Mist sprayed at my face from the aggressive waves as they curled around my oak boat. I kept my grip on the water currents below the surface, trying to steady out the boat.

The waves were too strong to try and calm them while I pushed my boat. My water powers were strong, but not that strong. I rarely used this power, so it isn't as strong as fire or wind.

My concentration was razor-sharp as I clung to the two people far in the distance. I knew it was Tommy and Dream, wherever the latter had taken the boy for his exile.

I had been battling the ocean for ten minutes more when I felt one of the people begin to move towards me. The other was left behind on solid land, most likely Tommy.

If I wanted to get to Tommy, I would have to pass Dream, who was now moving towards me at a high speed, despite the storm. I had no idea how the man was rowing that fast with the large waves.

A soft glow was coming from below my boat from my magic pushing me faster. Small sparkles danced and swirled with the salt as wave after wave pushed me around. Without my magic, my boat would've been flipped in minutes.

There was no land around me, the dark water being the only thing I could see. The storm made the horizon in every direction hazy with rain and clouds. I was completely alone with the inky ocean.

And I would be completely and utterly alone with Dream.

Before, that wouldn't have scared me. Dream had always been one to keep me safe and make me feel comforted with his overprotectiveness and light wheezes.

Now, I wasn't sure what was going to happen. The last time I had seen him, he was angry at me and seemed cold and distant. He wasn't who he used to be.

Then again, who was though?

My magic snapped to attention as Dream's figure moved closer to me. I couldn't see him through the fog but he was close enough for my magic to be worried.

I was so focused on the man approaching me, that I didn't hear the gurgling sounds that came from behind my boat.

A quiet thunk came from underneath my boat, making it swish slightly. A few more of the sounds and more rocks came, following the first.

My eyes widened with realization a moment too late, as my boat was tipped over with the help of the ocean.

Cold water pierced me immediately, soaking through my navy hoodie and pants. I fought to keep my gasps in, trying to hold my breath. I began kicking back towards the surface of the rocky water.

Before I broke the surface, I examined the bottom side of my boat. I glanced around the murky ocean wearily when I saw what had tipped my boat.

Three teal-colored tridents stabbed into the bottom, rust tainting their handles. Long chains were attached to the end of the grip, leading down into the deeper parts of the ocean.

I knew what they were attached to and I didn't want to be around when their owners pulled on the chains. As I began to run out of air, I broke the surface and hugged the edge of my vessel.

But I didn't get the chance to pull myself up into the boat. A giant wave crashed into my head, pushing me back under the water.

I mentally cursed myself for not training with my water powers more. If I had, I possibly could've had control over the crashing waves and been able to pull myself out of the water with ease.

Not noticing the absent tridents, I pumped my legs back towards the surface. My magic kept ahold on the currents below my boat to keep it from floating away from me. If I lost my ride, I would be stranded.

As I was about to reach the surface again, another wave crashed above, shoving me deeper into the dark water.

And if it couldn't get any worse, there was a quiet whooshing sound, followed by a trident shooting up from the depths. It skimmed my arm, leaving a long, red streak in its wake.

I gritted my teeth against the pain and tried to kick my way back upwards.

My legs got caught together by something, twisting together. Two more whooshing noises happened and I began to feel myself get tugged downwards.

Glancing down, three drowned were swimming upwards, towards me, holding the chains that were attached to their tridents. Those very chains had tangled around my legs, keeping me from returning to the air.

After turning from a regular zombie, their skin became bluer, also making their black eyes glow. The aqua light of their eyes was bright enough to light up the area around us, showing the red coming from my arm in puffs.

Grasping the chains of their tridents, they began tugging on them. Despite my efforts to go up, I sunk down, coming closer to them. Fear raced through me, faster than I could get a hold of it.

My lungs were beginning to burn from the lack of air as I pulled my sword free from my hip. I could feel my head becoming fuzzier and my movements more sluggish.

I remembered a lesson Dream taught me once, "If you panic, you'll only drown faster." We had been training, working on water fights.

So I clamped down on my fear and let my instincts take over.

When I came in range, I swung my sword through the choppy water. The swing was slowed greatly from the currents, taking away most of its power.

I went for their arms first, the ones holding the tridents, successfully hitting one. It didn't sever but nicked it enough that a second swing could. No blood followed my movements because of the undead nature of the mobs.

My vision was going black around the edges as I swung a second time, cutting off one trident while trying to avoid their jabs. I didn't have enough air to fight for much longer, and I was losing blood.

