Chapter Text
Sam got shoved onto the platform, looking around the room quietly. He had nothing on him, routine killing before he was forced into the prison. He was lucky it didn't take one of his lives. Lives going at random didn't help. Honestly all his brain was playing was static, he was responding but he wasn't hearing. The voices around him were distorted and distanced as they talked. They talked about how long they would most likely put him in prison. Forever.
He looked to his side and saw tubbo next to him. Tubbo had his armor, his weapons. He took them just like he took Michael. Although one was more justified. It was understandable though. Tubbo escorted him over to the cell. Almost exactly like how he escorted Dream over when it was his time to be there. Almost exactly a year later. A couple days more than a year actually. One year and 3 days. It was an anniversary. This time he was in dreams' place. He was Dream but at the same time he wasn't.
Sam stepped off into the cell and watched as the two other people across the lava talked to Tubbo. Techno and Eret. They talked until Techno used an ender pearl to come over. They made him set his spawn point in the cell. He wasn't paying attention to what they were saying. He looked around the cell. Nothing had changed. He was expecting that. A lectern, a chest, a cauldron, and a thing of water. Techno put cobblestone blocks where the netherite blocks were supposed to rise since the redstone was ruined. For extra measure they put a layer of obsidian. He could probably crawl over, maybe, but the point was he wouldn't. He'd stay. He'd stay there.
The two of them, Tubbo and techno, took the bridge back over once Eret pulled the lever. The lava started to lower. He let himself feel a small wave of anxiety.
"You don't have fire res?" Sam questioned again.
"No." A chorus from the other side.
As the lava started covering his vision, and the other people obscured, he shouted, "THE KEY CARDS RESET EVERYDAY AT MIDNIGHT. GOOD LUCK."
The lava fully covered Sam's vision and he was left alone. Possibly forever. The chances that those three would tell anyone he was in here were low. He had limited days. The auto dispenser would allow him food for a couple of months if it was full. He couldn't remember, but it should have been. The water would be provided for three times longer. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that. Hopefully, he could find a way out of here by then but right now that seemed like a low possibility.
Sam sat down on the chest he had put into the cell curling his legs to his chest. He stared at the ground. He understood why he was here but he wasn't about to tell tubbo, who was very clearly pissed and already close to killing him; that his husband was responsible for the bombing the prison. He wasn't gonna say that Ranboo was responsible for blowing up the community house as well. He didn't even care about the community house, he cared that the prison had been bombed.
He cared that Ranboo had been the reason Tommy had to have been stuck in here in the first place. He hated that he was too late then, but he was on the lead of what happened when he checked the cameras. Cameras were a shit ton of emeralds from the villagers, at least so he could get the materials, but it was worth it. He saw what was happening and rushed to help. He didn't know why ranboo had been the person who set off the TNT but he had. He was a threat to the prison.
Was it a little fucked that he had kidnapped a kid? Yes, it was. He knew that. It was the only way to get leverage over Ranboo and maybe keep dream in prison. There might have been another way but his brain hadn't provided him with one. Had he regretted not just returning the kid, the moment he had killed ranboo and dream had escaped? Yes. Did he regret killing Ranboo in the first place? Yes, he didn't know that Ranboo was in his last life. He was expecting everything to be fine. He was expecting everyone to stay alive and Dream to get back in prison. He wanted everything to stay fine.
There was regret for that even before he landed himself trapped in his own creation. Not that he wasn't before, when he had the warden facade up. He disliked that facade but it was necessary. The prison had destroyed his health while he kept dream here. He was in a constant state of vigilance, apathy, and loneliness. Honestly the days that Ponk or Foolish dragged him away from the prison and they had fun. Those were some of the best days of his life. That was before he majorly fucked up. That was before he took Ponks arm. It was before he started getting deemed as much of a monster as the prisoner he kept.
Sam was going to be lonely for a while it seemed. It seemed he'd have lots of time to think and reflect. Honestly when Dream escaped there was some form of relief. He didn't have to be here. He didn't have to be somewhere he didn't want to be. Sam hated the prison. As much time and pride he put into building it, He hated it. All it reminded him of was mistakes, and things he didn't want to remember.
He would have time to heal. He would have time to fix his mistakes. He could've if he had just returned the kid instead of keeping him for ages. There was no point in that after ranboo died. He could've relaxed, if he had caught Dream. If he caught Dream then he could relax, but then he'd need to stay here and mentally suffer for ages again. It would be a vicious cycle with no end. Never having the option to get better and not having the resources to be able to. No one gave him the option. No one would give him the opportunity.
