--"

"Oh, there will be no talking here, Sapnap. Do you know what Tommy and I have been through in the past three months? Do you?"

"Dream--"

Dream adjusted his grip on his axe. "You have a ten-second head start."

Wisely, Sapnap decided to run for his life.

178.

"Dream. I have made a terrible mistake."

"Given your daily life experiences, you're going to have to be more specific." At the withering glare he received, Dream sighed. "Okay, what did you do this time?"

"You know the glock? The one I got from the woodland mansion?"

Dream could feel a headache growing behind his temples. "Yes. . .?"

Tommy shuffled his feet. ". . . And you know how when Tubbo finds something new, he likes taking it apart so he can build it on his own?"

"Oh," said Dream. "Oh, no."

"Yep."

"Should we be packing?"

"I mean. . . the chamber was empty, so maybe he won't figure out bullets?"

Dream stared at Tommy, which was essentially his way of asking if Tommy was an idiot. Tommy considered the numerous times Tubbo had demonstrated his great (and often misused) intellect and admitted defeat.

". . . Okay, yeah, let's pack. I don't want to be around for whatever apocalypse Tubbo kickstarts."

179.

Dream frowned, scanning the horizon. Tommy had sent him a message to meet him here, but the other looper was nowhere in sight. Was this meant to be another prank? But then why call him out to the middle of nowhere? Tommy liked having witnesses to his pranks. Unless there were people hiding behind those boulders about ten feet away, there shouldn't--

"DREAM!"

Dream jolted, turning around. He'd heard Tommy's voice, but it was so faint he wasn't sure where it was coming from.

"DOWN HERE!"

Dream looked down. A tiny figure glowered up at him, arms crossed and emerald-flecked wings ruffled with agitation. Dream blinked and rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. "Wh-- Tommy, is that you?"

"No, it's fuckin' Parliament here to slap you for tax evasion-- OF COURSE IT'S ME, DUMBASS! NOW SIT DOWN SO I DON'T HAVE TO SHOUT ALL THE FUCKING TIME!"

Bewildered, Dream lowered himself to the ground. Tommy huffed, crossing his arms and pulling himself up to his full four-inch height.

"Fuckin' finally. Look, I need your help."

"Holy shit," Dream blurted. Even in all the loops he'd been through, he'd never seen Tommy shrink without changing his proportions. "You're tiny! What happened to you?!"

"Okay first of all, fuck you. I might be physically small, but I'll have you know that my personality makes up for it! Second. . . y'know how I've been working on hybrid potions? I finally got a perfect balance on animal-human traits, but I didn't expect to get shrunk. Hurt like a bitch, too. Zero out of ten." Tommy shuddered. "Which, uh, about that-- I need you to clean up."

"Clean up?"

"Yeah. I think the hybrid potions work differently - I didn't compress, I kinda just. . . left most of myself behind. Doesn't look much like me anymore, but my clothes are in the mess too - if Wil or one of the others goes into my house--"

"--they'll think you're dead, blame it on me, and our truce will be ruined."

"Yup."

Dream frowned. "Have you tried drinking milk?"

Tommy made a face. "I don't think my body can regrow this much, and I'm not putting myself through a wringer again. 'Sides, I wanna see what being a bug is like."

"A. . . bug?"

"I'm tiny and bite people." Tommy gestured to himself. "Bug."

Dream eyed his toothy grin with a healthy dose of wariness. ". . . What hybrid are you supposed to be?"

"A hummingbird."

"Don't you usually work with crows? Why a hummingbird?"

Tommy flushed red, the crimson feathers tucked behind his ears flaring with embarrassment. "They're pretty," he snapped. "What, you have a problem with that? Because I also got these nice, pointy claws now--"

Dream raised his hands. "Nope. No problems. None whatsoever."

"That's what I thought, bitch."

"How are you more terrifying when you're shrunk?"

"Because I can sneak into your house now," Tommy hissed. "I'll climb in through your chimney, or burrow in through your walls. Like a mouse. A flying mouse. Fear me."

"I'll set mousetraps."

"You think that would stop me?"

It wouldn't, and they both knew it. Dream fumbled for a not-so-subtle subject change. "Uh. Anyway. We should probably hide the body before someone finds it. Do you, uh, need a ride? Or are you just going to fly there?"

". . . Can't fly right now," Tommy admitted. "Just slow fall. I have no idea how to use my wings."

