Work Text:
The Trial.
It loomed over him like a shadow, waiting to consume him until there was nothing left anymore. Everything. Everything was destroyed in that prison. Dream, his thoughts, his ideas, everything about him was now gone. His heart had been ripped out of his chest and tainted by the dirty fingers that grabbed it. He had laid it on his sleeve, practically waiting until someone would come and shatter it against the ground, leaving for him to pick up.
He’d expected this.
He’d only been building his own doom.
Dream trudged ahead, shackled by chains that Tommy was pulling. Once in a while, he’d send a harder tug that’d send Dream tumbling forward, wincing as pain shot up his bad leg. They all knew. They all knew about everything .
They knew how pathetic he was.
How resilient he’d been.
They knew how weak he was.
How strong he’d been.
They knew how fucking stupid he was.
And how smart he’d been.
They knew about Quackity and Sam and- And the prison and the torture. Dream gripped onto the hem of his prison uniform, the orange jumpsuit polished and new. After they’d see him at his worst, they gave him new clothes.
Ha. As if a few new polished prison clothes would make Dream forgive them all. As if they were trying to please him, only to toss him back into that obsidian cell to starve.
The truth was, Dream was tired.
He was tired of this life, of this world. Before, he held onto this stupid hope that this could change, that the world could change, that the people could change, but now Dream knew. It was hopeless. He’d been trying and trying and trying only to dig himself into a deeper hole that he’d be unable to get out of without permanently scarring himself.
It was never the plan.
It was never supposed to be the plan and Dream had planned out everything, every corner, every inch of the prison that he’d made for himself, every contraption, every dime he’d spent only for it to waste away like a ball of tumbleweed drifting away in the scorching hot blaze of the desert-
He did it again.
He zoned out and now Tommy was looking at him like he was going to end the fucking world because that’s how they made him out to be. The villain, the monster, the one they could just throw behind bars and pretend that they hadn’t fucked up too.
But even then, even then, Dream couldn’t battle the urge to drop on his knees and beg for forgiveness for stopping, for breathing, for existing . He’d done so many things wrong, so many things that shouldn’t have been done.
Yet he’d done them.
And he knew he was wrong.
So maybe he deserved prison?
Maybe he didn’t?
Dream didn't know anymore and he was just so fucking tired. He wanted to die. He wanted someone to stab him and it’d be over, everything would be over and he’d return to the void with Dee and Drista. They’d warned him.
Don’t go to the Overworld.
The humans down there are nothing like us.
They’re foolish, they’re vain, and they’re arrogant. They die, they live, and then they die all over again.
Dream didn’t listen.
And Dee never came for him.
And Dream knew that he’d let his ego get to him, treating everyone like pawns to get what he wanted, and even though he may have had good intentions had some point, he’d gone about the wrong way and-
He fucked everything up again.
Except for this time, there was no Sapnap to help him, no George to calm him down, no Bad to feed him muffins, no Technoblade to read him the Art of War by Sun Tzu for the millionth time, no Puffy to give him a hug. He had nothing.
And he knew that right now, he should’ve been grateful that he was outside.
That he could see the grass, the sun, the world around him, but now, everything had lost its appeal. Everywhere Dream looked, all he could see were haunting images of Sam and Quackity flickering around in everything . The branch twisted oddly so it resembled an axe. The pebbles resembled the potatoes that Sam had force-fed him. The torch that flickered a bit too much like lava and the heat- The heat…
“What are you doing!?” Tommy scowled, giving another tug. Dream simply looked at him, like really looked at him. Tommy’s blue eyes were dim, unable to hold the same charm and joy he’d held at the very beginning. Scars streaked down his face, although not as many as Dream’s, but too many for a child . That’s what he was.
A teenager.
A fucking teenager that Dream had messed up again like he'd done to everyone else.
Except, Tommy had kindle in his eyes, a burning flame that was ready to demolish everything in its path. He had a reason to live . He could survive, move on, and be the best person he could be. Even though no one could ever truly erase their trauma, he knew that Tommy could build himself up to be stronger, smarter, and a better version of himself.
Dream…
Dream lost it.
At some point during this entire fiasco.
He’d lost his spark.
His reason to live .
And Dream just didn’t have it anymore.
