Chapter Text
It had been about a year and 6 months since Dream had killed Tommy since Tommy dared go near the prison. He wasn’t afraid, not anymore, he just knew what could happen if he went back in there, he did only have one canon life left after all.
The nightmares still happened occasionally, images of fists and dark obsidian filling his vision as he screamed for Sam, begged for Sam. But it was okay, he was okay. Even if he would wake up screaming and clutching at his chest, feeling the phantom fists beating down on him, even if each time he caught sight of the atrocious building he got the overwhelming urge to run as fast and far as possible, putting worlds of the distance between him and that damned prison.
But it was okay, he was okay.
Now he stood outside the entrance, quivering only slightly as he debated whether he would go through with his plan of visiting it. Ever since Techno became locked up as well, whispers of the torture and the maltreatment of the prisoners had floated around the server, saying Quackity and Sam had been working together, that the two were conspiring to obtain the book of necromancy.
So naturally, Tommy had to see for himself.
You don’t have to do this, mate. I can go check it out, it isn’t a good idea for you to be going in there, Phil had warned, scarred hand taking up a place on his shoulder as he spoke softly. Tommy had laughed it off and said the two would be no problem, that he was going to laugh at Dream’s newfound anguish, and then get out. He didn’t know if that was to comfort Phil or himself.
“Tommy, what are you doing here?” Quackity called, tearing the boy from his thoughts. The man looked sharp as ever, Gold tooth on full display as he wore a wide toothy smile. “I just got done visiting my pal Dream, I’m not so sure it’s wise to visit today as well” Quackity spoke, it read as both a warning and a pleasantry if that was even possible.
“I-…..” Tommy shook his head, lowering his head to the floor with furrowed brows “If I don’t do this now, I don’t think I ever will.”
“It’s probably better that way, you know,” Quackity said, voice going dark, “You shouldn’t be visiting him, Tommy,” he said, closing the distance between the two before and returning right back to his upbeat businessman facade. “I don’t want you getting hurt again, and this can’t be good for you mentally either” he shook his head, hand clasping the boy's shoulder.
“It’ll be alright, I’m going to have Sam keep the wall up this time, Dream won’t kill me I promise,” Tommy said, giving him a reassuring smile. “Besides, I also need to speak with Technoblade.”
——————-
To say Sam was shocked to see Tommy standing in front of him was an understatement, Tommy stood awkwardly as Sam was at a loss for words, starting and stopping each sentence he tried to summon abruptly.
“I need to visit them”
“That’s not happening,” Sam said, shaking his head as he eyed the boy. “I’m not allowing visitors any longer, not after what happened to you.”
“Quackity visits”
“That’s, that’s different-“
“Do you realize how shady you sound right now?” Tommy shook his head, shoving his hands in his pockets to hide the slight quiver. “Look, I’m not asking for a lot. I just want to talk to them, you can keep the wall in the cell up, you can give me a time limit, but I'm speaking to them one way or another.”
Sam thought for a minute, unable to come up with another excuse as to why he wouldn’t let Tommy in. “You know this won’t do you any good, right?”
“Let me in, Sam,” Tommy said, crossing his arms over his chest, growing more impatient by the minute.
With a sigh Sam nodded, going through the typical procedure of having Tommy agree to the terms, and put all his items in the locker room, Sam still looking for a reason to tell the boy off. The walk through checkpoints was tense, neither daring to say a word as they passed each checkpoint. Sam only spoke to give Tommy instructions, instructions Tommy knew by heart by now.
“He won’t talk to you,” Sam said, letting out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding
“He can’t be that mad at -.“
“He won’t talk to anyone, not even Technoblade,” Sam said, cutting Tommy off. “You’re not special. He just won’t speak anymore, I haven’t heard him say a word in a year now” Sam said, “So don’t expect much of a conversation between the two of you.”
Tommy raised his eyebrows at that, what could shut up Dream, egotistical, narcissistic, Dream? “Okay…. well, I guess he’ll be doing a lot of writing today,” He said with a sigh, not liking where this was going. What the hell was going on in there that Dream of all people stopped talking. He’d expect this from someone like Ranboo, or even Techno, but never Dream.
“I guess” Sam echoed, furrowing his brows a bit, struggling to find the right words for what he had to say next. “Another thing, he’s completely blind”
“What?” Tommy asked, voice hushed from shock. “Blind? What do you mean blind? Like blind to empathy and a moral compass?”
