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"Tommy, I want you to bring me back to life."
The blond teenager paused halfway through digging the sand underneath him. He looked up to see the ghost of his dead friend hovering just at his eye level.
Thunderclaps roared overhead as the storm settled in, making itself nice and comfortable. The ash and smoke from the destruction below turning them as dark and unpredictable as Zeus's temper.
"What?" Tommy asked, his voice barely above a whisper. Wilber floated a little closer, the rain falling right through but burning all the same.
"Bring me-"
Dream laid down a block of TNT, lit it, and watched as it exploded. His mask illuminated yellow by the resulting fireball.
His earpiece was tuned to the VC, but he had set himself on push-to-talk. Partly so no one would hear his moments of ecstatic laughter or the bits of his inner monologue that slipped past his lips.
A few minutes ago, he had heard a scream erupt from across the server from many different mouths. It seemed strangely disconnected from anything he had seen, but this was a war. People screamed a lot when they were in a war.
It was one of the things he liked best.
Technoblade's calm but intense voice cut through the general pandemonium.
"Dream, you uh... you may want to get down here."
"I'm still clearing out the remains Techno, can it wait?" Dream asked as he set off another explosion.
"Oh sure. He can wait. He's probably not going anywhere ever again, actually,"
Something about the tone in Technoblade's voice made Dreams stop dead in mid-step.
"Who?" he asked, his normal monotone a bit strained.
"Tommy."
Dream shoved his way to the front of the crowd. The silence between them was uncanny. Only the rain and Tubbo's full-throated sobs dared break it.
"What happened?" Dream demanded, striding up to Techno and Phil.
"Tommy got hit by lightning," Techno explained.
"Did you-"
"No, I didn't do it! I came to do property damage and dismantle a government, not kill people! I didn't want this Dream! No one wanted this!"
One look at the assembled party showed Techno was right. No one could tell who was crying in the pouring rain, but it wasn't a far stretch to assume they all were.
Tubbo wrenched his head up from where it was buried in Tommy's mud-stained shirt and glowered at Techno with more hatred and pain than any 16-year-old boy should feel. "How can you say that! Wars kill people! You knew when you started this that he was on his last life!"
"A lot of people are on their last life!" Techno shouted back. "That still means they have one left! Would you rather just lock everyone in a bunker?
"Stop! Stop! Both of you!" Phil snapped. "This isn't the time! This isn't..."
Dream cleared his throat, drawing the attention back to him.
"Get out of the way, Tubbo," Dream ordered as he approached.
Tubbo clutched Tommy even tighter to his chest.
"No!"
Quackity jumped to his feet and put himself between Tommy and Dream.
"You shouldn't be here," Quackity hissed. "Everyone knows this is your fault. You finally got what you wanted. Fuck off and let the rest of us morn."
Dream grabbed his battle axe from his hip and held it tightly in both hands.
"You'll have a lot more to morn if you two don't get out of my way."
Quackity held his ground.
Ghostbur floated into the tense situation, he was the only one who could look anyone else in the eyes right now.
"Can't he just come back like I did? He can be ghostInnit! It would be nice to have a ghost friend. We can haunt places and pull pranks together."
"It... it doesn't always work like that..." Phil murmured. "If... if Tommy were going to come back, he would have done it by now. If I had to guess... he died at his lowest point, and he didn't have enough to come back for."
"Oh..." Ghostbur replied. It was hard to know if any of that information stuck with him or fell through the cracks as something too negative to remember. "Well, then maybe Dream can do something?"
The suggestion, uttered so innocently by the ghost, set off a ripple in the emotional state of everyone around him. Suddenly, every eye was fixed on Dream.
"Get out of my way. I won't ask again," Dream growled.
Quackity shifted out of the line of fire. Backing up to the inner ring of the circle of onlookers.
Tubbo clutched Tommy even tighter, shielding as much of his friend with his body as possible.
"N-no!" Tubbo stammered. "What are you going to do to him?"
"What does it matter? He's dead and you will be too if you don't move," Dream replied.
Quackity stepped forward again and put his hand on Tubbo's shoulder. "I don't trust Dream half as far as I could throw him... but if there's one thing on this server that you can count on, it's Dream being obsessed with Tommy. If Tommy stays dead then those discs he extorted, tortured, and lied for? They mean nothing."
A general murmur of agreement went up among the server-mates. Dream didn't move a muscle, his expression hidden behind the permanent smile.
Bit by bit Tubbo pulled himself off Tommy and crawled over to Fundy, who pulled him into a mutual hug, silent tears streaming down both their faces.
Dream put his weapon away and kneeled over Tommy's body. He stared down at it. No visible damage was present, but no one could doubt that the crumpled form was no longer their friend. Something about him, something fundamental, was gone. No one could mistake this for sleep, or a loss of consciousness.
Nicky broke down then, sinking to her knees and burying her face in her arm. Ranboo stood beside her. His eyes were open wide, but no one was home.
Dream pulled his armoured gloves off and placed them on the ground beside him. Then, he snapped open the clasp that kept his mask secured behind his head. The collective desolation was so powerful that no one reacted as Dream pulled off his mask.
