Chapter Text
When Alex Burgess and his husband both finally died, the estate emptied. With no known heir to the family, there was no one to assign duties or sign paychecks. Everyone left. One of the basement guards asked about the Man in the Cage, about whether they should let him go before they closed up shop. In the end, Dream of the Endless was kept in his infuriating bubble. The humans were all too afraid of his retribution should they let him go. He would have forgiven them, or at least been merciful. Maybe.
The house went silent, doors locked, windows barred, Dream forgotten about.
He slept for most of it, hoping he could still somehow reach his realm if he encouraged himself to dream. It didn’t work. The years were spent in darkness and silence. He wondered if his siblings were really going to let him stay there forever. Death would probably come looking for him eventually, and he was certain Desire was celebrating every day he was gone. The others he was unsure about.
A handful of years passed after his abandonment before the silence was broken.
-
He startled at the sounds of footsteps above him, then came laughter and teasing voices. He opened his eyes almost expecting to see the source of the voices standing before him. He was met, however, with the too familiar darkness of the basement long darkened by lack of electricity. He settled back into his bubble and closed his eyes again. It was unlikely anyone would come down to him, it was better not to get his hopes up.
There was a click, a loud creak, a slam, then shouting and banging.
“This isn’t funny!” A female voice yelled, followed by more banging and muffled laughter. He heard the voice groan and mumble something.
He listened, eyes still closed, to the sound of someone descending the old stairs to the basement. Thick shoes-boots probably-met the stone floor and the person sighed in relief.
“Okay! I’m down!” She yells. He hears the door creak back open and another female voice calls back,
“Have fun down there! We’ll see ya in the mornin’!” Then the door slammed shut again and he heard laughter, then retreating footsteps from above.
“Oh you’ve got to be shitting me. They didn’t even give me a flashlight.” The first voice said, frustrated. There was another sigh, then more footsteps, this time much closer.
Perhaps he was finally dreaming, he thought when he heard the sound of the old metal gate that once kept the area secure, open.
“Helloooo?” She calls out. She must not be able to see him in the darkness. “Anyone down here?”
He listens to her walk cautiously around the dark basement, staying close to the wall if the soft sound of cloth on stone was any indication. There was a clattering, a surprised yelp, then a hard thud. She ran into something.
“What the hell-is this a lamp ? Shit that hurts…” There was more rustling, then a quick succession of clicks and a quiet fwoosh . “There we go, I don’t have enough juice in this thing for all night but at least I can look at my knee- shit I’m bleeding fuck me !”
Dream cracked an eye open and finally caught a glimpse of his unwilling companion. She was sat on the stone floor, dimly illuminated by the tiny flame of the lighter she currently held close as she inspected herself for more open wounds. Her face was set in a frown, eyebrows pinched together. He could see blood on the heel of one of her hands and both of her knees. She had fallen hard, and hurt herself pretty badly.
“This isn’t good…” She murmured. “I swear to God if I get an infection I-”
She stops mid sentence and slowly turns her head. Her lighter was reflecting slightly on the glass of his cage. Her eyes widened a little. He seriously doubted she could see it too well with such a small flame, but it was enough to divert her attention. She slowly picked herself up off the floor, wincing slightly in pain and held the lighter as far as her arm would reach. It didn’t allow her to see too much more, but it seemed to validate some thought in her head. She retracted her hand and cautiously moved closer to him, squinting slightly.
She reached her other hand out as she got closer, the tips of her fingers brushing against the glass. She let out a small gasp and took another hesitant step forward, pressing her whole hand to the cool surface. Suddenly there was a loud crash and someone above them screamed. Her head shot towards the doorway and she took off, leaving a bloody handprint behind and nearly tripping over more debris on her way back up the stairs. He heard the door open and there were several panicked voices, then the door shut again but she did not return. He had been left alone again.
But not for long.
He was awoken from his restless slumber a few nights later by familiar footsteps slowly coming down the old stairs. He opened his eyes a little right as the woman from before appeared at the entrance of the gate, this time with a proper light source and both of her hands and knees wrapped in gauze. She shined the flashlight around the room quickly, before pointing it at the floor and slowly walking into the room. She made it nearly halfway to him before she froze.
She bent forward a little, her eyebrows furrowing and she slowly raised the light back up, shining it over his form. He raised his head slightly to catch her eye and they simply stared at each other for several tense seconds. The situation seemed to hit her suddenly and she shrieked, dropping the light and stumbling several steps back. The flashlight rolls between them, turning itself so it shines on the imprisoned Dream. He shifts in the dome, sitting up he straightens his spine and crosses his legs, letting his hands rest in his lap. She stared at him with wide eyes, confused and scared. They stare at each other for what feels like an eternity before she speaks, voice shaky.