"A ride, then." Dream tried to pick Tommy up, but the other looper backpedaled out of reach.

"Fuck no," he hissed. "Put your hand on the ground. I'm not getting scruffed like a fuckin' kitten."

Dream shrugged and laid his hand on the ground, wincing when Tommys talons dug into the palm of his hand as he climbed on. Carefully, he lifted him up and deposited him on his head. The second looper instantly grabbed two handfuls of hair.

"Ow-- can you not?"

In retaliation, Tommy tugged. Dream sighed with exasperation and carefully rose to his feet.

"Alright. We'll head to your house first and clean up - and then we're getting you some better clothes."

"You try making a toga out of a handkerchief when you're four inches tall, fucker."

"Hm," said Dream, looking at what had been Tommy. "I don't think I can clean this up."

"You could burn it," Tommy said.

Dream allowed for five seconds of loud, judgmental silence.

"I have a flint and steel? If you want it?"

"Tommy, the idea was to not draw attention from the L'Manbergians. Starting a fire in the middle of L'Manberg will draw attention."

"Eh. Wilbur's pretty unobservant."

"Fundy and Tubbo aren't."

"Come on, Dream, live a little! What's life without a little arson?"

"Tommy, this is a terrible idea--"

"You know you want to."

"Tommy--"

"Ar-son! Ar-son! Ar-son!"

"Tommy I swear to Prime--"

~~~

"Why do I listen to you?" Dream wondered as they stared into the inferno that had been Tommy's house.

Tommy, now perched on his shoulder, threw his head back with a cackle. "I'm your shoulder devil now," he decided. "I'm gonna make you do so much crime--"

"Tommy, what I need is a conscience. You're going to make things worse."

"Sounds like a you problem, Dream."

Dream's reply was cut off by a shout. The loopers turned to see all four members of L'Manberg sprinting towards him, water buckets in hand and fury in their eyes. "DREAM!" Wilbur shouted. "STOP!"

"For your information," Dream called, "Tommy asked me to do this."

Wilbur's gaze flipped from angry to downright murderous. "Where's Tommy? What did you do to him?"

"'ELLO, FUCKERS!"

Multiple gazes zeroed in on the tiny Tommy sitting on Dream's shoulder. The hummingbird hybrid scowled at them and flipped them off.

"YES, IT'S ME. STOP STARING."

Wilbur made a noise not dissimilar to the cry of a concussed whale. "Tommy," he began, only to cut himself off and blink rapidly. "You-- you're a hybrid?"

Tommy puffed up, wings mantling with pride. "I'M THE BIGGEST AND POGGEST HYBRID OF ALL TIME. STAND IN AWE OF MY PRESENCE."

"You're an avian, too," Wilbur whispered. He clutched his head. "Prime, why didn't I see it? How didn't I see it?"

"He's a late bloomer," Fundy pointed out, ever the voice of reason. "Late bloomers don't have the same signs as normal hybrids."

"Holy shit!" Tubbo rushed forward, unheeding of Eret's attempt to pull him back. He seemed to have completely forgotten the fact that Dream had been threatening to kill him the day before. "You're tiny!"

"I am not," Tommy snapped.

"You are not," Tubbo agreed without missing a beat. He held out his cupped hands and sent a pleading look towards his friend. "Can I hold you? Please?"

"No," Tommy sniffed, clinging tighter to the cloth of Dream's hoodie. "Dream's shoulder is comfy."

"Tommy, come here," Wilbur tried to coax. "It's not safe."

"I won't hurt him," Dream said.

Wilbur rounded on him, a snarl twisting the corners of his mouth. "Bullshit. You were threatening to kill all of us and burn L'Manberg to the ground yesterday-- "

"But I didn't actually kill you--"

"--you have tried to stab us before--"

"--listen, times have changed--"

"--it's been a week! You think I'm going to forget attempted murder in a week?"

"I would say it's been longer than a week, actually--"

"You--"

A loud chirp rang out above the argument. Heads turned towards Tommy, who had gone pale with horror.

"No," he began, only to cut himself off with another chirp. He clamped his hands over his mouth. Unfortunately, the muffled chirping only grew louder.

"Oh Prime," Dream whispered with growing glee. "You have the instincts, too."

Tommy uncovered his mouth, cheeped once, and bit him. The resulting screech was quite satisfying.

180. remix, pt. 13 

TW: Referenced Abuse, Minor Suicidal Ideation

Sapnap sprinted through the forest, following the trail of crushed flora the party ahead of him had left behind. He'd been mining when he got Quackity's message about going off to confront Tommy, and by the time he'd gotten to Spawn, they were already gone.

So here he was, trying to catch up with them. He could only thank the heavens for the years spent chasing after Dream; he'd have run out of stamina long ago if it wasn't for the manhunts.

Hazy shadows became visible through the trees. "Wait!" he shouted. Several of the figures stopped short and whipped around to face him, weapons materializing in their hands. He skidded to a stop, panting with exertion, and raised his hands to show that he was unarmed.

"Sapnap," Quackity greeted, lowering his axe. The others warily followed his example. "You made it."

"You really -- think I was-- going to stay-- out of this?" Sapnap bit out between gasps for air, glowering at him. "He's my friend."

"We're wastin' time," a monotone voice cut in. Sapnap's gaze snapped up to meet Technoblade's. The piglin hybrid nodded towards the two hounds nosing their way through the foliage, already a good five yards or so ahead. "The hounds're goin' to leave us behind. Can you keep up?"

Sapnap straightened and forced his breathing to even out. He squared his shoulders in silent challenge. "I can. Lead the way, Technoblade."

