Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

All right, let's get into this! This story was thought up as part of my Inkwhumptobertale 2024 stories, and two of the beginning chapters will be directly copy-pasted from that, so they might be a tad bit familiar, hehe! I'm super excited to start writing this story, and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I will!

I'm going to be trying a bunch of new things with this, too, including writing some characters that I've never written before, and I think I'm going to even attempt writing Killer with his cool "stage" system! I'm not sure how it'll turn out, but I really want this story to be more character-focused, which means characterization will be at the forefront! While Defying Destiny is more plot-driven with less emphasis on characterizations (there are too many characters to properly characterize over there ugh), this story will be character-driven with a simpler plot. 

And while the story will be somewhat Dream-centric, it won't be entirely Dream-centric. Some chapters won't have him in them at all.

With all that out of the way, I'll get into the obligatory headcanons and credits that will apply for this story.

Headcanon list:

1. Nightmare is a theater kid.

2. Anyone can create portals if they learn.

3. Killer stages go brr. Still debating on how this will work so I probably won't have it all down immediately.

4. Characters will all have personalities, and they can do whatever they want (AKA they can lie so don't believe everything they say lol).

5. Dream's magic won't work in purely negative environments, and Nightmare's magic won't work in purely positive environments. Nightmare is generally stronger than Dream in most environments, though, due to the fact that BRO ATE 999 APPLES COMPARED TO DREAM'S 1.

6. Core Frisk is omnipresent, not omnipotent or omniscient. They can only be locked out of places via code manipulation and AU claiming.

7. Any being with powers strong enough can claim an AU, gaining the ability to micromanage everything that goes on inside it, but Nightmare and Ink are really the only ones who make use of that power, and Ink typically only uses it temporarily.

8. The twins have dream and memory magic because I like that, as well as a few extra noncanon powers that will be revealed down the road. Oh, and Dream's magic is hot while Nightmare's is cold. I love that headcanon. 

9. Blue is cool. You may witness just how cool he is later.

10. I think that's enough for nowww. Wow, reading over this, I'm literally just stuffing all my favorite headcanons into this story..I think I'm gonna like this, hehe!

~~~~~

Credits for characters~

Toby Fox.

Dream and Nightmare ~ Jokublog 

Error and Geno ~ loverofpiggies 

Ink ~ Myebi/Comyet 

Dust ~ ask-Dusttale blog

Killer ~ Rahafwabas 

Horror ~ Sour-apple-studios

Cross ~ Jakei 

Underswap ~ PopcornPr1nce

Underfell ~ Vic the Underfella

Outertale ~ 2mi27

Ccino ~ Black-Nyanko 

Core Frisk ~ Dokudoki

Othertale ~ Super Youmna

Swapfell ~ Kkhoppang, from what the internet tells me.

Dancetale ~ Teandstars

Undertale Yellow ~ Team Undertale Yellow

Prunsel ~ Squeakitties 

~~~~~

Started: October 30, 2024

Finished: Not yet!

Cover that I am very proud of:

Chapter Text

Life in Nightmare's castle wasn't the greatest, even for Nightmare's most prized fighters: his gang. Everyone who lived in the castle was held to strict rules regarding their lives, and their privileges came only with time, not rank; the ones who had been there for the longest had more privileges, while those who were new had fewer. It had worked like this ever since Nightmare had decided to employ others to work in the castle - maids, guards, and the like. Killer, Horror, and Dust had been there before that, while Cross had come a bit later, but they had all been here for years..and they all knew that they wouldn't be leaving until their deaths. 

Nightmare..was a difficult person to pin down. But one thing was for certain: if he wanted someone on his side, he would get them at any cost. He had wrangled Cross away from the Star Sanses years ago, and Cross had no hopes of returning to his old comrades. Killer, Horror, and Dust had been abducted from their AUs with no hopes of escaping to other ones. Nightmare had his tactics down, though; he knew exactly how to get people to join him. At first, when he made contact, he would act kind, polite, and even a bit shy; he would even tell a sob story about his past, if he deemed it suitable. He would make himself out to be a socially-awkward pushover, and he would keep that front up for as long as he deemed necessary; he had kept it up for over a year with Cross before the monochrome soldier had finally fully fallen for the manipulation. Once the victim was in the castle, there was no going back; Nightmare had full control over magic in his realm, and no one could make portals, use magic attacks, or even teleport without his permission. He dropped his act as soon as he had successfully lured his prey into his castle, and he became the sadistic and cruel tyrant everyone who lived here knew him to be. Cross's first day had been a confusing mess that had only started to make sense when Killer, Horror, and Dust had dragged him into a room and explained everything to him. Most people's first days went like that, except other workers were typically the ones to explain things.

Things had changed a lot since that first day, though; Cross had seniority now, and he could teleport and use magic attacks in the castle, as long as it was only for training. That was the limit for magic privileges in the castle; portals were strictly used for missions. There were other privileges, though, of course: food, clothing, and private quarters..all of those had to be earned. Food was the easiest thing to earn; it was earned simply by doing one's work. It was the only privilege that didn't have any requirements other than money, and everyone in the castle earned a wage that was more than enough for food. There were so many privileges, though, and not even the gang members had gotten all of them; Nightmare was a tyrant, and his standards were high. It was no wonder that people tried endlessly to leave, but after a few years, the attempts typically stopped and the defiance turned into acceptance. There was a limit to how much willpower stretched.

Nightmare knew that well.

"What's for breakfast?" Killer hopped onto one of the barstools by the kitchen's island.

"Pancakes." Horror replied, gesturing to a stack of flapjacks.

"Where'd you get those?" Dust inquired. "I don't recall boss adding pancake mix to the supply lists."

"Stole it on my last mission." Horror let out a low chuckle; he knew exactly how to hide tasty foodstuffs from Nightmare's sharp senses.

"Dude, you're a legend!" Cross praised. "I can't remember the last time I had pancakes!"

"Yeah, okay, now be sad about that; we don't want to attract boss's attention." Dust ordered, softly.

"Ugh.." Cross nodded; Dust was right.

"Too bad you guys don't have regulated emotions." Killer twirled a knife in his hand. "Would be awesome if we could have a party - boss wouldn't suspect a thing!"

"I wish.." Horror let out a sigh.

Nightmare had forbidden large amounts of positivity from his castle, to no one's surprise. Small bouts of happiness were allowed, but being genuinely happy about something? That warranted an increased workload containing mostly work that the recipient hated. The gang members had a little leeway, due to their seniority, but even they weren't immune to Nightmare's gaze..they were just lucky that he preferred to torment new people most of the time. At least they shared a space; Nightmare had put them in an apartment-like series of rooms to make it easier to find them when he needed them, and..well, they weren't complaining. The gang were close; they didn't really have a choice, in this world. It was either finding comfort in their companionship or drowning in negativity, and they chose the former..mainly to spite their boss, at first.

"Hey, these are great!" Cross exclaimed, his mouth full of pancake.

"They really are!" Killer agreed, kicking Cross to balance out the other's emotions.

"Ow!" Cross glared, his positivity having been successfully quelled. "Ugh, thanks.."

"Just don't want boss raiding our breakfast." Killer took another bite of his food.

"My only regret is not eating more of it last time." Dust sighed; the gang had to be careful about 'illegal' foodstuffs; Nightmare only permitted a few types of food..the nutritional and bad-tasting kind. Most people in the castle were used to it by now, but it was nice to have a treat every so often.  

"I hate him." Horror took a large bite of his food. 

"And the 'least controversial statement' award goes to.." Killer chuckled, pointing at his teammate with his knife.

"So, what missions do you guys have today?" Cross questioned, as he finished up with his meal.

"Negativity run." Dust stabbed his pancake with a bit of force. "Probably going to meet the Stars. Maybe I'll get lucky and be killed."

"..Having a bad day?" Horror asked.

"Every day's a bad day."

"..They wouldn't kill, Dust." Cross shook his skull. "Besides, they don't know."

"Maybe they'd put us out of our misery if they did."

"Do you hear the way Dream talks to Nightmare?" Killer scoffed. "He's too trusting of his enemy. Boss is using the guy like a puppet; one of these days, he's gonna show up here - you just watch."

"..You really think so?" Cross inquired.

"I know so; I've seen it a hundred times before. Saw it with you."

"Well..at least I'm not the only one.."

"Boss is cunning." Dust shrugged. "We all fell for it; Dream's no different from anyone else."

"We're pretty much doomed if he does fall, though." Horror mentioned.

"Yeah..after him, the multiverse's last defense will be Ink.." Cross rolled his eyelights. "That won't last long. He's such-"

The conversation was interrupted by the soft jingling of bells. Nightmare was silent in his travel, but the gang had figured out a way to get a few seconds of warning before he would show up at their door; every way of travel he had - excluding portals - had some sort of physical form. With some strategically-placed thin strings, Nightmare would trip the wires without realizing, and the gang would have a warning. It didn't always work, but most of the time, it did, and Nightmare hadn't caught on yet, to the gang's relief. They all knew the punishment would be severe if he ever did; unlike the others living in the castle, the gang didn't get extra work if they disappointed their boss..he had other ways of dealing with them.

"Pancakes!" Horror whispered urgently, and Dust and Killer slid their plates over to him.

Horror took the plates of unfinished food and shoved them into one of the cupboards before replacing them with the standard supply foods the gang were supposed to be eating. Killer and Dust managed to takes a few bites before Nightmare opened the door to the gang's little dwelling, and Cross had teleported over to the sink to wash his plate, scrubbing any trace of pancake off the surface quickly.

"You boys are on-edge." Nightmare commented, showing a dark smile. "Are you hiding something from me, by any chance?" 

Nightmare's empathy was undoubtedly the most-dangerous of his powers; he knew what others were feeling. He knew, and he wasn't afraid to use that knowledge against them.

"Small fire." Horror excused. "Napkin touched the burner - it was nothing serious."

"..Fire?" Nightmare looked around, taking a long sniff of the air; the pancake scent was..still present. "I don't smell fire. Why was the stove on? You're not eating anything that was cooked."

"I was." Cross informed, beginning to dry his evidence-cleared plate. "But I finished already."

"Then I assume you wouldn't be opposed to starting your work day early and finishing late today, would you, Cross?"

"..Of course not, sir."

"You're on patrol, then - get to it."

"Yes, sir."

Cross left the room to go to work, leaving the others to face Nightmare. They wouldn't hold it against him; trying to defend eachother would have just gotten them all in a lot more trouble..

"All right, you have one more chance to tell me the truth." Nightmare looked at the remaining three gamg members. "Out with it."

The three were silent, and they regretted not eating all their food faster; they wouldn't get it back. 

"Regret, guilt, shame." Nightmare rolled his eyelight. "Practically speaks for itself. Dust, you're gaining three LV today, and I expect you to be back by ten tonight, in my office so I can check your stats personally. Get out." 

"Yes, boss!" Dust didn't linger, taking Nightmare's permission to open a portal immediately and running through.

"The new LV will boil Dust's blood tonight, and Cross will exhaust himself today..that just leaves you two." Nightmare took a couple steps forward. "Horror, what do you think would be an appropriate punishment for your crime?"

Horror's eyelight drifted to the food on the counter; Nightmare didn't often give a choice, but when he did, there was always a reason. He wanted to take away Horror's food privileges (it was the most effective way to control Horror, after all), but he would let Horror slide if there was an exchange. An equal exchange. What was having meals worth to Horror? 

"That isn't your dominant hand." Nightmare noted, tilting his skull a little. "You're really trying to-" Nightmare paused when Horror held out his dominant hand, eyesockets shut tight. "Much better. Don't oversell yourself in the future, Horror; you aren't worth that much."

A tentacle wrapped around Horror's arm, and a loud snap seemed to echo around the room, joined by a pained whimper. The injured skeleton sank to the floor, holding his limb close; Nightmare never made those pleasant. It was worth it, though..worth it to Horror. 

"I'll make sure you're healed before your next mission, you poor thing." Nightmare assured, in his falsely-sweet way that everyone here had learned was sarcasm; it had always been sarcasm.. "Killer?"

"Yes, boss?" Killer responded. 

"When I'm done with you, I want you to get a few of the maids to sweep these rooms and dispose of any other contraband you boys may be hiding."

"..Yes, boss."

Nightmare wrapped a tentacle around Killer's neck and started to drag him into the hall, and Killer knew their destination immediately. Every so often, Nightmare would take someone to the castle's training grounds as an example and beat the living daylights out of that person to remind everyone of his power and discourage attempts to leave (not that any escape attempts ever had even a fraction of a chance of working, anyway). It looked like Killer was up today..great. Killer was no stranger to having his boss beat him, but..it was never something on his to-do list; he just wished that he'd have the chance to fight back someday (he wouldn't dare now - Nightmare loved to thrash those who tried to fight back, and Killer didn't want to give him the satisfaction). The session started with Nightmare throwing Killer onto the hard wood floor of one of the areas in the training grounds, and he didn't give Killer a moment to recover before descending upon him. As Nightmare broke and bruised Killer's bones, his victim had only one wish: that things would change one day.

He knew it would never happen.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

The gang do not get to enjoy their pancakes. :(

Thanks for reading my pancaking writing! 

Bye!

Chapter Text

The multiverse was a vast place with billions of different universes to explore, and there were many different people who came from all the different types of them. Heroes could rise up from the most obscure of AUs, and villains could, too. The multiverse was a place where anyone could be whomever they desired to be, and no one took that lightly. People were not judged based on appearance; the smallest beings could have magic rivalling the guardians of the multiverse, although not often was that the case. The guardians were strong, and other beings tended not to mess with them, instead taking on their aspirations with others like them. 

The Star Sanses were three of the "good" guardians. Ink, the Protector of Alternate Universes; Dream, the Guardian of Positivity; and Blue, an impressively-strong mortal with an Underswap heritage, made up the small but strong group, and they tended to be the ones to combat the multiverse's greatest foes - Nightmare's gang and Error, for the most part. Many heroes looked up to the three, aspiring to someday be as well-known as they were, while others took solace in the fact that they were there at all. Their base of operations was located in the multiverse's Omega Timeline, the creation of another well-known hero of the multiverse, Core Frisk. That was where they were now, enjoying the quiet afternoon.

Out of all the Star Sanses, Blue was the best cook. Ink didn't have a need for such knowledge, as he could simply create any food he wanted, while Dream was moderately-versed in the art of cooking; he could at least survive on his own and prepare a few simple dishes for guests, if he had to. But Blue did most of the cooking in the Star Sanses' base, and he loved doing it; cooking was a real art to him, and every dish he made reflected that. Blue had just made a meal, and the trio of heroes were enjoying it as they had a small chat about their enemies.

"Dream, I don't think it's smart." Ink sighed, beginning a conversation the trio knew well - one they had shared time and time again over the past couple years. "Nightmare does horrible things; I think he's trying to trick you into meeting with him."

Dream had to hold himself back from saying anything about that subject; Ink and Blue had no idea that Dream and Nightmare had already been meeting regularly..for a couple years, now..

"It's..I just think there's something more." Dream decided to say. "I don't believe he's all bad, Ink; he's my brother, and..you don't know who he was. He used to be-"

"Used to be." Blue pointed out. "Sorry for the interruption, but..people change, Dream. Nightmare changed a long time ago." 

Dream looked down. "I believe in second chances, Blue. He deserves a second chance; I want to give him one!"

"Dream, second chances are for people who want them; as far as we know, Nightmare isn't interested." Blue didn't know; Dream couldn't tell him. "Heck, I visit Error every two weeks, but that doesn't mean I think he's going to jump at the chance to be redeemed if I asked him; he'd probably just laugh. He's not ready for a second chance; neither is Nightmare. Maybe someday, after lots of long talks..but not today."

"..I understand. I just..I think the day might be coming when that'll be possible. Soon, I hope."

"Well, we can't fault you for thinking positively." Ink chuckled. "Just be careful, Dream; don't do anything stupid."

"..I'll try."

Dream looked down at his food and continued to eat, pushing thoughts of the subject away; someday, he would tell his friends about his meet-ups with Nightmare, but..not yet. They wouldn't take it well yet. The conversation topic switched to baking recipes - an area of cooking that Dream was definitely not ready to traverse yet! He chuckled when Blue brought up his last run-in with the deadly enemy, recalling how the entire kitchen had been covered in dough when Dream's "creation" had exploded! Definitely not ready. Halfway through the meal, a knock came at the Stars' door, and Dream decided to answer it, getting up to find Core Frisk at the door. 

Core Frisk was a peculiar being. They were omnipresent, which automatically made them a great asset to their allies, but that also meant that..they knew about Dream and Nightmare's meetings. They heavily discouraged the meetings, but they wouldn't tell anyone unless Dream allowed them to..or something horrible happened, which wouldn't happen! Dream was grateful for their friendship, however, and he valued everything that Core Frisk did; they had done the multiverse a great service by creating the Omega Timeline.

"Frisk, good afternoon!" Dream greeted. "Is it important?"

"Nightmare's Dust is attacking Undertale copy 6,738." Core Frisk informed. "Pacifist route, on the surface - he's killing a lot of people. He may have been there for a few hours by now; I didn't notice until just now."

"Understood." Dream nodded sharply. "We'll get there as soon as we can - thank you for the information."

Core Frisk nodded in response before vanishing, as they tended to; they had seemingly-endless duties in this timeline. 

"Guys, we have work to do!" Dream called. "Dust is in Undertale 6,738!"

"Got it!" Ink hopped up from his seat, leaving his unfinished food behind - Dream could warm it up later.

The trio went through a portal of Dream's making, coming out into..a murder scene. Human bodies were scattered everywhere, with slowly-diminishing piles of monster dust being found occasionally, too. It seemed that Dust was living up to his namesake today. Dream shivered slightly, the wind seeming to blow right through him; it didn't matter, though - he couldn't focus on the temperature. He was always cold, anyway. 

"This way!" Blue summoned a sharpened bone, pointing it in the direction he sensed LV in. 

Blue was a valuable member of the team for more than one reason. He was mortal, yes, but he had spent the majority of his life training his senses to become something a little more than most mortals (and not just because of his minor code glitches). His magic was strong, despite his lack of LV, and his lack of LV gave him an ability that neither Dream nor Ink had: he could sense LV in others. Ink simply had too much LV to notice others' (a remnant of a darker past that he preferred to forget), while Dream's abilities made him blind to it. Blue, though, could feel the aura produced by LV, and the members of Nightmare's gang had so much that he could sense them from a mile away - literally. Unlike most mortals, he had practiced to hone that skill rather than letting it act simply as a warning of danger, and that helped the Stars find their culprit, who was in the act of chasing down more victims to slaughter.

"Dust!" Ink fired a glob of paint at the villain, who quickly dodged, diverting his attention from his victims to the Star Sanses.

Dust muttered something to himself before summoning a few bone attacks and blasters; it looked as if he wanted to fight today. 

"Dust, you know you can't win this fight!" Blue informed, dodging a blaster beam by a wide margin.

Dust didn't respond, only beginning an onslaught. It was always a toss-up as to whether Nightmare's gang members would fight or not if they were caught alone; sometimes, they would run, and other times, they would stay despite the knowledge that they would invariably be beaten. Dream..didn't know why. He only knew that they were evil. Nevertheless, Dream summoned his bow and shot several arrows at the other, missing his mark on most of them. Ink decided to hang back while Blue and Dream handled Dust; there was no reason for all three of them to attack the other. Dust rose dozens of rows of bones up from the battlefield, creating barely-possible patterns to avoid (it was a wonder that Nightmare's gang members "played fair" at all) to buy himself some time, and Blue and Dream avoided the attacks as best they could, cutting down the ones that were a bit too difficult for them as they got closer to their opponent. Dream's bow shifted into golden daggers, and Blue summoned bones of his own to utilize in close combat.

At first, encounters like these felt unfair; chasing down individual members of Nightmare's gang and forcing them into a losing battle until they received so many injuries that they retreated because they couldn't take any more..it felt horrible. But it was the only way to make them leave, short of forcing them through a portal, and that was hard. Blue and Dream had done this many times as Ink watched from the sidelines, ready to step in if he deemed it necessary (that only happened when backup arrived for the gang member in question), and this time was no different. In the back of Dream's mind, he believed that, just maybe, the gang members deserved this, anyway..Nightmare had told him all about how they mistreated him. Dust endured for three minutes of close combat before retreating, leaving the Star Sanses victorious. Once Dust was gone, the Star Sanses left; the determined child of this universe would take things from here. 

"I don't understand them.." Blue sighed, pulling off his newly-bloodied shirt. "He couldn't win."

"..I don't either." Dream shook his skull.  

"Maybe he's a masochist." Ink shrugged. "Maybe they're all masochists."

"Cross wasn't." Blue reminded. "Cross hated scratches, Ink."

"Well, maybe Cross changed his mind!" 

"Or maybe they just think they're stronger than they are?" Dream proposed. "I mean, they are stronger than normal criminals, and some of those try to fight us, sometimes!"

"You'd think they'd learn from the past." Blue rolled his eyelights. "I'm gonna take a shower; I'll be back down in a bit."

"I'll keep your food warm!" 

"Thanks, Dream."

Ink and Dream sat back down at the table, and Dream used a bit of his magic to heat up the food as Ink stared at him. When he was done, he blinked, looking over at his friend.

"Uh..is something wrong?" He inquired.

"Other than the fact that you're covered in blood?" Ink tilted his skull.

"..Oh." Dream looked down at his stained outfit. "It..I'll be fine."

"You should change."

"I'll do it later; it's too cold in here to do that."

"Dream, the heat's on." Ink reminded. "It's always on."

"Well..it's not my fault that my body can't take the cold.."

"Weird." Ink snorted. "You have heat magic, but you're always cold. You think Nightmare's always hot?"

"..I would assume so."

Dream knew that the assumption was true; Nightmare was always hot. But he had the luxury of being able to turn the temperature of his home down to a temperature at which he felt comfortable - Dream, unfortunately, with the roommates he had, did not. He made do, though, coating his clothes in his magic every so often to keep himself warm. But if he decided to change, he'd have to brave the cold, and that just didn't appeal to him right now. He'd change later; blood wasn't such a big deal if he wasn't planning on leaving the house.

Dust stumbled through his portal, collapsing onto the floor of the castle once the portal was gone; he couldn't let anyone follow him. The prospect of lying on the floor for a few hours was appealing, but he couldn't - he had to get to boss's office to give him the bad news. Three LV was a lot to ask these days; Dust had only managed to raise his LV by one in the three hours he'd been in that AU. Reluctantly, he pushed himself off the ground and leaned against one of the castle walls, looking around to figure out where he was. He was lucky this time; he was on the same floor as Nightmare's office. Taking deep breaths, Dust forced himself to make the trek, putting one foot in front of the other methodically. He was lucky the Stars hadn't broken his legs; some of those beatings could be brutal. The broken ribs would be worth something, though. After ten minutes of the struggle that was walking down a couple halls, Dust reached Nightmare's office, knocking on the door as evenly as he could.

"Enter." Nightmare's voice came from inside.

Dust took the permission, twisting the doorknob and pushing the door open before walking inside. He must have looked like a mess; that was good. He met his boss's eyelight with his own fatigued ones, breathing heavily.

"My brother and his team caught you, hm?" Nightmare assumed.

"Y-yes, boss.." Dust nodded.

"How much LV did you gain?"

"J-just..one.."

"I believe I ordered three, Dust."

"Y-yes..boss.." Dust bowed his skull, his legs shaking; they might not have been broken, but they had some painful chips. 

Nightmare eyed his subordinate for a moment, before letting out a hum. "I suppose you've been punished enough; I'll spare you..this time."

"Th-thank you, b-boss.."

"Now get out; I have far more important things to do than to look at your wretched hide."

"Y-yes, boss.."

Dust stumbled out of the office, and Nightmare let out a satisfied sigh once his subordinate was gone. Dream had been getting a bit more brutal lately in cases such as these; that was good. Nightmare would have him soon enough, and then he would be able to enact the next phases of his plans..but he wasn't done yet. He pulled out a binder, opening it and looking through his notes. He'd told Dream just about everything he had on hand to elicit pity..but he could think up more! How many pets had he told Dream about? A blue jay, a tortoise, and a gecko..maybe he would select something a bit more recognizable this time. Perhaps a cat - Killer preferred cats, didn't he? Well, Nightmare knew just the one to draw inspiration from..perfect.

Dream would be his in no time.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dream bean is cold. 

Thanks for reading my cold writing!

Bye!

Chapter Text

Dream sat in a flower field with his brother, the both of them smiling as they conversed about life. It had taken so long for the two of them to understand eachother again, but Dream was just so happy that the day had come at all! It had been such a shaky start, when Nightmare had come across Dream injured after a battle with the feral inhabitants of one of the crueler AUs, but it had sparked the understanding and trust that the two now shared. Dream had seen Nightmare vulnerable, and when their roles had been reversed some time later, Nightmare had seen Dream beaten up and helpless, too; neither of them had taken advantage of the opportunity given, which had made both of them realize that there was still care left between them. They had met for secret meetings occasionally, off the battlefield where both of them were compelled to hide their care - their associates wouldn't approve. 

It was so..insane, really. Dream had always thought that Nightmare had gathered his gang together to form a military force, but it turned out that Nightmare had been so desperate for company that he hadn't noticed the red flags in said gang members; they had forced him to act colder and crueler then he used to in order to keep up to their standards, just so they would give him the affection he wanted so badly. He'd been abused as a child, and that seemed to seep through into his adulthood; he could never recognize the signs. Dream had gotten so many answers recently, such as the shocking fact that Nightmare spread negativity because he simply couldn't survive unless there was enough of it in the multiverse! If it dipped below a certain point, he would become ill, and he'd even done the stupid thing of letting it fall just to "prove" that he was telling the truth..his poor brother couldn't believe that his word would be taken at face value, since so many others had tricked him and mistreated him all his life. The betrayal that Dream had felt when Cross had left the Star Sanses had been nothing compared to Nightmare's shock, knowing that an enemy had hated him so much that he'd joined his "side" just to make his life worse.

Cross had seemed so kind when Dream had known him..he could hardly believe it, but the evidence was there! Nightmare had so many physical scars under his goopy exterior; Dream wondered how many emotional and mental scars he had alongside them. Nightmare had broken down in his arms too many times to count, and Dream couldn't help but feel responsible; he should have protected Nightmare instead of assuming he was evil, just because of the things he had to do to survive..Dream felt so dirty. Nightmare had so many trust issues and anxieties, and Dream couldn't help wondering if he could have stopped them from ever forming, if only he'd been there for his brother..as he should have been. 

But today was a good day. Today, Nightmare was so happy; it was a joy, to see Nightmare's smile. It was so similar to how it had used to be, but also so different, in its unique way, but it was genuine! Nightmare laid all his emotions out for Dream to sense - the ultimate sign of trust, in Dream's opinion - and Dream did the same for Nightmare, hiding nothing. Nightmare was truly happy, and he felt great excitement and anticipation, too..was he planning something? Maybe Dream should have brought a gift; Nightmare seemed to be eager for something.

"I didn't have the cat for long, though she really made things better when I had her.." Nightmare smiled nostalgically, twirling a flower between his fingers.

"What happened to her?" Dream questioned, before flinching as his brother's mood plummeted. "I-"

"W-well..I told you about Killer.." Nightmare answered, giving Dream all he needed to know; Nightmare had already told Dream about how Killer loved to torture poor defenseless animals..it was despicable.

"I'm sorry." Dream hugged his brother despite the coldness it brought, feeling a small decrease in sadness. "I shouldn't have asked..I should have known."

"It's not your fault; it's mine for bringing it up.."

"No! No, it's never your fault for wanting to talk about something! I should have kept my mouth shut; it was entirely my fault, Nighty.."

"..All right." Nightmare nodded, and Dream smiled, glad he could smooth things over; his brother was so sensitive about so many things..Dream really needed to be more careful about what he said.

"Brother, I can sense that you're excited about something..what is it?" Dream wondered. "It's so..nice to feel from you."

"Well..I had a thought, but..it's probably stupid, on second thought. You wouldn't agree.."

"What is it? You're my brother; I'll never forget that again, Nighty."

"..I wanted to invite you to my home. It..we'll have to hide you from the others, but..my home is still mine, you know? I have so many things I'd like to show you, and I can portal you right out if the others see you! I'll be the only one who faces repercussions; you'll be unharmed. I..I will understand if you don't want to entertain the idea, though.."

"Oh, Nighty.." 

Dream had never thought Nightmare would have ever made an offer like this; no one knew where Nightmare's home was, and now he was offering the location to Dream. Dream would be able to visit whenever he wished, and he and Nightmare could spend more time together! He would have to return the favor sometime. Nightmare was showing Dream that he trusted him completely.

"Is something the matter?" Nightmare inquired, seeming a bit unsure of himself. "I..I didn't overstep, did I?"

"Of course not!" Dream hugged his brother closely. "I'm just wondering why I didn't make the offer first; my home is more welcoming, since I don't have any roommates. I should have offered you my home a long time ago..but I'm so glad that you've found it in you to trust me, even after all the horrible things I did to you..I'm so sorry, Nighty."

"..I'm getting over all those things, Dream." Nightmare smiled. "Soon, they'll just be a bad memory, and we'll be able to move on together."

"I'll help you every step of the way, brother."

"I know you will; you're the best brother I could ever ask for, Dream."

"No, I'd say that's you!" Dream chuckled. "I can't wait to see your home; I bet you kept that moon theme, huh?"

"Oh..maybe a little." Nightmare let out his own sheepish chuckle.

"I knew it! But don't feel weird about it - I kept the sun theme. It's everywhere in my house!"

"I don't doubt it. Shall we go, then?"

"Yeah..let's go."

The twins exchanged a soft smile, and Dream could feel Nightmare's anticipation rise as he opened a dark portal. 

"It..might be a bit unpleasant." Nightmare warned. "I hope the negativity doesn't hurt you."

"I'll be fine; my own positivity will keep me afloat." Dream assured. 

Nightmare nodded, and he held Dream's hand as the two walked through the portal.

And then Dream blacked out.

Dream awoke to the pungent smells of blood and dust, and it didn't take him long to notice the thick shackles around his wrists. He opened his eyesockets to see iron bars, chains, and rows of cells lining a dank and frigid hall. He..he was in a dungeon. But how?! He'd gone through the portal with Nightmare, and-

Nightmare?

"Well, good morning, Dream!" Nightmare stood outside the iron bars, with a smile that was so..warm; Dream could feel amusement, happiness, satisfaction, and anticipation from his twin..but why? "So glad you could make it!"

"What..what is this?!" Dream forced himself to his feet, getting as close to his brother as his chains would let him. "Nightmare, why am I here? What's going on..?"

"Oh, my dear brother.." Nightmare wore a dark smirk. "You were so easy to fool; Cross was harder, honestly. I admit, I had too much fun stringing you along, but enough is enough; the fantasy's over, brother, and soon enough, you'll fall into line like all the others."

"..What are you talking about?" Dream..didn't understand.

"Brother, do you realize what we could accomplish together? We could take over this pitiful multiverse and rule over it..and I want that. The care and affection you felt from me was not a trick; I do care..I'm just not the person I led you to believe I was. It was fun, for a time, but that time is over. Join me, Dream, or else I'll just have to make you..and neither of us wants that, I can assure you."

"..You tricked me.." Dream's gaze fell. "And I..I fell for it.."

"Yes, you did, and quite superbly - now, will you join me or not? I have an empire to run."

"Are you crazy?!" Dream couldn't help his glare. "You tell me that you've been leading me on for- for-"

"Two years." Nightmare chuckled.

"Two years..you led me on for two years, and you think I'll join you?!"

"Well, you will." Nightmare informed casually. "It's just the question of who you'll be when you do. Will you choose to remain yourself, or will I have to change you first? I look forward to your choice, whenever it will come; I just hope you don't go insane, or something - I have far too many insane people here already, and I don't care to have another. I'll be back in..say, an hour? That'll be enough time for you to decide, I think." 

Nightmare turned to leave, and Dream clenched his fists. 

"Nightmare!" He growled. "You can't just say all that and leave me here!"

Nightmare paused, turning back to Dream with a nod. "You're right - that's terribly ill-mannered of me; I simply must leave you with a gift."

Dream..didn't find himself liking the sound of that. He took a step back when Nightmare weaved a tentacle between the iron bars of his cell.

"Oh, what's the matter, brother?" Nightmare smiled, just as warmly and innocently as he had earlier when talking about his cat..who had probably never existed, now that Dream had the chance to consider it. "Don't you want my gift? It'll only hurt..a fair amount."

Dream found himself with his back against the wall as Nightmare's freezing tentacle wrapped around his lower legs, yanking him off balance and bringing him to the floor. Once Dream was down, the tentacles tightened, putting pressure on Dream's legs until the bones snapped. Dream didn't know what was louder: his scream..or Nightmare's cackles.

Half an hour after Nightmare had left him in his misery, someone familiar appeared: Cross? Cross..Dream had spent so long thinking that Cross had been meanspirited towards his brother, but..he had to doubt that, now. Cross opened the door to his cell and knelt down beside him, running a damp cloth over his fractures. 

"Cross..?" Dream addressed. "You.."

"I'm sorry to see you here, Dream.." Cross sighed, pulling out some bandages once he'd cleaned Dream's wounds as best he could with what he had. "I'd..hoped I never would."

"Nightmare..tricked me." Dream could barely believe the words; yesterday, he wouldn't have!

"He tricked everyone you'll see here, from prisoners to workers..he tricks everyone, Dream. Don't feel bad; he used everyone else here as practice for you..you didn't have a chance."

"..If only I'd listened to Ink.." Dream lay back on the cold stone floor. "He warned me; he told me flat-out that Nightmare wasn't being truthful..and I didn't believe him."

"Ink's got a lot more eye for detail than others give him credit for." Cross shrugged. "At least Nightmare can't trick him; Ink wouldn't let him have the chance."

"..Is there any way out of this?"

"No." Cross shook his skull. "You're better off giving in; it'll happen eventually, and no one here wants you to suffer - in fact, not suffering is just about the only way to spite Nightmare, so.."

"He..asked me to join him.." 

"Then join him." 

"It's not that easy!"

"Of course it is; you just have to tell Nightmare that you want to join him, and he'll take your word for it."

"What about everything I stand for? What about loyalty and-"

"Dream." Cross locked eyelights with his former (and future) teammate. "No one is coming to save you. Nightmare controls all magic use in this realm - we can't summon one bone without him knowing about it, and if it's not strictly for training purposes, we get punished for it. Your magic probably won't work here anyway, due to the high negativity, so it's best not even to try. And to top it all off..Nightmare will torture you until you give in if you refuse; he'll tear your mind and body to shreds. He'll psychologically and physically torment you until you can't tell reality from your dreams, and it's all just one big hellscape.."

"How do you know..?"

"..I lived it." Cross admitted. "For a whole four hours, that was my life, and then I crumbled and swore my loyalty to him. He'll just do the same to you..or maybe he'll be less straightforward about it and play with you for a while. There's no silver lining in this situation, Dream; no one is going to save you here."

"But..I can't just-"

"You can. You should."

"..You've given up." Dream realized solemnly. 

"I have; there's no point in trying to fight him. Just..do what's best for yourself in this situation - join him and skip the pain."

"I..I don't have a choice, do I?"

"Not in the least."

Dream laid his head back on the floor and stared at the ceiling while Cross finished bandaging his legs, letting out a long sigh as he recognized the futility of this situation. Nightmare had him; he wouldn't be escaping. The negative atmosphere of this universe weighed down upon him to the point that Cross was probably right; Dream didn't even have a magic suppressor on, and he had no chance of using even a fraction of his magic. When Cross had fully bandaged Dream's legs, he stood up and looked down at the positive guardian with a frown. 

"At the very least, he'll let you out of this cell..this place is filled with disease." Cross glanced down the hall. "It's a wonder anyone down here is alive at all."

With that, Cross left Dream alone to think. Dream didn't want to join Nightmare, especially after that stinging betrayal, but..there really wasn't a choice, was there? Nightmare held all the cards now, and Dream couldn't even defend himself - he couldn't even walk! He desperately wanted to fight, to refuse Nightmare at every opportunity and hold out as long as he could, but..maybe it would be for the best if he took Cross's advice. He'd never truly be loyal to Nightmare as he was now, but if he let Nightmare torture him until he cracked? He wasn't so sure he'd be able to keep himself straight. Dream let out a sigh as he made his decision; he would have to play Nightmare's game for now. He doubted Nightmare would take his word at face value, but..Dream had a feeling that Nightmare didn't exactly care about sincerity; he was so amused by Dream's current situation, after all..it only made sense that he wanted to play a game. Well, Dream would play..

He'd play for his life, no matter how long it took to get it back.

Nightmare returned almost exactly an hour after he left, if Dream's guess was right; Nightmare was never late for anything..unless he was faking being injured in order to gain pity points, Dream supposed. He stood outside Dream's cell with a kind smile, the type that was really starting to get on Dream's nerves; he'd practiced that smile, hadn't he? If Dream weren't lying in a dungeon cell with broken legs, he probably would have thought it to be genuine.

"Well, Dream, it's been an hour; have you made your decision yet, or do you need more time?" Nightmare questioned. "I can wait longer, if I must."

Dream took a long deep breath, exhaling slowly to prepare himself for what he had no choice but to say. "..You win. I'll..I'll join you.." 

"Really, now?" Nightmare grinned sharply - a type of smile that Dream found himself much preferring right now; if Nightmare was going to be an evil tyrant, he could have at least showed it. "I assume Cross warned you about the consequences of declining, hm? Scared you, did he?"

"..It's in my best interests to keep my sanity intact." Dream decided to say. 

"Agreed." Nightmare opened the door to the cell, entering nonchalantly. "Get up, then."

"You.." Dream couldn't stifle a glare. "You broke my legs - how do you expect me to get up?!"

"Oh, Dream..in my empire, everyone finds a way." Nightmare chuckled, offering Dream a hand. "It's just..your way will almost always end up involving me."

"..What are you talking about?"

"We can talk on the way; I have a room set up for you already."

Nightmare kept his hand out, and Dream reluctantly took it, wincing as his broken bones tried to carry his weight and failed; Nightmare caught him before he could crumple back down to the floor, essentially forcing Dream to lean against him if he was going to get anywhere, and Dream felt..powerless. Nightmare must have felt just the opposite. Nightmare guided Dream along, beginning to explain his plans as the two went from the cold halls of his dungeon to the..still-cold halls of his castle. 

"Dream, I've been waiting for this day for years." Nightmare informed. "Decades, really. But my plans did change, at some point; believe it or not, at first, I was going to kill you, or perhaps use you as a trophy, or even just something to take my rage out on every once in a while. But, in more recent years, I've realized something that I hadn't taken into account before: you're a person."

Dream..had no response to that.

"Astounding." Nightmare commented. "I thought you were a concept, at first, or an ideal, but no, you're a real live person; naturally, that made me interested. You have hobbies, and you can enjoy books and movies, and you aren't just a stupid do-gooder who tries to help people and save lives all day every day. That's when I had the thought, you know? You have the capacity..to be selfish. You can be angry - at people other than me, that is, since we both know you can be angry at me just fine."

"Get to the point." Dream requested; he didn't want to hear this.

"See? You can be short and make unfounded orders to people who are clearly superior to you, just because you feel like it! But, for your sake, I will 'get to the point.' Dream, when I found out about your personhood, I realized that, somewhere deep in my soul, I still held a modicum of care for you. Despite all my attempts to hate you fully, I cannot, and so I've decided to give you an opportunity: rule the multiverse with me, Dream."

"You know I won't be doing that." Dream scowled at the thought.

"Not yet, of course; I haven't given you any incentive! But..you will accept, at some point; I can wait for you to come to your senses. But first, I'll state the conditions, as there will be a few. The most glaring of them is that I'll definitely be in charge of you; I want you to rule with me, but a little bit under me - I'm not that good at sharing. Secondly..I want your loyalty. Not this flimsy joke of an 'I'll join you' that you've just given me, but something more..but, of course, that will only come once you find it in you to care about me again. And you will."

"I doubt it." Dream looked down at the floor, noticing that he'd started to bleed through the bandages on his legs; that..wasn't particularly good. A long trail of golden drops of blood had stained the carpet along this walk.

"Maybe not now, and maybe not for a few years..but after decades or centuries? You'll figure it out." Nightmare turned to smile at Dream, but his gaze was drawn to Dream's focus now. "Oh, don't pay that any mind; someone will clean it up."

"Do you always pawn your problems off onto others?" Dream sighed.

"Brother, everyone in this castle has their place; there are those who live here who have the job of cleaning. That makes this automatically their problem."

"A good ruler wouldn't make others clean up after his messes."

"You're right; that's what makes me so excited for you you to take up your role beside me! Once you become prince of this empire, you'll be permitted to do whatever you please, as long as I don't disapprove! You may clean your own messes, if you so wish! But, until then, you'll let the maids clean up after you. Now, this is the door to your room; you'll notice that it's right next to mine, by design. You did keep the sun motif, correct?"

Dream couldn't help but notice; the two doors right next to eachother had a moon and sun symbol respectively. Nightmare let out a chuckle and opened the door decorated with the sun, revealing..a room Dream wished he could hate. Nightmare must have paid close attention during their talks; this was..scary. The hues of yellow and light blue complimented eachother perfectly, and the sunshine from outside came in through the windows..there was a sun in this universe! There were no windows anywhere else, from what Dream had seen - just here. It was comfortable in here - it wasn't cold! The bed was covered in soft blankets and overloaded with pillows, and the floor was littered with cozy rugs-

No! Dream couldn't let this affect him! It was just a room - nothing else! If it happened to be the bedroom he'd always dreamed of, it was a coincidence! Nightmare..didn't really care. If he did, it was a twisted sense of the word.

"I can tell that you like it." Nightmare smiled in that irritatingly-comforting way. "Let's get you settled in, and I'll wrap your wounds again."

Nightmare helped Dream to the bed (it was so perfect..why did it have to be perfect?!), and when Dream relaxed against the soft matress, his brother began to work with the legs that he had broken! 

"I failed to realize how much of an effect the atmosphere would have on you." Nightmare admitted. "Positive energy tends to help your wounds heal faster, and this environment will impact that greatly, to the point that I'm not sure you can heal on your own. But don't worry - I'm rather skilled in the art of healing magic, and I'll take care of anything you need."

"Why are you talking to me like I'm some sort of child?" Dream asked, clearly irritated.

"Well..I know we're twins, but I've always fancied myself the older brother; I'm more mature and collected, while you're..flighty, shall we say?"

"So what? I am who I am, and I happen to like being myself!"

"I don't doubt that. But..the thought of having you look up to and depend on me is fascinating; I want to make it a reality. That's why, when you have problems without obvious solutions, you'll be bringing them directly to me - no one else."

"Is that your plan, then? To condition me into being your 'perfect little brother'?"

"Part of it, yes. Is that a problem?"

"I'm not going to go along with it."

"You will, with time; I have plans for you, Dream, and I'm looking forward to breaking all of your barriers down to bring them to fruition."

"You're sick."

"And you're the only person in this multiverse whom I'll allow to say that."

"What?" Dream blinked; what did that mean?

"You're my brother, Dream; you get certain perks that others couldn't imagine. I look forward to your futile defiances on your journey to inevitably realize that my way is the only way you have, and I'm eager to see your choices along the way. Maybe you'll break faster than I predict, or maybe you'll hold out much, much longer - you're entertaining, either way."

"I don't-" Dream was cut off.

"There." Nightmare stepped to the side. "Your bones are healed."

"Wh-" Dream stared at his legs.

The bones..were healed. But there was no scarring, no trace that they had ever been broken at all! Not even the most powerful healers Dream knew could do such a seamless job; how could Nightmare do such a thing?

"How did you.." Dream looked up at his brother. "There's no trace.."

"It's an old forbidden healing spell." Nightmare waved him off. "But I don't abide by such laws. It was invented by abusers to hide the maltreatment of their victims, and it works wonders; you never noticed, did you?"

"..Noticed what?" Dream didn't like where this was going.

Nightmare smirked. "I'll let you figure that out on your own."

"..Are you planning on torturing me, or something, and using that to cover it up?"

"Of course not - I'd only hurt you if you did something to deserve it, but of course I'd keep your bones clean afterward. Everyone else in the castle..well, they're not so lucky."

"You're disgusting."

"Maybe. Well, brother, you have free rein of the castle; you may explore at your own pace, and you may open any door you wish. You may make friends, catch up with old ones, and be your happy-go-lucky self, but there are a few things you must know first, with the most important one being that no one except you is really allowed to be happy here, but you may override that rule if you're in close proximity with someone, for your own sake - I know you need positivity to survive."

"You don't allow people to be happy?" Dream glared.

"I like to have all the power I can get - what can I say? Moving on, right next to your door and every so often along the walls outside, there are bells; the gold ones are used to summon staff, and the black ones..summon me. I expect you to call me when you need me, or even if you just want some company. As for the gold ones, you will use them whenever you want food, cleaning, or some other service that the castle workers provide; you will not fend for yourself here, and if I catch you trying, I'll see that you're punished accordingly."

"You want me to live like some sort of pet?" Dream clenched his fists. "What kind of fantasy world are you living in, Nightmare? I'm capable of being independent, and I-"

"And you're asking me why, when I've already explained that I want you to become almost entirely dependent on me." Nightmare let out an amused chuckle. "We need to work on your retention, but I'll let it slide this time; I suppose I have been talking quite a lot. I'll leave you then, and if you have any more questions, you know how to contact me."

Nightmare disappeared into the shadows, leaving Dream alone in this stupidly-perfect bedroom. There were so many questions he still had, and Nightmare had given him so much information (did he love the sound of his own voice that much?)..maybe a nap would help him sort it out. Dream rolled over on the bed, coming face-to-face with..a fox plushie. Stars, Nightmare really had been listening during all those talks! Maybe sleep wasn't the answer; maybe Dream could find-

Cross!

Cross lived here; Cross had lived here for a while! Cross probably knew all about what the actual heck was happening, and maybe he could help! But how would Dream find him? This castle was huge! But..Dream didn't have anything better to do, and Nightmare had said he was allowed to wander; it looked as if a search was in order. After taking one more look around his room, Dream got up and left, entering the frigid hallway outside. Several of the castle's workers were now traversing the halls, despite the fact that Dream hadn't seen any of them when he had been with Nightmare; did all these people just hide whenever they felt Nightmare's aura getting close? None of them seemed to give much thought about his presence; maybe they knew he was here already, or they had been ordered to just ignore him? Dream couldn't be sure, but he definitely wanted to find out as soon as he could. He wondered how Blue and Ink were doing; they probably didn't even know he was gone, yet..he'd taken to disappearing for hours on end lately, all to live out an apparent fantasy in which he and his brother actually got along. Dream hoped Nightmare wouldn't make him fight his friends; he would never do it intentionally, but..he doubted Nightmare was above mind control.

The thought gave him shivers. 

Dream wandered the halls of the castle for hours, eventually getting thoroughly lost; he wasn't sure how many staircases he'd climbed up or gone down, and all these hallways looked the same; how many floors did this place have, and why couldn't he have had the good fortune to end up going in circles? At least he would have been able to find his room if he'd gone in a circle. Eventually, he settled on going to the bottom floor (not the dungeon). He knew that Nightmare had taken him up some stairs along the way to his room, but he hadn't paid much attention to how many flights that had been; he had been too busy listening to Nightmare's ramblings. At least, if he was on the bottom floor, he'd at least get a vague idea of..no, he really didn't recognize any of this as unique. Well, he knew that was on the ground floor! A small victory! Dream found himself so glad that he lived in a small house.

Well..he didn't live there anymore, it seemed.

"Wow, you look lost!" A voice he knew dragged him from his thoughts, and he flinched, squeaking.

It was Killer, standing right next to him, and he couldn't defend himself because this universe was so drenched with negativity that it was a wonder he could even survive here!

..How was he surviving here, anyway?

"We've been expecting you!" Killer didn't comment on Dream's fright. 

"You..have..?" Dream blinked.

"Yeah, ever since boss set his sights on you." Killer shrugged. "No one he targets ever escapes, so it was only a matter of time."

"..Really?" 

That didn't bode well for Dream's chances..but it also reminded him of the one with whom he was speaking: Killer. Over the past few years, Nightmare had told Dream the most awful stories about all of his gang members, and Dream had believed him..he'd trusted him. Nightmare had told him that Cross was a violent abuser, that Horror was a bipolar psychopath, that Dust was a perfectionist who would kill to "make things look nice," and that Killer..was an animal abuser, as well as an emotionally-void murderer who hated everyone who could feel emotion..

But Nightmare couldn't be trusted..

"Yep." Killer nodded. "Cool to see you off a battlefield, though..although, I don't think I'll ever see you on one again. So, enjoying your first trip around the castle?"

"..I'm hopelessly and utterly lost." Dream decided to tell the truth; it wasn't as if things could get much worse for him right now.

"Yeah, that happens to everyone as a newbie." Killer chuckled. "How about you swing by our quarters, and we'll give you a housewarming party?"

"..Where would that be?"

"This way, sunny boy!"

"What did you just-"

"Hurry up!"

Dream sighed, but he followed Killer nevertheless; it was..actually kind of nice to see something familiar, even if it was just Killer being annoying. It turned out that the gang's quarters were all connected behind one door; there was no design on this door, however - just an old sign with the words "Secret Gang Hideout" carved into it. At least it was on the first floor; Dream wouldn't have to work hard to remember the location! Killer opened the door to reveal a small living area, and when the duo entered the room, it really felt like..an apartment. The gang were sharing an apartment in a giant castle that easily could have provided them with their own separate rooms.

Dream was really starting to doubt Nightmare's veracity regarding his former claims. 

"Boss finally caught you, huh?" Horror spoke up first, standing in the doorway into the gang's kitchen. "Well..sorry to see you, but welcome, I guess."

"Who are you talking-" Dust came out of one of the adjoining rooms, pausing and closing the door behind him when he noticed Dream. "Oh..huh. Guess the world is doomed now."

"It was doomed way before boss set his sights on Sunshine." Killer stated his opinion. "But, yeah, this is pretty bad. But what can we do, eh?"

"..What are you talking about?" Dream wondered. "And would you use my real name, please?"

"Now that boss has you, he's gonna take out Ink and Blue." Horror shrugged. "That's his next plan, anyway."

"..I believe they can defeat him." Dream crossed his arms. "They will defeat him."

"Positive thinking - what a wonder." Killer remarked. 

"So, all we know is that you're not gonna be joining our team; what's boss doing with you?" Dust inquired.

"..Other than telling me that the majority of my joy over the past two years have been a lie?" Dream sighed.

"Come on, take a seat." Killer waved Dream over to the couch, and Dream followed; there wasn't much left right now that could phase him.

"Where's Cross?" 

"Working." Horror replied. "He won't be back until late.."

"You can tell time, here? When exactly is 'late'?" Dream hadn't found any other windows in his search; he was starting to doubt that there were any at all aside from the ones in his room.

"There's an outdoor area where you can tell; it's just hard to find. Most of us just run on an internal clock - you'll start to get it, after a while."

"I see..has Nightmare told you what he plans to do with me?"

"Figured he'd have told you." Dust mentioned. "I haven't heard anything."

"Well, he did..sort of." Dream paused to try to figure out how to explain it. "He was just..a bit confusing about a lot of it? He likes to hear himself talk; I can tell that much from one conversation..one long conversation."

"That's boss!" Killer snorted. "Calls himself 'prolific'!"

"Well, what could you gather?" Horror questioned. Anything important?"

Dream looked down. "There was a lot that he said that's..concerning, but what worries me the most is the fact that he wants to strip me of my independence..he said he wants me to 'depend' on him - to go to him for every little thing I want or need."

"Sounds like he wants a puppy." Killer commented, bringing something to Dream's attention.

"..I'd like to clear something up."

"We're all ears." Dust assured.

"..When Nightmare was..tricking me, he..he told me a lot of horrible things, specifically about you four - those..were lies, right?"

"Depends on what he told you." Killer twirled a blade (where had he gotten that?) in his hand.

"Well, he told me that you were an animal abuser-"

"He what?!" Killer practically screeched, causing Dream to flinch. "That-"

Horror covered Killer's mouth, taking the other out of the room as muffled shouts of indignation tried to escape the makeshift gag. Dream..wasn't sure what to make of that.

"..Killer's an animal lover." Dust cleared up the situation. "Boss is decidedly not; he's murdered at least eight strays that Killer's picked up over the years.."

"...Oh." Dream suddenly felt quite uncomfortable. 

"Well, what'd he say about me?" Dust inquired, sitting next to Dream. "I'm interested, and I won't freak out - promise."

"..He told me you were a perfectionist." Dream stiffened - before relaxing, as Dust merely let out an amused huff. 

"I keep my room clean; that's about the extent of it."

"..It's so weird, knowing that he told me all those lies, and I could envision him talking about a real person..it felt so real! I could sense his fear and anxiety when he spoke about stuff like that!"

"He's good at being convincing; he targeted empaths for a while before going after you so he'd know exactly how to trick you. He even wrote books' worth of stuff about the little world he'd invented to sell you on."

"..He didn't even break character until I was on the other side of the portal."

"He never does. Don't feel bad about it - you never had a chance."

"I've been hearing that a lot, lately..it's crazy, knowing that he put so much time into..capturing me? He told me it was easy, as if I were some gullible fool who'd trust any passing stranger with my life! To know that he planned everything I went through for the past two years, probably down to whole storyboards.."

"Looks like we found the perfectionist." Dust smirked, evoking a shred of laughter from Dream.

"I guess so!" Dream threw his arms up into the air, leaning his head back into the couch as they came back down. "He..he told me that he wants me to 'rule with him,' and I just..how did he get that nerve? I would never..but he seems so confident that I'll abandon everything I stand for and care about..for him.."

"He asked you to rule with him?"

"Yep..apparently. I don't know what he wants, or what he thinks he'll get, but I won't give in..I won't trust him this time."

"..Good luck."

"Thanks.." Dream sighed. "Do you, uh..know where my room is? I think I'm going to try to sleep the confusion off - I'm still half in-shock that any of this is happening at all."

"You're on the fifth floor, third hallway from the left."

"..How many floors are there?"

"Six."

"..I'm never going to learn this place."

"You will, in time; don't sweat it. And feel free to pop in for a visit whenever - we're pretty starved for company."

"..Thank you." Dream smiled, standing up. "Um..tell Killer I didn't mean to..trigger him?"

"He knows - it's not you he's mad at."

"All right..thanks. I'll see you around, then.."

"See ya." Dust offered a brief wave, and Dream returned it before leaving the room. 

On the fifth floor, in the third hallway from the left, Dream breathed out a sigh of relief, finding the sun-decorated door and closing it behind him as he entered the room.

He needed a nap.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dream bean gets captured!

Thanks for reading my capturing writing!

Bye!

Chapter Text

Dream hadn't left the room he'd been assigned to in a week. Once he'd woken up from his nap that first day, he'd made a choice; he would just wait to be rescued. His friends would come to save him in no time!

...

Well, he'd tried to wait, at least. 

Nightmare's castle was located in what was likely the most negative universe in the entire multiverse, which made Dream's abilities..practically nonexistent. Dream needed positivity to do just about anything, including to survive without food, and..he didn't have any positivity. The only possible source of any kind of positivity in this place would have probably just been something sadistic, and Dream always felt off after absorbing anything akin to that; it felt wrong..it felt corrupted. But it had been a week without food or positivity of any kind, and Dream needed something to hold him over! He only had three options: trying to find a source of positivity that would more than likely be tainted, abiding by his brother's rules and calling one of the castle's workers to bring him food, or sneaking to the kitchen to steal some food. 

The second option was out of the question. Dream wasn't the type to have things in life handed to him, and he wasn't going to give in to his brother's way of doing things; he did things for himself! He could do things for himself! He wouldn't let Nightmare manipulate him. Once that was settled, Dream discarded of the first option; he didn't want to start a search for something he wasn't guaranteed to find, and he didn't think he wanted to resign himself to feeding off positivity that wasn't pure. That left the third option: stealing. Maybe once, Dream would have taken a moment to consider the moral implications of stealing food, but, honestly? He'd lived too long to do that now. He needed food to survive, and he'd taken the less-than-moral route many times before because of it - it had been a hard few years before Ink had found him and taken him in. With his decision made, Dream stood up from his seat by a window and looked towards the door, his gaze drifting over the room once more.

The room was perfect; he'd thought it at first, and he still thought it. The bed was just the right amount of soft and firm, and the blankets on it were thick to accomodate his constant coldness. The room had adjustable heat, though, and it was already at the perfect temperature to make him feel comfortable despite the fact that the magic coating his clothes had worn off a few days ago. He glanced over at the small screen by the door, letting out a small hum; it was 104 degrees Fahrenheit, or 40 degrees Celsius. It was perfect. He really didn't want to leave; Nightmare kept the rest of his castle cold. It had been cold when Dream's magic had coated his clothing, and he really didn't want to know how cold it would be without that protection..but he needed food. His magic was running out, and soon, he would probably turn to dust if he did nothing. He needed to survive; he needed to make it out of this.

So Dream opened the door, and the cold air of the castle halls hit him like a truck, thoroughly convincing him to shut the door. 

It must have been nearly cold enough for water to freeze.

Dream shivered, returning to his bed and crawling under the blankets. That had been a bust. He sighed, looking down at his clothes; they were thick, but they weren't enough to withstand temperatures this cold! No wonder everyone in this castle was negative; they had to live in that! Once Dream had warmed up, he walked over to the closet in the corner of his room. Nightmare had gathered all these outfits for him to wear, and they all looked way too distinguished for his tastes, but if something here was warm..

There weren't any jackets in there. All that was in the closet was something he would have expected a prince to wear; that was what Nightmare saw him as, wasn't it? Dream shook his skull, closing the closet door; he'd just have to brave the cold. 

Part of him wanted to grab one of the blankets off the bed and wrap it around himself, but that would have drawn too much attention; stealing food was something that one tended to do in secret, not while wearing a giant flashy neon sign. Instead, he simply took a few deep breaths before opening the door to the hall again. The cold was bitter, but the threat of hunger was more important than the threat of freezing. He stepped into the hall, forcing his arms down to his sides; he had to project calmness and comfort. He couldn't do that with his aura now, leaving him with just visual impressions! What a world. Dream closed the door behind him and started for the main stairwell, starting to descend. Truthfully, he had no idea where the kitchen was, but he would probably find it eventually! It was probably on the ground floor, right? Dream couldn't imagine putting a kitchen anywhere but the first floor. So he went to the first floor, and he looked around for anything that might have indicated a kitchen area. 

After about half an hour of opening random doors that led to various different workrooms, Dream finally found it: a kitchen. There was a cafeteria connected to it, where a few dozen castle workers were sitting scattered about with meals that looked..less than appetizing. But if it was all that was available, Dream would gladly take it. 

And then Dream realized what a cafeteria meant.

He could have just come down here the whole time and asked for food..he felt like such an idiot. Well, there was no going back; at least now he was hungry enough to eat anything, and whatever everyone else was eating..definitely looked like anything. Well, except for the drinks they had; those smelled good - was that hot coffee? That would definitely help with the cold! Dream let himself show a small smile as he walked up to the counter, mentally kicking himself for not coming down here sooner. 

His smile fell when he saw the prices. 

Five G for a meal..he had none. He didn't have any money; he never had money! Guardians of the multiverse didn't get paid! They were paid in shelter and housing and free meals because everyone knew that Blue was the only Star Sans who ever had any money! And that was because he got an allowance from Error! Error had no need for money, after all, and ever since Blue had brought up the fact that he was constantly broke, Error hadn't taken no for an answer. Wait, Dream was getting off topic..he needed a way to get money to get food; he doubted meals would be free just because he was Dream here. This was Nightmare's castle, after all - the land of negativity and unfairness. 

"Um. excuse me.." Dream spoke up, getting someone's attention. 

"Yes?" The other turned around, and-

"Ccino?" Dream blinked, staring at the other.

Ccino's cat cafe had once been one of the most popular coffee shops in the multiverse; it had been one of the Star Sanses' favorite places to visit, and others had locked there as a result, too, but..Ccino had gone missing three years ago, and all his cats had disappeared, too. His cafe had shut down as a result; no one had ever been able to find him. Had Nightmare tricked him? Had he been forced to work here? Why? How?

"Oh..Dream." Ccino offered his old friend a nervous smile. "Funny seeing you here.."

"This is..how did..?" Dream didn't know what to say. "I..we all.."

"Nightmare tricked me." Ccino shrugged. "Same old story you'll get told by everyone else here. I assume the same rings true for you, too?"

"..Yeah." Dream sighed. "I..wow. I didn't expect to see you here."

"A lot of people who go missing out there end up in here, unfortunately; you'll find a lot of familiar faces."

"I see.."

"Well, is there anything I can do for you?"

"Uh..between you and me, I'm starving." Dream admitted. "Do you know a quick way to get any money for food?"

"..No." Ccino shook his skull. "Salaries are paid at the end of each week, and it's Monday, so.."

"..Right." Dream was going to die here.

"Were you assigned to any job?"

"Nope.."

"I wish I could help you, but I can't give out food for free..I'm sorry." 

"It's fine." Dream nodded. "I wouldn't expect you to risk yourself for me. Do you know where I can get a job?"

"Well, your best bet would be down the hall, five doors down on the right; it's the laundry room, and, boy, is there a lot of laundry in this place. They need help all the time over there, and If you're lucky, you'll find some G - check the pockets."

"Thank you, Ccino." Dream smiled gratefully. "Hopefully, I'll be back later."

"Good luck."

With that, Dream left the cafeteria and walked down the hall, finding the laundry room just where Ccino had said it would be; there were rows and rows of washers and dryers, and about ten people were working in the room sorting, washing, drying, and folding the clothes before leaving to deliver them to their owners. Dream would have thought it would be better if everyone just did their laundry individually, but he wouldn't argue; he needed this. 

"What do you need, Dream?" One of the workers approached Dream; he didn't recognize them, but they obviously knew him..that tended to be the case, across the multiverse.

"Uh, can I help?" He requested. "Please?"

"..One moment."

The worker left the room, and Dream stayed, beginning to feel..off. He felt as if he should have started running, but before he could decide whether or not to act on that instinct, a dark aura swept over the vicinity..Nightmare.

Ah, great..the worker had called Nightmare. 

"And just what do you think you're doing, Dream?" His brother spoke, his voice coming from behind Dream.

Dream turned to find his twin, who was leaning against a shelf of unsorted laundry baskets; he looked quite smug. 

"I was offering my help here." Dream informed. "Is that a problem?"

"I told you, Dream - you are not to continue your self-sufficient lifestyle here." Nightmare reminded. "You are not to offer your 'services' anywhere in this castle unless it is for recreational purposes; what part of that didn't you understand, exactly?"

"Nightmare, I've been working my whole life! I don't care what plans you have for me, but I'm not going to give up my way of life just to please you, so just get that through your thick skull - I'm not a toy."

The workers in the room were dead silent; it was obvious that no one else ever dared to stand up to Nightmare around here. Well, Dream would definitely change that! Nightmare was quiet for a moment, before beginning to chuckle lowly. 

"Oh, Dream, I do love you." He smiled. "You're a worthy brother to the future ruler of the multiverse. But..I must change you. I was on the right track by breaking your legs before; I just need to stop myself from healing you so soon."

Dream should have shut his mouth after that - he should have kept quiet and resigned the silent battle before he could do more damage. But, honestly? After a week of no food, the hunger was gnawing at him, and the sheer cold in this room was despicable. It had been getting on his nerves ever since he'd stepped out of his room. 

"Really?" Dream clenched his fists. "You think that's going to do anything? Wow, go ahead and try; I'd love to see it! Make my life worse; I dare you! You think a little more suffering is going to make a difference? You think a couple broken legs is going to deter me? Nightmare, I am well acquainted with suffering; you don't know a thing about it. Broken bones, huh? Try being conscious for five hundred years stuck in a stupid stone statue! Try being emotionally manipulated for two whole years just to find out that your brother is exactly who everyone else warned you about! Or maybe that's too big for you; how about you try not eating for a week? I haven't! And speaking of being uncomfortable, what kind of psychopath keeps the temperature at, what, freezing?! It's frigid in here! It's absolutely insane! You're insane! I..I.."

Dream let out a shaky breath, realizing what he'd just said. Stars..this was just great. He'd just had an emotional outburst..in front of about a dozen people, one of whom was his brother. His sadistic, evil brother. Nightmare waited a moment before speaking, looking at Dream with a stupidly-caring smile.

"I'm really going to enjoy this." He said, simply, before walking over to Dream and grabbing his wrist; his touch was even colder than the room! 

Dream tried to pull his wrist away, but Nightmare's grip stayed firm. "You're freezing! Let go of me!"

"I'l have you know that this room temperature suits me perfectly, Dream." Nightmare informed. "Much like I ensured that your room suits you. But, of course, you are right; you should have proper protection from the cold - that was an oversight that I'll be sure to fix while you're in time out."

"Time out?" Dream gritted his teeth. "I'm not a toddler!"

"Perhaps not, but you're my younger brother; that counts for something. Now hold on - I'll be taking you to your room now."

Nightmare didn't give Dream any time to respond before teleporting the duo directly into Dream's room. Dream quickly pulled himself from Nightmare's hold, exhaling as his body warmed up to just the right temperature. Nightmare, curiously, let out a shudder as the temperature affected him; he must have been telling the truth about himself before.

"..This is too hot for you?" Dream let out a hum. "Guess we really are opposites.."

"I thrive in the cold, and you thrive in the heat; let's not delude ourselves of that fact." Nightmare shook his skull. "Neither of our preferred temperatures suit anyone else very well."

"But you're more than willing to impose yours on everyone who lives here." Dream remarked. 

"It's my home."

"You forced your home on them."

"Perhaps.." Nightmare shrugged. "It doesn't matter. What matters is that you haven't eaten since before you came here; why not?"

"Other than the fact that I don't have any money?"

"Dream, food for you is free; the only requirement is for you to use the bell."

"I'm not going to use the bell."

"Why not?"

"Nightmare, you've taken everything else about my life away; you could at least leave me my self-respect and allow me to walk down a few flights of stairs to grab some food on my own."

Nightmare sighed. "You know..I would have relented, if you'd only asked me first. Instead, you chose to go behind my back and defy my requests. But, for your sake, I'll agree. You may use the cafeteria to get your food from now on..once your legs heal. Until they do, you'll use the bell; I'll put it on the bedtable so it's in reach."

"..I hate you.." Dream glared.

"Predictably so. I'll have the castle's tailor come by in a few days to fix your clothing problem. And, if your legs don't heal by the time your new wardrobe is complete, I'll heal them myself; I'm still unsure as to whether your body even can heal, in this environment."

"I wonder who's at fault for the purely negative atmosphere." Dream deadpanned.

"Don't forget, Dream - you have permission to spread little bits of positivity to give yourself a boost. Take advantage of it."

"..I don't really think I have a choice, now, do I?" 

"You don't. Now lie down; this will hurt."

"How kind of you to warn me."

Dream sighed, climbing into the bed he'd been given and lying down. To ease his mind, he stuffed the corner of a blanket between his teeth; it wouldn't make the pain more bearable, but at least he wouldn't chip a tooth.

"Are you ready?" Nightmare asked, as if he were just the nicest guy alive.

Dream groaned, waving Nightmare on with the intent of getting this over with as fast as possible. He wished he could summon his bow or his daggers, even if only to threaten Nightmare for a split second, but he just couldn't..he was as powerless as he possibly could be, here. Just as it had happened in the dungeon a week ago, one of Nightmare's tentacles constricted around Dream's lower legs, and the bones were snapped. Nightmare, like the manipulative jerk he was, sat next to Dream and ran a hand down his brother's skull in a soothing motion, wiping the tears away with his other hand.

"That's it, little brother." Nightmare offered comfort, despite being the one to have hurt Dream in the first place. "It's all right; they'll heal eventually."

Nightmare stood up and walked to the door, while Dream shook as the pain wracked his body; was Nightmare seriously going to just leave him like this? For better or worse, the answer was no, as Nightmare returned a moment later with the two bells that had previously been just outside the door. He placed them on the bedtable.

"Well, Dream, I must be going now, but before I do, I want you to ring the bell." Nightmare instructed. "Remember, the black one is for me, and the gold one is for anything else. And, Dream, this is a practical lesson; you may use the gold bell to request anything your soul desires, from plush toys to medical assistance. Any type of food or drink, and anything else you may want; if we don't have it, someone will get it for you. Now, ring the bell, and I'll leave."

Dream wanted nothing more than to fight and yell, but before he had the chance to try, Nightmare laid a tentacle over Dream's broken legs - the weight pressured his broken bones enough to make him scream again. 

"Dream, don't test me." Nightmare warned, wiping away the new stream of tears. "Just obey me; it isn't that hard, is it?"

Dream wanted to fight; he wanted to..but that wasn't an option. Nightmare had full control of this situation, and the longer Dream stayed like this, the more of his life he forfeited. So he complied, grabbing the golden bell and shakily ringing it, although he dropped it when the pain in his legs spiked again.

"Good." Nightmare smiled, picking up the bell. "Now that we've gotten you past the first hurdle, we shouldn't have much trouble with the next ones; I look forward to them."

With that, Nightmare left, and Dream laid his head back, realizing something for the first time:

He had no idea what he was in for.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dream bean is not having a good time!

Thanks for reading my hungry writing!

Bye!

Chapter Text

Dream stared at the plushie that he had placed on his sternum, running his hand across the soft faux fur. Yesterday, Nightmare had put him in this "time out," breaking his legs and leaving him in his bed. A few minutes after Nightmare had left him yesterday, one of the castle's servants (an Undyne whom Dream didn't recognize) had come to ask what Dream wanted, and although he really hadn't wanted to give in, Dream had asked for medical assistance and food. He'd requested something high in magic - he didn't care what, as long as it would give him the magic he was severely lacking - and it had come in the form of a broth. Dream had gladly accepted it, drinking the liquid slowly as a couple doctors had bandaged up his legs. Today, Dream was still stuck in his bed, and he would be for the foreseeable future, it seemed; Nightmare wouldn't be healing his legs until either Dream's "new wardrobe" was completed or a month had passed, and so far, neither of those things were progressing very well. Dream glanced over at the two bells on the bedtable, letting out a sigh; Nightmare was going to force him to make the decision, wasn't he? Dream would have to call someone by himself if he wanted his legs healed within the month. Well..it would have been nice to have his legs back sooner rather than later.

Slowly, Dream maneuvered his hand over to the golden bell, and he rang it, sending out a magical signal to..somewhere; he'd have to play by Nightmare's rules here - not his own. Besides, maybe he could spread a little positivity in this place; that would have been good, right? He'd be helping. Two minutes after Dream rang the bell, a worker entered the room - not anyone that Dream recognized, once again. 

"Did you ring, Dream?" The worker inquired.

"Uh, yeah.." Dream nodded. "Um, is there someone here who gets clothes, or..?"

"The tailor." The worker confirmed. "Shall I call him?"

"Um, yes, please..thank you."

"Of course, Dream."

The worker gave Dream a small bow - ew! - before leaving the room. Nightmare was so weird; did he actually make them bow down to him? That was sick! Dream hoped there was a way to get out of this; he didn't want to be stuck here any longer than he had to be. Five minutes after the worker left the room, the door was opened again, but this time, the one who entered was someone Dream knew well.

"Stitch?" Dream gasped, staring at the visitor.

"Dream..fancy seeing you here." Stitch hummed, putting his hands in his pockets.

Stitch, the Sans from the first-ever copy of Swapfell. It had been one of the first copies, period. The only difference was that Stitch, as the name implied, had stitches in the crack above his eyesocket, while his original counterpart did not. But..Stitch's Swapfell had been destroyed by Error over half a decade ago, and although Stitch had gone missing just a couple months prior, they had written him off as dead. But..did that mean that others could have survived? Was Stitch's brother alive? How had-

"I can practically hear the questions in your head." Stitch snorted. "It's been a while, huh?"

"..I thought you were dead." Dream admitted. "E-everyone..everyone does.."

"I know." Stitch shrugged. "You're not the first to tell me that, and you probably won't be the last. No one else is here, if you were wondering; he only took me."

"..I see. You're..a tailor now?" 

"Used to be a hobby - now it's a job. It could be worse; a lot of things are worse than making clothes for a living. You've looked better." 

"..Yeah." Dream glanced down at the casts on his legs. "My magic doesn't work here; I don't think they'll heal. Nightmare said he'd either heal them after a month or as soon as I get new clothes, so I didn't really get much of a choice in the matter."

"Well, I'll take care of you; what are you thinking?" Stitch pulled out a notepad and a pen. "The boss says you've got unlimited options, so it's all up to you." 

"Do you have any parkas?"

"..It's not that cold out there.." Stitch paused. "Actually, why is the heat on so high in here? Is the boss trying to boil you, or something?"

"..No." Dream looked over at the thermostat. "This is actually the temperature my body feels the best in..and everywhere else is where Nightmare feels comfortable. Our magic is weird, but to make it simple..I'm always cold, and he's always hot, and it might be just a little cold out there to you, but to me, it's unbearable."

"So that was why it was always so hot whenever I visited..interesting." Stitch began to write something down. "Well, a parka might be practical for you, but it isn't exactly stylish..I could use some insulating fabric to make something a little more appealing, and I could add a turtleneck and sweatpants to wear under it..let me sketch."

Dream chuckled as Stitch started to sketch out an outfit on his pad, occasionally grabbing a few colored pencils to solidify his design. Stitch had been a friend, before he'd gone missing all those years ago; he and Blue had been close due to their shared status as Swap Sanses, and Blue had introduced Stitch to Dream and Ink shortly after joining the Star Sanses. It had been obvious that Stitch didn't exactly like the world that he'd been born in; he hated the constant violence, and he had been a bit jealous of those who didn't have to deal with LV-ridden worlds. It must have been a dream come true when Nightmare had offered him a place in his castle..Dream knew Stitch well enough to know that he wouldn't have refused, even if a well-known criminal was the one offering him the deal. It seemed as if Stitch had made himself content here, though; that was probably more than most of the people here could say. Dream was happy for him; he just wished that Stitch's dreams could have come true in a better way. 

"All right, Dream." Stitch spoke up when he finished creating his design. "I know it's not what you're used to, but..how about this?"

Stitch held up his sketch, showing Dream his work. It was..honestly not bad. A thick yellow turtleneck and equally-thick yellow sweatpants would keep Dream warm, but what really caught his attention was the long overcoat. It was a bright yellow, bordered with a blue that matched the hue of his arrows (Stitch really remembered the exact color after all that time?), and Stitch's notes made it sound good. A special insulating fabric would make up the overcoat, providing protection while also not being too heavy. It would go down all the way to his ankles, but-

"Slip-ons?" Dream paused, tilting his skull. "Are those slip-ons?"

"Yes, but they'll suit you." Stitch assured. "I'll line the insides with fur to make them extra warm, and you can wear thick socks if need be."

"..All right." Dream would trust the master, he supposed.

The slip-ons were a blue that matched the blue from the overcoat, both holding Dream's sun insignia on the front of the tongue. Dream supposed fur would be warm; he'd have to find out. The last part of the outfit was a pair of blue fingerless gloves, made of the same fabric as the overcoat would be and matching the blue from the other pieces in the set. 

"It..it all looks good, but why fingerless gloves?" Dream wondered. 

"The fabric wouldn't do well with gripping." Stitch shrugged. "If you want, I could make a connected mitten-like covering for you to wear when you don't need to grip things that you could pull down when you need to, but I doubt it'll be necessary - the coat will have pockets, and they will be warm."

"..All right." Dream smiled. "Thank you for doing this."

"It's my job, Dream." Stitch smiled back. "Besides, I enjoy it; I just can't let anyone else know that!"

"Well, your secret's safe with me!" 

"I know it is. Now, I'll need to get your measurements.." Stitch let out a hum, looking at Dream's legs. "That may be difficult."

"Yeah.."

"I can do this, though; I'll just have to do some estimations. For now, I'll get what I can, and I'll cross-reference the results with similar body types; there are enough skeletons in the world to compare you to."

"Thank you, Stitch; you're the best."

"Well, I am." Stitch shrugged with a smile. "Now, let's get those measurements!"

Stitch pulled out a measuring tape and started to measure out everything he could, writing everything down in his notepad. Wrapping the measuring tape around Dream's body was a bit difficult, with his legs shrieking in pain at some of the movements he had to make, but eventually, Stitch got everything he could, from Dream's shoe size (luckily, Dream already knew that!) to the length of the perimeters of the bases of Dream's fingers - fashion went very in-depth with these things, apparently.

"Well, that's all I can do." Stitch informed. "The whole outfit should take at least a week at the earliest, but it'll likely take at least two - we're constantly swamped with work."

"I'm sorry to hear that.." Dream frowned. "But, uh, if you get the chance, feel free to stop by - I'm kind of lonely, here, by myself.."

"I'll see what I can do." Stitch nodded. "Maybe we can catch up sometime soon; I'd like to know how everyone else is doing, but I just don't have the time right now."

"I understand." Dream nodded. "Thank you for working me into your schedule.."

"It's no problem at all, Dream; I'll see you soon, hopefully."

"See you.."

Stitch left after that, and Dream found himself once again alone with only plushies for imaginary comfort. He couldn't believe that Nightmare had actually listened when he'd spoken about his childhood after the incident. Ink had raised Dream, really, but Ink had also been busy; he'd often left Dream in the Doodlesphere by himself for days at a time, with no one to talk to but his stuffed animals. Ink had done the best he could, and Dream knew that he would have let Dream go out to make friends if he could, but..Nightmare had known about Dream's escape from the stone from the start, and it was too risky to let the little guardian leave the Doodlesphere. Back then, Core Frisk hadn't turned into themself yet, and Blue had been a normal incode. Outcodes had been rare back then, and Dream hadn't mastered control of his aura; he had practically been a beacon for Nightmare outside the Doodlesphere. So..Dream had spent a great deal of his childhood alone with his toys, and he'd started to talk to them at some point, not because he wanted to use his imagination or play a game..just because he was desperate for someone to talk to.

Dream opened his mouth to begin to say something, but..he decided against it. He didn't really want to regress back into that habit; he wanted to talk to someone real. There wasn't anyone real here, though, and he wasn't going to call someone here just to talk; he didn't want to impose on anyone. He didn't want to call Nightmare, even if he did have the knowledge that his brother would be incredibly uncomfortable in this hundred-degree heat. 

It just wasn't who he was. 

Dream sighed, looking over to the bells on the table; Nightmare had trapped him here, and Dream couldn't starve himself a second time - he had a feeling that Nightmare would be monitoring him for such behavior. He knew he was being conditioned; Nightmare was doing everything in his power to condition Dream into accepting the life that Nightmare was offering. For every little thing that Dream conceded, he would lose a small part of himself. He knew what his brother wanted of him; he would just have to stand firm in every aspect he could. He had lost the battle of using the bell; it would have been senseless to try to continue that fight. But he could hold his own in other battles; he could defend his life and the way he lived it in other places. Battles lost were lost, and trying to recover that ground was useless in a mental battle. Physical battles offered a chance to regain, and they were won by striking at the right time and in the right way - mental battles were so different. Willpower, the mental energy, was limited; it could not be regained through sleep or food. Dream could not regain willpower here; he had to use it wisely. 

Dream rang the golden bell; he wouldn't waste his energy trying to fight that again.

Stars, Dream felt as if he were a tactician, lying here and debating whether or not to wager his resources on battles he may or may not have been able to win. He needed to rest; he needed to take it easy for a while.

The broken legs would make that easy.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dream bean meets Stitch!

Thanks for reading my stitching writing!

Bye!

Chapter Text

There was nothing like dancing. 

Careful steps treaded across the wooden floor, with a chassé leading into an en pointe pirouette. The music was light, and so the dancer was, too. The pirouette turned into a spinning arabesque, and as the spin died out, a plié provided the spring for a small jeté, which-

The door slammed.

"Ink!" Core Frisk let out a groan, turning off their music. 

"Sorry!" Ink chuckled nervously. "Uh, how goes it?"

"I was practicing." Frisk crossed their arms. "How many times have we discussed the door?"

"Probably a lot..sorry.."

"..It's fine; I'll just have to start over.."

Most people who looked at Core Frisk assumed that they were from an Undertale copy, and honestly, Frisk couldn't blame them; they looked the part. But their birth universe was anything but a classic timeline - it had been a Dancetale, and Frisk had once been an aspiring ballerina. Well..they hadn't given the hobby, up, but they certainly weren't just aspiring anymore; they were serious about it. But, with the Omega Timeline being so important, they didn't always have time to practice; others came first. Recently, though, Frisk had gotten a good chunk of time to practice; Nightmare's gang had been quiet for the past few days, and Error hadn't been doing much, either, leaving them with free time! They did prefer it when people knocked before entering, but..Ink was still learning such etiquette. He would get it right eventually, they supposed. 

"What do you need, Ink?" Core Frisk asked, leaning against the barre on the wall. 

"Uh, have you seen Dream recently?" Ink inquired. "He sorta disappeared about a week ago, and I've had no luck finding him; Blue's getting worried, so I promised him I'd ask you!"

"Oh.." Frisk hummed. "Let me see.."

Frisk thought about Dream, searching through the multiverse with their omnipresence at a quick pace. Truthfully, Frisk hadn't thought about Dream for a while; the entire past week had either been work or ballet, and Frisk picked ballet whenever they could (the inhabitants of the other existing Dancetales loved doing collaborations with them!). After a couple minutes, though, Frisk looked up at Ink, frowning. 

"I..don't see him." They admitted. "He's not anywhere I can get to. Have you checked the Doodlesphere?"

"Yeah, and the Anti-Void!" Ink confirmed. "Error kicked me out, like, ten times, before agreeing to help me look for him, but we didn't even find him!"

"..That's not good. Where was the last place you saw him?" 

"At the base, during breakfast, uh..I think last Saturday? Something like that. He said he had a meeting with someone, but he didn't say who, and then he just didn't come back!"

"..A meeting?" Frisk paused, a looming sense of dread coming over them. 

"That's all he said."

Core Frisk was the only other person who knew about Dream's secret meetings with his brother, and Dream had made them promise not to tell anyone..unless something happened. It seemed as if something had happened, unfortunately, and if Frisk was right..they were going to have a lot less time to practice their ballet. Frisk had tried to warn Dream about his brother, but the positive guardian hadn't been swayed; he'd insisted that the meetings were safe, despite Frisk's front-row seat to the hundreds of other encounters that Nightmare had had with his victims. Frisk had seen the Guardian of Negativity do and say a lot of things that had made people fall for his tricks, but even that knowledge hadn't stopped Dream from falling right into his trap, it seemed. 

"The most-likely scenario is that Nightmare has him." Frisk sighed, taking off their tutu and switching their shoes. "They've been talking for years; Dream made me promise not to tell anyone unless something happened, and now something's clearly happened."

"..What?" Ink blinked. "You- they've been meeting? Didn't Dream know how dangerous that could be? Didn't you warn him?!"

"I did." Frisk nodded. "Dozens of times - he brushed me off."

"Oh, Dream.." Ink tilted his skull up towards the ceiling, shaking it. "We don't know where Nightmare's castle is. He's hidden his base so well that it probably doesn't even show up on AU maps! And if it does, we have no idea where it could be, because ninety-five percent of those AUs are either unaware of the multiverse or unexplored! How are we going to find him?!"

"I don't know, but I do know that we'll need help." Frisk disappeared for a second, returning with a piece of paper and a pen; they began to write.

Ink looked back at Core Frisk. "You know someone who can help us?"

"..Potentially. Get Blue and meet me at this address." Frisk handed the paper to Ink. 

Ink let out a hum at the address. "Is this in the old suburban district?"

"Yes, the one we're looking for has lived here for a while; I'll inform him that you two will be coming."

With that, Frisk vanished, reappearing in a well-known location in the Omega Timeline. At first, Frisk had thought that filling the entire timeline with small houses would have been enough, and that had spawned the suburban district: a large chunk of the Omega Timeline that was just rows and rows of nearly-identical houses. Well..they had been identical once, at least; over the years, the inhabitants had made renovations to personalize their homes. Eventually, after the arrival of new inhabitants of the Omega Timeline had begun to outpace the building speed of houses, Frisk had been forced to realize the impracticality and changed the building plans from small houses to moderately-sized apartments instead. The apartments were only a little smaller on the inside than the houses were, but they were completely soundproofed thanks to Ink's help, and no one really cared much (and if they did, there were other places for refugees in the multiverse - Frisk's was just the most-popular). But the person Frisk had in mind had been one of the first people to move into the Omega Timeline, having roamed the multiverse for about half a decade before Frisk had established it at all. The house was fully painted in the display of a horizontal rainbow, except the colors really represented the several soul types that the owner reflected. Core Frisk approached the house and knocked on the door, and the person he was looking for answered.

"Good morning, Frisk!" Color smiled at the other, taking a step back. "Here to visit, or..?"

"Hello, Color." Frisk greeted. "I'm afraid this is business; if it's all right, Ink and Blue will be arriving shortly."

"Ink and Blue?" Color hesitated at the mention. "But..but nothing here is even remotely clean! Couldn't you have given me a little more warning?"

Color hurried over to his dining table, collecting dozens of pages of what seemed to be sheet music and shoving them into a binder before shoving that into a nearby bookshelf. It wasn't every day that someone got a visit from the Star Sanses!

"I just found out, myself." Frisk informed. 

"Found out what?" Color inquired, moving stacks of books off his couch. 

"Dream is missing."

That halted Color's movements.

"..You aren't implying what I think you are.." Color frowned. "Are you?"

"I wouldn't have come to you first if I did." Core Frisk sighed. "It's most likely that Nightmare is the one who took him, and since you're the resident expert on him.."

"I see..I'll grab anything that might be important."

"Thank you."

Color had been one of the first outcodes in the multiverse; he had seen a lot, and he had personally known some well-known multiversal figures before they had become..well, well-known! He had helped Core Frisk establish the Omega Timeline in the first place! The thing that Color was most known for, however, was his extensive knowledge of the Guardian of Negativity. Few people knew why he studied Nightmare, but most assumed it was just because he wanted to defeat him someday; Color was a small-time hero in the multiverse, fighting injustice on a much smaller scale than the Star Sanses did, but he was still somewhat-known, and his efforts were appreciated by the inhabitants of the multiverse. 

By the time Ink and Blue arrived, Color had grabbed several notebooks that held a good deal of the information he had, and he had put them on his coffee table, on top of a large pile of..other random stuff. After grabbing one last load, Color sat down across from the two Star Sanses and Core Frisk, offering a sympathetic smile.

"So, you're Color?" Blue assumed. "I've heard a lot about you; it's nice to finally meet you."

"It's nice to meet you, too, Blue." Color nodded. "And it's nice to see you again, Ink."

"You, too!" Ink waved. "Looking as rainbow-y as ever, I see!"

Well, Color couldn't deny that. Anyone who had ever heard of Color could recognize him at a glance; it wasn't hard, considering that he had a long flaming rainbow cut that spanned his torso, and if that wasn't enough to pin him down exactly, the two holes in his skull with rainbow flames coming out of them (as well as the hole in his jacket that did much the same) certainly did the job. Color rolled his eyelight (which was also conveniently rainbow-colored, but also tended to change color with his mood easier than the flames coming out of his body did), nodding at the observation. He was quite rainbow-y.

"So, why are we here?" Blue inquired. "Can you help us find Dream?"

"..It's a possibility." Color replied. "Not a guarantee, though."

"But you have insider information." Core Frisk reminded. "And anything will help."

"Yes, I do. But Killer won't tell me the location of the castle; we always meet at a neutral area."

"Killer?" Blue inquired. "You meet with Killer?"

"Yeah, didn't you know that?" Ink tilted his skull. 

"Uh..no? Is that common knowledge?"

"Not really." Color chuckled. "But it's true. Killer and I met before Nightmare..recruited him; we've stayed friends, but we don't get to see eachother often."

"Huh..I always thought he joined Nightmare willingly."

"That's what Nightmare tells people; it's a lie." Color shook his skull. "He kidnapped Killer and forced him to work for him; he's anything but willing."

"Huh.."

"Getting back to the task at hand, am I correct to assume that Dream and Nightmare have been in contact?"

"Yes, they have." Core Frisk nodded. "That's why we came to you."

"I see..well, if he took him to his castle, this will undoubtedly take a while; he likely won't let Dream leave, and that..pretty much disables every possible way to come at this."

"What do you mean?" Blue wondered. "Isn't there a way?" 

"The only way to enter Nightmare's realm is to be personally invited by him; trust me - I've tried. He claimed the AU his castle is in."

"Claimed?" 

"It's something that very powerful people can do." Ink explained. "Basically, it lets you change the rules for any universe you've claimed, even going so far as to block out people who are even stronger than you are!"

"It's part of the reason the Omega Timeline is so safe." Core Frisk informed. "I have a claim laid upon it."

"So that's why Error can't get in.." Blue hummed.

"Correct."

"But what does that mean for us, exactly? Is there a way to get past the claim?"

"Not any way that I know of, aside from an invitation." Color shook his skull. 

"..So you're saying that the only way we're getting in is by baiting the literal King of Negativity into inviting us into his home, where he will be able to fully control any situation and prevent us from doing anything to get Dream back.."

"Essentially." Color nodded. "Which is why I need to talk to Killer before we go any further into this; if there's even a chance that Dream isn't at the castle, we need confirmation."

"How long will that take?" 

"Typically, I only get to see him when he's sent out on missions and I happen to get word of it before he goes back to the castle, but that's rare."

"If I can catch an attack early, I could ensure that you intercept him." Core Frisk followed. 

"Right - can you do it?"

"I can. Is there anything else we can do in the meantime, though?"

"Well..you could search his favorite spots to see if you missed him, I guess?"

"I can ask Error to do a search of his own." Blue decided.

"And I'll keep everything else running while you guys do that!" Ink volunteered. 

"Sounds good." Core Frisk nodded. "I'll be watching closely, and I'll let you know as soon as something happens, Color."

"Thanks, Frisk." Color smiled. "I'll do my best when the time comes, and my research is available to all of you at any time, if you want to look at it."

"We will." Blue nodded. "Or, at least, I will; it seems I have a lot to learn.."

Color nodded, picking up a notebook and handing it to Blue. That particular one detailed Nightmare's hunting strategy and a few of his more well-known targets; there were so many missing people whom Nightmare had kidnapped over the years. After a conversation about contact information and meeting plans for the future, Color started to go over the notebook with the others, explaining the way Nightmare operated with his victims and his many ways of going about his deceptions; Killer had told him everything. The hours passed, and soon the trio had to leave, other matters requiring their attention at the moment. They would find Dream eventually..

Hopefully sooner rather than later.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Color bean makes an appearance!

Thanks for reading my rainbow-y writing! 

Bye!

Chapter Text

Dream had been stuck in bed for a week and a half, and it was unbearable. Stitch had come to give him updates on the progress with the outfit every couple days, and Dream had made the most of the visits, but that was the extent of the interesting interactions he had with others. The only other people who had come here had just been here for food-related reasons; Dream couldn't wait until he could do something for himself. This was like torture for him, and Nightmare knew it, didn't he? Nightmare knew that Dream would never be content lying around all day and having others do everything for him; he'd never been able to do that. On the few occasions that Dream had been ill in the past, he'd gone about his daily activities as usual. 

There was only one time that Dream had ever suffered through this torment before, and that had been after Dream's first encounter with the Destroyer of Worlds. It had been two years after Dream had become an adult and Ink had finally let him out of the Doodlesphere to fight against the evils of the multiverse, but Ink had never allowed him to help in a battle against Error, claiming that he and the Destroyer fought on a completely different level than Dream could have ever hoped to achieve..and he was right, of course. Dream had been cocky back then, brushing Ink's warnings off as just simple overprotectiveness, and when the time had come that he'd been present in a universe that Error had decided to attack, he didn't run as Ink had always instructed him to; he'd decided to fight. Error had just laughed, wrapping the young guardian in his strings and nearly killing him in the process. Thankfully, Ink had showed up to save him, but he'd definitely learned a valuable lesson that day; Ink was the only one who could reasonably fight Error. 

Of course, a few decades of experience had granted Dream a lot more power and expertise with it, and nowadays, he was capable of assisting Ink in his battles with Error, but..he had always been cautious around Error after that; he didn't let those blue threads anywhere near him, not wanting a similar incident to occur. 