“W-what…the h-hell?” She squeaks. “Why…who…”
Slowly, ever so slowly , she approaches the glass dome. The man inside sits up taller, eyes cold, calculating, and curious. She stops a few feet from the faded, but intact, binding circle. She peers at him nervously, taking in his stony features with an unsure gaze. She takes a few steps to the side and circles him slowly, his eyes following her every cautious move. Her eyes caught the handprint she left behind and grimaced, flexing the hand that had put it there. In a few more steps, she’s in front of him again, a little closer now.
“Can you…hear me? In there?” She asks. Dream considers, then nods slowly. She whispers ‘okay’ several times in quick succession, nodding her own head.
“Are you okay? Wait, that’s a dumb question, um…how did you…get in there?” She tilts her head to the side-catlike, wondering. Dream does not answer. He simply stares at her, slowly mimicking her head tilt. She frowns and straightens her gaze. He does the same.
“Not very talkative I guess…” She murmurs. “That’s okay, we can…work with that.” She raises a bandaged hand and scratches nervously at the base of her neck. She does another circle around the cage, this time carefully taking in its features. It was old, covered in years of dust.
“How long have you been in here…” It sounded less like a question for him and more of an idle wondering. She stands in front of him again, less than a foot from the circle. She crosses her arms over her chest and chews on the corner of her mouth, eyebrows furrowed.
“Okay, ah…” She shifts her weight and uncrosses her arms, resting her hands now on her hips. Dream raises an eyebrow and tilts his head ever so slightly. It irked him that he could not get a sense of what she was thinking. Being so far removed from his dreams has lessened his natural intuition when it came to humans.
“Okay!” She says again, clapping her hands together. The sound echoes through the room. “I have no idea what’s going on and honestly the longer I think about it the more I’m freaking myself out. So here’s the plan: This thing is, like, super old. I mean, at least a hundred years. I see no real way to open it from out here, but I’m pretty sure I could figure it out.”
For the first time in over a century, Dream speaks.
“There is no way to open it.”
She goes still at the sound of his voice, raspy and muffled by thick glass. She blinks quickly several times and looks at him in shock. Much to his own surprise, she recovers quickly.
“Not easily, no. But I seriously doubt this thing was made to last this long.” She begins to circle again, gesturing at the dome with her hand. “Whatever the reason, they built this to hold you temporarily . I don’t know if you’re a God or a Demon or what, but no sensible human being would keep either as a pet.”
“And yet, here I am.” He says, lifting his hands, palms out and fingers spread. Her lips twist up on one side into a half-smile and she shakes her head. She takes another step forward and points towards the top of the dome.
“Look here, the metal is rusted to all hell. That’s not from just a little while, that’s from years of neglect. It’s well made, but wasn’t well maintained. If I could figure a way up there without killing myself I bet I could pry it open.” She looks rather proud of herself. He lowers his hands back into his lap.
“Even if you were to shatter the glass, I am still confined to the circle. It may have been cast by an amature mage but it has proven to be quite capable.” He speaks matter of factly, his tone void of any real emotion. She makes a noise and looks down at her feet, finally catching sight of the faded binding circle she has been unknowingly coming closer to with every step she’s taken.
“Ah…well that’s the easiest thing to fix.” She crouches down and reaches towards the circle, freezing just a hair's width away from it. She looks up at him warily, then much to his disdain, stands back up straight.
“I’m still gonna get you out,” She says reassuringly. “But I should probably see if I can find something to put a hole in this glass before I break the circle. Or a ladder and something I can use to bust the screws out of the top.”
Dream doesn’t answer. He feels a coldness creep back into his chest that he hadn’t realized had warmed at all. He was certain she was going to leave him there. She gives him a small smile and raises a hand to her chest, signing an X over her heart.
“I’ll be right back, I promise. This house isn’t exactly empty, I’ll find something then I’ll come right back down and break you out.” With that, she backs away a few steps before turning and heading back towards the stairs, leaving her flashlight behind.
He closed his eyes, angry at being left again when he’d just begun to think he might have a chance. It was foolish of him to believe this woman the slightest bit trustworthy. He did not know her, did not know her mind like he used to know the minds of humans. Why, then, did he believe her? Perhaps because she was so certain of herself when talking about the structure of his cage. And perhaps because she was so willing to help him despite her own lack of understanding. But then, he supposed, that could have been a lie. After all, she ran away.
He’s not sure exactly how long she is gone before he hears several loud bangs, a shriek, a few thuds, then a groan. It was still again for a moment before there was the shuffle of fabric, and the sound of something heavy being dragged.
His savior appeared in the doorway looking disheveled, with a bloody nose and several bruises forming. With her, she dragged a heavy looking metal ladder, and some rusted tools.
“Told you I’d be back.”