After ensuring that Tommy was on his path back to being healthy, I slipped out of L'manburg to face the other problem awaiting at the castle.

Tubbo had been practically jumping from happiness when Tommy had woken up. Tommy was back to being himself and seemed grateful to be alive. Though he didn't admit it.

Comfortable silence wrapped around me as I walked down the path. The sun was beginning to set, stars poking out in the east while colors were painted on the sky in the west. The snow had melted away, revealing blooming flowers. It seemed the world noticed the change in war.

L'manburg had lost, bringing peace to the world. Yet, when Tommy spoke of it after he awoke, he didn't seem like he was done yet. I could sense another event, as soon as he could walk.

I reached the castle, hesitant to go in. I wasn't sure what I would face once I stepped in. Someone else was the one who shot Tommy, using Dream as a body. That was very unsettling.

As if sensing me, Ghost came running out through the front gates, tail wagging. He reached me, pushing me over with his size. I let him lick me, petting his head while laughing before standing. I called him to my side as I stepped through the front door.

All was quiet, except for conversation coming from a bedroom upstairs. I followed the sound, beginning to make out George and Sapnap's voices. They were sitting together in George's room, talking about... Dream?

Before I could stop him, Ghost leaped through the door into George's lap. He laughed petting him, before turning to me as I stepped through the door. They both went quiet, glancing at each other.

"Well, I'm glad to see someone taking care of Ghost while I was gone." I laughed quietly, sparking some amusement in their eyes. "I'm sorry I left so quickly," I murmured.

Sapnap didn't say anything as he crossed the room, pulling me into a hug. "It's alright, y/n. We know how much you care about Tommy." He pulled back slightly, worry in his eyes as he continued, "But, we aren't sure what's going on with Dream. He's been locked in his room, not even coming out for food. We've had to leave the food outside his door."

George's eyes were lined with silver as he said, "I feel like you're the only one who can get to him right now. After the duel, he seemed different, almost like another person."

I nodded, noting the bags under both of their eyes. Sapnap's white bandana had turned almost brown with dirt and George's goggles were scratched. They didn't look very good.

"Look, I'll deal with Dream, but from both of your appearances, you should get some sleep and take a warm shower. You both look awful."

"Hey, well we've been busy, thank you very much," Sapnap said, his inner diva coming out.

George and I just snickered, relief apparent on both of their faces.

"Wish me luck," I said, turning to the door at the end of the hall. As they said, there were dirty plates and cups sitting outside the door, waiting to be cleaned. I sighed, knocking quietly on the door.

A muffled 'come in' was the response I got.

When I entered, Dream was sitting on the window ledge, watching as the first few droplets of rain began to fall. His room seemed neat, which was surprising for him not leaving it for a few days.

"You can set the plate on the desk," He said, still facing the window. He thought I was one of the boys, dropping off food. He sounded tired and his sweatshirt looked crumpled. But he was wearing his mask ... even though he was in his room.

"Dream."

His head snapped towards me, realizing I wasn't who he thought I was. He didn't say anything, shock settling over him.

"You were right," I started, sitting down on his bed, picking at a nonexistent piece of lint. "You didn't hit anywhere vital."

He nodded slightly, still not speaking, so I continued on.

"I need you to talk to me Dream. I know something's going on, much more than you're letting on. The boys told me you haven't left your room."

"I haven't been able to."

"Why?" I said as he turned back to the window. He simply just shrugged. That caused a bit of fire to jostle inside of me. Fire was always the element that responded to anger or frustration. I bit back at it, trying to keep calm. I walked over to the ledge, standing a little behind him. "What's going on?"

He sighed, turning towards me. At that moment I hated that stupid mask. I hated it for hiding his face, for hiding his emotions. "It's a long story."

I sat, facing him, "I have time."

And with that, he started telling me about whispers. Whispers he has heard since they lived here. Whispers that longed for chaos and destruction, ones that took over him. Whispers that were spoken by gods, dark gods who were long forgotten, ready to take their revenge.

At the mention of gods, I paused him. These were the same gods that were mentioned by the darkness, the ones that controlled it.

"Dream, those are the same gods that want to control me. The darkness told me that the two of us and it would rule these lands."

"I know, it tells me the same thing. But it seems to be having a much harder time taking control of you. It takes over me so easily." He laughed a dark chuckle. Something much darker than his normally light wheeze.

He continued on, explaining how he couldn't control himself at the duel. The whispers had turned into screams, making his own will utterly useless. He explained how he had felt so drained, that he hadn't been able to leave his room, shutting out his two other best friends.

For their safety. For his.

When he finished, I reached over and pulled him into a hug. He leaned into me, exhaustion clearly biting at him.

"Dream, take the mask off." I pulled back, watching him hesitate.

When he removed the mask, I struggled to hold in a gasp.

His normally bright green eyes had started to fade into a deep green, almost black. His freckles had faded, deep bags under his eyes. His hair looked as if it had been tugged on a lot.

