When I woke up the next day, only Sapnap remained in the room with me. His snoring had woken me up, and probably the others. I cautiously stepped over Sapnap, careful not to wake him. And I thought I had slept late. He was still in a deep sleep, not waking anytime soon. The dog now cuddled up with Sapnap, presumably after George had left.

It was raining again, thunder rumbling out across the lands. The windows were streaked with water, blurring the outside into muted colors.

Last night seemed foggy, but the pain in my body was loud and clear. My arms were still red and achy from the burns, my head pounded yet I felt more rested than I had in days. The one thing that didn't hurt was my legs as I peeled back the bandages to peer at the cuts. They were all healed now, thanks to George's handy work.

I walked downstairs, following the scent of something delicious into the kitchen. And the sound of two people singing. I poked my head around the corner to see George and Dream singing a duet. They were laughing at each others' very out of tune voices, using wooden spoons as microphones.

As Dream finished his high note, I stepped around the corner clapping, "Well done!" I cheered, my voice now back to normal. George paused and turned pink but my cheers only egged Dream on. He came over, still singing, pulling me into a side hug. The man that was Dream in my nightmare was nowhere to be found. I started signing with him, finishing off the song.

"She definitely has a better voice than both of us." George said amusingly, flipping some pancakes over.

"Hey! Speak for yourself!" Dream shot back, reaching over George's shoulder to add chocolate chips to the batter.

When the pancakes were finished, George ran upstairs to wake up Sapnap. There was a loud shriek followed by George's laughter and Ghost barking. George came running down the stairs, a soaking wet dog and Sapnap followed. The hound and man mirrored each other's grumpiness.

"Well good morning sleeping beauty." I said, handing a towel over to Sapnap. Ghost shook, sending water droplets flying. Mainly ending up on George.

"Hey!" George said, giving the dog a pointed look. Ghost seemed to say to him, you deserved it.

"Ok ladies settle down, let's eat." Dream said, laying pancakes in front of everyone.

-

To put a complete end to the anxiety that gripped me from the nightmare, I decided I needed to see Tommy and Tubbo. Alive and well. The trip would also be a good excuse to see how Tommy was faring after his injury.

I was going to go alone, but Dream made me bring him along. He waved away my persistent efforts to ensure him that I was fine with a quick kiss. I huffed, walking off without him. He of course easily caught up.

It was still raining when we stepped out from the house, spring in full force. Rain quickly seeped through my clothes, drenching my hair. Dream offered to carry an umbrella but I embraced the water. It washed away the memory of blood on my arms, carrying away last night in tiny droplets.

I could practically hear the plants around us singing with relief from the rain. Winter had finally left, allowing for the plants to return. No more dead grass or small buds trying to escape the harsh cold. I let myself sink into their happiness through my magic as we walked in silence towards L'manburg.

I turned my head slightly to see that Dream was already watching me, "What?"

He just shook his head, smiling. I poked him in the arm, "Tell me."

"It's just that you seem so happy when it rains. And when we are outside, especially when it is spring."

"I do like the rain. But not just because it is lovely to me, but because the plants love it so much. I can hear how happy they get when it rains, some relief from the sun." I paused, turning my head up to the rain. Rain droplets slid across my face, tiny waterfalls racing down my skin. "Spring is my favorite season. For mostly the same reason, the plants. My magic allows me to feel the life overflowing from the new bloomed plants. It helps me feel more energetic, and it just makes me happier."

When I finished, I turned back to face Dream. He was watching me contently, his eyes following the droplets that rushed down my face. He removed a hand from his hoodie to grasp my hand tightly.

He laughed softly, "You're amazing y/n."

I felt a blush creep up my face, turning my head forward again to hide it. They were passing the Embassy, the ground still in ruins. Slight guilt crept up into my heart as I turned my eyes away. That was my fault.

"How are you feeling?" I asked Dream, trying to escape the threatening spiral that would follow the guilt. My emotions were still too fragile to deal with that mess at the moment.

