Project 404 [DNF]

Chapter 28: Déjà vu

George and the rest had received a similar phone call from Wilbur. Everyone had quickly agreed that they'd obviously help rescuing the kids. Wilbur had given them Techno's and Dream's coordinates and told them to get to their location as fast as they could.

Sapnap drove about twice the speed limit all the way to the place. They eventually stopped just outside a forest. Wilbur had called them once more and said that there'd been a slight change of plans and told them to wait on the side of the road instead.

George sat anxiously awake in the passenger seat. Quackity had taken over to role as driver to let Sapnap rest. The ravenette had been awake for over 48 hours and they'd finally managed to convince him to let someone else take over, at least while they waited.

It didn't take long before Sapnap had blacked out in the backseat. George threw the sleeping hitman a glance and found that Karl laid passed out with his head on the other's chest. Their connection was unmistakable, although admittedly a bit surprising.

Quackity caught George's gaze. George had expected some joke or sarcastic comment from his friend. But Quackity's dark eyes remained clouded by thoughts.

"It's interest how quickly things can change, you know?" Quackity said as his gaze settled on something unspecified in front of them.

George sighed. "Yeah, tell me about. It difficult to imagine that we were once just regular college students."

Quackity nodded slowly. "Do you think we'll ever be normal college student again when this is over?"

When this is over. The thought felt unreal. Would it ever be truly over?

"I've no idea." George answered. His mind directly began wondering back to the same place as always: Dream. He wasn't sure that things could ever return to what they once were, even if he was somehow given the chance to go back and leave all behind. Was he supposed to just forget about Dream's existence and ignore his dad's true identity?

He let out a low, humorless laugh. "Honestly, I ever even wanted to go to college. I used to dream about becoming a gardener or at least own a little house with a garden, but my dad thought that I wasted my potential."

A small smile spread across Quackity's face. "Yeah, me too. I wanted to open my own casino. I even had a name planned out; Las Nevadas."

Sun beams began to rise above the horizon. George allowed his gaze to follow the light and as he did, a memory resurfaced that felt fitting in their current situation. ""I wish I had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me."" George quoted. From the corner of his eyes, he saw how Quackity furrowed his brows. George followed up with the explanation behind his quote. "It's the number one thing people tend to regret when they're about to die.".

"Seems reasonable." Quackity answered quietly before silent invaded the car once more.

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Quackity was the first to spot the car that was heading towards them. Three individuals stepped out of the car, but not the three that they were expecting. George's heart dropped when he noticed that Dream was missing. Instead of Dream walking with Techno and Wilbur, was Techno's dad Philza, beside them.

George practically flew out of the car and sprinted towards his brother and engulfed him in a tight hug. The other four passengers weren't far behind, and Techno began explaining the situation as soon as they'd all gathered. George anxiety levels reached an all-time high when Techno said why Dream wasn't with them.

"That stubborn bastard." Sapnap muttered as he'd heard what Dream had done.

George felt himself getting restless. "We need to get going then."