Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Dream, Ink and Blue were chasing Nightmare, trying to corner him into the place where other skeletons were waiting to carry out their plan.

Nightmare was spreading chaos across the Multiverse, appearing suddenly out of nowhere and as his world was empty no one knew his weaknesses nor how he came to be. 

That is until Dream came out of the stone.

They learned from him what happened, at least what Dream knew, because the reason why he ate the black apples was still a mystery to them all. But they knew one for sure.

As a child Nightmare was harmless.

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Nightmare was running from the onslaught of attacks, not expecting the energy they would put into it. He was just trying to avoid being cornered.

He really shouldn't have gone to this positive world, but something was calling him there. He blamed the child trapped within his mind that yearned to be close to the positive guardian.

Pathetic .

Focused on avoiding the magic attacks he didn’t notice someone jumping out of hiding and dousing him in some sweet smelling substance. Surprised he froze on the spot and glared at all the skeletons that were looking at him as if waiting for something to happen.

It wasn’t long when he heard a squelch and looked down to see the goop starting to drop from his body.

Horrified, he opened a portal and fled into some modern surface world ignoring the shouts of others.

He landed in some side alley and fell to his knees, his body contorted in pain that caused him to black out.

In the meantime the goop gathered in one spot and changed into a black apple with the power of all that were consumed, next to it was laying a beaten up skeleton about six years of age in purple clothes, a golden circlet with a moon on it and a bag slung over his shoulder.

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Meanwhile in another part of the Multiverse the now older twin was pacing back and forth, worried about his sibling. They planned on changing Nightmare back into a child and then immediately taking care of him but now…

“You said what were the effects of that serum?” The positive guardian looked at Sci with a desperate expression.

Sci frowned slightly as he recounted the effects, “He will turn to anytime between five and eight with no memory of his future years. All injuries and ailments he had at the age the body is at will also reappear.”

Sans sighed, rubbing his face, “So we get a child, lost in the Multiverse, not knowing where he is and with a past of not acting best under pressure… yeah, that’s going to end well.”

Dream took a few deep breaths to calm down before taking a serious stance, “We know the world he went to. It’s big but we can all look for him, as long as you tell you are with me he should follow you… I think.” He rubbed his eyes.

Ink touched his shoulder gently, “Let’s start looking later. We all need rest right now.”

Some reluctantly, but all ultimately agreed and decided on a time and teams in which they will look for Nightmare the next day.

Neither of them knew about the child that was now curled behind some boxes in an alley, sleeping fitfully.

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At the crack of dawn Nightmare stirred and tensed, noticing his surroundings. Last he remembered he was in the forest gathering fruit that was now laying heavy in his bag. Now he was in some stinky place covered in trash and…

His eyes widened as he saw a black apple emanating a strong aura. 

He picked it up and hid it in a wooden chest to then burrow it at the bottom of his bag. He can’t let anyone touch or worse, eat it.

He didn’t know what was going on. He was scared and still sore after the last beating he got from the villagers but he can’t just sit and despair. He needs to find Dream and make sure he’s safe. He can’t trust anyone now, no matter what. Everyone is too much of a risk for him to approach.

He made sure his bag was secure and left the alley, stopping shocked at all the new and unknown objects he saw. If he wasn’t in a possibly deathly situation he may have been curious to learn about it all. Instead he did his best to blend in, taking off his circlet and hiding it in his bag, walking in the shadows from the tall buildings, ducking into the alleys whenever someone was getting too close to him.

After around two hours, judging by the movement of the sun and a small breakfast of two red apples from his bag he took a break in the shadows of an alley and heard a passing conversation that left him shaken.

“Any idea how to go about finding Nightmare?”

“Nope, not a clue, but we will find him. A kid can’t hide forever in such a city. He’s going to get caught sooner than later.”

“I hope you are right. The longer we look the grimmer the situation looks.”

Nightmare gulped and promised himself to not get caught. He really needed to find Dream, but he can’t feel him which means he’s really far away. He won’t rest until absolutely necessary until he’s reunited with Dream.

Making sure the two who talked about him were away he moved out of the alley and started heading forward again. It wasn’t long but he already noticed and learned some rules of the weird place he’s in.

People only walked on the brick roads while some metal vehicles rode on a smooth black road, people only crossed through when the metal carriages stopped or there was a weird green light for them, that didn't look like magic… There was scarcely any magic to be detected in this place, so very little monsters unlike his village, no matter how much he hated the place.

He noticed some humans looked at him with hostility, probably the cause of such a low number of monsters in this place, others were neutral and only scarce humans were smiling when they saw him pass despite his best efforts to remain unnoticed.

He noticed people making purchases with some weird paper money and small coins, completely different from the gold, silver and copper coins he had gathered by selling herbs to traveling merchants. Which means he needs to either be careful about the food he has or find a place where he can get some for free. He remembered how the baker sometimes would give out some free bread to people to get them to buy more… worth a try but not yet, he still has some food.

He seemed to reach the center of the city and noticed some people standing in front of a flat glass with switching pictures showing off different parts of the city and a map next to it.

Seeing it as his chance he went there to investigate the map thoroughly, search out the focal points and then looked at the weird screen getting images of the places he just learned about from the map.

Once he was sure he had memorized everything down to the smallest detail he looked at the places and services spread around the town’s square. It wasn’t all that interesting until he noticed something.

‘Pawn shop, gold exchange’

He headed there and came inside, the man behind the counter looking at him with clear suspicion, “What are you looking for here, kid? It’s no place for ones like you.”

Nightmare smiled weakly and decided to lie, “My mom gave me something and said to come here to get money for it. She also told me just how much I should get so you don’t try to rip me off, but I know from people in the city you are a respectable businessman and would never rip off an innocent kid that just came here to get money for groceries.” He said sweetly, trying to act like Dream.

The man perked up interested, “Well, let’s see what you got then.”

Nightmare nodded and went to the man, handing him a golden coin. The man investigated it, clearly happy with the quality of the pure gold, judging by the grin, “Well lad, that will give you 400 dollars. Hope this keeps your family fed for a while.” He said passing Nightmare the money and a receipt as proof of the deal.

Nightmare took the money and tucked it safely in his bag, satisfied with the deal, even if it wasn’t certainly the full price a respectable adult would get, but he wasn’t about to argue as he needed to keep his goings under wraps.

Politely he said goodbye and left the store and then went to a bakery that was near where he bought a whole, uncut loaf of bread that he wrapped in cloth he had in his bag to eat in the future. Comparing the prices in the bakery and getting a little overlook on how much those dollars were worth was enough for him to know he will be able to sustain himself for a while with what he got for his golden coin.

He continued to walk through the city, constantly trying to feel out Dream and still not having much luck. The day was getting late and he was getting tired of walking for so many hours, no matter how much he would rather look for longer, he would need to rest soon. Despite how calm everything seemed he was still on high alert. 

That calm broke the moment he heard someone calling his name.

He turned around to see two adult skeletons rushing towards him. One dressed in a blue hooded top and some weird, black short pants and pink slippers while the other wore untied shoes, an orange hooded top and green pants with a lot of pockets.

Nightmare froze for all of ten second before his magic sparked and with a clear picture in his mind he used all he had within him to shortcut away.

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Sans and Stretch froze, looking at the spot where Nightmare was just standing.

“Fuck. Dream didn’t tell us he knew how to use magic already... let alone shortcuts.” Stretch said tiredly, taking out a cigarette with shaking hands.

Sans sighed, “We can ask about it soon, we are nearing the time for the meet-up with everyone. We can ask about it then.”

With that the two used their pocket-portal machines and went to the meeting place, other skeletons slowly gathering up until finally Dream came, accompanied by Blue, Ink busy with dealing with Error in the meantime.

“First things first.” Dream started looking over all the gathered, “Has anyone seen Nightmare?”

It was quiet for a moment until Stretch raised his hand, “We saw him but when we started approaching him he shortcut away. You didn’t tell us he knew how to do that.”

Dream blinked slowly, digesting the news, “I… I didn’t know that. I knew he could use some simple magic. I often saw him use fire magic to heat food up for us or use ice magic to cool wet towels down whenever I got a fever… maybe summoning some small bones, but he never used a shortcut in front of me.”

Blue frowned, “Maybe he kept it secret in case anything happened and he needed an element of surprise?”

Stretch shrugged, “Either way if he didn’t suddenly learn how the whole city looks he is probably stuck in the in-between.”

Dream shook his head adamantly, “Knowing my brother he wouldn’t use a shortcut until he somehow got access to a map. There’s no risk of him getting lost then, he has an amazing memory. He would read a book once and be able to recite it word by word from memory to me.” He said with a small, sad smile, “We should continue the search tomorrow, if we pursue him now he will be running through the whole night instead of settling down in one safe spot and resting. We should let him rest and calm down.”

Sans nodded, “Does Nightmare have places he would certainly choose as safe?” He asked and everyone waited as Dream mulled over the answer.

“Nightmare always had a hard time trusting others, he always felt most comfortable in nature, I would search parks and green parts of the city.” He said with a nod, “You can start whenever you feel most comfortable, I will start at dawn, Nightmare was always an early riser, he will start moving early.”

They wrapped up the meeting soon after to rest, hoping to find the kid tomorrow.

Chapter Text

After taking the risky shortcut to the park he saw on the weird glass he found an old oak tree in the middle of the park and climbed it to hide in between the lush leaves and settled down on one of the thick branches and went to sleep, feeling how low his magic was.

He shivered in the cold, missing the blankets he had stashed on the tree of feelings. He felt tears fill his eyes, missing his home, his brother and his mother. The  only thing he didn’t miss were the villagers, he could still feel the bruises and all the cuts he had on his body, aching and not healing because of how low on magic he was.

He didn’t feel any more rested at dawn and decided to eat some more bread, some blueberries and some plums he had. He got enough magic from them to use some magic but not nearly enough for another shortcut to a faraway destination.

Swiftly he climbed down the tree and started heading towards the exit from the park, not feeling two pairs of eyes on him.

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Dream was across the city in one of the parks to then pause at his phone ringing. He checked to see Lust was calling him. Lust was looking with Dance and Dream couldn’t help but hope they found Nightmare nearby, he was low on magic already from shortcutting all over the city. 

The positive guardian picked up to then listen to Lust’s hushed voice, “We see Nightmare, he’s in the Old oak park in the center of the city. We are observing him right now but...”

Dream broke into a run, “Keep him there as long as you can. I should be there in 15 minutes tops. Make sure he doesn’t shortcut away.” He said and hung up doing his best to run as fast as possible.

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While Lust finished his talk with Dream, Dance finished messaging Sans who was with Stretch and Red who was with Blue, both pairs being the closest and then shortcutting to this park.

Sans and Stretch were heading from the entrance to which Nightmare was heading. They followed Nightmare ready to block his way back into the park if necessary.

They didn’t want to scare him but they also can’t let him run away again.

Nightmare was almost at the entrance to the park and stopped, seeing Sans and Stretch in his way. Sans smiled lazily and held up his hands, “Hey kiddo. Please don’t...”

Before Sans had the chance to finish, Nightmare turned around and started running back into the park only for Lust and Dance to appear on the road. The two felt really bad seeing the panicked look on the child but they didn’t have time to ponder on it when Nightmare swerved left off the road, into the thick bushes. They ran after him but quickly lost sight of the short skeleton.

“When is Dream getting here?” Stretch asked out of breath.

“Soon, about 10 minutes.” Lust said softly, looking around, hoping to see some movement.

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Nightmare was hiding behind a tall rose bush, holding back his breath and prying to not get caught. 

‘ Four… at least four people looking for me, maybe more. I’m not safe anywhere, I need to get out of this park at least, I can try to lose them in the city. ’ He thought with desperate hope only to look to the left at the sound of a branch snapping. He gasped seeing another skeleton with LV, a gold fang and furry coat.

Before the other could do anything Nightmare jumped up and started running, anywhere to get away from the other. He heard shuffling of at least two people behind him and picked up his pace, breathing in short panicked bursts. He broke back into the road, almost bumping into the tall, orange clad skeleton.

When hands went to grab him he summoned bones from the ground to block him and swerved again to run towards the pond. He heard many sets of footsteps following him but paused when he started running on water, or more precisely ice that he created under his feet. 

What he didn’t expect was for them all to shortcut onto the other side of the pond.

He decided to risk not being able to use any more magic and took a short trip with a shortcut to appear behind the six skeletons chasing him and started running again only to hear a shout.

“Nighty, wait!!!” 

It stopped him. Only one person called him that. The voice didn’t fit, but now that he let himself reach out he felt Dream’s unique aura. He turned towards the voice to see someone out of breath. 

The new skeleton wore a yellow tunic, black jumpsuit and two things he remembered from Dream, a circlet and the yellow cape. The skeleton smiled at him and started getting closer but stopped when Nightmare summoned a few small, flickering bones.

“Who are you? Why do you look like an adult Dream? Where’s my brother?” He asked with teary eyes.

Dream smiled gently, “Calm down brother. I will explain everything to you once we are somewhere calm and safe. Just come with me and I will tell you everything you want to know.”

Nightmare shook his head and took a step back, “How do I know you are my real brother?” 

Dream smiled, “Well, I know that your favorite fruit is not an apple like some would think but cherries. I know that your favorite books are those long boring history books or magic books that teach you something. I know that you love chamomile tea made with fresh flowers that you pick up yourself. I know that your favorite season is autumn while mine is summer. Should I say more?” Dream spoke softly, slowly getting closer to Nightmare who was now crying in earnest. When in front of the child Dream kneeled and hugged him, the other returned it with shaking arms.

Everyone relaxed, hoping the hard part was out of the way now. 

Dream got up with Nightmare in his arms and the group went through a portal, everyone calling a different team that they got Nightmare and to get back to the mansion Ink built in the Doodlesphere for them to meet.

Dream was ecstatic, having his brother back even if in this way was more than he could have ever hoped for. He could feel how scared and confused Nightmare still was but he knew that changing him back into a child was the right decision. He hoped Nightmare will see it that way as well once he learns about everything. What worried him more was the negativity he felt from Nightmare’s bag.

It felt like the black apple.

They reached the main meeting hall where some skeletons were waiting for him.

Reaper smiled at them, “Some decided to go back home, either tired or busy… and we don’t want to overwhelm our new friend, now do we?” He said looking at Nightmare whose teary face was looking warily over everyone that gathered. 

“Is Ink still dealing with Error?” Dream asked, looking around the room.

Reaper nodded, “Yeah, but apparently he and Error are talking, not fighting for once.” He said sending out a wink to Nightmare who frowned and clung tighter to Dream. 

Everyone present took a seat and looked at Nightmare who sat on Dream’s lap, the now older brother turning him to face the others.

“Okay brother, I will introduce everyone to you one by one. There’s more of my friends out there but I think it’s already a lot for today.” Dream said softly and started pointing at each skeleton when saying their name, “Reaper, Geno, Sans, Stretch, Blue, Red, Dance, Lust, Crow and Sci.” 

Each person waved when mentioned but Nightmare didn’t react in any way except looking back at Dream, “You said you will explain everything to me...”

Dream smiled, “Yes, ask whatever you want and I will do my best to answer it. But first, where’s your circlet?”

Nightmare made an oh sound and took it from his bag to then put it on his head, “I took it off to blend in better. You said any question...” Nightmare frowned and after a moment started firing, “Why is there such a big age difference between us? Where are we? Why are we not at the tree, protecting it? Why was I in that place?”

Dream blinked slowly, trying to remember all the questions but before he could answer any Red piped in with his own… less censored answers, “We doused you in age regressing serum because you were a menace to the Multiverse. You are in Doodlesphere. The tree is gone because you destroyed it and went ballistic for some reason. You were at that place because you ran there while still an adult.”

Dream looked at Red affronted and horrified while Nightmare was just frozen in the spot, not even blinking, his eyelights gone.

“Nighty...” Dream tried but he got a small hand pushing at him and Nightmare escaped from his lap and walked to a corner with a defensive expression.

“You are going to use me then? You decided such a thing for myself, what are you going to do to me now that I’m weak!!!” He yelled, clinging to his bag protectively, not willing to give up the last apple of negativity.

Dream wanted to go to him but was stopped by Reaper who floated over to the small skeleton and kneeled in front of him, but at a safe distance, “Nothing, we want to raise you and do something to prevent you from corrupting. Because while we know you ate the black apples we don’t know why you ate them. We want to protect you and the Mutiverse by proxy. Changing you into a child wasn’t our first action.” He said with a pointed tone when it looked like Nightmare was about to interrupt him, “We tried to talk to your corrupted self many times but he didn’t listen nor did he care about the balance of feelings. You can check it for yourself, but trust it when I say that while some of us may feel not so thrilled about you, we won’t use you or hurt you.” 

Nightmare looked at Reaper with clear suspicion but indeed decided to check the balance of feelings and noticed it was clearly leaning towards negative by a big margin. He glared at Reaper, “I still don’t trust you all.” He whispered and looked over at the people in the room avoiding Dream in his gaze.

Reaper chuckled, “Of course. We have given you no proof of our trustworthiness, but I hope with time we will be the best of pals.” He finished with a wink.

Nightmare nodded only to flinch when Blue slammed his hands against the table, “Oh, we need to get you new clothes, those look dirty and torn in places, probably from running around so much. And I’m sure you would like to take a bath.”

Nightmare blanched, “I don’t want a bath or anything!”

Dream got up and walked to Nightmare, joining Reaper on the floor, “You need one Nighty. But don’t worry, I know you are not a little babybone that needs help with cleaning up. We will prepare you a bath and clothes and let you take care of yourself.” He then looked at Blue, “Can you prepare a bath in the ensuite bathroom in the room next to mine? It will be Nightmare's room now.”

Blue nodded and ran off to do just that while Dream took Nightmare’s hand and tugged him out of the corner and back to the table, “You need to eat. Best do it now. I will go out for a while to get you some clothes.”

Nightmare looked at Dream panicked, hating the thought of being left alone with those skeletons he practically doesn’t know. Dream simply smiled and pet his head putting a basket with food in front of Nightmare and leaving.

The small skeleton was frozen, not even daring to reach into the basket, not wanting to move, feeling everyone’s eyes on him, the silence settling heavy over him.

Sans left his seat slowly, walking around the table, feeling more than one pair of eyes follow him as he took a seat next to Nightmare and opened the basket, taking out a muffin and putting it in front of the child.

“You should eat if you want to grow big and strong. Wouldn’t want to stay a midget forever, would you?” Sans said with a lazy grin, but it seems like his approach succeeded when hesitantly Nightmare reached out and took the muffin, tearing small pieces of it and putting it into his mouth.

Sans frowned at the way Nightmare curled in his seat, trying to make himself smaller. He knew some children were distrustful, but it felt like there was something bigger at play here. When he noticed Nightmare finishing his muffin he simply took out another pastry for him.

Everyone was sitting in silence until Lust finally decided to break it, “What do you like doing in your free time, Nightmare?” He asked with a bright smile.

Nightmare swallowed a piece he was chewing and shrugged, “Play with Dream, read books… nothing exciting.”

“Hmmm… And where did you learn how to use magic?” Stretch piped up joining the conversation.

Nightmare tensed and whispered one word, clearly heard in the silence, “Books.”

“You didn’t go to school? Or have any adults teaching you and Dream?” Dance asked worriedly and only got a shrug.

“Dream never liked to sit down to learn...” Nightmare whispered and hugged his bag closer. Sans smiled gently and gave him a small carton of milk to drink, the other sipping it slowly.

Red was observing Nightmare quietly, analyzing the kid’s body language. It seemed like he wasn’t lying but also wasn’t sharing everything… withholding information like that, it won’t slide, not when there’s a risk of him getting corrupted again, they still didn’t find the apple that Dream said will appear once the goop is off Nightmare’s body.

Nightmare just finished his milk when Blue barged into the room, “The bath is ready! Come on Nightmare, I’m sure hot water and bubbles is just what you need to bring your mood up!”

Nightmare tensed and shook his head, “Dream is still not back with the clothes, I want to wait for him… so no one comes into the bathroom when I’m in there...” 

Red scoffed and picked him up by the collar of his jacket, “No need to be so shy, we all have the same bones.” He said with a grin, looking at the struggling Nightmare who tried to hold onto his back and onto Red’s hand at the same time.

“Red, no!” Blue yelled and took Nightmare from him while Stretch smacked Red’s skull.

“Be nice, bonehead. Or you will be the hated uncle to the kid.” Stretch said, taking out a cigarette.

Nightmare clung to Blue and looked at Stretch with curious expression, “I read inhaling smoke is bad for health. It will make your HP drop and stick on an all time low.” He said resolutely.

Stretch didn’t have the chance to argue when Dream barged in, “I got you new clothes, Nighty!”

Nightmare relaxed and wiggled in Blue’s hold to be put back. Once on the floor he walked to Dream and took the offered hand, the two brothers leaving the room.

Blue turned to Red with an angry expression, “Why are you acting like that, Red? We don’t want to scare him off! He won’t tell us anything at all if we do!”

Red smirked, “You don’t get it at all, do you? The kid is a master at keeping his mouth shut. He won’t tell us anything unless he wants to or we get it out of him with a crowbar. And it’s clear he doesn’t want to.” He said, picking at something on his golden tooth.

Blue frowned, “But maybe he will tell us in time.”

Sci shook his head, agreeing with Red, “I doubt, it looks as if he doesn’t share everything even with Dream and he trusts him.” The scientist said calmly.

Heavy silence fell over the room, no one knowing what to do next to get to know everything about Nightmare but also not hurt him in the process.

Chapter Text

Nightmare looked with wide eyes at the massive bathtub filled with bubbles. He knew the villagers had some like that at home but he never took a bath in one of those. Dream smiled and put a set of new clothes on the sink.

“Are you sure you don’t want my help?” He asked gently.

Nightmare thought about the dark bruises he had hidden under his clothes and shook his head, “I will be fine. Just leave so I can close the door.” He said simply.

Dream nodded and left, hearing the lock click closed behind him. He returned to the kitchen where the heavy atmosphere met him.

“Is everything alright?” The guardian of positivity asked.

Blue wanted to wave it off but Red preceded him, “Nightmare is hiding something for sure. And it’s more than where the black apple is.” He said simply.

Dream nodded, “I know, but I don’t want to push him when everything is so new to him still. And as for the apple, it’s in his bag.” He raised his hand to stop any arguments, “We are not talking that apple from him, it will be a breach of his trust and he won’t give it up himself, just like I would never give up the golden apple.” He said seriously and glared at everyone to then settle his gaze on nervous Sci, “I will need another inventory bracelet, Nightmare just like me wasn’t a part of a game so he doesn’t have an inventory.” 

Sci nodded, “I have a few in my lab. I will bring them all so Nightmare can choose which he likes best.” He said and left, internally glad to be leaving that heavy mood.

He really didn’t want to be part of that conversation.

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Nightmare relaxed into the hot water, letting it soothe all the pains and aches that lingered over his body. He could see his wrists having black bruises from being grabbed and he could feel his back hurt from all the stones thrown at him.

He figured that the villagers are dead, if the tree was gone and he really was corrupted or anything like that then there was no way he left them alive. But Dream probably still thinks of them as his friends and… he won’t believe him, he will think he lied and then hate him not only for killing his friends but also for being a negative freak, like the villagers always called him.

He hugged his knees and started crying, his body shaking with the force of his sobs.

He would rather be still corrupt, then he wouldn’t have to worry about anything, he would be gone as would all the feelings that made him care about anyone. He looked with teary eyes towards his bag where the apple was hidden.

There was a fleeting thought about eating it but he quickly shook it off, knowing it wasn’t the best idea, especially now when there were  so many people who were observing him with suspicion.

He quickly wrapped up his bath and got dried up to then take a look at the clothes Dream left him. It was a short-sleeved, striped shirt in purple and black, a jacket with a hood that he didn’t know the name of in soft lavender color, long black pants and socks. There were no shoes but as he had his own and they were in good condition he didn’t mind. He got dressed and finished it up with his circlet to then head down to the room he was in before only to pause at the shouts he heard from behind the door.

“I will not let you accost him in hopes of maybe finding something. My brother is a child, but he’s also incredibly intelligent and I know he won’t risk being corrupted again. All I want for him is to have a good childhood by my side.” Rung out Dream’s voice, followed by the smooth voice of Reaper.

“I know Dream, but if we don’t ask him how are we supposed to find out what’s wrong. Conversation is a must.”

Next Sans piped in, “And Red is partially right. Nightmare has a weird aversion to showing his body, I get being shy but there seems to be more at stake. What if he’s injured and hiding it?”

Nightmare couldn’t let them get any more stupid, to close to the truth, ideas and opened the door, entering the room, everyone looking at him in silence. He just looked at them emotionlessly and walked to Dream’s side, smiling reassuringly at the worried gaze he got.

Seems Sans hit a sore spot in Dream as it didn’t soothe the other’s worries and instead made him kneel in front of Nightmare, “Nighty, can you take your hoodie off? We just want to make sure you didn’t get injured when you were running from us and all.” 

Nightmare took a step back and shook his head, “I’m not injured, it’s fine.” He said, trying to sound calm. He knew the injuries he had looked like they were there for more than the less than two days of him running around. He started backing away only to bump into Sans who put hands on his shoulders gently.

“Kiddo… if everything is dandy you should have no trouble with us checking… if you want we can do it one-on-one with one of us, whomever you choose, especially if it’s something you don’t want Dream to see.” Sans said gently.

Nightmare’s gaze started jumping on everyone’s faces, especially Dream’s encouraging expression. It was reassuring that he won’t hold it against him for that. He took a hold of Sans’s sleeve and looked at him, the other smiling in understanding.

“Mind if I choose one more person just to make sure we are not too out of our depth?” He asked with a wink and once Nightmare nodded he motioned for Red to come with them and the two headed to a different room nearby, that looked white and clean and smelled of rubbing alcohol.

“It’s the infirmary, the room where we handle all the injuries we get when here. It’s rare but still...” Sans rambled as he picked Nightmare up and set him down on one of the white beds.

“Okay, any wounds on your legs?” Red asked and Nightmare shook his head and hung it low, not wanting to look at them.

Sans looked at Red with a worried frown and Red sighed and took hold of Nightmare’s chin to make him look at them, “Listen kiddo, I know this situation is not nice, but we will not judge you. We just want you to be fine, everyone for different reasons but all of us want the same.”

Nightmare teared up and nodded, sniffing as he put up his arms to let red take off his hoodie and t-shirt. Both had to swallow whatever swear words wanted to bubble up at what they saw.

“Who did this to you, kid?” Red asked with a pained soul.

Nightmare was covered in black bruises and many cracks over his bones that must have ached something fierce and made moving difficult. Sans got to work, finding the healing gel and bandages, he took hold of one of Nightmare’s hands, getting a close look at the rings around his wrist.

“Nightmare, I know it’s scary, but you need to tell us who did that to you and why.” Sans pressed while Red was trying to keep his LV at bay, wanting to tear the bastards that would hurt a kid to shreds.

“You won’t believe me! No one does, because I’m a negative freak!” Nightmare shouted and started sobbing while Red and Sans froze for a brief moment. 

Sans quickly cupped Nightmare’s face, “Hey, kiddo, who taught you that? You are not a freak and of course we will believe you, especially over someone who hurt a kid like you.”

Nightmare looked at Sans confused and then looked at Red who spoke up, “I don’t care for words of people who would treat a kid like you in such a way. There’s more to you than just being a guardian of negativity.”

Sans nodded seriously, “Exactly, so just tell us who did it to you.” They already had some suspicions but they also wanted to hear it for themselves.

“T-the v-villagers… they… they would always call me names and… throw things and… do other stuff...” Nightmare forced in between sobs, his whole body shaking. Sans hugged him gently, feeling the kid clinging to him, “D-dream was f-friends with t-them, a-always talking about them, I couldn't tell him, he w-would hate me.” Sans rubbed Nightmare’s back and looked at Red meaningfully.

The other nodded and left, letting Sans deal with the meltdown and injuries. The others needed to know. Before closing the door he caught Nightmare’s teary gaze and it was clear that he understood it as well even if he wasn’t happy with it.

Sans continued tending to Nightmare’s injuries, distracting him with puns while Red returned to the room with others, his magic cracking around him in fury that he didn’t hold back anymore. He barged into the room and Dream got up looking worried.

“He’s injured, isn’t he?” He asked, wringing his hands worriedly.

Red growled, barely holding back the string of swears that Blue would certainly reprimand him for, “At least there’s no worry of him corrupting again.” He grunted out, gritting his teeth, “Those fucking villagers of Dreamtale that Nightmare killed when corrupted were fucking abusing him. He’s beaten black and blue and some of his bones have cracks. They also called him names...” Red flexed his fists and glared at shocked Dream, “He never told you because you were friends with them and he was worried you would hate him, he’s probably still worried about that.” He hissed at the guardian.

Dream teared up, “But… I would never! He is my brother and more important than my friends.”

“If so, why would he think that?!” Red yelled and slammed his hand on the table.

“Because I was always happiest when around people, fine!? Because while my brother hated being around people I needed that! Because when I was at the village I would often bring everything I heard back to Nightmare and he probably thought I wouldn’t care more about him than them! Because we were just stupid children!” He yelled with tears streaming down his face.

Blue stepped between Red and Dream, “The important thing right now is that whatever pushed Nightmare into eating the apple in the past won’t happen now because we will take care of him properly and won’t let anyone hurt him.” He said soothingly, making Red let out a long breath to calm down and Dream dried his face with his gloved hand.

They settled down and waited for an hour, watching as Dream paced back and forth waiting for Sans and Nightmare to return. In the meantime Sci returned and got caught up on the news.

Sans returned with a tired smile and quiet Nightmare trailing behind him. When the child’s gaze landed on Dream he ran to his side and gathered the smaller into his arms, “I’m so sorry Nightmare, I didn’t know, didn’t see it. I was blind, I’m so, so sorry. I can’t even ask for forgiveness.” He said with tears streaming down his face.

Nightmare hugged him and patted his back with his small hand, “It’s alright, you didn’t see because I didn’t want you to see.” He whispered softly, doing his best to soothe the other and not exactly succeeding as Dream was inconsolable and nothing Nightmare would say will help.

Blue smiled apologetically at Nightmare and took him out of Dream’s arms, passing him to Sans and tugging the distressed guardian out of the room to help him calm down.

Sans sat Nightmare at the table while Sci took a seat next and opened a big case filled with several differently styled bracelets. Nightmare looked at the scientist blandly, making him sweat nervously.

“So, if you are anything like Dream you don’t have an inventory. It’s something like a hidden pocket that no one can reach into as it’s only for your magic.” He motioned to the bracelets, “Those act like inventory, bond to your magic and are only accessible for you. Dream already has one. I made it for monsters in a similar situation as you, who don’t have such an inventory. Go ahead and choose one.”

Nightmare looked between Sci and the bracelets anxiously. On one hand the idea of an inventory that no one can reach into is alluring, but on the other hand…

“How much does it cost?” He asked quietly.

Sci blinked slowly, “Pardon me?”

Nightmare gulped and looked at Sci with a steady gaze, “How much does it cost? Nothing in life is for free… at least not for me...” He finished in a murmur, looking down at his bag that he was clutching at on his lap.

It was old and worn out, he got it after saving meticulously by selling herbs and volunteering to work at the library for almost nothing. When Dream asked something from the villagers or just showed he wanted it… he would get it for practically nothing.

Everyone else was frozen, their souls squeezing painfully as they looked at the dejected child in front of them. Sans forced a smile on his face and put a hand on the kid’s skull.

“Nightmare, buddy. This is a gift from us, no payment needed. You get to choose whichever one you want.” He said with a tight throat at the anxious gaze he got back. Apparently reassured enough, Nightmare looked into the case at the bracelets.

The kid bit his thumb looking from one to another, clearly thinking it over. ‘ The gold ones would fit with my circlet and Dream also probably choose gold, but it’s a soft material and won’t handle much without getting bent or something. Silver is more durable but also prone to oxidation and reacts weird to magic sometimes… platinum doesn’t fit me and I don’t like it… then only titanium is left. There are only four of those. ’ He was looking at the four designs intently, not noticing others smiling at his expression nor when Dream and Blue came back.

Dream smiled weakly at the nostalgic expression. He often saw Nightmare like that whenever he read anything new that he actually had to focus on to understand or when he wanted to learn new magic.

It didn’t last as Nightmare’s expression smoothed out and he looked Sci, “Can I have this one, please?” He asked, pointing at a titanium bracelet with little obsydians embedded in it, scattered like stars on the sky around a moon indent in it.

Sci nodded and took Nightmare’s hand to help him put it on. It magically shrunk to fit him, just as it will to match his growth. Nightmare could feel it bond to his magic and then some weird thing appeared before his eyes.

Curious he took an apple out of his bag and touched the fruit to it, making it shimmer and disappear, only for a word ‘ apple ’ to appear there. His eyes widened and he took his whole bag to go into the inventory, making it appear as a ‘ filled bag ’ that gave the option to go into the bag contents and see them from there.

His eyes shifted to stars as he started looking at the bracelet closer trying to deduct how it exactly worked only to freeze hearing a chuckle. He saw everyone looking at him and stilled, forcing his expression to remain bland.

He looked at Sci and bowed his head, “Thank you for the gift.”

Dream smiled sadly seeing his brother hide his real self like that and came to his side, “I think the day has been exhausting for all of us. Would you like to rest in your room, to wait until dinner Nighty?”

Nightmare looked at Dream and nodded, leaving the meeting room and heading to the one Dream showed him earlier with his older brother at his heels.

Everyone hoped to see Nightmare’s real face soon.

They may just get that one wish.

Chapter Text

This time when going into the room Nightmare got a better look at it.

The walls were soft purple. There was a big bed with dark covers and a bedside table next to it with a small lamp. Except the en-suite bathroom there were doors to a walk-in closet. The floor was covered in a green carpet. There were empty bookshelves and a desk with a comfortable chair at it. In one corner were big seat-like pillows with a blanket draped over them.

