Chapter Text
The young farlander hybrid curled up in the cramped cage, hidden under a tarp that blocked his view of the dark, noisy back room he had been left in. The constant muffled sound of other hybrids and creatures crying out hurt his delicate ears, and combined with his growing hunger, left him with a painful migraine.
Stupid, so fucking stupid. He couldn’t believe just how fucking stupid he was for making such a naive mistake, after all the warnings that Legacy had drilled into their heads. If it sounded too good to be true, he should run the other way. He should have known better than to trust the dirty-looking kid in the alleyway – I mean, really, what random person offers a safe place to stay for the night, especially to a possibly hostile hybrid? It was only once he was already inside that he noticed that the decrepit house was filled with rusted cages and the sweet-smelling cloth was shoved against his face. He managed to get out of their grasp, his dragon-bone mask protecting him from most of the sleeping potion’s effect, but it was still enough to make him drowsy and uncoordinated. He didn’t spot the other person in the room until he felt a needle pierce his neck and he was knocked out completely.
It had to have been at least three or four days since his capture – he wasn’t quite sure how long he had been unconscious – and by the time he came to his senses, he was already on a cart headed off to who-knew-where. He knew that Legacy wouldn’t wait long before moving on from the town with the rest of his siblings, especially when he didn’t show up at the crossroads they had designated as their regrouping point. It was way too risky for them to stay in such a populated area longer than a day or two. The twins would be against the decision, Vendetta maybe even trying to fight her, but he knew that Legacy would not budge when it came to keeping their remaining family out of harm’s way. Just because he was stupid enough to get caught didn’t mean they all had to go down with him.
The only bright spot about the situation was that he wasn’t alone during the transport. His cage had been next to a fireborn hybrid from the Nether, who he learned went by the name Sapnap. The name ‘Dream’ was still weird to use, but with the very real possibility of being sold out to the assassins hunting his family, he wasn’t going to risk it. The two talked quietly to each other throughout the journey; Sapnap told him about how he had been separated from his adopted father during a raid on their community and Dream told him about how he and his family had technically been on the run since before he was born.
Unfortunately, that comfort wouldn’t last as one night, when the cart stopped for the evening, Sapnap was moved to another section to make room for an old phantom hybrid who did nothing but hiss at him when he tried talking. He was sad to have been separated from his new friend and he could only hope that Sapnap would make it out somehow.
There was a sudden clang of something metal against his cage bars startling a cry from him. “Keep it down! No use cryin’.”
Dream hadn’t realized that a sob had escaped his notice, quickly covering his mouth with his hand to stifle the noise. Tears collected at the edges of his eyes, the faint sizzling irritation only causing him more pain.
Eventually, he was able to get control of himself and calm down, curling up on the floor of his cage. He was just about to doze off, exhausted from staying awake when a faint “⊑⟒⌰⌰⍜!” shocked him awake.
It had been at least, what, two years since he had heard someone speak in Ender?
Legacy had deemed it too risky for any of them to speak it in case someone was listening. Looking down, he spotted movement from an old ratty burlap bag that had been dropped on the floor near his cage. He reached through the bars, hissing at the slight sting of whatever enchantment had been placed on it to keep him in, and picked it up. He hesitated for a second before a muffled “⊑⟒⌰⌿!” convinced him to put his hand in.
He didn’t know what he was expecting, but when he pulled out his hand, he was met with a strange little creature. There wasn’t much to it – just a small, whitish blob whose only real feature was a simple smiley face with two crossing cracks that went over where its right eye would be.
“Hello!” It chirped again, this time in Common.
“H-hello?” Dream asked, holding it close to his chest so that his whisper wouldn’t carry beyond the tarp. “What- what are you?”
“Mmmmmm,” It turned its head to the side. “Humans have been calling me a whole bunch of things. So far my favorite has been a Dreamon!”
“A… Dreamon?”
“Yep!” The creature replied, voice warbling ever so faintly. “So, here’s the thing. You see, the whole reason why I’m here is because the humans betrayed me after finding out that I can sometimes grant wishes to people I want, which makes me really valuable. But these guys? All they want is ‘gold and diamonds’! Super boring. Anyways, I’ve been trying to find someone that can help me get out! Do you think you can?”
Dream looked at the iron bars around him, loathing more than ever that he was too human to get his siblings’ ability to teleport. “I don’t know exactly how much I can help you from here, but I can try?”
The little blob giggled. “Oh silly! You don’t have to go anywhere, you just have to agree to one little thing for me!”