“He can’t see anything, hasn’t for a while now,” Sam said, cringing a bit. Things did not look good for the prison integrity-wise.
“Anything else you want to fucking spring on me? Christ Sam what the hell, did he get so bored he clawed his own eyes out?! how do you just let your prisoner go blind?” He demanded, unable to comprehend how something like that could have happened. He didn’t exactly feel bad, but he didn’t feel good about it either. Tommy despised Dream, it was him who had made his life a living hell, but he was also capable of compassion. Even if Dream tried to ruin him, to take all he loved from him, he was still a person, he still deserved some level of humane treatment.
“You can ask him yourself when you get in,” Sam said with a low sigh, pulling the lever that activated the drainage of lava. “But Tommy,” he said, face as cold and lifeless as ever “everything that’s happened to them, to Dream, they deserve.”
Tommy wanted to believe him, wanted to believe that nothing terrible happened in that cell and that the two just went crazy from boredom. But the lower the lava got the worse his gut feeling got, making him wary of even Sam.
It took a few long minutes, but eventually, he was getting a glimpse of pink hair and orange jumpsuits, one figure huddled around a smaller one, saying something that Tommy couldn’t quite hear. As the lava got lower he was able to make out more things, Techno's usual cape was hung up on the corner of a shelf, and blood had covered a good portion of the walls and floor, and the majority of Dream’s jumpsuit. Dream was on the floor, Tommy realized, seemingly small if that was even possible, and he looked to be unconscious or close to it. Techno was right there by his side, wrapping his leg up in a tight bandage, speaking softly, Tommy not being able to tell if he was reassuring Dream or himself.
“Techno?” Tommy called through cupped hands, Techno's head popping up when he heard the boy.
“You shouldn’t be here!” Techno called over the lava, standing up from his spot beside Dream and coming closer to the edge to be better heard “You’re not wanted here, kid!”
The wall that separated prisoners from visitors rose, Tommy’s platform beginning to move once the wall had completely risen. “I need to have a word with the two of you” he called, becoming more and more concerned and perplexed the closer he got to the cell. Dream didn’t even look like Dream anymore, his hair was long, and it seemed like Techno had been taking care of it, keeping it brushed and in a loose braid, he was borderline malnourished and covered head to toe in scars and burns and bandages, some dirty but for the most part well kept. Techno was as tall and big as ever, though he looked tired. His hair had grown significantly, all pulled back into a loose braid. He seemed to fare better out of the two.
“What could you possibly have to say to either of us right now?” Techno asked expression dark as he eyed the boy, daring him to come any closer.
“What-..” Tommy started at Techno and then Dream, he’d only seen a sight like this in horror movies. “What… happened here…?” He asked quietly, standing away from the wall.
“Quackity, he wants the revival book.” Techno said flatly, “But I'm sure you already know that.” He said as he stood between Dream and Tommy, seemingly shielding the man from Tommy’s prying eyes.
“It’s true…?” Tommy asked, “How long..? How long has all this been going on? What does he do to you? how have you not-“
“Killed him yet? Stopped him? If I do that Sam fills this cell with lava and the two of us die, Tommy” Techno said with a sigh, retreating to his spot by Dream to continue wrapping up his leg. “Quackity doesn’t touch me, he doesn’t need to, watching the torture is enough. Why are you here, Tommy?” Techno asked again, this time softer as if he had given up acting tough.
“He’s… Sam said he won’t talk,” Tommy said quietly “I wanted… I wanted closure”
“His throat barely lets him,” Techno sighed. “He’s screamed too much, it hurts him to talk, so he doesn’t.” He said as he finished up wrapping the bandage, “What do you mean closure? We don’t owe you anything, Tommy.”
“I just-… I wanted to apologize, Techno” Tommy said quietly, “I-… I fucked up a lot, too. I’m sorry for all the shit I fucked up” He said, speaking with sincerity as he stared at his feet. “I would have probably done the same or worse as you have if I was in your shoes” he continued “Techno, I betrayed you, Dream,” His stomach twisted just looking at him. “What’s going on now is fucked… but you still hurt me in ways that I can’t just forget about.”
“If anyone deserves an apology it’s your friends, not me,” Techno said with a huff, shaking his head, his patience running thin the longer the boy lingered.
