Sapnap charges in first, raising his diamond sword and bringing it down in a clean slice. I duck to the left, spinning around and behind him, so close that our bodies touch. The close contact has him falter, his swing cutting through nothing.

Easily, I jab out a foot and knock him in the back of his knee.

Instantly he buckles, a curse escaping his lips. I take the opportunity to kick the sword from his hand, disarming him.

"Told you I didn't need a weapon," I hum, unable to help myself.

Sapnap yells in frustration and scrambles after his sword.

I respond by kicking it even further.

My amusement is short-lived as Dream appears soundlessly behind me.

I hear the swish of a blade as his netherite axe slices through the air, and try to twist away before he can land the hit.

I'm too late, and the axe skims my shoulder, tearing up my shirt, missing the flesh by mere inches. I'm thrown off by how quiet the man is. He'd made no sound during his approach, leading me to think he was still a few feet away.

We circle around each other, observing one another, waiting for a chance to attack. While Dream is quick, I'm nimble. Our attributes are annoyingly balanced.

Dream darts forward and makes a slice for my chest, his axe swinging in a horizontal line.

Taking a quick breath, I bend my entire upper body backwards, folding clean at the waist. The black blade sails past my nose.

Seeing an opening, I jab my hand out and up, smacking my palm flat against his mask with as much strength as I can muster.

There's a soft crunch as his nose breaks, and I hear a grunt of pain from his end.

Usually, this little trick has my opponents stumbling back in agony. But other than the faint grunt, Dream hardly even reacts. Instead, he turns the fight back on me, using our close proximity to kick my legs out from under me, not unlike what I'd just done to Sapnap.

I land in the dirt with an "oomph" and have the cool edge of a blade immediately press to my throat.

Dream towers over me, perfectly composed. Blood from his broken nose drips steadily out from beneath his mask, staining what little of his jaw I can see a dark red. He sniffs and reaches up to rub at his bloody jaw with the back of a gloved hand.

I remain still, watching and waiting for a possible chance to retaliate.

"Hah! Not so cocky now, are you?" Sapnap taunts, on his feet and positioned beside Dream, his sword back in his possession. "You're not that tough."

"Says the guy who just got jelly-legged by a girl," Dream comments, his tone light and teasing despite the pain he must be feeling in his nose.

"Sh-shut up! She caught me off guard, okay? How was I supposed to know she'd be so weasely?"

I giggle as the image of Sapnap folding like a chair springs to memory. It had been pretty funny.

"Ah!" I quickly slap a hand to my mouth. I'm not supposed to be laughing. This is a serious situation!

"Hey! Were you just laughing at me?!" Sapnap demands, his face growing red with indignation.

I purse my lips.

"Um...no..?"

Dream snorts and quickly looks away to avoid Sapnap's glare.

"You little- Let's see you try laughing without a head!" He seethes, and makes to take a swing at me, but Dream holds out an arm to stop him.

"I got this. You take care of Schlatt." He instructs.

Sapnap's anger flicks to joy in an instant, and he lowers his sword, "Oh, hell to the yes! Finally!"

"Ah, bother." I frown. I should have just used my weapon from the beginning instead of trying to look cool. I still stand by my statement that I could have won against Sapnap unarmed. But Dream is a whole other matter.

As Sapnap turns to run off, Dream props his axe against his shoulder and stares me down. I blink up at him, and then smile apologetically.

Before he can question me, there's a loud thunk followed by a yell of pain from Sapnap.

Dream spins around just in time to see a shining, blue projectile come whizzing at him.

He barely manages to dodge the unidentified object as it shoots past him with a hum, and smacks into the palm of my waiting hand.

The trident vibrates happily against my grip as I stand, dusting off my knees.

"Shit." Dream mutters, casting a glance back to Sapnap.

Said male is currently rolling around in the grass, clutching at his forehead where he'd been smacked sidelong by my trident's handle. While it may sound comical, tridents are actually said to share the same strength as netherite. Even if you're hit with the blunt end of one, the damage is severe. It can easily break bone and mash muscle.

I should know. I've tested it on many an opponent in the past.

"Are you sure you want to continue this fight?" I question, spinning my trident around to point its three prongs at the masked man.