~~~

"Welcome to my humble abode!"

Tommy tried not to feel too smug at the stunned look on Dream's face as he hobbled out of the stairwell. "Holy shit," the man breathed. "This place is huge."

"Took me weeks," Tommy admitted. "Worth it, though." He'd had fun building this base, loathe as he was to admit it. He was really quite proud of everything he'd done with it.

Dream turned in a slow circle, wincing as several of his newly-healed muscles protested the movement. By the look on his face, he did not share Tommy's opinion. "Mm. I do have to ask - how has your taste gotten worse across the loops?"

"Excuse you, my builds are beautiful--"

"It looks like you just decided to slap cobblestone in random-- is that a throne?"

"--gotta keep up my evil tyrant look, Dream, you know how it is--"

"That is the ugliest throne I've ever seen--"

"At least I have creativity! Your idea for an evil base was literally just blackstone! Not a single chair anywhere--"

"--I didn't need chairs, because unlike you I don't have weak-ass legs."

Tommy punched him in the arm. Dream cackled.

"Wow, Tommy. Resorting to physical violence because you can't come up with a better argument?"

Tommy took a step towards him. "Oh I'll show you physical violence, you--"

Their banter was cut off when the hum of the portal stationed at the other end of the room abruptly rose in pitch. A dark silhouette wavered into existence, soon resolving itself into the form of a familiar piglin hybrid.

"Oh," said Tommy. "Well, fuck."

~~~

"This is it," Technoblade said. He hefted his sword and threw a glance at the rest of them. "Ready?"

A round of murmured assents answered his question. Technoblade gave a sharp jerk of his head, then turned on his heel and disappeared into the portal. Philza followed a moment later, his void-black wings pinned back with apprehension.

Sapnap was next. He hesitated just before entering the frame, taking a moment to steel himself. Then, with a deep breath, he plunged into the light.

When the violet cleared, he found himself in a large, vault-like structure. Soul torches lined the marble walls, their azure fire casting the room with cold light. A raised platform sat at the other end of the room, bracketed by braziers and topped with a garish cobblestone throne. Tommy and Dream stood at the foot of the throne, both staring at the assembled rescue party with surprise. Tommy's hand was poised in the air. Dream was half-crouched, his arms raised as though to ward off a blow.

Sapnap saw red. "Get away from him," he snarled, sounding more animal than human. The others were already moving in, forming a blockade and herding Dream away from Tommy.

"How--" Tommy began, then zeroed in on the hounds pacing around Technoblade's feet. "Oh. Huh."

"Tommy," Tubbo said. "This ends now."

Sapnap took his eyes off of Tommy for a moment to check on Dream. He seemed unharmed, save for the silvery scars that crossed his face like cracks in pottery. Philza and Technoblade hovered nearby, one asking questions in quiet, intent undertones while the other settled protectively in front of him.

Dream met Sapnap's gaze over Technoblade's shoulder. His eyes widened with something resembling surprise before he schooled his expression into one of neutrality. Sapnap recalled that the last time they'd seen each other was when Tommy led him out of the courtroom. Sapnap hadn't stopped them. If he'd known--

He jerked his gaze away and adjusted his grip on his axe, fixing his glare on the true threat in the room. It was too late for regrets. The only thing he could do now was to make sure Tommy never got to Dream again.