“Oh, believe me, I know” Tommy nodded a bit, “I hurt a lot of people because I was hurting, as did the two of you… I just, I’ve been apologizing a lot lately and it’d be weird if I excluded you from that,” He said with a small laugh, though it fell on deaf ears.
“Is that all?” Techno asked, jumping a bit when he felt Dream’s hand on him, using him as an anchor to sit up. Techno looked over to the man, watching his lips close as he mouthed something, He’d grown accustomed to reading lips the less and less Dream spoke.
“It’s Tommy, Tommy is here,” Techno said, voice soft as he spoke to the man “You need to lay down, you’re still messed up from earlier,” He said and he tried to get Dream to lay back, Tommy standing awkwardly as he watched the two, he knew they had been allies, but he never took them for friends.
“He doesn’t want you here,” Techno said, addressing Tommy. Dream turned in Tommy’s direction, giving Tommy a good look as to what he actually looked like. Molted skin ran from his ear to his eye, weeping around the edges just like Tubbo’s had after the execution. It was eyes that caught Tommy the most, completely clouded over and a faint blue that glistened in the reflected heat of the lava. Quackity, it seemed, was covering Dream in wounds similar to ones he had caused with his manipulations. “Tommy, you need to go.”
“I’m not- I’m not going to-”
Tommy was cut off by wheezing and shaking breathing, Dream going into a panic the longer Tommy stuck around.
Tommy bit his lip. Oh. He’d been broken too.
“Tommy, neither of us want you here, out of all the people you’re the last one we would want to see,” Techno said, voice going dark. Tommy blinked at the change. When before Techno had been telling him to go for his own safety, it now was a warning. Get out.
“Fucking… leave…” Dream croaked out, almost too quiet to hear. His voice was hoarse and rough in all the wrong ways and he physically winced when he spoke, hiding his face in Techno’s shoulder. “Tommy… Tommy you fucking caused… all of this”
“Stop, you’re gonna make it worse,” Techno said, his calloused hand finding a spot on Dream's back, “You’re gonna make it so not even a healing potion can fix it”
“Don’t mistake my remorse for me wanting either of you out of here” Tommy said abruptly, “I feel bad for you two, but you belong in here. the moment you two get out is the moment wars begin, and chaos ensues.” Tommy was a wounded dog at his heart. If provoked he would bite. No amount of sympathy for Dream could stop the flare in his chest to defend himself.
“He’s fucking blind!” Techno exclaimed, shocking Tommy. Techno never cursed. “He can’t even walk! His legs are broken! He can’t fight ever again even if he wanted-.”
“But you could,” Tommy said. “And he can give you ideas. You two have a bond, a strange one, but a bond. You’d do as he says. He can’t fight but he can direct” Tommy said, glaring down at Techno. He was acting childish as he knew it but this dumb reflex was one he could never shake. He couldn’t sit and be treated like he had been the cause of all this. He was always just defending himself. “As long as you two are alive you are a threat to the server, and therefore belong here.”
“Do you think we want to be a part of your little world? After all, you’ve done to us? Do you think if we escaped we’d stay in your country? In any of your countries?” Techno laughed, making sure Dream was stable before standing up and walking over to Tommy, glaring just as deeply. “When we escape, none of you will see us again”
“If you escape.”
There was that laugh again, causing shivers to run down Tommy’s back. Had he always been afraid of Technoblade? “Tommy, you are the reason my friend is being tortured and I’m locked up in a damned prison, I would take kindly to not get in my way if I were you”
“What the fuck have you two been doing in here?! Why would you ever call someone like him a friend what the fuck is wrong with you?!” Tommy spat, anger rising by the minute. “Has he really fucked with your brain that badly?! Are we talking about the same person right now?!”
“Everyone else on this server at one point or another has used and betrayed me.” Techno said, “But Dream, he’s never once done that. He’s never used me for my power, never betrayed me, never left when it got hard, He’s the one person who throughout it all, stuck by my side. He and Phil are the only people on this server that treat me like a person, what do you expect from me?” Techno said, his voice softer as he spoke about Dream. “You'd do the same for Tubbo, how can you not understand where I come from?”
“Tommy… the server is…dead to me,” Dream said, going into a bad coughing fit, wheezing and gasping. All that remained of Dream was a hollowed-out shell of a man.