Of course, now, a similar incident was occurring..just not for the same reasons. This incident was occurring because Nightmare didn't like Dream's strong sense of independence. Dream wondered if he had told Nightmare about the previous incident; was that why Nightmare was doing this to him? What else had Dream told Nightmare over the past couple years? Would other things be used against him, too? Dream didn't really want to find out. 

At least there were things to do; Dream could read, draw, and..read..okay, there wasn't much to do without asking for something else, and Dream didn't want to impose upon someone else. 

In the middle of Dream's thoughts, there came a knock at the door, and Dream looked over to it, hoping for some good news. 

"Come in!" Dream called. 

Stitch was the one at the door, and he was holding a box. He was smiling, too; was this what Dream hoped it was?

"Is that it?" Dream asked. 

"It's all done." Stitch nodded. "How are your legs?"

Dream sighed, looking down at them. "They haven't healed a bit; the pain hasn't gone away, but I've gained a tolerance for it, I guess."

"Well, maybe you can get that fixed now, then?"

"I hope so." Dream glanced over at the black bell; he hadn't touched it, but..maybe he didn't have a choice now.

"Good luck. I'll be going; I..don't really want to be around for that."

"I understand." Dream nodded. "Where can I visit you? I might as well come by to show you how it looks, right?"

"Third floor, first hall on the right, and.." Stitch paused, counting silently. "Eighth door on the right."

"Sounds good - I'll see you later, then."

"I look forward to it. Bye, then."

"See you!"

With that, Stitch left promptly, leaving the box with Dream's life-saving outfit on the bed next to the legs wrapped in casts. Now, all that was left to do was to call Nightmare..something easier said than done. Dream wondered how exactly this bell worked; the other one was likely magically tied to a receptor that sent out an alert whenever it was rung, but Dream couldn't imagine that Nightmare would really carry a receptor around with him at all times. Dream shook his skull, letting out a sigh; there was really no reason to be so concerned about it - he had to ring this bell, unless he wanted to extend his torment without reason. After another short second of hesitation, Dream picked up the bell and rang it, and he quickly realized how it worked. A short but strong burst of negativity emanated from the bell, and the shock of it stung his soul; how hadn't he sensed it last time, when the laundry worker had called Nightmare? Had he been too preoccupied with his cold and hunger? Dream wasn't sure; he only knew that he definitely wouldn't be using that bell unless it was absolutely necessary. 

"You called, brother?" Nightmare spoke, appearing behind Dream and making him jump a bit; that hurt his legs.. "What, did you expect me to use the door?"

"It would have been better than giving me a soul attack.." Dream glared. 

"Well, we can't undo the past." Nightmare simply shrugged. "I assume that you've received suitable clothes for the conditions outside and that you've called me to heal your legs?"

"Yeah. Unless you decide that you want me to suffer more than I already have, I guess."

"Skepticism suits you, brother; I never would have guessed, before.."

"..Right." Dream rolled his eyelights. "Can we just get this over with?"

"I suppose so. I must admit, though, that I'm curious as to what you decided on; I haven't seen the designs yet."

"..Really?" 

Nightmare began to remove Dream's casts gently, apparently trying not to hurt Dream further. It was a bit too late for such a gesture, though.

"Really." Nightmare nodded. "I decided not to peek; it'll be a surprise." 

"..I see." Dream sighed. "And I assume you're going to stick around until I put it on?"

"Quite perceptive." Nightmare chuckled. "I really don't want to put you through these things, brother; I just have to. You were starving yourself, and I just didn't want you to dust."

"So you broke my legs and crippled instead of giving me food." Dream deadpanned. "Yeah, that checks out."

Nightmare narrowed his eyelight. "Do you want me to leave you here?"

"No!" Dream answered..quicker than he should have. 

"Then how about we forget about what happened and move on?"

"..Fine."

Dream and Nightmare were both silent as the darker twin healed his brother's legs, using the same healing spell he had used before. The cracks healed seamlessly, and the bones connected once again; they didn't even feel weak. Honestly, the fact that such a spell even existed had been surprise to Dream; he'd never imagined that there could have been a healing magic that didn't leave a trace. Most people didn't. To know that it was used by abusers, though..Dream wondered how many people knew about this spell. How many people used it? Did anyone he was close with use it? How could he have ever proved it? Maybe he couldn't. Were there other spells like this, though? Nightmare must have known more than just a few of them, if he used such forbidden magic so nonchalantly. 

"There." Nightmare stopped the flow of healing magic. "You should be able to walk, now."

"..Thank you." Dream didn't see a reason to thank Nightmare for fixing the fractures that he had made, but he did it anyway - better safe than sorry.

Dream moved his legs over to sit on the edge of the bed, and they didn't hurt a bit; that magic was incredibly efficient! He slowly set his feet upon the floor, and after a moment of getting used to standing again, they held his weight just fine. And..Nightmare stood at the foot of his bed, watching him. 

"Do you mind?" Dream asked, placing a hand on the box that held the clothes Stitch had made for him.

Nightmare sighed, vanishing into the shadows; Dream knew he would be back soon, though. He decided to ignore that fact, opening the box to find his new outfit folded neatly, with the blue slip-ons and gloves sitting on top of the rest. After a small hum, he started to change. It felt good to get out of the clothes he'd been wearing for nearly three weeks straight; he hadn't changed since before coming here, and the lower pieces of the outfit had been stained with his blood for some time now; his boots would need a deep cleaning, too. Once his old outfit had been cast off, Dream started to put on the new one, and to his surprise, it fit him rather nicely! The sweatpants were just the right length, and they weren't too tight or loose for his liking. The turtleneck didn't choke him, the fabric instead resting lightly against his neck bones. The sleeves were the perfect length, and Dream found himself glad that Stitch had taken all those random measurements; the gloves fit his hands snugly, and the edges didn't burrow between his carpals - a problem that many skeletons had with fingerless gloves. The shoes were..stars, they were his style! Dream had always fancied himself a boot person, but..he could get used to these. The fur hugged his feet nicely, and he really didn't think he would need socks with these! 

The last piece of the set was the overcoat, and Dream found himself looking forward to it; Stitch was an amazing tailor! The coat's sleeves didn't catch on the turtleneck's, instead sliding over them without issue, and the length was just right, reaching down to his ankles, but not the floor. Dream let out a chuckle, feeling rather comfortable for once; his typical outfit was suited for combat, but this was..solely for comfort. It was warm, too; Dream actually felt a little hot, for the first time in..a long time! Dream latched a couple of the fasteners hidden on the inside of the overcoat, noting that there were about a dozen that went all the way down, but he didn't think that those would be necessary; the coat was warm enough already!

"You look like a prince." Nightmare reappeared by the wall, leaning against it. 

Dream shook his skull. "I'm not a prince; I don't want to be."

"You will - give it time." Nightmare assured. "But that does suit you; it seems the tailor has done well."

"..He did." Dream nodded in agreement, before meeting Nightmare's gaze. "Did you..really trick everyone who's here into coming here?"

"I did." Nightmare smirked. "Everyone except for Killer, Dust, and Horror."

"..Why didn't you just kidnap the people who wanted to kidnap? Why manipulate them into trusting you? What did you gain from that?"

"The sting of betrayal, at first." Nightmare chuckled. "Once they're here, they begin to think, and their self-esteem plummets because they begin to realize the holes in my act retroactively; they wonder how they could have fallen for it, and they lapse into a sustained negativity. It doesn't happen to all of them, but a good majority is better than none."

"..I never noticed anything off about your story; it was solid. I can't blame myself - it was too good. My friends warned me..but that's the only thing."

"Dream, I worked on that story for over a decade; if there had been anything off, you would have realized, so I fixed every thread before I ever approached you. You would not believe the work I put into that."

"..You could have just kidnapped me." Dream informed. "You found me injured on several occasions; you had multiple chances. I don't believe that you would put in all that work and risk for something that wasn't guaranteed when you could have made it a guarantee." Dream paused. "Unless..there's a reason you had to do it that way.."

"..." Nightmare let out a hum. "You're right..there is a reason. I have a claim over this universe, Dream."

A claim. Of course. Dream should have known; it was obvious..it had stared him in the face the entire time he'd been here. Dream had never claimed a universe himself, but it was within his capabilities, and as such, he'd studied the concept greatly. Claims on universes sould be created by powerful beings, and most outcodes who could use them utilized them mainly to protect the universes where they had made their homes; claimed universes blocked access from anyone except those the "owner" allowed, and that included the likes of Error. 

Most outcodes with the ability were only strong enough to claim one universe, though; it was a complex skill that required a lot of control over one's magic and mind, and claiming two or more universes was almost unheard of for the average outcode. Dream and Nightmare were both stronger than the "average outcode," however, and while Dream didn't know exactly what Nightmare could do, he knew that his personal limit on claimed universes was about ten - any more than that would put incredible stress upon his magic, and he didn't want to deal with that (if he tried to claim one universe for any reason, even just as a safe haven for himself, the people of the multiverse would have begun to ask him to claim their universes, too, to protect them..Ink had saved his sanity by telling everyone that Dream's abilities didn't allow him to claim universes as soon as they had begun to ask him the first time). Ink and Error probably had the highest limits, though Dream only knew of Ink's relative power from past conversations with his teammate; Ink had spoken of being about to claim over fifty universes with ease, although he tended to only claim universes to help them with coding issues before releasing them. 

There were other perks that came with claiming a universe, however. In addition to determining who could enter and exit freely, the owner of a universe could completely access the world's codes, even if they weren't a natural coder, and they could alter them to an extent. The powers granted by this ability were limited for non-coders, however; most people just used them to change the weather or other "neat tricks." Changing the time of day and the color of the grass were easy feats, but changing the histories, destinies, and personalities of the inhabitants of an AU was a different story - only coders could achieve such things. But there was one more thing that those who could claim universes utilized greatly; Core Frisk did it, themself, with the Omega Timeline. If someone accepted an invitation to a claimed universe, it was akin to surrendering their freedoms while inside. It gave the universe's owner the ability to monitor, cut off, and regulate all magic use from anyone who had accepted the invitation, as well as sending alerts for other things that the owner could specify..such as attempts to leave a certain area. And invitations lasted forever, as long as the claim continued - even if the victim left the universe for a time before returning. It was no wonder that Nightmare didn't use magic suppressors on his prisoners. It was no wonder that he didn't constantly monitor or stalk Dream's movements. 

Nightmare had invited Dream to the castle, and Dream had accepted that invitation. 

Everyone in this castle had accepted Nightmare's invitation; Dream had no doubt that Nightmare had forced Killer, Dust, and Horror to retroactively accept invitations, too.

If Nightmare had simply kidnapped Dream or anyone else, the restrictions wouldn't have applied; Nightmare wouldn't have had control. It all made sense.

"You understand." Nightmare smiled knowingly.

"..You really did trick me.." Dream realized.

"I did, didn't I? I'll be going, now; I doubt you'll want to see me for a while."

And Nightmare was gone, leaving Dream alone again. 

Well, that was a lot to absorb. Nightmare didn't have to worry about people escaping his grasp; they couldn't, unless he willingly let them out of the universe. And even then, Dream knew it would be difficult to escape from the King of Negativity; no one had ever escaped him yet, anyway. Maybe Dream needed a way to clear his mind - a walk, perhaps? A walk sounded nice. Maybe he could visit Stitch, or perhaps Cross? He did need to speak with the gang members again; he owed them that much, after believing all those lies about them in the past. And, of course, Dream had to talk to Ccino again; that would happen regardless, though, now that Dream was permitted to go get his own food! After a moment of thought, Dream decided on his first stop: he would visit Stitch. He had to show off how perfect this outfit was, after all! With a chuckle, Dream started for the door, and he opened it, being met with the cold.

Dream hummed, stepping into the hall; it was cold, yes, but he really only felt it on his skull; the rest of his body was warm, thanks to the protective clothing! His feet were cozy in these slip-ons, too; Stitch had made a great decision with those! With a smile, Dream closed the door behind him and started for the stairwell at the end of the hall. He started his way down to the third floor, and he did his best to remember Stitch's directions - first hallway on the right, and eighth door..was it on the right or the left? Dream would have to guess, he supposed. When he reached the hallway in question, he counted the doors on either side, and since the left side reached eight first, Dream opened the door, finding..a computer room. That was not the right place. He closed that door and moved to the right side of the hall instead, where he found the place he was looking for: a room filled with fabrics, threads, and sewing machines! Stitch was there with about a dozen other people, and all of them seemed hard at work with different projects, from making new clothes to patching old ones. 

"Stitch?" Dream addressed, looking inside the room. "Is this a bad time?"

"Dream?" Stitch smiled, setting his work aside. "Not at all! Let me see how it looks!"

Dream nodded, entering the room fully; Stitch grinned, admiring what was undoubtedly his own work. 

"It looks great on you!" He complimented. "How does it feel? Does it protect you from the cold enough? Is it too tight or loose anywhere?"

"It's perfect, Stitch." Dream assured. "It's warm, and it feels great! Thank you again for making it."

"That's my job. And if you'd like another outfit, all you need to do is ask."

"Thank you. I think I'm in love with this one, though; if it were combat-friendly, I'd wear it all the time." Dream looked down for a moment. "Well..I guess I will wear it all the time, until I get out of here.."

"..Good luck with that." 

"Thanks, but I'm starting to have doubts about the possibilities; I think I doomed myself before I stepped through that portal.."

"Happened to us all; don't beat yourself up about it."

"I'll try..thanks, Stitch."

"Anytime, friend."

"I'll leave you to your work now, then; you seem busy."

"I am, I'm afraid - such is the life of a castle's tailor. Come by anytime, though; I'll never deny a five-minute break!"

"I'll keep that in mind. Thank you again, Stitch."

Stitch nodded, and Dream left, entering the hall once more. Well, he wasn't quite sure where he wanted to go next, but he knew that he wanted to either see Ccino or Cross first, preferably, which meant that he would be headed for the first floor! He approached the stairwell again, and he began to descend, but as he began to pass the second floor, he heard something..something faint, but recognizable.

Someone was playing music.

Dream stopped at the second floor, listening closer; the music was definitely coming from this floor. He started to approach the source of the music, which seemed to be at the other side of the building..interesting. Dream traversed one of the halls, and the music got louder, to the point that Dream could hear it clearly, and as he did, he realized something: this wasn't recorded music. This was one instrument, being played right now! A flute, Dream believed, and wasn't that something? Hadn't Nightmare said something about banning positivity in his castle? How had someone managed to get ahold of a flute? Dream got closer and closer to the music, and eventually, he found the source. He hallways of the floor connected again at the other side, and the walls turned into bookshelves, with occasional ladders leading up to a pseudo-loft. In the very corner of the loft, leaning against the wall, Dream saw the flute player, and he did a double-take when he did.

It was Killer.

After years of believing horrible stories about the monster, it was foreign to think that he could do anything productive, much less something creative! But those stories were false, weren't they? Killer wasn't a crazed psychopathic murderer; he was someone else whom Nightmare had tricked. Actually, Nightmare probably hadn't tricked him at all; he had likely just kidnapped him and tormented the other until he had agreed to work for him. Seeing Killer sitting peacefully, playing a song on a simple wooden flute (he was good, too; Dream knew people who would have paid to see a performance of this level)..it reminded Dream that Killer was, indeed, a person. Killer had dreams, aspirations, and hobbies, just as anyone else did. 

All the gang members did. 

..Dream had felt so demoralized when Nightmare had mentioned realizing that he was a person. But he was guilty of the same thing; he just hadn't thought about it. Killer, Dust, Horror, and Cross (Dream had known Cross so well, once - how could he have forgotten?) were all people. They all deserved to have their voices heard, but they had been stifled by Dream's brother. He had warped Dream's perception of them; he had made Dream forget a principle that he had held close to him for so long. People deserved to be heard out and judged by their own words..not just the words of others. Dream had to remember that.

"Why are you staring at me?" Killer glared at Dream. "I'm not a picture."

"U-uh, sorry!" Dream looked down, bowing his skull. "I zoned out!"

"Yeah, for like, five minutes." Killer informed. "Weirdo."

"..." Maybe Dream deserved that remark, if he really had just been staring at Killer for five whole minutes. "You..your playing is really beautiful."

"..Thanks." Killer looked down at his instrument, running his fingers over it. 

"How long have you been playing? If you don't mind my asking, that is.."

"Since I was a kid.." Killer shrugged, though Dream could barely see it through the railings of the loft; would it have been weird if he went up there? Probably. "Old man made me take lessons."

"Really?" Dream hummed. "Well, it shows; you're quite talented."

"I know."

Dream..wasn't sure what else to say. He fidgeted with the edge of his coat for a moment before taking a step in the direction of the ladder up to the loft; maybe this conversat-

A knife embedded itself in the floor, stopping Dream in his tracks.

"Don't come up here." Killer warned, his words coming out with a hiss.

"..Right." Dream took several steps back; he could definitely respect Killer's wishes on that, especially now that he couldn't use his magic to defend himself! "Um..sorry. Should I leave?"

"..Up to you." 

Killer returned to his playing, and despite his sense of self-preservation, Dream stuck around, listening to the soothing melodies (without staring at Killer weirdly, this time). Well, if there had ever been any doubt, there was none anymore; Killer was unquestionably a person, and Dream felt like the cruelest person in the world for ever doubting that. Killer had taken flute lessons when he'd been a child, and he'd continued with it even after being inducted into an evil gang? Dream never would have guessed in a million years. And Killer was great. He played seamlessly, the tunes sweeping Dream away into a calm lull and making him forget his woes. The pieces didn't just affect Dream, either; his empathy was severely dulled here, but he could still feel a little bit of the emotions from others, and those in the nearby area weren't feeling negative. The music was sparking positivity.

Positivity...

The positivity eventually attracted Nightmare (of course it did), and Nightmare was quick to stop it, appearing next to Killer on the loft and snatching his flute with a tendril before throwing it across the hall; it shattered into splinters when it made impact with the floor. Killer didn't react how any normal person would have reacted to such a situation, simply letting out a sigh and resigning himself to his fate. 

"How many times have we gone over this, Killer?" Nightmare shook his skull, lifting his subordinate up by his hood and forcing him to stand in front of him. 

"Sorry, boss." Killer didn't sound sorry in the least, and Dream found himself glad about that. "Guess I lost that rule in my notes."

"I have half a mind to see what'll happen if I shove your soul into a paper shredder!" Nightmare yelled, his face mere inches from Killer's; the flutist didn't even flinch. 

Killer and Nightmare were still for a moment, but the moment ended quickly as Nightmare growled. 

"I knew you'd been inside too long.." Nightmare turned and walked a few steps from Killer, crossing his arms as he looked back at his subordinate. "Well, go spread some negativity; burn it off. Don't come back until you're at least back to Stage Two."

"Yes, boss." Killer opened a portal, and he went through it, leaving the universe.

Dream tilted his skull in thought. Stage two? What did that mean? Did it have something to do with Killer's flute playing? Surely not, since Nightmare had just destroyed the instrument..but what, then?

"Dream.." Nightmare noticed his twin's presence, coming down to stand next to him. "I didn't sense you there."

"Killer's very skilled with a flute." Dream commented. "But I guess you wouldn't care, seeing how you shattered it."

"He was spreading positivity in my castle without my consent." Nightmare waved it off. "You're the only one who is permitted to do that."

"I was in the vicinity."

"But you did not tell him to play, nor do you have permission to right now."

"Right now?"

"Well, once you take your rightful place as the prince of this empire, you will certainly be able to order him to play..but you haven't, yet."

Dream had a feeling that he would be hearing a lot of remarks like that in the near future. But he decided to ignore that; he had other things on his mind.

"What did you mean?" He asked. "When you said 'stage two'? What does that mean?"

Nightmare chuckled. "Killer is a very complex individual; he has four stages that determine how likely he is to murder those around him. It would be amusing to let you figure them out on your own, but since you'd likely die in the process, I'll warn you. His stages are determined by the current shape and state of his soul, and there are four. In the first stage, his soul is vaguely heart-shaped, and he is rather emotional in that state; he's also unfortunately harmless, which doesn't appeal to me. You're free to approach him in that state - get to know him, or whatever it is you want to do. In Stage Two, his soul is a target, as usual, but it appears..unstable; it waves and stutters occasionally, and it spins. That is the one you are most familiar with, and it is the one I prefer; he obeys my orders without question, and he rarely shows emotion. Stage Three is what you just saw; that one, in particular, hates me. His target soul sharpens, showing no variability; it becomes perfectly round. In that state, he still obeys, but he makes his distaste for me clear; I don't enjoy that one. It's also the only stage that plays that infernal positivity-spreading instrument!" 

"It's called a flute, and it's nice." Dream corrected.

Nightmare shook his skull, looking Dream in the eyelights before continuing. "Stage Four is rare; it only appears when Killer is hopelessly stressed or scared, or when he believes his life is in dire danger. His target soul turns into a crosshair, and he attacks anyone who he is not entirely sure will not hurt him; that includes me, and it will include you. And, don't be fooled; talking will not bring him out of it unless he trusts you implicitly, which is something few have attained. If you see Stage Four, just run and hide - it's that simple. He'll come out of it eventually."

"..All right." Dream crossed his arms. "So..how do these changes occur?"

"I don't know." Nightmare admitted. "I don't really care. When I need to turn him from Stage One to Stage Two, I simply torture him until it happens. If I need to bring him down from Stage Three, I send him out to spread negativity, and he calms down. And if I find him in Stage Four, I lock him in a cell in the dungeon until he comes out of it; a few hours down there always fixes the issue."

Dream stared at his brother. "..Every time we speak, I wonder more and more how I ever saw any good in you."

Dream turned to leave before Nightmare could respond. 

There was nothing more to say.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dream bean learns about Killer bean! 

Thanks for reading my walking writing!

Bye!

Chapter Text

Killer drove a knife into a random civilian's head, imagining that it was Nightmare. Maybe they didn't look exactly like him, but he could shapeshift, right? That meant, reasonably, that anyone in this universe could have been Nightmare, and by killing all of them, Killer might have had a chance to extinguish his boss's life! 

It might have just been a dream, but Killer could do that outside the castle, couldn't he? As long as he spread negativity, he could do as he pleased. For half an hour, Killer struck fear into the souls of the people of whatever AU this was, and he extinguished a lot of those souls, too. After that half an hour, though, he caught a glimpse of something in the corner of his vision.

Rainbow flames?

He turned, looking back to where he had noticed the fire, and his grin grew a little as his friend waved at him; Color was here. It had been a while since Killer had seen Color, since Color didn't always get to see Killer when he was out, and Killer had only scarcely been out at all in the past few months. It would be good to catch up again. After ensuring that the police presence in this AU wouldn't follow him, Killer approached Color, where the other was neatly hidden in an alleyway.

"Color." Killer smiled. "It's been a while."

"A few months, yeah." Color nodded. "You seem upset today..did something happen?"

"..Lost another flute." Killer crossed his arms, leaning against a wall. "I'll have to make another."

"Oh..I'm sorry. Him, again?"

"Yeah.." Killer shrugged. "But, uh..it is good to see you again; you found me early, too."

"Not on my own." Color admitted.

"Huh?" Killer flinched. "Others know? Who?"

"Core Frisk ket me know where you were; Dream was kidnapped, and his friends wanted me to ask you if it was you-know-who." Color informed, before smiling. "But, that does mean I get a free visit out of it! So, Dream in the castle?"

"Oh..yeah, he is. Should've known it'd be them.."

"He is there?" A new voice questioned, from outside the alleyway - Ink's voice; Killer unsheathed a knife, glaring at the entrance.

"You weren't supposed to follow me!" Color complained. "What part of 'wait for me here' did you not understand?!"

"Sorry!" Blue stepped into view with an apologetic shrug. "We had to know!"

"Ugh..I'm sorry, Killer."

"Don't be; I should leave." Killer decided. "Before those two get any ideas.."

"We aren't gonna arrest you!" Ink unhelpfully assured. 

"Actually, it's pretty cool that you two are friends; I would have thought Nightmare wouldn't let you have any outside friends!" Blue hummed. 

"He doesn't." Killer answered bluntly. 

"..Oh." Blue blinked, deciding to change the path of this conversation. "So..how'd you two meet, anyway?"

Killer and Color looked at eachother, memories of a simpler time flying through their minds.

The multiverse was a big place with a lot of possibilities, and Color was determined to see them all. Or..as much as he could, in one lifetime. He traveled from AU to AU, finding new plants, animals, and landscapes in nearly every universe; none of them were exactly the same, after all! He'd spent almost two decades traveling the more beautiful places in the multiverse when he eventually came across a new universe: a dust-covered, barren one. The air was plagued with the smell of dust, and as soon as Color entered the universe, he wanted to leave, preferably to find the nearest shower and to sit there for a few hours. For some reason, though, he didn't leave; a part of him felt drawn to explore despite all the signs that pointed to this place being dangerous. And so he did, stepping out into the open..

A bad mistake, admittedly. 

A strange skeleton with a target soul had come out of the shadows, tackling Color and stabbing a knife through his humerus. The rainbow flames that roared from the wound had made his would-be assailant flinch long enough for Color to open a portal and escape, barely surviving the encounter. After that, Color had gone back to his normal routine, although he'd noticed that the wound he'd received hadn't closed up. While that did offer him a good amount of existential dread about what would have happened if his bones were ever vaporized entirely (would he just become a ball of rainbow fire?), he tried not to think about it that much. For two months, he continued his exploration of the multiverse..

And then he went back to that dust-covered universe. 

He didn't know why he felt compelled to come here, but there were several possibilities, he supposed. Maybe he'd seen a new plant in the corner of his eyelight, or maybe the universe had an alluring effect on its visitors (normally, only the nicer ones had that, though..), or..no, it couldn't have been the one inhabitant. He'd tried to kill Color; that would have been ridiculous. Sure, Color didn't exactly have many (or any) friends, but he wasn't that desperate! 

For the next couple minutes, Color explored the forest he'd been in before, looking for any unusual plant life; there must have been something, right? But..he didn't see anything. Every plant here was something that he'd already seen before..everything was normal. And, yet..he couldn't find it in him to just leave. That other skeleton was still here somewhere - Color knew that much - but..there was something keeping Color here. Why? It just didn't make sense. After a while, Color started in the direction of Waterfall, and he soon arrived. 

Waterfall had always been a calm place, but with all the piles of dust sitting in plain sight, Color couldn't help but feel repelled..or, at least, he shouldn't have been able to help it. He stepped around the dust, careful not to tread upon it as he wandered deeper into the region; there was so much of it. At some point, though, he heard something..talking? He moved closer to one of the rock walls of Waterfall and slowed his approach a little, listening closely to hear what exactly was being spoken. And when he did, eventually, get close enough to hear the voice from just around a corner, he leaned against the wall, and he listened.

"Two left, Killer." The voice was..young; was this the universe's determined child? But then..who was 'Killer'? "Come on - we don't have time for your sulking!"

There was silence for a moment, before the sound of a bone's cracking rang out. Color flinched, but he made no noise; what was this?

"Better!" The child giggled. "Now, come on; you have work to do!"

"R-right.." A second voice whispered, almost escaping Color's senses. 

The two figures continued on their way, and Color decided to leave, not wanting to risk being stabbed again. What kind of a world had he found? Was the determined child manipulating the Sans? Why? He'd have to come back later to find out! 

And he did.

Over the next eight months, Color studied the AU, finding out everything he could about it. He wasn't sure why he was so obsessed with it, but it wasn't as if he had any friends to discourage him from pursuing this little project, which made everything so much easier! He visited the AU every so often, taking note of everything he could, and he studied the way the human child and the Sans interacted. Was he a bit of a stalker? Maybe, but he was too interested to give up now!  And, besides, things were starting to make sense.

The AU (which was named "Something New," according to Ink) centered around the Sans, known as Killer, and the determined child, Chara. Apparently, Chara had broken Killer down over thousands of resets and turned him into..well, a killer. But seven months after Color had started his watching, Killer had taken control of the timeline from Chara (something that was supposed to happen, according to Ink again), and now he worked alone, just..killing everyone in his AU over and over. Every time Color showed up, it was just more of the same. He watched Killer for a while, and he left on his own if Killer didn't spot him first; when he did, Color slipped away before Killer could get close, narrowly avoiding him most of the time. As time went on, Color started to lose interest in the world little by little, wondering how he had ever become obsessed with it in the first place; it was a simple storyline with a predictable outcome, and now there was nothing more to find.

At least..that was what he had thought.

One day, when he entered the universe, a full year after the start, he found himself in the dust-covered world he was familiar with, but he was met not with silence, but..music. Flute music, undoubtedly. Color took a chance, moving in the direction of the music, and he eventually came across the source: the skeleton from before, Killer. His target soul had warped a little, now resembling an upside-down heart..Color had never seen that before. The flute's song was a forlorn melody plagued by longing and..such sadness. And in the midst of that melody, Color stepped out of his cover, holding his hands in plain sight and making no sudden movements.

"You're very skilled." He commented.

The flute stopped.

Killer looked over to Color, his hands starting to tremble.

"I-it's you.." He backed away, shivering. "Wh-what do you want?!"

"Huh?" Color took a couple steps back. "I don't want anything; I just..I thought your playing was good."

"..Y-you've been stalking me." Killer informed. "What..what do you want?"

"..I don't know." Color admitted. "I don't know why, but I feel drawn to this world..as if I'm meant to be here. I try to stay away, but I keep coming back..I just can't stop myself. I feel as if there's something I have to do here..and I want to do it."

"There's nothing to do here.." Killer shook his skull. "Absolutely nothing.."

"..You can play your flute." Color pointed out. "And, you know..I play some instruments, too."

"..You do?"

"I do. Guitar and piano, and I'm thinking of starting to learn a new instrument, soon, too. Maybe I should bring my guitar, sometime? If you want, that is. You're incredibly talented with that thing."

"..It doesn't matter."

"Doesn't it?"

Killer paused, looking up at Color with his pitch-black eyesockets. "What? Why would it matter?"

"Because you are talented. And..I feel that there's something I have to do here, and that you're the reason. And, honestly..I want to do it, whatever it is. And, hey, who knows - maybe we're destined to make a band, or something!"

"..You really believe that?" 

"I believe that we're meant to know eachother, and I want to find out why!"

"..I'm a killer."

"And I'm a weird amalgamation of human souls and a skeleton! Your point?"

"..I can hurt you."

"But you haven't yet."

"..I could."

"And I could hurt you." Color shrugged. "I have the power of a few human souls in me; that's got to count for something, right?"

"You..I guess." The other turned his skull, presumably to look away. "Do what you want; I don't care. Just know that I might not be the one to greet you next time."

With that, the other started to play again, the same tune drifting through the air once more, but that didn't help much. He wouldn't be here to greet Color? What did that mean? Was someone else here? Color didn't think any further questions would be answered..he'd just have to come back again sometime. 

For the next visit, when Color came, he had a guitar in his inventory; it was lucky that he had decided to put it in his inventory instead of just carrying it, since Killer attacked him on sight when he found the other. Color dodged quickly without the potential added weight, noticing that Killer's soul this time was no longer heart-shaped - it was a solid target. 

"Uh, Killer?" Color sidestepped a stab, dodging more attacks as he spoke. "What's going on? I thought we were on not-attacking terms? I brought my guitar!"

Killer just growled, taking another stab at stabbing Color. 

"Killer, I'm not going to fight you!" Color shouted, stomping his foot after dodging a slash. "So quit it!"

The sheer brazenness of the order caught Killer off-guard, convincing him to pause for a second; his target soul started to shift a little, losing its sharp edge.

"Better." Color smirked. "Now, what's the problem? You didn't attack me last time - why now?"

"..." Killer squinted at Color. "You don't expect me to believe that you're serious about the music thing, do you?"

Color huffed, crossing his arms. "As a matter of fact, I am! And I'll have you know that I've been looking forward to this! So are we gonna play together or not?"

Killer stared at Color, absolutely stricken with confusion and a hint of fear. Who was this person? How did he have the gall to demand a duet with the person who had just tried to kill him? Killer could not fathom what exactly this person was, but he knew one thing: he demanded respect, and Killer had no choice but to give in to his whims. His soul turned once more into a vague upside-down heart shape, and he shrugged, nodding.

"Good!" Color smirked. "Now, where's your instrument?"

"My place..let's go." Killer waved Color along, starting the trek.

Color followed along, happy to see that Killer understood the severity of this situation. Truthfully, Color had never done a duet before, and he was excited to try his first, which meant that he simply had to get Killer on board again, too! And now that Killer was in agreement once more, Color's desire would come to fruition! It was quite simple, really. After a short walk, the two reached Killer's home, and they went inside, where Killer grabbed his flute.

"So, you have a guitar?" Killer inquired. "How long have you played?"

"Fifteen years." Color replied, taking his acoustic guitar out of his inventory. "How long have you played flute?"

"Uh, including resets..I don't know. I started when I was a kid, so.."

"Interesting!" Color grinned. "I guess that's why you're so good, then!"

"..I guess." Killer was staring.

Color tilted his skull. "Are you okay? You seem..off. And that's saying something, since you're kind of already way off normally!"

"..You're the first person who's ever brought me down a stage..two stages." 

"Uh..what's a stage?"

"..You spent all that time watching me..and you didn't figure out what my stages are?" Killer asked, thoroughly confused. "Were you even paying attention?"

"Uh, was it really that obvious?" Color blinked. "What did I miss?"

Killer sighed. "I..I'm messed up. Depending on my emotional state, I..become more or less inclined to kill. And there are four stages, and..we're all different."

Color paused, thinking those words through. Killer had multiple personalities that projected how likely he was to murder people? That sounded interesting..it sounded like something that Color would be fascinated with for a long time. But how did they work? Could they talk to eachother? Could they force their ways out? Or were they just all the same person, but changed slightly? Was he aware of these stages, or had his determined child told him about them? There were so many questions that Color wanted to ask, but he wasn't sure if he should have..but..one question wouldn't hurt, right?

"..Are you, like, all different people in the same body?" Color tilted his skull. "Can you talk to eachother?"

Eh, two questions. 

"..We're all different, yeah." Killer nodded. "I'm Stage One..the least-likely to kill. I..show more emotion than the others."

"So you're the one I met the other day?"

"Mhm..I assumed you already knew about the stages, so I didn't say anything else about them.."

"That's all right! So..what do the others think about me, then?"

"Um..Stage Two thinks you're suicidal by coming here so often and wants to kill you, Stage Three thinks you're insane and wants to kill you, and Stage Four just wants to kill you."

"..Glad I asked." Color hummed. "So..wanna jam, then?"

"..I guess so?"

"Great!"

With that, Color and Killer started their duet, and they both played rather well, improvising their songs to try to challenge the other; it was fun! By the end of it, they both agreed to meet up again in a few days to do it again; Killer was still a bit wary, but Color was excited - he had a real friend now, after all! Hmm, what did friends do, anyway? Color had never really had any - and, wow, that made his life sound depressing. It wasn't that he had been rejected by everyone; it was just that..well, being erased from everyone's memories made making friends a bit hard, and once he'd entered the multiverse, he had never really befriended anyone..people just saw him as an outcode. And, sure, maybe Ink acted as if Color was his absolute best friend in the world, but Ink was insane; Color was not friends with him! They were acquaintances at best! So..this was his first real friend. He couldn't mess this up. 

Three days after the first duet, Color returned to Something New, where he was promptly greeted with a knife flying towards his face - how nice. He swiftly dodged the projectile, letting out a hum as it embedded itself in the tree behind him. 

"You're back." Killer's eyesockets narrowed at Color, and the visitor glanced at Killer's soul, which was currently an unstable target - Stage Two.

"Apparently." Color replied, taking a chance to glance back at the knife. "Is that, uh, the way you normally greet people?"

"..I don't greet people." Stage Two informed. "I kill them."

"..I see." Color hummed. "So..I guess you aren't planning on letting me play with Stage One, then?"

"Stage One is an idiot!" Stage Two hissed. "He's guided by insignificant emotions that do more harm than good, and in your case, it's just stupid!"

"Well, that just sounds like someone's jealous! What, you wanna spend time with me, too? We can arrange that!" 

Stage Two blinked in utter confusion, and the soul transformed; Stage One was back! Color had a fairly good feeling about how to deescalate Killer's stages by now.

"Um..hi." Stage One greeted, staring at Color. "It's Stage One again..but I guess you already knew that?"

"Yep!" Color nodded. "And, just so you know, you go down a stage when you're confused or embarrassed."

"Oh, uh, really?" Stage One let out a hum. "I guess that makes sense..do you want to go play together now, then, or..?"

"Sounds great!" Color nodded. "I've been looking forward to this for days, after all!"

Killer nodded, walking over to the tree behind Color and retrieving his knife, presumably just to have it on him. Once the weapon was back in its rightful owner's possession, Killer and Color went to Killer's house once again, where they started another session together. Half an hour passed with another lighthearted duet, but after a little while, Killer switched back to Stage Two, putting his flute down and glaring at Color.

"Aw, done already?" Color let out a small whine. "I was getting into that."

"Don't you have better things to do?" Stage Two huffed. "You clearly have other places to be, if you live out in this 'multiverse' thing."

"Eh, not really." Color shrugged, taking a seat on Killer's couch and putting his guitar back into his inventory. "Honestly, I haven't done much since last time.."

"What, you don't have friends, or whatever?"

"Eh..not really."

"..You're telling me there's a whole multiverse of people out there, and you picked me to try to be friends with?" Stage Two deadpanned. "You really are suicidal, aren't you? Hoping I'll really kill you one of these times? Too much of a coward to do it yourself?"

"..No." Color shook his skull. "I don't really have a wish to die; I've kind of already done it."

"Resets? They exist in the multiverse, too, or something?"

"No..I was erased." Color tilted his skull sightly, letting out a soft sigh. "No one from my home remembers me; it's really..it's no use dwelling on that, though."

"..Nah. Tell me more." Stage Two rested his skull in his hands, leaning forward a little. "I'm interested."

"..That's weirdly sadistic, but all right. How about we make it a game, though? I'll tell you something messed-up about my life..and you tell me something about yours? It's your turn." 

"..You're on." Stage Two gained a small smirk. "I hallucinate occasionally."

"Hm..my wounds never heal."

"I've died thousands of times."

"Ditto - be more creative, huh?"

Stage Two chuckled. "All right. How about..I suffer from LV spikes?"

"I have no friends." Color shrugged.

"Ditto."

"..Hmm.." Color looked down, thinking, before nodding. "Ah, I sometimes have the thoughts of random human children invade my head."

"I was tortured by a human child."

The visit continued like that, with the two thinking up and supplying the horrible points of their lives back and forth for..an hour? Something like that, maybe, but..it wasn't bad. Actually, it was rather fun, at least for Color - having someone who didn't try to dote on him because of all the hardship he had endured was refreshing! And remembering random dark events in his life that he had forgotten long ago, just to use them in a game? That felt like revenge against all who had ever hurt him, and it was rather nice, if Color did say so, himself! In any case, there was no clear winner in their little game, with both Color and Killer ending up running out of bad things about the same time; Killer did have more things on hand, but Color likely had some events that he had simply forgotten about - there was no telling just who exactly had gone through more trauma! 

"Well, I've come to a conclusion." Killer said, after the game. 

"Yeah?" Color inquired.

"You're not suicidal." Killer snorted. "But you should be."

"Oh, really?" Color hummed. "Guess that makes two of us; you haven't fared so well, yourself!"

"Eh, fair." Killer put up his arms in a shrug. "I'll take that."

Color giggled. "Well, it looks like that's settled! What shall we do now, then?"

"..Dunno. I was gonna kill you, but you're too interesting to just let you go..maybe I'll just keep you here forever, and we can add one more bad thing to your list."

"Oh, but if you do that, I'll have no choice but to annoy the heck out of you and add one more thing to yours!" Color put a finger up, grinning. 

"Ah, and that's not that appealing..well, how about you just come over again, soon, then?"

"Sounds great." Color smirked. "I'll see you in a few days , then?"

"Yeah..that'd be nice."

Color bowed before leaving, giggling at the act once he was through the portal. He couldn't believe it, but..he had a real friend! He even had someone with the same dark sense of humor he had! This was such a win! He couldn't wait to go back!

Killer was in stages One and Two most of the time, with the later stages being far less common than the earlier ones; Color had never seen Stage Four. But..he wanted to, eventually. He wanted to know every aspect of Killer, and to do that, he had to meet every aspect. After that day, Stage One and Stage Two were entirely fine with his presence, with both of them seeming to enjoy his visits a lot; they even managed to take turns with him, although Color could definitely sense a struggle between them..he'd leave that to Killer, though. For three months, Color visited often, never being able to leave Killer for more than a week at a time, and most of the time, he was greeted either with a hug (Stage One was touch-starved, and it showed) or with the face of someone who really wanted a hug (Stage Two was, too, but he was too self-conscious to initiate such a thing - good thing Color wasn't!). Every so often, Stage Three would greet him, and Color would have to dodge stabs and slashes, but that was fine; Color wasn't exactly weak! He would win over Stage Three eventually. For now, though, he spent time with the half of Killer that liked him, and visits had gotten much more varied ever since the first few. 

"Uh do you think we did it right?" Stage One stared at the oven, seeming nervous; Color just patted him on the back, giving him a nod. 

"Just a few more minutes, Kills!" Color chuckled.

As time had gone on, Color had learned more about Killer's Stages. They were all different, but there was a trend; Killer's emotions tended to manifest in different ways according to which stage he was on, as well as his willingness to take another's life. Stage One wore his soul on his sleeve, and it was never difficult to figure out what he was thinking; the guy never tried to hide it. Stage Two, on the other hand, tended not to show his emotions as a rule, but Color could typically get him to smile with a surprise hug! As for Stage Three..Color didn't know yet! He'd figure all of them out someday.

"I think they should be ready now; do you-" Color was cut off.

"I'm gonna pull them out!" Stage One declared, donning an oven mitt. "Stand back!"

"Aye, aye, captain!"  Color chuckled, taking a couple steps back.

With that, Stage One cast the oven open, and he pulled out the baked goods: cupcakes! Killer had a sweet tooth, and, honestly, Color did, too; the best part was that Stage One had recently found a love for baking! Color had suggested that Stage One needed a hobby of his own, and baking had fit the bill; it was nice to see him happy. Color and Stage Two were still trying to think of something for him, though; he didn't seem to like much, save for murder mystery shows (Color made sure to pick up whatever he could find out in the multiverse after that; he couldn't rob his friend of murder mysteries!).

"Ready to ice?" Stage One asked, grabbing his piping bag. 

"Ready!" Color grabbed his own. 

"All right, then - ready, set, ice!"

The two iced their cupcakes quickly but carefully, wanting to race, but not wanting to ruin any perfectly-good cupcakes. In the end, they finished at almost exactly the same time, but that did not stop the two from playfully bickering about who had won. As the two lightly argued, they plated their cupcakes and started to head to the living room.

"No way, I totally finished first!" Color grinned. 

"No, I did!" Stage One beamed. 

"Well, mine look prettier!"

Stage One gasped, pointing to one of the cupcakes on his plate. "Do you see this utter beauty of a cupcake? Yours don't compare in the least!"

"Oh, is that right? That one doesn't look too happy!" Color pointed to another of Killer's cupcakes. "Mine have equality, therefore, they're totally better!"

Stage One chuckled, sitting down on the couch next to Color. "Okay, maybe yours look a little better..but I finished first!"

"Deal." Color agreed. 

"Um, I'll see you later, then."

"See you, One!"

And with that, Stage One relinquished control of the body, automatically surrendering it to Stage Two, who received a hug from Color promptly. 

"Hi, Two!" Color greeted. 

"Hey." Stage Two let Color hug him; he would deny this later.

The stages all knew what was going on out in the world, and they could communicate with eachother, too. When Killer ate something, they could all taste it, and when he felt something, they could all feel it; it was just that only one of them could pilot the body at a time. Color didn't mind, of course; it was as if he'd gotten four friends in one, except he hadn't befriended two of them, yet! 

Of course, that would have to change eventually.

Color and Killer sat through a dramatic murder mystery show, both pondering the clues as they went along; Color rarely guessed the killer's identity before the end, but Stage Two was simply amazing, sometimes! He guessed about half of the killers, which was definitely impressive in the cases in which the killer faked their own death at some point; Color never saw those ones coming. Stage Two was analytical and loved to figure things out - just another reason that Color loved spending time with him. 

"It's the baker." Killer said, halfway through the show.

"The baker?" Color hummed. "Which one?"

"The one who owns the bakery."

"..But he was only in one scene?"

"Doesn't disqualify him - everything points to him."

"Huh.."

In the end, it was, in fact, the baker.

Killer was a genius. 

The two sat through a couple more episodes, nibbling on their cupcakes contently as they tried to solve more of the murders. The cases were tough, though, and Color didn't get any of them right today, unfortunately - maybe next time.

"So, we'll see you in a few days?" Stage One had come back out to say goodbye.

"Yep!" Color nodded. "I'll bring something good next time, too - don't you worry!"

"Okay.."

Color smiled as he stepped through his portal, but..the look on Killer's face stuck with him. Killer really didn't have much to do while he was alone, did he? He just had his empty Underground, and while he could kill the inhabitants over and over..that wasn't really fun, was it? Color hummed, deciding that he would do a little bit of research before going back; his next visit, he would bring something more than just good.

Stage Three greeted him for his next visit, but the blade stopped short when Stage Three caught sight of what Color was holding.

"What is that?" Stage Three questioned. 

"Something for you." Color answered. "And I'd love to show it to you, as long as we can just put away the weapons for right now?"

"..." Stage Three was not putting away his knife.

"Guess you can't see, then!" 

"..." Stage Three sheathed his knife.

"Great!" 

Color went inside the house, setting down several large bags and a specially-designed carrier on Killer's table. Stage Three's attention went directly to the carrier; he peered inside, finding himself staring at..

"That's a kitten." He stated.

"Yep!" Color chuckled. "You looked so lonely last time, so I decided to bring you a friend! If you want her, that is - I won't force her on you."

Stage Three opened the pet carrier, and the small kitten stepped into the light before stepping directly into Killer's hands. It seemed as if the kitten would be staying, if the way Stage Three was hugging her was any indication. The kitten was a little light-colored ragdoll, and she was more than happy to instantly melt Killer's soul; yeah, this little kitty was staying right here.

"Does she have a name?" Stage Three asked, quietly. 

"Nope - that part's up to you." Color smiled. "But I did make sure to grab a bunch of supplies; you won't have to go searching for anything!"

"All right.." Stage Three nodded, petting the kitten contently. "I'll think of a name.."

It seemed as if Stage Three loved animals; that was interesting, but Color was glad - the little kitten would be safe, here! For the next two hours, Killer and Color studied the cat-care manuals that Color had picked up and began to set up the house to support the little one while the little kitten explored her new home; she seemed to like it, at least! She definitely liked the bed that Color had picked for her; he had opted for the highest-rated soft one, hoping it would be good enough for this cat who was undoubtedly about to be spoiled rotten. That was fine, though; that was the point of having a cat, right? To serve them night and day and to bow to their every whim? That sounded about right. 

"Hmm..I think your name is Marshmallow." Stage Three informed, petting the little one contently. "Mallow for short."

"I think that's a perfect name." Color chuckled. "Welcome to your new home, Mallow!"

Marshmallow was pleased; this would do nicely. She let out a purr that decimated the souls of all and curled up cutely in her bed.

"Well, that went well!" Color smiled at Killer. " Now, you'll have someone to keep you company while I'm not around!"

"..Yeah." Stage Three nodded. "Um..thanks."

"You're welcome. Maybe..we can get to know eachother a little better, too?"

"..I'll think about it."

Stage Three didn't think about it for long; by Color's next visit, he had fully made up his mind, content to let this person attempt to gain his friendship. Color's visits suddenly became a lot more eventful, too, with the three stages all wanting to spend some time with him (well, Stage Three pretended that he didn't want anything to do with Color, but that was clearly just an act). Color tried to spend time with the three of them equally, though, and they seemed to appreciate his efforts; it was actually nice, really! For nine more months, Color and the first three stages increased their bonds, finding new things to try together, telling stupid jokes, and just..being friends. Color found that, while Stage Three was the most reserved of the three, he had a soft side, just as the others did, although he denied its existence and pretended that he was completely uninterested in Color's plans (but he didn't know that he smiled genuinely, sometimes, and Color wasn't going to ruin the fun by telling him!).

A full year after Color had started his friendly visits, he entered his friend's AU, and he was met with a blade once again. Every so often, Stage Three would test Color's reflexes by attacking him on sight, but they both knew that Stage Three wouldn't actually hurt Color at this point.  Color squeaked as another slash came, and he dodged accordingly, teleporting back a few feet to gauge the situation, and he found that this..wasn't Stage Three.  Killer's soul had turned into a crisp crosshair, something that Color had never seen before..but he knew who it was.

Stage Four. 

Stage Four was the rarest and most vicious of Killer's stages, and Color had heard a lot about him..mostly that he was dangerous.

"Color..if you ever come here, and Stage Four is out..don't stay." Stage One had begged him, once. "Just leave and come back next time; I don't want you to get hurt.."

"Hey, so..Stage Four?" Stage Two had mentioned, at some p oint. "He's..not the type of guy to be your friend, okay? He'd rather kill you, so don't even try."

"Stage Four is dangerous." Stage Three had informed, a while ago. "He's constantly urging us to kill you; there's nothing to do but run if you ever meet him. He doesn't care about friendship or caring about others - he doesn't do that. Don't stick around if you see him; we won't hold it against you."

In light of those warnings, Color should have run now to open a portal to a safer universe..

But he didn't.

Instead, Color gained a grin, sliding out of the way of another of Stage Four's attacks.

"Wow, I've been waiting to meet you!" Color chuckled, spinning to avoid another slash. "Stage Four, right? I've heard so much about you! And, you know, the others told me to run, but I can't help the feeling that you've waited for this for a long time..so I won't disappoint! I may be a pacifist at soul, but I'm up for a friendly sparring match, if you are!"

Color smirked, dancing away from another stab. 

"And it's pretty clear that you are."

Color didn't fight often, choosing to be peaceful for the most part, but sometimes, a guy just had to fight, and this was one of those times. Color was determined to be friends with Killer, and that meant being friends with every part of Killer, not just three-fourths of him. Color grinned as he joined the battle, summoning his magic to attack. When Killer went in for another slash, Color blocked it with a bone construct, pushing back against his friend.

Color had heard talks about the power of LV and what it could do - whether it was worth it, and such. Most people from darker universes had LV, and Killer had a good deal of it; Color knew that well (he'd spent a few visits just holding onto Killer as he suffered from an LV spike). But Color had the power of six human souls, and that helped him in ways that LV just couldn't. And with human soul power..came perks! For one thing, he could use power from Kindness to make sure that Killer's (and his own) health didn't get too low, and he could also utilize some more soul-specific perks, too! 

Kindness granted him the ability to heal, to show that he wasn't cruel. Patience granted the ability to create barriers, allowing him to bide his time. Justice offered a power boost against foes with higher LV (not helpful here, since he definitely wasn't trying to do anything bad to Killer, but it had helped in the past), dishing out rightful justice against his foes. Integrity gave him the power to transmit intent through attacks, which was both unique and helpful (Killer was assaulted by knock-knock jokes every time an attack landed), showing his opponents who he really was. Perseverence helped him to stay strong and keep his composure even when the hardest of attacks hit its mark on him, showing others that it would take more than just a little power to knock him down! And Bravery sheltered his mind from all the fears that tried to worm their way into it (it served him well against a certain multiversal threat, and it would serve him well here; he had no fear that he would lose Killer's trust in this fight), helping him focus on the task at hand.

As Killer slashed and stabbed and fired his blasters, Color retaliated with his own attacks and defenses, sparring with a grin and power that rivaled his opponent's well. Eventually, Killer started to slow, and Color was a little worse for wear, but not too much - perseverence really helped in that regard. As Killer missed a slash, Color tilted his skull, deciding that it was time to show his friend his special attack. He held his arm out, and he let out a chuckle as a blaster cannon formed around it. The low hum of energy was the only thing the two could hear, aside from tired panting.

"You had enough, yet?" Color grinned.

Killer just let out a tired groan, flopping down to sit on the ground and putting his knife to the side.

"You..can fight.." Stage Four leaned against a tree.

"Yep!" Color chuckled, desummoning his special attack. "The six human souls help a little bit."

"..Huh." 

"We should do that again, sometime; you're a good sparring partner!"

"..Yeah." Stage Four nodded, letting out an exhausted sigh. "We, uh..should.."

"Sounds good! Well, I'm gonna go check up on Mallow; I bet she's hungry, by now!"

With that, Color started to hum a tune as he made his way to the house, leaving Stage Four to think things over in the forest. Marshmallow was more than pleased to cuddle with her secondary caretaker, thoroughly making sure to trap Color under her fluffy body after getting a meal. A couple hours later, Color escaped Marshallow and went back out to the forest, snickering when he found Killer passed out in the same place he had left him before. Well, that only meant one thing; Color would get more cuddles with Marshmallow! 

After that day, all the Stages regarded Color as insane, but they still decided to be his friend, including Stage Four. Four didn't come out often, but every once in a while, he would emerge to challenge Color to a spar; he was the best at hiding his emotions of the four, but rarely, he would gain a real grin when he and Color sparred. 

..And if Stage Four occasionally trapped Color in a tight hug after spars, Color never brought it up. 

Color and Killer had been smiling dumbly at eachother for a whole minute, and Ink and Blue were starting to feel uncomfortable.

"Uh..guys?" Blue was the first to attempt to bring them out of it. "Hello?"

Killer flinched, looking away quickly and gripping the handle of his knife tightly.

"Uh.." Color blinked, looking back to the two. "What?"

"We..asked how you met?" Blue reminded.

"..We met in prison." Killer answered, making Color jump.

"No, we didn't!" He crossed his arms, letting out a laugh. "What are you trying to do to me?"

"Double-maximum security." Killer added. "We were the only two prisoners."

"Killer!" Color cackled.

Suddenly, a dark feeling came over the AU, and everyone (except Ink) stiffened.

"See you, Color." Killer said, softly, before raising his knife. 

Killer drove his blade into the wall that had previously been behind Color, and it would have gone right through his neck, if Color hadn't dodged.

"W-wait, what?!" Blue summoned a few bone attacks. "I thought you were friends?!"

Killer let out a low chuckle. "Friends? What a joke."

"Killer, you don't have to do this!" Color started to back away. "This isn't you!" 

"It is me!" Killer went in for another stab, narrowly missing Color. "You don't know anything about me; you should just give in and die!"

"We have to go!" Color shouted as he avoided another slash, opening a portal and dragging Ink and Blue through.

Killer growled, running for the portal, but it closed just before he could make it.

"Well, it looks like he got away again." A voice that Killer knew well came from behind him. "A pity; I thought you'd surely get him this time."

"..Almost." Killer tilted his skull, not bothering to turn around to face his boss. 

"You know, if I didn't know better, I'd say you still cared for him.." Nightmare hummed. "And..if that were the case.."

"I don't!" Killer twisted to glare at his boss. "There's nothing in me that cares one bit for that rainbow idiot!"

"There had better not be, Killer; I wouldn't want to have to put you through conditioning again."

Killer's hands trembled slightly. "Of course not, boss..I don't care. He was just using me, like you said; I don't care about him."

"Good. Let's get you back to the castle, then."

"Yes, boss.." 

Killer followed his boss back to the castle, not allowing him to feel relief about the fact that his friend had escaped Nightmare's grasp once again. Perhaps the next visit would last longer..

Killer hoped so.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Killer bean and Color bean are friends!

Thanks for reading my friendly writing!

Bye!

Chapter Text

He had practically won already.

All the years of preparation had finally paid off, and now, Dream was on a one-way path to becoming Nightmare's real brother. Honestly, Nightmare was a bit saddened by the fact that his friendly talks with Dream would have to be put on hold indefinitely, but he knew that they would return, someday..whether it took months or decades. Nightmare was willing to wait for Dream. 

The plans had been thought up long ago, after Dream had been out of stone for roughly twenty-five years. He'd grown into a capable fighter, and he'd grown into a person that Nightmare could respect; his beliefs just..contradicted Nightmare's. It wasn't as if Dream could help that, of course; he was the Guardian of Positivity, and Nightmare was the Guardian of Negativity. It couldn't be helped that they had been opposites from the start. But Dream had always been true to himself..Nightmare hadn't. When he had been a child, he'd tried to fit in; he'd smiled, he'd laughed, and he'd done everything that their mother (that wicked woman, setting up immature children as guardians) had told him to do! And, yet..he'd been hated nonetheless. What use was it, to try to fit in, when everyone else constantly told him that he was evil? What use was it when he knew he was evil? Dream had elected to believe that Nightmare had changed after the incident, but, really? He'd just accepted who he was. He was a manipulative, cruel guardian who was willing to use anything and anyone to get what he wanted; he had always been this way..he'd just pretended he wasn't for the sake of others. 

Someday, Dream would understand. Nightmare couldn't help it; his very being begged him to hurt others - who was he to deny his instincts? Dream had been privileged to have instincts that made him a role model; he had been accepted by society in every way, allowed to live his life happily..as long as he did what was expected of him. And, really, what was the fun in that? What did it benefit him, to be accepted by others? It only made others raise their standards around him, and it bred jealousy; Dream likely had no idea how many copycats he had, and Nightmare doubted he knew how many people wanted him dead, just because he was viewed as perfect. It was fine, though; Nightmare had made it his hobby to deal with people like that before they could become a problem for his brother. And now that Dream was here, in Nightmare's castle, he was safe from such filth! He would be happy here..in time. He'd accept his new life, eventually, and he'd grow to love his brother again; it was inevitable. Perhaps there was a better way to get Dream to understand him, but..there were none that so perfectly aligned with Nightmare's instincts. Perhaps Stockholm Syndrome was a myth, and perhaps it wasn't, but..Nightmare was quite certain that his brother would succumb to it either way. 

He would be on the receiving end of the entire world, after all.

Nightmare knew that his brother was humble and that he preferred to work for the things he had - it was just who he was - but..Nightmare was selfish. He wanted his brother to have the traits he wanted him to have. It was in his nature, after all! The current stage of his plan was rather simple, really; he just needed to condition Dream to expect others to work for him. It was a pity that Dream wasn't a human, though; humans tended to acclimate to those sorts of things much faster than monsters did. Dream would still understand the value of working for himself (Nightmare had gained a new level of appreciation for that through his work getting Dream here, after all), but..he would also understand that he was above some things. If he wanted to take up cooking as a hobby, that was fine, but Dream would let others cook for him at least sometimes - even avid chefs had to dread cooking sometimes. If Dream wanted to make his own clothes, that was fine..but the castle had one of the best tailors in the multiverse for a reason. If Dream wanted to keep his own room neat and tidy, he could do that, but there was no way he would be touching any other rooms in the castle. Here, Dream would slowly learn to let others work for him, and he'd be strategically rewarded for it. He'd let the tailor make his clothes, and he'd been granted free motion again. If Dream had taken Nightmare's not-so-subtle hints to let others cook for him and not to bring himself down to their level in the process, he would be rewarded again.

It was all about conditioning. With enough conditioning, Dream would learn to love this life, and he would take his place at Nightmare's side.

Speaking of conditioning..

"Come in." Nightmare bid, when a knock came at his door; Cross entered, standing before Nightmare's desk. "Cross, what brings you here?"

"..You called me, sir.." Cross reminded.

"So I did.." Nightmare chuckled. "Cross, you are aware of my plans for you regarding Dream, yes?"

"Yes, sir, I am." Cross nodded. "Why..do you ask?"

"I have some orders for you pertaining to that. But, first..Cross, you are loyal to me, and only to me, correct?

"Yes, sir.." 

"And you wouldn't try to help my brother escape, would you?"

"Of course not, sir.."

"Good, good..so you will help in his conditioning process, won't you?"

Cross flinched, and Nightmare grinned. 

"You will help..won't you?" Nightmare repeated.

"I..I don't see how that's a-" Cross was interrupted.

"Cross, he trusts you. I just want you to manipulate him with that trust; you don't have to worry about losing his friendship - he'll thank you after he's properly conditioned."

"..I.."

"Yes, Cross? Speak up, won't you?"

"..I don't..I can't do that.." 

Nightmare let out a hum. "How long has it been since you joined me? Five years? And yet, you still can't forego those morals of yours..very well." 

Nightmare let out a long sigh, and Cross tensed, afraid of what was going to happen as a result of his defiance - good. 

"Let's take a trip outside, Cross." Nightmare suggested, after a moment. "And just remember: you can ask me to stop at any time..as soon as you're ready to comply with my orders."

Nightmare never could understand Cross's basis for his morality..always such a bother.

Five hours later, Cross decided to ditch his moral compass in favor of not being thrown into trees, rocks, and rivers repeatedly. Manipulating Dream for Nightmare didn't sound like the greatest thing in the world, but it was better than being tossed off a cliff and left to rot overnight..again. 

..It wasn't, really.

Cross was such a pathetic excuse for a soldier. He held fast to his moral code and refused to go against it..unless things got tough? That was the whole point of having a moral code in the first place: to not go against it no matter what happened! It had been a long time since Cross had actually stuck to his morals under pressure..years, probably. Being forced to join Nightmare had..basically broken him. He'd used to be able to withstand anything, but..Nightmare had a way of breaking people down; he knew the best ways to hurt Cross. When Cross had first joined Nightmare, it had taken much more to sway him from his convictions; Nightmare had been forced to work at it, typically via tormenting Cross mentally until he fell into a panic attack, and when it ended, if Cross didn't submit, Nightmare would just do it again and again..but things had gotten easier for the dark guardian over time. Now, Cross just needed a few hours of physical torture instead in order to abandon his convictions. In the future, it probably wouldn't even be that; Cross would just be so broken that he'd do whatever was asked of him, no matter how unjust or cruel it was. He'd used to be strong. 

He wasn't strong anymore.

Nightmare dragged Cross's broken body back into the castle, literally dragging Cross by one of his shattered legs. His blood would stain the carpet, but Cross really couldn't bring himself to care about that; the pain that wracked his body was a little more attention-grabbing. Nightmare just loved to parade his most recent victims through the halls of the castle, using them as an example to keep others in line; Cross had been in this position..maybe a hundred times before. Maybe more. It had been embarrassing at first, being put forth as an example of what happened to those who defied the king, but Cross had been around long enough to know that no one worth worrying about would care, beyond taking the warning and being a little more obedient for a while. No one would make a fuss about it.

..Except, perhaps, the castle's newest inhabitant.

"Cross?!" Dream blanched from the sidelines, running over to his hurt friend and holding his hand before giving his brother a death glare. "What did you do to him?!"

"D-Dream.." Cross tried to warn him, but..the words just wouldn't come; he was so tired..

"He defied my orders." Nightmare gave his brother a small shrug. "But don't worry; he's better now. Aren't you, Cross?"

Cross nodded weakly; he was better..if better meant that his will had once again been broken.

"You're a monster..what is wrong with you?!" Dream clenched his fists; he couldn't use his healing magic here.

"We should talk sometime." Nightmare chuckled. "How about you meet me in my room tonight for dinner, and we can have a chat?"

"Are you planning on healing him?"

"Eventually." Nightmare replied. "Why? Can't I have a little fun before that?"

"..You're insane." Dream shook his skill. "You're just..absolutely psychopathic, aren't you?"

"Perhaps I am." Nightmare shrugged, smiling as warmly as ever. "Say..would you like to know a secret?"

"A secret? You're dragging Cross's battered body around the halls as if he's some sort of trophy, and you stop to tell me a secret?!" Dream couldn't believe the audacity..

"Sure, why not?" 

Nightmare dropped Cross's leg, eliciting a pained cry from the soldier, and he approached Dream, leaning in close to whisper something that Cross couldn't quite hear. It might have been a "secret," but it was by no means short; Nightmare spent a whole half a minute just whispering his twisted words to his brother, and with every second that passed, more and more life drained from Dream's expression. By the end of it, Dream was just staring at the floor, utterly speechless in the face of..whatever Nightmare had said to him. The dark guardian decided to take the opportunity to pick up Cross's leg once more, and the parading continued, Nightmare happily dragging his victim through the halls. This particular session took longer than most, likely due to Nightmare being particularly pleased by his brother's interruption..Cross couldn't stand him. Nightmare thrived off of negativity, and he didn't care whose it was; he was just..sick. Once Nightmare decided that he had shown off his work enough, he began to drag Cross to the gang's apartment, and it was times like these that Cross was infinitely grateful that he and the others were situated on the first floor; he didn't have to worry about being dragged up the stairwell and hitting his skull on every single step. There were others in the castle who weren't so lucky. 

When Nightmare reached the apartment, he let the moment drag on even longer by knocking on the door - he almost never knocked, unless it was to extend the suffering of someone else. To Cross's muted relief, Horror was there to open the door, and the king decided to take a moment to chat about something stupid before entering (Horror, thankfully, knew how to cut these types of conversations short). Horror helped Nightmare get Cross to the soldier's room before the two of them laid him on his bed, where Nightmare finally, finally started to heal Cross's injuries. Nightmare needed Cross to do his new job, after all..which Nightmare described, as he healed the other. The more Cross heard, the more he wanted to fight again, but..what was the use in that?

He had already been beaten too many times to try fighting again.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Cross bean is not having a good time!

Thanks for reading my planning writing!

Bye!

Chapter Text

Of all the things that Dream could have been doing today, procrastinating hadn't been one that he'd expected.

And, yet, he couldn't find himself doing anything else. 

It was almost dinnertime..almost time for Dream to step into the room next to his for the first time and to face his brother again today. Nightmare may have phrased the request as..well, a request, but Dream knew that Nightmare would undoubtedly be expecting him for dinner tonight, and if Dream didn't go, Nightmare would just probably get someone to force him to go. 

If he didn't go, he wouldn't be able to ask Nightmare..

Dream just didn't know. He felt so powerless! He felt as if his entire world had been flipped on its head, just because of one stupid little thing Nightmare had told him! And..and it had, hadn't it? For as long as Dream had been out of that stone prison, he had believed that his brother had been corrupted by some evil force! He had believed that he could help his brother get back to the way he was before! But..

Nightmare had changed all of that, just with a simple explanation and a request for Dream to "remember."

Dream had done nothing but remember for the past three hours. He couldn't stand how easily the memories came one after another, as if they were waiting in some sort of line. And all of them pointed to Nightmare's words being the truth. Dream had been an innocent child exploring the world back then, while Nightmare had been struggling with himself every second of every day, trying to be what the world expected him to be. Nightmare had never been a quiet, kind bookworm who just wanted the best for everyone, and now that Dream was faced with that reality, all his memories lined up perfectly to support that claim. Dream had never really known his brother, had he? He'd just seen what Nightmare had tried to show himself as to the world. 

But Dream couldn't accept that yet; what if this was just another of Nightmare's "forbidden spells"? What if Nightmare had been using his magic to alter Dream's memories? Dream had no doubt that his brother was capable of that - Dream himself could do that! They had never been able to do it to eachother before, but what if Nightmare had found a way to change that? And since it was a power that Dream rarely used, Nightmare might have figured that he'd forgotten about it! Yes..that could have been it. Maybe this was all just a stupid ploy to trick Dream into trusting Nightmare again; that was his twin's main goal, after all, wasn't it? Well, that only cemented the fact in Dream's mind: he had to visit his brother tonight. Nightmare might have been able to alter Dream's memories, but there was one thing that no one with memory-related abilities could ever alter: their own memories. Dream would have to ask Nightmare to show him playbacks of his own personal memories, and when Nightmare refused, Dream would be able to live happily, knowing that this was just a manipulation tactic! Maybe his childhood memories would be altered forever, but Dream would know the truth. Dream wouldn't let Nightmare take advantage of him.

And so, when dinnertime arrived (six o'clock on the dot), Dream rose from his seat on his bed, steeled his nerves, and walked over to the door of his room. He opened it, ignoring the rush of cold air against his face, and he stepped out into the hallway slowly, closing the sun-themed door behind him. And then, he stood in front of Nightmare's door. Dream had never really taken the time to look closely at Nightmare's door before..but now, he was getting a good view of it. It was a door-sized painting of a crescent moon overshadowing a hilly landscape, with a few trees providing depth in the image. The crescent moon hung in a starry sky, and Dream let out a soft sigh as he took note of the color scheme. It varied with the shadows throughout the image, but the main color was clear.

Purple. 

Nightmare's purple. 

Dream closed his eyesockets and forced himself to knock on the door, clenching his fists tightly; that monster didn't deserve to use Nightmare's color. After a moment, the door opened, and Dream opened his eyesockets to find that the monster stood just inside, smiling softly. Dream hated how that smile made him feel. 

"Dream, I'm glad you could make it." Nightmare greeted. "Come in; out dinner will arrive shortly."

Dream didn't fight the order, entering the room and pausing as Nightmare closed the door behind him. And as Dream looked around the room, he couldn't help the mournful feeling that rushed through him. Nightmare's room was luxurious, undoubtedly; Dream could have assumed that without entering. A king-sized bed was centered on the left wall, complete with a canopy and privacy curtains that Nightmare likely used when he wanted to be left entirely alone. The wall directly across from the bed was lined with bookshelves containing volumes and volumes of books that Dream didn't really want to look at right now. A half-circle carpet by the center of the bookshelves separated a small section of the room into a reading space, holding two armchairs and a coffee table for just that purpose. The back wall had windows, as Dream's room did, but Nightmare's curtains were far thicker, likely to keep the sun out entirely during the day. Right now, however, moonlight was seeping through, and Nightmare also had a window seat to sit in, to just stare out at the sky above. In the back left area of the room, a table and two chairs were gathered next to one of the windows, and Dream assumed that they weren't typically present; Nightmare had invited him over for dinner..that was likely where they would sit. That wasn't what bothered Dream. What bothered Dream was that the room was as bad as the door. 

Nightmare's purple was the defining color of this room, and black was accenting everything else. Only the books deviated, and that was because they were books. 

"..You stole his color." Dream looked down at the black wood floor, preferring it to the purple that forced nostalgia into his mind. 

Nightmare let out a soft sigh. "You don't believe me." 

"No, I don't." Dream crossed his arms. "And I won't, unless you show me your memories. And since-"

"As you wish."

...

"What?" Dream blinked, looking up at Nightmare; that wasn't how that was supposed to go! He was supposed to refuse! 

"I had a feeling you wouldn't believe me on word alone." Nightmare replied. "I don't hold it against you; I wouldn't, either. And since we do have the power to access memories, why would I deny you the chance to see what really happened back then, Dream? You won't like it, but..I never really did, either."

Dream suddenly didn't want to go through with his suggestion. Nightmare was willing to show Dream his unaltered memories? And they couldn't have been altered; there was no known magic that could do such a thing! No one could alter their own memories. And because of how tight-lipped Nightmare was about his past when it came to others, Dream sincerely doubted he would have had anyone else change them for him..

But what if it was a bluff? What if Nightmare was lying through his teeth? What if his memories were exactly as Dream had remembered them before? Dream had to know.

"All right." Dream nodded. "Show me, then."

"I will." Nightmare held out a hand, intending to extend his magic to Dream (Dream had none at the moment, after all), and Dream took it.

Memories began to play out, with the twins seeing through Nightmare's eyes from the moment of his creation to the apple incident. Time moved slowly on the outside (only a few minutes would pass out there), but for Dream and Nightmare, this would last years. Keeping track of who and where one was after these sorts of things was difficult, but Dream had been through it enough to know that he wouldn't lose track of himself. He'd seen the lifetimes of monsters far older than he was, and even if it took a few moments, he always managed to remember who he was. Six years was nothing.

"And Nightmare, dear one, you will be the Guardian of Negativity, keeper of those dark but necessary emotions that remind souls of what matters." Their mother spoke the first words that Nightmare could remember. "You two will protect the Tree of Feelings; protect it with your lives, minds, and souls. Let none consume the apples, for they will die..keep them safe from harm."

Nightmare's eyesockets opened slowly, his skull rested against his brother's; they had woken up at the same time, after all. Dream yawned, stretching his arms up into the air before hopping to his feet and grinning. 

"Ooh, this is fun!" Dream grinned, using his feet to hop around. "Hmm, I guess I'm Dream! And you must be Nightmare!"

"Um..I guess so." Nightmare replied, still leaning against the Tree.

"Cool!" Dream beamed, looking up at the Tree. "Tree of Feelings, we'll protect you! Fear not!"

"..Why do we have to protect a tree?" Nightmare inquired, looking up at the apple tree.

"..." Dream tilted his skull. "Because that lady told us to!"

"Who was she?"

"..I dunno. But she gave us our names and stuff, right? So she must be important! Let's protect the Tree!"

"..How?"

"..." Dream looked around. "Um..I have no idea. But I'm sure we'll figure it out!"

A mere hour after the twins' creation, which had mostly been spent walking around the Tree and figuring out how fingers worked, a group of humans and monsters approached the Tree, and the twins found a new ability.

"Stop right there!" Nightmare had hopped into action, his magic instinctively summoning a weapon: a spear; the group had halted, murmuring amongst themselves. "What do you want?"

"We..have come looking for our friend." One of the group's members informed. "He came here to request a gift from the Tree's guardian, but he has not returned; where is he?"

"Uh, I don't know!" Dream had approached, having no weapon readied. "But we haven't seen him, so..sorry!"

"Who are you?"

"Oh, we're here to guard the Tree now! I'm Dream, and he's Nightmare! "

"..New guardians?"

Nightmare had been staring at the group for a few moments. Unlike Dream, he'd begun to think about the possibilities here; his analytical mind was having its first adventure..and soon enough, he'd come to a conclusion.

"Your friend isn't here." He informed, holding the end of his spear dangerously close to the adults. "Now leave, unless you want to end up like he did."

"Nightmare?" Dream hadn't understood. "What are you doing?"

"Protecting the Tree!" Nightmare answered, looking at Dream incredulously. "We have to make sure they can't do anything to it!"

"We weren't going to!" One of the group members assured, holding their hands up. "Put the spear down; you're going to hurt someone!"

"Isn't that the point?" Nightmare narrowed his eyesockets.

"Nightmare, we don't have to be so..forceful.." Dream put his hands over Nightmare's shaking his skull. "I'm sure they don't want to do anything! They're just looking for their friend!"

"Well, he isn't here." Nightmare looked to the group. "So go away."

The group whispered to eachother for a moment before all nodding and leaving, and Nightmare let out a low huff, desummoning his weapon. Once the group had gotten far enough away, Dream turned to Nightmare, letting out a huff and crossing his arms.

"Why'd you do that?" He asked. "They didn't wanna hurt the Tree!"

"How do you know?" Nightmare inquired, seeming a bit annoyed himself.

"Well! Because..because they didn't seem bad! They looked like they were just looking for their friend, so that's how!"

"They could have been lying!" 

Dream tilted his skull, squinting a bit at Nightmare. "What's lying?"

"..You don't know what lying is?"

"No? What is it?"

"It's when you don't tell the truth!"

"Oh! But that's bad; you should always tell the truth!" Dream informed in typical youngster behavior, one of his index fingers pointed up as if to denote the deep importance of the fact. 

"What?" Nightmare asked. "No, it isn't; it's just lying. It's normal."

"..Well, I never heard of it!"

"We've been alive for, like, an hour, and I know what it is! So why don't you?"

"..I dunno." Dream let out a hum. "That's weird. Do you think there's stuff that I know about that you don't?"

"I doubt it."

Dream giggled, before pointing at Nightmare. "Challenge accepted!"

"Uh, what'd you just do?" Nightmare wondered. "Are you sick?"

"Sick? I'm not sick! I just pointed at you!" Dream shook his skull. 

"No, the weird sound! The- the one you did when you..um.."

"..You mean laughing?" Dream looked at Nightmare oddly. "You don't know what laughing is?"

"..No. But it must be stupid, if only you know about it."

"Hey!" Dream crossed his arms. "Laughing is fun! You'd like it, if you ever did it! And I'm sure everyone but you knows about it, so there! "

"It's weird." Nightmare huffed. "I don't wanna do it."

"Well, you're weird, too!" 

"You're weirder!"

"No, I'm not!"

"Yes, you are!"

The twins eventually stopped fighting, even if only because of the sunset in the distance. Their first argument melted away as easily as an ice cube on a hot summer day, and they sat down under the tree to watch the sky change colors, wondering what exactly was going on. They might have known about laughter and lying, but sunsets were something new..something neither of them knew about.

"Do you think we scared it away?" Dream asked, a bit frightened of that possibility. "I'm sorry, sun! Please come back!"

"I don't think it's coming back.." Nightmare frowned. "Wait! Uh, Mr. Sun, please don't go! It's getting dark!"

The sun didn't seem to hear him.

"Maybe it's a Ms. Sun!" Dream suggested. "Ms. Sun, please come back!"

The sun did not seem to be a miss. 

"Whatever you are, sun, please come back!" Nightmare whimpered.

The sun retreated below the horizon, leaving the two newborn guardians sitting under their Tree and holding eachother tightly, afraid of what the night would bring. 

"I don't like this.." Dream whispered, quietly. 

"I don't, either.." Nightmare agreed.

"I'm sorry for fighting earlier! Can we be friends again?"

"I'm sorry, too!" Nightmare nodded. "I don't wanna be mad!"

"Me, neither!" 

"I.." Nightmare paused, looking up at the sky. "What's that?"

"Oh..um.." Dream looked at the little light shining up in the sky. "I think it's a star."

"That sounds right..it looks like it would be called that."

Dream gasped, pointing up. "There's another one!"

"Oh, another!"

"There's so many!" Dream let out a giggle. "Maybe they're taking over for the sun!"

"Oh, yeah!" Nightmare nodded. "The sun must be sleeping, so they're keeping watch now!"

The two children smiled at eachother, holding eachother close as they gazed up at the starry sky, and soon, a new member of the sky made their acquaintance. It had gotten rather high into the sky by the time they noticed it, though, since it was behind them.

"That's so weird!" Dream gasped, pointing at the rock in space. 

"It's the moon!" Nightmare grinned. It's so pretty!" 

"It looks like the picture on your crown!" Dream pointed out. "Why's it not a circle like all the others?"

"I don't know..but I like it!" Nightmare decided. "It's cool! I like the moon! "

"..I like it, too." Dream gave Nightmare a small smile, before hugging him.

Nightmare squeaked. "What are you doing?!"

"Hugging you!" Dream replied. "Is that another thing only I know about?"

"..I think so." Nightmare confirmed, before relaxing a bit. "But..I think I like it. It's not weird.."

The two guardians fell asleep under the Tree a while later, still wrapped in a hug. 

The first few weeks of the twins' life was educational. For one thing, they discovered that they were brothers, and that, since they were created on the same day, they were twins. They took to that idea immediately, picking up the habit of calling eachother "brother" probably more often than their respective names. But..Nightmare didn't take the source of the idea too well. The group of monsters and humans that had come by the Tree on that first day had come from a nearby village, and the people from that village were all-too-eager to acquaint themselves with the little guardians. Nightmare, predictably, fought that idea tooth and nail, even going so far as to attack a villager who got a little too close to the Tree for his liking. Dream, on the other hand, was more receptive to the potential friends (another concept that Nightmare hadn't known about before), agreeing to occasionally visit their village to improve relations. 

Nightmare didn't exactly enjoy that. 

With the increase of knowledge came the increase of hostilities, with Dream insisting that the villagers were extremely kind and Nightmare arguing that they were pure evil. And, yet, after every argument, the two sat down to watch the sunset and the moon and stars' coming out. But, despite that, the arguments continued, until one fateful day..one month after their creation.

"I don't like you going over there!" Nightmare shouted. "They're going to hurt you!"

"They're not going to do anything to me!" Dream groaned, clenching his fists. "Why can't you understand that?!"

"You shouldn't trust people so blindly! They could be using you! Or they could be brainwashing you!"

"I don't even know what that means!" Dream stomped his foot. "How come you know all those bad things that people could be doing? Who's to say you aren't the bad one?! The villagers think you're the evil one!" Dream pointed at Nightmare, wearing a heated glare that looked so wrong on his young face.

"What?" Nightmare shook his skull. "I'm not evil! They are!" 

"Well, they say you are! And they're a lot more people than you are, so wouldn't they know?"

"I..wh-why? Why would they think that? I'm just doing what we were made to do!"

"They say you're mean, and you don't trust people, and you're always trying to fight someone! And you are! You are mean, you never trust anyone, and you do try to fight people! All the time, actually! Why can't you be nicer?! And- and why can't you stop trying to hurt everyone?! Why not?!"

"I.." Nightmare didn't know what to say; his eyesockets felt hot. "I..I didn't.."

Dream's glare fell, and his expression turned to one of concern. "..Nightmare..? Are..are you okay?"

Nightmare let out a whimper, before the dam burst; he started to sob, his hands gripping the sides of his pants in an attempt to find some comfort, but it didn't really help. He just stood there, crying. After a few moments, Dream came over, wrapping his arms around his brother.

"I, um..I'm sorry.." He whispered. "I didn't..wanna make you cry.."

Nightmare buried his face into his brother's shoulder, and Dream hugged him for a while. The sunset started, and Dream sat them both down in their usual spot, keeping a tight grip on his crying brother. Nightmare cried through the entire sunset, his tears only finally subsiding once the moon came out. The two sat in their stargazing spot quietly for a few minutes, before Nightmare spoke up.

"Y-you're right.." He said, quietly. "I'm evil..I am, aren't I? 'C-cause everyone else says so, s-so it must be true.."

"Well..maybe a little." Dream frowned. "But you don't gotta be evil; you can be good instead! You just gotta..not be mean all the time!"

"..I can try, I guess.." Nightmare picked a blade of grass. "But..but I still gotta guard the Tree, because that's what we were made to do.."

"You can still do that!" Dream assured. "Just..don't try to hurt people before you know if they're gonna touch the Tree or not. Some people just wanna look at it, and you won't let them.."

"..Okay." Nightmare nodded. "I'll try.."

"And I'll help you!" Dream grinned. "And I'm super good at being good, so you'll be good, too! We'll be okay, brother! I know we will!"

"..I hope so."

The next day, Dream brought some of the village children over to the Tree, and Nightmare fought the urge to summon his spear; his fingers twitched nonetheless. 

"Nightmare, these are my friends!" Dream introduced. "The first way to be good is to make friends! And a really good way to make friends is to tell people your name and ask them to be your friend!"

"..Really?" Nightmare was a bit skeptical of that claim. 

"Yep! It works for me all the time! Try it!"

"..Okay." 

Nightmare stood up, putting his fidgety hands into his pockets to better resist the urge to get these trespassers away from their Tree, and he forced himself to smile.

"I'm Nightmare." He greeted. "Can you be my friends?"

The village children were eerily quiet; none of them gave him a response other than anxious stares. 

"Dream..?" One of the children addressed.

"Yeah?" Dream responded. 

"Can we go play now? You said we would, after meeting your brother."

"He's weird.." One of the younger ones commented. "And scary.."

Dream's smile dropped. "He's not weird; he just..he's not sure how to be nice!"

"And that's weird!" 

"Can we go now, please?" The first one asked, again.

"..Nightmare, do you-" Dream was cut off.

"I can't go." Nightmare shook his skull, looking down at the grass beneath his boots. "I have to guard the Tree.." 

"Oh.." Dream frowned. "Okay..do you want me to stay with you?"

"Oh, but you said we would play!" One of the children complained.

"We could play around here!" Dream suggested. "Like, um, right over there!"

"But I wanna play at the river!" The youngest piped up. "It's more fun there!"

"..Are you sure?"

"Yeah! Let's go!"

"..." Dream cast one more glance at his silent brother before letting out a sigh. "Okay..bye, Nightmare.."

Many days passed like that, with Nightmare trying desperately to get even one other person to talk to him..but no progress was made. Dream seemed to get less and less confident about the plan, though, and although Nightmare didn't really care about the villagers, he knew that he cared about Dream - he cared about his twin. So he learned how to smile. He learned how to smile in a way that didn't look forced or strained, and he learned to force his eyelights to hide how he really felt. He couldn't win the care or respect fo the villagers; they only seemed to hate him more the more he tried. But..he could make his brother think that he was okay. So, for a few nights in a row, after Dream fell asleep, Nightmare would sneak down to the nearby river and test his smile in his reflection, working on it until even he couldn't see anything wrong with it (and he was a perfectionist! Or, at least, that was what Dream said). So, a few days later, Nightmare stopped Dream as he started to head to the village, giving him a soft practiced smile.

"Hey, um, Dream?" Nightmare addressed.

"Yes, Nighty?" Dream replied, using his new nickname for Nightmare (he had only learned about nicknames a few days ago).

"Uh..you don't have to bring your friends here anymore..I think I'm okay."

"Huh? But what about being good and making friends?"

"Well, I don't think you have to make friends to be good, and it's kind of obvious that they don't really want to be my friends, so..I'm okay with not having any friends except you. And, besides, I like being alone."

"..Really?" Dream tilted his skull, frowning at his brother.

"..Really." Nightmare confirmed, giving Dream a smile. 

"Well..okay." Dream smiled back. "Um, in that case, I'll be back later..I hope you enjoy your alone time!"

"I will." 

Dream ran off, and Nightmare dropped his smile as soon as his twin was out of sight, plopping down next to the Tree and curling up beneath it. 

Nightmare hated being alone.

But..his act had fooled Dream. His twin no longer brought his friends to the Tree, not wanting to disturb Nightmare's alone time, and he thought he was doing a good thing because of it. Dream left every morning to go to the village to see his friends, and he came back about an hour before sunset each day to spend time with his brother, not knowing that Nightmare just sat there and cried nearly every day while Dream was gone. Nightmare couldn't let Dream know that, though; he didn't want to hurt his twin. It was better that he hurt, instead! Besides..things could be worse. 

One year after their creation, things got a little bit better.

For their birthday, Dream had decided to drag Nightmare to the village, insisting that the Tree would be fine and that every single villager had swore on their souls not to go anywhere near the Tree for the entire day (as if that were reassuring in the least). Nightmare had felt out of place in the village, with all the people casting mean looks in his direction and whispering to their acquaintances as they did. Dream seemed none the wiser; he didn't notice a thing wrong. So Dream had dragged Nightmare to the town square, where the villagers had arranged a small celebration for the twins..

Well, a celebration for Dream, at least. All the gifts were addressed to him, and Nightmare had just gotten dirty looks when he'd admitted that he hadn't had a clue that he was supposed to get his brother a gift. He'd never had a birthday before, and Dream hadn't told him that; how was he supposed to know? He'd promised to get Dream something soon, though..as soon as he figured out what a gift was supposed to be. Dream had been fine with that, just chuckling and hugging Nightmare in response. The villagers shared pastries with the twins (although they were reluctant to let Nightmare have any, Dream eventually convinced them to), and after that, the gift-opening began. Dream felt a little awkward when he realized that he was the only one getting any gifts, but he decided that he would just share with Nightmare, much to the chagrin of the villagers. Dream received many things, such as clothes, yummy foods, and..books.

Nightmare was instantly intrigued.

"What is it?" He wondered, looking at the weird paper with the strange symbols on it. "What are those things?"

"Those are letters and words!" Dream informed. "It's a book! Don't you know what a book is?"

"..No." Nightmare admitted. "What do the words say?"

"Well, the title says 'Adventures in the Glade.' So it's probably about adventures in a glade."

"..How did you figure that out?" Nightmare stared at the incomprehensible symbols. 

"..What did you think I go to school every day for?"

Nightmare..didn't know. Nightmare had just assumed that "school" had been another place for Dream to play with his friends, not anything special..but this mystery was interesting to him.

"Can you teach me how to understand those symbols?" Nightmare hoped.

"Sure!" Dream grinned. "And it's called 'reading'!"

Reading. That night, Dream had begun to teach Nightmare how to read, and Nightmare, eager to learn, picked it up quickly. He liked having Dream read stories to him, but once he really started to get the hang of it, he also liked reading by himself, fully immersing himself in the stories he read. After six months, he could read whole books by himself, and..he often did. Dream still went to play with his friends every day..and he went to school, too. Nightmare, although a little allured by the idea, had decided not to join Dream despite his requests; he couldn't leave the Tree. But, with every day that passed, and with every story that he read, Nightmare..wondered why he was here. Why couldn't he go on adventures like the people in his books? Why did he have to spend his whole life guarding a stupid tree? Why did he have to guard the Tree, anyway? He didn't want to guard a tree..he wanted to be like Dream. He wanted to have friends and go on adventures; why couldn't he? Why didn't people like him like they did Dream? Was it because he was different? 

Why was he different?

A few days after the twins' birthday, Nightmare had picked a flower for Dream as a late gift; it wasn't really anything special, but Dream had claimed to love it. And he'd revealed a secret to Nightmare; he hadn't known about gift-giving, either! Nightmare chuckled when Dream presented him with a flower, too, and they both promised to have better gifts next year, since they would know that gifts were part of birthdays then! 

And, so, until then, their normal lives would return..but after Nightmare learned to read, his days became just a little less horrible. He buried himself in his books, enjoying reading story after story and going back to read them all again once he was finished. For the one year old guardian, it was fun, even if the stories did get predictable after a few rereads. So, day after day, he would read his books, and if someone came up to threaten the Tree, he did his best to guard it, but he tried not to be as aggressive as he had been in the past; Dream wouldn't have liked it if he pointed his spear at everyone who got close..even if he felt as if that were the right thing to do.

Until..one day. 

A week before the twins' birthday, one of the villagers came up to the Tree; Nightmare looked up from his book, recognizing the face. This particular villager was a human teenager who was well-known in the community for being a hard worker, and he was respected for it. Although..he was arrogant and a little too self-centered for Nightmare's tastes.

"What do you want?" Nightmare questioned, closing his book and setting it to the side, a thick blade of grass sitting between two of the pages to mark his place. "Just to look at it?"

"..Those golden apples look delicious." The human commented. "How much would you ask for one? Just one."

Nightmare narrowed his eyesockets. "They're not for sale. Go back to your village."

"Of course they're for sale; everything has a price."

"..The price for an apple is your life." Nightmare informed. "If you consume one, you will die; that is why we protect the Tree in the first place."

"I've never seen anyone die from eating an apple; I think you're lying."

"I'm not lying!"

"Well, if it'll really kill me, then why are you so stubborn about it? Just let me face the consequences, then..unless you're hiding something."

Nightmare rose to his feet, glaring at the other. "Go back to your village, now."

"And who are you to tell me to do anything? You're a child who lives under a tree; you have no right to dictate to me or anyone else! Now move aside before you get hurt!"

The human started to approach the Tree, and Nightmare blocked him, summoning his spear and holding it firmly. 

"Go back to your village." Nightmare ground out; his high voice made the threat more amusing than menacing, but his expression more than made up for it. 

"You really think you can fight me, you little brat?" The human scoffed. "Give me a break. Your dinky little spear couldn't hurt a fly, so how about you make like one and buzz off?"

Nightmare only hardened his glare.

"You asked for it, then, kid." The human let out a low growl.

The human pulled out a sword, and Nightmare took a step back in surprise; no one had ever brought a weapon to the Tree before! But..but he had to protect the Tree! He had to make sure that this stupid human couldn't take one of the apples and die as a result! Didn't he know that Nightmare was only trying to protect him from making a huge mistake?! The human raised his sword, and Nightmare gripped his spear tightly, preparing to attack.

The fight didn't last long. Nightmare might have been a guardian, but he was also only a year old, and he had never trained his fighting skills (no one had ever told him that he'd had to!). The human, on the other hand, had been training to join the village guard since he had been a small child, and his skills severely outclassed Nightmare's instincts. The human received only a few lucky cuts from Nightmare, while the small Guardian received the brunt of the fight's injuries, ending up with a broken leg and too many deep cuts to ignore by the end of it. The human kicked the small guardian away, eliciting a pained cry, and he started to climb the Tree.

"P-p-please don't!" Nightmare screamed, spitting out a mouthful of blood as he tried to save the human's life. "Y-you'll die!"

"I won't die from eating an apple." The human scoffed. "What a stupid notion."

The human ignored Nightmare's pleas, and he reached out to secure his prize. He plucked a golden apple from it's previous place on one of the branches of the Tree, and he slid down the trunk, grinning at his winnings. Ignoring another desperate plea from Nightmare, the human took a bite of the apple, looking at Nightmare with a smug expression.

"See? I'm fine!" He chuckled.

