Us Against the World

Chapter 31- Could it Have Been my Mask?

thank you so so much for 18K!! 

in return for your incredible readership, I have decided to be cruel :D

there shall be no winter holiday special unless we reach 35K by the 24th of december. spread the plague that is this book. tell your friends. tell your weird neighbours. tell your very conservative family members to piss them off. share. share. share. run. run. run. run. 

>:)

anyways onto content...

TW/CWs: Swearing, Mention of Interrogation, Stimming, Implied Trauma, Mention of Human Experimentation, Trespassing, Jumping off a Balcony (they're fine)

____________________________________

As the pink-haired hero walks to the corner store in the setting sun, a different hero on the opposite side of the sprawling city is standing on his balcony at the Hero HQ, staring blankly at the bright colours.

The balcony door opens and a pale brunette pads to the railing in fluffy slippers. Dark clout goggles are skewed over his eyes as the newcomer puts a gentle hand on the first hero's shoulder, "You okay, Dream?"

"That kid. He was so fucking scared..."

The shorter hero smiles sadly, knowing that the botched interrogation had been bothering the younger for days now, "Well, I'll tell you this much, as fit as you are, you aren't that physically intimidating."

"Shut up," Dream mutters with a small smile that disappears when he continues, "And Phil and them were able to talk to the raccoon hybrid-"

"Tommy," George gently reminds the agitated blonde beside him.

"Yeah Tommy. They were able to talk to him at least, but we couldn't because that kid-"

"Tubbo," The brunette corrects softly.

"Tubbo, was so terrified of m..." Dream trails off as his eyes fall on the white masks held loosely in his hands. The blonde's head jerks up to look at his teammate, "George, could it have been my mask?"

"What do you mean?" The older hero asks, completely lost by his friend's reasoning.

Dream starts bouncing a hand on the railing in excitement as he tries to explain to George, "You know where I got the design and why it's special-?"

The brunette nods slowly, "Yeah, that shithole of a experim-"

"Yup, yup, yup. I wear it cause it's like taking control of trauma and it looks cool and shit. What if those three are from that la- or something similar?" Dream asks, strategically cutting both himself and George off before either of them can say certain words.

"Wasn't it shut down once we found you?"

"MmmMmm," Dream shrugs, "Could've stared back up, could be more than one. Worth looking into, don't ya think?"

"We can try but XD-"

"Nah fuck that creepy bastard," Dream declares with a sense of finality, "We can just grab Subpoena and check it out on our off time. It'll be fun!" He attempts to reassure the rightfully anxious brunette.

"Fine, but it's on your head," George shakes his head at the younger hero's recklessness, "I'm going to bed, you gonna come?"

"I'll be there in a bit. I wanna watch the sunset," The blonde gestures to the vibrant shades that the other cant see.

"Lame. Don't stay out too late or you'll get a cold."

"Mememeh fine Gogy."

George laughs quietly as he pads back inside the apartment, door closing gently and leaving the blonde hero to watch the sunset with only the noises of the bustling city evening. Five minutes later, when the dusk is truly beginning to show, Dream hears movement behind him and whirls around, irritated that his angsty thinking session is being interrupted again.

"George, I told you I'd- Who the fuck are you?" The blonde stumbles back from a short figure wearing a mask similar to his except the expression was a comically grumpy face.

Scruffy brown hair that can't be longer than four inches sticks out at funny angles, some parts braided in small plaits. The sneaky person is wearing all black pants and long-sleeve shirt with a baggy cropped hoodie with short sleeves in bright green on top.

The slim, child-like figure tilts their head, obviously smirking despite the mask over their face. With a cynical and sarcastic tone not matching the appearance of the person, they respond mockingly, "Someone your boss does not want you knowing exists."

"XD? Why would XD not want me to know about some little troublemaker," Dream takes a slow step forward trying to get close enough to the other to grab them. Any person able to break into the Hero Complex for the supposed fun of taunting one of the top heroes is defiantly someone that needs to be questioned at the very least.

This action does not go unnoticed by the trespasser, who declares, "You'll see," Before flipping backwards off the balcony. By the time Dream reaches the edge, the only remaining is faint green glow.

709 words