Dream felt sick to his stomach as the guards forcefully pulled him from the room. They dragged him past the carriage that waited under the 'peaceful' trees, obviously not trusting him not to make a run for it.

Good, be scared.

He glared at them with anger, despite them being unable to see it because of the pale white mask that covered his face.

They continued to pull him down the hill as he stumbled, unable to walk normally. His foot tripped on a rock, making dust crumble underneath him as they moved.

Dream continued to shove against them, trying desperately to escape and run to George. It was no luck.

"Let go of me!" he growled out, but they did not respond. His protests were carried away by the wind.

They passed by trees, a small creek, and lots and lots of dirt.

Dream surveyed all of his surroundings, desperately trying to map the path they were taking through his mind.

Soon enough, he began to see the village, and people stared at him in curiosity as they slipped out from behind a store, being marched towards his ship.

Finally, they let go of him, gesturing for him to board.

Dream let out a yell as he lunged forward, throwing a punch towards the closest guard. His fist collided with the man's cheek, and the guard let out a cry of shock, stumbling back and bringing his hand to his cheek.

The other guard shoved Dream towards the ramp. The man pushed him up, pointing his sword at him until Dream was standing upon the ship, no longer on the ramp.

"Do not come back, or we'll kill all of them." the man gestured behind Dream, and the blonde realised with dread that his crew was probably standing right behind him.

Dream hesitated, and the man grunted, walking down to the dock and removing the ramp.

Dream watched them with eyes of steel as they left, continuing to stare until they disappeared behind the village.

"Dream?" Phil's careful voice called from behind him, and the man turned around slowly.

All of his crew stood there with wary eyes, and Dream shoved his mask off his face, resting it on top of his head, as he usually did. He'd been in a state of shock before, but now all the emotions started to hit him.

George. They had George.

"Dream," Tommy said warily, "where's George?"

Dream gulped, tears starting to run down his face.

"They took him." he whispered, but everyone heard him despite his quiet tone.

"What?" Tommy echoed, voice cracking slightly.

Sapnap rushed forward, opening his arms as Dream collapsed into them.

Dream gripped onto Sapnap's shirt, tears streaking down his cheeks.

"They took him, Sapnap," Dream mumbled into Sapnap's shoulder as Dream shook, "they took him."

Sapnap rubbed his back soothingly, gripping the man tighter.

"It's ok, Dream." he murmured, trying to calm him down. Dream shook his head, sobbing into Sapnap's shoulder.

"It's not okay!" he yelled, "They took him! He's gone." he croaked.

"He's not gone." A voice interrupted them, and Dream glanced up, blinking blurrily through the tears, and he saw the figure of Phil.

"He's not gone," Phil repeated, "he's there, in the castle. We just need to get him back." he said sternly.

Dream glanced to the side, seeing a shaking Tommy who was gripping onto Wilbur.

Guilt flashed through him as he looked at the other worried people. He wasn't the only one upset about this. And yet, he felt he had more right than anyone to cry.

He nodded his head after a moment, tears still dripping down his flushed face.

"We just need to get him back." he repeated Phil's words.

Dream slowly untangled himself from Sapnap's arms and rubbed his tired face.

He looked up and met Sapnap's eyes. The man looked extremely worried. It was possibly the most worried look he'd ever seen grace his face.

Dream breathed out deeply, trying to collect himself.

He had to be strong, for George.

He cleared his throat, looking around at his crew, who waited with open ears for what he had to say.

"We need a plan."

The others murmured their agreement, and they all made their way downstairs to the main table, sitting down.

Dream pushed some paper and pencils onto it and took his seat next to Fundy.

"We're going to have to figure out a way to get past the guards, and find some way to George." he said, and he got a few nods back.

Niki glanced up, "How are we supposed to do that? It's extremely fortified, and they've probably locked him in the most secure place possible. He is a merman, after all."

Dream furrowed his brows, running a hand through his hair.

"Shit..." Ranboo mumbled, and Ant sighed.

"We're not giving up," Dream growled out, "we'll find a way."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Two days.

Two days of his ship being parked at the dock, with no plan whatsoever.

Two days without George.

They were all in the main room, littered around, trying to figure out any weaknesses in the castle's defence.

So far, there were none.

Dream sighed, head resting in his hands when he heard shouting from above.

Dream narrowed his tired eyes, glancing at Philza, who shrugged.

The shouting continued, and more and more of his crew raised their heads, looking towards the stairs.

Dream stood up carefully, making his way up the stairs, not looking behind him to see who was following.

He looked around, seeing no one.

"Over here!" he heard a voice yell, and he crossed over to the side of the ship facing the village, and looked over the side, hands gripped onto the railing.

A boy stood on the dock, probably the same age as Tommy would be, give or take a year or two. He had brown puffy hair, and clothes with such good quality that Dream did a double-take. He wore pastel blue robes, with darker blue patterns on it, and white fluff lining it. He thought back to months ago when he'd met that man, Techno-something, and realised they wore very similar clothing.

He was waving his hands, jumping in the spot to get his attention.

"What do you want?" he called out warily, and the boy grinned.

"Let me up!"

"Why would I do that?" Dream asked, and the boy huffed.

"I'm here to help you!" the boy called back, and Dream narrowed his eyes.

He glanced over his shoulder, seeing literally everyone standing there.

Phil shrugged at him.

