Chapter Text
Dream sat in a hidden base, away from the prying eyes of the member of his server, staring at a book he had found. Unlike the book Schlatt had, Dream had no idea what this book does, the writing was the same language but the words were different and there were many more pages. He had tested it on random animals, all young, but nothing changed, nothing happened until he, desperate to find out the secret of the book, tested it on an old cow. The cow, nearing death, changed, turning into a calf. The cow shrunk, it looked healthy and was running around like it was only days old and learning to walk again.
Dream kept de-ageing animals, watching as they acted like they were never a fully grown creature, they never seemed to revert back to their actual age and Dream didn’t see any problems that arose, so he decided to move forward with his testing, he knew it works on animals but what about humans. He’d have to find the perfect test subject, someone he can get to easily and that people won’t look too hard for, someone like Tommy.
Finding Tommy was easy for Dream but then came a sudden discovery, Tommy would spend most of his time with people whether that be Sam or Puffy, he rarely spent any time alone anymore. Dream watched the blonde teen go about his day, he can’t get Tommy, he’ll have to find someone else. He smiled behind his mask, the perfect person came to mind, someone who has near no one in their corner, someone who people wouldn’t notice for a long time if they went missing, someone Dream can easily get. Tubbo.
Snowchester, an isolated and abandoned community with only one person who calls the frozen land home. Dream arrives atop the tunnel connecting Snowchester with the mainland, the sun beginning its descent and the moon rising gave him the perfect opportunity. He waited behind the mountain separating him and his goal for darkness to arrive, there may not be another soul around besides him and Tubbo but Dream doesn’t want to risk the possibility of someone seeing.
When the moon was high and the final light within Tubbo’s house was extinguished, Dream made his move. Carefully, the masked man made his way towards the house, uncaring of the tracks he was leaving behind, once he had de-aged Tubbo he would be able to do anything without anyone being able to do a thing to stop him otherwise, poor little Tubbo may not see the next day.
Dream slowly opened the front door, creeping into the house and listening out for any sounds only to be met with silence. He grinned to himself and made his way towards a ladder leading both up and down. He checked the basement first, finding nothing but half-filled and unorganized chests lining one of the walls. Going up the ladder, Dream is greeted by a child’s bedroom with a double bed in the far corner with a sleeping Tubbo laying in it, blissfully unaware of the monster at the foot of his bed, watching him.
Silently, Dream began to mutter words he has grown familiar with, a hand placed atop Tubbo’s head, resting between the teen’s horns. The only warning he got. A green mist began to form, hiding everything from sight. Tubbo stirred, eyes still closed but he grabbed the cover and pulled it up, aware of the feeling of… something wrong that settled in his gut. The brunette's eye shot open as he tried to curl in on himself, his muscles tensing and straining as he desperately searched for something.
Dream continued with the chanting until the mist brightened, flooding the room with neon green, undoubtedly visible for anyone on the mainland to see if not for the mountain blocking the view. He stopped chanting and the light began to fade, slowly the room was shrouded in darkness once again, the only sound being the sniffling coming from under the covers. Dream grinned, pulled back the covers and saw a tiny Tubbo, no more than 5 years old, curled up into a ball and trying not to make noise but failing miserably.
Dream stared for a minute, none of the animals showed any signs of fear or pain, not that Dream minded of course. He picked Tubbo up, all his hybrid features shrank, his horn poked through his hair when they shouldn't be out for another few years, holding the clearly scared child close to him before speaking, “Tubbo, what do you remember?” Tubbo hides his face, trying to calm himself down but when he looks around the room his fear seems to only grow.
“D-dad made me go to-to sleep without food…” Tubbo sobbed between each word and his voice began to die by the end of his sentence, his shaking getting worse as neither spoke. Dream was grinning under his mask at the news, he couldn’t think of a better answer Tubbo could’ve given, “Where…this isn’t my room.” His voice was a whisper, so soft and quiet Dream nearly asked him to repeat.
Dream sighed before speaking, “Well, your dad had to go do something and I’ll be taking care of you for now.” That didn’t calm down Tubbo in the slightest, in fact, it only made Tubbo more upset. He wasn’t holding back his sobs and cries, as if he had been told the worst possible news and maybe to the now toddler, he had.
“Does-does my dad l-love me?” Tubbo asked, his eyes full of fear and pain. Dream stared at the toddler in his arms, he already knew the true answer but what would make the toddler believe him more. But Dream didn’t need to say as Tubbo took his silence as an answer, he gripped onto Dream and hid his face as he began crying, "What'd I do wr-wrong?!" He sobbed, soaking the green hoodie, "Just want him to love me." He hiccuped but his cries started to quieten until he willingly curled up in Dream’s lap, half awake.
"You can sleep now lamb, I'll take care of you now." Dream spoke, feeling Tubbo nod. The masked man stood, adjusting his hold on Tubbo and began to make his way out of the house, the moon was close to the horizon but Dream didn’t worry, after all, he now holds even more power than just a few hours earlier. Climbing up the tunnel, Dream walked along, Tubbo clinging onto the older with a death grip.
The birds began to sing as a hidden door opened on the wall of a mountain and shut soon after Dream walked into his base. The entry room was large, a mix of a living room and kitchen. A couch sat at the side, a coffee table sat in front of it, a rug lay with a pattern of bright flowers underneath and two well-used armchairs sat on either side of the couch facing the coffee diagonally. The kitchen area had a special chest that kept the items cold, some furnaces and crafting tables, a few regular chests, a cauldron and a dining table with some chairs.
The masked man walked through the large room and down a hallway, five doors lined both sides and most were shut but the few that were opened led into a homey and comfortable looking bedroom. Dream continued down the hallway before stopping in front of a birch door, he opened the door and walked into a plain room with a bare mattress with blankets and pillows thrown onto it haphazardly. He walked up to the mattress and placed Tubbo down, ready to leave but stops halfway to the door before turning back and tucking Tubbo in. Once he was certain that Tubbo wouldn’t wake up soon, Dream left for his own room, planning on how he was going to get everyone to see the power he holds but for now, he needs to make sure that Tubbo trusts him.