“If you want I’m sure we can ask Ink to repaint the walls in a different color.” Dream said gently.

Nightmare looked at him worried, “Can it be green?”

Dream nodded and picked him up to then sit with him on the bed, “Of course. This room is all yours, you can make it look however you want.”

Nightmare hugged him tightly, “You are not angry at me?”

Dream froze in shock, “What? Why would I ever be mad at you?”

Nightmare avoided looking at Dream and shrugged, “For hiding the truth, for being corrupted and destroying the balance, for killing the villagers and mom… for everything.” 

Dream squeezed Nightmare tighter, “Of course I’m not mad at you. Yes I wish you would have told me, but I don’t blame you for anything that happened and I still love you. You are my brother and I will never abandon you.” He nuzzled his skull, “I know this is weird, you being so much younger and my little brother but remember that I love you no matter what.” 

Nightmare clung to Dream, soaking up the words, letting them soothe his anxiety.

He still wasn’t the most comfortable with the situation. Everything was new and strange. He couldn’t hide behind the lies anymore, because it’s clear they won’t let him, either because they don’t want him to be corrupted again or because… maybe they care about him, just a little. He’s still scared of making a mistake that will make them hate him.

Only person he fully trusts is Dream and he’s of course his usual trusting self and thinks nothing about leaving Nightmare with people the negative guardian doesn’t really know.

Dream kissed his forehead and put him under the covers, “Rest for a bit, I will go and give you some space.”

Nightmare nodded and laid comfortably, looking first as Dream left the room to then look at the big window in his room, trying to relax and get rid of all the frantic thoughts in his mind.

Once he figured out nothing will happen if he doesn’t occupy his mind he got up and walked to the window looking out at the unique environment.

The sky was golden and was filled with floating papers scattered around like clouds, the floor was golden as well and… didn’t really look solid. If not for the fact the mansion was standing on it, Nightmare would have thought it was some kind of illusion. In the distance there were some floating islands with doors on them, too far away to tell many details on them.

His exploration of the surrounding was broken when he saw a black liquidy thing appear out of nowhere with a skeleton with a large brush walking through and into the house.

Curious Nightmare ran out of his room and quietly snuck downstairs. He could hear a conversation not far away from some different room that he guessed was a kitchen. He stood in the shadows and started listening in.

“Ink, how was the talk with Error?” Dream asked cheerfully.

“Oh, it went great. He agreed to a truce. I will have to stop creating and he will only destroy what he needs. The empty and corrupted AUs, those that just take up space. I don’t like it, but if it means others are safe, I guess I will do that.” Ink said with a grin.

Nightmare couldn’t help but frown at the weird not-feelings emanating from Ink. And who was Error, destroying the AUs… What even are AUs?

“And how are things with little Nightmare? I got a message you got him.” Ink asked, rocking on his chair.

Dream beamed, “Oh yes, could you repaint his room a forest green color?” Ink nodded, “Great, he’s still scared and confused about a lot but I know everything will work out. Right Nightmare?”

Nightmare froze at being found out and slowly walked into the kitchen. Dream chuckled, “I learned how to feel auras and feelings properly Nighty, no hiding from me anymore.”

Nightmare pouted and mumbled, “I can still just hide my aura.” Dream laughed and picked him up.

“Well, I can’t argue that one, that I still don’t know how to do fully.” Nightmare relaxed seeing no one was mad at him for listening in. He caught eyes with Ink who waved, “Oh, this is Ink, he’s the protector and creator of the AUs. They are the Alternate Universes, so different kinds of worlds that are in this big Multiverse.” Dream said sitting Nightmare down at the kitchen island.

“I heard you gave them a hard time, a sneaky one aren’t you?” Ink teased with a grin.

Nightmare narrowed his eyes, not knowing how to read the other. Ink seemed to enjoy seeing him confused but even that emotion wasn’t clear. And the constant change of eyelights was shocking.

“Don’t tease him, Ink!” Blue yelled, putting a plate of tacos in front of Nightmare who frowned seeing the new dish, “It’s tacos, Nightmare. I hope you like it. I had some help from others to improve my cooking.”

Nightmare took hold of it and took a bite. It was spicy and tasty. He smiled shyly at Blue who beamed and left him to his meal. Dream sat next to Nightmare with his own plate.

The dinner went pretty smoothly with a quiet conversation breaking over and Nightmare listening in to it while munching on his tacos, a glass of milk waiting for him. Dream insisted on it to help Nightmare grow and heal his bones better.

The other didn’t mind either way so he let his older brother fret over him… it’s going to take time getting used to.

“Ah!” Ink suddenly called out and started checking his scarf covered in scribbles to then look at Nightmare with a grin, “Dream said you like reading, I got a perfect way for you to learn about all of the worlds of the multiverse.” He said and got up, grabbing Nightmare who just finished his food and milk, hauling him around.

Dream and Blue followed them with distressed noises as Nightmare froze in the sudden hold. Ink ran through the halls and opened up a room that took Nightmare’s nerves away, his eyelights shifting into stars. 

It was a massive room filled top to bottom with books.

“Each book depicts a different world, each shelf is for different branches of worlds and the numbers indicate if it’s an original or a copy. An original has no number while copies are numbered.” Ink explained as he put Nightmare down, “I will get you the more important ones so get yourself a seat.”

Nightmare nodded and went to sit down at some table. Blue tutted looking at Ink who was gathering books, “Don’t you think Nightmare should rest first? Dream, say something!”

Dream chuckled, “Even if you tell my brother to rest, now that he saw the books he won’t rest until he reads at least one. Right, Nighty?” He looked at Nightmare who was already immersed in one of the books from the stack Ink put in front of him.

Blue sighed with a small, indulgent smile, seeing Nightmare so excited.

Dream walked to Nightmare’s side and put a hand on his skull, getting the child’s attention, “I will get you when it’s bedtime so read on.” He said gently.

Nightmare nodded and returned to the book with UNDERTALE on the cover, many more stacked around him with Ink still putting more.

Once he got all the books he thought Nightmare should read he left to join others that decided now that a child was out of the room they should talk more about the truce with Error, a monster who they all thought unreasonable.

--------

Nightmare finished almost all of the books Ink left him by the time Dream came to get him to bed.

“Noooo, I don’t want to sleep!” He clung to the table when Dream tried to pick him up.

“Nighty, those books will be here tomorrow, you can read them then.” Dream tried while Ink just laughed in the background, “Ink!”

“What? He's your brother.” When Dream glared at him he just shook his head exasperated and walked to Nightmare, “You can take those you didn’t read to your room if you promise to sleep then.”

Nightmare looked at Ink and nodded slowly. Dream let him take a stack of books and leave the library.

Once in his room he put the books on the desk and changed clothes with Dream tucking him in bed.

“Goodnight, Nighty.” He whispered, petting his head.

“Goodnight, Dream.” Nightmare said after a long yawn.

Dream smiled and left the room, closing the door behind himself to meet an amused Ink grinning at him, “Happy, huh? You are practically glowing as if covered in yellow paint.” Ink teased making Dream blush.

“Stop that, let’s go and take care of that world you told me about lately. Corrupted Nightmare made a mess there and we need to clean it up.” 

Ink nodded and swiped his brush, opening a portal, the two leaving the mansion, not aware of the child that was reading in the room illuminated only by their eyelights.

--------

All three slept in in the morning, each skeleton for a different reason and as such they missed the arrival of three guests. 

It was Mafia with his brother, Snipe and their Toriel. As their world was void of RESETS most of the so called main cast knows about the Multiverse and once Toriel heard about their hare-brained plan and the fact that there was a child involved she demanded to see Nightmare.

“Ink! Dream! Are you here?!” Mafia shouted from downstairs, feeling the heavy gaze of the other two at his neck.

They heard shuffling upstairs and met gaze with a child looking at them from behind a corner. Before they got to speak he ran off and there was the sound of a door slamming shut.

“Poor dear, he looks scared.” Toriel said softly, laying a furry hand on her chest.

Soon there was a sound of more people moving and Dream emerged with Nightmare right behind him, “Oh, Mafia, Snipe, Miss Toriel, good morning. How can we help you?”

“Oh, nothing has happened, I just heard about what has happened lately and decided I just have to get involved.” Toriel spoke, glaring at Dream who flinched back at the intensity of the gaze.

Nightmare noticed it and glared at Toriel from behind Dream.

“Well, Ink is still asleep but we will gladly offer you breakfast if you haven't eaten yet.” Dream said quietly and walked down the stairs, holding Nightmare’s hand, “I will introduce them to you, Nightmare.”

“No need, I heard the first time.” He answered coldly, glaring at the woman that made his brother scared. Toriel seemed to take no offence to his gaze judging by the indulgent smile… he needs to work on the strength of his glare then.

“Breakfast will be lovely. How about you get started while we get to know the young gentleman by your side?” Toriel said with a pointed tone, showing that there was no other option.

“Ah, uhm...” Dream looked down at Nightmare who was still glaring at Toriel, “I don’t know if it’s such a good idea...”

“Nonsense, it’s going to be perfectly fine.” Snipe said and picked up an indignant Nightmare, “We will simply chat, now please don’t worry about us and make breakfast.”

Dream looked after them as they moved to the living room and decided that Nightmare won’t come to any harm, so he may as well go to the kitchen.

In the living room Nightmare freed himself from Snipe’s hold and was now glaring at the three from an armchair. 

Mafia chuckled, “Take it easy tiger, we don’t mean you harm so save that energy for something else.”

“Well, you obviously thought wasting your energy on glaring at my brother was well spent, so I won’t trust your judgement on where to designate my energy.” He scoffed, crossing arms across his chest.

“Oh, dear, I didn’t mean to scare him.” Toriel said gently.

Nightmare just turned his eyes away from them and took a book out, trusting that with Dream only a few rooms away he’s safe. Reading about Aftertale was more interesting anyway. The story of first Geno disappearing mysteriously was much too intriguing to not speculate where someone who couldn’t die went to.

But apparently Toriel didn’t agree with him as she just took the book out of his hands and held it up, out of his reach, “It’s bad manners young man, to ignore your guests like this.”

Nightmare narrowed his eyes at her, “I’m a guest here as well and besides you weren’t invited, you just barged in here at will wanting to know me. I’m not interested in knowing you, so kindly give me back the book.” He hissed, magic sparkling at his joints.

“You shouldn’t speak to adults this way.”

“Well maybe try to earn the respect first, because I see no reason to grant it to you.” 

Toriel was fuming inside but Nightmare only looked at her blandly and held his hand out for the book. 

“Breakfast is ready!” Dream called from the entrance, making everyone freeze, “What’s going on?” He asked with narrowed eyes, his aura going dark.

Both Toriel and Nightmare felt nervousness, not knowing which one is in trouble with the guardian right now.

“Well?”

Chapter Text

“Well?” Dream pressed with a dark smile. His eyes caught sight of a book in Toriel’s hand, “May I ask what you are doing with my brother’s book, miss Toriel?”

“I… I was just holding it. He was ignoring us and acting disrespectful.” She tried.

Dream walked to her and took the book from her, passing it back to Nightmare to then pick the skeleton up, “With all the respect I can muster, next time my brother doesn’t deem you worthy of his attention kindly leave him be or I will be forced to take drastic action.”

He then turned without a word and headed to the kitchen with Nightmare in his arms, the child looking over Dream’s shoulder and smirking at Toriel from the safety of his brother’s hold.

The three followed the brothers and sat at the table filled with different breakfast foods. They started to load their plates while Dream conversed quietly with Nightmare and was putting food for the smaller to only then think about himself.

Nightmare ended up presented with a plate piled with pancakes, fruit, eggs and bacon and two glasses, one with milk and another with juice. He appreciated it as his healing body demanded sustenance to bring his magic levels up.

He was eating slowly, chewing everything thoroughly under Toriel’s judging gaze. Dream was doing his best to not lash out, but the behavior was honestly infuriating to him. It was as if she thought that he would hurt his brother or not take care of him properly.

It seemed like she also thought of Nightmare as some babybones that’s like her children, sweet and innocent that need to be cared for 24/7 while in reality Nightmare was one of most independent people Dream ever met, even if you add adults to the mix.

It will be a matter of time before Nightmare lashes out against her smothering behavior.

If Dream had to choose then Underfell Toriel or maybe Reapertale Toriel would be better fitted to take care of Nightmare if he ever needs to leave him alone with someone and none of the Sanses he knows… that are also fit to care for a child, are not available. 

“How about we go shopping together today, Nighty? So you can choose some stuff to fill your room?” Dream asked with a bright smile. Nightmare shrugged while eating and pushed a bowl of fruit towards Dream who clearly forgot to add any to his own plate. The guardian chuckled but complied with the wordless request.

Mafia observed the situation now, understanding how Nightmare retained his older brother mentality. While he, as a Sans, was more easygoing and didn’t mind his brother being more active in the family, Nightmare definitely was the responsible one here, no matter how much Dream tried.

“If you plan to go shopping you can come to our world. Maybe Nightmare will be interested in the antique shops.” Mafia proposed and got a smile from Dream and a gaze full of suspicion from Nightmare.

“Sure, I think it’s a great idea.” Dream beamed and looked at Nightmare, “I see you finished breakfast. I will help you choose clothes to fit in better in Mafiatale.”

Nightmare shook his head, getting up, “It’s one that I read about, I can handle it myself.”

Dream nodded, “Of course, take your time brother.”

Nightmare nodded and left the room, walking by half-asleep Ink shuffling his feet, the artist not even noticing him. In his room Nightmare walked into the closet, filled by Dream most likely and chose a button up, black shirt and dark grey pants. He found a grey matching vest and some fingerless gloves. 

It wasn’t exactly his style but he looked well and it was comfortable enough that he should be able to run if necessary.

He went down to meet with the others, Dream wearing a similar outfit but with a yellow shirt and black vest and pants. The other three were standing next to him with a weird light-made thing behind them.

“You look great, Nighty. We will be going through a portal, it will take us to Mafiatale. Once you are healed and we have time I will teach you how to use them.” Dream said with a smile, offering his hand to Nightmare who nodded enthusiastically.

“What if I want to see some words and don’t want to ask you or Ink for a portal?” Nightmare asked with a frown.

“I will show you how to use the doorways once we are back.” He assured and they all walked through the portal into Toriel’s house as the one closer to an antique store.

“Please come back when you are finished with shopping, I will have some lunch for you all.” Toriel said, waving them off, the four skeletons leaving with Nightmare holding back a groan at the prospect of having to deal with the goat monster any longer. They walked through the city, Nightmare looking around curiously, doing his best to remember everything, his eyes noticing a massive white building with LIBRARY written on it. 

He would rather go there than shop for things he doesn’t need.

Once at the store manned by some old turtle he was simply following an enthusiastic Dream who tried to make him interested in some shiny or soft objects while he was only interested in the books he could see. In the end he got two books out of it while Dream got himself plenty of knick knacks. 

They went back and Dream, noticing Nightmare’s reluctance kneeled in front of him, “We will spend some time with Toriel, talking and all. There’s a playground on the other side of the road. You can go there and I will get you when it’s time to leave.” 

Nightmare nodded with a smile and once Dream and the other two were inside ran off, not in the direction of the playground, mind you. No, he ran in a completely different direction.

He found the library easily and came inside, his eyelights shifting into stars at the sight. He didn’t see the elderly lady approaching him until she tapped his shoulder, “How may I help you young man?”

Nightmare fiddled with his hands as he looked at the ground, “Can I read here?”

“Do you have a card?”

Nightmare shook his head as he curled on himself.

“If you don’t carry the books out you are welcome to read anything.”

Nightmare beamed at the lady, “Thank you, I promise to be careful with the books.” He said in a quiet tone, not wanting to interrupt anyone in the building.

The lady nodded and waved running Nightmare off, the child finding his favorite history section after a brief look around and gathered a pile of books around himself, reading away, not caring about the passage of time.

--------

Dream and Mafia were running around frantically.

They just went to fetch Nightmare from the playground only to see he wasn’t there. The first thought was that the child had been kidnapped but Dream refused to believe Nighty would have been caught by anyone.

As such Mafia, Dream and Red who they soon called for help were looking around the city, trying to find Nightmare.

They couldn’t find him for two hours which gave Nightmare about five hours of not being seen by anyone. Mafia and Red met nearby the town square where the library was and waited for Dream to join them there.

Once he did and saw them without Nightmare he wanted to despair, only to take a look at the building behind them.

“Have any of you checked the library?” He asked with a seed of hope. Once they shook their heads they headed into the building.

Mafia approached the front desk, “Have you seen a child skeleton coming in here?” He asked and they all let out relieved breaths when the lady nodded.

“Yes, he’s in the history section, and has been for about five hours, reading away. He finished half of the books he chose for himself, such a fast reader he is.”

Dream didn’t even listen to it, simply leaving once he heard where Nightmare was sitting, surrounded by books, hiding his aura probably as a force of habit.

“Nighty...”

Nightmare looked up to see Dream, “Huh? What are you doing here?”

“Nightmare, we have been looking for you for two hours. You weren’t at the playground.”

Nightmare shrugged, hiding his worried expression, “I just wanted to read… I don’t want to go where other people are.”

Dream kneeled close, “Nighty, you should have said so instead of going to a different place without telling anyone. I know that before you didn’t have to tell anyone where you were going but we were worried about you, it’s not the same anymore.” He said with a gentle tone.

Nightmare curled on himself, “... sorry.”

Dream hugged him gently, “It’s alright. I’m not mad at you. But it’s getting late and we should go.”

Nightmare hugged the book he was holding, “But… I still didn’t finish reading...”

Mafia cleared his throat, reminding the two he and Red were there, “I have a card in this library. I can get the books for you. As long as I get them back within two weeks it’s going to be alright.”

Dream nodded and helped Nightmare gather the books he wanted to take with him and soon they were on their way. Nightmare holding Dream’s hand with one hand while the other was holding one of the books.

Once they were back, Nightmare put the books in his room and followed Dream in the direction of the doors floating on some islands that he could see from a distance.

Now up close it was easy to see the doors had floating bridges connecting them. Each doorway had a name written on them and most also had numbers.

“Alright Nighty, it’s kind of like the books Ink showed you. The ones with numbers are so called copies.” Dream started explaining to attentive Nightmare, “The door can be opened from here but if they close you won’t be able to use them to go back so always make sure it’s open unless you know you won’t need it. The door will always appear in some desolate space, but I know you will be able to make sure no one can use it except you even if they find it.” Dream finished with a smile.

Nightmare nodded and followed his brother back to the mansion.

Dream chuckled seeing how deep in thought he was, even as some worry surfaced in him. He hoped Nightmare wasn’t planning anything weird or dangerous. He could see shadows under Nightmare’s eyes, showing he definitely didn’t sleep a wink last night after they left him alone. He hoped Nighty would get used to the way things change faster but thinking about it now he may have been presumptuous. 

For him it was years since he left the stone, for Nightmare it was only a few days. Of course he needed more time and probably more help than only the free space Dream gave him.

---------

Nightmare was sure of one, the doors will come in handy in case he needs to run somewhere or find Dream… only as long as he tells him exactly what world he needs to look for. 

He also wanted to take a look at his home, he knew it was years, if only by Dream's age but… maybe he could get some of his belongings from his hiding spots, because whatever he stashed at the tree was most likely destroyed when he ate the apples. 

He was now in his room and trying to relax on the bed but, just like last night, it was too soft, giving out easily under his touch, making him feel like he was about to fall. 

He was used to sleeping on the branches of his mother, not this. 

He moved into the corner onto what Dream called beanbags and sat on one. It was firmer than the bed and overall better for his anxiety. He sighed and looked at the ceiling of the room. 

'Why can't everything be just like it was before? Except for the villagers, I'm glad they are gone…' He was lost in thought, trying to just get all the new facts straight in his head and catalog all the still unknown facts, planning ahead on some possible scenarios. Due to that he didn't hear knocking on his door, nor noticed Blue and Stretch entering his room. 

"Nightmare?" Blue waves a hand in front of his face, making Nightmare flinch back as he gets broken out of his thoughts, "I'm sorry, you weren't answering when we knocked and called for you." Blue said with a small smile, trying to look reassuring but it didn't help Nightmare who just didn't know if he could trust them. 

"It's fine… does Dream need me or…" Nightmare asked quietly only to stop when both shook their heads and sat down on the other two beanbags out of the five Nightmare had in his room. 

"Nope, we came to see you." Blue said, beaming and taking some things out of thin air that Nightmare understood as him taking things out of his inventory. 

Nightmare flinched, catching something round that Blue threw at him, the other two frowning slightly, “What… what is it?” He asked quietly.

Blue tried to smile again, “Toys. What you are holding is a ball, you can toss it around and bounce it. This is...” He picked something up but paused when Nightmare lost what little color his face had.

“Why do you have a rope?” He asked but before Blue could answer that it just was a jump rope Nightmare shortcut away and they could hear a crack outside.

Stretch got up and looked out of the room to see Nightmare running away from the mansion, “I really want to bring those villagers back just so I can judge them myself.” He mumbled only to tense seeing a glitching portal opening suddenly in front of Nightmare who didn’t have time to stop his sprint and ran straight through it, “Fuck!”

“What? What happened?” Blue asked, worried.

“I saw Error’s portal, Nightmare ran through it by accident.” Stretch said as he ran out of the room to inform Dream about it.

“Oh no, and Ink went out somewhere, Dream told me he forgot his phone again and he’s the only one able to walk into the Antivoid.” Blue fretted as he followed his brother.

Stretch nodded, “I don’t want to know what Error wants to do with Nightmare when he’s vulnerable like that.” He said with a grim expression.

Chapter Text

Nightmare was scared.

He was running from Blue and Stretch, running from being tied and at their mercy, like with the villagers, only to run into a weird portal and start falling through endless white, not knowing when he will collide with the floor.

He was suddenly caught by blue strings, wrapping around him tightly.

“Well, I see Ink wasn’t lying...” A weird voice suddenly rang out, changing in pitch and volume every so often. Nightmare looked in it’s direction to see a black-boned skeleton with colorful fingers and toes, yellow teeth and blue streaks going down his face. He was sitting in a swing made out of the same blue strings that were holding Nightmare.

“I… who are you? What do you want to do with me?” Nightmare asked, looking around fearfully.

The weird skeleton chuckled, “I’m Error, the destroyer and I was just curious how you look now that you are not covered in that black gunk.”

Nightmare paled. 

Error was that destroyer he heard about, one that had a truce with Ink. But what’s worse is that he knew Nightmare from when he was corrupted, “W-what did my older self do to you?” He asked worriedly.

Error grimaced, “Tried to touch me.” At the confused gaze from Nightmare he continued, “I have a phobia of touch. It hurts me because I glitch from it… my body gets all fuzzy.”

Nightmare struggled in the strings in fear, “I’m sorry, please don’t hurt me!” He begged, his eyes closed as he anticipated an attack in retaliation of what his older self tried.

He remembered the rare situation he fought against the villagers, when he hurt them only a little they got even meaner and hurt him even more than when he didn’t fight and only ran and protected himself.

He expected Error was like that, that he wanted revenge.

Error in the meanwhile frowned, confused and sent a subtle check at the kid. What it showed almost made him crash.

Nightmare

LV 1

HP 500/500

AT 10

DF 10

Is scared you will hurt him just like his abusers for daring to try and hurt you. 

Doesn’t mean you any harm. 

Just doesn’t want to get hurt, please?

He had to take several deep breaths. He never was curious about Dreamtale’s history, never checked it and talking with a corrupted Nightmare was a pain in the ass. But seeing that checkbox… Fuck, he only wanted to play around with the kid, maybe scare him a bit, now he doesn’t feel like it at all.

He lowered himself and Nightmare to the not quite floor of the Antivoid, the stable ground under him breaking Nightmare out of his sobbing stupor, startled face looking at him.

“No need to cry, kid. I just wanted to talk and have some fun. Come on, get up and follow me.” He said gruffly, not knowing how to reassure the kid when he couldn’t even touch him.

Nightmare sniffled and got up, following Error as he cleaned his face with his sleeves. He didn’t know how but suddenly in the endless white there was a weird nest of strings hanging from an invisible ceiling and some much bigger than the ones he had beanbags. 

Error hauled himself onto one and watched as Nightmare stood awkwardly, looking at him, “Go ahead, sit in one.” He said calmly and couldn’t stop a sigh as Nightmare fearfully scrambled to comply.

He hummed and manipulated his strings to bring him one of the rare puppets he had that were filled with fluff and beans instead of dust as he couldn’t kill any of them. It was a puppet of a corrupted Nightmare.

“Did anyone tell you how you looked when corrupted?” He asked and when Nightmare only shook his head he passed the puppet to him, “The black stuff was liquid negativity, you had tentacles made from that stuff and it was covering one of your eyes.” He explained as Nightmare looked the puppet over, “You can keep it, I can make myself a better one.”

Nightmare looked at Error in shock. ‘Is this a gift? Like the bracelet? No, Error is just getting rid of a one he doesn’t want and decided to give it to me instead of throwing it out. Yeah, it has got to be it.’ He thought to himself and Error smirked seeing cogs turning in his head.

“Thank you.” Nightmare mumbled holding the puppet close, as if subconsciously scared Error will change his mind and take it back.

Error hummed to himself as he looked around his strings and brought another pupped down, dropping it into Nightmare’s lap, “Take this one too. Dream dresses different now and I don’t want doubles.” He said with a shrug. It wasn’t a lie nor was it the truth. He does mean to make another of Dream’s puppets in his new clothes, but he also has plenty of doubles hidden in his strings.

Nightmare didn’t suspect anything though as he was too transfixed on the puppet he got. It was perfect, looking just like the Dream he remembered. He hid both in his inventory. He would be okay with giving the puppet of the corrupted him, but he won’t give up Dream’s one.

Error got up and stretched, making sure to move slowly to not cause any unrest in the kid that was observing him varily, “Well, it has been nice to meet you but I can bet that everyone is now frantically looking for either you or Ink to get in here...” He pulled some string from his face and held it out to Nightmare who took it with a curious expression, “Tie it around your wrist, it will turn invisible until you want to see it. If you tug on it I will come to you. Call me if you want to talk or need help, or just want to get away from all the over-enthusiastic people Dream and Ink surround themselves with.”

Nightmare nodded and did as said. He didn’t plan on calling for Error, not really, but having the option to call for help if he was in danger too big for him to handle… destroyer of the worlds could surely handle everything.

Error opened a portal to Doodlesphere and waved at leaving Nightmare, closing it once the child was on the other side.

Nightmare sighed, letting himself relax after the tense meeting, noticing that the string really disappeared. The peace didn’t last as many skeletons, many more than there were when he left, ran out of the mansion. He tensed, frozen in place, instinctively summoning a small wall of bones to try to stop them. They all paused in their run except for Dream who simply jumped over the wall and crushed Nightmare in a hug.

“Oh, Nighty, we were so worried. Did Error hurt you? What did he do to you? Stretch only saw a portal that looked like Error’s but only Ink can get to Error’s home and we couldn’t find him and...” Dream rambled until Nightmare patted his back.

“Can’t breathe.” He grunted from where his face was smashed into Dream’s chest. Dream apologized and relaxed the hold slightly, “I’m not hurt and Error didn’t do anything to me. I’m fine, I think he only wanted to see how differently I look… he gave me that.” He said taking the Dream doll out of his inventory and showing it off. 

Dream paled worried and took it from him, patting it down. He relaxed, feeling it was filled with beads and fluff and gave it back to Nightmare, “It's nice, Nighty. I’m glad nothing happened.” He said with a weak smile.

Everyone listening to it relaxed as well. They all were anxious about what a barely sane destroyer could do to a small child. Nightmare looked at them confused about the feelings they emanated only to come to the conclusion they were happy he didn’t eat the apple when out of their sight. He mentaly shrugged it off and clung to Dream who started rambling about having to get some dinner as a carry-out order because from worrying about him he burned the food he was cooking.

“I’m sorry...”

“Oh, what? Nighty, it’s not your fault that Error took you away.” Dream said gently and bonked their skulls together, “Besides, I wanted you to try pizza and I simply don’t know how to cook that.” He said with a wink, even as Nightmare blinked confused as to what pizza was.

They all got into a big living room where Dream put Nightmare into an armchair and kissed his skull, “I will go to get the food, you should wait with the others. We will all have a big feast afterwards.” He said and left as skeletons started filtering into the room, both those Nightmare met and those he didn’t get introduced to.

The child tensed in the armchair, fearing being left with all those people, without Dream within a shortcut distance.

Sans smiled at him reassuringly, "We know there are some new faces, so I will introduce them." He said and stood next to the spot where Nightmare tried to sink into his seat, "We got Edge, Red's brother, Crimson, Sans from Mafiafell, Fresh, Pink, Lust's brother, Wine and his brother Coffee." Each person either waved or nodded when mentioned, "The rest you know already.” 

Nightmare hugged a pillow that was on the armchair and only nodded slightly.

Sans glared at everyone from the spot Nightmare couldn’t notice and everyone taking the hint started chatting among themselves. Nightmare relaxed slightly with the attention away from him and started subtly scanning everyone. Some had LV, but they still felt safer than the villagers.

One person stuck out to him though... 

He was sitting quiet with his brother doing the talking, anxiety wafting off him clearly. Coffee was only jotting in his little notepad, trying to handle being surrounded by so many people. Wine was doing what he could, keeping the attention of anyone who would try to talk to him… mostly Blue off him. But suddenly he felt his anxiety lift, become easier on his soul. Confused, he looked up to meet eyes with Nightmare, whose eyelights shined brightly.

Nightmare quickly turned his eyes away and curled on himself.

Coffee made a note in his notepad and showed it to Wine but the effect is not what he anticipated. His brother walked through the crowd and leaned into Nightmare’s space, “What did you do to my brother?” He hissed and quiet settled over the room.

Sans got to their side, “Okay, let’s not get hasty. I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding.”

“Coffee felt his emotions change and Nightmare was looking directly at him. It must be his doing, he is a guardian of negativity, I don’t need to know from Coffee any details what changed, I’m sure it’s bad.” Wine argued with a sneer, his protective instincts at all time high. Coffee tried to get his attention to explain how it actually was but any arguments that broke off were cut when the doors were slammed and they saw Nightmare was gone.

They all filtered out of the room to hear the door to the meeting room close and what sounded like all the furniture in the room moving to block the door.

Sans knocked on the door, “Nightmare, please come out.” He tried only to get a yelled ‘no’ back.

Wine banged on the door, “Come out and explain yourself.”

“No! You are just like them, you think just like them! You will hurt me just like them too!” Nightmare yelled.

Red sighed and pushed Wine out of the way, “Can you explain to us how?” He asked simply, leaning against the door.

“You think I’m evil because I guard negativity! You think negative emotions are evil!” The shout broke into hiccups, “L-leave me alone! I want Dream!” His sobs carried through the door.

“Well, you done fucked up.” Stretch whispered looking at stunned Wine.

In the quiet Coffee finally got Wine’s attention and showed him a note explaining his feelings changed to be less anxious. Wine rubbed his face with a guilty expression. Red knocked on the door again, the cries cutting off.

“Nightmare, we don’t think you are evil. I’m sure everyone knows that there are good negative emotions.” Red tried to coax him.

“L-liar!”

“I’m pretty sure you can feel that I’m not lying.” Red pressed, “But fine, I will give you some examples of emotions being bad when positive or good even though negative.” He said sitting on the floor next to the door, glaring at others to keep quiet.

There was the sound of some of the furniture shuffling in the other room and Nightmare’s sniffling got closer.

“So I got a guy I despise because he gets some sadistic glee from hurting others. I hate seeing him happy because it means he did something despicable.” Red said, Edge nodding as he remembered their Asgore, “On the other hand when I see people get guilty after they hurt someone means there’s still some good there. Glee and guilt, one positive, other negative and yet I would rather see guilt.” 

“They always were happy when hurting me.” Nightmare whispered and Red nodded to himself.

“Yeah, they are in the wrong though. Just like Wine was in the wrong attacking you like that even before learning all the facts, but you know… Wine looks pretty guilty right now and I’m sure if you give him a chance you won’t regret it.” Red said calmly and let silence set, as Nightmare was either thinking it over or just buying time until Dream came back.

There were more sounds from the room and soon the door cracked open, showing Nightmare’s teary face. Red smiled and tilted his head to make him look towards Wine.

The proud skeleton was kneeling to be on Nightmare’s eye level, “I want to sincerely apologize for my behavior. My younger brother Coffee is my only family and I am overprotective of him. I know it’s no excuse...”

Nightmare nodded, “I understand...” He whispered, remembering that whenever he was angry it was for Dream.

Wine smiled slightly, “You don’t have to forgive me, all I ask is a chance.”

Nightmare cleaned his teary face and after nodding at Wine looked at Sans, “I want to go to my room… Can I?”

Sans smiled, “Sure buddy, we will call you when Dream is back.”

Nightmare left and they all looked into the room, freezing at what they found there.

Chapter Text

"Damn, the kid has strong magic, that table is massive." Stretch said, looking at all the furniture that was moved under the wall carelessly. 

"I don't want to anger him." Edge said, earning a chuckle from Red. 

"I feel as long as you don't get on his bad side you are safe. So basically just leave Dream alone and you're good." Red said as he started helping everyone move the furniture back in the right order. 

The main table took 4 skeletons to move it with blue magic, the weight being too much for one of them to lift. 

It didn't take them long and yet they had a lot of free time still as Dream called that the massive order he placed would take two more hours. 

They all moved to the training room and either started to spar or sat back to observe. Even Sans and Stretch were robbed into it, only Coffee able to rest with Crow and Farm at his side. 

---------

Nightmare was trying to read in his room but a sudden ripple of magic gained his attention. It felt like everyone was using magic… he hoped they weren't fighting about anything. 