Nightmare let his skull hit the ground, starting to cry; he knew the effect wasn't instantaneous; the human would die soon. The human continued to eat his apple, commenting every few bites that it was the best thing he'd ever tasted, but he assured Nightmare that he'd only have this one, because having another would simply ruin the special nature of it. He consumed the entire apple, not even leaving the core behind, and when he was done, he licked the juice from his hands and fingers, letting out a contented hum. 

"That was delicious!" The human chuckled. "You've been keeping these things all for yourself, haven't you? Man, I can't blame you; that was better than anything else I've ever eaten!"

The human continued to laugh..and laugh..

It took him a moment to realize that he couldn't stop. 

Fear flashed through the human's eyes for a moment, before it was overcome by joy and excitement. Positive energy engulfed the teenager, and his knees buckled, taking him to the ground as he cackled uncontrollably. The air around him turned into an aura of sorts, inciting positivity all around him, but Nightmare could do nothing to stop it. The laughs turned into excited screams, and the human began to pull at his hair, curling up on the ground and rolling around as the magic of the apple he had consumed overtook him. It was unbearable, but Nightmare could do nothing to help him; he might have been able to stop it if he could still walk, but with his broken leg, he couldn't put the poor soul out of his positive misery. He could only wait. The human screamed until his vocal chords stopped working, but in the process, he attracted attention; people from the village began to come to see what the screaming was about, only to find the teen..dying. Once the screams went silent, the teen only lived for a minute longer before his convulsing ceased and his soul started to shatter. The  villagers that had gathered around the teen stood up, except for his family, who stayed on the ground around him and wept over his body. 

The others turned to Nightmare.

"You..you just couldn't hold yourself back, could you?!" One of the adult villagers yelled, causing Nightmare to flinch; what had he done?!

"You used dark magic to kill him!" Another villager accused. "You just had to let him suffer!"

"All he wanted was one fruit from your pathetic tree!" A third shouted. "And you killed him like that?! You..you're just a demon!"

"Wh- but he-" Nightmare shook his skull, trying to clear up the misunderstanding. "I didn't kill him!"

"Liar!" A villager scoffed. "We all saw it! You used your magic to draw out his death and make him suffer! Demon!" 

"I-I didn't! I-"

Nightmare's arguments were cut off when one of the villagers ran up to him and kicked a thick layer of dirt into his face; he devolved into choked coughs as the rest of the villagers took the teen's body away, leaving the Tree behind. And then Nightmare passed out, marking his first failure as a guardian. 

He had failed..and someone had died because of it. 

When Nightmare woke up later that day, he was lying in Dream's arms as his twin did his best to heal his wounds; Dream..didn't seem too happy. He didn't seem mad or sad, either, though..

"Dream..?" Nightmare let out a groan; everything hurt..

"Nighty.." Dream frowned. "Are you okay? What happened earlier? Why did he die? Did you kill him, like the villagers said? What happened?" 

"I didn't kill him.." Nightmare let out a sigh as Dream's weak healing magic tried to take effect. "He wanted an apple, so I fought him, but..but I wasn't strong enough; he ate an apple, and he died.."

"..Oh.." 

Dream fell silent after that, simply continuing to try to heal his brother. Nightmare didn't blame Dream for not being there, though..Dream couldn't fight half as well as Nightmare could, anyway. But..now Nightmare knew how strong he had to be; he had to work harder and get stronger so he could protect the Tree! He had to get strong enough to protect the villagers from their own stupidity! And he would; he just needed to work harder..

After he recovered. 

Dream's healing magic didn't really do much to heal Nightmare's wounds, unfortunately, but luckily, the village had a doctor, and Dream was more than willing to take Nightmare to the village the next day! It would be the second time Nightmare had ever entered the village; he tried not to go there ever, but right now, he didn't have the strength to decline Dream's requests..his leg really hurt. When the two arrived at the village the next morning, Dream took Nightmare in to see the doctor, but Nightmare noticed something..something that he didn't really like. The first time he had come here, people had murmured about him and stared, but now..people were glaring. Did they really think Nightmare had killed that teenager? They must have..but Nightmare hadn't killed him! The apple had! Nightmare kept his skull down as Dream helped him through the village's paths, not wanting to see all the hateful glares pointed towards him. When the two reached the doctor's house and the adult human opened the door, Nightmare immediately felt..unwelcome.

"Dream, how nice to see you again!" The doctor smiled, but he didn't spare Nightmare a second glance. "What do you need this fine morning?"

"Well, mister doctor, Nighty's got a broken leg, and my magic can't fix it!" Dream inf ormed, frowning. "Can you fix it, please?"

"Ah.." The doctor looked at Nightmare distastefully, before looking back to Dream. "I can see what I can do, but broken bones are very finicky things; we'll just have to see."

"Okay! Thank you, mister doctor!"

"Absolutely, Dream."

The doctor led the twins into his house, and Dream helped Nightmare over to a chair, where the doctor lifted Nightmare's injured leg, ignoring the pained whimper Nightmare let out. He rolled up Nightmare's pant leg to get a clear view of the injury, letting out a hum and nodding.

"This is a pretty bad fracture.." He commented. "Well..I can't do anything for it; you'll just have to hope you get lucky."

"What?" Dream asked, surprised. "But..but you've fixed broken legs before, haven't you?"

"..No, not really; I just let them heal themselves." The doctor replied; Nightmare received the distinct impression that he was lying. "With any luck, this will heal in a few months, and he'll be just fine!"

"..Well, okay.." Dream believed the doctor. "Thank you, anyway.."

"Of course, Dream."

The trip back to the Tree was silent; Dream had been so sure that the doctor would be able to help, but now..Nightmare had to just live with a broken leg for a few months? That didn't seem fair. But, if it was the way things had to be..well, Dream would just have to figure out a way that he could help Nightmare directly! When the two reached the Tree, Dream gave Nightmare a hopeful smile. 

"Nighty, I have a plan!" Dream declared.

"..What plan?" Nightmare asked. "I don't want to try another doctor.."

"We won't!" Dream assured. "But I know someone from the village who's super good with healing magic, and if I get her to teach me, I might be able to make your leg heal faster!"

Nightmare paused, thinking it over. "Well..um..that would be a lot of work.."

"You deserve it, Nighty! And, besides, I want to learn healing magic! It sounds super fun, and tons of people always tell me I'd be super good if I tried!"

"Um..okay." Nightmare nodded. "Good luck, then.."

"Thank you! I'll even start right now!"

With that, Dream ran off to the village again, and Nightmare was left to..sit under the Tree. 

As always.

Nightmare leaned against the Tree, looking up at the cloudy sky overhead. Well, his plans for Dream's birthday gift were officially ruined. He'd planned to go foraging in the nearby forest for some of Dream's favorite berries and make something pretty out of them, but..walking was off the table, which meant that he couldn't. He really managed to ruin everything, didn't he? He'd failed in his duties as a guardian, and now he had failed Dream; he'd always ruined things. If he'd only been like Dream, maybe the villagers wouldn't have been so reluctant to talk to him or..even look at him without a death glare. He wasn't even two years old, and he'd already ruined everything for everyone else. He rested the back of his skull against the Tree, flinching when the yellow banner around the Tree's trunk fell onto him; it had been getting loose lately..he supposed it was bound to happen. He looked at the large gash in the side of the Tree, frowning; he couldn't put the banner back up to cover it in this condition. He was sure that Dream would do it, though; Dream had always loved this thing. 

...

Nightmare looked again at the gash; it..really wasn't that bad. It was just an average little thing..probably. And, besides, a tree didn't really need a banner around it, did it? 

Maybe everything wouldn't be ruined, after all. 

When Dream came back later that day, the first thing he did was ask where the banner was; Nightmare forged a little lie, saying that it had fallen off and flown away. Nightmare couldn't have caught it in his condition, and Dream accepted that answer, commenting that they would have to find a new banner to use sometime. And with that, Nightmare had Dream's birthday gift ready for him.  All in all, their birthday went well; Dream loved the banner, which Nightmare had turned into a cape with the magic power of "tying two of the corners around Dream's neck," and Nightmare loved the homemade pie that Dream had made for him. And, perhaps, the best part was that Nightmare could stay under the Tree for the entire day; Dream couldn't ask him to come to the village with his leg in such a condition.

The day after their birthday didn't go so well. 

The incident involving the teenager hadn't been forgotten by the villagers, and a few of them decided to pay Nightmare a visit while Dream was away for the day. When Nightmare saw the approaching group, he forced himself to his feet, leaning against the Tree, and he summoned his favored spear, pointing it at them, but they hadn't been too frightened by it; one of them ran up and snatched it from Nightmare's hands, tossing it to the side. Nightmare desummoned it and started to create it again in his hands, but the closest villager disabled him with ease by kicking his injured leg. Fear and pain overcame Nightmare's senses as one of the villagers spoke to him, but..the words didn't register. Nightmare had a feeling he knew the gist of what was said nonetheless, since the group of villagers began to beat him senseless. The villagers thought he had murdered one of theirs, after all..

They wanted revenge.

Nightmare was a bloody mess by the time the villagers finally left him an hour later, and he passed out promptly. When he next awoke, he was in Dream's arms once again, looking up at his twin's worried face.

"Nightmare!" Dream gasped, smiling a little. "You're awake! I knew you'd wake up!"

"Dream..?" Nightmare hurt..a lot. 

"Uh-huh! It's me! I'm glad you're awake, Nighty; you were sleeping for a long time!"

"..How long?"

"Um, four days.." Dream frowned. "Um..the villagers said a bear tried to eat you, but they killed it before it could..do anything really bad."

"..A bear?" Nightmare had a feeling that Dream had been lied to.

"Yeah, a bear - they cooked it up for the whole village; it was pretty good, but it's gone now. I tried to save you some, but there was a family who didn't have much food, and they asked me if they could have your share, since they didn't know when you were going to wake up; I'm sorry.."

"..That's okay."

A..well-orchestrated lie, apparently. Someone had gone out to kill a bear in order to ensure that Nightmare couldn't tell Dream the truth without looking like a liar himself.

"Well, um, until you get better, I'll stay here with you!" Dream assured. "I'll make sure you get all better!"

"..Thank you, Dream." Nightmare smiled.

"You're welcome!"

Dream ended up only staying for about three days, since the villagers decided that they didn't want him sticking around the Tree all day every day and sent over some healers to get Nightmare to a healthier state than before. They only healed the obvious injuries, though; anything that wasn't clearly visible wasn't healed much at all - it was enough to fool the two-year-old Guardian of Positivity, though. The next morning, he left for the village, leaving Nightmare..helpless. 

Nightmare's life fell into a rather predictable pattern after that day. If he was lucky, he would have most of the day to himself, and he would be able to read his stories in peace. On unlucky days (most days), a villager or group of them would come to beat him. At some point, Nightmare stopped believing that it was for revenge and started to think that these people just hated him for some reason; he didn't know why. He understood hatred, revenge, anger, and all the other emotions that were hurled toward him at full force, but..a new side of negativity was beginning to take root inside of him - one that he hadn't paid much thought to before. As the months dragged on, the villagers tended to spew vile words at Nightmare in addition to hurting him physically, opting to hurt him more emotionally; if they hurt him too much physically, after all, Dream would spend a few days with his brother, and the villagers didn't want that. They started to tell him about his worthlessness, his lack of intellect, and his frailty..and  after hearing the words over and over, Nightmare started to believe them. Maybe he was stupid. Maybe he was worthless. He knew he was weak; his leg hadn't healed, and Nightmare was beginning to believe that it never would. 

It really never would, if the villagers didn't stop worsening the injury every time they paid him a "visit."

Months turned into years. The pattern didn't change. His leg had never healed; he'd gotten used to walking with a painful limp by the time he was four years old (he'd had to, if he wanted to walk at all). The near-daily beatings had become rather commonplace, and Nightmare spent most of his time dreading the next one; he couldn't enjoy reading his stories much anymore, with most of his time being spent looking out for his potential attackers of the day. Dream hadn't believed him when he'd told his twin about the beatings; the villagers had "solemnly sworn" that they had done nothing of the sort, and that was good enough for Dream. 

But..Nightmare couldn't really blame Dream. Dream was stupid; he had been made as a guardian of light and positivity; he hadn't been informed of the evils of the world..he hadn't been born with the knowledge of vengeance, cruelty, or hatred. And..Nightmare didn't really want him to know. What if the villagers started hurting Dream, too, if Nightmare tainted him with that information? Nightmare wouldn't have been able to live with himself if that happened! He couldn't corrupt Dream; his twin only knew of hope and light..he had to keep it that way. He didn't blame Dream.

No..

Nightmare blamed this stupid Tree. 

If he and Dream hadn't been created to guard the Tree (what a splendid job they were doing, by the way - no one even wanted the apples! No one except that one teenager had ever wanted an apple! And Nightmare hadn't been strong enough to fight him anyway!), everything would have been fine. Nightmare never would have gotten his limp, if he hadn't been made to guard the Tree. Nightmare never would have been shunned like this, either. Nightmare would have been able to play with Dream every day instead of living this stupid life sitting under this insignificant tree!  

Nightmare hated the Tree.

Nightmare hated his mother, too. None of the mothers in the village cast their children out onto the streets as soon as they were born; they nurtured them and cared for them until they grew up. Nightmare and Dream might as well have been orphans. Dream was basically the village orphan, anyway, with how the villagers all took care of him as if he were their own. Nightmare didn't see it often, but..he saw how the villagers cared about Dream. They treated him like all the other village children; they helped him up when he fell, taught him about the world and how it worked, and..

And if it hadn't been for the Tree, Nightmare would have been right next to him. 

On the first day of summer after the twins' fourth birthday, Nightmare left the Tree alone, and he went for a walk in the nearby forest. He felt dread and felt..rather horrible as he left behind the only reason for his creation in the first place, but..he had to do this. Nightmare had only visited the forest once or twice before, and it had only been to find food when he and Dream had been starving at certain points in their short life. Coming here had been a little calming before despite his hunger, though..he'd enjoyed the peace and quiet. Nightmare spent the day exploring, limping through the forest and just trying to enjoy himself for once. And..it was working. Nightmare eventually found a small pond in the forest to rest next to, and he just sat there for..probably hours, enjoying the peace he'd found here. The forest was so different from the village; there was no one here to tell him how worthless and evil he was. The only other beings who came here were the animals who were looking for a drink of water, and they didn't seem to mind Nightmare's presence at all. 

He didn't strike them as a threat in the least..what a poor excuse for a guardian he was. 

When the sun was about three-quarters of the way across the sky, Nightmare stood up and started to make his way back to the Tree; he didn't want to frighten Dream by being gone when he returned, after all. Luckily, Nightmare did make it back before Dream, and when he looked up at the apples, he found that..none of them were gone. They were all there. 

The Tree really didn't need protecting, after all..

Dream made it back a little while later to watch the sunset with his twin, and as they sat there, watching the sun's daily retreat, Nightmare let out a long sigh.

"Something wrong?" Dream inquired, looking over to his brother. 

Nightmare looked down. He wanted to ask whether or not Dream thought he was useless.  He wanted to ask if Dream really loved him, or if Dream just pretended to because he felt sorry for Nightmare.

But..he really didn't want to know, either.

"Just tired." Nightmare shrugged. "Maybe I'll sleep in a little later tomorrow."

"Oh, okay!" Dream nodded. "Make sure you get all the sleep you need; sleep is important!"

"I know..thanks, Dream."

"You're welcome!" Dream hugged him, and Nightmare hugged his twin back.

Dream didn't need to know what Nightmare thought of himself. This was Nightmare's burden, after all..not Dream's. 

Nightmare had found that the villagers could rarely find him when he went to the forest, but to combat that, they had started coming to the Tree earlier in hopes of finding him before he could try to escape. By this point, Nightmare didn't have any reason to return to the Tree at all, except for Dream. This was his and Dream's spot..but that was all it meant to Nightmare anymore. He didn't care what happened to the Tree; no one wanted to hurt it, anyway. No one wanted the apples. There was no reason for Nightmare to stick around when Dream wasn't there now..none at all. 

The days dragged on, and life didn't change for over a year. When Nightmare managed to get away from the Tree in time, he spent a peaceful day in the forest, and when he was caught at the Tree, he spent the rest of the day there and hoped that a second wave wouldn't come; most of the time, there was only one group that came to torment him per day. A little before sunset every day, Dream came to sit with Nightmare. He told him stories about his day as they watched the sunset and gazed up at the stars together, and after a little while, they would go to sleep under the Tree.

Dream was the only thing keeping Nightmare going.

A few days before the twins' sixth birthday, though, Dream didn't come back. Nightmare wondered why, staying up the entire night just waiting for his twin to return, but..but he didn't. The reason seemed so obvious, though: Dream had simply realized that Nightmare was worthless. Nightmare couldn't do anything right; why would Dream waste his time on him? He wouldn't. Nightmare even tried asking the villagers who had come to hurt him where Dream was, and they'd told him that Dream didn't want anything to do with him anymore. It made sense, despite how much it hurt.  Nightmare didn't deserve a brother like Dream, after all; Dream was perfect, and Nightmare was flawed in every way possible. He stopped going to the forest; he didn't deserve the peace. He stopped eating; what was the point? He stopped reading; the books were Dream's, after all, and Dream probably didn't want Nightmare touching his things anymore.

It was only inevitable that Nightmare would end up here, sitting in one of the Tree's branches and staring at one of the apples. It was their birthday today. Nightmare doubted that Dream had a gift for him, but..Nightmare could give Dream a gift - a special one. 

His gift would be a world without Nightmare. It was what everyone wanted, after all. 

He reached for an apple, and-

The memory faded, and Nightmare's bedroom came back into view.

"..We don't need to see that." Nightmare decided, letting out a quiet sigh. 

Dream found himself seated in one of the armchairs by the wall of bookshelves, trembling quietly. He'd known what had happened to his twin, all that time ago, but..he'd only learned through angry rants and a few conversations with Ink, who was somewhat required to know that information. Seeing it like that, though..he wondered how he'd-

"Oh, don't blame yourself for all that nonsense that happened back then." Nightmare let out a small 'tch.' "Blame that awful woman we used to call our 'mother.' It's entirely her fault, after all."

Dream..couldn't bring himself to disagree. When he had first told Blue about his mother, he'd been confused as to why Blue had been so heated about it, but after spending more time in the multiverse, he'd realized that..most mothers weren't like that at all. The mothers in the village had always just seemed kind to him; he hadn't known that kindness and presence had been normal! He had just thought that he and Nightmare were of a different species, or something - some animals left their young to fend for themselves, after all - like turtles! But, no..he and Nightmare had just been abandoned at birth and forced to figure out the world on their own..through their unique sets of tinted glasses. But..Nightmare had been angry at Dream at the beginning, after Dream had been released from his stone prison! Why wasn't he now?

"..I thought you did blame me." Dream mentioned. "You seemed to hate me once I was freed.."

"..Misplaced anger." Nightmare sat down across from Dream, folding his hands in his lap. "You were a reminder of those times, and since I had spent most of my life trying to forget, it wasn't exactly pleasant to see you again. I tried to convince myself that you weren't him - that you weren't my brother - but..you are my brother. You're my twin, and..it should have made me happy to know that you still cared."

"..I always cared." Dream looked down. "That..that week, when I stopped seeing you..I'd gotten sick, and one of the families had insisted that I'd stayed with them until I recovered. The villagers told me that they'd asked you to come see me, but you'd refused to come..I thought you were the one who hated me.."

Nightmare let out a soft hum, followed by a melancholy chuckle. "I guess we were both played for fools, then. Unfortunate, but..at least we're together again."

Dream just hummed softly in response. Maybe their childhood had been a different time, but..they were in the present now. Right now, Dream was being held captive by his brother and being brainwashed into joining his brother's side; this little reminder of the past couldn't be enough to sway him..no matter how much it hurt. No..Dream needed to focus on something else.

"..I'd forgotten about your limp." Dream..might have picked the worst possible thing to ask about, but he was in too deep to back out of his commitment now. "You don't have it anymore.."

Nightmare's expression soured a bit. "My corruption..it shattered many bones and pieced them back together after the fact. It was chance that my leg was mended correctly as a result of it."

Dream looked down, pushing the fibers of the rug beneath the two with his shoe. Nothing more was said until the food arrived, and, honestly, Dream only ended up eating it to reduce the awkwardness of the ordeal. Dinner was mostly silent, too. Once he was finished, he decided to make himself scarce, getting up to leave. He muttered a goodbye to Nightmare and headed for the door, but he stopped short of it. He'd tried to get out of this without saying the words that had been on his mind, but..it just wasn't possible.

"Nightmare?" He addressed, turning slightly to look back at his brother.

"..Yes, Dream?" His twin looked up at him, awaiting what he had to say.

"It's really you..isn't it?"

"..It's really me."

"..I'm sorry."

Dream left the room before he could get a reply.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Nightmare sausage did not have a happy childhood!

Thanks for reading my unhappy writing!

Bye!

Chapter Text

Dream might not have wanted to know how much of a topic of conversation he was around the castle. Ccino knew that he hadn't figured that out yet - most people in the castle were smart enough not to talk about people who could hear them - but Ccino had certainly heard a lot about Dream's presence..at least, after seeing him that first day. There had always been rumors that Dream was in the castle, but those had always been easily disproven with a little asking around; there were just a lot of troublemakers who liked to mess with newbies. When another surge of rumors had started up, Ccino had passed them off as falsehoods and gone on with his day. But, after seeing Dream with his own eyelights, Ccino couldn't exactly deny that the dark lord of the castle had finally won his prize..unfortunately. A lot had happened since that first day, but after Dream had apparently been bedridden (undoubtedly one of Nightmare's punishments) for a while, he'd started coming down to the cafeteria regularly to chat and grab some food, and Ccino was happy to oblige him, especially since Nightmare had ordered all the kitchen staff to see that his twin was taken care of - he wanted Dream to receive the special treatment, so to say, and who was Ccino to deny the king of the castle? 

Well, being the castle's head baker..Ccino wasn't really anyone. Honestly, the castle's hierarchy was..Nightmare above everyone else. Maybe the heads of each division of workers could give orders to others, but only to the ones working under them and new arrivals; after living in the castle for a few months, people began to realize that everyone was in the same boat here, although some tried to deny it. Perks were gained through seniority, and even those didn't offer any power to those who earned them. Having been here for three years (almost four), though, Ccino at least had his own room now - that was something to be happy about..in moderate amounts. Having too much happiness would be..undesirable. Having emotional control in this castle was a powerful thing; it meant that people could live their horrible lives with a little less stress and pain. Ccino didn't really have emotional control, but..at least he had his cats. 

Ah, his cats. They had to stay in his room all day every day, unfortunately, but Nightmare had allowed Ccino to keep them, reluctantly. When Ccino had first arrived at the castle, Nightmare had taken them away, and Ccino had ended up lapsing into a depressive episode that, after a few days, had turned into total apathy. Nightmare was fine with depressive episodes - he fed off of them, after all - but apathy was something completely different; he couldn't feed off apathy, and Ccino's cats turned out to be the only way to keep him from it. As a result, Ccino got to keep his cats, and Nightmare got to keep a source of negativity. Ccino was lucky - not everyone had such a large privilege. Others in the castle had been stripped of anything that could make them happy, and they didn't turn apathetic as a result; they were just negative..all the time. That was how most lives were, in Nightmare's castle..it was difficult to come to terms with. Life in the castle was so different from the lives that everyone had come from, but it was possible to survive here, and everyone made do. 

Well, one good thing about Dream's presence was that Ccino got to bake more often, since Dream had a bit of a sweet tooth (he denied it, though). It was honestly odd that Ccino had been chosen as a "head baker" at all, in a castle that..didn't serve many baked goods. Sure, people could save up their money, but they rarely ever opted to buy an expensive treat (the pain of paying so much for a pastry was the only reason Nightmare allowed them at all); clothing was the most common option for "unnecessary spending," and they did cost a lot, but clothing was definitely worth it, especially in this cold climate. Small joys, such as pastries, were farther down on the list of things people saved up for, but it wasn't too uncommon for someone to order a treat - some days, people just needed something nice, despite the cost. The things that people saved up for the most, however, were hobby items. However, those were..expensive. Ccino was lucky that he enjoyed baking, because any other hobby was..way out of his price range. At least his cats' needs were taken care of to stave off any apathetic spells (Nightmare really hated losing even a small bit of potential power, it seemed). 

It wasn't that hobbies were expensive "just because," though, as pastries were, though. No, they were expensive because they were essentially illegal. To get any sort of recreational equipment into the castle, one had to take it up with the few people who were allowed to enter and leave at all: the four gang members. If one paid them well enough, they would do their best to smuggle the requested equipment into the castle for whomever desired it, and if everyone was lucky, Nightmare wouldn't notice. The price was high, however, since the job came with obvious risks for the gang members: getting caught meant punishment, and that wasn't for the customer - just the smugglers. Ccino tried to stay away from that business, though; he couldn't have lived with that on his conscience. Instead, he just lived his quiet negative life, taking his chances on being somewhat happy when he was in good company. 

And, yes, his current company was good company, even if he typically only came by when he was feeling down.

"Do you want extra icing on that?" Ccino offered, giving a comforting smile to his friend. 

"..Yes, please.." Killer put a few extra coins on the counter.

"..You wanna help me make it?"

Killer nodded quietly.

"All right, then." Ccino waved his friend inside. "Let's get baking, then!"

If anyone had told Ccino five years ago that Killer, of all people, would be his friend someday, he probably wouldn't have believed them. But, as fate had it, Killer (at least Stage One) liked to bake, and that had led to their paths crossing many times over the years. Ccino didn't know everything about Killer's stages, but he did know the basics - what everyone tended to know, here. Stage One was when Killer was most expressive, and he was completely safe. Stage Two tended to follow Nightmare's orders when he gave them, but he enjoyed skirting around the rules whenever possible (hence his successful smuggling career). Stage Three loved to spite the dark lord at every opportunity, and since the best way to do that was to spread positivity, that was what he did most of the time. Stage Three had basically been the "Dream" of the castle, before Dream had shown up..but, now, there was the actual Dream. Ccino wondered how that whole thing would turn out, honestly. As for Stage Four, that meant that it was time to run for one's life, unless Killer really liked someone. From Ccino's knowledge, only the other gang members held that type of respect from Killer; everyone else was fair game. But right now, Killer was in Stage One, and Stage One tended to spend his excess of money on comfort foods when he felt down - namely, anything sweet. Today, he'd ordered a whole cake - ridiculously expensive for anyone except one of the castle's smugglers..or Dream now, since anything he wanted was free. 

"So, what happened?" Ccino asked, as he began to grab the necessary ingredients out of the kitchen's cupboards.

"..He broke my flute." Killer spun a measuring cup around in his hand - he was probably as skilled with those as he was with his knives.

"Ah..again?" Ccino let out a soft hum. "Do you have the materials to make another?"

"Nope. Gotta get some.." Killer sighed. "Our rooms got cleared a little while ago, and I haven't had time to get any more resources."

Killer's first flute had been a nice metal one that he'd had since he'd been a child. Nightmare had broken it within Killer's first week at the castle in an attempt to break his spirit, and it had worked for a while - at least, until Killer had been here long enough to teach himself how to carve a new one from wood. Now, the two were in an endless cycle of creating and breaking flutes. Killer also had drumsticks, but he preferred his typical woodwind to percussion most of the time - Stage Three didn't really care what sort of music he played, though, as long as it was effectively spiting his boss. 

"Well, I wish you luck." Ccino offered a smile. "Will you have time, after we're done here? The cats would love to see you again!"

"Afraid not - the guys and I have a pretty free day, so we're gonna spend it together." Killer gained a small smile of his own at the thought.

The gang were like brothers - everyone knew it. They had been the first ones to suffer under Nightmare's rule, and they had banded together to keep themselves afloat despite it. Maybe that was why there were so many tight-knit groups in this place; the gang were fairly influential, and it wasn't a far stretch to assume that others would follow in their footsteps. Ccino had considered it..but there was really no one here that he was close with, aside from his cats and Killer. Ccino couldn't exactly ask Killer to be there for him (that would have been selfish - Killer already had three others to care about), leaving..just his cats. Well, that was his group, he supposed..him and his cats..

Ccino sometimes wondered if he was the biggest producer of negativity in this place. 

The baking duo continued making the cake, mixing the ingredients and going through the process that the two had mastered some time ago. Killer really was a good baker; Ccino really wanted to know who had taught him some of those recipes, but Killer had never given him an answer when he'd asked. The closest Ccino had gotten to knowing was a soft mutter about "not being allowed to say the name." And, well, that had stopped the questioning; it was fairly obvious that whoever it was, Nightmare didn't like them to the point of banning their name inside the castle. For all Ccino knew, it was Ink. And Ink couldn't bake to save his life.

Once the cake - a chocolate cake, of course - was in the oven, the duo set about making the icing, which would be a simple vanilla buttercream icing - Killer preferred that above all others, interestingly. After a taste test with muted enjoyment, the two sat back and waited for the cake to finish. 

"Smells good." Ccino hummed.

"Your stuff's always good." Killer informed. "It should be a crime that you can't make anything for yourself without paying.."

"Well, it isn't.." Ccino sighed; the only sweets he got were during taste tests, unfortunately. 

"You know, if you brought that up around Dream.."

"I couldn't." Ccino shook his skull. "He's only just gotten here, and I can't take advantage of that; it would be wrong."

"..Well, if I could, I'd buy you something myself, but.."

"I know, Killer. I wouldn't expect you to do that; this is expensive enough for one person."

"..If you have time to swing by our place later, we'll see about saving a slice for you."

"I'm afraid I can't - I'm expecting to be busy later."

"Really?"

"Yeah, ever since Dream figured out my situation, he's been asking for sweets; he knows I love to bake, you know?"

"You're one step away from telling him you can't eat any."

"..Maybe someday." Ccino paused, turning his gaze to his friend. "Killer?"

"Yeah?"

"..I've heard talk..about what he's planning to do." 

"..." Killer looked down. 

"Is it true? Do..do you think he could actually.."

"Yeah..it's true that he's planning to corrupt Dream, or at least something similar. I hope it won't happen, but..well, hope's not really worth much, with him in charge. We were all doomed the second Dream got here, Ccino - might as well just accept it."

"..Right."

Ccino was good at giving up.

When the cake finished baking, the duo slathered it in icing, and soon enough, the cake was ready. Ccino pulled out a cake box and gently put the dessert inside before closing it up, officially ending his duties as head baker for a while and returning to his work as the castle's coffee slave. Well..that wasn't the actual title, but it fit the description. Coffee wasn't the most expensive drink in the castle, which made it fair game to the residents despite its frankly absurd price, and Ccino was in charge of making all of it when he wasn't baking or off duty! Yay! 

"Well, see you, Ccino!" Killer waved a goodbye before picking up his cake.

"See you, Killer." Ccino returned the gesture. 

When Killer was out of the kitchen, Stage One decided to retreat, and Two came out. It had been a long time since he'd struggled with those personalities fighting over control of his body; without Color, he might have been stuck in that loop forever. He chanced a glance at the cake box in his hands, before letting out a small sigh; maybe he wouldn't be. The gang cared just as much as Color did, and Killer doubted that they would have let his personalities torture eachother for the rest of his life. Nightmare would have, but that was a given; Killer was eternally grateful that Color had found him long before Nightmare had. Nightmare didn't know about his former problems; he hoped he never would. 

Stage One was great in a kitchen with a close friend by his side, and he was fine in most public places as long as he didn't have to acknowledge anyone else's existence. Having friends around made those things easier. But the halls of Nightmare's castle, or missions? Not a chance - other stages could handle that. One would just curl up into a ball and cry. Two, on the other hand, could walk through the halls as if he owned the place - not that he would actually claim that, because Nightmare would have beaten him to a pulp if he did - and make his way safely to the gang's apartment. This place was one of the only places Killer could allow himself to feel safe, even if only enough to drop half his guard. When he got there, he used a touch of magic to open the door, since his hands were full, and he entered the apartment, where he gently placed the cake box down on the kitchen table.

"Oh, awesome!" Cross commented, coming over to see the dessert. "Going all out, are we?"

"Yeah, so don't ruin it with your stupid grin." Killer warned. 

"..Got it." Cross sighed; living here sucked -  he couldn't even be happy about cake.

"Where are Dusty and Horror?"

"Horror had to grab some stuff from the garden for dinner, and Dust went with him; they should be back in a couple minutes."

Ah, the garden - there wasn't much of a story behind that one, but there was still a littl. The universe that Nightmare's castle resided in had been tainted and corrupted by Nightmare's magic killing off all of the life in it, save for the little ground that made up a small outdoor area located somewhere around the center of the building; it was up for debate whether the ground was protected by the tall walls surrounding it (which also happened to house the only windows in the entire castle) or whether Nightmare had just forgotten about it..or decided not to bother. Whatever the case, the ground was surprisingly fertile there, and upon closer inspection, Horror had discovered that it had used to be a garden. With a little work, Horror had restored it to its former glory, with his only punishment being that he now had to keep it pristine, or else Nightmare would take it from him. Luckily for Horror, he had quite the green thumb, and he hadn't had a plant die yet..that Nightmare had noticed, anyway. The gang knew that, eventually, the garden would be taken from them, but for now, they had a small source of freshly-grown food...

Of course, Nightmare took most of it, but they at least got some! Harvesting crops before they were ready was definitely a way to get more before Nightmare could "tax" them on it, too! Though, there was no doubt that Nightmare would be telling his brother that it was a "community garden" and that Dream could take whatever he wanted; he was the type of guy to do that. Maybe one of the gang members needed to intercept Dream before that happened. It wasn't that he couldn't have any - just that..yeah, no, he couldn't have any: Horror had worked too hard for some naive positivity guardian to just come along and take the literal fruits of his labor. Besides, Dream could just ask for fruit at the cafeteria, and he would get it; he didn't need to be poking around in Horror's garden! Once the cake was safe on the table, Killer looked over to his teammate, letting out a hum. The soldier was standing stiffer than he normally did, and his shoulders were straighter than anyone else in the gang ever cared to try for - old habits from an unpleasant past.

"Something wrong?" He asked. "You look tense."

"..Is it that obvious?" Cross looked down, tapping a finger on the table. 

"It'd help a little if you held up a sign." Killer chuckled. "What's bothering you?"

"..Boss gave me a new mission.." 

"About Dream?"

"Mhm..he wants me to help him..to take advantage of our past friendship.."

"..Sorry." Killer reached out, taking one of Cross's hands in his own and just holding it; there wasn't really any type of comfort that would be able to make this better. "If you need any help, the rest of us will be here."

"..Thanks, but..I think we both know the only thing that will really help us." Cross looked up at Killer with a small hopeful smile. "Have you talked with him lately?"

"Not about anything important - we can't rush it, Cross." Killer shook his skull. "Besides, even if it does work, it'll be a long time from now. We have to add in the new variable; we didn't account for this turn."

"..Dream's going to fall before we have a chance, isn't he?" Cross squeezed Killer's hand a little tighter.

"He'll be long gone, Cross..I'm sorry. Just..quit talking and thinking about it; focus on the life we have now, and I'll let you know of anything you need to know." 

"All right.." 

The apartment door opened, and Cross instinctively flinched; Stage One would have, but Two resisted the urge. 

"It's us." Horror's voice came from the door, and he soon entered the kitchen with Dust in tow; they were both holding a few goods from the garden - seasonings, mostly. "Cake?"

"I was depressed." Killer shrugged, as if that answered the question.

"You look happy enough now." Dust commented. 

"I got better!" Killer grinned, letting out a chuckle.

"Yeah, right." Cross rolled his eyelights. "If it weren't for us planning a night together, you'd be bawling your eyes out with Ccino's cats."

"Ouch, you know me so well!" Killer clutched his chest dramatically, feigning falling over before catching himself on the wall. "Aw, nobody tried to catch me? I'm hurt."

"And let you crush us?" Dust scoffed. "Not a chance."

"Fine, you get a pass 'cause you're tiny."

"I am not!" Dust huffed, crossing his arms.

"Guys, let's calm down." Cross put his hands up in a peacemaking way. "This reminds me of a story-"

"Cross, I swear-"

"A story that happened to me long ago!" Cross interrupted, looking up at a ceiling with a stoic expression. "When I was a lowly royal guard in my home AU, and everyone else was taller than me, they used to tease me for being shorter than everyone else! I learned a valuable lesson from those days that has stuck with me throughout my life!"

"Oh, and what was that?" Horror joined in.

"That being taller than someone else is a key factor of a successful life." Cross replied, with a sharp smirk.

Dust took a deep breath, before nodding to himself. 

"..You good?" Horror chanced the question.

"I'm calm.." Dust replied, softly, as his fists shook. "I'm calm.."

After a moment of silence, Dust's arm shot out at Cross, and half a second later, the two were gone. They would be back later. At least, Dust would be. It was true that Dust was the shortest of the four by a long shot, though; he wasn't even four feet tall, only managing to reach three and a half feet, while Cross and Killer both stood about five feet tall, and Horror was roughly six and a half feet tall. Of course, that didn't limit his abilities in any way; his ankle-biting skills were quite honed. With Cross and Dust gone, Killer and Horror were left alone in the kitchen, faced with the consequences of the small spat.

"..I hate having to do that." Horror said, looking down at the food before slowly starting to prepare the gang's dinner. 

"Me, too.." Killer nodded, moving to help his teammate.

Horror sighed, shaking his skull. For the next half hour, the two prepared a good meal for once - one that both tasted good and was allowed under Nightmare's laws. Food like this was almost unheard of in the castle, only being very rare treats that cost high amounts of money, but every so often, people were allowed to indulge themselves, as long as there had been enough negativity in the castle recently for Nightmare to overlook a few hours of muted positivity. When Horror and Killer were done, they looked at the small meal they'd made, nodding to eachother. The main course was one of the standard foodstuffs in the castle: incredibly bland rice that had been grown specifically to provide magic and nothing else. But, with a little gravy of Horror's making, using some herbs from the garden mixed with some common unassuming ingredients that Horror had gotten from the castle's kitchen, it tasted quite good! It would have been nice to have some meat, but Nightmare had decided to deprive his subjects of such a luxury; it was vegetarian or nothing, much to the chagrin of many meat-lovers. It would have been nice to have the choice, but Nightmare didn't give much thought for those types of ideas; taking away choices was a hobby of his, it seemed. At least he allowed things such as eggs in baked goods..but that was about it. 

As a side for the rice and gravy, Horror had grabbed a bit of vegetable oil and salt from the castle's kitchen and harvested a few potatoes early in order to make some fries and potato chips - he was, in fact, a legend. The best fries took a couple days to prepare, but since this night together had been planned a few days in advance, they were ready now. As a dessert, of course, the gang would have their cake - this would be a good night.

A little while after Killer and Horror finished with the food, the door opened again, and Dust and Cross's soft chatting immediately let the duo know that their teammates were back. Cross had definitely been roughed up, and Dust probably had a couple bruises under his clothes, but they were clearly over what had happened earlier and ready to start their night.

"That smells good!" Cross commented, entering the kitchen. 

"Thank you." Horror let himself smile a bit. "Wash up before eating; you two are dirty."

"Sure - I'l be right back." Cross nodded, heading to his room. 

"..Pajamas?" Dust asked, looking at Killer and Horror inquisitively as he pushed a stool over to help him reach the sink. 

"Pajamas." Killer confirmed. "The best party is a pajma party!"

Dust let out a hum, starting to wash his hands. "Fine."

"Awesome!"

Not everyone in the castle had pajamas, but since the gang had more financial "aid" than others, they certainly did, and it helped during the cold nights. Killer had some pure black flannel pajamas, which he tended to pair with some warm black slippers. Horror hadn't really cared, when he'd been asked what type he wanted, but he'd had the foresight not to allow any of his close friends to make the decision for him, opting for some traditional red plaid flannel pajamas and similar slippers to Killer's, but red. Cross, in the same vein, had black and white variants of the same type of pajamas and slippers.

...Dust had not been so lucky.

Before there had been a tailor in the castle, people had simply slept in their day clothes. When a tailor had come into the castle, Killer, Horror, and Cross had been among the first to get some proper sleepwear, but Dust had decided not to bother, since he felt uncomfortable with the ideas of taking off his favored jacket and leaving his skull uncovered. Alas, this decision was not accepted by his friends, who had decided to take matters into their own hands long ago. After washing his hands, Dust went to his room to change, coming out in..an outfit that displayed approximately how he really felt about his teammates. It was a blue hooded (and footed) onesie with bunny ears and a fluffy tail, and Dust had absolutely despised it at first..but it was softer and more comfortable than it had any right to be. It had taken him a good while to actually start using it, but when Nightmare had decided that the castle would have been much better dropping below freezing during the nights, he'd relented. The others had absolutely made fun of him at first, but those days had long since passed, and no one tended to comment on it anymore. Dust felt comfortable around the others in this ridiculous outfit, and..wasn't that really a testament to how far they had come?

They really were brothers..they just couldn't say that out loud.

"This is great, guys." Cross complimented, enjoying the food that Horror and Killer had made. 

"Mhm..thanks for cooking." Dust agreed.

"Thanks." Horror smiled softly.

"You're welcome!" Killer chuckled.

"So, what do we have to make this night special?" Cross wondered; he'd gotten the activity for the last fun night the gang had shared, and this time, it was Dust's turn.

"Found something really special last time I went out." Dust informed, setting his plate down.

The most important part of smuggling was inventory management. Nightmare had several rules about the gang's inventories, since he knew that they had their smuggling business and did much to stop them, but he simply didn't have the time or desire to manually search them, and having people whose jobs it was to search them would have been a waste of manpower. Instead, their inventories were judged by weight when they left and entered the castle, and if there was an increase or decrease of more than a pound of weight, they would have to give an excuse for it. Most of the time, they had dozens of excuses lined up and made sure to weigh things before they tried to bring them into the castle and to bring objects along of similar weights, but when they picked up something unexpected, the only real thing they could do was hide it in a pocket and hope for the best. Luckily for Dust, he'd escaped from his previous mission with a special treat that was most certainly contraband of the highest order.

It was a mobile DVD player.

"Woah." Cross stared at the small dvd player in awe.

"We're eating good tonight, boys!" Killer let out a small laugh. 

"Did you get any movies?" Horror inquired. "What kind?"

"I got three." Dust smirked. "Comedy, horror, and adventure!"

"..Those are our favorites." Cross pointed out. "Didn't you get anything for yourself?"

"Tried.." Dust shrugged a little. "The disc got cracked in the fight.."

"Oh.." Horror frowned, putting an arm around the smallest gang member.

"It's fine; I'm just eager to watch these with you guys, okay? Let's enjoy this night."

"All right." Killer nodded, looking through the available DVDs. "What shall we do first, boys?"

"Can we start with the horror?" Cross requested. "I don't want to end with it.."

"Aw, you scared?" Horror chuckled. 

"I'm not! I'm just..I think we should save the best for last!"

"Oh, so horror's not the best?" Killer hummed.

"I'm hurt!" Horror chuckled. 

"I didn't mean it like that!" Cross let out a groan. "I just don't wanna have bad dreams if I can help it!"

"Fair enough." Dust decided. "Let's start."

Dust started to operate the DVD player, and Killer got up to turn out the lights - horror movies were much better with the lights off! Once everything was ready, the gang ate their food in the dark, watching a scary movie and enjoying a nice night together. 

They didn't get nights like this often.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Ccino and Killer make cake, and the gang get to have fun!

Thanks for reading my delectable writing!

Bye!

Chapter Text

It had been nearly three weeks since Dream had been kidnapped by his brother, and no progress had been made at all since the encounter with Killer. In fact, so little progress had been made that even the Omega Timeline's leaders hadn't heard the news yet, aside from Core Frisk. Unfortunately, today was the day that would change. 

The Omega Timeline had developed quite a bit from being a simple refuge for those in the multiverse without homes. Over the years, it had turned into somewhat of an AU of its own, with buildings other than housing being built to accomodate the growing number of people who lived here. The initial first schoolhouse had developed into several different school districts that spanned across the giant civilization that had sprouted up, and it seemed that a new school district popped up every half a decade or so at the current rate. Public transportation had been the first real pain that Core Frisk had dealt with, and eventually, they had given up! There were experts that could help, and Core Frisk needed that help, despite the risks. From importing dirt to arrange for in-world farming to arranging an entire justice system, the Omega Timeline had gained a council of people who made sure that things kept running, and due to its unique nature, those people had gained political power in the multiverse. Of course, after realizing that, Core Frisk had done everything in their power to ensure that people seeking only that power couldn't reach those positions, but..things didn't always work out that way. Term lengths was a good way to make sure that those people didn't stay too long, though, and limiting candidates to residents of the timeline had been a good idea, too. 

Despite its humble beginnings, the Omega Timeline's council was one of the main governing bodies of the multiverse, and it was about to become privy to a very important matter..one that Blue was particularly concerned about. Unfortunately, Blue didn't really know a lot about the council members, aside from a couple of their AUs..he didn't know any of their names; maybe he should have learned them a long time ago, but he'd never really had the time to get to know a lot of council members, since their terms were only five years long. 

"We're all here." Core Frisk let out a sigh, sitting down in their chair quietly.

"Dream isn't here." The agricultural director, an Asgore from a long-destroyed farm-based AU, spoke up. "Is he not coming? You said this was a matter of great importance.."

"..I don't like the look on your faces." The director of the justice system, an Undyne of an undocumented AU, frowned at Ink, Blue, and Frisk. "What happened?"

"..I think we should take this meeting off the record." Blue spoke up.

"What?" The council's recordkeeper, an Alphys, looked up from her computer screen. "That is highly irregular."

"This is a highly irregular situation.." Blue sighed.

"..I agree." Core Frisk nodded. "It would be for the best to keep this to ourselves."

"State your reasoning, and if it is acceptable, I'll keep it under an access code."

"Good enough!" Ink looked to Blue, letting him take the lead; Ink was..less-skilled with these sorts of things.

"..Dream has been abducted by Nightmare." Blue stated, simply. "That is the reason it would be best to keep this off the record."

"What?" A Ceroba who had recently been elected as the director of medicine startled. "Why would we keep something like that off the record?"

"Look, it..the people will have to know at some point, but we have no idea what Nightmare could be doing to him! If he's hurting Dream, then Dream will need every bit of positivity the multiverse can give him, and if people find out that he's been captured, they will not be positive! The last thing Dream needs is for a multiverse-wide panic; that could be detrimental for his situation, and since we have no way of knowing what that situation is, we have to do everything in our power to keep the general multiverse as positive as we can.."

"People are going to ask; they already are." The director of education, a Toriel, let out a sigh. "Dream had agreed to do some mid-year lectures for a few schools before he disappeared, and he didn't show; the children have been spreading rumors.."

"No one's seen him in weeks." The Undyne added. "What excuse are we going to give them? We can't just say he went on vacation!"

"..You're right." Frisk looked down. "But..we can't tell the truth yet; that would bring disastrous consequences.."

"What if..we said he got sick?" Ink offered, shrugging a bit. "It's not the best, but it's believable, right?"

"Dream's never become ill enough to disappear before." The Ceroba reminded. 

"Exactly!" Ink grinned. "And since he hasn't, people will totally accept it, since they don't know what Guardian of Positivity illnesses are like!"

"..That could work." Blue hummed. "We could say he's recovering in the Doodlesphere, and since no one could fact-check that, they'd have to believe it."

"How long can we drag that excuse out, though?" Core Frisk asked. "People will get suspicious at some point."

"..As long as we possibly can." Blue sighed. "Until we come up with a plan to get him back, at least."

"So you have no plan?" The Asgore let out a sigh. 

"Not yet. Nightmare is undoubtedly keeping him in his base of operations, and he has a claim laid upon that universe; we can't enter it without an invitation."

"So if you wanted to get in, you would have to obtain an invitation, which would effectively prevent you from doing anything to help Dream." The Undyne frowned. "That's difficult.."

"It is.." Blue confirmed. "That's part of why we must keep this quiet."

"..I'll do my best." The recordkeeper assured. "But the people will find out eventually; they always manage to."

"We know..we just need time."

"With that out of the way, we should get on to more local matters." Core Frisk decided. "You will all be informed when we make some progress regarding our plans for the situation."

"If you require anything for the search, I'll do my best to accomodate." The director of science, a Gaster from a technologically-inclined universe (and a mostly-ethical one, to boot!) offered.

"Thank you..we may have to take you up on that offer." Blue smiled, letting out a sigh. 

"Oh, one more thing!" Ink spoke up. "Maybe a parade would help to brighten spirits, if there are already rumors spreading; it might increase positivity levels, and if Dream does need help in that department, that'll ensure that he gets it!"

"Good idea - I could arrange something through the school systems." The Toriel nodded. "Perhaps it would be good for the children to have something to put their minds to, anyway; it's been a while since they've had a hand in any events.."

"Sounds good." Core Frisk. "I'm glad that we can all agree that this situation should be kept in this room, too."

The council members all quietly agreed with that decision; the general public didn't need to know about this, and the council members didn't need to speak about it outside this little circle. With that settled, the council's discussion turned to internal affairs, such as funding for different departments and the like, and Blue mostly tuned that stuff out, since he had no say in those sorts of decisions; he and Ink were only here to discuss matters that affected the multiverse as a whole, nothing else. In light of that, Blue was glad when the meeting finally ended and he was allowed to leave; he had plans.

Well..he had plans to make, anyway. 

After a few goodbyes and a couple transitional universe hops, Blue entered a very specific place, intent on meeting with a very specific person. He let out a hum as the white not-light of the Anti-Void hit him, and he looked around for his friend, not having to struggle to do so; the Anti-Void's lack of color made it rather easy.

Now, the Anti-Void wasn't a place that most people would have liked to be in at all, much less called their home, but Error wasn't "most people." He was the multiverse's resident Destroyer of Worlds, and as such, the white space suited him as well as any other place would have. He had carved out his own little space in the expanse, complete with a blue beanbag chair, a small shelf for all the things he couldn't hang up in his strings above, and, of course, the aforementioned strings above, which held all else. Most of his prized possessions were hidden behind thick layers of strings, though; while not everyone was privy to the fact that he kept more than just dolls and souls up there, Blue was. This wasn't the time to talk about that, however. 

"Error, hello!" Blue greeted his friend clearly, making sure that Error wouldn't mistake his voice for anyone else's (most other people were attacked immediately upon Error's noticing them). 

"Blue." Error loked up from his current sewing project, nodding to his friend. "Has it been two weeks already? It feels like you were just here."

"I'm afraid so..and I have bad news." 

"What kind?" One of Error's brows raised in interest.

"..Not the gossip kind."

"Oh." Error lost interest, letting out a bored hum. "What is it?"

Blue took a moment to come a little closer before continuing the conversation, taking a seat on the ground next to Error's beanbag. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but it wasn't uncomfortable..the texture of the Anti-Void was indescribable. It was brick-like occasionally, but it was also fluffy at times, and sometimes it was smooth or slippery; Blue could never pin it down. 

"It's been confirmed that Dream's been taken by his brother." Blue let out a sigh, wrapping his arms around his legs.

Normally, Blue wouldn't have gone around telling the council's secrets to people, but Error was different; Error only had one person he gossiped with, and that was Blue, making Error a great secret keeper! Granted, Blue didn't tend to have many secrets, considering he didn't even keep his friendship with the literal Destroyer a secret, but still! Error was trustworthy.

"You think that's not gossip?" Error let out a chuckle. "That's interesting! You know how it happened?"

"Error, he's my friend." Blue shook his skull. "It isn't gossip when it's a friend."

"He's not my friend."

"Well, he's mine! Error, this is serious! Dream's gone! What if Nightmare's torturing him, or something?"

"Then I think that's his problem; I'm not gonna try to help him."

Blue looked down, resting his skull on his knees. It was times like this that Blue was reminded that his friend was, in fact, the apathetic sort. As long as things didn't affect him or those he cared about, he didn't care; it made it a wonder that some people believed that Error and Nightmare worked together. They didn't, of course; their goals clashed so severely that any alliance would have immediately been destroyed by the infighting that would inevitably ensue. But that didn't really make things better; it just meant that Blue had even less of an idea of how Dream was doing than he could have had. 

"..Nightmare has a claim over the universe he's keeping Dream in." Blue informed. "We can't even try to rescue him.."

"That sucks." Error shrugged. 

"You could at least pretend to care.." Blue sighed. "Do you know..if there's any possible way to infiltrate a claimed universe?

"Hey, I'm just looking at this realistically. Claims are the single most annoying magic power in the multiverse, and I've been trying to crack them for ages; they just don't give in. The only way to break a claim is to kill the one who made it, and that's it. There's nothing else to say about them."

"..I just can't accept that." 

"You don't really have a choice, Blue; if I can't figure it out, I don't think you have a shot, either."

"And that just makes it all so hard!" Blue let out a groan. "That leaves our only chance of saving Dream being hoping for a miracle! I just...I can't accept that."

Error stopped his sewing, glancing over at his friend. "Well..there might be one way." 

"What?" Blue looked up at the Destroyer. "But you just said there wasn't! What chance is there?"

"..I shouldn't tell you." Error admitted, before holding up a hand to stop Blue's inevitable retaliation. "But, as your friend..I'll tell you as long as you promise not to do anything stupid."

"..I promise not to do anything stupid regarding whatever you're about to tell me." Blue nodded. "What is it?"

"Good enough, I guess. Have you ever heard of 'portal pushing'?" 

"Uh, sure - it's just using someone else's portal. Everyone knows what that is!"

"And you know why it's called that?"

Blue paused, before shaking his skull. "Nope..never gave it much thought."

"It got its name back when portals through the multiverse were just first becoming commonplace, and people didn't understand the dangers. Every time someone new goes through the same portal, it requires more magic usage from the portal's creator, thereby pushing the limits of their magic. And, if someone doesn't have enough magic to support the transfer.."

Blue frowned, looking down and nodding. "People can die.." 

"Deaths from portals used to be so frequent that people got scared to use them." Error recalled. "They didn't want to be the last person through and risk losing limbs or their life, and they didn't want to open them for groups because they were afraid they'd run out of magic."

"..But people nowadays don't have to worry about that, because everyone's trained and informed of their magical limits with that stuff." Blue reminded. "Like, I know that I can only bring twenty other people through a portal after myself before I need to recharge my magic, and that's all; everyone knows their limit.."

"Yeah, but let's look at it differently. When you open a portal, you know how much magic you're gonna lose."

"Yeah?"

"So you prepare yourself mentally before you do it."

"Yes, and?"

"When Ink hops through your portals uninvited, do you feel the extra drain?"

"Well, yeah, of course I do; it's because I don't calculate for that."

"Exactly." Error nodded. "Blue, everyone does that."

"Yeah..everyone does that. What does this have to do with saving Dream, exactly?"

"The only way to get into Nightmare's universe is to portal push someone who does have access, hope they don't close the portal on you and murder you, and then take them out before they can sound their alarms, or whatever they do. You'd have to hope they didn't make a portal directly to Nightmare - or any populated area - and then you'd have to sneak around a castle constantly monitored by a guy who can literally feel the emotions of those around him without getting caught by whoever else lives with him. After that, you'd have to grab Dream undetected and then force someone else with access to the universe to make a portal out for both you and Dream. That's the only way that you're getting your friend back, and the chance that you get cut in half by a closing portal before you can even try to locate Dream is about fifty percent. You're more likely to die than to get Dream out of there, and even if you don't die, you'll probably get caught."

"..I see." Blue hummed. "So..that's the only way?"

"Yeah, but that's a stupid way, and you've promised not to do anything stupid, so you can't do it. You'd have better luck sending Ink, since he's immortal and will just respawn if he gets cut in half by a portal. In fact, send literally anyone except yourself. That's why I'm offering you this solution: so you don't think of it by yourself and kill yourself."

It was stupid. Anyone who portal pushed was taking their life into their own hands and gambling heavily with it. The first thing everyone in the multiverse learned about portals was to always alert someone if one planned to go through another's portal unannounced, and it had even gotten to the point that it was considered a literal crime not to! Ink only got away with it because he knew better than to go through weaker monsters' portals and he didn't have a personal risk involved, since he didn't have to worry about dying. Only very small children ever portal pushed, and that was only because they were small children who didn't know any better; Blue always made sure that no little ones ever tried to follow him through his portals before closing them, and most others did, too. It was just..how things were. Blue supposed it made sense that the only way to get Dream back would have been incredibly dangerous..but that didn't really make it any easier to handle.

"Okay." Blue nodded. "I'll talk to Ink about it. Thank you, Error.."

"Don't mention it." Error rolled his eyelights. "I just don't want you going out and dying; you're the only one who appreciates good shows!"

Blue chuckled, smirking at his friend. "Well, is anything good on?"

"TrickshotTale's got a new season running; wanna watch some with me?"

"Sure! What are they trying to do this time?" 

"I think.." Error hummed, trying to recall the end of the previous season. "I think Asgore challenged the human to shoot a golf ball into a hole half a mile away while swinging upside-down from a trapeze as their final test to beat him."

"Ooh, that sounds difficult!" Blue grinned. "Let's see if they succeed!"

Error opened a viewing portal to the AU in question, and an "episode" began. Universes weren't actually shows with episodes or seasons, but with a bit of code magic, Error liked to compile the histories of universes and play them back in that format regardless. After a few months of waiting, most AUs he enjoyed watching had enough material to watch to last a while. This particular one didn't have too much of a plot, but every reset, the human was faced with different trickshots to complete in order to gain the respect of the monsters along their journey, and this was the first time they had ever reached Asgore; maybe they would free the monsters this reset!

It was nice to think about something other than a lost friend.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Blue has questions and receives answers.

Thanks for reading my planning writing!

Bye!

Chapter Text

It was him. 

It was Nightmare.

And wasn't that just..unbelievable? Dream couldn't believe it; how could he? He'd thought that he'd been fighting a monster who had possessed his brother's body, or just a corrupted, twisted version of Nightmare! Not..the real Nightmare. But he was. He was the real Nightmare, and there was no denying that now. Dream couldn't deny it now. 

It was Nightmare! 

The monster who had slaughtered countless innocents without a second thought or a moment of hesitation. The monster who had made it his life's mission to hurt others in horrible ways and feed off their negativity. The monster who was keeping him here. It was his twin brother, all grown up. 

What had happened?

Nightmare had been so quiet and reserved as a child, but now he was arrogant and dramatic..

But that was what Dream had forced him to be, wasn't it? Dream had asked him to change who he was, to alter himself in order to please others. He was the one who had ended Nightmare's initial loud and serious nature..he'd changed his brother. The Nightmare he'd believed in for so long - the quiet, ever-patient little bookworm who lived vicariously through Dream's actions..was a front. That wasn't Nightmare. Dream..barely knew who his brother really was. And, yet, Dream felt that he knew him all too well, now. The real Nightmare was the one who was keeping him prisoner right now. He was a cunning, sadistic, theatrical perfectionist...

And he still loved Dream. 

Wasn't that a surprise? Dream had always thought that, even if Nightmare possibly was the same person he'd been before, that he hated Dream now; it would have been the logical thing to do. But Nightmare wasn't really a logical person, was he? Despite his cruelty and intelligence, he had been created with a trait that Dream had been forced to take time to learn: loyalty. Nightmare had been loyal to the Tree from the beginning and stayed by it constantly, while Dream had flitted from place to place without an ounce of the stuff, and only after enduring horrible hardships had Nightmare let his loyalty to the Tree he'd been created to protect falter. Dream had a feeling that Nightmare still held the same sort of loyalty to him, and that was..crazy, honestly. Dream had learned loyalty in a healthy way, having been taught when to stick by his friends and when to separate himself from them; he didn't back up his friends on every single belief they had, no matter how much they meant to him, but he'd have sacrificed his life for his closest friends any day of the week. 

Nightmare..had a very twisted sense of loyalty. Instead of letting Dream live his life apart from him, Nightmare had decided that he had to change his twin in order to keep Dream close. Nightmare's loyalty was unconditional, it seemed, but he was trying to forge some conditions to pretend it wasn't; he was forcing himself to wait for Dream to return his loyalty before he would allow himself to show his own. Dream doubted he knew; Nightmare never would have wanted to consider something like that. Nightmare hated perceived flaws in himself; Dream knew firsthand. Nightmare had completely changed his personality as a child in order to "fix" himself, after all..and he'd done such a good job of it that Dream had forgotten who Nightmare truly was. 

That smile that Nightmare had fooled Dream with..it was the same one he'd crafted as a child. 

That smile had always fooled Dream. 

A knock came at Dream's door, and he sat up straight, pushing the pillow he'd been practically strangling aside and looking to the door. He didn't want to show weakness here..at least, not too much.

"Um, come in!" Dream called, forcing a shaky smile of his own. He would never have a smile like Nightmare's; he wasn't perfect. 

The door was opened, and Dream's shaky smile steadied a little when he saw who was on the other side: Cross. 

"Um, hey.." Cross greeted, softly. "Mind if I come in?"

"Of course not!" Dream slid off his bed, moving over to close the door behind Cross; the draft was horrible. "It's good to see you, Cross! I'm sorry that I haven't really gotten the chance to see you, despite the fact that we're sort of living together now, but..I've just been going through a lot.."

"Oh, don't apologize for that!" Cross smiled, shaking his skull. "Everyone's first few weeks are hectic; mine were pretty bad, too!"

"Really?" Dream let out a hum, before blinking. "Oh, um.." He looked around the room, frowning a bit as he looked for a suitable place.. "There are no good chairs in here to talk in..how about the window seat? It's big enough, I think!"

"No need to go to all that trouble for me, but thank you." Cross chuckled as Dream led him over to the window seat on the other side of the room; the two sat down together, the sunlight shining warmly on them. "Uh, yeah, when I was new, I was..kinda terrified, honestly; after I agreed to join him, boss pretty much just left me in the middle of a hallway and called it a day - not ideal!"

"That's definitely something I could imagine him doing.."

"The others found me eventually and took me to our rooms, so it wasn't a completely horrible first day, but I was terrified at the time. Then boss decided it would be funny to not explain any of the orders he gave me, so I just had zero clue what I was doing for a while. I got the hang of it, but it was tough..a lot of people here have it tough. Tougher than I do.."

"..I'm sorry."

"No need, Dream - it's been years."

"No, I mean..I should have explained - I just.." Dream sighed. "When Nightmare was..talking with me, before he took me here, he..he told me stories about you and the others, to try to make me feel bad for him. I..believed them. I'm sorry for everything bad that I thought about you; I-"

"Dream." Cross put a hand on Dream's shoulder, giving him a calm smile. "It's fine. I'm okay; it's not like your thoughts hurt me, or anything! You had no way of verifying those claims, and he practiced for years and years to find the perfect way to manipulate you, Dream - there was no harm done, and I forgive you for everything. You're not at fault; you never were."

"..I can't let myself believe that, Cross."

"I know, but I'll believe it enough for both of us." Cross shrugged, smirking when Dream chuckled a bit. "Well..man, it's hot in here; I forgot you like it hot.."

"Oh, I'm sorry; should I turn it down?" Dream offered. "I, um..this is just the perfect temperature for me..Nightmare did his research.."

"It's all right for now; I'll just have to remember to wear lighter clothing when I want to visit you in the future!"

"Are you sure?"

"Certain, Dream."

"..Okay, then. So..what brings you around these parts?"

"Well, boss realized that you haven't gotten a proper tour of the castle, so he sent me to make sure that you get one; I'll be showing you all the sights, if you're up for it! All two of them!" Cross grinned, holding up two fingers as a visual reference. 

Dream laughed, crossing his arms. "Are you serious? Only two?"

"Nah, there's more than two." Cross rolled his eyelights. "But, seriously, we won't be going to a lot of places, because they're boring; this is gonna be a fun tour! So, you wanna go?"

"Yeah, I think so. It'll be good to catch up with you along the way, too."

"Sounds like a plan!"

Cross stood up, and Dream followed suit, grabbing his coat from his bed and putting it on to protect himself from the cold outside; it was a good coat. Cross seemed more comfortable once the two were in the hall, but that made sense, considering his tendency to wear layers; he was probably quite cozy, here!

"Well, I think I have a good idea of where to start; let's head this way." Cross directed, leading Dream down the hall towards the staircase.

"All right!" Dream followed along. "So, um..how have you been? I mean, um..are you still into art, and stuff?"

"Yeah, I'm still into art." Cross nodded. "Can't do much of it here, though."

"Right..how about photography? I remember when you used to take pictures of everything in sight! Do you still do that?"

"..I would if I had a camera."

"..Oh." Dream frowned. "You don't have a camera anymore?"

"Positivity is prohibited in the castle, so almost everything that can gemerate it is, too. If I want good art paper, I have to sneak it in."

"Ah..I see. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault.." Cross sighed. "So, how are Blue and Ink? Still the same as when I..left?"

"Oh, pretty much." Dream nodded. "Blue's probably freaking out about me by now, though..I hope he'll be all right." 

"He's strong; he'll get through it." 

"I hope so." 

"Well, this is our first stop. Third floor, second hallway from the left, this black door." Cross gestured to the door. "This is boss's office; I wouldn't enter unless he ordered you here, but in case he ever does, this is where it is."

"Ah, I see..thank you. I..can feel that he's inside.."

"We're not going in." Cross assured. "I just wanted to let you know. Our next stop will be nicer, promise."

Dream nodded. "Lead on, then."

Cross did, and the two walked in silence for a little while before reaching a set of double doors on the fifth floor, just down the hall from Dream's and Nightmare's rooms - an interesting sight, considering the fact that most doors in the castle were singles. Dream didn't have the sensitivities that he was used to, regarding emotions, here, since it was so negative, but he believed that he sensed a bit of positivity from Cross as they looked at these doors.

"Not many people are allowed in here." Cross started. "Privileges come with how long a person's been here, and to get access to this room, you've gotta either get on boss's good side or wait five years. But, since you're you, you have access. Come on in."

Cross opened the double doors, and Dream could have sworn he felt his soul skip a beat when he realized what this room was. 

It was a library.

Stars, this really was his brother's castle. 

Dream slowly crossed the doorway, staring at his twin's personal library. The walls were lined entirely with bookshelves, and the floor itself had several rows of them, too, creating a sheltered feeling in the room despite its size. The massive room took up a lot of space on two floors, bordering the top floor for a reason: the ceiling was one huge skylight. The sunlight shone brightly through the glass, and the sight almost made up for the lack of windows elsewhere in the castle; it probably looked stunning at night, too. But that feature wasn't the only point of interest in the room by a long shot. The bookshelves had been crafted from rosewood, and it was very obviously cleaned regularly, with that shine the wood had. All the wooden pieces of the furniture in the room was rosewood, in fact. And there was furniture. In several spots scattered throughout the shelves on the floor and undoubtedly on the second floor, too, there were spots to sit down and read, ranging from gatherings of sofas and coffee tables for group reading to singular chairs for solitude. And it was so quiet. There were a few display cases in the middle of the room, holding..artifacts. Dream even recognized some of them as relics that had been missing for years; one of them was a crystal that Outertale had been searching for since before Dream had broken out of his stone prison! How had Nightmare gotten that? Had he stolen it? Why? It wasn't even a magical crystal - just an heirloom of Outertale's royal family!

Dream approached the display cases, curious about the objects inside; he'd never known that Nightmare had ever cared much for valuable possessions. And..there were a lot of those types of objects here. They weren't all obviously valuable at first glance, but as someone who had been around the multiverse a few times, Dream recognized a good deal of them. There was one of Ink's vials, empty and long-since forgotten - interesting, considering the fact that Ink was highly protective of those above all else. Its cap was red, though, and it wasn't a stretch to assume that Ink had lost it in a heated frenzy. He had replacements of course, but still..Ink hardly lost vials. Among the other valuables were old documents (one of them appeared to be a trade agreement between two universes that hadn't existed in ages), works of art, and jewels, all of which must have had some importance to have been placed here. One thing that caught Dream's eye, however, was a piece that had been set to the side on its own, sitting alone on a plush pillow in a small display case in the very center of the room, only big enough for it. And Dream knew why: it was Nightmare's crown. Dream had often wondered what had happened to it, since Nightmare never wore it, but he hadn't ever assumed that Nightmare had put it on display in his personal library..Dream didn't know what to think of it. 

"This stuff's pretty valuable." Cross commented, after a few minutes of silence. "Boss likes antique stuff."

"..I can tell." Dream's eyelights were still locked onto Nightmare's crown, and Cross happened to notice.

"It's a pretty crown, I guess." Cross strolled over to it, seeming rather uninterested. "Probably belonged to some old king; boss would know, probably."

"It belongs to him." 

"Huh?" Cross blinked, looking up at Dream. "Well, I guess it does now, but-"

"No, it..we were both created with circlets." Dream shrugged a little. "It's his..I've always wondered what happened to it."

"Oh." Cross looked back at the crown. "He..never said anything about it."

"I doubt he would; it's a reminder of a less-than-pleasant time. It's a wonder he didn't bury it, honestly.."

Cross didn't know what to say in response to that; he'd likely never given the crown a second thought before. But Dream didn't need silence right now.

"The library seems to give you positive feelings." Dream brought up. "Something special about it?"

"Oh, uh, yeah." Cross nodded, smiling a little. "This is the one place in the castle that's kind of different from everywhere else; people are allowed to be a little happy here. Not too much, but..more than other places. More than usual. It's a privilege.."

"I see."

That made sense; Nightmare had found solace from his troubles as a child when reading, and it only made sense that he would hold his pastime in special regard.

"There are a lot of books here, and you can read whatever you'd like." Cross informed. "Only rules are that you have to be quiet and not make a mess."

"..Does he come here often?" Dream inquired.

"Every once in a while, yeah. Whenever he doesn't have anything else to do, he's usually here; it's one of the only times people aren't afraid to be near him, since, as long as you don't bother him, he won't bother you."

Dream nodded; that sounded like his brother. He had a feeling that he would be exploring this place more on his own later, though, and he wanted to move on. After voicing as much to Cross, the other led him out of the room and into the hallways again, where Dream found himself..thinking. He was thinking about the countless days as a child he spent away from his twin, about what might have happened if he'd just stayed at the Tree, and..he didn't want to think about that right now. 

"The castle is pretty." Dream devided to say, hoping for a quiet, pleasant conversation to take his mind from those hard memories.

"It's home." Cross shrugged, and Dream paused.

Home? Cross..had always hated using that term. It reminded him of the place he'd used to call home,  his dead universe, and he refused to use it to describe the places he used as such..why would he call this place his home?

"Dream?" Cross turned when he noticed that Dream had stopped, giving him a confused expression. "Are you okay?"

"..You called it your home." Dream..knew he wasn't imagining that. 

"Oh..yeah." Cross confirmed, softly. "Look, it..it's been years since we really knew eachother well; I'm kind of surprised you remembered that, but..I got over it. Home, for me, is with the people I care about, and that's here. They helped me realize that.."

Dream looked down for a moment, before returning his gaze to Cross and continuing to walk through the halls of the castle. Cross led. 

"You really care about them, don't you?" Dream smiled. "I think it's good that you have others to lean on..more people should have that."

Nightmare should have had that.

"..They're the best." Cross smiled. "You should get to know them; they aren't anything like the multiverse thinks."

"Can you tell me about them?"

"Well, Horror's an amazing cook, and he's great at comforting people; he..he gives really good hugs. Dust..he's just a good friend, as long as you aren't trying to annoy him; that's a mistake that will definitely lead to a fight! He likes origami, though, and it can be really peaceful when you're just sitting next to him, doing your thing while he does his. And Killer..he's a crazy-good baker."

"Wait, Killer bakes?" Dream asked, a bit amused at the thought.

"Stage One does." Cross nodded. "He loves it, and whoever taught him must have been a legend. But, uh..Killer's just a good guy. He keeps us together through everything, and..he really cares. I'd trust him with my life; I'd trust all of them with it."

"..I'm glad you have that kind of trust."

Nightmare had..

The next stop was a garden. It was beautiful, but it didn't really take Dream's mind off other things. He wasn't allowed to take anything from the garden, anyway; it wasn't his. After that, Cross led Dream to..

Dream had forgotten, but he remembered that it hadn't really been anything of note. He'd asked Cross to end the tour after that stop, despite the fact that the tour was nowhere near complete. He would explore the castle on his own later; he just really wanted to be alone right now. He had too many things on his mind..it would be best to think through those things fully on his own before they affected him too much.

He'd let his brother down, and it was far too late to fix anything without hurting himself.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dream bean gets a tour! And he does not have a good time!

Thanks for reading my trusting writing!

Bye!

Chapter Text

A month. It had been a month since Dream had been brought here. He'd done a lot of thinking recently about the world, himself, and Nightmare, and he'd made peace with his thoughts. Yes, he'd failed Nightmare, and yes, he should have been a better brother..but the past was the past, and now he had to face reality in the present. He couldn't change anything, and he had to stay true to himeelf if he was ever going to get out of here. He wasn't perfect; he'd made mistakes, and he would again! But he just couldn't let his brother take advantage of the past in order to get Dream to join him. Dream could dwell on the past once he was home, and this wasn't his home. For now, Dream had to figure out a way to get out of here, and..he didn't know any. But he did know one thing: he was the Guardian of Positivity! And here, in Nightmare's castle, there wasn't a lot of that! So, until Dream could come up with a way to leave this universe and get home, he would do the one thing he did best: spreading positivity. Nightmare had told him that he was allowed to spread a little positivity, but Dream didn't exactly know how much "a little" was, and, honestly, he didn't really care; he was going to do his absolute best to make this castle as positive as he could, and no one was going to stop him!

Well..Nightmare was probably going to stop him at some point, but that wasn't the point!

Dream was going to spread positivity in this castle, and he was going to do it until he couldn't anymore! He didn't want to think about the logistics of that decision; he was just going to do it!

After changing out of his pajamas (he'd asked Stitch a while ago to make him some pajamas both because he absolutely needed soft and fluffy pajamas, according to Stitch, and because it gave him an excuse to talk to his friend more often - the pajamas were perfect, too!), Dream put on his day clothes and left his room, heading to the cafeteria for a good start to this great day! And, truthfully, this had to be a fairly good day; Dream really needed some positivity. Food was great, and he could survive off it, but there was nothing that could help him more than positivity, and he'd been severely lacking that recently. As a positive spirit, he couldn't go on for long periods of time without benefiting from the positivity of those around him, and the past month had been an incredible shift from what he was used to. He had a feeling that today would be a good day, though; he had a good idea regarding how to spread positivity here.

After making his way down to the cafeteria, Dream sought out Ccino, giving him a smile when he spotted him behind the counter. Ccino..worked long days, Dream noticed. The other was almost always present when Dream came to the cafeteria, and he was beginning to wonder if Ccino got any breaks during the day at all. Today, Dream hoped he could make a difference in Ccino's life. 

"Good morning, Dream!" Ccino smiled, as he always did around Dream. "What can I get you?"

"Well, today I'm testing my limits." Dream smirked. "How would you guys feel about a free pancake breakfast for anyone who wants it?"

"Sounds risky for you." One of the other kitchen staff commented. "But I doubt we'd get punished for it, so..go for it?"

"Great!" Dream chuckled. "And, uh..do you have any idea where I could get my hands on copious amounts of paper?"

"You'd have to ask someone else about that." Ccino shook his skull. "But we'll get started on those pancakes."

"Thank you!"

"And what about your breakfast, Dream?"

"I'll eat later." Dream assured. "I have rebellion to do!"

After making a formal request for several stacks of paper and some other specific supplies from one of the castle's servants (Dream still felt icky about that, but it couldn't be helped if he wanted to make this a good day), Dream started to push several tables together in the cafeteria, where he would perform his rebellious positivity spreading. Today, the castle would get free pancakes and paper with which to make crafts! Creativity was highly discouraged in the castle, which meant that a day making crafts was hopefully going to do wonders making others happy! And..Dream loved making crafts. He typically only got to do them when he visited schools, but he always had a great time! He wanted to have a good time today..he needed it. After roughly ten minutes, the craft supplies showed up, and Dream set them out on the tables with a grin. He sat down, drew up a sign to advertise that this was for everyone, and smiled, grabbing some paper and starting to enjoy himself. 

As the day began for others in the castle, they took advantage of the free pancakes, and Dream could already feel the positive energy created as a result; it was refreshing, after so long without it. Not everyone could join him at the craft table, but he encouraged them to take some supplies for later, if they so wished; he just wanted others to have a little happiness. As the morning passed, though, a sizable number of people did end up sitting with him and taking advantage of the craft supplies, and the positivity was..well, it was everything he needed and more. Everyone was having a good time, and that meant that he was, too! At some point, there was a line forming for the free pancakes, and Dream let out a chuckle; these people really liked pancakes.

"Thank you so much, Dream!" One of the other inhabitants in the castle thanked him, and Dream gave a small smile and a nod in response.

"I didn't do much; did I?" Dream had just asked for something to be done, right?

"You put contraband on the menu!" Someone else chuckled.

"What?" Dream blinked. "Pancakes are 'contraband'?"

"Yeah, didn't you know?"

"No? Why are they contraband?"

"'Cause it's a 'fun' food." Another inhabitant replied. "Most foods in here are either purely for nutrition or too expensive to enjoy, so this has been a treat!"

"I..didn't know that." Dream let out a hum. "Well, I'm glad you're all enjoying it!"

Pancakes were considered contraband? What else was? Dream hadn't even noticed! Why didn't Nightmare let the people who lived here eat pancakes? What did he let them eat? Dream would have to do some research on that subject, it seemed..but not now. For now, he would keep up the positivity-spreading work, and he would have some fun in the process! An hour passed, and people kept coming by, either to get some free pancakes or to spend a little time chatting with others while partaking in the provided activity (or both!), and Dream felt the negativity in the castle lessen by a good amount; a little bit of positivity went a long way! At some point, however, Killer entered the cafeteria, taking stock of the situation for a few moments before running out the door and into the hall, and Dream did get a bit worried; had Nightmare sent Killer to see what was going on? Would everyone get in trouble? 

Dream's answer came in a more pleasant way when Killer returned with Dust, and Dream felt a small twinge of excitement from the shortest gang member..covered by a lot of anxiety. 

"Hey, Sunshine, what's going on here?" Killer asked, leaning on the side of the table with one hand (he held Dust's hand with the other, but as much as he was trying to hide it, Dream noticed).

"This castle is awfully dreary." Dream informed. "So we're doing crafts! Did you two want to join? Everyone's welcome!"

"I've got a few minutes." Killer smiled sharply, taking about twenty pieces of paper. "Thanks, Sunshine."

"That's..not my name, but okay.." Dream let out a sigh, but he didn't feel like pursuing anything right now; he was just happy that he was making others happy. 

Killer and Dust opted to sit away from everyone else, taking their places at the end of one of the tables across from eachother. Once the social interaction was over, Dust's anxiety seemed to wane, and he grabbed one of the pieces of paper, starting to..fold it. That was right - Cross had told Dream that Dust liked origami! Dream was a bit far away to see any of the small details, but based on Dust's focused expression and the positivity that now flowed freely from him, Dream assumed that he was rather skilled with it. Killer was sitting with his back to Dream, but the positive guardian could feel a decent amount of positivity coming from him, too; Dream wondered when the last time those two had gotten to be positive had been..he hoped he could make it happen more often, whatever the case.

After a few hours had passed, lunch time rolled around, and Dream decided to make a repeat of breakfast, but this time, he decided to expand the options; Nightmare probably wouldn't have liked it if Dream just let everyone request whatever they wanted, but ten options probably wouldn't hurt, and this time, Dream made sure that everything he decided on was definitely restricted!

Dream was not surprised when he felt his brother's aura coming closer about half an hour after noon, but he was surprised when his brother..didn't come in. Nightmare was just standing in one of the halls outside the cafeteria, doing..something? Ten minutes of that piqued Dream's curiosity, and he decided to get up to see what was going on; hopefully, Nightmare wasn't punishing anyone who took advantage of Dream's offers. The positive guardian left the cafeteria slowly, trying not to be too conspicuous as he tried to figure out what the situation was. And soon, as Dream popped his skull around a corner, he figured out what his brother was doing! He was watching two of the castle's staff clean a large black stain in the carpet!

..Well, that was disappointing. 

Did Nightmare really have nothing better to do? Or..was this secretly something important? Dream couldn't really imagine someone having spilled something on the floor being that important, but..what if Nightmare's goop was the mystery substance? Could Nightmare melt? Dream didn't know, but this was possibly the first real mystery he'd faced since before coming here, and he needed something to put his mind to! So he entered the hallway fully, approaching his twin. As he got closer, he began to realize..that he had missed nothing from the distance. Two maids were cleaning a black stain in the carpet. Amazing. 

"What are you doing?" Dream wondered, looking at his brother. 

"..Someone spilled a can of paint." Nightmare replied. "Now shoo."

"Are you sure?" Dream crossed his arms. "Or are you secretly weakening? This could be your goop!"

"..It smells like paint, and you are free to stick your face in it to find out; it's paint."

"Then why are you just standing here staring at them cleaning it? Are you really that bored, or is there more than meets the eye, here?"

Nightmare let out a tired sigh. "Dream, are you already going stir crazy? There is nothing out of the ordinary about this situation; I just can't stand it when these idiots mess up my carpets! So I am supervising. Is that really so hard to believe?"

"It's your fault if I do go crazy in here." Dream glared. "I can't even help with anything meaningful!"

"From what I understand, the castle is in an overly-positive mood because of your little meal offers and activity group. Is that not meaningful?" 

"Well, that's different..that's just giving people basic stuff they deserve! Why did you decide to disallow pancakes, exactly?"

"Dream, I am a creature who thrives on the negative emotions of others; why do you think I decided against allowing such foods?"

"Because you're evil."

"Oh, so because I do things to maintain my power, I'm evil incarnate? What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Oh, don't think I let this day happen because I was busy with other things; if it were in any other circumstance, I'd have put a stop to your little shenanigans immediately. I only let you proceed because you've been starving of positivity. Honestly, Dream, I had half a mind to do something myself to keep you from dying; why didn't you do something earlier? Why did it take so long for you to opt for self-preservation?"

"I wouldn't have died." Dream shook his skull. "What are you talking about?"

"..Are you serious?" Nightmare questioned. "Has the outside world really made you blind to the signs of death's looming?"

"Seriously, what are you talking about?" Dream didn't understand; was Nightmare trying to trick him..?

"..How did you feel when you woke up this morning?"

"What does that have to do with-"

"Just answer the question." Nightmare requested. "Humor me."

"..Fine. I felt..I don't know, normal?"

"Normal." Nightmare repeated. "Define 'normal.' How do you feel, emotionally and physically, when you are 'normal'?"

"Um..I feel kind of..I don't know? I don't pay attention to that stuff!"

"Okay, let's work backwards. How do you feel now? Emotionally and physically."

"All right, I feel..calm, pretty energetic, and..just good, I guess. Oh, and pretty creeped out by you."

"Now compare that to your 'normal.'"

"Right now, I'm less tired, and my mind is pretty clear..I don't really feel like I have to do anything.."

"Yes, well, that feeling of having to do something would be your survival instincts telling you to spread positivity so you don't die." Nightmare let out a sigh. "You're lucky I took you in, you absolute idiot.."

"Well, maybe you misinterpreted-"

"You described how I feel after being shot with about ten of your arrows, Dream. A foggy mind, exhaustion, and the need to spread negativity to get that lost power back! We're not immortal, and we can't just run on magic as normal monsters do! Why is it that I take better care of myself than you do?!"

...Dream didn't know what to say to that. Had he really..

"No, don't answer that; it's because you're self-sacrificial and I'm self-preserving." Nightmare rolled his eyelight. "Just another of our many complementary curses with which we are expected to struggle through our lives."

"..What?" Dream..didn't know..

Nightmare sighed, putting a hand on Dream's shoulder, but Dream was too confused to shake it off. "Look, I'll take care of it, all right? It's my job now to make sure that we're both healthy, and since you've never done that before, I'll help you. It'll be all right; you don't have to worry about it. Just go back to your little positivity-spreading activities and try not to think about it. Your big brother will take care of everything."

Dream didn't want to, but..he just looked down before returning to the cafeteria. Had he really been on the verge of death for so long? He knew that he sometimes spread himself thin, but that was the way his job worked, right? That was the way it had always been. And, yet, as Dream sat back down in his seat and started to make another craft, he couldn't help but notice the lack of the call to action he'd been so familiar with. He'd always thought it had come from a sense of duty to others, or perhaps a sign that someone, somewhere, needed him, specifically. He..hadn't considered that it could have just been his body begging for the one thing that kept him running. Dream didn't feel it at all right now. In the past, he'd considered this feeling to be a sign that he'd completed all his work and could finally relax - that there was no one who needed him right now. But, in this castle, there were people who needed him; there were countless souls drowning in negativity, here! His work wasn't done; it had only just begun! 

Somewhere deep inside him, he could almost hear a voice, saying something that frightened him. Dream had always cared about Nightmare, from thinking that he could save him to making peace with the fact that the version of Nightmare that he'd been trying to save had never existed. Dream would never stop caring about his twin, even if Nightmare hated him in return. Dream could handle the hatred, as much as it pained him deep inside. He could deal with insults, degradation, and even physical torment..but he wasn't sure if he could handle this. If Nightmare genuinely cared for him..if this Nightmare did..

He just didn't know what he was going to do.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dream bean spreads positivity! 

Thanks for reading my positive writing!

Bye!

Chapter Text

The library was a good place to forget one's worries, even if only for a little while. It had been two weeks since Dream had spent his first day spreading positivity in the castle, and he'd decidedly fallen into somewhat of a routine in order to keep his head. Structure helped him focus on what was important, after all, while disorganized days led to idle and unwanted thoughts. The three days after that particular one had been full of doubts and conjecture about his life, and Dream..just didn't need those sorts of ideas while he was here, of all places. 

In light of that, he'd made himself a schedule to stick to for the foreseeable future. After requesting a calendar and figuring out the date, Dream had marked it accordingly. Every three days, he would dedicate his morning to spreading positivity in small ways (Nightmare was decidedly firm on his stance of not letting another day like the first happen again), such as giving people gifts or just complimenting them! After lunch on those days, Dream would visit someone, or multiple people, depending on the circumstances! Whether it was meeting with Cross, Ccino, Stitch, or someone else, Dream made sure to keep himself among friends; friends would help him stay grounded. The days between those had, admittedly, been difficult to decide a routine for, since Dream did have a limit on how much positivity he was allowed to generate at one time (Nightmare had given him an entire lecture about the "acceptable" positivity levels in the castle), but he'd eventually settled for something simple. On the days directly after positivity days, Dream would take a free day, picking a hobby or activity to dedicate the day to, simply relaxing, or spending the day with a friend or friends; it depended on how he felt on the day in question. On the third day of the cycle, Dream would spend his mornings in the library, picking a topic to read about, and in the afternoons, he would..explore. He needed to learn the layout of the castle, after all, and having worked his way down for a while now, Dream was finally exploring the first floor. 

The castle was an interesting place; it had a lot of seemingly-abandoned rooms with intriguing items in them, covered by tarps and left to sit. Most of it was furniture, but Dream had once found an old grand piano in one of those rooms! A lot of those rooms were off-limits to most people, though, which was unfortunate; that piano could have been a great tool for someone who wanted to get into music, but at the moment, it seemed as if it would never be played again. Well..except for Dream tapping at the keys. Dream couldn't play, though..but maybe he'd try teaching himself - it wasn't as if he had anything better to do, and he would need something to do once he'd finished exploring the entire castle. It was an option, at the very least, and it was nice to have options. 

At the moment, it was the morning of one of the third days in his little routine, and he was taking this chance to read something that he'd have probably been scolded about anywhere else: a book on forbidden magic. Normally, he would never touch something like this, but living in this castle, with his brother who used forbidden magic on whims? Dream needed to brush up on his knowledge of these forbidden spells so he could recognize them when Nightmare used them. Luckily for Dream, these sorts of books were here in the library to be read by anyone who wanted them, which, while being very concerning, was also a help to Dream. Of course, he was sure that any books that could have been harmful to Nightmare had been tucked away somewhere secret, but Dream would take what he had now. 

Forbidden magic was an interesting topic, really; every one of these spells had been forbidden for a reason, and while some of them were obvious to figure out (the one about reanimating dead souls solely to do one's bidding was frightening), others..weren't. Dream couldn't tell why the spell that allowed one to freeze water upon touch was forbidden, nor could he figure out, in the same vein, why the spell to solidify magic on touch was, either! Maybe he could ask someone about it. But..would there have even been anyone who knew? Forbidden magic wasn't a very well-studied subject among most people in the multiverse, save for some curious folk and a handful of scientists, but..this was an evil castle. Dream decided to look around, standing up to wander the library and searching for anyone but Nightmare to ask about this subject. Nightmare was probably one of the most likely candidates to actually have an answer, but Dream was trying to interact with his twin as little as possible at the moment, leaving him out of the range of options. 

Not many people frequented the library, really; it was mostly only for people who had been here for over five years, after all, and most people in that category had jobs to do that took up most of their time. But there were some people who tried to stop by whenever possible, and there were a few people who worked as librarians, too, which meant that they were almost always here! The library was arranged in a specific way, however, and trying to find someone else often required one to walk through mazes of shelves that had been designed to offer a nook-like feeling..something that Nightmare had often tried to achieve in his youth. Dream let out a soft sigh, shaking his skull; he just wanted to find someone to talk to. 

Eventually, he did come across someone else, turning a corner to find one of the librarians sorting some books on a shelf. This one, however, wasn't one that Dream had seen before. And, yet..he looked very familiar. The other's clothes seemed off, but that didn't tend to matter for Dream when trying to recognize someone else. The librarian was a Sans-type skeleton, wearing a fully black outfit - a shirt, pants, and shoes along with a long trenchcoat. Other than that..he looked like a normal Sans? A white eyelight, from Dream's angle from the left, and..wait, was he bleeding?

"Are you okay?" Dream came closer, looking worriedly at the other; he had a small stream of blood coming from his mouth!

"Huh?" The librarian turned, letting Dream see his entire face, and Dream paused, blinking as the recognition set in.

Ah..this was someone Dream had never met, but he did know him. The other's right eyesocket was completely obscured by white glitches, a trait shared by only a handful of copies of one particular AU: AfterTale. This was an Aftertale Sans..likely the one that had gone missing eleven years prior. Dream had never met him, for no specific reason - just because their paths had never crossed - but he'd seen the many, many missing posters long ago..and he'd heard about one event just last year.

"..Geno, right?" Dream wagered a guess.

"Dream, right?" Geno chuckled. "Yeah, nice to meet you."

"You, too. I, uh..didn't expect to see you, here.."

"No one does." Geno shrugged. "I was one of the first five people taken, so it makes sense."

"Wow..um.."

"What?" Geno tilted his skull. "People think I'm dead? I tend to hear news about five years late, so I haven't heard much."

"..Yeah." Dream nodded. "You were officially declared dead a decade after you went missing. There was a pretty big funeral in the Omega Timeline for you.."

"Oh. Well, that sucks." Geno shrugged. "They replace me, too?"

"Yes, I'm afraid they did.."

"What's the new guy call himself, then?"

"He goes by After." Dream frowned sympathetically; new originals being chosen didn't happen often, but it always felt so odd. "He tends to just stay in his universe, though."

"I see..well, thanks for the update, I guess." Geno let out a hum. 

"You're welcome. It's..nice that you're alive." Dream decided to say, not really knowing what else would have been appropriate.

"Pretty nice for me, too."

"..Sorry."

"Nah, it's fine; I knew it would happen eventually." Geno shook his skull. "It's cool meeting the Guardian of Positivity, I guess; how have you been holding up, in this place?"

"It's..fine." Dream shrugged. "I'd really like to leave, but I don't think that's going to be happening anytime soon.."

"Unfortunately." Geno looked down, nodding.

"So..a librarian?" Dream decided to change the subject. "How's this working out for you?"

"It's pretty good." Geno smiled a little. "I used to be just a scientist, but when the option to apply for this came up, I jumped for it, and it was a good call; it's a lot slower and easier to handle - just gotta be careful with the books."

"I'm glad you're content." Dream decided not to ask about the former scientist job, although it was tempting; did Nightmare employ scientists?

"Yeah..so, you need anything? Or did you just want to talk?"

"Oh!" Dream nodded. "Um, I was doing some studying, and I had a few questions. You see, my brother has mentioned using forbidden magic, and so I wanted to study up on whatever I could, just in case; I wouldn't put it past him to try something, and I want to be prepared if he does."

"Smart move." Geno nodded. "What kind of questions do you have?"

