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Manhunts are supposed to be fun.
It's supposed to be some light-hearted competition between friends, where they practice their skills and try to be creative. Yes, of course, sometimes someone gets hurt, and depending on the injury, the group will decide to continue or not. They are not, however, supposed to die. That is not part of the game and never has been.
The speedrunner wins by killing the ender dragon—the hunter's win by pinning the runner down until he admits defeat. This is usually when the runner is in a situation they can't get out of, like pinned down by someone's axe or getting caught in their traps. Deaths do happen, especially for the hunters; however, their respawn system has been tweaked, allowing them to respawn instantly without the agony accompanied by it. They simply die and wake up at their nearest spawn point, continuing the game from there. No pain, no confusion, no scars. Respawning is a process that causes an insane amount of pain, and it can take from a day to a few weeks to respawn, depending on the cause of death.
When a player dies, they carry their injuries into the void. Depending on how bad the death was, it correlates to the length they spend in the void. If a player dies from hunger, they will spend less time in the null than someone who died from blood loss. Their body simply repairs itself before sending the player back.
Once a player returns from the void, however, their injuries are not entirely healed. The void seals the wounds but does not take away the pain. The player simply floats in nothingness while feeling nothing but the pain of their slowly healing wounds. They stare into nothingness as their bodies shift and click, putting things back into place that shouldn't have moved, and it hurts terribly.
Once the void deems them okay enough to respawn, it sends them back to their respawn point, whether a bed, respawn anchor or the spawn of the world. The player returns to that spot, usually unconscious, and their body determines when they wake. They remain in pain when they return to the world; the injuries merely healed over, so they don't die again instantly. From there, they must live in the agony of their wounds until they heal naturally. Not to mention, when the player wakes, they usually suffer a heavy fog of dysphoric confusion. Long story short: respawning is not fun.
However, thanks to Dream, the hunters get a free pass from this borderline torture.
For the runner, though, it's slightly different. Since the goal isn't to kill them, they technically shouldn't die, meaning there was no point wasting energy to manipulate the code for them.
See, changing code takes a lot of effort and energy, and it's something that younger admins usually struggle with. For this reason, most server's haven't changed their respawn mechanics, merely warning the players against it and moving on.
Dream, although young, is a very powerful admin. The admin can create new worlds at the snap of a finger and manipulate code with minimal effort. He is an anomaly to the admin community; most envy him for his power at age 21. Though very skilled and robust, even some commands can break him.
Dream was able to change the code for the respawn quite easily but was bedridden for a few days after. His arms felt like jelly, and it felt like all the life energy was gone from his body. Turns out, even for the most potent admins, changing 4 peoples respawn mechanics in a short period takes a lot out of you. Through his time weakened, he decided that it would be unnecessary to manipulate his own code for respawning since he didn't die during manhunts. Plus, he really didn't wanna feel this weak again. Besides, the only time he got close to dying was by accident, such as falling in lava or getting hit by the dragon.
Even still, he had precautions put into place in case of an emergency. Dream always had a supply of fire res that he could only use when it was vital and had never missed an MLG. The group had come together to decide that Dream needed some backup items before something happened that they wouldn't like. He would never die in manhunts.
Until now,
The health of the dragon is dangerously low, meaning everyone's starting to get riskier. Everyone becomes blinded by the want to win, that they no longer think things through. They all thrive off the adrenaline of the game, blood pumping and hearts racing. They move off muscle memory, no longer making conscious thoughts.
This is mistake number 1.
Dream lets himself become immersed in the experience, paying less attention to the hunters surrounding him and more attention to the magenta health bar depleting. With every hit from his iron axe, the bar moves slightly down, eliciting more adrenaline and excitement into the blonde. His breathing is heavy, feeling exhausted as he hauls his axe above his head over and over. His arms ache faintly, dulled by the blood pumping through his head.
Several hunters run at him, only to be knocked back by the dragon, who acts as a temporary shield for the runner. Dream smiles, realising he's safe while the dragon stays down. A constant stream of curses and frustrated groans surround him as the others grow frustrated by his protection. The dragon shifts, facing another direction, wings flaring and tails swinging obnoxiously.
Ant runs forwards, iron axe raised, only to be hit into the air by a wild tail, thrown above the height limit. Screams of his name echo through the End, and every pair of human eyes turn to the skies as they watch the cat hybrid be launched into the air. The 3 other hunters can do nothing but watch as Ant realises his lack of water bucket, and he crashes to the floor, fading into a pile of items. Dream returns to what he was doing, paying no mind to the sudden death. No one is concerned, and rightfully so, as soon enough, Ant reappears on the obsidian island and begin to run back to his items.
