Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The walls seemed to cry.

The sound of something dripping seemed to cake the air with nerves. But Zara didn’t feel anything. Sam’s voice was far away, but somehow, she followed all the precautions needed to cross each checkpoint in the prison. Her hands shook when she handed Sam her most prized possession, her first possession in this world that she lived in. The netherite gleamed, even in the darkness of the final chamber before the most heavily guarded cell. Her heart beat faster with each step she took, despite the cloudiness of her head. The potion Sam observed her drink stuck to the back of her throat, reminding her that she was weak and helpless. She had nothing to defend herself with, nothing except her words and her truth. Words seemed faulty at this point though. What she needed was her sword back, but now it was locked in a chest five passages behind her. She balled her hands into fists and nearly bumped into Sam’s back as he stopped suddenly in front a large panel of buttons. She backed off as he spoke monotonously and pointed at a square of light engraved into the stone floor,

“Stand there Zara, and wait until I tell you to move,”

Zara nodded mutely and tried to control the increasing shaking of her hands. She could hear his voice in her head, taunting her once more. Memories. She thought. Only memories and nothing more. You are in control now. Blowing out a low breath she turned to Sam.

“How has he been?”

Sam turned quickly to her, anxiety flashing over his controlled features before he cleared his throat and regained his stony composure.

“The prisoner? He has been acting just as he did when he arrived here.” Sam turned back to the levers.

Zara stared straight at the wall ahead and held her breath as she asked her next question.

“And how is that?” She laced her words with a false sense of calm as she turned to face him again.

Sam avoided her eyes as he pushed the final lever. A large creak sounded throughout the room as the wall slid upward. Intense heat pushed into Zara as fire rained down a few feet away from her. Sam turned slowly to face her.

“Silent.”

She swallowed slowly and let the numbness of her body be battered by the heat from the wall of lava bubbling before her. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine his face. His face from before, before the explosions, before the glint of steel and the metallic taste of blood. She tried to remember the taste of his lips on hers, the unyielding forest of his eyes, the feel of his hands soft in hers as the bridge she stood on began to swim out into the parted lava. She couldn’t feel the heat pinching her skin as she stepped forward, walking away from the shore, away from the present, away from safety. Zara stared straight at the wall of his cell as the bridge bumped into the cell wall. She stepped off, and turned to face the descending wall of lava. Sam stared at her, nodding slowly, before his blue eyes were blocked by a wall of fire. Zara turned slowly back to the cell, and forced her eyes to land on their mark.

Dream remained facing the wall, the muscles of his back tensing through his torn white tunic. Zara felt the stone brush against her boots as the barrier between them lowered. Her hands were still now. Her mind was clear. Her heart slowed, and she couldn’t taste the cloying potion anymore. Dream slowly turned, his golden curls brushing his cheekbones. Zara felt it as soon as her grey eyes met their match in his emerald ones. She didn’t fight, not even when the ropes of his emotions latched into her heart. She wanted to scream, to run straight into the lava or straight into his arms. She felt him, totally and unabashedly. His unmasked smirk sent waves of fear, of passion, of heat racing through the ropes tying them together in the thick air of the cell. His voice rumbled the purple veined stone locking them in as he chuckled lowly.

“Took you long enough, angel.”

Chapter Text

The first thing I remember was struggling to open my eyes against the light.

I felt drugged, like I had been asleep for years. My heart seemed to struggle to start, and my breath shot out suddenly. The air tasted like grass and smoke. My brain was foggy, my thoughts racing. I heard birds, the brush of leaves above me somewhere and a distant shouting. I felt the grass against my hands as I curled my fingers into fists, my first instinct to fight. I was blind, my eyes still struggling to clear. My legs shook as I rolled over, pushing myself up to stand, all of the muscles in my body shaking. My legs suddenly gave, and I began to fall, until the wind rushed out of me. Arms hooked under my armpits and clamped around my upper body, crushing my chest and waist. I struggled to comprehend that I was pressed suffocatingly against a hard, armored chest. A feral scream ripped through me as I struggled weakly against whoever was holding me. A hand clasped over my mouth, muffling my shouts. I continued to squirm, my eyes starting to clear slightly. I looked down frantically, seeing a soft purple glow swathing the arms of my capturer. I went to scream again, except I felt a soft whisper brush against my ear.

“If you’re smart, you’ll stop fighting and listen.”

Chills ran down my spine at the low rumble of the man’s voice. I tried to free my arms, fighting against the hand held firmly against my mouth. The arms around my chest and waist tightened, straight-jacketing me even closer to the body I was held against. I could barely move. I slowed, feeling lightheaded and drowsy. The hand moved away from my mouth, coming to rest on my shoulder. My eyes were clearer, I was able to see the green of the ground, smoke rising from a large stone tower in the distance, and the glowing purplish boots of my captor. I gasped and whispered, surprised my voice even came out at all.