At least Dream had him when he was here. Sam wouldn't have anybody. He had made sure that he talked to him at least daily. As much as he hated it. He didn't want it to damage his brain in a different way than it was designed to. No interaction could make a person go insane. He made sure that dream had stuff to write at least. He would have nothing except the automatic system he had designed just in case.
Which might not even work. Sam might just die of hunger, respawn, and go through that process until he dies forever. If he did that might be fine at this point. Which honestly with his current state he couldn't. Three people would know he was here. Three people who put him in here and who probably wouldn't tell anyone he was in here. Not that he had anyone who would want him out. Maybe Foolish or Puffy, maybe. He knows that Puffy thought of Ranboo as her kid. She considered lots of people her kid. Mainly children.
Foolish, probably not either, not after all that. Quackity, probably not they were business partners because of Dream, but slime and tubbo had easily taken his place. Tubbo had nukes after all. He couldn't think of anyone else who would even consider letting him out. Sam would probably die here because of his own stupidity. His ex-friends were still recovering from the egg, but since Dream escaped they never came for their guard shifts. What was the point? They might still have their guard keys.
But, there was truly no one who would. No one that would want to. No one that would think to look in here for him. Who knows when he would be allowed to leave, or die? He only really had two options. He put his head on his knees and closed his eyes. This was going to be a long while.
Besides, there was going to be no way out. It was designed to have no way out. Without the key cards, maybe eret, tubbo, and techno would be stuck in here too. He didn't even have his communicator with him, he had left it at his house. So, fuck being able to tell anyone. Prime, it was hot in here. He heard a small laugh from the lava side.
Sam opened his eyes. Dream was here for some reason. He had full netherite and fire res clearly on.
"Sam?" Dream said his name like it was a joke.
"Dream." He said in his most authoritative voice.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Dream clearly found this funny.
"Does that really matter?" He asked.
"Yes, it does. Oh my prime this is funny. This is karma Sam." Dream laughed.
"I- I, Eret, tubbo, and techno put me in here after coming for blood. It was either get killed right then and there or show them the prison. I showed them the prison and they locked me in here." Sam said, while getting off the chest and walking over to the small barrier that separated them. He couldn't have died, but he could've lost a life, and death was not something he had wanted at the moment.
Dream just laughed, with no face to see it made it more menacing.
"What are you doing here? How did you even get in here?" He countered.
"Oh, well I thought well I kinda need a safe place to sleep, and what better than a heavily armored fortress. So, I came here. It's my base now. It's not like anyone will mess with it." Dream said excitedly.
"You know the key cards reset at midnight and you can't get the new key card without the old one." Sam said.
"I'll find a way to get in and out of here. I have the blueprints, remember?" Dream said.
"That is true." He said, sighing. He hated how Dream could be right at times.
"Oh my prime, I have the best idea Sam. Do you want to hear it?" Dream asked.
"Not really, but I think you're going to tell me anyway." Sam murmured.
He watched as Dream pulled out a bow. He stepped back in alarm as it was pointed at him.
"Woah, woah, woah. What are you doing?" He asked, raising his hands.
"I'm gonna kill you Sam." Dream said with excitement in his voice.
"Is that really a good idea? I mean…" Sam found almost nothing to say in defense of himself. "People will wonder what happened and try to find you. People will wonder where I am. Someone will come to get me."
"Would they? Would they, Sam? How many of them actually care about what happens to you? I'll give you your answer. At this point you are as alone as I was. All of your allies hate you. Honestly, you're just as bad as me, man. You let me get tortured, you cut off your sweethearts arm, you killed ranboo. Why did you even kill ranboo?" Dream asked.
"Leverage." Dream snorted at his answer. "Leverage to keep you in prison. I thought if I threatened Ranboo, techno wouldn't break you out and you'd lose your only ally. You'd go back to prison."
The bow dropped, Sam relaxed slightly.
"Sam, let me give you a bit of information. I will never come back here like that. Ever. You could never pay enough money, you could never scare me into coming back here as a prisoner. I got tortured and I could see you hiding that sick little smile of yours across the lava." Dream started, falling into his own words. "And, you know what? How did you feel? Huh? Did you enjoy seeing me get tortured? Did you want me to die? How sick are you really?"
"Y'know what?" Sam snapped. "Yeah, I was happy when Quackity would show up every day. Because I thought every day that today would be the day that you would give up the revival book and we could finally kill you and not have to deal with you. I thought I could finally be free of you."
"Free? That's fucking funny. But still, was that so hard? Sam, there is one key difference between us. We both do bad things but I don't try for remorse." Dream leaned across the line dividing them.