"Well, for one thing, none of the books seem to say why the spells are forbidden. For example, freezing water, or solidifying magic? I don't understand why those would be forbidden."

"Oh, that's easy; most forbidden magic is forbidden because of someone using a normal spell in a way that it wasn't meant to be used." Geno explained. "Freezing water, for example, is generally safe, but the reason that one is forbidden is because..to put it simply, humans are over fifty percent water."

Dream blinked, the image of..that..entering his mind. "Oh.."

"Yeah. Solidifying magic is very similar, since magic flows through monsters. Both spells could be used to instantly kill someone, which is why they're both forbidden magic."

"I..see." Dream nodded, looking down. "I guess I just assumed that all forbidden magic was just a bunch of horrible dark spells before.."

"Some of them are." Geno admitted. "Some people are just sick and create spells to do terrible things. But not everything is like that, and sometimes, people find disgusting ways to use otherwise-harmless spells. So, when you find a forbidden spell that doesn't have an obvious reason for being forbidden, just..assume that someone used it in a bad way. Like that healing spell that you're undoubtedly aware of by now."

"Yeah, I know about it." Dream nodded. "It was used by abusers to hide their marks..I understand now. Thank you for the information, Geno."

"Sure thing." Geno nodded. "If you need anything else, or if you want good reading recommendations, feel free to ask, okay?"

"I will. Thank you, and good bye."

With that, Dream turned to leave, feeling both content and a little disturbed. Meeting Geno was nice, but learning about those forbidden spells definitely was not; Dream wondered if Nightmare used those..he hoped not. Dream decided that he'd had enough studying for the day; he needed to walk it off, and since it was close enough to his normal time, he decided to continue exploring the castle. He put back the book he'd been studying, and he left the library, heading for the stairwell. He'd worked down from the top floor, and finally, he was starting to explore the ground floor. He had only explored one hall of it so far, and he was hoping to finish the rest of it in the next couple rounds. Once Dream reached the point at which he'd stopped last time, he started to make his way down the hall he'd selected, opening doors one by one and seeing what was inside.

Most of the rooms in the castle floors were homes for the castle's inhabitants, and those ones were typically locked when the residents weren't home; Dream didn't intrude upon any room that was locked, and in the few scenarios that someone had come to see who was jiggling their doorknob, Dream had just ended up meeting someone and explaining that he was just exploring. No one seemed to think that it was weird, and Dream just went on his way afterwards, checking more rooms and exploring the ones that were open. The first open room of the first floor today was one of those abandoned ones, and after checking under all the tarps to find nothing interesting, Dream moved on. The second open room was much the same, but Dream did find a cool sofa! Most of this furniture looked..was it called victorian? Dream wasn't sure; he just knew that it was fancy. The furniture in Nightmare's room was probably mostly stuff from these sorts of rooms, and Dream could understand the allure; he wouldn't have minded using some old fancy furniture if he found it lying around unused in his house! 

As Dream made his way through the hallways, he felt a small shift in the emotions of others around him. Little by little, the emotions of others got increasingly negative, but he wasn't sure why. Maybe it was a large-scale bad day, or maybe it was something that Dream wasn't aware of; he wasn't sure. Dream didn't let it affect him, though, deciding to just carry on with his exploration of the castle as planned. After a couple more abandoned rooms, Dream found something new, and something he hadn't expected from Nightmare's medieval-seeming castle: a laboratory. After a moment of hesitation, Dream stepped inside, looking around the room. It was clearly a laboratory, but instead of the sterile feeling that Dream typically experienced when entering laboratories, he felt more as if he was stepping into a medieval torture chamber. It was..odd, admittedly, since there were no torture devices here. The floor was tiled, but the walls were made of stone bricks, contrasting the rest of the castle's drywall. It seemed that Nightmare had done some renovating after moving in, but he apparently hadn't changed this room too much. The counters were made of steel, the cabinets were wood, and scattered around the room, there were small inventions, loose materials, and tools. There were a handful of scientists here, but Dream didn't recognize any of them. Well, Dream had wondered what Geno had meant when he'd mentioned being a scientist, but, apparently, this was it. 

"Do you want something?" One of the scientists inquired, having approached Dream.

"Oh, um,no, I was just exploring.." Dream shook his skull. "I didn't think the castle would have a laboratory.."

"Well, it does." The other informed. "And we're quite busy, so if you don't need anything.."

"Ah, of course..I apologize." Dream nodded, turning to leave. "Uh, good luck with..whatever you're doing."

"Thanks."

Dream left the room, letting out a soft hum; that had been..uninformative. He hadn't gotten to see much, and what he had seen hadn't done much to help him figure out what exactly Nightmare needed a laboratory for, but..he'd figure it out eventually. Dream decided to tuck this location away in his head to investigate later, and he moved on, eventually coming to the end of the hallway he'd been working on. With every floor having six long hallways, it was always an accomplishment to make it through one! Dream turned the corner at the end of the hall, entering the long back hall that connected those main six hallways, and he started to come around, but he paused, noticing something odd. On the other floors, there had never been any rooms solely accessed by the back hall; it had just been a connector. But here, in the center of the ground floor's back hall, there was a set of large double doors, with one castle guard on either side. Maybe he should have seen it before, but he'd never been in this hall before, and the doors weren't visible from any of the main halls. That was..intriguing. Dream wanted to investigate!

The double doors were large, but they weren't absurdly-large - just large enough to make a bold statement. The left one was a familiar purple color, depicting a moonlit night (it looked like the door to Nightmare's room, but far more detailed) over a hilly field. The right door depicted a continuation of the image, except it was a sunny day on that side. The prominent color was yellow (Dream's door? But why?). In the middle of the picture was a tree, split half and half between the doors, and Dream frowned, knowing exactly what it was meant to represent. Whatever was behind this door was something that was important to Nightmare..and Dream wasn't sure if he wanted to open it. But Dream was clearly allowed in, since neither of the guards currently stationed here were stopping him in any way; he did wonder why there were guards here, though..

Well, there was only one way to find out, he supposed! Dream took the handle on one of the doors and turned it, opening the door and revealing the room that was behind them.

He instantly closed it after seeing the other side, but it was a bit too late to erase the image from his head. 

The room was a throne room. A long purple carpet led up to the back of the room, where a large black and purple throne sat, a crescent moon symbol sitting at the top of the backrest to denote whose it was. And, to its left, there was a smaller throne..blue and yellow, with Dream's sun motif instead. After a moment of thought, he decided to go back to his room.

That was enough exploring for one day.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dream bean explores!

Thanks for reading my exploring writing!

Bye!

Chapter Text

It had been six weeks since Dream had been taken, and so far, the multiverse had been mostly normal. Blue, Ink, and Core Frisk had spread the word that Dream was ill, using that excuse to quell any suspicion, and it had been working well; hopefully, Dream would return before the suspicion returned. 

Unfortunately..that wasn't likely at all. 

Portal pushing was dangerous, and although Ink was fast, the action of closing a portal was instant, and he just wasn't fast enough. The closest he'd gotten to making it through a portal had been two weeks ago, when he'd managed to get halfway through before one of Horror's portals had closed. Half of him had gotten through, and the other half had remained behind, melting into a puddle of ink. He had respawned half an hour later, seeming enthusiastic about the progress, but that apparent progress had unfortunately led to the current situation. After that day, when Nightmare's gang members attacked an AU, they immediately closed their portals behind them; Nightmare had clearly caught on to the plan, and he'd altered his ways in response. Now, no matter how fast Ink was or how much planning went into the incidents, he was never fast enough; he could never make it in time. 

That had led to Blue, Ink, and Core Frisk sitting in the Star Sanses' living room, trying to figure out what to do. There wasn't exactly much they could do about the portal pushing problem, but that wasn't the only problem they were facing right now, either.

"We..may need a temporary Star Sans." Blue admitted. "Until Dream comes back, at least. Ink and I can handle it when only one of them comes out to terrorize an AU, but when all of them come? We can't fight five people at once; we could hardly do it with three of us!"

"I know..I just don't know how people will react to it.." Core Frisk sighed. "Some of them might take it as a sign that this isn't just a normal illness, or they might ask questions that we aren't ready to answer."

"But we need the help." Blue shook his skull. "We have to take that risk."

"Yeah, but it's gotta be someone trustworthy." Ink reminded. "We'll have to tell them about everything; seeing me run at portals as our enemies retreat won't be easy to explain with a lie."

"So..we could ask people who already know?" Frisk suggested. "Maybe Color - he's a small-time hero! He'd probably jump at the chance to work with you!"

"What's his power level?" Ink inquired. "Can he hold his own against the gang? He might be friends with Killer, but I doubt Nightmare would let his subordinate play fight, especially after what we saw last time."

"He's pretty strong; I've seen him fight. He's had a lot of experience fighting Sanses, and he's even taken on a few stray EXP hunters in the multiverse; he could hold his own, I think. He also has a strong moral code, and he's always willing to help out others when they need it; those qualities would make him fit right in!"

"All right, I'll ask him, since I'll be visiting him later today anyway." Blue nodded. "But if he declines, do we have any other good options?"

"Um..I could see about a few other multiversal heroes. Most of them are in groups, but there are a few lone wolves..unless you'd prefer to team up with another group? There's always the Posse."

"The what?" Ink tilted his skull.

"Ink, we've met them three times." Blue sighed. "They're a small group led by a North Star and a Clover, and if Color doesn't want to get involved with us, I think they'd be a great option; they're trustworthy."

"Very well." Core Frisk smiled. "I can contact them whenever, so let me know if you need them."

"We will." Blue assured. 

"And I guess I'll just keep trying to portal push them." Ink shrugged. "Gotta get lucky at some point, right?"

"I hope so.."

The conversation soon shifted to something lighter, and Blue leaned back when it did, letting Ink and Frisk talk; he had to think. He didn't like the thought of replacing Dream, even if only temporarily..it just felt wrong. But Color was a good guy, and the Posse definitely would have been willing to help if Ink and Blue asked them. And..they did need help. Losing Dream wasn't something that Blue and Ink could shrug off; they were down a team member, and Dream was an important member! He was the only one who could fight Nightmare competently, after all; Blue's power levels just couldn't compare, and while Ink probably could fight Nightmare, he didn't know Nightmare's attack styles well enough. Perhaps studying those would have been a good course of action. But, even then, with only two people, it wouldn't make much of a difference if all five gang members chose to team up for an attack; Blue would have been fighting three people at once in order to give Ink a fighting chance against Nightmare and one other gang member! They needed another member..maybe multiple. 

Blue excused himself from the conversation a little before noon in order to start his walk to Color's house. While Blue had known of Color's existence for a long time, he'd never actually met him until Core Frisk had chosen to request his help regarding Dream's disappearance. And, really, that didn't sit right with Blue; he wanted to get to know Color, and as a result, he'd asked if they could meet up at some point. Color had agreed, which had led to this meet-up today - Blue was coming over for lunch! When Blue reached the colorful house, he smiled; getting to know a new friend was one of the joys of life, in Blue's opinion. He walked up to the door, gave it a knock, and waited patiently for Color to answer, which he did in a matter of a few seconds.

"Oh, Blue!" Color gave a smile. "Come on in; I'm glad you came!"

"I'm glad we could meet up like this." Blue nodded, coming inside to the scent of a delicious meal. "It smells great in here! How have you been since we last spoke?"

"Eh, as well as I can be." Color closed the door. "And thanks - I heard you like tacos, so I tried my hand at them..I hope they're edible."

"I'm sure they're great!" Blue chuckled. 

"Well, make yourself at home, and I'll grab the food; I hope you don't mind eating in the living room, but the rest of the house is a bit of a mess.."

"Oh, I don't mind." Blue lived with Ink; how could he mind a little mess?

"Great! Uh, I'll be right back!"

Color left the room, and Blue took a look around. It was a lot cleaner in here than it had been the first time Blue had seen it, but that was likely because the previous visit had been unexpected. Blue let out a hum as he looked around; Color's home was nice. At least, what Blue could see of it. The living room was connected to the kitchen and dining room by a small open doorway, which had conveniently been covered with a curtain that hadn't been there before (likely to conceal the mess on the other side), and there were a couple other doors that Blue assumed led to other rooms; he would stay here, though, to be polite. The walls were a soothing purple color, matching the hue of perseverance souls, while the carpet was the light blue of patience, and the colors looked nice together, Blue had to admit. The furniture was averagely-colored, with a tan sofa against the front wall, a chocolate coffee table by it and a couple matching bookshelves on the back wall, and a few other living-room-type things scattered about. What Blue found interesting, however, was the piano in the corner; it wasn't very big, but it was a piano nonetheless, and judging by the multiple scale charts, music-themed pictures, and sheet music books located around the room, Blue had to assume that Color could play. Blue walked over to the instrument, lifting the fallboard to see the keys; they were in good condition, it seemed. 

"Okay, I'm back!" Color informed, coming back into the room with a couple plates of tacos. "Ready to eat?"

"Oh, those look delicious!" Blue smiled, putting the fallboard back down and going over to sit on the sofa next to Color. 

"Tried my best!" Color handed Blue his plate. "So, what did you want to talk about?" 

"Well, I initially just wanted to get to know you, since you seem like a really cool person, but, uh..something has come up, and I would like to ask you something before that.."

"Yeah?" 

"Um..since Dream is gone, it's just Ink and I when Nightmare's gang attacks, and we've decided that, until we can rescue Dream, we need to get someone else to help us. Now, uh, there's no pressure on you at all to accept, since we do have other options, but you are our first pick..would you be interested in helping us as a Star Sans?"

Color blinked, pausing for a moment. "Oh, um..that's pretty sudden." Color looked down, shaking his skull. "But I couldn't. It's just..not something I could do. For one thing, I could never hurt Killer, you know? We're friends; it just wouldn't be right. And, uh..I just can't. I'm sorry. I'm not ready to work in a team, either, so.."

"I understand." Blue nodded. "It's totally fine; we can find someone else."

"Thanks.."

"Of course! You were just our first pick since you're a really good hero!"

"You think so?" Color smiled.

"Absolutely! You've done a lot of good, and I look forward to seeing what else you'll do!" Blue hummed. "And, speaking of doing things, that piano over there is pretty nice; do you play?"

"Oh, um, yes, I do." Color nodded. "Piano, guitar, and violin."

"Oh, wow! How long have you been playing?"

"Um..a long time." Color chuckled. "I started guitar about five years after I entered the multiverse, and piano about five years after that, and I started violin about twelve years after that!"

"Wow..that's a long time."

"Yeah, pretty long." Color nodded. "Do you play anything?"

"No, I've never really been called to music, I guess." Blue shrugged. "I like music, but I've never tried playing it."

"Well, what do you like to do?"

"Um..I like cooking, and there's this one friend I do cosplay with! He makes the outfits, and they're really good! He's got a skill for fashion, as well as anything else that involves threads of any kind, really."

"Interesting - is he a fashion designer?"

"A hobbyist." Blue replied. "But he doesn't do commissions, unfortunately."

"Oh, bummer - he sounds very talented."

"He is." Blue chuckled. "But he's shy, too."

"Oh, I see; it's good that he has a friend like you, though."

"I do my best, but I'm far from perfect.."

"I doubt it. How's the food?"

"Oh, it's good; did you make them from scratch?" Blue questioned, taking another bite of a taco.

"Yeah - I tried to, anyway. The shells were store-bought, so not totally scratch, but I did everything else!"

"Oh, really?" Blue hummed. "The sauce is really good; I may need to ask for your recipe!"

"I could write it down for you, if you'd like."

"Oh, could you? If it isn't too much trouble, of course." 

"None at all!" Color shook his skull, getting up to grab some paper and a pen. "Just give me one second.."

As Color went to write down the recipe, Blue looked down at his food, frowning a bit; Dream would have loved this. A small get-together with a friend, old or new, was Dream's preferred way of relaxing and taking a break from life; Blue wondered if he had any friends where he was now. It was doubtful. Nightmare probably had Dream locked up in a dungeon somewhere, tormenting him endlessly for no reason other than to exact some unwarranted revenge. It was devastating to think about it, but Blue just couldn't tear his mind away from it. Was Dream suffering in the same way Blue once had? Long ago, when Blue had experienced his first encounter with the King of Negativity, it hadn't been a pleasant experience; Nightmare had decided to try to conquer Blue's universe as a test to see if he could corrupt an entire AU. Dream and Ink had stopped him, but..before they had, it had been..

"Okay, got it!" Color returned to the room, holding a piece of paper. "This is the recipe I used..I think. It's close enough."

"Oh, thank you." Blue smiled, suppressing a shiver as he forced himself to think about other things; that had been a long time ago..he was okay now. He was safe. 

Blue accepted the recipe, folding up the paper and sticking it in his pocket for later. 

"You okay?" Color inquired, sitting next to Blue again. "You look.."

"I'm fine." Blue nodded. "I'm just..worried. Dream's been gone for six whole weeks by now, and there's no way of knowing what's happening to him; I hope he's all right.."

"Yeah..I hope so, too. I'm really sorry about that.." Color looked down, letting out a sigh. "Hey, um..I can't join you and Ink, but..if I have a chance to talk to Killer anytime soon, I'll ask about Dream for you, okay? I can't guarantee that he'll answer, but I'll ask.."

"Thanks..that means a lot." 

"You'll always be welcome here, Blue; you're a cool guy, and I hope we can be good friends."

"Me, too..I-" Blue was cut off.

"Blue!" Core Frisk materialized next to the two. "Sorry to interrupt, but Killer is attacking an AU!"

"Oh!" Blue stood up, nodding. "Sorry, Color - I've got to go!"

"I understand." Color nodded. "Sorry I couldn't accept your offer."

"It's fine. Good bye!"

"See you, Blue!"

Core Frisk opened a portal, and Blue went through after giving the child a nod of thanks. When Blue went through the portal, he found Ink locked in battle with Killer in the middle of a city street, giving him everything he needed to know about the situation: this was an AU on the surface, whether by design or a broken barrier, and Ink needed his help in a fight! Blue sprinted over to the battleground, summoning a couple bone attacks as he got closer to the combatants, and as soon as he got close enough, he joined Ink, blocking one of Killer's attacks with one of his own. 

"Blue!" Ink grinned, tightening his grip on his paintbrush. 

"Am I late?" Blue asked, jumping back to avoid one of Killer's slashes.

"Nope - just in time!"

Killer started to fight a little more defensively with Blue's arrival, using his blade to block more than stab or slash while fighting against two opponents, but that didn't stop the attacks he did make from connecting more often than not. Killer was a talented fighter; he'd occasionally had days when he'd defeated Ink in combat, and that was saying something! Of course, those days had all happened because Ink hadn't been trying as hard as usual, but defeating Ink even on a bad day was nothing to scoff at; Blue had only done it himself in spars a couple times! Killer was a formidible foe, but against both Ink and Blue, he knew he didn't really have a chance of winning this fight. After a couple minutes of being pushed back by the two heroes, Killer made the decision to begin a retreat, and he started by teleporting away from Blue and Ink. Blue ran towards Killer, gritting his teeth; Ink was behind him, but if Blue could just delay Killer long enough, Ink could have had a chance this time! Getting into Nightmare's hideout was the priority right now, and if that goal could be reached, things would hopefully fall into place.

When Killer opened a portal to leave, Blue teleported over, deciding to forego running; Dream needed help, and if Blue could help, he would! Killer blocked a bone attack with his blade, and Blue..saw an opening. 

Ink was too far away to make it, but Blue..he had an opportunity. 

He tackled Killer through the portal, and it closed behind them.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Blue bean is getting the spotlight for a while!

Thanks for reading my portal pushing writing!

Bye!

Chapter Text

This was bad. 

Blue and Killer had crashed onto the floor on the other side of Killer's portal, and Blue found himself in unfamiliar territory, surrounded by..people? There were a lot of people here, but Blue couldn't focus on that! Killer had already risen to his feet, gripping his blade, and Blue needed to move! He looked up - rafters - before looking down both sides of the hall he was in, and he made a flinching motion before teleporting. Killer looked down the hall, expecting Blue to have teleported in the direction he'd last looked, while Blue had really teleported up to those rafters. Well, he couldn't be certain, but this was probably Nightmare's domain; the negative aura kind of gave it away. In light of that, Blue needed to calm down; he had to conceal himself emotionally.

If Nightmare was anything like Dream, he wouldn't be able to pinpoint Blue's location if he was emotionally neutral. Dream could read every emotion present in someone when he was close enough to them, and he could tune his emotion-sensing abilities to enable himself to search for a specific emotion, but if he didn't know how a person was feeling and there was no major tilt in that person's emotional balance (making them either positively or negatively inclined), he couldn't locate them in a crowd. And, to Blue's luck, there were a lot of people in this place! He would blend in, if only he could stabilize his emotions..and if Nightmare's abilities matched Dream's, of course; but if they didn't, Blue would have almost certainly been caught by now..he believed he had a good chance.

Blue closed his eyesockets, taking a deep breath and focusing on his emotions. He was mainly scared and anxious right now, which meant that he was leaning towards the negative spectrum; he needed to think happy thoughts. How would Dream react when Blue saved him? He'd probably be happy about it! Blue couldn't let himself think about what Dream must have been going through in this place, but he was certain that Dream would be glad that he had come to save him! Blue just..had to do that. This place looked big..

Puppies! Puppies were always good to think about when Blue needed cheering up! Blue closed his eyesockets, taking a few deep breaths as he focused on his emotional stability; he needed to be calm, not frazzled. When Dream tried to locate someone, he cycled through searching for the emotions he believed they might have been feeling, and Blue had to assume that Nightmare would do the same, which brought one question to mind: what emotions did Blue need to eliminate from himself? If he were Nightmare, what emotions would he search for? Panic and fear were the first things that came to mind, and Blue nodded to himself, silently reassuring himself to ease those emotions. Yes, he'd made a stupid decision, and now he was likely being tracked by several members of the multiverse's most prominent evil gang, but Blue could do this! If he really had to, he would be able to make a portal to escape, but he wouldn't be able to return after leaving, which meant that he had one chance..and he would make the most of it. All he had to do was find Dream, after all; how hard would that be? 

Okay, considering his position, it would probably be quite difficult, but he wasn't going to think about that. He needed to focus on finding Dream and getting out of this place; he could panic about how dangerously stupid this was later. Once Blue felt calm enough to get on his way, he let out a sigh, looking down at the hall below; this was..quite a tall hallway. It must have been at least twenty feet down to the floor from here, which meant one of three things: Nightmare's castle just naturally had very tall hallways, there was only one floor, or Blue was on the top floor. Considering the fact that the ceiling above was curved, Blue doubted that an architect would have wanted to put another floor above this one, which left the last two options as valid assumptions. Either he was in a castle with one floor, or he was on the top floor..and Blue had no idea which one it was. He could find out, though! Getting a grasp of his position would be beneficial to this mission. So Blue stood up, putting his hand against the wall and trying to figure out the best plan to make his way around this place. There were a lot of people here, but Blue was unfortunately quite recognizable in the multiverse; he didn't even have to make an active effort to separate himself from other swap Sanses, after all, with his..unfortunately-unique physical attributes.

Blue couldn't think about Nightmare right now; that would only make this harder. 

Because of the way he would stand out, he couldn't try to blend in. That left him with traversing this castle via the rafters. Considering the fact that he didn't know if the other floors of this castle (if they existed) had rafters, that left him in a bit of a pickle..but he would deal with that problem when he got to it! Hopefully, there would only be one floor! As Blue started to make his way to the middle of the rafters, where a central one that crossed the length of the hallway was, he found himself grateful that he didn't have a fear of heights; that would have been very bad! Well, it was time to get moving; he needed to figure out where he was. 

Blue slowly made his way to the end of the hall, occasionally pausing to take stock of his emotional situation and keep himself calm; ensuring that Nightmare couldn't track him was his top priority. After a few minutes, Blue reached the end of the long hall, finding something that would have made his soul drop if he hadn't been forcing his emotional state into stability: there were more floors in this place. He was on the top floor, and since the only set of stairs in sight was only accessible from the floor, Blue was stuck on this level. Well..that was bad. Luckily, there was an alternative to staying here..he just needed a disguise - a very good one. And, maybe..he had one. 

Inventory magic was an interesting topic, and it was something that most monsters just took for granted; it had always existed for them, after all. Blue had noticed, however, that when underground-based universes reached the surface, humans were always so intrigued by that sort of stuff; they had been accustomed to a world without magic, using bags and other things to carry their possessions. Monsters didn't really have a use for those items, unless they needed more inventory slots. However, inventory size varied from person to person; some people had only about ten inventory slots, while others had over fifty! Some people from magic-lacking AUs had none! Blue wasn't sure how inventory size was determined, but he was one of the lucky ones, gaining access to thirty-five slots without the help of pockets or bags. And, with his privileges regarding his inventory, he used it to store..everything? Enough? He used it to store a lot of random stuff, and that included the thing that would help him blend in with the people in this castle: a cosplay outfit! 

Error was an introvert; that much was startlingly obvious. However, if there was one thing that Blue knew about introverts, it was that, once they felt comfortable enough with someone to express their interests to them, they were always so passionate about those interests! And Error's interests were quite simple: despite being known for destroying things, he loved to design and create things involving strings, from clothing to dolls, and he also happened to love cosplay. As a result of Blue being the only one Error felt comfortable with, Blue had somehow become the Destroyer's cosplay buddy, and he'd grown rather fond of the art form, too, admittedly! Error made the outfits, and he and Blue would (in the privacy of the Anti- Void, where no one could walk in on them, of course) play around in them, acting out scenes and-

Too positive. Blue needed to focus; he couldn't think about that right now!

As the frustration with himself stifled the good memories, Blue pulled a large suitcase out of his inventory, setting it on one of the rafters - good thing they were thick - and opening it before looking for a suitable outfit. He needed something that would cover the majority of his face, while also being "normal" enough to pass as a regular outfit..definitely not the Sin outfit. The first cosplay he'd ever done with Error had been an Undernovela one, and- no, he had to focus!

There was a pirate cosplay in here..he couldn't use the full thing, but the shirt and eyepatch would help - maybe the bandana, too, since it was red..yes, that would help. Blue put his normal blue bandana into the case, and he started to change his clothes, adding in a pair of black slacks from another outfit and some black slip ons from yet another. The white pirate shirt would look decent under a jacket, and luckily, Blue had a "Classic Sans" cosplay in here, too, complete with the blue jacket! After covering his left eye and mouth with the eyepatch and bandana and putting on the rest of the clothes, Blue looked..decent. He didn't look like himself, at least, and that was good. With that out of the way, Blue put his regular clothes in the suitcase and stored it back in his inventory, letting out a sigh as he looked down at the crowd below; now, he just had to get down there in an inconspicuous way. 

This hall was way too crowded to get down without being noticed, but if Blue could just find a spot where no one was looking at any given time, he would be good to go..but that wouldn't be anywhere near this side of the hall. From Blue's perspective, he could see significantly fewer people gathered at the other end of the building, back in the direction from which he had come, which meant that he was going that way! Several minutes of walking and periodically rebalancing his emotions later, Blue reached the other side, finding that there wasn't a staircase on this side of the building; that led to almost no people being here to potentially see him, and once he determined that everyone down below was looking elsewhere, he teleported down next to a wall, and he entered one of the hallways, beginning to walk back towards the other side of the building to the stairs. 

Despite his admittedly-odd choice of facial accessories, no one gave him any odd looks, and he tried not to think about it, doing his best to remain focused and to look focused. With only one eyelight visible, it would be easier to make himself appear unassuming, but his eyelight was still blue..he hoped that wouldn't hurt him. He just had to find Dream - that was all. Once Blue reached the stairs, he went all the way down, seeing how many floors this place had..and finding that there were six. Although, knowing Nightmare, there was probably a dungeon somewhere beneath this first floor..Blue sincerely hoped that Dream wasn't there, but he didn't doubt the very-likely possibility that he was, either. Blue just had to search six whole floors and a possible dungeon to find him! 

Calm. Blue had to remain calm. 

Right..it was time to start searching. Blue decided to start moving, looking down every hall in a row and-

"Stop giving me those mindless excuses!"

Blue entered one of the halls at an acceptable walking speed, standing by the wall and staring at a painting that happened to have been placed on it; there were a decent amount of these paintings scattered about, and Blue was glad, because otherwise, he would have looked very suspicious staring at a wall! He focused on maintaining his composure as a conversation occurred by the stairwell; Nightmare was nearby..great.

"I want him found, and I want him found within the hour!" Nightmare shouted. "And you..oh, you're not getting off the hook for this one; you will regret this mistake for the rest of your days, Killer!"

"Yes, boss.." Killer's voice..wait, had Blue gotten him in trouble? He..couldn't dwell on that; he was too close to Nightmare, and he needed to keep his emotions stable. 

"Get Dust and Horror to assist you, and if you encounter Cross, inform him that he is to guard Dream until this is over; I will not let that blue idiot ruin my plans!"

"Can't you just find him with your emotional powers?" 

"No..he obviously knows how to hide from an empath." Nightmare let out a low growl. "I will be ready to strike if he slips up, but so far, he hasn't..just go get the others! Find him; I don't care how!"

"Yes, boss - we'll do our best.."

Nightmare left the area - Blue no longer felt the other's negative aura - and Killer ran down the hall Blue had chosen to idle in, presumably to find the other gang members. That was a good time for Blue to leave; he needed to find Dream, preferably before Cross did! Or..he could have stuck around and followed Cross. Assuming Cross knew where Dream was, Blue would be able to locate him, and Blue was confident that he could take on Cross in a fight! At the very least, he could tackle Dream through a portal to forcibly rescue him! Blue made his decision; that would be the plan! Now, he just had to find Cross! Blue looked down the hall, watching as Killer left the room he'd entered with Dust and Horror..but no Cross. That was fine; Blue would just have to find Cross on his own and wait until he received his orders! Although, Cross had always been good at knowing when he was being followed, and once he learned that Blue was in the castle, he would likely be on the lookout for such things; Blue would have to be very cautious about this. 

With his goal in mind, Blue began to search the castle, setting his sights on finding Dream or Cross as he traversed the halls. Over the course of the next thirty minutes, the three searching gang members passed by Blue multiple times, but they never stopped him, even when they stopped other people in the castle to ask questions; Blue knew his luck wouldn't last forever, though - he needed to find Cross or Dream, and he needed to do it fast. Blue managed to conclude that the two he was looking for weren't on the first two floors, but when he ascended the stairs to the third floor, his luck ran out in two ways at the same time: Cross was there, but Killer had been talking with him, and as Cross started to walk down the hall, Killer's gaze landed on Blue.

"Hey, you." Killer approached Blue, who did a great job at resisting a flinch as the other got closer.

Cross disappeared down a hall - second from the right, okay - and Killer crossed his arms, looking at Blue with suspicion. 

"What's your name?" Killer asked, looking Blue up and down. "You don't look familiar."

..This was bad. Blue absolutely could not say anything to Killer! His voice was too recognizable! But he couldn't just not respond, because Killer would have definitely found him out if he didn't! Blue put his hands behind his back and tilted his skull, digging the tips of his fingers into his palms to ground himself. He couldn't let himself panic. A soft breath escaped him, and he leaned toward Killer, accentuating the tilt of his skull to buy himself a few more seconds to calm down.

"Bud, who are you?" Killer repeated, leveling a glare at Blue. "I asked you a question; answer it."

There was only one thing Blue could think of to get himself out of this situation. He took a quiet breath behind his bandana, and he opened his mouth, desperately hoping that his hastily-crafted plan would work.

"Tu tonto plan no rescatará a tus hombres, Asgoro; Ríndete y tal vez te perdone la vida." Blue spoke, in a smooth and practiced tone.

Now, Blue did not know Spanish, but he did know how to pull off a sick Sin cosplay, courtesy of Error and Undernovela, and maybe, just maybe, if Killer didn't know Spanish either, Blue could get out of this?

"..What?" Killer blinked, his glare fading. "When did boss bring you to the castle? I didn't know he spoke Spanish.."

"Tengo decenas de hombres dispuestos a quemar tu casa hasta los cimientos; ¡Esta vez no escaparás! ¡Toriel será mía, ahora y siempre!"

"..You really don't speak English? I..I don't know what you're saying..do you speak English? Er..inglés? That's English, right..? You speak it?"

"¡Cómo han caído los poderosos! ¿Qué te pasa, Asgoro? ¿Perdiste tu fuego? ¿Tus ganas de vivir? Lástima, esperaba jugar un poco más contigo antes de acabar con tu miserable vida."

"..I can't waste my time here; I have work to do." 

Killer started to walk away, and Blue fought the urge to celebrate, simply walking towards the hall he'd seen Cross enter..but he didn't see Cross there. He turned around, deciding to wait by the stairs to see if Cross would show up there; there was a chance that Cross had simply had some business to finish before going to find Dream, and if that was true, he would have likely been heading for a different floor. After three minutes, Blue's theory turned out to be correct, as Cross looped around to the stairs and began to ascend; Blue waited only a moment before following. Cross went up to the fifth floor, and he turned to the left, going down the third hallway to the left. Blue, meanwhile, went right until Cross had fully entered the hallway and left visual range, at which point, Blue paused, put a finger up, and turned around before continuing on his way; if anyone saw that, they would assume he had simply forgotten something and turned around for that reason, not because he was following Cross! Blue made sure not to watch Cross directly, instead looking forward and keeping the other in his peripheral vision, until Cross..stopped. He stopped dead in his tracks, looking down at his wrist - his communicator - as someone spoke to him through it. 

Blue kept walking; he couldn't afford to stop and listen. But, as he slowly passed Cross, he got the gist of the message the other was receiving; Killer had gone to Nightmare and asked him if he'd ever brought anyone who spoke only Spanish into the castle..and now Blue's disguise was a dead giveaway to anyone who knew. He had to change costumes, and he had to do it before Cross could identify him! He increased his speed a little as he walked down the hall, but as he walked, he noticed two doors..one with a moon-themed mural and one with a sun-themed one.

Well, he'd found Dream, but his pursuers had cracked his disguise. This floor didn't have any rafters; he'd have to go back up to the sixth floor to change, since he couldn't risk entering rooms randomly and hoping no one would be there. He reached the end of the hall and turned the corner immediately, intending to casually walk back to the stairs using a different hall, but when he took a quick peek down that hall, he saw Dust walking through it..Cross had definitely spotted him, and he'd informed the others, hadn't he? Well, that wasn't good, but Blue could work with it; with his disguise being worthless to him, he could teleport back to those rafters without worrying about people seeing him. He did so immediately, but just as he'd started the process, someone had grabbed his right arm, forcing Blue to take them along! Now, that was bad! The other person - Cross himself, unfortunately - had materialized in the air next to the rafter Blue had been aiming for, and as a result, gravity pulled him down as soon as he appeared. With Cross's grip strength, though, Blue was pulled down, as well, and he gasped as he was forced down - an emotional slip.

He had to get out of here; the mission was a failure, and he needed to focus on getting himself out, now! Dream would have to wait for another day!

Blue's instincts kicked in, and his free arm wrapped around the rafter as his legs kicked at Cross; he didn't want to send someone into a freefall from this high, but he didn't really have a choice! Cross went down, and Blue pulled himself up onto the rafter. He opened a portal, and he moved to enter it.

If he'd been a moment faster, he would have made it. But..he didn't.

Before Blue could enter his portal, a thin tendril hooked around his neck, pulling him back from the gateway forcibly and holding him up in the air. His moment of panic had given him away to Nightmare.

The dark guardian teleported down to the floor, and he looked over Blue, letting out an annoyed sigh as he pulled away the eyepatch and bandana to reveal a long scar, effectively confirming Blue's identity. 

Blue wouldn't be leaving this place.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Blue bean tries to hide..

Thanks for reading my evasive writing!

Bye!

Chapter Text

A common question that Blue had been asked during his time in the multiverse was simple, yet so complicated. It was one that people asked to try to cheer others up in a roundabout way, to help them see that their current circumstances weren't as bad as times they'd had before. It..didn't tend to help much for Blue.

"What was the worst day of your life?"

Most people didn't have an answer that came to mind when Blue tried asking them; it wasn't a question that people asked to those who didn't look as if they'd had many bad days, and it wasn't a question to which those people thought about their own answers. It was a question that was tossed around a lot towards Fell types and those who had come from obviously-negative universes..and those who looked as if they'd had plenty of horrible days. 

The jagged scar that ran down half of Blue's face automatically put him into that category, and it was the reason he had his own answer to that stupid question. 

When Blue had first befriended Error, he'd been introduced to the multiverse in a rather unique way. Where others either traveled to other universes via machines or had their universes destroyed by Error, Blue had been introduced through Error. Sure, the Destroyer had been rather insane in the beginning, but after some time, he'd turned into a good friend, and that, perhaps, had been the start of Blue's..misconceptions. Blue hadn't seen anything but what Error had showed him, and aside from watching some AUs through portals and visiting some of the safer ones such as Outertale with Error there to protect him, he hadn't gotten much real experience at all. Sure, Error had warned Blue about multiversal figures to avoid, and Nightmare had been at the top of that list, but..it was hard to avoid someone when that someone decided to try plunging one's universe into negativity. One day, out of nowhere, Nightmare laid a claim on Blue's universe, and he and his gang members (only Killer and Dust at the time) began to wreak havoc. Nightmare hadn't known beforehand about Blue's affiliation with Error, but after finding one of the Destroyer's strings in Blue's possession, he'd become quite aware. Blue didn't remember everything about those days (he'd tried so hard to forget), but he remembered enough..

Nightmare, upon finding out that Blue knew about the multiverse, had taken a special interest in him - particularly, the fact that Blue was so..unwaveringly hopeful. Blue had believed that anyone could be a good person, if only they tried..and Nightmare hadn't liked that. While everyone else in the Underground had been subjected to cruelty and forced subjection as Nightmare's minions tried to force them into submission, Blue had been kept in a cage, forced to watch as all his friends crumbled under Nightmare's influence. The only times he got to see his friends were when they'd fallen far enough that they'd do whatever Nightmare asked in fear of him..even going so far as to hurt their friends and family. Blue's brother had hurt him, under Nightmare's influence..his closest friends had hurt him. 

Nightmare's goal had been to break Blue's spirit and make him discard his ideals, and..he had done it. After several months of torture, Blue broke; he accepted the fact that he had been wrong - he had been painfully naive. But..not before he'd held on long enough to annoy Nightmare. One morning, the day after Nightmare had ordered Blue's brother to hurt him for the fifth time, Blue had woken in his cage with a fire in his soul, and he remembered it as if it had been yesterday..

"What's that stupid look on your face?" Nightmare sneered. "Have you lost your mind already?"

Blue crossed his arms, smiling smugly. "Nope! I'm just onto you!"

"Onto me?"  Nightmare scoffed. "What about me, exactly, is so evident to you now, of all times?"

"Well, for one thing, you've never hurt me yourself, for some reason; you rarely hurt anyone yourself! And I think that's because, under all that meanness, you want to be good! And you can be; I believe that anyone can be a good person, and that includes you!"

Nightmare twitched. "What did you say?"

"I said that I-" Blue hesitated to continue when one of Nightmare's tentacles unlocked his cage, but he quickly recovered. "I-I believe that you can be a good person! Even though you've done some bad stuff, that doesn't make you irredeemable!"

"Blue.." Nightmare clenched his fists, and one of his tendrils wrapped around Blue, picking him up and bringing him closer to the other. "You are just so wrong, and I can't let you hold on to that folly any longer. Your reasoning is that I haven't hurt you myself, hm? That I can be good, because I only order others to do such things? No..I just didn't want to risk killing any of you pitiful creatures; I need you alive for your negativity, after all. But, if you really must see my strength for yourself..here it is!"

~

Nightmare launched Blue across the room, and the weaker skeleton collided with the wall, realizing that he'd made a rather major mistake. Blue had been very, very wrong, and Nightmare proved it with every blow he landed. But..Blue refused to accept that. Nightmare could be redeemed! He could be saved! He just needed to open his mind to the idea! 

Nightmare got more and more frustrated the longer that sliver of positivity lingered in Blue's soul. His strikes became harder, and he inflicted worse and worse injuries upon Blue's fragile body. Twenty minutes after Nightmare had started, he realized that he couldn't continue; any more of this treatment would have killed Blue.  His arms and legs had been broken several times over, his ribcage had collapsed, and he was covered in blood as he cried pitifully on the floor. 

~

Nightmare took a breath to calm himself, before kneeling down next to the other. 

"Is that proof enough for you?" Nightmare asked, letting out a small chuckle; even a lie to avoid more pain would have sufficed for now.

But..Blue wasn't a liar. He did his best to tell the truth at least most of the time, even when it hurt..

 "..Th-that..was just l-lashing out.." Blue whispered, not having the strength to do more. "It..changed nothing.."

Nightmare's smile turned into a scowl, and Blue closed his eyesockets tightly, bracing himself for more; he expected Nightmare to kill him, but..that didn't happen. Instead, Nightmare grabbed the back of Blue's skull, beginning to..use a little bit of healing magic? Blue felt stronger after a few seconds of that, and he opened his eyesockets with hope in his eyelights; was..was Nightmare actually considering what Blue had said? Blue knew Nightmare could be saved! It made everything worth it; he could handle a little pain in exchange for someone seeing the light! 

"You're..healing me." Blue informed. "Did..did you think about-"

"No." Nightmare responded bluntly, making Blue blink in confusion.

"Then why-"

"I need to increase your strength so this won't instantly kill you."

"Wh-what..?"

After a couple more seconds, Nightmare ended the flow of healing magic, and he summoned..a sharp bone construct. Blue hadn't known that Nightmare could do that..he hadn't known that Nightmare could use skeleton magic, but he supposed it should have been obvious; Nightmare was a skeleton under that goop, after all. 

"Do me a favor, Blue." Nightmare requested, using a lighter tone. "Try not to close your eyes."

~

With that, Nightmare drove the bone through Blue's skull, right above his left eyesocket, and he elicited a bloodcurdling scream from Blue that even attracted the attention of Nightmare's subordinates from outside. The two watched from the entrance as Nightmare dragged his construct through Blue's skull, chipping away at the bone slowly yet steadily and prolonging the moment out as much as possible. The bone went around the eyesocket instead of through it, not allowing Blue a single moment of rest, and it continued down through the left corner of his mouth, dragging down just a little more before stopping. Nightmare didn't release his victim after pulling his bone from Blue's skull, though - no, he kept a firm grip, grinning down at the other. 

~

"Well, what do you think about me now?" Nightmare chuckled lowly. "Still think I can be saved? Or do I have to make the right side match?"

"N-no!" Blue screamed, sobbing as Nightmare fingered the inside of Blue's newest injury. 

"Tell me..can everyone be saved, really? Is 'trying' really going to help them? Tell me, Blue; will that really make a difference?"

"N-no..no..please, l-let me go!"

"Anyone can be torn down, Blue; anyone can be corrupted. Not everyone can be saved. Remember that, won't you?"

Blue nodded rapidly, tears streaming from his face as Nightmare finally let him go. Blue couldn't move, but it was better than having that freak looming over him! Nightmare had Killer take Blue back to his cage, since Blue screamed and cried when Nightmare tried, and he didn't want to go through the trouble. Blue didn't make any more trouble after that; he accepted the new philosophy. It made more sense, anyway. 

Anyone could be corrupted, but not everyone could be saved; some people were just pure evil, and there was no way to change that. Nightmare was living proof, after all.

A few months after that day, Blue's worst day, Error had found Nightmare and tormented him until he'd released his claim on Underswap, and as soon as he did, Error placed a claim of his own on the universe, just to be safe (he didn't bar anyone but Nightmare's people from entering, though). After making the claim, Error forced a reset, and most things went back to normal..

Most things.

Blue's brother's injuries went away, but his memories were intact. Blue's memories were also intact..but that scar remained. The pain of losing a part of himself weighed upon Blue heavily, and although his in-universe friends tried to help, knowing the situation (although, all they knew was that their memories of the event in which their world had been conquered by an interdimensional madman had been erased), it was hard for them to really help him when he flinched away from every attempted touch. They didn't remember hurting Blue, but..Blue remembered. His brother was the most gentle, having his memories still, but Blue flinched away from him, too! Eventually, Error made the decision to introduce Blue to the multiverse properly, going so far as to ask Core Frisk to let Blue enter the Omega Timeline to get the help he needed. Error couldn't enter for obvious reasons, but Blue had just been an average Underswap Sans, and Frisk had agreed to let him enter. 

Over the next few months, Blue had made friends outside his universe, and they had helped; since they had never hurt Blue, he had no reason to be afraid of them..although, it did take a while for him to warm up to them. Blue remembered meeting Stitch for the first time, his first real friend in the multiverse..he'd been missing for ages now, but before he'd disappeared, he and Blue had been the best of friends! He'd been the first one with whom Blue had felt comfortable enough to let his guard down; Stitch had been the first one other than the inhabitants of Underswap and Error to see Blue's scar. Being a Fell type, Stitch had been awed by it, since scars typically denoted how "tough" someone was in those sorts of universes..but Stitch had been respectful of Blue's decision not to show it off (he'd been overjoyed when Blue had gotten comfortable enough to stop covering it nearly half a decade later, though, while other Fell types were surprised to know that the "sweet, shy swap Sans" they'd known had been hiding such a grisly wound for so long).

But..the one who had finally helped Blue become comfortable with his past in the end was Dream. Blue could still picture Dream's expression that day..he would never have gotten this far without him.

"Uh, excuse me!" A yellow-clad skeleton ran up to Blue, holding a few clipboards and frantically cycling through them as Blue turned to face him. "Do you, uh, want to sign a petition?"

"..A petition for what?" Blue inquired, tilting his skull.

"Um, a petition for..more cookies at snack time? No, not that one!" 

The other continued looking through his stack of clipboards, searching for the correct petition to pitch to Blue, and the recovering skeleton let out a small laugh. 

"Hey, you need some help with those?" Blue offered. "You look overwhelmed."

"Uh..you want to help me?" Dream finally looked up at Blue, facing him with a bit of confusion. "Aren't you busy?"

"Nah, I was just taking a walk, and besides, this might be fun! What are you petitioning for?"

"Um..all this stuff?" Dream gave a nervous smile, before blinking as he realized that nearly half of Blue's face had been obscured. "Oh, cool mask !"

"Thanks." Blue smiled, taking about half of the clipboards the other had been carrying and looking through them. "A friend made it for me. The name's Blue, by the way."

"I'm Dream..it's nice to meet you, Blue."

"And it's a pleasure to meet you, too, Dream!"

That simple exchange had been the start of a longstanding friendship, and for the rest of the day, Blue and Dream had chatted about their lives (the happy parts) and gotten to know eachother as they petitioned for the most random things possible - seriously, why was there a petition to build a frozen whipped cream whimsun statue in the center of the Omega Timeline? After that day, the two had kept in touch, meeting up every so often to spend some time together (and sometimes, Blue would intercept Dream in the middle of one of his random odd jobs, joining him for an impromptu hangout!) After a few of those hangouts, however, Dream had brought up something..hard-hitting.

"Hey, Blue?" Dream addressed, as the two sat in a cafe - a cat cafe, and it was quite relaxing! - one day.

"Yeah?" Blue looked up from the kitten that had decided to nap in his lap. 

"So, you know how Ink and I sometimes work together to fight people like Error?"

"Uh-huh." Blue had listened to many a rant from Error about the subject.

"Well..we've decided to make that an official thing, but..we need another person. Do you know anyone who would be interested? You have a lot of friends, right? Do you think anyone would be interested in joining me and Ink to defend the multiverse?"

"..Well, who are you looking for? Like..what type of person?"

"We were thinking..it has to be someone strong, of course; they have to be able to take a few hits, but they also need to be able to fight, since we do get in fights a lot. But they have to have a positive attitude, too; if someone were to break down in a fight with Nightmare, they-" Dream paused when Blue flinched. "Are you okay?"

"..You fight..him?"

"..Yeah..we fight Nightmare and his gang a lot; they're a big threat to the multiverse. Have..have you heard about that? It can be scary to hear about the things he does..we often clean up the aftermath.."

"..." Blue looked down, nodding. "I..I've heard about him. Can we not talk about that?"

"Of course..I'm sorry if I upset you."

"It's fine; I just..you did nothing wrong. Please, continue."

"All right..well, we're also looking for someone who, while they would have a more positive outlook, they wouldn't just blindly go around trusting people; I'm sure you know the type, if you've been around the multiverse enough."

"I know.." Blue nodded; he'd used to border on being that type, himself..

Dream continued to talk about the qualities that he and Ink would be looking for in a candidate, and the longer Blue listened to him, the more compelled he felt..to volunteer himself. He liked to consider himself a positive person, but he wasn't overly so. He could take a few hits in combat, and ever since Error had saved his universe from Nightmare's clutches, Error had been giving Blue combat lessons to help him protect himself and others in the case that Error wasn't around to help; Blue could fight, and he took it seriously. And, above all, he wanted to help others escape the torment that his world had been put through. He wanted villains to receive justice; he wanted to help protect others. He..Blue felt determined to do this.

"Dream?" Blue spoke up, a few moments  after Dream had finished talking.

"Yes?" Dream responded.

"Could..could I volunteer?"

"Oh, um..can you fight? I've..never seen you fight. I know you have a good soul, but..we do need someone with combat capabilities."

"I can fight, Dream." Blue nodded. "I've been learning for a while, and I have a great instructor. Maybe I could spar with you to show you?"

"Well..all right." Dream nodded. "I guess I could let you try..when would you want to do that?"

"Whenever you're ready."

With that enthusiastic response, Dream decided to have the spar immediately, to simulate what most encounters would be like; there was no way of knowing when Nightmare would attack, and he could even strike in the middle  of a hangout with friends! Dream teleported himself and Blue to a small sparring arena somewhere in the Omega Timeline, and as the two stood on opposite sides of the field, Dream gave Blue an unsure look; he clearly didn't know what Blue could do, but that was just fine - Blue would show him! 

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Dream asked, giving Blue a chance to back out. "I can't afford to go easy on you; I need to test if you can really hold your own.."

"I'm ready, Dream." Blue nodded. "Let's do this."

Dream let out a sigh, and he summoned his staff, ready to fight. "If you're sure.."

Dream started the fight with a simple run-up attack, swinging his staff at Blue, who decided to block it with a sturdy bone attack. Dream let out a hum before launching into an immediate flurry of swings, adding a little magic into the equation to test Blue's evasion capabilities. Of course, when one had the Destroyer as his personal mentor, he tended to have excellent agility and reaction speed; dodging hundreds of strings that came out of nowhere and struck faster than the blink of an eye was no easy feat, but Blue had learned, making these simple (by comparison) attacks no challenge! Not that Dream knew that Blue had been training his fighting abilities under Error, of course, but the point still stood. After a couple rounds of that, Dream turned his staff into dual blades, and Blue decided to start fighting back instead of dodging, summoning a couple bone attacks to use as melee weapons. In addition, Blue began to summon some field attacks, creating obstacles to make Dream's job harder - he wanted to see what Blue could do, after all! Dream cycled through using his staff, blades, and bow over the course of the sparring session, and Blue showed Dream what he could do, but neither of them made an attempt to win the fight until both of them were satisfied. A mutual understanding came about, and the two went for finishing attacks instead. In the end, Dream did win the battle by managing to trip up Blue (quite literally, via a leg sweep) and pin him down, but it had been a close battle until that point.

"Well.." Dream let out a tired chuckle. "I think we've got our third member!"

"Really?" Blue asked, smiling a little; he was good enough?

"Absolutely, if you want to!" Dream confirmed, holding out a hand to Blue to help him up. "If you can fight that well against me, you can fight anyone else we'd go up against! Do you really want to join us, though? It'd be more than just fighting; it'd be damage control, cleanup after the fact, and generally helping others, but I'd be more than happy to work with you, if you want to do this!"

"I do." Blue grinned. "I really, really do."

That day, the Star Sanses were officially born, and Dream and Ink were thrilled to have a teammate like Blue; Ink had liked Blue from the moment they'd met, anyway, and Dream had already liked Blue, which was great! The trio's work together had started with a pleasantly-quiet week, which they had mainly spent gettong to know eachother better as they helped out around the Omega Timeline, doing what they could to make people's lives better! 

Of course, the peace couldn't last forever, and unfortunately, Nightmare's gang decided to attack a universe one fateful morning. Dream had sensed it quickly, having been looking out for such attacks for a while, and he wasted no time in grabbing Ink and Blue and taking them to the universe in question. By this point, Horror had joined Nightmare's side, but that didn't change anything; Blue wasn't going to panic in a battle with the one who had scarred him, no matter how many allies he had. By this point, it had been a couple years since Blue had seen Nightmare, and Blue had done every mental exercise and dealt with all the trauma he could to work his way here. He wasn't afraid of Nightmare anymore; he wouldn't be intimidated. He wanted to bring this psychopath to justice, and he would do it alongside his new teammates.  He wasn't intimidated when Nightmare's aura wrapped around him and tried to probe for his deepest fears; he'd lived with it before.

"Bringing a mortal into combat, Dream?" Nightmare chuckled; he didn't recognize Blue, but that made sense, considering the fact that Blue's scar was fully covered at the moment..Dream didn't even know it existed yet. "I'm proud! Tell me - how do you think he'll die?"

"Nightmare, that's a twisted thing to ask!" Dream glared. 

"Oh, but it's valid, isn't it? I don't sense a speck of LV in him; my boys will tear him apart!"

"LV doesn't change a thing! He's strong enough without it to hold his own!"

"I doubt that; I predict he'll last..two minutes. And that's being generous. What-"

"Can you shut up already?" Blue requested, bringing a silence over the two teams; Dream and Ink stared at Blue in surprise, while Nightmare seemed rather offended - good. "You don't get to decide when I die, you sociopath."

"..." Nightmare narrowed his gaze at Blue, flaring his aura in an attempt to intimidate the mortal, but Blue didn't flinch. "Well, Dream..it seems I've underestimated you; I'll give him three minutes."

With that, Nightmare began the battle by lashing out at Dream, and Blue ended up fighting Dust and Horror while Ink tangled with Killer; that wasn't ideal, but Blue could handle it. Since learning that Blue had decided to join Ink and Dream in their heroic misadventures (although he strongly disapproved of that decision while also being proud of Blue for getting so far with his recovery), Error had taught Blue in-depth about every gang member's fighting styles and strategies, including Nightmare's, and as a result, after several long hours of practice, Blue knew exactly how to combat them. 

Dust was a magic user primarily, relying almost exclusively on magic attacks in battle, since he had a large store of magic with which to make attacks; if he somehow ran out of magic or was forced to discard the use of it, though, he was deadly with a pair of daggers, and he wouldn't shy away from stealthy stabs while an enemy was distracted with something else. Horror, meanwhile, had almost no magic attacks, trading magical strength for physical strength; one slice from his axe could drain the life from someone quickly - especially humans. However, Horror was bulky, and luring him into tight spaces was a good way to gain the advantage over him in combat. Killer, of course, was incredibly skilled with his knives, and he always brought spares..hundreds of spares. He would never run out of knives in a fight, and if he somehow did, he could make more with his magic. He threw, stabbed, and slashed, and he had a lot of energy to keep going; the best way to fight him was to match his energy, which Ink seemed to be doing well at the moment, taking the fight to the trees. Nightmare's skill set was different from those of his minions, however..he had spent several centuries to master dozens of fighting styles, even going so far as to learn to wield weapons to keep his enemies constantly on the defensive. He was tough, and Blue knew he wouldn't be able to defeat him now, but someday..someday. Right now, Nightmare was fighting with his tentacles against Dream, using them as his primary weapons; that was his default, and Blue would have been able to deal with that if it came down to it, but right now, he had two enemies to fight, and they were tough.

Blue, deciding that he wanted to disable Horror first, backed into the thick forest nearby as he shot bone attacks at the giant, while also making sure to watch Dust and avoid his attacks. Surrounded by thick trees, Horror would need to calculate his movements carefully to avoid catching any attacking blows on the tree trunks; Dust, however, didn't have that problem, directing his magic attacks around the trees with ease. Blue fought back diligently, avoiding every attack he could while sending dozens of his own at his opponents. Every time Horror swung his axe, Blue avoided it as the first order of business, even if it meant letting other attacks hit him as a result; he could take Dust's magic attacks, but he couldn't afford to be hit by that axe! 

The battle continued for several minutes, until Blue felt a negative pulse tear through the world, striking his soul rather sharply; that made him flinch a little, but it did the same to Dust and Horror, and they started to retreat back to their leader..was that Nightmare's signal to retreat? Blue believed so, as, when he exited the forested area to see what was going on, he caught a brief glimpse of Killer hopping through a black, wispy portal - one of Nightmare's. 

"Looks like we got 'em!" Ink grinned. "Too bad we couldn't catch them this time, but there'll always be next time!"

"Oh, Blue, are you okay?" Dream asked, rushing over to Blue. "I hope they didn't hurt you too much.."

"I'm fine!" Blue assured. "They were no match for me!"

"Blue..you're awesome." Dream hugged him. "But, still, let's get those injuries healed up before we start rebuilding this place.."

"Oh, um..I don't know how to build things.." Blue informed, grimacing at the nearby town that had been..quite destroyed.

"Don't worry about that; I can just create buildings with my magic!" Ink chuckled. "You and Dream get to work with the people; can you heal, Blue?"

"Yeah, I can heal." Blue nodded. "Not as good as Dream, though."

"Every bit will help." Dream assured. "Let's get to work!'

For the rest of that day, the Star Sanses helped the universe that Nightmare's gang had attacked, rebuilding the town and helping the citizens in whatever way they could. That was how most encounters with Nightmare went in the beginning; the teams would fight, and most of the time, the Star Sanses would win, forcing Nightmare to retreat. After that, the three would do what they could to reverse what Nightmare had done, whether that meant sticking around for the day and helping out in obvious ways or getting a determined human child to reset the timeline. If Nightmare won, the Star Sanses would retreat, and they would try to do better next time. It stayed like that for quite a while - about two months, before a certain someone had a realization.

Another day arrived with an attack from Nightmare's gang, and Dream, Blue, and Ink went to stop him as soon as they were informed of it. However, when they arrived, Nightmare stood across from them with an intrigued expression; had he been..waiting for them?

"Nightmare, what are you doing?" Dream questioned, summoning his staff in case this would be a surprise attack. 

"You know, brother, ever since you teamed up with that mortal, I've felt that there was something off." Nightmare said, looking at Blue curiously. "I thought it was the odd mask, at first, and I decided to see what universe has a Sans that looked like that. It turns out..none of them do. That's odd, isn't it?"

"Blue's sense of style isn't an issue, Nightmare; what are you doing here?" Dream glared.

"Oh, but I think it is; it's been bugging me for weeks. And then there's the name: Blue. It's just so familiar..I knew I'd heard it before."

"It's not an uncommon name." Blue deadpanned, masking his slight anxiety with frustration. "I'm not the first one to use it; get to the point."

"And, to top it all off, there's that." Nightmare chuckled. "He hates me; you've noticed that, haven't you, brother?"

"Blue has a very strong sense of morality, Nightmare!" Dream crossed his arms. "He doesn't like you because you do evil things and hurt people!"

"No..it's personal, isn't it?" Nightmare smiled at Blue, giving him an expression that said everything: he'd finally remembered who Blue was..what he'd done to him. "Does it still hurt? Do you cover it because you're ashamed of it? I'd love to hear the details!"

"..Blue, what is he talking about?" Dream looked to his friend, who looked down and let out a sigh.

"They don't know? How intriguing..you are ashamed of it, aren't you? Enough that you didn't even tell your friends!"

Blue gritted his teeth. "Yeah, I didn't tell them, because I knew they'd kick your tailbone twice as hard when they found out!" 

Dream flinched at the harsh words. "Blue?"

Nightmare scoffed. "Doubtful."

"Are you gonna fight, or what?" Blue wanted to end this. "You've stirred up your trouble; how about you crawl back into whatever hole you came from?"

"Ah, as much as I want to stick around, I suppose I will acquiesce; you've given me a delightful feast, Blue! I hope it tears your friendship apart; that would be fun to see."

With that cruel wish, Nightmare left the trio of heroes alone, and Blue growled, kicking a rock; he wished he had something bigger to hit..

"Blue?" Dream frowned. "Are you..okay?"

"..Can we go?" Blue requested, quietly. "I just..I don't want to stay here."

"Of course..how about we take a trip to Ccino's? Maybe that'll help."

"..All right."

"Hey, it'll be okay.." Ink put a hand on Blue's shoulder. "Whatever happened, we're not going to let it tear us apart! We're a team, and sometimes, things go wrong, but we'll stick together through this; I'm sure of it!"

The trio left the universe, soon entering their favorite coffee shop and sitting down at a table on the corner after making their order. Neither Dream nor Ink started the conversation, the duo simply waiting for Blue to become comfortable enough to start it himself. And, after receiving their coffee and glaring at the napkin holder on the table for three more minutes, Blue let out a sigh.

"I can't do it." He shook his skull.

"Can't do what?" Ink asked. "Do you need help with something?"

"No, it's just..I know that there's an expectation here. There's a lot of pressure for me to tell you everything, to open up about my past, I guess. And then, once I do, you two would judge the situation and either cast me out or comfort me and tell me it's not a big deal..I'm just not ready to do that." Blue put a hand over his face covering, running his fingers across the bone that no longer existed. "And it's not that I don't trust you, or anything; I just..I'm not comfortable with opening up about this yet. I've..I've only told one other person, and doing that was so hard..I can't do it again so soon! And I can't do it here, either..I'm sorry."

Dream offered Blue a smile. "I understand. I sense a lot of mixed emotions in you, but I understand. It's trauma-related, isn't it? Trauma is so hard to get over; I may not know what you've gone through, but I'm proud of you for making it this far. And someday, maybe you'll get to the point that you will be comfortable sharing your past with us. "

"Yeah!" Ink nodded. "No sweat, Blue - all of us have rough patches, and talking about them after the fact is hard! I mean, heck, it took me ages to make amends with my own past..it takes time, and it looks like you just need a little more of that. We can give you that, Blue; we aren't gonna cast you out, either, so don't be afraid of that! You're our friend, and friends don't break up because of stuff like this - they work through it together!"

"..Thank you." Blue smiled at the two. "That..means a lot to me.."

That day, Blue found a new respect for his friends; they really were the best. And..he started to build up the courage to share his past with them; they deserved to know, after all! But..he could take this at his own pace. Nightmare had been frustrated when he'd realized that revealing the fact that Blue had a secret hadn't phased the trio, to Blue's utter joy; Blue knew he shouldn't have been happy when others were sad, but..Nightmare was an exception - Nightmare was an irredeemable freak who delighted in the suffering of others, and if he was upset, that made Blue happy! 

It took several months and no small amount of pep talks from Stitch (Blue was so glad he had a friend like him!) before Blue was ready to trust Ink and Dream with the knowledge of his past, but eventually, he decided that it was time, and he spent a morning preparing for the talk. He informed Dream and Ink that he would be cooking dinner for the team tonight, and he made a meal that would serve to calm his nerves as he committed to his decision: mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese. Blue didn't care that there was no traditional "main food" in this meal; he just wanted comfort food, and those two options were simply the best. When Ink and Dream sat down at the table to eat with him, Blue engaged in a bit of light chatting before grabbing his teammates' attention.

"Hey..guys?" Blue looked over at the two.

"Yeah, Blue?" Ink asked. "This is really good, by the way!"

"Oh, um, thank you.." Blue smiled; they really were the best. 

"Is something wrong, Blue?" Dream inquired, always the worrywart.

Blue didn't say anything in response; he couldn't. Instead, he took a deep breath, lifted his hands up to his face, and slowly took off his face covering. Blue expected the reactions; it was a fairly ugly wound, after all. Dream covered his mouth with his hands, staring at the scar, while Ink was..a lot less subtle.

"That looks bad." Ink commented. "Are you okay?"

Blue couldn't hold back a chuckle; of course Ink would ask that. 

"What?" Ink tilted his skull.

"It..I'm fine." Blue assured. "It's..it's an old wound..really old."

"That's.." Dream wasn't sure what to say. "How..?"

"..." Blue looked down, taking a few bites of his food before answering Dream; he was so grateful he'd had the foresight to make comfort food..he wasn't sure he could have gotten through this without it. "Nightmare tried to conquer my universe once..he, um..he did a lot of bad stuff..to everyone. He took a special interest in me, since I'd heard of the multiverse before..he saw my hope..my positivity. I, uh..I used to be a regular Underswap Sans; I was overly-enthusiastic, and I thought that everyone had good in them, somewhere, even if it was deep inside them."

Blue lifted a hand to his scar; he'd never really gotten used to not feeling bone there. Dream and Ink were silent, waiting for Blue to continue.

"I don't believe that anymore." Blue admitted. "He..he's the reason I don't like going back to my universe; he corrupted my friends and my brother, and he made them hurt me! He..he made them hurt me, and even though they're back to normal now, I can't look at them the same way anymore; I can't even look my own brother in the eyes! He's the only other one who remembers..he's proud of me, but I've barely made any progress! I flinch when they try to come close, because I'm afraid..I hate going back there, and I hate that I do! I wish none of it had ever happened; why couldn't he have done it to someone else? Why couldn't I forget, too? Why'd he do it?! I don't understand!"

Tears fell from Blue's eyesockets as the memories he hated most came flooding back to him, and his friends got out of their seats to comfort him, each of them holding one of his hands as he tried to banish the memories - those cruel, cruel memories! He cried for a while, but eventually, the tears slowed, and he calmed enough to look at his friends through teary eyelights. 

"You're so strong, Blue..I'm so sorry that happened to you." Dream frowned, letting out a sigh. "I..I don't know what to say."

"That sucks." Ink informed. "You shouldn't have had to go through that; no one deserves that."

"I know." Blue admitted. "No one in my universe deserved it..I didn't deserve it. But it happened anyway, so..what else is there to say about it?"

"So..he made one of your friends do that to you..?" Ink seemed hesitant to ask, but Blue understood; he hadn't said anything about it yet - curiosity was something Ink couldn't help, sometimes.

"No.." Blue shook his skull. "I..I told him, one day, that I thought there was good in him, so..he proved that there wasn't. And, I guess..that's why I hate him so much; he did so much to hurt me..and I don't even know why."

"..Do you want to sit for a while?" Dream offered. "We can just sit together..maybe watch some TV while we eat? You look like you need a distraction.."

Blue looked down, before nodding; he was grateful for the offer, since he really did need it. And so, the trio moved to the living room, sitting on the couch with their food and watching a mindless cartoon to help Blue relax. Halfway through, Ink looked at Blue, smiling.

"You know, I think you look great, Blue!" He complimented. "Scar or not, you're still our friend, and you're rocking the look!"

Blue smiled, looking at his friend. "Thanks..you don't know how much I needed that."

"Well, it's just the truth!" Dream joined. "Do you know how much respect you'd get from Fell universes with that thing?"

"Mweh heh, Stitch has told me all about that!" 

Blue was lucky to have such good friends.

Blue's body crumpled as Nightmare released his hold on him, letting his victim lie on the floor of his cell without a second thought. 

"Well, that was an interesting trip down memory lane." Nightmare commented. "I'd always wondered what happened; it's a pity it turned out to be so sickeningly wholesome."

Blue fought to glare up at his captor, but the fact that Nightmare had leeched Blue's magic to perform that little spell had taken quite a toll on him, and that wasn't including the strain from the magic suppressors that had been tightly locked around his wrists. Nightmare took no little amount of pride in his work, looking down at Blue with a smug smile.

"What's the matter, Blue?" He asked, mockingly. "Tired? Was all that magic use too much for you? And, here, I thought you were stronger than that."

Oh, how Blue wanted to wipe that smug expression off Nightmare's face! If only he had the strength to hit him, just one time! Just once! But he couldn't; he could barely stay conscious, and even that was becoming harder and harder. Nightmare knelt down beside his exhausted victim, wrapping a tentacle around Blue's skull to force him to look at his captor. 

"Pity." He chuckled. "But it isn't a problem; I'll let you sleep once more in peace before I'll do anything further. That way, you'll be wide awake to feel every ounce of pain! Sleep well, Blue - I look forward to your waking."

Nightmare released Blue's skull, gently setting it down on the dungeon floor as he watched the last fragments of consciousness leave Blue's eyelights. His captive's body relaxed, and he fell into a deep slumber; he'd likely sleep for at least half a day, after that large magic expenditure. In the meantime, Nightmare needed to check up on his brother; with any luck, Dream hadn't heard a thing about his friend's arrival. 

The hours passed quietly before Blue finally woke, and he let out a tired groan when he did, pushing himself up to sit as he tried to remember where he was. Why did it smell so bad? Why were his wrists weighted? Why did he feel so weak? As he opened his eyesockets, he received his answer rather quickly; someone he knew well was standing outside the cell he'd been locked in: Killer. 

"Someone's finally awake!" Killer exclaimed. "I thought you Swap Sanses couldn't sleep for more than an hour at a time!"

"..How long..?" Blue questioned, looking up at the other. 

"Nineteen hours, bud!" Killer informed. "That's gotta be a record, right?"

Blue sighed; he was too tired to deal with this. Nineteen hours hadn't even been enough; he still felt tired, likely due to the magic suppressors on his wrists.

"Well, since you're awake, I've got orders to take you to the boss." Killer said, teleporting into the cell. "Hold your arms out."

Blue wanted to refuse, but he had a feeling that it would have only caused more harm than good; he doubted Nightmare would have let Killer have the keys (or whatever opening mechanisms these things used) for the magic suppressors on him if he was going to be escorting Blue, anyway. In the best-case scenario here, Blue would just knock Killer out and still be stuck. In light of that, he obeyed the order, holding his arms out - although, he made it quite clear that he didn't want to via his expression. 

"Okay, how's this work.." Killer muttered to himself, looking at the sides of the magic suppressors as he tried to figure out what to do to accomplish..whatever he was trying to do. "Oh, here we go."

Killer pressed a couple buttons on the sides of the magic suppressors (out of Blue's reach, unfortunately), and the two metal bands locked themselves together..magnetization? It was strong magnetization; this must have been some insanely expensive equipment for the electrical components to stay intact through these fields. The magnetic force was so strong that Blue couldn't pull them apart..likely by design. Killer, meanwhile, had grabbed a chain from one of the walls of the cell, and after introducing it to the magnetic field, it worked as a lead, since the majority of the "chain" was a sturdy wooden pole..great. Once that was done, Killer opened the door of the cell and started to lead Blue out, the magnetic force not permitting the captive's escape. Once the two reached the first floor, Killer decided to talk.

"So, how's it feel?" He asked.

"How does what feel?" Blue glared; he hated being mocked!

"The magic suppressors." 

Blue blinked; Killer..wasn't building up to some stupid evil taunt? "What?"

"I'm serious - I've never been under the influence, and I wanna know: what's it like? Does it hurt? Can you feel it sucking magic out of you?"

"Uh.." Blue let out a hum, thinking about it. "Not really..it just feels like my magic is far away from me..out of my reach. If I try to use it, nothing happens; I feel weak. And..I guess I feel tired, too, but that might not be a result of the magic suppressors themselves."

"Huh..I always thought it would hurt, like how magic overloads and stuff like that hurt. But I guess it lets out excess magic before it can become harmful, somehow?"

"..Why are you acting like this?" Blue inquired. "I've never seen you just..ponder stuff; aren't you a sadistic murderer?"

"Oh, come on, you think I can pull that off all the time? Even sadistic murderers have to take breaks sometimes, blue boy!"

"..What is Nightmare going to do to me? You've gotta know, right?"

"Well.." Killer looked back at Blue, but he didn't stop walking. "You're gonna be our newest castlemate, if my guess is right."

"..'Castlemate'?"

"Yeah, you think all these other people stay here willingly? Look, just get through this, and then one of us'll come and find ya to clear up any questions you've got."

"Get through what?"

"..Initiation, I guess you'd call it. You're gonna be joining Nightmare now, whether you like it or not, after all."

"I am not!" Blue glared, clenching his fists.

"Bud..you are. Do yourself a favor and just say yes the first time; even if he knows you want nothing to do with him, he won't bother you about it. That's the best advice I can give you, anyway."

"I am not joining him!" Blue asserted.

"..Sorry in advance, then."

"For what?!"

"You'll find out pretty quick, if you refuse boss's offer."

Blue decided not to ask anything more, simply letting Killer lead him down a hallway towards a door that Blue had noticed earlier during his search for Dream: a large double door that had one side dedicated to the moon and the other to the sun, with a large tree in the center of the image. And..Killer was taking him through it. The murderer opened the doors slowly, making sure not to lose his grip on his lead, and once the doors were open, he led Blue inside the..throne room. Of course this psychopath had a throne room. Killer led Blue down the long purple carpet as the captive looked around, not liking much of what he saw. The throne room was made mostly of stone bricks, with rows of pillars parallel to the carpet that stretched up to the tall ceiling above. The only source of natural light in the room came from the skylights above, but it was nighttime right now, leaving the room mostly dark, save for a few scattered candles; every pillar held one candle, and..the ambience definitely did its job of making Blue feel uneasy. At the end of the carpet were two thrones, and one of them..Blue was glad it was empty. However, in the other, Nightmare sat, although all Blue could see was his sole teal eyelight, it's sharp light cutting through the darkness. When Killer and Blue got close enough, Killer let go of the lead (there was no need to doubt the fact that Nightmare himself would catch Blue if he tried to run), and he moved behind the captive, kicking him down to his knees. Blue lifted his skull to glare at his captor, but he didn't try to run..yet. The double doors to the room had been closed behind them, anyway, and there didn't seem to be any other way out of the room..that Blue could see, in this darkness..

"Well, it seems congratulations are in order." Nightmare's voice echoed through the room, and Blue's unease rose with that fact. "You are the first person to ever successfully infiltrate my domain, and, I will admit, that's impressive. Then again, you always have had a way of surprising me, Blue."

"Error's going to kill you for this." Blue growled, knowing very well that Error would, even if he would lecture Blue about his stupid decisions afterwards. 

"Oh, come, now, Blue." Nightmare let out a light chuckle. "Would I really be the future king of the multiverse if I let that pathetic Destroyer scare me? Granted, I thought I had a couple more years before this would need to happen, but I can adapt."

"What are you talking about? What are you planning, Nightmare?"

"Well, if you must know, my original plan was to take you after turning my brother to my side, and I would make you into his personal servant, but, since that hasn't happened yet, I'll have to find another job for you until it does happen.."

"What are you doing to Dream?!" Blue gritted his teeth; if this freak had done anything to his friend..

"It would have been so perfect; he would have confused you enough that you would have had a relatively easy transition into castle life..alas, not all plans go perfectly. Well, if you're destined to be Dream's personal servant, you may as well start out as a regular one - yes, that will work. Now, Blue..will you join me?"

"Absolutely not!" Blue growled. "And you're insane if you think I ever will!"

"..I guess I'm insane, then." Nightmare chuckled. 

The king rose from his throne with a grin, slowly walking over to his captive. Blue considered trying to run now, but a tentacle tightly wrapped itself around Blue's neck almost immediately, as if Nightmare had predicted just such a decision. The dark Guardian knelt down next to Blue, giving him a smile. 

"I must admit, I've always been curious about how you, specifically, would react to this." He began. "Cross lasted four hours; maybe you can surprise me yet again and last longer. I'll know when you break, and when you do, I'll let you know how you did."

"Wh-" Blue was cut off by a hand over his mouth, effectively muffling him. 

"Good luck."

One of Nightmare's tentacles creeped under Blue's shirt, and Nightmare jabbed it into Blue's soul. Blue's vision started to blur, and the last thing he saw before blacking out was the crisp glow of a teal eyelight. 

Blue opened his eyesockets slowly, finding himself..somewhere? A black void? Where was he..? He tried to touch the floor he was lying on, and his hand did come into contact with something, but..he couldn't feel anything. Wait, was this a dream? Nightmare had done something..and if he was aware, it must have been a dream! Why would Nightmare put him into a lucid dream? It had taken no effort to figure out-

"Sans?" Papyrus.

..Was this meant to scare him? It..it wasn't as if he hadn't gone through this before, and it hadn't broken him back then; why would it now? That was..it was stupid! Blue wouldn't let this lucid dream get to him; this wasn't his real brother, and any blows that Nightmare tried to simulate inside the dream wouldn't hurt Blue in real life! He could just pretend it was someone else, and he could ignore whatever type of dream-pain he experienced; he wouldn't feel the real thing. When the figment of his brother (not his real brother) came closer, Blue just glared.

"This won't scare me, Nightmare!" He shouted. "I'll never join you!"

"You will, Sans." The Papyrus said. "Let me help you understand."

"You can't hurt me! You're just a dream!"

"Oh, I assure you - I can hurt you just as well as I could all those decades ago!" The figment chuckled. "Better, even!"

Blue doubted that. He just shook his head, glaring at the replica as it came closer. It wouldn't hurt him; he wouldn't feel a thing. He stood his ground as the figment pulled its arm back for a punch, and when it hit-

It hurt! There..that wasn't imaginary pain! That was real! That was..that was real! He'd felt it! And it hurt so much; it hurt worse than any of Papyrus's blows back then!

What was this?

"You can stop it at any time, Sans.." The figment chuckled, kicking Blue's spine, and the pain - the real pain - shot through his body, making him scream.

He..why wasn't he waking up? If he was being hurt, he should have been waking up! Was..was he trapped here? Trapped..with this remnant of the past? He felt tired, and he couldn't influence anything! This wasn't like the adventures Dream sometimes shared with him in the dream world; this wasn't a normal lucid dream..

This was a lucid nightmare.

The hours ticked by, and Killer just watched as his boss tormented his victim. Killer didn't know what Blue was seeing, in the dream world. It was probably a past abuser, if Cross's experience was anything to go by; Nightmare had used Cross's Gaster when he'd done it to him. In the dream world, Blue was seeing..someone. In the real world, the exact same thing was happening, from Blue's screams to his tormenter harming him; the only difference was that it was Nightmare, in the real world. Blue didn't know that he was moving around in the real world; his consciousness was locked in a dream state. Nightmare wouldn't help him figure that out, though; he made sure to keep Blue away from any walls or pillars - not that it would have made any difference if Blue happened to run into one at some point, since he'd barely register it, aside from the pain. Fighting back wouldn't do much of anything, either, considering the fact that Nightmare was impervious to physical attacks; all that there was to do was break eventually. Killer didn't really want to be here, but it was his job to watch this..he had to do what he was told. And, besides, he'd gotten some useful information from Blue earlier; this was all worth it. 

Nightmare's tactics were simple when it came to blending an individual's dreams and reality; it was hard to tell the difference when the same thing was happening in both, wasn't it? Killer considered himself lucky that he had never experienced it personally..not that he would fall for it, knowing Nightmare's secrets. He probably would have just done his best to be as annoying as possible, navigating the castle blindly as Nightmare tried to torture him; he could get around this place blind as long as he knew his starting point - he'd practiced, after all, just in case. To someone like Blue, however, this was terrifying; he had no idea what was really happening, and he didn't know where he was. He would suffer until he broke. 

Eventually, it did happen. Blue had curled up on the floor, and he was begging for it all to stop, which was enough for Nightmare to give Blue his offer again.

"Well, Blue?" Nightmare looked down at the trembling skeleton at his feet. "Will you join me?"

"Y-yes..yes, I-I will! Just p-please, please stop.." Blue begged, as terrified whimpers escaped him.

"Good." Nightmare smiled, releasing his hold on Blue's consciousness. "You lasted for seven hours - impressive."

Blue shivered as his vision shifted from his lucid dream world to reality, but he didn't seem to care much; his body was likely still wracked with pain.

"We just need to do one more thing before I let you rest, Blue." Nightmare informed. "Killer?"

Killer approached, nodding as he opened a portal to one of Nightmare's other claimed universes to avoid any unwanted visitors from dropping in; Nightmare needed Blue to accept an invitation to the castle. The dark guardian picked up Blue's broken body and carried him through, since Blue was in no condition to walk right now. Once the trio were through, Nightmare handed Blue off to Killer, who held him tightly - not that Blue could try to run, but rather because he would fall without support. 

"Blue, how would you like to stay at my castle?" Nightmare offered. "Will you accept my invitation?"

Blue didn't respond; he was in the middle of passing out again, but Killer had a cure for that!

Killer kneed Blue in the spine, eliciting a pained yelp. "The boss asked you a question."

"Would you like to stay at my castle, Blue?" Nightmare repeated. "Answer the question, and I'll let you sleep."

Blue's eyelights drifted up to look at Nightmare, and Blue took a labored breath before speaking. "Y-yes.."

"Good." Nightmare approved, and he didn't object to Blue's consciousness slipping away this time. "Killer, you carry him."

"Yes, boss." Killer nodded, following his boss through the portal back home. 

Nightmare began to lead Killer to the place he'd decided Blue would stay for now, where he would heal the castle's newest resident and leave him to figure out his new life..but, of course, there were other things to be done after that.

"Well, for such a monumental mistake on your part, it turned out nicely." Nightmare commented. "After I give you your punishment for it, I want you to get Cross to inform Dream that Blue is here; he'd likely take the news best from him."

"Yes, boss.." Killer responded. "Uh..what kind of punishment are we talking, here..?"

"Well, I think the most appropriate thing to do first would be fact-checking those rumors about your haboring another stray cat.."

Killer's soul sank.

"They're..th-they're false!" Killer shook his skull. "Y-you-"

"I'd like to confirm that for myself." Nightmare decided. "I thought you'd learned after the last one."

Killer bowed his skull, closing his eyesockets. "..Yes, boss..."

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Blue bean gets a long chapter!

Thanks for reading my traumatic writing!

Bye!

Chapter Text

Dream hadn't exactly taken the news that Blue was in the castle well. When Cross had told him, Dream had shot up to his feet, yelled in surprise, and demanded that Cross showed him where his friend was; of course, that had been Cross's intention, but it had been a bit..frightening, to see Dream in such a state. 

This place was wearing on him, even if he denied it.

Of course, Dream's version of "demanding" had been significantly less threatening than his brother's version, going a little more like, "Please, show me where Blue is! I need to know, please!" as opposed to what Cross could have only imagined Nightmare would have said in the same situation: "You incompetent lackey, show me where that pathetic blue cretin is before I tear your head off!"

Yes, Cross much preferred Dream's demands. They were kinder and less painful.

Dream hadn't been made aware before now, but Blue had been a resident of the castle for a good three days before Cross delivered the news, under Nightmare's orders. That way, Blue would have more time to settle in before being undoubtedly worried over by his best friend. It had been luck that Dream hadn't heard any rumors, but, then again, everyone had been ordered not to speak of the situation around Dream until he was introduced to it properly. For Dream's comfort, Blue had been settled in a room on the fifth floor in the second hall from the left, only a hallway away from Dream's own room, to make it easier for the two to have visits. Blue did have roommates - three of them, just other castle workers that Cross didn't really know well - but Nightmare had decided to order them to stay away from their quarters for a few hours to give Blue and Dream some privacy. A couple moments after the duo left Dream's room, the positive guardian looked over to Cross, frowning.

"Uh, sorry for being so.." Dream wasn't sure how to put it.

"Panicky?" Cross guessed. "It's fine, trust me; if it were my best friend, I'd be worried, too."

"..Do you know what happened? How did he get here?"

"..I think it's best that he tells you about that."

"All right..but just tell me one thing: did Nightmare hurt him? Is..is he okay?"

"..Boss healed him." Cross shrugged. "I, uh, don't know how bad he was hurt..sorry. Only Killer saw that."

"..I see." Dream looked down. "Thank you for the information.."

"Anytime, Dream.."

The trek to Blue's room was pleasantly short, and Dream was glad to know that his friend was living nearby. He memorized the location of Blue's door, and he knocked, waiting for an answer. Blue, having been made aware of this meeting beforehand, was ready to open the door, giving his friend a small smile as Dream moved forward to pull him into a hug.

"Blue.." Dream held his friend close.

"Hey, Dream.." Blue returned the hug immediately. "Come in..there's a lot to talk about."

Dream nodded, entering the room with Cross. The room was..definitely nothing special. There were four twin-size beds in the room, two on each side faced towards the center of the room, and there were four dressers next to them, likely to hold belongings. The room was barren otherwise aside from one lightswitch that operated a ceiling light; the walls and carpet were gray, but the sheets and blankets on a couple of the beds had colors. Blue's bed had white sheets and a gray blanket..it didn't suit him, but there was really no way to change that right now; Blue had heard that anything to do with fabric, from sheets to clothing, was to be ordered through the castle's tailor, although he hadn't met the other yet, since he just hadn't had the time (being trained to be a servant was..definitely something) or the money. All the money he'd had upon entering the castle had been confiscated, unfortunately, along with all of Blue's other belongings..they'd even taken the taco recipe that Color had given him. He could get some of the stuff back, but he had to pay for it, and as of right now, he was broke. It was fine..he'd do what he could. For now, though, Dream was here, and Blue had a lot to talk about with him! The two sat down on Blue's bed, and Cross stood by - whether to monitor the conversation or just to be present, Blue didn't know.

"It's been a while.." Dream sighed. "I'm so sorry, Blue; I should have listened to you and Ink! You were right; I shouldn't have trusted him.."

"Well..the harm's already done; there's no use dwelling on it." Blue shrugged. "How have you been holding up? Are you okay? I, um..admittedly, I haven't heard much about you since getting here."

"..I'm all right." Dream looked down. "Are you? How'd you get here? This universe is claimed; I didn't think it was possible to breach claims."

"I, uh..portal pushed Killer." Blue admitted. 

"What?" Dream looked at his friend in shock. "You..that's so dangerous! You could have been killed!"

"Well, uh, I tackled him, so we went through at the same time, to limit the risk."

"..Still..that's incredibly dangerous."

"I know! I just..I wanted to rescue you so badly, and I saw an opening, so I took it! And..and I almost got out, but..things didn't work out that way."

"..Did he hurt you?" Dream didn't even really have to ask; he already knew..

Blue nodded silently, and Dream knew not to press him further. 

"..I'm sorry." Dream sighed. 

This was all his fault. If he hadn't been so stupid as to trust Nightmare, everyone would have been fine! Blue would have been safe, and Ink wouldn't have been- Ink..

"Is Ink okay?" Dream asked. "He..he's alone now..I hope he's all right.."

"He should be all right." Blue confirmed, reaching over to hold Dream's hand comfortingly. "Before I..came here, we were looking for temporary allies to help us out until we could get you back. We were about to ask the Posse, and I think they'll probably accept, after my blunder.."

"You..it wasn't a blunder, Blue." Dream shook his skull. "It was just..a decision made in the heat of the moment. I'm honored that you cared enough for me to try it."

"..Thanks, Dream."

 "Of course, Blue." Dream smiled. "And, you know..coming to this place might not have been entirely bad, after all."

"What do you mean?" Blue tilted his skull.

"Well, I've learned that a lot of people who've gone missing over the years have ended up here." Dream explained. "Nightmare's been tricking people into accepting invitations to his castle for..a long time - just over a decade, I believe."

"..You mean all those unsolved missing person cases..ended up here?"

"A lot of them did. Ccino's here, and the previous original Aftertale Sans, Geno, is here.."

"Woah..I never would have guessed that.."

"And..Stitch is here, too."

Blue froze, staring at Dream for a moment before a couple tears began to form in his eyesockets. "..What..?"

"He's the castle's tailor..I couldn't believe it at first, either." 

Blue..had thought Stitch had been dead. He'd spoken at Stitch's funeral! He..he'd mourned the loss of one of his closest friends (the first friend he'd ever fully trusted) for over half a year before finally beginning to move on! And..he was here? Stitch wasn't dead? He was here, in Nightmare's castle, and he had been since he'd disappeared?! But..Stitch had never said a word about Nightmare before his disappearance. Had it really been that quick? Blue didn't think Stitch would have left on a whim; Stitch wouldn't have left his universe and friends behind on a whim. He wouldn't have left Blue on a whim! It must have taken a while..but Stitch had never brought it up. But..neither had Dream, really; the talks about Nightmare's potential for good had always been present - they had just been a little more common recently. But..did that really matter when there was a new reality he needed to deal with?

Stitch wasn't dead.

He'd never been dead.

Blue..didn't know how to feel about that. He..had to speak with him as soon as he could. He needed to know what had happened. But..but, right now..he had to talk to Dream.

"..A tailor?" Blue let out a quiet hum, ignoring the tear tracks on his face; he was lucky his tears were made of magic..the salty tears that humans cried probably would have burned his scar..heh.. 

"Yeah.." Dream nodded slowly, offering a small smile. "He, uh..he made what I'm wearing right now.."

Blue glanced over at the clothing, but he wasn't really sure how he felt about it, knowing that Stitch had made it. Did he love it? Did he hate it? He didn't know. 

Stars, Stitch was alive!

"..Wow." Blue said, in response to..he didn't know. He'd spent the last seven years thinking his first best friend had been dead, and now..he wasn't. 

"..I figured you'd be surprised." Dream admitted. "It's been a long time..do you want to go see him?"

"..Not yet." Blue shook his skull. "This..this time is supposed to be about you, and..I need to sort this out before I go seeking him out; I still..can't believe it."

"I understand. So..how have your first couple days been?"

Ah..a topic to bring Blue back to reality. He sighed, wiping his tears away. "It's been..busy."

"I only just learned that you were here, so I have no idea what's been going on - I would have come sooner, if I'd known."

"I kmow you would have." Blue nodded. "You're a good friend, Dream..thank you. Um..I've been assigned a job as a castle servant..basically, I just have to do whatever I'm ordered to do. Most of it is just delivering stuff from one place to another, so it hasn't been too bad yet..although, I am still in what they call 'training,' so things could change.."

"..I'm sorry. I wish.." Dream paused, looking at Cross. "Well..Cross would know more about what that stuff would entail, right?"

"..Yeah." Cross spoke up for the first time, looking over at the two. "Do you want me to explain it?"

Dream looked to Blue, who decided to nod, and Dream spoke again. "It would be preferable."

"Okay, well..most of it is delivering stuff. Dream, you probably haven't seen it, since it's in the basement down some stairs and it's easily mistaken for the way down to the dungeon, but there is a room where all the castle servants just wait in a line for stuff to do, and there's a hook-up for every bell in the castle. They're all numbered, so when one rings, the next servant in line knows exactly where to go - they have to memorize them, but that takes a while. Basically, they're mainly called for deliveries of materials or food, and sometimes they're called to prompt other castle staff to do their jobs, such as the maids, and..pretty much anything you'd call for, they make sure it gets done; that's why there's a lot of them."

"Oh..you're right - I've never seen that room."

"Yeah, there are two separate basements." Cross informed. "One for the dungeon, and another for various forms of castle staff to await their orders."

"I see.." 

"That lines up with my experience." Blue confirmed. "I always have someone with me to help me get around, since I'm just being trained, though."

"..I'm sorry you have to go through this at all, Blue." Dream sighed. "That's..not the life you deserve.."

"It's all right..I can get through this." Blue assured, giving Dream a weak smile. "I've been through worse, after all!"

"That doesn't make it better. You deserve to be free, Blue..everyone does."

Blue let out a hum, lifting a hand to his left eyesocket. "..Maybe not everyone." 

For once..Dream couldn't bring himself to argue with that opinion.

"..Maybe." He admitted.

The rest of the visit went quietly, with Dream and Blue mainly discussing what had happened since Dream's kidnapping. Dream told Blue about his experience living here, and Blue informed Dream about the status of the outside world. Although, because Blue was here now, too, things out there would likely change quickly..particularly because of one cosplay buddy that would be severely disappointed in Blue's actions and absolutely enraged over Nightmare's. Blue just hoped that Ink could handle it on his own; he didn't really have a choice now. Ink had always considered himself a subpar hero because of his past; well, after this debacle, if he still thought that, Dream and Blue would be sure to knock some sense into his skull. Or maybe Error would get to it before them, depending on what would happen on the outside..there was no way of knowing right now. After a while, Blue's allotted time to speak with Dream was almost over; he'd only been given a few hours off before he had to return to work for the day, but that was all right..at least Nightmare only enforced ten-hour shifts - he could have made it much worse, and everyone knew that. It was unfortunate that meal breaks didn't count towards that time, but, for some reason, the time spent waiting in line for one's meal was - likely just because that wasn't controllable, but it was nice to relax in a line for a while, surprisingly. Any more work after ten hours, though was considered overtime, and although it paid a little more, Blue didn't really want to bother with that right now..especially not after hearing about Stitch. 

Or..did he?

