The World Below [DNF]

Chapter 37: Family-reunion

Dream POV

Dream had highly debated the fact that "404" would care whatsoever if Dream were to die. Still, the ultimatum made both him and George leave their place. Nearly everyone else had left the stadium except for Quackity, Karl and Sapnap who all had their eyes glued on him. A mix of surprise and horror were plastered across their faces.

Ha had forgotten about the threating object that was placed against his throat until he felt it being removed. The people that were holding him in place let go and he stappled to regain his composure. When he realized that he wasn't in any direct danger anymore, the rage took over. He turned to his boss who had removed the glasses that covered her face.

"You killed an innocent guy!"

She was looking at her watch and huffed at the accusation. "Being here makes him just as guilty as everyone else."

Dream put a good distance between him the people that had threatened his life. His neck was sore and when he tried to massage away some stiffness, he found out that that sharp object had pierced through his skin. The amount of blood wasn't alarming but left an unpleasant feeling as the crimson liquid now covered most of the right side of his neck. His mask laid next to Techno. Blood splatter was making the mask look even creepier and colored Techno's pink hair even darker. The gunshot wound was not looking pretty. Dream had seen some gruesome stuff in his days, but this was by far one of the worst ones.

He stirred around to try and spot his friends. Though, they must've left somewhere along the way because the facility was now completely empty, if you excluded the anonymous team of people that stood in a circle around Techno's body. None of them seemed fazed by the scenery and it was clear that they were awaiting for Ms. Soot's next command.

The woman was still checking her watch. Dream caught Wilbur approaching them. The tall brit was the only one who had any sort of reaction to the dead person on the floor. It looked like he was close to fainting as his face was even paler than usual. The utter lack of response made Dream even angrier. He couldn't find it in him to shout, but that was certainly what he wanted to do. There was no way he could find a reason that would justify Techno's death. He knew that it was to send a message, although it felt like it could've been done in a less brutal way.

Wilbur carefully knocked on his shoulder and handed him a similar uniform to the other. He wanted nothing more than to not be associated with these people but knew that he hardly had a choice. 

The clothes were big enough to fit on top of his own clothes. Wilbur gave him a helmet equipped with toned glasses and a black mask. That was the only part of the uniform that felt like a relief to put on. Being without a mask had him feeling a little too exposed to his surroundings.

"He told us to meet him in one of the rooms. I can lead the way." Wilbur suddenly declared. Ms. Soot lifted her eyes to look at her son. She nodded approvingly.

"Good. Dream and Wilbur, you'll follow me. The rest of you, make hostages out of the three last people to leave the building. I'm suspecting that they're of extra importance. So, if he tries anything these hostages dies."

Dream wanted to object when her words had registered. "What– you promis – " But his objection was cut short when everyone started leaving, including Ms. Soot. She followed her son that was leading the way and Dream sprinted after them to catch up. He tried to speak but nothing worked. Wilbur guided them to the upper floor and finally stop in front of a door with the number '404' engraved. Dream recalled the time that he'd been kidnapped and ended up in this room. It seemed like an eternity ago.

"Are you ready, boys?" Dream was so not ready. Pictures of Techno's corpse mixed with the faces of his friends made it difficult to focus on the present moment. He should've known that she wouldn't keep her word. She might be claiming to work to ensure that people followed the laws. But she was just as, if not more, heartless than the people she hunted down. She only got away with it because she was damm good at justifying her actions to higher powers.