10/10 recommend getting some tissues before reading this chapter, it's sad :( also, if you really want to cry, listen to Say Something by A Great Big World while reading the first bit

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Thunder rumbled in the distance, a storm on its way.

That's odd.

When I fell asleep in my new room after the fire, the sky had been cloudless. And my magic hadn't sensed a storm anywhere around us.

But when I cracked upon my eyes, I wasn't in my new room.

In fact, I wasn't even in the Northern region anymore.

I was on top of my old tower from back in the Dream lands, though, the view was replaced with a mountain range and a grass field. A thick spruce forest was off in the distance at the base of the mountains, dark from the night sky.

Storm clouds lined the horizon, blurring the tops of the mountains with rain and blocking out the moon. They lit up with lightning and rumbles of thunder echoed across the plains in front of me.

I was definitely dreaming.

That's when I noticed that I was leaning into someone's side and their arm was draped over my shoulders. Their heart beat rhythmically under my head.

Everything inside of me tensed when I looked up slightly to see that it was Dream. His eyes were forward, looking out at the coming storm.

But, something was different.

There were no scars on his face or hands, and there was a look in his eye that I hadn't seen since the first L'manberg war for independence.

This was the real Dream, from before he had fallen to his own greed.

From when we loved each other, in an innocent and sweet way.

For the first time in months, I felt safe with Dream wrapping his arms around me. This wasn't the Dream that had tried to kill me in his fury or the Dream that manipulated Tommy into almost ending his life.

"Dream?" My voice was quiet in the starry night, hushed by emotion. I was scared that if I spoke too loudly, he would disappear for good.

He looked down at me, a soft smile appearing on his face. His emerald eyes were so clear with love and warmth.

"Oh, you're awake. Did the storm wake you up?" Even his voice sounded normal again.

My eyes skittered back to the storm in the distance, trying to understand why I was dreaming of this. Was my heart trying to destroy itself?

"Yeah, but it's okay because now I'm awake with you," I said lightly. My heart was racing around trying not to break.

He pulled me in front of his own body, tucking his chin on top of my hair. I relaxed into his chest naturally, almost choking on a sob from how much I had missed this.

"I missed you," I said in a wobbly voice. Tears were threatening to spill over and onto my navy sweatshirt, which had replaced my Antarctic outfit.

It had been so long since I had been able to relax with him and let my guard down. Before, he had been a bright light that protected me from the darkness of this world.

But now, that light had gone out.

He laughed a light sound that I hadn't heard in forever. "What do you mean? I haven't gone anywhere and I don't plan on leaving anytime soon, silly."

His words were so sincere that my heart gave a heart-wrenching pulse. I wanted for this to be real, so badly.

We were quiet then, as I sat and listened to the distant thunder as it moved closer. I could hear his heart beating in his chest as his arms sheltered the two of us against the world.

Memories of when we had sat like this resurfaced, from on top of our old tower and in the darkest moments of our lives. He had been there for me with his laughing wheeze and charming smiles.

"I love you with my whole heart, y/n. I've never loved someone as I love you in my centuries of being alive," He said, breaking the silence. His words echoed what he said forever ago in our makeshift home.

"And you have my heart for the rest of eternity," He finished, setting butterflies off in my stomach.

I turned so I could look up at him. Even in my dreams, his cheeks were dusted with freckles and his sand-colored hair poked out from under his hoodie. Thankfully, his mask was missing.

"And you have mine," I whispered, longing for this to be real.

He leaned forward, pressing his lips to mine. It was soft and loving, sending my magic running to him. Warmth spread through me as small embers exploded around us like they used to.

There was so much love in his kiss that tears slipped down my face. I wrapped my arms around his neck, praying for this moment to be real.

It began to rain, the storm had reached us. It pattered against the tower roof in small droplets and landing with thumps onto the ground far below.

Dream pulled back, cupping my face with one of his hands. He placed his forehead against my own, watching me with a tender look in his clover eyes.

"Don't cry, it's alright. You're safe with me," He whispered.

I knew this was goodbye. The universe was giving me one last moment with the person I had loved and dreamed of spending the rest of my life with, fighting our way through any problem that was thrown at us.

"I'm not ready to go yet," I whispered, scrunching my eyes closed. It hurt too much to keep them open.

"Go where? I'll always be here with you. You don't have to do anything alone," He said, unaware of the reality that waited for me where he was gone.

I didn't respond and instead forced my eyes open to look at my heart one last time.

He placed a gentle kiss against my forehead, sending more embers out around us. They died and became white flakes that landed around us like flower petals.

His smile broke my heart, it was so innocent and loving.

"It's me and you till the very end, y/n."