He tried to be strong. He’d felt revenge lick his skin, the tongue burning into his skin. He’d felt a small pit of fury rise in his chest, ready to unleash chaos. He’d felt a need for vengeance. But Dream couldn’t feel it anymore. Revenge was what had gotten him to this spot.
Revenge was the very reason that Dream had been tortured, been manipulated, been dragged down to what he was now.
Revenge was the reason that Dream was rotting in a fucking cell, powerless and weak .
Dream wanted to die.
But he couldn’t.
He was caged, trapped like an animal, unable to do anything but whatever his master wished. He couldn’t even die if he wanted to because if he did- If he did, the server would be over, destroyed, gone, demolished.
He had to stay and repent for his sins.
And suffer as a fallen god.
“You fucking- If y-you try to pull anything now, I’m just letting you know that they’re people, okay!?” Tommy tugged again and Dream looked back up at the boy whose hands trembled. He was scared of Dream. Then again, Dream would’ve been more concerned if he wasn’t. Dream should obey.
He trudged forward, ignoring the way Tommy was treating his leash more and more aggressively. His arms were already shackled to his legs and neck to prevent him from escaping. A bit much, wasn't it?
It’s not like Dream could even escape if he wanted to.
Quackity had scarred him enough so that Dream couldn’t even disobey. He hated it. He hated it so much. He hated begging, pleading, crying, and being weak .
“SAM! Please… Please, I’ll be good-”
Quackity had never listened.
And Dream was sure that some of his vocal chords were permanently damaged from how much he screamed.
At least he had high pain tolerance now.
And trauma.
“We’re almost there. Don’t- Don’t do anything.” Tommy ordered, but his voice wobbled. Dream liked control. He loved control. That meant he could decide the way he wanted his world to run and plan everything perfectly . He liked being able to change the route and know what would happen. He liked knowing the future.
But the way Tommy shivered. The way he looked at Dream with fear-stricken eyes or a trembling lip, Dream didn’t feel powerful at all. He felt like a bastard. Manipulating children? Ha… He’d stooped to another low.
Dream frowned.
When had he thought it was right?
Where the fuck had it gone so wrong?
If Dream hadn’t gotten so involved, so bloody pressed about L’manburg, where would he have been? Would he have had a house, one with pretty flowers and animals of all kinds? Would he still have friends, ones that give hugs and kisses? Would he- Would he still have his spark, his heart, his shimmering eyes?
“This is getting annoying.” Tommy yanked again, pulling Dream to his senses. He’d stopped again. Dream couldn’t help the gnawing sense of self-hatred pull up at him, dragging his walls down, stripping him bare.
He felt a sense of dread clawing at him, like whispered souls, muttering words of venomous poison to him.
You disobeyed.
You deserve it.
Beg for forgiveness.
Maybe he’ll be merciful.
“....ream? Dream?” The distant voice seemed to come closer. Dream opened his eyes and Tommy was shaking him, panic written all over his face. Dream felt a tear slip down his cheek, symbolizing his defeat. “Why are you crying!?”
Dream felt for his mask, but it wasn’t there. Instead, he had his bare, exposed face in front of Tommy . Tommy of all people. Dream tried to steady his breathing, but they came out ragged. Tommy had seen . He’d seen how pathetic Dream was. Dream was grasping at his last sense of control, but even that slowly drifted away, leaving him stranded. He needed to control, he needed to make sure everything was going the way he wanted it to. He needed to pull the strings, play the pawns, and call the shots, because if Dream wasn’t in control….., then what was he?
Dream was nothing.
He was nothing without his power, his authority.
He was nothing at all.
“Fuck!” Dream could barely register Tommy pushing him forward until he was already here, at the newly built Community House. It rose strong and tall, but Dream couldn’t help but feel a pang in his heart. Oh right, he’d destroyed the other one.
And blamed it on Tommy.
Tommy watched his gaze and his face twisted into a frown.
That’s one thing they shared.
They were both much more expressive than they needed to be.
And Dream needed the mask.
“Come on, big D!” Tommy pushed him towards the double doors until they were inside. It was beautiful.
And cruel.
Everyone, everyone from the SMP was sitting on chairs on either side, crammed together so that everyone could fit. He could see Puffy who looked at him with tearful eyes. He looked at Sapnap who was filled with anger. He looked at George who simply looked away. Everyone, everyone was here and it was so fucking cruel .