I struggled for words for a moment, picking through what to say. When words failed, my magic rose in response, striking me with an idea. I looked at Dream, who was looking back at me curiously. There was some light still in there then.

"I'm going to try something, to ease the whispers for now. Is that alright?" He nodded silently, giving me permission. I placed my hands on his, digging deep into my magic. I pulled on invisible strings that wove the world together, creating a portal into Dream's mind. I called fire into my mind first.

I let the fire burn in my mind lazily, tunneling the warmth and light through the portal I had created. I closed my eyes, concentrating. I heard a small gasp from Dream as the warmth pressed up against the darkness that loomed in his mind. The fire wasn't vicious, but shoved the darkness to the back of his mind, like cleaning off dust.

I let the fire continue to burn as I called my power for plants. I grasped at the essence of life that leaked from the blooming flower in my mind. I tunneled it into Dream, into his features. This would help fix his appearance.

That was as much as I could handle at the moment, I would have to practice with the new power. I let go of the magic and portal, letting both dissolve away. When I opened my eyes I saw someone completely new.

His eyes shone brighter, his freckles were more saturated. The bags stayed but only sleep could fix those. And a smile was plastered on his face.

"How did you do that?" He questioned, looking at his reflection in the window.

I shrugged, not sure how that happened either. I didn't even realize there were new parts of the magic. I smiled back at him, relief singing through me.

"For now, it's a temporary fix. I'm not sure how long it will last, but at least you look much better." I teased him, making him face me again.

Before I could say more, Dream reached across the gap between us and pressed his lips to my own. I paused a moment, my heart sputtering before I leaned in. He pulled me closer, pressing me against him.

It wasn't a forceful or angry kiss, but a soft and longing kiss. A kiss that expressed his emotions loud and clear. The world seemed to pause around them, the only sign of time was the rain tapping the glass. Light poured into both of our hearts, creating a wall between them and the darkness.

When he pulled back, I looked up to him, blush on my cheeks. His eyes were bright, taunting almost.

"Before I say thank you, I must say I am honored to be the one making you blush." He teased, his confident personality creeping back in.

I shoved him lightly, causing his eyes to flicker. He grabbed my chin, forcing me to look him in the eye. Without warning, he shoved his lips back against mine, this time being more passionate. My magic erupted in my veins, sending sparks out around them slightly. No one had ever gotten a reaction from her magic.

"Oh and now I can also say I'm the one who can cause a girl who is practically a goddess herself, to lose control of her own magic." He smiled slyly, holding me tighter. The mood shifted slightly as we listened to the sound of the rain.

"I'm so sorry, y/n." He said quietly, the confidence pausing. Dream was never scared of anything or vulnerable, so it was strange hearing him so quiet.

I nodded, tears already trying to escape, "I shouldn't be the one you apologize to. Our crew deserves one. Who is conveniently sitting outside the door, listening." I blinked away the tears as I heard them go still. Dream laughed, a bright sound, his wheeze returning.

George and Sapnap slowly pushed the door open, shame decorating their faces.

"Uh, we just came to get the dishes and uh stopped to listen?" Sapnap tried to say, George just sighing at Sapnap's awful lying.

"Come here you two," Dream said, opening his arms wider for them. They both raced over, tackling Dream. I moved out of the way as they fell to the ground. I laughed, happy to see the three together again.

"Dream, we'll help you any way we can," George said, his accent becoming thicker as he tried to hold in tears.

"I'm so sorry guys. I treated you all like shit when you were just trying to help," Dream said, glancing between the two.

Sapnap playfully punched him, accepting his apology. "You know, when you're sad, you eat an awful lot. I was put on dish cleaning because of you." His inner diva once again rising, causing us to laugh.

I slipped into the hall, letting the three have their time with each other. I walked down the hall and rounded the corner to see Punz and Eret acting as if the walls and ceiling were very interesting.

"You two were smart to try and slip away." I laughed at their horrible attempts.

"Glad you're back, y/n." Eret said in his deep voice, but he also seemed sad. It seemed today I would be a therapist.

"Eret, it may take a lot of time, but L'manburg will come back around to you. Maybe not Tommy, you know how he is, but the rest will. Just give it time," I said, pulling the tall man into a hug.

He sighed, leaning into the hug. His crown tilted forward slightly. "I don't think it was worth it."

I nodded. "I understand. You can't go back and change it though. All you can do now is think about how you can move forward and heal from it."

He smiled at me as I stepped away towards the entrance of the castle.

The rain was still falling, beginning to fall harder. I searched for something along the walls of the castle, the rain making it hard to see. But the item seemed to call to me as if it had a life of its own.

I was drenched as soon as I stepped out from under the roof, but I welcomed it. It wasn't a freezing rain with harsh winds, but a spring's rain that kissed flowers.

The sword was leaned against the wall of the castle, where it had been left before the duel.

Magic sung in my veins as I picked up the sword, smiling at it.

The darkness didn't stand a chance.

~~~

ooooh a kiss, don't get too attached ;)

OMG thank you all for 100 reads! I can't believe it!