His words were the last thing I heard before my world went dark around the edges, tearing me away from him.

Away from my heart.

-

He was gone.

As soon as I woke up, the tears came hot and fast. I sat up and pulled myself into a ball on my new red bed, leaning against the cold window beside it.

I was alone, the Dream there had been wrong. He left me and I was alone.

I hadn't allowed myself to cry after parting with Dream in this reality after he had broken my heart and turned to love his power more.

So now, I let the sobs rack my body and I let my emotions out of their bottle in my heart. I gripped my arms tightly as I put my head on my knees and tears fell freely from my narrowed eyes.

I could hear the raging river below me, and for now, I let myself plunge into it. I let the roaring waves and strong tides pull me below the surface.

It hurts.

The last time I had fallen into the river, they had all been there. George, Sapnap, and Dream were there to save me.

Now, I had to pull myself out.

Alone.

After a few minutes, the tears began to slow and I could breathe again. I leaned my forehead against the cool glass of the window, closing my eyes in pain.

My magic eased around me, washing into my mind to soothe my puffy face and eyes. It wrapped like a blanket around my shoulders. It felt my pain and was trying to comfort me.

Everything had felt like it was coming together before I had gone to sleep. My heart felt healed and whole again thanks to my new family.

And underneath all the heartache and tears, it still was whole.

This was just the last part of letting go.

I lifted my wet lashes and looked up at the world outside my window. The snow glinted in the moonlight and smokey tendrils rose from the chimney inside Techno's dark house.

As the world slept, I let go.

I said goodbye to Dream.

I took a deep breath and wiped my eyes. My face was no longer puffy and red, thanks to my magic's efforts.

Creak...

My head whipped around, away from the window. The door, which I closed earlier, was now slightly ajar to reveal the unlit hallway. But there was nothing in my room that could've opened it.

The chests and fireplace sat untouched, the carpet wasn't disturbed by footsteps, and there was no motion anywhere in the room.

"Where the hell are you?" I heard a voice say from the corner of my room.

I twisted towards it, straining my eyes to see. I already knew who it was from the familiarity of their voice.

"Dream?" I questioned for the second time that night, this time fearful for a different reason.

A shadowy figure stepped out from the corner in the shape of my former lover. It looked exactly like him but it lacked real color and his form was wispy around the edges, almost like a ghost.

There was a serious and calculating look on his face, his mask pushed to the side of his head. He stepped closer to my bed, pausing right before it.

"Were you crying?" He said, reaching a hand out to touch my face.

But I scooted away from him, pressing my back against the window. His gloved hand dropped back to his side, brushing his grey hoodie.

I mentally scolded myself for forgetting my sword in Techno's house. The only weapon I had was my magic, which I doubted would work against a shadow version of a person.

Either way, I called fire and my hands burst into white flames. I raised them towards the man, to which he only laughed a sinister laugh.

"Your magic won't work against me in this form," He said, a calm smile on his face. "And anyway, I can't hurt you. The shadows won't let me even touch anything really."

I didn't lower my hands or the flames. There was no way I would trust him after everything.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I said, trying to keep my voice even. Anxiety raced through my veins like lightning. "And how are you here?"

He just sighed and sat down in an armchair, crossing one leg over the other. Once he was comfortable, he leaned back and put his hands behind his head in an unbothered manner.

"First off, I don't even know where here is. I can't see anything except for this room and you. The window behind you is all blacked out, so I can't figure out where you are."

He gestured at his shadow body. "And I'm here because I can teleport to people in shadow form, but I can't see their immediate surroundings. It's one of the powers that come with being a god."

I cautiously glanced over my shoulder out the window and then turned back to him. "So you don't know where I am?"

"No, unfortunately." He blew out an annoyed breath, rolling his eyes. "This shadow power has its benefits but doesn't work when I really need it to."

At least he couldn't find where I was. I needed to be careful about what I said so I didn't accidentally reveal my location.

Anger rose above any of my other emotions, making the flames heighten a bit. "Get out of my house. You aren't welcome here, Dream." I spat his name like it was acid.

His annoyed manner went away and he leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. "I'm not ready to leave yet, y/n. I just got here."

"I don't care. I don't want you around me anymore. Not after you betrayed me, broke my heart, and almost killed me."

"About the last part-"

"I don't want to hear it." I swung my legs over the side of the bed, cold prickling them. "You've lost the right to try to fix this relationship because you've hurt me and what used to be our friends."

I stood, walking towards him. My fear melted away into determination and hot anger. Fury pushed my legs so that I was leaning down and pointing my finger in his shadowy face.