"Well..I guess that's that." Dream frowned, upon hearing that news. "I, um..I'll try to catch up with you whenever I can. Feel free to knock on my door; I would never turn you away, Blue."

"Thanks, Dream..and I'll, uh, try to respond to your calls as much as I can, to maybe fit in some sneaky hangout time, okay?" Blue informed.

Blue couldn't tell Dream that he'd been ordered to do that..he couldn't tell Dream about the future that Nightmare had planned for him - he wasn't allowed to, with the penalty being severe for both him and Dream. But if he could make Dream feel a little better, he would; there was no harm in cheering up his friend.

"Sounds good." Dream nodded, liking the sound of that.

"All right, well.." Blue slid off the bed and let out a sigh. "I guess I'll be seeing you around."

"Guess so." Dream nodded. "See you, Blue."

Blue nodded, starting to head for the door, and Dream and Cross began to follow, but Blue paused on the way there, turning to Dream.

"You know what?" He asked. 

"What?" Dream inquired.

"I just realized something! I've been wondering why this place was so cold, but seeing you made me realize why!"

"Oh, yeah, Nightmare is the opposite of me with temperature."

"Yeah, I guess so - I'd thought it was just because of the time of year. Today's the first day of winter in multiverse time, and this universe seems close enough to that, so I just assumed the castle didn't have any heat."

"..." Dream paused; that was today? "Uh..yeah. I-I mean.."

Blue frowned. "Oh, I'm sorry..I didn't want to mention it, since this has all been so crazy, but..happy birthday, Dream."

"..Thanks, Blue." Dream nodded, doing his best to smile a little. "I guess I forgot, with everything going on.."

"I wish I had something to give you, but my gift for you is at the base, in my closet..not the greatest place right now, I'll admit."

"..Well, when we get out of this, I'll just have to see!"

Dream knew there was little to no chance he'd ever see that gift.

"Yeah.." Blue nodded. "Have a good birthday, Dream; try not to let all this weigh on you..please."

Blue left the room, and Dream and Cross entered the hall after him. As Blue went on his way to work, Dream leaned against the wall of the hallway, crossing his arms. Cross frowned, looking over at him. 

"Are you all right?" He questioned.

"..No." Dream admitted. "If it's my birthday, it's his, too, and..I don't really want to see him right now." Or ever again.

"I get it. I wasn't informed if he was planning on doing anything special; I just know that this universe does align with multiverse time, so he probably knows the date."

"..Would he expect me to wish him a happy birthday?" Dream looked down. "Would he lash out if I didn't?"

"I don't know."

Dream let out a long sigh, before making his decision. "I don't want to risk him hurting anyone because of it.."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"No..with any luck, it'll be two seconds, and then I can start avoiding him again."

"Good luck, then. And happy birthday."

"Thank you, Cross..and thank you for everything that you've done for me, here..you're a great friend."

Dream didn't know the truth, and Cross was too much of a coward to tell him. How would Dream feel, if he knew what Cross was doing? He just..couldn't.

"Thank you, Dream." Cross smiled; he was so fake it hurt. If Dream's powers were to work properly here, he'd have been able to see through Cross in an instant.

Dream, unfortunately oblivious, began his trek to the next hall over, where his and Nightmare's rooms were, and when he arrived, he chanced a knock on Nightmare's door, his fists clenched tightly. If Nightmare was in his room, Dream wouldn't have to suffer through ringing that negatively-charged bell..and, for better or worse, Nightmare was there to open the door.

"Ah, brother - to what do I owe the pleasure?" Nightmare gave one of his practiced smiles.

"..Happy birthday." Dream said, but before he could turn to leave, Nightmare began to speak.

"Oh, birthday wishes. I'd forgotten that was today." Nightmare chuckled. "How old are we, now? I can't recall."

"..I don't know, either."

"Well, happy birthday to you, too, brother. I'm afraid I haven't gotten you a gift, but next year, I'll be sure to have something prepared..something to make up for all these missed years."

"You've given me enough, Nightmare." Dream let out a sigh. 

"Still stuck in the past, brother? Surely-"

"You pretending to care about me now doesn't change what you've done, Nightmare. It doesn't make those countless murders you've committed vanish, and it doesn't undo the destruction you've caused to the multiverse! I could care less about our past; I was a horrible brother back then, and you were hurt, but that doesn't give you the right to hurt others because of it! I..I don't hate you, but I wish I could! I hate what you do!" Dream shouldn't have been saying all this..but he just couldn't stop. "Do you know how many families you've torn apart?! Do you know the suffering you've brought to others?! I do! I've spent most of my life trying to help others recover from what you've done, and you just expect me to get over it?! Every time I start to think that maybe you're not as bad as I thought you were, I-I see the faces of those you've hurt, and I remember that you aren't as bad - you're worse! Just look at this castle! It's filled with people from whom you've taken b-basic choice and forced to work every day, tormented because you want a stable source of negativity! I look around, a-and I look at you, and I just..why can't I hate you..? Why..why can't you hate me?" 

Dream was crying. Why was he crying?!

"My poor little brother..so confused." Nightmare took a step forward, gently wrapping his arms around his twin. 

"L-let go of me!" Dream pushed away, but Nightmare decided to ignore that request, simply waiting for Dream's weak struggles to die down and trying to soothe him.

"It's all right, little brother; I'm here..I'll help you through this. How about we sit in my room and have a nice cup of tea? I believe I know your favorite.."

Dream pushed away from his brother, but it didn't make a difference; Nightmare's hold was too tight..and a part of Dream didn't want him to let go. Dream ended up crying into Nightmare's shoulder for half an hour, desperately wondering why, after all his twin had done, he couldn't bring himself to hate him. Nightmare just held him quietly, sitting down on the side of his bed and grabbing a book to read aloud. Once Dream's tears ran out, Nightmare handed him a cup of tea and continued to read, and Dream didn't try to leave; he only sipped his tea quietly and listened to his brother's voice. Maybe he would regret it later. Maybe he wouldn't. He was just too drained right now to care about the consequences. 

So he listened to the story, drank his tea, and stopped thinking for a while.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dream bean is not having a good time, and neither is Blue bean!

Thanks for reading my birthday writing!

Bye!

Chapter Text

Two weeks had passed since Blue had become a resident of the castle, which meant that Dream had been stuck here for two whole months. Blue had been Dream's friend for..a long time. Years..over a decade. Blue didn't know exactly how long it had been, but the time spent with Dream had been enough for Blue to confidently say that he could read his friend fairly well. Dream was..having a very bad time here. Dream had always been a follower - someone who took direction from others and either obeyed them or rejected them based on his moral compass's direction. From helping others with setting up parties to going through the same routine of helping universes recover from Nightmare's work over and over again. Here, he'd been given no sense of purpose or direction (other than Nightmare's vague descriptions of what he planned for Dream's future, which definitely didn't count!), leaving him in control..and Dream wasn't great at that. From the public's standpoint, he was the leader of the Star Sanses, since it was the best for keeping spirits high; behind closed doors..well, Blue was the closest thing their trio had to a leader. Ink would have been the best choice for a leader if he weren't so self-conscious about making important choices, but since he was, Blue tended to take charge when necessary to make sure that things went smoothly, from being the main speaker for the three during meetings to being the first to recognize when it was time to retreat from battles. Dream was a good strategist (Ink was the best, though he doubted his abilities far too often), and he was great when it came to negotiations and things involving people, but having control over his life didn't make him comfortable; it made him uncertain. 

Knowing that, it made sense why Dream was struggling so much here; he had no one to help him decide what to do, but as a result, he'd made himself a little schedule to follow. It wasn't much, but if it helped Dream, Blue was all for it! But he could tell that Dream was still suffering here. After he and Blue had met for the first time in the castle, Dream had apparently broken down right in front of Nightmare, and Nightmare had taken full advantage of the situation, pulling his twin into his room and spending a few peaceful hours with Dream while the other had been emotionally drained. Dream had felt horrible about it afterwards, considering his only goal right now was to not be around Nightmare as much as possible, but..Blue was just glad that Dream had gotten the chance to emotionally "reset" himself; he had needed it. After that, Dream had decided to go back to his routine, spending the day in specific ways based on it.

Blue had his own schedule. 

Blue's schedule was much simpler than Dream's was, however; he got up early (or..before his roommates, anyway, since there was no easy way to tell time in this place), went down to the servants' hall to clock in for work, and worked for the majority of the day. Blue had asked around, and apparently, meeting with people was something that required the selected people to work around their shifts to accomplish, but Stitch, being the castle's head tailor..well, he didn't take many breaks from his work, since he had a lot of deadlines going on at every given moment of every day. He had his meals delivered to his workroom, and he rarely left it unless he was called somewhere else for work! Every morning, he'd go there super early, and he'd only leave half an hour before curfew; there was no way that Blue was going to be able to meet with him unless he could infiltrate his workplace! And, well, since he wasn't a tailor, that meant that he needed money. So, for the past two weeks, Blue had saved every G he earned, only buying one meal every two days just to keep himself alive. And, while that might have been just a bit unhealthy, it wouldn't kill him; he'd been through much worse before. He just had to see his friend! Now that he had fully processed the situation, he wanted nothing more than to talk with Stitch for a while..he had to know what had happened. 

Well, after adding this week's paycheck (it was, admittedly, odd to think that the King of Negativity gave his workers paychecks, but hey, it worked) to the rest of the G that Blue had saved up, he could officially afford a trip to the tailor's room for the cheapest commission possible: a patch-up. After deliberately making a tear in his clothes (just a small rip on his sleeve would do the trick), Blue officially had everything he needed for such a request: the tear that needed patching-up and the money to pay for it! As soon as he finished his shift for the day, he started his trek to the tailor's room; it was a good thing that he'd been given a study guide of the castle's layout for his job, since he..really needed it. When he arrived at his destination, he paused, taking a deep breath. He was about to see his friend for the first time in over half a decade, and..no, he'd never be ready. He couldn't prepare himself for this. 

He knocked on the door, and a familiar face answered. 

Stitch's clothes were quite different from his old outfit; they were less threatening and more..approachable, perhaps. He had a purple suit jacket on, the same shade he'd used to wear in his AU, but it suited him so much better than his old attire. His bandana had been refitted into a scarf, and otherwise, his clothes were just a dark gray. It fit his personality better; he'd never been much for the "edgy" look so many Fell universes seemed to have. 

"Blue.." Stitch stared, and Blue finally raised his gaze to meet the other's eyelights, staring right back at him; it couldn't be helped.

"..I never thought I'd see you again." Blue admitted, quietly. 

Blue didn't know how he was feeling. He didn't think he was sad, but he couldn't tell if he was happy, either. He was probably happy, but the weight of all the years separate was heavy enough to crush it. It was for the best; he couldn't allow himself to be too happy without Dream around, or else Nightmare would have been attracted by the positivity. 

"..I'm sorry." Stitch let out a shaky sigh. "I didn't..I didn't think about the consequences when I left. It..it was a very bad day, and I felt as if the world was falling apart around me; he..his offer seemed like the only way. I'm sorry, Blue; there's no excuse for what I did.."

Blue nodded; that made sense. Stitch had always been one to make decisions based on his emotions..it had been how they'd met, after all. 

"I'm just..glad you're alive." Blue replied. "I spent so long thinking you were gone.."

"I really am sorry." Stitch bowed his skull. "I heard you were in the castle, but..I decided not to initiate a meeting. I knew it would take time for you to get used to the idea.."

"I've been putting it off.." Blue admitted. "But I ran out of reasons not to come, so I'm here.."

"I understand." Stitch nodded. "We should schedule a meet-up sometime; I'm kind of busy all the time, but I'm sure I could figure something out."

"Yeah, I've heard, so I thought the only way to get to talk to you was to pay for something." Blue chuckled, showing Stitch the rip in his sleeve.

"..You've only been here for two weeks. There's nothing you could afford, unless.." Stitch glared. "You haven't changed at all, have you?"

"Heh..you got me." Blue shrugged apologetically. "So maybe I've been skipping a few meals - I wanted to see you.."

"Your stubbornness knows no bounds..get in here." 

Blue acquiesced, letting Stitch lead him inside the room. It was quite..work-central. The sound of sewing machines was the main "attraction" of the place, with at least ten working at any given moment. Anyone not sewing was working on a different step of their process, whether it was picking out colors from a pallette, cutting fabric into pieces, studying designs to create new pieces, or one of several other steps that Blue was impressed by regardless; he couldn't sew, but he had gained a healthy respect for those who did have the skill. Heck, two of his friends (apparently) were both masters at it! A quarter of the room was just tables and sewing machines, while another quarter had long tables to process fabric. Another quarter was dedicated to a large store of fabric and sewing tools, and the last quarter was mostly walking room, with a little left over for everything else. Stitch led Blue over to one of the sewing tables, pulling a chair out after grabbing a needle and thread. 

"Take a seat, and I'll have this fixed in no time.." Stitch smirked. "Or..a little more than that."

Blue chuckled, sitting down and letting Stitch look at the tear. "So..how've you been? This castle isn't exactly the horrible place I'd imagined it to be, but..it's definitely not great."

"That's basically it." Stitch nodded. "The boss wants negativity, but tormenting people too much can only cause so much suffering before they grow numb to it, so he decided to just make our lives pretty bad instead."

"..There's something I've been meaning to ask about that. Uh..everyone calls him that, but almost never his name, except Dream..why? I've avoided it in case it's dangerous, but..is it?"

"Oh, that." Stitch sighed. "Yeah, saying his name isn't the best idea; it attracts his attention. Dream gets away with it because he's his brother, but for the rest of us..it can only bring more harm than good. A slip of the tongue can be pretty bad, here, sometimes, but other times, nothing happens; it's mostly dangerous if you do it when he's not in a good mood, and since we can't tell when that is, we've just all collectively decided to call him 'boss.'"

"Huh..how does that work? Can he sense it? How?"

"Yeah, he can sense it, since he's decided that he wants to, and since he's claimed this universe, he just..can. But..you shouldn't be afraid if you do slip; it happens to everyone at some point, and, honestly, most of the time, you'll be fine. It's just..when he's in a bad mood, he waits for it, sometimes. ."

"..I see." Blue nodded. "I'm sorry that you have to live with that..that everyone here does."

Stitch shrugged. "You'll get used to it. So, where are you working? Cooking, or something?"

"No, I was forced to be a servant.." 

"Ah, not bad." Stitch hummed. "At least you aren't dungeon staff; those guys see..lots of stuff.."

Blue winced. "There are people who work in the dungeon?"

"Yep, unfortunately. Mostly Fells, but I got out of it since I'm a great tailor. It's..not pleasant work, though - the least pleasant work here, actually."

"..I don't want to know. So..what's the most pleasant job, then?"

"Oh, that's no debate - the librarians!" Stitch chuckled. 

"There's a library?"

"Yeah, but you can't go in; it's a seniority thing, and only people who've been here for five years - and Dream, now - can enter."

"I see..why is it like that?"

"Can't say - it's against the rules."

Blue looked down, before shaking his skull. "Oh, this is stupid; I came here to see you, not to talk about this terrible place. How are you, Stitch?"

Stitch looked up at his friend, lifting his gaze from his sewing, and he let out a soft sigh. "..I have a lot of regrets. I shouldn't have left; it was the worst mistake of my life, even if it did teach me a lot about myself. I..admittedly, I love being a tailor, but the workload is so heavy that it weighs me down too much to enjoy it most of the time, and even if I could enjoy it, I'd just be punished for it...the boss is a psychopath, and no one here is truly happy..but everyone wants to be. But, uh..at least we'll have seniority when the rest of the multiverse falls, I guess..and we won't have to adjust to things, since we already did.."

"I'm sorry, Stitch..I wish things could be better. But you don't have to worry about that last part; Ink..won't let the multiverse fall." Blue assured. "He'd die first..a million times, if he had to."

"Can he really stand up to boss alone, though? Ink's a nice guy, but..really?"

"You don't know Ink like I do." Blue shook his skull. "He's a lot stronger than people give him credit for. And, if Night- I-I mean the, uh, boss does pose a threat that he couldn't handle alone..Error would step in, too." 

"..I know he's your friend, but I doubt the Destroyer would try to get in the boss's way."

"Oh, he would..trust me.."

Stitch looked back down, continuing to sew. "If you say so. Whatever the case, and whatever happens next..it's good to have you back in my life, Blue. You're a good friend, and I've missed you..a lot, actually."

"I missed you a lot, too..I'm so happy you're alive, Stitch!" Blue flinched, quickly reining in his emotions. "Uh..moderately happy, I mean - not to the extent that a very specific someone would decide to come and ruin this moment.."

"I am also moderately happy." Stitch risked a chuckle. "So, how have you been doing? For the past half a decade, I mean. And, uh, I can really only drag this on for about ten minutes, so let's hear it quick!"

"Well, then, I'll summarize!"

Blue began to recount the past few years of his life, trying to pick out the most important bits as opposed to the stuff that could be told at other times. The first time that Ink and Error had decided to simultaneously lay claim to Blue's time had been a great event, but that story was far too long for this time frame, leaving Blue to tell Stitch about things more akin to meeting Color, his continuing road to trauma recovery (which had, admittedly, taken a bad turn quite recently), and his progress with advanced magic training..although, he wouldn't be doing any advanced magic for the foreseeable future, it seemed. It..it was fine; Blue would focus on other things, like finding more time to meet with Stitch, helping Dream with his current struggles, and finding the brighter spots of life in this negative castle! The future wasn't bright, but that was fine; it didn't have to be.

Blue would make his own light in this darkness.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Blue bean meets Stitch!

Thanks for reading my talking writing!

Bye!

Chapter Text

Two week ago, Blue had portal pushed Killer, and Ink was fairly certain that he wasn't coming back, at this point. With missions such as these, a few days could have been excusable, but two weeks? There was barely a chance that Blue had lasted this long, and everyone knew it. Well..everyone who knew the truth, at least; the rest of the multiverse had been told that Blue had caught Dream's illness. As for the ones who did know..it was a tough pill to swallow. Ink, Core Frisk, Color, the Omega Timeline's council, and now the Posse..probably Error, too, soon enough. It was going to be hard to continue without Blue, but it had to be done..Ink would just have to do his best until Dream and Blue were recovered. 

..And, maybe, skip out on some of the more negative colors until then, too.

Ink sat in the living room of the house of his new temporary coworkers, the Posse, and..he felt wrong. He shouldn't have felt wrong (he hadn't taken any vials that might have made him feel that way), but..he did. He felt wrong because he wasn't with Dream and Blue. They were in enemy territory, and Ink wasn't with them; he couldn't even try get to them, since the risks were now just simply too great. The multiverse couldn't lose its last protector - Ink couldn't risk himself, no matter how much he wanted to throw himself at rescue missions again. 

"Hey, partner.." One of the Posse, Polaris, put a hand on Ink's shoulder. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"..No." Ink decided to say. "I really, really don't.."

"That's all right; we don't gotta talk about it anymore if you don't want to." 

The Posse were great people; they were truly worthy of their reputation as one of the kindest and strongest hero groups in the multiverse. Ink just..didn't need all that attention on him. He decided to nod, pulling out a sketchbook to distract himself; he needed to think about something else for a while. 

The Posse had five members. The group was led by a North Star who had taken on the multiversal name of Polaris (fitting), while his deputy, a fully-grown Clover (their universe had been destroyed some time ago, and the formerly-little boy had grown up so fast!) was known throughout the multiverse as Patch (a pun regarding his old hat that had stuck, much to the victim's chagrin - his current hat was perfectly whole and fine, thanks a lot!). The next member in the lineup was a Martlet called Menagerie, known as such for the diverse selection of random stuff she constantly kept in her seemingly-endless inventory. Next was the Ceroba of the group, who had decided to pick the multiversal nickname Noneko, both because it sounded cool and because she was tired of people thinking she was a cat; she was not a cat - she was a fox monster! There was a difference! The last main member of the Posse was an unexpected one by most: the Flowey from their universe. When their universe had been destroyed, the flower's time-related powers had basically been extinguished, and over time, he'd started to actually find joys in life again. Joining a group of multiversal heroes who also happened to be the only other survivors of his universe hadn't been instant, but it had happened nonetheless, and after many talks, the group had decided that they were happy to accept him as their last member; his multiversal name was Pop, since he tended to pop out of nowhere.

The Posse had been part of the multiverse for quite a while, having been from one of the first universes of their kind that had been destroyed by Error. Truthfully, no one knew when the story of the sixth soul - the Justice soul - had begun to be so prevalent, sometimes even being favored over the Determination soul's journey, but once it had put its foot in the door, more and more universes began to pop up beginning in that time frame instead of following the pattern that had been so popular before. Of course, determined souls were by no means dying out - they were certainly here to stay - but they weren't the only "important" humans anymore. Patch and the others had been visiting the Omega Timeline on behalf of their universe nearly two decades ago, acting somewhat as ambassadors to help figure out how the Omega Timeline would decide whether multiversal awareness would be beneficial or not to those sorts of timelines, since, of course, the resets were by no means close to an end for those universes. However, during that meeting, Error had unfortunately chosen to destroy their universe, and by the end of it, they didn't have a home to which they could return. As a result, they'd begrudgingly stayed in the Omega Timeline, and they'd eventually resigned themselves to the fact that it was their new home. 

Of course, they weren't the type to let that slide; a multiversal villain had taken everything from them, and that..well, that was an act that required retribution! Maybe they couldn't fight against Error, but there were plenty of other crooks whom they could stop, and they did! They were some of the best crime fighters in the multiverse, and they were almost as well-known as the Star Sanses.

And the multiverse really needed them, now.

"I'm sorry." Ink sighed. "I'm just..feeling blue."

It was just his luck that the Posse's house happened to have a dark blue couch for guests to sit on. Really, there was no better color? It had to be blue? Cyan would have been much better, and it was so close!

"Uh, want a cookie?" Menagerie offered Ink a chocolate chip cookie, and Ink couldn't help but be grateful for it. 

"Yes, please." Ink nodded, accepting the cookie - brown, perfect. He needed a bit of comfort. "Thank you."

"Of course!" The other grinned, happy to have helped.

Ink ate the cookie, and he decided to listen as the Posse started to talk, feeling comfortable listening instead of talking for once.

"Got something to say, Patch?" Menagerie looked over to Patch, who had been watching the brief exchange closely.

"..No." Patch crossed his arms, leaning back. "Nothing."

Noneko smirked. "You want a cookie, don't you?"

"..It just looked good - that's all." 

"You guys make the best cookies - can't blame him for wanting one!" Polaris chuckled. 

"Well, they are good.."

"Ink, you should have known Patch when he was little!" Menagerie chuckled, tossing her teammate a cookie, which he diligently caught. "He's been a sweet tooth since forever!"

"I can vouch for that." Pop snorted, resting comfortably in a flower pot. 

"There is nothing wrong with liking sweets!" Patch huffed, taking a bite of his prize. "I just like them a little more than most people!"

"A lot more." Noneko remarked, looking at Patch with the fondness of a mother. "Ink, have we told you yet about the time Patch and Pop sneaked into a sweet shop and spent the whole night there?"

"Oh, we were worried sick!" Menagerie recalled. 

It wasn't hard to see that Patch was the "baby" of the family; Polaris, Menagerie, and Noneko had raised him, after all! Polaris was definitely a father figure to Patch, and Noneko was clearly the responsible mother in the group, while Menagerie was..probably a very close aunt? Close enough. Ink wasn't sure where Pop came in, but based on the few interactions he'd seen thus far, he had to guess that Pop was the "fun uncle" type. Ink had heard many stories about the two's adventures, and he couldn't help but find them amusing enough to forget his current woes for a minute or two as he listened. 

"You haven't told me that yet; what happened?" Ink inquired.

"Well, it started-" Noneko was rudely interrupted by a groan.

"Mom, are you really going to expose me like this?" Patch didn't want to endure more of this. "He's heard enough, right?"

"That's a mother's duty!" Noneko chuckled, adjusting her hat. "Let's see.."

Patch slumped down on the couch, letting his own hat cover his face; he didn't want to go through this. As Ink listened to the story, he relaxed for the first time in a while, not letting the emotional impacts of his surroundings influence him too much. It wasn't the Posse's fault they had a blue couch; it was just happenstance. And, truthfully, the Posse weren't bad people, and Ink believed he would enjoy his time with them..he just wished Dream and Blue were here, too. On his own, Ink just felt a little as if he were intruding upon this happy family. They had their own dynamic; they worked well together, and they knew eachother. Ink was..just an outsider, to them. 

But Ink had always been an outsider, except..

Except with Dream and Blue. They had always made him feel welcomed and assured him that he was an important part of the group. 

He was tense again; he needed to calm down. He lifted his cyan vial to take a sip, setting his newly-cleared mind upon listening to the story..or anything but his teammates. Although, it seemed that his mind wanted to notice that the Posse all had cowboy hats. Ink had known that before, and he'd always been fascinated by the "brand" around the Posse. While the Star Sanses were known for..well, stars, the Posse were known for their appearances as cowboys (and cowgirls, of course..and a cowflower? This was getting too deep), and they'd essentially acheived that with just cowboy hats, although they occasionally went all out. Polaris had kept his original brown and light-teal-striped cowboy hat, which surprised no one, and Patch had gotten bigger copies of his own original brown hat as he'd grown up. Pop had a small cowboy hat that resembled Patch's, save for the fact that his was entirely black (he thought it looked cooler). Noneko's cowboy hat was white with pink accents and a pink band, and Menagerie's was blue with white accents and a white band - they looked quite similar, but they fit the two's respective styles well. Ink thought they looked good, and so did many others; the Posse were well-respected in the multiverse for many reasons, and one of those reasons was their fashion choices! 

"And, in the end, we owed three hundred G to the shop.." Noneko sighed at the recollection of the bill. "It's a good thing we go after bounties, or else we'd be broke from Patch's sugar addiction alone."

..Yeah, another reason they were respected was the fact that they were the best bounty hunters in the multiverse. It was to be expected. 

Ink smiled. "I can imagine.."

"Hey, Ink?" Menagerie spoke up. 

"Yes?" Ink tilted his skull. 

"Well, I've always wondered; what's your favorite color?"

Ah, that question. It was easy by now. 

"Every color has its ups and downs, but my favorite's gotta be brown."

"Really?" 

"Huh..I thought it'd be..well, not that." Patch admitted. 

"Why?" Pop inquired.

"Well, colors represent emotions for me." Ink shrugged. "Brown gives comfort and mostly content feelings. It makes me feel safe and wanted, and it just..I like it."

"Then why don't you have a vial for it?" Noneko wondered. "You can capture any color in those, can't you?"

"Well, I could, but I've got Broomie!" Ink grinned, running one of his hands over his paintbrush's surface. "And he's good enough for me!"

"Huh.." Polaris nodded. "Well, that's mighty interestin,' partner!"

"Thanks! I-"

Ink paused, feeling something..unfortunately familiar. 

"Are you all right?" Patch inquired.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Ink frowned. "Error's destroying an AU; I have to go."

"Oh, should we go with you?" Polaris rose to his feet. 

"Um..have you ever fought Error?" 

"..No." Polaris quietly informed. "But if you need help, we'll offer it!"

"I..I should go alone." Ink admitted. "I really don't want you to get hurt, and you weren't ever asked to battle Error - just the gang. I'll go alone..but thank you."

"Of course, Ink." Polaris nodded, sitting back down. "Now, you come back here safe, ya hear?"

"I will!" 

Ink opened a portal to the universe that Error had decided to attack, and he stepped through, immediately finding-

"Ack!" Ink struggled against the strings that had somehow instantly wrapped themselves around him - well, that wasn't nice!

"Where is he?" Error appeared before Ink rather quickly, and Ink winced - of course Error would be worried about Blue.

"Ah..well.." Ink stopped struggling; it seemed that Error just wanted to talk, which was very good news! "Is, uh..is there anyone around here that could hear us?"

"No." Error's glare hardened. "Where is he?"

"..Nightmare got him." Ink confessed. "He tackled Killer through a portal, and he never came back.."

"Oh, that stupid idiot!" Error's strings tightened. "Why didn't you stop him?! Did you just sit there and let him get himself captured?!"

"I-it happened in less than a second! I didn't have time!"

Error let out a frustrated yell, firing a couple bones at Ink, who quickly dodged - as well as he could, when he was all wrapped up in strings. 

"That was less than a second!" Error flung him arms up into the air. "So you can dodge an attack, but you can't protect one mortal? You're pathetic!"

Error threw Ink to the ground, and Ink decided to stay down; hearing Error out would have been more beneficial than starting a fight. 

"You'd better get him back, Ink." Error stated. "I'll take a break from destroying so you can focus on saving Blue."

"What about Dream?"

"I don't care about Dream! Get Blue back!"

"..There is a chance-"

"Don't say a word. If you get so desperate that you have to ask me for help, I'm not gonna be happy. I don't want to work with you, and you'd have some gall after what you did to me..but if it gets to that point, I will; you just won't like it. Don't let it get to that point."

"..I'll try." 

"Now go do whatever you have to do to save Blue, and I'll do the same."

Error left, making his wishes clear, and Ink let out a sigh; yeah, he'd expected as much. If Nightmare dared to show his face in the multiverse now, he'd probably be killed by an angry glitch; that was the way these things tended to go, anyway. It was nice to know that Error was doing his own work, though, even if his only goal was getting Blue back..but Ink really hoped that one of them would manage to get Blue back; he..didn't really fancy working with Error much, either. But, if it was an inevitability..

Only time would tell.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Ink bean feels horrible!

Thanks for reading my western writing! 

Bye!

Chapter Text

(I don't know how to put links in the notes so here is the link to the work referenced above): https://archiveofourown.info/works/61356481/chapters/156828319

It had been five months since Dream had been taken. 

Ink was such a failure. 

The gang had been incredibly careful with their portals, and Ink couldn't even try to portal push them. They had been overly evasive, preventing Ink from trying to capture one of them. They had been coming out in groups more often as opposed to solo missions, and although Nightmare hadn't come out of hiding (Error would have torn him apart) that Ink knew of, his subordinates hadn't exactly been shy about it. If there was even a hint that Error might have been around, though, they retreated; they didn't want to deal with him. No one wanted to deal with an angry Error. But, of course, it seemed as if Ink would have to get over it, because..he had to ask Error for help. Ink wasn't weak, and the Posse were a great help, but..the past three months had been a whole lot of nothing. There had been no progress made; there had only been an increasing unrest as the people of the multiverse wondered where their Guardian of Positivity had gone. And, truthfully, Ink missed Dream, too..he wished he could see his kid again. 

Dream was an adult now; he had been for quite a while, but..Ink remembered raising him. Ink remembered taking that eight year old in off the streets and teaching him about life and the multiverse. Dream had never chosen to acknowledge Ink outwardly as a parent, but they both knew Ink's thoughts on the matter: Ink had always thought of Dream as a son. It was hard not to, with all they'd been through together. Dream didn't bring it up often anymore, though; he hadn't enjoyed growing up in the Doodlesphere, and he'd made that evident on many occasions - Ink, above anyone else, knew what Dream was like when he lost his temper. 

He let out a fond chuckle; those times seemed so long ago, now. 

Although, there was a time, even longer ago, when Ink never would have seen himself as a parent...

Not now. 

Ink stood up from Dream's bed; it had been mostly untouched since Dream had been taken, but that was to be expected..Ink shouldn't have been here in the first place. This was Dream's house, not his; this was Dream's little sanctuary, a little cottage tucked away on an isolated island in a positive AU that knew nothing of the multiverse. 

Ink missed him so much. 

He missed Blue, too, but..Blue was a friend; Dream was his child. Ink would have done anything to get him back..

And, well, asking the one person in the multiverse who had more reason to hate him than anyone else for help..was definitely part of that. 

"Well, let's get this over with, Broomie.." Ink let out a sigh, picking up his paintbrush and running his hand over the wood. He'd..be okay. 

He opened a portal to the Anti-Void, and he stepped through, fully expecting the strings that immediately flew through the air to coil around his ankles and lift him up off the ground..upside-down. It was always upside-down. 

"What do you want?" Error's voice came from behind him, as it always tended to; Error didn't want Ink to have him in sight, and Ink understood. 

"..I've made no progress." Ink admitted, staring out at the blank, numbing white of the Anti-Void. "I need your help."

Error didn't say a word, but Ink could practically hear his thinking; it was hard not to, with this place's lack of sound. Maybe Error was pacing, too, but Ink doubted it; footsteps didn't make sound on the "floor" here, but the rustling of clothing would have been audible. But, then again, perhaps Error was just too far away to hear. 

Ink hated this place. 

"I'll only help you get Blue back." Error finally said. "Not Dream - not anyone else."

"Understood." Ink wouldn't argue with him; he had no place to ask anything of Error, really - he was lucky Error was willing to help at all. 

"I'll meet you and whomever you're working with in my Outertale; this will happen on my terms, and you will abide by them."

"Of course." Ink agreed. 

"..Very well. I invite you to my Outertale."

"I accept."

"We'll meet at two o'clock tomorrow on the edge that the Grillby's faces; just keep going straight, and you'll find it."

"Got it."

"Now get out."

Error dropped Ink, and the latter made and entered a portal to a random AU before hopping to the Omega Timeline, preventing Error from following him. That was..how most passive encounters with Error went: short and to the point, with Ink sufficiently tied up for Error to deal with him. Battles were much more exciting, but Ink couldn't really feel any positivity regarding  those right now; it just wasn't the time. 

..He needed to be more positive. Had he really been so stupid as to drink from his blue vial earlier? Stupid habits. He pulled up his yellow vial and took a sizable portion before putting it back, letting out a smile once that pesky sadness had been diluted enough for him to get over it. With that done, Ink knocked on the Posse's door - he'd appeared right in front of it, luckily! - and waited for an answer, which inevitably came from Patch.

"Oh, hey, Ink." Patch stepped aside, letting Ink inside. "Got any news?"

"Yep!" Ink skipped inside, grinning..probably a bit too much for this situation - oh, well! "Error's gonna help us!"

"What?!" Noneko came into the room, staring wide-eyed at Ink. "You can't be serious!"

"Doesn't he hate you?" Patch thought. 

"Yeah, he does.." Ink chuckled. "But he's also best friends with Blue, and he's willing to put aside his hatred of me to save him! So, while he won't really be helping us save Dream, Blue will hopefully be close to Dream when we save him, so we'll probably get them both!"

"Are you sure about this?" Polaris wasn't enthusiastic about the idea. "Teaming up with the guy who destroys universes for a living?"

Oh, if only they knew..

"I know it sounds bad, but..I think it's probably the only way we're getting them back." Ink shrugged. "And, besides, more help can't hurt!"

"How are we even going to talk to him?" Menagerie inquired. "He can't come here, and we're not going to the Anti-Void.."

"Error has a claimed Outertale that he's decided to offer as a meeting point; I've accepted the invitation, and you guys can just follow me through my portal!"

"What if it's a trap?" Pop squinted. "What if he's just taking advantage of the situation to take you out? If you go in there, he can do all sorts of stuff through the claim, right?"

"Well..I won't let that happen; I do fight him regularly, you know!"

"But he destroys whole universes, Ink!" Noneko reminded. "What if he's been holding back? What if he's just waited for a chance to finally trap you?"

Ink let out a sigh. "Again, I'm stronger than I look, and I've also been around for a long time, guys! It'll be all right..and, if it isn't, you can tell me that you told me so!"

"If it isn't, we're all dead." Pop deadpanned. 

"..I trust Ink." Patch decided, grinning at the short skeleton. "He won't let anything happen; I know he won't! He's been a great help to us so far, too, so I think he deserves a little trust!"

"..I don't like it." Polaris admitted. "But, in the worst-case scenario, we can portal out, right?"

"Oh, absolutely!" Ink nodded. "The claim won't have any bearing on any of you, since you didn't accept any invitation - only I did!"

"Well..all right. We'll give it a try. What time tomorrow are we riding out?"

"Two o'clock!"

"Okay.."

"Well.." Noneko let out a hum. "Ink, I hate to ask you to leave, but Menage and I were in the middle of something, and we do have to have a little privacy.."

"Oh!" Ink nodded. "Um, of course..I'll go do something else! Sorry for intruding!"

"It's no bother - come back later and we'll do something special, all right?"

"Sure! Sounds good!"

Ink nodded to the others and left, letting out a small sigh as the door shut behind him. Well, in a situation like this, Ink would have usually gone to the base to spend time with Dream and Blue!

Dream and Blue weren't at the base. 

Protecting universes was also an option!

..There was no one threatening them right now. 

Maybe drawing?

Ink would have had to go back to the base for that, though, since all his art supplies were there..he didn't want to go to the base right now. 

Ink settled on wandering throughout the Omega Timeline instead. He walked through the inner city and the market square, and he even roamed the local art gallery in search of new pieces. His yellow vial wasn't able to dull all the pain, though..he just wanted to talk to someone. But..no one would understand. Core Frisk was undoubtedly busy, the Posse were busy, and..he was anything but. Eventually, he made his way to a place he'd been recently, and he ended up approaching a house he'd been in recently, too. He knocked on the door, and the owner of the house answered.

"Ink?" Color tilted his skull. "Um, do you need something? You don't..look so good."

"Um..can I come in?" Ink requested, his arms subconsciously wrapped around him. 

"Of course!" Color nodded, inviting the other in. 

"Thanks.."

Ink stepped into the house, letting the smell of..vanilla wash over him. It was a nice smell; there must have been a candle burning somewhere. Color led him over to his living room, where Ink sat down in a tan armchair - brown, comfort, safety - and looked down at the floor.

"I'm..sorry for coming uninvited." Ink apologized. "I just..didn't have anywhere else to go."

"It's all right." Color offered Ink a smile that he didn't get to see, with his eyelights so focused on the carpet. "I don't mind."

"You do, though, don't you? You're probably busy, and I just interrupted you, and-"

"Ink." Color sat down nearby, offering Ink a hand to hold; he took it. "It's really okay. I was only going over some work stuff, and you've given me a great opportunity to get away from it! So..how's the mission?"

"Horrible." Ink sighed. "I just asked Error to help.."

"I see.." Color frowned. "Did he agree?"

"Mhm..the Posse and I are going to meet him tomorrow to talk about it."

"Well, that's good; you have more help."

"..I guess so." Ink finally looked up at his host. "Color, I know we asked, but..are you sure you can't help? Even just a little help would go a long way.."

"I'm sorry, Ink; I can't." Color shook his skull. "I wish I could, but..I just can't. I have a lot of work of my own to deal with..it's honestly a lot."

"..Like what?" Ink tilted his skull, feeling a bit of curiosity peek out; it was better than grief and longing.

"Well.." Color let out a hum, getting up - he unfortunately had to let go of Ink's hand - and walking over to one of his bookshelves. "Currently, I'm working on a pretty big project; a group of multiversal arsonists have been striking AUs left and right, and I've been working on tracking them down to bring them to justice. They're pretty slick, but I've been close, a couple times!"

"Do you need any help?" Ink offered. "Maybe I could try to track them for you?"

"Ah, I'm afraid not, but thanks for the offer." Color shook his skull. "I'm using a pretty obscure tracking method to prevent them from knowing that I'm on their tail. But..there might be one thing you could help me with.."

"Yes?"

"I'm working on researching a new form of magic suppressor." Color pulled a folder off the shelf, handing it to Ink. "Something that will be viable for long-term use, preventing a magical overload after a few days, while also being viable for stronger targets, too..people who are too strong for average magic suppressors."

Ink opened the folder, blinking a few times at the research. "This is..advanced."

"I know." Color nodded. "You think you could make some?"

"..Color, why do you need technology this advanced? This..this could incapacitate me!"

"It's meant to be for prisoners, mainly during transfers. A lot of multiversal criminals escape during transfers because their magic suppressors overload in the slow process, and this design would eliminate the possibility."

"Um..is this ethical, though? I don't think siphoning out all of a person's magic that isn't strictly necessary for their survival is exactly..um..right?"

"Well, it might not be entirely ethical, but I'd rather put someone through this for a limited time than risk a serial killer escaping and murdering more people or dying because of a magical overload." Color shrugged. "Plus, in the case that the normal magic-suppressing prison bars happen to be deactivated, these would work on a separate power source until those got back up." 

"I see..that makes sense, I guess.." Ink nodded. "I won't be able to make something like this alone..I'll see if I can ask Error for help."

"Thanks, Ink." Color smiled. "This means a lot."

"Sure thing." Ink put the resesrch in his inventory to look over later. 

"Well, with that done..would you like some sweets as payment?" Color chuckled. "I stopped by a bakery this afternoon and picked some stuff up - maybe there's something you'd like?"

"Oh, cool!" Ink grinned. "Where is it?"

"I'll grab the bag - one sec!"

Color went to the kitchen, and Ink sat quietly as he waited. Color really was a nice guy; he and Ink just hadn't ever become good friends..probably because of how their first meeting had gone. It had been..back then. Ink was surprised that Color had ever decided to give him a second chance after that. 

He didn't deserve it. 

Color came back from the kitchen a moment later, holding a bag of bakery goods; Color must have had a sweet tooth. Ink ended up accepting a small slice of strawberry shortcake and leaving the rest, even though Color had insisted that he could take whatever he wanted. Ink just wasn't in the mood for much sugar right now..not without his friends. For the rest of the visit, Color and Ink talked about music (Color was an avid musician, and after hearing him play a couple pieces, Ink was left wondering when he'd release his first album), art, and work, which filled the lonely gap that Ink had been stuck in for a while nicely. After a couple hours, though, Ink decided that it was time for him to go; Color was great company, but Ink had stayed a little too long for a social visit..even if Color didn't seem to mind. 

"Are you sure?" Color asked.

"Yeah, I should go." Ink confirmed. "Thanks for letting me stay for a while, though; I needed that."

"Of course, Ink. And, if you ever want to, you can feel free to come over again, okay? My door is always open to anyone who wants it."

"I think I might..thank you, Color."

Color nodded. "See you around, Ink."

"See you, Color. And I'll make sure to look into those magic siphons for you!"

"Thanks, Ink; it means a lot!"

Ink left Color's house, and he made a portal to his own home: the Doodlesphere. The Doodlesphere was..well, Ink wasn't really sure exactly what it was, but it was his home, and that was really all that mattered. It was a place with endless colors, and it had gateways to every universe in existence..and it was his. Ink had mentally divided the Doodlesphere into sections, although they weren't exactly the best-thought-out classifications. The majority of the sections were areas with entryways to universes, each one customized to give a warning as to which universe one would enter. The original Outertale's entrance was a small-scale solar system, orbital rings and all, while Underfell's entrance was a door with holes in it and dust scattered about it. Undertale was accessed through a simple determination star, and Underswap was accessed through an upside-down one (it was very hard to tell them apart, sometimes, considering the fact that determination stars were quite uniform to begin with). There were other places in the Doodlesphere, though, such as Ink's favorite places..the oceans, lakes, and rivers filled with colors. They flowed everywhere; they never ran out. These colors, Ink believed, were produced by the AUs, and they all went here, for some reason. Ink couldn't argue; these colors were his only way to feel emotions, after all..and this was a much easier way to obtain them. Other places in the Doodlesphere existed, and Ink believed that they were meant to mimic places in the AUs, such as mountainous regions, fields, and oceans of color. In every one of those places, though, there were entrances to AUs. Water-based AUs were found around the oceans, and AUs that took place on a mountain (not in one) were found in the mountains. Most AUs were just found in fields, though, and Ink was all right with that, of course. 

But..this was his home, and he had made himself a dwelling here; he'd had to, after taking in Dream. Ink had placed his home on the shoreline of one of the paint oceans, just an average two-story house with a small balcony. He didn't really want to go inside right now. Instead, he sat on the porch, leaning back in the swinging bench that he'd made for Dream to enjoy so long ago, and he looked out at the ocean of colors, his eyelights hopping to look at every AU entrance there was above the water one by one. This was home..his home. Ironic, how his home had pathways to almost everyone else's homes..but it gave him a sense of purpose. This place had given him everything..he had to protect it. He had to protect all of it. 

As Ink listened to the colorful waves that crashed upon the shoreline, he felt as if he belonged..this place had a way of doing that to him. 

He belonged here more than he'd ever belonged anywhere else.

White.

White as far as the eye could see. 

Nothing else.

Nothing else - nothing. Hallucinations, all of them!

Emotions.

Fear, loneliness? 

Forgotten.

They didn't see him. They didn't hear him.

Did he exist?

It hurt. 

He wanted it to end. Could it end? Maybe..

A cracking sound.

Pain.

More cracks.

Pain! It hurt! Why did it-

He opened his eyes to a world that he'd never seen before. He heard talking and walking and so many things he'd never heard before. He saw..

Colors.

He looked down at himself. He was white, white like the..like the what?  He couldn't recall. 

But he didn't like the white. He wanted to be other colors, too. If this world could be colors, couldn't he? He could try..

He took a step, and suddenly, he..

Felt.

Feelings? Emotions. He looked down. He was touching..something. It was a color. He didn't know its name. The color made him feel..he didn't know. He let his feet linger in the color, letting the object (objects?) touch him for longer. The objects looked spiky, but they didn't hurt; they weren't comfortable, either. But..the color. It made him feel; he wanted more.

He needed more.

As the need surged through his mind, he noticed the object's color..fading? It was turning white. Why was it turning white? But the more the color that drained from it, the clearer he could feel. Was he..? He moved, taking more steps through the world, and with every step he took, more patches of white began to form.

He was..

He was taking the color. He looked at his hands, his fingers, his toes, but there was no color - just white. 

But he could feel it. 

Color..gave him feelings.

He wanted more. 

He stood in the color, watching as the spiky objects lost their color and letting himself feel what it was giving him. It was slow, but...he was beginning to understand it. This..was this his purpose? To take colors? He felt inclined to do it. When a fair amount of the spiky objects were almost fully white (there were so many of them, though), he looked up at the world around him, and he was struck with another emotion.

These creatures..they lived in the color. Why? Why did they get to live in the color?

Why couldn't he?

It seemed so unfair; why didn't he get to live in the color? Why couldn't he have all the emotions that the color gave? He wanted more. 

He needed more. 

"Woah, that's weird." 

Talking. He looked in the direction of the talking, finding..a creature. There were many creatures like this one around.

"Is that some weird monster plant?" The creature asked. "White grass?"

Grass? What that what the spiky objects were? Hm..interesting.

"Uh, hello?" The other tilted its head.

"Hello." He spoke. "You have colors."

"Uh..what?"

"Colors." He pointed to the creature and its strange garments.

"..Oh, were you colorblind, or something? Yeah, the new tech's pretty cool! I'm glad our societies have been able to merge so well, honestly! I guess seeing colors for the first time would be pretty cool!"

Colorblind? Was that what he was? Blind to all that the colors could give him? It made sense.

"..What colors are you?" He wanted to know. "And..and the grass? What colors?"

"Oh, uh..well, grass is usually green, but this stuff's white, which..definitely isn't the norm. As for, uh, me..my skin's tan, my shirt's red, and my pants are blue, I guess? Listen, uh, do you have any parents? Like..they'd be much better to ask about this stuff than some stranger off the street.."

"Why?"

"..Never thought monster communities were that trusting.." The other muttered. "It's because..I'm a stranger. You don't know who I am or what I want. Don't monster families teach their kids that, at least?"

He let out a hum. Strangers..the concept was interesting.

"But you also don't know me." He pointed out. "Am I not a stranger to you?"

"I mean, I guess, but you're just a kid." The other informed.

Wasn't that another word for.. "..A child?"

"Yeah - a kid, a child, whatever you want to call it. Look, you got parents?"

"No."

"Ah..do you live on the streets?"

He looked over to the road, watching the metal vehicles move on them at high speeds. Wouldn't living on that be stupid? One would have gotten killed living there. But..the street had colors on it, too.

"What colors are those?" He pointed to the street.

"..The road is black, and the double lines are yellow." The other informed. "Kid, are you okay? Do you need help? You..don't seem old enough to be on your own."

He looked at the creature, taking a step closer, and the emotions from the color green began to rise again.

"I need colors." He said. "You live in colors. It isn't fair."

"..What are you talking about?" The creature took a step back.

"Give me your colors."

He ran up to the creature, and he put his hand on it, watching as the colors began to drain from it. The creature made a loud sound, not having expected its colors to be drained, but the next moment, it was..it was white. All its colors were gone. It collapsed, lifeless, as the colors began to affect him. 

And they did. New emotions made themselves known, but one color above all affected him. One color that had been mostly hiding inside the being..

Red.

More creatures began to come around, looking at the lifeless white corpse with their own emotions that he couldn't recognize. They began to shout at him, but that just made the emotions intensify. 

He was right, wasn't he? It was unfair! He deserved colors, too! If anything, these stupid creatures deserved to know what life was like without them! He just wanted to feel! He just wanted emotions! He growled as the creatures yelled at him, not fully understanding their words. He didn't think he'd done anything wrong; he'd just taken some colors! He needed colors! Why couldn't they understand that?! Well, if they didn't understand..he'd just take their colors, too! 

He lashed out. 

Every time he touched the creatures, they were pained as the color drained from them, and if he touched them for long enough, they would die. And, since they didn't want him to have colors, they deserved to die, didn't they? 

He spent days taking colors and exploring the emotions they gave him. He learned all their names, and he learned what they did for him. 

Red offered him anger, bitterness, competitiveness, determination, and hatred. Those emotions made getting more colors from living creatures easy.

Orange gave confidence, energy, creativity, curiosity, and courage. Such variety..he couldn't help but enjoy it.

Yellow made him feel happiness, joy, and greed. He loved yellow (and he could love, thanks to a different color!).

Green, of course, gave jealousy and envy, but also discomfort, responsibility, understanding, and the capacity to forgive..he didn't think he needed those last two too much - people didn't deserve that. But..they were emotions, and being able to feel them was enough for him to consider them important.

Cyan made him feel calm, peaceful, and serene. He found those emotions helpful when he needed to think.

Blue offered sadness, grief, guilt and remorse, and lethargy. He didn't think he enjoyed feeling those, but..they were emotions. Lethargy helped him sleep, at least.

With purple came ambition, fear, dignity, individuality, and diligence. He realized that he was a person, just like all those other creatures..but he was better. Fear wasn't an emotion he felt personally all the time, but he could finally understand what people felt when they saw him sucking the colors out of others.

Pink was different. It gave emotions like care, love, sincerity, caution, gentleness, and compassion. He didn't really need those, except for love - he loved his colors.

Brown was helpful; it offered him comfort, security, and resilience. It made him feel safe no matter where he was. He loved brown. He loved how much brown there was in the world. 

Black and white, though, and all the varying grays in the world..they were special. White gave nothing - it numbed his emotions little by little until he couldn't feel them anymore. Lighter grays tended to do the same, but much, much slower. But, as the grays got darker, the opposite seemed to be true. The color black..it gave him every emotion. Anger, sadness, happiness, love..it was amazing. 

Black was too much for him, though; it gave him too much of everything! The emotions from black fought for control of him whenever he got too much, and the only way to prevent himself from going into an uncontrollable spiral was to counteract it with white, or else the lightest gray he could find. He felt drawn to black, though..it was always so interesting when he let the emotions control him. 

As time passed, he went from place to place, and as he did, he learned more about the world, and he found better ways to do things. Magic existed, and his magic was..black. It suited him. His magic was black ink, and although he couldn't get emotions from it, he did get one thing..a name. The people here had called him "Ink," once he'd gotten well-known enough that people ran upon seeing him (it didn't save them - it couldn't!), and he believed that he liked the name..it felt right. Ink continued to learn about the world and his magic, mostly focusing on his magic when he had enough free time to spare (he wasn't constantly seeking emotions, of course). His magic was quite interesting, too; he could form it into any shape he desired, and it would do as he wished! And, even better, if his magic connected him to something, he could absorb its colors through it! In addition, Ink had gotten a lot better at absorbing colors in general; he could take a whole town's colors in ten minutes, and he was getting faster all the time! The colors of living things were nothing; they were easy to absorb, and Ink could drain a person in less than a second if he wished..but sometimes..sometimes, when the emotions from multiple colors combined in a certain way, he'd drag it out a little..it was interesting to see how emotions affected him.

Within a month, according to the news broadcasts Ink had been keeping up with, he'd taken the colors of an entire continent. Next to take was an ocean, it seemed (world maps were quite helpful!), but..he hadn't been quite sure how to tackle it. He sat on the pure white sand of the shoreline, staring at the blue water inquisitively. He stuck his finger into the water, focusing on taking the color from it, but the liquid was constantly moving, and whatever he managed to take was just swallowed up by the rest of it! Ink spent days on that shoreline, and according to the little radio he'd taken with him to keep up on the world's news, the rest of the world (there was so much left to take!) believed that he was trapped. They considered it lucky, since all their attempts to stop him thus far had been fruitless - Ink had learned how to fight fairly quickly, being faced with everything a world had to stop him. 

But the world wasn't so lucky, it seemed, because Ink learned something on that white shoreline.

Eight days after reaching the shoreline, Ink had decided to play around a little with his magic, experimenting with its limits and abilities. He could form it into shapes, yes, but what else could he do?  

A lot, it seemed.

Ink formed his magic into objects - real objects! He could make a fully-colored ball, as long as he had reserve colors in him, and he could make other colored things, too! Black was the easiest color to use, but it was dreadfully boring after Ink realized his capabilities; he could make..

Anything. 

Houses, vehicles, food, and even creatures! Ink had actually giggled when he'd managed to create a swarm of butterflies, before taking all their colors back because he needed them. 

With his newfound knowledge, Ink created a boat, one that had a long magic net trailing behind it to absorb the colors of the ocean..and it worked. Ink felt his magic levels rising (colors gave him his magic as well as his emotions - so interesting!) as the boat sailed along, and through his little radio, he could hear the world's sweet panicking as he came for them.  With his new strategies, experiments, and desire to get more colors than ever before, the world fell in the next month. Ink could teleport from place to place, and he could make shields that no physical weapons could piece! How could he ever be defeated? Well..he couldn't. He wasn't.

And then, Ink looked around, and all the world was white.  There was nothing else to take colors from..nothing under the ground (he'd checked), in the deep oceans (he'd checked), or even in the sky (he'd checked). There was no day or night, and there was no motion. 

The world collapsed a moment later, and Ink was thrust into a new white - a different white. He gritted his teeth; he didn't want to be in a purely white world; he needed colors! He had to find colors..

Ink learned quickly to open a portal to a new world to find new colors, and the cycle repeated. Ink got faster; he took down a continent in a day instead of a month, and he absorbed colors without hesitation..unless he wanted to hesitate to play for a little while. Ink learned about the new layer of reality he'd found in a new way - through something called code. He'd seen the code for a brief moment before the first world's collapse, but he hadn't given it a second thought before, since he didn't understand it; he learned, though..he learned. He learned to access the code, but he couldn't alter it, unfortunately - he couldn't use its powers to give himself more colors. But it was helpful; it taught him about his new world, that worlds were actually called "universes" and that they were all part of a "multiverse." It was all very interesting, and when Ink got too much orange, the curiosity in him pushed him to learn more and more about it! Unfortunately, though, Ink couldn't find anyone else who really knew about the multiverse; everyone else just lived in their universes, completely oblivious to the fact that there were other worlds out there! 

Ink would have loved to talk to someone about the multiverse before he took their colors..

But, since there wasn't anyone like that (that he had found, at least), he had to make do with researching it on his own. It was tedious, but he found himself enjoying it; he was getting better at reading code, too! Whenever he wasn't stripping universes of their colors, he was researching the multiverse, finding out more and more about his home; it was a great place, really - he loved all the variety that came with every universe he harvested! 

So Ink lived, draining the color and life from AUs and researching the multiverse. 

Seven years passed before he found something - no, someone - that piqued his interest more than anything else had managed to over the course of his life.  In the white place that he entered every time he finished off a universe, he found a new person..one who didn't live in a universe! Ink grinned, moving closer to the other to get a better look at them. The other was..a skeleton, like him! Although, he had black bones..but also red and yellow bones. He wore a lot of black, but there was also some blue, red, and yellow. He was quite colorful! He had pretty eyelights, too-

"You!" The other got into a defensive stance, glaring at Ink. "You've been destroying AUs, too!"

"Uh..hi." Ink didn't think that was a greeting, but perhaps this skeleton had a different culture from what Ink had seen as the 'norm.' "I'm Ink!"

"I know!" The other glared. "I've been watching you! You're a lunatic, you know that?"

Ink tilted his skull. "What's your name?"

"Error." The other replied. "And, in case you didn't know, I'm the one who's supposed to be destroying universes - not you!"

"Oh, someone sounds jealous!" Ink chuckled. "Why's it so important that you do it? I need my colors if I want to feel; you wouldn't want to see me without them, hehe!"

"I was here first!"

"Really?" Ink let out a hum. "What do you know about the multiverse, then? Can we share notes? Can you read code? I've wanted to talk about this for a while now, but no one else seems to know about the multiverse..except you."

"There are others." Error rolled his eyelights. "Mostly people who'd rather kill you than talk, though, like that psychopath who calls himself the 'King of Negativity.' And me."

"Oh..so you don't want to talk about the multiverse?" Ink frowned. "Pity..I had high hopes." 

"Not a chance!" Error scoffed. "And no one else will, either, because you're dying today!"

Error shot a blue string at Ink, but Ink didn't move to dodge. When the thread wrapped around him, he gasped in surprise, looking down at the string curiously. 

"You can hurt me!" He informed, noticing the electrifying feeling of the string as it slowly chipped away at his life. "Like, genuinely hurt me! Oh, that's so cool! Why don't the people in universes have these things? They just use guns and stuff - not really smart, if this exists!"

"You're an idiot!" Error glared. "That's my magic - it's mine, and only mine! Those pathetic incodes don't have anything that compares!"

"Ah..I see. That's interesting..does that mean that we're on the same level?" 

Error paused, taking that idea into consideration before tightening his string's grip on Ink. "Y-you..why aren't you dead yet?! You should be dead!"

Ink tilted his skull, forming a blade and cutting through the string with ease. "We are, aren't we? Oh, that's intriguing! I wonder.."

Error cut off Ink's musings by shooting another string at his opponent, but when this one wrapped around Ink, it didn't work on its own to harm him; instead, it pulled him, sending him hurtling towards Error's fist. The other punched him in the face with enough force to crack the bone, sending him flying. Ink hit the ground hard, but he didn't dust, to Error's annoyance; he simply got up, lifting a hand to the new crack in his skull, located on the lower right half of his face. He was bleeding black ink..interesting.

"That's a new emotion.." Ink grinned. "It feels so..oh, I like that! Why don't you try that again, glitchy?" 

Error, clearly taken aback, paused for a moment before clenching his fists and glaring. "Why don't you just die, you masochistic freak?!"

Ink let out a cackle, looking quite unhinged as the black ink dripped from his new wound. "Well, if you're gonna be like that, I guess I'll just have to wrap this up!"

Ink teleported over to Error, being met with a swift hook to the face, but this one wasn't as strong; Ink took it easily. Error started to throw quick punches, since Ink was too close to effectively use magic, but Ink had begun to dodge, and he was quite good at it, too! After a few successful dodges, though, Ink decided to finish this encounter.  He tackled Error to the ground, and  Error moved back, growling as he tried to wrestle against Ink, unaware of the danger that he was in. He likely assumed that Ink's color-absorbing powers wouldn't work against him.

He was wrong. 

Ink firmly grabbed Error's left leg, and he grinned as the color began to drain from his victim. Erorr screamed in pain - understandable, since losing one's color was a dreadfully painful process - and began to struggle as the color slowly seeped out of him. More glitches than usual popped up around him, betraying his panic as he tried desperately to escape Ink's grip. The two teleported around the Anti-Void, Error shot large volleys of strings around Ink, and he kicked, hit, and full-on tried to maul Ink to get him to loosen his grip - it hurt! It hurt so bad! 

Error's strings eventually yanked Ink off his leg, and Error teleported far, far away as soon as the contact was lost. Ink felt a bit annoyed at the fact that he'd lost his victim, but he was also intrigued by the fact that Error's colors didn't fade nearly as fast as normal people's colors did..yet, the colors weren't any more potent or enjoyable. The black was nice, though; it wasn't too much for Ink to handle, but it did give him a nice feeling. 

Error was interesting, but he wasn't a very good victim, if Ink wanted an easy source of colors. Although, he was interested to see what would happen with the other. For the next few months, Ink tried to seek out the other, but it seemed that Error had elected to stay far away from Ink at all times. Maybe he'd scared the poor guy? Heh, served him right for the scar. 

Yes, the crack in Ink's skull hadn't healed; it had stayed, living under Ink's cheekbone as a pool of black ink..although, every other injury Ink had received from the fight had healed. It did look cool, though!  With Error out of the picture, Ink went back to taking his colors from the AUs (that was what Error had called universes, right?), and everything was peaceful - for Ink, anyway - for the next few years.  Meeting Nightmare for the first time had been a surprise, though. 

Three years after encountering Error, Ink met his next outcode - although, this one had been watching him before making a move, too..Ink really needed to hop onto that train, since the thought of sneaking up on someone who didn't know he'd been watching them for months or years prior was thrilling! Unfortunately for Nightmare, though, he hadn't sneaked up on Ink; Ink had spotted him! Nightmare had been watching Ink take a world's colors from an alleyway, and Ink had teleported behind him afer noticing his presence, effectively reverse-sneaking-up on him! At least Ink actually recognized Nightmare from his research, though; he'd decided to look into the guy, after hearing his name from Error.

"Hello, there!" Ink's bubbly introduction made the self-proclaimed King of Negativity jump.

Nightmare turned around quickly, trying to regain his composure. "You.."

"Oh, wow, do all outcodes use that as a greeting?" Ink giggled. "I should totally use it, too! That's so creepy!"

"..Your emotions feel..off."

"Oh, there's nothing wrong with those; maybe there's just something wrong with your weird emotion-sensing abilities!"

Nightmare gritted his teeth. "There is nothing wrong with my empathic abilities! I've been watching you..you destroy universes, like that glitch."

"So what?" Ink crossed his arms. "You wanna be my next target?"

"Ugh, no! I saw what you did to Error; don't even think of coming near me!"

Now that piqued Ink's interest. "You did? What happened, huh? Tell me! He's been avoiding me; I never got to see it! Tell me, tell me!"

"Would you stop babbling like a toddler?"

Ink huffed. "Tell me, or else I'll do it to you, too!"

Nightmare looked away from the eccentric destroyer, going over his options; the decision, of course, was clear. "Very well, as long as you keep your hands far away from me!"

"Deal!" Ink bounced, grinning in anticipation.

Nightmare crossed his arms, rolling his eyelight. "Well, he still has the leg, but he wears long pants instead of shorts now to cover it, and it's entirely white. He can move it like an ordinary leg, but he can't feel a thing; it's numb. He can't feel pain in it, so there isn't any use in trying to break it, but he also can't feel any kind of sensation at all through it. But that isn't the best part; the best part is that he's now terrified of touch! It doesn't matter who tries to touch him; he's scared to death. He doesn't throw punches, anymore, at least; that was getting annoying."

Ink's eyelights must have been stars; that was so cool! "Oh, that sounds awesome! I've tried to replicate what I did to other people, but they kept dying, so I assumed that he either died or was hiding from me; knowing that he's scared of me is hilarious, though!" Ink paused, giving Nightmare a small smile. "You're scared of me, too, aren't you, King of Negativity?"

Nightmare glared. "You agreed to keep away from me."

Ink giggled. "I did! I'll keep to it! But you are afraid..aren't you?"

"..I should get going."

"Bye, bye, Nighty! Don't forget to turn on your nightlight so the monsters don't come for you tonight!" 

Nightmare didn't say another word before disappearing through the shadows to leave; it seemed that he at least had the sense to leave before he could say anything to potentially provoke Ink. Unfortunate, but understandable. Ink continued to take the universe's colors with a giddy feeling, happy to finally know what exactly had happened to his old acquaintance!

The years continued to pass, and Ink did as he'd always done. He did eventually meet Error again, but that had been coincidence, as Error and Ink had both decided to target the same AU at the same time. Error, unfortunately, had run as soon as he saw Ink - a pity - but at least Ink was able to confirm the fact that Error was indeed wearing long pants now to hide his leg - oh, it was nice to have that information! As time went on, Ink noticed something; there were more outcodes. More people were beginning to travel from AU to AU, and although it was rare to find one of those people, it wasn't unheard of. It got to the point that he was beginning to become a known figure among their circles; they started to universe hop as soon as they saw him, knowing what would come if they didn't run for their lives! It was amusing to see them run, but it was also amusing to encounter new ones who didn't yet know who he was!

"You're colorful." Ink smiled at someone whom he believed to be an outcode - a Sans variant with colorful fire coming out of his skull and a rainbow scar across his ribcage.

"Huh?" The outcode turned to see him, before his eyelights widened. "O-oh, uh-"

"Aw, don't be scared!" Ink giggled. "Or..do. I don't mind! You're so unique..I've never seen anyone with so much color.."

"Haha.." The outcode forced a laugh, clearly waiting for the best moment to get out of here - he knew who Ink was..of course he did. "Y-yeah, that's..th-that's my name.."

"Color?" Ink tilted his skull. "Fitting name! I like it! I can sense soul energy in your colors; that's where they're coming from, right? Human souls..they always give a good boost."

Color started to back away, painfully aware that Ink was sizing him up as a 'meal.' "A-anyway, I have t-to-"

"Go?" Ink gave a dark smirk. "I doubt it."

Ink lunged, and Color dodged, teleporting away, but Ink followed, giggling as he tailed his prey. The thrill of the hunt, eh? Ink loved a good chase. Color tried to open a portal, but there was no time to go through without bringing Ink along, and that just wouldn't do - he had to shake him! Color avoided Ink's paint attacks like the plague, knowing that if even one drop hit him, he'd be as good as dead. Ink chuckled darkly as Color made his way to a recently-drained city, starting to run through the tight white alleyways in hopes that he'd lose Ink. However, Ink wasn't going to let him escape easily! He ran quicker, forcing Color to make decisions on the fly, and he shot his magic attacks more often; one slip, and Color's colors would be his! Ink followed Color around the sharp corners of the city's backstreets and alleys, inching ever closer to his goal, and he could tell that Color was beginning to panic, opting to take every turn as soon as possible to get Ink off his trail. Ink grinned as he got closer, closer, and-

He turned a corner to come across a dead end. 

Color was nowhere to be seen. 

What? But he'd been right there..he'd been right there! How?! Ink let out a furious groan, kicking one of the pure white brick walls as he lamented the loss of his prey. 

"Well played, Color.." Ink crossed his arms, glaring at the white ground. "I'll get you next time."

So life continued without that little snack, unfortunately, and even more unfortunately, Ink hadn't managed to find Color again after that incident. Oh, well..Ink would just have to take his anger out on some more AUs. 

Another year passed as usual, and nothing too interesting happened, aside from one incident in which Ink had stumbled upon one of Nightmare's rampages in an AU and decided to watch - it had been quite entertaining, if he did say so, himself! 

But then, something interesting did happen. 

Ink had opened a portal to a random AU (any would do, for him), but when he'd gone through, he hadn't been greeted by an average AU..this was different. Ink came out into a large field, which wasn't odd at all, and he began to absorb its color. As with everything else, the color faded, and Ink felt the cool flow of emotions run through him. 

And then the color returned.

"What in the.." Ink muttered, looking down at the grass beneath him. 

He absorbed its color again, and after a moment, it came back again. With that oddity, this AU (was it an AU?) immediately stuck out to him, and he looked up, taking a good look around. He was in a field, surrounded by..things. doors, tree stumps, big floating balls of light..what was this place? Ink pulled up its code, finding a name. 

The Doodlesphere.

Well, that was definitely a unique name - it wasn't an AU name, anyway. Ink looked deeper into the code, and he found that the strange objects around him were..paths to AUs. Every one would lead to a different AU, and it gave a representation of it in its design - cool! Ink had the feeling that this place would offer him information about the multiverse that he'd never been able to get before..he needed to explore! So Ink moved throughout the Doodlesphere, trekking through fields and other terrain until he reached an interesting sight: a body of liquid. It wasn't water, though - it seemed to be..paint. But, at the same time, it looked like a lake..just a lake full of different colors of paint that didn't seem to want to mix. Ink sat down by the lake, dipping a finger into the paint, at a section that seemed to be a dark blue tint. He tried to absorb it, but..it didn't work. He squinted at the liquid, before sticking his finger into his mouth and deciding to taste it.

Emotion exploded within him, and tears began to fall from his eyesockets as he was suddenly stricken with sadness and grief; he..what was this?!

The liquid was..it was so powerful! The little bit he'd tasted had given him almost the same amount of blue he typically got from taking an entire world's worth of blue! He..he needed..the sadness was too much! It was too much! He needed calm - cyan, cyan! Ink dipped his finger into a cyan portion of the lake, and he licked it off, being instantly calmed. The sadness lingered, but the calmness helped keep him afloat. With his mind clear, Ink stared at the lake. If..if he figured out how to properly use this, there wouldn't have been any more reason to take colors from AUs; why would he waste time on that when he could spend a couple seconds here and achieve the same result? But..how much paint was there, here? Was it renewable? Ink's gaze trailed to a river that was connected to the lake. Lakes typically fed into oceans, right? Well, it was time to see if that proved true for this one. 

Ink ran with the river, following the current as it carried the paint out..to somewhere. It was a long river, but Ink had time. What must have been a couple days passed before Ink finally reached the end of it, but when he did, he wasn't disappointed. 

There was an ocean here.

This paint would never run out. 

By now, his emotions were wearing thin, though, and he needed a refuel. Usually, he would go attack an AU, but now..now, he just sat on the shoreline and let the paint run over his hand. Green and blue, huh? They would work as a start. Ink licked the paint off his hand.

He would never forget the sense of responsibility and the pangs of grief that hit him when he did. 

..What was he doing? What kind of..what kind of monster was he? Taking people's lives and worlds..for what? For emotions? What right did he have to take all that just to feel? Those were people he'd killed..so, so many people! Why had he killed all of them? How could he face himself? He didn't want to think about it, but the colors wouldn't let him stop! How many people had he killed? How many universes had he destroyed? 

Why couldn't he stop thinking about it?!

LV..how much did he have? Too much - far too much. Most people would have been entirely apathetic with the amount of LV he had, but he wasn't - he wasn't! He could feel, and it was too much now! Too much feeling, too much emotion!

Too much guilt. 

Ink scooted away from the waves of paint, a whimper escaping him. He..he couldn't use this paint - not if he was going to keep living the way he was! The guilt would kill him! It was killing him! He couldn't take it! Ink curled up on the beach and cried for the next few hours. He cried for the suffering he'd brought upon himself, and he cried for all the lives he'd taken and universes he'd destroyed in his search for emotion. When the emotions finally dulled enough for him to bear them, he looked to the paint, and he took a sample of each color - just a little of each, only enough to coat a fingertip. The guilt heightened, and Ink let out a sigh.

He was a murderer. 

Ink opened the codes of this place, looking through them more carefully than before. He didn't just want a name anymore; he wanted to know what this place was - why it had given him this horrible burden of knowledge...and it gave him an answer. The Doodlesphere had a purpose that Ink hadn't seen before - a reason for existing, and an important one at that.

Refuge of the Protector of Alternate Universes.

Ink let out an amused scoff - Protector of Alternate Universes? Really? Well, whoever that was, they were doing a horrible job; people like Ink and Error and Nightmare were running around the multiverse completely unimpeded! Ink rolled his eyelights, looking back at the sea of colors.

...Wait.

Ink looked back at the code, and he looked to the ocean again. That ocean..it could provide his colors for the rest of..well, Ink didn't know exactly how long, but it would have been a long, long time! That meant that Ink had no reason to return to his old life; the guilt would have consumed him if he tried. Where did that leave him? Purposeless..just a normal outcode with an absurdly-varied knowledge of the multiverse. And..the current Protector, whoever they were..they weren't doing a very good job - no job at all, really! Did they even exist?  Maybe there was no Protector of Alternate Universes..

Yet.

Ink stood up, looking around him. This place..it suited him. It would offer him limitless colors, limitless emotions..but he had to pay it back. Become the Protector..turn a new leaf.  No more killing. No more destroying. No more chasing outcodes to try to take their colors. He would have had to apologize to everyone, to make amends with every single person he'd ever harmed (that had lived). Some wouldn't forgive him; he couldn't expect them to. He would have had to start looking for people such as Nightmare and Error for different reasons: not to toy with them, use them for entertainment, or try to kill them, but to stop them from harming the AUs. 

He wanted to do it - to dedicate his life to a new cause..

He had to. 

Ink took the role, and he began his planning. He made vials to hold the colors so he wouldn't be tempted to steal from his environment if he got low, and he created a sash to hold them, feeling giddy as he thought of where this new path would take him. He spent a little over a day in the Doodlesphere just planning, before he noticed something. One of the entryways to the different AUs - it was beginning to crumble. The entryway was a musical note, but Ink didn't know exactly what that denoted. Well..he'd find out soon enough, he supposed! He ran into the musical note, entering..a  Dancetale. The entryways were definitely related to the theme of their respective universes. When he got there, though, he noticed clear signs of a certain someone: blue strings tearing through the landscape, people running for their lives..

Error.

Ink found him quickly; it wasn't exactly difficult, when everyone else was running away from their attacker. 

"Error!" Ink called out, getting the glitch's attention easily. "We need to talk!"

"You?!" Error used his standard greeting in the case of seeing Ink. "What are you doing here?! What do you want?!"

"I want to apologize!" Ink informed, teleporting onto a building to reach Error's eye level - he was suspended by his strings, but Ink could manage. 

Error paused, looking at Ink with hesitant confusion. "What..?"

"Well, I went through an emotional crisis, discovered a new meaning to life, and found a new purpose, and I've come to realize that I was wrong. I shouldn't have been such a jerk; I'm sorry about your leg, and for taunting you about it..and for scaring you all those times."

Error stared for a good minute before daring to respond. "..What kind of mind games are you playing, Ink?"

"Oh, no games!" Ink assured. "I'm just trying to sincerely apologize."

"Sincere?! You're the furthest thing from sincere I've ever had the misfortune to meet! Your emotions are fake, and you're an absolute psychopath! You're a soulless freak!"

"..Fair." Ink nodded. "But I've decided to change! I'm not going to destroy universes anymore, or kill people!"

"..Then what are you going to do, pray tell? Go all emotionless and turn into a statue? Is that what this is: a final goodbye?"

"No, not really. You see, I found a place." Ink chuckled. "A place that has infinite colors, so I'll never run out..I think, anyway. But, it turns out, that place is kind of a landmark of the multiverse..the codes say it's the 'refuge of the Protector of Alternate Universes.'"

"There's no such thing! Trust me - if there was a Protector, I'd know."

"Yeah, well, that's what I thought, too! So I just decided to take the job for myself! I'm gonna try it out!"

Error blinked. "You? Ink, the soulless psychopath who's been trying to compete with me to see who can destroy the most AUs in whatever time frame you decide on? You're gonna protect them now? Give me a break, Ink! You won't last a day; you'll get bored and go back to destroying - you'll see!" 

"..Well, thanks for the vote of confidence, but..I'm serious about this, Error." Ink took a step forward. "And, in light of that, I'm going to have to ask you to stop what you're doing. I'm protecting this AU now..from you."

"..You're actually serious.." Error realized, his eyelights widening a bit.

"Mhm. So, are you going to leave, or do I have to make you?"

Error stared at Ink for a few moments, before he left. It was probably because of the sheer shock, but Ink considered it a job well done! Next time, he doubted Error would make a repeat of it, though. He returned to the Doodlesphere, returning to the shoreline at which he'd just been sitting as he'd begun planning for his future, but there was something different..there was something there, sitting next to the crashing waves; had it washed up? Ink approached it cautiously, finding that it was..quite out of the ordinary.

It was a giant paintbrush..why, Ink had no clue. 

Ink picked it up, humming as he determined that it was rather heavy, and he opened the code to see what it was, other than a giant paintbrush.

The Protector's weapon, the code called it. Well, that confirmed that Ink was  recognized as the Protector of Alternate Universes now, apparently? That was quick..was the multiverse really so desperate that it would take the first outcode it could find and call it a day? Apparently so..which was not comforting in the least. Alas, Ink would take it. He would be wielding a giant paintbrush now? Sure, whatever. If it would help him atone for all he had done, he would accept it. He just..

He had to make up for what he had done, no matter how long it would take. 

Ink's life changed rapidly; he'd expected that. It turned out that Broomie (the paintbrush was growing on him, okay?) was an infinite source of  brown, never fading even when Ink made an effort to try to drain its color, which meant that the brown vial was redundant; Ink dropped it in favor of Broomie. In addition, whenever Ink saw an outcode, he began to profusely apologize, lowering his guard instantly in an attempt to get the multiversal travelers to hear him out. The first dozen or so, as Ink had expected, ran on sight, but eventually, he found that Color outcode again, and Ink seemed to have been in luck, since Color had frozen in fear instead of running. Ink had begun his apologies, and for the first time in his life, he received empathy. Color didn't trust him by any means (Ink would have worried if he did, honestly), but he told him that he forgave him and that he'd give Ink a second chance, and that was enough for Ink! After that, Ink began to make some progress with outcodes, finding more who would hear him out instead of running. It was..nice. He had a long way to go, but he was willing to march on. 

As for the "job" part of his new job..yeah, Error didn't leave the next time Ink asked him to; instead, he wrapped his strings around Ink and smashed him into a concrete wall face-first. And, honestly..yeah, Ink deserved that. But this AU deserved to live, and so Ink got up, and he fought against Error with purpose for the first time ever. The need to protect spurred him on to fight, and he fought harder than he ever had before, blindsiding Error completely and forcing the glitch to retreat. Error got stronger by their next encounter, giving Ink more of a run for his money, and a bit of a rivalry began. Error wanted nothing more to destroy AUs, while Ink wanted nothing more than to protect them. With their power levels being so close, it turned out that both of them won and lost regularly; sometimes, Ink sent Error running, and other times, Error beat Ink into submission, with Ink retreating to the Doodlesphere.  There were so many people who wanted to harm the AUs, though; Error just happened to be one of the strongest of them. Nightmare was a bigger threat, too, but he tended to steer clear of Ink, not interested in tangling with the former destroyer. But there were other threats, too..threats that took up a lot of Ink's time.

It was worth it.

Ink did his job most of the time, protecting the AUs and stopping threats. The rest of the time, he was either resting or making amends where he could with people he'd hurt. But..he'd found that he couldn't touch them. He was afraid he'd take their colors, even if he didn't want to anymore. He didn't want to drain them! He wouldn't have been able to bear it! So he just..didn't. It was ironic..both the Protector and Destroyer were afraid of touch, both for the same reason, but for vastly different reasons at the same time. 

It wasn't until, about eighteen years after he'd taken up his role as Protector, he finally touched someone. A scared, homeless skeleton child with the brightest golden eyelights Ink had ever seen, fearlessly wrapping his arms around Ink to show him that there was nothing to be afraid of. It was so much more complicated than that, but at the same time..it was so easy.

"H-hey, you-" Ink froze, looking down at the child.

"See, mister Ink?" The little one gave him a small smile. "You didn't hurt me!"

"..I didn't." Ink let out a breath of relief. "I..I didn't."

"Yeah! So don't be afraid!"

"..Right.." Ink smiled. "Right. Hey..you said you don't have a home.."

"Yep.."

"Well..what's your name, kid?"

"Oh, my name's Dream!"

"Dream..that's a nice name. How would you like to come home with me, Dream?"

"..Y-you mean it? You want me to live with you? But we just met! What if you don't actually-"

"I want to." Ink nodded, holding the child's  hand. "But, if you aren't comfortable with it, we can sit here and talk for a while until you decide. What's your favorite color, Dream?" 

"Ow!"

Ink hit the floor of his front porch, instantly waking from his slumber. Aw, man, he'd fallen off the bench; he'd probably rolled off in his sleep. He let out a sigh, rising to his feet and stretching for a moment before looking around. It had been so long since he'd found this place..he hoped he was worthy of it. But, hey, it had been about..what, sixty years? Ink wasn't slowing down; he had so much left to do! He would protect this multiverse until..well, he'd protect it forever. He'd be the Protector it deserved..he hoped. 

Speaking of that, he probably should have been getting back to the Omega Timeline; how long had he been sleeping, anyway? Spontaneous naps were not good for people with schedules! After a yawn, Ink picked up Broomie and opened a portal to the Omega Timeline, appearing before the Posse's house; he really needed to know what time it was. He knocked on the door, and Noneko answered it promptly. 

"Oh, Ink, come in!" She smiled. "It's good to see you!"

"You, too." Ink smiled. "Uh, what time is it? I fell asleep, and I lost all sense of time.."

"Oh..it's ten in the morning. We have that meeting with Error at two, so you're not late, or anything!"

"Oh, good! Thanks!"

"Of course."

Ink entered the Posse's house, smiling at his temporary (if their plans didn't work, this wouldn't be so temporary after all) teammates and greeting them with the kindness they deserved. They really were so kind...Ink didn't deserve it. 

"Hey, Ink?" Menagerie looked over to Ink, holding..a wrapped gift. "We, uh, have something for you."

"Uh..shoot, it it Christmas?" Ink blinked in surprise. "Or some other gift-giving holiday? I totally forgot! I'm so sorry!"

"No!" Patch shook his head. "Just a little somethin' we wanted to give you."

"Yeah, open it already!" Pop encouraged. 

"We haven't even given it to him yet, Pop!" Noneko chuckled. "Here, Ink, take it."

Ink frowned, before accepting the box. "Are..are you sure?"

"We're sure, partner." Polaris nodded. "Open it."

"Well..okay."

Ink sighed; he definitely didn't deserve this, whatever it was (unless it was a prank), but..if it would make the Posse happy, he would open it. Ink began to tear through the wrapping paper, tilting his skull when the box inside didn't have any markings or logos on it. He lifted the lid of the box, pausing when he saw what was inside.

It was a cowboy hat.

"You said your favorite color was brown, so we just made one like Clover's!" Menagerie explained. "So..do you like it?"

Ink took the hat out of the box, letting himself smile. They wanted to cheer him up..they wanted to help him. It was a nice gesture, and he appreciated it; he needed to show that.

"I love it." He nodded, putting it on. "Thank you. This is..thank you."

"Of course, partner." Polaris smiled, putting his hand on Ink's shoulder. "And just know that, whatever happens this afternoon, we've got your back, okay?"

"All right." Ink nodded, smiling. "And I'll have yours..partners."

 At two o'clock, the Posse and Ink went to meet with their newest teammate, ready to begin their planning anew. 

Maybe things would be all right, after all.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Ink bean's backstory!

Thanks for reading my colorful writing!

Bye!

Chapter Text

Dream let out a sigh, looking at the calendar. It had been five months since Dream had been brought to the castle, which also meant that it was mid-April. To be exact, it was the fifteenth of April today: Ink's birthday. He'd probably forgotten; he never remembered it unless someone else reminded him, despite the fact that he'd been the one to choose the date in the first place. Dream hoped he was having a good day, even if he didn't remember; he deserved it. 

As for Dream..well, his days weren't exactly "good." Any day spent in this castle was far from it, actually! Dream wished he could leave, but that, unfortunately, was out of the question, leaving him to just go through the motions of his new life. And, according to his routine, today was a free day - one with no concrete plans. In light of that, Dream rang the bell outside his door, hoping that Blue would answer. With Blue being a castle servant, he could technically answer any call, according to what Dream had been told, but most of the servants just waited in line for their "turn," taking every opportunity they could to rest. But Blue, whenever he was down there waiting, watched for Dream's bell, and if he saw it ring, he immediately volunteered to answer it. Blue wasn't always there, but he answered more often than not, which meant that he and Dream would get to hang out for a little while under the guise of "I needed help with something, and Blue just happened to be the one to come!" Yeah, he was fooling no one with that, but Nightmare didn't seem too annoyed by it, and he didn't take action against it - lucky! And, if someone else happened to come instead of Blue, Dream could think up a good enough excuse to warrant wasting someone's time..or just request a drink or some food. - that was a surprisingly good way to get out of awkward situations! Sure, Dream didn't like asking people to do such things for him, but it was better than wasting their time outright. 

Today, when the knock on the door came and Dream answered it, he was pleased to find Blue there.

"Blue, come in!" Dream smiled. "Good morning!"

"Good morning, Dream." Blue returned the greeting, entering the room. "Can I get you anything?"

Blue was required to ask that, but that was all he was required to ask - now that it had been said, Dream and Blue could spend some time together!

"It's been a couple days." Dream mentioned, sitting on his bed. "How've you been?"

"I've been all right." Blue shrugged. "Stitch and I had breakfast together yesterday; it's nice to have him as a friend again."

"Yeah, he's a really good guy; he's got really cool ideas, too!"

Blue rolled his eyelights. "Yeah, well, those 'ideas' are just going to bury him deeper under all that work.."

"I know..but he told me that making his own designs is a relief between making the same old clothes over and over again. I can't imagine what that must be like, making the same types of clothing over and over again all day every day.."

"..Yeah." Blue sighed. "I wish there was something we could do to help him."

"If I could, I'd go down there and help him myself, but, no, I don't get to do any work.." Dream lay back on his mattress. "I'm gonna go insane if I don't get something to do, Blue!"

Blue frowned, crossing his arms. "Well..you mentioned that you've been trying to figure out that piano you found. How's that going?"

"Um..it's going all right, I guess. It's hard when I have no clue what I'm doing, but..I'm starting to make a little progress, I think."

"There might be someone in the castle who'd be willing to give you lessons. Maybe you could ask around? I'm sure that tons of people would be willing to take time from their regular jobs to teach you piano!"

"Blue, you and I both know that music lessons aren't going to happen unless I talk to Nightmare..and I don't want to do that."

"I understand..how are things otherwise, Dream?"

"Well..I'm tired." Dream rolled over to look at Blue. "Mentally tired, at least; physically, I'm doing better than I've done in a long time.."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"..Whenever I used to need to talk about stuff, I always went to Ink, since he was always there.." Dream sighed. "You never really realize how important people are to you until they aren't there anymore.."

Blue looked down, nodding. "That's the way it tends to go."

"Blue?"

"Yeah?" Blue looked back to Dream, listening.

"I'm glad you're my friend. And everyone else, too - Ccino, Stitch, Geno, Cross, and everyone else..thank you for being here, Blue."

"Of course, Dream." Blue nodded. "I'm happy that I can be here for you in your time of need."

Dream gave his friend a smile. "Have you had breakfast yet?"

"No, but I can go get you something if you want it." 

"Well..right now, I want..someone to talk to over breakfast. And, look - there's a great candidate right here! What luck!"

Blue chuckled, and Dream followed suit; these moments were nice. Plagued by the looming fact that Nightmare had pushed them into these new lifestyles, yes, but nice nonetheless. After a few more lighthearted words, the two left the room together, heading for the stairwell to get to the cafeteria. It wasn't uncommon for them to have breakfast together, but it was always nice; Dream needed a close friend he could rely on (other than Cross, although Cross was also a great friend) here, and Blue was happy to fill that role. When the two reached the cafeteria, they joined the long line of people waiting to order their breakfasts. Yes, Dream could skip the line, because he was Nightmare's brother. No, he wasn't going to, because he wasn't a jerk. After fifteen minutes, the two reached the front of the line, and Ccino happened to be up to take orders today - he wasn't always, but it was always nice to see him.

"Good morning, Dream and Blue!" Ccino smiled. "What can I get you today?"

"I'll have some oatmeal and a cup of coffee, please." Dream requested. 

"Ditto." Blue said, fishing some coins out of his pocket to pay. 

"I'll have that in one sec!" Ccino nodded, taking Blue's money and going back into the kitchen to grab the food.

Oatmeal was a staple of everyone's diet in the castle, not because it was good, but because it was cheap. Nightmare provided only the best magic-filled plain oatmeal to his subjects, of course! If anyone wanted anything extra in their oatmeal, such as raisins, berries, or fruit, that cost extra - too much extra to be worth it. Admittedly, Dream wasn't a fan of plain oatmeal, but he wasn't going to give in to the temptation to get something else instead; he wasn't going to let Nightmare get any more hold over him than he already had! Since Nightmare wanted him to consider himself higher than others and demand what he wanted, Dream would do just the opposite and eat what everyone else ate! It didn't matter if he liked the taste or not; it was a protest, and Dream took his protesting seriously. The coffee was..well, a lot of people in the castle drank coffee, too - enough for Dream to allow himself to indulge in it. 

As for Blue's paying, that was unavoidable. Dream didn't have the power to give everyone a free meal every day, and Blue didn't want to be on the receiving end of what Dream did have; he understood that it would have just played Dream further into Nightmare's hands, using his limited power for his friend before anyone else. Dream wanted to, of course, but..he couldn't. It was ironic; after spending so long with Blue in the Star Sanses and relying on him to be the one to buy food for the trio, Dream couldn't even pay back the favor. It was pathetic, really.

Dream felt pathetic here..

Once the two received their meals, they went to sit down at one of the tables in the cafeteria, starting to eat.

"So, do you have any plans for the rest of the day?" Blue asked.

Blue couldn't stay; he never could. The longest he could stay with Dream was about an hour at a time, unless Dream actually needed his help with something that wasn't an excuse to get more time to hang out.

Maybe Blue would have been willing to help Dream move that piano up to his room..?

No. That was unnecessary. It would have taken more than an hour, probably, yes, but Blue could have gotten hurt in the process, and Dream wouldn't have been able to forigve himself if Blue got hurt because of something Dream had asked of him! Besides, he wouldn't have known how to move a keyboard properly, much less a whole grand piano - how did people get those huge things into buildings in the first place? Did they build them inside the rooms? They probably did. How did people build pianos, anyway? Dream certainly wouldn't have known where to start, much less how to deconstruct one properly!

"No, not really." Dream admitted. "Nothing concrete, anyway. I'll figure something out to do; I might just read, if nothing else."

"Well, I hope you have a good day, whatever you decide on." Blue offered.

"Thanks, Blue."

The rest of breakfast went by fast enough, at least for Blue. Once he finished eating, he had to go back to work, unfortunately, which left Dream alone. But, just as Dream began to consider what he'd do next, Cross entered the cafeteria. Well, that was convenient! Dream finished his breakfast before heading over to greet Cross, who had likely come later in the day to avoid the long lines. Although, Cross didn't typically come down to the cafeteria for food; didn't the gang have their own kitchen?

"Good morning, Cross!" Dream greeted.

"Oh, hey, Dream." Cross smiled, nodding to Dream. "How are you?"

"Good - you?"

"As well as I can hope." Cross shrugged, leaning against the counter; he'd already made his order, now just waiting for it

"Are you here to do something special? You guys have your own kitchen - what's the need in coming here? Um, pardon my curiosity, please - I'm just..bored."

"I get it." Cross assured. "I'm just getting some supplies from here; we have to order whatever we want to stock, but it is nice to have the freedom to stock things at all.."

"Huh..I should have expected that." Dream admitted. "Will you need help carrying it to your place?"

"Uh, if you're offering, it won't hurt to have some help."

"Well, then, I'm most certainly offering!"

"Thanks, Dream."

"Of course!"

The supplies were delivered a moment later, coming in the form of three cardboard boxes that were undoubtedly filled with foodstuffs that would hold over the gang members for a while. With two lighter boxes and one heavier one, Dream couldn't exactly fight to carry the heavier load (having a weighing machine around here would have been an incentive, though), settling for carrying the heavier box while Cross took the lighter ones. Once the boxes were secure, the two began their trip to the gang's apartment, walking through the halls with their cargo. 

"So.." Dream spoke up, a question having been brought to mind. "Where does Nightmare get all this food? I think we would have noticed if he stole all of it.."

"Oh, the others used to." Cross replied. "But once the castle got more people, it started getting too inefficient to continue, so boss had to figure something else out. It was before I came here, but he had the others full-on conquer a farm-based AU to sustain the castle."

"An entire AU..?" Dream blinked. "But..I never sensed that! How could he have done that without my noticing?"

"He claimed the AU the second he stepped inside; he wasn't playing around." 

"Oh..I see. I thought this was the only AU Nightmare claimed.."

"No, he has a few of them." Cross shook his skull. "Backup bases and supply chains, mostly. There's..five, I think, in total, but there might be more that I just haven't been made aware of yet."

"Hm..Cross?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think.." Dream paused, shaking his skull. "No, never mind. I shouldn't.."

Cross looked over to Dream with a frown. "What? You can ask me anything, Dream."

