Okay but like guys, in all seriousness, about the last chapter: A fanfic is one thing, but if someone ever tries to kiss you without your consent (or drug you, that shit is never okay), THEN DROPKICK THAT MF IN THE BALLS! SHOW NO MERCY! MAKE AVERY PROUD!

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Memory, but make it 'non-existent'
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In which OH MY GOD THIS CHAPTER IS
SO NOSTALGIC, I'M TEARING UP Y'ALL
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-DarkSnowArt on twitter

The first thing your mind sorted out was the pictures.

You started to see small pictures for your eyes, each fading one by one. You could see yourself stand with Tommy, Tubbo, Wilbur, Fundy, and Eret in front of the van back in L'manburg. You were holding each other tightly, laughing at something dumb. The sun was shining brightly, and the majority of you were either narrowing or shielding your eyes with your free hands. You wanted it to stay, but the picture soon broke into a million pieces, disappearing into the darkness of your own mind.

Next up was a picture of you and Techno. You were running through the forest from a whole bunch of spiders after successfully obtaining the string to your bow. You were holding his hand, dragging him with you. Techno looked confused, but there was a small smile on his face. Not long after, it broke as well.

Then Niki appeared into your mind, her smile lighting up the darkness. You carried her in a piggyback ride and she had her arms wrapped tightly around your upper body. You were chatting about something, each of your eyes filled with joy. Like the others, the darkness soon took over that too.

And the last picture was of you and Quackity. You had an arm wrapped around the other's shoulders and had your eyes closed in a huge grin. You were wearing his beanie and he was wearing your jacket. You were sitting on a bench somewhere in Pogtopia, joking around with one another.

They were all very happy memories, and you felt true joy upon remembering them. But even so, you couldn't help but push them away, leaving more room for the present. You didn't forget, the memories just got pushed into a place in your mind where they lost their importance. Where they became irrelevant. Where you just didn't... care.

The next thing to go was the voices. Quotes from the past that had left an impression on you, were now fading away. You heard them each clearly in your mind, as they spoke their last words.

"Shit- fucking hell Tubbo,
we caught a woman!"

"Let's win this fucking war."

"I don't care if Dream knows you!
I'll fucking kill you!"

"Thanks for the fish."

"I'm afraid we'll have to
decline that offer.
(Y/n) stays with us"

"L'manburg forever!"

"Down with the revolution, guys.
It was never meant to be!"

"(Y/n), you're one insult away
from starting another war."

"The compass will take you
to a friend. I have a feeling
you might be needing it soon."

"You were never really a part
of L'manburg anyways!"

"Ever heard of knocking?"

"So... You're telling me...
You're an orphan?"

"Oh, come on now, I thought
we had become friends"

"Schlatt killed your friend,
(Y/n)! He's dead!"

"I'm Niki, and this is Jack.
It's great to finally meet you!"

"(Y/n)! You're back!
Thank god, you're back!"

"If we can't have Manburg,
then no one- No one can have
Manburg!"

"Tommy, I'll have to step in."

"You're here to what, (Y/n)!?
Get revenge? I know you
don't have that in you!"

"It's okay... I'm here.
I'm right here."

"Oh, you've GOT
to be kidding me."

"Look, I didn't miss you. At all, actually.
But sorry for my reaction earlier.
It's good to see you again."

"You're going to kill
Schlatt, aren't you?"

"You two are an unusual pair.
Who would've guessed she
was with you, Technoblade?"

"Oh god... It's you"

"I'm so sorry, that came off weird.
I'm Karl...Uh, Jacobs. Karl Jacobs."

"(Y/n), if you leave Pogtopia now,
you won't ever get your revenge.
If I were you, I'd stick around."

"Hello everyone. The name's J. Schlatt.
welcome to the festival of Manbrug!"

"DEMOCRACY!"

"You just have to be patient. Trust me,
he won't have three lives much longer"

"That's where you come into
the picture. We need you
to cause a distraction."

