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Tommy was nervous and his hands were shaking, gripping at his axe tightly in his hand… Even though his brain knew he shouldn’t be scared his body wanted to run. The blonde wanted to leave and just get away from this place. Get as far as possible and never turn back. He stared down the long hallway that led into the depths of Pandora’s Vault. Tommy had to take in a deep breath as he stepped onto the netherite floor, his body feeling the effects of the mining fatigue. He walked down the darkened hallway and towards a button on the wall, when he rang it an intercom echoed through the room. Tommy jumped at the sound, looking at the ceiling as a voice rang. He quickly straightened himself up, clearing his throat and taking the time to settle himself. The intercom rang one more time before a voice finally talked to Tommy.
“Hello Tommy… Welcome to Pandora’s Vault,” Sam’s voice echoed, the man weirdly being serious. Tommy didn’t like how he couldn’t see Sam but kept his cool. He didn’t know how Sam could see him but Tommy wished he could see Sam. He didn’t enjoy talking to just a voice that seemed to be coming from nowhere. It reminded Tommy too much of his life in exile... When he saw things that weren’t really there and when he heard voices echoing through his head. The hollow feeling that you couldn’t escape from bothered Tommy. But the blonde knew better than to question it and kept quiet.
“So- What are you doing here Tommy? You’re the first person who has come to visit the prison… Not even Tubbo has come over to visit. I know this place is built in the Badlands but I thought more would come and visit,” Sam spoke again and Tommy took a while to answer. He searched his brain for an answer and soon he was able to force the words out of his mouth. Even if he did stutter a bit while doing so. He hated how scared and nervous he was… He wasn’t even in the prison yet and he was already shaking and he felt like he was trapped. He knew that Tubbo hated tight spaces and even the idea made him scared. Ever since the festival the boy wasn’t too keen of being stuck in a place where he couldn’t leave.
“I- I want to s-speak to Dream… A-Alone,” Tommy said briefly, trying to stay as confident as possible. He tried to keep his voice from stuttering but he couldn’t help it. It was really hard when you were standing in the middle of a prison and talking to the warden. The blonde was practically quivering, feeling a bit claustrophobic. “I need Dream so I’m not going to kill him or hurt him too badly. He’s already in prison so there’s not much to do with him now... I- I’m now on the opposite side. I’m more powerful than him and I- I just want to talk to him… Ask him a few questions and see how he’s doing.”
“Hmmm… Alright. I’ll let you see him. Are you ready to come through?” Sam asked and Tommy just let out a small “yes” as a response. He heard the mechanical parts shift around and the nether portal in front of his lit up. It was like magic. Tommy jumped back a bit, not thinking that things would be this complicated- He had heard the rumors about this being the most protected prison ever… But he didn’t think this much effort was put into it. But of course everything would be super complicated… It was a prison that held the worst person on this server… “Alright Tommy. Step through the portal and tell me when you’re through. Once through try not to panic. This is just part of the security measures.”
With that Tommy braced himself and walked into the portal. The purple magic wrapped around him and he felt like he was floating. His feet left the ground for a moment before touching the solid ground again. He slowly opened his eyes and walked forward, still blinded by the purple magic around him. But when he exited on the other side he was standing in a room. There were no doors or any sign of life around. It looked like the hallway he had just entered, made of quartz and blackstone. He was so confused- But then Sam instructed him to enter through the portal another time. Tommy just stayed silent and entered, confused but willing to follow protocol. Feeling weightless once more before landing. This time when he looked around he was in a large empty room, Sam standing behind a desk in front of him. The Creeper was standing straight, a sword in one hand and covered in netherite armor. It was a scary sight for Tommy, who was only wearing a set of simple diamond armor.
“Alright… Before we actually go see Dream I need you to sign a few things for me. They’re just a few wavers and stuff like that… Then we need to go through security. Then I can let you talk to Dream. But only for a short time ok?” Sam asked and Tommy slowly nodded, stepping forward and looking down at the book Sam had set onto the pedestal. He signed a few things and read a few things out loud, nothing was too serious. But then Sam asked Tommy to place all of his items in a chest for safe keeping. At those words Tommy flinched and panicked a bit. Sam took his time with Tommy and let the blonde handle his own stuff. He knew that the teen was still shaken up a bit by the past.