"It could be a trap." Wilbur warned, and Dream raised an eyebrow.

"He's scrawny. We can handle him if it is." Skeppy said, after having a look at the boy standing on the platform below.

Dream nodded his head in agreement, turning back around and leaning over the side.

"Okay, fine."

He moved back slightly, helping attach the ramp, and the boy hopped up, tripping slightly as he made his way to the top.

Dream stood in front of him, and the boy gulped slightly, before plastering a smile onto his face.

"My name is Tubbo." the boy said, holding his hand out for Dream to shake.

The man did so, eyes narrowed.

"Dream."

"Yes, I know!" the teenager, Tubbo, responded, and Dream raised an eyebrow.

He studied him for a moment, before realisation struck him.

This was the boy from months ago! The one in Schlatt's throne room, hiding in the corner.

"You're the kid from the palace." Dream said, and Tubbo narrowed his eyes.

"I'm not a kid! I'm seventeen!" he responded, and Sapnap snorted from behind Dream.

"Still a kid."

Tubbo glared at him for a moment, before returning his attention to Dream.

"How are you supposed to help me?" Dream asked, gesturing the boy to follow him as they made their way downstairs.

"Well, you see, I know the castle very well!" Tubbo responded, jumping down the last few steps.

Dream sat at the table as the others filed in, and Tubbo sat next to him.

"Oh?" Dream raised an eyebrow.

Tubbo nodded.

"Well, of course I do! I'm the prince!" he mentioned, and Dream's eyes widened slightly.

"You could have led with that, kid." Sapnap cut in, and Tubbo shrugged sheepishly.

"Hold on, prince?!" Tommy squawked, and Tubbo nodded his head rigourously.

Tommy's eyes widened in awe, as he moved to sit next to the boy.

Dream rolled his eyes. Teenage bonding could wait for later.

"I'm sorry," Dream started, "but if you're the prince, why do you want to help us?"

Tubbo frowned slightly, staring at the table.

"I don't like my father. Schlatt. He's a bad guy, and he does bad things," Tubbo said, and Dream saw Phil frown.

Oh god, please don't adopt this child, Phil, Dream thought to himself.

"And he's not been nice to George! He's- he's evil, and he's ruining the kingdom. I want him gone." Tubbo finished, looking back up.

"George?" Dream asked, "You know George?"

Tubbo nodded his head, "I snuck in yesterday, and we talked for a bit! I mentioned I was planning to see you and he told me to tell you to forget about him and protect the crew, but I can see you're probably going to go back for him."

His heart warmed slightly at the thought that George cared so much about the crew, about him, but he also wanted to sigh at the merman's stubbornness.

Dream nodded after a moment, realising he hadn't responded, "Damn right we're going back for him."

Tubbo smiled slightly, "Then I can help you with that."

"How?" Ranboo asked from across the table, and Tubbo smiled awkwardly again.

"I've called off the all guards protecting all entrances. Believe it or not, most of them hate Schlatt too. They won't rat me out, I promise." Tubbo assured him, seeing the skeptical look on Dream's face.

"They've got George in this cellar down below, and the floor has water on it, so he has no way of transforming. I'm thinking we need a few people down there to help carry him. Then we find somewhere dry, wait for him to transform, and escape," Tubbo planned out, "we get him out safely, and then deal with Schlatt."

Dream thought the plan through his head a few times, before nodding slightly.

"It's the best bet we've got. Thank you, Tubbo." Dream murmured, and the boy shrugged, scratching the back of his head awkwardly at the praise.

"What do you plan on doing with Schlatt, Big T?" Tommy asked, already having found a nickname for the teen.

Tubbo smiled slightly, obviously happy at the nickname, before a determined look flicked across his face.

"I've got a choice of words to say to him. They've been building up over the years."

"Oh yeah, like what?" Tommy egged him on.

Tubbo grinned, "I'll tell him to fuck off!"

Tommy raised his hand and they high fived.

"Yes you will!"

Dream watched the interaction and rolled his eyes slightly, but was secretly glad Tommy had made a friend.

"If we get rid of Schlatt, does that mean you'll get the kingdom?" Ranboo asked, and Tubbo pondered it for a moment.

"My dad's husband, Quackity, will probably take it," Tubbo stated, "he's not born into the royal line but I know he'll do it until I decide I'm ready. I want to wait a couple more years before I jump into that. I'll still stick around and we'll make the decisions together, but he'll be king."

Dream raised an eyebrow, "Are you so sure he'll be on your side?"

Tubbo nodded, "He's the one that helped me with the guards. He loved my father, once, a long while ago, but all he brings is pain now. We both understand that it's for the best." Tubbo murmured sadly, and Phil crossed over, giving him a comforting pat on the back.

"You're doing the right thing, Tubbo."

Tubbo smiled slightly, "I know."

They sat there for a few minutes, conversing slightly as they went over the plans again, before Tubbo looked up at Dream.

"We should go now, the timing is best, and there's not much else to plan at this point." Tubbo said, and Dream nodded.

He looked around at his crew, Bad and Skeppy planning to stay behind and protect the ship, and smiled.

"Let's go get our George back."

x - x - x - x -x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x - x

Hello friends!! This chapter is a long boi today!! Hope you enjoyed, and yEaH!

Happy reading!!!

-Bee

(16/2/21)

Co-posted on ao3