“Where am I? Who are you? What’s going on–” I was interrupted suddenly again by the silky voice, low against my ear.

“You’re in my Server. My name is Dream, I was the first one here. You’re safe with me as long as you stay quiet and listen carefully.” He spoke quickly, his words coming out in short, curt phrases. “Are your eyes clear?” He demanded

I nodded, confused. I still had to squint against the light, but everything was clear. I chose my next words carefully,

“If I listen to you, will you let me go?” I tried to ram my elbow against him, but my arms remained trapped.

“Maybe, but you’ll probably fall on your face anyway. Do you promise not to kill me?” I could sense the smirk in his voice.

“What in the world would I kill you with?” I retorted.

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe that?”

He lifted his arm off my chest to point at the ground where I had been laying. Nestled in the grass was the most beautiful sword I had ever seen. It was glowing purple, just like the remaining arm clasped around my waist. Strangely, something felt familiar about the weapon. I needed to have it in my hands, I had to get to it before he did. I realized his mistake milliseconds before he did. I threw all of my weight up as I jabbed my elbow into his face. He reeled back, his other arm losing its grip around my stomach. I bolted towards the sword, my legs tripping over the ground. As soon as I grabbed the hilt of the blade, a buzzing feeling of strength rippled through my body, radiating from my hands. I felt powerful, a suddenly comfortable, normal feeling.

I spun around, my eyes wide with shock as I searched for my captor. He was gone. I frantically searched the surrounding trees, holding the sword at the ready. I couldn’t remember anything, except this felt right. I knew, strangely, what I was doing. Just then, a memory crashed into me. Zara. My name is Zara.

A shocked breath escaped my lips as I whispered my own name under my breath. Crack. A twig snapped behind me. I instinctively whipped around, shoving my weight into my sword as it clanged into metal. My eyes met his as I snapped my sword up from the shield held out in front of me. Blood was dripping from his nose. His green eyes and his sandy blonde hair brushed against his brows. The bottom part of his face was obscured with a dark green mask, hiding his nose, mouth and jaw.

He was beautiful. And I wanted to kill him.

Chapter Text

I tightened my grip on my sword, the groves of the hilt feeling welded to my hand. The shaking in my legs had stopped. The sword, somehow, had brought my strength back. I tried not to question it as I focused on the person before me. He carried a shield (that I had already taken a gash out of) and a weather beaten battle axe, made of the same faintly glowing purple material as my sword and his armor. He held both at the ready, but I could sense he was underestimating me. Shock, wonder, amusement and even fear glinted in his eyes.

“How are you standing, let alone taking swings at me?” He wiped the blood from his nose using the back of his hand, chuckling lowly and shaking his head.

I struggled to keep the anger and confusion from shaking my voice. I rooted my feet into the ground and turned my body slightly.

“Why am I here?” I growled. “What do you want from me?” I took a tentative step closer, leading with the side of my sword.

All of a sudden, shouts echoed in the distance. Dream’s head shot up at the sound, his eyes flitting from side to side, searching for the people behind the voices. The wind picked up, whipping my chestnut brown braid against the side of my face. Dream’s eyes filled with anger, then panic as he turned back to me as I continued to stalk slowly towards him.

“Please, just trust me ok? I know you’re probably confused, and with good reason. But if you come with me, I can guarantee you’ll be safe and...and trained and fed and taken care of.” He finished quickly, “But with them?” He pointed towards the shouts that continued to get louder. “I don’t know what they will do.”

He took a tentative step towards me, his axe and shield fully relaxed now. Blood pulsed in my head. Who could I trust? This man who had immediately tied me down as soon as I was conscious? The mystery people approaching quickly whom Dream mistrusted? Or myself.

I knew my answer.

Without thinking I lashed forward, swinging my blade towards his arm with all my leverage. Before my blade could even brush his armor, an ear splitting scream rang through my head. My sword dropped from my hands as I dropped to my knees, covering my ears against the screech splitting my head in two. I tried to speak but couldn’t. My head spun with agony. I wrenched my eyes open to look up at Dream, standing just where he was, his head tilted, his green eyes gleaming with a calm, steady focus. He slowly stepped forward, a smirk dancing in his eyes. His voice boomed,

“Zara, you will listen to me. I don’t want to hurt you, but I need you to not try and kill me every second you get. Now, promise me you won’t pick up that sword.”

I stared at him through the tears welling from the sheer pitch of the sound clawing my brain. Then I realized. His voice was coming from within my head. My hands fell slowly away from my ears, and I fell back onto my heels. Scrambling away from him, I tried to get up, but another wave of sound ripped into me. He stared back at me, smiling slowly as he took another step forward. His voice pounded into my head,

“Fighting it won’t do any good Zara. You’re powerless against me.” He crept closer, as the sound pressed my head so hard, I collapsed. His eyes seemed to glow as slowly leaned over my shaking body.