“W-What? Why do I have to give you all of my stuff? Can I at least keep my axe and my armor?” Tommy asked and Sam just sighed, pointing to the chest. That’s when Tommy knew there was no changing the hybrid’s mind. The man didn’t even have to mutter a word. Tommy knew that this was for security reasons but he wanted to keep his stuff. It made him feel safe... He walked over to the large chest and opened it. The creak of the chest made him wince a bit but he shook the feeling off quickly. The teen gripped his axe one more time before placing it carefully in the chest. He even took off his armor and dropped his food in the chest neatly. He took a deep breath before closing the chest.
He never liked putting anything he owned anywhere other than his own chests. Either that or he kept it tucked away in his inventory. He never really gave anything to anyone. He even gained the habit of constantly checking if he had everything. Especially after what happened with Dream he didn’t want to lose anything. But Sam kept him calm as he locked the chest tightly and gave Tommy the key. Sam was quick to hand Tommy the key. He didn’t want the blonde to think he was stealing his stuff. Tommy gripped the key until it was completely in the enderchest. Once safely in his own personal chest he sighed and took a moment to himself. Sam let him gather his thoughts, stepping back a bit as Tommy did his thing. Tommy took another deep breath and let his hands relax. There were small crescent indents in his palms from him digging his nails into his hands. His eyes closed for a bit, Tommy trying his best to steady himself before walking to Sam.
After that he followed Sam through the labyrinth that was Pandora’s vault…
“This place is awesome Sam… The prison is huge and the security is really high tech. There are so many item scanners and all the lava is kinda scary- I’ve got a really bad fear of lava man- And heights… That’s another thing- I’m really scared of heights. You and this place are really scary bro- This entire place is scary man,” Tommy said with a nervous chuckle, trying his best to calm down and make good out of a bad situation. Tommy was still feeling the effects of the mining fatigue and Sam even made sure to make Tommy weak with some potions. He never thought tha visiting a prison would be this complicated… Sam just looked at him with a raised eyebrow before walking past Tommy, standing in front of another lever.
“Alright… I need you to stand over there on that stone platform,” Sam said and Tommy just walked over and stepped down onto the platform. He then looked over at Sam, the Creeper hybrid pressing a few buttons and pulling a few levers. He then turned to Tommy once again. “Tommy when this bridge starts to move you’re going to have to move with it. Dream is going to be on the other side. I’ve already started the lava draining process. Once over there you won’t be able to leave until I bring the bridge to you. You can talk for as long as you want but it can’t be longer than thirty minutes. Once that time is over I’m making you leave no matter what,” Sam explained and Tommy nodded, facing himself towards the wall of lava.
Tommy watched as the lava pooled at the bottom of the huge obsidian room. In the middle of the huge lava lake was a tight room. Tommy saw the one man he used to fear most standing in the middle of the room, looking over back at him. His hair was a bit messy, flying in all directions. He was still wearing his green hoodie and dark grey pants. His brown boots that reached up to his knees were laced up neatly but Dream had nothing else with him. Tommy shivered a bit as Dream’s mask stared right into his soul. He was having second thoughts but soon the bridge started moving. Tommy had no choice but to walk over to Dream, Sam not being able to stop the bridge from moving in any way. When he got in the room that Dream was in he noticed a small barrier between him and the other. But as soon as the lava covered the exit behind him the barrier disappeared. The teen was reminded of the time limit by Sam one final time before Dream and Tommy were left completely alone.
“Hello Dream,” Tommy said simply and Dream looked at Tommy. The young blonde took the time to look around the room. The only thing providing light was the bright lava behind him and a single glow stone block in the corner of the room. There was a small cauldron full of water against the far wall and right next to it was another pedestal. There was even a small open chest and when Tommy peered into it, it was filled with books and pencils to write with. The only thing hanging on the wall was a clock… Dream didn’t even have a bed…
“Hello,” Dream said simply as he walked over to an empty wall and pressed his back against it. Soon he was sitting on the ground, Tommy looking over him. This really was a sad sight. The man in front of Tommy used to be the greatest being on the server… Someone that everyone feared and learned to hate. Now looking at him in this state he didn’t look like himself at all. He looked like a normal man hiding behind a mask. “I didn’t think anyone would come visit me to be honest with you… Out of all the people that would’ve come you were one of the last on my list…”
“I- I- Um… I just wanted to see how you were doing in prison…” Tommy said as thoughts swirled in his mind… The teen didn’t know how to feel about this situation. He tried to set up some simple conversation, knowing things would be a bit awkward between Tommy and Dream. “So… What do you do all day here? There doesn’t seem like there’s much to do… Where do you sleep? Where do you get your food?” Tommy asked and Dream thought for a second. He let his head rest against the obsidian wall, the floor not being the best place to be… But it was all Dream had.
