Tommy's eyes fluttered open only to be met with further darkness.
Almost instantaneously, pain flooded his system, setting his nerves on fire as he groaned quietly.
Groaning only made the pain in his throat flare more and he clenched his eyes tightly shut as if to hide from it.
He didn't know where he was, he couldn't remember what happened before he fell asleep and he was alone and terrified.
The boy shivered in the darkness, moving to wrap his arms around himself as he moved to pull his legs to his chest only to find they wouldn't move. Tommy's eyes flew open again in panic as he tugged once more on his limbs only to find the same result, they wouldn't move an inch.
He pulled his arms around himself tighter, his body reflexively whining only for his throat to catch fire again.
What the fuck was wrong with him? Why couldn't he remember how he had gotten here?
Nervously and with shaking fingers, Tommy reached a hand to his neck, poking at the tender skin only to flinch away from his own touch. The area ached to touch, it hurt to breathe, it pained him to speak, it was agony to make even the slightest noise and Tommy felt his heart rate quicken in fright.
What had happened to him?
Before anything else he had to find out where he was, why his legs wouldn't move, anything he could work out, he needed to; it felt like his life depended on it.
The boy slowly dragged his hands away from his sore neck, patting down his chest and sliding his palms gingerly along his legs, pausing at the feeling of cold, hard steel.
Shackles.
His ankles were shackled to the floor.
Tommy took a deep breath, flinching away from the restraints as the memories started to flood back like a tsunami crashing against his skull, his eyes widening in the darkness as he craned his neck to find any sort of escape.
Dream was going to kill him, for real this time.
"Oh, you're awake. It's about time."
Tommy froze.
Dream's laughter rang throughout the room, bouncing off the invisible walls that boxed the boy in as he trembled in his restraints, whining against himself in fright. It hurt, everything hurt, he had failed Dream and he was going to pay for it.
Dream was hurting him, he shouldn't let this happen!
But he was given such a simple order, Dream never asked anything of him after everything he had done and Tommy couldn't just keep silent for him.
"Oh, the sweet sound of silence, it's lovely to finally not hear you arguing back," Dream sighed in happiness, his footsteps thundering around the space as he started walking.
Tommy still couldn't see him, couldn't see anything and his hands shot to his face instinctually to find a blindfold that he quickly pulled away. Dream's masked face was right in front of him, the dim lighting shining on the porcelain as it smiled sadistically at him as Tommy pitifully tried to crawl away, only to be stopped by the shackles.
Dream hummed in sadness, wrapping his large hand around Tommy's ankle as if to stop his escape, pretending that he hadn't locked the boy to the floor.
What kind of sick display of power?
And yet Tommy found that he stopped struggling, bowing his head in disappointment as Dream tutted, reaching out to instead drag his finger along the younger's neck, chuckling as Tommy's face twisted into a silent scream of pain.
"The bruises are beautiful, Tommy, I wish you could see them," Dream whispered in awe as he wrapped his hand around his neck again, folding his palm over the previous marks and tightening his hold as Tommy started to silently cry. "You must understand I had to do it, you disobeyed me, your only friend."
He was right, Tommy knew Dream was right because Dream was always right, but it hurt.
"If I try hard enough I can make sure they scar, so you always remember not to disobey me," Dream was thinking out loud, his mask staring into the air behind Tommy as the boy tried his hardest to sit still in the bruising hold.
He hated the idea of being scarred further but he deserved it didn't he, Dream had done so much for him so why shouldn't he be allowed to ensure Tommy never forgets how to behave?
Dream simply hummed again, releasing Tommy's neck and grabbing the blindfold again, dangling it teasingly in front of the boy's distraught, tear-stained face. "I want this to stay on, you can do that, can't you, Tommy?" He asked, tilting his head innocently and Tommy choked back a sob, his eyes watering like taps as he nodded slowly.
He didn't want to stay in the dark.
The dark was never-ending, it consumed everything around him and he always felt so undeniably alone when it wrapped around his vision with its inky, poisonous grip.
The dark was relentless, unforgiving and cruel, a monster of reality that crept in the horizon at all times, sinking its claws into the souls of the forgotten to drag them into its depths.
Tommy didn't want to drown in the dark but he remained still as Dream's mask smiled at him one last time before the blindfold was secured behind his head, the knot getting caught in his hair and tugging on the strands.
He didn't complain and Dream ruffled his hair, pleased with his obedience.
"Under no circumstances do you have permission to take this off. Only I can, do you understand?"
Tommy sniffled, mouth twisting as his neck flared in agony but he nodded anyway.
"Good," Dream purred, his grip on Tommy's dirty strands of hair tightening until it felt like he was going to rip them out of his scalp. "So now you're going to stay here, you don't deserve the company, not after what you did. You'll stay here, by yourself, until you learn your fucking lesson." He threatened, yanking one final time on Tommy's hair before releasing his grip, scoffing as Tommy's head rolled across his chest as the boy cried silently.
"Don't fucking test me, Tommy. Don't embarrass me, you'll learn soon enough."
Tommy felt his breath hitch as Dream's footsteps thundered away, every collision with the floor shaking the brain in the boy's skull as his thoughts ran wild.
Alone, alone, alone.
Why did he do it? Why couldn't he stay quiet?
He missed Dream, he hated the dark, he hated her smothering company.
His hands twitched by his sides, his nail digging into his palms harshly as he trembled. He could feel the knot on the back of his head, so easy to reach, so painfully accessible but he could still hear the warning ringing through his skull.
The darkness seemed to smirk at him, testing him.
How long could he stay alone with her?
How long could Tommy last?
pain and agony let's do this ;)
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YOU ARE READING
What Happened To You, Tommy
FanfictionHe was his protege, he did what he was told, he blew up L'Manburg, he killed Tubbo. But there was a time when he wouldn't, so what changed? Companion piece to 'His Protege' that depicts what happened between Tommy and Dream during the time skip.