In the middle chair, there was Tubbo in a suit with all his glory. Burn marks scarred one side of his face. Dream hadn’t meant for that to happen. It was never part of the plan.
He never did it .
Emotional manipulation.
Dream hadn’t thought it was bad. He did now and he was regretting every second of it.
Physical torture.
He’d never do that. Ever.
Yet, somehow, people managed to turn the blame on him, point their fingers at him for doing something he’d never done. It was always him. He was always the villain and the only reason he was here now was that someone had done something much worse to him. It threatened the server’s wellbeing. That was the only reason, wasn’t it?
No one actually cared about him.
Not that he deserved it.
“Dream Esempi.” Tubbo called out and Dream flinched . Worst first impression ever. No one knew his full name. They weren’t supposed to know his full name. No, no, no, no, no. They couldn’t . It was the only- It was the only-
Dream felt fury spike up in his chest before it was doused in the water again.
Stop .
“T-Tubbo.” Dream hated the way his voice trembled. He hated how his hands were shaking and how they’d never stopped shaking as he’d left the prison. He hated it. He hated how he couldn’t control .
He looked around.
Everyone here was morally grey.
Some were darker than others, but still, none of them were pure white, not even Tommy, and none of them were black, not even Dream.
“We’re here today to talk about your imprisonment and whether you deserve to have a different punishment or be let out.” Tubbo declared.
Deserve.
“You deserve it.”
“I deserve it.”
Deserve.
Deserve.
Deserve.
“You don’t deserve that.”
“Deserve.”
Dream was really starting to hate that word, but all he could do was simply nod along to whatever Tubbo was saying. Tubbo spewed a few formal words, but Dream wasn’t interested in that. Instead, he looked at the door.
They should be coming soon.
And that they did.
The doors were thrown open.
It revealed Quackity and Sam brought over in the same chains that Dream wore, but even that didn’t stop Dream from stepping back and away from Tommy. He didn’t even realize he was bringing Tommy along with him. His legs were just moving and his heart was pumping so fast and they were right there-
“Dream!” Tommy shouted, yanking on the leash again.
Dream wasn’t paying attention and he fell. His hands weren’t healed and he fell right on the ground, sprawled out with a thud. He scrambled back, trying to dust himself off, trying his hardest, but Quackity’s gaze pierced into him like an arrow, and Dream was left numb. He felt defenseless. He hated seeing Tubbo and his friends look at him with such pity.
Dream stared at Tommy’s sword.
And then he remembered that he had to stay alive.
For the server.
He stood up, his legs were still wonky from the odd angle they’d bent. He was sure he’d twisted an ankle. He stood up, bringing his hands up to his chest on instinct to make him appear smaller. It was something that had worked during prison. Dream wasn’t sure if it’d work now.
“Anyway, we’ve been delivered a claim .” Tubbo spat out and Dream drooped. That’s all it was, wasn’t it? A claim without proof. A claim that someone had said. A claim about a villain. What was he expecting?
Something more?
Even when he shouldn’t need it?
Tommy shoved Dream forward to the dais where he stood in all his chained honor. Not that he had much left.
The crowd was loud with voices that were either criticizing him or defending him, nitpicking at the tiny things Dream hadn’t even noticed about himself . Then again, he hadn’t looked in the mirror for the longest time. The only time he’d gotten a glimpse of what he looked like was when he took a sip of water by the river.
“The Trail commences now,” Tubbo said. Dream would’ve been proud of how much Tubbo had grown, but he’d never been that kind of person, had he? He’d always been selfish, cruel, a tyrant, a power-hungry idiot. Dream looked down, avoiding Quackity’s glare. It still sent his body into haywire, but Dream refused . He refused to do this again with everyone watching him. He knew that as soon as he’d be sent back to that prison, Quackity would do something hundreds of times worse, but whatever it was, it certainly had to be better than letting everyone know about how weak and pathetic Dream was.
Puffy had pushed herself to the front, making her way over to the middle of the room along with Philza and Technoblade. Dream was surprised to see Techno here.
He wouldn’t have thought-
He wouldn’t have thought that the pig-hybrid who was literally against the government, would be sitting in a courtroom .