“I don’t do much. If I can’t sleep then I just play with the clock or listen to it run until I feel tired. I was planning on writing in those books in that chest at some point. But I really haven’t had any motivation to start whatsoever… Other than that I watch Lava in front of my cell. It’s really warm and pretty. Everywhere else in this cell is really cold. Sam has a weird mechanism that feeds me throughout the day. Food just comes out of the floor whenever it’s breakfast, lunch, or dinner time. I have to have the least amount of human contact as possible… He says it’s because I might be planning to escape with someone’s help from the outside. And of course no one wants me to do that,” Dream explained and Tommy nodded, looking down at Dream. Out of nowhere Dream patted the spot on the floor next to him, Tommy raising an eyebrow before hesitantly sitting down next to the other blonde. They sat there in silence for a bit. Soon Tommy noticed the slight twitching of Dream’s hand and the shaky breaths he was taking…
Was Dream trying not to cry…?
“Hey Dream?” Tommy called out and Dream let out a weak hum. “Are you… Um… How are you feeling man? Tell me how you’re feeling. I’m right here to listen,” Tommy said and Dream’s hand started shaking a bit more. His shoulders hunched over just a bit. You wouldn’t be able to see his body movement change unless you were really close. Tommy was about to reach out and place a hand on Dream’s shoulder but the other only flinched away from his touch. Tommy sighed and put his hand back in his lap. It took awhile but soon Dream finally spoke.
“I- um… Sad,” Dream singly said and didn’t say anything else. But he did start curling in on himself. He pressed his knees to his chest and hugged his legs. He then rested his chin on his knees. Dream was mostly out of it, staring at the clock as it ticked and ticked. Tommy had to push down all signs of pity… This is what Dream deserved. This is where his actions got him. This is where his story comes to an end. Inside of a small cell surrounded by lava. No human contact and no way of getting out. But Tommy just- He wanted to know why… So he waited for Dream to explain himself. After a while Dream finally understood.
“It’s because I lost my friends… And all my stuff. And My home… And my family,” Dream said sadly, his voice wavering off at the end. It had been awhile since he had talked to anyone… He didn’t even talk to Sam while he was put into the prison. It was a pretty normal response to having no human contact. Dream had lost Sapnap, George, and practically everyone hated him now. Tommy kinda knew that feeling. When everyone hated him because they thought he was the one who blew up everything. It was a terrible feeling.
“T-Tommy I’m sorry,” Dream said quickly and that’s when Tommy was caught off guard, the teen’s breath stuttering a bit. He let out a small cough and looked over at Dream, eyes wide. He never thought he would hear those words come out of Dream mouth. He had never heard Dream say sorry other than when he was talking to Sapnap or George. Dream didn’t say anything else and all he did was stare at the clock on the opposite side of the wall.
“R-Really? You’re actually sorry?” Tommy stuttered out. Dream hummed and let his head hit the wall behind him, his eyes shifting to look at the ceiling. “W-What… What are you sorry for?” Tommy asked, wanting to know what Dream was doing… Did he even know what he was sorry for? Did he even mean it at all? Tommy really couldn’t tell because of that stupid smiley mask on the man’s face. Tommy couldn’t express how much he hated that mask.