He followed the wave and looked into a massive room freezing at what he saw. They were throwing attacks back and forth, sometimes hitting the opponent and yet there was no negativity in the air and they also laughed and joked around. Even Coffee, Farm and Crow who weren’t doing anything seemed in a good mood and not at all worried about everyone fighting.

Nightmare was anxious just looking at it. One villager broke his arm when Nightmare only scratched him by mistake as he tried to push him away… he can’t… 

“Nightmare?”

The child flinched, torn out of his thoughts to see Sans in front of him, “Uhm...”

“Do you want to train with us?” Sans asked with a soft smile, “Or we can just tutor you a bit, give you pointers...” Nightmare shook his head adamantly, simply too terrified to agree to that. Sans petted his head, “How about you sit next to others that just watch? We will feel better if we have you in sight because attacks sometimes go awry and it could hit you by mistake.”

Nightmare nodded and toddled there sitting next to Coffee who patted the seat with an inviting smile despite still emanating anxiety. Nightmare returned the smile gently and looked back at everyone “training”... whatever that meant. He was absorbing all the new tricks and attack patterns although he could feel worry rise in his soul.

He saw no one using elemental magic, something that was his first piece of magic that wasn’t a shortcut. And the blasters… all his tries looked completely different. He didn’t want them to think he’s weird or a freak or…

Nightmare saw a notepad shoved into his face with ‘Are you ok?’ written on it and he looked up to see Coffee looking at him. He simply shrugged and sniffed, trying to keep the oncoming crying fit at bay.

Coffee picked him up and put him on his lap, wrapping his arms around him so he had the notepad in clear view, ‘Want to write it, instead of saying? So, no one can hear.’ Nightmare read it and looked to the side where Farm and Crow slid further away to give them more space. The child nodded and accepted a spare pencil from Coffee who flipped to a clean page.

‘What’s wrong?’ Coffee wrote and gave Nightmare time to write the answer down,

The small guardian thought it over and decided to try and be honest… he doubts it will happen but if Coffee tries to show this conversation to others he will simply set this on fire, ‘All the magic… it looks so much different from mine… am I weird?’

‘No!’ Coffee wrote quickly and paused to think over the rest of the answer, ‘The magic is a part of you, even if there are patterns like skeletons using bones they all can differ. Long, short, sharp, blunt. It all can differ, even blasters are unique. There’s as many monsters as there will be fighting styles and attack kinds.’

Nightmare sniffed and turned on Coffee’s lap to hug him. The other rubbed his back slowly, letting him calm down. He hoped Nightmare won’t hesitate going to people for reassurance, he seems to be more anxious than even Coffee himself. He wanted to protect him and he was pretty sure everyone else thought the same.

Soon Nightmare shifted in Coffee’s lap and the other let him slide off, not wanting to make the little guy uncomfortable or nervous. Nightmare mumbled something about water and started heading towards the exit. Coffee smiled after him only to scream out as he saw a beam from a wayward blaster heading towards him.

Nightmare froze looking at it only for his magic to flare and a black portal to open in front of him, absorbing the beam and sending it… somewhere.

Nightmare fell to the floor shaking and everyone ran to his side, checking him over. Red pushed them back, seeing how the proximity made Nightmare shake even more, “Give him some air, damnit.” He growled and took Nightmare’s face in his hands, “Breathe kid, you are good, you are safe and you managed to summon your first portal.” He said gently, getting a whine from Nightmare who clung to the hands on his face as he tried to get some air into his chest.

“Yeah kid, breathe or else I will make you spar with Blue.” Red said with a teasing grin that made Nightmare glare at him and start taking short shaking breaths.

“A portal? I made?” Nightmare asked with a confused expression, disbelieving it.

“Yeah, you did. Well before Dream taught you… my guess is you are in tune with magic and after using them a few times, summoned by others, your magic got a rough idea and acted on instinct.” Red said, patting Nightmare’s cheeks.

“I...” Nightmare trembled and crawled close to Red’s chest, the other patting his back, “I want to go to the kitchen please.” He mumbled. He was feeling shaky and stressed… he missed his beat up tea set from home and the fresh teas he always made for himself to settle his anxiety.

Red got up with him and waved others off when they tried to follow, except Edge, “Sure kid. Do you know your way around it?”

“Ummm...” He looked at Red anxiously, “I never cooked in a kitchen but I cooked over a fire...”

Edge scoffed, “I would guess you just burned some meat or fish over fire and called it cooking.” He said and took him from Red, “I shall teach you how to cook.”

Nightmare pushed at Edge’s chest, “No, not interested, please. Just want tea.” He whined.

Red observed it amused, shuffling his way after the two. Edge came into the kitchen and put Nightmare on the counter to then start describing every appliance. Despite being so hesitant at first Nightmare was actually listening intently and nodding whenever something new was introduced to him. 

Once the little lesson was over Edge took out the only kind of tea present in the kitchen and put the kettle on. Nightmare frowned, sniffing the mix, “What kind of herb is it?” He asked softly, looking confused.

“It’s golden flower tea… you never had it?” Edge asked as he prepared it.

Nightmare shook his head, “No… I will ask Dream to get more kinds I guess.” He said softly.

Silence set over them until the tea was ready and each had a cup in front of them with some cookies to share. Nightmare sipped on it and closed his eyes for a moment. It was sweet and fragrant but Nightmare was never really a fan of sweets. The fact that it was made from dried flowers gave it a weak smoky fragrance, proving it was made in a rush as it was not common to dry over fire or anything. He preferred air dried or fresh.

He really needs to start his own exploration around the Multiverse.

He read the books about all the major worlds, Ink apparently didn’t have enough common sense to censor anything and Dream stupidly trusted him enough to not check the books he was handed. Nightmare didn’t mind though, it only gave him many ideas and helped him get a healthy outlook of the Multiverse.

It wasn’t perfect but nothing in life was.

Nightmare was already planning how to help bring the balance of feelings back to where it should be. When he was looking for Dream once he heard him and Ink talking about X-tale where, according to the book due to Gaster making too many experiments something went wrong and now Cross!Sans was trapped in an empty, white void with a human messing with his head. His brother and Ink were already trying to help him, no matter how slow it was going due to the other’s suspicions…

“Nightmare?” 

The young guardian blinked slowly as he resurfaced from his thoughts and looked at the two skeletons, “Huh?”

“Are you alright? You had quite a serious look on your face… is the tea that bad?” Red asked with a grin.

Nightmare shook his head, “No, it’s alright… not exactly what I used to drink but not that bad. I was just... thinking.” Nightmare shrugged only to perk up and run off with a smile.

Dream just walked into the mansion with stacks of pizza boxes in his arms. Nightmare simply picked them with blue magic and barreled into Dream’s legs, “Hello, Nighty. Did you have fun when I was gone?”

Nightmare smiled slightly and nodded. He didn’t want to worry Dream with all that happened when he was gone, “Yeah, and I’m hungry.”

Dream chuckled, “Well, why don’t you carry the food to the meeting room then? I will get the others...” He looked up to see Red and Edge, “Could you two get the plates and the glasses for the drinks?”

They nodded and soon everyone began filtering into the meeting room where Nightmare spread out the boxes and Red and Edge were laying down plates and glasses for drinks. They ate in an amicable atmosphere with Dream making sure Nightmare got to try as many kinds of pizza as possible without overeating. 

Nightmare decided that pizza was indeed good, although some were a little too greasy for him. His favorite one was one with only vegetables and cheese, he hated some weird mix of cheese and several kinds of meat, it was too heavy for him… no wonder, until not that long ago most of his diet was fruit, vegetables and bread, meat and eggs were a rarity and easiest to get protein was through milk and cheese. He even made sure they could get enough vitamins during winter by drying and preserving fruit.

Nightmare frowned remembering yet another thing he left in Dreamtale that’s probably lost now.

Dream tore him out of his thoughts by petting his head, “Did you have fun when I was gone?”

Nightmare thought back to both the dramas he went through and smiled weakly, “I had tea and summoned a portal.” He said softly and took a sip of his juice.

Dream smiled brightly, “And here I thought I would be able to teach you something for once… did Reaper or Ink come and teach you?”

Nightmare shook his head, “Nope, it just… happened, on instinct. I don’t think they are stable enough so I can use them but I have the base down.”

Dream hummed and smiled darkly at the others, “And now, who will tell me what made my brother instinctually summon a portal that may be seen as a way out of a dangerous situation.” He spoke calmly but Nightmare couldn’t help but pray for the others. Dream was rarely angry but when he was, well… you will be lucky to walk out in one piece. And Nightmare thought he was scary.

When everyone looked at the kid they only saw a smirk and a mouthed ‘good luck’.

He tried to spare them this but his unfortunate wording sadly sold them out. Sans cleared his throat and decided to speak up, “We were in the training room and a blaster went awry, Nightmare opened a portal to block the beam. Nothing happened except for a little scare.”

Dream looked at Nightmare, “Is that true, Nighty?”

Nightmare nodded calmly, “I had a nice chat with Coffee too.” He said with a smile towards the anxious skeleton.

Dream beamed, as if forgetting about the previous rage in wake of seeing Nightmare smile, “I’m glad brother.” He then clapped his hands, “Ah, yes. I saw Ink out and about and we will be busy tomorrow so someone will come to look after you, Nighty.”

Nightmare stood up on his chair, “What?! Why?! I can take care of myself! I don’t need a babysitter!”

Dream tried to soothe Nightmare, “But the AUs are dangerous and I know you are curious and won’t sit in one place for a whole day.”

Nightmare pouted, “I can handle myself and I won’t go to any dangerous worlds.” Dream looked at him calmly and Nightmare squirmed. 

They both knew Nightmare’s curiosity won’t let him stay completely clear of any dangers. His thirst for knowledge will make him reach out towards what he should avoid. Dream pet his skull gently with a soft, apologetic smile, “I’m sorry Nighty but I can’t risk you being hurt… I don’t want you to be hurt ever again.”

Nightmare sat down on the chair and toyed with his half-empty glass, “No more than two people, I don’t want a whole entourage of people I know less than a week tailing me.” He mumbled, feeling sour about his privacy and independence being taken away. He was the one taking care of Dream before, why do they think he can’t handle himself all of a sudden.

He grumbled to himself while the others chatted, throwing him worried glances.

Chapter Text

Nightmare was in his room, sitting on the ground with his back leaning against the bed. He didn’t want to sit on it, he hated how soft it was. The child hugged his knees and sniffed. Dream was treating him like a child and he hated that with how much older Dream is Nightmare has practically no say in what’s going to happen to him.

His eyes fell on the string tied around his wrist and he couldn’t help the temptation. He still didn’t expect Error to come, didn’t see why anyone would come when he called for them but… he tugged on the string and flinched when shortly after a fuzzy portal opened and Error walked through, looking down at Nightmare and then around the room.

“Hard day, huh?” Error said, sitting next to Nightmare who nodded quietly, “Well, lay it on me, or just sit in silence, whichever you want.”

Nightmare looked at the box of toys he still doesn't know how to use that Blue and Stretch left, probably after he ran away from them, “I don’t like it...” Error waited for Nightmare to elaborate, giving him time to articulate his feelings, “Dream and everyone, they treat me like a little child, they forget how I was the one taking care of Dream when we were younger, how I was the one making sure we had food, warm clothes and medicine. I know how to take care of myself, I don’t need a babysitter.”

Error smirked and nodded, “I see how that can be seen as annoying, but they just care about you, don’t they?”

Nightmare got up and started pacing back and forth in front of Error as he ranted, “I know they care, at least that Dream cares, but I still need my privacy. I don’t want to be followed and babied, I want my independence back!” He stopped and looked at Error with teary eyes, “I can’t do anything I want because they will think it’s either too dangerous or that I shouldn’t think about it. But I’m still the guardian of negativity, I still have my duties, I want to do them but I don’t want anyone to meddle with that.”

Error hummed thoughtfully, “Do you know who will be watching you tomorrow?”

Nightmare nodded with a pout, “Blue and Sans. I don’t like Blue, he’s too loud and tries to constantly get closer to me… and Sans is always looking at me, trying to read me, a lot of them do that… like they are just waiting for me to think about eating the apple again, like I’m not worthy of trust.”

Error patted the ground next to him and waited for Nightmare to sit down, “I get it. The easiest way would be to prove that you can take care of yourself in the Multiverse as it is.”

Nightmare shrugged, “And how do I do that when I’m constantly watched and can’t do anything without them picking me up and telling me to take it easy ?” He whined.

Error chuckled, the sound garbled with glitches, “You just need to get rid of your watchers then. I have an idea and will help you, but only if you promise to use the string if you are ever in too much danger.”

Nightmare smiled and nodded eagerly, “Yes, I promise. I just want to prove I can handle things by myself and I know I would prove nothing if I got hurt in the process.”

Error smiled and slowly reached out, gently petting Nightmare’s head to then snatch his hand away before his glitching picked up, “Good. You are a smart kid and I know you understand your limits. So here is what we will do...”

---------

Nightmare waved at Ink and Dream as they left him behind with only Sans and Blue and returned to his breakfast of oatmeal with honey and berries. The other two were chatting, with Blue making big motions with his hands.

Nightmare didn’t pay any attention to it, more focused on thinking about what he will do once he gets rid of them… not permanently of course, he didn’t want them to get hurt, just to leave him alone. Once he finished eating and washed his dishes Sans got up, “Ready for a nice day, kiddo?” He asked with a lazy smile.

Nightmare shrugged and walked out of the house with them, heading towards the doors, “Have you thought about what you want to do today, Nightmare?” Blue asked cheerfully.

About halfway to the doors, Nightmare stopped and turned to face the two, “I’m sorry...” He said quietly and before they could ask what for, Nightmare tugged on the string around his wrist and a white portal opened under the two who fell into it.

Error then peeked out after a few moments, “I got them safe and sound. Take care of your business and come back, remember about the promise too.”

Nightmare nodded and ran off towards the doors. Error respecting his privacy didn’t stay to see which world he is heading towards.

---------

Nightmare found the doorway to Dreamtale, adorned with a picture of the tree of feelings. He opened it to find the door had opened in one of the villager’s homes. The surrounding was dusty and clearly untouched for years. 

He didn’t want to believe all that he read and heard but this… this was a big proof. 

He went out of the ruined house and started taking the road to the tree. It was weird, it wasn’t that long since he took this road last time and yet it all looked so different. He climbed the hill and stopped on top of it, tears streaming down his face as he looked at the tree stump covered in leaves. He kneeled by it and started gently brushing the leaves off.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry mom, I didn’t mean to, I’m so sorry, please don’t hate me… please, wherever you are now...” He sobbed, his whole body shaking as his forehead rested on the stump, the air from the movement getting rid of the last leaves on it. Nightmare raised his head at the ruffle and froze.

It may have been a second or a minute but the image finally reached his mind. 

There was a sapling growing from the middle of the stump. The leaves were too small to know if it was an apple sapling, Nightmare didn’t know if it was a sign of hope that his mother could return or if it was just a seed that fell into the crack and started growing out of it, but whichever it was he wanted to protect it.

He stumbled up and covered it back with leaves, muttering quietly, “I will protect you, I just need to get my stuff, I will put a spell then, protect you...” He turned to run into the forest, forgetting about being able to shortcut as he ran through the thick bushes. He wanted to reach each of his little hideouts at which he hid his savings and other stuff, stuffing everything into his inventory.

Once he got everything he could he started running back towards the tree, his chest burning from his constant rush. When he reached the tree again he fell to his knees, heaving as he tried to get back his breath, his eyes blurry and his joints and bones screaming from the exertion.

He shouldn’t have ignored the fact his body is still recovering, he will regret it later but now he had another thing to worry about.

He took out a rickety, clearly handmade, wooden box filled to the brim with different, carefully dried herbs and a stone pestle and mortar. He started mixing and mashing up the ingredients, muttering words in Latin, his magic filled with clear intent of protection as it flowed into the mixed up herbs. He summoned a small bone and crushed it as well, adding its dust to the mix. 

Once satisfied with the base of the spell he created he summoned a sharp bone and moved it in a circle in the ground, surrounding the stump to dig up a row, to bury the herbs and magic he mixed. He started slowly filling it, a bone moving behind him, sweeping the ground over it, still mumbling words in Latin. When he made a full circle purple light rose, bright and strong to then fade to a background hum.

Nightmare smiled satisfied with himself and packed his stuff with shaking hands, his exhaustion catching up to him.

His vision started getting blurry and he could feel like he was on the verge of passing out. He forgot how strong that spell was, how much magic setting it up would take. He needs… with the last of his strength he tugged on the string and passed out, his body slumping in the long grass growing on the hill.

-------

Error found Nightmare and wanted to panic when he found the kid unconscious.

He quickly shot a check at them and sighed, finding out the reason for it, “You are going to be the end of me kid.” He murmured, taking off his jacket and wrapping Nightmare in it before picking him up and carrying into the Antivoid where Blue and Sans are tied and sitting in his beanbags.

They panicked seeing Error carry the little guardian and putting him in another free beanbag, “What happened to him?” Sans asked worriedly.

Error sighed, “He just used too much magic and ignored the fact he is still recovering. Give him some time for a nap and then some food and he will be right as rain. Kids bounce back fast.” He assured them, tucking his coat around Nightmare who snuffed in his sleep. Error frowned seeing the black circles under Nightmare’s eyes, “Do you know if the kid is even sleeping?” He asked, looking at the two darkly.

Blue twirled his thumbs, “Well, we are not spending the nights in the Doodlesphere so we don’t know… and Nightmare’s bed is so soft, it’s perfect!”

Error sighed and rubbed his face, swallowing curses, “Perfect for you maybe. You need to remember that Nightmare is not like any of you. You better ask him about it instead of making pointless assumptions.” He grumbled and sat on the same seat as Nightmare who subconsciously turned around and wrapped his little hand in Error’s shorts. The destroyer hufed with a small, almost unnoticeable smile as he picked up his current knitting project.

Sans and Blue observed it quietly, not wanting to break the tentative peace and quiet, wanting Nightmare to rest but also worried about Error suddenly lashing out at the child cuddled into his side.

-------

They spent two hours like that until Nightmare stirred and yawned, rubbing his face. He could feel something heavy on his and something soft and yet firm under him and heard some fizzling.

“Mhmmm… Error?” He mumbled, slowly sitting up to see Error’s coat sliding off him. He felt a finger poke his cheek and looked to see Error next to him.

“Welcome back, kiddo. Had a nice nap?” Error asked, making Nightmare nod with a blush.

“Nightmare!” The child flinched before looking towards Blue who yelled out, “Are you alright? Are you hurt? Why did you do that?” Blue got out only stopping when Sans gave him a weak kick in the shin.

“That’s enough Blue. Nightmare certainly had his reasons and he looks fine, right?” Sans finished with a look at Nightmare who nodded.

“Yeah, I just used a bit too much magic and when I felt it I called for Error. I wasn’t in a dangerous place… I just wanted to be alone...” Nightmare finished, looking at his lap with a sad sniffle.

Sans looked at Error and the Destroyer sighed and untied the two.

Sans got up and walked to Nightmare, kneeling in front of him, “Kiddo, we get that, we do, but… it’s not safe.”

Nightmare clenched his hands into small fists and Error couldn’t stop a growl, “Okay, this is going nowhere. Call Dream to Doodlesphere. We are going to have a talk there.” Blue immediately did so, not wanting to ask why, while Nightmare looked at Error with confusion and tentative hope.

-------

Dream and Ink rushed back to the Doodleshpere when they got a call from Blue that Error wanted to talk and that it had something to do with Nightmare. They were now sitting in the living room with Nightmare on a couch next to Error, and the others on other couches.

“Let’s make one thing clear...” Error started, “You all did all you could to get Nightmare back and you are making one mistake again. Not listening to Nightmare.” He said darkly, Nightmare curling by his side.

“I just don’t want to bother them.” He mumbled.

Error sighed and petted his head briefly, “You are a kid, no matter how much you don’t like it. They are supposed to listen to what you need. You aren’t sleeping, what’s the reason?” 

Nightmare flinched at the question, “I’m fine...”

Ink hummed, “I saw you taking a nap sitting on the arm of the couch… something gotta be wrong with the bed then...”

Dream looked at Ink and then at Nightmare, “Brother, please tell me. I want you to be comfortable with us, but I know I’m not perfect and that I may cause you trouble with my lack of foresight.” 

Nightmare squirmed and looked at Error who nodded calmly. The child took a deep breath and looked at Dream with a sad frown, “I can’t sleep on the bed, it’s too soft, I feel like I’m going to fall.”

Dream shot forward and hugged him tightly, “Oh Nighty, I’m so sorry, I didn’t think about it. For me it’s been years already since sleeping on the tree but for you it’s all still so new. Don’t worry, we will change the mattress for a firmer one so you will sleep better.” Nightmare hugged Dream back, sniffling quietly.

Error cleared his throat, “There’s more...”

Dream broke the hug and looked at Nightmare who was back to looking at his lap and this time his emotions showed clearly he won’t be doing the talking. The positive skeleton stayed in his kneeling position on the ground and looked at Error, waiting for him to continue.

“Nightmare doesn’t want to have his every step watched, you are taking away from him something that he grew up with. Independence.” Error said simply, “You should remember Dream that you grew up with Nightmare acting as the parent, he doesn’t need you all to watch him. If he needs help he will ask for it. I gave him the means to contact me if he needs my help. Why don’t you give him a phone or Ink gives him one of his handy ink vials?” 

Dream blushed as he realized Error was right, they just didn’t think about it, “I will call Sci to get Nighty a phone and we will teach him to contact us with it.” He assured and looked at Nightmare who was looking hopeful, “I’m sorry we didn’t think about it when you said you don’t want to be watched. And please remember, if you ever want any of us to spend time with you or show you around their world of course they all will accept and help you.”

Nightmare nodded with a smile and hugged Dream tightly, “Thank you, Dream.” He looked at Error and mumbled a ‘thank you’ to him too. 

Error winked at him and got up, “Welp, I’m off. You better take care of it all before I hear from Nightmare that you made him feel bad again.” He said and left through a glitching portal, back to his Antivoid.

Ink frowned, “How did you tame the Destroyer though?” He asked calmly, earning himself a puzzled expression from Nightmare and a lecture from Dream.

Chapter Text

Nightmare observed as Dream and Ink swapped the mattress on his bed, one that Nightmare chose himself. 

When the bed was set Dream picked Nightmare up, the kid already showered and in pajamas. The positive guardian tucked Nightmare in the bed, the other finally feeling comfortable enough, feeling how his back was supported unlike before.

Dream kissed his forehead, seeing how he relaxed, “Have a good night, brother and rest up. I will call Sci in a moment and Ink will give you a way to contact him tomorrow too.” 

Nightmare nodded with a small smile and curled under the covers. He was still feeling low on magic and was looking forward to getting more freedom soon.

Dream and Ink left the room, putting out the light. They had quite a lot to take care of after all.

------

Dream worried his hands as Nightmare prepared himself to take a trip to Sciencetale on his own to find Sci and get the phone. On one hand he didn’t want Nightmare to go alone and on the other hand he knew that Sci’s home was one of the safer ones and Nightmare had a way to call Error if anything happened.

“Remember that if you get lost, ask to see Sans, not Sci, alright?” Dream said, trying to sound calm.

Nightmare rolled his eyes, “Yes, I know Dream. I read about this world and I know what to do and not do.” He said with a smirk, “I will be careful, I can take care of myself.”

Dream hugged him tightly, Nightmare patting his back and the moment he was let go he walked through the correct door. The door opened in some humid, dark place that Nightmare recognized as Waterfall. He made sure to mask it with magic so no one finds his only way out.

He really can’t wait until he can use portals properly.

He walked through, seeing perfectly even in the dark, trying to reach the laboratory where Sci was working. It was easy, just heading towards the rise in temperature. Once he stood in front of the lab he was stopped though, “Where do you think you are going, kid?”

Nightmare paused looking up at the tall monster in a white coat. They looked like a snake or lizard. He smiled weakly, suddenly feeling anxious, “I’m here to see Sans.”

“Sans is busy, you should scram and bother your science teacher instead.” The monster said only to freeze at the cough from behind them. They turned around to see Papyrus standing there.

“I know for a fact that my brother is waiting for them and sent me to fetch them.” The tall skeleton said with arms crossed across his chest. Nightmare sneaked past the snake and grabbed onto Papyrus’ leg. The skeleton picked Nightmare up and walked into the imposing building without addressing the other, “I’m sorry about this, little Nightmare. I’m Papyrus but for the lack of confusion, call me Vector.” 

Nightmare nodded and relaxed, looking around with clear interest. Vector opened a door to an office and dodged a little avalanche of empty paper cups, either from coffee or instant noodles. Vector sighed while Nightmare blinked sheepishly, “Brother! Nightmare is here! I expected you to at least clean a little when you knew that you would be having company!”

Nightmare wiggled in the hold and was put down while Sci emerged from one of the document piles. “Ah, sorry, I wanted to but after finishing with the phone I had a theory and needed to test it and...” Sci started looking in the scattered papers and conjured a phone with a purple and gold phone case, “Anyway, let me explain to you how to use the phone.”

Nightmare nodded and maneuvered around the mess to sit on a chair next to Sci, “Dream said you make phones that don’t run out of energy… whatever that means.”

Vector left the office while Sci went into the details, “Yes, you can reload the battery with magic if you are in a place that has no latent magic but it absorbs magic from the surroundings so usually you don’t have to worry about it.” He said turning it on to show the simple background on the phone screen, “This touch screen reacts to bone so it’s compatible with skeletons. I have already input everyone’s numbers with their nicknames and the world they are from, just for clarification’s sake.”

Nightmare nodded, following all the explanations about text messages that are kind of like short letters, about calls and all the other apps on the little device. He was worried at first about being able to use it but it was actually pretty easy. Once Sci handed the phone to him he found Dream’s number, which he had on quick calls and sent him a short message, getting a nice and most importantly quick response back.

“I heard you are on good terms with Error so I added his number for you too. He usually doesn’t keep in contact with others in the Multiverse but well… He does have a phone so why not add it to your contact list.” Sci rambled on with Nightmare nodding in agreement.

“What else do you do here?” Nightmare asked once an uncomfortable silence set and that sent Sci on another rant about souls and magic tied to them.

Nightmare nodded, agreeing in certain parts and offering pointers from what he learned himself when reading up about all the different colors of magic. Sci was even making notes and asking questions. 

Nightmare was feeling comfortable, seeing as his ideas and knowledge weren't questioned or ignored. 

-------

They went on for several hours until Dream barged into Sci’s office.

“Nightmare!? You weren’t picking up, you missed lunch and it’s already dinner time!” He paused seeing Nightmare snacking on chips with Sci.

“I had lunch...?” Nightmare tired sheepishly, Sci was torn between laughing and cringing when Dream’s gaze landed on him.

“We were sharing theories about magic and I was teaching him the basics of science… I gave him a few books too.” Sci explained while Nightmare ran to Dream’s side and hugged him, the guardian looking down at the small pouty skeleton.

“You never told me some of the plants that grew at our home died out, I liked them but now they are dead. Sci told me about crossbreeding, I want to try it.” Nightmare said with a small smile and puppy eyes, “Please?”

Dream smiled and picked him up, “Of course brother, we will look into that and get you everything soon.” The guardian nodded at Sci as goodbye and summoned a portal to leave.

“I didn’t close the door...” Nightmare said as they got through.

“Don’t worry, I did it. You did a good job hiding it with magic.” Dream said with a smile, nuzzling Nightmare’s skull.

They had dinner with Nightmare enthusiastically retelling what he learned in the last few hours. Dream added Sci to the list of people he can count on when looking after Nightmare. The scientist was often busy but he was also eager to share his knowledge and that’s something that Nightmare loved more than… almost anything. 

Learning new things.

Dream was sad about having to leave Nightmare so often but he and Ink were still repairing the damages made by the corrupted Nightmare… one day of rest won't hurt though, right? 

"How about we spend tomorrow together and buy you all the plants and equipment you need? Maybe some more books as well? We can spend some time without anyone else interrupting us…" Dream finished, waving his hand in a vague motion. 

Nightmare beamed and nodded, "Yes please, I would love to." 

The brothers spent the rest of the day planning on what they were going to see and do the next day, both hoping nothing will destroy the chance for some peaceful day. 

--------

Nightmare woke up excited at the crack of dawn and ran downstairs to the kitchen. It was empty, but as neither Ink or Dream were morning people, Nightmare didn’t mind and started cooking breakfast, extremely grateful now for Edge’s introduction to all the appliances. 

He fried some egg omelettes and sausages, prepared some toast and juice. He thought about making coffee that he saw Ink and Dream drink but after smelling the beans he decided to opt out of it.

Nightmare was just putting everything on the table when Dream and Ink shuffled into the kitchen, “Good morning.”

They froze noticing Nightmare and murmured their own greetings, “Did you cook all of that?” Ink asked as they sat at the table.

Nightmare nodded with a small smile and put some food on his plate.

They tried and Dream beamed, “It’s delicious, brother.” He praised, feeling how proud of himself Nighty was with just little of praise.

In the past Nightmare was always the one dishing out praise to Dream, he’s ashamed to notice that he rarely did the same for his brother. It’s definitely going to change, Nightmare needs to recognize his own worth and work up his self confidence. Dream is going to make sure no one will put his brother down and if they try…

They are going to deeply regret it.

Once they were all finished Ink waved them off, deciding to wash the dishes and let the brothers go and enjoy themselves.

They deserve it and even without a soul he could understand the need for the brothers to reconnect.

---------

Dream was holding Nightmare’s hand as they walked the rows of plants in a store, Nightmare chattering about all that he saw and read from Sci’s books about the plants and their needs. Dream was nodding and tugging a shopping card behind them with blue magic, putting what Nightmare wanted on it, be it soil, pots, fertilizer, seeds, fully grown plants or saplings.

Money was of no matter to him as long as he could keep Nightmare smiling.

The shopping card was quickly filling up, Dream adding a few more plants after Nightmare pointed them out. 

“Hey, Dream?” Nightmare suddenly asked. Dream hummed to encourage him, “Can I bring friends to the Doodlesphere?”

Dream paused, “Uhm… I don’t think...”

Nightmare smiled sadly, “I meant other Sanses… they know about resets and the Multiverse so they can be in the Doodlesphere.”

Dream nodded, “Oh, yes, of course, as long as it’s either of the skeleton brothers from any of the worlds they are welcome in the Doodlesphere.”

Nightmare grinned and held out his hand to Dream, “You promise?”

Dream joined their pinkies with a smile, “Pinky promise.”

Nightmare smirked slightly, making Dream sweat nervously only for that expression to shift on his brother into a cute smile, “I want to look at the succulents now.”

Dream chuckled softly and followed his brother, cautiously picking us some cacti and other plants. When they were done Dream carried everything into Nightmare’s room and helped him find a spot for each plant, set up the shelves they got for them and even set up UV lights for those that needed it.

Nightmare looked extremely satisfied with himself when he set up his desk with all the plants he got to try out the crossbreeding. Dream could feel his soul warm up when he saw his brother so openly happy and completely forgot about the innocent promise.

Nothing bad will happen anyway… right?

-------

Ink was looking through the books about the worlds, checking if everything was in place and frowned seeing a few books missing.

“Hmm… maybe Nightmare is still reading them? He got quite a lot of books to read after all, maybe he put it aside for later… Yeah, I’m not going to chase him about them, it would make him feel bad… I don’t even remember what books are missing, those are only the originals… meh.” He shrugged and went on to take a look at the books he needed to check out.

Error was actually interested in one of the AUs and wanted to learn more about it. 

When Ink asked why Error was weirdly reductant to share the reason. That he didn’t just tell Ink to stuff it was quite a tip. It has got something to do with Nightmare, the biggest change in the Multiverse. 

He chuckled remembering the unique way the child behaves. To think that this is how he was as a child. Even if Dream shared a lot about how he remembered Nightmare from their childhood it was still surprising to see it in real life. 

“Hmmm… maybe I should put some art craft kits in his room, he may want to try some art in his free time.” Ink chuckled to himself. 

Nightmare needs more hobbies than just reading. Dream did share that Nightmare decided to try gardening and crossbreeding… whatever that meant.

Ink now totally forgot what he was doing, the book forgotten while he went off into one of the surface worlds to look for craft kits that would introduce all the possible art forms to Nightmare. He wanted the kid to find one that he likes best after all.

Ink prefers anything with paint while surprisingly… or not, considering Error’s magic, the destroyer prefered working with yarn and sewing. 

Ink tried to interest Dream in art but it seemed like the guardian was only interested in embroidery… it wasn’t art that Ink could help him with, it took too much concentration and planning to fit Ink, he preferred the freedom the white canvas gave him.

He chuckled to himself thinking about what new Nightmare’s personality he will be able to learn from the kid’s chosen art form. Maybe he will find even more ways to surprise them all.

Chapter Text

Nightmare looked at the sheer number of different craft kits Ink left for him in what he dubbed ‘Nightmare’s art room’. He guessed the artist of the Multiverse wanted him to get interested in art which was… something he didn’t ever get a chance to try.

He shrugged and left the room having more important plans for today.

He already took care of all his plants and planters he set up. Dream and Ink left shortly after breakfast and let him choose if he had anyone watching him. He opted to be alone, otherwise his plan would go to all hell.

Nightmare headed towards the door and found the world he was when he first woke up as his younger self. He visited many stores, buying more food than he would ever eat, all for a reason.

He returned to the Doodlesphere and walked to another door. He took a deep breath before entering. Once on the other side he shivered at the biting cold and put on a thick jacket he got earlier from his closet. The book was right after all, it was freezing here.

He started moving cautiously after he masked the door with magic.

Nightmare had one goal and many mini-goals, one of them was don’t get hurt. Dream would get worried after all. The place seemed empty, the forest quiet as the snow fell in heaps. He searched for the sentry station but once he found it… it was empty.

