𝙍𝙀𝘿𝘼𝙈𝘼𝙉𝘾𝙔 || ᵐᶜʸᵗ ˣ ʳᵉᵃᵈᵉʳ

dream x reader - behind the mask

angst / horror (?)
dsmp au

you knew that visiting dream in prison wasn't the best idea for you. you knew that you were easily manipulated by him, his charm, his voice, his pleading for help almost got you everytime, but you always had someone to ground you and tell you that he wasn't worth it. but this time, sam couldn't come into the cell with you, it was just you and dream.
     as scary as it sounded to you, it had to be done. you had to face dream, you had to get closure on everything. on why he wanted to take everything from everyone, on his obsession with tommy, on who he was. nobody knew who dream was behind the mask. we all assumed he was just a normal person of course, what else would he be, but his emotions are hidden by that stupid smile and the black dots made to be eyes boring into you.
     the lava was still falling, it had been a long long time. sam stood behind you, quiet and curt. his arms rested against the wall, waiting just as impatient as you for the lava to final give and fall down completely.
     "sam?" you turn around, glancing over to him. he gives you a look, to urge you to continue, "can you come with me, please?" you ask, and he just shakes his head and sigh. your shoulders visibly drop and a sinking feeling starts to plant itself into your stomach.
     "i have told you a million times, only one person can visit the prisoner at a time. meaning i cannot come with you. i will be in this room the entire time." sam reassures, playing with the sword in his hands, scraping it against the obsidian placed on the floor, it not being fazed by the scrape.
     your heart is audible in your ears, loud and fast. you wanted to do this, for yourself, for all your friends who were curious, but you couldn't help but feel like something was going to go wrong. your hands began to get clammy as you wiped them on your pants, the prison was humid to begin with and being nervous just added to that. did you really wanna do this? go see the monster who almost killed your best friends? who wanted to steal your entire world away from you and your friends for what? for power? for leverage? he really was an unforgivable asshole.
     the lava began to uncover the doorway that you stood in, showing the single cell that was perfectly in the middle of the room. you could see him, dream. he wore a green sweatshirt and black pants, the same one he always wore, and that stupid mask. it wasn't made out of plastic, it was a birch wood mask. he carved the holes and smile in it himself and placed it on his head, never to take it off. he sat in the middle, looking straight at you.
     his look still gave you chills, it was soulless and unwavering, and no one could tell what he was actually feeling. you knew that if he could, he wouldn't be smiling at you right now. you hopped on the transportation device sam had crafted and carefully made your way over, balancing yourself to the best of your abilities. you stepped off, you and dream being separated by netherite blocks. sam contracted the bridge and let the lava down, the netherite blocks then being let down. you were face to face with dream.
     "y/n, you came to visit me!" he said, excitement in his voice. it was almost so real, that you smiled a little bit, but immediately straightened out after reminding yourself that this is what he did to try and manipulate you.
     "i did. but i came to ask questions, not be friends." you say sternly, crossing your arms, but his figure never falters. he stands tall and with his hands out for a hug, motioning his hands closer to him, beckoning you to come into his arms so he can hold you. just like he used to. "no dream."
     he let down his arms with a sigh and sat down on the floor, you sitting with him. you take in a deep breath and try to breathe out all of your nerves. looking at him so close is scary, he could push me into the lava and i'd be dead, my last life would be completely gone. is this worth it?
suddenly a burst of courage is pumped through you veins and you breathe in, heavily and quickly, "dream," you suddenly say. his attention is brought from the ground to you looking at you with his head tilted. "what do you look like behind the mask?" you ask. you let out the breath you were holding, but not for long.
he suddenly stands up, backing away from you quickly and holding his mask tightly to his face with both of his hands. dream's body is tense and defensive, mentioning the mask sparked something in him immediately, obviously. "you have to go now." he says immediately, running over to the lava past you. "warden!" he yells.
you stand up and grab his shoulder pulling him away from the lava and toward you. you had to know what was under that mask. he knocks you off of him quickly and onto the ground, inching toward you quickly, barely giving you time to catch your breath. you back up as quick as possible, but lose your pace as your arm falls into the water in the corner of the room. dream gets on top of you, his legs straddling your waist. you attempt to push at his arms and shoulders, thrashing around but it's futile, he's too strong.
dream laughs, his manic, insane laugh, which shows you he hasn't ever changed. he's still as insane as before, just looking for someone to trick into letting him out of here. "you wanna know how i look, y/n?" he asks, but it's really a rhetorical question. you knew now that you were gonna see it regardless, and it wasn't going to be pretty.
"dream, please-" you start, but he doesn't let you finish before his nails are digging into your sides, telling you to shut up.
"oh poor sweet y/n, it was a mistake to come here. to come and see me. i thought you'd be easy to win back, you know, all i have to do is guilt trip you into thinking that i've changed. i'm better, that i'm not gonna go crazy anymore." he puts quotes around crazy, giggling still. "y/n, i haven't changed at all, but i'll make sure that nobody knows that. because you can't tell anyone if you're dead, can you?"
your heart is beating out of your chest and the sinking feeling in your stomach had only gotten lower and lower. tears are rushing out of your eyes and down your cheeks. you know that you're done for, you're dead, and the last person you'll see is dream.
dream takes one of his hands up, the other used to hold you down and holds the bottom of his mask, pulling it up ever so slowly. his face is slowly uncovered, and it makes you turn away in disgust. he isnt, human. his eyes are just as black as the ones carved into his mask, and they are surrounded by a red rim. his face is flesh and muscle, blood dripping down his neck as he throws the mask to the floor. the smile is still there, carved permanently into his skin, his teeth razor sharp and covered with some sort of black ooze. his tongue is green, the black ooze coating it thinly.
he's terrifying. this is what he had been hiding for so long, this is who he really was, a monster. a mutant. he smiles at you with an evil grin, displaying his set of sharp teeth, laughing at your reaction. you're hyperventilating, you cannot breathe. you talked to him, for so many hours, and this is who he was hiding.
the sound of sam over the com suddenly sounds, it's muffled but clear. "y/n get in the water in the corner to come back up, your time is up." he says calmly.
"sam! help me please!" you scream, thrashing around in dreams unwelcoming embrace, trying to pull at the edge of the water pit to get away from him, but nothing works. "he isn't, sam he isn't-" but dream cuts you off by picking you up by your arm pits, your face on the same level as his.
his eyes bore into yours, except the only emotion being shown is insanity, you can see the muscles on his face move when he does anything, when he laughs, when he smiles. he turns you around and walks toward the lava, your back toward it. you slowly feel the heat begin to creep up on your back. "isn't this so funny? i'm in prison and i still find a way to make your life miserable. i guess your plans have never worked that well anyways." dream pulls you closer toward him, your bodies touching and faces not even inches apart. "thank you for the visit, y/n."
dream throws you into the lava, and it doesn't hurt for a second. the shock is too much, and you can't comprehend what's happening. then the burning starts, your entire body is enclosed by the firey substance, and it fills every pore and hole your body has. you open your mouth to scream but the lava immediately touches your tongue and invades your entire body. it's painful, but all you can see is dreams uncovered face in your brain. that monster who killed you.

y/n was burnt to a crisp trying to escape Dream.