The Railroad

Chapter 36

George was frozen with shock. Was this real? He had to be dreaming... but oh god he didn't want to be.

He didn't care if it was some cruel joke at this point. He wanted to believe it, so he did. He leapt off the desk, running as fast as he possibly could to Wilbur. Wil met him halfway, taking George up in his arms and allowing the brunet to cry on his shoulder.

He felt so many emotions. Confusion, shock, happiness, anger.

"How are you here?!"

"I wasn't fully cured when I was shot. My body had only begun the process of shifting back when Punz hit me, and as soon as it happened, the cure stopped working. The virus took over and saved my life: it healed the wound. I only pretended to be dead. Punz discovered that I was still alive and helped me hide."

George looked over at Punz, who was standing awkwardly, looking to the pair every few seconds with a shy expression. The brunet mouthed a thank you, to which the blond simply shrugged.

He felt a hand on his lower back and looked back to see Dream, staring at Wilbur with an incredulous expression. The blond glanced down at George as if he was asking for an explanation.

"I'll explain later," he whispered.

Dream didn't look satisfied, but he couldn't argue because George took both of their hands and began to lead them back to where the crowd was still watching them with curious eyes. George pulled the syringe of orange liquid back out of his pocket and turned to Wilbur, asking permission to do what he was about to do. Wilbur nodded, so he proceeded.

Since he already knew what to do and wasn't in a time crunch this time, George took his time rolling up Wilbur's sleeve and injecting him with the cure. After it had all gone in, he used the syringe to reopen the wound he'd created the last time he had to do this and let it drip onto the spot.

The response from Wilbur was instantaneous. He stood taller, the glassy look in his eye was lost, his demeanor lifted. He also smelled significantly less bad. Obviously, his clothes were still drenched in the stench so it wasn't gone entirely, but the difference was definitely noticeable. He grinned from ear to ear, being able to feel his humanity returning to him on a cellular level rather than the physical one they could see.

The people weren't demanding proof of the cure, but this certainly snuffed out any doubts they had for it.

Wilbur embraced George, rocking them back and forth as he cried, feeling the outcome of the return of his cells flowing through him. Dream joined the hug from behind, happy for George more than anything. It didn't take long until three more arms, belonging to the young thruple, joined them.

It was one big mess of tears of happiness and relief, and George didn't know if he'd ever had a happier moment. Well, other than maybe the first time he'd kissed Dream.

~~~

After a few months, everything George predicted had come to pass: the cure was in the process of being developed so it could be released to the public. George was in charge of the project, overseeing it to make sure no followers of his father managed to slip past and were trying to sabotage things.

A fair hearing had been made for his father: he was sentenced to multiple life sentences and was currently rotting in jail, where he belonged. George still visited him at least once a month and their conversations got less hostile every time. They were now able to reminisce about George's mom together without having to bring up the ordeal, which was how it was meant to be. Forgiveness was an attribute his mom believed in with all her heart, so he could try and do that for her. Holding grudges gets you no where: George thought about this a lot and decided that it wasn't worth it.

Andrew hadn't been happy to learn that Wilbur was still alive, but he tried to ignore it because there was absolutely nothing he could do about it now.

Once things had died down a little, George was able to get Wilbur's family into Raleigh. Their reunion was the sweetest thing George had ever seen: at first, they hadn't really known what to do. Everyone was still a little weary of Wilbur, not used to being able to be close to him. But the first person to hug him was Techno, a surprising thing for the usually unemotional brother to do. Soon after, the rest joined in a group hug.

When he saw Sally again, the first thing the two did was make out. Even though she hadn't wanted to visit him because it was too hard, she'd remained loyal to him the entire time, clinging onto the faith that he would be healed and they could be brought back together one day. Which George had done. All of the family had thanked him endlessly for what he'd done, which he modestly said was "no biggy."

Tommy, the youngest brother, grew close to Ranboo and his roommate, Tubbo, during their visit. He even took a liking to the son the boys had adopted off the street named Michael, which was uncharacteristic of him. Their friendship was a sweet reminder of childhood that was so scarce in their world.

Tubbo had been introduced to George at the same time that he was reintroduced to Dream after revealing to be yet another client of his. Both he and Ranboo had ended up in Raleigh when their cities were overrun and they were ushered into the closest one that opened its doors, which just so happened to be here. They became friends shortly after meeting, and it didn't take long until they moved in together since it was most convenient money-wise for them both.

Dream really enjoyed catching up with his old friends, as well as learning more about George's. It didn't take long until they were all very close, even after Wilbur moved back with the rest of them to Tallahassee. They wanted to move to Raleigh eventually, seeing the difference of the people there, but had some unfinished business they needed to take care of first.

As for those remaining, Ranboo and Tubbo stayed in their old apartment in the thick of the city while George, Dream, Sapnap, Karl, and Quackity all moved a bit more into the outskirts where it was a little quieter. They could all use a little quiet after what they'd been through.

And that's where they stayed, rebuilding society in the best way they could: one piece of shattered glass at a time.

~Word count: 1,212~

A/N: sooo much has happened in the past few days and i cant take it- we had a ranboo eye reveal, some heartwrenching lore, and now all this stuff about manatreed joining the dream smp. personally, i believe that he is dream... i suppose we'll find out?

this chapter was hard to reread after the lore, but anyways, that's almost a wrap! one more chapter to go, which is simply an epilogue :)