Dahlia - The Flower Of Betrayal. || SBI Hero AU

-CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR-

Dream doesn’t hesitate to ball his hand into a fist and punch Techno again, square in the nose, and again, and again. The light trickle of crimson is the sign that tells him he’s done—and maybe the fact that Techno just lied there like Wilbur had, too.

Wilbur already had his fair share of  hits and he learned quick enough—because it wasn't really learning, it was just remembering—that he shouldn't talk back. Techno wouldn't stand for it though. He wanted his powers back. He wanted his pride, his dignity back.

He wanted his brother back.

Techno doesn't retort with some smart-assed comment or snip at Dream again, he just holds himself up—barely—and takes it until Dream stops. It only takes a new-forming bruise on his eye, one on his jaw, and a bloody nose for him to shut up. The villain breathes a sigh of relief, trying not to smile at how the renowned hero Blade was a crumbling mess before him. It was so easy. Five days and he could make not one, but two of some of the most well known heroes—only well-known because of him, too—break.

“You done now, Blade?”

He gets a small, pained noise in response, somewhere between a hum and a groan. It’s good enough for him. He won’t press. He’s feeling kind today.

Dream stands back up over him, staring down at the basically limp body beneath him. The way he looked at Techno like he was trying to peel his skin off, find the hidden monster underneath—the human, rather than the Blade. The heat of Dream's hatred was one Techno couldn't escape, and Techno did not want Dream looking at him like that.

But Techno didn't move a muscle, didn't say a word. That fire inside of him burned bright, but he let it eat him from the inside out rather than let Dream keep getting more power over him. He finally knows what Wilbur feels like, or at least he thinks he does.

The man doesn't say anything as he backs away from Techno. He's done taunting him, for now. He has actual things to do with Wilbur, and now that Techno will stop being annoying and will stay out of his way, he can do just that.

He saunters over to the brunette, who only peeks up at him, trying not to rattle the chains around his wrists or get that wave of dizziness to return as he moves. When Dream squats down in front of him, his eyes follow, but that is all. His head is resting against the wall behind him, and his eyes are so heavy and tired that he could have passed out then and there if he didn't have to watch over his brother.

Dream reaches out and grabs the weak man's chin, forcing him to move and look at him more. Wilbur shifts slightly, but obeys, not pulling away.

"You and me, we're not so different," Dream starts quietly. It's a different tone than before. He's not yelling, he's not angry and taking it out on Wilbur. He's simply stating something.

And that something tore Wilbur apart.
He didn't want to be like Dream. No, Dream was a monster. All Wilbur ever did was try to help people, Dream couldn't say that. Wilbur was a good person at heart, put in bad situations where he had to make rash decisions.

"I told you, you couldn't be a hero."

Wilbur tenses. He'd heard it before, sure, especially from himself, but it still felt utterly wrong but utterly true. He wasn't meant to save people. He wasn't meant to be the better person. He was raised a monster, and he'd always be one.

No. Dream wasn't right. He was never right about these kinds of things. All he wanted to do was get in Wilbur's head—and by god, was he doing it. People could change. Techno did, he did, and Tommy would if they gave him time. That's how life works.

"I'm nothing like you," Wilbur responds in a whisper. He wasn't sure why he did it, he had been mostly obedient up until now. He hadn't even known how long it had been, the only way to keep track was the shifting of light from the small window in the corner. But what could he lose by being honest with his captor? He lightly tugs himself away, even as the world blurs around him, but Dream just lets him go. "You're just a— a power hungry bastard, and you know that."