Chapter Text
Quackity would definitely consider himself a smart man. He understood how the world worked from a very young age and he had used this knowledge to get where he was now. Some might think the fact that where he was now (in prison at 17) should make him reconsider his knowledge, but for Quackity it made him just more certain about it.
He had gotten a bit too cocky and lost his temper and he would make sure that would never happen again. Upon his arrival in prison he immediately figured out how to get close enough to Dream and it worked. He knew exactly who to manipulate to get what he wanted and what he wanted was power.
His sentence was way too long to just wait for it to be over and he knew Dream was in the same situation. He knew Dream had a plan and for that plan he needed people. This is where Wilbur came in, Dream had been clear he needed him on the team. It was mostly to get Techno on their side, Techno really seemed like the kind of guy who was hard to manipulate, he didn’t care about many things and it appeared almost impossible to gain his trust.
They went whit the assumption Techno cared about Wilbur because they are siblings and if not they could still use Wilbur for something else.
He went to the classrooms after Wilbur’s class ended. He was a little late but that didn’t matter because Wilbur hadn’t left the classroom yet. He was asleep and everyone else already left, this really couldn’t be better.
“Wake up, shit face.”
Wilbur woke up immediately and almost fell of his chair in surprise.
“Wow chill, I don’t bite.”
“Fuck you.”
Wilbur looked miserable, it was obvious he didn’t get a lot of sleep and if Quackity would have given a shit maybe he would have felt sorry for him but he wasn’t here for that.
“You look like shit by the way.”
“No one asked for your opinion.”
“And no one asked for you to be in such a shitty mood and yet here we are.”
“My shitty mood is mostly your fault; you almost fucking killed me.”
“And I would love to do it again but unfortunately I’m not that much of an asshole and I have better things to do.”
“Sure.”
“Also, Dream wanted me to inform you about some of the ground rules now that you are on the Dream Team.”
“You actually call yourself that? That is the dumbest name I ever heard.”
“I didn’t choose it, so you can bring that complaint to Dream although that’s probably a bad idea, he is kinda defensive about it.”
This conversation wasn’t really going the way Quackity wanted it to go. Maybe he shouldn’t have started it whit an insult but that was worth it. He didn’t expect Wilbur to be so hostile towards him though, he thought he was the kind of guy to keep his calm but maybe he shouldn’t have judged so fast. Or maybe it was just Wilbur’s lack of sleep, considering the events of last night that would not be surprising.
“Listen, I feel like we came off on the wrong foot, so why don’t we leave this classroom and find a nice place outside and then we can talk about business.”
If he wanted Wilbur on his side he would have to make sure that he could make him comfortable. After yesterday it just made sense if Wilbur distrusted him, the goal was to make clear that he didn’t have any other choices making him forced to be okay whit this choice. If he now made the choice look just a bit better maybe Wilbur would overlook the fact that he was forced to be on their side and become actually useful.
Wilbur was fast to understand his situation. It was one of the first things Quackity noticed about him. The moment he started talking about a possible plan to escape the prison he became less passive aggressive and more willing to help.
Maybe he realized that prison was one of the worst ways to spend your youth but Quackity was sure there was something else, something in his eyes when Quackity mentioned their plan of escape. There was a fire in his eyes that Quackity had seen before. He had seen it in the eyes of the people who gambled whit their whole life. He always thought those people were just stupid drunk idiots but maybe there was something else to it because Wilbur was definitely not an idiot.
Wilbur was just thrilled by the thought of setting his life on the line and Quackity couldn’t help but feel a bit freaked out by that.
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“THIS TIME THE MORNING ANOUNCEMENT IS A BIT DIFFERENT THERE WILL BE NO SCHOOL TODAY BUT EVERYONE HAS TO MEET IN THE YARD BECAUSE WE HAVE A NEW PRISON WARDEN.”
Dream was already awake, he didn’t need sleep, sleep was overrated.
“I didn’t even know we had an old prison warden,” Sapnap said still half asleep.
“Well, if he thinks he’s better than me I’ll kick him.” Dream was also concerned it would mess up their escape plans, he really didn’t need another inconvenience.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Now George was awake as well, it usually took him longer to wake up, so it was quite surprising.
They quickly got dressed and left their cell. Before they went to the yard they picked up Techno, just in case he needed help finding the yard.