He looked over it and froze feeling an aura behind him. He shortcut to the side barely dodging being grabbed and looked upon the massive skeleton with a lone red eye. It was Sans of this world, called Horrortale, he had a hole in his skull and tattered clothes, his magic faint due to starvation.

“Uhm… Hi! I’m Nightmare and came to uhm… share some food with you? Please don’t eat me...” Nightmare said anxiously as he took some food from his inventory and showed it to the other. That Sans’ aura was so faint that he couldn’t even read his emotions properly. 

“Food?” Came from the massive skeleton, his voice husky as if not used for a long time, “No food in the Underground… How?”

Nightmare smiled shakily, “I’m not from here, I will tell you when we are in more… private spot… I’m worried about the cameras… if they even still work.”

The Sans blinked slowly, as if digesting the words and then nodded, approaching Nightmare slowly, dwarfing the child with his figure. Nightmare froze as a hand reached for him, tensing for what was to come only to feel a gentle hand picking him up. He looked at the big skeleton that only grunted a few words about traps and started heading towards his home.

They walked through the quiet and cold forest and reached the dilapidated Snowdin. Sans had to bend down to fit into his door and put Nightmare down once inside, “Paps… is out...”

Nightmare smiled at him, “Alright, I guess I will start with the priorities.” He said and took more bags of food from his inventory, holding them out to Horror who took hold of them with shaking hands.

“Where did you come from? It’s worth a lot...” Sans said slowly.

Nightmare shuffled his feet shyly, “I was born in Dreamtale, but now I live in Doodlesphere. You know about the Multiverse theory?” He suddenly shifted the question onto Sans who wracked his brain. The word seemed familiar, screaming at him from the corners of his mind, reminding him of his time in the labs working with Gaster who, despite everything, never left his memory.

“Many worlds in one universe… similar… but different… butterfly effect?” Horror mumbled slowly, knowing he got it right when Nightmare beamed at him.

“Yes, there are a lot of Sanses though and… you need a nickname. Your world is named Horrortale… but Horror is a bit mean...”

Horror chuckled at the kid, “Horror is fine. My bro… I will have to ask him… Why did you come?”

Nightmare smiled at him and helped Horror carry the food into the kitchen, “I learned about your world and waited until my brother left me alone. I know he would stop me from coming because it’s dangerous… but I want to help. I asked my brother and he told me I can take you to the Doodlesphere where I live and from there I can start asking if there are other worlds you can live in, I want to make your lives easier… I don’t know about others here, the book I read said they are all feral at this point...” Nightmare ranted and it took Horror a while for the words to register.

“Yeah, they all… just feral… mad… even Paps can’t get through to them...” He agreed and pet Nightmare’s head when he looked at the ground sadly. The kid was nice, helping just like that… unless, “What do you want from us?”

Nightmare looked at Horror anxiously, “I want to help and… I want friends… ones that are mine first and not spend time with me just because they know my brother.”

Horror picked Nightmare up and placed him on the counter, “You are a nice kid… don’t you have friends too?”

Nightmare shrugged, “In the past people didn’t like me because I’m a guardian of negativity… they all would think I’m evil and chase me away or… I just didn’t have friends that were my own, only my brother's.”

Horror pet Nightmare’s head, “Sure, we can be friends.”

Nightmare beamed at him and hugged Horror, the other patting his back. The tender moment was broken by the door slamming open, “I’M BACK BROTHER!”

Horror let go of Nightmare and turned to face the massive Papyrus. Nightmare blinked sheepishly when the skeleton’s gaze landed on him.

“SANS!” Papyrus shouted, Nightmare and Horror flinching at the volume, “WHY DID YOU NOT WARN ME WE HAVE A GUEST OVER?!”

Horror chuckled, for once in high spirits, “Sorry bro... he did come unannounced. Meet Nightmare… Nightmare… Can we talk alone?”

Nightmare nodded and jumped off the kitchen counter, moving to the living room where he sat on the battered couch.

In the kitchen Horror explained everything to Papyrus and they thought over Nightmare’s proposition of moving out. Everyone was following Queen Undyne’s rules and was too feral to help them…

The two went to see Nightmare who was swinging his legs until he noticed them. Papyrus kneeled in front of the couch and smiled with his crooked teeth, “We will gratefully accept your offer little Nightmare. I have decided to adopt the name Crooks.”

Nightmare smiled, “Nice to meet you Crooks. We can go right away if you want.”

Horror and Crooks nodded and after packing their belongings they followed Nightmare all the way through the forest to the door. The two weren’t exactly sure how but once on the other side they were in a completely different place. They listened to Nightmare’s chatter about the Doodlesphere. Once they entered a mansion, Nightmare froze in the hall looking worried.

“Everything good, kid?” Horror asked, putting his massive hand on Nightmare’s skull.

“Dream and Ink are still gone and some other people are here...” He said anxiously, “I will tell them about you and then you can go inside, alright?” Nightmare proposed.

The two nodded and waited as Nightmare slipped into what they thought was a living room.

-------

Farm, Red and Sans were in the living room. They came to visit Nightmare and were met with an empty house for a few hours until Nightmare slipped into the room with a nervous expression.

“Hey kiddo. Where were you? Had fun?” Sans asked with a calm smile.

“Uhm… yeah… I made some friends and… brought them over… wanna meet them?” Nightmare said with a weak smile.

Red frowned, “You sure it’s all good?”

Nightmare nodded, “Yeah, it’s just… they are not your usual Sans and Papyrus… so don’t react badly, alright?”

They tensed but nodded and waited as Nightmare led two skeletons into the room. They all just sat frozen at the sight of the two skeletons that just entered. Nightmare was right, they didn’t look like what you usually see. One with hole in his skull and one red, striking eye and the other with crooked teeth, both much larger than them and reeking of LV. 

“This is Horror and Crooks. Their home is uhm… not the best and I wanted to help them.” When it looked like the others wanted to say anything he piped up again, “Dream said I can bring my friends here as long as they are Sans and Papyrus. He promised!” 

Horror picked Nightmare up, “Calm down little buddy, it’s alright...”

Nightmare wrapped one hand in Horror’s shirt and glared at the others, his aura spiking up in a dark purple, “If you chase them away I won’t forgive you.” He hissed, “They did what they had to do to survive, don’t you dare hold it against them.”

Red snorted, “Okay kid, don’t worry, I’m sure we can figure out something so everyone is happy.” Sans and Farm nodded dumbly. 

Horror whispered something to Nightmare and put the kid down. Nightmare looked at Crooks with a smile, “Will you teach me how to bake?” Crooks agreed enthusiastically and the two left the room.

Horror sighed and his hand subconsciously went to grab at his dead eye socket, “Sorry… I suspected Nightmare didn’t exactly tell anyone but… I needed to get Paps out of there… that life… wasn’t for him.” Horror tugged on his eye socket and Farm shot up and tugged his hand away from it.

“Hey, big guy, calm down, it’s alright. We get it and Nightmare didn’t really do anything wrong. We were just… surprised I guess.” Farm led Horror to sit in one of the armchairs and handed him a plate with some cake from the table. Horror took hold of it gently and looked at the food transfixed, “Did Nightmare tell you the name of the world you are from?” Farm asked, tearing Horror’s gaze from the plate. They had their suspicions but…

“Horrortale… that’s why I settled on Horror.”

Red let out a heavy sigh, “Go figure. Damn, I heard about it and I don’t envy you. Your fish bitch is more of a bitch than mine.”

Horror nodded and rubbed at his head, close to the crack, Farm and Sans getting the implication. “When the core failed… everything went to hell… food was scarce...”

Farm frowned, clearly thinking something over, “You know, if Ink doesn’t agree to let you live here you can always settle down with me and my bro on our farm, there’s always need for more helping hands.”

Horror nodded slowly and started eating the cake he was handed, his magic getting a little brighter with the sustenance.

The conversation flowed from there, Horror learning more about Nightmare and vowing to protect the little skeleton in any way he can.

Speaking of, Nightmare and Crooks returned soon with a plate of hot…. slightly singed but still edible cookies. Nightmare was chattering several miles an hour with Crooks about the plants in his room with Crooks nodding encouragingly. They all appreciated seeing Nightmare act like a kid for once.

When Nightmare was eating Sans suddenly chimed up, “Nightmare, how many more friends do you plan on bringing in like that?”

Nightmare froze and averted his gaze, “I don’t know what you mean… How many until Dream gets angry do you think?” 

Sans chuckled, “I doubt he would get angry even if you brought half the Multiverse here.”

Nightmare smiled, "I still would rather not specify the number."

Horror frowned, "You plan on more dangerous visits? You can't go alone…" 

The little guardian pouted, "I came to you alone and didn't get hurt. I can handle it." He said in a defensive tone. Everyone in the room wanted to argue but the dark aura around Nightmare stopped them, "Besides, if I think I'm in too much danger I can always call for help." Nightmare said simply and looked at Horror, "I want to introduce Error to you." He said with a smile.

Horror nodded, curious who Error was. He didn’t get the chance to ask as Nightmare’s attention shifted towards the door with some anxiety entering his expression, “Dream is back...”

Red wanted to laugh but held it back seeing that the anxiety was genuine, “Don’t worry kid, Dream dug his own grave with his promise.”

The next thing that happened was the door opening, “Nighty! I'm back! Uhm...” The positive guardian froze, noticing who the two new people he felt were.

“Hi Dream, meet Horror and Crooks… Can they stay here?” Nightmare tried with a tense smile.

Dream blinked slowly and motioned for Nightmare to come to him, “Let’s have a chat Nighty, alright?” Nightmare nodded and followed him into the hall. The younger shuffled his feet as Dream kneeled in front of him, “Nighty… Horrortale, really? And you went alone for sure too.”

“I went prepared though! I took food to give them and Horror was pretty nice anyways… I just wanted to help, there's always a bit less negativity in the Multiverse!”

Dream took hold of Nightmare’s face and joined their foreheads, “I understand but if you plan on doing something like that again I want you to take someone with you, just as a back-up, alright?”

Nightmare looked at Dream and seeing honest concern nodded, “If you let me choose who I take with me then sure.” Dream smiled, clearly reassured and kissed Nightmare’s forehead.

“As to if they can stay here, let’s give them options on where they can live and let them choose where they want to stay.” Dream said, causing Nightmare to nod with a chuckle.

“Yeah, I think Farm actually likes Horror you know. He is looking at him a lot with positive emotions and makes sure he has food on his plate. You think they will be friends too?” Nightmare said innocently, making Dream smile. He felt more than friendship spark between them but Nightmare may be a little too young for that conversation.

Chapter Text

Ink came back a few hours after Dream and the two gods started to argue about the integrity of the stories. Good thing that Horror and Crooks decided to go and spend the night in Farmtale and left before Ink had returned. Nightmare heard the shouting all the way from his room.

Right now Nightmare was standing in front of the door, debating whether he should go inside or not. On one hand he was responsible for this mess and on the other hand, who knows if his interference could help or not but… he needs to try or Ink will forbid him from helping more of them.

Nightmare opened the door and came inside, Ink and Dream freezing from their shouting match, “I won’t stop! I don’t care about stories, no one deserves to suffer like that! If you want the story to go on then take their place and go rot there!” Nightmare yelled, his hands shaking as he glared at Ink who looked lost for words.

Dream kneeled in front of Nightmare and held his face, “Nighty… I understand you are angry but Ink’s task is still important.” 

Nightmare crossed his arms and looked away from the two, “I don’t care, why would Horror and Crooks have to suffer like that, why would others… why would anyone create a story like that?” He started blinking quickly to stave off the tears that wanted to fall.

Ink sighed, rubbing his face, “No more than ten, alright?” Nightmare looked at Ink with a hopeful, teary expression, “I can’t let you suddenly take everyone out of their world but ten… ten is alright.”

Nightmare went to hug Ink’s leg, “Thank you!” Ink smiled slightly and patted his head.

“Yeah, sure… and remember to be careful out there, or Dream will punish me.” Ink joked, getting a wet chuckle from Nightmare.

Nightmare let go of Ink and cleaned his face with his sleeve, “I’m going to sleep now, goodnight.” He murmured and left after hearing ‘night’ and ‘goodnight, Nighty’.

He had quite the plans for tomorrow after all.

------------

Nightmare was humming to himself as he packed his bag, getting ready for another visit, Dream observing him with a worried frown, “Are you sure you don’t want someone to come with you? At least tell us where you are going...”

Nightmare shook his head at Dream, “Nope, it’s a secret, and I have Error’s string, Ink’s vial and my phone. I have all the ways I need to get help if necessary.” The little guardian got up and put on his bag, turning to face Dream, “Trust me, I will be safe and it will help you a lot too.” He said excitedly.

Dream smiled softly and hugged Nightmare tightly, “Alright, just be careful and remember to be back by dinner, Horror, Crooks, Farm and Crop, Farm’s brother will come to visit.”

Nightmare nodded happily, returning the hug. He was glad that Horror and Crooks were already coming to visit. He hoped he would manage to finish his plans by dinner. Wouldn't make his friends wait for him.

“What do you and Ink plan for today?” Nightmare asked with a smile.

“We are going to talk with Error about a few things, nothing much.” Dream said as he walked with Nightmare to the doors, “So whichever one of us you call there’s a big chance all of us will come.”

Nightmare nodded and stood patiently as Dream kissed his forehead and returned to the mansion to fetch Ink for their business. Once he was sure they wouldn't know where he’s heading he found the right door, took a deep breath and stepped through, narrowing his eyes at the blinding white.

It really was just how he read, but now he needs to find the only person living here. He heard Dream and Ink's conversation about how hard it was to talk to Cross, probably because the other was paranoid, who wouldn’t when stuck in such a place.

It was blindingly white and as such it wasn’t hard to spot the only… off-white spot. 

Nightmare headed there and once Cross turned towards him he waved, “Hi! I’m Nightmare, Dream’s brother.” He called calmly and observed as Cross seemed to listen to someone before nodding at Nightmare.

The young guardian frowned, “You shouldn’t let them fill your mind with useless ideas, you know. It’s the one thing that’s keeping you in this place when you can be out and about in the Multiverse.” He said, causing Cross to freeze.

“Easy for you to say, you are not stuck with them, it’s hard to ignore them.” Cross whispered and then cringed as if someone was screaming at them.

Nightmare nodded and took out an old and battered book, one that Nightmare saved for to buy and always carried with him so it wasn’t lost by the years. It was a book about souls and magic tied to them. He put it down on the ground and started shuffling through it as Cross looked over his shoulder, “What are you doing?”

Nightmare smiled slightly, “I think your case would land under soul possession, I think I read about it in the past so I may help you.” 

Cross nodded, “It’s kind of like this but still, half of Chara’s soul is now a permanent part of mine. You can’t really separate it...” He said sadly.

Nightmare hummed as he read something, “Yeah, I won’t separate it but… yep, I can put a wall of sorts, with a door that you can choose when you can talk to Chara and when not.” Nightmare explained as he changed the page, Cross perking up with a hopeful expression.

“How will that work?” Cross asked when Nightmare looked up from his book.

Nightmare smiled weakly, “I will need to hold your soul for a few moments and will wrap it in some special magic.” Cross hesitated for a moment, “I c-can give you m-my s-soul.” Nightmare said anxiously, fiddling with his sleeves.

He was scared of handing such a weak part of himself but he also wanted to help Cross…

“How old are you, Nightmare?” Cross asked suddenly.

Nightmare looked at him with a sad expression, “I’m six… why?”

Cross smiled, “Nothing, just curious. So my soul yeah?” Once Nightmare nodded, Cross simply handed it to him. 

Nightmare carefully took a hold of the red and white soul and calmed his breath. He focused on making his magic wrap around the soul and then creating a barrier that would separate the two presences that shared the soul, focusing on giving the power over it to Cross. He knew he was successful when Cross gasped and looked around himself.

“They are gone...” Cross whispered, his voice filled with wonder. Nightmare let the soul float back and let out a grunt when Cross hugged him tightly, “Thank you so much, how can I pay you back?”

Nightmare patted Cross’ back gently, “I will be good if you just agree to try to be my friend.” 

Cross chuckled and let go of Nightmare, kneeling in front of the child, “I will give you more.” He said, his expression turning serious, “I will remain by your side and guard you, make sure you are safe and happy.”

Nightmare blinked sheepishly, not really understanding the significance of Cross’ words, “So you will come with me? Live with me, Dream and Ink?” He asked and smiled at the other who nodded. He took Cross’ hand and started leading him towards the door to the Doodlesphere he left open earlier.

Cross listened to Nightmare explaining the door, the portals and the whole Doodlesphere to him. He already knew about the Multiverse due to Ink and Dream’s visits. It was so much easier now without the constant weight of Chara’s presence in his mind, he could think so much clearer.

He was following Nightmare calmly until he suddenly noticed four figures in the distance. He tried to tug Nightmare behind him but the kid let go of his hand and started running towards the skeletons, one in particular.

“Horror!” Nightmare called and jumped at the massive skeleton, the other catching him without issue and hugging the guardian with a rusty chuckle.

“Hello, Nightmare...” Horror rumbled and looked at the quickly approaching Cross, “New friend? And you went alone...” Horror said with a reprimanding edge.

Nightmare pouted, “But I was never in any danger, I knew Cross wouldn’t hurt me. Anyway… is my brother and Ink home? It’s almost dinner time.” Nightmare asked, trying to feel out Dream as Ink’s aura was always faint.

“No, not yet. Anyway they agreed to let us cook dinner today so we can start the preparations.” Farm said as Nightmare looked over Horror’s shoulder to see him.

“Can I help?” He asked, causing Horror to chuckle.

“If you want to, too many people in the kitchen can cause trouble too, so you can show your new friend around instead.” He said putting Nightmare down.

“Alright, but you have to call us if you need help.” Nightmare said resolutely and took Cross’ hand, “I will show you the library and then the training room and everything I know here.” He said tugging Cross inside of the mansion, the other following with a smile.

He followed Nightmare through the mansion, listening to the chatter and wondering why in some moments Nightmare seemed older than 6 years old. He seemed too mature for his age sometimes and it didn’t hint at a good childhood. 

He will have to make sure Dream is not missing something, because it was clear in how eagerly the kid talked about his brother that he wasn’t the issue here.

He was now with Nightmare in his room listening to him describe all the various plants he had got and was raising. Nightmare really seemed more interested in the plants and books than in the box of toys he shoved into a corner of the room. Cross didn’t know if it hinted at the kid being intelligent, not knowing how to play with them, seeing them as things below him or all of the above.

Nightmare suddenly stopped his explanation on how to properly water cacti and turned to the door, “Dream is back!” He called and ran out of the room and down the stairs.

Cross followed after Nightmare and saw the little guardian jumping at Dream who caught him with a chuckle, “Hello to you too, Nighty!” Dream said with a tender tone and looked up the stairs, freezing in shock seeing Cross.

Nightmare felt the shift in Dream’s emotions and followed his gaze, “I brought Cross, he can stay here, right? He can sleep in my room, the bed is big enough.”

Dream smiled at Nightmare, “There’s no need for that, there’s enough free rooms that Cross can stay in. I was just surprised since me and Ink couldn’t make Cross trust us no matter what.”

Nightmare smirked proudly, “I have my ways.” He said with a chuckle.

Dream laughed and nuzzled Nightmare, “That you do, little brother.” He then looked at Cross, “Let’s all go to the kitchen and see if the others need some help.”

Cross nodded and followed the brothers, “Where is Ink?”

Dream smiled, “He said he wanted to talk with Error alone, we told you who Error is, right?”

Cross nodded in understanding and the three entered the kitchen where Horror and Crooks were laying down a feast, Farm and Crop only helping.

“Wow, it’s a lot of food.” Nightmare whispered, getting Dream to let out a startled chuckle, everyone in the kitchen now noticing their appearance, silence settling over the room.

Dream smiled at Horror who glanced at him anxiously, “Hello, we came to check if you need any help but I see you have it handled.” 

Nightmare nodded, “Yeah, it’s amazing, you cooked so much in such a short time.” 

Cross observed the interaction, seeing how Nightmare seemed more comfortable with diffusing tense situations than starting a conversation. The kid could easily read the room and it seemed he was used to helping Dream out… was he really the younger brother, it all was just… confusing.

His observation was broken with Ink coming into the room, both freezing when glancing at one another. Ink regained his wits faster as he grinned, “Hey, Cross! Did you finally decide to leave the white hell you lived in? How’s Chara?” He asked, ignoring Dream’s motions to shut up.

Cross grimaced and glared at Ink with a bitter smile, “Yes, I left because Nightmare managed to shut Chara up.” He said quietly.

Dream frowned and looked at Nightmare who squirmed in his arms, “What does Cross mean, brother?” He asked with a gentle tone.

Nightmare hugged Dream, hiding his face in his neck, “I just used some magic from a book, one of the old books that you never wanted to learn from.” He mumbled, his breath tickling Dream’s neck. Dream chuckled and rubbed Nightmare’s back gently.

“Alright brother, I get the hint. If I wasn’t so lazy with learning magic, Cross would have been freed faster, so thank you for being so smart and brave.” Dream said softly.

The conversation broke when Horror called that the dinner was ready. 

They all sat at the table and ate the delicious feast. Dream was smiling, seeing how Nightmare was sitting between Horror and Cross and trying to chat to both at the same time, gushing about one of his night-blooming cacti growing flowers. Horror was smiling happily, his red eye blurry at the edges and emanating fondness while Cross looked more serious but still enraptured, asking actual questions about the plants that just kept Nightmare talking.

The others used the fact that Nightmare was occupied and talked over some issues in the Multiverse. There were signs of that new timeline that branched out of the original UNDERTALE corrupting and they were worried. After a talk with Error the destroyer decided to take care of it soon before the corruption spread to any other words.

Dream was thinking about bringing it up with Nightmare to warn him but he feared bringing attention to it would make Nightmare even more eager to head there… yeah, better to stay quiet about it and hope he doesn’t notice a book missing about this timeline.

There seemed to also be another place that Nightmare may be interested in. If he planned to go there Dream will insist on someone joining him no matter what, dealing with monsters so deeply drowned in negativity was more complicated than coming up to them and saying ‘hello’ to them like he did with Horror and Cross. 

Not everyone could be that easy, could they?

Chapter Text

Cross just spent one of the first peaceful nights of sleep in a long time. Usually he would avoid sleep at all cost to keep Chara at bay but with them quiet he could rest for once and surprisingly his sleep was free of night terrors. 

Although his wake-up call was not as calm.

He was woken up by Ink barging into his room and yelling, “Good morning! Breakfast is ready!”

The only thing that kept him from violently kicking Ink was Nightmare sleepily rubbing his eyes from behind the artist. He got up and pushed Ink out to get dressed and then joined the two waiting in the hallway, taking Nightmare’s hand.

They reached the kitchen where Dream put some oatmeal with fruit and honey in front of his younger brother, the child eating happily. The adults helped themselves to the rich breakfast spread.

“What are you planning for today, brother?” Dream asked with a smile.

Nightmare hummed, “I have plans… it’s a secret but… I know you would like someone to be with me for that one and...” Nightmare looked at Cross with a pleading gaze, “Will you come with me to make sure I’m safe?”

Cross nodded, “Of course, I don’t want you to go alone especially if it’s dangerous.”

Nightmare beamed and looked at Dream, “See, I will be safe. So you don’t have to worry.” He said and returned to his oatmeal.

Dream smiled exasperated, “Alright, you better listen to Cross then. If he says it’s too dangerous for you two to handle you better back off or call for back-up.” He said softly, relaxing when Nightmare nodded. He took a look at Cross and calmed down further seeing how serious the soldier looked about the future task.

If only he and Ink didn’t have work planned for today already.

---------

Nightmare was humming as he headed to the door that led to a timeline that branched from Undertale. He was holding hands with Cross who looked more worried about where they were heading.

“Who are we looking for, Nightmare?” He asked, wanting to get at least some information. 

Nightmare’s smile twitched weakly, “There’s only one person there now except the human. Sans of that world is in a bad place, I want to help him but… he may act like he doesn’t want the help or can’t control himself.” The child looked at Cross with a pleading gaze, “Please if he attacks don’t hurt him too bad.”

Cross smiled reassuringly, “I will try my best, don’t worry.”

Nightmare nodded and opened the door they had just reached. Once they walked through Cross immediately pushing Nightmare to stand behind him as he felt the dust in the air. His hackles raised and a red sword in his hand he started walking forward, Nightmare following quietly behind him. 

They didn’t even get to Snowdin before Cross picked Nightmare up and dodged a wave of bones. They saw a Sans walking from between the trees, black gunk falling from his face and his soul floating in front of his chest shaped like a target and dripping with determination.

Cross narrowed his eyes and prepared himself for a fight but tried to remember that Nightmare wanted that monster alive. He put the child down and whispered for him to hide between the trees.

The deranged skeleton jumped into the brawl, pushing Cross back with his viciousness. He was reckless and deadly with his precision handling his knives and Cross was having a hard time fighting but he won’t back down until he subdues him so Nightmare can talk to him. He learned about Horror’s history and decided to not judge him or anyone else with sins on their back. 

Nightmare would not let him anyway.

Cross was about to block another swing of a knife when blue strings tied up him and the other skeleton who started screaming expletives as he struggled. Cross himself was ready to panic until Nightmare ran out from between the trees with a smile, “Error!”

Cross flinched when a black-boned, glitching skeleton appeared, relaxing when the dangerous monster gentled his expression and pet Nightmare's head gently before his fuzzy hand retreated, “What are you doing here kiddo?”

Nightmare chuckled, “I came with Cross and wanted to talk to that other skeleton but the two just started fighting and I didn’t even get the chance to look at his soul like I wanted.” He said with a pout.

Error nodded and put Cross down, lowering the other to the ground, still tied and struggling, “Go ahead then. I was going to destroy this timeline anyway.”

Nightmare nodded eagerly and slowly approached the trashing skeleton, “Hi, I’m Nightmare and I came to help. I will touch your soul, I promise to be gentle.” He said softly, moving slowly now closely watched by the wary skeleton. The child took a gentle hold of the soul and frowned at the wild magic that was already snapping at his fingers. It felt different to the magic the skeleton used for attacks which meant it was foreign and the point of Nightmare’s attention as he started to drain the skeleton of the poisonous determination.

The soul changed slowly, from the vicious circle shining in dark blood burgundy into a heart shaped mix of white and warm red. Nightmare let go of the soul only for his face to get an unhealthy hue. He ran to the trees, fell to his knees and vomited black goop.

Cross went to his side and rubbed his back, Error shifting anxiously as he stood over the other skeleton, “Nightmare, are you alright? What happened?” Cross asked worriedly.

Nightmare coughed up more goop, purple tears streaming down his face, “T-too much… magic or whatever it is… feels like poison.” He mumbled between heaving breaths.

“Sorry...”

The three looked at the tied up skeleton who seemed lost and Nightmare could feel the turmoil in his feelings as if it all was new or he went without it for a long time which with the amount of toxic magic in him Nightmare could easily believe.

Nightmare staggered to his feet and with Cross’ help went to the skeleton’s side, taking a brief look at the inverted heart that floated in front of his chest. The child smiled, using a handkerchief to clean his mouth from the goop he expelled, “It’s alright, I wanted to help.” He said softly and took out another handkerchief and started cleaning the skeleton’s face from the goop, “I’m Nightmare, behind me you can see Error and Cross.” The two nodded when introduced, “They all were once called Sans just like you so you need a nickname we can call you.” He said with a bright smile, Error untying the skeleton who was looking at Nightmare with calm expression.

“Uhm… I guess Killer will be good. No surprise when people talk to me then.” He said with a chuckle. Cross frowned but guessed the skeleton… Killer was the type to joke about his misery instead of wallowing in it.

Nightmare beamed and got up, brushing the snow from his pants, “Error is going to destroy this place. Do you want to go with us and live somewhere nice?” He asked although Killer didn’t have much of a choice and nodded.

“Sure, why not. Beats dying any day. Besides, I'm curious about other versions of me.” He said with a wink.

Nightmare smiled wide, “Will you be my friend?” He asked with a shy blush.

Killer paused, blinking at the kid slowly. He noticed the fading bruises and bandaged peeking from under his clothes painting a grim picture. But more important was the fact that the kid helped him and asked for nothing. He got rid of the demon from his mind and only asked to be friends in return… A teasing grin rose on his face as he reached to rub Nightmare’s head, making the shorter whine annoyed, “Sure kiddo, I would love to be pals with you and yer other friends.”

Cross was torn over how to act. On one hand his protective nature told him to get Nightmare as far away from the monster as possible. On the other hand he knew Nightmare was smart and an empath like Dream, more than capable of protecting himself if Killer suddenly turned against him.

Error let out a cough, “As much as I like Nightmare’s company I don’t want anyone here while I work on destroying this place.”

Nightmare nodded and took Killer’s hand in one and Cross’ in the other, “We are going back to the Doodlesphere. Visit us soon?” He finished with a hopeful gaze.

Error sighed, not able to refuse no matter how much he would rather not be anywhere close to Ink, “Sure kid, see you soon.”

Nightmare smiled and started leading the other two towards the still open door. He was chattering about everything he knew about Dream, Ink and the others to get Killer caught up on the news, Killer nodding and adding questions to spur the child on.

Cross didn’t let his guard down, not knowing the other well enough. He knew forcing himself to relax would make it worse. He just hoped that Killer will be just as dedicated to protecting Nightmare as he and Horror are. 

And that Dream won’t be too surprised at this.

Cross held back a chuckle at the thought that popped up in his mind of Nightmare, this sweet little kid adopting all of them like some massive guard dogs. Nightmare looked at him with a curious gaze at the sudden mirth emanating from the tense guard but Cross just smiled at him and shook his head as they continued to walk towards the mansion Ink created in the Doodlesphere.

---------

Dream and Ink were now in Undertale that was on its PACIFIST run and monsters were a common sight on the surface. They were looking for a way to strip the power of RESET from Frisk so Sans would have no more reasons to worry and to limit the chance of negative and traumatic timelines spawning around the Original World. 

It would do wonders for the balance.

“Are you sure you don’t want to include Nightmare in this, Dream? Your brother knows some nifty magic, magic that I never heard about, if we explain...” Ink tried only to be interrupted by Dream’s glare.

“No, we are not going to do that. Nightmare needs to be a kid in some measure at least. He’s already taking up a lot by trying to deal with all those negative worlds. I don’t want him to deal with yet another problem. I think he’s clinging to any activity to take away his attention from his own emotions and trauma. He’s avoiding facing his own issues by helping others with theirs.” Dream said with a fierce tone.

Ink sighed but decided to drop it. He was not the best when it came to feelings, even if he was learning with Dream’s help. And he definitely knew nothing about properly raising a child… well, he was sure neither did Dream but he was an expert in all things Nightmare so he will trust his friend.

Suddenly Ink paused, tensing as magic sparked over his body. At first he got the urge to drink some red paint until he took a glance at his scarf and saw the note about Error destroying that Undertale timeline that went wild. It calmed him down and brought a smile back onto his face. Error didn’t go on a destruction spree, he didn’t have to anymore because they had a truce. 

They were now taking care of the balance together, not fighting against one another like for all those years.

And the fact that Nightmare was now back on Dream’s side, recognizing the damage his corrupted form brought meant that the Multiverse was well on its way to peace and prosperity… as much prosperity the limited space could afford. And with Nightmare uhm… taming the more feral Sanses of the Multiverse with his unique presence many dangers were disappearing.

Dream snapped his fingers in front of Ink’s face, bringing him back from his thoughts, “Are you with me Ink? Where to next? You had some spots planned for us to check, didn’t you?”

Ink smiled widely and nodded, taking Dream’s hand and tugging him in the right direction, “Yeah, it’s where the new save spots appeared on the surface, some were not even found by Frisk yet.” He said excitedly, earning himself a fond chuckle from Dream.

It was going to be alright, he could feel it.

----------

Horror was looking at the newest addition to Nightmare’s small circle of friends with a stony expression. He couldn’t really read the other, his emotions seemed muted and some of his reactions exaggerated and fake as if he was getting used to having feelings at all… a bit like Ink but more subtle.

Killer in the meantime was laughing as he rubbed his knuckles against squirming and blushing Nightmare’s skull, clearly intent on teasing the honest kid. It was refreshing for him, his last interaction with a child ended in a genocidal experience and he would rather not have that again. Nightmare was trying to wrench himself from Killer’s secure hold. Honestly, Killer expected the Cross guy to stop it by now but he seemed calm as if such a situation was of no surprise to him. 

Probably... he was a version of him after all.

Cross was by Horror’s side, helping the big guy prepare lunch for them. Horror came just a bit after they returned and after hearing what happened started fretting over Nightmare losing all that magic earlier and wanted to help him replenish it with food.

They were preparing tomato soup from scratch and grilled cheese. Horror was really talented in the kitchen, if not for what happened in his world he may have pursued a career as a cook. Cross got torn out of his thoughts when Horror held his hand out for the vegetables Cross was chopping for him. The soldier passed them along with a soft smile and looked back to the two squabbling skeletons. 

Killer was now holding Nightmare hanging over his shoulder and jumping slightly, teasing the other about being so light and having a ‘cute squeaky voice’. The two paused when Horror grumbled louder, all looking at the tall skeleton, giving him time to gather his words, “Put him down… don’t upset his stomach more.”

Killer nodded and slowly put Nightmare down, making sure his feet were steady on the ground before letting go. Nightmare stuck his tongue out at Killer and ran to Horror’s side, hiding behind the skeleton who let out a rusty chuckle. Killer came to lean against the counter, looking over it to see where Nightmare was hiding, “Sorry kiddo, couldn’t help myself. But remember if you really want me to stop teasing you, you just need to say.” He said with an honest tone.

Nightmare nodded and fully emerged from behind Horror, walking around the counter to sit next to Killer and observe the other two cooking. Killer felt weirdly peaceful around them, maybe because they were just as broken as he was, maybe because Nightmare seemed to have a hidden talent in diffusing tension. 