"..It's stupid. I just..I wish I could leave this AU, even if it's just for a little while.."

"That could be arranged." 

"What? How do you know? What if he says no? What if he wants me to ask him, as part of his plan? I can't risk that!" 

"Dream.." Cross sighed. "I think staying in the castle and going stir-crazy would further his plans much more than you asking to leave for a little while. And that farm-based AU is nice, for the most part. Horror goes there every two months to arrange orders, and the next trip is scheduled on the first, in a couple weeks from now; you could ask to join him."

"..Should I?" Dream looked at Cross with uncertainty. "Would it be better if I just stayed here? Do you think talking with Nightmare would make things worse? If I ask him for one thing, will it just spiral downwards from there? I..I just don't know! I feel like I can't trust myself, Cross; I don't know what to do!"

Cross..didn't know what to say. Yes, he wanted to be there for his friend, and being trusted with having an opinion on such an important decision was a sign of the trust and confidence Dream had in him! But Nightmare definitely would have wanted Dream to make the request. But staying here would have been equally as bad for Dream, if not worse! But Cross had a job to do, too. But..Dream was his friend. Fortunately for Cross, though, the two reached their destination before he dragged the silence on for too long.

"We're here." He informed.

"..All right." Dream nodded, accepting the temporary subject change. 

Cross opened the door to the apartment, and Dream followed him inside, where they set the boxes down on the kitchen's island. Horror, Killer, and Dust were all home today, it seemed; Dust and Horror were in the living room, while Killer was in his room - the door was open, making that quite obvious. 

"Good morning, Dream." Horror greeted, standing up and coming to the kitchen to start sorting through the supplies. "Thanks for helping Cross." 

"Good morning!" Dream returned, nodding. "And it was no trouble - I needed something to do, anyway! Speaking of, do you want any help with that?"

"No, thanks - I've got it covered."

Dream nodded, accepting the answer, and he and Cross went out to the living room, where Dust was currently reading over what seemed to be..paperwork? Dream sat down next to him, getting a better look at the paper and confirming that, yes, this was paperwork.

"..I didn't know Nightmare made you guys do paperwork." Dream commented. 

"After some more tactical missions, yeah." Dust nodded. "I'm looking over Killer's for him, since he got pretty badly injured on his last one."

"Oh.." Dream frowned, looking over at the entrance to Killer's room. "I'm sorry to hear that; is he okay? Does he need any help with anything?"

"Killer's strong." Cross assured. "He'll be fine. Besides, he's got us taking care of him!"

"Oh..maybe I should check in on him, see if he needs to be rescued."

"Dream!" Cross laughed, and Dust let out a snicker at the joke. "Thanks for the vote of confidence!"

Dream chuckled, too, smiling at the two. "I'm only joking; I'm sure you're taking great care of him."

"We do our best." Dust shrugged. "How are you?"

"..." Dream looked to Cross, who decided that the wall nearby was suddenly a fascinating study. "I don't know."

Dust frowned, watching the two inquisitively. "I'm not a part of this, am I?"

Neither Dream nor Cross responded, but Dust could recognize when it was time to give people their privacy.

"I'll go see if Killer needs anything, then." Dust decided, getting up and going to Killer's room. 

Dream sat on the couch quietly, while Cross stood just beside it. Silence prevailed for a moment, before Dream spoke up to break it.

"I'm sorry." He apologized. "I shouldn't have put that decision on you; it isn't yours to make, and-"

"No, don't apologize.." Cross shook his skull. "I..I just had to think about it. I want to be able to help you, Dream; that's what friends do. I've been thinking, and..I think you should ask him about it."

"..You do?" Dream was unsure, but that was fine; Cross was here to guide him in the right (was truly right, though?) direction.

"Yeah, I do. It's true that he probably wants you to do it, but..it's no use letting you go stir-crazy in here. I think seeing some open land would be good for you, and it wouldn't hurt to ask him. Honestly..if you want or need anything, in order to keep yourself sane, I'd recommend asking him for it. Your health and sanity is more important than whatever plans he has for you, so..as a friend, I think you should do it. Put yourself first, Dream, and once you're okay, then you'll be able to more clearly think about how to deal with everything else."

Dream looked down, thinking over the advice, before nodding. "You're right; I need to keep a clear mind. Thank you, Cross..you're a great friend."

"..I do my best."

Dream rose to his feet to give Cross a hug, finally feeling comfortable with his choices for the first time in a while. 

"I don't know where I'd be without you." He smiled, pulling away. "I guess I should start mentally preparing for that meeting, then..I'll see you around."

"See you." Cross nodded.

Dream left the apartment, and Cross watched him until the door closed, at which point, he bowed his skull. He was a horrible friend. Playing Dream right into Nightmare's hands, even if it would have been what he would have suggested if he'd been ignorant..it felt wrong. He slowly walked to the kitchen, where Horror took note of his state before taking him into a hug, Cross's face thoroughly buried in the taller's shoulder. 

He felt so dirty.

Dream knew what he had to do; it would be straightforward! He would just call Nightmare, ask him for things to keep himself sane, and, if Nightmare didn't leave immediately, make up some excuse to leave himself! That was precisely how it would go - no worries at all! Dream took a couple deep breaths, nodding to himself. What would he ask for? Well, the trip was obvious; seeing a farm would have done wonders for Dream's mental state. That would have only lasted for a little while, though..he needed something more substantial. Piano lessons were a good choice; those would have been regular, and if he was asking Nightmare for things, those would have been among the best things to help him. That was it, though; Dream didn't want to ask for too much, since Nightmare would have loved it if he did. With that settled, Dream mustered up the willpower to go to his brother's door for the first time since..December. Dream hadn't sought out his twin in months, and the only times they'd seen eachother since had been coincidence - coincidence which Dream had quickly run from, not wanting to be anywhere near Nightmare.

But now, he was seeking Nightmare out once more. 

Dream let out a sigh and knocked on the door - best to get it over with fast. 

And..no answer. Great, Nightmare wasn't in his room. He was probably in his office, but Dream didn't want the anxiety to chip away at him for that trip..he had to use the bell. After a sigh, Dream resigned himself to his fate, walking over to his door and ringing the black bell, effectively summoning his brother, who appeared next to him. Although, with his physical state being healthier than it had been before, the burst of negativity didn't hit him nearly as hard..it was bearable, albeit uncomfortable.

"Well, isn't this a happy surprise?" Nightmare hummed, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall of the hallway. "My dear little brother, finally pushing away some of his pride to call me! What has brought this on?"

"..I.." Dream suddenly didn't want to do this anymore.

Nightmare smiled. "How about we go somewhere a little more private? Perhaps that would soothe your nerves."

Nightmare waited for Dream to nod and open the door to his room; the heat would be unpleasant for Nightmare, but it would make Dream feel a lot more comfortable. Dream sat down in a nice cyan armchair he'd recently taken from one of the abandoned rooms (no one ever used them, and it would have been a waste to just let this stuff sit, honestly), and Nightmare couldn't help but notice.

"Is that new?" He inquired, before looking around. "It wasn't here before..a few things here are new, aren't they?"

"..I got them from those rooms in the castle that have a bunch of stuff in them that isn't being used." Dream explained.

"Ah, I see." Nightmare nodded. "Remnants from the previous owners - they had good taste, didn't they? I must admit, I've taken quite a few pieces for myself."

"..What happened to the 'previous owners'?" Dream had his suspicions.

"Oh, Dream, ever ready to accuse me of anything and everything." Nightmare chuckled. "The castle had been abandoned by the time I got here. Although, architecture like this is difficult to find, even in the multiverse; I would have killed or exiled others for it, if I had to."

..Of course he would have. 

"Well, brother." Nightmare sat down in a similarly-colored armchair nearby. "What did you call me for? I doubt you're lonely enough to call me for mere company, yet."

"..." Dream considered how to say it; what would have given him the best chances?

"Brother, I sense desire and contemplation in you." Nightmare..right. Empathy. "Did you call me here to ask me for something? A bold move, but not an altogether unexpected one. Am I correct? If so, what do you want?"

Dream looked down, the wording finally coming to mind; Nightmare's bluntness must have eliminated Dream's anxiety and uncertainty, since he didn't feel them anymore.

"I'd like to ask you for two things." Dream started. "First, I'd like to leave this AU, just for a little while - you have other claims..you wouldn't have to worry about my escaping - I just want to get some fresh air. You have claim to a farm-based AU, right? Second..there's a piano in one of those rooms I spoke about..I'd like to take lessons."

"..Interesting." Nightmare commented. "Very well, brother - I'll see about getting those taken care of - you would want to accompany Horror on his next trip, I assume?"

"Yes, if that's convenient.." Dream nodded, waiting for the inevitable; what would Nightmare want in return?

"It would be." Nightmare nodded. "I'll send Cross along, too, to keep you safe."

"All right."

"As for the piano lessons..I'm sure someone in the castle will know piano, and if they don't, I can always find someone else who will."

Dream nodded. That was the best he'd get, but he did hope that there was someone already here who would have been willing; he didn't want Nightmare taking anyone else into the castle. Well, with that done, it was only a matter of time..

"Will that be all, then?" Nightmare asked.

"Yes..thank you." Dream confirmed, waiting for it. 

"Then I'll be going; I have much to do..unless you want me to stay?"

"..." Dream shook his skull; he most certainly did not.

"Good afternoon, then, Dream."

"..Good afternoon." 

Nightmare left the room without asking for anything in return. No favors, no "quality time," no..anything. Why? Just to confuse Dream? Or..was there something more? Was it so Dream would feel indebted to him? Would he just call in the favor later?

Dream didn't want to dwell on it.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dream bean is confused!

Thanks for reading my advising writing!

Bye!

Chapter Text

The first of May rolled around soon enough. Unless there were delays, on the first of every January, March, May, July, September, and November, Horror went to arrange food shipments to the castle, which would be delivered a week after. Horror didn't really have to be the one to do it, but he wanted to be, and after a good deal of pestering (and punishment for said pestering), Nightmare had given him the role, although the paperwork was horrendous; it was a good thing he had the others to help him, or else he never would have made Nightmare's strict deadlines - fifty pages of work by the end of the day was ridiculous! But at least he could make it easier on himself by getting an early start to his day. 

Usually. 

Today, unfortunately, he would have company on his assignment, and even more unfortunately, he could only drag one of them out of bed forcefully. Once Cross was sitting at the kitchen island half-asleep, Horror put some high-magic food and a cup of coffee in front of him; he would be awake soon enough. Hopefully, Dream would be up by now..he wouldn't put Horror at risk if he'd been warned about the potential consequences, right?

He'd better have been up by now.

As Cross tiredly ate his breakfast, Horror got to work arranging everything he would need for the trip, from the paperwork he could fill out on the job to printed statistics such as the previous couple months' supplies usage compared to the last shipment's size. If he needed anything more or there was anything being wasted, Horror had full power to increase or decrease the supply as needed - no one would question his judgment, knowing his past. Thankfully, Horror had this down to a science; he just had to prepare everything he could in advance..and then hope he didn't forget anything. Once he'd gathered everything he needed, he waited for Cross to finish eating, tapping his foot idly as he did.

"What time is it..?" Cross wasn't used to getting up this early; no one in the castle was.

"Four." Horror replied.

"Ugh..should've gone to bed earlier.." 

"I told you I'd wake you early."

"I thought you meant, like, five or six - not four.."

Horror let out a sigh, while Cross yawned. "Is Dream gonna be up?"

"At four in the morning? I doubt it."

"You said you would tell him to be ready."

"I did..I just didn't say when. He'll wake up quick when we get there; it'll be all right."

"..I hope so. Finish your breakfast."

Cross nodded and finished up soon enough. When he finished, Horror took his dishes to wash them while he changed into his day clothes, and three minutes later, the two were heading out down the hall and up the stairs to the fifth floor. 

"Kinda weird, seeing the halls this empty." Cross commented, looking around. "This must be what it was like when it was just you three, huh?"

"Yep." Horror nodded. "Quiet and isolated.."

"..Sorry."

Horror shrugged. "Can't do anything about it."

"..." Cross looked down as the two began to ascend the stairs. "You know what would be the best revenge?"

"Hm?" 

"Well, if you-know-who ever happened to get, uh, 'un-kinged,' it'd be pretty ironic if we turned this place into, like, a hospital, or something."

"..True." Horror nodded. "But the dungeon would probably make it unsanitary."

"..Ah, right..I hate that place."

The dungeon was, by no real stretch of the imagination, a horrible place. It was never cleaned of anything but corpses, and that only went for beings who didn't dust. The amount of disease and filth that lingered there made it undeniably the worst place in the entire castle, and the only solace that castle residents received regarding it was that it wasn't a place used to punish them; it was for Nightmare's enemies, whether they were political or literal. The prisoners who were only held there for brief periods of time before being moved elsewhere were the lucky ones; most people who were sent there never came back. Cross had been there for only a couple days when Nightmare had first brought him into the castle, and..they had thoroughly traumatized him, even if he hadn't been physically harmed that much.

Cross and Horror made it to Dream's room in just a couple minutes, and after a bit of testing (as much as "standing against walls" could have been called testing, anyway), they determined that Nightmare was, unfortunately, in his room. He would have heard if Cross and Horror knocked to wake Dream up. But, based on the fact that Dream hadn't left his room yet, he was still asleep..and he had to get up. Horror softly knocked on Dream's door a couple times, but the sound was too silent; there was no movement from inside. Horror let out a sigh, before knocking a little harder.

Still nothing.

"Dream's not a deep sleeper.." Cross whispered. "Maybe just a little louder?"

Horror nodded, knocking a bit harder, and a door opened in response...

Just not the one they wanted.

"What are you two doing up this early?" Nightmare glared at the two. "What could you possibly want from my brother that cannot wait?"

"It's time to go arrange the food shipment." Horror informed. "He..asked us to wake him up."

"..Really, now?" Nightmare didn't believe him.

Telling a half-truth to Nightmare when asked a question was..not the best idea, really. If one's emotions were even a little off, he would know that he wasn't getting the whole story. Telling a straight-up lie, on the other hand? Well..only a few people could do that without severe repercussions, and those people had incredible control over their emotional states..but even then, it didn't always work out. 

Horror was not one of those people, and if he wanted to continue living the life he was currently enjoying, he needed help.

"Yeah, he did!" Cross nodded, backing his brother up. "We told him to be up early, but we didn't know what time for sure, so he just asked us to wake him up!"

"..How about we see if that's true, then?" Nightmare decided, keeping a stern eyelight on the two as he knocked on his twin's door himself, knocking much harder than Horror had dared.

Dream definitely stirred inside, letting out a groan before slowly making his way to the door. When he opened it, he was clearly still half-asleep, leaning against his doorframe as he looked at the three outside. 

"What..?" He asked, which was..understandable. 

"Good morning, Dream!" Cross gave him a big smile, hoping that having a positive spirit would clear his mind enough for him to pick up on the not-so-subtle hints Cross was about to drop. "It's time to get ready to go on that trip to our food supplier's farm! Remember?"

"Dream, did you ask these two to wake you up this morning?" Nightmare wasn't wasting time..unfortunately.

"What?" Dream rubbed at his eyesockets. "I-"

"Yeah, of course you did!" Cross forced a chuckle. "Remember doing that? Asking us to wake you up?"

"Nooo.." Dream held the sound, his clarity suddenly kicking in. "Way! N-no way, I totally forgot! Haha, yes, I did ask you that - thank you for reminding me!"

What a way to dodge a bullet at four A.M.

"You're welcome!" Cross had just seen his life flashing before his eyelights. "Well, we're already prepared for the trip, so we'll just be waiting on you, then!"

Dream nodded quickly, running back into his room to get himself ready.

"..Lucky, lucky.." Nightmare hummed, before going back into his own room and leaving Horror and Cross to wait on Dream. 

Dream only took a moment to get dressed and leave his room again, wide awake now from that stressful experience.

"I'm so sorry!" Dream apologized, as he straightened out his coat. "I can't believe I almost got you guys in trouble!" 

"It's all right, Dream." Cross assured. "We're off the hook."

"We should get going; I have work to do." Horror reminded. "You ready?"

"Yes, I'm ready." Dream nodded. "Let's go."

With that done, Horror opened a portal to the castle's food-supplying universe, and the three walked through. Immediately, they were met with the smell of fertilizer, which, although unpleasant, was expected. They came out onto a dirt path between some fields, one of wheat and another of oats - clearly sources for the castle's food. But that wasn't really what attracted Dream; he was just interested in..how everything looked, really. The sky was a bright, vibrant blue, and big fluffy clouds floated on their way across the sky, running a slow race to the horizon. The grass was green - greener than it had any right to be, but oh, so perfect; it would have looked right at home in a travel brochure. The fields stretched far, although the main areas of the farm were in sight, with a sizable farmhouse, barn, and several animal pens scattered about. In the distance, there were other farms with other fields and plots of land, and they went as far as the eye could see..it was nice. Horror began to walk down the path towards the area with the farmhouse, and Cross and Dream followed him, not wanting to get separated. 

"Is this AU all farms?" Dream inquired.

"Mostly." Horror replied. "There are a few towns, but it's a timeline offshoot where most people stay on their farms instead of going to the 'big city.' Some do, though."

"I see.." Dream hummed. "Are there any cities near here?" 

"Not for a couple dozen miles." 

Interesting..but not unexpected. Dream wasn't an expert on layouts of worlds, but he knew that rural areas like this were typically out of the way of the most populated areas, typically. Dream took in a deep breath of the fresh air, letting it calm him; it might not have smelled great, but it was still fresh air, and it was the best he was going to get..he couldn't exactly have gone anywhere better, since Nightmare had made sure to force Dream to accept an invitation before visiting this universe specifically to prevent that! 

After a little walking, the trio reached a more open area. A tractor was parked next to a large barn, and the entrance to that farmhouse was quite close, but before Dream could ask about anything, a couple dogs came up to greet the three; Horror quickly bent down to pet them, clearly knowing the pups. 

"Oh, it's that time again!" A new voice called out, from a short distance away - the resident..Papyrus? Interesting. "Good to see you, Horror!"

"You, too, Buck." Horror returned the greeting. "Everything going well?"

"As well as can be - you run us on a tight schedule, you know!"

"Can't be helped."

"Well, you're right about that."

The Papyrus - Buck? - finally reached the trio, giving them a smile when he arrived. He was dressed in overalls, work boots, and a straw hat, but he looked fine - no visible signs that Nightmare had conquered this AU, really..he was even smiling!

"Well, it's been a while, Cross!" Buck mentioned. "How have you been?"

"Good, thanks." Cross nodded. "And you?"

"As well as can be. Although..I don't recall meeting you, sir! What is your name, if I may inquire?"

"Um, I'm Dream.." Dream introduced. 

"Ah, the elusive brother - I see. Well, I'm known as Buck, and this is my farm! I am the official coordinator of the supply shipments to your castle!"

"It's not my castle, but it's good to meet you, Buck.."

"Understood." Buck nodded in understanding.

It had been a while since Dream had last had to introduce himself to anyone; people tended to have already known his face and name before he made an appearance anywhere. It was a bit nice to not be known, though - less expectation. 

"Well, is the shipment going to be much bigger this time?" Buck inquired. "Or has that 'boss' of yours finally realized that this isn't a job for just one person?"

"Dream's been cooped up in the castle for nearly half a year." Horror didn't sugarcoat it. "He needed fresh air."

"Ah, I see. Well, we've got an unlimited supply of that, here, so long as you don't mind the rest of the world that goes with it! Feel free to wander; just don't let any of the animals out, all right?"

"Of course..thank you." Dream agreed. "I won't disturb them."

"Then I have a feeling that we'll get along just fine!" Buck grinned. "Well, shall we get to business, then, Horror?" 

Horror gave Buck a nod, and the two started to walk towards the farmhouse, before Buck paused, turning back to Dream. 

"Oh, and if you're going to stay for a while, please feel free to join me for lunch; the table will be set at noon!"

"Thank you for the offer!" Dream gave a grateful smile. "Depending on how long we stay, we might..I'm not sure yet."

Buck gave a thumbs-up before turning back to go to the farmhouse, and he and Horror entered promptly, presumably to get down to business. The dogs followed, clearly preferring time with Buck and Horror over lingering with Cross and Dream. Once they were alone, Dream turned to Cross. 

"Is he alone?" Dream wondered.

"..Yeah." Cross confirmed. "Boss killed his brother when he took over..it's been a long time. He and Horror are pretty close..they have that in common."

"Nightmare..killed Horror's brother, too?"

"..He doesn't like talking about it, so don't bring it up, all right? But..yes, he did."

"I'm sorry to hear that.."

"There's nothing to be done about it now - both of them are gone, and they'd probably be happy that their brothers are so close. Now, where do you want to go? I don't know this place well, but I've been here a few times, and the visibility's good enough that we shouldn't be able to get lost."

"Well..what kinds of animals are here?" 

"All kinds." Cross answered, a bit bluntly. "If this farm doesn't have them, others do. This one's got a lot, though - pigs, goats, chickens, ducks, turkeys, horses, sheep, c-cows..and a few others, too, I think."

"Wow..and Buck takes care of it all by himself?"

"No, he's got help; it'd be impossible for one person to take care of all this. He does a lot, though; he's a great guy."

"I see..well, how about we go see the horses, if you know where they are? It's been a while since I've seen one."

"Sure, this way; Buck's got some beautiful ones."

Cross led Dream down a path towards a different barn, and as the two walked, Dream could see a lot of the animals Cross had spoken of as they grazed in their fields of grass, with the sheep and goats eating or lying down, the chickens running around, and..were those alpacas? Or llamas? Dream couldn't tell, but they were there. Dream didn't know they were a farm animal. As the two walked, though, Dream thought less about horses and more about all the different animals he could see. At some point, the two stopped at a pen with the smallest little goats Dream had ever seen, playing and eating around a wooden..goat playground? That was the only thing Dream could have described it as.

"Are those pygmy goats?" Dream inquired, chuckling. "They're so small!"

"Those are the babies, I think." Cross nodded. "They must have just been born a little while ago."

"Oh! Are they safe on that thing?"

"It was built for them; goats like climbing."

"They do look like they're having fun!"

The trek continued shortly, and the two did reach the horse pen; Buck did have some majestic equines, too! One was a pale horse with a light blonde mane and tail, both of which had been braided at some point. Another white horse was speckled, having light brown hair. Most of the horses were brown with darker brown hair, but there were a couple black ones, too, with black hair; there must have been at least twenty adult horses in the large pen, and there were quite a few foals, as well! 

"Does he breed them?" Dream inquired. 

"I think he just lets them do their thing, and if he can't afford to support the new foals, he sells them then." Cross replied. "I'm not entirely sure, though."

"I see. They're so pretty!" 

"Strong, too - they do a lot of heavy lifting."

"Is the tractor not strong enough to do that?" 

"Not everything - and besides, they need the exercise."

Dream chuckled. "They've got to earn their keep?"

"Hey, farm life is tough!"

"Have you ever lived on a farm, Cross?"

"Nope. You?"

"At points, it's felt like it sometimes." Dream leaned on the fence, watching the horses graze. "I've never liked being stuck inside..I prefer the open air, and everything that comes with it. When I was young, I lived under a tree, so..I feel at home outside."

"The castle isn't great for giving that type of feel." Cross understood.

"Nightmare always hated living outside; I understand why he likes his castle. I just..don't. I told you about where I grew up, right?"

"Yeah, the Doodlesphere." Cross nodded. "It's a nice place - a good house."

Dream chuckled. "I never stayed inside long. I'd take whatever stuffed animals I'd decided on adventuring with that day, put them in a backpack with some food, and run along the paint rivers for ages. I climbed mountains, traversed ravines, climbed every tree in the Doodlesphere..those were the good times." 

"I thought you hated the Doodlesphere."

"I do." Dream admitted. "It gets so repetitive, and at some point, I got too tired to go farther out to find more new lands to explore. And Ink always took me back to the house at some point.."

"..I'm sure he did his best. Raising you would have been a handful for anyone - Ink not excluded."

"..Yeah, he did his best; I know that. I just..wish it could have been a little better. There's only so many times you can go on adventures with a few plushies before you start wishing they were real people.." Dream sighed. "I'd rather be stuck inside forever with a few good friends than have free rein of the great outdoors with no one.."

Cross looked down. "I'm..sorry."

"..No, I.." Dream shook his skull, turning to Cross. "I'm just being mopey. I shouldn't; I'm outside now, and I have a friend with me! How about we go find some chickens?"

Cross smiled. "Sounds good."

Dream let out a hum, looking around for any building that might have resembled a chicken coop. Eventually, he decided that a structure resembling a wooden shed might have been what he was looking for, and he pointed in its direction, beginning to lead Cross towards it. Unfortunately, once the two got closer, they determined that it was actually just a wooden toolshed, not a chicken coop - what a letdown. 

"Okay, where's the chicken coop?" Dream just wanted to see the chickens from close up; where had they spotted them, before? 

"Um, I think it's this way." Cross tilted his skull in a certain direction, and the two were off.

The duo walked for a while, scanning the visible fields for chickens, but it seemed that the chickens they'd seen earlier had decided to escape their search, even when they tried to retrace their steps. Eventually, Cross and Dream retraced their steps so far that they'd managed to return to the area with the farmhouse..using a different path from the one they'd initially taken. 

"Well, who would have thought that chickens would be so elusive?" Cross joked, eliciting a laugh from Dream. 

"Apparently!" Dream giggled. 

"How about we take a break? We've been walking for a while."

"Sure." Dream agreed, sitting down on a step that led up to the farmhouse's porch. "What time is it, anyway?"

"Uh, it's about seven now." Cross informed, after making a quick check. 

"Wow, time flies..do you think Buck and Horror are still busy?" 

"I'm not sure; they might be. Why? Are you hungry?"

"No, not really." Dream admitted. "Just..maybe I could help them."

"Doubtful." Cross commented, to Dream's surprise. "They've got this down to a science by now - I'm not sure they can be helped!" 

"That efficient?"

"Oh, yeah - they're quick with it."

"Well..I guess we can look for those chickens for another five hours before lunch?"

"Whatever you want, Dream; I'm just along for the ride!"

"Nonsense - you're just as much of a part of this as I am! If you want to do something, just say so!"

"Well, I don't have anything I want to do, so..guess I'll be silent."

Dream rolled his eyelights with a chuckle. "All right, then - just don't be quiet if you see those chickens!"

"Aye aye, captain!" Cross saluted, grinning.

And so, for the next five hours, Cross and Dream explored the farm, and they did eventually find the chickens, luckily. They explored, talked, and explored and talked some more as time passed, enjoying the atmosphere of the outdoors - especially Dream. Eventually, though, noon did get close, and the two began to make their way to the farmhouse; lunch sounded great, after eight hours of exploring this huge farm. As Dream and Cross reached the farmhouse once again, they were greeted by the dogs for a second time, and Buck followed soon enough.

"Ah, how has your unguided tour gone?" Buck asked, petting a dog that had nuzzled his leg expectantly. 

"It's gone well." Dream replied. "You have a beautiful farm, here."

"Thank you." Buck smiled. "It's been in my family for generations."

"It's beyond impressive. Has Horror gone back already?"

"Yes, he has a lot of work to do. But you are welcome to stay as long as you'd like; speaking of staying, would you like to join me for lunch?"

"If that wouldn't be a bother."

"Not at all! Come on in."

Buck led Cross and Dream into the farmhouse, where a large lunch seemed to have been already prepared; the plates were already on the table, and the food was waiting to be served. Buck sat down, and Dream and Cross followed. As lunch began, Dream decided to start a conversation, wanting to know more about Buck and this world. 

"So, you don't have to answer, but..did my brother really fully conquer this world?" Dream inquired. "This place seems so peaceful..it's hard to imagine that he's ever been here before at all."

Buck looked down at his food, frowning a bit. "He did..it just doesn't show here. This area is used for his food supply, so we get everything we need, and we get to live relatively-normal lives, because he wouldn't be able to rely on us if he made our lives horrible; we wouldn't want to get out of bed every morning, and our crops and animals would die as a result..the, uh, cities are where it's bad - they're..miserable places. I never go."

"..Oh.." Dream looked down. "I'm sorry.."

"No, it's fine." Buck assured. "It could always be worse. So, are you planning on sticking around longer?"

"Yes, I believe so. It's been so long since I've been outside; I don't want to miss a second of this! Although, uh, I'd be willing to help you with anything if you need it! I have experience, so-"

"I'm afraid not." Buck shook his skull. "I've been given orders not to let you help out; I'm sorry."

"Oh..I understand.."

"They been keeping you idle all this time?"

Dream looked down at his plate, nodding. "Unfortunately.."

"..You got anything to do?" 

"I've had to think of new things to keep myself busy. I've been taking piano lessons, recently, and I'm doing all right with them."

"Well, that's good; music's a dandy thing to help a person stay afloat!"

Dream nodded. "I'd much rather be putting my mind to work with some actual work, though." 

"Can't imagine being idle that long..good luck, Dream."

"Thank you, Buck.."

"And, uh, if you can, feel free to come over and visit anytime you like; I'll support you however I can on my end, all right?"

"..All right." Dream smiled. "That's very kind..thank you."

"Anything for a friend of a friend..or just a new friend?"

"..I'd like to be friends." 

"Then consider it done!" Buck chuckled. "And, if I may suggest your next stop, I have a rather large corn maze to the north! It is quite a feat to get to the center!"

"A corn maze?" Cross questioned. "I thought boss-"

"Well, it looks like just a regular corn field from the outside, of course, but it is secretly a great maze!"

"Oh, that sounds fun!" Dream grinned. "Doesn't it look weird to be growing corn in spring, though?" 

"Oh, my dear friend, our universe is based around farming! We have the means to grow corn year-round - and many other crops, too! Fear not!"

"Ah..well, I'll have to check that maze out, then!"

"I shall eagerly await your thoughts; you two shall be the first guests to traverse it!"

"We'll try to be worthy of it!" 

So, after lunch, Dream and Cross went north, and they did find that giant corn maze; it was hidden within a huge field of the stuff, and the very outside layer seemed to grow taller than the inside layer, shielding it from view effectively. Dream and Cross soon began their journey through the maze, which kept them occupied for hours. After two hours of exploration, though, they came across the center of the maze, where..

"Oh, my.." Dream looked at the scene in surprise. "I wasn't expecting this.."

At the very center was a collection of several fruit trees, placed spaced out around the edges of the center area to prevent cross-pollination. There was a second "layer" of them, though, with four trees spaced out in a square around the very center, where a stone fountain sat with a circular bench around it. There were also benches between the fruit trees on the first layer, but..this was pretty.

"I can see why he wanted to hide this." Cross stated. "He's not supposed to have fruit trees.."

"And we're not going to tell on him!" Dream informed, walking further into the area. "There's so many types!"

The trees did, indeeed, grow a good variety of fruits - plums, peaches, nectarines, lemons, oranges, apricots, t̶h̶e̶m̶, limes, starfruit, kiwi, and so many others! Dream didn't even know what some of these were! 

For a good while, Cross and Dream sat in the center of the maze, relaxing in the atmosphere of the place. This was nice. Eventually, they would leave to explore more of the farm, but for now..

For now, they would take it easy.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dream bean gets to go to a farm!

Thanks for reading my farming writing!

Bye!

Chapter Text

There was a bit of darkness in everyone.

Guilty pleasures, secrets kept behind countless layers of deception, regretful pasts that just wouldn't leave one's mind..

They were all of Nightmare's domain. They all had a place, in his world. Some individuals fruitlessly tried to hide from them, but Nightmare had a way of figuring out what exactly people hid from the world. Killer and Dust, to their credit, didn't try to hide those parts of their pasts; they knew what they were, and they accepted themselves as such. Every so often, they would try to put it behind them, but Nightmare was always there to drag them back; he would never let them forget or move on. Horror, on the other hand, tried over and over to forget his past, and that hole in his head aided him in that, occasionally. But Nightmare could keep him grounded in reality through many means, from forcing him into flashbacks to simply reminding him of what he had done; Horror knew he wouldn't lie about the past, leaving him devastated every time. Cross, unfortunately, was a bit of a different story; he'd made peace with his dark past before coming to Nightmare, and he'd moved on long before. But that didn't matter anymore; Nightmare had simply given Cross a new darkness to deal with: serving Nightmare! It bothered Cross greatly to work for the King of Negativity, and Nightmare made sure to frequently give him assignments that he would hate, such as gaining LV or..really, anything! Cross hated this place, and Nightmare was all-too-happy to face him with it at every turn. His newest assignment was a blow that had been taking its toll on Cross greatly, and Nightmare couldn't help but be pleased.

Even his enemies had darkness within them. The Protector, for one? Oh, his past was darker than most; it was easy to ruin Ink's good mood simply by flinching away from his touch! And Nightmare couldn't deny that not all those flinches had been to ruin his day..Ink was dangerous, after all - much more dangerous than Nightmare could have ever hoped to be. As for Blue..it wasn't often that Nightmare received the honors to awaken the darkness in another, but he took it every chance he got. The pure hatred that Blue had for him was a joy to see. Unlike with Ink, Nightmare wasn't hesitant to poke that bear; Blue couldn't hurt him - his anger and hatred only fueled him.

Even Dream, Nightmare's dear brother, had an inner darkness; his past was filled with regrets, many regarding Nightmare. But, unlike everyone else, Nightmare didn't wish for the darkness and negativity to consume his brother; he wanted Dream to accept it willingly - to use it, as Nightmare did. So Nightmare refrained from bringing up the past, and he did not blame Dream fro his woes; that would have sent Dream in the wrong direction. Dream needed careful guidance; he needed to be shown that anger, hatred, and darkness were tools. They were not an evil; they were a help. But Dream's entire life - his livelihood - had shown him otherwise, unfortunately. Darkness had once consumed his twin, and Dream did not understand why Nightmare, keeping his wits and self, would continue his life like this. 

It would take him a while to understand, but that was okay.

Nightmare was hateful, prideful, jealous, and negative to his core..but there was one trait that had always followed him - one thing that had given him strength in his darkest moments and shown him the world in a newer, better way until he could rise up again. Above all..

 Nightmare was patient.

"How was that?" Dream asked, looking over to his instructor. 

"It was fine." His piano teacher shrugged. "Let's move on."

"..A-are you sure? I don't think I did very well.."

"It was fine - let's go to the next one."

"..Okay.."

Of course, Nightmare wasn't going to sit idly by and wait for Dream to magically flip his entire worldview on its head; he had to help his brother out a little. One of those ways was through his piano teacher. Truthfully, Nightmare hadn't thought much of the request for piano lessons at the time, but when he'd begun his search for an instructor, he'd had a thought regarding his plan for Dream, and although it was only in its beginning stages, Nightmare could feel the irritation that was building in Dream throughout every lesson. 

The teacher was a DanceFell Sans. DanceFell was an interesting AU in the first place, with music being a central part of their lives, but the Underground following the traditional Fell "kill or be killed" worldviews. The music that played throughout the Underground was darker, but it was still there, and there were far fewer celebrations regarding the art form, but there was one thing that had solidified the choice for Nightmare: in DanceFell, dancing was reserved for those one trusted most. The Sans and Papyrus were close, and as a result, this Sans would do anything Nightmare asked to keep his brother safe - even manipulating the multiverse's Guardian of Positivity. Dream would think the improper teaching was due to the fact that his instructor was a Fell type, but the truth was that Nightmare was in control of everything. The instructor would give lessons, yes, but they weren't very good lessons, and they wouldn't be..until Dream snapped. The Sans was capable of giving Dream what he wanted, but he wasn't allowed to until Dream gave in to his anger and irritation.

It was only a matter of time.  

"Wait, what?" Dream blinked, staring at the page of his music book. "What's that curved line mean?" 

"It's a triplet; try to play the song." The other instructed.

"But..what is a triplet? I..what? How do I play it?"

"Just try it."

"I can't if-" Dream paused, before letting out a sigh. "All right.."

Dream started to play, but Nightmare couldn't decipher the song's true tune; Dream hadn't received the proper instruction to get to this point yet. The lessons had been going on for a while, now, and Dream was nowhere near as skilled as he could have been by now. Two of his seven months here had included piano lessons, and he still sounded as if he hadn't even been playing for a week. After fumbling through the first few measures of whatever song he was playing, Dream stopped, letting out a groan.

"I can't do it!" He admitted. "I don't know how. Can we stop for the day? I can't do this anymore today.."

"As you wish." The instructor stood up. "You're doing well, though; keep with it, and I'm sure you'll get the hang of it in no time."

The piano teacher left the room, and Dream stayed sitting at the piano, looking down at the keys with a frown. Nightmare closed his viewing portal, letting out a hum. Dream would snap soon; Nightmare just had to stay out of it. If Nightmare showed his face, Dream would know that it was part of his plan, but if he stayed away, Dream wouldn't suspect a thing. 

He just had to be patient.

Dream was a failure. He just couldn't do it! His teacher said he was doing well, but Dream couldn't believe that; he sounded horrible. Nightmare had said that this was the only potential piano teacher available, a DanceFell Sans with the multiversal name "Plinko." Dream..didn't know why he'd picked that as his name, but he supposed it was just unique. Unfortunately, Nightmare had taken him recently..too recently for Dream to think it was a coincidence that he showed up around the time that Dream had asked for lessons. He worked in the castle's cafeteria when he wasn't teaching Dream piano, but he didn't ever talk to Dream outside of these lessons; Dream didn't believe he liked him. It made sense..Dream wasn't the best person ever, for sure. He just..he supposed he was too used to people being kind to him. He needed to get used to the fact that some people just..wouldn't. It was..

It was fine. Dream couldn't force anyone to like him. 

Dream closed his music book, letting out a sigh; maybe he was just a slow learner. He stood up from the instrument with which he'd spent months trying to improve his skills, and he closed the lid over the keys. Maybe he just needed a small break..or advice. Killer played music, didn't he? Maybe he would know a thing or two that could help Dream! With a new course of action decided upon, Dream left the piano room and went on his way down to the first floor, hoping Killer would be home. But, even if he wasn't, Dream could leave a message with one of the others. When the positive spirit reached the gang's door, he knocked, awaiting an answer. It came quickly, and Dream was met with just the person he wanted to see!

"Dream." Killer nodded in greeting. "Need something? Here to see Cross?"

"Um, actually, I came to see you." Dream informed. 

"Oh, really, now?" Killer grinned, leaning against the doorframe. "Whatcha need me for? Pranks? Mischief? Widespread terror? I'm your guy for all of those!"

"..Do you know anything about playing the piano?"

"Oh..piano, huh?" Killer crossed his arms before stepping aside. "Come on in, and we'll talk."

"Thanks."

"Sure thing!"

Dream entered the gang's home, and he and Killer sat down on the couch; it seemed as if Dust, Horror, and Cross were all out, at the moment..

"Where are the others?" Dream inquired. 

"They're on a mission."

"Huh..any reason you aren't with them? I thought it was one or all.."

"Not anymore." Killer shrugged. "It used to be like that, but boss decided to change things up recently; now, whoever he decides goes, and if you aren't included, you don't. We still go together, sometimes..I think we'll be doing it more often from now on, since-" Killer paused, catching himself. "I can't tell you why. Sorry, Sunshine."

"..I understand." Dream nodded. "Blue told me he and Ink were in the middle of teaming up with the Posse before he was captured; I'll assume that's why."

"I can't confirm or deny that, but it's a good guess." 

Dream smiled; he hoped Ink had help out there. "Thanks."

"Of course. So, what's this about piano?"

"Oh, well, uh..I've been taking lessons, but..I'm not sure I'm progressing as fast as I should be."

"I see." Killer put his arms up behind his skull, leaning back. "The new guy in the kitchen - Plinky, or something - is your teacher, right?"

"Plinko." Dream corrected. "And yes, he is."

"All right. I'll be transparent with you; I can't play the piano too well, but I used to have a friend who did, so I know enough. At this stage, two months in, you should be able to play simple tunes, and you should be practicing scales every day. You practicing those?"

"Uh..we didn't really talk much about scales; I didn't think they were that important."

"..Your scales are the basis for your - heh - muscle memory. You should have learned those early on, and you really need to practice those. If you're building a house of cards, the cards at the bottom are super important, since they hold up everything else; your scales are those bottom cards. You have to bring that up during your next lesson. What are you learning right now?"

"Um, today, we went over..something called cut time, and triplets?"

"..Can you play any songs and actually decipher what you're playing? Like 'Row, Row, Row Your Boat,' 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,' or 'Chopsticks'? Or are you learning out of a monster book? Maybe you're playing stuff like 'Wishing Cave,' or other monster melodies?"

"..No."

"Huh. Then you shouldn't be learning about that stuff yet. It sounds to me like you've just got a bad teacher, honestly. Any instructor worth their salt would push scales early on."

"..So it's not just me?"

"Nah, it's just the way you're being taught; it's way too fast, and it sounds like you're not retaining anything."

"Oh..I see."

Dream sighed, looking down; that..wasn't what he wanted to hear. He'd wanted Killer to tell him that it was just Dream's fault. Not..his teacher's..

"Hey, uh.." Killer frowned, unsure of how to provide comfort. "I'm sure it's not as bad as I'm making it out to be.."

"Why would Nightmare give me a bad teacher?" Dream wondered. "I thought he was just rough around the edges because he's from a DanceFell.."

"..I dunno." Killer admitted. "But..I doubt someone from a Dance-type universe would be a bad teacher. You say he's from a Fell?"

"Yes, a DanceFell." Dream repeated. "Maybe he's just angry; he's new.."

Killer let out a hum, thinking. "Maybe..you have to show him that you're worthy of respect. Fells respond to firmness, after all; maybe he just thinks you're a pansy. Uh, no offense."

"..None taken. I know how Fells work..I just don't want to be mean."

"Well, from my experience, Fells show you respect if you speak in a language they understand; they're not used to people being nice, so try to tone it down. You don't have to be mean - just..be a little less nice. Don't apologize, and don't take any disrespect - tell him what you want, and make yourself clear."

"..You think that'll really work?"

"Yeah, I think it will. When's your next lesson?"

"Thursday - I take them every three days."

"Then keep this in mind, and good luck."

"..Thank you." 

"No problem, Sunshine."

Dream left the gang's home a little while later, his mission weighing heavy on his mind. It would be all right..he hoped.

Thursday came quickly, and after spending the morning in the library, Dream went to the piano room, where Plinko was waiting for him, sitting in the same wooden chair in which he always sat. Dream waved in greeting before sitting down at the instrument, opening the fallboard and looking at the keys. Today, he would..not be as nice as usual, he supposed?

"Ready?" Plinko asked.

"..Can we start over?" Dream requested.

"Start over? Why?"

"Well..I just don't think I got the basics. I talked with a friend, and he said I should be doing a bunch of stuff that I'm not doing now, like scales and stuff..I feel like this is going too fast for me. Can we start from the beginning again?"

Plinko sighed in annoyance. "I don't see why this is a problem for you; you're doing fine."

"I'm-" Dream paused, looking down. No apologies..right. "I just think it's right."

"Whatever, sure, let's begin again." Plinko switched out the lesson books, flipping back to the first page of the first book with which he'd tried to teach Dream. "This is the keyboard. It's got eighty-eight keys, with fifty-two white ones and a whole thirty-six black ones. Great, right? This is-"

"Stop." Dream interrupted, letting out a sigh. "Just..stop. It's clear to me now that you aren't being serious about this. You don't want to be here, and I get it; I don't really want to be in this castle, either..you shouldn't be forced to give music lessons to someone. You can go..I'll figure it out myself."

"I'm not allowed to leave the room until you want to end your lesson."

"..I don't want to get you in trouble with my brother. You can..sit and watch me, I guess."

"I'm not allowed to do that, either."

Dream..needed to hold himself back. There was no need to yell; there was no need to snap. Plinko was as much of a prisoner as Dream was, and he couldn't become angry about it. Sure, he could have been a better teacher, but he wasn't, and there was nothing Dream could do about it! If he asked for a different teacher, Nightmare certainly would have punished Plinko as a result, and Dream didn't want that! He didn't want to get anyone hurt. Dream frowned at the piano keys; maybe quitting would have been better. He could just tell Nightmare that he didn't like the piano, and Plinko would have been fine!

But..Dream did want to learn..

"Maybe we should just end it early for the day." Dream decided. "I've got stuff to do anyway."

"Whatever you say." Plinko left Dream alone. 

This was all just too confusing. 

Two hours later, Dream was sitting in the cafeteria with Blue and Cross, explaining the situation. His friends would have advice for him..and if they didn't, well, they would at least try to help him..

"So, there it is." Dream finished explaining. "He's not a good teacher, but I'm stuck with him. So..what do you guys think?"

"..I don't know." Blue admitted, taking a sip of his drink. "It sounds complicated."

"It is complicated." Dream agreed. 

"Well..do you want to learn it?" Cross asked. 

"I do - I really do. I think it'll help keep my mind off other things, if I can put my mind towards learning something new, so..I do. But I don't need it; I can give it up. I don't want to get Plinko hurt; it's not his fault that he was brought here to give me piano lessons, and it's not fair if he gets hurt because I don't respond well to his teachings.."

"But he's not really teaching you."

"..Does that matter?"

"Dream, if you want this - if you really want it - you shouldn't let him stand in your way."

"But what can I do about it? He's not going to turn around and suddenly be a good teacher."

"Maybe not." Blue shrugged. "But maybe it'd be worth it to try to work through your books on your own and just do what you want during your lessons."

"..What if Nightmare picks up on it, though? I can't let others get hurt as a result of my actions!"

"It wouldn't be your fault if he gets hurt." Cross gave his opinion. "He's not a good teacher; what happens to him is his own fault."

"That's not the point."

"Isn't it, though?"

"..It would be my reaction to his actions.."

"Cross has a point, Dream.." Blue sighed. "As much as I hate to admit it..it would be his own fault.."

"You want to learn the instrument, Dream, and he's getting in the way of that." Cross shrugged. 

"But he's not..he's.." Dream didn't have an argument.

"Life here is tough. People do their jobs, or they get punished for not doing them, and it's not your fault if someone whose job it is to help you decides not to. You're allowed to be a little selfish, Dream - everyone is."

"But that's the point!" Dream exclaimed. "I can't be selfish! That would just be playing right into Nightmare's hands! I cannot let myself fall, at any cost! I have to stay strong! It's not my place to choose who I am; I have to be who I was born to be, and that's all I can be! Nightmare's trying to change that about me, so I have to stay true to myself, Cross! I can't let him corrupt me; I can't let him get to me! I..I am not a selfish person..I can't become one now." Dream sighed, bowing his skull. "I should give it up. I can find something else to put my mind to; I don't need music lessons. It was a stupid idea in the first place."

"Dream.." Blue didn't know what to say.

Dream shook his skull. "I just..need to be alone for a while."

He stood up from his seat, and he left his friends. He forced a smile onto his face as he walked to his room, waving politely to everyone who greeted him along the way and being polite. He was polite, after all; he was Dream, Guardian of Positivity! Of course he was polite; he'd been polite his whole life! He was the embodiment of good, and nothing could change that - not even his evil brother who'd locked him up in this negative castle! Not that he minded being here, of course - he couldn't mind, because he was totally positive! He kept his smile until he reached his room, and it stuck around even after his door was closed. Dream sat on the edge of his bed, slipping his shoes off before rolling onto his side and curling up with a pillow in his arms. He pressed his face into the pillow as his smile fell and tears began to form in his eyesockets, as if that would make a difference.

It was good that he was going to give up his little hobby. Plinko would be safe, and Dream would..put his own happiness to the side, just as he always had. His happiness existed only because of the happiness of others, after all! What he wanted didn't matter; it had never mattered! Only the wants and needs of others mattered; Dream would be happy if he kept others satisfied. From protecting the multiverse to doing errands in the Omega Timeline, Dream's duty was clear: spreading positivity! Making others happy! Piano lessons were just another thing to be added to the pile of unnecessary wants that Dream would never get to have, because the happiness of others was more important than his own. Dream didn't even remember half the things in that "pile," anyway, and he was sure that these music lessons would be forgotten, too, with time! Heck, Dream hardly remembered anything on that little list! Just his long-ago want to try tap dancing with Core Frisk, and his once-desire to go on a vacation! Well, he'd also wanted to try bungee jumping at one point. Going on a hike through a canyon or on a mountain or in a surface forest. And growing a garden. Sailing, and fishing. Going to a petting zoo. Riding a rollercoaster. He'd wanted to go clothes shopping for ages, but he'd never really had the time. And all the little things he'd had to put aside over the years, such as the dream of having three meals a day, or getting a full night's sleep for once (something he'd rather enjoyed having here). But it was unnecessary, anyway. All of it was unnecessary. They were stupid whims! Besides, there was so much stuff that he had done, and it was selfish of him to dwell on what he couldn't do. 

And he wasn't selfish. 

He was..selfless. He always had been, and he always would be. He had to be! 

He had to be. 

What kind of a Guardian of Positivity wasn't selfless? Not a very good one! And Dream was a good one! He had to give up the piano lessons; there was no alternative. Yes, he would regret it, and it would hurt him, but he was used to that type of pain; it would fade, with time. Everything faded with time. He needed to stop crying; crying was selfish, and he wasn't. Life wasn't fair, and it never would be for him; his job was to make it easier for others, not himself. He never should have asked Nightmare for the lessons in the first place; he never should have even spoken to him. It had weakened him. 

He could not be selfish.

Dream decided that he would end things with Plinko one-on-one instead of just going to Nightmare; maybe he wouldn't even have to talk to his brother at all! It was definitely just a hope, but it was good for Dream's mental state. So, three days after his last meeting with Plinko, Dream again entered the piano room..probably for the last time. Dream..would be fine. It wasn't as if he'd been taking lessons for years - just a couple months..a couple fruitless months. He hadn't really made any progress at all; there was nothing lost in quitting. He could find something else to do; there were plenty of books in the library to utilize in his search for a different hobby, after all! Dream sat down at the piano, looking down at the keys; Plinko must have already opened the lid..or maybe Dream had just forgotten to do that last time. 

"You ready to start?" Plinko asked. 

"Actually.." Dream started to speak, but..he couldn't find the words. Amazing, considering he'd practiced this a hundred times over in preparation. "I.."

"What is it now?" Plinko sighed irritably. "At this point, you're just wasting my time."

..Wasting his time?

"What are you talking about?" Dream's volume might have been a bit higher than he'd intended. "Wasting your time? All you've done for the past two months is waste my time! I'm sorry that you're here - I never meant for anyone to be harmed as a result of my actions - but that doesn't change the fact that you are here, and I am, too! And, I hate to say it, but you've been a horrible teacher! So horrible that I..I came here to quit - to give this stupid, selfish endeavor up..but I've spent my whole life giving things up! I don't want to give this up, too! Maybe it's selfish, but I've never gotten the chance to be selfish before! Nearly everything I've ever done after taking up my role was for others! Everything! I.." Dream paused, looking at Plinko with a frown before forcing himself to settle down. He bowed his skull before continuing. "This place is getting to me..I should go. I'm sorry.."

"No, hey.." Plinko took one of Dream's hands, offering him a small smile. "You're right - I've been a pretty bad teacher. I was angry, and I guess I was taking it out on you. But..no one should feel like they have to quit 'cause of a bad teacher. How about we start over, and I'll try harder to actually help this time, okay?"

"..Are you sure?" Dream inquired, looking up at his teacher; was this..actually happening?

"Yeah. And if I ever start acting like that again, don't be afraid to knock some sense into me, all right?"

"..Okay..? U-um..thank you.." Huh..Killer had been right; Fells did respond to bits of aggression..

"Sure thing. Now..let's start again from the beginning, and this time, let's do it right."

On the other side of a viewing portal, a certain King of Negativity smiled. Dream was always so receptive to kind words and apologies; his new pawn was doing better than he'd expected. And, with a little time, Dream would start to get the hang of accepting his own inner darkness.

All that Nightmare had to do was wait.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dream bean gets piano lessons!

Thanks for reading my patient writing!

Bye!

Chapter Text

The library was peaceful in the mornings. Well..it was always peaceful, but Dream came much more often in the mornings rather than the afternoons. His brother, on the other hand, came whenever he pleased. It was always tense when Nightmare decided to make an appearance while Dream was already there, but Dream couldn't really do anything about it, aside from hoping that Nightmare would leave him alone. Nine times out of ten, Nightmare didn't even look at him. Most of the time, Nightmare would simply pick out a book and relax with it, but other times...

"That's a good choice." Nightmare commented on the book in Dream's hands. 

The title of the story wasn't even on the page, and the cover and spine weren't in view; Nightmare either knew the story well enough to recognize it from a couple pages, or he just wanted to make small talk. Dream knew it was the former, because it was a good story. Nightmare was the highest authority the castle had regarding its reading material; he had read every book in the library more than once, after all - it was a wonder he'd ever had any time to do his evil deeds in between his reading. He..really was Dream's twin. That little boy he'd known so long ago who loved to read..it was still him. A selfish part of Dream wished that Nightmare would have given up that love, if only so Dream could deny the truth a little longer.

"What do you want, Nightmare?" Dream didn't want to drag this out.

"I want to spend a little time with you." Nightmare could be painfully honest sometimes. "It's been a while since we last spoke."

Three weeks and five days, to be exact. Their last encounter had been an accident; Dream had been careless and allowed himself to encounter his brother in the halls. After living for so long here, one would have thought he'd have been more careful. 

"I don't want to spend time with you." Dream didn't pull any punches. 

"..I know." Nightmare let out a sigh. 

"Don't try to make me take pity on you."

"It's been eight months, Dream..is that not enough time to even talk for a brief time without hostilities?"

"Last time I talked to you without hostilities, you tricked me into coming here. Why would I trust you again?"

"..Of course, you are right." Nightmare admitted. "Is there anything I can do for you, then? Anything you want, or need?"

"No." Dream didn't hesitate; he couldn't afford to do that. 

"..Very well. I'll be on my way, then. Have a good morning, Dream."

Nightmare walked off to do something else, leaving Dream alone again - good. Life had been a little stressful lately, and the last thing Dream needed was his brother pressing him for "quality time," or whatever he wanted. Dream had enough to deal with, from figuring out the best ways to spread positivity here without upsetting Nightmare to dealing with his piano teacher falling back into old habits every couple lessons. He was a good teacher for the most part, now, but..sometimes, he just needed a "reminder" that he couldn't drift through the lessons. Dream had started out unsure, but Killer's advice had helped; a firm tone went a long way in helping things get back on track. Dream simply relaxed a little more into the comfy chair of his choice and continued to read his story. A few chapters later, however, he decided to end his reading for the day and look for something else to do. It was one of his free days, and he didn't really have anything planned; he just wanted to relax a little, but now that he had, he felt the need to do something. What? He didn't know. But he would find something. And, when he looked up to see a familiar face nearby in the library, he decided to chance initiating a meeting. So he put a bookmark in his book, slid it into his inventory for later, and got up to approach someone that..he probably should have known better by now. 

After he'd learned about Nightmare's lies being..well, lies, Dream had made an effort to get to know the gang members a little more, and he'd quickly learned that they didn't want to be here any more than anyone else did - they had just been the first ones forced to come here. Dream felt awful that he had believed Killer, Horror, and Dust to just be evil lackeys at first, and he felt worse that he'd believed Nightmare's falsehoods about the four later on. But he'd been trying to make an effort to undo those things, and he believed he'd been making progress..with at least three of them. He spent time with Killer occasionally, finding that his different stages all had different personalities to get better acquainted with, although Stage Three didn't exactly like him too much, and he'd never met Stage Four. Stage Two was nice, though, and he'd always been very helpful whenever Dream really needed someone (Dream had tried to repay those favors, but aside from making crafts for the other, he didn't really know how). As for Stage One..well, he was just a kind soul. He was kind and tried to see the best in every situation, although he was a sight more emotional than any of the other stages. Except when it came to Nightmare..Dream's brother had done things to Killer that none of the stages liked to think about, much less speak of. The gang were his support group, though, and he was lucky to have them. 

As for Horror, Dream had tried to get to know him, too. Horror was a caring soul, and no one could take that from him (Nightmare had tried, apparently, but he'd fortunately been quite unsuccessful). His care spread from his teammates and friends to the plants he grew in his garden and the food he cooked - every bite conveyed the feeling that someone cared, and that someone was Horror. Despite not being an empath, Horror could easily tell how others around him were feeling, and..it was nice to know that someone was there, even if Dream wasn't that close with him. 

Cross was..well, he'd been Dream's friend before, and he was Dream's friend now! He was just a great friend, and in this place, Dream had come to rely on him a lot for advice. Dream was lucky to have a friend like him, really..he needed the support here; Cross and Blue were his closest friends in this place, and he..didn't know where he would have been without them. 

Dust..wasn't someone Dream really knew too well. When he'd first come here, Dust had talked with him a bit, and he'd seemed quite nice. Dream had only had a couple talks with him, though, and although they were pleasant, those talks had never been strictly about Dust; he didn't like to say much about himself. Most of the things Dream knew about him had been from observation or things told to him by others, never Dust himself. And, with the short skeleton being right here, this was a chance Dream wanted to take. 

"Good morning, Dust." Dream greeted.

The shorter skeleton (Dream had never really noticed just how short Dust was..Ink, of all people, might have been taller!) turned and looked up at Dream, acknowledging his presence, but avoiding eye contact and seeming..quite uncomfortable. "Uh..hi. You..need something?"

..Right, Dust was socially anxious. And Dream had approached him in a public place instead of somewhere the other felt safe, such as the gang's apartment. And to top it all off, Dust was alone - great going, Dream. 

"Oh, I'm sorry; I didn't..I'm sorry!" Dream suddenly didn't know what to say; was there anything he could say, at this point?

"..." Dust frowned. "Are you..okay?" 

"I just..you're uncomfortable, and I forgot, and-"

"It's okay." Dust assured, although Dream could tell that he was fiddling with something in his pocket to keep himself calm. "I'm not helpless, just..I'm all right. Do you need something?"

"..No, I just..well, I don't really know you that well, so I thought I'd come over and talk, if that's okay with you.."

"..Oh." 

"Is that a good 'oh' or a bad 'oh'?"

"..I'm not good at making friends." Dust replied. "Or talking about myself..or anything related to that stuff.."

"You're friends with the others, though."

"That's different.."

"How?"

"...Different circumstances."

Dream frowned, letting out a sigh. He should have known better. All of the previous friendly encounters he'd had with Dust had taken place somewhere in which the other felt safe, and this certainly wasn't one of those places, considering the fact that it was one of Nightmare's favorite places!

"I'm sorry for bothering you..maybe we can talk another time, somewhere you'd feel more comfortable?" Dream offered.

"..Sure." Dust nodded. 

"Thanks..I hope our next encounter goes a little smoother."

Dust smiled a little at that. "Me, too.."

With that, Dream walked away, not wanting to cause any more damage; he'd done enough. Dust had been nervous since the first word Dream had spoken, and, yet, Dream had just kept talking to him instead of immediately apologizing and leaving..stupid. What was wrong with him? He normally never would have even approached someone who he knew would have that type of reaction..

"You seem down." A voice Dream knew pulled him from his thoughts: Geno.

"I think there's something wrong with me." Dream admitted...and why was he admitting that?! Nightmare could have been listening! 

"..Well, what exactly is it? It might not be serious; maybe the context of something is leaving you confused, or perhaps your recent magic levels are affecting your moods."

"..I wish I could believe that. I just..I'm doing things differently. I'm talking to people differently, and I don't know why. Have you noticed anything off about me?"

Geno let out a hum. "Well, I won't lie to you; a couple months ago, you would've immediately noticed that you're in my way."

"I'm-" Dream paused, looking at Geno and the bookshelf behind himself; Geno had books that had to go on the shelf that Dream was blocking. "I'm sorry!"

Dream moved out of the way, and Geno got to work, but he continued the conversation, at least.

"It's all right; you're under a lot of stress, here." Geno reminded. "You're worried about a lot of little things, and maybe they're just obscuring your view of reality. Maybe you should try sating some of those worries."

"..I wouldn't know how to start, and that might not even be the problem!" Dream sighed. "How can I know? What if it's something completely different? What if I'm actually changing? What if Nightmare's doing something to me, and I don't even know, but I can't stop it?! What can I do-"

"Hey.." Geno put a hand on Dream's shoulder, and Dream found himself grabbing the hand with his own, perhaps in some subconscious attempt to ground himself. "Let's calm down a little, all right? Let's breathe a little deeper, and focus on one thing at a time. Can we do that?"

"..." Dream nodded, taking a couple deep breaths as he leaned against the bookshelf. "Sorry.."

"There's nothing to be sorry about; it's understandable. Everything you've done is understandable, Dream, okay?"

"..Okay."

"Now, let's go over some possibilities. Maybe the boss is doing something that you don't know about. You can't do anything about that, so there's no reason to worry about it, is there?"

"..I guess not."

"Exactly. Now, if you're changing..people change all the time."

"I..I don't, though. I've always been the same."

"Really?" Geno hummed. "Well, you were a kid once, right?"

"Everyone was a kid once, Geno." Well..most people had been, at least.

"Humor me. You were a kid, right?"

"..Yes, I was."

"And now you're an adult. You sure you're still the exact same person you were when you were a kid?"

Dream frowned, before shaking his skull. 

"I doubted it." Geno chuckled. "People change; you're no exception, Dream. And, for the record, you used to be the cockiest hero the multiverse had ever seen, at one point."

Dream couldn't stop the yellow tint that flooded to his face at the memories; those had been..interesting times..

"Yeah, you thought everyone forgot about those years, didn't you?" Geno smirked, chuckling. "I think you mellowed out pretty fast after that one brawl with the Destroyer, though."

"That was a long time ago!" Dream crossed his arms. "I..am not proud of that..or anything I did back then.."

"You were a teenager." Geno shrugged. "Teenagers think they're invincible, and you had the magical ability to back that thought process up, to a point."

"..I see your point. I guess I've changed a lot more than I thought.."

"Exactly. So, if you are changing now, it might just be a result of your surroundings, or something like that. No one stays the same as they were before after they've been here for a while - I've seen it happen over and over in my time here."

"I guess you're right." Dream nodded. "Thanks, Geno; you've given me a lot to think about.."

"Just keep it in perspective, Dream; you'll be all right."

"..I hope so."

Dream let Geno do his work, and he decided to leave the library; maybe some time alone in his room would help him clear his mind. At least he had confirmation that he was changing; he wasn't imagining it! Maybe it was because of his dulled abilities; even reading facial expressions had gotten a little harder, even though that wasn't related to his empathic abilities at all. Maybe..he was just losing a bit of spatial awareness? Just a little bit of his grip on reality? It wouldn't have been unexpected, truthfully; he had a lot on his mind. Maybe..that was all it was. 

Dream certainly hoped so.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dream bean talks to people!

Thanks for reading my dazed writing!

Bye!

Chapter Text

Ten months..it had seemed as if it had been so much longer. Dream had been through too many ups and downs to count, and it hadn't even been a year! He wondered how Ink was..he wondered how everyone on the outside was. But thoughts like those didn't stick around for long, since Dream had his little daily activities to keep him company, and he had a life in here. It wasn't anything like his old life had been, sure, but it was a life, and that was better than lying in bed all day! 

Although..sometimes, he wanted to. There were bad days as well as good ones. 

But today was a good day, and Dream was happy to treat it as such. He'd spent the morning at Buck's farm with Cross (he was allowed to visit every so often, as long as he had an escort), and he'd gotten back just in time for lunch; he'd even been lucky enough to find Blue in the cafeteria!

"That sounds nice." Blue smiled, once Dream was done telling him about his morning. "I'm glad you got to get out for a while."

"How's your day been, so far?" Dream inquired, as he ate his lunch - a sandwich, for a change in pace. One could only eat plain oatmeal so many times before it became sickening..

"Oh, I ended up getting called to deliver some clothes from the tailors, so I got to talk to Stitch for a couple minutes - it was nice."

"Oh, that's good!" Dream smiled, happy to hear such good news. "How is he doing?"

"He's as busy as ever, but he's all right. Got any plans for the rest of the day? Maybe I can help you."

"Well, there is one thing I'll need help with.." Dream nodded. "I was looking through some of those rooms filled with furniture the other day, and I found - I kid you not - the softest couch known to the multiverse! It's so cozy! But it's pretty big and bulky, since it's a couch, so I'm going to need help moving it to my room. You don't have to if you don't want to, though - I can ask someone else for help with it, if need be."

"Oh, no, you're not depriving me of that chance! How soft are we talking, here?" 

"You..you just have to touch it, honestly. It's probably some kind of anomalous piece of furniture that was never meant to exist, but does, for whatever reason."

"I look forward to seeing for myself!" Blue chuckled. "When do you want to move it?"

"Uh, whenever you're ready. I can wait."

"Well.." Blue finished his lunch - plain oatmeal..Nightmare really needed to learn the meaning of mercy. "I'm done! Let's go see this anomaly!"

Dream giggled, and the two dropped off their dishes before going to the third floor, where Dream had found the couch in question. It was just another unassuming room in the castle, but it held a dark (not really) secret: the couch.

"..Oh." Blue touched the couch, and he discovered the true nature of the inconspicuous sofa. "It..it is! This is crazy! What's this material?"

"I have no idea, but I love it!" Dream chuckled. "I think I might sleep on this thing, honestly! It's just so comfortable!"

"Well, let's get moving!"

Blue and Dream both grabbed an end of the couch, and the three-seater rose up off the ground easily, thanks to their combined strength! Once it was up, the two began their trek to Dream's room. The couch would even fit in with Dream's room, since it was cyan! It was as if it had been made specially for Dream! Of course, that was impossible, considering the fact that all this furniture had been made many centuries ago in a universe that had never heard of Dream, but it was still a nice couch! Dream and Blue ascended two floors with the couch, and soon enough, they reached their destination, where Dream opened the door before the duo finished the last part of their journey. The couch was put up against a wall, and the deed was done in no time. 

"Thank you so much, Blue." Dream hugged his friend. "You're the best."

"I doubt it." Blue rolled his eyelights. "But thanks. Do you need any more help?"

"Well..I do need someone to help me test out how comfortable it is when two people sit on it instead of one."

Blue chuckled. "Okay, but I can't stay long, if that's the only thing you need."

"I'm afraid it is." Dream admitted. "But I can't just show you a couch like this and not let you enjoy it; I'm not evil!"

"I would never think it!" Blue sat down on the couch. "Wow, this is comfortable.."

"I know!" Dream sat next to him. "It's absolutely perfect!"

"Well, don't forget about your friends when you start spending all your time with your couch." Blue joked.

"What friends? I've got all I need right here!" Dream laughed, patting the armrest.

"Ah, I'm too late; it's gotten him already!" Blue held a hand to his foreskull dramatically. 

"Join us!" Dream beamed as he reached his arms out to Blue. "Join us!"

"Never!" 

The two joked around for a little while longer before Blue had to go, at which point, Dream found that he had no other plans. Well, it was a good time to catch up on a little reading, then. It was a little ironic, Dream supposed; Nightmare had once used reading as an escape from his life, and now Dream was using it for just the same purpose..

Reading was a good way to escape, though; all those other worlds, just sitting in the pages of books..there was no reason not to use the stories to his benefit. Dream lay on his new couch, continuing to read the story he had started not too long ago - one about space pirates. Dream wondered if places like Outertale had space pirates..maybe he would ask, if he ever got the chance to go back there again. He hoped he would. Dream read until dinnertime, but that time just so happened to land in the midst of a giant battle between the space pirates and the space military! He couldn't put it down now! Dream decided to call up his meal tonight, not wanting to be dragged out of the story so soon. He ate a bowl of soup through the rest of the space battle, silently cheering when the space pirates came out on top; they were such a likable bunch!

Before Dream knew it, the moon had risen high into the sky, and it was time for bed. The footsteps from the halls fell silent as curfew set in, leaving Dream in silence, save for the flipping of pages. When he reached a chapter break, he let out a yawn, closing his book and putting it away for later; he could finish it tomorrow. When Dream had initially seen the size of the book, he'd thought it would last him a few weeks, but it wasn't going to last him much longer at all if he kept binge-reading like this. He wondered if it was part of a series - he hoped so! 

Dream got up from the couch and went to his closet, putting his current clothes into a hamper to be picked up by the laundry staff in a few days. He put on his new favorite pajamas, which, of course, Stitch had designed (Dream knew he shouldn't have been encouraging him since he was already overworked, but the look Stitch gave him when Dream agreed to let him make one of his designs for him made it so hard! And they were so good!), were cloud-themed, with a bright cyan sky and fluffy white clouds; there was even a sun on the back! And they were comfortable to sleep in, too! With a smile, Dream decided that he would sleep on his new couch tonight, and after moving over some of his plushies (there was no law against it!), a pillow, and a blanket, he turned out the lights and went to sleep.

Three hours later, Dream's doorknob jiggled. His door was unlocked. 

Nightmare didn't sleep often; in fact, he tried to avoid it when he could. He was lucky that he could go for a week without sleep and be just fine, but he still had to do it sometimes..and when he did, he just had to hope that he could avoid the horrifying images of his past. More often than not, he could sit in his little dream world and wait peacefully for the time to pass, but every so often, he would have to endure a night terror. One would have thought that those wouldn't affect him as much as others, and..one would have been horribly wrong. They did affect him..he hated them. Hence why he was sitting in his bed with a book, trying to put off the inevitable. It had been a week and three days..he needed to sleep before the lack thereof began to affect him. 

He just..didn't want to. 

The book he was reading was quite thrilling; it was the third installment of a ten-book series about space pirates. He'd read the series several times over, and he'd decided to start again, although he'd noticed that the first book had been missing when he'd gone for this one..perhaps someone else was reading it. They must have had good taste. As he read, he noticed when Dream finally fell asleep in the room next to his, and he was glad that his brother didn't have the hang-ups he did regarding sleep. Maybe, this time, he would actually fall asleep within the next hour! 

Doubtful.

He really did have a lot of work to do tomorrow; maybe he would have done better to get a head start on it. Maybe he would just do a little bit of work before bed..or he could have just kept reading. The hours ticked by as Nightmare continued to read his story, internally debating his options. But, finally, he decided to give up the fight. He closed his book and turned out his bedside light before lying down in his bed, and-

Huh..he felt shock and frustration from Dream's room. Odd..wasn't Dream asleep? Emotions this vivid wouldn't have come from someone dreaming, but Nightmare hadn't felt Dream wake up. Nightmare probed his surroundings a little more, finding something that gave him pause: there were two presences in Dream's room. There hadn't been before, though; Dream had been alone when he'd fallen asleep.

Something was wrong.

Nightmare wasted no time in teleporting to his brother's room, finding what could only have been described as one of his worst fears: someone was looming over his little brother with a knife! The assassin froze when they caught sight of Nightmare's eyelight, as they should have, and Nightmare quickly disabled them, covering their mouth with a tentacle and taking their weapon quickly and quietly; he didn't want to disturb his brother, who was sleeping soundly on a couch instead of his bed.

Upon a quick inspection, it seemed that Dream had made the right choice; there was a cut in his mattress..

Nightmare would have been too late, if..

No, no, no - he had to focus on the task at hand, which was figuring out the motive and identity of this would-be murderer. He teleported the offender out into a hall a couple floors down, to avoid waking Dream, and he slammed the other against a wall, willing the lights on so he could see their sorry face. The assassin was..

Rather unexpected, but at least it wasn't one of Dream's friends - just one of the kitchen staff, an Undyne of whom Nightmare had never bothered to learn the name. That explained the knife and the willingness to kill, at least. 

"Well, have we got a story, or did we just want to die tonight?" Nightmare asked, softly. "Because, if it was the latter, you're in for a treat."

"You..you're corrupting him!" The Undyne yelled. "He's already gone too far - I had to spare him from any more suffering! You're going to ruin him! He was the only goodness in this place, and you're corrupting him! Soon, there won't be anything left of him!"

"..And your plan was to kill him, just to prevent him from falling any further? You have some..interesting thought processes, I'll admit."

Heads were poking out of doors as a result of this loudmouth's shouting, but that was fine; Nightmare would just have a little more work to do. 

"Alas, fate was unkind to you tonight." Nightmare chuckled lowly. "Luckily for you, though, you'll never have to worry about that again. You see, I don't take threats on my little brother's life lightly, and you have to die now. But, since I have time, I shall extend a mercy to you: any last words?"

"I..I hope you choke to death on my dust!" The Undyne wished, and Nightmare couldn't help but let out a laugh. 

"We'll see."

Nightmare ended the would-be assassin's life in an instant, not wanting to drag it out; he was too tired for that. Once the dust hit the floor, he looked around at the witnesses, deciding on what to say to them; if he said nothing, word of this would spread quickly, and..he didn't want that.

"Word of this is not to reach Dream." He informed. "And if it does, whoever told him will die in a far more painful way than this one did, after a long stay in the dungeon. One of you - I don't care who - clean this dust up. No one sleeps until it's all gone."

With that settled, Nightmare went down to the first floor; he needed something specific, and there were few people with the ability to help him right now. It was good to have people who had sworn their allegiance (albeit unwillingly) to him. After a couple hard knocks on a door and a half a minute of waiting (Nightmare couldn't really hold it against them - it was the middle of the night, after all, and Nightmare didn't show up at their door that often in the first place), Nightmare received the answer he desired.

"..Boss..?" Killer yawned, lookking at his king with confusion. "What's going on?"

"Someone just tried to kill my brother." Nightmare's quiet announcement did wonders to wake the members of his gang up the rest of the way.

"What?!" Cross came to the front of the group next to Killer, practically dripping with worry. "I-is he okay?!"

"He is fine; he didn't even wake up. However, I don't wish for him to know of this event; by whatever divine luck my brother seems to have, he decided not to sleep in his bed tonight, and it unfortunately sustained damage. I need you four to get a mattress identical to his previous one and swap them out before he wakes up."

"..Permission to ask a question about that decision?" Cross requested.

"..Permission granted."

"Wouldn't Dream be a little more receptive to what you want, if he found out you saved his life?"

"..Go get the mattress." Nightmare wasn't going to answer that question. "I do not wish for Dream to know, and you will question my decision no further - is that clear?"

"..Of course, boss."

"We'll get right on it, boss!" Killer assured. 

"Good. I expect you to leave no trace that anything out-of-the-ordinary happened tonight."

The gang members nodded, and Killer opened a portal to a different AU for the four to seek out a mattress. Once the four were gone, Nightmare let out a quiet sigh; this night had certainly been something. He went back up to his room soon after, crawling under the covers and giving in to the need to sleep. With any luck, Dream would never find out, and everything would be just fine.

If only convincing several hundred people to all keep their mouths shut were easy.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dream bean is saved by a couch and Nightmare sausage!

Thanks for reading my killer writing!

Bye!

Chapter Text

People had been acting odd lately. It had started with just a few people, but over the course of three days, more and more people had been acting off, and Dream had no idea why! He'd asked his friends, a good portion of the castle's staff, and even some of the castle gossips, but no one had any answers for him! He was beginning to wonder if he had finally just gone crazy; maybe he'd lost it. Whenever he left his room, he felt eyes on him - more than usual - and when he turned to find the source, he found people quickly looking away. He'd gone through so many scenarios in his head, wondering what had caused it, but there was no valid explanation! Was it the couch? Had it been some sort of special couch that the castle's inhabitants had held in high regard? Dream doubted it, but this had all begun the day after he'd taken it to his room; he was grasping at straws, here. All he knew was that three days ago, something must have happened, and he wanted to get to the bottom of it! 

Of course, he would need a plan first. And, luckily, he had a place to start!

"Okay, so, either I've lost my mind, or something's up, and I'd like to know which!" Dream explained, looking at his two closest friends. "And I'd like to enlist your help in determining it!"

"..Are you sure this is a good idea?" Cross wasn't enthusiastic about this, but that was to be expected; he didn't like taking unnecessary risks. 

"Absolutely!" Dream grinned. "So, here's the working plan: obviously, whatever's happening is related to some sort of news being passed around the castle, and since information doesn't just pop into people's heads, someone is telling others about it! If we can eavesdrop on some conversations, at least one of us should be able to figure out what happened. And, since neither of you know about it yet, there is the chance that someone will just tell you! So, are you in?"

Blue and Cross looked at eachother, both fighting the urge to frown; they knew exactly what had happened three nights ago..they just couldn't let Dream know. They had to play along now, though..Dream didn't know the severity of what he was asking.

"Um..sure." Blue nodded. "We'll do our best!"

"Great!" Dream nodded confidently. "In that case, I'll start now, and you two can see what you pick up during your days!"

"..Sounds good!" Cross feigned enthusiasm. 

"All right, we'll meet at lunch, then?"

Dream's friends nodded, and he gave them a grin before walking off, ready to do some eavesdropping! Now, listening to other people's conversations wasn't exactly a moral or noble thing to do, but it was certainly a way to get information that people didn't want to give willingly, and Dream was currently struggling with just such a situation! It wasn't as if he was hurting anyone, anyway; it was just like a reconnaissance mission! Dream just had to keep out of sight, remain inconspicuous, and pay close attention to his surroundings. With a few supplies for activities and books to make himself look as if he were focused on something else, Dream moved to a corner connecting some hallways up, leaned against a wall that would leave him out of the sight of most people, and started to look busy, listening out for the conversations around him. 

"Do you really think that'll work?" 

"Of course! This AU's always freezing, and there isn't a law that we can't go outside; it must be great for ice skating out there! All we have to do is find a lake that's frozen!"

Interesting..but not exactly something that concerned him. 

"Ugh, lucky - I've been working overtime just to be able to afford some actual flavor in my food."

Dream could understand the desire for flavor; he'd given in to the temptation for variety quite a while ago.

"I heard someone found an apple the other day, and the boss went ballistic!"

Could that have been..? No, it wouldn't have explained everything. 

Dream leaned against that wall for hours, but he heard nothing that could have explained his situation. Had he gone insane? Was he just paranoid? But there were so many things that couldn't be explained by that! Like how all the stains and small rips in the fabric of his bed had magically disappeared, or why people kept staring at him! He knew they were staring at him; he'd caught them too many times to count. But maybe he was imagining it. Maybe the maids had sneaked into his room when he was asleep to tidy up a little, and maybe he'd always had people staring at him, but he'd only just begun to notice it! Perhaps his friends were just a little more hesitant around him because he was visibly losing his mind..maybe people were staring at him because there was something wrong with him. Was insanity visible? Was paranoia so easily detected? Were people just worried about him?

He didn't know; maybe it was all in his head.

Ten months was a long time for the mind, after all..

He must have lost it...

"You were sick? I guess that makes sense. Did you hear about the incident?"

"No, hear what? I was cooped up in my room for a week; did something happen?"

"Yeah, it was crazy; some Undyne from the kitchen tried to kill Dream in his sleep!"

"Woah..is he okay?"

"Yeah, the boss caught her before she could do anything - dusted her, too, and from what I heard, he looked worried! I didn't think it was possible! But don't bring it up around Dream - boss has a death threat looming over the first one to tell him."

"Huh..that must be crazy; I certainly wouldn't want to not know that someone tried to kill me!"

...

What..?

Dream didn't go to the cafeteria; he went to his room, where he collapsed onto his bed. His arms instinctively grabbed his stuffies as he curled up, processing what he had just heard.

Someone had tried to kill him..?

And..Nightmare had saved him? He'd looked worried?

But that couldn't have been! Nightmare didn't care about Dream; he couldn't have! Nightmare just..tolerated Dream. Yes, that was it! He couldn't have been worried..maybe he had just been a little tired - it had happened during the night, right? Someone had tried to murder Dream, and Nightmare had tried to keep it a secret from him?! That didn't sound like the type of behavior one would have expected from someone who cared! 

Unless Nightmare had been worried that-

No! Dream must have only heard part of the story, and he was missing something; that was always what happened when people eavesdropped in books and movies! That was just the way the world worked! In fact, if Dream were to call Nightmare right now, he was sure that his brother would have had a plausible explanation for everything! 

Nightmare didn't care about Dream; he was overreacting over nothing. 

But..he wanted to be sure. Dream let out a long sigh before going out his door to the bells, and he grabbed the black one gingerly. Did he really want to do this? What if...

No, he had to figure this out; he needed to speak with his brother, who would undoubtedly put all his fears to rest! After all, Nightmare had been there..he would be able to explain what exactly had happened. And he would have undoubtedly been ready to deny his care for Dream! Not that he had done that before - in fact, he had told Dream over and over that he cared - but that was just a ploy to manipulate him! Dream wasn't going to fall for that old trick!

Everything would be fine.

With his mind clear and his goal set, Dream rang the bell, calling his brother. Nightmare appeared nearby, and the people walking the halls made themselves scarce, as they always tended to when Nightmare was around. Dream put the bell back before turning to his twin, unsure of how to start. Well..there was always the tried-and-true line.

"Nightmare..we need to talk." Dream informed.

Nightmare's expression fell for a moment, but it seemed that he had been preparing himself for the eventuality that Dream could find out, as he recovered quickly. He let out a sigh before guiding his brother into Dream's room, where they could talk privately. The two sat on Dream's new couch, and a moment of silence passed before Nightmare began the inevitable conversation. 

"Who told you?" He inquired.

"No one - I heard others talking about it." Dream didn't want anyone to get killed over this. "Is it true? That..someone tried to kill me?"

"..." Nightmare looked down. "Yes."

"And..you saved my life?"

"..Yes."

"Why?"

"I..I've spent too much time on you; I couldn't just stand by while someone wasted decades of my work."

"..I want to believe that." Dream admitted. "I really, really do want to believe that I'm nothing but a fancy trophy to you..but we both know that isn't the case."

Nightmare leaned back against the sofa, letting out a sigh as he stared at the ceiling instead of the floor. "This wasn't supposed to happen. I never planned to save you from an assassination attempt; if I had, you would have heard of it before now. I don't want you to look at me differently because of it; we can go back to the way things were."

"Nightmare, we can't do that; you know we can't."

"Why can't we?" Nightmare asked, finally looking at his twin. "I haven't planned for this, Dream! I don't..this is ridiculous!"

Nightmare stood up from the couch; he couldn't bear it any longer. He paced towards one of the windows, and Dream followed him. 

"..You're nervous." Dream noticed. "I've..never seen you like this - not since we were little.."

"..I am not a child." Nightmare crossed his arms, avoiding Dream's gaze. 

"I never said you were."

Nightmare was uncomfortable; it was painfully evident. His plan had been derailed, and he didn't know what to do. He was vulnerable..and he wasn't running away to hide it. He was staying, despite how exposed it made him feel. But..if Nightmare didn't care..

People didn't show their vulnerabilities to their enemies. 

"Nightmare.." Dream looked at his brother. "I want you to answer a question..truthfully. If..if you can do that, then..we'll see. We can end this right now; you can leave, and I'll forget it ever happened, okay?"

"..What is your question?" Nightmare asked, quietly.

"Do you care about me? Do you actually care about me? Were you acting out of care that night when you saved me, or was it just for personal gain? Tell me..please."

The room fell silent. Nightmare leaned on the windowsill, looking down at the garden that lay so far below. If he wanted, he could run - he could escape the question, and Dream would have taken it how he wished..but he didn't. Nightmare raised his gaze to meet Dream's, and he gave his answer.

"I do." He admitted. "I told you before; I care about you, and I want to be your brother again..but I want you to accept me for who I am, instead of who you want me to be. I wasn't exaggerating or trying to trick you..I love you, Dream. You are the only family I have, and life is..life is cold without the knowledge that someone will be there. But I wanted you to come to me; I didn't want to force you into anything. You needed time, so I was giving you time. This..all this was never meant to happen. I had never imagined that someone would try to hurt you, much less kill you! I..suppose I could have handled it better, but I didn't. I was afraid of losing you..again."

Well, that was that. Nightmare cared, and there was nothing Dream could do to deny it now. There were no excuses he could use. Nightmare hadn't just said he cared; he'd done something to back it up, and he'd even sacrificed some of his reputation in the process - people had seen him and recognized that he'd been worried, something that Nightmare never typically was. 

All because of Dream.

"..Why did you try to hide it from me?" Dream looked down. 

"You would have thought it a mere stunt to gain your trust, and that would have hurt our relationship." Nightmare shrugged. "I didn't want to take that risk, so I had to hide it. And, even if you believed it, you still would have rejected me, as you'll likely do now. Bold displays like that never end well..I thought it best that you would never find out."

"But I did find out."

"Yes..and I have no doubt that this will do nothing but harm." 

"..Do you always see the worst in your circumstances?"

"I am usually right to do so; hope has never been kind to me."

Dream frowned. "Well...I guess that's that."

"I suppose so. Go ahead then, and tell me what a pathetic display this all was.."

"I'm..not going to do that."

"..Aren't you?" Nightmare seemed confused.

"Nightmare..I've spent my entire time here trying to convince myself that you didn't care, because if you did..I couldn't imagine the idea of opposing someone who cares. And now, you've just shattered that into a million pieces.."

"..So what does this mean? Are you going to rule the multiverse with me? I doubt it, from your tone.."

"No, Nightmare, I'm not going to be your prince..but I want to be your brother, if you'll have me."

"You..do?"

Dream chuckled. "Of course I do. I care about you, too, Nightmare. And, while I don't want to help you take over the multiverse or anything like that, you..you're my family, too. I wanted for so long to have my brother back, but I didn't want..I wanted someone else. But you aren't someone else; you're you, and..you are my brother. I can't keep denying that."

"..Are you sure?"

Dream smiled. "Of course I'm sure. It might be difficult at first, but..I want my brother back, too. I've missed you.."

Dream moved to hug his brother, but Nightmare didn't pull back, instead reciprocating. The two hugged for a little while in silence, before it finally got to the point that it was dreadfully uncomfortable to do so.

"Dream, I hate to say it, but I'm burning up." Nightmare informed. 

"..Yeah, you feel like wet snow.." Dream nodded, pulling away with a small shiver. 

"So..about my request.."

"Which one?" 

"I want to be the older one."

"Are you still hung up on that?" Dream let out a giggle. "All right, you can have that; I guess saving my life falls into that sort of category."

"Thank you, Dream. I..I love you."

Maybe it was a twinge of insanity, or maybe Dream had just lost the will to fight it any longer. Perhaps the show of vulnerability or the fact that Nightmare had proved his care for him had swayed Dream's decision. But..maybe having his brother back was just what Dream needed. He wasn't going to give him up again.

"You're welcome, and I love you, too..brother."

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dream bean does the thing!!1!!!

Thanks for reading my attentive writing!

Bye!

Chapter Text

Dream hadn't known how much he'd really missed his brother until he'd finally gotten him back. After only a week with Nightmare being properly back in his life, Dream couldn't imagine going through even a day without his brother; how had he gone all those years without him? Nightmare was such good company, and..he cared. And there was so much to catch up on, after all these years! This morning, the brothers were in Nightmare's room, talking over a breakfast that Nightmare had decided on; Dream had never tried this type of cuisine before, since it was from a more-negative AU that Dream had never visited, but it was quite good!

"After that, Ink came to find me, and I had to go back home, but it was fun while it lasted!" Dream smiled, recalling a memory from his childhood.

"I can't imagine the notion of growing up in a place like the Doodlesphere." Nightmare hummed. "Were you ever tempted to use the gateways to explore different AUs?"

"Oh..tempted is an understatement! Believe it or not, I had quite the rebellious phase when I was a teenager; looking back, I'm surprised Ink didn't disown me after some of the stunts I pulled.."

Nightmare chuckled. "I only remember a little from those days; it was so long ago. What exactly did you do, if I may ask?"

"Well, I sneaked out of the Doodlesphere at least once a week, and, for some reason, I was magnetically attracted to the worst possible AUs at the time! Seriously - it must have been a curse. I found myself in the middle of riots and literal wars sometimes, and other times, I popped up in universes that were incredibly anti-monster! I was actually arrested a few times for being a monster, and Ink had to rescue me every time; I was so embarrassed! Oh, and then there's all the crazy hobbies I tried to pick up, too - I..don't think I had much of a brain back then. On the bright side, I can ride a motorcycle and drive a car, but on the not-so-bright side, I nearly killed myself over a dozen times doing dumb stuff with those skills.."

"..And, here, I thought spreading negativity throughout the multiverse was bad.." Nightmare hummed. 

"Oh, I think I unintentionally did a lot of that when I was young, but, eventually I came around to doing my real job."

"And how are you enjoying your break from it?"

"..Life here is really different." Dream shrugged. "I..didn't realize I was pushing myself so hard, and I guess no one else did, either. I suppose only you would know, really..you know what it's like."

"I've had much more experience." 

"Yeah..but I'm glad things turned out the way they did, despite all the mistakes I've made; at least I had a childhood, and, now, I have you back; what more could I really want?"

"..There is much more that you could want, Dream."

"I..I know, brother; I just..I can't. Even though we've come closer like this and bonded so much recently..my loyalties still lie with Ink and the protection of the multiverse; I can't join you - not like you want."

Nightmare sighed. "Does Ink really mean that much to you?"

"I know you don't understand, Nighty..but Ink raised me, and although he wasn't the greatest parent, he did his best. He taught me everything he knew about the world to try to educate me, and he didn't abuse or needlessly endanger me. He was..a better parent than our mother could have ever hoped to be; he tried, and that's what counts. To me, he's not just a friend; he's family, and he always will be."

"But I'm your family, too."

"..But I can't choose both." Dream shook his skull. "And I made my choice a long time ago; I can't betray everything I've ever worked for, even for you. I'm sorry, brother.."

Nightmare sighed. "I understand. But..the offer stands, if you ever change your mind. I'd never turn my back on you - not again. I understand that your choice is a result of my mistakes..I will abide by it..until you change your mind and join me."

Dream chuckled. "I doubt that'll happen, but I guess I can't blame you for the positive thinking!"

"So out of character for me!" Nightmare gave a small smile. "Well..at least you're here."

"Yeah..so, what were your teenage years like, brother?"

Nightmare chuckled at the question, and the two continued to talk for a while more before they inevitably had to end their pleasant conversation; they both had things to do, after all. Dream had plans, and Nightmare had work, leaving them both busy for most of the day, but they would meet again tonight for dinner, when they would again enjoy eachother's company. 

"See you tonight, brother!" Dream waved a little goodbye, smiling at his big brother with care that Nightmare hadn't received in ages; it was good to feel it again.

"Of course." Nightmare nodded. "See you then, brother."

Dream left the room, and Nightmare couldn't help but smile. Well, his plan hadn't gone exactly as he'd hoped, especially with this little murder plot, but it was progressing nonetheless. Having Dream around willingly had certainly put Nightmare in a better mood recently, and although the castle's inhabitants had noticed it, he didn't really mind; he had his little brother back. Dream was a ray of sunshine, and after all this time, he'd decided to let Nightmare see his light again. All that was left was to convince Dream to switch sides; once his brother did that, Nightmare would never have to worry about losing him ever again! It was only a matter of time before Dream would fall, especially with Cross's assistance; Nightmare's little brother had always been open to advice from his friends, and Cross had always been a good friend to him..Nightmare just had to wait. One day, Dream would come up to him and ask him for a place by his side, and he would finally become the prince this little empire deserved. 

But that wouldn't happen for quite some time; Dream had only just begun to learn selfishness, after all. There were so many traits that Dream needed to learn before he would understand his true place in this world. But he would learn them; Dream was a good student, after all, and he subconsciously picked up on more than he knew. He'd even left his dishes behind in favor of getting to do what he'd planned for today faster - great progress. 

Nightmare was proud.

In the middle of calling someone up to grab the dishes, Nightmare..felt something. A spark of positivity, located on the first floor in the cafeteria. Not concerning - perhaps someone had just ordered a dessert, or something. But..it lasted a bit long for that, and it was growing in a way Nightmare recognized. It wasn't Dream; his brand of spreading positivity felt much different from this. 

It was Killer and his blasted flute again.

For some reason, there was one part of Killer that Nightmare just couldn't break - a part that seemed to exist solely to spite him: Stage Three. From spreading positivity in the castle through music to going out of his way to disobey Nightmare's orders (and, often, to do the exact opposite), Stage Three was a menace. Nightmare much preferred Stage Two; if Killer had only been that part of himself, Nightmare would have liked him a lot more. Unfortunately, the overly-emotional, spiteful, and downright-murderous parts of Killer existed alongside the obedient one, and Nightmare had no concrete power over which stage Killer would be in at any moment - he could only do his best to change them when he got to his subordinate. And so, Nightmare teleported to the cafeteria to find Killer in Stage Three, playing a happy tune that seemed to instantly lift the spirits of everyone present. 

