Aight, Imma head out
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
In which you're coming
for Santa Claus's job.
__________________

-tulify on twitter

You inhaled the air around you so violently, that you were scared you had accidentally sucked out all of the oxygen in the bedroom. Your breathing was heavy, rapid, and unsteady, to the point where you were on the verge of passing out again.

Never once had you thought, that you would ever experience such an exhausting sleep. You felt as if you had slept for a year straight, and yet your body was as tired as ever. You felt like a completely different person. Not because you were more tired than usual, but because your memories had returned. And you were glad that they had, because otherwise, you doubted you would think of the time you had just spent with Karl, as two ghosts jumping around in time, as nothing but a nightmare.

But you remembered everything. L'manburg, your friends, yourself. Everything was now standing clearer than ever before, and even though everything was hard to comprehend and accept, you knew what you had to do.

And so, the first thing you did when getting out of bed, was throwing up in the nearest vase. You had unconsciously waited for yourself to realize the truth for so long, but you sure hadn't been ready for it. The truth was like a slap in the face, a punch in the stomach, and your body couldn't handle it.

You had spent the past months with Dream, without realizing he had held you captive the whole time. You hadn't even suspected him one bit when he had acted weird. When he had brushed off the questions that, if answered, would have led you too close to the truth. When he wouldn't let you leave the house. When he wouldn't tell you how you had lost your memory in the first place. Or even when he had even addressed his friends as 'Sippycup and Gogy' instead of Sapnap and George, so you wouldn't connect the dots.

You were disgusted with yourself for not figuring it out. You were ashamed for letting him do that to you. And most of all, you hated yourself for just chilling in this house while Dream was in L'manburg, mentally abusing all of your friends. He had led them to believe that you had died. He had manipulated Tubbo into exiling Tommy, he had made a monster out of Quackity, and made him and his friends almost kill Techno. And from what you could guess from the pictures, he had also dethroned George and blown up the community house.

You really needed to get the frick out, before he got the chance to do any more damage.

He had simply crossed the line. Your feelings about Dream may have been very mixed together when Karl had first made you question the perfect picture you had created of him, but now your heart and brain had finally come to an agreement - being, that Dream needed to pay for what he's done. It was true, the time you had spent here with him hadn't been awful. In fact, it had been quite nice, and you'd lie if you denied the fact that Dream had saved you, when he erased your memory... as screwed up as that sounds.

It was Dream who had stopped you from killing Schlatt. Back then, you had been at such a low point in your life, that you could be considered insane. You had been moments away from turning into a ruthless, inhumane monster, who only cared about revenge. By making you forget everything, Dream had protected the last bit of sanity you had left. Losing your memory had been exactly what you had needed, in order not to lose yourself completely.

But that didn't make him a hero. That didn't justify his actions. Because the reason you had even gotten to that dark place, was also because of him. It was his lies, his actions that had brought you there in the first place. He had only attempted to clean up his own mess. It was his fault.

And you couldn't forgive him.

You still cared about him. Deep, deep down, you still loved him just as much as you had done when he had been the most important person in your life. Feelings such as those didn't just fade over the course of two hours.

But this time, you wouldn't let your emotions get in the way. You wouldn't let your feelings prevent justice from being served, and you were going to do everything in your power to take him down. You were done waiting. The things he had done made you realize that he was beyond saving. And therefore, you wouldn't try to anymore.

But you couldn't defeat him alone. You needed to get back to L'manburg, back to your friends, just like you had promised Karl. And only then, you could right every one of Dream's wrongs. You would talk some sense into Quackity and book him an appointment at the dentist. You would convince Tommy and Technoblade, who apparently seemed to be a team now, that the common enemy was Dream, not L'manbug. You would unite the whole country and turn everyone against Dream if that was what it took.

But first thing first: You had to get the hell out of here before Dream came back.

You were quick to check your inventory to make sure you had every one of your belongings. When you had first woken up in this place, Dream had taken them all away and put them into a drawer, but you had quickly gotten your hands on them again. You had food, armor, and your bow and arrows. That was more than enough.

You ran out of the bedroom and into the living room. You made a huge effort in sharpening your hearing, so you could tell if the metal door suddenly opened, signaling Dream's return. You looked around, mind open for any possibility to get out.

Since the place had no windows, and you hadn't heard any wind, rain, or birds whatsoever, you figured that you were being held underground. No windows to jump out of, no wall to break down. You had searched the place many times before for any secret doors, and the only one you had found was the one leading into the spooky room with the strange book - and Dream had now made sure that you wouldn't be able to enter again. And that meant, that the only way out was through the metal door. The one, you had tried to open many times before, without any luck. Things weren't looking too good.

You could try and wait for Dream to come back, but you simply didn't think you could keep up an act. After remembering everything he had done, even the thought of him made you sick. You were beyond furious, and you didn't think you'd be able to look at him without punching him in the face.

If Dream found out that you had regained your memory, he would just make you lose it again. You couldn't win a fight against him, and then you'd be back at where you started. Karl wouldn't have the strength to visit you in your sleep and show you everything again, you couldn't put that pressure on him. Besides, your friends needed help now. That was what Karl had said. There was a reason why he visited today. They needed you. And that was exactly why you couldn't risk staying.

After some time of thinking, you decided to do the only thing, you thought could actually work. You ran into the hallway where the metal door was located and drew your bow. You took out one of your explosive arrows and aimed it straight at it. Your eyes squinted as you let go, the force that the small explosion created, making you stumble backward.

You waved the smoke away and coughed, only to see that absolutely nothing had happened. It had left a huge, dark mark, but that was it. You cursed loudly and kicked the wall in frustration. The only plan you had, had failed miserably, and now, if Dream suddenly showed up, there was no explaining yourself. He would notice the mark on the door, and know that you had tried to get out. You had just dug your own grave.