~~~

Tommy gritted his teeth and slid Dream's mask over his face, thankful beyond measure that it hid his expression. He'd let his guard down, let his act drop as he finally got some alone time with Dream. The others weren't supposed to find them yet. His base was supposed to be safe.

One moment, he'd been joking around with Dream. The next, the others had barged in with their weapons drawn, separating the two of them and backing him into a corner. He should act like the villain he'd been playing this loop, but the sudden turn of events had left him shaken and scrambling to pull on his facade.

"You've-- you've gone too far," Tubbo was saying. "I know you're angry, but it doesn't-- you don't have to keep doing this. Just-- come with us peacefully, and we can talk it out."

Tommy forced a noise of incredulity through his teeth. "I've gone too far?" He demanded. "So it's fine that Dream destroys my home and kills me twice, but I kill him once and suddenly I'm the bad guy?"

"That's not what this is about," Sapnap growled.

"Oh yeah? Then tell me what it's about, because from where I'm standing you're all--"

"Tommy," Tubbo interrupted before the argument could escalate. "Please. Stand down. You've done enough."

"And what exactly have I done?"

"You framed Dream. You blackmailed him, threatened innocents to force him to cooperate. You blew up Technoblade's house, nearly killed him and Philza, who only has one life-- "

"It's for L'Manberg, Tubbo! Don't you get it? Those bastards destroyed us! Dream gave Wilbur that TNT, helped tear our nation down - Technoblade set fuckin' withers on us! They needed to pay for what they did--"

"How long has it been since you spent a night in L'Manberg?"

Tommy blinked, caught off guard. "What the fuck does that have to do with anything?"

"Tommy," Tubbo said, and the word was heavy with such disappointment that Tommy felt like he'd been struck in the face. "The Anarchists were happy to leave us alone. We had a ceasefire. Dream was out of the way, exiled. He could have stayed there. You didn't-- you didn't need to-- blow up Techno's house, or-- or hurt Dream like that. You love L'Manberg, I know you do-- but you haven't-- you never considered the consequences. You're not doing this for L'Manberg. You're doing this for yourself."

Tommy grasped for a retort and came up with nothing. He felt like his chest had been filled with ice. His heart pounded in his ears, and he realized with sudden clarity that this wasn't a game anymore. This was real. The anguish in Tubbo's voice, the hatred in Sapnap's glare, the fear written into the set of Fundy's mouth - it was real.

He looked, really looked, at Dream. Even after several weeks with Technoblade, the waxy pallor of his skin and the gauntness of his features had barely faded. He'd thought Dream would stop if they went too far - but with everything that happened across the loops, their definitions of acceptable boundaries had become skewed. Did he really expect the man who'd been willing to starve himself for an act to realize what was and wasn't okay?

The self-loathing curled behind his ribs dug in its claws and gouged. This loop had changed him, and not for the better. He'd hurt his friends but justified it with the thought that they wouldn't remember what happened - exactly the pitfall he and Dream had been trying to avoid since the loops started.

Shit. Shit. They'd messed up big time.

Finger by finger, Tommy released his grip on his axe. It clattered to the floor. Tubbo stared at him, eyes wide, but all Tommy could see was the grief weighing down his shoulders. Grief that had been Tommy's fault. Grief that was all because of a stupid idea taken too far.

With a shuddering breath, he sunk to his knees. "That's it," he croaked. Tears welled in his eyes. "That's it. I'm done. We're done. I can't do this anymore."

The silence following his declaration was broken by a commotion in the back of the crowd. Tommy looked up to see Dream fighting his way to the front, shrugging off the hands that tried to pull him back. He crossed the distance between them in three strides and dragged Tommy into a hug, ignoring the cries of alarm from their audience.

"Fuck, Dream," Tommy whispered. He pressed his masked face into Dream's shoulder and brought his shaking arms up to return the hug. "I fucked up. I fucked up so bad."

Dream closed his eyes. "We both did."

Sapnap marched forward, axe ready and eyes colder than ice. "Tommy, step away from him."

("Dream, step away from them.")

The sheer irony of the parallels to loop zero wasn't lost on either looper. Dream broke out of the hug and burst into howling laughter, doubling over and nearly dragging Tommy down with him. Tommy staggered under the unexpected weight, but he was too busy biting down his own semi-deranged chortling to do much more than try to hold Dream up. Sapnap stopped in his tracks, his bewildered gaze darting between the two of them.

