He reached out and willed it to move, his mind strained to the limit and every semi-ethereal muscle in his body straining for just one inch. That was all he needed. All he could hope for.
Just one more day, one more hour. A struggle for every foot, every inch. Even a centimeter would save Tommy now. All he had to do was move the tip, and it would be pushed off course. In that moment, the world was frozen, and everyone with it. The only people left were Dream, Nightmare, and Tommy. All three of them in this impossible moment.
And he knew they could see him, at least somewhat. But he didn't care. This had to be done. And yet, there was no way he would be able to do it. He couldn't reach the arrow, not in time. He didn't even know if he could move it if he was next to it. He didn't know if it was possible.
And yet.
Still he tried.
Because he was Dream, and he would never give up.
They all saw the arrow curve. Nightmare growled softly, and Tommy gasped as it zipped by, grazing his chest as he turned to the side in his futile attempt to dodge. Any closer and it would have impaled him.
Then the moment was gone. Tommy drew his bow back and launched the arrow into Nightmare's chest. Despite his attempt to dodge, Nightmare was hit in the shoulder, instantly taking his remaining half a heart and killing him.
As Nightmare burst like a balloon into smoke, the moment was over.
George, Sapnap, Punz, and Eret gaped as they saw Dream dying, the bow and arrows flying out and dropping to the ground as the puff of smoke rose and dissipated.
The members of L'Manburg just started for a moment, and then a cheer rose. It was WIlbur, of course. He surged forward and embraced Tommy, and then Fundy and Tubbo followed, whooping and cheering for Tommy.
It took another few seconds for Tommy to realize what that meant, and then he cheered, laughing, pushing off the question of what had happened to the arrow.
Dream smiled behind his mask, stepping closer. He was drawn to the outburst of emotions. The concentration of happiness made him feel lighter himself as the world around him exploded with an overwhelming bright yellow light from the emotions of the residents of L'Manburg.
It was even able to distract Dream from the darker colors pulsing at the edges where the Dream SMP's army stood in shock and disbelief. Soon enough though, they drifted away, leaving one by one, until only one remained.
Nightmare.
He had returned to watch.
He stood on top of a nearby tree, once more equipped with his armor and weapons. Dream tensed up as Nightmare leapt down, ready for whatever he would do.
Had Dream ever been this arrogant? He didn't think he had, but it may have been true. After all, Nightmare was clearly not in his right mind, not entirely. However much his plotting might suggest otherwise, Nightmare was not entirely sane. The Nightmare, the plan, was not entirely sane. How could he ever have expected anything to go back to normal after a war?
Just wearing his armor and marching around like he was still in power?
When Nightmare told them to get off of the land of the Greater Dream SMP, Dream almost growled, but he was able to hold himself back, barely. Then he remembered that no one could hear him, and allowed himself to dodge in an infuriated growl.
When he did, though, Nightmare's head twitched slightly, almost as if he was remembering just in time to stop himself from turning his head towards a noise he was trying to pretend not to hear.
Dream's eyes narrowed beneath his mask, and he took a step forward, waving his hand in front of Nightmare's mask.
Nothing.
But of course nothing would happen. He was ready for it now.
That test proved nothing other than that his opponent in this was incredibly dangerous.
And of course he had already known that.
After all, his opponent was himself, and he was the second most dangerous person Dream knew.
Eclipsed only by the legend himself, Dream was the undisputed second-best Minecrafter.
Dream suddenly froze.
A memory had returned to him.
And it may just turn his plans on their heads.