Chapter Text
The grass outside of the prison was damp, still wet from the morning dew. The sun peeked over the horizon, its rays far too weak, unable to dry the drops of water. Tommy raised his hand to block the light, watching as it creeped farther into the sky.
Sam had told him to come at sunrise.
He nervously tapped his foot, passing the minutes in a mindless pattern that did little to take his mind off of the day in front of him. Because he was going to visit Dream. The man who had ruined everything for him.
Who he had barely seen since that day. The day that Dream’s lies had caught up with him. The day that Tommy had won.
Tommy could still remember it all. Remember how he had felt as he stood over Dream, the man’s entire life sitting on the edge of Tommy’s blade. Remember how the axe had trembled in his hands as he had raised it, and how easily it had torn through Dream’s flesh and bone.
How Dream had screamed, as he was torn apart.
Tommy heard Sam’s voice through the intercom and he turned his attention towards Pandora’s Vault. Standing in front of it, he couldn’t help but feel so small, so very insignificant when compared to the massive prison of rock and fire and darkness.
The door creaked open, and he walked into the entrance, waiting a few seconds before turning towards the portal. Bathed in its purple glow, he walked through the obsidian square, first to a small room in the nether and then back into the overworld.
And then he was in prison.
The portal had opened into an atrium of sorts, the ceiling opening high above him. The room was bathed in shadow, the only light coming from the glowstone that had been embedded in the floor, its faint yellow glow far too weak for such a large space.
It was then that it struck him. He was in the same place as Dream was. He was going to see Dream. Face to face, nothing to separate them. Nothing to protect him.
Nothing.
But it would be fine. It would be fine. Because this time, Dream was stuck and he was free. This time Tommy would have the power.
And so he took a deep breath, and reminded himself that it was safe. That he was safe. It was comforting to see the walls of obsidian that kept Dream locked away. It was a fitting end for a monster such as him.
Because that’s what Dream was. A monster.
The quill felt solid in his hand as he dipped it in ink and then brought the tip to the pages of the book, barely skimming the contents, before signing his name at the bottom. Signing his life away, perhaps less carefully than he should, but the prison was safe.
Sam said that it was safe, and Tommy trusted him. Trusted his judgment.
As he closed the chest that held everything that he owned, everything that he had worked so hard for, Tommy couldn’t help but hesitate. His hand hovered over his enderchest, ready to put the key card in, but something held him back. After a moment, he pulled the chest open and threw the keycard on top before he could change his mind. He ignored the feeling in his gut, the feeling that told him not to. That told Tommy to leave. To leave and never come back.
Tommy trailed behind Sam as they walked deeper into the prison, their echoing footsteps accompanied only by the distant wails of guardians, locked away underground. He stumbled over the ground, across already black stone that was only made darker by the flickering lights mounted on the walls. It seemed to grow colder with every step that they took, and Tommy shivered, wrapping his arms around himself to ward off the chill.
As his hands brushed against the dark walls, he felt something wet, looking over, only to see water slowly seeping through the walls. It glowed a faint purple, more apparent in the darkness and contributed to the eerie feel. Tommy tried to ignore it, but he still jumped at every creak and moan.
He couldn’t help but imagine Dream, locked inside of it for months. In the silence and dark. In the cold. It seemed wrong, Tommy thought, that someone should be forced to live like that.
But Dream wasn’t someone. He wasn’t a person, wasn’t human.
Sam stopped in front of a wall of lava, pulling a potion out of his inventory and turning towards Tommy. The potion splashed on the ground in front of him, the familiar heat surging through his body, uncomfortable, but much better than the alternative. Sam guided him onto the platform, and stood still, bracing himself as the lava grew closer.
Even with the potion the lava still burned a bit, leaving his skin red and tender as he made it to the other side. The heat slowly faded, and Tommy was left shivering in front of Sam, uncomfortably aware of how bare he was, his armor locked away in his chest.
He was turned away, when Sam threw the potion, the poison flooding through his veins before he had time to react, and he could feel the panic rising in his chest. Turning back to Sam, he was met with a blank face.
“What the fuck Sam? W- Why would you do that?”
His breathing was growing faster, his chest heaving with each inhale. The familiar blackness had already taken the corners of his vision, slowly creeping farther, threatening to leave him defenseless.
No. No.
Tommy was fine. He was a big man, and there was nothing to worry about.
One. Breathe in. Two Breathe out.
One. Two. Fuck.
“It’s just a precaution while visiting the prisoner, Tommy. “
He hated how cold the Warden’s voice sounded. How empty it was, void of all emotions he was used to hearing. It reminded him of his voice . Of D-.
One. Two.
Tommy was fine. He was fine.
“But the prisoner is Dream! I’m- I need to have health. He could kill me! He could kill me, Sam!”
In. Out.
Fine.
“It is a precaution Tommy. All precautions are mandatory on the prison grounds, and so you will follow them. You should have seen this in the book.”
The book. The one that he hadn’t read. Of course. Of course it would say that.
Tommy was visiting Dream. He was visiting Dream, and he was low enough that he could be killed. Low enough that he wasn't safe. But it was too late now. Too late to turn back, to run out of the prison and never look back.
It was too late to follow the sinking feeling in his gut.
One. Two.
Tommy’s legs shook as he stepped onto the platform, barely keeping him upright as it began to move. He kept his gaze trained on his shoes. They were red and white, just like his shirt. His favorite colors. He knew that there was a hole in the left one, the fabric worn by the years of use.
Once he got out, he would get a new pair.
Halfway across, he made the mistake. All it took was a quick glance over the edge of the platform, into the molten rock below, still flowing down. He turned around, trying to find Sam, to say that he needed to go back. Say that he wasn't ready.
But he was already moving and already stuck. It felt like an ending, as he slowly crossed the lava, as he looked back, only to see that Sam had moved away.
He kept waiting for him to turn around, to wave at Tommy, to tell him that it was fine, but all he could see was a dark figure outlined against the wall. It felt far too soon when the stopped, blackstone grinding up against obsidian in a shrieking noise as it reached the cell.
Tommy looked back at his shoes, trying to keep his legs from shaking as he stopped off of the platform. As he stepped into the cell. He took a deep breath, trying to prepare himself.
Because Dream would be there.
Dream would be there.
One. Two.
He watched as the platform pulled away, his last escape slipping away from him, across the lava and back to Sam. Once it hit the opposite side, he steadied his breath, and at last, he turned around.
There was still a wall between. One final barrier between him and Dream, but he knew that as soon as the lava had fallen, it would disappear. Knew that he would be alone with Dream.
But he needed closure. He needed the finality of seeing Dream locked away. Of seeing him gone. Of knowing that he would finally be safe.
And so as the wall lowered into the ground, as he was finally left alone, Tommy raised his eyes to look at the man of his nightmares. To look at Dream.