That sudden switch out of aggression sent Tommy spiraling. He felt everything he knew slip away from him. Dream was the villain, then why did he sound so much like the victim?
“What is with you two..” Tommy mumbled “What's next?! You run away and pretend as nothing happened?? Pretend like you didn’t destroy lives?” he exclaimed, “I don’t care what you two do as long as it stays in here. I’ll.. I'll talk to Quackity… try and make him stop, but I will never help you escape.” Tommy said, signaling for Sam to get the platform moving.
“Why would we ever seek help from you?” Techno asked, retreating back to Dream’s side, paranoid that if he left him alone for too long he would shrivel up into nothing, leaving him alone once again. “Hey, hey you’re alright, you need to stop talking okay? It making things worse. You need to stay quiet. I’ll pass messages for you, just don’t talk okay?” Techno said, wiping the blood away from Dream’s mouth and checking him over, scared he’d miss a wound and it’d be the end of the man. He couldn’t be alone, not here, not now.
“You won’t ever leave this cell, not as long as Sam guards this prison,” Tommy said, letting out a small sigh when the platform began to move, drawing him away from the pair. He tried to say it with the bravado he was known for but even he heard the doubt. He couldn’t even be sure of that anymore.
Techno shot the boy one last glare before going back to fussing over Dream, he had become a makeshift doctor with how much he looked after the man. He told himself it was because he cared because he felt a connection to the man, but really he was afraid. He was afraid of what isolation had done to Dream, and what it could do to him if he suffered the same fate. Being alone where you’re free to roam and being alone in a small cell were two very different things.
“Tommy…I hate him…” Dream said, to Techno's dismay.
“What did I say?” Techno huffed, shaking his head. “Here, lay your head here I need to check your old bandages,” Techno said, guiding his head to a spot on his thigh before unwrapping a bandage on his forearm, cursing when the wound had looked worse than the day before, more pus and blood forming.
“It’s too dirty in here.” He mumbled to himself, Dream didn’t have much left in him at this rate. But he needed Dream to at least have hope for both of them. “I’ll get you out of here soon, then this can all be dealt with.”
“Don’t lie Techno. I know I’m dying.”
Techno ran a hand through his hair, stress from the past months building up with every passing moment. “No Dream, you'll be fine” he shook his head, “Stop saying things like that, neither of us are gonna die in here we’ll get out soon enough-“
“I’m tired… Techno” He said, voice barely above a whisper “I don’t… wanna keep doing… this'' Dream said, shutting his eyes. I don’t wanna keep living. He mouthed, he was tired of all the pain, all the visits, he was tired and he didn’t have it in him to keep trying.
“You’re not going to die, not on my watch,” Techno said, voice as soft as ever. “Besides, between me and you, Phil is probably already planning something. We won’t be here much longer so just hang on alright?” He said with a sigh. “I don’t like it much here either, it’s dirty and gross and the only food we get is potatoes and the water is borderline not FDA approved” He ranted, attempting to lighten the mood, though it fell on deaf ears.
“Which reminds me, you need to eat,” He said, getting up to search through their chest, trying to find a semi-decent potato “It’ll make you better in the long run, even if it hurts now and is gross,” Techno said as he returned, potato in hand.
No, Dream mouthed, Not hungry. He hadn’t been eating much lately, Techno was almost positive he was sick with something after all the exposure to dirt and grime in his state, and it was affecting his eating habits. And when he did eat, it usually came right back up, as if in spite.
“You’ve got to” Techno grumbled, “Either you eat willingly or I’ll shove it in your mouth and make you chew, we’re not doing this today Dream,” he said, tone serious as ever. “You see me? I’m still fairly strong, it’s because I eat consistently. You’re not gonna heal if you keep this up”
Hurts, don’t want to, he mouthed back, hurts too much I’d rather starve.
“Okay, so we’re doing this the hard way-“ Techno said with a sigh, though before he could even move Dream was already panicking, breathing becoming fast and uneven as he tried to escape Techno's arms. He knew logically Techno wouldn’t do anything to hurt him, but the voices screamed. He’ll kill you, he’s just like Quackity he’ll do the same he’ll hurt you, he’ll hurt you, he’ll hurt you, he’ll hurt-.