“Now, Zara, promise me you will not pick up that goddamn sword.”

His words sent ice through my veins. The words of promise danced on my tongue, waiting to ease the splintering pain ripping through my temples. And yet, I wrenched my mouth closed, my brain protesting. I must’ve screamed with the exertion of resisting his wishes, yet I couldn’t hear anything except the waves of pain Dream was sending through my head. I felt something wet run down the side of my neck, and yet, I forced my mouth closed. I refused to let the words leave me. I forced my eyes open to see him crouching beside me, his eyes tight with frustration and focus. The pitch somehow grew louder as his voice grated more heavily against my eardrums.

“Zara. I will hurt you more, unless you promise me you will never lay a hand against me. Your efforts, while impressive, are useless. Now please, if you will–”

I screamed. The volume was unbearable, and yet, a new word had formed on my tongue. I forced it out between gritted teeth as my back arched against the new pain scraping my ears.

“No.”

His face tightened with anger and confusion. Dream squinted down at me, shaking on the ground beneath him. His voice came from his mouth this time, laced with venom.

“What did you just–”

Before he could finish, his head snapped up to something behind me. He shot to his feet, his axe and shield held at the ready. Then, just as suddenly as it began, the screaming ceased in my head. The tears flowed freely from my eyes, as my ears slowly began to recognize the sounds around me. I tried to slow the tremors coursing through me, but pain continued to ring in my head. I slowly peeled my hands away from my ears, my fingers shaking as I wiped the wetness on my neck. I brought my fingers up to my eyeline and saw what had been dripping down my neck. Blood. My hands shook as I followed the source. Blood had been trickling out of my ears. I darted my eyes back to Dream, but he was gone. I whipped my head from side to side, until I heard a faint, soft voice.

“Hey, hey, hey, its ok, it’s ok, I’m not going to hurt you”

I turned my head wearily towards the voice. Crouching beside me was a tall, lanky figure wearing a worn blue and red uniform coat over a loose white tunic. His light brown curls sloped gently down his forehead, his hazel eyes alight with concern. His features were soft and warm, and his eyes crinkled slightly when he murmured his next words.

“Did Dream hurt you?”

His eyes searched mine as he waited for my response. I shook my head quickly as I made an effort to sit up. My arms shook as I pushed off the ground, and to my surprise, they held me. My voice was softer and shakier than I wanted it to be as I answered him,

“I’m fine”

I made an effort to stand, and as I did, the man beside me outstretched his hand. I glanced at his face and he smiled easily, his words warming me as he spoke,

“Let’s get you out of here.”

I nodded slowly and placed my hand in his. He helped me stand and handed me the glowing sword that had fallen out of my hand when I had crumpled under the weight of Dream’s power. He smiled at me as he noted,

“I believe this belongs to you…” His face was questioning as his sentence trailed off.

“Oh, um... Zara. My name is Zara.”

I took the sword cautiously from him and glanced quickly towards the trees. I could make out the tops of buildings and could hear more voices approaching. I turned back to face him as he smiled, taking my hand again and shaking it,

“I’m Wilbur. Welcome to L’Manberg, Zara.”

Chapter Text

My head fucking hurt.

One, Wilbur had her. Two, she had somehow fought against my compelling. Three, all of my plans were fucked.

I tried to focus on running towards the portal, but all I could think about was how she had refused my compelling. That had only happened once before, and was a mistake I had promised myself would never happen again. Bad things happened when people arrived with that kind of strength. And because of it, I lost her.

I pushed myself harder, ignoring the pain splitting my head open. I pushed myself too far trying to compel Zara to come with me. I could feel her fighting me, see the pain and determination in her grey eyes, pushing the pain she was feeling back to me. I had no idea how she did it. All I knew is my foolproof plan didn’t work, and I had no choice but to let him take her away. If Wilbur had gotten any closer to me, everything could have come undone. Everything I had been fighting for would have been for nothing.

The ringing in my ears pounded with each step I took. I knew when I returned to the base empty-handed, everyone would look to me to figure out what to do. But I didn’t have a damn clue. She wasn’t supposed to spawn that close to L’Manburg. To Wilbur. Fuck. I had no options. By now, he had her under his wing and all I could do was run away and hope that I could pull some kind of plan together.

The sword and axe thumped against my back as I picked up my pace, both hoping to get as far away from L’Manburg as I could, and to feel something besides the pain in my head and the anger coursing through my veins. There was nothing I could do now. I had failed. Failure didn’t sit well with me at all, especially when it came at the hands of Wilbur.

