I pulled again. Still nothing. The doorknob was jammed in place.

Smoke crept through the cracks of the doorframe, filling the small room quickly. There was no avoiding it as I breathed, the thick tendrils clogging my throat like cotton but burning like hot coals.

George clung to my hand, his body shaking with violent coughs.

"Back up from the door!" Dream yelled from the other side. The door shuddered in heavy thuds, Dream most likely throwing his body weight into it. The doorknob didn't budge.

Suddenly, George's body leaned into mine and his coughing lulled to soft rasps. Through the haze, his eyes were half-shut, the smoke pulling him under. Two hot blossoms burned in his cheeks, his skin hot to the touch.

An idea came to mind as Dream's thudding became slower, his energy dwindling. It may have consequences, but it would be worth it if it worked.

"Dream when I say, take George and run, okay?" I called through the door.

I didn't wait for his response and instead tugged George's arm over my shoulders to free my hands, his weight now leaning solely on me. With my palms against the door, I called fire and let the wood erupt into flames. It crumbled away, creating an exit.

"Run, George!" I pushed him through, into Dream's arms. I stumbled out after him, sparks nipping at my heels.

The house outside the room was ablaze with red and yellow, the air completely black with smoke. My heart sank as I saw each memory burn away with the greedy flames, eaten away without a care.

Dream grasped my hand with his free one and began to run towards the just visible front door, practically carrying George and tugging my sluggish heels. Running was hard when the world tilted.

But it came into focus when I felt the brush of winter wind from the front doors, my mind clearing slightly. I had forgotten something.

I tugged out of Dream's hand as he passed the threshold, falling into the tall snow with the jolt in George's weight and my disappearance. The air smelled clean beyond the doors, but still, I hesitated.

"Y/n, get out here!" Sapnap yelled from outside. When I didn't move, he took a step towards me, hand outreached.

Without thinking, I bolted back into the house, a wall of flames consuming the front door a second later.

"No!" Dream and Sapnap yelled in unison from outside, fear leaking into their voices.

Their voices and sounds of the outside quickly became muffled by the loud crackling on every side of me. I couldn't recognize my surroundings with the blinding lights but found my way to the stairs and up them.

As I ran, I flung my arms in every direction, throwing crystal water across the blazes. The liquid cleared away the fire in places, but only lasted a moment before being consumed again. I kept releasing water anyway.

At this point, I could barely breathe with smoke clogging my throat. I wheezed, gasping for air. Not even my powers could keep the smoke out of my lungs.

I ran into my room, the flames lesser here. And right in the middle of the clearing was a white wolf, roughly the size of a wild one. His fur had turned gray with soot, his ears pinned to his head.

No matter his size, I tugged my wolf, Ghost, into my chest, gasping under his weight. He whined next to my ear, kicking me into motion.

I ran for the only clear exit, away from the door, but stopped.

There on my floor was Dream's mask, dirty with ash. How it had gotten in here baffled me, but I grabbed it without a second thought and ran towards the melting glass of the window.

I gathered all the strength I had left and shoved my way through the bowing glass, feeling each shard scrape my face as I passed. But then there was the cold air and falling snow, instead of flame and heat.

Wind gathered at my call, slipping in a thin blanket beneath me, but it wasn't enough to slow the fall. I clung tightly to Ghost, and prayed to whatever gods out there, begging for my magic to be stronger.

Just as the ground closed in, I pushed my face into Ghost's fur, not daring to watch my own death.

But then there were strong arms closing around my waist and dog, all but taking the fall from me. The person fell with me, not being able to bear the burden, and we were met with a face of snow.

Ghost jumped off of me, instantly licking my face with worry as I stared up at the sky, unable to process what had just happened. Flakes caught in my lashes and the wind lashed at my cheeks, but I was alive.

"Why did you run back in there?" Dream's voice cut through the haze. He came running over, kneeling beside me to glance over for injuries.

I didn't respond, trying to gather as much air as I could in my lungs. Thin streaks of stickiness stuck to my face and stung with glass shards, burns raking my body, but again, I was alive.

All thanks to the person still laying next to me, Punz's bleach-blond hair blinding against the powdery cushion. He caught my eye, looking winded but relieved.

He smiled a small smile at me. "Glad you're ok."

I pulled him into a hug as best as my exhausted limbs could handle. "Thank you, Punz. You saved my life."

Everyone else joined in on the hug, creating a small circle in the snow. The house continued to crackle behind us, oblivious to the moment of relief just outside.

"Seriously, why did you go back there?" Sapnap asked.

"I had to go back for Ghost. I couldn't leave him," I said, looking at the dog in my lap. His tongue stuck out as I pet his head. "Oh and this," I added, holding out the mask to Dream.

He took it in his hands, dusting off the cinders that covered the smiley face. He placed it on the side of his head, looking back at me. "That was not worth your life, but thank you."

I smiled but stopped when a shadow stretched towards us, turning into more shadows.