"Is this another way of saying I'm becoming like you?" He asked.
"Yeah, and y'know what? I'm gonna keep you here for a year. I'll pay you some visits, bring you I don't know, rotten flesh for food. Maybe poisonous potatoes. Just as much as I can to make this year a living hell. I'm gonna make you give Intel you have on people to me. I'll make you sign a book saying that you were sad and so you went far away for a while. I will tell you everything I do each day like you're my little personal therapist. And at the end instead of your freedom. I will kill you until you're dead. I don't care who sees the messages. You won't either because you'll be dead." Dream's voice was poised in a deadly tone. It unsettled him.
"Someone will come eventually. Someone will come to break me out at some point. Someone will find me." Sam said, lying through his teeth.
"No one will. That's the funny part sam. No one gives a shit about you. I already said this. No one is just going to go through layers of a heavily armored fortress for fun. You don't even have your communicator on you. You have no way to tell anyone. No one is coming to save you sam. No one. And, I have no remorse for you. You didn't for me. I don't care what happens to you. I don't care if you die here. Now I'm going to go collect your Sam food. Bye bye for now sam." Dream said turning for the lava.
"Wait! Dream! Don't leave me." He protested despite the fact that dream had already entered the lava.
The only company Sam would have for months, yet again, was dream. He knew he wasn't going to be alive by the end of one year. He'd be lucky if he made it halfway there. He scanned the prison cell again, his brain whirring with new ideas. If he couldn't leave one way then he'd have to find another.
He could break the chest and lectern. It might take awhile with his bare fist but if he broke both, they would both have the item drop. He could use them to reach up and break the bed. Then, all he'd have to do is die and he'd respawn at the world spawn.
Sam could break the wall right next to the chest and mess with the wiring of the prison. Maybe letting himself out. No, those were just the alarms. There wouldn't be a point in that.
Those were the only two ideas that came to mind at the moment. But, it was more than he had ten minutes ago. He assumed. Hopefully Dream would bring back a clock at some point. He got one of the books and a quill out of the chest. He climbed back up on the chest and he started writing. To which he was almost immediately interrupted.
"I forgot, I forgot. You will at some point have roommates. At least after I torture Quackity, kill him, and shove him in here. Another reminder, if you have no remorse for your actions but you don't show it and still try to be the good guy. You're not the good guy Sam. You're far from it now. Maybe if you admit that I won't kill you at the end of this." Dream said, popping his head back in briefly before leaving again.
"Fuck you." Sam said.
"Oh, yes, one last thing again. I went into your player code and I blocked it. Fully now. It's a pain. You know what I mean. You're truly stuck here now Sam." Dream's voice was distorted due to the lava.
What? Oh, he had almost forgotten about that. Wait. Dream shouldn't have been able to know about that. He scrambled up and towards the lava. He stood against the barrier keeping him in there.
"HOW DID YOU KNOW THAT? HOW DID YOU FIND OUT?" Sam yelled.
Dream shouldn't be able to know that. He barely switched here, it wasn't safe for the two other bodies he had here. He was in this body when he arrived here and only Boomer knew. He wasn't able to switch very often. He tried to move his consciousness to another body. Either of them. It didn't work. He honestly started panicking.
Being confined in one body sucked in dangerous situations. Not being allowed to was even worse. Not being able to was scary, because at least he had the option before, but now Sam couldn't. He didn't have the option here anyways. Pandora's vault stopped almost all abilities. Including his own. He knew that but knowing that he couldn't was panic inducing. He forced himself to relax.
Speaking of Pandora vaults, it made him remember the myth of Pandora. She opened the box; The prison got opened. She released the evils out into the world; Dream the evil in the world got released. One thing remained in the box. Hope, but that got released alongside the evils here. Or maybe it didn't. Maybe somehow he was the symbol of hope trapped in here. This entire server was a reference to Greek mythology honestly. Yeah, let's think about that. He'd calm down thinking about that.
The references to Daedalus earlier were very accurate. It seemed Sam's figure in Greek mythology was revealed. He was locked in his own creation and fated to wither away and then respawn. He was like him in more ways as well. He built creations, he invented things, he built wondrous things. Then, he fucked up, quite a few times. He fucked up and was cursed to forever live in his own creation. He couldn't even truly die.
Respawn forever because as long as his original body was alive he couldn't die. His original body had to die for him to die. His original body was hidden in a base that people had thought he had abandoned. He had been working on upgrades for Sam nook.
He had almost been done with those upgrades.
He couldn't leave now.
He was stuck.