"The Dream I loved is dead and you killed him. Power and greed got to your head, and now you truly are the God of Chaos. All you care about is causing people pain!"

This made him angry, and he stood, making me take a step back. He towered over me with his height, the same height as Technoblade.

Malice was in his eyes as he spoke, "Have you ever thought about how maybe I'm causing this 'pain' to others so that you can live happily, in a world free of evil? Have you ever thought about how I'm going to live on and see every person I love die?"

I hesitated. I had never thought about that. It never occurred to me to ask Neomi if I was immortal now that I was a goddess, but even if I was, I wasn't sure if I wanted to live for eternity with this version of Dream.

"You don't think I don't know how I've changed and how you've stopped loving me?" He laughed, sounding insane. "You don't think I know how I lost you, George, and Sapnap?"

A small part of me wanted to believe him, but I knew there was a bigger reason for this pain he was causing.

"What I'm doing is right. My plan to isolate Tommy, get rid of L'manberg, and bring everyone together is right."

I gritted my teeth, shaking my head. "No, it isn't. Even if you were actually telling the truth about why you're doing this, you could've done it a different way. I'm not going to stand around and let you hurt the people I love!"

"But you love me too, and this is hurting me." His voice turned soft, the malice disappearing.

It was a trick. He was trying to get in my head.

"No, no I don't. And you don't love me anymore, not how you used to." I could see the way he was trying to break me. "You love me in some shit way, you know? Manipulating me and trying to hurt my friends is not the way to love someone, Dream."

He crossed his arms, the annoyed look coming back. His head cocked to the side, revealing more of his mask.

The mask was glued together, a large crack running down the middle of it. Small fractures spiderwebbed off of the larger one.

I had snapped his mask in two with my punch.

"Love is love. I've learned that in my centuries of life that when you find love, you fight for it no matter what. Even if it means hurting others." He shrugged his shoulders.

I opened my mouth to disagree but he spoke again, "I don't think you understand what power we could hold if we teamed up." He pointed to the mask. "You did this, think about how much more you could do."

I backed up another step, bumping into my bed. The flames on my hands were going out as I got distracted by his words.

"No, I don't want that power. I don't want you anymore."

Shadows were wrapping around the area, seeping in from the corners of my room. He moved closer to where he could reach out and touch me.

"We could rid this world of evil and bring everyone together in a big, happy family." His voice was soft, alluring. "You already have so much power."

The anxiety inside of me was returning, making me question my anger.

No, he's manipulating you, my magic was telling me.

"Get out of my head, Dream," I said, angrily.

His face was in front of mine now as he leaned in. A wicked smile was on his face and his grey eyes became even darker. Something flashed on the side of his head, drawing my eyes.

The glue that held his mask together was now red, the only color on his body. It was the same color as his threads.

"Oh, but it's so fun being in your head. We both know what you could do to any threats that stepped in our way."

I shook my head, placing my hands over my ears so I couldn't hear him. Whisps tickled my face from how close he got.

"You can't hide from me for long, y/n. I will find you, and you will join me." His words seeped into my ears in whispers, despite my hands covering my head.

"I will never join you!" I half-shouted with my eyes still closed. "Get out!"

He laughed, mocking me. "This is just the beginning. First, it'll be you I find, then I will get Tommy."

I gasped, prying my eyes open again. "No-"

"I don't doubt that you two are together. It's just a matter of time before I find you and make you mine. I have a special job for you two."

The fire rose once more on my hands as the anger resurfaced. It bubbled in my veins like lava, making snaps emit around us.

Memories of Dream and I with our friends played in my mind. The way he made my magic run to him for safety and the way he had killed that safety, made angry tears fall down my face.

Despite the tears, my voice was strong and even, "You may have broken Tommy and me once, but you won't again. Now get the hell out of my house!"

"No-"

I couldn't take his presence anymore. I swung.

White, hot fire shot from my hands like bullets aiming for Dream. He didn't even have time to move before they connected with him and made him dissolve.

He disappeared, and I sent a wave of light out around the two houses. It flashed and then disappeared as the light shield I put into place settled.

Not even his shadow power could break through the invisible wall of light I had set in place.

I let the flames go out on my hands, leaving me in darkness and silence. The only sound was my racing heart and heavy breathing.

The tears had dried in streaks on my face from the heat of the light, and my lashes were no longer wet.

I glanced out the window and grabbed my cape off of its hook.

I didn't look back in my room as I left it and crossed the hallway.

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well, I cried while writing this

hope you enjoyed the happy chapters while they lasted haha

make sure to have an amazing day besties! ily all, and stay hydrated/safe!

remember that you are loved and needed! I'm here if any of you need anything :)