“For- For everything that I did… I’m actually sorry… I- I shouldn’t have done any of that. You’re just sixteen and Tubbo is seventeen. Neither of you deserved that. Any of that… I should’ve never tried to play god and try to control you. If you could tell Tubbo that I’m sorry that would be great too. I know he’ll never come and see me. He probably thinks I still wanna kill him. But yeah… I’m sorry,” Dream said and then uncurled from the tight ball he was in. His chin rested on his knee once again, his hands clenching and clenching every few seconds. He had so much unaccounted energy but he also felt like he was exhausted… Nothing sat right with Dream anymore…
“Who… Who do you miss the most? Out of everyone you were with before when you weren’t in here- Who do you miss the most?” Tommy asked and Dream stopped breathing for a second. He cleared his throat and shook his head. He let his hands open and close a few times as he adjusted himself on the floor. “Dream…? You ok?” Tommy asked again, trying to keep Dream from constantly zoning off. He was expecting an answer like Sapnap or George but Dream seemed to hesitate on his answer.
“I- No one… Because I know they don’t miss me… And why miss them when I know I can’t go back…?” Dream asked and Tommy just hummed with a nod. Dream then sat up from the wall, his legs crossing and his back hunched over a bit. He bowed his head forward a bit and his hands reached behind his head towards the clasp that held the mask to his face. Tommy panicked, about to tell Dream to stop but the other was already pulling the mask away from his face. “Here take it… It’s your now. You can do anything you want with it. You can burn it or maybe keep it in an item frame somewhere. Maybe you’ll give it it’s own place as a cured item in L’manburg… I don’t care what you do. But this mask isn’t mine anymore… It’s yours,” Dream said, holding the mask towards Tommy.
“Why…? Why do you want me to have it?” Tommy asked as he took the mask into his hands. He then looked up at Dream’s face. It was covered in scars and freckles. Underneath his eyes were heavy eye bags and there were red streaks running down his cheeks… But that’s not what caught Tommy’s eye. What caught his attention was Dream’s eye colors. One eye was a bright emerald green while the other was a milky white. “You… What happened to your eye? Was it from something that happened during a war?” Tommy asked and Dream touched the skin right underneath his blind eye.
“No… It was actually when I first met Ranboo. I had a bad fight with an Enderman and I barely got out alive… Scratched my eye and it got infected. George and Sapnap have tried to find multiple ways to fix it but there’s nothing we can do… I’m completely blind in this eye now. Can’t see anything and it’s all black,” Dream said with a sigh, letting his hand fall back to his side with a thump. “I also want to give you my mask because you deserve it. You defeated me and since I was planning to take your most prized possession when I defeated you I think that it’s fair… You can have my mask as a trophy… Think of it as a reminder that you defeated the monster on the server,” Dream said finally and Tommy let the mask sit in his lap, the plastic feeling cold against his fingers… How could Dream wear this all the time and not get uncomfortable?
“I- Thanks…” Tommy said and soon a loud voice echoed through the cell. Tommy looked at the clock one more time and his eyes widened. His time with Dream was over and it was time for him to go… The blonde looked at Dream one more time and pushed himself off the ground. Dream just sat there, not even attempting to stop Tommy from leaving. “Um Dream…? I’m going to try and visit you more often… Maybe I can ask Sam to give you some things to do in here Maybe books or something like that. I can ask Bad if he can make you some food if you want… I know you said he used to make you muffins. I- I’m going to try my best.”
Dream smiled and nodded, the stone barrier lifting up between the two once again, Dream unable to touch Tommy. Tommy took one last look at Dream then sighed. He carefully stepped onto the stone bridge, walking with it as it moved back towards the mainland. Tommy tried to look over at Dream for as long as he could. But soon the lava barrier separated them again, blocking his view. He then turned to Sam, the hybrid eyeing the smiley mask in Tommy’s hands. The blonde immediately hugged the mask to his chest, not wanting Sam to take it from him. Sam just sighed and turned his back to Tommy, flipping a few levers before leading Tommy back through the prison. But before Tommy left the main room leading into Dream’s cell he cleared his throat.
“U-Um Sam? I’ve got a question for you,” Tommy called out and the Creeper turned around to look at Tommy. He held his trident in his hand now, the blue metal of the trident glowing with enchantments. Tommy stuttered a bit as his hands started to fidget with the end of his shirt. “I-I was wondering if you could put some certain things in Dream’s cell… I know he’s an enemy to everyone but he’s still a person. I want to give him a few things in his cell since all he really has are a few empty books and a clock,” Tommy said and Sam raised an eyebrow. But he didn’t seem angry… Just curious.
