Dream was listless.
He remained in his little pool of water, clothes wet and pressed against his thin body, hair thin and dirty as it clung to his sweaty face. Always sweaty, it was always warm. So warm. Hot.
It was because of the lava wall. All that heat trapped within unforgiving obsidian walls, slowly cooking Dream alive. It made his head foggy, thoughts sluggish and aimless.
Then again, he never did have much to think about. Inside these walls, nothing to ever occupy his mind for any longer than a handful of seconds, he so often found himself drifting. In his mind, he could find himself in warped, delightful fantasies, things he didn't dare hope for.
Of people, talking and listening, someone, anyone, to see him, hear him, acknowledge him. Of a man of fire and white, black hair and passion. Of a man of blue, dark glasses and sleepy indifference. Of what they might be like if they sat here beside him, talking and laughing.
More often than not, though, he found himself unable to tell the passage of time between one black out to the next. How he'd blink and feel like hours had passed, yet have no way to confirm such a thing, his clock long gone. At the start, he'd gotten sick of the ticking, the sound driving him f*cking crazy, and he'd tossed it into the lava.
Warden came in after to replace it and chastised him for being a child. The next time he'd hit him, calling him cruel names and placing the clock a little higher. Dream started to crave anything that meant he got to see someone, even if it brought pain.
After 2 more times, the Warden didn't replace it anymore.
After Tommy left, Warden didn't come around at all. Said that it was his punishment for everything he'd done, that he was bad and broken, and this cage was where he belonged. Dream tried desperately to recall what he could have possibly done to deserve this, if Tommy had said something or if the clocks were that important, but came up short. Then again, he couldn't really remember anything before being in this box.
All he had was his chest full of half filled notebooks and dried up ink, his cauldron of warm, sickly water, and his lecher that never got used. The sharp, unforgiving obsidian and puddles of crying obsidian tears. Nothing but himself and his thoughts, his mind which had started to fail him. Or maybe that happened a long time ago.
It was something new, a change in his bleak cell, that startled him so greatly. The sounds of pistons firing as the lava that trapped him inside started to lower. Dream squinted at the blurred mess of light, unable to recall a time in recent memory where that'd happened. Warden did not enter his cell for any reason. Warden said he did not deserve to be seen.
He let out a muted whine as the lava fully drained, and cool air rushed into his cell, touching his overheated skin. Quickly followed by the shatter of something in the center of his cell. There in all his terrifying glory stood Warden, netherite armor sturdy and trident held tightly in his grip.
Dream tilted his head ever so slightly, realizing quickly that he lacked the energy to move much. If he could stomach the potatoes the Warden occasionally provided, he might have had a little more energy, but any time he'd forced down a few bites, it all came back up.
"Prisoner," Warden growled, voice so loud to his sensitive ears that had spent so long in relative silence. Dream whimpered softly once more, throat screaming at him for daring to vocalize. "The server has agreed to release you from prison next week on account of good behavior," Warden sounded displeased by the idea, and if Dream could see his face through the blurred vision, he was sure he'd see a scowl.
Dream himself remained still, eyes far off as he rolled the words around in his mind, yet he still felt at a loss. They wanted to… let him out? What was out? Why? If he'd been such an irredeemable monster, an inhuman threat not worthy of humility, then why let him go? The idea of people both excited and frightened him, overwhelming but different. Did he want something different?
No. He didn't. He didn't want to leave his home. His cell. Safe. Dream warbled pathetically, unable to produce tears in his dehydrated state, but upset all the same. Already he'd experienced more in the past couple minutes than he had in the past however much time had passed in his cell.
The emotions were exhausting. The movement and focus was stressing. When Warden turned to leave, he couldn't decide if he was relieved to be free or upset to be alone so soon. Dream swallowed thickly, grinding his teeth as he dragged himself slowly out of the water hole, as if the firm ground would force his drifting mind back to his body. To make the idea of leaving any more real.
Nothing in this stupid f*cking cell ever felt real.
______
A week of time passed with a terrifying speed for someone who had little to no grasp on the passage of time. He'd not moved from his spot collapsed in front of his water hole since Warden had left, eyes unseeing as he stared upward at the cracked ceiling. Sometimes, in his more lucid moments, he'd pretend that the crying obsidian was stars up in the night sky.
At the sounds of pistons firing, Dream slowly turned his head to the lava. The rush of cool air that filled his cell as the lava drained sent shivers down his spine, a relieving sort of feeling that made him whine. The coolness was a good difference. He liked that difference.
However, as the loud thunk of the platform landed on his side of the cavern, he found very quickly he was not a fan of change. Of the people who entered his cell, so many people, too many there were too many . Through the pain he let out a weak sob, pulling his limbs close as possible as he tried to hide away. Where was Warden?