Dream hesitates, again looking back at Sapnap, who has now gone limp and silent. A trickle of blood slides down from beneath his hairline and between his eyes.

I can see the cogs spinning in his mind. Go and help his companion, or try to defeat me.

He chooses the former option.

"Fine, you win today." He cedes, sliding the axe into his belt.

I wait till he's crouched at Sapnap's side before lowering my trident, and taking a breath.

That was...not my prettiest fight, I'll admit. I didn't expect Dream to be so quick on his feet. As a result, I underestimated him. But it would appear he also underestimated me. Not that I can blame him. Nobody ever expects a flying trident.

Dream places two partially-gloved fingers to Sapnap's neck, checking his pulse. He stays like this for a good twenty seconds, much longer than needed to check a pulse. I find myself growing steadily more curious with each extra second, prompting me to finally sidle cautiously over, observing the fallen male.

"He isn't dead, is he?" I ask.

Dream hums in thought.

"No...I don't think so..."

We both stare down at Sapnap, his face and hair slick with blood. A long, bloody bruise runs across his forehead like a strip of red tape.

He's going to be feeling that for weeks.

"I'd recommend checking for brain damage when he wakes up," I comment offhandedly, shifting my trident in my grip. "I once knocked a guy so hard he went mute."

Dream removes his hand from Sapnap's neck and straightens up. "Eh, I think he'll be fine."

"Why's that?"

"Don't you need a brain for it to get damaged?"

I nod thoughtfully, "Ah, that is true."

Dream chokes out an involuntary laugh and quickly tries to cover it up with a cough.

I eye him curiously. Tubbo never mentioned anything about him having a sense of humour.

"You should probably leave. Schlatt will be missing his babysitter." Dream comments once his throat has been cleared. He grabs one of Sapnap's arms and pulls the young man up and over his shoulders in a fireman's lift.

Before he leaves, he fixes me with one final stare, the white of his mask glinting in the dying daylight.

"We will be back." He warns, just in case I may have thought that our fight was finished.

I nod.

"I know."

I remain stood where I am as Dream trudges away, up and over the wooden path and into the night, Sapnap swinging like a rag doll on his shoulders.

Once gone from view, I prop my trident against a shoulder and survey the surrounding landscape, debating which shrub or building Schlatt may have hidden himself behind.

I'm distracted by a flash of white in the grass.

It's in the patch where Sapnap had fallen, still pressed flat from the weight of his body.

On closer inspection I find a white ribbon crumpled in the dirt. One end is soaked red with blood.

I recognise this fabric. It's what Sapnap wears as a bandana. It must have come loose during the fight.

I hesitate, unsure of what to do. It feels like a shame to just leave it here...

Coming to a decision, I pick up the strip of white and wrap it around a wrist. I don't know what I'll do with it yet, but having the option to return it to Sapnap feels like the right thing to do. I already know Schlatt won't care. If anything he'll probably find my kindness funny. He usually does.

It doesn't take me long to find the horned man leant against a tree, chewing on a length of grass. He sees me coming and grins, pulling the weed from his teeth.

"That was quick. It hasn't even been ten minutes," he muses, giving me and my trident a once-over. "So, I take it Dream and his little goon are..?" He draws a finger across his throat and makes a slitting noise.

I shake my head, "No. Dream relented."

"Fuck!" He scuffs a black shoe across the ground, kicking up dirt. "Tell me you at least gutted that whiny bitch, Sapnap?"

"He's..-" I hesitate as I ponder exactly how to answer this question. For all I know he could be in a coma from that crack to the cranium. Or have a concussion. Or even amnesia.

"He's...out of the picture for now," I respond slowly, settling for an obscure truth.

"Well, I suppose that's good enough," Schlatt mutters, rubbing at his chin. "Hey, weren't you saying something about a community house before we were so rudely ambushed?"

"Yes, sir. I believe I know the way."

"Good. Good. Let's go there, then. My feet are starting to hurt."

If I had a nugget for every time I've heard that complaint..., I think with a small smile, gesturing for Schlatt to follow my lead.

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I am...not the best at writing fights scenes, but I think this chapter came out okay. I'm happy that I finally got to show off Ares' trident at least.

Oh, and thank you everyone for all the great recommendations in the previous chapter! I'm slowly making my way through each one!