“When is Dream going to be back, Nightmare?” Cross asked gently, making sure the sandwiches won’t burn as Horror continued to stir the soup.

Nightmare frowned and shrugged, “He didn’t say but if it will be anything like before probably by dinner. I think he’s not used to having me be here yet.” He said quietly.

Killer frowned, “Not used? Where were you before?” He asked, not knowing that much about the skeleton yet.

Cross noticed the sad and nervous expression that flashed on Nightmare’s face and gave the spatula to Nightmare who took it confused.

“Let’s talk outside, alright Killer?” He said with a pointed tone, clearly showing it was NOT a question. Killer nodded dumbfounded and followed Cross outside of the kitchen.

Nightmare poked the sandwitches with a sigh only to relax when Horror rubbed his skull gently, “It’s… going to be... alright. Killer will understand.” He said softly and Nightmare smiled hopefully.

Horror had to be right, he was smart after all.

Chapter Text

Killer’s head was spinning after he learned of Nightmare's past and his hands itched to reach for his knife and find those that hurt the kid. Only Cross’ hold on his wrist stopped him and the sound of people heading towards them. 

He saw an almost clone of himself from before the shit that happened to him, another in a straw hat and an edgy version of himself, “Hi, Cross. Another stray Nightmare took in?” Farm said with a lazy grin.

Killer snorted and forcefully relaxed his stance, “I’m Killer. Knife to meet ya.” He said with a wink and turned around, “I’m going back to the kitchen.”

Sans and Red introduced themselves to Cross and sent a look after Killer, “Is he right in the head?” Red asked with a frown.

“I don’t think so… but well, Nightmare did his best to bring him back to at least the semblance of sanity.” Cross said with a shrug, “Nightmare is definitely safe with him, when I told him about his past he looked like if the villagers were alive he would slaughter them himself.”

Sans scoffed, “He would have to get in line, I think we all feel the same. And not only because when Nightmare corrupted he caused quite the mess… I hope he never eats that apple again.”

Cross hummed in agreement although he had the luck of not meeting corrupted Nightmare.

When they followed Killer to the kitchen they found Horror putting tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches in front of Nightmare who ate happily. Killer was eating as well, happy with his own portion, his first warm meal in quite a while. Horror beamed, seeing the two enjoy his cooking and prepared two more portions, for himself and Cross.

He caught sight of Farm, Red and Sans, “Ya hungry?” He asked calmly as Cross sat at the table.

“Thanks big guy, we ate already. Don’t worry about us.” Farm said with a smile and sat at the table looking at Nightmare. The child felt his gaze and glanced at him only to turn his eyes away shyly. He still can’t believe that this kid and the goopy monster are one and the same, but he thanked the fact Sci’s serum thingy worked. 

He would have this Nightmare over the corrupted one any day.

“How many more dangerous friends do you plan on collecting, huh?” Sans asked Nightmare who pouted.

“They are not dangerous… Maybe a little. And Ink said I can take only ten… I plan on one more for now and then we will see.” He said simply and returned to his meal, glad his stomach was settling down after whatever happened when he helped Killer.

He hopes Dream will be back soon to meet Killer, he wants them to get along.

------------

Dream and Ink were eating lunch sitting on a bench in a park, having just finished marking down all the save spots on the surface in UNDERTALE. They still didn’t figure out how to block the option to RESET in the world. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to ask Nightmare for help… or just others, maybe they know how to do that?” Ink whined.

Dream groaned, “Yes I’m sure. And how do you plan on asking others, they are stuck in their own resets except some rare exceptions in the form of worlds that never even had any resets.” He glared at the artist that just shrugged, “Nightmare can do many things that seem impossible but he’s still just a child. He’s not stronger than the Creators.”

Ink fell quiet and sagged in his seat. He loved helping the Creators and protecting their creations but sometimes he wished he could affect the worlds more than just the way he does right now. He couldn’t help but agree with Nightmare, there’s too much suffering sometimes and while the creators wanted to see it, it was hard to live among those that suffered in those stories.

Dream could see Ink’s mood plummeting and hugged his friend gently, “I’m sorry if I sounded harsh. I just know that if we asked Nighty for help he would burn himself out needlessly, not willing to give up despite there being no way to do it.” 

Ink nodded and the urge to drink blue faded slightly as he hugged Dream back, “I know… I just have that feeling that I’m limited to what the creators want me to do while Nightmare feels like he’s breaking all those limits… I’m just grasping at straws here.”

The two remained quiet for a bit, just soaking up each other’s presence and then continued their work, wanting to get as much as possible done before dinner.

-------------

When they came back Ink was simply shocked to see Killer. Usually Error wouldn’t let anyone run off from a world or a timeline he’s about to destroy and he just let Nightmare take Killer with him and was now even sitting with Nightmare in his craft room, learning origami from the child with the patience of a saint that the Artist never saw himself.

He secretly snapped a few pictures, because the sight of the Destroyer trying to fold a paper crane was just too funny not to memorize it properly and joined the three, “Hi! How was your day, Nightmare? Heard from Cross you had fun.”

Nightmare looked up and smiled, “Yep, Killer is staying with us and Error came by and Horror made lunch and is now making dinner and I learned how to fold origami flowers and now am learning cranes and…” He had to pause when Error covered his mouth.

“Breathe before you pass out, kiddo.” Error said with a small smile.

Ink chuckled, “I’m glad you are having fun and… oh, Error any more worlds you need to clean up?”

Error hummed, “Nah, not really, unless you need me to.”

Ink’s eyes jumped between many colors and signs until the Artist got an idea, “Can we talk in private? I may need your help with something.” Error nodded and left with Ink after whispering something to Nightmare who beamed with a mischievous smirk.

Once in a private room Error sat down and looked at Ink, “So, what are you planning, squid?”

Ink took a calming breath, “Can you take away the option of a RESET?”

Error blinked surprised, glitches rolling over his body, “Hmmm… that’s an… interesting thing to consider. And a lot of details to get over before you can even attempt that. Why the question?”

Ink sat down in front of Error and gave him a copy of his notes, the ones he compiled with Dream, “UNDERTALE is now on a pacifist run and still on the surface. I want to make sure they are safe, no more RESETS, no loads… no more genocides that make all those genocidal AUs pop up.”

Error hummed as he took a brief look at the notes, “I will think about it and investigate to what extent I can help you and then come back to you about it. Just limit anyone’s visits to UNDERTALE. I don’t want foreign codes fucking up my research.”

Ink nodded with a serious expression, “I will do what I can, thank you Error.”

The Destroyer scoffed as he hid the notes in his coat, “Don’t thank me yet. And remember, you owe me for this.” Ink chuckled and followed with his gaze Error’s departure.

--------------

Nightmare was sitting on bed in Killer’s new, empty room, “Do you want a plant from my room to make it nicer?” He asked as he observed Killer filling in the closet with clothes he got from Ink.

Killer chuckled, “Nah, but thanks for the offer. I would kill it in less than a week. The only thing I can keep alive is pet rock.” Nightmare nodded and vowed to get something for Killer’s room anyway. Cross had one of his plants in the room already, “Anyway, I heard you talking about taking in someone else… another miserable bas… bud?”

Nightmare hummed, “Kinda, sorta, yeah… You can come with me if you want and if you can control yourself so you don’t hurt him even if he attacks us. Cross will come with me and Horror said he will too because he’s starting to feel better.” He said kicking his feet idly.

Killer nodded, “Sure thing, wouldn’t want to sit idly while y’all are having fun.” He joined Nightmare on the bed and tugged the kid into his side to then noogie his skull gently, smiling at the whine of outrage he got, “And know that no matter your past I’m not gonna judge you, I kinda abandoned this job when I went crazy.”

Nightmare hugged Killer, murmuring a quiet thank you, slowly dozing off in the safe hold, waking up slightly only to feel being picked up and carried back to his room by Dream, his brother’s aura unmistakable. He smiled sleepily feeling a kiss being pressed to his forehead and dozed off, feeling completely safe.

---------------

After Dream tucked Nightmare in he headed downstairs to monitor Ink’s caffeine intake, the Artist getting hyper focused on some idea all of a sudden, and of course with his memory issues he feared putting it off for later.

Dreams sipped on his chamomile tea, smiling softly as he remembered the carefree smile on Nightmare's face when he was falling asleep. He looked so adorable and it felt like he saw it for the first time… in their childhood Dream would usually fall asleep first before Nightmare as his brother read or told him stories. After what Nightmare went through he’s happy that he still can smile so purely and get friends even if they are not the purest of company, but maybe after what Nightmare experienced and with his serious behavior he feels more comfortable around people that don’t see the world through rose colored glasses.

No matter who it is, Dream’s glad his brother has a support group right now.

------------

The next day Nightmare was with Horror, Killer and Cross in front of another door. They headed inside quietly, Horror holding Nightmare in his arms as they trekked through the snow. They could sense the dust, thick in the air.

Nightmare frowned and pointed them in the direction where he could feel two auras, clearly fighting one another. They didn’t even question him, simply following and trusting Nightmare’s senses. They reached the last stretch before the Waterfall and hid behind some trees to see another Sans fighting a human. It was clear the human was trying to genuinely kill the skeleton, the hate oozing from them, but it was the Sans that had all of the LV.

And it was clear he was getting tired, his moves more sluggish and his magic flickering. The human on the contrary was only getting more determined with each attack.

“We have to help him or he’s going to die.” Nightmare whispered with a desperate tone, tugging on Horror’s jacket.

Killer pet Nightmare’s head, “You may want to get yer glitchy friend over here. We can keep the human at bay, but… I see that guy whispering to himself and his gaze flickering to the side, like he’s seeing someone there.” He said with a serious expression.

Cross nodded, having noticed so as well. Nightmare tugged on the string Error put around his wrist and waited as Killer and Cross jumped forward, startling the human child and the Sans to the point where the fight slowed down exponentially. 

But it seemed like the skeleton just didn’t know who was on his side… maybe didn’t care and attacked the two as well, tearing Killer and Cross between fighting the human and dodging the Sans’ attacks. Nightmare and Horror watched it from a distance, the big skeleton making sure Nightmare stays safe. 

The moment Error appeared, Nightmare filled him in about the situation. The Destroyer didn’t particularly feel like getting into the middle of it but he couldn’t say no to Nightmare’s pleading gaze and tied everyone into strings, using them to tug Killer and Cross away from the line of fire.

The Sans struggled, shooting attacks at random and muttering nonsensical things into the air, tears streaming down his face. Nightmare could feel the guilt emanating from the skeleton, so tangible it may have created a phantom that now was hurting his mind.

Nightmare left Horror’s side, taking shortcuts to avoid all the attacks until he stood in front of the skeleton and put a hand on his forehead, the Sans stopping his tangent from the unexpected touch, “Go to sleep~.” Nightmare whispered, his voice laced with magic that made the older skeleton immediately sag in the strings, his soul and breath calming down.

Nightmare let out a sigh of relief and looked at the human child that was struggling in Error’s strings, he hated the feeling he got from them. He could feel they wanted to hurt others out of curiosity and to get their sick fun out of it… they were just like the villagers.

“Get yer new pet, I will take care of the human and this world.” Error said simply, blocking Nightmare’s sight at the human when he saw his expression falling. Nightmare nodded and smiled when Horror simply picked the sleeping skeleton up and stood next to Nightmare.

Error opened them a portal and waited until they were gone to glare at the human child, “What do we do now with you, you little brat?” He asked no one to then smirk, “Actually, this may be useful. I can experiment with taking away your ability to RESET and learn just what I need for it to work elsewhere.” He said, gleefully noticing the way the kid palled and started struggling harder, now rightfully terrified with the possibility of permanent death.

----------------

Back in the Doodlesphere Nightmare was sitting by the sleeping skeleton’s bedside, reading a book and waiting for him to wake up. The three others were there as well, Cross reading a book he borrowed from Nightmare, Killer carving in some wood while Horror was half napping and half keeping watch over Nightmare.

“How are we going to get through the guy anyway?” Killer asked suddenly, tearing Nightmare’s attention away from his book.

“I just thought about talking about it with him… maybe using a bit of magic?” Nightmare whispered with a shrug, feeling stupid with the fact he didn’t plan this that far. He relaxed when Horror petted his head gently.

“We will all handle it, the guy is unstable, planning won’t help much when all of his reactions are going to be random and affected by whatever’s in his brain.” Cross said calmly, not even looking up from his book.

“We can do it… we can show him we understand…” Horror agreed.

Killer grinned, “Well yeah, I just wanted to know a bit more so I don’t put my foot in it and make our new pal lash out.” He said with a teasing tone, reaching out to rub Nightmare’s skull.

Nightmare smiled and nuzzled into Horror’s chest, the big skeleton holding him closer and purring quietly, Nightmare returning the sound, letting the air fill with the rusty purr and quieter chiming sound. Cross and Killer were enjoying it and returned to their self-assigned tasks, waiting for the other skeleton to wake up… they really need him to so they get a nickname out of him.

It was hours before the skeleton even stirred, the long rest necessary for his exhausted body and to recover his magic. The hazy eyes slowly opened to reveal a white ceiling to him, “Well, that’s new…”

“Hi.” The skeleton turned his head to see three copies of himself around his age and one much younger, “I’m Nightmare and my friends are Horror, Killer and Cross… they all were named Sans before and now have new names… You should think of one too and well… How do you feel?” Nightmare rambled to then just fall silent, noticing how the gaze of the other shifted to look way over them. 

Killer noticed himself and snapped his fingers a few times, “Focus on us newbie. We are the only ones here, no matter what deranged thing you keep seeing.”

The Sans glared at them, “Leave Paps out of it.” He growled, stunning everyone, a silent ‘Well, fuck.’ slipping from Killer.

Chapter Text

Horror covered Nightmare’s ears and glared at Killer, “Language.” He hissed, Nightmare blinking confused. 

Horror, Killer and Cross left Nightmare by the Sans’ bed and made a circle, “Any of you get what he means? Is his Papyrus a ghost or something?” Cross asked worried, he just finished dealing with one ghostly apparition, he wasn’t ready for another.

Nightmare leaned closer to the skeleton, “Do they think we can’t hear them?” He whispered, the Sans couldn’t hold back an amused snort.

“But Killer was right… Paps you see is not there, it’s an apparition caused by the guilt you feel… you need to let it go.” Nightmare said softly with a worried expression.

The skeleton’s expression closed off, “He’s here… And he’s right… I deserve the pain, the anger and everything…” He said blandly as if it was a mantra.

Nightmare frowned and climbed onto the bed, sitting next to him, “You know, people hurt me a lot because they said I was evil and sometimes I would think I really deserved it and it made me hurt others in turn when it became too much… I hurt someone I never wanted to hurt… Thinking like you deserve pain is bad. I don’t think you deserve it.”

The skeleton listened to the child quietly, his eyes flickering towards the ghostly Papyrus, “He’s all I have left of my brother.”

Nightmare nodded, “But he’s not actually your brother.” He said softly and took a hold of the dusty sleeve. He decided to abandon that topic of conversation, “I know you are Sans but so is almost everyone else and they all have nicknames…”

“Dust… you can call me Dust.”

Nightmare smiled, “Nice to meet you Dust… I hope you can live here happily with the others, or you can live somewhere else, there’s a lot of worlds you can live in. Horror’s staying at Farmtale, Killer and Cross are staying here so… you can make a choice at any moment.”

Dust nodded and fell onto the bed fully, “Whatever, right now I just want to sleep… maybe I won’t have nightmares this time.” He said resigned.

Nightmare beamed, “Oh, I can help with that! I know how to take night terrors away, but it works best if I am next to you… Do you want to sleep together tonight so you can sleep well?”

Dust blinked slowly, mulling over that option to then nod. Nightmare smiled and laid down next to Dust, “Go to sleep then, I will be right here, but if you want you can pretend like I’m not here.” He whispered and squeaked when Dust hugged him with a huff.

“Let’s just sleep.” Dust said, his eyes already closing. Nightmare smiled, relaxing against Dust and settling down for a nap. He was growing after all, he needed the sleep, he was not a baby taking a nap.

By the time the three whispering skeletons turned around the two on the bed were peacefully sleeping, Dust holding Nightmare almost protectively.

-------------

When they woke up Sans… Dust, he really needs to get used to that name, looked down to find that Nightmare kid still sleeping, cuddled into his side under his arm. He looked up as he heard someone clearing their throat and saw another him, dressed mostly in yellow, “Hi, I’m Dream.” He whispered and glanced down at the child, “Nightmare’s brother… ” His eyes returned to Dust and carried quite the threat, “My brother was hurt by others in the past and I will not accept anyone who will try it. If you even think about it you will wish Error was here to peacefully kill you.”

Dust gulped and nodded, “The kid… he’s nice and kinda awkward but he’s smart and a good kid. I don’t want to kill him. I don’t feel the urge looking at him… being close to him.”

Dream beamed, feeling the truth in his words, “That’s great, the more the merrier. I’m glad my brother is making friends even if you all are a bit…”

“Deadly?” Dust quipped with a smirk.

“I meant unorthodox.” The guardian said with a weak tone, “I heard about that phantom you see… you need to get that under control, it’s not your brother, I would know about that.” He said with a sad frown. Dust wanted to ask about that but the sheer guilt and grief that emanated from the skeleton stopped him.

“Nightmare said the same, that Paps is not my brother… The ghost is not my brother.” He said quietly and then shook his head as if to get rid of an unwanted thought, “He also said I can stay here?” The statement sounded more like a question and Dream was quick to reassure him.

“Oh, yes. We already prepared a room for you. Right now you are in the infirmary so to speak. I’m sure Nightmare will help you fill your room, he’s really happy having things to give others as gifts.”

Dust chuckled quietly. He could feel his soul yearning to take care of Nightmare, almost wanting to treat him as a younger brother. He will get to know others and make sure they won’t even think about hurting him. Dream is safe from that, considering he’s Nightmare’s actual brother, although… Dust killed his in a crazed state, but he’s blaming the resets for that.

At least now that his mind is a bit clearer.

“Where are the others?” He asked quietly, not wanting to wake the sleeping child.

“Horror is in the kitchen making dinner while Cross and Killer are in the training room killing time. Error, the black boned skeleton is somewhere working. No one can really control him… except Nightmare who seems to have some sway over the destroyer.” Dream said with a soft smirk.

Dust scoffed, “I noticed.” He said dryly, still remembering the way the strings held him.

Both froze when Nightmare let out a soft sound and stirred, slowly waking up, “Good afternoon, Nighty.” Dream said softly, not wanting to startle him.

Nightmare mumbled, “Good ‘noon.” Rubbing his eyes, one of his hands still clinging to Dust’s hoodie. Dust rubbed Nightmare’s back, helping him wake up, “Is it dinner time already?”

Dream chuckled, “What makes you think that?” He asked and accepted the child into his arms, giving Dust the chance to sit up.

“You are out all day until it’s dinner time.” Nightmare murmured with a frown and Dream felt a pang of guilt.

“I’m sorry Nighty, there was a lot of work to do lately but once the balance is back at where it should be I will be able to spend more time with you. I promise you.” Dream said softly, hugging Nightmare to himself. He was extremely aware of Dust’s silent and calm gaze on him, the other looking almost judgingly, which considering his past job was quite possible, “But yes, the dinner was almost ready last I was in the kitchen so I guess we should head there.” He said getting up with Nightmare in his arms.

He motioned for Dust to follow them and headed to the kitchen where Horror, Cross, Killer and Ink were sitting at the table that was set for the meal.

Cross and Killer were clearly fresh from the training room, clothes littered with holes and singed. Nightmare looked at it worried until he noticed both were joking and definitely not angry at one another. 

He didn’t want them to be on bad terms.

Nightmare was sitting at one chair with pillows propping him up with Dream next to him and Dust sitting at the other free chair, “I hope you like it…” Horror said with a small smile. Dust nodded silently and put some food on his plate just like others. The meal was a calm affair, Dream chatting with Ink while Killer did his best to push Cross’ buttons with his quips. Horror was ignoring them to pay attention to Nightmare who was playing with his food.

“Are you feeling alright?” He asked quietly, to not bring the others’ attention to them.

Nightmare nodded weakly, “I just… don’t feel like I can eat… I feel tired but not and… just weird.” He whispered.

Horror nodded and took Nightmare’s plate, “I will put this away so you can eat later. Drink some juice and try to rest, maybe in your room.” 

Nightmare smiled slightly and sipped on his juice slowly. Dream noticed Horror getting up and looked at Nightmare worried, “Everything fine, Nighty?”

The child nodded, “Just tired and not hungry. I will go to my room to rest.” He said and slid from his chair to then leave the kitchen and go upstairs to his room. He wanted to lay down but first he went to his bag and checked on the apple inside of it only to yelp when he felt an actual presence from touching it.

“What the…?” Nightmare frowned, feeling the apple call for him. Why? Why was it calling for him and why did he feel like he won’t be able to resist it? Nightmare gulped and closed the bag to then throw it into his closet and jump into his bed, hiding under the blanket, “Let’s just forget about it, nothing happened, everything is alright.” He mumbled to himself, hugging one of his pillows.

He was tense but the weird fatigue he was feeling caught up to him and sent him into a fitful sleep which even Dream’s magic would not help with.

-------------

Nightmare was standing in front of the tree of feelings but something was wrong. It was cold despite the sun shining high in the sky. There were no sounds, no birds chirping and no wind to be felt.

“ Did you really think you can start anew? That you can just forget everything? ” A dark voice came from behind him but he couldn’t move, couldn’t look who it was… couldn’t tear his eyes away from the scene that appeared in front of him.

It was him, surrounded by the villagers, holding a black apple and eating it and then many more following. The villagers jeered at him, shouting insults that hurt and yet he was used to them. And then he… the past him started changing, black gunk covered his bones, burst through his eye and from his back, and he could see the expression on his face that hinted that it wasn’t him anymore… This made no sense and yet it felt like his past, like something he should know.

The carnage that followed made silent tears fall down his face, he saw everything, down to the moment when Dream turned into stone.

“W-why?” He sobbed, “Why show me this?”

“ So you would remember our past. ” The smooth voice said and the tall figure circled him to stand face to face with him. It was that corrupted Nightmare, looking at the child impassively. He then reached and dried Nightmare’s tears, “ Avoidance helps no one. ” 

“They hate me! All because of that! I never wanted to hurt anyone!” Nightmare shouted.

The corrupted skeleton put hands on his shoulders, “ I know that. But I did, I needed the negativity, the strength and they… ” He let out an angry chuckle, “ They took it all from me, trapping me in that damn apple. It took me that long to gather enough strength to contact you in this way. ”

Nightmare pouted, tear covered face bright in anger, “You were cruel and out of control. You were destroying the balance.”

“ Because I had no care for balance, but after observing you, for I am always with you in your mind, I can admit that my methods were… unrefined. ” He said with a grimace.

“Always with me? Then…” Nightmare paled in fear.

“ No. I cannot control you. It’s impossible, I can only talk to you. Right now only in a dream but with time I will get enough strength to communicate with you when you are conscious. ” The corrupted version of Nightmare said in a slightly reassuring tone.

Nighty relaxed, “What do you even want from me?”

The goopy skeleton sneered even as blush rose on his face, “ Your bag is stuffy. ”

Nighty blushed embarrassed, “I’m sorry… Is that all? Wait! If I let you out they will find the apple. What if they take it away or destroy it?! I can let that happen.” He started panicking.

“ Hush, it’s going to be alright. You can figure something out, no rush as long as I will get out of that bag at some point. ” Corrupted skeleton said in a calming tone.

Nighty sniffled, “You are weird. You killed and hurt others and you are nice to me right now. And you are me but you are not… What do I call you?”

“ Mare will be fitting. And well… I have enough self-perseverance to not hurt someone who has my fate in his hands. I won’t hurt someone who is me at some level. ” Mare said  with a smirk.

Nightmare frowned, not sure if he understood it fully but accepted that Mare at least won’t hurt him, “Was my bad feeling and all also because of you?”

Mare nodded, “ Yes, I needed to talk with you as soon as possible and was out of patience after all that waiting and collecting of the energy. ” He said, not sounding regretful at all.

Nightmare pouted, “Because of you I missed dinner.”

Mare chuckled, “ Well then, accept my apology. I forgot that growing children need sustenance. I will try to find a different way of contacting you and time it so you don’t miss out on anything vital. ”

Nightmare smiled now, “Thank you. Uhm… what now?” He asked, fiddling with his fingers.

Mare kneeled in front of the child to be level with him, “Now I shall let you sleep on your own, this took a bit from me. If you ever want to talk you can try to reach out on your own but then again, it will drain your magic instead.” He hummed, “Well, just think about this in your own time and see you soon.” He said and everything started fading around them, Mare being the last thing to disappear before Nightmare settled into a more natural and restful sleep.

-------------

Dust was glaring at Killer and Cross, Horror the only one free of that gaze as after dinner he returned to Farmtale to see his brother. The other two were trying to ignore him, not sure how to react to the other’s silent judgment.

“Is Nightmare fine? I don’t get it but something seems more complicated than just two brothers.” Dust finally decided to ask.

Killer and Cross exchanged worried gazes, “Well, that’s because the situation is complicated.” Cross said with a weak expression and then started to tell the story of how the twins ended up being the way they are now.

Dust was simply shocked, he expected something was afoot but not that. It seemed surreal but when you take into the consideration this Multiverse has RESETS and genocidal children, two gods that guard the tree of feelings and the following drama… it just wasn’t that far fetched.

“Does Dream… carry any kind of resentment over Nightmare for what he did?” Dust asked, his magic already surging, ready to protect the compassionate child.

Killer snorted, “Don’t worry about that, he adores the little guy, just like practically everyone we have seen around him. He has a god of Destruction on his side as well.” He said with a grin.

Dust relaxed, his magic calming instantly, “Alright… I still think we need to make sure the kid is safe. Who knows if there’s anyone holding a grudge over him for what he did when out of his mind.”

Killer and Cross agreed, “Oh, if anyone tried they are dead on the spot.” Killer said with a dark smile. Cross nodded, determined look on his face.

Chapter Text

Nightmare was off with Error who wanted to show the kid Chocotale so the others were now at mercy of the Council.

Horror already met some, especially those that visited Farmtale. Killer and Cross met a few people but Dust knew no one except Ink and Dream. That Blue guy was really annoying him but for some reason Red seemed really familiar to him, like a forgotten memory and so did Sans but that may be because he was a Sans at some point.

He wasn’t really bothered enough to pay attention to everyone’s chatter and so he didn’t see the glances both of them threw at him.

“Dream, I don’t mean to be rude but I’m really worried about who you allow to be around Nightmare.” Storyswap Sans, Q said with a frown, “He should be with monsters of stable mind that won’t cause him to corrupt with one wrong action.” Ha admonished.

Killer narrowed his eyes angrily, he may have LV and be unhinged but he would never do anything to endanger Nightmare and neither would the others. Horror is a big teddy bear and Cross is a prideful knight with a stick up his ass. Even Dust when interacting with Nightmare treated him like a younger brother that should be protected from any danger.

He wanted to give a snide remark when Dream spoke, “What makes you think you can choose my brother’s friends?” The guardian narrowed his eyes and, oh boy, did Killer enjoy the way that other guy squirmed, “My brother hand picked them himself and I trust his judgment. Who are you to tell my brother who can be friends with him?” Dream got up from his seat, magic started to crack around him, “What makes you think that if there was even a sliver of chance that they would endanger my brother that I would let them close to him?!” Despite his usual cheery attitude right now they saw the actual god of positivity in him, “You should watch your words! Note that you are a Sans just like them and if they are dangerous then so could be any of you here!”

Ink stood next to Dream and put a calming arm around his shoulders, “Dream is right. You are acting presumptuous, they had a rough past but they are still a version of the original, one that each of you could become under the right circumstances.” He tugged Dream down into his chair, Dream taking deep breaths to calm down.

Farm got up next, green flush on his face though no one knew if it was one of anger or another strong emotion, “Horror and the others are good monsters and would never harm Nightmare, if not for the fact that they are not as evil as you make them out to be, it’s because Nightmare saved them, giving them an opportunity at a new life. Raise your hand if you would ever stab someone in the back after receiving help from them.” He looked over the room finding some shifting in their seats but no one raised their hands, “That’s what I thought.” He said simply and sat back down.

Red grinned, “Some of you guys are really hypocritical. Didn’t you kill the kid from your underground a few times, Q? I’m sure you did when trying to keep them in the ruins and yet you judge them? Pathetic.” He said with a bored tone.

Sans nodded, “We all have our mistakes and have no right to judge them, not when I myself don’t know what would happen if the kid starts genocides up again.” He said morose.

Uncomfortable silence fell over the room broken by Dream’s phone ringing. The guardian saw it was from Error and picked it up, putting it on hands-free and glaring at others to stay quiet, “Hi Error, is everything alright?” He asked calmly.

“Yeah just… Is Nightmare used to sugar?” Error asked and Dream couldn’t help but notice how uncomfortable he sounded, “His magic is cracking so much there are sparks around him.”

“Oh my!” Dream chuckled slightly, “Error in our childhood we couldn't afford many sweets and they were mostly rare treats for special occasions. His sugar is through the roof so his magic is overloaded. If he’s alright with it maybe use up some of the magic and give him something with less sugar, maybe some sandwiches with meat. Also, make him drink some water.”

“Will do, I will call if he gets sick or something happens again. Bye.” Error hung up and Dream exploded in laughter, startling everyone.

“D-dream? You good?” Ink asked with confused eyes.

“Y-yes, it’s just… Nightmare would always try to act like adults, saying he doesn’t like sweet things so to hear about him acting so carefree… it’s just nice.” He spoke merrily, wiping a tear from his eye.

Killer chuckled, “You know, you would see more if you don’t work so much.” He said with a casual tone but Dream still flinched at the clear jab at him.

“I know that. I do what I can so that the balance is right again. This can’t wait and I hate making Nightmare feel lonely but I also know that if the balance is not rightened it will hurt Nightmare.”

Dust frowned, “How? Is there something we should look out for?” He asked worried.

Dream smiled weakly, “If there’s too much negativity Nightmare’s body may become overwhelmed. Without the tree we are the ones holding up the balance and it’s literal, the negative and the positive energy are circulating our bodies, they strive for balance and if it’s disturbed the body may become burdened.” He looked at Dust, “Nightmare is still recovering from abuse, his body is achy and weak but some of those aches come from the uneven balance. When I am repairing it, step by step I am doing what I can to make sure Nightmare doesn’t suffer.”

Cross looked at Dream worried, “Why didn’t you tell Nightmare? He would understand.”

Dream nodded, “Yes, I know he would but I don’t want him to think about it or to blame himself for the state of the balance when he had no control over his actions.” He said softly.

“Well…” Killer piped up, “While you do that we will take care of Nightmare and look out for any signs of his health getting worse.”

Dream beamed, “I appreciate it. I know Nightmare really loves your company and I know you would never do anything that would hurt him on purpose.” He finished with a glare at Q.

Killer chuckled, that was definitely a better atmosphere. 

----------------

After the meeting Farm and Horror came back home. The work was never ending but with Horror and Crooks it was more manageable and so Farm could now rest while Horror persisted that he wanted to look in on the animals. Horror seemed especially fond of the hens.which amused Farm to no end, in particular when he would find the massive skeleton huddled in the chickencoop with a hen in his lap.

“You are hopeless, brother.”

Farm jolted at Crop’s voice, “Hey bro, uhm… what do you mean?” He asked with a confused expression.

Crop sighed, “It’s sooo clear that you fancy him, well… to everyone but him. Me and Crooks are fed up with both of you being so grossly sweet to one another. You should just tell him.” 

Farm hunched on himself, “I should, right? But… I don’t want to take advantage of him when he’s still recovering and kind of depends on us and… aghhhh!!!” He let his skull thunk on the table, “I just want him to get better first.” He mumbled.

Crop patted his skull gently, “Then take your time brother, but please, stop staring into the distance with this foolish smile or even he will be wondering what is going on soon.”

Farm chuckled weakly, “Sure bro, I will try.” He looked at his brother, “How is Crooks though? I don’t see him often.”

Crop joined Farm at the table, “He’s doing great, recovering steadily and having fun helping me at the market and in the garden.” Crop hummed, “I noticed he’s getting interested in bees, we may end up getting our own beehives soon.”

Farm smiled, “I don’t see why not, having honey and bees to pollinate our crops sounds nice.” He said softly, “And not to act presumptuous here but the moment Horror hears about Crooks wanting to have a beehive he’s going to look into getting him one.”

Crop huffed, “Oh, I’m not surprised considering you tend to act the same.” He said with a smirk.

Farm pouted, “Traitor.” He mumbled and got up, stretching, his spine popping, “I’m going to check on Horror.”

“Yes, do so, go check on your future boyfriend.” Crop said with a grin and dodged a cuff to his skull from Farm.

---------------

Nightmare was groaning in Dream’s arms, the other scooping him up as soon as he came back with Error from Chocotale, “I’m fiiiiine, Dream!” He whined.

Dream chuckled, “Can’t I just hold my little, baby brother?” He asked, nuzzling Nightmare’s cheek with his teeth.

Nightmare pouted, “I’m not little. I will grow big, just like you.” He said with a huff.

“Did you have a nice time with Error?” Dream asked with a smile.

The child grinned, “I had fun. We ate sweets at Chocotale and then we went to his Antivoid and he taught me about magic and I managed to summon a little blaster. Error said it’s a bitty blaster and that it will grow with time. And he taught me how to portal to a place that I never went to and we landed in Oceantale. I saw the sea, it was so pretty and blue. Will you come with me sometime?” Nightmare chatted happily.

Dream beamed, “Of course, we can all go to the beach soon, I will make sure I don’t have any work that day so we can spend a lot of time together.” He assured.

Nightmare cheered, “Can Dust and Horror and Killer and Cross come with us?” He asked with an eager expression.