"Dream? Hey, you're coming home now," a man, tall and broad, black with horns (?) and little bits of red. He felt familiar, safe, but it was so terrifying and new and Dream could only pull away. This was his home, didn't they understand that?
"He looks really bad," The other said, who appeared to be a very tall cat man. Memories of hope flashed before his eyes, blood coating the floor and his hands, his only friend in this hell dying before him. He sobbed, drawing backwards as far as he could.
That was bad. Warden didn't like it when he tried or avoided his punishment, it only made it hurt more when he hit him. Unfavorable. Dream was a despicable, vile monster and needed to be punished. Maybe taking him out of the cell and into something scary and different was his punishment.
"Oh muffin, what happened…" The demon sounded mournful, as if he was crying, a clawed hand coming to push his stringy hair out of his face, soothingly cool against his skin. Nice. Dream blinked blearily up at the demon and hesitantly leaned closer, used to but craving any touch that did not spell pain. He was not allowed to want comfort, as monsters didn't get peace.
"Bad, we need to get him to the infirmary," the cat said seriously, paw resting on his shoulder. The demon, who'd apparently had the name Bad, familiar and sparking memories he'd lost so many months, nodded and sniffled. He took a long look at the unhealthy thinness of his body, and made the choice to gently pick him up.
Dream gasped and tensed, brain sputtering at the feeling of being weightless in his careful hold. He looked up at Bad's blurry face, and noticed how he had no distinguishable features other than his pure white eyes, which were glossy with tears. What weak attempts to escape, to go back to his water hole, failed, only resulting in the demon holding him tighter.
"We got you, dream, you're safe now. We're…" The cat stepped onto the platform beside Dream and Bad, looking far off and sort of sad. Not that he could really tell with his poor vision, eroded from the lava. He let out a pathetic whine, weakly fighting against their hold as he shivered in the cold air outside his cell. He whined a bit louder, but quickly dissolved into a choked coughing fit, tears pricking his eyes.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Dre, just a little longer," Bad cradled his body as they stepped over into the rest of the prison. All of the change, the newness, it made his head hurt. Doubly when he cracked an eye open and came face to face with the Warden.
"Sam, what the f*ck! Why the hell is he emaciated? Have you done your job at all?" The cat spat, fur raised and tail puffed up in frustration. He hissed at the creeper, using his cat hybrid status to make the other uneasy. It was only another fearful noise spilling from Dream that had the other calming, of only for his sake. Though the toxic glare Warden subsequently sent his way earned him a bloody scratch across his face where he pounced.
Bad quickly walked away, snapping for the cat to call for someone by the name of Ponk. Dream had stopped listening, terrified that, like hope, Warden would kill the can man for retaliating on his behalf. He could not speak, but Bad seemed to understand that his frantic tugging and glances back conveyed worry.
"Don't worry, Muffin head, Ant's got this." He explained, and he let out a deep nether born purr that did its job to relax him, if only slightly. He leaned into his chest, as the amount of moving and excitement drained far more energy than he had, and his eyes began to droop.
Maybe when he woke, it'd all be some crazy dream.
_______
It was not some crazy dream.
The next he woke it was to a blinding bright light that hurt his eyes and white walls completely unlike his cell. The thing he rested on was soft and seemed to absorb his body, a freaky thing when compared to the literal obsidian he'd slept on for the past few months (?). He had many funny machines connected to him, but hardly had the energy or will power to remove the needles and wires stuck to his skin.
Besides, Warden always punished him and took away food when he was bad. He didn't want to be bad.
"You've been dipping in and out of consciousness for about a week," He stared up at the weird man with a mask and coat, who introduced himself as Ponk, and listened as he explained many things dream didn't really understand. At least he realized that the light hurt his eyes and turned it off, instead letting light spill in from the window and hall. And wow, he had his very own windows!
There wasn't much he could see between being so far away and his poor vision, but just seeing blue outside and knowing that was the sky he'd been deprived of for so long brought tears spilling down his face. Apparently he'd been properly hydrated enough to do that again.
"The vault was extremely inhumane, I'm so sorry that you went through all of that," Ponk expressed with as much genuine remorse as humanly possible, as if those words meant anything to Dream. Inhuman? Well, Warden did everything in his power to remind him he was less than human, a monster undeserving of love or empathy. That everyone agreed he deserved everything that happened to him.
The Warden wouldn't lie to him, right?
Right?
"King Eret is putting Sam on trial, for everything he's done," as he said this, he cradled his stump where an arm once sat. Dream wanted to ask about Sam. He had very, very blurry attachments to the name. Love, affection, care. Why would they put him away? At his confused face, the man sighed.
