agent 03 // dreamnotfound

-twelve-

dream was beginning to recognize that his feelings towards george felt eerily similar to those he felt towards his now blazed-up friend.

He really didn't want to leave George in the meadow. He'd do anything to go back, away from the flower field that the prince cherished so dearly but brought Dream so much misery. However, he couldn't meet with him that day. It was the last day before the ball, final touch-ups were being done everywhere that was visible. George's family never went small with parties.

It was around sundown. Dream was composedly strolling through an empty cornfield just to the right of the southern grounds as the sky turned a milky pink and blue. He was trying to formulate ways to get George out again. Just for one more night. He wanted to talk with him.

The fact that guards were out and about everywhere wasn't what was worrying Dream the most at that moment. It was his own emotions. His compassion towards George was identical to the friendship that ended in literal flames.

His name was Sapnap. Prince Sapnap of a kingdom he couldn't recall the name of. His attempt at giving himself amnesia worked in a way he didn't want it to. He was also the reason how Dream got his nickname. His actual name was Clay, system name Agent #03, but he has referred to himself as Dream ever since Sapnap gave him the nickname. It was more than important to him.

In Dream's agency, agents were numbered, not named. If you referred to yourself by your name, you were ignored. You were only but a number to them. He happened to be number three. He never got to meet Agent #01 before his untimely death during a mission, but Agent #02 was someone he had grown close to for a short time. Emphasis on short; they couldn't agree to disagree and it ended in death for one side of the party.

There were also agents #04 and #05. Dream had no chance to form any opinions on them because he was sent on George's expulsion crusade before he could get the proper chance to meet them. All he knew is that they were suck-ups to the industry leader and that one of them was a female; something that was new to the agency.

His administrator mentioned something about looking into bringing in a sixth agent and that he had his eyes on someone, but Dream had no clue who it could possibly be. New agents were never someone he was previously acquainted with.

The moment Dream realized he didn't have the guts to kill Sapnap felt just like the moment Dream was wandering through the cornfield, heart aching at the thought of George dying right in front of him. He could remember this feeling when he wished he could spend more time with his target even if he didn't have to. He couldn't bear to think of Sapnap's body being located, littered in burns from the fire he lit, leaving him unrecognizably charred and stiff. He was stuck in another loop.

Dream's designated assassination method for George was drowning. He started growing uneasy when he envisioned having to shoulder George underwater as he twisted around, trying every possible thing he could to get a gasp of oxygen while quickly losing consciousness, his vision fading into blurry darkness. His lungs would feel like they were engulfed in barbed flames as he would take his final waterlogged breath, liquid flooding his body, all while wondering what he did to Dream to deserve this. Dream knew how it would play out, he's done it multiple times before.

He imagined how George would feel or what he would think of while being suffocated by his only friend. Betrayal, horror, panic. Dream already knew enough about his personality to presume that George would entirely blame himself. He'd think he did something wrong, something horrid enough to be punished by death. That stabbed at Dream's heart like a rusted dagger to soft wool. He didn't want George to think it was his fault he was being executed.

"No... No, no, no. Please," Dream whimpered, dropping down to his knees in the cornfield, brain full of distress and violence. "I can't do this again. I can't fucking do this. I'm not going to put anyone through that again, nor am I going to put myself through that again," he choked on his tears, "but they'll just kill us anyway! What's the fucking point!?"

Dream felt as if he was going crazy. He was at war with himself, and his indecisiveness was crumbling into delusion.

He wanted to go back to George and protect him but he really didn't have a choice. If he renounced his assignment, they'd simply send out a different agent. #03 would be deemed inadequate and eradicated for hesitation on a second interval. If he ran away with George to a faraway kingdom, they'd send teams out searching for them until they were either found lifeless or alive. Teams from both sides; George's frantic kingdom and Dream's relentless assassination agency. They'd never be able to live in tranquillity. Always on the run in fear of their lives.

Dream got himself dug into inescapably rooted trouble by joining the company. Truth be told, it wasn't wholly his fault, but there was no getting out of it now. His life was bound to the agency. If his ties were cut, so were the strings of his life.

He was going to make a highly hazardous decision. He feared it was too selfish. But George wasn't aware of how serious the case was. He didn't even know why Dream showed up in the first place. If they both wanted to keep living, he was going to have to take the risk.