"She's got fire?! She's got
nothing but madness!
She tried to refurnish my face!"

"Techno, would you mind
come join me on stage?"

"I'm sorry (Y/n), I really am.
But I can't let you go up there."

"Tubbo, I'm gonna do this
as painless as possible."

"Did we just become
✨best friends✨?"

"If you're gonna hurt my
new bestie, you'll have to
go through me first!"

"I'm not on her side. As long as
Schlatt keeps his part of the deal."

"DON'T LET HER FALL!"

"You can teleport... I knew it!"

"Then welcome
to the dark side"

"I don't know, (Y/n)...
Me disliking Schlatt is one thing,
but to help you guys in a war against
my own home is something else."

"You're the only friend I have.
I don't want anything bad to
happen to you. So if you
wouldn't mind, please don't die."

"I'm ready for revolution, guys!"

"I'll stay with her, so don't
worry! (Y/n) and I will have
the power of friendship and
defeat them on the spot,
no sweat! Right (Y/n)?"

"You two are coming with us! Right now.
Schlatt will be pleased to see you."

"(Y/n), help. (Y/n), please help!"

"You've got... the wrong person...
I haven't killed anyone... The person who
told you that... Is full of shit!"

"I've known Dream for
almost five years, and he
would never help Wilbur
with something like that."

"...How long have you known?"

"Don't worry, I'm going
to fix everything."

"You'll be alright. We'll be alright."

*

*

*

"We'll be alright"

-

And then you opened your eyes, not remembering having ever closed them in the first place.

You were lying on a sofa, in the lap of a person you recognized to be none other than Dream. He wasn't wearing a mask, leaving all of his familiar features visible for your eyes to see. He smiled down at you when he saw you had woken up.

"Morning, sunshine" He spoke calmly. You shivered at his words. He always used to call you that when you were kids.

You lifted yourself up from his lap, groaning slightly at the headache the movement caused. You sat on the sofa across from him and looked around the room, eyes still narrowed. It was a cozy, medium-sized room. Very peaceful. At least 20 candles hang around the walls, lighting up the room along with the fire cabin. There was a dark green carpet on the floor that matched the pillows on the dark sofa. There were many paintings around, most of them portraying beautiful landscapes. But one of them showed two kids running across a sunflower field. You remembered that picture. It was you and Dream.

The room smelled of Dream. No, scratch that, it smelled like home. The room alone had many similarities with the one you and he used to live in.

But something caught your attention. There weren't any windows. There wasn't any natural light at all. Only the natural source the fire created.

You returned your tired gaze to Dream again. He was still smiling, and for the first time, you saw his face properly again since five years ago. He had far fewer freckles, and his green eyes had gotten darker. He had a scar that ran across his left eye and eyebrow that hadn't been there five years ago.

But his smile was just like you remembered it. Warm and humble. It made all of your muscles relax and caused you to breathe out.

You felt weird when looking at him. You felt as if you were supposed to be angry. No, furious. It was like you could feel the anger burn deep, deep down but your body and mind were too tired to act up. You couldn't help but fall into the sense of safety that being together with Dream brought you. You had finally been reunited with him. It was everything you had ever wanted.

"Dream?" You said his name and let your (e/c) eyes melt into his green ones. You noticed your heart did a backflip.

He hummed in response, his hand still on top of yours. You didn't really know what you were going to ask. Maybe you just needed him to clarify that this was real and not a dream. You did feel very light-headed, after all. This could easily be something your mind made up while being unconscious. It almost seemed too good to be true. Too perfect.

"Where are we?" You asked, deciding that would be a good place to start.

He looked around, a hint of pride in his eyes. "This is one of the many places I used to live after we separated. It's uh, far away from everything."

You managed a nod. You felt questions such as 'what happened to me?' and 'why did you bring me here?' on the back of your tongue, but they never escaped your mouth. You couldn't explain why or what stopped them.