"I know you've been made to believe you deserved everything, but trust me, what happened to you was horrible," Ponk said seriously, face grim as he carefully filled up his iv bag, where there was a mix of healing and regeneration. Dream didn't fully believe that statement, but knew better than to argue with people treating him with such kindness.
As Ponk left, he found himself familiarized with the demon and cat man, who reintroduced themselves as Badboyhalo and Antfrost. He didn't express much other than ornate confusion at everything around him, but they treated him with kindness all the same.
"Afternoon," Ant smiled and nodded his head as he entered the white room. Dream blinked back into the present, a strange elation filling him at the sight of food on the little tray he carried. A bowl of liquid, broth they explained, the only thing he could stomach. He smiled as best he could, wishing to show how grateful he was for all their kindness. Dream knew a monster such as himself did not deserve anything more than that cell, but such a selfish thing wanted this niceness.
“Ah, you’re improving a lot, yeah?” He purred as he came to sit on the edge of the bed, the bowl sat precariously in his lap. Dream thrilled quietly when the cat let his tail fall into his lap. The softness brought the admin no small amount of comfort, and he hesitantly toyed with the well maintained fur of his tail. Not like his own, black scales and thin fur nearly gone from malnutrition.
He sat up a bit further, not fighting the man when he held up a spoon full of broth. He knew as well as anyone that he could not feed himself with his tremors, and so long as they did not strike him as the Warden might’ve, he was happy. While Dream understood everything the Warden did was deserved, it was necessary to subdue a monster such as himself, he was still a selfish, vile creature who wanted niceness.
He hummed softly as warm broth touched his tongue, something not harsh and bitter and starchy. It was nice, it was so, so nice. The taste brought him back to forgotten memories of running outside. Of when he’d been human, or as human as a hybrid could get. Broth spilled down his chin where he’d failed to swallow every, but Ant did not get angry at him for being a waste. He held up a cloth to clear away the mess and continued to feed him until he’d eaten all of his share. That wasn’t a lot, seeing as he could only stomach so much.
“That’s good. Ponk will visit later today for physical therapy, but if all goes well, you should be walking and into your new home by spring,” Ant smiled, hopeful as always, and set the empty bowl onto Dream’s side table. The idea of a home, of leaving this one behind, made his gut turn. How was anyone to trust him if he’d done something to be in a place like this? He gave the cat a helpless look, tears dotting his eyes as confusion and fear filled him. Why trust him? Why did he suffer all those months if it was bad?
Ant perked up, and although he couldn’t see his face clearly, he could tell there was something profoundly sad there. Dream didn’t understand it. He was Dream, a monster, a selfish inhuman thing, not worthy of good fortune, of love.
“I’m sorry,” He whispered, lowering his head until he could hide his face against his lap. “I became a guard to protect you, and I failed. I failed and i’m so sorry,”
‘No’ he wanted to shout as tears pooled in his tired green eyes. ‘No, you did not fail. No one failed but me,’ but the words remained trapped behind his lead tongue. Unable to form past the withered vocal cords. All he could do was place a trembling hand on Ant’s head, uneven nails scratching his short fur. It was something Bad had done to him a few times, and he always found it really pleasant. Below his touch, the cat hybrid tensed for an agonizing moment before melting against his lap, choked sobs spilling his lips. Apologies fell from his lips, things Dream felt unnecessary, but allowed purely due to his inability to stop them.
“I’m sorry, Dream,” Ant sniffled, pushing further into his hand as if desperately trying to assure himself of his affections. That his inability to step up against the warden of all people. Dream didn’t know how else to help but to tug him a bit closer, lightly scratching between his ears as tears of his own spilled down his face and burned his eyes. ‘It’s okay,’ he wanted him to understand. ‘I forgave you the moment it happened.’
At that moment, all he could do was hum softly in ender, pulling him close and nuzzling the top of his head like he'd do to a hatchling.
Dream continued to hold Ant until the man ran through his tears, tired and exhausted as he nuzzled against his chest, ear flat to listen to the steady thump of his heart. He’d relaxed into his bed long ago, too tired to sit up fully, and his eyes drooped dangerously. He was so tired. So, so tired.
He blinked sleepily when the door opened and the demon, Bad, entered the room. He stared at the two of them, an unreadable expression coming across his face. Behind him stood a man with a lava printed mask and a white doctor's coat, and he might've met him before, but Dream's memory remained horrible.
They took one good look at everything, at the sleeping cat hybrid and the sleepy ender hybrid, and shared a knowing smile.
"Sleep well," he whispered and grabbed an extra blanket that they kept for the temperature difference got to be too much, and draped it over Ant. Dream smiled softly at the gesture, and for once, felt some semblance of hope in this hell.
Maybe cats really were good luck.