Dream nodded, “Of course, anyone can join us, you don’t have to worry about it. I will always allow your friends around you and I hope you will never forget that.”

Nightmare frowned at how emotionally charged it seemed but shrugged it off and hugged Dream closer. If Dream is going to carry him anyway he can enjoy it. He smiled feeling Dream rub his back, relaxing under his brother's attention. 

He really wanted to feel carefree but he just couldn’t forget about Mare. He really needs to find out more about what happened that he got changed like that.

And there was one person that he knew had the answers.

-------------

Nightmare was with Killer and Dust as Cross was with Dream and Ink and Horror was with Crooks looking into getting a beehive that Crooks wanted to have.

The three were at Sciencetale, visiting the resident skeleton. Nightmare was looking confused at all the monsters running back and forth at the lab while Dust and Killer were exchanging amused looks at all the frayed looking monsters.

“Seems we came at a bad time. Do you want to come by another time, Nightmare?” Dust asked, picking Nightmare up. Despite how amusing it was seeing everyone running like headless chickens he didn’t want anyone to trample the kid.

Nightmare pouted, “But I really wanted to talk to Sci today.” He muttered quietly.

Dust looked at Killer who got a determined look on his face. The skeleton grabbed the first monster that was walking by them, startling some poor soul, “W-what?”

“Where’s Sci? Uhmmm… Sans?” Killer glanced at Dust, not knowing if anyone was aware of the nickname here.

“Ah, Sans? He’s in his office or at the Core, something seems to be happening to it so we are trying to repair anything that may be going on but we don’t even know what is malfunctioning because we didn’t find it and… I need to go!” The monster said and ran off.

“Welp, let’s check his office first… Do you know where it is, Nightmare?” Killer asked, looking at the child.

Nightmare nodded and started giving them the directions, Dust still holding him safely in his arms. Fortunately they found Sci in his office, looking stressed to the max. Nightmare didn’t like seeing him like that and started eating away at his negativity, happily noticing the skeleton relaxing.

“Hi, Sci!” Nightmare called, getting his attention, “We came for a visit.”

Sci smiled weakly, “That’s nice but really not a good time…”

“Have you checked the west side on the 5th level of the core? That’s the one I remember having the most issues.” Killer mentioned with a shrug, Dust nodding in agreement.

Sci jolted, “No, we did not. I will run there with someone and be back soon. There should be some cup noodles and an electric kettle, help yourselves if you want.” He said, running off.

Dust put Nightmare on the ground, “Well, let’s hope it’s an easy fix.” He murmured, smiling as Nightmare toddled off to look at all the documents piled up on Sci’s desk.

“What is this document about?” Nightmare asked raising it and let Killer take it from him. What he didn’t expect was for Killer to splutter and throw it back on the desk.

“Uhm… it was about… the number of people living here…” Killer stuttered out, he may like stirring up trouble but he is not going to give any shit that may be the beginning of ‘The Talk’. He went through that embarrassing ordeal once, he’s done with it, thank you very much. What the fuck was Sci working on to have documents about repopulation of Underground?!

Nightmare shrugged and started to look at other documents, skipping most that looked filled with engineering language. Before he found anything interesting to peruse Sci came back, “We found it and I told others how to repair it so I can come back to you. How can I help you?”

Dust shrugged, “Nightmare wanted to chat with you about something but he’s quite adamant about not telling us what about.” He looked at the child that fidgeted nervously.

“You have to promise to tell the truth first.” Nightmare mumbled, looking at the ground.

“Of course I will, I promise you.” Sci said with a reassuring tone, “What do you want to talk about?”

Nightmare looked at Sci with determined eyes, “How did you change me back into a kid and how did it work?” 

Everyone flinched with Sci looking panicked, “Uhm… Why do you want to know that?”

Nightmare frowned, “Don’t I have the right to know? It entails me and my life. I deserve to know what you did to me.” He said with an angry tone.

Killer nodded, “Yeah, he should know the details, especially since he’s asking for it.” Dust agreed and crossed his arms across his chest, glaring at the scientist.

Sci sighed and went to his desk, sitting at his chair and waving at the others to sit as well. Once they did he looked at Nightmare, “The corrupted you was destructive and strong, so much energy and magic gathered in one body… I focused on separating it so to speak. Gathering all that you had back to the age you are at right now. It all gathered in the apple. Were you to eat it again we would be back at the stalemate.” He with a calm tone, not looking at any of them by the end of it.

Nightmare frowned, it was definitely now what he expected but… “Can you separate it?”

Chapter Text

“What?! What do you mean separate?!” Sci asked, panicky.

Nightmare shrugged, “Like… one apple right now has energy from all that I ate, right? So can I separate it into more apples?” He asked with a curious tone.

Sci hummed thoughtfully, “Well, in theory it does seem possible but as the apple seems to be less of a scientific presence you would need to experiment with it in some way.”

Nightmare nodded with a smile, “I will think about that. Thank you for telling me. Can you tell me about growing plants in the Underground? I want to experiment with growing some without direct sunlight but I don’t know how to start.”

Sci relaxed now that the uncomfortable topic was done with and took out a thick folder, “I can give you pointers and basics, so…”

Killer and Dust tuned out the scientific conversation, happy that no drama resulted from this conversation although they were curious why Nightmare really wanted to know about that. He seemed to be hiding something, Sci was not a judge but they were and they could see that there was something more to that.

They will watch out for anything dangerous but otherwise Nightmare is free to try out anything he wants to try.

After all, who doesn’t like risky experiments?

-----------

Nightmare was in his room, the black apple on a pillow in front of him, his eyes keen of it as if it would give him a clue just by looking at it.

Nothing came to his mind though.

He had no idea where to even start with it. He could feel that there was something different to the apple. It was strong and now that he knew how it felt he could feel the unique presence that was Mare. It is weak right now but getting stronger with each moment. Although Mare did say Nightmare could get in contact with him himself if he tries. Then he will be able to ask if he knows any way to separate Mare from the apple.

Nightmare sighed and poked the apple, “How do I contact you? Do I just think about it or is there some magic that I need to use?” He muttered, dejected.

As expected the apple still remained silent.

Before he could do anything there was a knock on his door. Nightmare rushed around to hide the apple back in his bag and then went to check who it was, smiling when he saw Error there, holding a box with a bow on top, “Hiya, kid.”

“Error! Hi!” Nightmare said with an excited tone, opening the door wider so the destroyer could get in.

Error walked into the room and put the box on Nightmare’s bed, “Got you that surprise I promised you, go on. Open it.” Error encouraged, smiling as Nightmare climbed onto the bed with an eager grin.

Nightmare carefully untied the bow on the box and opened it, letting out a happy squeal at what he saw. There were puppets of his friends and several others. Horror, Dust, Cross, Killer, Error, Ink, Sans, Red, Coffee, Farm, Crooks, Mafia and a few more. Nightmare hefted the box up and carried it to one of the shelves he left free on purpose. 

Error observed as Nightmare placed them in some weird order that probably only made sense to him. He was curious about where Dream’s puppet was from before but when looking around noticed it was on Nightmare’s desk, placed in a way so it was holding a little yellow pot with a sapling inside… Error didn’t know enough to figure out what kind of plant it was.

“How are you lately? Any trouble? I heard you were feeling ill lately.” Error asked once Nightmare was back on his bed.

“Oh… I’m… good, I guess. Oh, do you know how to connect to your inner magic?” Nightmare asked eagerly, looking at Error with stars in his eyes.

Error frowned and opened his arms, Nightmare getting closer immediately. Error turned him around so Nightmare was resting against him with his back, Error scooting up the bed so he was resting against the wall, “Getting in touch with your core can be hard, especially if you don’t fully know your magic yet. I wouldn’t rush it if I were you.”

Nightmare pouted, “But how long will it take?” He whined. Mare was trapped in the apple the longer it took him to understand after all.

“The more you train your magic the more insight you will get into your magic. I’m sure everyone will be eager to help you with that.” Error said softly.

Nightmare smiled and played with Error’s scarf, “You too?”

Error chuckled, “Maybe, when I’m not working. Managing balance is a long-term responsibility.” He said softly.

Nightmare nodded, “True, but Dream is keeping me from helping him.” He said sadly.

Error pet Nightmare’s head gently, “Just enjoy childhood, Dream is doing a good job and what you do is already helping him a lot. By helping all those guys you made a lot of progres with the balance.”

Nightmare smiled softly, a blush rising on his face, “I just want to help.” He mumbled.

Error poked his cheek, “You are helping us all by growing up the best you can at your own pace.” He said with a smirk at the pout on Nightmare’s face. His expression soured as he felt his glitches pick up, feeling like the contact was burning along his bones. Nightmare must have noticed his discomfort and moved away with a small, worried smile, “Thanks kiddo, don’t worry, I’m good.”

Nightmare nodded and jumped off the bed, shuffling something in his drawers to then hold out a bar of chocolate to Error, “Here, you can have some.”

Error took the chocolate with a smirk, “Oh~, are you trying to bribe me?” He teased.

Nightmare stuck out his tongue at him, “You can promise you will help me with training sometime in the future… I’m… I’m scared of Blue.” He muttered, looking at the ground.

Error frowned, “You don’t have to be. Blue is strong but he’s also never going to hurt you.”

The child started playing with his sleeves, “He’s… too happy, too cheery… No one can be that happy all the time, it’s gotta be fake! Fake, just like them!” He started shaking, tears gathering in his eyes. 

Error went to his knees in front of Nightmare, his hands hovering over him, “Hey, hey, it’s not like that, come on kiddo, just breathe.” He tried softly, waiting for Nightmare to start breathing in big gulps, “I know Blue can be overwhelming with his overly cheery attitude but he wouldn’t hurt a fly and definitely not you. He can go rough while training with others but only because he knows what they can handle.” He smiled when Nightmare’s teary face looked at him, the kid hiccupping, “Blue is just a big friendly dog that sometimes can forget his strength but he would never cause you harm. I would know…” When Nightmare tilted his head he continued, “I kinda, sorta kidnapped him and even then he was just trying to befriend me. You can trust him, even if not with your secrets, cuz that is your choice on who you share them with then for sure you can trust he won’t hurt you.”

Nightmare nodded and grabbed Error’s scarf, trying to calm down his breathing, happy that Error allowed this much contact, “The villagers…” He paused, glancing at Error who didn’t push for anything, just patiently waiting, “They would sometimes act really nice… they would play with me and just be nice, invite me places and then… they would not… they would hurt me really bad and say it all was fake and that I deserve being treated bad and that I was stupid for falling for that.” He started crying quietly. 

Error really wanted to hug the kid but his glitches were acting up at the mere thought of that, threatening with a crash. Although he was saved from making that decision when a sobbing Blue crashed through the door and scooped Nightmare up in a tight hug, “I’m so sorry, Nightmare. I promise I will never be like them.” He called and rubbed Nightmare’s back, the other just frozen in shock.

Was he really that distracted to not feel Blue’s aura?

And why wasn’t Blue mad that Nightmare even though he could be like the villagers? He should be angry that Nightmare thought badly of him but instead he was apologizing for making him uncomfortable with his behavior… Nightmare looked at Error who was smiling and shrugged when he noticed Nightmare’s confused expression. So… Blue’s just weird like that? Noted.

Soon Blue put Nightmare down and smiled sheepishly, “I’m sorry for grabbing you like that and I promise you that I will back off if I’m ever making you uncomfortable. Remember that you can just tell me if there’s something going on and I promise to listen to you and do my best to make you feel comfortable.” He said with a hand over his soul and an honest expression.

Nightmare smiled weakly, “Thank you… uhm… How much did you hear?” He asked quietly.

“Oh, only from the moment where Error started describing me, that’s why I kinda assumed you meant me as the one acting fake-nice just like the villagers.” He said calmly, not an ounce of anger in his tone.

“You are really weird…” Nightmare said and covered his mouth in shock at how it slipped out. He certainly didn’t expect Error and Blue to laugh.

“Sorry kiddo, but you will not find one normal soul in here.” Error said with a wink, “I have to get back to work but how about you and Blue try training with magic?” He said getting up.

Nightmare shuffled nervously even as Blue beamed, “Oh, I will be delighted to help you train with magic!” He toned down his excitement when he noticed Nightmare’s nervousness, “If you are ready for it of course, I would never force you to do anything.” He assured with a calmer tone.

Nightmare looked at Error who smiled encouragingly and then back at Blue, “Can we start easy?” He asked quietly.

Blue gently took his hand and nodded, “Of course, we will go at a pace that you are comfortable with.” 

Nightmare nodded with a small smile and with Blue holding his hand headed towards the training room, waving bye to Error who left through a glitchy portal.

“Alright, first I think you should tell me what kind of magic you can do so I know what level of skill you are at. Then we can decide on what you can learn next.” Blue said with a soft smile, “And can I ask why the sudden decision to start training?” He scratched his cheek awkwardly.

Nightmare shrugged, “Just want to connect to my inner magic.”

Blue nodded, “Yes, that can be made easier when you train and open your core wider. When we are young magic is tightly wrapped in a ball that is our core and with age it flows easier through our whole bodies but if you train and develop your core faster then it will open up to you faster as well.”

Nightmare fidgeted with his fingers, “So far I know how to summon bones and do shortcuts and little blasters. I know how to create fire and make ice too… Basic stuff.”

Blue beamed, “Maybe so, but it’s really impressive for one your age. I think for now while your body grows we can focus on different colors of magic. Do you know how to use any?”

Nightmare shook his head, “I know the theory but I never learned how to use it… to learn how to use magic on a soul you need someone there with one… I was always studying magic alone so I had no one to practice on or with.” He said softly.

Blue nodded in understanding, “I understand, it’s alright, we can go by them, one y one and find out which you are compatible with.” He took Nightmare’s hands and tugged him to sit down, “Which ones do you want to try first?”

Nightmare hummed, “Uhm… I know that green magic, healing magic, is not compatible with me” because I’m the negative guardian… I tried using green magic on Dream once and nothing ever came of it but Dream only needed to think about it and it worked…” He said with a shrug but Blue already could see he was discouraged about it.

Blue smiled gently, “Hey, just because you can’t use green magic is not a reason to feel bad, plenty of monsters can’t use it and it’s more than just compatibility. Most skeletons can use blue magic though, some can use orange as well. Purple magic creates barriers and with it being your soul color I think you may be able to use it. Yellow magic is rare and I don’t know much about it but we can go back to it once I learn more, red is out of the monsters' reach as we don’t have enough DT to handle it.” He started counting out.

Nightmare tilted his head, “I also read about Karmic Retribution… Is this something you can learn?”

Blue shook his head, “It’s something only a Judge has but you would need to ask them why, I have no idea how it works.”

“Judge? Who is one?” Nightmare asked with a frown.

Blue beamed, “Well, despite being lazy Stretch is a Judge in our Underground. Sans, Red, Coffee probably as well. You can ask any of them.” He assured, patting Nightmare’s head, holding back a squeal when for a moment Nightmare leaned into the touch only to then blush and move back.

“I-I wanna try with blue magic first.” Nightmare stammered out with his face shining bright purple.

“Of course, please imagine the intent and focus on directing it towards my soul. Don’t worry about my HP, you won’t hurt me. Blue magic focuses on gravity pull. We are sitting right now so there won’t be much effect but as long as you manage to turn my soul blue it will be an improvement.” Blue said with an encouraging smile.

Nightmare nodded and got an intense look, focused on getting it right and Blue could feel the magic cracking in the air. Blue did his best to sit still to not interrupt Nightmare and not break his concentration. Neither cared as minutes trickled away on the clock.

The moment Blue’s soul pinged and changed color into a bit brighter blue, the skeleton feeling the gravity’s pull stronger. Nightmare cheered, a wide smile on his face, Blue clapping, “Good job Nightmare! You did great!” 

Nightmare blushed, hiding his smile. It was rare for anyone except Dream to praise him and he wasn’t used to it, but… it felt nice.

Blue grabbed Nightmare’s hands gently, “Now, remember that feeling and let’s try a few more times so that you can do it faster and faster each time, alright?”

Nightmare nodded and continued the exercise, accepting hints from Blue.

This was how they were found by everyone that came back for dinner time. Blue moved around by his soul by careful Nightmare. Not high, maybe an inch or two off the ground and on the sides but with the way Nightmare was beaming it was clearly a big achievement to him, and Blue was there to support him through the steps.

Dream was extremely happy that Nightmare seemed to be getting along with Blue, even despite their rocky start. He’s glad because Blue is a great person and he’s loyal to a fault. Dream knew that Blue would be there to support his little brother and he was seeing the proof of it now. He never expected Blue to be such a good teacher though. Nightmare would usually prefer learning alone, using books but of course there’s a limit to that.

You learn something new every day it seems.

Chapter Text

A few weeks filled with training later, Nightmare was again alone and feeling under the weather for some reason. Last time he felt like that it was Mare’s fault which is why he decided to sleep with the apple close to him, hoping it will make it easier for Mare to contact him.

Which it did as next thing he knew he was standing in a massive library that he never saw in his life with Mare sitting in one of the armchairs, “Hello, Nightmare. Come sit, I believe you have some ideas as to how to deal with the apple?” Mare said smoothly.

Nightmare nodded and quickly sat in the other armchair, looking around with wide eyes, “What is this place? Last time we met it was at the tree.”

Mare smiled smugly, “It’s Knowledge’s library. I snuck there sometime after I took control over you.” Seeing Nightmare confused over the name he continued, “Knowledge is a goddess just like Reaper. They are from the same world. If you talk with him, maybe you can go there without having to sneak in.”

Nightmare beamed, “I will do that, it may help me with that idea I have.”

Mare crossed his legs and rested his chin on his hand, his tentacles waving lazily behind him, “I’m quite eager to find out what that idea is.”

“Right now the apple is a concentration of all the apples I ate and you, because energy doesn’t disappear, so if I get better at magic and can control it better I may be able to separate you from the apple all together and you can be free… does that make sense?” Nightmare said enthusiastically only to wilt as he started doubting himself.

Mare hummed thoughtfully, “It should be possible. As you said, I’m part of the apple right now but I don’t have to be so if I could be separated… you need to train so that you connect better with the core of your magic that is negativity and I would really advise you to go and search Knowledge’s library for more information.” He said calmly.

Nightmare nodded with a small smile, “I am training my magic, Blue says I learn fast. I can now use blue magic and purple magic. I will start learning orange soon but yellow is not for me, just like green magic.”

Mare smiled slightly, “That’s indeed a big achievement in such a short time. Don’t overwork yourself though, if you do too much too quickly you will harm your progress.” 

Nightmare nodded, “I will and I know Blue won’t let me hurt myself.”

Mare smirked, “That’s a lot of faith you are putting in someone you don’t know that long. How so?”

“Dream trusts him…” Nightmare mumbled.

“He also trusted the villagers. So why is it different?” Mare mused, sighing when Nightmare curled in on himself, “I didn’t mean to imply that this trust is misplaced. I am just expressing my worry over you putting your guard down like that. Trusting people is all fine until you trust the wrong person and get stabbed in the back.”

Nightmare nodded, “I will keep that in mind…”

Mare got up and pet Nightmare’s skull gently, “Rest for now, we will be in touch.” He whispered, letting everything fade around the child to let him settle into sleep.

-------------

Nightmare woke up way later and felt fully rested. He didn’t even bother to check whether anyone was in the building as he went towards the meeting hall where he knew Dream would usually be at this time, opening the door and then freezing when he noticed a gathering of many skeletons looking at him. He shrunk on himself and desperately searched for Dream with his eyes, relieved noticing he was already heading for him.

“Hello, Nighty. Come in, it’s alright.” Dream called with a smile, accepting the small body that barreled into his knees. He picked Nightmare up and nuzzled his face, “Do you feel better?” He asked gently.

“Yeah… did I interrupt a meeting?” Nightmare mumbled shyly as he peeked at the others.

Dream smiled softly, “No, we were just chatting right now. You can join us if you want.”

Nightmare nodded and started looking over the new and old faces, waving at Horror who was sitting next to Farm, the big skeleton returning the gesture happily. As Dream carried Nightmare back to his chair to sit with the child on his lap, the little guardian noticed Reaper chatting with a blushing and huffing Geno.

Nightmare tugged on Dream’s collar to make his brother lean in, “I wanna talk to Reaper. Can I?” He asked quietly.

Dream nodded, “Of course. Do you want to go to him or for me to ask him to come here?”

Nightmare fiddled with his fingers, “I don’t want to disturb him…”

Dream petted his head gently, “I’m sure he won’t mind at all. Wait just a moment…” The guardian looked up, “Reaper! Can you come here for a moment?!” He called the god who was immediately floating over.

“What did you need me for, Dream?” Reaper asked with a calm smile, catching Nightmare’s gaze, frowning when the child hid his face in Dream’s chest.

The positive guardian pet Nightmare’s head, “Nighty wanted to talk with you but he seems a bit shy around so many monsters. He never was good with crowds.”

Reaper hummed, “If he’s alright to be alone with me we can step out for the talk. Even go to his room so he feels comfortable.”

Dream smiled and nudged Nightmare, “What would you like Nighty?”

“My room… please?” He mumbled quietly, looking first at Dream to then hold out his arms to Reaper who took him into his arms gently.

“Of course. Would you be alright with Geno joining us? He also doesn’t like crowds but came after I promised to be with him all the time.” Reaper said calmly.

The child nodded and wrapped his hand in Reaper’s robe, waiting patiently as the god fetched Geno and they left the room. He already could feel lighter when there weren’t so many eyes on him. He pointed Reaper in the direction of his room and once there he asked to be put down.

“What did you want to talk about, little godling?” Reaper asked as he tucked his legs under him, floating, Geno taking a seat at Nightmare’s desk.

“I found out about Knowledge… the goddess and that she has a library. You are from the same world and… I was wondering if it’s not too much trouble… you don’t have to if you don’t want to…” Nightmare started rambling, fidgeting with his hands only to freeze when Reaper put one of his hands on Nightmare’s small ones.

“Calm down. I still don’t know what you want with Knowledge but I’m sure it won’t be any trouble for me.” Reaper said calmly with a small smile.

Nightmare took a deep breath and held onto Reaper’s hand, looking at it to avoid the god’s gaze, “I wanted to see her library and read some books… I have something I want to do but I don’t know how to do that yet and I want to find out by myself but normal books won’t have anything about that and…”

Reaper chuckled, “It will be easy. I will ask her when you can come and I will message you. You should have my number in your phone but I don’t know yours yet so just send me a message so I know it.” He pet Nightmare’s head gently, glad that the kid wasn’t so jumpy anymore, compared to their first meeting, “For future reference, no one is going to bite you for asking for anything so no need to be so nervous.”

Nightmare smiled slightly, “And what if I do something you think is a bad idea?”

Geno snorted, reminding Nightmare he was there, “Seriously? You brought quite the friends in here. Is there a way for it to get worse?”

The guardian curled into himself, “I was always disappointing others so it wouldn’t surprise me.” He muttered, hugging his knees.

Reaper and Geno exchanged glances, the bleeding skeleton getting up and walking to the child’s side, “I didn’t mean it like that, Nightmare. You won’t disappoint us with your actions. I’m sure you are always doing what you think is best and we all respect that. Many adults lack this kind of strong resolve. It’s something to be proud of.”

Nightmare looked at Geno with sad eyes, “But I made mistakes in the past… big ones. What if this is like that?”

Reaper smiled calmly, “I’m sure with how you are thinking it over so intently right now you will not make any mistakes that will do much damage. You are a kid, you are allowed to make mistakes, it’s adults’ responsibility to clean up after that.” He assured, petting Nightmare’s skull.

The child smiled weakly and leaned forward to hug the god of death, Geno reaching to rub Nightmare’s back, “I just don’t want anyone to hate me.” Nightmare murmured, “I know you hated the corrupt me, otherwise you wouldn’t have tried to get rid of him and I don’t want to do something that will make you hate me now as well.”

Reaper looked at Geno lost for words, not sure how to reassure the child but it seemed the glitch also had no idea how to proceed.

They were saved from the blind fumbling for the right words by a knock on the door that soon opened to show Killer, the skeleton grinning up until he noticed Nightmare’s miserable face. His expression softened as he approached the child, Reaper backing off to not dust him, “What happened, kiddo? Is he bullying you?”

Nightmare shook his head and clung to Killer, sniffing as he tried to not start crying. Reaper cleared his throat, getting Killer’s attention, “He’s worried that we will hate him if he ever makes a serious enough mistake.”

Killer balked at the mere idea and forced Nightmare back from his chest so the child would look at his face, “Nightmare, no matter what shit you will pull off I and the others would never hate you. Dream, Dust, Cross, Horror… we will never hate you, no matter what happens, even if the whole Multiverse turns its back on you we will never leave you.” He said seriously. Nightmare listened to him with his eyes filling up slowly only for him to start bawling into Killer’s chest, the other rubbing his back slowly, giving him time to let the emotions out, waving at Reaper and Geno to leave the room.

Killer seriously hopes Nightmare will take his words to heart and will not let those insecurities eat at his soul. The kid really was carrying too much sometimes and should learn how to let others carry his burdens… he needs to get the others in on it too and think of some fun activity for the kid to relax and forget about the world for a while.

-------------

Reaper didn’t stall with asking Knowledge about giving Nightmare access to her vast library and the very next day the god was leading the godling into the grand building. Nightmare was looking around with starry eyes, practically vibrating with excitement in Reaper’s arms, “I take it you like it here?” He asked with a teasing grin, shaking his head fondly when Nightmare simply nodded in agreement.

He put Nightmare on his feet and kneeled in front of the child, “Now, remember to be respectful of the books as some are ancient and don’t try to sneak any out of here. If you don’t understand something, come to me so I can translate or explain.”

Nightmare nodded and started running around now that he wasn’t restrained by Reaper’s hold, looking over the rows of books, searching for any that may help him. Due to that he didn’t notice a short dinosaur monster and bumped into her.

“O-oh! Y-you a-a-are?” The monster stuttered out.

Nightmare started backing away with an anxious expression especially when he noticed a taller fish monster joining the first one, a fierce scowl on her face. Nightmare let out a quiet whimper and turned around, running away… or at least tried to when the tall fish caught him.

“Where do you think you are going?” She asked harshly.

“R-reaper!!!! H-help!!!” Nightmare screamed, tears streaming down his face as bad memories flooded his mind, his negative aura getting out of control and wafting off him in black waves.

The god floated there quickly, a scythe already in his hands, glowering at the monster holding Nightmare, “Let him go, War. I won’t repeat myself.” He growled.

War glared at him but indeed let go of the child who ran to Reaper and clung to him the moment he was picked up, crying quietly.

“I thought you were going out today, Knowledge. That’s why I decided to come today.” Reaper said calmly, rubbing Nightmare’s back in slow circles.

War and Knowledge were still getting over the fact that the kid didn’t dust after touching Death. “I… I forgot something and we came back for it… Is it?”

“This is Nightmare. I told you he wanted to look at the books…” Reaper said coldly and looked at Nightmare, “You still up to exploring, kiddo?”

Nightmare didn’t even back off from where his face was smashed into the god’s chest and just shook his head.

“Y-you can tell me what you need… I w-will lend you the books.” Knowledge said looking at Reaper.

“How about that, Nighty?” Reaper asked softly.

Nightmare sniffed and looked at Reaper, “I need stuff about ancient magic… old like mom.”

Reaper nodded with a smile and looked at Knowledge, “You heard, his mother is Nim so we are looking at pretty ancient magic. Prepare a few books, I will come for them after dropping Nightmare at Life’s garden.” He said with a glare and left.

Knowledge gasped and rushed to find the books, War frowning at the leaving god and the godling in his arms.

Reaper shortcut to Life’s garden and knowing that even if the goddess finds him alone here she won’t hurt him he puts the child down, “I am going to look for Life to tell her what happened, how about you look around and call me if you find her first?”

Nightmare sniffed and nodded, instantly feeling calmer surrounded by so much nature, “How does she look?”

Reaper hummed, “Did you meet any Toriels already?” He asked and couldn’t help but chuckle at the disgruntled expression, “Don’t worry. She’s nice and won’t do anything you don’t like. She may also help you with any questions about plants.”

Nightmare smiled slightly and nodded, heading in the opposite direction from Reaper. He wasn’t looking for long, finding a humming figure by a gentle stream. The goat monster wore a green dress adorned with many flowers. Nightmare felt a pang in his soul, missing his mother and hesitantly stepped forward getting the goddess’ attention, “And who may you be?” She asked in a soft tone, holding a furry paw out for Nightmare to take, the child hesitating a bit.

“I’m… Nightmare… Reaper brought me here, said we can separate to look for you, that you won’t hurt me.” He said quietly.

Life held Nightmare’s hand gently, kneeling to be at his eye level, her eyes full of nothing but kindness, “It’s lovely to meet you Nightmare.” She said, already vowing to protect the little godling to the best of her abilities.

Chapter Text

Reaper didn’t know if he should be delighted or worried over how quickly Nightmare endeared Toriel… Life to himself. She was a lovely monster and perfect in case they needed someone to babysit Nightmare, were his formidable friends not available, but she was also a scary goddess that would bring hell upon those that hurt those she cared about.

And it was clear in the way she held Nightmare so gently, showing him around her garden, answering his questions and chuckling at the starry eyed look on his face, that she decided to take his happiness very personally.

He decided to save his waning sanity and not dwell on it, instead heading back to Knowledge’s library to get whatever books she found on the topic Nightmare wanted. He was curious what Nightmare was thinking about doing with ancient magic but he knew he would learn faster if he lets the kid do what he wants. Nightmare’s too scared of them hating him to actually try something that will end badly… at least on purpose. In the library he found the goddess putting a few books on a table, making a hefty amount piled on it.

“I hope you have a longer deadline to give those back than a month. The kid reads fast but not that fast.” He said and chuckled when the lizard yelped, turning around to face him.

“D-death… you’re back… I got the books, those should give him a big scope of different kinds of ancient magic to find what he needs… Is… Is he alright?” She whispered, fidgeting with her hands.

Reaper nodded, “Yeah, Life is having a blast having a kid around. I will get those books to his room and then fetch him. No way am I letting him carry all of those anywhere.” He said with a smirk and used blue magic to pick all the books up, opening a portal with his other hand, “See you around and for future reference, don’t attack Nightmare again. Not only will you have his brother to worry about but also Life. Would be a shame if your library got burned down.” His empty eyes glared at the nervous goddess for a moment and then left.

He took special care to put the books on Nightmare’s desk without disturbing his plants, smiling at the puppets on it and leaving, heading back to Life’s garden where he overheard something interesting.

“Do you think it’s possible for a tree to grow again after being cut down?” Nightmare asked the goddess, weaving a flower crown with flowers that would pop up from the ground out of nowhere.

“What do you mean, my child?” Life asked with a gentle smile, subtly helping flowers grow for the child to gently pluck out of the ground for his crown.

“When I was exploring… somewhere I saw a tree stump with a little sapling growing out of it. Do you think it’s that tree trying to come back to life or is it a new plant whose seed somehow landed on the stump and sprouted?” He asked with a hopeful expression, the yearning tugging at Reaper’s and Life’s souls.

“I don’t know my child. Nature is strong and resilient and can surprise even me. I would need to see the sapling to be sure if you want me to.” She spoke gently.

Nightmare’s eyes filled with dread and anxiety and he quickly shook his head, “No, no need… at least not yet.” He mumbled and ducked his head, focusing on the flower crown that was suspiciously already too big for the child’s head.

Reaper decided this was the right moment to announce his presence and with a grin on his face floated out of the shadows, “I’m back, Nightmare! Did you miss me?” He teased, petting the kid’s skull.

Nightmare pouted with a pale purple blush on his cheeks, “I didn’t even notice you gone. Where are the books?” He mumbled.

Reaper chuckled, “You wound me kid, the books are in your room right now, there have been so many that I decided it would be easier to only make one trip with them.”

Nightmare nodded and tied the ends of the flower crown together to then get up and put it on Life’s head gently. The goddess smiled and cupped his cheek, “Thank you dear. Remember, you can visit me anytime you like, you are always welcome here. Now go on with Reaper and I hope you have a nice time reading.” She spoke with a soothing tone, Nightmare smiling slightly and murmuring a goodbye and he went to Reaper, taking the god’s hand and heading through a portal back to doodlesphere.

“You should eat something before you bury yourself in books, I think I will be in trouble if I don’t make sure of that.” Reaper teased as he led Nightmare to the kitchen and helped him sit at the table.

Nightmare rolled his eyes, “I’m not that hungry. I’m alright.” 

Reaper turned to face Nightmare and poked his cheek while putting a plate of sandwiches in front of him, “Even still you should eat. Working that intelligent brain of yours certainly takes up energy.” He said with a wink.

Nightmare grumbled and rubbed his cheek to then grab the sandwich and bite into it with no further arguments. Reaper grinned and sat at the table, chatting with the kid who shared with him what he got up to in Life’s garden and with his other projects.

He certainly appreciated not having to deal with the corrupted Nightmare anymore.

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Nightmare was perched on Horror’s shoulders as he looked around with wide, excited eyes. Killer proposed for them to visit the zoo and when Nightmare said he never been to one the skeleton took it as a mission to make this visit perfect. Dust and Cross were looking around warily in full bodyguard mode. Killer was the one to buy a feed for the animals and hand it over to Nightmare who was now feeding a giraffe. 

Dust was calmly observing the surroundings while Cross looked more anxious, probably not that happy with the crowd. Killer was nowhere to be seen at the moment but with Nightmare’s attention elsewhere the child didn’t even notice.

Which fits Killer just fine.

He was in a dark alley between two enclosures, one of a lion and another with some tigers. That will be some easy cleanup. He was now grinning darkly at some disgusting bastard that was eyeing Nightmare and a few other kids, “You really have no luck buddy, choosing today of all days to try and snatch some kiddos. Some genocidal brats I would understand but Nightmare…” He stalked closer to the cowering man, “You are lucky it’s me because Horror would make your arms into hotdogs and feed them to you. Dust would take great pleasure in spearing you on all those bones he can summon with just a flick of his wrist. Crossy would probably pummel you into the ground until you were barely breathing and then called Dream to finish the deal.”