“I know where the yard is, I’ve been here for almost a week now you really can stop showing me where to go.”
Techno could be really rude sometimes, Dream was just trying to be nice.
“Well now that we are here you can come whit us anyway,” Dream offered. He really needed Techno on his side and from his experience the best way to get close to someone was to treat them like you were already close to them. It had an almost 100 percent success rate with Techno being the only one it hadn’t worked on yet.
“Did you have any interesting Dreams, Techno?”
If Techno was irritated by this question he didn’t show it, he just replied whit a plane “no”. He didn’t even ask why Dream would ask such a question, most people at least gave him a confused look but Techno just kept walking.
“I had a wired Dream”, George interrupted the awkward silence Techno had created.
“Literary nobody cares.”
“Really Sapnap? I’m sure you’re just jealous because you didn’t Dream of anything interesting.”
The yard was already filled whit people but everyone backed away the moment they saw Dream and his friends so they had no problem finding a spot right in the front.
There on a balcony was a man, who Dream assumed to be the new prison warden, standing in front of a mic. He looked down on everyone with hatred in his expression, this guy would definitely ruin their fun that much was clear. They would have to make a meeting about this later, Dream decided.
As the last few people arrived and the mumbling dimed down the man on the balcony started talking.
“Good Morning Prisoners, I am Sam, your new Prison warden. I’m looking forward to work here, with you. But, we’ll have to make few changes around here.”
“I think I hate the guy already,” Sapnap whispered, and Dream agreed, somebody saying that they had to make a few changes around here was never a good sign.
“The first thing should be obvious, but I will remind you nonetheless, if you know or hear of any illegal activity inside this prison, as well as any plan for illegal activity you will have to report it immediately. If we find out you knew about something that you didn’t report it means you were part of it, making you punishable by law.”
Dream almost laughed at that, he couldn’t think of anyone in here who would actually report something and he knew most of the people here. If this new warden really wanted to change something a few threats wouldn’t be enough.
“Second, adding to the current anger management classes we will be providing mandatory therapy for those who need it. Just like the anger management classes, you will be contacted if such thing is found necessary for you.”
Now this part was very inconvenient because there was no way they wouldn’t sooner or later contact Dream and force him to go to therapy. Why would he or anyone want to sit down and talk about their emotions. Anger management classes were bad enough, but at least in them he wasn’t alone whit a counselor.
“Ugh, therapy is going to be cringe,” Techno said in annoyance.
“True,” Dream agreed, “why would they want us to do this shit anyways it’s not like they actually care about our mental wellbeing.”
“They just want to pretend to care I guess.”
“And how does that make you feel?” George asked jokingly.
“Makes me feel like I want to commit more crime.”
“Well, that sounds like an idea worth trying.”
Dream missed out on the rest of the speech because he looked around in the crowed to find Quackity. He needed him to arrange a meeting fast and he didn’t care about breaking the rules anyways so he didn’t even need to know them. Maybe they could find a way to speed up their escape plan so he wouldn’t have to go to therapy.
Quackity was in a corner rather far away from Dream. As their eyes meet Dream signalized him to get over. It took Quackity a while to understand what Dream meant but Dream couldn’t make it more obvious, he couldn’t risk getting attention from anyone else, especially the new warden.
“Okay, what’s the plan?” Quackity asked whit a lowered voice so the people around him wouldn’t hear.
“Call a meeting, make sure everyone comes and Techno– “
Dream looked around to where Techno had been standing just a minute before.
“Wait where did he go?”
Quackity just shrugged. “I don’t know man, I haven’t seen him.”
Dream was a bit pissed now. “Then find him or make Wilbur find him for you, I don’t care just make sure he’ll be there.”
“Understood.” Quackity said and ran off.
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Tommy was actually surprised by how good Dream managed to cover the bruises. He never really used makeup before so he didn’t know it made this easy to cover up things. If he would have known he could have used it to cover up the bruises he got from fights at school so Wilbur would stop worrying about it.
It was still a mystery to Tommy why Dream decided to be so nice right after he beat him but he wouldn’t complain, he really didn’t want to explain the bruises it to Wilbur. He would just think Tommy was being a reckless kid and make sure he wouldn’t leave him alone so Dream couldn’t hurt him, but Tommy didn’t need protection, he was too pog for that, he could handle a few bruises.