He looked at the blob with suspicion – Father had taught him that favors were powerful things, dangerous things. “...What do you need?”
“Well, you’re trapped and hurt and no one is coming to save you. These hunters? Either going to kill you to sell for parts or keep you alive so they can auction you off to the highest bidder who’s trying to expand their collection – both of which would end horribly for you. So, why don’t we… make a deal?”
Dream let out a startled gasp, covering his mouth to stop the noise from alerting the patrolling guards, as the blob’s injured eye suddenly split open, revealing an enderpearl hidden within.
“What- what do you want in return?” Dream stammered.
The eye blinked before the Dreamon’s smile expanded to an open grin. “Nothing! I just want to hitch a ride to get out!”
“That’s… it?” Dream asked, untrusting.
“Yep! I help you get out and you help me get out!”
Dream mulled it over. There had to be some kind hidden motive, a catch; no one ever just helped someone– there was always some kind of price to be paid in the end. Looking at the bars as a pang of hunger ran through him, he sighed and nodded his head.
“Excellent! Here’s the pearl. It’s currently inert, you just have to say ‘⎎⍀⍜⋔ ⌇⏁⏃⍀⌰⟟☌⊑⏁ ⏁⍜ ⎐⍜⟟⎅, ⎎⍀⍜⋔ ⏃⟒⏁⊑⟒⍀ ⏁⍜ ⟒⋏⎅, ⋔⏃⊬ ⏁⊑⟒ ☌⍀⟒⏃⏁ ☊⊑⏃⍜⌇ ⏚⟟⋏⎅ ⏁⊑⟒⋔’ in order to get it working!”
The pearl dropped out of the eye, leaving an empty socket that quickly filled back up with whatever soft, oddly pliable material the Dreamon was made of. Dream caught it before it could make a noise or possibly crack on the iron floor. It was definitely an enderpearl, but it looked strange in the dim light of his cage, an almost off-color green hue to it.
“What- what does that mean?” Dream questioned as he looked at the creature, his Ender rough after disuse.
“Well, the pearl is fueled by power from the End and we are in the Overworld, so we have to call on the Great Chaos to activate it.” the Dreamon explained.
“The Great… Chaos?”
“Disorder, disarray, mayhem, pandemonium, discord.” The Dreamon listed off, “Entropy in its purest form. You know, the thing the universe is descending and breaking into at a quite frankly alarming rate?”
“I- wha-what???” Dream stammered, a sudden anxiety building in his chest.
“Ah, you don’t have to worry about it, pretty sure you won’t be around when it all goes to shit, just- chant the magic words so we can be out of here.” the Dreamon pushed, slightly annoyed.
Dream wasn’t completely convinced, but given his lack of options, shrugged his shoulders and took a deep breath before focusing on the pearl.
“ From Starlight to Void –” The farlander-hybrid’s eyes began to emit a bright, luminous green glow under his closed eyelids, the light growing stronger as a trance came over him. “ From End to End –”
The Dreamon’s body began to shift and grow impossibly, becoming more eldritch and unearthly as the skin began to bubble and split to reveal dozens of Eyes of Ender, all turning to focus on the enderfrag hybrid.
“ May the Great Chaos ,” Dream looked up to the monstrosity in front of him, voice wavering for a moment when he caught sight of it. “... bind them. ”
Without warning, he felt a searing pain rip through his mind. White light flooded his eyes before fading to black, a faint galaxy-like pattern filling the void. His ears rang and he could feel his body go numb and cold in an instant. He smelled ozone and trees and fruits and ash and everything in between that reminded him of a home so far away that he had lost.
When he regained his senses, he found himself curled up on the forest floor, sunlight filtering through the leaves of the trees with Sapnap somehow sleeping soundly beside him. The heavy smell of smoke, and concerningly blood, clung to his clothes.
He looked around, the unfamiliar environment sending him into a panic when he suddenly heard a voice, coming from both everywhere and nowhere, echoing inside his mind. “He won’t remember anything, don’t worry – I made sure of it! Friends are hard to come by these days, it would be a shame to lose your first one.”
He scrambled back, clutching his head, trying to escape the omnipresent, well, presence.
“Wh- what did you do?” Dream’s voice trembled. “What happened?!”
“I held up my part of the deal! Got you out of there safe and sound. Those hunters won’t bother you – or anyone, really – ever again!” The Dreamon responded, voice far too cheerful for what Dream’s mind was imagining about their fate. “And you held up yours! Hope you don’t mind me sticking around for just a little while but you seem like you could use the help!”
