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He couldn't do it.
He'd finally gotten Dream to let his guard down, all under the ruse of 'catching up with his old best friend now that he'd somehow gotten out of prison'. And Dream had come along willingly, smiling like he didn't have a care in the world.
With the power Dream casually held, Sapnap supposed there was very little Dream could worry about without resolving it in his own, twisted ways.
And oh, how twisted he'd become, killing with no remorse, toying with lives like they were all his personal little puppets to play with. His mania had torn their once peaceful and happy trio apart, casting George in a dream-like state to be cherished by Dream whenever he wanted, and using Sapnap as his own little knight whenever he felt like it. And with every new member joining their lands, it seemed a bit more of Dream's sanity was lost to the void.
So he had to stop it. It was ironic, in a way, of how Dream considered Sapnap a soldier-for-hire, and he'd now really take up the mantle of the protective soldier their lands needed.
Dream needed to be stopped.
Even with his otherworldly powers, Dream wasn't above the laws of life and death, and Sapnap knew there was only one way he could well and truly stop him. He dreaded the thought of losing his best friend like that, but this was for more than just his own feelings. Killing Dream could mean bringing peace back to the lands. And, truly, was Dream still the same best friend he used to spend his childhood with? Was he still the energetic, optimistic, competitive boy he'd met all those ages ago? Was he still his Dream?
It didn't matter.
Tears stung in his Sapnap's when he grabbed the splash potion, threatening to trouble his vision. He blinked them away, taking a deep breath before facing his best friend.
“What do you have there, Sap?” Dream asked, voice casually cheerful. Too cheerful, Sapnap knew, because there was no way he hadn't recognised the foggy blue of the potion of weakness.
“I'm sorry, Dream,” Sapnap heaved. “I have to do this. I have to do this for George, for Karl and Quackity. I have to do this for all the people you've been terrorising for too long.” Not waiting a moment longer, he smashed the potion on the ground between Dream's feet, and when Dream staggered, swiped his axe across his mask before kicking him to the ground. He threw his axe to the side and drew his sword, pointing it downwards towards Dream.
Dream's mask, cracked in the middle due to Sapnaps blow, clattered on the ground behind his head, and finally, he could see Dream's expression again. For a long moment, Dream lay unmoving on the ground, surprise written all over his face while Sapnap held the point of his blade centimetres from his throat. But then Dream relaxed, expression morphing in a relaxed, if slightly manic smile, and Sapnap knew he was doomed.
“Really, Sapnap? Where did this come from?” Dream chuckled.
“Is this what you wanted? The lands are in peril, and-” Sapnap choked on a sob. “Even though I warned you, holding this sword to your neck, I-”
His eyes grew wetter yet again, and when he blinked, the tears rolled down his cheeks, dripping on Dream's face under him.
“I can't do it. You're my best friend, Dream,” he sobbed, letting his sword slip out of his hand where it clattered on the ground beside them. “You've killed people, destroyed countries, but you're still my best friend-”
Dream pushed himself up from the ground, reaching out for Sapnap's shoulder. He pulled him against his chest, and for a moment, Sapnap let himself be soothed in Dream's embrace, let his warmth and familiar smell wash over him, biting back a whimper that threatened to escape his throat.
“I'm so glad someone as kind as you was my friend, Sapnap,” Dream murmured next to his ear. “And that's exactly why…”
Sapnap barely recognised the burning sting of the blade entering his back, and as it was, he froze, breath catching in his throat.
“… you are too weak to kill me.”
His body felt immeasurably heavy when he hit the ground. Even through the haze of pain, he could make out Dream's retreating steps as he casually walked out of the room, as if he hadn't just stabbed his friend in the back. Sapnap wanted to scream, to plead for Dream to come back, to rage and lash out with his weapons, to cry and weep and sob. But the searing pain made place for unfeeling numbness, his limbs heavy and unmoving.
He finally let out that whimper, before darkness consumed all.
Sapnap liked to think it was the soft caress over his cheek that woke him, but truthfully, it was the sharp stinging in his back, first slowly throbbing, and then returning tenfold, spreading waves of white-hot pain through his entire body. He groaned and tensed up, before the hand returned to stroke along his jaw, soft murmurs soothing him into unclenching his body. Before he had time to wonder about who had found him, a voice spoke up.
“Don't move, Sapnap,” Karl's voice sounded above him. “The regen potions are slowly working, and Quackity went to grab more health potions, but that wound'll be smarting for some time. You'll only hurt yourself.”
Karl, and Quackity, then. Sapnap dreaded to imagine what that must have been for them, finding their fiancé bleeding out on the floor of their house. He whined in the back of his throat, and Karl returned a hand to Sapnap's hair, running his fingers through his locks and smoothing them down.
“You scared us, Sap,” Karl whispered. “Scared me. I thought I'd lost you forever.” There was some shuffling, and then Karl's face came into view as he lowered himself next to Sapnap's still-prone body. “Please don't ever scare us like that again, Sap. I… we wouldn't know what to do.”
With effort, Sapnap raised his arm and laid his hand on top of Karl's, gripping it before pulling it towards his mouth. He pressed a kiss to the back of the hand before returning it to where it lay.
“I'm so sorry,” he mumbled hoarsely, and Karl let out a wet chuckle.
“I forgive you. If Quackity will, though, that's still undecided.”
Sapnap smiled. “Guess I'll have to stick around to find out, then.”