I slowed my pace slightly as I neared the portal. I stood in a nearby clearing, scanning the area around me. I opened my mind, fighting the ringing in my ears, and listened. I heard no footsteps, no breathing, and better yet, no waves of emotions in the vicinity of the portal. I darted into the shadows of a large spruce tree and reached my hand to the lowest limb. Finding the button lodged into the base of the branch, I pressed it and waited for the hidden trapdoor in the ground to slide open. I took one final glance around the clearing, and jumped into the darkness. As I plunged into the pool at the bottom of the pit, I couldn’t feel the prick of the cold water against my skin. I was livid, but below the anger was a layer of pure panic. Wilbur had her and I had no choice but to run away. My only advantage, my ability to convince and compel, had failed me. I hoisted myself out of the water and jumped mindlessly into the portal. I needed Zara more than anything, and she was lost to me now.

Even worse, I had no idea how I was going to get her back.

Chapter Text

Wilbur’s eyes darted around as I stood, brushing dirt from my pants.

The clothes I had awoken in were battle ready, tough, yet tight and flexible. I wore brown trousers, a soft tan cotton shirt and worn-in leather boots. My attention snagged on the leather belt that was fastened tight and high around my waist. It was made of dark, shiny leather with silver bolts. I gasped as I examined it. There was a scabbard built into the side of it that fitted perfectly into my waist. I took the sword I was holding and slid it perfectly into the scabbard. Like it was meant to be there. The sword practically melted into my side. I rested my hand on its hilt as I looked back to Wilbur, who was still pointedly scanning the trees around us.

“Is everything ok, Will?” I asked.

He turned back to me, an easy smile growing on his face, dimples curving in his cheeks.

“Will? Nicknames already Zara?” He chuckled.

My face burned as I realized my mistake.

“Shit, sorry Wilbur I totally forgot…. I was, well… sorry.” I stammered. My ears still tingled from the ringing that Dream had forced into my head.

“No, no don’t worry about it. My closest friends call me Will, so I guess you’ll have to be one of them.”

He smiled at me before pointing in the direction of the top of the stone tower peeking out from the tree line.

“Everyone else is waiting on my signal that everything is ok, we better head out.” He turned and walked towards the edge of the forest, and I followed, hoping I wasn’t about to fall into another trap. I jogged to catch up to him, as he was about a foot taller than me.

“Everyone else?” I asked, lengthening my strides to keep up.

“Yeah! L’Manburg is the nation on the Server. We live in a city around that stone tower.” He pointed to the smoke rising from the tower in the distance. “There are well... eleven of us now. There used to be twelve but Jack wanted to live on his own in the mountains, so we let him go.”

“Oh. How far away are the mountains?” I asked as we neared a tall, mossy stone wall alight with dozens of torches.

“About a day’s ride to the east, he went by foot though for some reason. Weird bloke. Anyways, here is the Wall. It goes all the way around the city, but this is the main entrance. Tommy, Tubbo, Quackity and Karl should be on the other side waiting. Lemme just give them the signal so they don’t kill us.”

He walked towards the wooden door cut through the stone bricks in the wall. He pressed his ear to the door, jangled the door handle for two seconds, then knocked on the door four times. I slowly moved my hand to the hilt of my sword, my instincts kicking in. Wilbur looked back at me and stood back as I could hear the door unlock.

“You can come nearer, don’t worry.” He smiled easily.

I felt myself return the smile, slightly wary, but influenced by his genuine kindness. I stepped forward, watching the door. I saw Wilbur noting my hand on my sword in my peripheral vision. The door swung open, causing me to flinch until I saw the people on the other side. Two eager faces stared back at me. Although two of them were taller than me, they all had a boyish look to them. I also felt slightly calmer, noticing that only the tallest one, with brown floppy hair, had a sword on him. The other three were bickering back and forth animatedly, while the tallest with the sword smiled at us from behind the door frame.

“Phil told me that I could borrow the horse for the afternoon because YOU were going to help Will!” the shortest one said, shoving the tall, blonde lanky one.

“SHUUUUUT UP TUBBO! You’re just jealous because I’m a bigger man than you!” the blonde one retorted.

“Oi!” Wilbur interjected.

The two who were arguing didn’t pause, but the darker haired one wearing a hat and the tallest one with the sword ventured towards the door frame. The taller one leaned against the doorframe, sheathing the sword at his side.

“You got…. her!” He glanced over to me and cracked a quick smile. “I’m Karl, by the way”

He extended his hand and I stepped forward to take it, keeping my other hand near my sword. Karl didn’t notice my cautionary position at all, and motioned to the rest of them.

“That’s Quackity,” he pointed at the darker haired one with the loose fitting knit hat, ”And then the two fighting are Tubbo and Tommy.”

Tubbo and Tommy continued to bicker, with Tubbo talking with a faster paced quiet cadence, and Tommy shouting with all his might. Quackity jumped forward, shaking my hand and started to bombard me with questions,

“HI, ok so what’s your name? Also did you spawn in right over there? Why is there blood on your ears? Wait did Drea–”

He was cut off by Wilbur,

“Whoa, Quackity give her some time, she just got her feet under her. Also hey, can we come in now?” He turned to Karl and the rest of them, with Tubbo and Tommy continuing to fight.

