Warning: A little bit of torture, nothing too graphic. Skip to next chapter if you won't want to read about it.

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Xisuma flinched as he heard the screams. He knew it was Dream.

They tore through the silence, sharp with pain, the sound of someone breaking. Slowly.

He shivered as he recalled his own experience in what he could only remember as "the room" the day before.

They wanted information. Ex in particular. And they didn't want him to have enough time to think. They knew that their plan wasn't foolproof, and in their eyes, Ex's and Schlatt's at least, the best way to keep someone occupied, to stop them from thinking of ways to escape, was to torture them.

Xisuma did not enjoy it. Of course, they seemed to need him alive as they healed him right after, but the memory, the trauma, didn't fade as easily as his wounds. He was curled up in his cell, his arms wrapped around his legs, back against the wall, shivering.

The only thing he could really remember was the pain. He knew everything else, but whenever he tried to really think about it, his mind could only recall the horrors he had experienced.

So much pain.

He remembered passing out several times, and walked up to more.

He remembered the cold glint of metal. The chains that pinned him to the wall. They were the same type of chains that were in his cell, and he resented having to touch them, hated them as they coiled loosely behind him.

He remembered the healing potions being tipped into his mouth, the warm feeling of being reconstructed, saved from certain death, and then the icy numbness as it wore off and it began again.

He flinched as Dream cried out again. He knew that Dream wouldn't spill information - he hadn't either. But that only meant a prolonged punishment.

He also knew that Techno had been for first to experience it. He had assumed it wasn't that bad, as he hadn't heard Techno make a single noise, but had quickly realized that he was wrong. Techno had probably actually gotten worse than the rest of them, as he was the one who was crucial to the escape plan. Ex knew this, so it was safe to assume that Schlatt did too.

Xisuma winced internally. Techno hadn't screamed because he was stronger. Stronger than Dream. Stronger than Xisuma. He wouldn't break, refused to give in. He had a high pain tolerance, and he was simply too stubborn to cry out.

The thought made him want to find Techno and give him a hug.

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Xisuma stared into the shimmering grey emptiness, his expression carefully blank. Someone was approaching.

There was only so much pain someone could take. That's what he had told himself. But he had quickly discovered it to be false. Every time he had thought that he reached his limit, every time was certain that there couldn't possibly be more pain than what he had felt, he had simply walked onto a whole new level. One he didn't even know existed.

He squinted, trying to make out who was walking to him.

Tubbo.

The younger boy stopped in front of his cell. "Xisuma." There was a flicker of regret in his voice.

"What. What do you want?" His usually friendly voice was guarded, and rightfully so.

Tubbo took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I didn't think they would try torture. I- I tried to stop them. They didn't listen to me."

"A bit too late now." Xisuma tried to stop the memories from jolting through his mind.

Tubbo winced slightly. "I'm sorry. I really am, Xisuma. If it was just me, I would have let you keep your power. We could have ruled together. I don't think you deserve this."

Xisuma narrowed his eyes. "Free me then." He suggested, knowing full well that it wouldn't happen.

"I can't. Ex would probably kill me."

Dream screamed again, the sound tearing through the misty nothingness, and they both flinched, a flicker of horror and regret streaking across Tubbo's face for a moment.

"I didn't think it would be like this." Tubbo admitted finally, his voice so soft Xisuma had to strain his ears to pick up on it. "They promised that they wouldn't have you guys killed. I never imagined they meant torture instead."

Xisuma paused. "Not kill? I thought you were trying to transfer our powers?"

Tubbo tilted his head. "The machine isn't designed to kill, only to transfer power."

Xisuma sighed, his purple gaze shining like crystals, their brilliant colour never seeming to dim. "Tubbo, they lied. There is literally no way to separate an admin from their power that doesn't involve killing them. And even if there was, do you really think Schlatt would just let us walk out?"

Tubbo paled. "That- that's not what they said. He promised, Xisuma. He promised you wouldn't be killed."

Xisuma lowered his head. "He lied to you."

Tubbo pressed his face closer to the bars, his blue gaze piercing. "Xisuma. I - I don't know who to trust anymore. I want to trust you, but I don't know if I can."

Xisuma regarded him for a moment.

"I think you know." He said carefully. "I think that somewhere inside you, you do know who to trust. You know what you believe in, what you think is right. And I think that part is you is fighting with the other part. The angry part. This isn't something I can tell you Tubbo - who to trust. You have to make that call yourself."

Tubbo stepped away slowly. "Maybe you're right. I need to be by myself for a while. Xisuma - I - I'm sorry for what happened yesterday."

Xisuma winced visibly and he saw another wave of guilt wash over Tubbo's face. "I know, it wasn't your fault." He said finally.

Tubbo nodded stiffly and gave him the tiniest nod of his head, then turned and walked away slowly.

Xisuma watched his figure fade into the shining fog, his footsteps fading.

Silence.

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Dream hated every moment.

He could hear his heartbeat. It drummed in his ears so loudly that he was confident the rest of the room - Jschlatt and Ex, could hear it too. He had already been healed several times, at least three that he remembered, but to be fair, his memories were a mess. A jumbled, confusing mess of pain.

He was pinned to a wall, the iron shackles still around his wrists. Jschlatt stood across the room, an elegantly curved bow held casually in his hands. Ex was watching. Waiting his turn.

Jschlatt nocked an arrow. It had a barbed end. "So, you want to tell us what your brilliant plan is? One last chance."

Dream wasn't about to sell out his friends, and he was too exhausted to come up with a smart remark, so he simply stayed silent, his weight held up completely by the chains.

Jschlatt waited another moment, then released the arrow. It flew straight, a blurry streak of brown and silver and white.

It sank into Dream's shoulder, the same spot where he had been stabbed the night of capture. While he originally hadn't gotten potions for that, it had healed when they brought him back from the brink of death after the first round.

Pain erupted where the arrow had struck, but he stopped himself from calling out. He didn't want to give them the satisfaction. He gritted his teeth, feeling as if his entire arm was on fire, watching red soak through his shirt, blooming like the petals of the flower of death.

Black spots danced in front of him, the pain feeling like it was building up, as if it were a volcano, gathering strength to erupt. Sides heaving, he managed do say conscious, the pain just under unbearable.

Jschlatt stalked forwards, and Dream knew what he was going to do.

The ram-horned man reached forwards, his fingers closing around the shaft of the arrow. The moment his fingers touched it, applying the tiniest amounts of pressure, pain exploded in Dream's shoulder, and he bit the inside of his mouth, hard, to stop himself from screaming. He could taste blood.

Jschlatt yanked the arrow out.

Almost instantly, the pain skyrocketed. Dream felt delirious, his entire existence in agony. He could see blood, his blood, a beautiful lively shade of copper, streaming from the wound, splattering onto the ground. A scream tore through the air. He realized it was coming from him, and snapped his mouth shut, breath coming in ragged gasps.

Black filled his vision, and just before the world went dark, he could see Jschlatt holding a glowing pink vial.

The promise to bring him back.

For another round.

Of games.

And for one, brief, blissful moment before Schlatt healed him with that horrible potion, his senses faded into a peaceful nothingness, his mind buzzing with the knowledge that he would return.

And in that instant, he didn't want to.

But he didn't have a choice.

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*evil laughter*

Hope y'all are enjoying :D