Uninvited

Chapter Sixteen|Emergency Call

Dream didn't wake up until two hours later, and when he did George was in the kitchen, making lunch for himself. Dream yawned loudly, tilting his head back before he felt a twinge deep in his soul. He groaned loudly.

"I've got to go, George." Dream spoke up, carefully throwing on his green sweatshirt, avoiding the horns. He gave the shorter boy a one-armed hug, going to the front door and starting to pull on his new boots before George had time to react.

"What, you just woke up- where are you going?" George asked, leaning out of the kitchen, his brows drawn together in confusion and, most likely, worry.

"Sapnap is calling for me. I don't know why, but it better be important." Dream growled that last part. He finished tying up his shoes, jumping to his feet, and grabbing George's shoulders, looking into his eyes, gaze serious.

"Don't follow me. I'll be perfectly fine." Dream assured him, and George seemed torn between demanding Dream take him along and telling him to stay safe. Dream decided to make the choice for him.

He kissed the boy's forehead, meeting his solemn gaze with his own soft, reassuring one. He traced his hand on the boy's cheek softly before he walked out of the house, closing the door behind him.

George would lock it. He had work to do.

---

When he got to the meadow, it was torn up. Sapnap was there, the bottom half of his arm just missing, presumably spread all around the battlefront. His other arm was brightly colored, the forearm had turned into molten lava.

There was another demon there, a stranger. Their dirty blonde hair was a mess, and their left eye was blistered shut. Their eyebrows were drawn in anger, and they screamed obscenities at the calmer Sapnap. Their limbs were unnaturally long, like stilts. They had more sets of limbs than the average human. An envy demon.

Dream growled loudly, taking off his hoodie and throwing it on the grass. The demon turned to look at him, snarling, their blue eyes filled with rage.

"Last chance to back off, asshat." Dream called out, and the demon looked between the both of them before he screamed in frustration.

"You little asshole, you called for back up??? You chicken shit, you're weak!!" He yelled before lunging towards Sapnap, claws extending.

At the last second, Dream tackled Sapnap to the ground, the Envy demon flying overhead. Dream grabbed one of their extended limbs, causing their face to slam into the ground. Dream dug his claws in deep, causing the demon to wince.

Dream threw him like a ragdoll, digging his other hand's claws in as well. Dream let him go, leaving the Demon to scamper away and snap his teeth at them like a cornered animal. And then Dream pulled his strings tight, making the boy freeze in place until Dream's pinky twitched, letting him talk.

"What the fuck is this?!" The demon screamed at them, and Sapnap just looked at Dream, confused. Dream grinned, his fingers moving meticulously until the demon was standing right in front of him, his fear hidden under a thick sheet of rage.

"This is my ability, you scum." Dream growled, sending his aura to the demon so that he knew who he was dealing with. His eyes widened.

"Okay listen, I'll go, okay? I'll leave you guys alone, you'll never see me again-" He tried to reason.

"Why would we do that-" The demon's gaze snapped to him and he growled, his teeth bared.

"I'm not talking to you, you-" Dream yanked the demon closer to him, growling in his ear. He swallowed thickly.

"Here's what's gonna happen, you little shit. You threatened our territory, you sacrifice yours. I don't know where you're from, and I don't care. You are you to give us your mark, and you'll live forever knowing that you were beaten today."

The demon looked about ready to explode on him in rage. Dream was smirking. He'd won. Sapnap looked to be in a bit of awe.

"Fine. Let me go first, and then I'll give you my marker." Dream narrowed his eyes.

"No way, you're gonna scam me." His fingers tightened, making the demon feel pressure around his neck, wrists, elbows, knees, and ankles. The demon's eyes widened, and he shook his head.

"I'm not, I'm not! I swear by the skin on my back." The demon said, and Dream sighed. Even if the demon did run away, it would be wise enough not to come back. But just in case...

Dream made the demon show him his hands and neck, and Dream was lucky to find something he wanted. He smirked as he made the demon unclasp their golden chain necklace and give it to Sapnap, despite their 'hey!'s of complaint.

"You'll get it back once your mark is on both of our souls." Dream amended, motioning for Sapnap to step back a bit, and then he dropped his control.

The demon looked at Sapnap, then him, then sapnap again before he dashed, sprinting away from them. Dream chased after him for a little while but eventually decided it wasn't worth it.

"You'll regret the day you messed with Tommy Innit!!" The demon, Tommy, yelled over his shoulder before he ran into a tree, shaking it off and continuing to run. Dream just shook his head, sighing.

"Thanks, Dream," Sapnap said, rubbing the back of his head nervously. The last time he had seen the older demon, he had been threatened. He had a right to be nervous. Dream sighed, patting the younger, smaller demon.

"It's okay. You guys were pretty evenly matched." Dream looked at his arm and back to his face, sighing.

"Hold still." Dream said, placing the palm of his hand on Sapnap's arm and ignoring the way the slime monster hissed at the contact. Dream pulled some of his aura from himself, pushing it into Sapnap's. They watched as his gelatinous arm started growing in mass and then shaping into a more arm shaped form.

"Oh. Thank you." Sapnap said, looking back up at Dream, who shook his head, starting to walk away. Sapnap grabbed his arm to stop him before flinching away, expecting Dream to lash out. He seemed relieved when the demon just turned around, head tilted.

"Do you uh... Have a cell phone?" Sapnap asked, digging through his pocket along with Dream after he nodded. They traded numbers, and Dream waved to him as he finally started to head home.

The walk was quiet. Dream kept his guard up, looking out for any demons that might want to take a bite out of him, even though the worry was probably unneeded.

He hummed a song as he went since he forgot to bring his new earbuds with him when he ran out of the house. When he got back, George welcomed him, a frown on his face as he saw the blood and grass stains on his jacket. He ushered a tired dream to the bathtub, taking his jacket and telling the boy to get washed up while he took it to the dry cleaners.

Dream sighed as he finally settled into the warm and soapy water of the bathtub. It was soothing to feel the warmth all around him. He had taken a moment to grab his phone and a speaker, so he played soap by Melanie Martinez.

He sighed, before slipping his head under. As a demon, breathing was really something he did just for show, not a necessity. The muffled music in the bathroom and the warmth all around him made the scene very calming compared to what he had been doing less than two hours ago.

After about half an hour, his chest started to burn. He ignored it at first. In the next ten minutes, it had gotten unbearable. He pulled his body out of the water, and it kept burning. At first, he didn't realize what was wrong. That was, until he took a deep breath, and sat there gasping for a good five minutes.

Huh. That was strange.