The armless drowned sunk away into the deep folds of the ocean, taking its trident with it.

One down, two to go.

Chains clinked around my ankles as one fell away but the two others were still enough to keep me from swimming away. I pulled my uninjured arm back for another swing.

When I moved, the other took a chance and threw its trident. I saw it out of the corner of my eye, jerking to the side moments before the piercing weapon reached me.

My grip on my sword loosened slightly as one of the trident's prongs hit my calf. It didn't stick, instead stabbing me and then falling away back towards its owner. More red tainted the water like a dark cloud.

I couldn't do it anymore, there wasn't enough air. The ocean felt too big and dark to battle, and it seemed so much easier to fall into its embrace.

My vision was winking in and out with white and black spots, the drowned tugging me deeper.

It's funny, I had been on my way to save Tommy, but now I was the one who needed saving.

Even my magic was slipping away from my hold due to the blood loss and my efforts of holding onto consciousness. Soon I would become a stabbing sack for the monsters below me, and no one would find me.

Sorrow pierced my heart like one of the drowned tridents, breaking it in two.

I would be leaving Dream when the last time we had talked was us fighting. And I couldn't save Tommy.

I was about to close my eyes to give in to the beckoning call of sleep when a strong ripple came from above me. I was too tired to lift my head to see, but a dark figure appeared in front of me and then continued down towards my ankles.

The weight of chains was removed and I was pulled into someone's arms. Water swished around us as we swam upwards, me being a dead weight in the person's arms.

Warm, humid air greeted me, filling my desperate lungs. The storm remained above, lightning streaks lighting up the dark water.

I was pulled into a boat by the person while I began choking. Water not only rushed off my clothes but also out of my lungs. My throat, nose, and eyes stung harshly from the seawater.

The person pulled me against their chest as my coughs began subsiding, enveloping me in warmth when the shivers took over. My body shook violently with chills, despite the exhaust creeping in.

Over the crashing waves and booming thunder, I heard someone comforting me. Their voice sounded familiar, soothing my shakes slightly. My magic crept back slowly as if it were being drawn near by the person.

The person shifted behind me, their head appearing over my shoulder.

Dream's emerald eyes were turned darker by the absence of light as they darted to my wounds. I followed his stares, seeing gashes in my arm and leg. My sweatshirt and pants had been ripped from the tridents.

Blaming it on the exhaust encasing my body, I frowned at my clothing, "Aw, my hoodie is ripped."

Dream stared at me for a moment before reaching into a bag, pulling out bandages. He wrapped them around my wounds, muttering softly, "You almost drowned and you're worried about your sweatshirt?"

For some reason, this made me giggle, "I had it covered, Dream. I wasn't about to drown."

Concern was written all over my best friend's face, turning me around so I could face him.

That's when I remembered who I was talking to.

I pushed away from him, instantly regretting it from the lack of warmth. But I began to glance around for my own boat, to get away from him.

My boat was missing, leaving me stuck with the other.

Dream just sighed, pulling me back into his embrace. I struggled slightly, my efforts weak from the exhaust and tired limbs. He pressed me into his arms, placing his head on top of mine.

"Let me go. I don't want to be held."

"Yes, you do. You're just mad because I took Tommy away."

"You're right, I am mad. Now, let me go." My voice was scratchy and raw from the salt, burning my throat. The urge for cool water raced through me.

Dream listened to my desires but didn't let me go far. He kept me close to his body with his hands on my shoulders.

There was a pleading look on his face, "Look, I know you're mad and you probably want to beat the shit out of me, but can we at least get home? Even if you won't admit it, you almost just died and you're exhausted. Let me take care of you before you die of blood loss."

He made a fair point. It was an effort to keep from falling asleep or falling back into the ocean, and my bandages were already turning crimson.

So instead of resisting and possibly jumping out of the boat, I relaxed back into the man's arms.

-

Dream rowed us back to L'manberg in silence, taking me further away from wherever Tommy was. We moved swiftly in the storm, thanks to the little grip I had on the water currents. It wasn't much but enough for us to pick up speed.

When we reached the shore, I went to step out of the boat, only to be scooped in Dream's arms. My struggles to get away were stopped by exhaustion and his strong grip.

I just rolled my eyes and let him carry me back towards our home. The windows burned warmly against the hazy night, becoming a beacon in the thick storm.

Our friends were gathered in the living space, standing when we entered.

George walked over to us, "What happened?"