“Dream,” Techno said, watching with wide eyes. “Hey, hey I was only bluffing,” He said, expression morphing into a mix of worry and fear as the building itself started to shake. “Is this you? Dream whatever it is you’re doing you need to stop, Dream calm down please-“
“Don’t touch me!” The man exclaimed, voice cracking into a million pieces in the process. The more he panicked the more the server panicked it seemed.
“Dream, Hey hey hey-“ Techno ran a hand through his hair, not knowing what to do, he’d never exactly been a weatherman. “Dream, you need to take deep breaths, I'm not-…. I’m not gonna touch you. But Dream I think whatever this shaking is, is because of you somehow, if you don’t stop this whole building could come down on us” He said, trying to remain as calm as ever. “I won’t make you do anything, okay?”
Dream grabbed at his head as if in pain, his eyes squeezed shut as his rising panic only grew, “They…Won’t-“
“Are they acting up again? Dream I taught you how to deal with them, remember? Breathe okay? Don't acknowledge them just breathe” Techno said, it had taken Techno years of his immortal life to be able to get them under control, he was a fool to think Dream would be able to do it in a few short months.
“They…Fuck Techno..” he gasped, eyes welling up with tears as the building shook worse, “Can’t…Shut…” He couldn’t hear anything but them, screaming and shouting for him to kill Techno or himself, as long as blood was shed they were happy. He’s going to hurt you, he’s going to hurt you you have to do it you have to kill him, kill him, kill him, kill him-.
And then it was dark. This had happened a couple of times to Dream, it’d go dark, and then he’d wake up somewhere foreign, people marching after the man because of things they claimed he did. He never knew what they meant.
———————
“Dream fucking Stop.” Techno breathed, staring in horror as the man whose body had been broken beyond repair had stood up, eyes glowing emerald green. Each step produced an awful crack and yet he continued, “Dream this isn’t you you need to fucking wake up!” Techno called, backing up against the wall “If you don’t wake up now I’ll make sure you never do!” He tried to threaten, though he had never fought a borderline God sans weapons and armor.
Dream continued on. And Techno had no tricks, no sarcastic comments to confuse or shut him up, no leverage to scare such a deity. So he gave in.
“Dream, I trust you,” he said, taking a deep breath as he held his arms up, he didn’t want to kill one of the people he held dearest, he just hoped now that Dream felt the same, this is about to be a really embarrassing death if this doesn’t work, Techno thought, squeezing his eyes shut.
The attack never came, and as a slam of something falling to the floor sounded throughout the cell, the shaking of the prison ceased. Putting Techno in a temporary state of ease. Thank god.
Oh, that’s right. Dream.
Dream had collapsed onto the floor in a puddle of his own blood, not a drop of consciousness left in the man. It was as if Dream used every bit of strength he had left to will away whatever that was. “Christ what did you do,” Techno said, sitting down beside the man and checking him over, cringing at the bones that had been rebroken and the wounds torn back open. If it wasn’t for whatever that was he would no doubt be dead, Techno decided.
“I can’t keep this up, Dream” Techno said, trying to lighten the mood even if it was just for himself. “You’re gonna tear yourself in half before you let even one of these heal” He grumbled, though the longer that he didn’t respond, the longer he was stuck in silence, the more he felt uneasy. He didn’t like the quiet.
“Hey, Dream. Hey come one stop messing around” Techno said, feeling panic rise the longer he was alone in the cell, “Come on wake up this isn’t funny” he said, shaking the man and slapping his face lightly, all to no avail. The quieter it got, the louder the voice screamed, and the harder it was to ignore them.
“Did you kill him?” Sam called over the intercom, watching the two from the safety of his security room. “Techno if you killed him that’s even more time added to your stay”
“No I didn't-, Sam it wasn’t me it was his weird other side” Techno said, trying to calm down. “He was walking and attacking- he wasn’t himself”
“Right” Sam said, though Techno could hear the sarcasm in his voice. “Do you need me to send more medical supplies? you two look like shit.”
“Please” Techno nodded, too worn out to add some sarcastic comment or jab at Sam, he just wanted this all to be over. “He’s… he’s not healing because of how dirty it is in here, and I think he’s sick” Techno said, really hoping the warden would have at least some compassion.
“I’m coming over there. Stand against the back wall, if either of you try anything I will not hesitate to kill you both.” Sam said, deciding that he couldn't have his prisoners dying of infection or sickness, it wasn’t a good look for him.