“I’ll make this brief and short. Quackity has been torturing Dream in prison with weapons that Sam has provided. It was evident. It was clear. Quackity had been going in every day, coming out drenched with blood, but how? Even when Sam hadn’t allowed anyone inside, Quackity was allowed. He was always fucking allowed.” Puffy shouted, his eyes piercing daggers into Quackity’s.
Dream shrunk back.
They knew.
They knew .
His vision swam. They knew all about it. He felt tears blur up his sight, but no, he had to be strong. He had to do this. Just finish this and he could go back to the obsidian walls and cry all he wanted to.
“Evidence?” Tubbo questioned. “I heard you had a witness. You’ll also need Dream to testify what he’d seen in prison and if Dream doesn’t, then your claim will fall on deaf ears.”
“Philza. Please step up and tell them exactly what you told me.” Puffy stated.
“Of course, mate.” Philza stepped up, facing Dream, looking him dead in the eyes. Dream shivered. He could feel the air get dark, swamping the entire room in such a gloomy atmosphere. Dream didn’t remember Phil even when everyone told him that Phil was the first one who’d seen him in that prison and elected to get him out of there. Maybe he was drowsy or maybe he thought it was a dream. He couldn’t remember.
What had Phil seen?
How bad had he looked that Philza had immediately run back to the server and forced them to hold a trial for him?
“It was horrible, Tubbo.” It seemed like no one was taking Tubbo’s position as a judge seriously. It made sense. Tubbo was seventeen . And Dream had ruined that for him. Dream looked up at the bold boy, standing up to face the world.
Did he even deserve the trial?
Dream wished he could just dump his admin powers on someone. Anyone, but Philza had declined so many times, saying that he wasn’t cut out for that kind of stuff and he asked way to many questions. Dream couldn’t give it to anyone else because he didn’t trust anyone else. He didn’t trust anyone because they could’ve done exactly what Dream had done. Blinded by power and control, sticking between reality and fantasy, and trying to grasp at the faint glimmers of power that he was given.
“The entire prison was coated in thick heavy blood. It was everywhere, stained on the walls, on the floor.” Philza started. A green orb swirled around in Phil’s hand and Dream’s eyes widened. No, no, no, no, no. They couldn’t- No, please. How? How could Phil- Dream looked at Phil with pleading eyes, but Phil wasn’t looking at him. He was looking straight at Tubbo as the orb enlarged until it became a huge screen, displaying one picture to all the SMP members.
“What-”
“Oh my fucking god-”
“There’s no way-”
“As you can see, there’s skin and- And bones and blood oozing everywhere. And that is the prisoner, Tubbo. Do you see that? Does he look human?” Philza gestured to the photo and Dream felt horrified. In the picture, he was sitting against the wall, his body curled up into a ball. His dull eyes were staring straight ahead, ghosted over. Scars were everywhere, ripping into his body and skin. He almost puked at the amount of ripped out skin scattered along with the obsidian floors. “Does this look humane to you, Tubbo?”
Even Tubbo seemed disgusted, recoiling from the photo as if it were a cursed doll.
Dream felt another tear slip down his cheek.
This couldn’t have been happening. It couldn’t happen- Why did Phil do this to him? His broken pride and trashed ego fell to the pit of his stomach as he felt his world turning on him. All these eyes were watching him like a movie, studying and criticizing his every move. They were glaring at him as if it were his fault.
Dream blinked.
Puffy. There was Puffy, her lip trembling as she faced Tubbo. There was Sapnap who had broken through the crowd, his hands latching around Quackity’s neck. George and Karl were trying to pull Sapnap away from Quackity who simply laughed . He laughed, but Dream could see it.
Quackity was done.
He was already done.
Or was he?
Dream’s legs were going to give out. Dream grabbed onto the dais, his knuckles turning white from gripping the wood so hard. He couldn’t let them-
“That’s- That’s so fucked up,” Tubbo commented, his hand making his way to cover his open mouth.
Ponk was running towards Sam at an alarming speed, but before he could do anything, Sapnap beat him to it.
“ He trusted you! He fucking trusted you, you son of a bitch.” Sapnap punched Sam in the face, but by then, George and Karl had already yanked him back and into the crowd. Sam felt his nose. It was bleeding.