Sapnap eyed me suspiciously. That's when I remembered I was supposed to stay in my room. I gave him a sheepish smile to say, I'll tell you later.

Dream kept walking up the stairs, glancing over his shoulder, "Let me take care of her, and then I'll talk to you guys."

George gave me a worried look as I looked over Dream's shoulder, me returning the look.

Dream grabbed several towels, placing them on my bed, before gingerly laying me on top of them. He left for a moment and returned with fresh bandages and a glass of water.

I quickly took the water, drinking it without hesitation. The water washed down my raw throat, taking away the salty edge and burning sensation.

While Dream replaced my soaking bandages, I tried to stay mad at him. The anger burned inside of me at the thought of Tommy being alone, but the man's kind efforts were making it difficult.

I held my head high, pushing away the exhaustion, grasping the anger. It wasn't fair to Tommy or Tubbo to let my anger go over in a matter of minutes.

"Dream, why the hell did you put Tommy in exile?"

He continued to wrap gauze over my arm, his eyes trained on his work, "I didn't. Tubbo did."

I made an effort not to throw my hands up in the air to not mess up the wounds, "He didn't have any other choice! No matter what he would've decided, you would've hurt those two in some way."

He finished with my arm, leaning back onto his hands, lazily, "Y/n, I had no other choice. Tommy was-"

"A threat?" I raised my voice, cutting him off, "Tommy is a teenager. What threat did he pose?"

My anger rippled off of me in waves like the angry ocean I had just been in. Dream could sense it but kept a gentle look on his face, only angering me more.

"He was a threat to us. If given the chance, he would probably start another war over his dumb discs. Tommy also threatened the King."

I saw through what he was saying, knowing there was something else to what he was saying.

Dream saw Tommy as a threat to his own power for some reason. And if the teen was in exile, he could be controlled there.

Dream was isolating one of his weaknesses.

I glared at the man silently, fire burning in my veins. The magic was so strong and hot that my clothes began to dry, water coming off of me in steam.

Sighing, Dream leaned forward, taking one of my hands gently. I tried to pull away but his grip tightened slightly. It wasn't enough to hurt me, only to keep me from getting away.

"I was doing this to keep us safe," His voice was soft, trying to lure me into the storm.

Before, Dream had been the kiss of a summer's rain, gentle padding of raindrops that brought life and joy to flowers. I had danced with that rain without hesitance, letting the rain into my heart.

That sprinkle had turned into a storm, dark clouds coming in from a horizon. Now, I felt lost in the thunder and lightning, trapped in the downpour. And I couldn't tell if I should embrace it or if I should try to outrun the storm.

"Tommy could've hurt you, or George, or Sapnap. He even could've hurt himself if I hadn't removed him from his power in government. And I thought you didn't like government?"

I tugged on the uncut sleeve of my hoodie, not looking him in the eye, "I don't, but-"

Dream smiled, stopping me from continuing, "See? This is for the better."

He stood quickly, planting a kiss on the top of my now dry hair. I opened my mouth to tell him that this wasn't okay, but he said, "Get some rest. We can keep talking tomorrow."

The door clicked shut on my agape mouth, ushering the room into almost complete darkness. A single lantern flickered on the bedside table. The silence was quickly replaced with the rumbling of thunder.

My bed felt emptier than normal without Ghost. The wolf was still with Quackity for the night, probably wondering where I was.

The tears I had bitten back for the past day, finally began to fall. Burning heartache returned, bringing a wave of tears with it. Usually, a stormy night would be spent indoors laughing with my closest friends.

Now, I was alone with my confused, aching heart, trying to figure out how to save both of my best friends. I had to make a plan to get one out of his exile and to stop the other from his descent to greed.

The latter didn't seem as far gone as I thought though. Dream was definitely different but maybe he wasn't too lost.

The previous sorrow from my near-death experience returned, confusing my heart even more. I had almost died and I would've left while angry at Dream.

A sudden meow and weight near my feet happened, followed by Patches crawling up towards my arms. Her tawny fur glinted in the low light, her tail swishing.

I whispered behind my tears, "Hey, sweet girl."

She laid down on my stomach, curling into a tight ball. Her purrs vibrated through my body with warmth, calming some of my tears.

I closed my eyes, feeling sleep tug at my mind. This time, I let it drag me away.

Because I didn't want to think about the fact that the storm was only worsening around me.

And I was only in the eye of the storm.

~~~~

well we almost died for the millionth time lol

have an amazing day guys! hope you enjoyed it! make sure to get some water and something to eat :)