On the murky winter night, the moon completely blocked by the thick smoke plumes and blizzard clouds, Wilbur smirked at us with his L'manbergians clustered behind him. Firelight caught the metal of something in his exposed hand, the other dug into his jacket.

"Sorry to interrupt the party, but there is a war to win." Wilbur smiled menacingly at us, bringing the flashing item out into the open. My heart burned with the house when I saw it was flint and steel, still red with use.

Everyone stood, except George, whose face was too pale with smoke inhalation, behind me. I quickly unsheathed my sword, a miracle it was still attached to me, and pushed the pain in my arms and legs away.

"You burnt down our house?" I asked, venom dripping from my voice. Ghost growled at my side, sensing the tension.

George called him back with him, pulling the dog to his side as he began to retreat towards the tree line. If he couldn't fight with his smoke-filled lungs and foggy eyes, it would be safer for him to run.

Wilbur dropped the flint and steel to the snow, a hiss arising from the clash of hot and cold. "Everything is fair in war, plus you burnt down Tubbo's house. An eye for an eye."

Shame crept up my spine, soon overpowered by anger. "Yes, but nobody was in the house when we did so. You knew we were in there, and still struck the match."

The general shrugged, his eyes dark in the night. "Nothing you can do about it now, the house is done for. What a shame."

Anger turned into fury, lashing out like a whip in my magic. I took a step forward, locking my arms to lift my sword. But Dream caught onto my shoulder, stopping me.

I ignored him and said to Wilbur, "There's plenty I could do about it, Wilbur. We still have the upper hand in the war, care to find out more about that?"

"Well, if Dream gave you up now, we would surrender," Wilbur responded simply. "You see, you are a very valuable person, y/n. You would benefit L'manburg."

Now Dream's hand tightened around my shoulder, his own rage seething out of him. Sapnap and Punz came up on my other side, lifting their netherite swords and axes.

"Is that a threat?" I asked slowly, barely stopping myself from melting Wilbur from the inside out.

"Your team does have the upper hand in the battle, but that's because of you. If you were to join our side, the scales would tip in our favor." Wilbur's eyes flared with madness. "We could always take you hostage."

Tommy, his sunny hair muted in the stormy night, looked up at his brother, confusion written all over his face. "What Wilbur that wasn't the plan-"

He was cut off by a stern look from his general, not the look of a brother.

I stepped out of Dream's grasp, coming closer to Wilbur. "I'm not a goddamned bargaining chip."

"Mind your mouth, love." He smiled at me, fake sweetness filling the grin.

I couldn't take it. I swung.

Wilbur jumped back in time, pulling out his sword to clash with mine. I was surprised to see him have a weapon at all after hearing some of his beliefs but didn't let the shock throw me off.

I pushed hard into him, pushing the blade inches from his neck. Heat screamed in my muscles with soreness and aching from the fire, burning brighter with the more I leaned in.

Still, Wilbur just smiled and said, "Your friends would be left unharmed for now if you just joined our side."

My friends fought all around me, pushing the L'manberg team back, clearly on the winning side. I turned my focus back to Wilbur. "They seem to be taking care of themselves, thanks though."

His gaze snapped and he bent away from me, attempting to throw me off balance, but I was ready, even with my fatigue.

I sped away from him, challenging him to follow.

Behind me, he sneered and ran towards me, throwing his weight. His coat flapped wildly around him, navy meshing with the twilight sky.

I dodged left, as he fell past me into the snow, his hat coming free. It landed off to the side, forgotten about the moment Wilbur realized he was pinned.

He stood quickly, eyes darting around as I advanced on him.

"I am not a traitor, Wilbur. My loyalty does not lie with you," I growled as he backed away from me into a tree. I swung my sword, catching his shoulder.

He grunted in pain, eyes filling with tears. Still, he held himself tall, with blood dripping under his hand at his shoulder, and held my stare a moment longer.

Before I could get another swing, he called retreat and ran, leaving a trail of blood and ashes behind.

-

We found George and Ghost hiding out back at our old camp.

The man was a bit out of it after nearly passing out, he had a cough, and he wheezed whenever he breathed, but he was awake, which was a good sign. A little rest and fresh air would clear his lungs soon enough.

Dream and Sapnap ushered him into his tent for the rest and went to sit with him, happy their friend was okay. Dream glanced at me in concern but I waved him off, letting him focus on his best friend.

Punz was trying to start a fire in the old fire pit, blowing on old embers with little luck. Thinking of being near another fire after leaving our cooling house behind made my heart ache, but I flicked a flame to the pit for the sake of our warmth.

Punz nodded his thanks and got to setting up the rest of camp, now that we would be staying here.

I needed to let off some steam, my mind still on the fight and broken home. Exhaustion hung over me but I let the cold shake it off. I called Ghost to my side and wandered into the forest, away from the smoke.