Dream shivered at the thought, but nodded despite his reservations – he was out and he was safe. Taking a moment to reorient himself, he noticed that he could feel a tingling under his skin. It was the same odd buzzing that would normally fill the air right before one of his siblings teleported. But this? This was constant and it was coming from him.
His stomach growled, snapping him out of the wonder he felt at this new sensation. He sighed, his supply bag was likely tossed away or destroyed when he had been captured. At the very least, he wished he had something to eat only for the same buzzing sensation to grow until, summoned out of thin air, a golden apple rested in his palm.
The Dreamon chuckled faintly at the enderfrag’s shock. “I told you I can grant limited wishes. I can teach you a couple more tricks that I have up my sleeve, should you need them.”
Dream stared at the apple, the brimming endless potential of magic still thrumming at his fingertips. He felt… powerful and for the first time since losing his home, he felt in control.
He couldn’t help but smile.
He did a check of the perimeter around the clearing by himself, wanting to let Sapnap sleep but also dreading having to explain what happened. How do you tell someone you only just met that you made a deal with some random creature and it ended up destroying everything?
“I didn’t destroy everything, ” the Dreamon clarified, its sudden presence startling Dream out of his idle search. “Only those that deserved it!”
He didn’t really want to think about who it qualified as deserving. “How long are you… planning to stay in my head?”
“As long as you’re okay with it! I don’t have much power in my own physical form here – that’s the downside to being a fragment, you come out as a lesser being.”
“A fragment?”
“Yeah, I’m supposed to be looking for something, or rather, multiple someones. Myself and others were split off to widen the search but then I got caught up in this mess.”
“So, that weird blob thing, that isn’t actually you?”
“I mean, kind of? It’s complicated. I am technically my own entity but I’m also part of a greater entity. The smaller physical form saves energy but even it takes a lot. Much better for me to tag along with someone!”
“And, the people you ‘tag along’ with… do they all get powers?”
“Some more than others, but that’s part of the deal! They’re the strongest when I’m bound with those of ⎐⍜⟟⎅ ⏚⌰⍜⍜⎅.”
“⎐⍜⟟⎅- Voidblood? What does that mean?”
“We should probably head back to your friend,” the Dreamon suggested, changing the subject to ignore his question. “Don’t want him to wake up alone in a forest.”
“I- yeah, that’s fair, but I still have questions for you.”
The Dreamon chuckled. “Well, I’m not going anywhere!”
They got back to the clearing to find Sapnap still sound asleep. Dream shook the fireborn’s shoulder only to yelp at the burning heat that his hands were met with, but Sapnap stayed unconscious.
“Sapnap?!” He shouted, hoping the noise might wake him up. When he showed no signs of rousing, Dream began to panic once more. “What did you do? Did you put him in a coma or something?!”
“He’s fine,” the Dreamon reassured. “He probably just isn’t used to teleporting! It can be very taxing on non-endermen, especially a little kid like him!”
“How long is he gonna be out?”
“No idea! I’m surprised it knocked him out at all – nether demons are very powerful and can sometimes teleport in their own way.”
“He said he isn’t a demon, though. Just that his adopted dad is and that he’s a hybrid.”
“Oh… well he’ll probably be out for a while then! Wouldn’t hurt to build some shelter while you wait.”
Mind still reeling as he tried to process everything, Dream fashioned some quick tools and knocked down a few of the trees. Using the wood and some assistance from the Dreamon, he put together a makeshift hut that would at least get them through the night. There hadn’t been any sheep nearby for him to make beds, but as soon as he noticed the issue, he felt the thrumming under his skin grow stronger until two plush mattresses, one orange and one green, appeared beside each other.
“Thanks.” He muttered to the Dreamon.
Dream removed the covers and carefully used them to drag Sapnap onto the beds. He was just about done, tucking the fireborn in but before Dream was able to get him into place, he woke up flailing in half-awake panic and fell back onto the floor.
Dream rushed over, thankful that they hadn’t been in full-height beds. “Are you okay?”
“What the fuck?!” Near-black eyes were now glowing orange. “What–” His line of sight finally landed on his friend. “Oh. Hey, Dream.”
“You idiot,” he laughed from on top of the beds.
“I- wait, where are we? What happened?” Sapnap looked around in confusion, “Did we escape?”
Dream froze. How was he going to explain this to him?
“Just lie. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.” the Dreamon’s voice whispered.
“Y- yeah we did! There was a breakout and someone opened our cages. We found each other trying to find a way out but the place was on fire and collapsing and you got hit in the head really, really hard. It- it scared me.” Dream quickly made up. It might have been partially true but considering he also didn’t remember, was it really a lie? “I got us really far away and made this place to stay the night. I thought for a second you were about to burn this whole place down.”