The rest of the day hadn’t been very interesting, and Tommy already started to get bored so, as he woke up to an announcement about a new prison warden he happily jumped out of bed. The best part was probably that school was canceled for the day.
In the end listening to a man talk about prison improvements for almost an hour was just as boring as school, maybe even worse. This new warden really didn’t know when to shut up or how to talk about anything at least a little interesting.
Out of nowhere Quackity appeared and of course he was here for Wilbur not for Tommy. Being the youngest was so annoying, both of his older brothers got involved in all of the prison gang things and Tommy had to put in all his effort for anyone to even realize he wanted to be part of it to.
“We’ll have a meeting in about one hour,” Quackity said in a menacing tone, “make sure Techno will be there as well.” And then he left whit out saying another word.
“Do you think I can come?” Tommy asked, he did not want to let this opportunity slide.
Wilbur reacted just how Tommy expected him to, “no Tommy, it could be dangerous I don’t want you to get involved in this.”
“Is that really why you don’t want me there or do you actually just think I’m too annoying for your new cool prison friends?”
“Tommy, I never said you were annoying.”
“You did actually.”
Wilbur said nothing after that he just took a deep breath like he was about to say something but then stopped himself from doing so. Tommy had no idea for how long they would have awkwardly stood in front of each other avoiding eye contact if Techno wouldn’t have showed up.
“Cool that we don’t have school today, right?”
He didn’t even seem to notice the uncomfortable silence he walked in on.
“True, it’s very pog.”
“Good to see you Techno,” Wilbur said happily, “I actually needed to tell you something. Dream is going to have a meeting and he wants us both to join, I don’t know why but Quackity told me that.”
Techno sighed, “these people won’t ever leave me alone, will they?”
“I want to come as well,” Tommy tried again, maybe Techno would allow him or maybe Wilbur would change his mind, probably not but who knows.
“I said I’m not letting you come whit us.”
“Come on Wilbur, what is the big problem, if Tommy really wants to come why not let him?”
Techno was just as expected the most pog person ever.
“He is right, also you are not my dad you can’t tell me what to do.”
Tommy already thought he won the argument, but Wilbur was just too stubborn. “I don’t care if I’m not your dad, I’m not letting you come whit us.”
“Dream probably won’t let him join anyway,” Techno mentioned, “we could just bring Tommy with us and see if Dream would even let him in.”
Tommy felt his heart drop a little, Dream wouldn’t let him in, he tried to fight him and dramatically failed, he even cried in front of him, which still was embarrassing to think about. Why was he so useless sometimes? He just wanted to show how pog he was and now he lost his chance to be part of the cool prison gang that made secret meetings.
“Fine,” Wilbur said, “we can ask Dream and if he doesn’t let you in there is nothing you can do about it anyway.”
“Okay,” Tommy nodded if he didn’t at least try to ask Dream to join them he would surely regret it.
Quackity didn’t tell them where they’d meet so they just assumed it was at the creative free time room, and it was. Or at least Dream was literary standing right in front of it.
Dream looked at them whit a menacing look like he was already thinking about where he’d hide their body’s if he ever needed to. Then he smiled. “Good to see you,” he said in his cheerful voice.
Techno and Wilbur just nodded in response and went inside the moment Dream took a step away from the door. Tommy was just about to quietly follow them but Dream got between them blocking Tommy’s way.
“I can’t remember inviting you.”
“I, uhm…” Shit, what was he doing? He planned to be assertive about this. “You know I just… well actually…”
“Whatever, you can join both of your brothers are here to so it would only be fair.”
Tommy tried to hide his smile, Dream didn’t need to know how happy that made him. Wilbur didn’t say anything, though it was rather clear he was unhappy whit the situation.
“So, what’s the great plan?” Wilbur asked mockingly, he sat on one of the tables of the room dangling his feet.
“I won’t just tell you everything we’ve planned,” Dream said, “not until I think you can be trusted.”
“Then why are we even here?”
“You, Wilbur, are here because you have to prove that you can be trusted. I would have given it a bit more time but the warden thing made things more complicated. Techno is here because I trust him and Tommy is here because he wants to spent more time whit his siblings.”