Your friends. Manburg. An inner voice desperately tried to remind you, but it was so far away. A meaningless whisper. Yet the words seemed to provoke something in you, and your eyes started to widen. "What happened in Manburg-"

"Shhh," Dream spoke, sliding closer. He reached out for you with his free hand and tugged a lock of your hair behind your ear. Then he traced your jawline down to your chin. You gulped but you didn't push him away or burn him alive like you usually would've done. Again, you couldn't explain why. "Everyone is fine. They're safe, I promise. And so are you. Don't think too much about it, focus on this right here."

You let the words sink in. Don't think too much about it, focus on this right here.

There was something wrong with this whole situation. You knew that, and yet your mind chose to ignore it. You hadn't forgotten what had happened back in Manburg. But it was like it had happened such a long time ago, that it had lost its relevance. You had a hard time remembering it, and as you tried reaching back to the distant memories, it was like they began faltering even more. Slipping right through your fingers like sand.

"I brought you here to make it up to you. I've been a huge jerk."

You have? You questioned in your mind.

Dream continued. Your chin and hand continued to burn under his touch. "Now we can finally be together again, just like we used to. Just you and me, all alone. No one to turn us against each other, no one to hurt you, no one to separate us... No one to use you against me." Dream mumbled the last bit to himself, looking down at your hands. He slowly intertwined them.

You felt your stomach turn in contrast to your heart that was beating out of your chest. You didn't know how you were supposed to feel, so you decided to feel what came more naturally. Your cheeks heated up and your eyes sparkled.

"I'm sorry for ever leaving you." He said truthfully.

He said that, but did he mean it? Why were you so conflicted at his words? Should you follow your heart or your head, which had seemed to shut completely down for the time being?

Your lips parted, wanting to say something but not a single word escaped them. You gulped once again as your eyes started tearing up for whatever reason.

"It's okay." You heard yourself say, but you didn't remember mouthing the words at all. Your brows furrowed and you did some weird movements with your mouth as to check it was still under your control.

And then his hand crept onto your back and pulled you toward him in a tight embrace. Your eyes widened, body stiffing up.

"I've missed you." He spoke as he buried his head into your shoulder.

You felt his soft breaths against your neck and you hesitantly wrapped your arms around him. "I've missed you too. So much." You answered into his soft hoodie.

It was the truth. You've missed him more than anything for five years straight. You had waited for this moment your whole life.

But so then why did the words taste like a lie?

The two of you sat like that for a while, letting yourselves sink into the familiarity the touch of one another brought you. Dream felt like he had finally returned home after five years of traveling. And in some way, you did too. But you also felt as if you were homesick. What was wrong with you?

Dream pulled away and looked you straight into the eyes. "We're going to spend some time together, just you and I, okay? I'll make everything up to you if you'll let me."

It almost sounded like an order, but Dream's words sounded so kind and assuring that you had to use all of your self-control not to give an immediate nod. Instead, you gave it some thought. Listened to the thoughts that told you to think this through. Listened to your heart that screamed 'yes!'. Listened to your feet that, for some weird reason, wanted to carry you the hell out of here.

Your head was a mess. But if there was something that stood clear in your mind, it was how you had felt when you hadn't been with Dream. How your sanity had begun to crack. You didn't want to experience that again.

So in the end, you decided to listen to your heart. You smiled. "Of course, I'll let you."

Dream traced feather-soft circles into your back. A thing, you had always done to him when you were younger. "Thank you."

You got lost in his green, genuine, and kind eyes for a moment. You felt your body relax for what felt like the first time in years.

His face broke into a warm smile. "Then let's start with a tour. You'd want to get to know our new house, right?"

He took your hand and pulled you up from the couch.

Our house, your mind repeated in awe, your eyes shining brightly as you followed him.

Dream let out a sigh of relief and closed his eyes for a moment. It had worked.

And at that moment, he promised himself something. He had finally gotten you back, and he wasn't ever going to let you go again. You, or the strings he had just successfully wrapped around your neck like the true puppetmaster he was.

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:)

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