Karl backed away from the door, bumping into Quackity as he did so,

“Yeah of course! Whoops, forgot to do the whole official ‘it’s all good’ thing. GUYS! Can Wilbur and, and um..”

Karl turned to me expectantly,

“Oh yeah, sorry, Zara. My name’s Zara.” I gave him a small returning smile.

He grinned at me and said,

“Ok, so can Will and Zara come in?”

Quackity immediately shouted, causing me to jump,

“YES THEY CAN COME IN!”

Tubbo and Tommy finally quieted. They both whipped around. Tommy immediately blushed, and Tubbo ran forward.

“Oh my gosh hi! I’m Tubbo, sorry I was busy CHATTING with my….”

“...BESTEST FRIEND, TOMMY.” Tommy finished Tubbo’s sentence with a shout. “I’m Tommyinnit, but you can call me Tommy or Big Man or–”

Wilbur shook his head and began to walk in the door as Tommy continued to jabber on. I followed, marveling at the energy of the people around me. Wilbur leaned in as we entered, whispering under his breath,

“Ignore them, they’re all a little crazy.”

I turned to look behind me, smiling besides myself at Karl bounding along with us. Quackity was trying to interject into Tommy and Tubbo’s argument while he bolted the door, and Tommy continued to flush red wherever he caught my eye.

“It’s ok, they’re.. well .. endearing? I like them, so far, of course.”

Wilbur smiled warmly.

“Of course.”

I took in my surroundings as Karl stepped to my other side. He began to describe the walled city as we walked down a wide gravel path,

“It’s a bit of a work in progress of course, but we have been working with what we have. Directly in front of us is the Main Base,” he pointed at the large stone tower, “that’s where we all keep all of our stuff and where most of us live and hang out. Everyone is also starting to build their own houses, but we like each other so it’s not too bad. Over there is the river, lots of good fish and stuff. Oh! Over there,” he pointed to the left, towards the middle of a small lake, “that’s the meeting house. It was the first building on the server and where we meet to plan–”

He was cut off by Wilbur,

“And that’s where we meet to plan and organize… well, everything we need to plan.” He gave a pointed glance to Karl who took whatever hint Wilbur had dropped.

“Riiiiight so anyways, over there is where I am building our farm and–”

“Wait, what are you planning?” I interrupted.

Wilbur and Karl exchanged a quick glance. Wilbur began to speak when Tommy jumped in from behind us,

“We are planning to take down MR. BIG GREEN MAN DREAM and his little army of–”

We all stopped walking. Tubbo jabbed Tommy in the side, stopping his sentence,

“OWWW WHAT WAS THAT FOR, ohhh, shit sorry Will.” Tommy blushed and began to laugh awkwardly, “So what were you all prattling on about?”

Wilbur glared at Tommy and turned back to me,

“As Tommy so rudely stated,” he looked back at Tommy, who rolled his eyes, “We are plotting our moves against Dream, and his, well, I guess army. But we have more manpower than they do, if we can manage to get Jack back from the mountains,” he explained quickly, strangely not meeting my eyes.

I turned between Wilbur and Tommy, confused.

“Why are you planning on fighting Dream? Are you crazy?” I thought about the pain ringing through my head.
Wilbur’s face turned stony and turned to face me. The others gathered around cautiously, as if they already knew this speech. Wilbur met my eyes with an intensity I hadn’t seen from him thus far,

“Dream took everything away from all of us, but especially from me. We are going to do everything in our power to get back what we lost, or die trying." Wilbur turned to me, fire in his eyes, "Zara, I know it's very sudden and everything is confusing right now, but we need you. You don't have to make a decision if you don't want to, but I'll offer you the option. Are you in?" 

Five faces searched mine for an answer. I thought for a moment. The first thing I remember was being trapped, by Dream. Then I was forced to the ground in pain, by Dream. I only survived being forced against my will to surrender, because I fought against Dream. I owed him nothing. I had been in the server for less than an hour and he had already tried to take away the only thing I had; my free will. That was enough evidence for me. I turned to the stone tower, and gazed at the red, blue, white and yellow crossed banner flying from the top, and spoke, my voice steady and calm. 

"I'm in." 

Chapter Text

Wilbur, Tommy, Tubbo, Karl and Quackity all stared at me with various levels of confusion. Wilbur opened his mouth to speak, beginning to shake his head when Tommy blurted out,

“NO WAY! We got her on our side THAT’S SO POGGERS. Wait until Phil sees your sword and AHHHH you’re probably pretty good at fighting– that green ugly sonuvabitch won’t stand a chance and WE CAN TRAIN YOU, I mean I can train you I’m not great at fighting but I can try my best–” He was cut off abruptly by Wilbur.

“Tommy, please just… shut up.” Wilbur sighed, exasperated, dragging his hands down the side of his jaw.

