Chapter Text
It wasn’t like he was a good person. Instead, Dream himself called his own persona awful. Manipulative, evil. He was the villain in everyone’s story with a goal in front of his eyes. That made it unsurprising, when Tommy and Tubbo confronted him, backed by everyone else. Even Punz and Sapnap stood behind their once-enemies. Tommy’s blue eyes were glowing with glory and energy as he charged forward, pushing Dream further and further into the corner in the only safe space he built. The dark room’s black walls suddenly felt like they were towering above Dream. He felt the panic rise in him as his back collided with the black stone, pressing the air out of his lungs. Suddenly, the salty taste filled his mouth and the blood followed soon after. At this point everyone knew: The once invincible Dream had been defeated. His usually tall stature had fallen down in itself as he kneeled in the corner, body shaking and his green hoodie ripped apart, leaving him with nothing but his black turtleneck shirt beneath it. His armour had been long gone; Tommy demanded it from the young man after everyone arrived. Logically, Dream thought, that was it. They had nothing to be afraid of, but he was wrong. It was Sam’s voice, who startled him and shook him out of the panic state he had fallen in. “Why don’t we put him in a place, where he can do no harm and yet stay alive? I wouldn’t want to know, what would happen to this world, when Dream dies.” Hums of agreement flooded through the lines of everyone, all their gazes fixed on Dream. What happened after that, happened way too quickly. Sam and Bad forced Dream back on his legs, holding him up as his legs gave in, Sapnap stayed on their side as the guard, in case Dream somehow had a backup plan. And just like that, they were gone.
It took Dream a good while to realise where he was, but the familiar black stones in front of him made it clear. The cold atmosphere would have given the last kick anyways – The Prison. The unescapable prison that HE commissioned from Sam, that he wanted to be built for Tommy, to keep toying with the boy who caused all the trouble. Oh, how it backfired. Out of safety reasons, as Sam said, Bad and Sapnap had to stay outside, while the older tightened his grip around Dream’s wrist. It felt awful, almost as if he was about to crush it. With a quiet snarl pressed out against gritted teeth, Dream tried to shift in Sam’s grip to get at least a little bit more comfortable, but it was easily denied, as they walked along the slightly lit hallways. The light sources were torches, small ones, that Dream himself had put in place. He remembered how he and Sam were chuckling, talking about the good old times when the two of them built the community house together and started fishing on the wooden paths Dream himself constructed and placed them around the rather small house at that time. The red bricks warmed under the sunlight and Dream had trusted Sam enough to place the porcelain mask down, that hid his frowning and covered it with a stupidly drawn smile. They’ve laughed together. Eventually Sapnap and George moved in with them and slowly but surely, more and more people followed. Dream smiled under his mask as he remembered their screams and laughter of joy when he fished for a nametag and caught a boot instead. Those times were definitely over now, especially now, that the warmth from the memory was gone and the lingering cold crept up to his fingers. By now, Sam had reached the cell and placed Dream on the bed, only then removing the ropes around his wrists. “I’m sorry, man. But now you’re self from your own, self-destructive tendencies. Maybe you can heal.” Dream gave a nod; his throat was too sore to talk anyways. Sam understood and finally locked the cell, only giving Dream one last glance over his shoulder before the coldness and darkness both swallowed him and left Dream alone.
But it wasn’t sadness that he felt, instead, he was pretty happy to be here. His goal had finally been achieved. He created the ultimate family, peace and happiness could settle in. He, the villain, was beaten and gone, though he still questioned why Sam kept him alive. All he had ever done, was to pay money to build more war tools, like the prison or when he asked Sam for help to literally destroy L’manberg once and for all. Now that Dream was alone, he could rethink where he went wrong. Where he had been turned into the final villain, that people glare after, that people mumble about, the one person, who people fear. To admit it, Dream barely remembered his actions and what had caused everything to go downhill this quickly. Maybe this cell will help him remember. Maybe he should have asked Ranboo for help when it comes to memory, but then again, the boy kept a book and Dream wasn’t allowed to have anything. Examining the cell, he noticed that there was a hole in the wall. It wasn’t big, probably way too small for someone to fit through, but it was there. Perhaps one day he would grow tired of this cell and try to escape, but for now, the area was just fine. The walls were tall, small symbols and similar carvings were part of Dream’s examination. His fingers traced along the lines, trying to figure out, what they were and what they meant. He smiled slightly. It felt all so familiar, now that he was at peace and he could finally feel the final product of the hard work he and Sam had put into this. The largest wall was the one, that had the most functions. It kept the cell door and at the same time it had the use to sometimes drop down some food, but probably only enough to keep him alive, not strong. And he didn’t he want to be strong. All he wanted now, was some rest for a little while.
Until he had enough.