“Leave me alone, you freak!” The man shouted only to gurgle as Killer cut his throat, going only deep enough to damage the vocal cords.

Killer grinned darkly, “Buddy, old pal… I’m going to chop you into pieces, those big cats are going to feast on your body and no one will find what remains.” He said with sadistic glee, “And no one will hear you now…”

The skeleton wanted to take his sweet time but he knew if he disappears for too long Nightmare will notice and get worried. He can’t have that, the kid deserves to relax after all.

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Nightmare waved when he noticed Killer heading towards them with several ice-cream cones carried with blue magic, one floating up to Nightmare, the child taking it with a smile, “We are going to see the hippos, are you coming with us?” Nightmare asked.

“Sure thing kiddo, lead the way.” Killer said with a grin.

As Horror with Nightmare and Cross headed forward, Dust and Killer trailed a bit behind, “Where were you? Getting ice-cream wouldn’t have taken you that long.” Dust asked quietly.

Killer grinned, “Just showing some bastard the tigers from very close, he needed the help to get over the fence.” 

Dust smirked, “How helpful of you. I bet he was very thankful.”

Killer laughed brightly, “Didn’t think to ask, but I’m sure the tigers were more thankful.” Dust sniggered at that and the two caught up to the others just as Nightmare finished reading the short bit of information there was about hippopotamus.

Killer was happy to see Nightmare behave like the carefree child he should always be. He knew Dream was trying his best but he still couldn’t stop Nightmare when he was busy so often. The fucker was supposed to be here with them but apparently something came up and he had to deal with it. Killer was worried Nightmare would be too disappointed by Dream being absent to enjoy it but Horror was great at redirecting the kid’s attention towards new animals.

“Nighty!” 

Speak of the devil. They turned to see the positive guardian running towards them, his tunic slightly singed as if he came straight after he was done with whatever emergency popped up. “Dream!” Nightmare smiled and waved from Horror’s shoulders.

It was always adorable to see how careful the little guy was with Horror, how his hands never went close to the crack in his skull. 

Dream smiled up at his little brother, “I see you are having fun, brother. I’m really sorry I couldn’t join you from the beginning but I did my best to finish quickly to join you.”

Killer threw his arm around Dream’s shoulders, “Well then, you are just in time. We are going to look at reptiles and all the other creepy crawlers right now.” He teased, cackling when Dream paled at the same time as Nightmare lit up.

“I wanna see the snakes! I heard they have those huge ones I read about in books.” Nightmare called, his eyelights shifting into stars.

Dust chuckled quietly. He loved when Killer stirred up shit, it amused him to no end and the skeleton always knew not to cross a line, it was always in good fun until someone he cared about was in danger, then he turned as sharp as the knives he carried on himself. Dream better picks up his ante or Killer will be poking his weak points until Nightmare is not ever frowning because of him.

The group moved, all of the adults doing everything in their might to help Nightmare enjoy the day.

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Nightmare practically finished his training with Blue and now only had to grow in strength but the way magic flowed through his core was good enough for the spell Nightmare found in one of the books he got from Knowledge’s library. 

It was one designed to separate a conscience trapped in an inanimate object. It was a bit similar to what Nightmare did when separating Cross and Chara but different because there was no way to give control over an apple to an actual conscience so he needed to revise it a little and to create a body for Mare he needed to use another spell.

He just hopes to not mess it up.

Step by step he prepared everything he needed from herbs to the rune circle made with chalk on the floor. The negative apple was laying in the middle of it while Nightmare sat in front of the circle, double checking everything was how it should be. He can’t afford to be making any mistakes right now. Nightmare checked the latin chant and the pronunciation one last time, worried what would happen if he would say anything wrong. It wasn't the first time in his life he needed to use actual words in a spell or ritual but... Usually it would just be all about the intent and silent focus not correct pronunciation. Nightmare was fluent in latin but in reading, not speaking and well aware how some sounds are different from usual English phonetics. 

Before starting the spell he checked the auras in the building to ensure he was alone and no one would interrupt him. Once he made sure no one was around he started the quiet chant, focusing on his goal, letting his magic tangle with the negativity of the apple, untangling the mess that it was, searching for Mare within it and once he found it he started on separating it, a black misty ball rising above it and slowly gaining in tangibility. 

Nightmare continued the chant even as his magic continued to drain, his eyes becoming fuzzy, his hands shaking. 

The moment a flash of light hit and a quiet splat resounded, signaling the spell was successful, Nightmare lost the fight for consciousness and sagged onto the floor not aware of a cyan eyelight looking at him with barely veiled worry.

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Nightmare woke up with a sense of alarm, jumping up only to slump onto the floor again when his body ached fiercely. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. After he regained his calm, or as much of it as he could get, he started cataloging the state of his body.

Nightmare could feel how low on magic he was and rightfully put it down as the reason for how much his body ached and how much his head was pounding. Slowly so as to not exacerbate his headache he turned his head to look at the apple. When he focused he could feel how Mare’s presence was missing from it, which meant that he was successful, but… where was Mare?

He opened his mouth, only a croak leaving his dry throat, followed by a heavy coughing fit. He was only low on magic, why was he feeling as if he was coming down with a bad cold?

“Don’t move too much, you are seriously depleted magically. You really should have loaded up on magic more before attempting that… maybe then the results may have been different, although I doubt it factored much.” A smooth voice rang next to Nightmare’s head, a voice he knew and for once was hearing without being asleep.

But why did it seem so quiet? Was he whispering because of Nightmare’s headache? And what did he mean about the results? Did he mess it up? He didn’t fail, Mare was here, so he couldn’t have failed… at least not completely. Tears started gathering in Nightmare’s eyes just as quickly as the anxiety had been gathering in his soul.

“Calm down, kid. It went well, don’t cry. If anyone comes to see you crying like that they will think I was bullying you and I am not looking for any enemies right now.” Mare spoke again, still out of Nightmare’s sight, “Everyone cares a lot about you. You should be a kid and relax more often, after this please leave everything to the adults. Now nap while I look for something you can eat quickly to bring your magic up.”

Nightmare didn’t even fight, letting his eyes fall closed, sure that Mare was honest and won’t try anything. He woke up an hour later, feeling a bit better, his headache gone even as his whole body still felt as limp as a wet noodle. 

He turned his head to find a few monster candies laying next to him. Slowly he took one and ate it, the sweet melting incredibly quickly as his body absorbed the magic hungrily. Energized he reached for the next and another and more until they all were eaten and Nightmare felt well enough to sit up.

Nightmare stretched with a pained groan leaving his teeth and brushed away the chalk that got onto his clothes, his eyes looking around the room in search of Mare, frowning when he couldn’t find his other personality… Can he even call him that? Mare was his own person, they shared a story and a body once upon a time but their experiences were different which made Mare a separate person altogether. 

Nightmare turned his head when he heard a soft cough, his mouth falling open in shock, a simple, “Oh…” Leaving him at the sight that was Mare right now. He doubts anyone will be scared of him now.

Introductions will be interesting for sure.

Chapter Text

“Uhm… I’m sorry?” Nightmare said weakly, curling on himself.

Mare huffed and patted Nightmare’s knee, the highest point he could reach currently, “Don’t apologize, if anything it’s the fault of those that forced me into the apple instead of simply out of you. I will learn to deal with it and I hope no one will try anything.” He said with a smooth voice.

Nightmare pouted, “I won’t let them, you are my friend… I think…” He finished sadly.

Mare smiled and climbed up Nightmare’s knee, “I wouldn’t call it friendship as I don’t do friends, but I certainly don’t dislike you.” He said awkwardly.

Nightmare smiled through the tears that started to gather in his eyes, “Thank you. I will make sure they don’t think about trying anything. After all, it’s not like you are planning on spreading negativity or anything like that.” 

“Indeed… How do you plan on introducing me to the others?” Mare asked with a frown, sitting on Nightmare’s leg.

The child hummed in thought, “It’s the weekend, often they have those calmer meetings then where they just talk and all. I can bring you there then and show you to them.” He proposed with an anxious expression.

Mare tapped his chin and nodded, “It would be the best option, I don’t fancy making several appearances in those meetings for the sake of the introduction. Also, make sure you have some of those guard dogs close by just in case anyone tries anything.”

Nightmare pouted, “They are not guard dogs, they are my friends.” He whined and then nodded, “But yes, they would probably be the first ones to stand in the way of anyone trying to take you away from me.” He admitted with a hesitant tone.

Mare patted his hand, “Don’t take all my words to heart, kiddo. My view on the world is jaded and sometimes it shines through but that doesn’t mean I’m always right.”

Nightmare smiled and picked Mare up to then move to his desk where he took a chocolate bar from the drawer and offered the small  skeleton a piece. They ate calmly with Nightmare sharing some information about his plants to fill in the silence, glad Mare didn’t see fit to point out he was a part of him then and knew all of that already.

The child froze when he felt many auras enter the house which meant the meeting would start soon. After a brief consideration he took out his phone and found the group chat with Killer, Dust, Cross and Horror. If he really wanted them to protect him and Mare they needed to know beforehand, instead of springing it on them out of the blue. He sent them a message asking if they could come to his room before the meeting and soon received several agreeing messages.

“You should hide behind me for now.” Nightmare said as he stood in front of his desk so that Mare could hide behind him even when he was on the desk.

Not much later the door opened and all four skeletons entered, smiling at Nightmare, “Hey kiddo, did you pull off some prank?” Killer asked with a grin, seeing the nervous expression on Nightmare’s face.

Nightmare let out a nervous chuckle, “Uhm… I don’t know. I need you to not panic and trust me on this…”

Cross nodded, “Of course, Nightmare. We would never doubt you.” He assured him with a soft smile.

Horror and Dust nodded, earning a smile from Nightmare, “Maybe sit first…” Once the four were seated on the floor Nightmare stepped aside to show Mare glaring at them in all his miniature glory. The silence was deafening for several anxiety inducing moments for Nightmare until Killer exploded in laughter, bending over his middle as tears of mirth fell down his face.

“Oh my, damn… Kid, I love you, no moment is boring with you!” Killer choked out once he got some control over himself. 

Dust was back on his feet and next to Nightmare, trying to take a closer look at the small sentient goopy looking monster, “Is this what you mean about separating the apples? I certainly didn’t expect you to go for that.”

Cross frowned worriedly from his spot, “Isn’t it dangerous?” He asked Nightmare, “He looks like a miniature version of that… uhm… you that got corrupted?”

Horror got up  and then kneeled in front of an anxious Nightmare, “Just explain it to us kiddo, we will do our best to help you.”

Nightmare nodded and hugged himself, looking at Horror pleadingly, “He’s Mare, he’s like a part of me but not. He was the corrupted me but he knows now what he did was wrong and he won’t try again and I just wanted to get him out of the apple because being stuck in it was probably not nice at all and he isn’t that bad and he promised he won’t hurt me but I’m scared others will try to take him away from me and hurt him and I don’t want that.” The child got it out in one breath, looking more worried with each word until Horror covered his mouth with his big hand.

“Breathe, Nightmare. It’s alright, we believe you and we are glad you decided to trust us with that. We will make sure no one takes him away from you… but you know if he tries to hurt you we may take him away from you then?” Horror warned him gently.

Nightmare nodded, “I understand, but he won’t. Right, Mare?” The child looked at the small monster on the desk who was slowly inching away from Dust who was glaring intently at him.

“Of course I won’t, the kid is a part of me and the only reason I’m not in an apple, trapped in a bag right now.” Mare snapped, his hackles rising.

Nightmare took him into his hands and looked at others, “I thought he should get introduced today but I wanted you to know first.” He whispered softly.

Cross nodded, “It’s a good idea, we will make sure no one tries to take… Mare from you.” He said calmly, perfect picture of confidence except the brief pause on Mare’s name. 

Nightmare nodded and took Horror’s hand, balancing Mare in his other one. Slowly the group reached the meeting hall, Nightmare in the back with Horror and Mare while Dust, Killer and Cross walked in the front, intent on protecting Nightmare from anyone who may get the wrong idea. They made quite the show upon entry, all the conversations hushing as more and more skeletons noticed the assembly.

Ink got up with a worried frown, “Is something the issue?” He asked warily.

Killer chuckled with a shit-eating grin, “It depends if you make it an issue. Nightmare made a new friend and if any of you makes it a problem we are going to take it personally.”

Dream huffed, “While I appreciate your protective attitude towards Nightmare I would like to meet that new friend before I make any promises. We didn’t react too badly when he came back with you guys.” He said with a shrug.

Dust snorted as Cross shuffled his feet nervously, “Considering some of you have a bit of bad blood with that friend we prefer to be safer than sorry.”  The hooded skeleton said with a smirk.

They stepped aside and let Nightmare closer to the table with Horror at his back, his red eye scanning everyone slowly as the child raised his hands and showed the small monster he carried. The silence stretched for an uncomfortable amount of time but this time Killer wasn’t there to diffuse the tension with laughter, too wary with everyone around to put his guard down.

Dream slowly got up and summoned his bow, “Put him down, Nighty and back away slowly.” He ordered with a panicked expression.

Nightmare clutched Mare closer and stepped back, clinging to Horror who picked him up and cradled him safely in his arms, “No! Mare is nice now! He won’t do anything bad again! Don’t hurt him!” He shouted.

Ink was opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of the water, Blue was looking torn between wanting to soothe Dream and rushing to Nightmare’s side to tear Mare away from him and everyone else was just too stunned to move. Red nudged Sans with his elbow and the two looked at stormy looking Dust, agreeing that they had to make at least some good impression. After an agreeing glance they got up, Sans going to Dream’s side while Red went to Nightmare.

“Alright, kid. Let’s have a nice, calm conversation about how in the carnation this even happened. All good?” He asked with a grin. 

Nightmare looked at him from Horror’s arms and nodded, “I don’t want you to take Mare away, he will be good, I promise.”

Red nodded “ Kid, ‘course we won’t take him away, he’s your friend so don’t worry about that. You didn’t hit Ink’s limit either.” 

Nightmare relaxed and didn’t oppose when Horror and the others moved to sit at the table, noticing that Sans after a few hushed words made Dream sit back down, the bow nowhere in sight.

“Alright, Nightmare. Let’s start from the beginning.” Sans said with a small, encouraging smile.

Nightmare fiddled with Horror’s sleeve as he spoke softly, “I was kinda called into my mind by Mare and he showed me how I corrupted and that now he was trapped in the apple because of whatever you did…” He whispered and flinched when Dream slammed his hands on the table.

“He did what?! How dare he show you that terrible memory?!” Dream raged with face lit up in an angry flush.

Horror glared at him, making Dream sit back down with a stormy expression, “Let Nightmare continue.” The big monster grumbled, petting Nightmare’s head gently to help him calm down, “Go on, kid.”

Nightmare nodded, “He said I needed to remember and after that he apologized and hugged me. He asked me to look into a way to get him out of the bag and I thought about getting him out of the apple altogether. So I started training and searching for ways… he told me about Knowledge’s library, that he snuck there once.” He stopped when Reaper snorted, continuing after the god waved at him to, “Today I did the spell… ritual? It took a lot so I fainted but Mare managed to get me some candy to recover and then I saw he finished up being… uhm…”

“A bitty!” Ink exclaimed excitedly, “There are some AUs where skeletons are small like that and they are called bitties.” He informed the others.

Nightmare nodded and put Mare on the table, “Mare knows what he did was wrong, he didn’t think about the balance but now he won’t try anything bad again, right?”

Mare nodded and looked at the stormy Dream, “I won’t try anything. I am not looking for enemies. Try being stuck in an apple, not nice.” His little tentacles swayed languidly. 

Dream sighed and looked at Nightmare seriously, “Nighty, you could have gotten hurt by him…” He tried only for Nightmare to pout.

“He wouldn’t! He’s a part of me! He promised to not hurt me!” He shouted, not noticing several skeletons around the table paling at the words.

“What if he tries taking control over you again?” Dream asked again.

Mare scoffed, “I won’t, his body won’t let me and I’m much too weak in this form. I’m not connected to the negativity of the Multiverse anymore so I can’t even feed on it.” He admitted bitterly.

Dream let out a sigh and looked at Nightmare who was meeting his gaze with a stubborn pout, “I am not happy you did it without informing anyone… but I won’t take Mare away from you or hurt him.” He said calmly.

Nightmare smiled and pet Mare’s head, the other melting into it for a second, only to tense and move away from it, happy that it seemed no one noticed it… almost no one.

“Are we just going to ignore the ‘he’s part of me’ part?” Wine asked with a worried glance at Nightmare.

Mare sighed, “We are so much connected that if I die he won’t but if he dies I will. I can also always tell where he is and in what state as how sick he is and if his magic is low or if he’s in strong distress.” He said simply, trying to ignore the fear in Nightmare at the dying part.

“You are not going to kill him!” Nightmare yelled and grabbed Mare from the table as if he wanted to shield him with his own body.

Horror pet Nightmare’s head and hushed him, “Don’t worry, Nightmare. No one will kill him, because he’s important to you.”

Nightmare smiled and then looked at Dream with an anxious frown. The positive guardian sighed and smiled weakly, “You really love giving me surprises, don’t you, little brother?” He asked with amusement. 

Nightmare blushed and nodded, putting Mare back on the table, “We need to make the house easier for Mare to walk around, I don’t like to be carried everywhere and I’m sure he won’t like it either.” He said adamantly.

They spend the rest of the meeting thinking up ways to make the house more accessible for the bitty skeleton, Nightmare dozing off in Horror’s lap after all the stresses of the day.

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Nightmare was in his bathroom, taking a shower, leaving Mare alone with the residents of the Doodlesphere as, thankfully, everyone else has left already. The bitty was sitting on the desk in Nightmare’s room where the child made a nest for him to sleep in from a pillow and a blanket. He was trying his best to ignore the persistent glares from the skeletons Nightmare called friends.

Horror, the one he saw as the most reasonable and calm, already left for the Farmtale which meant Mare was at grace of the crazy bastards under names Cross, Killer and Dust.

“Do you have bones under this gunk?” Killer suddenly asked, earning himself a glare from Mare and Cross who was probably of mind that Mare was not to be messed with.

“Do you have any brain left in your skull?” Mare snapped back only to flinch when Killer tried to poke him with his finger, “What are you doing?!” He hissed, his little tentacles waving agitated.

Killer snorted, “You didn’t answer my question so I decided to check it myself. How does it feel to be this small? Probably embarrassing after being the biggest menace to the Multiverse for who knows how long.” He pressed with obvious amusement.

Mare bristled, his pride hurt. Dust scoffed from his seat on Nightmare’s bed, “Don’t push his buttons Killer. He may stab you… though it will take him a week to drag a knife from the kitchen up to your room.” He said emotionlessly, sending Killer into a stream of boisterous laughter, Mare shaking in his spot on the desk, a small blush on his face.

“Stop it, both of you. It’s mean to pick on someone weaker than you… Nightmare went through it, do you think he would want you to do it to Mare?” Cross said with a stony expression.

That shut Killer right up, his empty eye sockets looking at Mare, “He would say if we go too far, he’s an adult, just like we are. It’s just a joke, we are not going to hurt him or make him splat on the wall.” He said with a subdued tone.

Mare scoffed, “I don’t need to be coddled, I can handle a few idiots thinking they are smart.” He remarked with crossed arms, earning himself a grin from Killer, the skeleton taking on the challenge of making Mare lose his cool, one way or another.

It was all innocent fun after all.

Chapter Text

Farm helped Horror with the chickens, preparing the coop for an nearing cold weather while the other was feeding the girls, one resting in his free hand with content clucking leaving her. Crop would probably be screaming at him now, how it was a perfect moment to confess his feelings but he was terrified of it hurting Horror. 

The big guy was a softie and a caring monster, loyal to Nightmare. What if he accepts Farm’s confession only to not hurt him… or worse, to ensure he and his brother can still live here?! 

“Farm?” Horror’s rumbly voice tore him out of his thoughts. He looked at the other with inquiring noise, Horror frowning worriedly, “You were standing here doing nothing for a while, are you alright?”

Farm put down the tools he was using and sighed, rubbing his neck sheepishly, “Can I ask you something? And promise me you will answer honestly?” 

Horror put the chicken down and tied up the bag of feed, his full attention now on Farm, “Yeah, I promise. I don’t want to lie to you, no matter what.” He said with a nod.

Farm took a deep breath, deciding to check the grounds first, “If I were to ask you about something, and you didn’t agree… or if I asked you to do something and you didn’t want to do it.” He looked at Horror with an anxious frown, “Would you agree with me or do it just to appease me?”

Horror frowned, his hand freezing half-way to his dead eye socket, “I… I would not… I like living here, with you… and Crooks happy here… but if you started being demanding or unreasonable I would move to Doddle Sphere where Nightmare is or somewhere else…” He said slowly, weighing his words carefully. 

Farm let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. It was his biggest worry and to know it was unfounded was freeing. He looked at Horror who looked mildly confused, a blush now rising on his cheeks as that niggling voice of his brother returned, screaming at him to confess, “I… I have something else to say.” He said quietly.

Horror nodded for him to continue and waited as Farm gathered the last dredges of bravery he had in his soul, “I like you… I am in love with you…” He rushed out, ducking his head to not see what expression Horror had on his face, waiting with bated breath for the verdict.

“I…” Horror sounded unsure, freezing Farm, “I… I don’t…” Farm could feel dread fill him,his soul squeezing painfully, “I don’t know… I need to think about it.” It wasn’t much but it still made hope sprout in Farm.

The shorter looked at Horror who sported a faint blush and an unsure look. Farm smiled and nodded, “Sure thing, big guy. I will wait however long you need to think this over.” He picked up a bit of stuffing for the coop and a tool, “I will finish up here, so how about you go ahead and check if the other two need help on the field?”

Horror nodded and after a weak smile left him alone with chickens that were clearly unhappy about their favorite skeleton leaving. He really hopes he didn’t just make things awkward for them.

-------------------

After a few hours of confused fumbling around Horror found Crooks tending to the vegetable patch in the garden, Crop nowhere in sight… which fit him just fine. Whenever Horror’s thoughts became too muddled for him to understand them himself, Crooks… Papyrus, his little brother, was always there for him, offering support and a unique insight into the situation that puzzled the older of the two. 

“Crooks!” Horror called, not wanting to scare his brother. Once Crooks noticed him and waved at him he smiled and came closer, “Hey, bro… How you doin’?” He asked, looking at the potato plant his brother was tending to.

“I’m good, just checking if there are any potato beetles on the plants.” Crooks said and got up slowly, “How can I help you, brother?” He asked with a cheery smile. Horror really was glad they were well on their way to repairing Crooks' teeth and that they didn’t hurt him anymore.

“Can… Can we talk?” He asked, suddenly feeling apprehensive. Talking about the moral ambiguity of living in a famine riddled Underground was different from talking about his feelings with his brother. 

Crooks softened his expression and motioned for Horror to follow him under one of the trees, ladened with unripe fruit, “Of course, brother. I will gladly help you.” Once they settled down he wrapped an arm around Horror’s shoulders, “What troubles you brother?” He asked gently.

Horror took a shaky breath, “I… Do you think someone can really love me?” He whispered, hiding his face in the flannel shirt his brother favored now on the surface. His breath hitched as his anxiety mounted.

Crooks hugged Horror tighter. He knew Horror… Sans was still plagued by guilt after what he had to do to help them both survive the Underground. He was still thinking lowly of himself due to his affected appearance. Even though Crooks already accepted his accelerated growth and was happy with how he was progressing… he was the great Papyrus after all, perfect no matter how he looked, Horror was still struggling even more than before everything went to hell. 

“Brother, you are an amazing monster. I love you, Sans and I know there are other people that love you in their own ways.” He looked at Horror’s anxious expression, “Nightmare even before he got to know you personally he knew you were a gentle, trusted soul that he didn’t have to fear anything from. He loves you as his dear friend. Dream trusts you with Nightmare, seeing just how amazing you are. Others that Nightmare helped also care about you dearly.” He smiled softly, “And I know there is someone out there that will see the real you and love you romantically.”

Horror let out a strained sound and clung to Crooks, “Farm confessed to me…” He whispered.

Crooks beamed at him and jumped up from the ground, hugging Horror tightly and raising him high as he spun in circles, “Oh, brother. It’s amazing! Congratulations!” He called with an excited voice.

Horror let Crooks work out that emotional high, limp in his hold as it was simply easier, and waited for the ground to return under his feet. Once Crooks put him down and straightened his clothes again the younger noticed Horror didn’t look that happy, “Is there an issue, brother?”

“How do I know he won’t change his mind? How do I know I feel the same? What if he wants to move too fast in a relationship for me to find out those answers?” Horror tangled his hand in his pockets to avoid touching his eye socket, “I told him I need to think about it, what if he doesn’t want to wait however long for me to think about my feelings and just moves on when I realize what I feel?”

Crooks put his gloved hands on Horror’s shoulders, hoping the touch would calm him and ground him, “Brother, if he indeed tries to push for anything or doesn’t wait for your answer before moving on then he simply doesn’t deserve the amazingness that you are.” He said reassuringly. 

Horror looked at Crooks with a soft smile framed by the vulnerable look in his lone eye, “Thanks bro. You are so cool.”

Crooks smiled, “Nyehehehe, of course I am. You are so welcome my brother, you can always come to me for help or to just have me listen.” He hugged Horror, smiling when he felt his brother’s arms wrap around him, “I will always be by your side, no matter what happens.” He assured him, picking his brother up to situate him in the shadow of a tree, “Now, I usually am against lazing around but I think you deserve a break after such hard work.”

Horror chuckled, “Heh, thanks Pap. I did work myself… to the bone.” He finished with a laugh, watching as Crooks huffed and left him to his nap. 

He can think about it after he rests, the anxiety he went through caused a headache to pound somewhere behind his eye and if he doesn’t want to suffer he needs to sleep for a while.

----------------

“Did you wait long, Error?” Ink called, carrying a tray with drinks and snacks into the small living room where he left the destroyer.

Error took a cup of hot chocolate from the tray with a scoff, “Let’s just get to it.” He said calmly, continuing once Ink sat down, “After many experiments with the code of Dusttale I managed to find the sequence of the code that allows for the RESETS and figured out how to change it to get rid of them even without the need to get rid of the human.” He smirked, satisfied with the effects of his work. His experiments required him to kill the human after each change to the code, and he took much pleasure from that.

“Really?! Is it possible to recreate it with the code of Undertale?” Ink asked with stars in his eyes.

Error sipped on his drink and dunked a cookie in it, “I am still checking it, the situation is a bit different since they are one the surface. I need no one visiting Undertale and Sans to not leave at all. The code needs to be stable and without interruptions.” 

Ink hummed, making a note on his scarf as Error at the soaked cookie, “How long would that be? I don’t want to cut Sans off from the support net that we built in the Multiverse.” He asked with a worried frown.

Error drained his cut, his multiple tongues sneaking out to catch all the stray drops of chocolate, “I will contact you after a week if it is going to take me much longer. If I actually manage it faster then I will come to tell you.” He said calmly.

Ink nodded, “I will tell Sans… Will you start tomorrow?” 

“Nah…” Error shook his head, “I need a break and to clean up a few glitching worlds. I will start in three days.” He said with a shrug and took a few cookies, “How’s Nightmare?”

Ink chuckled, “Oh, you probably don’t know yet. The corrupted Nightmare, now called Mare, returned…”

Error coughed and looked at Ink panicked, “What?!” 

“No, don’t worry.” He poised his hands in a soothing position, “He’s harmless and he’s a bitty.” He called with a grin.

The destroyer blinked, putting his empty cup down, “A bitty? How did that happen?”

“Nightmare, how else?” Ink chuckled, “He used some magic to get Mare out of the apple of negativity and somehow he ended up being small.” He grinned, “If not for the fact he and Nightmare are out and about somewhere with Killer, Cross, Horror and Dust I would call for them to show him to you.” 

Error shook his head amused, “That kid just keeps the surprises coming. I will pop by later to check on him.” He got up and stretched out, “See you soon then. Don’t forget to inform everyone about it.” He waved a hand as he walked through a glitchy portal back to his antivoid.

Not a day went by with him being bored with that kid around.

------------

Nightmare was swinging on a playground swing in one of the surface worlds, Mare sitting on his shoulder and holding on for dear life as the air rushed over them. The child was laughing happily, the sound reaching the others that were sitting close by on some benches. It settled down Horror’s own worries, just as much as Nightmare feeding on his fears and confused thoughts did.

Killer was carving something in a piece of wood while Dust was reading a book, only Cross was looking around warily as if someone was about to jump out of a shrub to snatch Nightmare or any of the other kids that ran around shrieking, away. Maybe it was just how he was, nothing else to do with deeply ingrained habits than to accept them. 

But the soldier should relax as well, so Horror nudged him with his elbow, “The others can handle it. Let’s go and get some drinks.” He said quietly. Cross nodded and got up with Horror, heading off with a last worried glance towards Nightmare who now moved to the sandbox, chattering a mile a minute to Mare as he dug in the sand.

The little guardian looked up when he heard an even smaller child cry. From what it looked as the little bunny monster girl tripped and was now crying, despite not even being hurt… maybe it scared her. He looked around and noticed no one was heading towards the child, all the adults focused on something else. Mare patted his cheek, “Don’t, Nightmare. It doesn’t concern you.” The bitty whispered.

“But… I don’t want to ignore someone who cries.” He muttered and got up, walking the short distance towards the bunny, kneeling in front of her, “Hi… uhm… It’s alright, don’t cry.” He tried to calm her down, soaking away the fear he could feel from her.

The child looked at him with wide eyes, sniffing. They looked calmer but not at all soothed. Nightmare thought for a moment and looked anxiously around before he joined his hands and spread them out, creating lights with magic. The child now looked amazed at the light show, a small smile visible on their face now, small hands clapping.

As if summoned by the sound more and more children started gathering around them, looking at the magic with curious eyes. One kid tugged on Nightmare’s sleeve, “More lights?” He asked with a small pleading pout.

Nightmare bit his thumb, thinking about it for a moment, Mare quiet and hidden in the hood of his black and purple hoodie. He got up and moved to the currently empty sandbox, the kids following him dutifully, “Don’t come into the sandbox, so that no magic will accidentally hurt you.” He warned the kids and once he noticed they all seemed warned off he summoned more lights, starting with something harmless. 

The kids clapped and Nightmare couldn’t help but blush at that. Before only Dream would see his magic and show any positive reaction to it. Now Dream’s friends and his own would praise him, but they knew him and while flattering he couldn’t help but think they were just nice… to have some random kids look happy at a simple magic trick was flattering, even if some would argue that kids are easily impressed.

Putting a bit more focus into the magic he made the lights form into shapes as they fles around, starting with butterflies and birds to then form one big shimmering dragon that exploded into a bunch of sparks that faded in a moment. 

Feeling the dissatisfaction from the kids at it being over he repeated his warning to keep distance and summoned a small flame, making it fly around in circles and then different random patterns, the kids following it with starstruck gazes. He couldn’t help but notice them shifting subconsciously closer to it and not willing to risk it he dissipated the flame and started gathering the water from the air, the kids confused to what he was planning.

Once he decided he gathered enough he shot it in the air, cooling it rapidly at the same time, the kids clapping and cheering when they realized he made it snow in the middle of summer. It wasn’t for long and didn’t last but it still was enough to satisfy the kids. Mare patted Nightmare’s cheek, “Good job, kiddo.” The bitty whispered, Nightmare blushing at the compliment.

“Nightmare, you having fun, kid?” The guardian turned to see Killer standing there, looking warily at the circle of kids surrounding the skeleton, not sure if it was what he feared it was.

Nightmare nodded and easily walked to Killer’s side, taking his hand, “I was showing them some magic… I didn’t do anything wrong, right?” He asked anxiously.

Killer smiled and pet Nightmare’s skull, “Nah, I’m glad you were having fun showing off. You didn’t do anything wrong. Horror and Cross got us some drinks and snacks, you up to eating?” He asked happily.

“Yes, please.” He started tugging Killer to the bench he knew the others were at and waved to the other kids, the gathering scattering now that there was nothing more gripping their attention in one place, their normal games returning.

Killer thought it was a good introduction of Nightmare into interactions with kids his age.

Chapter Text

Nightmare left Mare and the others in the Doodle Sphere and ventured alone into Mafiatale as he decided to get everyone gifts. He had some money in his inventory and was dressed in appropriate clothing for the time period, walking around with a smile, happy to be independent. He knew he could handle most things and if he had issues he could call Mafia on his phone and Mare would know if anything happened to him.

In his carefree attitude he didn’t notice someone colorful observing him from a distance.

Nightmare just left a store after buying a little ornate table and chairs that would probably be used in some vintage dollhouse set but were perfect size for Mare. He planned to put it on their table so he was eating on the same level as they did. He wanted to get a bed as well but it was really stiff and Mare seemed to like the blanket and pillow nest he got. In another store he got a set of small china and cutlery made from silver. It cost a lot but it was worth it to make Mare feel welcome. 

He got for Horror a big pot and a set of nice ornate cooking knives. Dust would receive an ancient looking book on poisonous plants. He got Cross a modern armor set in another AU and for Killer he found a massive cat plushie, since he noticed Killer eyeing his dolls and hoped the skeleton would like something to cuddle with. He got Error all the yarn in all of the weird colors he could find.

He didn’t know what to get for Blue except some sweets and for Dream he was still looking… until someone grabbed his arm. The child looked up to find Toriel glaring down at him, “What are you doing here, child? Did you sneak away again? They clearly don’t punish you properly at home. I need to rectify that before you get yourself killed.” He said with an angry tone, dragging him down the street in the direction of her home. 