Dream frowned a little, "The same as when you first scared the darkness away. Then again, the gods haven't had a reason to grow angry. There hasn't been any action to provoke them."

I nodded, at least he was doing all right. The gods seemed uninterested with him at the moment, focusing on the strange man. I wondered if there was still a real human soul left in him, or if the gods had just eaten away at him with the darkness. The darkness seemed to have it's own will, it's own control.

We arrived outside the L'manburg gates, the yellow bits of the wall shining bright in the rain. It stuck out more from how dark the walls were. New trees were beginning to grow in the place of the charred ones, marking a new chapter of the young nation. The nation was so new, yet it was already stained with blood.

"I think it's best if I wait out here. But if you need anything, I'll be right over there." Dream pointed with his ax towards some untouched trees. It was a miracle that some survived the fires that Sapnap and Dream had started. At the time, I couldn't bring myself to light the trees on fire, staying behind with a sleeping George.

I nodded, heading into the gates. The ground had now been rebuilt, grass and flowers steadily growing back. There was a new monument in the lake in front of the van, a jukebox surrounded by cobblestone. It was undoubtedly built by Tommy in memory of his discs.

I walked up the stairs outside the van, knocking lightly on the iron door. Light was seeping through the windows, figures moving around inside. One headed towards the door I was waiting outside of to open it. When the door opened it revealed Wilbur, wearily looking around.

I tried to smile as bright as I could, "Hi Wilbur, I came to check on Tommy."

He smiled warmly back, "Hey y/n, come on in." I stepped in, using my fire to quickly evaporate some of the droplets that threatened to soak the floor. I could hear new voices coming from the other side of the wall, two men and a woman. Wilbur must've noticed my surprise because he quickly said, "We have some new citizens."

"Oh, you're expanding?"

He laughed, "Yes, it seems we are." He turned to walk into the room, as I followed. When I entered, everyone turned their heads to see who now accompanied them.

Around the table stood the normal group, along with the new three. The first one I noticed was a dark haired man with a navy beanie. When he laughed, it was contagious, causing the whole room to burst into a fit. The next was a man wearing a set of headphones, paired with brightly colored glasses. They looked like 3D glasses, red and blue lenses. Lastly, a woman with blonde hair and kind eyes. She looked like the kindest person you would ever meet.

"Hey woman!" Tommy said, rounding the table to stand beside me. He walked normally, no limp to his step anymore. "Where's your boyfriend?"

"Tommy, shut it." Wilbur said, giving me a warm smile. This was definitely a change of character from before. Wilbur seemed more put together now, his new nation finally at peace. "Don't embarrass y/n in front of our new friends. Y/n, this is Quackity, Jack Manifold, and Nihachu."

"It's very nice to meet you, y/n." Nihachu said with a gentle voice. Her brown eyes settled on me lightly, "You can call me Niki. I think I've heard of you before."

"You have?" I said, surprise echoing in my voice.

She nodded, smiling, "Yes. Well I've heard many great things from Tommy and Tubbo, but I think a man named Punz mentioned you at my bakery. He was buying a pumpkin pie right after I had opened if I recall correctly."

My mouth dropped slightly, "You're the angel that made that pie?" She nodded again, giggling. I ran over to her, giving her a hug, "That pie was amazing. Is there any way I can order a dozen more?"

She hugged back, wrapping me in one of the warmest hugs I had ever gotten. "Well, that's a lot of pie but I definitely can make you more. If you stop at the bakery soon I would happily teach you the recipe."

I released her, stepping back to view the other two. Quackity was joking around with Tubbo, making the boy double over in laughter. The beanie boy seemed to be a very entertaining person to have around. That's when I noticed Fundy was absent. I looked around, the orange haired boy, nowhere to be seen.

"Uh, where's Fundy?"

"Oh, he went to the docks to get our last guest. The guest was arriving later than these three so Fundy offered to go get him." Wilbur said, glancing out the window to see if his son had returned. I never questioned where Fundy's mother was but I recalled a memory of Tommy telling me about someone named Sally. "They should be back any second."