It lets out a bellowing roar and shifts again, flapping its wings harder and with more force. Dream almost falls from the wind produced from the actions before finally the dragon flies away from its perch. It quickly returns to circling the pillars with some precise and unknown pattern. Dream collects himself and instantly runs away with it.
George stands from a distance, waiting for a moment to distract but wary of his lack of items. He lost his things when he was knocked into the void earlier, able to do nothing but watch and try to mislead the runner. The other three, Sapnap, Bad and Ant, all wear enchanted iron, Sapnap with diamond boots. Dream has nothing but full iron, unenchanted and close to breaking.
He opens his inventory quickly, cringing at the black durability on his armour, one shot away from breaking. He internally kicks himself for not getting another set or going to take Ant's earlier. Dream's head whips to the side as a rush of air passes by his head, his lapse of concentration causing him to let down his guard. His inventory closes instantly. He turns around, seeing Sapnap loading up another arrow, the enchantments on his bow gleaming obnoxiously.
Dream runs to the obsidian pillars, using them as a cover from Sapnap's enchanted bow, contents unknown to Dream, who has somehow managed to block and dodge all the shots so far in his sprint for cover. Dream's own bow was utterly useless now since he had long since run out of arrows. He could always go after the arrows that Sap has missed, but that would bring him close to the edge of the end island. This close to winning, he wasn't about to take that risk. So instead, he merely runs and blocks, avoiding shots from Sapnap while Bad and Ant pursue him.
Dream checks behind him, satisfied with the distance between the hunters and himself and pauses to eat some bread. He pulls it from inside his inventory, shivering involuntarily at the plain and slightly stale taste. Bread from the villages always left a dry taste in his mouth, resulting from the hay it's produced from.
He sees Sapnap hesitate, stilling for a moment. Dream's breathing is erratic; his chest is rising and falling rapidly. Dream watches Sapnap intently, eyes scanning over his every action, predicting his next move. Sapnap then foolishly shouts to the others to mention he only has one arrow left, and Dream smirks behind the mask. That rules out infinity as the enchantment then. The others seem to pause for a moment and regroup, finally handling George some spare items to stop his whining. The blonde laughs, tilting his head up as he giggles. Only then does he notice the figure 8 like pattern of the Dragon descending, failing previously to hear its cry, announcing it's decent.
Dream gasps, body moving on muscle memory as he pulls a blue orb from his inventory. He chucks it towards the bedrock, watching the beautiful ocean blue fly through the air and hit the ground. It shatters, releasing purple particles from where it landed, and before long, Dream stands among said particles. He coughs briefly, dusting the purple from him as he makes the final sprint to the merch.
The hunters notice his movement a few seconds too late, and shouts of panic echo around them; sounds absorbed by the void. Dream's body buzzes with excitement, the thought of I've won, I've actually won, running through his brain. His internal celebration starts early, and his hands shake with excitement.
This was mistake 2.
His brain had already decided that he'd won, so he didn't take the precautions. He doesn't register the hunters coming closer, nor does he notice their verbal planning.
“Sapnap, do something!” The words barely reach his ears, too busy beaming up and rearing his axe back, the final hit within reach. He could win this right now, just one more swing.
He doesn’t register the ping from the release of a bowstring. He doesn’t hear the shouts from the hunters, panicked and desperate, as they rush to Dream, trying to stop him. He doesn’t notice the arrow flying towards him, under the dragon and aiming at his chest.
However, what he does register is an arrow piercing his chest and the feeling of an enchantment coursing through him.
He does hear the roar of a dragon as he is knocked back into its fluttering wing.
He does notice the feeling of his helmet breaking, durability finally hitting 0. The iron crumples, falling down his body and ending in a pile on the floor.
He feels his body cut through the air as he is launched over 50 blocks backwards, the combination of what he now figures was a punch bow and the force from the dragon knocking him away.
His body works on muscle memory now, and as he watches the ground rush ever closer, he remains calm and opens his inventory intending to grab his water bucket. Only to freeze when he sees the empty bucket, faintly remembering when Bad took his water earlier. Dream sheds his calm facade.
It's okay, it's gonna be alright. He knows what to do in this situation.
Dream searches frantically through his inventory, extremely aware of the hard endstone growing ever closer. His hands shake as he scans over the items. He's desperate to find something, a hay bale, a ladder, anything, that can save him. But there's nothing.
Last second, Dream opens his backup inventory full of his safe items, relieved to see the water bucket sitting there, but he's too late.