Tommy walked up to Wilbur, poking him in the chest and sticking his tongue out as he retorted,

“Ohhh YOU shut up WILL I was just being HELPFUL and COUR-TE-OUS to the new member of our team. She obviously–”. Will cut him off again, harsher and more serious.

“Tommy. Please just be quiet for one fucking minute.”

Tommy quieted, shocked, exhaling slightly with frustration. The others' smiles faded slightly as they turned to face Wilbur again. Wilbur turned back to me as the others waited, curious at Wilbur’s seriousness. Wilbur cracked a small smile at me, then stared intently into my eyes, almost causing me to step back. He spoke softly,

“Zara, are you sure about this? You just got here, and I know everything is quite confusing and you may be angry and all, but um, but you can still live with us here, safely, without having to fight. I don’t want you to feel pressured to do something you don’t have to do.”

I was taken aback. He had spoken with a tone of desperation. He didn’t want me to say no. Why was he merely giving me the option out of courtesy? He looked… well, he looked at me as if expecting I would bolt. What would happen if I said no? My head was spinning. I arched a brow, questioning his intent. He didn’t respond. I took a deep breath, and stared at the brick building in the middle of the lake. I didn’t know what game he was playing with me. He was still searching my face anxiously when Tubbo moved to stand next to Will, clapping his hands together.

“Alright boys, let’s let Wilbur and Zara have their little chat, and let’s go help Phil,” he announced.

Tubbo grabbed the elbows of Quackity and Tommy, and began to walk down the path towards the Main Base. As they all passed, Tommy gruffly shoved his elbow out of Tubbo’s grasp. I noticed Wilbur nod to Tubbo and whisper thank you under his breath. Tubbo nodded and continued towards the base. My heart rate picked up. Why were they leaving us here alone? Karl lagged behind, meeting my eyes, and smiling, before he noticed Wilbur’s stare. His eyes darted between my face and Wilbur’s before he said,

“Nice to meet you Zara. I’ll… see you both later I guess.” He smiled, then rushed towards the rest of them waiting at the door to the tower.

Before they passed the doorway, Karl looked back at us on the path. My eyes met his for a moment, before he turned and walked into the tower. My heart picked up. I was alone, and Wilbur had somehow briskly sent them away. Had I fallen into yet another trap? I turned to Wilbur, backing away slowly, trying to remember how far away the Wall was. How fast could I run? I eyed Wilbur, my hand slowly drifting towards my hip.

“Wilbur… What’s going on? Why are you acting so weird?” I asked slowly.

My feet were ready to turn and run. Wilbur’s face switched quickly from confusion and concern to amusement. He laughed sincerely and spoke with a new warmth to his voice,

“Zara it’s ok! I was just worried about you jumping into this predicament so fast. I just wanted some time with you to try and explain everything. It’s ok, I promise. You don’t have to bolt or stab me or whatever you are geared up to do. I’m pretty useless at self defense so I wouldn’t stand a chance anyway.”

He chuckled again, and motioned to the path as it continued onto a boardwalk towards the meeting house. He waited for me, his body angled so I could pass him. I was confused. Why had he asked me if I was sure about joining, if his voice was telling me I didn’t have a choice? I gave him one more cursory glance before I shook off my stance and walked past him. He drifted back to my side. I stared at the house ahead of us, deciding to prod more into the reasoning behind his strange tone. I sighed, making my voice sound as exasperated as I could.

“I’m sorry I’m so jumpy, I just wasn’t sure what was going on. I am just trying to protect myself and I have no idea what’s going–” I started.

“Hey, hey you’re totally fine. I’m sure you’re a little freaked out, I mean being spawned in only to be trapped by Dream, not a fun first day in a whole new world.” He stopped and stopped me, gently touching my shoulder. “If you ever need anything, never feel afraid to ask me. I know what you’ve been through.”

I stopped, looking down at his hand resting on my shoulder blade. I could feel the warmth of his hand and the sincerity behind his words. What game was he playing?

“Did he get into your head too? Fill it with a sound so loud it made you think of nothing else? Try to force you to do his bidding?” I asked, prodding slightly.

Wilbur merely nodded. We stared at each other for a moment, my blue eyes locking into his hazel ones before he turned abruptly away from me, his hand leaving my shoulder. I had not expected him to say yes. Wilbur’s face had solidified, emotions drained from his features.

“It was a long time ago. The only thing that matters now is that he is more powerful than any of us and his power needs to be controlled and destroyed.” Wibur turned towards the meeting house. “I know how serious you are about this Zara, I can see that now. I would be grateful to have you on our team. You are the only one who has fought Dream mentally, none of us who have been compelled by him have been able to reject his wishes. How did you do it?”

I was taken aback by his words. First off, I believed he was telling the truth about having been compelled himself. His sudden change in emotion signified that. Second, I was the only one who had been able to resist Dream?