"Oh, well then I don't want to intrude. I wouldn't want to scare them off, even though Tommy will probably already do that with his face." I laughed, watching Tommy's head snap to me.

"What the hell!" Was all he managed before I was stepping back into the rain. I had just raised my hand to the window to say goodbye when I saw Fundy approaching. The rain was falling much harder, making Fundy's image fuzzy. His bright hair and tail were the only signals that he was there. There was another man beside him.

"Hey, y/n!" Fundy said brightly, getting close enough that I could see his features. The guest he had been carrying in tow, was lingering by the gates for a moment, watching from a distance.

"Is that the new guest?" I said, as the man began to make his way over. He was tall, and wearing a suit, but I still couldn't make out his face.

"Yup, he's going to be Wil and Tommy's endorsement for the election." The words came as a shock. There was going to be an election? It was always Wilbur in charge, their natural leader. He had already claimed the presidency after the war.

"Election?" I said as the man began to get closer.

"Oh they haven't told you? Wilbur is going to hold an election at one point to enforce his leadership. He wants to actually get voted in, instead of just claiming himself president. He wanted to be fair and...."

His words faded out as the man got close enough for me to see. I could faintly hear a raging river below me.

There was no malicious look in his eyes or black fog rippling around him. The horns were still there, curling along the side of his dark hair. There wasn't even any recognition in his eyes when they met mine.

My heart thundered in my chest, my magic fleeing to the back of my mind to get as far away as possible from this man. I clenched my hands at my side to keep the shake out of them.

I quickly reached out with my mind, trying to sense any darkness. There wasn't even a crumb of darkness surrounding the man like it had in previous encounters. Who is he?

"Y/n this is Jschlatt." Fundy said brightly, pulling me from my thoughts. I stood frozen, my thoughts flying all over the place. I tried to look everywhere but at the man, focusing intensely at my shoes. "Hey, I'll meet you inside Jschlatt."

I tracked Fundy with my eyes, silently pleading for him to not leave.

Jschlatt extended a hand forward, "You can call me Schlatt. The J is too formal." He chuckled.

I pulled my eyes from the ground, trying to look over his shoulder, searching for Dream. But the man was too tall for me to see past him. He practically took up my whole vision.

I made the mistake of making eye contact. Well there was no going back now. I reached my hand forward, willing it to keep still as his large hand engulfed mine.

His eyes flared with recognition, an evil smile creeping onto his face. Nausea began crashing over me, trying to drag me into the river below. I bit it down, I wouldn't fall victim to this man.

I was stronger than that.

"Ah, so we finally get an official introduction." He said lowly. He lowered his face to my level, keeping eye contact. I didn't move, shoving away the feeling to shrink back.

I was stronger than this.

"So it seems. I finally get to meet the man who has snuck up on me instead of just introducing himself." I try to add some confidence into my tone, making a bored expression.

I am stronger than him.

Anger blazed for a moment at my bored expression. He wanted me to be scared, he wanted me to bend to his will. But I wouldn't.

"Just you wait. You'll be seeing much more of me. And you won't be able to deny the throne awaiting you."

A searing pain shot through my head as his grip tightened, following his words. I kept still as the pain flared, an image surfacing in my mind. It was an image of a throne, atop a hill, overlooking the Dream Smp. And I was sat atop it, black dress flowing around me with an intimidating crown glinting as lightning struck.

I squinted at the man slightly, trying to mask the pain. I wouldn't bow to this man. I blinked away the image, focusing on my breathing.

Where the hell was Dream?

"Nice try." I said quietly, baring my teeth at him. "It's not that easy to break me." Anxiety disappeared, anger replacing it in layers. I wouldn't break because of this man.

I was not glass.

He released my hand, passing me to go into the van. He looked over his shoulder, his hair glinting with rain, anger contorting his face as he spoke again,

"We will rule."

The words echoed through me. He had gone inside, leaving me standing in the rain. He had said the exact words he had made Dream say in my nightmare.

Apparently there were no good gods left because there was a new nightmare beginning to unfold

~~~~

Villain arc? Spookyyyy

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