Deal with a Demon

fourteen

We got the stone. Meet us at Niki's Cafe ASAP

Dream practically sighed in relief. He leapt out of bed in favor of getting changed, and had his clothes on in less than a minute.

George had awoken from his sudden departure, however, so Dream also ended up grabbing George's clothes and dressing the boy in front of him as well.

The brunette looked drowsily at his new outfit and yawned, "Tanks."

Dream would have fawned over the cuteness of George's stance, but he was too fixated on Tubbo's new text that he could hardly think of anything else. So, he scooped the brunette up in his arms and headed for the door.

George didn't even protest, and instead wrapped his arms around Dream's neck. "Where're we going?"

"To the cafe. Meeting Tubbo and Ranboo to get Wil's stone."

"They got it?"

"Yeah," Dream grinned. "They did." With that, he took off in the direction of the cafe. He used his super-speed out of excitement and then they were there, at Niki's, in less than a minute.

Sitting at the front window were three boys, two of them Dream knew well, and the other was the blonde he had come to realize as Tommy. They were laughing with each other about something probably unrelated to the stone, so Dream headed inside.

Two chairs were open in between Tommy and Ranboo. Dream took the seat next to Ranboo, and he set down George next to Tommy.

"What's he doing here?" Tommy asked the vampire helpers. His eyes were wide and he instinctively reached for the purple stone at the edge of the table.

Dream only grinned, but Ranboo held an arm out in front of the vampire as he said, "Tommy, remember the talks we had about all the issues you experience with Wil."

The blonde considered for a moment, his head hung low with a frown on his face, debating, until he shook his head. "How's this people-eater supposed to do anything 'bout that?"

"Well with that stone..." Dream started.

"I know what the stone does, and there's no way I'm letting you have it," he scoffed. "You'll prolly kill him if you got your hands on it."

Dream smiled, "That was the plan."

Tommy glared at the vampire and brought the stone into closed hands.

"Tommy," Tubbo started, "Wilbur isn't even supposed to be alive right now. We'd only be killing something that's practically dead anyway."

Tommy stayed quiet so Ranboo added, "Remember Bill and Aimsey? Freddie?"

Tommy looked down again, his eyes were filled with melancholy.

"We can bring Bill and Aims back," Tubbo added. Then, his voice got lower, "You can't say the same about Freddie."

"Freddie's different."

"He was your best friend, and Wil killed him- there's nothing else to say."

They were quiet, so Dream decided to look at George. The brunette was leaning against his arm on the table, eyes closing every second. So, Dream wrapped an arm around George and pulled him close to his chest. "Thanks," the brunette mumbled for the second time that morning as he closed his eyes for good.

Dream zoned back into the conversation from before, "So, maybe Wil has some issues...but he's my brother!"

Tubbo and Ranboo gave him a look, and Tommy continued, "You can't just kill 'im!"

Even if Tommy flat out refused to give them the stone, it was already here, right in front of Dream's grasp. He would just have to take it in another way.

George hummed against the vampire's chest, "Don't do what you're about to do," he said simply, eyes still closed and face still relaxed.

Dream frowned, "Well, I kind of have to."

"Hey! What're you two talkin' about?" Tommy interjected.

"Nothin'," George mumbled.

Tommy pulled the stone further into his grasp and made an effort to get up. "I'm gonna go," he said, voice cautious. He squinted his eyes one more time at Dream before getting up and pushing his chair in.

Before he could reach the door, however, Dream had stood up in the blink of an eye, and placed himself so he was standing between Tommy and the exit. He reached out a hand, an eyebrow raised, as he ordered, "Give me the stone, Tommy."

Tommy glared at the vampire and looked down. He tried to walk past Dream, but the vampire was quick. Before Tommy could so much as take another step, the Enderstone was taken out of his grasp, and held by a grinning vampire. He reached towards Dream, trying to do anything he could to get the stone back, but the vampire was already seated back at the table, stone in hand.

He raised up his arm and then smashed the stone against the table. It made a loud noise, and for a moment all the other residents of the cafe turned to look at the odd group in the front, but then it went back to its usual chatter.

Dream removed his hand from the stone and was shocked to see the rock was still in one piece.

"What?" He said, exasperated.

Tubbo and Ranboo were looking wide-eyed at the stone, George wasn't paying attention, and Tommy was grinning. "It'll take more than that to break it, big man."

Dream rolled his eyes. He'd need a hammer or something, something big and hard enough to smash the stone, and all of Wiburl's life along with it.

Just then, before Dream could take George and go somewhere with more... resources, Tommy got a call. The blonde looked down at his phone, and his grin turned into a worried frown. His fingers shook as he pressed the accept button. "Hi, Wil."

Dream zoned in on the conversation, using his vampire senses to figure out what Wilbur was saying. "Tommy!" The hunter chimed in jokingly. Then, his voice went lower, "Where did you go?"

Tommy gulped and looked around the room. "Out to breakfast with Tubbs and Ranboo. You want anything for when I get back?"

It was quiet on the other side of the call. Dream could practically hear Wilbur's brain turning. "I'm headed that way, actually. I think I'll join you... if that's okay."

The last words were so ominous that Dream could nearly see a chill work its way down Tommy's spine. "Right, yeah, see you soon."

The blonde hung the phone up after that, placing the electronic back in his pocket. "Wil's on his way," he said looking down. "I'd leave if I were you."

Dream took notice of the boy's physical state. His shoulders were hunched and his head was hung low. He was-

"Scared," Dream said. "You're scared of him."

Tommy looked up at that, "I'd be stupid not to be." He checked his phone again and placed it on the table. "He's coming any minute now. He tracks where I go, so it shouldn't be long now."

The shift in attitude had Dream wheeling. Tommy didn't even ask for the stone back, didn't try and take it from him- he just gave up. If this is what Wilbur did to the people he kept close, then, well, Dream really wanted to just kill the asshole even more.

So, he got up, picked George up again, placed the stone safely in his jacket, and sped off to his apartment.

He couldn't help but hope that Tommy wouldn't be punished too badly for the bizarre disappearance of his brother's lifeline.