Disgusting.

Nightmaremarched over and snatched the wooden flute that Killer had been playing, snapping it into quarters before glaring darkly at his subordinate. 

"You are nothing but a pain." He growled, taking one of the sharper pieces of the flute and jamming it into Killer's shoulder hard enough to pierce the bone. "You may as well make yourself useful by reversing your damage; go wreak havoc in a universe..and don't bother returning until you've gained two LV."

That was a tall task, for someone with Killer's obscene amount of LV - it might have taken over a day of straight murder. The order managed to render Nightmare's subordinate speechless, for once - a small victory, but not enough for the King of Nightmares.

"Well?" Nightmare wanted nothing more than to hear Stage Three obey him. "Are you going to obey, or do I have to drag you out myself?"

Stage Three stared in silent shock for just a moment longer before bowing his skull. "Of course, boss.."

"Then get to it!"

But Killer didn't move. Far from it, in fact - he could have been mistaken for a lovingly-made statue, if he weren't so annoying.

Nightmare crossed his arms. "What is the problem, Killer?"

"I'm waiting on you, boss - you gonna drag me out, yet?" Killer lifted his skull with a sharp smirk.

Well, that was that.

"Nevermind, Killer." He decided. "Four LV. I'll see you in my office in three days."

Regret seeped from Killer's soul for a moment before it was pushed down, but Nightmare took pleasure in the fact that it had existed at all. Killer silently went through a portal to start his killing spree, and after one glare from Nightmare, the cafeteria became much more negative - better. Nightmare left, having better things to do than intimidating the castle staff. Killer would return in a few days, and Nightmare had a feeling that it would be a while before he decided to do this again. And Killer would return; Nightmare had no doubts about that. Although something such as this would have been a tempting chance to try to escape from Nightmare's clutches, there wss something that tied each of his gang members to the castle: eachother. They cared deeply for eachother, and they never would have tried to escape without all four of them being present, which was just why Nightmare accompanied them on missions that involved the entire gang. And with Dream here, now, perhaps he wouldn't have to worry at all; Cross was too attached to Dream to leave him behind, after all, and the other three wouldn't go without him. But..Nightmare still wasn't going to present such an opportunity to them; he rather enjoyed going out every so often, after all.

Of course, there were other things keeping the four here, such as fear. When Dust had first "joined" the gang, he'd spent most of his time trying to escape, and he'd learned well the penalties for trying to run from his king. At some point, every member of his gang had tried, but they'd all stopped long ago, each of their wills broken one by one; it was nice to know that all his hard work had paid off. None of the gang members would ever try to escape, and everything would be just fine. Once Dream finally joined Nightmare's side, almost everything would be perfect..but, of course, Nightmare had to wait for that outcome. He was excited, though; he'd waited a long time for all his wishes to come true.

As Nightmare walked the halls toward his room, he had the pleasure of passing Dream, who gave him a smile and a wave as he went about his own day. It was nice to have a brother who was on good terms with him for once; it did wonders to lift Nightmare's mood, especially on top of knowing that Killer was out suffering. Dream was walking with Blue, at the moment, who didn't hesitate to give Nightmare a death glare when Dream wasn't looking; Blue knew exactly what Nightmare wanted, and he despised him even more than he had before because of it - how nice. He would try to get Dream to go back on his decision, but Dream wouldn't listen; he was far too deep in his conviction to go back now. Eventually, though, Blue would give up and just focus on the parts of Dream he did like, in favor of not losing his friend. At least, that was what Nightmare hoped for; it would have been annoying if Blue did anything else. But there was always the chance that he would have done something even more entertaining! Nightmare would just have to wait and see, wouldn't he?

The future looked bright.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Nightmare sausage is not nice!

Thanks for reading my progressing writing! 

Bye!

Chapter Text

Dream was falling right into Nightmare's hands. He spoke eagerly of the new things he learned about his brother, as well as the interesting conversations the two shared. Dream and Nightmare spent meals together, put time aside to spend with eachother, and even went on little day trips every so often. They had done so for a couple months, and the fact that Dream had been here for a year now didn't seem to weigh as heavily on him as it should have. Nightmare's plan for him was progressing at an unprecedented rate, no doubt highly-influenced by the assassination attempt that had started this trend. It was ironic, really: instead of stopping Dream's fall, the attempt had quickened it. With each passing day, the brothers grew closer, and Dream became more and more what Nightmare wanted him to be.

And it was all Cross's fault. 

Subtle hints, nudges toward Nightmare's desires, even..even advice. Cross was a horrible friend; he'd sent Dream down this dark path with words of reassurance and comfort, and now there was no saving him. Blue had tried, and he had failed. Blue was a better friend than Cross was; he'd called out Dream's behavior from the start and made it a point to remind Dream that Nightmare was an evil tyrant who only wanted Dream for his own selfish gains..but the words of a true friend only went so far in convincing someone, it seemed, when the words of a false friend had done so much damage already. 

Blue didn't go on those rants much anymore, but he still made remarks about Nightmare's blatant vileness, never missing an opportunity to point out Nightmare's evils to Dream..but there was no saving Dream now. The positive spirit waved every incident off, and Cross couldn't tell whether he did so because he truly believed what he was saying or because he was too tired to stand back up and fight.

Maybe it was a little of both.

"The boss removed some of the best items from the menu in the cafeteria yesterday." Blue informed, as the trio walked through the castle. "Did you see that?"

"Oh, yes, I did." Dream nodded. "But he replaced them with equally-as-good options, so does it really matter?"

"..It matters to the people who lost their favorite meals."

"But I'm sure the variety will appeal to them; they'll be all right."

Blue sighed; Dream was listening neither to his friend nor to himself, apparently. Just a few months ago, an event such as this would have gotten on Dream's nerves, but now, it didn't even phase him..

And Cross had to play his role.

"Cross, any opinion on the matter?" Blue was alone, but he didn't know it yet.

"Um..well, I've seen worse." Cross shrugged. "Meal rotations are fairly common; I'm sure those old ones will come back at some point."

"See?" Dream smiled. "Everything will be just fine, Blue; it's normal."

Cross didn't miss the glare that Blue aimed at him, but he didn't comment on it, either. He deserved it, after all. Ten minutes later, Dream decided to end the trio's little get-together.

"Is it really five o'clock already?" Dream let out a hum. "I have to go; I'm meeting my brother for dinner."

"Again?" Blue was hardly surprised, but he still felt the need to ask.

"Well, yeah - I didn't have any other plans, so.." 

"Have fun." Cross wished.

"Thanks! I'll see you guys tomorrow!"

"See you.." Blue sighed.

With Dream gone and the tension that even being near Blue brought right now, Cross decided-

"Cross." Blue put a halt to Cross's escape.

"..Yes, Blue?" Cross responded, not turning to face his old friend.

"II didn't want to believe it; I thought I was just on-edge, or something, or I misunderstood. But..I've been watching and listening for a long time now, Cross. I've listened to your advice and comments to Dream, and..I just can't ignore it anymore." Blue approached the monochrome soldier, facing him with a frown. "You're helping him, aren't you?"

Cross looked down; he couldn't do anything else.

"Why?" Blue asked. "Dream is your friend, Cross..why are you doing this to him?"

"..Blue, you.." Cross wasn't ready for this. "It's.."

"It's what? Complicated? Cross, Dream is your friend! The boss is a sadistic tyrant! Why are you siding with him? I know you, Cross! I was your teammate for five years! I was the one who got up with you at six in the morning to train every day! I did everything I could to get to know you better and make you feel welcome when you joined us! We are friends, too, and that's why I know you wouldn't do this without a reason, so what is your reason, Cross?! Why are you doing this?!"

"..I.." Cross found himself looking into Blue's eyelights, and in the light of familiarity, he knew that his old friend wasn't going to let him leave until he was given a reason. 

"Well?"

"..I'm..I'm not the person you knew back then, Blue. I've..changed. I'm not the brave warrior I tried so hard to be when I was with you three; can't you see that? I..I don't have that courage anymore; I'm not brave at all. I just..I just do what I'm told."

The spark in Blue's eyelights faded as the words sank in, and his anger turned to sadness as he began to realize the truth.

"You..but it's him, Cross..what about standing up for what's right?" Blue tried to appeal to a side of Cross that he knew was still there. "It doesn't matter if you aren't brave; you can still help others in small ways, Cross! You can still defy that monster who calls himself a king!"

"..It's not just him, Blue." Cross shook his skull. "There are so many things you don't know about - things you can't know about. I..I'm sorry, Blue; I can't do what you want. You've always been a good friend to me, and I value every moment we've shared. I'm..I'm even glad that you called me out; only a true friend would. But..I have to do this. I'm sorry."

His friend stared at him with pity that he didn't deserve. "..What did he do to you..?"

Cross looked down, letting out a sigh. "..Too much, Blue."

Cross moved to leave, and Blue let him. Cross hated to do this, but..he had to. There was no other option; he had come too far to turn back now.

He had people counting on him.

...

But that knowledge didn't make it hurt any less.

Cross returned to the gang's apartment, letting out a soft sigh as he closed the door behind him. At least his brothers were here; they could always cheer him up. Well, perhaps Horror was out, since Cross didn't see him. Dust and Killer were sitting on the couch together quietly, with Dust reading a book while Killer - Stage Two at the moment - was carving away at a piece of wood, and by the shape, Cross assumed he was making a new flute - it had been a couple months since the last one, but..well, that had been Nightmare's fault. He'd ordered Killer to accumulate four LV in one go, which, for someone with his sheer amount of it already, was..just a horrible idea. He'd been bedridden for three days after that incident, suffering from an LV spike that Cross couldn't have ever imagined; he didn't have nearly as much as Killer, and the pain - the feeling of blades being driven into one's body over and over, twisting through every inch of bone and marrow and driving through one's soul, the simultaneous burning and cold, and the dozens of other symptoms to deal with alongside them (delirium, madness, nausea, numbness or extreme stimulation or both, hallucinations, and so, so many more) - was already unbearable for him. Nightmare deserved a special form of retribution for all he put his gang members through.

Out of all the gang members, Killer had the highest LV, with his total after that incident being an unbelievable eighty-two. Due to how LV worked, such levels of LV were practically unheard of, since, every twenty levels, the required total EXP to advance the next twenty was increased tenfold from the previous amount. Getting to twenty was easy: one hundred thousand EXP was enough. Getting to forty? It required one million total EXP. And over the years, Nightmare had sent Killer out enough times to kill innocents and cause chaos that Killer had finally reached that one hundred million EXP mark..and a little more. It wasn't something Killer was proud of, though; none of the gang members were proud of their LV. It was just a reminder of their tormentor and twisted pasts..and the things they had to go through in order to gain it.

Gaining that much EXP in only a few days was difficult - impossible, if one murdered only one person at a time. But Nightmare demanded results, and as a result, all of his gang members had turned into quite capable killers, using whatever they needed to use in order to carry out the orders they had been given. Killer had used high-intensity explosives to destroy a good chunk of a highly-populated city to gain his last four levels, but he'd made sure to limit the destruction; he didn't want to gain more LV than he had to. If he'd wanted the LV, he'd have blown up the entire city, which probably would have skyrocketed him above one hundred. As it stood, though, he'd only gained four LV - only what Nightmare had demanded of him. Killer was good at that; he gave his king what he wanted, but nothing more, nothing extra.

Dust's LV was the next highest in the gang, sitting at seventy-four LV; he got in trouble just a little less than Killer did, and as a result, Nightmare didn't punish him with the task of gaining LV as much..because it was a punishment. At twenty, LV spikes began, and they were horrible enough for Nightmare to use them alone as a punishment for disobedience or wrongdoings..Cross would have preferred to be beaten, honestly.

Horror had joined the gang almost a decade after Killer and Dust had been taken by Nightmare, which meant, naturally, that his LV was lower as a result. Although, when he had first joined, Nightmare had forced him up to twenty, just to provide the starting point for LV spikes; he knew exactly what he was doing. Horror had sixty-four LV.

Cross had joined the gang without any of the stuff, but Nightmare, as with Horror, had changed that as soon as he could. Over the course of his first couple days, Cross had risen to twenty, and in the years since then, his LV had reached forty-seven. It made him feel sick to think about it. Once, long ago, Cross never would have considered killing another being except in self-defense, but now, he could do it without a second thought. 

But..that was life, under Nightmare's rule. 

Cross hoped that it wouldn't last. 

"Hey, Crossy!" Killer was the first to notice Cross's entrance. "How's it going?"

"..Blue confronted me." Cross shrugged, sitting on the couch between his brothers (he would be eternally grateful that the apathy gained from LV wasn't insurmountable - he could still love, and he could still care..it was just a little harder).

"Oh.." Killer frowned, putting an arm around Cross's shoulder as Dust leaned against his other side. "You all right?"

"I..I'm having doubts." He admitted. "I don't know if I can do this. Dream's my friend.."

"Cross..you know why you can't stop. But, as hard as it will get, we'll be there for you, okay?"

"I..I know..I just..I don't want to let Dream down, and I don't want to let you down; I don't want to let anyone down, but.."

"It's okay, Cross."

"You could always take a few days away from him." Dust suggested, quietly. "There's nothing forcing you to see him every day."

"Could I, though?" Cross questioned. "What if he gets suspicious? What if he finds out? I can't let him find out; that would ruin everything! I..I can't lose his trust!"

"Cross..deep breaths. Focus."

Cross looked down; his hands were shaking..great. He hated panicking, and he hated worry. Why couldn't he just be confident about this? He was on track..he was doing everything just as he'd been told. Why couldn't he just continue? He'd done it for almost a year, by now! 

"It would be bad if you lost his trust, Cross." Killer admitted. "But it wouldn't be the end of the world. We'd be there for you, and there would be other options. Setbacks only delay the inevitable, Cross; remember that."

"..All right." Cross sighed, nodding. "I'll take a couple days off from meeting with him. He's got a piano lesson tomorrow, and he'll probably have other plans the day after, so he won't miss me too much."

"Good." Dust smiled. "Maybe we can all spend some time together."

"Yeah..speaking of all, where's Horror?"

"Mission." Killer answered. "He should be back soon..potentially with something we've been waiting a while for."

"You mean..them?" Cross questioned. 

"With any luck." Killer nodded, a serious expression on his face. "We did the weighing last time; they're not too heavy, but there should be some extras with them, so we'll see."

"Do they work?" Dust inquired.

"Of course they do; we didn't wait so long for nothing!" Killer chuckled lowly. "Everything will work perfectly."

Ten more minutes passed before Horror returned to the castle, and when he did, he was holding something very, very special: a cardboard box filled with..

Cat toys.

"Ccino's kitties are gonna love these!" Killer grinned, shining a laser pointer around the room.

"Hey, watch where you're aiming that!" Cross covered his eyelights. "You're gonna blind someone!"

"Oopsie!" Killer turned the pointer off. "I'll take them down, now! Be back soon!"

"I'll have dinner ready by the time you get back!" Horror called, as Killer left the apartment with the box.

"Sounds great, big guy!"

"Bet it does, little guy!" Horror chuckled.

"I thought Dust was 'little guy.'" Cross hummed, earning a huff from the little guy.

"..Littler guy."

"Horror." Dust crossed his arms with a glare. 

"Okay, okay." Horror nodded. "Tiny guy."

"Horror!"

"All right, Dusty, calm down - you wanna help me with dinner?"

"..Sure."

"Oh, I'll help, too!" Cross volunteered, pulling up a stool for Dust. 

"..Thanks." Dust ascended in a moment's time, ready to help.

"You're welcome!"

"Let's get started." Horror began to work.

His brothers helped him.

Killer, for once, had to try not to be happy..yet. For the longest time, Ccino's cats had played with the same old four or five cat toys, and those toys had been ripped apart and worn down over the years. New toys were clearly in order, but it had taken a lot of work to get this stuff into the castle, and all that work was finally paying off. The cats would finally get something new to play with! When Killer reached Ccino's room, he knocked twice before being greeted by the room's inhabitant (if he knocked three times with no answer, he was allowed to enter by himself, since Ccino trusted him), who seemed surprised at the sight of the large box.

"Uh..what is this stuff?" Ccino inquired. "I..I didn't ask for anything.."

"Well, ya don't typically ask for gifts, now, do you?" Killer grinned, opening the box. "Surprise!"

Ccino fell silent, staring at the cat toys; this was truly one of the best days he'd ever had in this horrible place.

"Come on, let's see how the kitties like them." Killer chuckled, entering the room.

"I..um..yes!" Ccino nodded, closing the door behind Killer. "Thank you so much!"

"No problem!"

Killer set the box down in the center of the room, and Ccino's cats watched him curiously as he pulled out a plethora of toys for them. Ccino had nearly two dozen cats, and each of them had the interesting quirk that they were based off of AUs and outcodes - specifically, people who were important to the multiverse, as well as a few others. There was even one that was based off of Killer! They all had their little personalities, but those personalities seemed to be based off of their "inspiration's" personality. For example, Killer's lookalike was chaotic, but he was also shrewd, crafty, and sometimes shy..Killer sometimes wondered if the cat had been affected by his stages. Color's lookalike enjoyed spending time with Killer's, of course, and he always tried to lend a paw when one of the other cats was hurt in some way. And Nightmare's lookalike..well, he liked to pick fights with the other cats, whether for fun or out of selfishness, and he was the cause of most of the injuries among the group. The real Nightmare wouldn't let Ccino separate that one from the others. Oddly enough, but unfortunately predictably, Dream's lookalike was currently cuddling with Nightmare's..those two felines were growing close at the same rate their people versions were, despite the hostility that had previously always existed between them. 

It couldn't be helped. 

"I..I don't know what to say, Killer." Ccino admitted. "How can I repay you? This is too much of a gift.."

"No need for that!" Killer shook his skull. "I just want these guys to be happy."

"..If you're sure."

"I am."

"Well..don't just sit there; they want to play, and you deserve to enjoy that!"

Killer smiled, knowing that there was no alternative; he intended to enjoy himself..he needed someone to show up so he could ensure that the cats could keep their gift. Ccino, oblivious to Killer's plans, guided a horde of cats around the room with a laser pointer, consciously trying not to be too amused by the frankly-hilarious showing - these cats did not want to take turns! Meanwhile, Killer used a variety of toys as he played with the cats, ranging from some dangly toys to two metal rings that were to the cats as rubber tires were to human boot camps - the ones on TV, at least. Man..when was the last time Killer had watched a movie like that? Probably with Color..he missed those days. But, right now, he couldn't afford to be too negative; he needed to attract-

Ah, there he was. 

The door slammed open a few seconds after Killer sensed the presence, revealing the castle's one and only king standing in the doorway. The cats acted accordingly, hiding away quickly; they were terrified of Nightmare. The cats that represented the gang hopped into the cardboard box to hide, hoping it would shield them, while others scurried under Ccino's bed or weaved behind some furniture, all of them disappearing from Nightmare's view in less than ten seconds. Well, except for Nightmare's lookalike, and, strangely, Dream's; they didn't seem to mind him, simply continuing to play with the toys Killer had brought for them. Nightmare's lookalike had never minded his presence (Nightmare favored him, but he definitely tried to keep it subtle), but Dream's..well, perhaps it was because the real Dream had been becoming closer to his brother. 

"What is going on in here?" Nightmare inquired, a dark tone in his voice. "What is all this trash doing lying around?"

"..Uh, hi, boss.." Killer stood up straight, looking his employer in the eyelight. "They're..cat toys.."

"Where did they come from?" 

"I asked Horror to grab them on his mission today.."

"Oh, did you, now? Tell me, Killer: when did I give you permission to bring those into the castle?"

"You didn't, boss.."

"I see..well, they're generating so much positivity that I'd thought my brother was down here, but that wasn't possible, seeing as he was with me. Get rid of them, Killer."

"W-wait, boss, please!" Killer pleaded. "They..they're just cat toys; I'll..please don't.."

"Hm..you said Horror brought them here, did you?"

"Yes, boss.."

"Well..I suppose they may stay..on one little condition."

"..Yes, boss?"

"You agree to stay out of this room for the next six months."

Killer flinched a bit at Nightmare's decided punishment, but..it was worth it.

"I agree." Killer nodded solemnly. "I'll stay out of here.."

"Interesting..you value animals above yourself." Nightmare chuckled. "I may never understand you, Killer, but I suppose this deal is done. I hope you don't enjoy the next half a year, Killer."

With that, Nightmare was gone, and Killer let out a sigh. 

"Killer..why'd you do that?" Ccino asked, looking over at his friend with a frown. "They're just cat toys.."

"..I have to leave now." Killer didn't answer. "But, Ccino..I need to tell you something, and you can't tell another soul about it."

"..I, um..okay?"

"..One day, maybe years from now or longer, one of us - me, Cross, Dust, or Horror - is going to show up at your door and ask for one of these. Comply immediately, Ccino. Don't ask questions; just hand them over."

Ccino blinked. "What? Um..Killer, what are you-"

"No questions. Can you do that, Ccino?"

"..I can." Ccino nodded, looking over at the new cat toys in his room.

"Thank you, Ccino; you're a good friend."

As Killer left Ccino's room, his communicator beeped once - time for dinner. Perfect timing.

It would all be worth it in the end.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Cross bean has regrets, and maybe someone else will, too..

Thanks for reading my regretful writing!

Bye!

Chapter Text

Dream let out a quiet hum, leaning against the fence that kept the farm's horses in their field. It was such a nice day, and the horses seemed to be enjoying it just as much as Dream was! Well..maybe not just as much; spending a day at Buck's farm with his brother was just amazing! 

Today was their birthday, and after a little math, Nightmare had discovered that the two were turning 551. Well..Nightmare was, at least; discarding the five hundred years spent in stone, Dream was only fifty-one. But that didn't really matter. Neither of them cared much; they just wanted to be together. And so, together they were! For their gifts to eachother, Dream had given Nightmare a bookmark (honestly, he hadn't known what to get him, but Nightmare had seemed to like it, at least, and Dream had made sure to put his own flair into the design!), but Nightmare..he'd gone above and beyond. He'd had the kitchen staff make Dream an amazing birthday cake, and after a small party with Dream's closest friends (Dream hoped they hadn't minded Nightmare's presence too much, but he simply couldn't have had a birthday party without his brother), Nightmare had informed Dream that he would be spending the day with him! He'd even let Dream decide where to go, as long as his choice was one of Nightmare's claims!

Of course, Dream had chosen Buck's farm; it was too peaceful to pass up, and he couldn't remember the last time he'd just spent a day relaxing with his brother. Most of their other trips together were short, or they weren't exactly relaxing, but, today, the two would have a nice relaxing day together for a change.

"Isn't this nice?" Dream asked, smiling at his brother.

"It is, I suppose." Nightmare nodded. 

"..Do you not like it?" Dream inquired. "We can go somewhere else, if you want to.."

"No, this is fine; this is your day, Dream."

"It's yours, too, though." Dream pointed out, frowning. "What's wrong, brother?"

"I just..I am not fond of being outside in this type of environment; I prefer having a little shade."

Dream blinked, realizing his mistake "Oh! Oh, my! I'm so sorry; I didn't even think of that!"

Of course Nightmare wanted shade! While Dream was always cold and enjoyed the warmth of the sunlight, Nightmare was always hot, and he likely wanted all the protection from the sun he could get!

"It's fine." Nightmare shook his skull. "I'll live. This day is yours, Dream."

Dream frowned; maybe the farm wasn't the best choice, considering the fact that there was hardly any shade here. But..there were likely other places that had a mixture of shade and sunshine. In fact..Dream had an idea!

"This day is ours, Nighty." Dream corrected. "And I have an idea to make it comfortable for both of us!"

"Oh?" Nightmare was curious.

"Yep! This AU isn't just farms, is it? It's gotta have some kind of variety, which means there's probably a tropical resort or two somewhere!"

"..You want to go to a beach?"

"Sure, why not? There'll be sunshine for me, and there'll be shade and cool water for you! And we can have lunch and dinner there, too!"

"..Have you ever been to a tropical resort?"

"Nope!" Dream shook his skull. "But I've seen plenty of them from a distance, and they always look like so much fun! So, can we?"

"Well..don't you have to make reservations for those things?"

"Nighty, think you're forgetting something." Dream giggled a little.

"What?"

"You kind of own this AU."

"..." Nightmare sighed. "I'm out of excuses, then. Very well, we can go."

"Yay! Let's ask Buck where the best one is; maybe he'll know!"

With that, the brothers headed to the farmhouse, where Buck was currently hanging up some laundry on his clothesline. Buck had a lot of daily chores to do, but at least he had help; there were about a dozen farmhands who helped him out with his work, all of whom were happy that they and their families had been granted the privilege to live in the countryside instead of the dismal cities of this world. Actually, speaking of that..would there be any tropical resorts to visit? Since the entire world, for the most part, was shrouded in negativity? Dream hadn't thought of that, but..there was probably something, right?

"..A tropical resort..?" Buck blinked when the question was presented. "Um..I'm not sure those exist anymore."

..Well, darn.

"I mean..there are beaches, sure, but since positivity is outlawed, they're not used for much except fishing." Buck shrugged. "Sorry."

Dream sighed. "Well, there's that idea gone.."

Nightmare frowned at his brother's disappointment, before offering him a smile. "Well, this universe doesn't have any, but I may have a universe in my possession that does.."

"You do?" 

"..I think I do. Would you like to enter it?" Nightmare offered his hand to his brother. 

"Sure." Dream nodded, accepting the offered hand. "Bye, Buck!"

"Good bye, Dream.." Buck returned the greeting, before returning to his work.

Nightmare opened a portal to a specific claim he owned, one that he hadn't tampered with too much in the time that he'd had it. The universe had been used as a testing grounds for many of Nightmare's ideas and whims, but he'd never done anything extreme here, only affecting a few people at a time, if even that. This was a simple Undertale copy, one that was easily missed among the countless other ones, with the only notable change being that Grillby was blue here..and that was it. It had always been perfect for Nightmare's needs, and right now, it would be perfect for providing Dream with his wish. Nightmare's portal led to the entrance to a tropical resort, and the two entered the lobby, where they would pay for a day of fun (and get everything that they needed for a beach day without having to walk around a store for half an hour). Dream and Nightmare approached the front desk, hoping this would go smoothly.

..Unfortunately, however, the inhabitants of this AU were oblivious to the fact that Nightmare essentially owned them. They also didn't know that the multiverse existed, which might have actually been a good thing, in some points of view.

"U-uh, what are you doing..?" The receptionist didn't view the two as customers, clearly.

"We're here to spend a day at the beach.." Dream informed. "Is there a problem with that?"

"W-w-well, I..you.." 

"I'm not here to hurt anyone." Nightmare let out a sigh. "I'm a normal monster; I just look weird, all right?"

"..S-sorry.."

"Let's get this over with quickly; how much would it be for just the two of us to spend the day here and take advantage of your ammenities?" 

The receptionist got to work on that quickly, charging Nightmare a measly 300 G for the day. For some, that might have been a bit of money, but for Nightmare, it was nothing; he was rich, by the standards of this universe. Once the bill was paid, the brothers received a couple complimentary beach towels, two chairs, a bucket and shovel, and an umbrella (all of which they would be expected to return later, because nothing was free in this world, apparently), and they began their walk to the beach.

"Brother?" Dream addressed, as they walked.

"Yes, Dream?" Nightmare responded.

"You, um..do people always treat you like that?"

"In universes that don't know about my role, they often do. I'm naturally menacing, I suppose."

 "..They shouldn't judge you just based on how you look; that's not fair."

"Well, they're not wrong." Nightmare chuckled lowly. "They just happened to get lucky today."

Dream frowned, but he didn't press; today was supposed to be a happy day, after all. And, at the very least, they managed to get a good spot on the shoreline, since none of the incodes wanted to be anywhere near Nightmare. After a few minutes of setting up, Nightmare was comfortably situated in the shade with a book that he'd had sitting in his inventory, and Dream was next to him, enjoying the warmth of the sun and the hot sand. Dream decided to build a sandcastle, using the bucket to move some water closer to the brothers' spot so he could stay close to Nightmare.

"Aren't you a bit old to build sandcastles?" Nightmare asked. 

"Of course not!" Dream chuckled. "Age is just a number, and sandcastles are fun!"

"I don't know; 551 might be cutting it a bit."

"Nighty, I wanna build a sandcastle, and you can't stop me!" 

Nightmare smiled fondly. "Very well, enjoy building your castle."

"I will!"

As Nightmare read his book, Dream built his sandcastle, carefully sculpting his creation. Although Dream hadn't gotten a "normal" childhood, per se, he had gotten a few perks, living in the Doodlesphere, and living by the giant paint ocean had definitely impacted Dream's sandcastle-building skills. Of course, the sand in the Doodlesphere was a bit different from the normal stuff, and having an ocean of water was more convenient than having one of paint, but Dream was still capable. It had been a long time since he'd built a sandcastle, though; it was nice to do it again. After a little while, Dream finally finished, grinning at his sculpture. It was sturdy (as sturdy as sand could be, at least), detailed, and architecturally-pleasing; Ink would have been proud..if he were here. 

Ink had always been proud of everything Dream made..

"Is everything all right?" Nightmare glanced over at his brother, and he saw the sandcastle in its full glory for the first time. "That..huh. I was not aware you were so talented..good job."

Dream smiled at the compliment. "I've had a lot of practice. And..I'm all right; I was just thinking about Ink.."

"Ink? Why him?"

"I miss him." Dream shrugged a little. "He taught me how to make sandcastles; he taught me how to do most of the stuff I can do, you know?"

"I understand; he is important to you. But..I do have a question, if you don't mind.."

"About Ink? What is it?"

"Well, before you told me, I never knew that he raised you." Nightmare informed. "I even asked around the castle a little; it isn't common knowledge. Is there any reason it seems to be such a secret?"

Dream looked down at his sandcastle, frowning a bit. "..There is a reason for that, yes."

"If it's a bad topic, I-"

"No, you..it's stupid, really. I..for the longest time, after I was finally allowed to go out into the multiverse and do my job, I was..bitter, about how my childhood went. It's not really any fun, growing up without any real friends, and I knew Ink could have made it happen..he was too protective, and he thought keeping me in the Doodlesphere was the safest thing to do. I blamed him for everything, and I asked him not to tell anyone that he'd raised me, so I could try to move on. It's been a long time since then, and I understand why he did it, now, but..I think I hated him for a while. It was childish, though; I did apologize, once I came to my senses, and we've been on good terms ever since..but I still didn't want people knowing. After all that, I just wanted to make a reputation for myself without his looming over me, I guess. But there isn't much more to it than that; I was just bitter. Ink never really did anything wrong; I just thought he did."

"..I see." Nightmare nodded. "Was he..a good parent, aside from that?"

Dream chuckled. "He did his best. He wasn't really ready to be a parent, but he did his best, and that's what counts. Although, I wasn't the best kid, either; at some point, I'd completely taken advantage of his inexperience to convince him to do basically anything I asked. I might have been alone, but I had the biggest personal playground ever. And the best. So, yes, Ink was the greatest parent of all time. At least, ten-year-old me thought so."

Nightmare let out a soft laugh. "I suppose any child would love that."

"Yep!" Dream confirmed, before staring at his sandcastle for a moment and grinning. "Hey, Nighty! You may have your castle, but this one is all mine!"

"Ah, but this universe belongs to me, remember?"

"I'm stealing your land, then!" 

"Oh, my, whatever shall I do?"

Dream and Nightmare joked around a little more, and as they did, they both noticed that they felt..happy. Spending time with eachother like this, being able to act like the brothers they'd always wanted to be, instead of the enemies that they had been forced to be for so long..it was nice. If Dream could have made a moment last forever, it would have been this one; he'd missed his brother far more than he'd ever allowed himself to know, over all those decades fighting and apart. These past few months had felt almost surreal, having a brother who actually cared, but..he did. Nightmare cared. He'd always cared. Those two years of time spent together before Nightmare had taken Dream to the castle hadn't been a trick! Nightmare had been genuine; he'd just been so afraid of losing Dream again that he was willing to do anything he could to get him back, including kidnapping him! And maybe that wasn't morally right, but Nightmare couldn't help it; he'd been taught all his life that he was wrong - that his mere existence was wrong! His morals had always been skewed, and that had impacted his judgment, but, maybe, with Dream by his side, he could be better. 

Dream wanted to help Nightmare above everyone else.

The brothers had a light lunch on the beach before deciding to head to the water, one of them less worried than the other. Nightmare had the advantage, undoubtedly, with his goop negating the need for swimwear, while Dream..did not. He would have to ask Stitch for something when he got back, because he wasn't excited to get all his clothes wet. He might have had spare clothes in his inventory, but that didn't change anything right now. He let out a sigh before stepping into the waves, recoiling a bit at the temperature; that water was freezing!

"It's not that bad." Nightmare chuckled, wading further into the ocean. "It's quite refreshing, actually; this heat was getting to me."

"It's too cold for a 'tropical' resort." Dream frowned, but he supposed he couldn't change the temperature of the ocean; he would just have to make do. 

"Come on, I'll help ease you into it." Nightmare held out his hand. "Once you get used to the temperature, it'll be fine."

Dream sighed, taking his brother's hand and following him into the water. It took a minute, but soon enough, he adjusted, and the cold started to bother him less. It was still cold, but not unbearably so - Dream could take it. 

Well, that was until Nightmare splashed him. He squeaked, having been caught off-guard, but he recovered quickly, retaliating with more force than Nightmare had dared to use. Nightmare..didn't flinch.

"I think this water is a better weapon against you than me." Nightmare smirked, before before splashed again. 

"Well, I'll just have to fling more at you!" Dream reasoned. "You're going down, Nighty!"

"Not if I take you down first!"

The war began, although this fight was much tamer than the twins' usual ones. Instead of hurling magic attacks that were loaded with intent to harm, they flung water at eachother. Instead of their conversation being something along the lines of "I'll save you," and "I'll kill you!" it went more like..

"Nighty, that's cold!" Dream giggled, flinching at the frigid water.

"It's perfectly normal water!" Nightmare rolled his eyelight. "Do you need a moment?"

"Yes!" Dream pouted, trying to wipe the water off his face.

"Very well, we will have a thirty-second ceasefire."

Dream spent only twenty seconds recovering, before starting the water war again.

"Surprise attack!" He giggled, splashing a large wave in Nightmare's direction. 

"That's not how ceasefires work!" Nightmare was taken completely off-guard.

"It is, now!"

The time passed quickly on the shoreline as the two brothers spent some much-needed quality time together. After playing in the waves, the two retreated to their selected spot on the beach, where Nightmare relaxed in the shade, comfortable after the little war, and Dream curled up in a beach towel, freezing under it. Nightmare decided to cut their time on the beach short, not wanting Dream to suffer any longer. As Dream changed his clothes, Nightmare decided to look for a place to have dinner, and the resort seemed to have a wide variety of options; that was good. By the time Dream was changed, Nightmare had selected a restaurant, and the two went over. The restaurant was a seaside venue, and Nightmare and Dream managed to get a nice outdoor table with a good view of the sea as the sun set across the horizon. A waiter arrived to take their order shortly, and after they placed the order, they watched the sunset together. Dream couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him.

"What?" Nightmare inquired, looking over to his brother.

"This the first time we've watched a sunset together in quite a while.." Dream informed. "It's nice."

"Yes..yes, it is."

As the sun set, the sky turned darker and darker, and nighttime approached. Once the last lights of day started to flicker out, the restaurant turned on its lights, and the brothers became acutely aware of how long their food was taking to arrive.

"It's been over half an hour.." Nightmare let out a sigh. "This is why I never eat out."

Dream chuckled. "This is almost as bad as the castle!"

"Oh? Is there a problem with the castle?"

"Other than the fact that it takes ages when you don't go down to get food yourself?"

"It doesn't take that long, does it?"

"It takes a while, Nighty, and there's no sunset to watch while you wait."

"Well..there are workarounds.."

"Like what?"

"Well, if the waiting really bothers you, I could look into, perhaps..getting you a personal servant? That way, you wouldn't have to wait as long, since they would be stationed just outside your door."

"Brother..I couldn't." Dream shook his skull. "I was just joking about the wait time; I don't want or need anything like that! Besides..the castle has too many people already."

"..Well, what about someone who isn't new?" Nightmare proposed. "What about..Blue? He already spends a good deal of time with you as-is, and it would give you two more time together, if you'd want that."

Dream looked down. It was tempting, but..

"It wouldn't feel right." Dream shook his skull. "He's my friend, not my servant..I'd never want to do that to him. We're equals, and we always will be, Nighty..no matter how much you want me to believe otherwise. I'm sorry."

"..Very well." Nightmare acquiesced. "I will abide by your decision, although I personally oppose it..you are worth much more in my eye, Dream; no one else could ever hope to compare."

Dream chuckled. "Thanks, Nighty. I love you."

"I love you, too, Dream."

Once their food arrived, the two ate, and soon after, they went back to the castle for the night, as the temperature was getting just a bit too cold for Dream, and he was beginning to shiver. Nightmare brought Dream and himself out in front of their rooms, where it was time to say goodnight.

"Well, I had a lot of fun today, Nighty." Dream smiled, hugging his brother.

"I did, too." Nightmare returned the gesture; he pulled away when Dream shivered, though. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, it's just..cold. The castle's colder than that beach...I'll just head to my room, and I'll be all right. Good night, Nighty."

"Good night, Dream..sleep tight."

Dream nodded, heading into his room to get some sleep; he'd had a tiring day today, but it had certainly been worth it! Everything, from the sea breeze to the good food to the spot on the beach they'd managed to grab..it had all been perfect. And as he drifted off to sleep, he had no regrets.

The next morning, when Dream woke up, however..he might have figured out a couple things to regret. His head hurt, he felt exhausted despite his good night's rest, and his normally-comfortable room was suddenly cold. Perhaps he could have spent a little less time in that water. Getting out of bed was harder than it should have been, and Dream didn't feel like changing; he felt like crawling back into bed, quite frankly. He was ill, unfortunately..and undoubtedly. It had been a while since Dream had last had a cold, or an illness of any kind; it had been before he'd been brought to the castle, and he didn't recall having felt quite this bad. Maybe it was because he wasn't working as much as before; he didn't feel that built-in willpower to work through his illnesses as he normally did. Ugh..but Dream had always hated being sick.

His being sick had caused...

Dream tried not to think about the consequences that his illnesses had caused in the past as he walked to his brother's door, knocking a couple times and waiting for an answer. It seemed that Nightmare had actually been sleeping for once, since he took a moment before answering the door - that was good. Nightmare deserved to sleep as much as anyone else did. When Nightmare reached the door, his annoyed expression turned to worry as he looked at Dream's weak form.

"..You're ill." Nightmare noticed. 

"Um, yeah..I won't be able to do breakfast with you today." Dream informed. "Sorry. I'll just be in my room recovering.."

"..Is that all you came to say?"

Dream nodded. "I didn't want to just not show up; that would be rude."

Nightmare sighed. "Dream, that should be the least of your worries; let's get you back to bed."

Nightmare put an arm around his little brother, guiding him back into Dream's room, and he made sure to grab the bells outside Dream's door on the way in. After setting them on Dream's nightstand, he helped his brother crawl back into bed and tucked him in, frowning at him. 

"Well, I know you didn't fancy the idea of a personal servant yesterday, but how about you try it out, just until you're better?" Nightmare proposed. "You're certainly in no condition to traverse the castle in your current state."

That..made sense. Dream looked up at his brother, before nodding; it would just be temporary. And, besides, Blue probably would have volunteered to take care of Dream, anyway; he'd always been the one encouraging Dream to take breaks when he'd been ill in the past, after all! 

"I'll get Blue, then, and I'll come in to check on you every so often, all right?" Nightmare offered Dream a smile. "Get well soon, brother."

Dream really did have a great brother.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dream bean has a great birthday and a not-so-great day after it!

Thanks for reading my sick writing!

Bye!

Chapter Text

To say that Blue was worried would have been an understatement.

Two days ago, Nightmare and Dream had spent their birthday together, and the morning after that, Dream had fallen ill. That wouldn't have been so concerning if Nightmare himself hadn't come to Blue's door at seven in the morning to reassign him to the role he'd told Blue from the beginning that he would be filling someday: being Dream's personal servant. Dream had told Blue that it was temporary - that things would go back to normal once Dream recovered - but Blue knew better. Things weren't going to go back to normal with that snake in charge of things. Nightmare had already talked Dream into accepting this arangement in the first place, and Blue knew that the king would do everything in his power to convince Dream to keep the system in place. He would prey on Dream's friendship, telling him that things would be easier with Blue nearby and that the two would get more time to spend together, and he would prey on Dream's newfound selfishness, telling him that life would be more convenient this way. And, oh, Blue had no doubt that Nightmare would get Cross in on it, too, because it turned out that that traitor-later-found-not a traitor actually was a traitor! 

And Dream couldn't see it. 

Dream wasn't just looking at life through rose-tinted glasses; he'd bought out the whole delusion-inducing eyewear department! Because everyone else could see it: Stitch, Ccino, the gang, and even Geno, with whom Blue rarely got the chance to speak, all saw it! They knew what Nightmare was doing, and they didn't mind talking about it with Blue, as long as Dream wasn't around to overhear. But Dream couldn't see it.. 

And no one else was willing to try to show him. 

The people of the castle had a restriction placed upon them; if they tried to speak out against what was happening to Dream or try to help him, they would be punished..except for Blue. He didn't know why, but it was probably just Nightmare's way of showing Blue that his words didn't matter - that they wouldn't change anything. And maybe Nightmare was right; Dream wasn't listening to any of Blue's warnings or attempts at advice. He just brushed them off. When Blue aksed others for help or advice, they offered their sympathies, but nothing more; they weren't permitted to help him. The most assistance he received was someone occasionally being willing to buy Blue a coffee..and that was it. Coffee. Coffee wouldn't make Dream listen to him, and it wouldn't help Blue magically become a better debater; it was just a pity offering. Everyone else knew that his goal was noble, but they weren't willing to put their lives and safety at risk, even for the sake of someone who had done just that for them time and time again before.

Dream was slipping, and if no one helped Blue pick him up now, Dream might never have been able to get back up! 

But no one was helping him. No one was going to help him. Everyone else was just going to sit idly by and watch as Dream fell further and further into his brother's clutches..even his own friends. Maybe Dream would have listened, if someone else pointed things out to him, but no one else was trying. Blue's words didn't seem to be reaching him, unfortunately. It was a bit frightening, really; Dream had once put a lot of stock in Blue's advice, but now, he wasn't listening at all. 

"Dream, I just..I think it would be wise if you reevaluated your situation." Blue tried to be a bit less blunt; maybe Dream would respond better to something that would make him think? "You've been a prisoner in this castle for over a year, now; maybe it's getting to you."

Dream frowned, letting out a sigh. "Are you on about that again? Blue, nothing's wrong with me, and I'm not a prisoner; I'm allowed to move freely, and I even have access to other universes."

"Nightmare's universes." Blue crossed his arms. "And you are a prisoner; you're not allowed to leave this universe without permission, and you need an escort! That doesn't sound like freedom to me!"

"Blue, Nighty just wants to keep me safe." 

"You said several months ago that you were afraid something was happening to you, Dream; do you remember that? You mentioned that you were changing - doing things differently? I can see that in you, Dream; you are changing, and it's scaring me.."

Dream paused, looking down at his covers. "I..I never told you that. I know I didn't..where did you hear that?"

"It came up in conversation." Blue responded; he'd heard it from Geno, on one of the rare occasions he'd been able to ask the other to help him in his mission to help Dream. "But that isn't important; what is important is that you noticed that, Dream..and then you chose to ignore it. Nightmare is doing things to you, Dream; I don't like seeing you succumb to them. Please, Dream..listen to me. I want to help you."

Dream's gaze rose back up to Blue, and, for only a moment, he hesitated. A small feeling of hope sprouted inside Blue; maybe this was working! Maybe Dream was listening! If Blue could get Dream to think about this, maybe-

"Blue.." Dream addressed.

"Yes, Dream?" Blue responded.

"Could you go get my brother? Please? And, um..maybe some soup?"

Blue's hopes weren't dashed..just trodden upon a little bit. Maybe Dream wanted to talk to Nightmare to confront him? It was possible..although not likely. 

"Of course, Dream.." Blue nodded, turning to leave the room.

He wouldn't give up.

He was determined to save his friend.

Of course, that was a bit difficult right now, but that wouldn't deter him; difficulty had never hindered him in the past! Dream had done so much for Blue, after all, and Blue wouldn't have been a very good friend if he gave up on Dream! Dream had helped Blue feel comfortable in his body, and he'd helped him overcome some of his deeper traumas, too! He'd given him a role and a purpose in life that he hadn't had before! He'd given Blue helpful outlets to manage his emotional troubles, and..he'd been one of the best friends that Blue had ever had. 

Giving up on Dream would have been the worst betrayal Blue could imagine. 

But right now, Blue had a job..one that he wasn't fond of, but a job nonetheless. He left Dream's room quietly, and he quickly turned around to knock on Nightmare's door, knowing by the aura he felt that the king of this castle was present. Nightmare had a smirk as he opened the door, and Blue didn't doubt that he'd heard every bit of the conversation he'd just had with Dream.

"What is it, Blue?" Nightmare wouldn't have given that last bit of information out verbally, of course.

"Dream wants to see you." Blue didn't hold himself back from glaring at Nightmare; the sadist knew exactly what he was doing, and Blue wouldn't humor him for a second.

"I see." Nightmare turned his smirk into a normal-looking smile, feigning surprised happiness at the news. "Thank you for passing along the message!"

Blue let out a sigh, rolling his eyelights. "You're oh so very welcome."

Nightmare let out a small chuckle before leaving his room, watching for a moment as Blue walked down the hall to grab Dream some soup. Blue was surprisingly amusing, in this state; although, he had always been fun to toy with. Without wasting too much time, Nightmare entered Dream's room, shutting the door softly behind him; he didn't want to make Dream uncomfortable. He'd been ill for a couple days, but he was beginning to recover, with his fever being almost fully gone by now.

"Dream, how are you feeling?" Nightmare asked, sitting in a chair next to his brother's bedside.

"Better than last time." Dream gave Nightmare a small smile, but Nightmare could feel the emotions that were brewing inside his little brother.

"How about emotionally? I sense frustration in you."

"..It's Blue." Dream frowned. "He keeps trying to tell me that you're just..using me. I don't like those thoughts, Nighty; I don't want to believe that..please, Nighty, tell me the truth. Are you just..manipulating me? I..I don't want to go on like this, not knowing..so please, tell me."

Nightmare let out a soft sigh, reaching out to hold his little brother's hand comfortingly. "I'm not manipulating you, Dream; I would never do something like that to you. You are my brother, and I care about you - you above all others. I will admit that I may try to influence your choices every so often, but that's only because I don't want you to get hurt. I did maneuver you into starting your positivity-spreading in the castle, I'll admit, but that was for your own good. And I do keep you here..probably more than I should. I just want to know that you're safe, and here, in this castle, I can get as close to guaranteeing that as possible..I'm sorry if that seems overbearing. I can try to take a step back, if you wish."

Dream looked down at his and his brother's hands, before giving Nightmare a small smile. "Nighty, I understand why you're protective; you were just born that way. I..I tried to change you once before, and I was wrong to do so; I would never try to do that again. You are who you are, and I've come to accept that. Maybe your ways of doing things aren't 'publicly accepted,' but who cares? They're your ways, and they're what you were made to follow and believe. I'm glad that you're protective; it..no one's ever really tried to protect me like that before, aside from Ink..and I think I like it. I just..wish that more people could understand."

"Well..Blue is a special case, Dream." Nightmare reminded. "I hurt him; I hurt him badly. I doubt he'll ever forgive me for what I did."

"Oh..right.." Dream frowned. "But that was such a long time ago; I thought he was over all that."

"No, someone like Blue doesn't give up grudges easily, Dream; I know his type..I've had a lot of experience with people like him."

"..What do you mean?"

"Well..I hurt him once, so he blames me for everything that goes wrong in his life, and he views all of my actions as evil. Those types of people are common, Dream..a lot of the villagers were like that."

Dream froze at the statement, and Nightmare paused, letting Dream think over what Nightmare had just said to him. Likening Dream's friend to those long-dead tormentors..it was bound to do something, if Nightmare had timed it right. The King of Negativity softly rubbed his thumb against the back of Dream's hand, offering a soothing force as Dream reevaluated his friendship. The silence in the room lasted until a knock came at the door: Blue, with Dream's soup. Since Dream was ill, Blue had been given permission to skip any lines in the cafeteria to get meals for his friend, significantly speeding up the process of food delivery. Blue came over and handed the soup to Dream, who took it quietly.

"Thank you.." Dream whispered, unsure of what to think right now. 

"You're welcome." Blue replied. "Do you want anything else?"

"..No, thank you, Blue - this is good for now."

Blue nodded, turning to leave the room, but neither of the twins missed the glare he sent at Nightmare. Once Blue was out in the hall, Dream spoke to Nightmare once more.

"Does he..always do that?" He inquired. "Glare at you?"

"..I'm used to it." Nightmare shrugged a little. "A lot of people do that around me. They have their reasons, as Blue does; I hurt him..I deserve it."

"But you don't." Dream shook his skull. "You don't deserve to be hated forever by everyone! You were just doing what you thought you had to do! It..it isn't right for you to have to suffer."

"But I made him suffer."

"That was a long time ago. He shouldn't still be holding it against you. I'm going to talk to him about it."

"Dream, please don't; I don't wish for you two to lose your friendship..I shouldn't have said anything at all. Please..I know he's one of your best friends, Dream; you shouldn't have to risk that because of me. I'm..not worth it."

Dream frowned. "You are worth it. But..maybe you're right. I'll wait a few days; maybe Blue will come to his senses.."

"There's a good idea." Nightmare approved. "Your illness may be making all of this seem disorted to you. Get some rest, Dream; you need it. The last thing we need is for you to do something you regret.."

Dream nodded, giving Nightmare a smile. "I'll give it a lot of thought before I do anything. You're right..Blue is important to me. I shouldn't do anything foolish."

"Thank you, brother. Now, enjoy your soup; you need to get your strength back up."

"Right..thank you, Nighty."

Dream decided to focus on his soup for now, not wanting to make any hasty decisions. He was just a little more emotional than he usually was because of the illness, but he was getting better; he would be fine. Maybe he was just misinterpreting Blue's words and actions; Blue might have really just been a little worried about Dream. Blue was just having trouble getting over what had happened to him; it had always bothered him, after all! Maybe Dream could help him. It wasn't as if Blue..really just wanted revenge..

"A lot of the villagers were like that."

With the passing of a couple more days, Dream's illness waned, and he had almost entirely returned to his normal life. However, he was still taking time to make sure he got enough rest; he didn't want to push himself too hard too soon, after all! Today, Dream was going to go down with Blue to the cafeteria for breakfast; he just had to get dressed first. Dream put on his current favorite outfit: the one that Stitch had made him when Dream had first come to the castle. It was always comfortable, and Dream couldn't resist wearing it every chance he got! Once that was on, Dream grabbed his circlet from his nightstand and put it on, adjusting it perfectly on his skull mostly from his coordinative memory (at least, that was the skeleton's version of muscle memory, he believed? Dream wasn't entirely sure, but it was something like that) before heading for the door. Blue was standing just outside, as he'd done for nearly the past week. It had been nice, having Blue close..at first. After Dream's first talk with Nightmare, things between the two had been a bit more tense..which had led to more talks with Nightmare.

Nightmare had told Dream that he believed that Blue had been taking advantage of Dream's illness to hold him as somewhat of a captive audience. Dream couldn't get up to leave without risking his health, and Blue had used that to try to get Dream to listen to him and adopt his beliefs. It probably wasn't intentional, since Blue wasn't that type of person - he'd never been - but it had happened nonetheless..and Dream wasn't sure how to take it. Every time Dream and Blue talked, it always felt as if the topic looped back around to Nightmare, with Blue condemning everything Dream's brother did and Dream trying to defend him. Dream hated those conversations. Blue had never liked Nightmare - Dream knew that well - but he didn't have to be this..hostile. It felt to Dream as if Blue believed this situation was a debate - that he was fighting Nightmare for Dream's loyalty, or something. Dream didn't know..he just wanted his old friend back.

But Nightmare had brought something up, during their last talk. Blue had always been a great friend..when he and Dream had been working against Nightmare. Dream's brother had proposed the idea that Blue's version of friendship was conditional. Perhaps Blue viewed it as something deeper than just two people who got along well. Blue hated Nightmare; it made sense that he would have liked anyone who actively worked against Nightmare, and for a long time, that had been Dream. The thought that Blue, one of Dream's closest and best friends, was willing to give up their friendship because Dream was rekindling a bond with Nightmare..Dream didn't want to believe it. He wanted to believe that Blue was his friend, despite that fact. 

But, right now, Dream really just wanted to get through one conversation without his brother's name coming up. He wanted to talk with Blue the way they'd used to talk..

"I'm going to spend some time with Ccino, today." Dream decided to start a conversation with a light topic, something that didn't have anything to do with Nightmare! 

"I hope you have fun." Blue smiled. "You deserve a nice, relaxing day."

"Thanks, Blue. I hope you do, too."

"Well, considering the fact that I'll probably be following you around all day, that won't be too hard!" Blue chuckled.

Despite Dream's prior reservations about the idea, having Blue as a "personal servant" wasn't the worst thing in the world; it gave the two more time to spend together, at least, and that was good! Instead of being at the whims of anyone who rang a bell at a given time, Blue simply stayed near Dream, and if Dream needed something and couldn't get it himself, Blue would get it for him. Dream was considering ending this arrangement soon, though; he didn't want to give Blue any wrong impressions about the situation. Blue was his friend, not his servant, and Dream wouldn't forget that.

The two made it to the cafeteria without even a single mention of Nightmare, both getting their breakfasts without trouble and sitting down together promptly. Blue had his normal bowl of plain oatmeal, while Dream had decided to have some eggs and toast. The morning could have been quiet, peaceful, and lighthearted, with no tension for miles..but it didn't end up being that way.

"Dream?" Blue spoke up. 

"Yes, Blue?" Dream responded.

"I know you don't want to talk about it, but I feel like I have to, Dream."

"Talk about what?" 

"You're my friend, Dream. And, when I have friends, I try to be a good one in return. I believe that friends should hold eachother accountable for things..I just want to help you.."

"Please don't continue this, Blue." Dream requested. "I'm asking you, as a friend, to drop it. I know your morals hold you to high standards, and I appreciate that..but please stop."

"I can't do that, Dream; you know I can't." Blue looked at Dream with a serious expression. "You've heard everything I've told you about your brother. You heard me when I talked about Stitch and the other tailors being overworked, and you heard me when I told you about everything he's done to make life in this castle miserable. Dream, your brother is not a good person; you cannot excuse every little thing he's done."

"Everything he's 'done' has a valid explanation, Blue."

"So why'd he break your legs? Twice? What's the 'valid explanation' for that, Dream?"

"He was afraid, Blue. Nightmare isn't a sadistic tyrant like you think; he cares, but he does it in a different way from what we're used to. He was created differently; he doesn't think the same way others do..and, honestly, neither do I. I had to learn how others think; I didn't come into this world knowing what anger and sadness were, just as Nightmare was oblivious to happiness. I got the chance to learn in a controlled environment where people cared about me; he didn't."

"That doesn't excuse his actions. Did he even apologize?"

"He did, as a matter of fact." Dream crossed his arms. "He's apologized several times for those incidents, and he's promised not to do anything like that to me ever again."

"Oh, all right, so you're safe from his abuse. Well, guess what: no one else is! Just yesterday, he was beating Horror! And it wasn't for a good reason; it was over some stupid technicality that he made up because he wanted to hurt someone!"

Dream sighed. "Nightmare isn't perfect, Blue. He knows that, and he's trying to do better, but he slips, sometimes."

"You're just going to let that slide?" Blue wondered, shaking his skull. "That is not an excuse for beating someone half to death!"

"He healed him after." 

"That doesn't matter! Dream, can't you see? He's desensitizing you to this stuff! You would never have brushed off something like this, before! He's manipulating you!"

"Blue, you just don't understand; Nightmare is a person! He makes mistakes, just like everyone else; can't he be forgiven for a few mistakes?"

Blue couldn't help his twitch. "What?"

"What?" Dream didn't understand why Blue was acting this way.

"Dream..don't you remember what he did? He spent over five hundred years tormenting the multiverse! He's tortured and killed millions of people! That's not just 'a few mistakes,' Dream! He has a literal dungeon under this floor where people are suffering this very minute! That's not a mistake! That's horrific, and every bit was intentional, Dream! He knows what he's doing! He enjoys it! Can't you see that? Can't you see that it's wrong?!"

"..He's working on it, Blue." Dream looked away, avoiding eye contact. "But I'm not going to give up on him again; I can't. He..he cares about me; he has for a long time, and I can't ignore it anymore."

"Yeah, well, other murderers probably care about their families, too, don't they? It doesn't make them innocent, does it? Dream..not everyone has the potential to be a good person; your brother is one of the ones who doesn't."

Dream clenched his fists. "Don't."

"Why not? He's the one who taught me that."

Dream lifted his gaze to glare at Blue. Of course..of course it came back to that! Nightmare had scarred Blue once, a long, long time ago, and as a result, Blue had to hate him for the rest of eternity? It wasn't fair..but maybe it just proved something that Dream hadn't wanted to believe.

He scoffed. "He was right.."

"What?" Blue asked. 

"He told me you just wanted revenge. He told me that you just want me on your side because you hate him. You couldn't allow yourself to be friends with someone who's on good terms with Nightmare, so you had to turn me against him again! Well, Blue, it's not going to work! I'm not going to abandon my brother again!"

"Revenge? Dream, this isn't about revenge! My friendship with you isn't about revenge at all! I just don't want you to make a mistake, Dream! Nightmare is actively trying to get you to join him; you know this! I'm just trying to help you!"

"I don't want your misguided help!" Dream stood up, unable to stay still any longer. "He might be trying to get me to join him, but at least he isn't slandering you to do it!"

"It's not slander if it's the truth!" Blue turned around, but he remained seated. "You know it's the truth; you just refuse to acknowledge it!"

"I acknowledge it-"

"Then you ignore it! Dream, you spent decades cleaning up after him; you can't just forgive and forget! He's a psychopath!"

"Well, it's not like your brother's a saint!"

Blue fell silent. The whole room was silent - silent enough for one to forget that there was a crowd watching. Dream never went this far in arguments; he normally would have begun to apologize for saying such a horrible thing, knowing the circumstances..

But he didn't today. 

Today, he was standing his ground. He didn't seem ashamed of what he'd said, and he didn't give any indication that he hadn't meant it. That wasn't right; it just wasn't right!

"Don't you dare bring him into this, Dream.." Blue was shaking; why was he shaking? He wasn't that mad, was he?

Was he?

"Any why not?" Dream crossed his arms, tilting his skull at Blue. "We're talking about brothers, aren't we? Why don't we bring up the fact that you can't even look at yours?"

He was.

"You know very well that my brother is nothing like yours, Dream!" Blue rose to his feet. "He's changed, and he was only that way in the first place because of Nightmare!"

"That doesn't change the facts, does it?" Dream scoffed. "If you're so bent on reminding me what Nightmare's done, how about I remind you what your brother did? It's only fair, isn't it?"

"Dream!" Blue shouldn't have wanted to fight, but a heated fury was running through him, and he found that he couldn't resist it. "He's manipulating you! He's not on your side; he wants to turn you to his! Can't you pull your head out of the clouds for one second to see that?! He doesn't want a brother, Dream; he just wants another pawn!"

"No, he doesn't! He cares! I know he does!"

"He doesn't care about anyone, Dream! He cares about himself, and that's it!"

"You don't know him like I do! He's not the person you think he is!"

"It doesn't matter, Dream; he's a criminal, and he's a sadistic freak, and he should be in prison! It doesn't matter how much you care about him, or how much you think he cares about you; he has hurt people, and he needs to answer for that! You know this, Dream; where is your sense of justice?!"

Dream looked down for only a moment, before shaking his skull and glaring at Blue. "I dedicated most of my life to justice, Blue; I don't need a lecture from you. Nightmare's not the best person in the world, but neither are you. You act all high and mighty, thinking you know everything about everyone, but you don't; you're just out for revenge. You just want to hurt Nightmare, and I see that now. Well, I'm not going to stand for it - I'm not going to listen to your petty arguments anymore! If you really want to do something useful, how about you try shutting your mouth and doing what you're told? Everyone else can do that half-decently, so I think you should be able to manage, too."

Blue..didn't know what to say. What was this? What was Dream doing?

Dream let out a half chuckle. "Well, that's a start! Do me a favor, Blue: don't bother me anymore. I think my life will be a lot better if you're just a side character."

Dream started to walk away, but he paused at the door to the hall, looking back at Blue one last time.

"You know, it was a little premature, but..after all you've done? You deserve that scar." 

Dream turned away from Blue, going out the door and entering the hall. 

Blue sat back down and stared at the floor, feeling the heated anger dissipate as Dream's words sank in. He felt as if he'd been stabbed. Why had he said all those things? He..he hadn't wanted to do this. He hadn't wanted to lose Dream! He'd never wanted to do that! He'd only wanted to help him..but why had he said all those horrible things? Dream wasn't in his right mind; Blue shouldn't have taken his words seriously! He..he just couldn't help himself..

Someone put a hand on his shoulder, drawing his attention upwards, but it wasn't anyone he wanted to see - just the opposite, actually.

"Well done, Blue!" Nightmare chuckled, grinning darkly at him. "I couldn't have done it better myself!"

"Y-you..you..you made me mad.." Blue couldn't help a tremble at the realization.

"That was the easy part, yes - incredible, what you can do with emotion-based abilities. I didn't expect it to go this fast, but I can't say I'm not pleased. Dream is mine; you'd do well to remember that from now on. Ah, I'd love to stick around and rub it in, but, alas, I have a little brother to comfort. Good bye, Blue - feel free to enjoy being alone." 

Nightmare left. Someone must have spread the word, since Dust and Horror showed up to offer comfort soon after, but..it didn't reach Blue. It was kind..but it didn't change anything. As Blue sobbed in Horror's arms, he felt something. 

For the first time in his life, Blue felt truly alone.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Blue bean is not having a good time, and neither is Dream bean(?).

Thanks for reading my burning writing!

Bye!

Chapter Text

Things were going..decently, in Dream's opinion. It had been a week since Dream and Blue had..parted ways, so to speak..although, they still saw eachother every day. Dream had never asked Nightmare to reassign Blue, which left things as they had been before the fight. Blue was still Dream's personal servant, and Dream didn't really mind it as much as he had before. Blue wasn't his friend anymore; Dream didn't really even want to call him an acquaintance. He'd felt a little bad about what he'd said during the fight, admittedly, but when he'd next seen Blue, instead of being civil and speaking rationally or apologizing (an apology would have been nice), his old friend had made up some stupid story about Nightmare manipulating his emotions to make him angry.

Blue was certainly some level of stupid, if he'd actually expected Dream to believe that. 

After that, Dream had stopped feeling bad about his words; Blue didn't deserve his apologies. Blue hadn't changed a bit; he was still the same revenge-driven madman that he'd been before, and Dream was honestly glad that he'd finally figured that out. Blue didn't deserve any type of sympathy, really. Not to mention, he was rather simple-minded. Nightmare's decision to make him a servant had been a good one, since Blue probably wouldn't have been able to handle anything more complex. Dream was even taking pity on him by keeping him around! Blue must have been overly-stressed from normal servant duties; just serving one person was much easier, since Dream didn't need things too often, and he even made sure to give Blue plenty of breaks! In fact, Blue was on break right now; Dream didn't need him at the moment. Presently, Dream was sitting in his room with Cross, talking on Dream's couch about a recent problem..one that Dream couldn't really ignore.

"I'm glad you came." Dream smiled at his friend. "You've been a great help recently, Cross - thank you for being here for me."

"I'm just doing what any good friend would do." Cross shrugged a little. "So, what did you call me here for? Do you need something?"

Dream chuckled. "Cross, that's Blue's job to ask, not yours!"

"..Are you planning on keeping the, uh..current arrangement?"

"..I think so." Dream nodded. "It'll be better for both of us, even if Blue doesn't agree. But..he doesn't really have to agree, so.."

"I understand."

"I'm glad. Anyway, um, I asked you to come because something's happened.."

"Happened? Are you hurt? Do you-"

"Nothing like that!" Dream put an end to Cross's worries. "Don't worry; it's nothing too serious. It's just..there's been a bit of a rift in the castle. After the fight, people took sides; some of them have sided with Blue over all this - as hard as that is to believe - and those people..well, they aren't talking with me anymore..or doing anything related to me anymore. No one's tried to hurt me, yet, but I feel like, if this doesn't stop, someone might try.."

"Oh..I see. What do you want me to do about it?"

"Well, I'm going to talk to Nightmare about it a little later today, but, for now..I was hoping you could talk to Stitch for me?"

"Stitch?" Cross questioned. "Is he one of those people?"

"Yes, unfortunately. I guess it makes sense; he's Blue's best friend, and he was Blue's friend a long time before he was mine. But, after the fight, he hasn't spoken a word to me..I'm not sure what to do. Do you think you can get him to see reason?"

"Uh, I could try?"

"That's all I ask." Dream smiled, nodding. "I just..I have the feeling that, when I tell Nighty about this, he's not going to be very happy about it, and I don't really want Stitch to get hurt; he might just not understand!"

Cross nodded. "I understand; I'll do what I can."

"Thanks, Cross! You're the best."

Cross didn't stick around much longer after that; he had a new job to do, and he was going to do it to the best of his ability, even if it wasn't exactly a job he wanted to do..at all. Dream was unfortunately correct about the tensions in the castle, but it wasn't exactly caused by the reasons he believed. There were those who openly sided with Blue, yes..but the ones who "sided with Dream" were actually just too afraid to stand up to Nightmare. It was understandable, of course; standing up to the king of this castle never went well for anyone. But Dream was blissfully unaware of the fact that no one was really on his side, it seemed. Well..no one but Nightmare. 

The king knew about the tensions in the castle (there wasn't exactly a way to hide something like that from an empath), but he'd held off on doing anything about it just yet. He was planning to wait for Dream to ask him about it, and based on what he'd told Cross, he had big plans..

Cross was going to lose his friend. 

Blue was right; Dream was changing, and being so close to Nightmare had only quickened the process. Nightmare was a master manipulator; if he wanted something from someone, he would get it, with the incredibly-rare exception in which his target was stronger than he was or could resist his tricks. Dream wasn't. He couldn't. Dream would fall, and at this rate, he was falling faster than anyone had anticipated; the gang had been forced to do a lot of extra work because of it. Cross hadn't been ready to watch Dream go through these changes so fast! He hardly recognized his friend anymore! But..he had to live with this; Dream was going to be who he was, and Cross just had to accept it. Cross had to support Dream every step of the way, no matter what his own thoughts or opinions were. 

He just..wished it were easier. 

When Cross reached the room belonging to the castle's tailors, he opened the door to almost-immediately find over a dozen glares all directed at him. Yeah..that was understandable, considering the fact that he was outwardly supporting Dream, even if he didn't really want that.

"..Morning." Cross greeted, softly, before heading over to speak with Stitch.

Stitch hadn't bothered to take a second's break from his work to glare at Cross - a testament to the skeleton's feelings on the matter. However, Cross wasn't going to give him a choice regarding this talk.

"Stitch." Cross sat down near the other, not wanting to come off as wrong by looking down at the tailor. 

"You should be ashamed." Stitch made his feelings clear. "What do you want?"

"..Look, Stitch.." Cross sighed. "I don't like this any more than you do, but I don't have a choice."

"You always have a choice, Cross."

"Stitch, look at me."

Begrudgingly, the tailor did, looking into Cross's eyelights firmly. "There isn't a moral high ground in unwavering loyalty, Cross. Of all people, you should know that. Blue was just trying to be a good friend, and Dream went out of his way to hurt him in the worst ways! He brought up his brother, Cross! That's..that's just inexcusable!"

"Stitch, I really don't have a choice." Cross repeated. "I have to do this. It doesn't matter if I'm hated for it. It doesn't matter if I lose every good connection I have in this place. I have a job to do, Stitch, and I'm not going to take it lightly. Not for you, and not for every soul in this castle."

For a brief moment, only a fraction of a second, realization flashed across Stitch's face. It was gone as soon as it had come, but a new understanding was reached - something with a deeper meaning.

"..What are you here for?" Stitch inquired, his tone a little lighter than before. "Is it about Blue?"

"Not Blue." Cross shook his skull. "Dream sent me to try to get you to reconsider your stance. He's going to tell the boss about the new divisions and hostility in the castle, and that's what boss has been waiting for, so..there will be consequences."

"I'm prepared to face them."

"I know..but Dream sent me, so I had to try. I have no idea what boss is going to do to those who openly sympathize with Blue; all I know is that..Dream's falling. He's falling fast, Stitch."

Stitch sighed, nodding. "He reminds me of some people from my AU. The ones who couldn't really fathom the new decrees..couldn't stomach the violence. They just couldn't take the stress. It came to a point where they tuned everything they didn't like out and ignorantly tried to look for the bright sides to every little situation, even when there weren't any..when they had to make them up. They just lived in their own little worlds, slowly growing more and more out of touch as they pretended that the new way of life was just the way it had always been. Those ones..they were vicious when anyone attacked their little fantasies - unrecognizable even to the ones who knew them best."

Cross looked down. "I'm gonna miss him."

"We all will." Stitch shrugged. "Dream was a great person - a great friend.."

"One of the best.."

"Good luck with the new guy, I guess..but I'm still not changing my mind."

"I didn't think you would. How's Blue? I..haven't had a chance to talk with him, and I doubt I will any time soon." 

"He's..not doing well." Stitch admitted. "I don't want to go into too much detail for his sake, but..it took a toll on him. He's trying to look like he's fine when he's in public, but he's not. I'll leave it at that. Whatever the boss has planned..I hope Blue doesn't get hurt anymore; I'd rather take the boss's wrath myself than let anything else happen to him.."

"I understand. Well..good luck taking whatever boss has in store; I doubt it'll be good, but I also doubt he'll kill anyone - too many supporters for that."

"Thanks. Good luck with your..whatever you're doing."

"Thank you. I'm not sure why, but I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm not going to be popular."

Stitch chuckled. "Oh, you think?"

"Crazy feeling, am I right?" Cross smiled, before returning to neutrality alongside Stitch; there was no reason to attract Nightmare. "Anyway, I should go; the others and I have a mission to get to.."

"All right.." Stitch nodded. "So..the rumors are true?"

"Rumors?" Cross turned to Stitch with a twinge of fear, but he quickly masked it. "I haven't heard anything. Rumors are powerful things, Stitch; you shouldn't trust them. All I know is that I'm loyal to Dream, because I'm his friend; that's all anyone needs to know. Please, if anyone asks..make sure they believe that, because it's the truth."

"..I understand." Stitch nodded. "In that case, I suppose we shouldn't be talking; there's nothing worth mentioning between us."

"It's regretful that you refuse to change your stance; I have no doubt that boss will have something horrible in store for those who oppose Dream. Good morning, Stitch."

Cross left the tailor's room, beginning to head to the gang's apartment; it was time for a group mission, and Cross had to be a part of it. Recently, the gang had been going out on missions together more often, simply because they had more opposition than they'd had before. Instead of going up against Ink, Blue, and Dream as they'd done for ages, they were now going against Ink, the Posse, and occasionally Error. Cross didn't know how Ink had convinced Error to join his side, but it didn't change the fact that he obviously had. If Cross had to guess, however, he would have assumed that it had something to do with Blue. The Destroyer would have been furious if he knew what had happened in this castle, but as it stood, he didn't..and Cross and the others wanted to keep it that way. When Cross got to the apartment, he opened the door, finding the others all present and getting ready.

"Hey, cutting it close, today, Crossy!" Killer commented. "What took you so long?"

"Dream asked me to do something." Cross didn't want to waste time explaining, simply holding a conversation as he went to his room to grab his gear. "We need to talk when we get back, but it can wait." 

"Something important?" Horror inquired.

"Not sure yet - I'll go more in-depth later."

"Sounds like a plan." Dust agreed. "You ready yet?"

"Almost."

Despite all his efforts to keep the place near-spotless, Cross miraculously managed to lose things in his room. Cross's room was decorated in a mostly-grayscale style, with light gray carpets and walls, dark gray doors and doorframes, and black and white accents. His bedframe was light gray, as were his dresser, his nightstand, and his desk and chair. However, there were little splashes of color added to the room every so often to make it less like a sterile environment and more like a bedroom. Cross's comforter (one simply couldn't survive in this castle with a normal blanket) was red, a nice reprieve from everything else. His sheets were still white, though. However, the notebooks and other stationery items on his desk were colorful, sporting shades of every color in the rainbow and then some. 

And then, nailed to the back of Cross's door, there was a framed picture of the four..one that had been taken in a rush on some random mission years ago, when the gang had been close enough to a town's mall to warrant it. After the gang had caused enough chaos to have the mall completely evacuated, they had made a quick detour to its photography center, and Cross had used his photography skills to work the camera. They'd come home with over a dozen copies, just in case, and every member of the gang had one. Killer kept his in his dresser, hidden in a secret compartment that even Nightmare might not have known about. Horror's copy hung on the back wall of his closet, thoroughly hidden by several large jackets. Dust had his somewhere secret, even from Cross, Killer, and Horror; they respected his decision not to tell them. Cross's was definitely the one that was most hidden in plain sight, but, since Nightmare never closed the door after entering any of the gang members' rooms, it was a solid place. Besides, Cross had more copies - many more copies! - just in case. 

Aside from all that, though, there was just one more thing in Cross's room: a weapon cabinet..where he was currently having trouble finding the specific weapon he wanted to use today. He always had his magic, of course, but the small variety of physical weapons that he owned helped a lot..and, of course, he couldn't find his katana. It was only one of the larger physical weapons he owned, and it was nowhere in sight! How was it hiding from him? He knew he'd put it right here last time! He'd seen it when he'd woken up this morning!

"Guys, where's my katana?" He called, hoping one of the others had a clue. 

"Haven't seen it!" Horror replied. 

Horror's room, like Cross's, was rather sparse. Bed, nightstand, desk, and chair. Unlike Cross, Horror had taken one of the two rooms in the apartment with closets. Horror had decided on a redder color palette for his room, with his walls being dark red and his carpets sporting a nice scarlet shade. His wooden furniture and doors were unpainted, leaving them a slightly-ashy brown, but they looked rather welcoming despite that. His comforter was a red that happened to match his eyelights; he liked it. Despite Horror's larger need for physical weapons, he didn't have too many of them; he had a cabinet that stored four axes in it, and he carried one knife on him at all times, just in case, but that was all. 

"Uh, I thought I saw it earlier.." Dust hummed, pausing to think.

Dust's room was the second with a closet, but only because Killer and Cross hadn't wanted one - Killer for privacy reasons, and Cross simply because he preferred having a dresser. Dust's room was by far the most colorful of the four, but only because he had chosen two main colors for his room instead of one. His walls were a blue that was reminiscent of his jacket's shade, and his carpet was a deep purple. As the others did, Dust had a wooden desk, chair, and nightstand holding a simple lamp; the wood was a little brighter than Horror's, but it was still unpainted. Dust's bed had a blue comforter, as well as an extra purple blanket for the coldest nights; he got colder a little easier than the others did. Although Dust had possibly the largest magic reserves out of the gang, he also trained often with physical weaponry, always carrying a dagger or two and keeping several in his room. 

"Here it is!" Killer called, getting Cross's attention.

Killer's room was darker than the others' rooms, with his color scheme consisting almost entirely of black and red - mostly black, by a landslide. He had black walls and carpets, and the wood in his room was black, too. His sheets, comforter, furniture, and most of what he kept out in the open was black, with a little red found on notebook covers and pencils. But, of course, that wasn't all. Killer, unlike the others in the gang, liked collecting physical weaponry, and he had a sleek red cabinet for every blade he owned. It stood out, but Killer wanted it to stand out - it was one of the only things he was allowed to openly enjoy and not fear its being taken away, after all. 

And, really, that was all that was in any of their bedrooms; they weren't allowed to have much else. It was easy to keep them clean, at least..

"What's it doing out here?" Cross inquired, walking out into the living room to find Killer holding his katana.

"Dunno." Killer shrugged. "But we don't have time to worry about it; let's get going!"

"All right.."

Cross accepted his blade, sheathing it in his back scabbard as Killer opened a portal to today's mission location. It would be a simple negativity run - causing chaos until they were stopped or they had caused so much negativity that they didn't think there was anything more to do. The four went through promptly, leaving the castle behind, and they came out in the middle of a town, in a quiet alleyway - no one would see them coming.

"Crossy, Dusty, you two go straight to downtown." Killer ordered. "Horror and I will take the park and work towards you from there."

"On it." Cross nodded, before running off through the alleyways with Dust.

These sorts of missions were never pleasant. It was one thing to fight somebody who was one's equal match; it was another to fight (and potentially murder) an innocent. These runs, though..that was really all they were. When he and Dust reached the downtown area of the city, they exited the alleyway with their magic firing, unconcerned about the pain and destruction they were causing. It was life; they had both long since grown used to it. 

Cross remembered the first time he'd gone on a mission..it had been so long ago. He'd been forced to go out with the others before he'd truly realized what type of life he now had. They'd all given him orders, pulled him out of the way of attacks, and probably saved his life that day, truthfully; he'd frozen, and he'd panicked. Some of the words spoken that day had reached him; others hadn't. He'd been unable to do his job that day, and Nightmare had made sure to make him pay for it afterwards..but after that, the others had taken him to the training room. They'd attacked him all at once, simulating what it was like out there, and they'd taught him how to hurt and kill innocents. It hadn't been pleasant, but it had been necessary, and Cross was grateful. 

As he stabbed a blade through a random civilian's arm before turning to stab another, he was grateful for his brothers. He never would have lasted this long without them. 

An hour after the gang arrived, the city was, quite literally, burning. Injured civilians lay on the streets and sidewalks helpless as the gang laid waste to their home, and over a dozen buildings were slowly burning to the ground. The four had regrouped by then, and they were preparing to move to a different section of the city when a portal opened up nearby, several familiar faces coming out of it. Ink and the Posse had arrived.

Great..

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Cross bean isn't having a good day.

I spent like a thousand words describing their bedrooms, but they say a picture paints a thousand words, too, so..here's a hastily-drawn picture containing the layout of the gang's apartment.

Chapter Text

Nightmare sat down on the couch in Dream's room, giving his little brother a smile. The room was as blisteringly-hot as usual, but Nightmare was willing to bear it for his brother's sake; Dream meant more to him than a little heat did. Today, especially, Nightmare wouldn't let the heat get to him.

"Well, what did you wish to talk about, brother?" Nightmare inquired, looking at Dream's contemplative expression.

"Uh..it's complicated." Dream started. "You, um..know about the argument, right?"

"Yes, you told me about it." Nightmare nodded, letting Dream take this at his own pace.

"Oh, I did..um..well, people in the castle, they..they took sides over everything. Some of them are refusing to speak to me anymore. I just..don't know what to do."

"I could fix that." 

"Really?" 

"Yes, and I will..but first, I want to ask you something." Nightmare spoke slowly; he wanted to give Dream time to think.

"What is it, Nighty?"

"My offer. I'd really like to know what problems you have with accepting it, and, if possible, I would like to try to remedy those problems."

"..Nighty, I can't just turn my back on the past few decades of my life for you." Dream shook his skull. "It's like I told you: I'm loyal to Ink. I've always been, and I plan to always be."

"I see..is that really all?"

"It's the thing that matters most to me." 

Nightmare smiled. "I'm glad you have such a good relationship with your mentor; I would never want to get in the way of it."

"Thanks, Nighty."

"Of course, little brother. However.."

Ink led the Posse through a portal, coming out in a city that had been through far too much in far too little time. 

It had been a while since Ink and the Posse had joined forces, and although things weren't perfect (they would never be perfect without Dream and Blue), they were as good as they were going to get. The Posse had done their best to make Ink feel like part of the team, and the cowboy hat he wore now was a prime example of that. It was actually less-restrictive than Ink had intially believed it would be, not blocking too much of his view to be dangerous! Things like that were extremely important during fights! And, speaking of fights..

"Stop right there!" Patch took charge this time, pointing his trusty revolver at the four n'er do-wells. 

"Nope!" Killer called out, before only narrowly avoiding a sneaky bullet; the gang were getting better at that, unfortunately - in the beginning, they'd only been able to dodge bullets via luck, but now..not so much. Ink wondered what their training regimen was like.

"Guys, the fight hasn't started yet!" Ink reminded, receiving a small groan from Pop, who had fired the bullet in question; ever since he'd learned how to use a revolver, the flower had been overly trigger-happy.

"Aw, what's the matter?" Killer chuckled. "Can't rein in the help?"

Ink huffed at the remark, opting not to grace it with a reply. Although, Killer wasn't entirely wrong..just for different reasons. The Posse had always been bounty hunters, and bounty hunting was different from what Ink did to protect the multiverse - particularly, bounty hunters didn't try to talk things out before they pounced onto their targets; that could have been the difference between receiving a paycheck or not, after all. Ink, however, for the most part, had convinced the Posse to at least try to remember to do things his way when they helped him against the gang. When they were bounty hunting, though, they did things their way; Ink had no say over what they did then, and he wouldn't have dreamed of infringing upon their work. He was just happy to have help now. 

"What, cat got your tongue?" Killer asked, twirling his blade expertly. 

Ink rolled his eyelights before gaining a battle stance. "Are you going to stand down, or will we have to make you?"

"Is that a challenge?"

The fight started with those simple words. 

"However?" Dream tilted his skull. "What is it, Nighty?"

"Well..I wasn't sure how you'd react to the thought, but..there may be a way to have you join me and keep your loyalties with Ink secure." Nightmare informed.

"There is? How?"

"If I were to capture him, I know I could convince him to join me, and then you wouldn't have to worry! However, I would need your help with the plan..you would have to join me first. I would understand if you have reservations; it's a tough decision, I know."

"I..I suppose that would technically work, but..are you sure you could convince him? Ink is pretty firm in his beliefs; I'm not sure about getting him to switch sides."

"He's done it before."

"Yes, but he had a life-changing revelation to make him do it the first time; can you really compete with that?"

Nightmare gave his little brother a soft smile. "Dream, it's my job to compete with that. Everyone has little things, brother, that make them vulnerable - I find them."

Ink didn't know how mortals managed to learn how to fight on levels such as these. Maybe it was determination, and maybe it was something else, but whatever the case, Ink was always impressed when he saw mortals fight like this, somehow reaching levels that would allow them to hold their own in a fight against someone like..well, him! Not full-strength him (he would never put someone through that again), but him at, like..quarter strength! Ink wondered how hard they trained to do this stuff. Although, when Cross had been part of the Star Sanses, he and Blue had used to get up super early to train together; maybe that was the key! But..Ink couldn't imagine someone like Dust getting up that early. Maybe it was just the LV; there weren't a lot of people with that much LV, after all!

Oh, but that didn't explain the Posse..

Well, whatever the case, Ink knew that everyone on this battlefield was a capable fighter, and he had to be on his game! Everyone had to be on their game, really, with all the different types of attacks that were running around! From the gang's side, bones, blades, blasters, and blue magic were common, while from Ink's side..well, that was more complicated. Polaris was putting his lasso to good use, having Dust wrapped up tightly (unfortunately, this did not stop the smaller fighter's magic attacks, and Dust was getting closer and closer to breaking free with every second that passed) and sending different attacks at him, such as trains (why did Polaris have trains? Ink didn't know!) and bombs (Ink also did not know why Polaris had bombs). Meanwhile, Menagerie was busy with Cross, sending an incredible variety of attacks Cross's way from above, ranging from bowling balls to feathers! Across the field, Patch and Pop were facing off against Horror, firing bullets at the surprisingly-agile axeman while also narrowly avoiding said axe; Horror was good at covering distances quickly, it seemed. 

While all that was going on, Ink and Noneko were fighting Killer, with Noneko utilizing flower-based attacks and Ink using his traditional paint! Killer was good at dodging, but against two opponents at once, even he tripped up sometimes! To make up for that, however, he attacked twice as fast, doing his best to get in more damage than his opponents could. Ink, admittedly, hadn't been too used to fighting alongside an ally in the beginning, since the Star Sanses had almost always been outnumbered by the gang, and if they weren't, Ink typically stood by the sidelines unless he was needed. He'd been working on it since joining up with the Posse, though, and he was definitely getting better!

Ink expertly sidestepped to avoid a swift stab from Killer, giving Noneko an opening to blast a few rounds of flower petals at the knife-wielding skeleton. It kind of felt bad, double-teaming an opponent, but Ink wasn't going to let simple emotions stop him; this was for the safety of the multiverse! Ink had been protecting the multiverse for a long time, now; he knew the importance of his role, and he knew just how much the multiverse really did need to be protected, whether it was by bounty hunters like the Posse or proper protectors like himself. And, no matter what, Ink was never going to let anyone take his role from him. He was the Protector, and that meant something to him - it meant more to him than he liked to let others know.

Protecting the multiverse wasn't just about keeping people safe; it was about protecting the qualities that made the multiverse special. Maybe having barely-noticable differences between variations of the same type of universe as redundant to some people, but to Ink, it was an expression of just what exactly he protected. In the multiverse, anything that could happen did happen, whether that was done with a different economic environment in a random civilization, completely changing everything and everyone down to the last little detail, or simply switching someone's eye color for the fun of it. That was the point! Everything was special; every little detail meant something, and Ink was always eager to find the deeper meanings in things. Not everyone understood, but that was okay; maybe, in a different world, they did. 

Ink wondered if there were different versions of himself, sometimes. Were there other multiverses? Were there versions of him that had never drained the colors from a universe? Were there versions of him that destroyed the multiverse without a care and rejected the thought of protecting it? Were there versions of him who placed the protection of the multiverse above everything else? 

Ink didn't need to have see them to know that there were. Just by looking at his own multiverse, taking note of a blue flower growing where a yellow one did in a different universe..he knew. There were versions of Error who weren't grumpy, and there were versions of Nightmare who were the purest, kindest souls in the multiverse. In another world somewhere, Blue was the multiverse's greatest villain! Maybe Ink would never see them, but he knew they existed. He wondered if his story was so much different from others like him; was he closer to whatever the "normal" was, or was his normal completely removed from the common conceptions of Ink? He probably wouldn't ever get an answer. All he really knew for sure was that he was himself, and he was the Protector of this multiverse. 

A pained yell rang out across the battlefield, garnering attention. Before Ink could take advantage of a moment of distraction from his enemy, Killer had already teleported over to his teammate. Horror had been shot in the knee by one of Patch's bullets, and he'd gone down. Dust and Cross broke from their battles at the first possible opportunity to regroup with the others as Killer held off Patch and Pop on his own, and not ten seconds after Horror had been downed, the gang were gone. 

Ink let out a quiet hum, looking at the spot that Horror had been just a few seconds before.

"They're quick in runnin'; I'll give 'em that." Polaris crossed his arms as the Posse gathered together. 

"That was a pretty loud yell.." Patch mentioned. "I didn't know he could be so loud."

"He'll be fine." Ink waved it off. "You just caught him in the middle of a joint - that's super painful for skeletons!"

Ink had almost no doubts that Horror had died in a different multiverse from that shot. That was what typically happened on universe-scale incidents like this, anyway - in one, the victim got lucky and lived, and in the other, they died. Ink..

Hm..Ink was being somewhat depressing right now; he must have taken too much blue today - that always made him way too contemplative and existential! 

"Huh.." Patch crossed his arms. "Well, this place looks like a mess."

"Time for clean up!" Menagerie exclaimed, pulling a few brooms out of her inventory. 

"Ugh.." Pop didn't want to clean up - too bad!

"Oh, it won't be that bad!" Noneko rolled her eyes, taking a broom. "We'll live."

"Maybe you will."

"I'll handle the fires and circle back." Ink decided, after taking a sip of cyan to clear his mind - much better! "This shouldn't take too long!"

Maybe cleaning up a destroyed city wasn't the most exciting thing to do, especially after an intense battle, but it had to be done. 

That was just part of Ink's job, after all! 

"..I don't know." Dream frowned. "I mean..Ink takes his work seriously. He won't just let you convince him to join you.."

"I know." Nightmare nodded. "But I'll do my best, and, really, isn't that all I can do?" 

Nightmare held Dream's hand, looking at his brother with a hopeful expression.

"I know it's a difficult decision, and I don't expect you to join me, Dream..but I'd like you to." He requested. "Someday, I am going to rule this multiverse, and I want you by my side when I do. I want to rule with you, Dream; I wouldn't - I couldn't - have it any other way. You're my brother, and that will always be true. My offer will remain open for the rest of eternity, Dream, so please, don't feel as if you're constricted by time - in my world, nothing will stand in your way, little brother. So..will you join me today, Dream? Will you become the prince of the castle? It's all right if you aren't ready; I can wait."

Dream wrapped his arms around his brother, letting out a quiet chuckle. "Oh, Nighty..you don't have to wait, and I don't need an eternity to decide."

The Guardian of Positivity pulled back to look his big brother and opposite in the eyelight, giving him a determined grin. 

"I'll do it, Nighty; I'll join you."

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Ink bean thinks about life, and Dream bean(?) makes a choice!

Thanks for reading my manipulative writing! 

Bye!

Chapter Text

Today, the multiverse was going to change. 

Nightmare had completed one of his highest goals, and he'd done it far quicker than he'd anticipated! He'd imagined at least three more years before Dream would have considered his proposal, but that failed attempt on Dream's life had streamlined everything. Dream cared about Nightmare; he cared enough to trust his big brother with his life and his loyalties. He wasn't perfect (he still had far too much compassion for others than Nightmare had wanted), but Nightmare could tweak some things along the way. With the way things were going, Nightmare had no doubts that Dream would turn out exactly as he'd envisioned him in..perhaps two weeks? Normally, Nightmare would have predicted a few months, but with the way things were progressing, he wanted to see how fast this would go. And today..

Oh, today!

Today, Dream would publicly take his place at Nightmare's side. Well..publicly in Nightmare's little empire, anyway; the multiverse outside his reign wouldn't have a clue. At the moment, only Nightmare, Dream, and the gang knew what was going to happen today, with the latter four having been told when they'd returned from their mission before. It had been about two weeks since then, and despite how fast everything had seemed to move recently, it had only been a month since the brothers's birthday - how time flew! So much had happened in the past month; Nightmare couldn't have hoped for a better turn of events! 

After Dream had agreed to join him, the two had spoken about what to do next. Nightmare wouldn't tolerate his subjects ignoring his dear brother, but instead of acting against those people immediately, Dream had suggested that Nightmare wait..until today. No one in the castle, aside from the brothers and the gang, knew what was happening today; they only knew that they had been ordered to report to the castle's throne room for a special event. It wasn't as if this had never happened before - there had been a few occasions in the past when everyone in the castle had gathered there for one reason or another - but..most people had an idea of what would be happening today. Some did have their assumptions that Dream would be joining Nightmare, but most people had no doubt that Nightmare would be addressing the recent issues with Dream regardless of the former possibility. And, of course, they were right; this day would be known for two reasons, but the main one would be Dream's new standing in the empire. He wouldn't just be "Nightmare's brother" anymore - he would be the empire's prince. 

At the moment, everyone in the castle was in the throne room, save for Nightmare, Dream, and Cross; they were in Dream's room, where the positive guardian was getting ready for his day. Dream had decided to wear his favorite outfit today; it really did make him look like a prince, didn't it? He wondered what it would be like..he'd only ever met royalty before, never having been royalty. Though, by his brother's side..he believed he would enjoy it. 

"You look great, brother." Nightmare complimented. 

"Thanks!" Dream smiled, hugging his brother. "Are we ready to go down, yet?"

"Not just yet - I want to give you something first."

"Give me something? A gift? But Nighty, you've given me so much already! What more could I want?"

"Well, with your new role, I have a feeling that people will be more..hostile toward you. I want to make Cross your personal guard, if that's all right with you."

"Cross?" Dream looked over to the soldier, who was currently standing by the door - already doing his duties.

Cross looked over briefly, nodding, but he didn't say anything; Nightmare had ordered him to be silent for this.

"You two spend so much time together anyway, and Cross is a capable fighter; I believe the situation will be beneficial for both of you. Cross cares about you, after all; he's the only one I'd ever trust to guard you."

