Chapter Text
"Tommy! Get back!", Dream shouted as he raised his shield, just a milisecond before a sword clashed against the hard metal. The blonde teen in question scrambled to escape a hunter's grip, red and orange wings flapping in desperation.
Dream cursed and swung, unleashing his rage in a torrent of swings. These hunters were skilled, experienced in tracking and subduing hybrids without a scratch. But they weren't equipped or trained to fight against someone like him.
He dodged and parried, twisting his axe against his opponent's sword. With a flick of his blade, faster than the hunter could follow, he knocked the other's sword out of their hand. The hunter stepped back, glancing at their weapon that landed a few feet away.
Dream thrusted his axe towards the hunter, hitting their throat with the weapon's handle and watched as they crumpled to the ground. He would have killed them without any hesitance, but Tommy had always protested, saying he didn't want anyone getting killed because of him.
Speaking of Tommy, where was he? Dream turned to see his brother friend, struggling with another hunter that was holding an ender pearl in their hand. He reacted quickly, switching to a loaded crossbow, aiming towards the hunter's leg and letting go of the arrow. It pierced its intended target, the hunter crippling from pain, crimson blood staining their black and grey outfit.
Dream immediately ran towards Tommy who was frozen in shock, and tugged at him to leave the area. Where there were two hunters, there would soon be reinforcements if the targeted hybrid wasn't caught.
The avian understood and unfurled his wings, shooting upwards to the cloudless sky with a single flap. Dream grinned looks like Tommy had been practicing before tossing an ender pearl at the distance. They had established Badboyhalo's house as their meeting point if Tommy needed to get away quickly. That way the avian would receive professional care if he was hurt.
He needed to throw some more ender pearls before arriving at his friend's house. The door was closed but unlocked, so he knocked on the wooden surface before letting himself in. Muffled words came from the kitchen, and he entered the area to see two persons shouting at each other.
"SKEPPY, YOU MUFFIN! STOP EATING THE BATTER!", Bad shouted, tail swiping angrily behind him. "YOURE TAKING TOO LONG AT BAKING IT!", the diamond-golem hybrid argued. Badboyhalo shoved a bowl full of cupcake batter at his partner, "HERE! NOW GO OUT OF MY KITCHEN!"
"BUT I WANTED TO SEE YOU FROST THE CUPCAKES!", Skeppy argued. The demon's eye twitched, before turning towards the door to the adjacent room. He stopped as he saw the green-cloaked man awkwardly standing next to it.
"Uh.. hi?", Dream muttered, raising his hand half-way. A smile appeared on Bad's face, "Hi Dream! We were just trying to make some pastries". Then he waved the warrior towards the dining table and set down a platter of freshly baked muffins.
"HEY! WHERE DID THOSE COME FROM?!", Skeppy complained, taking a break from inhaling the cupcake batter. The demon ignored him and instead took a seat.
"So what bring's you here, Dream?", Bad asked, picking a muffin and taking a small bite. Said warrior shifted uneasily, "Has Tommy been here?"
Skeppy and Bad shared a glance before the latter shook his head. "Sorry Dream, he hasn't stopped by. Was there a problem with hunter's again?", the demon asked.
Dream nodded before glancing worriedly at the window. "Two hunters attacked us a few minutes ago and I told him to go here in case reinforcements came", he explained rapidly.
Bad gave him a small soothing smile, "Maybe he just got carried away. You know how much he enjoy's flying". Then he frowned, "But if he's in trouble, we'll help you. Just wait a few more minutes though, okay Dream?"
The green-cloaked warrior nodded, still staring at the sky. If only he had known, he might've started searching for his brother friend sooner.
---
“Dream? Can we talk?”, Eret knocked on his bedroom door. If it was anyone else, he would have ignored them but this time, it was the King of the Esempi. With this in mind, Dream threw open the door.
Eret sat down on the bed, not commenting on the state of the room and instead started talking, “Tommy going missing isn’t your fault”
Dream shook his head, “I shouldn’t have made him go alone. I shouldn’t have- I could have kept my eye on him”
“Dream, you know Tommy wouldn’t have appreciated that”, Eret pointed out. “Appreciated or not, it would’ve kept him safe”, he muttered.
The king sighed. “Would you want him to be safe but unhappy?”, Eret asked sharply. “Tommy enjoy’s his freedom, would you really force him to stop doing dangerous things?”
“I-.. I guess not”, Dream agreed hesitantly. The king smiled lightly, “I’ll help you find him, give some supplies and weapons. So stop moping and go meet your team”
And when the Muffinteers welcomed him back to their base, he knew that he’d do anything to get Tommy back.
“We’re going to find him”, Sapnap grips his shoulder comfortingly, confidence lacing his tone. And Dream finds that he agrees, they were going to find Tommy and bring him back.