Techno huffed, getting up and moving to the back wall, eyeing Dreams still form, had he really killed him? It took several minutes, but soon the lava was lowering and Sam was pearling over to their side, trident in hand as he neared Dream's body.
“Shit” Sam said, squatting down to check him out, cringing the closer and closer he looked “half of these are infected” He said, voice flat as ever. “I’ll… work out a way to get it clean in here. and send supplies your way…”
“His legs were rebroken” Techno said, watching Sam investigate the man, “He… he got possessed..? and started walking and stuff, it was horrible” He said, the cracking replaying in his head on loop.
“Possessed?” Sam asked, trying not to laugh. “I think the word you're thinking of is psychosis”
“His eyes were glowing and completely green, sclera and all” Techno said “And the shaking only stopped when he passed out, and his voice… it was weird”
“So he is still dangerous”
“It’s not him, that’s the problem,” Techno said, shaking his head. “He’s, he has voices same as me, but he doesn’t have the luxury of knowing how to control them” he said, frowning. “He, I think he’s tapping into some power source that he has no way of controlling when he gets stressed out” Techno said.
This warranted a laugh from Sam, the creeper hybrid shaking his head before standing “if he was a god he wouldn’t be on the floor unconscious right now. you must really be losing it if you’re calling Dream of all people a god right now,” he said, laughing a bit, “Don’t worry, you can stay in here a while longer and get that sorted out.”
“You’ll regret this” Techno said, a glare forming “You’ll regret what you’re doing to us”
“Is that a threat?”
“It’s a warning that should be headed.” He said, “We’ll get out one day, you know,” he said, moving to Dreams side “I can take care of him just fine, we don’t need you” he said, daring him to do something.
Sam didn’t protest, didn’t even really give him any sort of reaction, just pearled out of the cell, leaving the two to fend for themselves once again. And the medical supplies never came, the cleaning never came, they were left to rot.
—————-
Phil had read Technos will a thousand times now, hoping to god there was some kind of hidden message in it, some note that gave him a plan, a way to get the piglin hybrid out. but instead it just gave him orders on how to distribute his accumulated wealth. His other issue was Dream, was he really willing to break Techno out, knowing full well it meant Dream would also be freed?
He had all the wither skulls he could possibly need, all the tnt he could get his hands on, and yet it still didn’t feel like enough. Nothing seemed good enough to get through the obsidian prison. “What would you do in this situation?” Phil sighed, rubbing his face. He could visit, figure out what was going on and then tell the others and hope they joined his cause, but that would probably end in him getting locked up as well, never to see the light of day again.
He could gather the syndicate, and hope they were with him on this. Dream was an anarchist after all, they couldn’t possibly be that against him going free. They could attack Sam when he’s vulnerable, get the keys off him and bring an end to the wardens era, Phil thought, his confidence slowing returning, Techno wouldn’t have to-
“What are you writing?” Wilbur called from the doorway, an amused smirk plastered on his face as always, “Where's Techno? I came to bother him but he doesn’t seem to be around.”
“He’s… in the prison.” Phil sighed, rubbing his face “I don’t think you’ll be bothering him for a while, Wil”
“what like in the prison with Dream or in the prison visiting Dream??” Wilbur pressed, eyebrows furrowing.
“Locked up with Dream,” Phil responded, shaking his head as he spoke “Apparently he’s just as bad as dream, according to the warden at least”
“Neither of them deserve to be in there” Wilbur said flatly, his stare unrelenting.
“Wil I know you have a bond with the two of them, but you need to think logically-“
“Well, what’s your plan? withers? explosions? you must be planning something” Wilbur said, voice rising a bit as he spoke “We’re not leaving them there, we’re not.”
“we’re not doing anything, Wil I will not let you lose your last life trying to help them escape.” Phil said, voice terse and unwavering.
“He’s my brother! and Dream, Dreams helped me in so many ways I owe him-“
“You can help me plan” Phil said, letting out a soft sigh “But wil, I won’t let you risk your life for them, besides you aren’t exactly the best fighter” he said, trying to lighten the mood, receiving a glare from wilbur.
“Well what were you thinking?” Wilbur asked, having a seat next to the crow man, looking over the papers he had been writing on, words scribbled out and small sketches drawn out to represent the prison.