“You saw me fighting him?” I asked.

Wilbur nodded.

“I tried to get there faster but I was scared he would see me and then compel me to back off. I had to wait until he was somewhat weakened from trying to compel you. Dream gets weaker the more he uses his power, and from what I could see, he was using a lot of it trying to convince you not to kill him. How did you stand it?”

“I have no idea. I felt all the pain and I could hear his voice in my head telling me what to say. Everything in me was telling me to do what he wanted, but I could still hear my own voice, I guess, in the back of my head telling me to fight it. And my mouth stayed closed because… because I just refused to let it open.”

He looked at me, clearly confused.

“That’s impossible. I didn’t stand a chance anytime he even used the slightest compulsion on me, the words he wanted me to say or the actions he wanted me to do just happened. How are you different?”

Wilbur had been compelled more than once? I shrugged, just as confused as he was.

“How am I supposed to know?” I laughed “Higher pain tolerance? Better impulse control? Luck? You name it. I just… did it.”

“You just did it.” He repeated, shaking his head. “Very helpful.” He smirked at me, rolling his eyes in disbelief.

“Hey, I’m sorry! I just got here, remember? All I know is that my ears fucking exploded because I tried to kill him after he pretty much jumped me and now I’m here talking to you. I can’t give you much more.”

Wilbur pointed to my sword.

“And you spawned in with that sword, which usually takes months to get the materials for and craft.”

I looked at him, shocked once more.

“I thought you all spawned with these… Karl had one and–”

“He mined the netherite for his and crafted it, just like we all had to do. It’s a pretty daunting process, netherite comes from the Nether which is basically this fiery pit of hell. Anyways, it’s quite strange you spawned in with a perfectly crafted one.” He explained.

I looked at him, dumbfounded once more. What the hell was the Nether?

“I really know nothing don’t I? The Nether? You just completely brushed over that.” I sighed, staring up at the clouds. “Is there anything else totally out of the ordinary about me that you wouldn’t mind sharing?” I asked, frustrated.

He chuckled.

“Not unless you can fly like Phil or hold your breath for hours like Niki.” He said nonchalantly as he started down the path to the meeting house and opened the door.

I stared in disbelief and chased after him .

“Wait... what do you mean Phil can fly and someone else can hold their breath for hours? You can’t just breeze past that. Also please explain the Nether.” I argued as we walked through the heavy oak door.

In the flickering torchlight, Wilbur turned back to face me. He sighed again, shaking his head and smiled patiently.

“Nothing is normal about this, Zara. We are all just trying to adapt as new people are spawned in, some with special abilities and some not. Just try to take it all in. It’s a lot easier if you just accept things for the way they are here instead of trying to understand it. Nothing here is logical,” He said gently.

He turned towards a large table illuminated by the pinkish light of the sunset falling through a skylight in the roof. I felt better about him now, although I was still wary. He seemed like he was telling the truth about everything he was telling me. A thought occurred to me: He wants me to help fight Dream because he knows I can resist being compelled. I would be their secret weapon. For some reason, this realization didn’t bother me. If anything, it got me closer to Dream, and therefore closer to getting revenge for how I was treated when I spawned in. It gets me answers.

I walked towards the table Wilbur was standing at and marveled over the huge map spread out across it. Large flat pins littered its surface, each with a different coin-sized symbol flattened to the top of it. The map showed the mountains Wilbur was talking about, a large ocean to the west, and a large dashed area that someone had simply scrawled UNKNOWN across it. Wilbur pointed to a pin with a large green dot towards the ocean.

“That’s where we think Dream could be hiding out his team. We have scoured every other area as far as we can go within a week of travel, and that’s the last place we haven’t looked. Phil is going to fly towards the area tomorrow, probably get there within the week, do some reconnaissance and hopefully return with new information. If not, we are going to have to pack up and take a longer mission into the uncharted area which is always… fun.”

I nodded. I walked around the table, focused on the green pin. My head ached once more as I stared at the green dot on the map. I turned and faced out the window, watching the sunset dance over the lake water.

“And if he’s there?” I asked Wilbur.

Torchlight blazed in his eyes as a smile slowly formed over his features. I already knew his answer by the look on his face. A familiar excitement danced through me at the thought of metal clashing into metal. I could almost hear the shouts of battle, see the fear of his green eyes peeking above his mask. Why was I excited?

“Then we fight. We all fight. And we will win.”

I met Wilbur’s smile. The pain in my head stopped and I felt the blood coursing through my body.

“When do I start?”

Chapter Text

hi all! I have been suuuuper busy with work/school and life. I promise I will post another chapter within the next month or so, but posts will definitely be farther and few between throughout the summer. I will try to make the chapters longer though and will be continuing the story. Thank you all for your continued support and hits!

Xx,

chasingcallalilies

Chapter Text

I couldn’t believe it.