Dream looked away.
“Dream- We need you to testify who was torturing you.” Tubbo turned to Dream. Dream could tell that Tubbo believed him. He believed him… But Tubbo needed to do this for the sake of court.
“I-” Dream started. His heart beat was pumping loud and he felt blood rushing to his ears. Could he- Dream looked up, Tubbo's eyes focusing on him like he was some kind of display, pity written all over his face with black ink. Dream's heart skipped a beat as he looked over at Sam who looked down. What?
“Quiet,” Quackity called from the other side of the room, still grinning. He licked his lips, his scar rippling against his skin.
Dream clamped his mouth shut, his eyes turning wide as he turned to look at Quackity. Quackity took in his fearful expression like golden liquor as he let out a sigh. His tongue felt limp in his mouth. The eyes. The eyes were watching him like a new exhibit, a new species. As if they didn't believe that someone like him could become like this. Dream was ashamed. And terrified, but ashamed of himself.
“Good boy,” Quackity smirked.
Dream felt weak. He felt pathetic. He felt horrible. He wished he could talk. He wanted to talk, but he couldn’t. It felt like shards were lodged up in his throat, scraping his vocal chords. He couldn’t talk without his permission. Dream was yet still dependent on Quackity. And he hated that. He hated not being able to feel control.
That’s what they’d done, hadn’t they?
Control made him corrupt.
So they made sure to snatch his control from him.
Even to the point where he couldn’t control his own body anymore.
“Still, we can sentence-” Tubbo started, raising his giant hammer thing.
“Oh dear, Tubbo. You said that you needed Dream to testify what happened in prison, didn’t you?” Quackity said, coyly. His eye inspected the chains as if he was expecting to get out of them. Dream's nails dug into his prison jumpsuit, reopening new wounds, but he didn't care. He needed to keep himself in check.
“YOU FUCKING-” Tommy shouted from the room, finally getting up and grabbing his axe. “I hate Dream with all heart, but torture? Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Tommy.” Tubbo said in a calm voice.
“THAT BASTARD! HOW DO WE KNOW HE WON’T DO THIS WITH EVERYONE ELSE, HUH? WHAT IF ONE OF US END UP IN THAT FUCKING CELL!?” Tommy shouted and Dream flinched. When had Tommy ever defended him? Tommy was the reason he was in the prison in the first place. Their eyes met and Dream could see something he’d never expected to see within the blond’s eyes.
Guilt.
They were overflowing with guilt, but not for Tubbo or Quackity or Sam or Philza. They were guilty for him .
“Aren’t you going to be lawful , Tubbo?” Quackity added.
“Lawful… Oh, but when have I ever been lawful.” Tubbo muttered under his breath, loudly enough so that everyone in the court could hear, so not really under his breath… Dream looked at the eyes filled with pity, with guilt, with sadness and all Dream could feel was nails scratching his lungs. Dream’s heart skidded to a stop when Sapnap looked at Dream with so much- So much love . Dream missed his brother. Did he deserve him though?
“What-” Quackity started.
“Take them away, Ponk and Punz.” Ponk and Punz nodded at each other before they hauled the two men away to Pandora’s Vault. Dream hoped that they wouldn’t be tortured, but revenge was burning away in his stomach and this time the fresh water wasn’t enough to keep it out. He wanted them to suffer and he knew he was cruel for this.
When he turned to court, Tubbo was looking at him.
“My final verdict is that Dream…will get to roam free, supervised of course. We still can't trust him after- After everything he's done. And if you decide to start up again, we will throw you back in there.” Tubbo proclaimed as he finished the trial. Almost immediately, Tubbo loosened his tie and sat down in his chair with a huff. However, everyone else rushed towards Dream all at once.
“Duckling…” Puffy cried, grabbing onto his prison uniform. Dream recoiled from her grip. She’d replaced him with Foolish. He didn’t want her anymore because she’d never wanted him in the first place. Why? Why? Why?
Instead, his arms met Sapnap’s who hugged him like no one else ever would, like a warm campfire, gently burning off the cold from the tundra. Like a brother, like family.
Family .
His family.
Was it finally over?
Could he finally rest?
Yes. A voice whispered in his ear, lulling him to sleep. Yes....