The hunters watch on, expecting some crazy clutch or even him to pull out his water bucket. They stare up with baited breaths and underlying anxiety. Sapnap pockets his bow, and George simply fiddles with his fingers; the other two's eyes remain locked to the green figure falling towards the ground rapidly.
What they don't expect is to watch the masked man simply plummet. Bad shouts to him, tone frantic and scared, and soon the others follow. Soon, four voices echo through the End, urging the man to do something. They hold out hope that he has an item, anything to save him, but his hand remains empty.
Sapnap breaks off running, but he knows he won't make it in time. Still, he sprints as fast as he can, holding his water bucket in anticipation, prepared to launch himself forward to place it. Any hope in his body falls as he stands, still 20 blocks away from his friend, as Dream falls like an anchor in the ocean.
The hunters all still, the other three catching up to Sap. The only sounds heard are the bellowing roars of the dragon, vwooping of innocent enderman and a crunch of a body hitting end stone.
It all happens so fast. One second, the blonde is airborne; the next, he's on the ground.
Dream's legs hit the ground first, snapping instantly on impact, bending in the wrong direction. The sickening crack never met the blonde's ears, though it did boom around the end, successfully make all four hunter's feel sick.
The next thing to hit, surprisingly, is his head. Technically, it was his arms, but they don't really count since they both hit at very similar times and his arms did absolutely nothing to protect him. His arms (similar to his legs) snap instantly on impact, not quite breaking but coming close. They became pinned underneath him instantly, giving no resistance as his head came down.
The momentum gained as he descended causes his legs to crush and bring his head straight down and to the stone. The rest of his armour instantly breaks, only taking a small bit of impact, though his head was bare. The minimal force crumples the low durability the second is hits the stone. The lack of armour protecting it means nothing can stop his skull from cracking at the impact. He's most definitely going to have a concussion after this.
Dream lay on his side, legs mangled and his arms pinned underneath him, twisted in all the wrong angles. A steady flow of blood pools around him, and he knows he looks like a mess. His hair is matted with blood that is currently leaking from his head. Dream's precious mask now a pile of shattered porcelain, pieces piercing his head, exposing vivid green eyes, though his vision is black in one, and the other is blurry.
He tries to open the dark eye, but he can't as it feels like it's already open. Weird. Random pieces of clay, big and small, break the skin on his face, and they shift uncomfortably with every breath. He groans, shivering involuntarily and grimacing when the action causes pain. The porcelain pushes further into his skin, the nerves now exposed from his legs twist, his arms shake, and his head aches.
The blonde faintly makes out footsteps, seeing blurry figure’s running towards him through his open eye. He pays them no mind, not realising who they are in his hazy state.
Honestly, he doesn’t understand how he’s still conscious. He should’ve died as soon as he hit the ground, yet here he is. The pain hasn’t fully set in yet, as he feels the adrenaline rush through his bloodstream, only to flow out his wounds and end up on the cool endstone. He only feels dull aches as he lays still, and sharp bursts as he shifts.
He hears voices around him, but his fuzzy hearing doesn’t understand.
Slowly but surely, the adrenaline fades, and he begins to feel the steady throb throughout his whole body. The pains ebbs, fading and returning quickly. The vision in his one working eye fades in and out, yet he feels so awake, like he's just drunk a gallon of coffee. He focuses on mentally preparing himself for one hell of a respawn. The thought of respawning strikes fear into him, mixing in with the agony.
Dream’s breathing is short and sharp, every breath eliciting agony throughout his chest. His muscles continue to spasm occasionally, searing hot pain pulsing through him, worse now with the lack of adrenaline to protect him. His mouth is open in a silent scream, gargling and choking on the blood filling his throat, coming from one of the many damaged parts from his body-- pick one. Dream simply lay useless and fading, on his temporary crimson and endstone grave.
To the others, it's a truly horrific sight.
The blonde is covered in red. No part of his body looks right. Everything is twisting in the wrong directions, and everything was coated in crimson; there isn't a single part of Dream that wasn't.
The hunters forget the manhunt instantly, dropping to their knees in front of Dream, trying to do something, anything to save him. But the damage was done. 4 sets of hands hover over his body, aiming to comfort or heal in any way, but nothing can be done. They want to touch him but can't without causing more pain.
The worst part was his head. It was bathed in a sea of red, no features distinguishable. If you didn't already know, he would've been unrecognisable. Dream's mask had shattered on impact, small pieces sticking out of the skin in his cheeks and forehead. A shard from his broken mask had pierced his eye in a manner they hope hasn't caused permanent blindness. They're hopeful, but they know that there will definitely be damage done to his vision with the sight they see.
