Finding Them

"You can't kill a Deadman, but you can send him back to hell." Tubbo's words echoed through the hallway as chaos reigned upon them. He sprinted to the room Fundy had left them in earlier, retrieving the little black box. Such an unsuspecting item, a harmless little box... but it held more surprises than you could imagine.

The little black box.

The key to the end, and beginning, of the world.

He swiped it from the shelf- cradling it in the crook of his arm, snuggled between his chest and forearm- before taking off again in the direction he just came. The stone walls blurred past his vision as he ran. Soon enough he could see the exit, a blonde mop of hair peaking over the window sill. 

"Phil! Catch!" Tubbo yelled, throwing the box as if it were a football over the battlefield.

Phil's eyes widened in surprise not expecting the hurtling object towards his backside.

Didn't anyone ever tell this kid not to throw something when someone wasn't looking?

The box flipped through the air haphazardly, gravity taking over. Out of the corner of his eye Dream caught a glimpse of the hurdling object. His eyes widened, lips parting slightly, attention shifting from his opponents to the object in the air.

"NO!" He shrieked excruciatingly loud, rendering his enemies temporarily deaf. Sam and Puffy who had been closest to him hunched over on impact, hands rushing to cover their ears uselessly. Dream sprinted across the expansion towards the box, opponents left forgotten and writhing in pain. His eyes dilated slightly, it was as if he now had tunnel vision, his sole focus to retrieve the object of his downfall. 

The box fell to the ground with a thump, a foot away from Phil's heel. He spun around quickly snatching the box from the damp grass and sprinting in the other direction. 

"Tubbo! Now would be a good time to tell me how to work this thing!" he shouted, Dream trailing behind him. 

"Just open it, you idiot!" the boy shouted back, still heaving from retrieving the box. Phil did as he was told lifting the lid gently. The moment air could enter or escape a thick black haze emitted from the lips of the box, filling the air around them. It was magnetic almost, attracted to the sole being who was out of place. The mist gravitated toward him at a fast pace.

Dream was speechless, fight or flight response kicking in. His body turned sharply taking off in the other direction. A pointless attempt to escape his sealed fate. He knew he wouldn't be able to outrun the thick fog, but he would try anyway. The black smog wrapped its tendrils around his limbs tightly like vines, dragging him back into the depths of hell. He struggled, screamed, cursed, anything he was capable of at that moment, but it still did nothing as his feet drug on the slippery dew damp grass towards the opening of the box. The tip of his toe touched the lip of the box dead on, the smog grew thicker encasing his entire body, hiding it from their sight, and in a swirl of smoke and screams the lid snapped shut with finality. 

The box was unsettlingly still as it sat in the grass, everyone heaving and huffing around it. 

"Is it- is it gone?" Wilbur stuttered out watching the box warily. 

Tubbo nodded, "he won't be returning, ever as long the demon king keeps him under wraps. Something tells me that won't be a problem either..." he trailed off with a smile on his face. 

Meanwhile with Dream and the demon king.... 

"Oh, you have got  to be kidding me!" Dream yelled as he kneeled in front of the throne, only held back by the beasts of hell. Schlatt couldn't help the excessive grin that stretched across his face as he stared at his rival in such a pitiful state. 

"You know Dream, this is quite fun I must say. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought you would ever be here, at the foot of my throne, begging for mercy... and yet, here you are," he sneered. 

Dream glared up at the king, crown lopsided on his head. "I will I never beg to you," he growled. Schlatt's smile only grew as Dream grunted under the pressure weighing on his back. 

"Well then... who would I be to deny such a request, I'll make sure you get the full experience then." He waved the minions off, dragging Dream by his forearms out of the room. Schlatt couldn't help but laugh at the display of weakness. 

Then his smile fell as he was left in the room, and he whispered to himself solemnly, "You know Dream, you were quite a good rival, but you always did try to rush into things, didn't you? That was your greatest downfall."