He lowered his hood and sat cross-legged in the muck and rubble. Rain soaking into his dirty blond hair. If they looked close enough, someone might have been able to spot that Dream's cheeks were wet before he took off the mask.
Dream dug his hands into the mud underneath Tommy's body, not caring that he was making a mess of his hoodie. Carefully, he lifted the boy into his arms and pulled him into his lap. Tommy was nearly as tall as Dream was, but it was purely the result of growth spurts. Leaving little of him to stretch over his adult-sized skeleton. A few more years and he would have rounded out, gotten more muscular and less lanky. So many things he could have been or done or been, all ended in a single flash and an echoing boom.
"Nice try, Tommy..." Dream murmured under his breath. He reached up and brushed away the messy fringe plastered to Tommy's forehead by the rain. "-But you're not getting away from me that easily. We still have a story to tell. Our unfinished symphony,"
"Wilbur?" Dream asked.
"Yes?"
"Do you still remember how to do a marriage ceremony?"
"Oh! Yes, I do! Who are you getting married to?" Ghostbur asked with an innocence only he could possess.
Dream rolled his eyes and lifted the body cradled in his lap.
"Marry us."
"What?!" cried several different people at once. A general confusion took over, snapping many out of their despair-filled comas.
"If you want Tommy to be not-dead. You need to marry us." Dream clarified, raising his voice to be heard. "It's ‘till death do us part' isn't it?
"It is..." Ghostbur acknowledged, finally catching on, "and people who are officially married share their lives..."
"They do? That's Interesting... very interesting," Technoblade mused. "How many lives do you have anyway, Dream?"
"Wait. Tommy isn't old enough to get married," Nicky reminded everyone.
"He is if we have his father's permission," Techno countered.
Everyone looked at Phill. "I... uh... sure! We don't have much of a choice!"
"Now that everyone else had caught up to my conclusions, can we get this over with?" Dream asked.
Ghostbur floated over to them and began to recite. "Ahem. Dearly beloved, today we gather to honor-"
"The short version Wilber."
"Oh right."
"In sickness in health, something something, Dream, whatever your last name is, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?"
"Wait!" Quackity interrupted. "If that's the rule, then it could be any one of us to Marry him!"
"It could," Dream agreed. "Any volunteers?"
Tubbo shot his hand up. "Me! Tommy would trust me!"
Dream sneered, "You only have one life left, dumbass. If you marry him, you'll both have half a life, aka, none."
Tubbo looked at Fundy
"I still have two..." Fundy admitted. "But shouldn't we ask someone who still has all three and who isn't likely to die?"
An awkward silence settled as everyone looked at Technoblade.
"Oh no. No way. Technoblade never dies. The chat would insist that this counts as death and I would never hear the end of it. Also, casual reminder Tommy betrayed me like yesterday, so I'm not exactly in a heroic mood right now."
"No one cares about what the voices in your head think! This is your fault; you should take responsibility," Tubbo shouted.
Techno stomped his right hoof, raising a splash.
"Tommy made his own choices. He knew what he was risking by staying and siding with L'Manberg. He clearly would have given his life for it, and he did. That's not my problem."
"You selfish-!"
"Everyone, shut UP!" Dream roared, getting louder with every syllable.
"There's no point in standing around and arguing. Anyone who would give up one of their lives for Tommy doesn't have any more to give. He acted recklessly and the people who sided with him paid the price for it. I won't allow others to pay for his mistakes.
Dream draped one of Tommy's limp arms over his shoulder and lifted the body with him as he stood.
"Wilber, continue."
Ghostbur did as he was told, oblivious to the fact he was the one driving this car off a cliff.
"Till the end of your combined lives may you part. I now declare you husbands. You may kiss."
Dream heaved a sigh and pulled Tommy's form close, pressing his warm lips to Tommy's cold and wet ones.
No one dared breathe. A fresh roar of thunder clapped overhead. Tommy's whole body jolted, almost like he had been hit by lighting for a second time. His eyes flew open then only got wider as he saw the tangle of dirty blond hair and green hood behind the head of the person who was kissing him.
His hand shot up and slapped Dream across the cheek hard enough to separate them. Dream let go of Tommy and he fell on his back in the mud.
"Dre-Dream! What the... What the fuck!"
Dream pulled his hood up and grabbed his mask, fastening it back in place behind his head.
Tommy blinked and looked around. His confusion growing as he realized where he was.
"Why is everyone standing around crying? Christ, you guys look like somebody died."
"Someone did die, Tommy," Techno said. Stepping in for the group. "You did."
"What? No, I didn't!" Tommy argued. "I only had one left! How am I still around if I did?"
The assembled players shuffled their feet and refused to make eye contact with him.
"Tubbo?" Tommy asked rolling over and crawling toward his friend.
Tubbo gasped and scrambled away, taking Fundy with him. "Tommy! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I would have given you mine if I could! I tried to stop him."
"What? Give me one of what? Tubbo take deep breaths, tell me what happened! The last thing I remember I was talking to Wilber."