The snow was lighter under the canopy, just dusting the soil. My thoughts drifted as I stepped over gnarled roots and bunches of fallen leaves, Ghost happily running through them to shake off the soot.

Why was Wilbur so desperate? The Wilbur I knew before would have never talked to me like that, let alone kidnap me for war. He had been different ever since he got the idea of independence in his head.

The decent part of me wanted to blame the strange behavior on the purple bags under his eyes and raging trust issues. He had never trusted anyone, even after spending two years in the Dream lands.

Either way, that didn't fix the pile of coals that was now our house. That had been my first true home in the Dream lands, before they were even called that.

I had first lived with the founders of the land in the Community House, where we all shared one room and only cared about who had fed the cows or made dinner. Once Alyssa and Callahan moved away, people began to spread out, creating the Dream lands.

The name had been born out of pure amusement when Dream won a competition over Sapnap and George, but it also made sense. Dream had been our natural leader ever since the morning I met the group.

A twig snapped behind me, pulling me from my thoughts. I instantly reached for my sword, my magic too tired to be used. Ghost growled and stuck close to my side, his hair raising.

The person came out with their hands up, lurching out from behind a tree as if they were pushed.

"Tubbo?" I relaxed, seeing the young boy's face in a glimmer of moonlight. Ghost's snarls stopped and the wolf bridged the gap, plowing into Tubbo with his tongue out.

Tommy appeared, his identity automatically noticeable with his height and slouched shoulders. "Hey, woman," He joked, a teasing smile spread across his lips. "Did we scare you?"

Perhaps I was supposed to raise my sword to them or call for the others, but I couldn't imagine they would truly care if I was speaking to Tommy and Tubbo, the two least dangerous L'manbergians. Besides, I was best friends with the teens, they wouldn't hurt me.

I had seen the look on Tommy's face when Wilbur tried to bargain for me: pure confusion. I definitely didn't have to worry about the teenager's loyalty to me, despite the war.

So I just rolled my eyes and pocketed my weapon. "Sure, Toms, you scared me badly."

Tommy glared at me from my sarcastic remark, but Tubbo just laughed as he knelt to pet Ghost. His voice was light as he said, "I told you already. She can hear us from like a dozen feet away."

And just like that, they fell into mindless bickering about my overpowered senses. It was easy to see how close they were in moments like this, arguing like brothers. They had practically grown up as siblings and it showed.

But they also looked so young. Too young for war. They should be spending their days getting into something stupid or sitting on their bench, instead of sharpening blades and fighting for their home.

The thought of them fighting alone made me want to back out of my spot in this fight. If it weren't for the accusations and problems Wilbur was throwing at Dream and I, then this would be an easy decision.

Yet, here we were, an invisible crack spread between me and them. The two chose to be on the side they were, so I would make my decision, and in the end, we would still be friends.

"Alright, alright," I said, at last, settling the argument. "What made you two come all the way out here? I can't imagine Wilbur knows you snuck out to come to see me after that whole fiasco."

Tommy's eyes sparkled with mischief but had a tint of worry to them. "It was easy to get past him. He's half-asleep back home and we just said we were going to look for bees."

I blinked at him, not truly believing the lie had used to get out. "Tommy, it's winter. There aren't any bees out right now."

Tubbo perked up, shooting Tommy a look. "That's what I said!"

Tommy frowned and crossed his arms proudly. "Well, you can come up with the coverup next time. It doesn't matter anyway. My lie worked and here we are."

"And you're here why...?"

"We came to check up on you, obviously," Tommy replied, giving me a dumb look. "We aren't just wandering around the words or some creepy shit."

Tubbo stood and elbowed him in the ribs. "We also wanted to apologize for the way Wilbur put things. The whole kidnapping part was a secret to us until Wilbur actually said it to you. If we had known-"

I swiftly closed the gap between us and pulled them into a hug, Tommy struggling a bit before relaxing into my embrace. "Don't worry about it. I'll deal with him when I have to. And I'm a little beat up but nothing that's permanent."

A few burns and cuts would heal in no time, but the thought of the darkness and Wilbur's words hung in the back of my mind.

In the distance, I heard Sapnap calling me back to camp, his footfalls quiet in the deep snow beyond the forest. It was a moment later before Tommy and Tubbo heard, their normal senses catching up to mine.

We pulled apart and Tommy grabbed onto Tubbo, a panicked expression in his blue eyes. "We've got to go before Sapnap comes. I hope all this shit ends soon so we can hang out again."

"Me too, Tommy. Be safe," I said.

I waved goodbye to them, watching as they disappeared through the dead bushes. The night consumed them and silence hung heavy around me, edging sleep closer. It had been a long day.

Sapnap's footsteps were nearing and Ghost nudged my hand, making me snap out of my stare. My eyes were still on the place the two teens had slipped away as silently as they had snuck up on me.

Their happy faces and Wilbur's strange behavior only made me hope that the two best friends weren't separated through all of this.