Chapter Text
The prison was the same it always was for the past four years, the constant sound of bubbling lava through the thick obsidian walls, the empty dark cells eagerly awaiting a mind to turn crazy.
Tommy stepped through the dusty halls, alone, feeling the hunger of netherian obsidian and the stuffy sweat against his skin.
He had been here before, of course. He had been locked away along with Dream. The worst few days of his life, that was. It was a time he had willed himself into forgetting almost completely, but it was no surprise he knew the way into his cell by heart.
Tommy walked, silent. His last moments with Tubbo replaying in his head over and over – a fight, of all things. They had fought.
And Tommy knew he was under some kind of spell, back then. With pink, hazed eyes. Ranboo had taken him from right under their noses, it was infuriating.
If only he had been quicker, smarter, or found some kind of way to bring him back before it was too late.
Tommy’s bloody shirt clinged to him, feeling like a cold hug. He had not washed himself, and he doubted he would anytime soon. After all, this was Tubbo’s blood, it was everything he had left of him.
It had to stay there, for him to remember why he was pulling that lever. Why, for the first time in years, was TommyInnit the first and only person who lifted the lava curtain that hid away that server’s biggest monster – Dream.
Tommy stared at him from afar, gathering himself. The floating box looked so small from afar, drowning in the bright fiery orange of the lava.
Loud pistons broke the gurgling of the lava, Tommy hopped on the moving obsidian platform that would take him to his destiny and slowly got closer to the maximum containment cell. He kept his ear out for any minimal sound of rattling metal, but having heard none, he continued on bravely, wearing indifference like a weapon.
When he got close enough, he stepped onto the cell, the half wall that separated Dream from the lava was raised, keeping him at a safe distance.
Tommy allowed himself to stare for a moment, taking in the weak and defeated version of the figure that haunted his nightmares for so long.
Chains coiled around Dream’s whole body, his hands tightly tied above his head. He was pinned to the wall by his arms, feet never reaching the ground.
He was barely recognizable, only a cocoon of metal around him, not a centimeter of his skin visible through the chains. Phil’s paper wards decorated the metal sparsely, the magic keeping him completely immobile.
And then, there was the mask. It was no longer the porcelain white he remembered. It was bloodstained, old and cracked, mockingly placed over the area where his face should be, with profanities people all around the server had written, a few years ago.
Tommy had participated in that particular movement, of course being led by Big Q and the Las Nevadas people. They made a big show of it, inviting everyone to sign a final message for Dream before he was completely sealed off by Phil. That was about three years ago, if he remembered correctly.
Since then, no one else bothered to come see him again.
The silence was deafening, not even the lava reached them here, the obsidian seemed to fold inside itself into one big void.
Tommy dared to break the silence of the tomb, “Hey.”
His voice echoed inside the chamber, no answer. Tommy narrowed his eyes and wondered silently, was Dream even alive?
It was then that a familiar voice echoed back “Yes, I am.”
It was not Dream’s, not quite from beneath the chains. If Tommy would have guessed, it sounded from right in front of him. It was… something else, for sure. Still, it scared the shit out of him.
“What the fuck, you can talk?!” Tommy exclaimed, feeling the blood draining from his face. All his bravery was thrown out of the window.
“Well, not exactly.” He said, once more, “Anyways, nice to see you Tommy.”
His tone was friendly, and Tommy was not having any of it, “Can’t say the same about you.”
“Eh, I figured as much.” Dream laughed. He sounded echoey, it reminded Tommy of… of Ghostbur.
“That’s offensive, Toms. I’m not dead, you know that.” The voice sounded so much like him, it sent shivers down Tommy’s spine, “If I had died, Phil’s wards would have triggered and surely a big party commemorating my death would be thrown.”
Tommy kept silent, deciding to let Dream talk by now.
“Hm, the silent treatment, huh? That’s ok, just having you here, friend, is all I could ever ask for.” Dream said, a smile apparent through his friendly voice. Tommy hadn’t said anything, but he still responded. Could he hear Tommy’s thoughts?
A shrill, cold laugh could be heard echoing through the damp chamber “Right on the money, Toms!”
A shiver went down Tommy’s spine, weakly, he responded, “Don’t call me that.”
“Oh, come on, Toms… We’re friends! Aren’t we best friends?” Dream laughed, closer to the one he remembered, a crazed laugh that made Tommy flinch in response.
The disembodied voice purred sickly, “Or does that title belong to Tubbo?”
“...What?” Tommy whispered, horror draining his face of color, he felt cold.
“Not anymore, right?!” He exclaimed with twisted glee.
Tommy looked at the pile of chains in front of him in horror. He knew it. Coming here was a mistake.
“AHahahahahaha! Tommy! You’re so funny!” The sick being laughed loudly, sounding to be right beside him.
Tommy twisted around, searching for the source of the voice, “Where are you?! Come here, you fucking coward! Face me!” Tommy demanded, his attempt to sound angry falling short. Truth was, he was scared. He was nothing but a scared little boy, like he always had been.
“GET OUT OF MY HEAD!” He screamed to the empty cocoon. Dream’s mask smiled back, always watching.
Tommy weakened, and fell.
===
Tommy awoke once more with his pulse vividly beating behind his eyes. Once, twice, and once more before he had the strength to lift his heavy eyelids.
He groaned at the dull pain, and Dream’s voice said from beside him, “You want the book, huh? To give to that asshole and save your little friend? Ha! As if.”
Tommy did not respond, finding his headache to be debilitatingly strong.
“Let me give you some advice, Toms.” The voice started, “Don’t do what he said. He’s not going to revive Tubbo, and you know it.”
Tommy’s eyes filled with tears, he did know that that sick monster wasn’t going to keep their deal.
Dream continued, “He just wants to reach me and take over this dimension, just like he did with the End. Ranboo was an anomaly from the start, and if I knew he was going to cause so much trouble I wouldn't have let him stay in the first place.”
A beat passed, and Tommy gathered enough strength to lift himself up and sit, leaning against the wall of obsidian. He opened his eyes once more, not surprised to see a espectre of the man he hated, pacing around the cell with his back to Tommy.
“You are dead.” Tommy whispered.
Dream sighed, not turning to face him. Tommy soon realized why – he had no mask. “I told you, not exactly. I am no longer in my body, but it is not empty. So I’m not dead, there’s just two of ‘me’, technically. Anyways, you’re missing the point!”
“How? How did you even leave your body?” The blonde asked, suspicious and wary of the spirit in front of him.
“Phil’s magic is almost impossible to break, so I just found another way to leave. Staying here is painful Tommy, you have no idea. I have to leave.” He said with a weary, pitiful sigh, “And you’re going to help me.”
Tommy laughed bitterly, “You fucking wish, I’m not helping you!”
“Don’t you want the book? You need it to revive Tubbo, even if you do or don’t go to that Enderian with it. The ritual is the same, and I can teach you, as long as you help me leave.”
Tommy considered his options, and truly, it seemed hopeless. Either help the Dead God destroy the world he lived in or help the monster that had ruined him escape his prison. He had to pick a poison. Who was the lesser evil?
Tommy took a deep breath, stood up and shook the debris from his clothes, asking “So, how is the ritual made?”
Dream turned to him, showing his face – or rather, the lack of one, to Tommy. A black hole of emptiness where his mask usually was placed. Somehow, he still felt the satisfaction come off of him in waves.
“Don’t worry Toms, I’ll teach you everything.”