"You got hit by lighting," Wilber supplied. "I remember it very well because it was quite funny actually, your body was jerking around like a puppet and then you went limp. Then everyone else showed up and I realized you weren't going to get better."
"Hit by lighting! What the fuck! What the hell are the chances of that? 1.7 trillion to one?"
"You're having kinda a shit day."
"And they said the odds were in my favour."
"Even god hates you" Technoblade added, eyeing up Dream as he produced his axe again and twirled it around his wrist like a cheerleading baton.
The relieved laughter came to a screeching halt when Dream lashed out, grabbing Tommy by the front of the shirt. Dream dragged him several paces before Tommy was able to dig his sneakers into the ground and brace himself.
Let go of me, you-you bastard!" Tommy shrieked. "What the actual fuck do you think you're doing!"
Dream shoved the blade of his axe under Tommy's chin. Letting the meticulously sharpened blade rest lightly on Tommy's jugular.
"Taking payment for services rendered," Dream replied, deadpan.
"W-what? Since when do I ow-owe you anything!" Tommy tried to turn his head, but the movement only pressed him closer to Nightmare.
"Will Somebody please help me! He's going to kill me again!"
Tubbo tried to leap to Tommy's aid but Fundy held him back. The rest all stood in awkward silence.
Techno tossed his head, flipping his dark pink braid over his shoulder. He trotted over and placed a paw on Dream's wrist until Dream lowered the weapon.
"Tommy. Dream gave up one of his lives to bring you back," Techno explained.
Tommy looked from one to the other, the look of horror on his face growing with every passing second.
"Bu-but he doesn't have... No one knows how many lives he has, but it's probably a lot! Why do I need to pay him back for giving me just one?
"It isn't just one," Dream muttered. "That's the problem."
Technoblade fixed his eyes on the sky and sighed deeply. "Olympus give me strength. Tommy, Dream married you."
Tommy broke out in sudden hysterical laughter. "Oh no. no, no, no... Pull the other one, it's got bells on."
"I'm serious Tommy. The only way to share lives is to... Well, share your life. It's a symbolic metatextual thing."
Tommy stopped laughing. "Your serious?"
He looked over at Dream and visibly cringed.
"Let's get divorced then! Chop, chop. Show me where I'm meant to sign or whatever..."
Everyone looked at Ghostbur . "Oh, hello everyone, I'm glad that we're feeling better."
"Wilber, could you do us a divorce, please? The faster the better? Dream's is holding me reaaaaaaaallly tight and it's starting to hurt."
"A divorce?" Wilber asked. "I'm not sure I know how to do one of those,"
"You married us, didn't you?"
"Sure, but I don't think I can just do the whole thing in reverse. We need a court, or lawyers or something.
"We had a court..." Tubbo said, "but it's a little blown up right now."
Slowly but surely, panic started to set in. "This isn't happening, this absolutely isn't happening!" Tommy insisted, renewing his struggles.
"It's too late, it already did," Dream replied.
"I'm not a cruel man though. You still get a choice in the matter! You can either come with me and start our happily married life far away from here... Or I kill you and the others can bury your body in the ruins of L'Manberg like fate intended."
"Are you sure there's no ‘Tommy gets to live but not with the terrible man who tortured him' option?"
"You have access to my lives. I can't afford to have you throwing yourself off cliffs for fun."
"Why not! You have as many lives as you want, don't you?"
"He probably doesn't, Technoblade supplied. "Dream might be the evillest, meanest, bastard who crawled his way out of the pit, but he still likes things to be... well not fair, but not impossible either."
Tommy swallowed hard. The reality sinking in for the first time. "F-fuck."
"Well, if that is settled, I'll be on my way then," Dream said with a friendly wave and a dip of his mask with the fake smile.
"Tommy! I'll find some way to save you!" Tubbo yelled.
"Me too," Quackity added. "I swore we wouldn't let him get away with this ever again."
"I'll help," Fundy agreed. "This is just wrong."
One by one the players formed up behind Tubbo. Throwing their weight behind the cause.
Technoblade looked from them to Dream and stepped back to join them. "Eh, fuck it, count me in to. I'm not here for forced marriages... or child brides for that matter."
Dream chuckled and shook his head.
"I always wondered what would be the final straw that made the whole server turn against me. I should have guessed it would also be the only time I ever did something selfless... No good deed goes unpunished?"
Dream sized up the crowd of players who were utterly fractured against one another that very morning, united in their mutual hatred for him.
"Yeah... Oh, yeah. This ought to be interesting. Even more interesting than what I had planned before."
With that Dream turned back to Tommy and threw on a sing-song affect.
"If that's settled, I think it's time we started our honeymoon, don't you, baaaabe?" Dream added honey to that last word and drew it out for as long as possible to twist the knife.
Before Tommy could reply, Dream hefted him up into his arms and teleported the pair of them away in the blink of an eye.
The storm clouds above started to clear, letting sparse rays of the early morning sun through the clouds.
"So long Theseus," Technoblade spoke to the empty air a large grin splitting his snout.
"Hello, Persephone."