Blood dribbles from his mouth, a faint gargle every few seconds as blood most likely fills his lungs. His chest rises in quick succession, worryingly shallow. Though, of course, it was since the blonde had taken quite the tumble.
It was safe to say he'd come away with some scars. What surprised the 4 hunters was that the blonde's eyes were still open and darting around, and he still seemed to be awake and aware. The four felt awful knowing the man survived this, and it was more kind to wish he passed on impact.
Sapnap can't help but blame himself for this. He had been cocky in the end, thinking he wouldn't make the shot but trying it anyway, just to show off. At that point, he shouldn't let Dream win, but no, of course, he had to fire that shot. It's his fault Dream was hit by the dragon. It was his fault Dream didn't have enough time to react before he came crashing down. Tears fill his eyes as he stares at his childhood friend, mangled and bloody.
A hand on his shoulder pulls him from his internal tangent, causing him to flinch. He hesitantly lifts his eyes to meet Bad's, full of compassion and pain. He seems concerned and stressed beyond belief but still takes a moment to check on Sap. Sapnap breaks eye contact, unable to deal with the sympathetic gaze any longer.
Of course, they know Dream would have to respawn; they could do nothing to prevent it. With the damage done, there was nothing they can do. Healing and regen potions would cause the bones to heal in the wrong positions, and muscle might attach to the wrong areas. That would be more agony than visiting the void. It's safer just to let the man fade into the voice for the time being, as hard as that is to accept.
"It's not your fault, Sap, this was an accident," Bad whispers, barely audible over the shouts of the dragon and the gargled chokes from the injured. Sap nods absentmindedly. He doesn't really believe Bad, but he knows better than to tell the older that. This really isn't the time to comfort him, especially with Dream right there, dying. Though, another thought comes to mind.
He ponders over it a moment, wondering if it’s the right time to ask. Though it’s important, and Sapnaps mouth is moving before he even notices.
“Bad, if he dies, how do we get home?” Sapnaps voice is hoarse and strained.
The other hunters head whip towards him, worry for their friend evident in their expressions. Clearly, none of them had thought of this. With Dream being the only admin of the group, he creates the new worlds to play manhunts on. Though, when he respawns, it would be in their homeworld. Not a problem until they realise that they can’t get home without a portal.
A portal that only Dream can create.
Dream, that is currently on the brink of death.
Fuck.
If he respawned instantly, he would be too injured to use his admin powers. It could be weeks until they can get back since Dream is their only way home. They would be stuff in this world for a while. They can kill the ender dragon and at least get back to the overworld, though they need a portal to get home.
“We’ll figure it out,” Ant says, tone tired. “For now, Dream is clearly fighting the system and avoiding a respawn. He’s putting himself in more pain by keeping himself awake.”
Ant has a point; they all know Dream is stubborn, not wanting to leave them alone. Though they didn't realise the blonde would be thinking of them in his time of agony, then they hear shuffling from the floor. Maybe Dream overheard them; perhaps he was just concerned. Whatever it was, that idiot needs to stop being so selfless.
They turn back to Dream, wanting to touch him for comfort but not wanting to cause more pain. They're not greeted by a twitching Dream when they see him, though, but a Dream still moving consciously. They watch in silence and fear as the blonde removes his hand from under him, groaning from the effort and face contorted in pain. Sapnap can't even imagine the cuts on his lips or cracks in his teeth with the force he's gritting down with. They don't try to stop him, knowing he would kill them after interfering or maybe just leaving them in the world.
The blonde's broken fingers twitch, slowly forming symbols that they all recognised after years of friendship.
The familiar green of the admin panel opens up, and Dream's eyes are closed, moving purely on instinct now. His muscle memory takes over clicking on different things, all in another language that none of the hunters can read. He clicks on a box, scrolls, clicking something, then types something else. His finger's twitch, and he has to restart the commands a few times when he accidentally presses the wrong button.
As if he read their mind but most likely just overheard them, he opens up a portal to their world, crying out from the strain of the action. A flash of light comes from Dream, draining the last of his energy to get his friends home. The portal is a light green, rimmed with gold, courtesy of Dream himself. It sparkles every so often, reminding the friends of some expensive jewel. Though, it looked more like a fluffy cloud.
Stupid, selfless Dream, always trying to help them, no matter what.
The portal whirs obnoxiously, temptations of home trying to draw them in. It shouts calls of warm beds and hot chocolate, telling them that it's okay. It's tempting to just jump in now, but it can wait a minute or two. The portal may be desperate, but it's patient and will remain open until all four have entered.
They peel their eyes away from the mesmerising green cloud, back to the blonde who had since closed the panel, hand still raised. Clearly, Dream has run out of energy to the point that he can't even open the panel anymore, so it closed automatically. He didn't even have enough power to drop his hand back down.