Tommy wasn’t here because he wanted to spend more time whit his siblings. He actually wanted to establish dominance. He knew Wilbur was just here to spy on the enemy and Tommy would help him. This just meant that it was probably for the best if Dream thought Tommy was here for his siblings, maybe he wouldn’t even have to prove that he was on Dreams side because Dream assumed Tommy was on whatever side his siblings where on.
If Dream wanted to assume Tommy was just some random kid whit no skill whatsoever, Tommy could easily try to use that to his advantage.
Sitting next to Wilbur Tommy could overhear him whisper to Techno, “you do know Dream doesn’t actually trust you, right?”
“Yeah, no shit, this guy doesn’t trust anyone more than he has to.”
Dream didn’t hear them, and Tommy didn’t want to know what Dream would have done if he did.
“To prove your trust, Wilbur,” Dream said looking at Wilbur menacingly. “You’ll have to destroy the backup security system and make it look like an accident.”
“And I’m supposed to do that how exactly?”
“I’m sure you can figure it out, maybe Tommy can help you or something.”
Tommy had no idea how he could help Wilbur with that, and Wilbur seemed to be just as perplexed as Tommy was, but Tommy wanted to help Wilbur so told him the best plan he could come up whit in a few seconds.
“Surely, we don’t have to worry, we can just go to the security thing and smash a few computers and bring rocks and pretend it was an asteroid, easy.” Tommy said, he was sure this was a good plan with a very low rate of failure.
Wilbur didn’t seem that convinced of Tommy’s masterplan but Tommy would help him if he wanted it or not.
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It didn’t really bother Wilbur when Techno decided to help them destroy the backup security system, at least he originally didn’t think so. He was never sure what Techno actually wanted. Damn, he wasn’t even sure if he was on their side. He’d seen him hang out whit Dream a few times before maybe he was already on Dreams side, maybe he came with them to watch Wilbur and tell Dream later if Wilbur did what he was supposed to do.
Probably not, Techno wasn’t the kind of person to do shit for someone if he had no good reason and didn’t he hate governments? Dream might not be a government but he sure did act like one. Still it would be better to know Techno’s opinion on Dream.
On their way to the backup security system (Dream did end up telling them where it was) Wilbur attempted to start the conversation.
“How was your day?”
“Good.”
Silence. Of course, Techno wouldn’t respond to small talk, Wilbur actually knew that. In Techno’s case, it was probably better if Wilbur just got to the point and didn’t stupidly beat round the bush.
“What do you think about Dream?”
Techno stopped for a second. “He’s a really annoying,” he then said and continued walking.
“True,” Wilbur agreed, “but are you on his side? Or why do you hang out whit him?”
“I’m not on his side, Wilbur.” Techno looked like it was insulting Wilbur could even think that.
“Also, since when do you give a shit about who I hang out with?”
“I wouldn’t, but Dream is definitely not good company.”
“I know.”
“Good.”
They both walked in silence for a while only interrupted by Tommy’s random input on plans to make their mission look more like an accident. Wilbur was the one continuing the conversation.
“Well, then why do you hang out whit them?”
“Honestly, they just kind of show up and talk to me all the time.”
That actually made a lot of sense, Wilbur could vividly imagine Dream, annoying Techno with questions whilst Techno just stood there giving his typical monotone answers. It was quite amusing to think about.
Luckily for them, backup security meant no guards, only a locked door, but they had prepared for that, so it really wasn’t a problem.
The inside was empty and a thin layer of dust covered the chairs, tables and computers. The light flickered as Wilbur turned it on and it continued to make a buzzing sound. The monitors still worked apart from one and Wilbur could see the cafeteria as well as the yard and other places on them.
“I can see Tubbo,” Tommy pointed at one of the screens showing the yard and he was right Tubbo was there throwing a rock in the air just to catch it again.
“Tubbo is so cool,” Tommy said excited. “I’ll ask him later where he got that rock, rocks are a very rare thing in here.”
“So, how do we do this now?” Techno asked, “do we just punch the screens?”
“I guess we should just make sure they are unusable afterwards.” Wilbur took one of the screens and tore it off the wall. He smiled as he watched it hit the ground and shred into thousands of pieces with a loud bang.
Everyone had a fun time destroying all the electronics they could find, they didn’t even think about how loud they were being, at least not until someone opened the door to the room.
“Well, what do we have here?” Sam stood in the doorframe looking at them the way a hunter looks at his freshly caught prey. Shit.