Dream hummed, before smiling again. "I guess that'll work. Why don't you have a personal guard, though, Nighty? You're the king."

Nightmare chuckled. "There isn't a soul in this castle who wouldn't try to kill me if given the chance, Dream; I don't plan on exposing myself like that."

"I understand. Thanks for caring so much about me, Nighty; I love you."

"I love you, too, little brother." Nightmare turned towards the door. "Shall we go?"

"Of course, Nighty!"

And so, the two brothers left the room, and Cross followed behind them, diligently watching for possible threats along the way. Along the way, Nightmare and Dream went over the plans for the ceremony.

"I'll go in first, and after fifteen seconds, you enter the throne room." Nightmare reminded.

"Mhm." Dream nodded. "We've gone over this a hundred times, Nighty."

"Yes, but one more time won't hurt." 

Dream chuckled. "All right, one more time."

"Thank you. So, after the fifteen seconds, you enter the room, and you walk up to the steps to the thrones. Cross will take his place across from Killer on the second step up as you stop, and once you do, I'll come down to make things official. Once I finish, we'll go up together, and..that will be it. Then we'll get to the secondary portion, which will mainly be improvisation." 

"You're nervous." Dream noticed, amused. "Nothing's going to happen, Nighty; everything will turn out just fine!"

"You're right, of course - I just..I want this to go well."

"It will! And if it doesn't, that doesn't matter, because we'll still be together!" Dream exclaimed, holding his hand out to his brother.

"..Yes, we will." Nightmare nodded, accepting the offered hand. "I'm glad you're on my side, brother."

"And I'm glad to be here! And, when we get Ink over here, you two can meet properly; I'm sure you'll like him, Nighty - he's really great, once you get to know him!"

"I'm sure we'll get along splendidly, if he's anything like your stories about him."

"Oh, he is!"

The rest of the walk was filled with light chatter from the brothers, Cross merely following silently like the guard he now was. When the trio reached the doors to the throne room, however, the conversation ended, and Dream and Nightmare looked at eachother with smiles.

"Well, this is it.." Nightmare gave Dream one last hug. "In a minute, you'll officially be royalty. Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be!" Dream chuckled, returning the hug before pulling away. "Now come on and get in there; you've already delayed this enough as it is!"

"I suppose I have; I'm just so proud of you..I'm happy, Dream - truly happy."

"I am, too."

Nightmare turned towards the door, nodding to himself. "Well, let's do this. Remember: fifteen seconds."

"I'll remember - now go!" 

Dream giggled as Nightmare finally opened the doors a little to enter the room, thoroughly amused, and Cross took another look around, searching for possible threats.

"I didn't think Nighty got nervous!" Dream commented, smiling at Cross. "Did you?"

"..Admittedly, no." Cross shook his skull. "I've never seen him like this before."

"Well, you can rest assured that I am not going to miss the opportunity to tease him about it! I'm glad I'm finally getting to know him; he's not a bad guy..he's a great one."

After saying those words, Dream decided that it had been about fifteen seconds, and he slowly opened the doors to the throne room wider than Nightmare had, since he had nothing to hide to build suspense as his brother had. He and Cross slowly walked down the long carpet that led to the thrones at the end of the room, and Dream took in every moment of it. 

On either side of the carpet was a long line of castle guards, and behind them were crowds of people - everyone who lived in the castle. Everyone was going to see Dream's rise to power; he was so excited! At the end of the carpet, Dust and Horror stood at the bottom of the stairs that led up to the two thrones, and Killer was behind Dust, just two steps up - Cross would be across from him in a moment. Last, but definitely not least, Nightmare was sitting in his beautifully-crafted black and purple throne, watching Dream's approach with a proud smile; Dream had finally seen the light, and he was going to assist his brother in all his goals and dreams. After today, everything would be great. Dream looked at his own yellow and cyan throne for a moment, smiling at the thought that had clearly been put into it; Nightmare knew him so well. When Dream and Cross reached the bottom of the stairs, Dream stopped in place, and Cross ascended a couple steps to stand in his designated spot. According to Nightmare's plan, Dream would stand here for a moment before Nightmare came down, but..

Where was the fun in that?

Dream wanted to have some fun, and, especially, he wanted to see his brother's reaction to a little prank he'd thought up! So, instead of standing, Dream decided to play this up a little, getting down to the floor and kneeling instead. Instantly, Dream sensed shock and fear from the crowd, which was, admittedly, understandable, but he was more interested in Nightmare's emotions; his brother was utterly flustered! Dream giggled softly as Nightmare tried to regain his composure, but Nighty was good at that; it only took a moment. Nightmare came down the steps, now feeling a little amused; Dream's plan had worked! One of Nightmare's tendrils came down to rest on Dream's shoulder, indicating that his little stunt was at an end, and Dream rose accordingly, grinning at his brother. 

"Well, I doubt that there could be any question regarding what is to happen next." Nightmare commented, trying to keep a straight face despite his emotions. "Today will be known as the beginning of a new era for this empire..and for the multiverse as a whole. I have been your sole ruler for a long, long time, but today, that will change; today, Dream will take his rightful place by my side as your prince. Come with me, brother, and take what is, and always should have been, yours."

Dream did so gladly, holding Nightmare's hand as the two ascended the steps to their thrones. 

It was funny, really. A year ago, Dream would have been appalled and repulsed by the idea of ruling over an empire or helping his brother conquer the multiverse; even just the notion that his brother had a throne for him had been enough to incite disgust. But now? Now, those thoughts didn't really bother him. He was a new person now; he knew that, and he'd come to terms with that. The Dream of the past had been hopelessly naive and far too trusting..he couldn't be that person again. There were few people Dream felt he could truly trust right now, and those were his family and his closest friend (and now-guard) - no one else. But, despite that, Dream believed that things would be better this way; he would be better. Maybe some people wouldn't like it, but did their opinions really matter? 

Dream didn't think so. 

As Dream sat down for the first time in the throne that his brother had designed for him, he felt..right. He was meant to be here, sitting by his brother's side. He was meant to be this kingdom's prince. 

The fear and stress in the room from the crowd was practically tangible, even to Dream's muted senses, and it didn't exactly do wonders for his phsycial state, but this was his brother's castle; Dream had long since gotten used to high levels of negativity. This was just a little more than normal; it wouldn't hurt him too much. To Dream's relief, however, Nightmare decided not to let the silence dwell for too long; there were other matters to attend to..matters that a certain castle servant had created. Well, perhaps it wasn't all Blue's fault, but..Dream wanted it to be. The mere fact that people had actually sided with Blue after that fight was ridiculous! Things needed to change, and in just a moment, they would.

"Now, let's get to today's second event, shall we?" Nightmare looked at the crowd with a more serious expression; this part wouldn't be so lighthearted. "I will not waste your time by explaining the situation; you all know what happened a couple weeks ago, and if by some chance you don't, you may count yourself lucky, as you will not have to worry about what is to come. As for the rest of you, you know. Now that Dream is your new prince, things such as disrespect and ignorance will not be tolerated; I expect all of you to treat him with the utmost respect, and you will be hearing about it if you do not. As for those of you who have already wronged him, please, separate yourselves from the loyal subjects of the empire and boldly face what is in store for you. Everyone who has intentionally distanced themself from him, and everyone who has chosen to side with Blue and oppose Dream, come forward. All others, stand back; I want a clear border. And..I'll take your word for it, hm?" 

Blue was the first to leave the crowd, unsurprisingly; he didn't have a choice, being the catalyst for all of this. He stood in the center of the room, glaring daggers at Nightmare, but he didn't make eye contact with Dream. After a couple seconds of silence, Stitch joined his friend; he was no coward. Nightmare was offering an easy escape for anyone who wanted it, allowing his subjects to change their minds at the last second about their actions; opposing Nightmare was very stupid thing to do, after all, and many were remembering that fact rather late. Those who joined Blue...there was no guarantee about what would happen. Stepping out of the crowd was signing up for a punishment that could have ranged from extra work to death; was it really worth the risk?

Most people decided to stay where they were, even if they had participated in the exclusion and didapproval of Dream. In the end, about twenty people stood by Blue, despite knowing that this would not turn out well for them. 

"I find it hard to believe that such a small group could have impacted my brother in such a way." Nightmare commented, once the group had stopped growing. "But I said I'd take your word for it, and I will. As for these brave souls, I've decided that it is quite unfair to choose the repercussions for their actions myself, as I was not the one affected by them. So.." Nightmare turned to Dream, who sat up a little at the unexpected attention. "Brother, what shall their punishment be? And, I know you're partial to some of them; you don't have to punish them equally if you don't want to. It's your choice, brother."

Dream looked at his brother for a moment, before his gaze drifted off to the crowd in the middle of the room. Nightmare hadn't told him that he'd be given a choice like this! Dream had thought that Nightmare would choose something! What..what was he even supposed to do? What..did he want to do? As Dream considered it, his mind drifted to the conversations that he'd had with Nightmare over the past couple weeks, and he realized that..Nightmare had been preparing him for this decision. He'd jokingly asked Dream for suggestions about what to do to these people, and Dream..had thought about it. He'd thought about it a lot, actually. 

Blue was the type of person who lived for revenge; he wanted to hurt Nightmare, and he wanted to do it in every way that mattered. Blue and Dream hadn't spoken much since the argument, and Dream knew why, because Nightmare had told him: Blue couldn't hurt Nightmare through Dream anymore, therefore, he counted Dream worthless. Of course, Dream wasn't worthless. 

He wanted to show Blue that. 

A small smirk crept onto Dream's face as he considered what he was going to do, and it only grew when he saw the rising fear in Blue's eyelights. 

Blue's methods were quite intriguing, really; instead of fighting Nightmare himself and taking his revenge personally, he hurt Nightmare through others. He manipulated people to do what he couldn't, because in a fight, he'd never have been able to beat Nightmare; he probably wouldn't have even been able to hit him! Dream wanted to do something that would hurt those who had opposed him, yes, but he wanted to hurt Blue most of all. Out of everyone there, Blue deserved to hurt the most. 

Stitch, though..Dream liked Stitch. He didn't blame Stitch for siding with Blue; he was Blue's best friend, after all, and Stitch was loyal to the end! Maybe Stitch would get off lightly this time; he would learn his lesson quietly and never go against Dream again, and if he did, then Dream would pay more attention to him. 

As for the others, none of them meant much to Dream. They were just subjects of this kingdom - nothing more, and nothing less. 

Dream knew exactly what to do, now.

"All right." Dream spoke up, when he'd decided. "I'm not cruel; I'm not going to ask you to do anything horrible to them..but I also won't be light. My decision is simple: first of all, Stitch. I don't really want to do anything too bad to him, so..how about working three all-nighters per week for the next month?"

Stitch didn't like that idea. His expression might have screamed confidence, but inside, he was just screaming. He liked his job, but not that much! 

"As you wish, brother." Nightmare chuckled. "And, for the others?"

"I've thought about it a lot." Dream admitted. "There are some people in this castle who suffer more than others for no real reason, and I plan to take advantage of that. Aside from Blue, everyone else can swap jobs with the normal dungeon staff for the month; I imagine working there is better than being held prisoner, but if they really want to, they can opt for that, too. And, honestly, I think the dungeon staff need a break anyway; they go through a lot."

"You're absolutely right, brother." Nightmare grinned darkly, savoring the fear and dread from the group behind Blue. The dungeon staff, on the other hand, were rather excited; Dream was happy for them. "And, for him?"

Dream smiled at Blue, resting his head on his hand. "Nothing."

"..Nothing?" Nightmare questioned, confusion radiating from not just him, but many others - understandable. 

"Nothing." Dream repeated, before lowering his voice so only his brother could hear. "He'll just get to watch while others suffer for his actions. He'll hate it."

Nightmare nodded in agreement, before looking to the group. "Nothing, then. Well, you all heard his decision; get back to work. Killer, Dust, Horror - you organize who gets what jobs for the next month."

"Yes, boss." The trio nodded, beginning to walk down to the group. 

The crowd began to disperse, save for the dungeon staff and the ones who would be taking their places for the next month. Stitch left with a sigh, but he also went with a twinge of relief; all-nighters were bad, but they weren't as bad as working in - or staying in - the dungeon for a month. Blue stayed, since his job hadn't changed a bit; he was Dream's personal servant.

He would always be Dream's personal servant. 

Dream liked that idea, actually; maybe he could teach Blue how to behave like a normal person one day..or maybe not - he wasn't sure if it was possible, really. Either way, Blue would serve his prince, and he would just have to deal with it.

"Well, I have to admit it, brother: your decision was creative." Nightmare sat back down in his throne, looking over at his little brother. 

"Thanks!" Dream chuckled. "It really wasn't that hard; I really just thought of what would hurt Blue the most. He doesn't like it when people are hurt because of him."

"Well, I'm glad that you're happy. Although, that little stunt you pulled was-" Nightmare was cut off.

"You liked it, didn't you?" Dream smirked.

"..Perhaps so. It was just..unexpected."

"You were nervous; I wanted to relieve that a little."

"Well..thank you, little brother, because you did..you really are the best little brother a king could want."

"And you're the best big brother a prince could want!"

"Thank you. So..how is the throne? Is it comfortable enough? I can have more padding added to it, if it's too hard; I just didn't want to put too much in at first, in case you didn't want that."

"Hm..it could be a little softer." Dream admitted. "But it's fine for now. I love the design, though; it suits me!"

"I knew you'd like that; I'll have the padding fixed as soon as possible, though."

"Thank you, brother!"

"Of course, brother. Now..how shall we spend this day?"

"How about we start with lunch?" Dream suggested, before looking over to Blue. "Blue, get out a notepad, because this is going to be a grand little celebration!"

Dream had a feeling he would enjoy being a prince.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dream bean(???) is a prince, now..

Thanks for reading my royal writing!

Bye!

Chapter Text

"I'm not saying you took it." Killer crossed his arms. "I'm saying someone took it! Because it's not here! I looked everywhere, Dusty! It's not lost - it's stolen!"

"You could have dropped it on a mission." Dust sighed.

"I don't take it on missions; I wouldn't risk it like that!"

Horror walked into the kitchen, looking at Cross, who was sitting at the kitchen's island while Killer and Dust spoke in the living room. "Is Killer on about his missing knife again?"

"Yep." Cross nodded, letting out a sigh before sipping his coffee. "It's been, like, three weeks; I thought he would have gotten over it by now."

"..He did say it was his favorite."

"Yeah..but it's still just a knife; he has over a hundred of them - maybe two."

"Maybe to us." Horror shrugged. "But he likes them; to him, they're important, and we gotta respect that. They mean something to him."

Cross took another sip of his drink. "I guess so. It would just be nice to go a day without him mentioning it."

"..That, I can agree on." 

Horror started opening cupboards and grabbing food to make breakfast, but as he did, he caught sight of the calendar, which informed him that today was no ordinary day. 

Today was Dust's birthday. 

Birthdays were..complicated, in the castle. There were no complimentary days off, presents, or desserts; there was nothing, really, unless someone had friends with enough money to afford something. In the gang, money was no issue..rather, the days themselves were. Killer, for instance, had no idea when his birthday was, and neither did Horror. Cross knew his, but he was too stubborn to give it out, claiming that he didn't want or need a birthday. Killer and Horror had shared that sentiment despite their lack of dates, and they had both opted not to select one for themselves as a result..at least, not while they still lived in this place.

And then there was Dust. 

For every little thing like this, everyone else was either smart or fortunate enough to avoid certain destruction, and Dust was not. From his bunny-themed pajamas to his luck in general, Dust could not catch a break. He was the only gang member who both remembered his birthday and had made the mistake of giving it out, and, therefore, he was the only gang member who (reluctantly) received a yearly birthday "party." He didn't want birthday parties, much as the others didn't, but he had no choice in the matter; the only thing he could do was hope that everyone else forgot about it. 

No one ever forgot about it.

However, this year, the trio were planning on making it a surprise party - something new! And there were other new things that would be happening this year, too.

"Well, I've got to go." Cross informed, getting up from his seat. "Dream should be expecting me."

"Don't you want to eat something first?" Horror offered. "This will only be a couple more minutes."

"I would, but duty calls; I'll do my best to be here for lunch."

"All right - stay safe." 

"I'll do my best!"

Cross left the apartment, waving a goodbye to Killer and Dust on his way out, and he started making his way up to Dream's room. Honestly, even with Dream's new role, things hadn't changed too much between the two; Dream was just a little more..Cross didn't know, eccentric? As the prince's personal guard, Cross's job was to protect him in the case that anything harmful, potentially or not, happened, and he spent every day with Dream as a result, but today was different..

Hopefully. 

When Cross reached Dream's room, he knocked on the door, alerting Dream of his presence, and the empire's new prince answered promptly. 

"Good morning, Cross!" Dream smiled just as kindly as he always had. "How did you sleep?"

"I slept well, Prince Dream." Cross replied, using a professional tone; he wasn't just a friend anymore - he was a guard, and Dream was his superior. 

Dream, however, had other thoughts about that. "Cross, you don't have to call me that. It's kind of weird, honestly; I'm not used to it!"

"..Apologies.."

Dream sighed, gently guiding Cross into his room. "Cross, what's wrong? You're always so solemn when I say that."

Cross looked down for a moment before regaining eye contact; it was best to look a superior in the eye when speaking with them. "I've dealt with royalty in my past - people who said the same things you do..friends, even. But, then..they started changing, and suddenly, they started becoming violent over it. I just..I know you wouldn't - I even believe you wouldn't, but.."

"Oh..I see." Dream nodded, giving Cross a small smile. "It's just the trauma speaking; I understand. Well, if you feel the need to call me that, go ahead and do it, but I won't be violent if you forget; I'd like to hear my name alone every once in a while, anyway!"

Cross smiled, nodding. "Thank you..Dream."

"And thank you, Cross. You're the best friend I have here; I'm glad you feel comfortable enough to speak with me about these sorts of things. Now..what's the rest of your anxiety about? Did something happen to you?"

"No, nothing happened, Pr- uh, Dream. It's just..today is February tenth." 

"..Yes, that's the date. What about it?"

"Well, today is..Dust's birthday. And..we wanted to celebrate it today..if that's all right, of course."

"Oh!" Dream chuckled. "That's all? Well, you four go ahead and give him a great birthday; I'm sure he'll love whatever you do for him!"

"Thank you, Prince Dream! I'm sure he'll love it!" Cross beamed; he couldn't help it.

"Well, now, you run along and plan that party."

Cross blinked. "But I still have work - I have to-"

"Not today, you don't!" Dream shook his skull. "You and the others go have a good day; I'm spending most of my day with Nighty, anyway, and you could use a day off."

"Are..a-are you sure?" Cross questioned, wringing his hands together..

"Absolutely! You four's happiness will be more than enough to make up for a day of work, all right?"

"..If you insist. Thank you so much, Prince Dream - we won't let you down!"

"I know you won't. Now go; I'm sure you four have a splendid day ahead of you!" 

Cross nodded quickly before leaving the room, grateful for the unexpected favor. It wasn't often that Cross got a day off from work (he never did, unless he was seriously ill or injured or there was just truly nothing to do), and he was planning to make the most of it! Especially since he'd been tasked with being happy.

Since Dream was now in a position of power, he had certain..requirements of others. His job, to put it simply, was to keep Nightmare company and to keep himself happy. To do that, Dream made others happy; positivity fed him, after all. But he didn't really want to go out and continue as he had for so long, manually generating positivity by being nice or helping others out with things; he just wanted the reward that came at the end. So, Nightmare had given him the ability to essentially order others to be happy for him; today, he'd chosen Cross and the gang, and it was now their responsibility to be positive! If they weren't..

That didn't matter; they were going to be positive.

So, with a smile, Cross returned to the gang's apartment, and when he opened the door, he found that Killer had begun his personal goal for now: getting Dust out of the room so Horror could prepare for the celebration. At the moment, Horror was starting to grab ingredients to bake the cake; Horror's cakes were the best (although, Killer's were a close second)!

"Cross?" Horror looked up when he noticed Cross's presence. "Shouldn't you be with Dream?"

"He gave me the day off." Cross shrugged. "But I did get the permssion; we're his battery today."

"Ah, gotcha." Horror nodded. "That's good, 'cause I have a mission to get to at ten, and Killer and Dust will be going out for their own at one; I should be back about three, and they'll probably be back around five, I think. They're in the training room right now."

"Then what can I do? It's..what, eight now?"

"Eight thirty." Horror corrected, beginning his prep. "I'll need you to take care of the cake while I'm gone; it needs to be room temperature by the time you frost it, and it won't be there by the time I have to go. I'll make the frosting before I leave. Once you frost it, put it in the fridge; Dusty likes his cakes chilled. I'll have enough time to make dinner when I get back, so don't worry about that."

"Got it." Cross nodded, before looking at the ingredients for the cake in question. "So..what flavor is it?"

Horror chuckled. "Chocolate, but the frosting is vanilla."

"Sounds delicious! What can I do before then?" 

"Decorate." Horror gestured to the undecorated living room. "You've got time, so do something useful with it."

Cross grinned. "I certainly will!"

With that, Cross went off with his plan in mind; he was going to decorate this apartment! Cross entered his room and sat at his desk, opening one of the drawers in it and pulling out some construction paper - a valuable resource he'd picked up recently. He picked out several sheets of Dust's favorite colors (blue, purple, and red) and put the rest away before pulling out a knife. Cuttting paper with a knife was unorthodox and a bit difficult, but he didn't have any scissors; the blade would have to do. 

For the next hour, Cross made paper decorations for the party, and the apartment slowly began to smell like chocolate cake. Cross's decorations weren't too extravagant, but they would look good in the living room, and that was really all that mattered; Dust probably would have considered even this overkill, anyway. Once Cross was done with the decorations, he..realized that he didn't have any tape. Well..that would be a problem. In the hopes that someone else would have tape, he went back to the kitchen, finding Horror busy with lunch.

"Oh, those look good." Horror complimented. "He's sure to love those."

"Yeah, except I don't have any tape." Cross informed. "You got any?"

"Nope." Horror shook his skull, looking through one of the kitchen drawers. "I have thumbtacks, though."

"They'll work. Thanks, Horror."

"Sure thing, Crossy."

So, with the power of thumbtacks, Cross put up his decorations. From snowflakes to spheres (as close to a sphere as construction paper could get, at least) to balloons, the living room was decked out in themed decorations for the occasion, and it didn't look half bad! Once Cross was finished decorating, he took the opportunity to clean the place; he didn't remember the last time he'd had the chance to vacuum in here, and although it definitely would have matched the theme, Cross didn't want monster dust on the floor of this party. 

It was so easy to get lost in thought while cleaning. These past few weeks had been crazy, hadn't they? Dream was gone, replaced by a monster under Nightmare's influence, and Cross just had to go on pretending that nothing had happened..

And, today, he was that monster's positive battery; he couldn't risk thinking negatively about all this. 

At least Dream was happy..although, that was probably only because of the brainwashing. If he'd been able to resist Nightmare several months ago, Cross believed that this reality would have turned out much differently. Maybe there was a world where Dream didn't give in to Nightmare's persuasions; this just wasn't that world. Cross wondered what Dream was thinking sometimes; why had he sentenced those people to dungeon work? Why had he selected to let the dungeon workers switch jobs with those who sided with Blue instead of just sending them to work with them? Why hadn't he done anything to Blue?

Well..Dream hadn't done nothing to Blue. 

Blue was still Dream's personal servant, even after everything that had happened, but things were different between the two now - a lot different. For one thing, Dream didn't say "please" or "thank you" to Blue, which, alone, wasn't a big deal; the thing was that Dream did say those things to every other servant in the castle when they did things for him. For the first time in Cross's memory, Dream treated someone without respect - without even acknowledging that Blue was a person at all, sometimes! There were times when Blue would show up for work after Cross had arrived, and while Dream would greet Cross with a smile, he didn't spare a glance at Blue.

It was..disheartening, really. 

There were good days, though - days when Dream did greet Blue - but they were getting rarer as time went by. Nightmare was clearly influencing Dream's thoughts..at least, Cross didn't want to believe that this was all Dream's choice. Cross just..had to stay on Dream's good side. 

He had to. 

Cross sighed, shaking his skull; all those years of forcing himself to think negatively to appease Nightmare were affecting him. Hehad to think positively right now, for Dream! He couldn't let Dream down; he couldn't afford to let anyone down! Cross chose to think of how the party would go. Without a doubt, this would be the most sensational party the four had ever had; they were allowed to be happy for this one, and they wouldn't have to hide it! This was going to be fun! They could play party games, eat cake, joke, and laugh, just like people did outside Nightmare's castle! It had been ages since Cross had attended a real party; he should have been excited! He was excited! This would be the best birthday party ever.

Cross would make sure of it.

Eventually, the time began to near ten o'clock, and Horror had to start getting ready to go. 

"Put the blue frosting on as a base, and use the purple for decorating it." Horror directed, as he went to grab his axe. "Put your art skills to use; make it look good. And take Dusty and Kills their lunches; we gotta keep Dusty outta here until we're ready."

"You can count on me!" Cross assured. 

"All right. I set a timer for when the cake should be cooled enough; test it, and if it's room temperature, frost it."

"Understood."

"I'll be back around three." Horror opened a portal. "See you then."

"See you, Horror! Oh, and make your portal back to the bathroom and clean up in there; I don't want any dust in the living room! I'll put some clothes in there for you."

Horror nodded and left, leaving Cross in charge. The living room was almost clean, but Cross wasn't quite done; this room would be spotless, and once it was, the kitchen would be his next target! 

The timer went off just as Cross finished cleaning the living room - perfect! 

Cross put his cleaning supplies down and walked to the kitchen, washing his hands thoroughly before daring to go near the food; monster dust was not going to be on the menu tonight! Once he determined that his hands were clean, after washing them about five times (monster dust was truly the most annoying type of grime), he touched the cake lightly, determining its temperature. To his delight, it was room temperature. 

Frosting time!

Now, Cross was not the best at frosting cakes..or anything, for that matter. But he could still do it, and he would! So he took the blue-tinted frosting, and he began to coat the cake. Horror and Killer would have been better options for this job, but the task had fallen on Cross; he would do his best. He got the cake's coating as even as he possibly could, and when he was done, he grabbed a pipe and filled it with the purple frosting, beginning to decorate it. He put lots of swirls on the cake, since they were easy to do, and-

"Oh, no..no, no, no, stay!"  Cross winced as his deocrations began to slide; maybe he should have chilled it before decorating! 

Uh, improvisation time! Cross looked around the kitchen desperately, his eyelights soon landing on a potential solution to his problem. Yes..yes, that could work! Cross grabbed a paper towel, and very gently, he dabbed at the frosting, pushing it back into place.

And now the frosting was spiky. Great. Just great. 

No, he could work with this..he hoped Dust liked spiky frosting, because he was going to get spiky frosting! Cross let out a small, resigned sigh as he began to repeat his process with the rest of the decorations, and..it looked stupid. But he couldn't do anything but lightly dab at the frosting, or else it would blend way more, and he didn't want that. Or..did he? Oh, but what if it looked dumb? That would either go really well or really bad, and Cross had probably used all his luck for the day earlier with Dream..he didn't want to risk it. Spiky cake it was. It..kind of looked somewhat acceptable, he supposed. With a shrug, he put the cake into the fridge to chill; the taste was the important part, anyway, and this cake would be delectable regardless of what it looked like. 

Now, Cross would clean the kitchen!

Over the course of the next hour or so, Cross washed the dishes, cleaned the kitchen, and put some clothes in the bathroom for Horror. Well, that was all the common areas aside from the bathroom cleaned. Now, he needed to clean himself; he was covered in dust. After a thorough shower and a change of clothes, Cross was ready. However, time wasn't; it was only twelve thirty. 

..Twelve thirty?

Dust and Killer..Cross was supposed to have delivered their lunches to make sure that Dust wouldn't come back early! There was still time; Cross would have known if they'd been in the apartment, and they hadn't been! Quickly, Cross rushed to the kitchen, pulling the meals that Horror had prepared out of the fridge and starting his trek to the training room; with any luck, the two would still be there. 

The castle's training room was an interesting place, for sure. It was on the ground floor, a few halls over from the gang's apartment, and it was one of the bigger rooms in the castle. It had enough space to hold dozens of training dummies, an archery range, several agility courses, training weapons, weights, and about a dozen decently-sized areas for spars, as well as anything and everything else one would need to stay physically fit. The gang spent a lot of time here, although Cross's use of it had waned a bit with his new job; he didn't have as much time to train when he was required to guard Dream for the majority of his days.

When Cross arrived, he was relieved to see that Dust and Killer were here; they were currently racing eachother up the rock climbing wall, and Killer was winning. Dust's height, unfortunately, let him down when it came to these sorts of things. 

"I win!" Killer exclaimed, sitting at the top of the wall. 

"I'll get you next time!" Dust shouted up at his teammate, as he continued to scale the wall. 

"Oh, hey, it's Crossy! Hey, Crossy!"

"Hey, Killer, Dust." Cross greeted. "I brought lunch; are you guys hungry?"

"Am I?" Dust let out a groan, starting to descend. "This madman's been keeping me here all day; I'm starving!"

"Is this true?" Cross looked up at Kiler with a plaful glare. "Killer, are you torturing Dust?"

"I have plausible deniability!" Killer claimed, as he began to come down. 

"Not after blocking the door and literally begging me for 'one more spar, please?'" Dust mocked, letting out a huff before he accepted his lunch. "Thanks, Cross - did Horror make this?"

"Yeah, he did." Cross nodded. 

"Ooh, looks good." Killer grinned, taking his meal. "So, what're you doing here? Don't you have work?"

"Dream doesn't need me right now, so he let me have a break." Cross excused. "Figured I'd bring you guys some food before you have to go out."

"Well, you're a lifesaver." Dust informed, giving Cross a smile. "Thanks."

"No problem!" Cross beamed, taking a seat with the others to eat his own lunch; they would have probably killed him if he hadn't brought his own. 

Killer chuckled. "Someone's happy today."

"Yeah, it's just been a good day."

"Good to hear!"

"You wanna trade places?" Dust asked. "I wouldn't mind protecting someone for a few hours if you're willing to spar eighty times in a row with Killer."

"Uh..I'll pass." Cross decided. "You're on your own."

"Stuck in this torment." Dust put a hand to his forehead dramatically, despite his bland tone of voice. "When will it end."

"Uh, we have somewhere to be in fifteen minutes, so probably then." Killer shrugged.

"We're going straight home after the mission." Dust informed. "I am not coming back here to train with you."

"Aw, how'd you know I was gonna ask?" 

"Because you're insane."

"You're insane, too!" Killer chuckled.

"Not as much as you!"

"Well, all right, I guess we can go home after.." 

"Thank you."

"You're very welcome, Dusty!"

The three chatted for a little bit as they ate, but soon, Killer and Dust did have to leave. Since Killer had prepared for this, the two had everything they needed for their mission in the training room, therefore negating any need to go to the apartment to grab anything. It was a little suspicious, but Dust didn't seem to pick up too much on anything, likely too concerned with keeping Killer out of a negative slump due to his missing blade; it really had been his favorite. 

"Thanks for bringing lunch, Cross." Dust smiled, giving his brother a hug. "That was nice."

"It was nothing; I'm glad I could do something nice for you guys." Cross replied. "Good luck out there."

Dust and Killer nodded, and after a couple goodbyes, they were gone. Now, Cross had two hours to himself before Horror would return. He decided to head back to the apartment and wash these dishes; they needed to be cleaned. After that..he would see. 

So, Cross washed the dishes, and once he was done, he..well, this was the part in which he needed to see. He looked around the apartment for a little while, searching for something to fix or alter in order to make the party better than it would have been before, but he really couldn't see much of anything. He had his gift for Dust ready (he'd had it ready for months). The apartment was clean, save for the bathroom; there was no point in cleaning it until after Horror's return, since Horror would undoubtedly make a mess in there when he came back from his mission. The living room was - aha!

The living room could have used some expert rearranging, and luckily, Cross was an expert rearranger! He made the room a bit more inviting, scooting the couch a little farther back from the coffee table and rearranging the few books that the gang had alphabetically by author on the bookshelf. And..that was that. Cross let out a sigh; he needed something to do, and it needed to be something he enjoyed. 

Ultimately, Cross settled on sitting at his desk and drawing. It wasn't very productive, but there wasn't exactly anything productive left to do until Horror would come back home, aside from cleaning the others' rooms for them, and they had all made it fairly clear that they didn't want Cross to "overwork" himself by doing that for them. So what if he overworked himself a little? It was by choice! Didn't he have the choice to work himself to the point of exhaustion if he so desired?

Cross snorted; the others would have had a lot to say, if they knew he was thinking like this. He loved them so much. 

Cross ended up drawing until Horror came back, closing his sketchbook and putting it away in its place, far in the back of one of his drawers where hopefully no one else could find it; he didn't want to have another one taken away. Once everything was in its place, Cross left his room and went to wait in the living room for Horror; with any luck, he would be able to help Horror with dinner, and if not, he would at least be able to finally clean the bathroom. Horror got out of the shower soon enough, and he left the bathroom in clean clothes, entirely unphased by the fact that his teammate was waiting for him; Cross must have been getting predictable by now..

"Did you frost the cake?" Horror inquired.

"Yep!" Cross nodded. "And I delivered lunch to Killer and Dust. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"Good. Uh, there might be something, but just let me take a look at things real quick."

"Okay!"

Horror went over to the fridge, and he opened the door expecting to see a beautifully-decorated cake. He did not expect a spiky cake.

"..Cross." Horror stared at the dessert in the fridge. 

"..Yes, Horror?" Cross responded, with a hint of nervousness. 

"What did you do to the cake?"

"Um..well, the decorations started slipping, so I tried to push them back into place, but it didn't work, so-"

"All right." Horror stopped Cross short. "It's fine..I'm going to start dinner; if I need your help, I'll ask you."

"Thanks, Horror." Cross smiled a little, happy that his mishap with the frosting hadn't ruined everything irreparably. "I'll, uh, just be cleaning the bathroom.."

Horror nodded in acknowledgment, and Cross went off to start his cleaning. Tonight, Horror would make some of Dust's favorite foods, utilizing high-quality ingredients that he'd smuggled into the castle over the course of the last couple months during missions. To Cross's knowledge, though, Dust's tastes were simple; he liked most foods, as long as they tasted good, and he enjoyed a dash of spice. After living in the castle for so long and having to eat mostly just "what was allowed," Cross had to admit that his tastes were similar, although he might have liked spice just a bit more than Dust. Cross couldn't remember the last time he'd had a good taco..Horror made great ones, though. 

After living for so long in the castle, Cross wished he'd learned to cook better beforehand; he wasn't the best, by any means. Horror had taught himself how to cook when it had just been him, Killer, and Dust in the castle with Nightmare; things like that had been a lot easier to do back then, from Cross's understanding. Killer had learned to cook from a friend before he'd been taken by Nightmare, and he wasn't bad at all; some of the food he made was really good, and he was a great baker! Alternatively, Dust was probably the worst of the four in the kitchen; he'd never learned how to cook. It wasn't his fault, really; he'd spent most of his in-universe life raising his brother and working every hour he could to make ends meet, and once the determined child had come along and begun to commit endless genocides, the prospect of learning to cook had gone from slim to practically impossible. After that, he'd been taken by Nightmare, and..being taken by Nightmare didn't exactly inspire one to learn new skills. Truly, Cross was the only one without a good excuse; he'd had time, and he hadn't used it. 

Although, it was hard to predict the possibility that an evil dictator would turn on and kidnap him after spending a good deal of time secretly befriending him..

But, still, cooking was a good skill to learn; Cross was going to take cooking lessons if he ever got out of this place.

..When he got out of this place. He needed to think positively about that.

When Cross finished cleaning the bathroom, he lent a hand to Horror in the kitchen, doing what he could to assist him with dinner; he wasn't helpless in the kitchen, at least! The many smells of Dust's favorite foods replaced the smell of chocolate cake (a necessary sacrifice) over the course of an hour and a half, and then, as Cross and Horror washed the dishes they'd used to cook, the door finally opened.

"Killer, I'm tired, and I want to rest!" Dust's voice was the first one that the two heard, and he sounded absolutely done with Killer's antics. 

"Aw, not even one little spar?" Killer requested. 

"Not even-" Dust paused, looking at the apartment. "Oh, you did not."

"We did!"

"Happy birthday!" Cross wished, with Killer and Horror following close behind. 

"I told you guys-" Dust was interrupted.

"Yeah, well, we didn't listen!" Killer exclaimed, skipping into the room. "This place looks great, Crossy!"

"Thanks." Cross smiled. "But..do you like it, Dust?"

Dust rolled his eyelights. "Of course I like it! I just don't need it!"

"Well, you do need food." Horror informed. "And we've got a lot of it! Come on over and grab a plate."

"You're spoiling me again.." Dust informed, glaring at the three without any real hostility. 

"So?" Killer wasn't going to have this. "You deserve to be spoiled sometimes!"

Dust lowered his skull, realizing that he wasn't going to escape this, and he decided to relent, letting out a resigned sigh. "All right, but you guys better let me pay you back for this."

"That is yet to be determined!" Killer shrugged.

"Would you three stop smiling like idiots? I don't want all this to go to waste."

"No can do." Horror shook his skull. "We're legally required to be happy today, so you stop being sad and smile a little!"

"What?" 

"I spoke with Dream." Cross explained, shortly. "We have happy privilege today, so let's use it."

"..You're sure?" Dust was hesitant.

"Absolutely."

Slowly, Dust came over to the group, climbing up into his normal seat at the kitchen's island and looking around a bit before allowing himself to smile just the slightest bit. It wasn't a lot, but he was trying, and that was what mattered. Honestly, it was a wonder that the gang could bring themselves to smile at all, with what Nightmare had put them through, but they could..they would. 

Tonight, they would be truly happy, and, for once, no one was going to stop them. 

"This is delicious, Horror." Dust complimented, quietly. "Thank you."

"Only the best today, Dusty." Horror smiled (it was so nice to see him smile again).

"It isn't the best." Dust informed, gaining the attention of his teammates. "You guys are."

The four of them fell into a small silence for a couple seconds, and the love and care they all had for eachother was practically tangible. The-

"So you're gonna eat us?" Killer ruined the moment. Of course he did.

"Killer!" Dust covered his face with his hood in an attempt to hide from the world, but the small shakes of his body betrayed the fact that he was desperately trying not to laugh. 

Well, Dust failed, and the rest of the gang soon followed, laughing together for the first time in..years? It must have been. It felt good to laugh with friends - with family - again. With a few more jokes, laughs, and silly conversations, the four had their fill of the wonderful meal that Horror had prepared for the event, and soon, it was time for the cake. 

"Woah..how long did it take you to make it like that?" Dust stared at the spiky frosting in awe.

"Cross did that part." Horror admitted. "He's even good with cake art."

That was one way to describe Cross's massive blunder.

"It looks dangerous." Killer leaned forward to get a better look at it. "Kind of like a pufferfish, or a sea urchin."

"Don't worry, Killer; I'm sure this will go swimmingly." Dust commented, with a small smirk.

"Yeah, water you talking about?" Horror joined. "It's just frosting."

"Aw, don't let them give you any g-reef about it; I under-sand what you mean!" Cross grinned. 

Killer snickered. "Thanks for the kelp, Cross, but it's not doing much."

 "On the contrary, I think this cake looks rather a-pearl-ing." Dust decided. "Thanks, guys."

"Don't worry a-boat it; it was all for you." Horror stated. 

"And I really do appre-sea-ate it." 

The cake, despite its odd exterior, actually tasted great! Cross's mistake had not utterly ruined everything - yay! The four ate until they had their fill, and once they did, they dragged Dust to the living room for his least favorite part of his birthday: gifts. Now, Dust had nothing against receiving gifts in general, but he didn't like receiving them for his birthday when no one else had a birthday! As a result, he was undoubtedly going to retaliate by finding gifts for the others soon, but for now, he would have to suffer.

"Me first!" Killer decided, pulling out a rather large wrapped gift. "Here you go, Dusty!"

"Where'd you get wrapping paper?" Dust inquired.

"..Somewhere. Open it!"

"All right.."

Dust began to tear open the wrapping paper, and inside, he found his gift: a box full of..rubber ducks? There must have been about fifty rubber ducks in there! However, Dust smiled, pulling out one of the ducks and looking at it. 

"So, like 'em?" Killer inquired.

"I love them!" Dust grinned, pulling Killer over to give him a hug before looking through the box. "There aren't a lot of duplicates here; where did you get them?"

"I'll never tell!"

Dust chuckled, putting the ducks he'd pulled out back into the box for later, when he would put them in his collection.

And, yes, Dust did have a collection. Dust had a few collections of random objects, actually! He collected small crystals, rubber ducks, pencils, and a few other things, too; anything that both interested him and was small enough to be collected en masse and stored in his closet, he collected. Most of it was stuff that wouldn't get him in trouble; Nightmare couldn't have cared less if Dust had a crate of rubber ducks in his closet, which meant that Dust absolutely did have one! All of these ducks would be going straight into his rubber duck collection. 

"I'll go next." Horror decided, pulling out his own gift for Dust; it wasn't wrapped, giving Dust a clear view of the gift: a box of colored origami paper.

"Horror, the cake and food were more than enough; you didn't have to do this.." Dust hugged his friend tightly. 

"I wanted to." Horror put the box of paper aside, hugging Dust back.

"Well, thank you - it means a lot.."

"Hey, I want in on this, too!" Killer joined the hug, and Cross did, too, after a moment.

Unlike rubber ducks and pencils, origami paper was prohibited, since Nightmare knew just how much Dust enjoyed folding. It was unfortunate, but Dust had gotten around it mostly by using regular paper..before Nightmare had just decided that Dust wasn't allowed to have paper unless it was for his work. It was much like the ban on sketchbook paper that applied to Cross; he had no doubt that regular paper would someday be ripped from him, as well. For now, though, he had access to paper, and Dust would always be able to count on the others smuggling him paper at random intervals, too!

"Okay, my turn." Cross said, when the hug was over. 

Cross brought out his gift for Dust, which was something a little different from the other gifts: a Rubik's Cube. Dust liked puzzles, and he liked doing things with his hands; a puzzle cube was the best thing Cross could think of!

"..I love it." Dust grinned, accepting the cube and starting to spin it.

"I can see that!" Cross laughed.

"Thank you."

And, just like that, Dust was thoroughly enthralled by the cube.

"Well, that was a good idea, Crossy!" Killer chuckled. 

"I used to have one." Cross shrugged. "They can help with fidgeting."

"Perfect for Dusty." Horror smiled. "How long you think he's gonna be stuck like this?"

"..Probably a while."

"Wanna see how many rubber ducks we can stack on his head?" Killer asked. 

"..Yes." Cross and Horror agreed in unison.

The answer was ten. After ten, Dust solved the cube, and he was returned to reality just in time to ruin the attempt to place the eleventh duck by moving. Once Dust became responsive again, the gang had some fun together with some board games that Killer had hidden away a while ago to use now! The night progressed with fun, games, and laughter for once, instead of the usual muted happiness that the four typically shared on this day. It was a nice change of pace; Cross would definitely have to try to get Dream to allow them this again next year. As the night drew to a close, the four eventually headed off to bed, ready to dream good dreams instead of suffering through bad ones for once. 

It had been a good day.

The room was tense. 

Everyone was gathered in the throne room; Dream would be ascending to the throne today. Not everyone knew that, though. Killer was bored, standing in one place for this long; he needed something to do! He exhaled loudly, before looking out at the crowd. 

"Hey." He whispered, nudging Dust. "I have an idea. Go up to the doors and look through the crack between them; boss wouldn't teleport today."

"Are you crazy?" Dust glared. "I'm not going to risk getting killed today, thanks!"

"Aw, come on, please? I'll take the blame for it if you get caught! Besides, you can switch with someone closer, if you really have to."

"Ugh..fine."

After a moment of hesitance, Dust ran down to the double doors at the end of the room, and he looked between them, looking for any signs of Nightmare's approach. When he saw nothing, he looked back to Killer and shook his skull.

"Awesome!" Killer grinned; it was time to have some fun!

As Dust passed the job on to someone else who'd already been standing close enough to the doors to keep watch and returned to his ordered place, Killer started pulling out knives. He wasn't the best at juggling knives, he'd admit, but he was good enough at it! He started to juggle his blades as Horror rolled his eyelight and started to hum a playful tune. Dust, meanwhile, distanced himself from Killer, not particularly desiring to be stabbed at this time. As the little show went on, everyone in the crowd seemed to relax; Killer wasn't an empath, but he'd been around long enough to tell the difference between people who were terrified and those who were only anxious. It felt nice to help others, sometimes, instead of hurting them..

"They're coming!" The watch shouted, at just the wrong time!

Killer winced as one of the blades grazed his palm, recoiling a bit at the pain, but he had no time to worry about that; he had to pick up all the knives he'd just dropped before Nightmare opened those doors! Dust and Horror fell to the floor to help him collect the knives, and Killer would truly be eternally grateful to them in return. Nine, ten, eleven..was that all of them? Killer should have counted how many knives he'd decided to juggle; that would have made this a lot easier! Killer couldn't see any more, and Dust and Horror were rushing back to their positions; maybe that was it? Killer rose to his feet quickly and stiffened as the double doors to the room opened; well, he certainly hoped that was all of them, then, because there was no more time to look! He stood straight, pressing his bleeding palm against the black stripe of his shorts, and he readied himself to play his role in this event, whatever that would be.

He didn't notice as one of the crowd members picked up a blade that had fallen just a little farther than the others.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dust bean has a birthday!

Thanks for reading my celebratory writing!

Bye!

Chapter Text

Link: Click me for the dark Tetris theme!

~~~~~

Dream had risen to his status as prince of the empire about three months ago, and he believed that he'd settled in nicely! He was getting enough positivity to stay healthy, Nightmare was happy, Cross was a great personal guard, and life was honestly great, save for one little thing..one miniscule mistake. But that was for later. At the moment, Dream couldn't have imagined a more perfect scene than what was happening right now. He was in his room, playing his piano (he'd ended up having it moved to his room in the end, after all) as his brother listened. Cross was at the door, but he wasn't being a bother; he was never a bother! When Dream finished showing his brother the song he'd learned, he turned to him with a smile, and Nightmare gave him one of his own.

"That's great progress, for only having played for nine months." Nightmare complimented. 

"Thanks, Nighty!" Dream beamed. "I'm glad you like it; I worked really hard to learn it!"

"And you did a wonderful job. Now..what did you call me here for, exactly? I sense anxiousness in you, and I don't like to feel such emotions coming from my little brother." 

"Oh, it's..it's not something you can fix." Dream admitted, shaking his skull. "I just wanted you to hear the song, really.."

"I see..are you sure that there's nothing I can do to help? Perhaps I could just listen, and you can tell me what's on your mind?"

"Well..I guess that wouldn't hurt."

Dream stood up from his piano, and he sat next to his brother on his couch, casting a small glance over to Cross before deciding not to send him out; Cross was trustworthy, and besides..he probably would have told him, anyway. So Dream looked down as Nightmare wrapped an arm around his shoulder, and he started to talk.

"Well, I..I guess I just miss having Blue as a friend." Dream admitted. "Before everything happened, we were close, and when we weren't talking about you, I had a great time with him..but, now, he's gone, and there's nothing I can do about it."

"I see..that is a problem that I cannot fix at the moment, I must admit."

"Yeah, a problem no one can fix.." Dream sighed. "I..I even tried to use my aura to make him a little friendlier, but it was too weak; I guess it just wasn't meant to be."

"I understand." Nightmare nodded. "Well, I would suggest finding something else to focus on; perhaps you can try to entertain yourself with something. The empire is at your disposal; I'm sure you can find something."

"Oh..are you busy?"

"I will be, for a little while; I have to do some research, and I'm not sure how long it will take, exactly."

"Can I help you? What's it about?"

"It relates to magic, but I'm afraid the work is terribly boring, at the moment; however, if that changes, I'll let you know."

"Oh. Well, good luck, Nighty."

"Thank you, Dream. And good luck to you, as well."

"Thanks, brother." 

Nightmare smiled, before pausing. "Actually..in two hours, I should be done with my research for the day. How about you come to my office? I want to ask you about something that could be beneficial for both of us."

"Ooh, that sounds interesting! I'll be there. See you then, Nighty!"

"Until then, brother."

Nightmare left the room after that, and Dream was alone. Well, he could either get lost in his thoughts, or he could do something..what did Nightmare say? Entertaining? Well, Dream could think of something that fit the bill! He got up from the couch and went over to Cross, who was still standing at the door, alert as ever.

"Cross." Dream addressed.

"Yes, Prince Dream?" Cross responded, placing his full attention upon Dream; honestly, Cross had changed a little since becoming Dream's guard, too, but Dream found that he liked it. Cross was a great friend, and he was an excellent guard.

"Where's Killer today?" 

"Killer? Um, he should be in the castle, somewhere."

"Let's find him; I have a request to make of him."

"As you wish, Prince Dream."

Dream left his room, and Cross followed. Blue, having been stationed outside the door, reluctantly joined the two; he had no real choice in the matter, considering the fact that this was part of his job. Finding Killer typically wasn't difficult; he frequented the training room and the castle's kitchen, and, occasionally, he would be in the library; the rest of the time, for the most part, one could find him in the gang's apartment. 

Unfortunately, today was not one of those days. 

"He might be looking for his knife again." Cross shrugged, putting a theory out.

"Is he still worried about that thing?" Dream rolled his eyelights. "I knew he liked knives, but not this much; that's ridiculous."

"He's lost knives before." Cross informed. "This one was just special; a really close friend gave it to him before he came here..it has a lot of sentimental value for him, since it was one of the only things he had to remember his friend."

"Oh.." Dream frowned. "Well, still..it's been a few months, hasn't it?"

"Three." 

"Yeah, it's probably lost for good, then. What did it look like, anyway?"

"Well, it was colorful; the blade was red, for one thing, and not painted - actual red metal. The guard was orange, and the handle swirled through yellow, green, and light and dark blue, and then the bottom was purple. I think it was colored to match the seven souls, since it matches those particular hues very well."

"I see..well, I'll keep an eye out for it, even if I doubt it's here; it'd be pretty hard to miss."

"Yeah, it's pretty distinctive."

"So, where would Killer look for it?"

"Anywhere he hasn't already looked, I guess. Although, I don't know where that would be.."

"Well, we'll figure it out eventually, I guess..let's go."

The search continued for another ten minutes before the duo (Blue wasn't exactly helping) found Killer, who was..looking in the floorboards of one of the many abandoned furniture rooms of the castle.

"What are you doing?" Dream asked, looking down at Killer; the murderer was covered in dust, but this stuff looked more like regular dust, not the corpse variety.

"..Looking for my knife?" Killer thought that was obvious.

"Killer, it's probably lost for good; you might as well give up on it."

"Too important." Killer shook his skull, before plunging it down to look beneath the floor again.

Dream scoffed. "Well, I need you right now; you can search for your 'sentimental knife' later."

Killer pulled his head out of the floor, and while Dream could feel his annoyance, he didn't really care; as long as Killer could keep himself under control, things would be fine.

"..What do you need me for?" Killer inquired, doing his best to keep a level tone.

"I want you to play your flute for me." Dream requested. 

"..I don't have a flute. Boss broke my last one a week ago."

"Hm..Blue, get a flute."

Blue let out a sigh, turning to do as he'd been intstructed; he didn't speak much, these days. Dream didn't really mind; Blue's voice could be a tad annoying sometimes, anyway. Killer got up to his feet once Blue was gone, approaching Dream.

"So..why do you want me to play for you?" He wondered.

"Your music is pretty, and I like it." Dream replied. "Does there have to be a reason beyond that?"

"..Of course not." Killer shook his skull, looking down. "Sorry."

"It's fine." Dream assured. "But, please, try not to be so down; it's making me uncomfortable. I already deal with Blue all day; I don't need anyone else like him."

"..As you wish." Killer's restraint was incredible.

"Thank you! Now, come on; I'm sure there's somewhere with better acoustics than this dusty old place! Blue will meet us there."

With that, the group left the room, heading for a nicer location. Dream found it nice that Killer, despite his usual eccentric personality, was able to restrain himself when it came to his superiors; it was something that Nightmare liked about him, too. Killer obeyed orders (in Stage Two, at least), and that made him a valuable asset to Nightmare's side. Dream hadn't understood it entirely at first, but now that he was a prince, he did; it was nice to have his words listened to and his orders obeyed without question. Cross was like that, too; he was a great guard. Eventually, Dream and the two subordinates reached a suitable place: one of the castle's end halls, opposite the end with the stairwell. From that point, Dream simply waited for Blue to arrive; it would take a moment, likely, but Blue would come. Dream just had to wait.

..Was waiting always this hard? 

Fifteen minutes later, Blue arrived, holding the object that would offer Dream some much-desired entertainment, and Dream found that he was overjoyed at the sight, rushing over to Blue as soon as he was close enough.

"Finally!" Dream snatched the flute impatiently. "Blue, we have to work on your speed; that was pathetic."

Blue didn't respond, only crossing his arms and glaring at the floor. He did that a lot. Honestly, Dream didn't know what he was going to do with him; he wasn't sure whether or not Blue could be fixed at this point. But, for now, Dream wanted to hear music, and he was going to! He took the flute over to Killer, handing it to him with a smile, and Killer accepted it. 

"So..what do you want to hear?" Killer asked. 

"I'm not sure, exactly, but make it something cheery." Dream requested. "I don't like sad music."

"Got it." 

Killer hesitated for only a moment before deciding on what he would play, and when he did, Dream found that he wasn't disappointed. Killer began to play an upbeat and inspiring melody - something fast-paced, but not too much. Dream smiled as Killer played, and as the music went on, he sensed that the spirits of everyone nearby were slowly lifting - even Blue's, which Dream hadn't even been sure was possible! Dream leaned against a wall happily, letting the music fill his mind with happy thoughts for the next few minutes, and when it finally ended, he let out a content sigh. Killer turned to him, seeming a bit unsure, but that was all right; it had probably been his first time being allowed to play in..decades? 

"Was that one good?" Killer inquired. "It's supposed to be a duet, but I filled it in a little."

"It was beautiful." Dream nodded, chuckling a bit. "That tune made more people happy in a few minutes than what I could probably do in an hour."

"Uh..thanks." Killer smiled. "Should I continue?"

"Hm.." Dream checked the time; he still had over an hour before he had to meet with Nightmare. "Yes, keep playing. Just..play until I tell you to stop."

"As you wish." 

And so, Killer went back to his playing, and Dream took the opportunity to enjoy the positivity that was being produced; Killer's music was inspiring a lot of positivity, and it felt amazing. Was this what Nightmare felt like when he had his gang raze cities? If so, Dream could understand the allure..

He would have to do this more often; this was just too good to pass up! 

For the next hour and then some, Killer played his flute, although the songs he played got a little less complex over time; he might have been getting tired. However, that wasn't Dream's concern, as long as Killer didn't pass out, or something. And, considering the fact that Killer didn't need to breathe, that was a highly-unlikely possibility. When the time eventually came for Dream to meet with his brother, though, he did have to put an end to the music. 

"Stop." Dream ordered, approaching Killer, who, for once, was glad to stop playing his flute for a while. "Good! I'll hold onto this for next time. Great job, by the way, Killer; that was a really great performance!"

"Uh..thanks.." Killer let out a long exhale as Dream took the flute - yeah, he was tired. "Wait, 'next time'?"

"Of course, silly!" Dream giggled. "This was practically a feast of positivity for me, and I didn't even have to lift a finger! I have a feeling that we're going to be doing this regularly, Killer, as long as my brother says it's okay, but I don't think he'll mind too much. It's unfortunate that we had to stop so early today, though; I would have loved to stick around for a few more hours. Anyway, I have plans - bye, Killer!"

With that, Dream stored the instrument away in his inventory, and he started on his way to Nightmare's office, followed by Cross and Blue. The walk to Nightmare's office, despite being  rather long, was a breeze, with all this positivity running through him; he felt as if he were walking on clouds! Dream didn't know if he'd ever experienced taking energy from this much positivity at once; it was great. He felt as if he were on top of the world, and he liked it! There were no doubts; he would have to do this again. When Dream reached his brother's office, he ordered Blue and Cross to remain outside, since he didn't know what this talk would be about. After knocking and receiving permission to come in, Dream entered the room, shutting the door behind him.

"You seem chipper." Nightmare commented, giving Dream an amused smirk. "There's been a lot of positivity in the castle, but I assumed it was your doing, since I sensed your presence in the area. Did you have fun?"

Dream grinned, walking over to sit down across from his brother; he leaned back in his seat, relaxing more than he normally allowed himself to. "Nighty, I think I got some kind of high, and I don't want to come down."

Nightmare chuckled at that. "Ah, I see. Have you really never had an influx of power that large before?"

"No? Do you do that regularly?" Dream inquired, sitting up only to lean on his brother's desk. 

"Dream, I live in a castle where everyone is miserable all the time; I wouldn't do that if it didn't benefit me."

"You mean you live like this? Why didn't you tell me about it? I want to live like this!"

Nightmare laughed, shaking his skull. "Yes, it can be intoxicating at first, but the more you expose yourself to it, the less it affects you; since you've clearly never done this before, I can see that it's hitting you hard."

"You build tolerance to this?" Dream groaned. "That's dumb."

"How did you manage to do this to yourself, anyway?"

"I had Killer play a flute." Dream informed. "He's really good at it, by the way."

"I know; he's quite skilled with it. However, I don't like him playing for the very reason you're acting like this now: he makes far too much positivity."

"Well, don't worry, Nighty; I took it away when I was done with him. But..can I do it again? I like this feeling."

"Of course you can; as long as you absorb most of the positivity before it can seep into the air too much, I'm all right with you doing it as much as you want. However, you may want to determine intervals between these events; you need to keep reality in perspective."

"Of course! Thanks, Nighty; you're the best!"

"Well, you may not be saying that after a moment; I have to get you into a less..giddy state, if you don't mind my phrasing. Apologies, brother, but this is a serious topic, and I don't want your state to affect your judgment."

"Wh-"

Dream winced as a burst of negativity practically engulfed the room, before quickly subsiding. His extra positivity went into action to fight off the negativity, but in doing so, it was lost, bringing him back down to his normal levels.

Well...

That hadn't been pleasant.

"Sorry." Nightmare apologized again. "But I do need you to be rational right now, Dream."

"..Okay." Dream sighed, sitting up straight; well, at least he knew that Nightmare could do that, now. "What did you want to ask me about, then?"

"Do you remember our talk about Ink?"

"Yes, I do."

"Well, I've been formulating a plan for getting him. Now, we could attack in a random universe, but that would be far too predictable; I have something else in mind that might give us the upper hand. Tell me, brother: do you still have access to the Omega Timeline?"

Dream smiled at the topic, before nodding. "I should. Frisk wouldn't lock me out - especially not this early. They're still probably holding on to the hope that I'll come running back to them."

"Good. Then, can you verify these maps?" Nightmare set some papers on the desk. "This information was gathered from former residents whom I brought here, but, as such, I cannot be sure that this is accurate."

"All right, let me see.."

Dream looked over the maps that his brother had, chuckling at some of the innacuracies. Really? The capitol building, five hundred miles from the center of the timeline? 

"All of this is wrong." Dream informed. "Let me make you a map; I know the place like the back of my hand."

"Thank you, brother." Nightmare smiled gratefully. "I had a feeling those wouldn't be any good."

"Of course, brother. Now, what was your plan?" 

"Well, once you get me an accurate map of the Omega Timeline, I want to try to take them by surprise; I want to not only take Ink, but the entire world, too. If I can do that, a key point of resistance will be taken down without too much struggle at all. Of course, you would be involved.."

"Nighty, you know I'd love to be involved in anything you plan; just tell me when, where, and how, and I'll do my very best!"

"I know you will. But, first, we need a functional map; I can't make any solid plans without it."

"I'll get to work on it, then, brother!" Dream grinned darkly. "And then, we'll take the multiverse."

"That we will, brother." Nightmare nodded. "That we will."

It was only a matter of time.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dream sausage is a sausage confirmed.

Thanks for reading my musical writing!

Bye!

Chapter Text

Dream had been gone for a year and a half. 

By now, the multiverse knew the truth; there had been an official announcement about Dream and Blue's capture, and now everyone knew. Ink hoped that Dream hadn't been reliant on the positivity that had been present before that announcement, because a large blanket of negativity had covered the multiverse for a couple months after that; it had let up a little since then, though, with time helping to make things more bearable. Ink tried not to think about the torment that Dream and Blue must have been going through; Nightmare was a horrible person. He probably had them rotting in some dungeon somewhere..

Why couldn't Ink save them? It wasn't that he wasn't trying; he was trying! He just..

He couldn't do it. 

He couldn't break into Nightmare's castle, and he couldn't get answers - or even hints! - out of the gang members. He couldn't even catch a glimpse of Nightmare's hideout through a portal. Error had been trying to crack the code to invade claimed universes for centuries, but he couldn't do it, either! Some people were giving up on the idea of getting Dream and Blue back at all; others believed that they were just dead. Nightmare might have killed them..but Ink hoped that wasn't the case. 

He couldn't lose his two best friends. 

Today, Ink was sticking around the Omega Timeline while the Posse did some bounty hunting on the multiversal front. Although, Ink didn't want to be alone; he was with Color and Core Frisk at the moment, taking a walk through the timeline.

"So, how are things with the Posse?" Color inquired. "Still going well?"

"Yeah, they're nice." Ink nodded. "I wish Dream and Blue were here, though; I'd much rather do a cool hero team-up with them. They'd like the Posse, too."

"I'm sure they would." Core Frisk agreed. 

"The Posse are good people." Color commented. "Where are they right now?"

"Bounty hunting." Ink replied.

"I see..do you know when they'll be back?"

"Nope. Probably not for a while, though. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I have something to get to pretty soon, and I didn't want to leave you guys alone."

"Oh, don't worry about us!" Ink waved Color's worries away. "Frisk and I know how to have fun together!"

Frisk chuckled, nodding. "Have you seen Ink do a handstand on a tightrope?"

"No, I don't think I've seen anyone do that.." Color mentioned. "You can do that?"

"I like gymnastics." Ink shrugged. "But anyway, if you really have to go, don't let us keep you."

"No, I don't have to go yet - just soon. How about we get a cup of coffee? I know a place where they put so much magic into the coffee that it literally sparkles!"

"Ooh, that sounds fun! Where is it?"

"It's about a mile from the capitol, in the, uh..oh, what was it called? That one shopping center.."

"The Lilac Outlet." Frisk informed. "I've never tried their coffee, but it does look pretty."

"Yeah, I've been there a couple times, and it really is cool! The coffee gives a really nice magic boost, too! Lots of heroes like to grab a cup before heading out on missions, just so they have a backup plan if things go south."

"Let's go, then!" Ink smiled. "That sounds great!"

Color nodded, and he began to lead the way to the fabled coffee shop. In Ink's eyelights, the best coffee shop that had ever existed in the Omega Timeline would always be Ccino's, but no one had seen him for ages; he'd disappeared, never to be seen again. It was unfortunate, but that happened, sometimes; the multiverse was a dangerous place, after all. Soon enough, the trio reached the coffee shop in question, and Ink couldn't help but smile; the shop was definitely his style: flashy and colorful! The logo was a cup of coffee with rainbow-colored shines, and it looked awesome! The smell when the three walked in was great, too! Although, there weren't any cats; Ccino's was still automatically better. The interior of the shop was decorated with bright colors, with the multicolored chairs and tables clashing in a stylistic manner as they lent personality to the establishment. Maybe..Ink would be coming here every so often. The three walked up to the bright purple counter, where they found a human barista with a tie-dyed apron ready to take their orders.

"Good morning, and welcome to Glitter Magic Cafe, where the coffee shines, and so will you!" The barista smiled widely, likely happy to see Ink and Core Frisk, and to a lesser extent, Color (he wasn't as well-known as the other two). "What can I get you today?"

"Um, let's see.." Color looked at the menu for a moment. "Oh, I don't know; it's all so good! Surprise me? But make it sweet, and lots of magic - I'm going to be busy all day, I think."

"Got it! And for you two?"

"Hmm..what's the 'Atomic Rainbow'?" Ink inquired.

"That's one coffee made to your liking, with a hefty dose of magic tinted in every color of the rainbow!"

"..I gotta try that." Ink nodded; that sounded awesome!

"All right, and how would you like the coffee base for that?"

"Straight esspresso." Ink requested. "In a large cup. And, yes, before you ask, I know I'm taking my life in my hands, and it will cost more, yadda yadda yadda."

"..Got it. And you?"

"..I want ice cream coffee." Core Frisk stared at the menu. "I'll take whatever has the most ice cream in it."

"Preferred color?"

"Um, red."

"All right, and are we paying together or separately today?"

"I'll cover it." Color decided.

"Oh, Color, you don't have to-" Ink was cut off.

"I want to." Color ended any and all arguments. "You can repay the favor next time."

"Fine.." Ink allowed it. 

Color paid the bill, and the three got a bright green table, sitting at it as they waited for their drinks. It didn't take too long for the coffee to be finished, and when it was, Core Frisk flashed over to grab the cups and bring them over. 

"Woah!" Ink grinned, looking at his drink. "How did they do that?"

"I don't know, but I love it!" Core Frisk chuckled.

The three drinks were definitely colorful; this place had its name for a reason, it seemed! Frisk's drink had a scoop of vanilla ice cream in it, and the coffee that covered it, despite being brown, glittered red! It had even dyed the ice cream red! Color's drink was pretty, too; it sparkled a lot more than Frisk's did, obviously holding more magic, and it shined cyan. Last, but certainly not least, Ink's drink glittered in every color of the rainbow, just as the barista had said! And it was so vibrant! Were these colors derived from soul magic? Where did they get that? Ink looked over to the work station behind the counter, immediately realizing something: all the baristas were human. 

Oh, now it made sense! These humans had learned how to create magic food using their soul traits, and that was what gave the drinks this unique look! They probably stored a lot of it away for when someone was off-duty, but still - that was cool! Ink wondered if they could make food sparkle, too, before noticing the menu and realizing that, yes, they could. That was awesome. Ink hadn't heard of many humans who could make magic-laden foods like monsters could, but these humans had obviously learned how, and they had a great business model, too! It was nice to see things like this in the multiverse: people coming together and using their skills to make something inventive and spectacular! Ink had no doubt that he would become a regular; this place contributed to making the multiverse a cooler place, and Ink was all for that!

Maybe Ccino's had some competition, after all.

"I could just sit here and watch it for hours.." Color stared into his drink, before letting out a sigh. "But I can't."

"If this tastes as good as it looks, I'm going to come here every day." Ink informed, before taking a sip and realizing his destiny; this coffee was some of the best he'd ever had. "Okay, that's it; I want to live here."

Color and Frisk laughed, and Ink joined in a moment later; this was nice. When was the last time Ink had gotten out with friends like this? He couldn't remember. Maybe..he needed to do this a little more. Yes, the situation with Dream and Blue was bad, but Ink couldn't let it weigh him down; what if his positivity would help Dream? He couldn't let himself dwell on it for too long at a time; it would only cause pain. For the next half hour, the three had fun and drank their coffee, enjoying the day, eachother, and their food. Unfortunately, after that, Color's time was up.

"Well, I have to get going." He informed, drinking the last little bit of his coffee. "It was nice hanging out with you guys; we should do it again sometime."

"Absolutely!" Ink nodded.

"I'd love that." Frisk agreed. 

"Yeah, it would be fun." Color smiled, before settling into something a little more serious. "Anyway, uh..you guys?"

"Yeah, Color?" Ink asked.

"I, uh..I just wanted to let you know that, if you ever need anything, or even just want some company..I'll be around. You're not alone, all right?"

"Of course, Color." Frisk nodded, frowning. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay." Color nodded. "Just..there's a lot of lonely people out there; I want to do what I can to help."

"Well, thanks." Ink smiled a little. "It means a lot; you've really been a good friend. Both of you have. I..don't know where I'd be without you two, actually.."

"Take care of yourself, Ink. And you, too, Frisk. See you."

Color left the coffee shop after that, leaving Frisk and Ink alone. Well..that was odd, but it wasn't that odd; Color was a caring person, after all. He cared about people, and, well..Ink and Frisk were people. With their statuses, though, others sometimes forgot that, preferring to view them as idols. It was nice to know that someone didn't; Color really was special. Ink and Frisk stayed in the coffee shop for about an hour longer, chatting about life and plans as they slowly drained their drinks (and their second drinks, because this stuff was too good not to get a refill). The two lapsed into a calm peace as they enjoyed their drinks, and Ink felt happy.

And then he felt it.

Both Ink and Frisk stiffened as the feeling came upon them, and they knew immediately what it was.

Dream's aura.

Dream was here!

Ink couldn't help the grin that graced his expression as he teleported himself to the place in which he felt the aura, and Frisk was there only a moment later. There, in the middle of one of the streets of the Omega Timeline, was Dream, lying on the ground with torn clothes (Ink didn't recognize that outfit) and a tired expression. And standing next to him was..Cross.

"Step away from him!" Ink glared at the enemy, pointing his paintbrush at him. 

"Wait!" Cross put his hands up, keeping his feet in place so Ink could rest assured that he wouldn't try to run. "I helped him escape; I..I couldn't keep watching that. I'm not the enemy, Ink; I don't want to fight! I think someone followed us here; you have to look for them!"

Ink frowned; it would have been nice to have the Posse here, or something! His gaze drifted over to Dream for a moment, and Ink noticed that Dream wasn't moving. Dream's aura was strong, though - stronger than usual; was it a side effect of his time in Nightmare's hold? Had it adapted to become stronger as a defense mechanism against the negativity? Ink didn't know; he couldn't know. Dream was awake, but he wasn't looking up; he was just staring at the street beneath him. 

"...What happened to him?" Ink asked. 

Cross gritted his teeth, but he didn't move; he knew that Ink would strike if he did. "What do you think?"

 Ink faltered a bit; so..Nightmare had hurt Dream? Cross hadn't said it, but the implications were enough. 

"What do you want?" Core Frisk asked. "How did you get here?"

"I broke Dream free and fed him some magic food so he could create a portal." Cross informed. "I knew this would be the only place he could be safe from Nightmare, so I told him to make a portal here. It..it took a lot of his magic, and he collapsed, so I had to carry him through before his portal could close."

"..But you work for Nightmare."

"That doesn't mean I like seeing torture! I..I couldn't take it anymore. And..I seek asylum; Nightmare will probably try to kill me for this.."

That made sense; Nightmare didn't take betrayal lightly. 

"But, Ink, I will say it again; I think someone portal pushed us. It might have been Killer; I don't know. I thought we were alone, but I sensed someone teleport as soon as Dream and I were through, so I can't know for sure; please check."

Ink grimaced, but he couldn't disregard that possibility; if someone like Killer had gotten into the Omega Timeline, things could have been bad."

"I see the intruders." Core Frisk spoke up. "The rest of of them - Killer, Dust and Horror. They're nearby."

"There's only one of me, Frisk.." Ink whispered, low enough that Cross couldn't hear. "I can't be in two places at once; can you try to lead them here?"

"I'll do my best, but I'm no fighter." Frisk reminded, before disappearing.

"The three of them.." Cross frowned. "That must be why Dream is unresponsive; that must have been a lot of magic usage.."

"I don't trust you." Ink informed. "You stay right there, and don't move; I'm going to call backup. And if you're telling the truth, you'll let me."

"I am, and I will." Cross seemed serious, but Ink still didn't trust him.

Cross was too close to Dream for Ink to risk doing anything; he could have lifted a blade to Dream's neck in a split second, and Dream was far too weak to defend himself right now. Cross looked way too geared up for this to be an escape; he had more weapons on him than he usually did. There was a good chance that Nightmare had tortured Dream to the point that he was willing to do anything to stop the pain - even opening a portal here. 

It had been eighteen months..had Dream been hurting all that time? Where was Blue?

Ink started to send out a call for backup through a magical signal, but he received no response; the Posse must have been held up with whatever they were doing. Ink could wait it out, though; Cross wasn't moving yet. 

Eventually, Frisk returned, and the three intruding murderers were in sight, but they were behind Ink - not good. Unfortunately, the remaining gang members did attack, and Ink was forced to remove his gaze from Cross. 

He didn't know that Cross wasn't the one he had to keep an eyelight on.

Dream lifted his gaze from the street, watching as Ink battled Killer, Dust, and Horror, and he slowly gathered his magic, forming his bow. Core Frisk didn't try to stop him, and neither did anyone else; they simply thought that he was trying to help Ink, even though he was "exhausted." He lifted his bow with a deep breath, and he formed an electric blue arrow; it blazed brightly with Dream's magic, ready to pierce its target and send Ink off into a peaceful slumber. Cross's arms slowly began to lower, and the others moved to maneuver Ink into position, putting him perfectly in line with Dream's aim. Before Ink could retaliate against them, his eyelights caught sight of Dream's expression as he aimed his bow at him.

Dream's dark expression.

Dream shot his arrow, and Ink found that he couldn't move; time had suddenly slowed to a crawl. Dream, his friend - his child - was shooting a weapon at him, and he was..grinning. Dream suddenly didn't seem tired. He wasn't exhausted. He didn't even seem injured. Dream was..he was..

That wasn't the Dream Ink knew.

Ink was frozen. He couldn't dodge; he was being held in place, anyway, and he wouldn't have had enough time to break free if he started now. No one else was going to be able to react quickly enough; they probably weren't registering what was happening - heck, Ink didn't know what was happening! He found himself resigning to his fate as the arrow approached him; he would just have to-

A bone attack intercepted the arrow, deflecting it to hit a nearby building instead of Ink's head.

It wasn't one of Ink's attacks, and no one else around seemed to know where it had come from, but Ink couldn't help but be grateful for it. Dream's expression turned to anger when he realized that he'd missed his shot, and Cross finally lept into action, wielding his twin blades with a glare. Ink wrenched himself free from Killer's, Dust's, and Horror's grips, melting into his namesake and reforming a few meters away to take stock of the situation. 

The situation?

Ink didn't know. 

"What are you doing, Dream..?" Ink found himself asking, his hands trembling slightly.

What had Nightmare done?

"You wouldn't understand, Ink." Dream shook his skull, another arrow forming in his bow. "Just hold still; I don't want to miss again."

"I'm not going to let you shoot me, Dream!" Ink shouted; if his tone was bordering on hysterical, that wasn't his fault. "What are you doing? What did Nightmare do to you? Where's Blue?"

Dream fired another arrow, but Ink deflected it with his paintbrush, sending it harmlessly to the ground. 

"Dream, this..this isn't you!" Ink tried to appeal to Dream's sense of reason; Dream had always been reasonable! "Whatever Nightmare did, we..we can work through it! You don't have to fight me; I don't want to fight you! So..so just put down the bow, Dream; I won't hurt you. I won't be mad. Whatever he told you, it's a lie; it's gonna be okay, Dream."

"..." Dream gave Ink a small smile. "I love you, Ink; I don't say that enough. But you don't have to worry about me; I'm okay! Nighty and I made up, and everything's all right, now! You can come with me, Ink, and you can meet Nighty; he's so excited to meet you! Then we can be a happy family, Ink. You just have to come with me."

"What about the Omega Timeline?"

"We're taking it." Dream gave a small shrug. "Nighty wants it, so he'll get it. Don't fight us, Ink; it'll just make all of this so much harder. And, besides, what use will you really be, when you can't bring yourself to hurt me? Just give up, Ink; it'll make everything a lot easier."

Ink hesitated. He wasn't proud that he did, but..what was he supposed to do, when the man he'd raised came to threaten the place he'd once protected? Dream had joined his brother..

No.

Nightmare had brainwashed Dream into joining him.

This wasn't Ink's son; this was someone else. This was a threat to the multiverse, and it was Ink's job to stop him..no matter what he looked like.

Ink let out a sigh, raising his weapon. "I can't allow you to threaten the Omega Timeline. Return to the place from whence you came, or I will fight you..and I will fight you, Dream. I am the Protector of the Multiverse first..and a father second."

At those words, Dream narrowed his gaze into a glare, and he attacked. If Ink had a soul, he believed it would have been hurting now, as he fought against Dream. He didn't want to fight Dream; he'd never thought he'd have to, much less against Dream alongside Nightmare's gang members. But, regardless of Ink's wishes, he did fight, because that was his duty. He didn't get to choose fights; he opposed whoever threatened the multiverse, and if that was Dream..then he would fight Dream. 

Blue wasn't here because he hadn't given in. That was a relief, at least.

Ink eventually disabled the gang members, catching them in his paint and turning it sticky so they couldn't escape. He was left with Dream, who had clearly been training; he was more skilled than he'd been before, and stronger. But Ink was still out of Dream's league; he could..Ink didn't want to hurt Dream.

He didn't have a choice.

This battle was going on for too long; Ink needed to finish it. He hated to do it, but he took full advantage when Dream unwittingly presented an opening, swinging his brush with a force he'd never wanted to use against this target. Dream went flying, colliding with a building and collapsing to the ground. As Ink stared at the battlefield of his defeated enemies, he didn't feel the usual satisfaction of a job well done; he just felt pain. 

Only a few seconds later, Dream pushed himself to his feet, running over to his new comrades and opening a portal beneath them to escape. Ink hadn't expected Dream to be conscious after that blow, but a small, selfish part of him was glad that he hadn't hurt Dream as bad as he'd thought.

Dream had always been strong. 

"Ink, how could you?!" Dream shook a little from his wounds, glaring at Ink. "I thought you loved me!" 

Dream fell through his portal before Ink could respond, and it closed instantly behind him.

Somehow, those few words hit Ink harder than every blow Dream had landed on him during the fight combined.

When the Posse arrived, a few minutes too late, Frisk informed them about what had happened. They came over to Ink, speaking softly to him, but he didn't hear a word of it; all he could think about was the fact that he'd hurt his son...that Dream didn't think he loved him anymore. They took him by the hand and slowly guided him to their base as Core Frisk locked Dream out of the Omega Timeline, offering unheard words of comfort along the way. As the battle and those parting words replayed in Ink's mind over and over again, the Posse led him through the door and into the living room.

When Ink sat down on the Posse's blue couch, he couldn't help but cry.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Dream sausage is mean to Ink bean.

Thanks for reading my hostile writing!

Bye!

Chapter Text

The plan had been an utter failure.

Dream had missed his perfect shot, and Ink hated him, and everything had fallen to pieces! If Dream's arrow hadn't been intercepted by that stupid bone attack, the Omega Timeline would have belonged to Nightmare now! The plan had been so simple: send Ink off to sleep and take over the world. Ink was the only one who could have defended against their attack, and Dream had messed it up. How had he managed to mess up the easiest shot of his life?

"Dream, someone defended Ink; your aim was perfect otherwise." Nightmare comforted his brother, holding him close. "The others told me everything; it wasn't your fault."

"Ink hates me now.." Dream sobbed into his brother's jacket. "Everyone hates me, and I don't know why! I don't like it, Nighty; I want people to like me again! It's gotta be my fault, right? It..it's gotta be; what's wrong with me, Nighty?"

"Nothing, Dream!" Nightmare held his brother's shoulders firmly, looking into his eyelights with sincerity. "There is nothing wrong with you; it's everyone else who is wrong. They view change as this horrible, evil thing, but it isn't! Change is natural; it makes us who we are. Tell me: does Cross hate you? He's been by your side since the beginning of all this, and he's been with you as you've changed."

"..No." Dream shook his skull. "He doesn't.."

"And do I hate you?"

"Of course not.."

"That's at least two people who care about you. I know you're used to having adoring fans, Dream, but..not everyone gets that. Truthfully, I'd rather have a small group of people who truly care about me than a million strangers chanting my name. And you'll get used to it, Dream; it will just take a little time."

"..But Ink was..I thought he'd accept me! I thought he'd still love me!"

"I'm sure he does, somewhere inside him. But..it's like he said himself: he puts the protection of the multiverse above everything else..even family."

"..He always did." Dream sighed. "I don't know how many times I was left alone in the Doodlesphere for days at a time, just because Ink had work. Because the multiverse at large was more important than I was.."

Nightmare pulled Dream into another hug, softly rubbing his back. "I'm sorry, Dream."

Dream leaned into the hug, letting his brother comfort him. At least Nighty wasn't mad about the failure; he didn't seem to mind at all, really. His first action upon seeing Dream injured upon his return had been to fall to the floor and heal every wound until it was gone. Nightmare wasn't using him for gain, as some people had remarked before; Nightmare cared about Dream, and Dream knew that - he'd always known that. A period of silence reigned for half an hour between the two, but while Dream would have been content to continue quietly, Nightmare decided to speak. 

"Dream..I've been researching something recently." He mentioned. "Something I want you to see. Can you meet me in the library in half an hour?"

"Um, of course, Nighty." Dream nodded. "What exactly is it?"

"Something that might cheer you up a little. I'm not sure yet, but I want to see."

"..All right. I'll be there."

"Thank you, brother. I'm sure you'll be pleased."

Nightmare gave Dream one last hug before walking off, leaving Dream alone on his bed to hug his stuffed animals. As Nightmare left, Cross entered the room, standing by the door and watching over Dream. Dream let out a sigh, frowning at his guard.

"Cross, you don't have to stick by my side every second of every day." Dream reminded.

"S-sorry, Prince Dream.." Cross looked down. "I just..I let you get hurt; my job is to not let you get hurt.."

"You.." Dream sighed, deciding not to fight it; Cross cared about him, and this was his way of showing it. "Thank you, Cross."

Cross nodded, his eyelights beginning to scan the room for threats once again. 

Dream couldn't believe that they hadn't even gotten to the second phase of the plan; they hadn't even been able to incapacitate Ink. Things had just gone so wrong so fast. It was..discouraging. 

"Cross, can you come over here?" Dream requested.

"O-of course, Prince Dream." Cross nodded, coming over to sit next to Dream; Cross couldn't seem to get comfortable, though - he was fidgeting a lot.

"..You care about me, right?"

"Of course I do. Why do you ask?"

"..I just needed to hear you say it." Dream smiled. "Thank you, Cross; you're a great friend."

"I..I do my best.."

"And your best is good enough." Dream assured, giving Cross a small side hug before pulling away. "Cross, I'm a little thirsty; can you ask Blue to get me a drink?"

"Of course, Prince Dream - what would you like?" Cross asked, as he slid off the bed and stood up. He was still fidgeting; he'd been doing that a lot during the past few days..

"Um..grape juice. And tell him to make it fast; I have to meet my brother in the library in a little bit."

"As you wish, Prince Dream."

Cross went over to send Blue on his way before closing the door and standing guard again. He was so protective; it was sweet. Only a couple minutes passed before Blue returned with Dream's drink; it wasn't fast enough for Dream's liking, but it would do. He decided to answer the door himself, giving Cross a break.

"That was a little faster than last time, Blue." Dream complimented. 

Blue just glared at him.

"Oh, come on, Blue; I'm being nice." Dream rolled his eyelights. "Say something, won't you?"

 "Why should I?" Blue scoffed. "You won't listen; you're just a brainwashed puppet now. There's no point in trying to reason with you."

Dream clenched his fists, glaring back at Blue. "I am not! If I were just a tool to Nighty, he wouldn't have been so kind to me after I fumbled his perfect plan! But he was kind, Blue; he healed me, and he told me that everything was okay! He's not the psychopath you think he is, and I won't have you badmouthing him anymore!"

"Yeah, Dream, he didn't yell at you; that doesn't mean no one got punished for that! He forced the gang to gain LV for that failure, Dream! Cross is probably still suffering from an LV spike!"

"He's-" Dream looked over to Cross, who was..shaking. 

Cross had been shaking for a while - a couple days, ever since the day after the attempt. Was..was Cross really..

"..Are you?" Dream frowned at Cross.

"U-um..yes..it's mostly gone by now, though.." Cross replied, looking down. 

"Oh, Cross.." Dream moved over to hug his guard. "You're in pain, and you're still protecting me? You're the best friend anyone could ever hope to have!"

"That's what you got from that?!" Blue couldn't believe it. "Nightmare is the reason he's in pain!"

"Well, Blue, Cross is a tool to Nightmare." Dream reminded. "Although, I will ask him to be nicer next time, because Cross is my best friend, and he doesn't deserve to have to work while he's in pain."

"I cannot believe you." Blue shook his skull. "You're so..so delusional! Do you even hear what you're saying?"

"Blue, do me a favor and shut up; I regret asking you to speak, okay? I get it - my mistake."

Blue huffed, crossing his arms and leaning against Dream's doorframe. He was lucky Dream hadn't gotten angry enough to hit him again this time. Honestly, Dream could understand why Nightmare sometimes felt the need to beat his subordinates; people could be so annoying, sometimes. Dream entered his room and closed the door, leading Cross by the wrist to his couch. 

"Cross, I want you to rest, okay?" Dream requested, sitting down with his drink. "I'll be right here, and I'll wake you up if I need you, all right?"

"What about boss?" Cross asked.

"I'll make sure he knows that this was my idea, not yours. Now sleep."

Cross tried to fight it, wanting to protect Dream, but once Dream used his magic, Cross had no choice but to drift off into a peaceful slumber. Dream helped his unconscious form to lie down, and once Cross was sleeping in a good position, Dream finally took the chance to enjoy his grape juice. He sipped it slowly as the minutes passed, and he finished it just before he had to leave to meet with Nightmare. When that time came, he got up and left his room, deciding that he would be safe by himself for one small trip; he would probably return before Cross woke up, anyway. He handed his empty cup to Blue as he left his room, and Blue begrudgingly went on his way to the cafeteria to return the dish as Dream headed for the library. He wondered what Nightmare wanted him for; had he found a new book series that Dream would have liked? Nightmare had the best taste in books, and he knew exactly the types of stories Dream liked, too! That certainly would have cheered Dream up for a little while. When Dream reached the library, he looked around for a moment before approaching the nearest librarian - Geno. 

"Good morning, Geno." Dream greeted, smiling; Geno hadn't decided to suddenly hate him after the argument and his ascent to royalty. 

"Oh, good morning, Dream." Geno returned the greeting, turning to face the prince. "What can I help you with?"

"Is Nightmare here?"

"Uh, yes, he is." Geno nodded. "He's in the information section."

"Thank you, Geno!" 

"You're welcome, Dream."

Dream went on his way to the information section with a smile, wondering why more people couldn't be like Geno. Geno was nice, and he didn't waste Dream's time with a lot of unnecessary talk; he got straight to the point with things. Dream needed to spend more time with Geno; he was a good acquaintance, and Dream wanted to make him a friend. For now, though, he would accept the friendly terms that currently stood. Dream found Nightmare sitting in the information section, just as Geno had told him, and when he got there, he sat next to his brother, looking at the book he was reading. But, when he tried to get the gist of it, he found that the story was..in a language he didn't understand.

"What are you reading?" Dream inquired. "What language is that?"

"It is a very old book." Nightmare replied. "And a very old language. It was semi-popular in the multiverse before outcodes became commonplace, but it died out quickly when the multiverse became more traveled. Since I was around back then, I know the language."

"..Would Ink and Error know this language?" Dream inquired, more curious than anything else. 

"Yes, they would - they both spoke it to me at some point, but they stopped speaking it when everyone else did. I think it was Error's first language, if I'm not mistaken..or he might have picked it up along the way. I'm not sure."

"Cool. So, what does this say?" 

"This book contains the key to a good variety of forbidden magic." Nightmare explained. "Specifically, magic that few can use."

"..What does that mean? Do you have a cool spell to show me?"

"I do." Nightmare nodded, turning the book to Dream and pointing to the text on the page as he translated it. "Emotional nullification. This spell is only usable by those with potent emotional magic, specifically that which is related to a certain limited spectrum of emotion. Focusing on a living emotional target, the caster can remove and utilize the entire spectrum that they control from that person. This spell comes at no personal cost and offers an incredible power increase for the caster, but in return, the target will no longer be able to feel the emotional spectrum that was removed from them."

Dream mulled the words over in his head for a moment before speaking again. "So..you could use that spell to remove all the negativity from someone and make them positive forever?"

"Exactly." Nightmare nodded. 

Dream hummed. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"I am, Dream, if you want me to be."

"..If we did this to someone, they wouldn't be able to give you any energy anymore."

"But they would be an essentially-endless positive battery for you."

"..I see." Dream looked down. "I'm not sure about this, Nighty. I..I would feel bad about it."

"Don't worry, Dream; the spell is reversible."

"It is?"

"Yes, it is." Nightmare nodded. "To reverse it, I would simply have to sacrifice a large portion of my current magic, thereby balancing it out and returning the victim to normal. But, of course, we don't have to tell anyone that."

Dream smirked. "Of course we don't. It would be a lot better if everyone else thought it was permanent, after all."

"So, what do you think?"

"I think..." Dream chuckled lowly. "I think I'm about to start liking Blue again! Can we do it now, Nighty? Please? I don't want to wait a second!"

"Of course we can, Dream." Nightmare stood up, putting the book back onto its shelf. "I've memorized the spell and its steps; all I have left to do is to cast it."

"You're the best, Nighty!" Dream lept up to hug his brother. "Thank you! This is going to be great!"

"It will be." Nightmare returned the hug. "I'm sure of it."

The two left the library shortly, meeting Blue along the way; he followed them, since that was his job - he didn't know what was to come. 

"Where's Cross?" Nightmare asked, about halfway to the throne room, where the two had decided was the best place to cast the spell.

"I ordered him to take a nap." Dream replied. "Why didn't you tell me he was suffering from an LV spike, by the way?"

Nightmare sighed fondly. "Because I knew you'd make him rest. Did he tell you?"

"No, Blue told me. But, Nighty, would you go easier on Cross in the future? He's my best friend; I don't want him to suffer like that.." 

"Well..all right." Nightmare nodded. "I'll try to hold back a little, but if I feel that he deserves something.."

"Of course. I don't mind him being punished; I just..he's my favorite, I guess you could say."

"I understand; I have my favorites, too.."

"You do? Who?"

"That, my dear brother, is a secret; I don't need those people finding out that I, of all people, have a soft spot for them - that would completely ruin my image!"

Dream giggled. "All right, Nighty - whatever you say!"

The brothers and Blue reached the throne room soon enough, and they walked down the carpet towards the two thrones at the end, where Blue would meet his end. The brothers, when they reached the end, sat down in their thrones, and Blue took his normal spot at the foot of the stairs, letting out a sigh as he stared out at the empty throne room. Luckily for him, he wouldn't have to stay like that any longer. 

"Blue, come here." Dream ordered.

Blue obeyed, boredly walking up the steps and waiting for whatever Dream's request would be.

"Bring out your soul." Nightmare commanded, instantly changing Blue's mood.

"What?" Blue's eyelights widened. "Wh-what do you want with my soul?"

"Can we tell him, Nighty?" Dream requested, grinning. "I want to see his reaction." 

"Of course, brother." Nightmare chuckled. "Go ahead and explain."

"Explain what?" Blue didn't like this; he didn't like it at all.

"Well, Blue, you've been a little too negative for my liking." Dream informed. "And, honestly, the servant of a positive prince should be happy. So..we're going to make you happy. Nighty's going to take all your negative emotions away, leaving just the positive ones! Yeah, you might lose all sense of judgment and the capacity to truly care about anyone, but you'll be a much better servant for me, and we'll even get to be friends again! Doesn't that sound nice?"

Blue took a step back, but he neglected to remember that he was on a staircase, and he fell backwards down it. It wasn't pleasant, but at least it put more distance between him and the psycho twins!

Well, Blue knew that Dream had gone off the deep end some time ago, but now, it seemed as if Dream had just kept going down! Dream had always told Blue about the importance of having all sorts of emotions, from positive to negative; without the ability to be negative, one couldn't fathom any potentially bad consequences of actions or react appropriately to them, thereby disabling the ability to reason fairly effectively. Without positive emotions, one couldn't see any point to living. There was a balance - a fragile one - and Dream had always been the first to remind others of that fact. He had always valued every emotion, stereotypes and preconceptions aside. 

Apparently, he'd changed his mind about that!

Didn't Dream know what this would do to Blue? Didn't he know that taking away his negative emotions would turn him into..

Blue didn't know what he would become, if he let this happen to him. He couldn't let it happen to him!

"Blue, come back here." Dream rolled his eyelights. "It won't last long, and you won't even understand why you're so scared now when it's over."

"Dream.." Blue frowned.