George grabs Dream's hand gently, rubbing over the back of it soothingly. He places the blonde's hand back down, cringing at the small splash it made from the ever-growing puddle of blood. God, there was just so much red.
Meanwhile, Ant was having the internal battle of his life. Dream was suffering, and it would be a while before he let go of himself, meaning he would cause himself to lay in agony while they all went home. That's not going to work for him. He was probably going to have to cry after this, but it needed to be done.
Ant stands, no one looks up, too caught in their own minds. One filled with guilt, one with worry and the last with sadness. They turn their head in unison when ANt draws his axe, the ting of the metal alerting them to his next course of action. They look horrified at what he plans on doing, and in all honesty, he feels it too. But this is what he needs to do. He has to; the blonde was in too much pain to stay like this.
If Dream didn't let himself go, Ant would give him a helpful shove.
He looks at the others, meeting 3 terrified gazes, and silently asking permission. Surprisingly, they all nod. It seems they all know it has to be done.
"I'm sorry, Dream," he raises his axe, hands shake and arms threatening to give out. The other hunters look away, not wanting to see the horror that's about to occur. But, as much as they don't want to see, they can hear.
The sounds of the end seem to cease for a moment. The endermen don't vwoop; the dragon doesn't cry out. There are no sounds to distract themselves, making the sound of an axe crunching through bone so much more prominent.
It takes a moment of silence and heavy breathing for the hunters to be able to look up. When they do, they barely catch sight of Dream, his body slowly disappearing, claimed by the void until it's done with him. Dream's body basically becomes transparent before it breaks apart and vanishes into purple particles, his essence released into the End.
George notices the sounds resume, and the dragon continues its patterns, though a bit quieter, as though showing respect. The enderman seem to keep their heads down, seemingly out of acknowledgement for the fallen admins, but George honestly doesn't know if he imagines things or not. All he can focus on is the knot in his chest and the deep sadness brewing.
Bad doesn't know how long Dream'll be in the void, but he can imagine it will be a while considering the state of him. His eyes stay glued to the pool of blood in front of him, not truly seeing it through his glazed and unfocused eyes.
Sapnap stands quickly, silently making his way to the portal and practically tripping over himself. He enters without hesitation, clearly, not doing okay. But are any of them? They just watched their best friend die and now had to deal with the repercussions. The one's after his respawn would definitely not be pretty.
George follows soon after, steps almost silent against the endstone. The portal whirs loudly when they enter, expanding and retracting quickly as it teleports them home. It shoots sparkles out and looked almost thrilled to take them home.
Bad finally drags his eyes away from the puddle and stands, looking at Ant. The cat hybrid simply stares at the pool of blood, similar to how Bad was, though his hands shaking slightly. His iron axe is now covered red, and Ant barely has a grip on it anymore. The sweat from his hands is causing the iron tool to slip and the lack of energy after today's events. Bad looks away from it, quickly walking around the crimson to meet his friend. Ants shoulders are hunched over, eyes brimming with tears.
"You did what you had to do," Bad says softly, to which Ant simply nods. Bad sighs, knowing they had to speak about it more, though now was not that time.
A silent agreement between the two, and Ant lets the axe fall, not flinching at the loud clang it echoes. Bad grabs his hands, dragging a very out of it Antfrost away from the incident site and home. Ant follows behind Bad like a baby duckling, and they stop by the portal. Bad gestures with his hands towards it, smiling kindly. Ant tries to smile back, but it comes off more like a grimace, and he steps into the portal. Bad takes one more look around the End, catching the eyes of the ender dragon, who now sat at her perch. She simply nods to him, and he nods back, not processing how strange that was, and wastes no time jumping through the portal.
The four are teleported back to a now much quieter, less bubbly house.
Cold and hot. Two contrasting feelings. Opposites, things that shouldn’t be felt together.
He was cold, floating in nothingness, no purpose, no destination. Seeing nothing but darkness, embracing him in its cool null.
He was hot, searing red agony spreading through him as the void fixes what’s broken. No consideration for how it made him feel, solely focusing on fixing the admin that resided in its darkness.
He was cold, the blackness of the void provided no comfort, no love, no care. Its only goal is to mend. The only want is to make sure the person in its vicinity doesn’t die. The void only wants to bring the person back, ensuring they’ll live through the respawn, not thrive.
He was hot, feeling the torture as his legs snap back into place, the muscles in his arms untangled. The porcelain removed from his eye. Feeling each individual crack in his skull repair itself one by one.
Dream was cold and hot. And he was tired, so very tired.