“It depends Tommy…” He drew out as he put his trident away with a smile. “What are you planning to add to Dream’s cell? Maybe we can get things situated and I can give him everything through a few machines” And with that Tommy smiled and immediately started to follow Sam out of the prison. His hands never stopped gripping the mask, the smiley face pointed up towards the sky.
“Well first of all I wanna add…”
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Dream sat there looking into the lava. He usually sat really close to the stream of lava, the warmth calmed him and made him feel safe. It had been a few hours since Tommy had left. Or maybe it had been a full day…? Dream didn’t really keep track of the time even though he stares and plays with the clock as a pass time. But then he heard the sound of machines whirling and shifting somewhere outside the cell’s walls. It made the blonde jump a bit as he turned to look at the clock. But when he noticed it wasn’t anywhere near any of his meal times he was confused. Just then a hole opened in the back wall of the cell. A green bed was pushed into the room with a few pillows and extra blankets set on top. There were even some books that Dream really loved to read during his free time in the past. On the bed there was even a small basket…
“What is all of this?” Dream asked no one specifically as he walked up towards the basket. Inside were a few muffins, specifically chocolate chip flavored. Next to all of them was a small plushie of blob Dream and it made the blonde laugh a bit. He picked up the pushie and hugged it in his arms. But the machine wasn’t done pushing things into the room. A small table with a fish bowl on top was also pushed into the room, a small chest next to it that held fish food and other stuff inside. Dream looked at the fish and he noticed it was a tropical fish, looking a lot like Sapnap’s old fish that he released into the ocean. Finally the machine pushed a jukebox into the room, two disks sitting on top of the machine. When Dream knew the machines were finished with their job he walked up to the jukebox and looked at the disks sitting there for him.
Sitting there were the discs Cat, Mellohi, and Chirp…
Dream smiled and grabbed the disk Mellohi, setting the other discs on the bed. He slipped it into the jukebox and closed his eyes as he sat next to the box. Soon music filled the room, chasing away the scary silence. Dream never liked the silence and the music was really helping him… The silence scared him ever since he was a kid. Sapnap and George were always there to give him a helping hand when it got too quiet… But now they weren’t there and the music was all Dream had. He didn’t know how Tommy was able to convince Sam to give him all of these things but he was beyond grateful… Especially for the music. But that’s when Dream looked down at the Cat disc sitting on his bed. It was scratched a bit and looked older… So did the Chirp disc as it had a few scratches as well. Dream slipped the Mellohi disc out of the jukebox for a second and realized that it was scratched up too... That’s when Dream realized that Tommy had given him the legit discs that he owned…
These discs weren’t new at all…
They belonged to Tommy…
That’s when Dream saw a letter in the basket. He quickly grabbed it and sat next to the jukebox just like before. He unfolded the letter and saw that it was signed by almost everyone in the SMP… Even the new people that Dream has never met before signed it. But Tommy had written Dream a letter, Dream’s emerald eye reading it over.
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To, Dream
Hey Big D!!! This is Tommy! I’m making Eret write this because I’m not that great at writing myself. But yeah! I hope you enjoy everything you have in your cell! Tubbo and I caught you that fish. His name is Clementine! Niki and Puffy made you that bed. They tried to make it look like the bed you had laying around in George and Sapnap’s house. Bad made you some muffins with some help from Antfrost and Skeppy! Ranboo picked out those books since Eret said that you both had the same taste in books. I’m so glad Sam allowed us to give you all this stuff! Oh yeah! Fundy and GHostbur made that small Dream Blob plushie for you! Anyways… You’re probably wondering about the discs… I wanted to give them to you because I think you deserve them. Plus I’ll probably lose them at some point and I know you’ll take good care of them for you. Tubbo even agreed to give you his disc! Make sure you take care of them!
Tommy out! See you next time I visit! Maybe I’ll bring some friends over!
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Dream watched as a teardrop landed on the note. He was quick to place the note in his lap with the plushie as he wiped his face with his hands. He sniffled and let out a small chuckle. He then brought the plushie into his arms, hugging it tightly as he curled in on himself. He let his head rest against the side of the jukebox, the music playing over and over again. The note fell onto the floor next to Dream but the blonde didn’t really care that much… He was just happy…
I guess Dream got the discs in the end after all…