Insane - DreamSMP AU

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Niki never expected to be called to a trial. Even less expected was that the trial was for Dream. Neither of those surprises could surpass the surprise that came from reading 4 books that Technoblade gave her before the trial. They weren't long, each one only entailing a maximum of forty pages, but the stories that they told were enough to shake her worldview. She had never hated Dream, maybe she was a bit dissatisfied by his actions, but she didn't hate him. To her he was just a crazy psychopath that had nothing to do with her. Funny how indifferent you can be when the problem is just out of reach.

During the meeting after the trial she was considerably confused. Dream and Technoblade seemed to be off in their own little world, with only Philza being able to chime in infrequently. When Technoblade finally decided to explain what was going to happen, she wasn't all that surprised, until he said that everyone was to visit Dream one on one for a period of time, and they would draw lots to see who was going. The way she saw it, there was no need for her to meet Dream.

She ended up drawing the second day that was reserved for meetings... and she was nervous. She didn't know what Dream wanted with her, and although she had some understanding of his past through the books, she was confident she didn't know him.

She entered Dream's room and was met with the man himself, playing a one man chess game. He turned, unsurprised at her entry and said, "Please, sit." In that tone she had grown to despise, she first heard it during the trial, when Dream stopped pretending to be evil. It was a sick imitation of emotion, and it made her uncomfortable how good it was, like a feeling of unease in an oasis before the oasis turns into a pit trap.

"Don't talk like that." She expressed her discomfort clearly, she knew she couldn't hide it anyway.

"It usually makes people feel better around me, they don't like this voice." He obliged, changing to the emotionless tone that was natural to him.

Niki Takes a breath, "Why did you call me here? I can't think of a good reason."

Dream responded quickly, looking at her without expression. "I want to help you. It's a rather sad fate you face, being unaware of the darkness about to swallow you whole."

"What do you mean?" Niki was bewildered, unsure if she heard right, she didn't know what he was saying.

"Your mental fortitude is admirable, and your morals strict. There is no need for help on those fronts, but you are too strict with yourself. I am aware of you forming bonds with 'the syndicate', but you aren't letting those bonds get too thick. One of your strengths is fighting for those thicker bonds, and you gain ability from it. Try not to be scared of being too close."

"Hypocrite." Niki snarls. Dream raises an eyebrow and gestures for her to continue. "You say to form bonds, but your whole thing is not having any attachments."

"I was preparing myself and others for my death. It's hard to relate to someone without a motive or reason."

"What does that have to do with anything?" 

Dream looked at her incredulously for a second, before switching back to his calm demeanor. "This is why talking with Techno is so much better. But I digress, do as I say, not as I do. We are different, advice is specific to the person."

"Sure." She rolls her eyes.

"Anyways, would you like to take a seat? I have a bit more to say, but you look slightly uncomfortable standing." Dream pulls a seat out and gestures to it before sitting on a seat opposite it.

Niki sits down. "So what else do you have to say to me then?"

"In all honesty, you are one of the more stable people on this SMP, and your flaws are few and mild at that so you just need to follow that one bit of advice earlier. What I want to talk to you about is Techno. I know how he reacts when he loses a friend, I just want to make sure that you will be there for him after I die. You are already close to him, and he considers you a friend as well. So I don't think it should be a problem to offer a bit of comfort in exchange." 

"I already would have done that Dream." Niki looks slightly offended.

"Good." Dream gets up and walks around a bit, moving his shoulders. "My wings aren't taking kindly to being hidden again after I finally let them out. Do you mind if I..?"

"Of course you can."

"Thank you." Dream's wings fold out in spectacular fashion. The wings seemingly growing from his back spontaneously before unwinding into the black and purple wings that they saw at the trial. He sits back down.

They sit in silence for a minute before Niki speaks.

"I don't think I can forget what you have done. I just have a few questions for you." 

"Ask away."

"Did you know how badly your actions would affect people? Did you know how much pain you would cause?"

"I believe I addressed this at the trial, but I guess I wasn't clear enough. Yes. Yes I did. I knew every little thing that caused even a little bit of pain to anyone, and I did those actions while knowing what would happen." Dream said calmly.

"Even when you die, do you know what pain that will cause?"

"Yes, but it is needed. I consider the pain caused by death to be largely useless if I am not there to control the affects of it, so I tried to avoid the pain that would be caused by my death. Actually, the whole reason for this visit is so I can keep you all from losing sight of the direction you were meant to go."

Niki pauses a moment, her breath catches in her throat. She didn't like these answers at all. No matter how hard she thinks, she can't believe that she would ever purposefully cause this amount of pain for any goal, especially to her friends.

"Do you know that people care about you?"

"Of course."

"No, do you truly know that people care about you? Not that bullshit 'knowing' but feeling it with your soul?"

"...No. I cannot feel that."

"Then why do you feel like you have any right to make decisions like this that will affect those that care about you like that. You haven't seen, how terrible Techno felt while he was fulfilling that stupid favour. He felt like he had given up on you and he beat himself up every day because of that." Niki shuddered thinking back to the agony of her friend, even though he put on a strong front, it affected him so badly that even she could tell. "What right do you have to push everyone who felt like that about you away and hurt them like you did? What justification could you possibly have?!"

"I have no justification. There is no 'good reason'. I simply did it because I thought it was what I had to do. It was not justified, none of my actions are, and you seem to have missed that point. I did everything knowing there would be consequences, it is everyone's folly that they cannot see that and punish me accordingly." Dream was expressionless, as usual, and the factual way he said it irritated Niki to no end. The more she thought about it, the more frustrated she got. It made sense logically, and yet, it just felt so wrong.

She thought about it for half a minute before she grunted in frustration, left the room, and slammed the door. Before running off to her base .

Dream sat at the table after she left for some time with his brows furrowed before shrugging and retiring for the day.