But you didn't give up just yet. You took out another arrow, this time aiming it directly at one of the locks. But just like the first time, there were no noticeable changes when the smoke faded out.

You ran a hand through your hair and pulled, as you always did under pressure. The time was ticking, and you didn't have any idea of how to get out. Heck, you didn't even know what to do when you got out. If this place was located in the middle of nowhere, how were you supposed to find your way back to L'manburg? You would've used the compass that led straight to Techno, but unfortunately, you had lost it when you had died for the first time.

Dream could come at any minute. You were living on borrowed time. You needed to use your head, you needed to be smart. This couldn't be the end, you couldn't give up.

You had thought about going to the nether but had decided that wasn't an option. There was no point in wandering around that living hell, when the chance of you finding another nether portal that would lead you back to the overworld, was a 1/7.5 trillion chance. Besides, you would just end up dying and respawn right back here, where Dream would probably be waiting.

Therefore, you had to think of something else. You ran into the living room again, scanning it with your eyes for the millionth time, and of course, you didn't spot anything new. It was just the same old couch, the fancy paintings, wooden furniture, and that stupid fireplace.

Your eyes widened.

The fireplace.

You had never run into something so quickly. You jumped right into the ash and burnt wood, and looked up. You didn't see any lightning at the top, but that could be explained by nighttime. You had to take the chance. You had to try and climb up, even though there wasn't much space to do so. It was a poor, possible gateway to the outside, but it was the only one you had.

But before you did it, you had to do something. Something, that could show to be essential sooner or later. Something, you simply had to do in order for your plan to work. In order for Dream not to outsmart you yet again.

You looked at your quiver to see that you had two explosive arrows left. That, and you had a flint and steel in your inventory. That should be enough.

With sonic speed, and a heart beating in your throat, you quickly got out of the fireplace, and did what you needed to do. It took a total of five minutes, and so when you were done, you immediately got back to where you were, continuing with your escape plan.

You took two of your ordinary arrows, and hammered them into the stone, using them to climb. It took all of your upper body strength, making your muscles burn in protest. You probably wouldn't have been able to pull it off, if you didn't have such a strong motivation to escape. The adrenaline currently running through your veins, sure helped a lot too.

The chimney, or whatever you could call it, was abnormally long. Already when you had gotten halfway, you were sure you were high enough to break a few bones if you fell.

You kept pulling the arrows out of the wall, only to hammer them into it yet again further up. You slowly made your way to what you really hoped was the surface. As you continued climbing, you began to feel a change in the air. It became colder, and the strong smell of soot was replaced with fresh air and the sweet scent of freedom.

You didn't really know what you had expected when you reached the top. Maybe some iron bars, or thick bullet-proof glass - but there was absolutely nothing to prevent you from getting out. Not that you complained, but considering how many locks Dream had throughout the whole house, it was surprising to be able to get out just like that.

Then again, who would have expected you to climb up a literal chimney? Dream probably didn't think you had the skills - besides, he didn't even know you wanted to escape.

Well, sucks to underestimate you.

The chimney stopped right where the grass started, and you used your last bit of strength to pull yourself up and lay on it. You panted heavily into it, right after kissing it a few times. God, you had missed touching grass.

As if on cue, it started raining. You turned to lie of your back, and looked up into the star-covered night sky. Your heart was hammering in your chest, and your hands were sore from the constant tight grip around the arrows. But the feeling of victory drowned it all out.

"I did it. I fucking escaped." You mumbled to yourself, suppressing a laugh. You were free. You had got out of the prison that Dream had kept you in for so long.

You let out a yell of victory and threw your arms up in the air. You probably should hurry and get the hell away, but you were just too happy. It was so overwhelming to feel free again. A feeling, you had forgotten everything about. "I did it! I got away! I climbed up a whole-ass chimney, seriously, was there anyone who saw that!?"

You had yelled that to the world, no one in particular - and that's why you got so surprised when you suddenly heard strange noises from behind you. Well, all around you actually.

You hadn't taken a proper look at your surroundings before now. Well, you could blame it on the dark, but the moonlight actually lit everything up you needed to see. And as you quickly got on your feet and looked around, you didn't know what surprised you the most. The fact that you were standing right beside you and Dream's old childhood home, or the fact that the place was absolutely swarmed with the one mob you despised the most:

Creepers.

Your heart forgot its beating pattern. "Well, except for you guys."

Hundreds of thoughts flooded your mind, as you felt your body slowly beginning to freeze. Why the hell Dream had kept you in an underground house, when your real house had been right on the surface this whole time. The house was dilapidated and in a very bad shape, but you recognized every part of it. The big windows, flat roof, and small entrance. It was just like back then, but you didn't have time to look at it any closer. The creepers demanded your attention.

There were at least 20 of them, and they had all noticed you. They were beginning to move their scolded feet toward your shocked body, and they didn't have any intention of letting you off the hook.

You had once practiced killing those green bastards with Techno, but you wouldn't be able to take them all on. Killing one was hard enough. You could already see a faint picture of your dead parents dance for your mind, there was no way you'd be able to fight your way through all of them.

You had absolutely no idea how there were so many of them. A creeper was a common mob, but not that common. You'd go as far as to say situations like these were impossible-

You stopped thinking when you saw the spawners.

Spawners.

You rolled your head back, and laughed. A hopeless effort to laugh the pain away. "Oh, Dream. You sick son of a bitch."

*-*-*-*-*-*-*

-REMINDER-
In this story, Dream is an orphan. Puffy is NOT his mom. I wouldn't EVER call Puffy a bitch. Puffy supremacy <3
Also, this also goes for Bad and Sapnap. They're not family. I'm sorry if that's disappointing to some of you, but it just doesn't work in this story.