Of a Flock

Chapter Sixteen

"HA! SUCK IT LOSERS!" Quackity suddenly shouted, diving to the ground near the dragon. "Nobody get's THIS game! We might have to play again!"

"But Purpled can't!" Punz objected, glaring bullets at the paragon falcon. "I would have to do this by myself!"

"Looks like Alien Victory is a victory no longer!" he jeered with a laugh.

"You little!" Punz flapped after him, reaching out, but Quackity moved just in time and flew away. "I will get you for this!" Punz screeched, panting from all the flying he's been doing, but still glaring daggers at the falcon who was only breathing slightly heavily. "You think you can run forever, well you can't!"

"I already did get away! There's no way you can ever fix that kid's wings. And you'll never be able to catch me!" He flapped his wings and gave a proud chirp. Although, when everybody looked away to talk among themselves, Dream saw the man glance down at the floor with an upset face, scanning the ground for something, before giving up and pushing a smile back.

He shivered and Techno's arms curled around him protectively. "Is everything all right?" the man whispered to him. "And what happened to your mask? I've never seen you without it."

"Awesamdude cut it off," he replied, feeling himself calm down. As the adrenalin slowly sank away, he felt a pinch in his stomach, and his wings felt like little flames of fire. "Hey, Techno, do you have anything to eat? I'm starving."

After a moment, Techno flew over to the closest pillar to where the group was, while keeping an eye on Quackity. Dream pushed his face into the cold air, feeling the wind in a way he hadn't felt in years. He often took his mask off when it was only himself in a room, but if he didn't actively try to tan his face during the summer, then it would be as pale as a sheet while the rest of him bronzed nicely.

He blinked and snapped out of his thoughts when Techno held something out to him, and he took it. He felt a smile creep up on him.

"Wow, we still have the jelly beans," he chuckled, opening it and popping a few into his mouth.

"Yeah, you ate like, one every time the bag was opened. Which was almost never." Even though it was a jibe, the fondness in his voice was evident, and he definitely didn't hate the hand that ran through his hair.

"What will happen now?" he asked, munching on the candy. "Nobody killed the dragon. And yet it also said that the End had been freed."

He shrugged, staring down at the dragon. "Maybe that means that all of us won the game? I can't imagine them making us replay the game when some of us physically can't."

Even though he didn't mention any names, the air around Dream soured a little and he swallowed. "Yeah." His eyes rove over the place and when they landed on Quackity, they narrowed.

The evil thing was standing atop a pillar further away, talking to Awesamdude. Both of them ignored the other groups.

The sound of flapping wings alerted him to somebody near him and he looked up.

"Wow."

The newcomer wore an orange jumpsuit with black lines running up and down. A name tag was clipped to his chest, and Dream immediately remembered the other man who had stuffed his suit into the cage in the jungle.

"I've never seen anybody manage to free the end before like that." He chuckled and shook his head.

From next to him, Techno chirped a deep, conflicted noise. "So what happens now? Do we have to all play again?"

"Not at all. In fact, you all go home free." The new avian flapped his bright orange wings, his tight orange suit hugging him like Dream's own clothes did. "Some would call it a pyrrhic victory, though. Poor kid in purple."