Somnolence | DSMP AU

Chapter 1 - The Shadow That Haunts Me

      I woke up in a black, cold hallway. 

      "This must be a dream.." I say with a shaky voice.

      Last time I had a dream it didn't go well. Tommy was there and he was telling me things that weren't true so I woke up crying. Ranboo was there. I forget if Michael was there as well. I begin walking down the hallway until a black silhouette spawns in front of me, purple eyes, cubed pupils. It looked like Fundy, I don't understand how and why Fundy would be in my dreams, but I guess he is here this time. 

     "Hello?"

     It sounded exactly like Fundy, "Hello Tubbo!"

     It walked up to me, but I backed away. "Hm. Tubbo do you know where we are?"

     "No-" I reply, looking at my hooves.

     "Well, it looks.. awfully familiar." The room turned into the original desert from Fundy's first dream. 

     "Holy fucking balls-" I mumble. I grabbed my arm and held it close to my face, startled by the sudden change of setting.

      "I see this all the time, Tubbo! So many times when I went to sleep.."

      "Oh- That's nice?" I clear my throat nervously. 

      "Oh it is." Everything became static and eyes appeared everywhere.

      I cover my head to stop everything from staring at me. I begin to shake and when I look up the silhouette is looking down at me, staring into my eyes. I begin to shake a lot more when it lifts my head and asks me, "Toby, do you think I'm real?"

     I hate that name. Toby. It reminds me of Schlatt.  

     "No. It's just a dream, right? It's only a dream." I reply shakily.

     "I have one last question, Toby."

     "Don't call me that, please." I remove its hand from my chin.

     "What's stopping me?" it laughed.

     "Just please do not call me that. I am asking politely."

     I've always cared about manners. Schlatt always told me to use my manners, and if I didn't bad things would happen.  

     "Toby, do you think I care about you?"

     "I swear to fucking- No, yes, I don't know! Everything is confusing here-" I look around the eye-filled room.

     "Wow, You're so much better as puzzling things together than Fundy."

     "What does that mean- and aren't you Fundy?"

     "These never make sense, Toby, these dreams are made to puzzle people, but you! You are different. Your friend is useless."

     "He isn't useless-"

     "Fundy is someone who would fall for anything if you just say it to him."

     "Okay, and? That doesn't make him useless."

     "Before you came along he'd just stay in his room all the time and that was boring."

     "I don't understand what point you are trying to prove, here."

     "Eh, I'm just speaking my mind."

     "Well stop." I stare back at it.

     "Nah." It smiles at me.

     "Just shut up, like actually. You're annoying, really fucking annoying."

      "Toby I have a question." It walks up to me and we stare at each other for a while.

      "What."

      "Did you," It stepped toward me and leaned down close to my face "Really think that Fundy cared about you?"

      "I mean- yeah. He's my friend-" I scratch my neck and look away from it, staring at the walls that were scribbled with eyes. 

      It chuckled and stood up straight again "So dumb, you are."

      I stay silent and look back at it, still slightly shaking. I wish Wilbur was here.

     "Such a foolish child."

     I step away but I am stopped by the walls.

     "Tubbo, I live in Fundy's head, I know everything he thinks about. And he despises you, he hates you. He's nice just because he doesn't want to seem like a bad person."

     "No he doesn't. Shut up."

     "I'm telling the truth, Toby."

     "Stop. Stop please stop." I pull at my hair

     I slide to the floor and cover my head. "Fundy is all I have, Fundy is the only person that isn't like everyone else. Fundy is all I have, he can't be like everyone else- he can't."  

     "Toby.. stop denying the truth."

     I look at it. "Then stop lying."

     "He is like everyone else, after all, Fundy only wants people to approve of him. He's just lying so he can feel better. He's selfish."

     "Shut up. Shut-" For a moment I can't hear anything. It smiles at me and says something but I can't hear it. Everything hurts like it does in the overworld. My ears are ringing. I get a sharp sense of anger inside of me and I blurt out, "I'm going to knock out all of those ugly ass teeth."

     "I'd like to see you try."

     "Bring it on then." I jump at it and punch its neck, but it teleports away and kicks me to the ground. It punches me in the face but I kick it in the chest and jump up. The eyes fade away and the room is black. I can't see the figure anymore and I start shaking again.

     "Toby, you need to understand the truth. Everything Fundy tells you is not real."

     "You're not real. So everything you say isn't real either." My nose is bleeding so I wipe away the blood from my face.

     "I know, I'm not real, but what I say is real."

     "Sure." I respond sarcastically and roll my eyes.

     "You can't lie to yourself forever Toby."

     "I've been doing it for a while. 'Think I'll be fine."

     "I'm sure on day you'll break." 

     "That day is so close," I look at my shaky hands and then back down to my hooves. "It's so fucking close."

     "I'm sure it is, and I'll be excited to see it."

     I sigh and pull my hair again. I sit on the floor and pull my knees to my chest, still pulling my hair. It becomes visible again and I look at it with weary eyes.

     "Hey Toby."

     "What-"

     It turned to look exactly like Fundy. It crouched down towards me and said, "You should wake up."

     My eyes close and I wake up in my bed, shaking.

     "What the fuck?"

     I stare at the pills on my bedside table, labeled 'Toby Schlatt. Prescription for Psychotic Sleep Disorder.' I sigh and lay down back in my bed. 

    "April 28th."