“Well,” Phil huffed, “we could sneak someone in behind another person, but then there’s always the chance of the warden filling the cell with lava” he said, pointing at his drawing, “but I was thinking, if we catch him off guard we can kill him and get his key cards.”
“and effectively give us access to the prison” Wilbur grinned, nodding along “We need to make sure he stays dead though, and figure out who his allies are. we could be blindsided if we’re not careful-“
“So we figure out his spawn point and have someone camp out there” Phil nodded, jotting down some notes “we also need to deal with Quackity, he could possibly have access to key cards, so we need someone to get rid of him as well” Phil hummed. Sam would be a bit of a headache to get rid of, but Quackity was on his last life. With a good, well executed plan they could take him out in an instant.
“So we'll need at least five people.” Wilbur says, “who would help us? who would truly want the two biggest anarchists out of prison?”
“We could sway Sapnap, but we’d need proof of what’s going on in the prison, not whispers and rumors.” Phil sighed, “Punz would probably be for it, so would eret I believe”
“I’ve heard there’s a new guy, Michael, was it?” Wilbur said, “he’s tried to break Dream out once already, he’d no doubt help us”
“so that’s four then”
“five, you mean?” Wilbur said, raising an eyebrow.
“You’re not coming, wil” Phil said with a shake of his head.
“Phil this won’t work if you go in a man down, you need me-“
“Wil.” Phil said, “You’re not going and that’s the end of it. Ranboo has a bond with Techno, even if he doesn’t particularly like Dream, he’d help just because Techno is in there.” Phil said, tone turning terse, this wasn’t something he was willing to discuss. He wasn’t willing to let Wilbur risk his life, not even for Techno. He lost his son once already, at his own hands nonetheless, he wasn’t willing to lose him again, he couldn’t bear even the idea of it.
“Even so, Phil I want to help, he's my brother, and Dream is-“
“Enough!” Phil exclaimed, wings flaring a bit as his mood worsened. “I will not lose my son again, I’ve lost you once and I'm not going to let that happen again.”
“you always do this!” Wilbur exclaimed, “I’m not some- some child that doesn’t understand the world anymore!” he said, standing up fast, his chair falling back with the swift motion. “ You can’t keep shielding me from the world! How can I call myself an ally if I’m not there for them when push comes to shove?!” He said with a raised voice, chest heaving with each word he spoke. “You’re going to lose me if you do this. If you do this I’ll walk out, I’ll leave for good phil” Wilbur said, venom coming off of his words in waves.
“Wilbur” Phil said, his voice quiet, broken. “Wil you- you wouldn’t” he said, facing falling. “Wil please, I don’t want you to get hurt, this could end really bad, you’re not immortal like me, like Kristin”
“that doesn’t mean I should live in fear!” Wilbur exclaimed, ”If we can get Dream free I can be immortal! We can all be immortal!” he said, waving his arms as he spoke “So let me go with you! Let me help them!”
Phil hadn’t considered the necromancy book, the book that could grant the dead new life. “The book…” Phil said, considering what Wilbur had said. “I guess… I guess you’re right” he said with a small nod, “ok, I’ll-“ he sighed, lowering his head. I'm gonna regret this, “I’ll let you help.”
Wilbur grinned, a giddy feeling pooling through his body over the small victory, the recognition from his father. “Plus, once we get Dream and Techno out, that’s two more on our side there’s no way they can stop us-“
“About that” Phil said with a sigh as he sat back down, “Dream.. he’s not in the best condition from what I’ve heard”
“What?”
“I’ve heard, whispers, rumors if you will, of Quackity’s visits” Phil said, speaking slowly “he, from what I’ve heard, tortures Dream each day, in an attempt to get the book of necromancy” He said with a sigh. “I don’t think he’ll be fighting for a while, if ever”
“Torturing?” Wilbur echoed, expression morphing into that of anger and sadness, “why… hasn’t Techno done anything..?”
“I assume if he did Sam would just kill them instantly with lava” Phil said, “I’m sure he’s fine, Wil. Dream, he’s,… he’s a lot tougher than you think.” He said, continuing to write down notes. Phil didn’t understand Wilburs admiration for the man, but then again he also hadn’t ever been revived by someone. He hoped Techno was right about Dream, he hoped he was doing the right thing.
“Wil, gather the troops” Phil said as he got up, putting on his classic striped hat as he spoke, “We debrief no later than dawn.”