The 20th person to be spawned in was unlike anything I was expecting. She had spawned nearly straight into the arms of my sworn enemy, but she bested him at his own game. How was it possible? No matter, it was absolutely wonderful. My heart beat quicker thinking of the possibilities, of the plan . 

Everything was falling exactly into place. I could feel her gaze dart to me as we walked silently back towards the base. The sun was setting, a soft glow settling on the ground. She was fidgety walking next to me. I could sense her confusion, but had to dwell on the fact that she was so set on getting back at Dream. It was almost too perfect. She was so ready to fight him it was unsettling. I’ll take it, even if she is crazy. I smiled to myself. Even the better if she is crazy.  I had waited far too long for this day, this moment. Zara had spawned in with a sword, and her personality clearly fit the imagery behind the object. She was fiery, even if a little jumpy. Could’ve been worse, far far worse. My train of thought kept getting disrupted by her glances up at my face. Poorly hidden, I noted. 

“Are you hungry? We can get some food when we get into base,” I offered, putting on my best comforting voice.

She smiled slightly. “A little.” 

I watched her, curious of her mannerisms. She turned her glance away too fast and continued to walk in silence. She was nervous. I made her nervous. My heart skipped a beat. Well, ok. Don’t get too far ahead of yourself. Test the waters. 

We reached the door which I opened and shut behind us. Within the center gate she stopped to look around. I stopped alongside her and leaned against the wall behind them, pointing up to the tower. 

“Everyone’s rooms are up there. There is an extra you can use up towards the top, near Niki’s room. Then below us, in the basement, is where all the supply rooms are. We can get you suited up, but you obviously already have a weapon.” I smiled. 

She snorted and shook her head. 

“People are going to give me heat about that aren’t they? I just happened to spawn in with a fully crafted weapon that everyone else has to work hard for. That’s a great first impression,” she sighed. “Did anyone else spawn in with anything? Any objects like I did?” 

She’s getting curious. 

“Well, Dream and I were the first two. He obviously spawned in with his powers. I, on the other hand, spawned in with a stupid fucking scroll. Clearly at a disadvantage there.”

“Did the scroll say anything? Did it help you at all? If not, that must’ve been quite the first few weeks,” she responded.

Now, here was a dilemma. I thought of my plan, and everything fell into place. Now, the fun begins. Here goes nothing. 

“It was just a few sentences. Clearly suuuper helpful when you are facing off with an angry confused physco with brain powers. But all it said was, ‘Wait for the boy with the key to make your team. Keep your thoughts and feelings hidden. Get as far away from your counterpart as you can.’ Helpful right? But everyone else spawned in with something too,” 

I took a moment to recollect everyone’s items. I knew she was going to be dumbfounded by the weirdness of it all, as was everyone else. 

“Tommy ended up being the one with the key, he came in third. The key ended up spawning in our base, which he promptly went to, and after some convincing, let me in as well. Sam has a pair of handcuffs that can only be unlocked by his command. Phil and Niki have their powers. Quackity has a deck of cards, but won’t tell us what they do. Karl has an hourglass that he doesn’t let anyone else touch, either. Puffy has an anchor necklace, same thing, she won’t say what it does. Eret has a staff that he can control to fly around and hit people. Tubbo can sting you, if he chooses, when he touches you. And Ranboo can teleport small distances. So I would say me and you got the short end of the stick, if you ignore the maybe-magical items of Karl, Quackity and Puffy,” 

The words rolled easily off my tongue, as I obviously had told them to all the other members of my team as they one by one spawned in. If I got to them first . I glanced back at Zara. She was looking at him with disbelief, then shook her head slightly and began to pace, hand resting on her sword.

“I am so fucking confused. What the hell is this placer? How did we get here? Why are we here? Where is our family, our friends…” she trailed off, lost in the clear craziness of it all. 

Perfect. Ok, now be comforting you arse. He sighed and shook his head. 

“I wish I knew. We’ve all kind of made the choice to try and not think about it and merely think about how we can take everything day by day. It makes no sense to any of us either. I only try to think that there must be a deeper meaning to it all, the items, when we spawned in, the people we get on our side and the people he gets on his. It all has to mean something in the end.” 

We approached the doors to the base and I made sure to hold the door open for her. She took a moment to stare up at the darkening sky before she entered the tower. 

She’s confused. Understandable. 

There was no fear in her eyes. Merely a million questions that she clearly refused to ask. Obviously, she didn’t trust me . She didn’t trust anyone. Well, I would have to change that. I smiled at her as I followed her into the opening hall. I gently placed a hand on her shoulder, letting it linger there as I waved my hand around the main room of the base. I felt her muscles tense, then relax slightly before I lifted my hand away. I could see her face soften slightly in my peripheral vision, even if she still maintained the composure of a tiger ready to kill. There was a blush in her cheeks. A fucking blush. 

It was all going according to plan.