Broken Together (MCYT au)

Chapter 70: Broken Together

How long has it been exactly?

"A year," Dream mumbled to himself quietly, catching the attention of those sat beside him. "A year since the final stand, right?"

There, a shell of who he once was; everyone had told him so by now. There, lying in the bed desperately needing the rest was Dream Loft... but not the same Dream Loft who had begun the journey, not exactly different either.

The most obvious side effect of losing himself, the green eyes he once possessed were now nothing more than a small piece in history. Gazing into the mirror, he could clearly see the way his siblings looked at him with a sense of bittersweet longing, the bright green eyes never to be seen again.

Amnesia, the second most noticeable side effect of losing himself. Dream did not enjoy the title of the condition; it is hard to understand losing something without any memory of it in the first place. Eventually, the vivid and dark dreams and nightmares plaguing his slumber for the past year had delivered most of the memories from his past life. Dream did his best to understand the memories, yet only an empty pain could be felt as he reminded himself of the trauma faced by him and his family, rather than the searing agony his siblings surely felt.

Four processes erased; he recalls the doctors informing his brothers as he sat in the clinic all those months ago. Physical capabilities, logic and reasoning, sympathy towards others, and expression. Dream acted as if he was not aware of the diagnosis, though he knew very well. The memories left him alone in the dark once again as he forced himself to collect the storm of thoughts in his mind.

"Yes, Dream," George laid a comforting hand on Dream's, glancing towards the door. Bad was sitting across from where Dream lay, Sapnap standing against the door. "A whole year, it doesn't feel like it's been this long."

Dream nodded and slowly sat up, feeling George move to help him from the former position. He knows the rest of them would expect him to smile, make a lighthearted and motivational remark before engaging in conversation for the rest of the day; that was not him, that was what the old Dream would have done.

Perhaps he was overthinking it, and they no longer expected him to be their leader. Yes, their brother was alive but everything that made him himself was gone. The memories slowly return as if he's watching someone else's life unfold before him, having to settle for the fact that the moments, the terrifying moments, belonged to him. No matter how many times he would wake from terror at the shrilling nightmares, he could never assure himself it was nothing more than an illusion. Every single moment of him waking up from the terrors of slumber... all those moments truly happened.

It is not to say Dream is completely broken by any means. Dream has made progress; he is now able to walk properly. Not on his own, but no need for any aid other than supervision. He can also logically draw conclusions and know when someone is sad, and Dream can always (albeit a weak attempt) at comforting his loved ones. Despite all of this, he continued to be the emotionless shell the town pitied. Deep down, they all knew the way the town watched them, even Dream knew about the pitiful smiles he and his siblings received.

Truly, he found himself deep in thought. Though whenever his mind slowly started to drown, Dream was very thankful for the rescuing arms who offered to fill his lungs with oxygen once more.

~

Around 2 months after his revival, regaining the ability of movement.

After the revival, his energy could be described as a burst. His movement was very limited and selective; even hearing Dream slip a few words was a rarity among the Dream team household. However, there were moments when the complete opposite was true. When his adrenaline reached its peak, panicked conversations and erratic movements occurred, almost resembling the overpowering strength Dream displayed while being possessed.