Dream a Nightmare

Dream woke up, and gasped. What had happened? He didn't remember. He was in a dark place. He knew this place. He had been in Limbo before, but this wasn't that. Yet, he had died. Hadn't he? Tommy had said that there was a nuke. It must have gone off, right? And yet, he wasn't in Limbo. Then he noticed the purple. He started trembling. 

No. No!

Dream didn't turn around. He didn't look for the lava that he had known for thirteen years, and that he knew would be there. He was back in prison. Dream almost collapsed on the spot. He had escaped twice already. But then he heard a noise. A voice. His own. 

Dream turned around, and saw himself, and Tommy.

Tommy.

Tommy, who had fought him.

Tommy, who knew him.

Tommy, the only one who knew him.

Tommy, who had been his enemy until the last day. If only they could have talked. If only Dream had told Tommy why he wanted to be king, why he needed to be king. If only. But it was over now. It was all over. There was no going back. Dream was dead, and so was Tommy. He just wished for a second chance. 

Then he focused back on the scene in front of him. He was beating Tommy. To kill him. Tommy could not fight back. 

"No!" Dream yelled. "Stop!"

Tommy yelled along with him, but the alternate version of Dream did not listen to Tommy, and he could not hear Dream. 

As he watched Tommy die, and be revived, his legs finally gave way. He fell to his knees. 

"Please," Dream muttered. "Please don't make me watch this happen. Let me help."

"You can't help, Dream," A voice said from behind him. "You're dead."

"NO!" Dream shouted. "I CAN'T!"

Then he fell over. He was lying on his side. Hating what he saw, hating himself, but unable to turn away. The prison was worse than Limbo. And it brought out the worst in him. And in Sam. Sam would never have helped Quackity. If only...

"I can't watch this again," Dream muttered. "I need to stop this."

"I can't let you stop the prison, Dream," the voice said from behind him. "You have to let this happen. This is the way it must be."

Dream found his strength in rage. He stood, straight-backed, but he couldn't move.He was frozen. Dream tried to ignore the scene in front of him.

"No one can stop me," Dream challenged the voice.

"I can," the voice answered simply. "You're not invincible, Dream. No matter how much you torture others, you still die. I would have thought that you would have learned that by now. 

Dream stopped listening. There had to be a way out. He had to get out. He ran. Forward. 

Jump into the lava. Die. Get out of here. 

But wait. Dream froze. The other Dream was now alone in the cell. Tommy was supposed to be here for much longer after he was revived, wasn't he? This couldn't be right. Dream took another couple of steps forward, and he heard his own voice. 

"Techno! No! No!" the alternate Dream shouted. 

"No what?" came another voice. It came from across the lava. 

"Quackity... It's a trap! It's a trap!" The alternate Dream said. 

Dream started in horror. This was the moment when his plan was disrupted. He recalled the emotions that he had felt; pain, anger, confusion. He knew, of course, that Technoblade would get free and save him anyway, but that didn't stop a moment of panic. 

Then Dream heard a different voice from behind him.

"Yoooo, Dream!"