Chapter Text
—Pandora’s vault—
...Death
Death... death, oh how Dream yearned for a permanent death.
He wished to die for real, but Quackity nor Sam would ever allow that. Every time he was on the brink of death, Quackity would either throw him in the lava so that he could respawn and regain back a perfectly healthy body, or Sam would shove healing and regeneration potion down his throat till he choked.
Ah... Death... he was so near it, yet so far from it.
This was torture, absolute torture.
What made it worse—
“Yooooo, Dream! How have you been?” A familiar yet annoying monotone voice drawled, making him flinch and turn to the lava that was now being lowered down. He could see the view on the other side.
“Techno, no!”
Ahhh.... God please, someone kill him. His one-way ticket out of this hellish hellhole was stuck here with him. That's it, he lost all reason and hope. There was no point in living anymore, he didn’t want to wait any longer.
Time to die!!!! Kill me, please! Strike me with lightning, or have a monster break in here and gobble me up! I don’t care how gruesome it can become. Honestly, seriously! I desire death so badly right now!!!
Someone put an end to me!
Even if Quackity hadn’t visited in a while, that didn’t mean Dream could just rest easy. He was filled with dread and anxiety as to when that psychotic duck would return. For now, he likely wasn’t visiting because he was busy with whatever project he had going on (he mentioned something about his own country during one of his torture sessions). But once he takes care of that, then what? Would he come and torture him with Techno here as a live audience? Would Techno help him at all? Would Sam force potions down his throat again?
Those thoughts haunted him in his nightmares.
Dream was shaking with fear as he sat in his usual corner, now sleep deprived and dealing with a massive headache...
God kill him.
... Dream was not expecting this.
He was expecting a clone of Techno to come out of the lava or appear from somewhere, but he never thought XD, the God of the server, would appear in person.
And the Divine being said he would grant them one wish.
A wish.
Looking at his goofy grin, he knew Techno was gonna ask for something stupid.
”I want a bel—“ Dream slapped a hand over his mouth to shut him up. The hybrid’s yelp was muffled as he looked at Dream in surprise.
“Techno, wait, before you say anything... tell me honestly, you have a plan to get out of this prison on your own, right?”
”Dream, what is this? W—“
”YOU HAVE A PLAN, RIGHT!?” the sudden shout had the hybrid jump. “Answer me clearly.”
“...Yeah, I have a plan, unlike you when you were thrown here.” The pig was definitely rubbing that fact to face. Annoying jerk.
“Good,” Dream moved to his obsidian bed. Under the rug of a blanket Sam threw at him, there were 3 journals hidden there. He picked all 3, returned to Technoblade, and shoved the books into his chest.
“Heh!?” He said, startled.
”One journal explains in detail how the prison operates. I drew blueprints of every nook and cranny of this place from memory and illustrated which lever does what. The second journal is the daily entry of my time in prison, specifically the period describing the tortures Quackity made me go through, as well as Sam’s corruption. I even have all the evidence on this drive,” he pointed at a small thumb drive that was taped to the cover of the second journal.
“A drive? Where did you get this?”
”Admin magic...” the pig looked at him incredulously. Of course he would, no one knew Dream could wield admin magic as the blonde was careful about it. However, his magic wasn’t strong enough. He could only make small objects appear in thin air, that’s it. He could not take out weapons, shields or armour. Maybe TNT, but he could not summon a chest full at once. Even if he did and tried to escape, there was too high of a chance he could get caught—then everyone would know he had magic. Knowing Quackity and Sam, they would increase the torture tenfold, making things far worse.
XD told him that the older he got, the more powerful he would get. But he wasn’t going to wait another damn year to learn how to teleport. He had enough.
“The last journal...” he paused to take a shuddered breath, “This is my last message addressed to almost everyone here on the server. Give each of them the message after you show them the torture I went through. This is my favour you have to repay.”
Technoblade’s eyes widened. “What are you talking about? No, the favour is to get you out of this prison, and I’m gonna do that.”
“That was the favour, but seeing you here, locked in this prison with me... I changed my mind. I can’t take it anymore. Even if you leave this place, I’m sure you would take time... and I don’t have the patience for that...” Not anymore. He couldn't take it anymore...
For once, there was a change of expression on Techno’s face. The calm, snarky and goofy face Techno had always shown, whenever he wasn’t wearing the pig skull mask, had changed into an expression Dream hadn’t seen once since the blood god had landed himself here.
He laughed nervously. “D-Dream—bud, I don’t think I follow. If this is the favour, and not escaping from this hellhole... then you want me to leave you here to rot for the rest of your life?”
“Who says I’m staying here?” Dream undid the clasps, removing the smiley porcelain mask from his face. Technoblade’s eyes widened in shock from the sudden revelation. Dream had never shown his face to anyone, not even to his closest friends. Quackity had tried to break the mask once, but Dream’s magic and enchantments on the mask prevented him from doing so.
“What are you doing? Dream, this isn't funny,” the hybrid said softly when he realized he was up to something.
Dream, for once in a long time, smiled at him warmly. He gently placed the porcelain smiley mask atop the books Techno carried.
“XD,” he said to the god while not looking at him as he still smiled at Techno, “I wish to die.”
“Dream—DREAM!??” The blood god dropped everything to the obsidian floor to grab both sides of his shoulders. “What are you doing? Have you gone mad!?”
”Maybe,” his smile didn't falter but grew wider, “But I’m at my limit. I can't take it anymore, Techno."
Techno was having none of that as he shook him vigorously. "Dream I'm not gonna let you die like this! Don't you want revenge on those who wronged you?! Don't you want to pay back the injustice a thousand times over?"
Dream laughed lifelessly. "Revenge? Payback injustice?" he took a breath, shoulders sagging down with ease. "Techno, I'm tired. I don't wanna fight anymore. Do you think I'm in the right shape to fight? Do you think these hands are capable of wielding a weapon again?" He was crying now. He hated crying because it made him weak, but he'll make an exception for him. Techno was the only one here after all. "Even if I were to get my revenge, I know they won't stop fighting back until I get hurt... and it'll just be an endless loop. An endless cycle of violence and war...until I'm dead... so I'm giving them what they want. And it'll all be over."
His wish was granted for sure as he could feel his body get heavy.
Fear and panic flashed in Techno's eyes as he held Dream to his chest, trying to keep him steady on his feet. "No, no, no, no, no, no, I ain't gonna let you die, nerd!" He looked back at XD. "Do something!"
"I cannot." The god simply replied calmly.
"Useless," Techno snarled at him before looking back at Dream with pleading eyes.
"Although you were an annoying cellmate," Dream whispered to him, tears still streaming down his face, "I'm glad I had a bit of company. I'm happy I'm not dying alone." Albeit tired, he reached out to Techno's neck to pull him closer so he could whisper to his ear, "They won't notice that I'm actually gone, so use time efficiently...Please, make them suffer for me... Good night, bacon."
His vision blackened immediately.
"DREAM!"
There was a yell, but that loud voice soon turned to an echo in the darkness, in the void.
Dream was slayed by DreamXD
There was nothing. He could not feel, or smell anything. There was a deafening silence surrounding him.
Finally, finally!
After 8 months of being in that prison, including 5 months of torture...
He was free.
“You are not.”
Dream blinked incredulously at XD. ”Huh?”
"I refuse to let you go just like that, Administrator," the god told him firmly as he crossed his arms, looking down at him.
...what?
What was going on? Where was he? Didn't XD just kill him!?
He did die... right?