Sapnap chuckled as he climbed into the bed next to him, “I mean, I definitely could. The whole place is made of wood.”
Dream’s face fell and all the humor left in the air died with it.
“I- I’m sorry, dude. I wouldn’t burn anything down, not with you inside, at least. I–” Sapnap scrambled over, reaching up to put his hands on Dream’s shoulders but stopped when he saw the way Dream backed away from the heat with fear in his eyes. He tucked his hands under his arms, looking down at his knees rather than his friend’s face. “...sorry.”
Seeing the way Sapnap pulled back, guilt set in, the words of the Dreamon echoing in his mind – Friends are hard to come by these days, it would be a shame to lose your first one.
Wrapping the cactus green covers around his shoulders, he leaned against the fireborn, thankful that the thick woolen sheets blocked the heat, even if not as much as he had hoped they would.
“I’m sorry, too.”
Sapnap paused for a moment, fight-flight-freeze instinct still running in the background before his mind came back to focus. He returned the lean, taking care to make sure his head rested away from the nubby horns.
At some point, they both fell asleep, the long limbs of lanky kids tangled with their covers, neither far from the other.
They went on to travel together from there, journeying by day and building small huts as the sun set. They crossed deserts and oceans, mountains and ravines.
One day, as they trekked through the stuffy humidity of jungle brush, a rustling nearby caught Dream’s attention.
“ Sapnap, get down. ” He crouched and looked to make sure the fireborn followed his lead. “I think there’s something following us.”
Seemingly oblivious to the warning, Sapnap immediately began rustling through the nearest bushes.
“ SAPNAP! ” Dream whisper-yelled. “What are you doing?! ”
Pushing aside a cluster of bamboo stalks, the mop of black hair disappeared for a moment before it popped up, accompanied by a second creature being raised into the air and a joyful cheer.
“I FOUND A PANDA!!!” Sapnap screamed, struggling to hold the black and white fluffball in his arms.
“ SHH! ” Dream rushed forward and put his hands over Sapnap’s mouth, thankful he’d made leather gloves as he felt a faint heat seep through the material. “ Keep your voice down! ”
Sapnap stared for a moment, looking between him and the panda in his arms. When Dream dropped his hands, he took that as the opportunity to immediately start talking again. “What do you think we should name it?”
“Wha-I don’t know? Why are we keeping it? It might have a family?” Dream replied absentmindedly, looking around them to see if anyone had noticed the ruckus even though they were far from any known civilization. That, and to make sure an angry mama panda wasn’t charging at them.
“Of course we’re keeping it, it followed us !” Sapnap insisted. “Babies don’t follow strange creatures unless they’re in distress!”
“Shouldn’t we at least try to, you know, find its parents?” Dream suggested.
“Dream, look at it.” Sapnap handed the cub over. “It doesn’t have anyone.”
Dream took the cub into his arms and gave a distressed noise over how skinny the panda was, feeling his brotherly caretaker instincts kicking in. He thought about it for a moment before sighing in agreement, “Well, I mean, you’re the one that found it, you name it.”
“What about… Sapnap Jr.?”
Dream turned to give him a dead stare. “You’re naming it. After yourself?”
“I mean, why not, y’know?” Sapnap asked.
“If it gets your name, then you have to replace yours.” He made eye contact with the baby before looking back up at his friend. “We can have a panda named Sapnap and a Sapnap named Pandas.”
“I’ll take it,” Sapnap replied with a shrug, entirely unfazed. He turned his attention back to the small creature as it was handed back into his arms. “I love pandas so much, dude.”
Dream watched the interaction with a lighthearted smirk but his mind was already running through the logistical issues of them bringing a pet into their traveling party. Not only was it another mouth to feed, but it would slow them down and provide an extra risk when going through dangerous areas. And, to top it all off, he really didn’t want to see how upset Sapnap might get when it died.
All those thoughts were pushed aside when the panda burped at Sapnap and his whole face lit up.
“C’mon then, Pandas.” Dream gave a fond sigh, “Let’s find something for it to eat since I’m pretty sure baby pandas can’t eat bamboo until they’re older.”
“Wait, pandas eat bamboo?”
Dream gave him a horrified, confused look before Sapnap broke out in giggles, “I’m kidding! Let’s go find food for us too, I’m starving!”
With a roll of his eyes, Dream followed him as they continued their trek onward to find their families.