"Dream," another voice growled. Tommy raised his head to see Technoblade stepping up to Sapnap's side, face dark. "Get away from him."

"No," Dream managed to choke out between hysterical giggles.

Technoblade's brow furrowed. "Dream, you're not thinking clearly. Tommy's been messin' with your head--"

Tommy's strangled snickering devolved into full-on cackling. "Fuck," he gasped between bouts of laughter, pushing his mask aside to wipe frantically at the tears dripping down his chin. "Fucking fuck we fucked this up so bad--"

Dream's own laughter was dying down now, dissolving into quiet weeping. This was apparently too much for Sapnap, who reached out and tried to physically pry Dream away from Tommy.

"No!" Dream snapped, so acidic that Sapnap physically recoiled. He tightened his grip on Tommy, pulling him into another hug. Tommy curled into it, blocking out the rest of the world. He couldn't look at his former friends. He couldn't face what he'd done.

"Dream--" Sapnap said.

"You don't understand," Dream said. His voice was breathy, pitched high with long-restrained emotion. He backed away, pulling Tommy with him. "He didn't-- he didn't hurt me. This is just a misunderstanding."

"Dream." And oh, the genuine concern in Philza's voice felt like a punch to the gut. "Please, mate. Let us help you."

"I don't need help! This wasn't-- it wasn't real!"

"Is that what he made you think?"

Tommy stiffened at the prickling rage curled in Technoblade's voice. In the next moment, he found himself pinned to the ground, the point of Technoblade's sword hovering mere inches from his eye. Dream was kicking at Sapnap and Philza, trying to twist himself free as they wrestled him away. "No! Stop! Stop it! It wasn't real! I WAS LYING, DAMN IT! LET HIM GO!"

Tommy felt the fight drain out of him. He went limp, barely twitching even when the blade grazed his cheek. This was it. This was his worst nightmare come to fruition. If Technoblade didn't kill him now, he'd be locked up, stripped of his freedom and left to rot. Either way, he'd never see Dream again in this loop - the others wouldn't let them anywhere near each other, not even if he became a ghost.

Technoblade was still glaring at him, all hot fury and cold calculation. "What did you do to him?" he asked, only to whip his sword up at the last moment to deflect a blow. ". . . All you L'Manbergians ever do is betray me, huh?"

"Don't hurt him," Tubbo said, voice wavering but eyes sharp.

"I'm not goin' to kill him. I just want to ask some questions."

"Don't hurt him," Tubbo repeated. Quackity and Fundy flanked him, forming a circle around Technoblade and Tommy. "You can ask him questions once we've made sure he won't run."

I don't trust you not to kill him, went unsaid. Technoblade surveyed his opponents, then grudgingly got off of Tommy and hauled him up. Tubbo slid a pair of handcuffs around his wrists, and then Tommy found himself being hustled into a makeshift obsidian cell. He began giggling at the sheer irony of it all, only to cut himself off when Fundy flinched.

Fuck. This was so fucked up. He didn't want to do this. He couldn't do this. His eyes darted towards the iron bars, and for a moment, he considered pitching forward and-- but no, that wouldn't fix anything. The others would still be upset, and Dream would still be stuck, and--

A familiar itch sparked in his stomach. Tommy's knees went weak with relief. He staggered sideways, leaning heavily against the obsidian with a whisper of "thank fuck." On the other side of the room, Dream went still. Technoblade, sensing that something was wrong, turned back towards Tommy with a demand for information-- but he was too late.

The abyss yawned beneath them, gold-mottled strings wrapping around their souls and pulling them back. It was the beginning of a new loop, a restart that wiped all their mistakes from existence.

Tommy closed his eyes and welcomed it with open arms.

Loop Notes
177. George knew Karlnapity was already together. When Dream was talking to George about his plan, Sapnap was frantically signing at George through the window, telling him not to tell Dream.
(Also disclaimer: don't try to matchmake your friends like this. it's not very funny irl.)
178. Tubbo did, in fact, figure out how to make guns. The server never stood a chance.
179. He's finally figured out the formula for hybrid potions! They're going to have a lot of fun messing around with those in the next few loops. On another note, Philza's Chat took one look at tiny, winged, Tommy, and unanimously decided to adopt him.