She was ignoring Nightmare’s protests and tries at freeing himself, didn’t even hesitate when Nightmare started screaming, noticing that her reputation resulted in most people ignoring the situation, probably thinking the child was just putting up a tantrum. 

Once at home she closed the door behind them and sat on the sofa, tugging the child over her lap, keeping him in place, her paw posed over his backside, “You will learn respect and discipline.” She said with a firm tone and brought her hand down on his backside, spanking him, the child crying already, his magic going haywire with flashbacks.

He was being hurt again, he was scared… he did nothing wrong and she was hurting him! She was just like the villagers, hitting him for nothing.

Nightmare was hurt several more times when another thunk was heard, Toriel’s hold on his slacking, letting him run away into the corner of the room. He looked towards the scary monster to find the most bizzare skeleton standing by her with a metal bat in his hand. He wore sunglasses with words flashing on them, a cap, a colorful blazer and shorts with sneakers that flashed with each step. He let out a weird aura that made it feel like his emotions were and weren’t there… a bit like Ink but different.

“Well, that was unrad of her.” The skeleton said to then look at Nightmare and smile, “Hey, broski. It’s all good, I’m not going to hurt you… should I help you back to Ink brah? Ah, I’m Fresh by the way.” The skeleton started rambling with a smile, slowly moving towards the still crying Nightmare.

“I… I want Dream.” He whimpered, hugging himself, still shaken after being hurt like that.

Fresh nodded, “Sure, I will get ya to him. Come here, broski.” He opened his arms and waited for Nightmare to abandon his corner. Slowly the child moved towards the skeleton and let himself be picked up, sobbing again when Fresh’s hold pressed against the tender area of his backside and upper thighs. Noticing it the skeleton adjusted his hold and opened a portal, heading through, straight into the house in Doodle Sphere and towards the meeting hall where many were gathered.

He opened the door with a slam, not bothered with subtlety, “Dream brah, ya here?” Fresh called, smiling when he saw the guardian rising from his seat, “Got a special delivery.” He said, showing a still sobbing Nightmare who was making grabby hands at the guardian.

Dream rushed over and took Nightmare into his arms, feeling heat emanating from his hurt area, “What happened?” He asked, concerned.

Nightmare hid his face in Dream’s neck, “She hit me! I didn’t do anything bad and she hit me! I promise I wasn’t bad, I’m sorry!” He screamed heartbroken.

Dream froze, his magic lashing out aggressively with protective instincts in overdrive. He looked at Fresh for further explanation, “I was sneaking around in Mafiatale, had to stick to the shadows. I saw him walk around shopping when suddenly Toriel grabbed him. I tried to follow quickly but had to remain unseen. When I entered she was spanking him so I whacked her in the head for the unrad behavior. Then I got the little broski here.” He said with a serious expression for once.

The positive guardian seethed but put a seal on his anger for now, focusing on Nightmare, “Nighty, you did nothing wrong, she was wrong for hurting you and I will make sure she doesn’t do it again. Now, how about I help you with a bath and use some healing magic to make the pain go away?” He asked with a soft tone, rubbing Nightmare’s back. The child nodded mutely and the two brothers left the room.

Ink sighed and looked at Fresh, “Thank you for intervening, Fresh.” He said with a tired tone.

Fresh nodded, rocking on his feet with his bat swung over his shoulder, “Course I did, brah. No little guy deserves to be treated this way… no offense.” He grinned at Mafia who shook his head.

“I am not going to protect Toriel. I can’t believe she would hit a child for any reason, I raised Pap and I never spanked him.” He said tiredly, rubbing his face.

Killer got up with Cross and Dust following, glad Horror wasn’t here today since it would hurt the bleeding heart to see Nightmare in this state. They walked into Nightmare’s room where they found Mare pacing on the desk, “What happened? Dream just rushed with Nightmare into the bathroom, didn’t tell me what’s going on.”

Killer sat on the bed, clutching his head, trying to calm the hate bubbling in him. Dust sat at the desk as Cross stood guard over the door, “He was hurt by someone from a different AU. Dream will probably be best to handle that, I don’t know if I would be able to hold back from killing her.” Dust murmured, magic smoking from his eye.

Mare growled, his goop bubbling, “How dare anyone touch him!” He yelled. If not for his short stature he would be there reigning terror on the person that thought it wise to hurt the child. 

Not long after Dream came out of the bathroom with Nightmare in his arms. The guardian put the child in bed and tucked him in, “I will go and deal with this situation, can I trust you all to guard Nighty?” He asked quietly, smiling sadly at Nightmare who sniffed, curling under the covers.

“Of course, Dream. Don’t worry about him.” Cross said with a small smile.

Killer reached out and rubbed Nightmare’s back over the covers, looking at Dream with a furious expression, liquid hate flowing down his face, “Bring hell on her.” He hissed.

Dream nodded with a thunderous expression and left the room. 

Killer laid on the bed next to Nightmare and accepted the small body that shuffled to his chest, hugging him tightly, “It’s alright kiddo, you can cry. What she did was bad and you didn’t deserve it.” He whispered and let Dust lay on the bed on Nightmare’s other side. Mare jumped from the desk and climbed the bed, sitting by Nightmare’s skull and patting it softly while Cross sat at the feet of the bed, glaring at the door, daring anyone to enter without permission.

Nightmare sobbed, clutching at Killer’s sweater, “I wasn’t doing anything and she just hurt me! Why?!” 

Mare patted his skull, “That woman has her opinions on how a child should behave and decided to violently enforce them on you. She had no right to do it and Dream is going to make it known to her.” He said softly.

Killer nodded, “And if she even thinks about getting close to you ever again we are going to show her just why this is a bad idea.” He said with a dark tone.

Nightmare peeked out of the covers and noticed the vicious circle of Killer’s soul, swirling and emanating a strong negative aura. The guardian took a hold of the soul, startling Killer who couldn’t help but smile when Nightmare nuzzled the soul and started absorbing the negativity.

“Thanks kiddo.” He murmured when his soul returned to its spot, nuzzling Nightmare’s cheek gently, “Take a nap, when you wake up we will get you some ice-cream.” He whispered, tugging the covers more over the child who nodded and closed his eyes, dozing off.

--------------

Dream stormed to Toriel’s house, barging through the door to find the goat monster in company of Mafiatale Undyne and Alphys, while she nursed a bump on her head, “I’m sorry whomever you are but Toriel is not taking visitors right now.” Undyne said with a suspicious frown.

Dream smiled darkly, “Good, because I’m not here for a friendly visit.” He hissed.

Toriel huffed, “Did your brother tell you how he behaved? I hope you disciplined him properly.”

Dream’s aura exploded around him in a furious blood orange color, “How dare you act so self-righteous?! You hurt my brother who had full right to be here and did nothing wrong! It’s not your task to raise him nor discipline him!” He yelled, “How dare you raise your hand over my baby brother! You should be happy someone stopped you, because if he was hurt any further than he was you would already be dust, balance and lack of resets notwithstanding.” He summoned his staff and smashed it into the coffee table, the furniture ending up a pile of splinters, “If you even get within sight of my brother you are dead, and it won’t be a quick death either no matter who brings it upon you.” 

Alphys and Undine observed the situation with mixed emotions, shocked that Toriel hurt a child in any way. 

Dream sneered at the goat that looked at him in fear, “Do not think just because of who you are you will get any sort of privilege. You are to never step out of your world, even if it were to fall apart. The next time I see you will be your last.” With that he left the house before his rage took the better of him, no matter how much she deserved death for her deeds.

When he walked back to Doodle Sphere he had to pause before he bumped into Error who just left his portal, “What has got your feathers so ruffled, Sunshine?” He asked with a smirk.

Not in the mood for jokes Dream simply told the destroyer what happened, a little surprised at just how much rage rose in him at the story, “If she ever tries that again you may be forced to evacuate everyone from Mafiatale.” He hissed with his voice glitching violently. 

Dream scowled, “Get in line, if she even gets close to him I’m dusting her.” He said with an unusual blood-thirst.

Error nodded, “I guess then it’s a bad time to see the kiddo. I will pop by tomorrow instead. Tell Ink from the day after tomorrow I will start working on the RESET issue.” He said and with hands in his pockets, trying to hide just how tightly they were clenched, he walked back into Antivoid. In there he flopped onto his beanbag and looked at the ‘ceiling’ covered in strings and the souls he captured. To think that kid would just not get a break as if some stronger will was against him… damn it all.

He picked up his box with knitting and sewing materials and went to work on another doll for the kid, deciding to go with Life, as he heard Nightmare became acquainted with her and gained her favor… it would also help reminding him not all Toriels were stuck-up bastards.

Error decided to start with the meticulous task of crafting the flowers that were part of Life’s outfit, wanting the doll to be as detailed as possible. Nothing short of perfection can leave his hands, especially not when it was to be a gift… he usually didn’t give away his dolls but somehow he felt like Nightmare deserved it and all else he could give him.

He shook his head, trying to get rid of the confusing thoughts and focus on his handiwork.

--------------

Nightmare woke with a scream followed by a sob, curling under the covers as if he was expecting blows to follow his return to consciousness. He started struggling when he felt hands reaching to hold him, many hands. He was crying and screaming, begging for mercy from what hid in the darkness.

The little guardian was forced to close his eyes when light flooded the room and after blinking to get rid of the shock he noticed the faces of monsters he gotten to know closely and treated like friends… who he knew would never hurt him… and yet Killer was sprouting a bruise when Nightmare’s small fist connected with his eye and Dust had a miniature crack in his nasal aperture. He sniffed and started crying again, hating that he hurt his friends, even if it was an accident, sure that they would hate him now for how he was acting like a little baby, having bad dreams and scared of the dark, “I’m sorry! Please don’t hate me! I’m sorry!” He wailed, curled on himself, purple tears flowing like a river from his eyes.

Killer just gathered the little miserable ball of bones and rocked him slowly, whispering to Dust to get a warm wet towel and for Cross to get some tea, sending Mare to fetch Dream if he was back from his trip to Mafiatale. The moment he delegated tasks Killer turned to Nightmare and kissed his skull, “Kiddo, we would never hate you, you have nothing to apologize for.” He said with a reassuring tone.

Nighty looked at him with his face blotchy from crying, “B-but… I h-hurt you…” He said between the sniffs and hiccups. 

“You were scared and just woke up from a scary dream, besides it doesn’t hurt that much… Wanna know a secret?” When Nightmare nodded slowly he smiled, “When I woke up from one of my scary dreams I accidentally summoned a blaster and shot a hole through my roof. I had to deal with the snow falling through for a good while afterwards.” 

Nightmare smiled weakly at the story, “You don’t think I act like a baby?”

Killer balked at that, “You are a child and honestly, should act like one more. You don’t have to be an adult right now, act like a child, throw tantrums, yell when you don’t get what you want, cry after a bad dream and for Void’s sake, depend on us more.” He said with a desperate edge, “You are a child and deserve to have a childhood. We all know you like your independence and that you are mature but there are times when you can act like a child and this is one of those.” He leaned his forehead on Nightmare’s, “Besides, even adults get bad dreams, you're not being a baby having one after such a scary experience.”

Nightmare couldn’t argue when Dust returned with a towel that Killer used to gently clean the kid’s face from tears and snot. Shortly afterwards Cross came with a cup of chamomile tea, sweetened with honey that soothed Nightmare’s still nervously beating soul. He thought it was stupid, he couldn’t even remember what the dream was about and he was still acting like that, but… maybe Killer was right?

Maybe he should try to act more his age and let others take care of him. He sipped on the tea and cuddled closer to Killer who was cradling him close, warm just like the aura his mother’s branches gave off when he hid among them, making him feel safe. He looked at Dust who was scratching at some dried, crusty magic at his nasal aperture, the crack healed when he probably used some healing gel before, “I’m sorry.” He whispered, because even if Killer said he didn’t have to, he felt like he did.

Dust smiled and petted his skull, “Nothing to apologize for, kiddo. We kinda deserved it, trying to grab you in the dark when you just woke up from a scary dream.” They all did their best to avoid calling it a nightmare, since they didn’t want Nightmare to have bad connections to his name. 

Nightmare nodded and continued to drink his tea, slowly calming down. By the time he emptied his cup Dream came into the room with Mare on his shoulder, “Nighty, are you alright?” He asked with clear worry on his face.

Nightmare nodded, even if he didn’t really feel ‘alright’ yet and looked at Killer who quirked his brow at him, feeling the bluff. It made the child frown and look at Dream weakly. Act more like a child… he will try, “C-can you sleep with me tonight?” He asked softly.

Dream smiled and nodded, “Of course little brother, anything for you.”

It was baby steps, but still steps forward in the right direction.

Chapter Text

Sans and Red were sitting in the kitchen, casting glances at subdued Nightmare who was poking his eggs weakly, “Why does Dream have to work today?” He pouted, looking at Killer who smiled weakly.

“He said something about Ink needing help. But Error is visiting today, aren’t you glad about it?” He asked, trying to shift his focus.

Nightmare nodded and took some of his cherry tomatoes from the plate, handing them to Mare, “I wanted to make friendship bracelets that I saw on TV and I wanted his help.” He whispered, “What do you have planned?” He asked the others.

Cross smiled, “I don’t have anything planned, I can help you and Error with the bracelets… or just read close to you since I’m not the best with strings and that kind of handiwork.” 

Killer tilted his head, “I promised Horror to visit him at Farmtale, apparently they could use some of my help with woodwork.”

Nightmare nodded and looked at Dust, knowing Mare was going to spend the time with him and Error. The hooded skeleton pointed his thumb at, up till now quiet, Sans and Red and smirked, “Those two wanted to talk with me in private, but if I’m up to socialize after that I will join you, Cross, Mare and Error in the craft room.” He said gently.

Nightmare smiled and returned to his cooling breakfast in a little better spirits. Dust in turn glared at the two that asked for his presence. He could feel their gazes lingering on him from time to time and he could swear there was something familiar about them, not in the way Killer or Horror were, as other Sanses, like he knew them personally. He smirked, seeing how Sans squirmed nervously, impressed when Red just glared back at him, although it lacked fierceness… at least that meant they weren’t about to accost him with negative intentions. 

Just as Nightmare finished eating, Error came to Doodle Sphere, accepting the armful of bones that jumped at him. It didn’t even shock Sans or Red who heard horror stories about the destroyer, since they knew that the only one that can get away with such actions was the kid, while anyone else trying to do the same would be a pile of dust in one of his puppets. The group left with Killer heading out to see Horror, leaving the three skeletons alone.

“What did you want to talk with me about?” Dust asked with a calm tone. 

The  two exchanged glances and after a brief, wordless conversation, looked back at Dust, “How much did the RESETS erase from you?” Red asked with a frown, tapping his clawed fingers on the table.

Dust sighed, sagging in his seat, “Everything… The oldest I remember is my decision to gain LV and then all the RESETS that followed, the demon trying to kill faster than me… I really don’t want to remember, Nightmare thankfully got rid of the spirits of my past haunting me, but… I feel like if I delve too deep it will come back.” He rubbed his face, curling his shoulders as some faint whispers reached him, no matter how much he tried to mute it, “Why the interest?” He asked, trying to distract himself.

Sans smiled weakly, the situation that much harder, “Before you lost yourself to endless RESETS, not that we blame you, your machine was working and connected you to two worlds… mine and Red’s.” He looked at Dust who was frowning, as if trying to remember, recall what was thought to be lost, “We became buddies… depression and condiments brought us closer.” Sans joked with a chuckle.

Dust leaned forward with quiet intensity in his eyes, the red of determination much more striking in his eyelights up close, “Were we lovers?” He asked calmly, hiding the way his hands shook under the table where he clutched at his shorts, “Was it that kind of closer?”

Red nodded solemnly, “We wanted you to know. At one point your machine stopped giving us access, we tried but couldn’t get to you… thought Error destroyed your AU… it’s not like we knew which world we were until Ink saw us in person and told us. When we asked him about you, he just said you could be one of thousands AUs and we couldn’t find you.” 

Dust hung his head, “I don’t remember… I don’t remember…” He got up and left, the other two not stopping him, seeing he wasn’t too keen on spending more time with them. Still muttering the same words Dust found the craft room, seeing Nightmare working on colorful strings, probably creating those friendship bracelets he spoke about. Error was by his side, knitting something and sometimes correcting Nightmare’s hands. Cross was on the couch, reading something. Mare was sitting, with his usual pout, on the table and from the look of it smearing paint on paper.

Dust flinched when Nightmare’s gaze fell on him, the child frowning worriedly, “Dust? Are you alright?” No matter how he didn’t want the kid to worry about him, he knew lying was pointless and he didn’t want to lie to him, so he shook his head. Nightmare tilted his head and opened his arms, “Do you need a hug?”

Dust snorted and nodded, sitting on the ground behind Nightmare, tugging him onto his arms and lap like a teddy bear, his face hidden in Nightmare’s neck. He could already feel his negativity draining, the hostile whispers fading from his mind, “Thanks.” He whispered, his arms tightening around the child that only smiled and pet his head.

“You are welcome, Dusty. I made a bracelet for you, wanna see?” Nightmare gushed, leaning more against Dust’s chests.

Dust peaked up from Nightmare’s shoulder and smiled when Nightmare showed him a bracelet made with purple, blue and red strings and with two metal beads, one in the shape of moon and another looking like a leaf in the middle of it, “Looks great kiddo, put it on me?” He offered Nightmare his wrist. Nightmare beamed and tied it around the offered appendage, “Thanks, little guy. I love it.” He whispered tiredly and laid his head back on Nightmare’s shoulder, curling around the child that apparently had no issues with being a mental support teddy bear.

He simply couldn’t wrap his head around what Sans and Red told him. Yeah, there was that sense of knowing them but it wasn’t much more. What were they expecting from him now that he was told? Was it just to clear their conscience? Did they want to include him again? If so, did they think it was possible just to pick up where they left off… after all the shit he went through? 

Not possible.

He wasn’t anywhere close to the mindset that would allow him to get into a relationship with anyone anytime soon, he was simply trying to get his life back in the semblance of an order and spending time with Nightmare, the new little brother he decided to protect and swore to never hurt… not like Pap.

He sneakily glanced up to find Nightmare tying a bracelet made with gradient of blues and with moon and cat bead on Error’s wrist, the destroyer praising the child on a job well done. He heard Error giving Nightmare hints on how to better control the tension or something of the strings, he didn’t tune in too well, perfectly content to drift in and out of the conversation.

He could feel Cross getting closer at one point and glanced to see a bracelet in white, black and red with moon and ‘X’ beads being tied around Cross’ wrist, the soldier thanking the child with a smile. Nightmare either used magic to go this fast or was better at it than he claimed he was. Dust chuckled, hearing Mare grumble something about useless gestures and how friendship was overrated… only to backtrack at Nightmare’s pouty remark how he liked having friends to be nice to. 

The kid could make even a past dark overlord bend backwards to keep him happy.

-------------

Killer smiled as he finished carving another piece of furniture in Farm’s home, the bed looking fit for Crooks with how long it was. The old, standard size bed was shoved under the wall, waiting to be sold or given away to one of the other farms in the neighborhood. It was always satisfying to make something with his own two hands instead of destroying… killing…

He shook his head only to look towards the door where Horror was standing with a plate of sandwiches, “It’s lunch time, take a break to eat.” The gentle giant said.

Killer took the plate and invited Horror to sit with him, “Thanks, H. I didn’t even feel the time pass. Hope the kid is having fun.” 

Horror nodded mutely. He heard about what happened in Mafiatale and was extremely close to going and making a head-dog out of that damn goat. Farm, Crooks and Killer had to hold him back from marching there… he heard Nightmare likes cherries, he needs to bake him some pies with them, to bring his spirits up, the fruit is not ripe yet but there should be some preserved ones, he needs to ask Farm for that… or maybe better ask Crop.

Horror flinched back when Killer snapped his fingers in front of his face, “Surface to Horror, are you there? What got you so distracted?” He asked with a worried smile.

Horror sighed, “I… you gotta promise not to laugh.” He pressed, he would not handle anyone laughing at him about this. Once Killer nodded he took a deep breath, “Farm confessed to me… but I don’t know what I exactly feel towards him… hard to figure some stuff in your skull when yer missing half of it.” 

Killer patted his shoulder, “That sounds like something complicated to figure out. It doesn’t sound like you hate him, that for sure… I guess ‘trial dating’ won’t work since if it doesn’t work out it may hurt Farm?” He offered with a weak expression. He wasn’t the best with feelings before his soul was fucked up, let alone now. He had no idea how to help Horror figure it out and could only speculate and sit here, feeling useless.

Horror shrugged, “I don’t know… I am avoiding being alone with him until I figure it out… I think Crooks and Crop noticed that things are strained between us.” He murmured quietly.

“Maybe you should tell him that you don’t understand your feelings… think of what you want to do about it together. You don’t need to figure it out alone, that’s not how a relationship works isn’t it?” Killer offered softly.

Horror laid flat on the floor and let out a heavy sigh, “You think he will wait on me that long?”

Killer sat up, “Dude, yer a catch. Can cook, kind and strong. Who cares if you have a bit of head trauma? If he’s not patient enough to wait for you then he’s not worth it, someone better will come along.” He said with passion in his voice.

Horror smiled at his friend, “Thanks Killer. I will think about it.” He closed his eyes, “There’s gonna be a storm later, my skull hurts.” He whispered and slowly got up, “I will warn Farm and Crop, they need to herd the cows back into the barn.” He got up, accepting Killer’s helping hand and left.

Killer smiled, hoping his advice would be useful and returned to work on the furniture.

-------------

Dream and Ink looked at the black wall that literally separated Snowdin from Waterfall. It was eerily similar to the goop Mare was built of… and reeked of negativity which Mare had no control over anymore.

The positive guardian shot another arrow at the wall only to sigh when it was absorbed as many before it, “I don’t know how to deal with it… call Error and see if he can do something?” Dream asked the creator.

“No use, he’s going to be busy with the RESET issue and… this is not something in his job description, and you know it. We need Nightmare here.” Ink said seriously.

Dream glared at him, “Certainly not! We are not going to trouble my little brother with this, I will figure something out on my own!” He declared angrily. 

Ink sighed and looked at his friend with a deadpan expression, “Dream, you are as much a guardian of positivity as Nightmare is the guardian of negativity. You can’t stop him from performing his duties.” Dream crossed his arms with a ‘watch me’ expression, “Wouldn’t you prefer him doing his duties with you making sure he’s safe? If you withhold his birthright from him he will go around your back, endangering himself.” Ink pressed, seeing that he may have still talk some reason to his friend.

“But… he’s just a child. I want to protect him, let him enjoy life without the pressure of responsibilities.” Dream said weakly.

Ink put a hand on Dream’s shoulder, “I know friend, but you know this child like no other. Would Nightmare be happy, being kept out of things and away from doing what he can for balance?”

Dream looked at Ink sadly, “No, he would never be happy with that.” He whispered with a defeated tone.

Ink nodded and hugged Dream, the other sagging in his hold, “I know it’s hard to accept, but you are not alone. We will all help you protect Nightmare when he is performing his duties, you know that.”

Dream smiled weakly, “Thank you, Ink. It means a lot… when we were children, I thought Nighty and the villagers were all I needed, but the villagers were only by my side for my positive aura and they hurt my brother… To have friends that don’t care about my magic and are willing to protect my brother… I can never repay you all.”

Ink chuckled and poked Dream’s forehead, “Stop it dummy, you don’t have to repay anything, we are all happy to be friends with you and to help Nightmare grow happy and healthy.” He said happily, “Now, let’s try a few other things and tomorrow we will ask Nightmare to take a look at this and promise he won’t try anything without us there.” 

Dream nodded, “Maybe ask Mare for help as well? He is not connected to negativity anymore but he has more years of being the guardian of negativity under his belt than Nighty or even me as the guardian of positivity.” He proposed, smiling when Ink agreed with him.

---------------

Nightmare was running around, laughing as Horror and Killer chased him with the threat of tickles. At least that was what Wine and Coffee walked in on. It was honestly nice to see a child that not so long ago was scared of a dark look to be so carefree. Wine smiled seeing Nightmare use a shortcut to escape Killer’s grab at him. Coffee let out a squeak when Nightmare appeared close to them and hid behind them to then look up at them, “Hi!” He called a little out of breath but with a wide smile.

“Hello, Nightmare. I see you are having fun.” Wine said smoothly, “Is Ink somewhere here?” He asked with a tilted head.

Nightmare shook his head and pouted, “He’s out with Dream… again.”

Wine tutted, “Such a bad behavior from your brother. You should teach him a lesson, to show him he should pay more attention to you.”

Nightmare looked at him with awe, “Can I do that? How?” He asked excited.

“You should refuse to let him leave without you, glue yourself to his side. What can he do? Tear you off? I doubt he would and even if, you can always sneakily follow him.” Wine said with a wink.

Nightmare beamed, stars in his eyes. During his conversation he didn’t notice Killer sneak close, letting out a squeak as he was caught and when Killer blew a raspberry on his cheek, “Look, Horror! I caught us a little tickle bug!” He called, ignoring Nightmare’s squeaked protests, broken with laughter.

Wine chuckled and noticed how Coffee looked satisfied as well, seeing the young guardian of negativity doing well.

Chapter Text

Mare did not expect to ever be able to stand on even ground and be able to look someone in the eye instead of at the ankles. He also did not expect Nightmare to take him to a bitty store. 

While looking for supplies to make Mare’s life easier, Nightmare left Mare in the enclosure to be safe, as the owners of the shop asked him to. Mare felt out of place among all of those skeletons that in this world were treated like pets. He was certainly glad that no one seemed to see him as such out in the Multiverse because he would probably need to figure out how to kill them and NOT make Nightmare sad about it.

He knew Nightmare came here to get him ladders to get places and some everyday use items. 

Maybe he should mention to Nightmare that his clothes were actually his goop looking as such. He doesn’t even need many items, just a few shirts, hoodies and shorts, slippers, the usual Sans attire. Right now the goopy monster was curling away from the energetic little Blueberries and Papyruses. He stepped closer to where Reds and Edgy bitties were standing, next to napping Sansy bitties. This store seemed rather basic in the bitty department, but from what he knew Nightmare chose it for the big variety of bitty furniture and accessories. 

“You should listen to me while you are here, guest!” One of the Edgy bitties ordered him with a shrill, loud voice.

Mare scoffed looking at the taller bitty, “Seriously, who the fuck do you think you are?” He ignored a call of ‘language’ from the Blueberries and crossed his arms across his chest, “You must be really daft to stand so confidently in front of someone stronger than you.” And it was true still, even if he wasn’t connected to negativity anymore, he was still strong. 

Edgy bitty scowled at him, “This is not your territory, you should listen to the one in charge then.”

Mare laughed darkly and let his tentacles sway dangerously in the air, “You would do best by not getting close to me.” He smirked seeing Edgy preparing to attack him when he felt Nightmare approach and look over the edge of the enclosure.

“Mare? Are you here?” Nightmare asked, sounding slightly anxious which immediately led to Mare launching himself over the edge to sit on Nightmare’s shoulder.

“Is everything alright kid?” He asked softly, petting Nightmare’s cheek.

Nightmare curled on himself, “I… I think I saw Toriel.” He said with a shiver wracking his small body.

Mare shushed him, “You know that even if it was Toriel, it was not the one from Mafiatale. Now, lead me to the clothing aisle, I want to get some.” He demanded in a gentle tone.

Nightmare smiled weakly and headed towards the aisle and let Mare choose several outfits. He of course took the usual but also decided to find some different types of clothes… Nightmare even roped him into getting a few dresses. Apparently lately Nightmare bought a few dresses for himself but was too embarrassed to wear them alone, just as a few of… special outfits.

Sadly after they paid they were going back to the Doodlesphere.

Life there wasn’t hard, he didn’t even need all those ladders and such, he can move around with magic easily. It was harder dealing with everyone that either lived there or passed back and forth as guests. He was extremely done with Killer and his never ending teasing. Mare was pretty sure Dust was just waiting for any goop to drop off him so he could use it for experiments. Horror was nice but he also didn’t live full-time in the Doodlesphere. Cross he was neutral about, the soldier was serious and didn’t mess with him but he was also clearly distrustful of him

Error he definitely was worried about. Their past wasn’t the best and while in the past they were pretty much evenly matched, now Mare was… small and weak with only Nightmare standing between him and Error blasting him away. Dream was definitely tense around him, but he couldn’t blame him. Ink he himself would love to just avoid, if only to not be compared to that inky splatter whenever he decides to just melt down. Blue was alright, if too much of an extrovert. He was definitely a good teacher for Nightmare and he could stand by that.

Once there they came across Ink and Dream which definitely surprised Nightmare who was used to the two being gone for most of the day, “Brother!” Nightmare called as he ran towards Dream, hugging the guardian tightly.

“Hello, little brother. Did you have a nice shopping trip?” Dream asked with a soft smile.

The young guardian nodded, “Yep, I got everything I needed. Are you not working today?”

Dream’s expression shifted, the worry clear on his face, “Actually, I am going to work… but we need your help, Nighty.”

Nightmare tilted his head, “Really? I get to work with you?”

Dream nodded, “Yes, you are and we may need Mare’s help as he’s more knowledgeable than the two of us.” He said softly.

Mare frowned from Nightmare’s shoulder, “What is it that you would need my expertise?”

Dream picked Nightmare up and sat on the couch with his brother in his lap, “In one of the Universes a wall of negativity appeared. When I tried to get rid of it, it stood strong so I think we need the guardian of negativity to take care of it.”

Nightmare nodded somber, “I will do my best to help you and the Multiverse.”

Dream smiled softly, “I know you will, little brother.” He said with a proud tone.

“Can we go now? I wanted to visit Farmtale and Horror tomorrow.” Nightmare asked quietly.

Dream and Ink nodded, the artist opening a portal which they walked through, Nightmare in Dream’s arms and Mare in Nightmare’s hand. When they came to the other side Nightmare knew just what was the issue… it wasn’t easy to miss a big wall of black goop. Mare looked at it impassively, “That may take Nightmare a while to get rid off since he doesn’t have much practice. I will talk him through it step by step so he doesn’t get hurt.” He assured, prompting both Nightmare and Dream to relax.

Nightmare wiggled in Dream’s arms to be put down and once on his feet he walked to the wall, poking it with his finger, “It feels weird, wrong… more than Killer’s negativity. Do I get rid of it the same, by absorbing it?” He asked with a tilted head.

Mare shook his head, “No, there’s too much of it. You need to scatter it… make it less dense. The negativity won’t disappear, it will just spread over where there is a place for it and as there’s a lot of it the effects won’t be visible.”

Nightmare nodded while Dream listened intently, “So I just need to grab it and tear it into smaller pieces so it goes somewhere else?”

“Exactly, knew you would get it.” Mare praised.

Nightmare blushed at the compliment and Dream couldn’t help but smile, seeing his brother happy always brought his spirits up after all. He put a hand on Nightmare’s shoulder, gaining his attention, “Remember to stop when you feel tired. We don’t want you to get hurt and there’s time to take care of this, there’s no rush.”

Nightmare nodded with a determined look and turned towards the wall. He reached his hand gently and reached out to the negativity building it. He could feel it churning under his fingers, promising great power if he just agrees to go under its control… He brushed that aside and instead found a few loose threads and tugged them out, feeling them scatter away from this place. He repeated it a few times, each making him feel more and more sluggish and tired. 

Before he could continue Mare patted his cheek, “That’s enough for now, kid. You did well, rest for now.”

Nightmare yawned and made grabby hands at Dream who smiled and picked his little brother up, nuzzling him softly, “Rest little brother, you need all the energy to play with Horror and Farm tomorrow.” Dream whispered softly.

Nightmare nodded and nuzzled into Dream’s chest, dozing off as he was carried off. Ink observed the wall that already started looking a bit brittle at the edges. He hoped nothing untowards would happen with it.

He also can’t wait to hear from Error whether his task of blocking the RESETS in original UNDERTALE was successful. 

---------------

Nightmare was looking at the beast in front of him with an amazed expression. He didn’t understand why Cross was scared of it? It was big, yeah, but it was so fluffy with the long fur and even the horns weren’t scary. Farm said she was a galloway cow and he didn’t know what it meant but she was just too fuzzy to be scary. He would love to show her to Cross but he was adamant about staying outside of the barn. Killer and Dust went off somewhere in the morning, not telling him where so he was able to only take Cross and Mare with him to visit.

The bitty monster was now napping in Horror’s pocket to ensure that Nightmare doesn’t lose him while running around. And that gave Nightmare all the time he needed to play with the big calm herbivore. He was interrupted by Farm coming to milk the cow, petting Nightmare’s head on the way, “You like our Bessy, kiddo?” He asked with a smile.

“Yes, she’s cute and so soft!” He called with a grin.

Farm chuckled, “That’s great, you can always visit her if you want to see her. I’m sure she likes you as well.” He said focusing on milking her, only to stop when he heard Nightmare sniffle.

When he looked at the child he noticed him glancing at him with teary eyes, “Y-you… you think so? She really likes me?” He rubbed his face, smiling slightly when the cow nuzzled him, “I-in the village the animals… they would usually hate me… they all would…”

Farm smiled sadly, “Well, when their owners were evil and mean it comes without saying that their animals would have a skewed sense of morality.”

Nightmare pet Bessy and sniffled, “T-thank you.” He whispered, scratching the animal behind her ears.

Farm started to milk her, not willing to interrupt the child that was clearly seeking comfort from the animal. Bessy was perfect of course with her non-judgemental attitude and soft nuzzles. He chuckled and looked at Nightmare, “Is Cross really scared of her?”

Nightmare laughed softly, “I think so, I could feel the fear from him. But it’s just silly, she’s so nice!” He called, “The horse is scarier…” He then mumbled.

Farm chuckled, “Well, it’s not a horse you would use to ride around, but to plow the field. We have the Shire breed which is the most common. He may look scary but I promise he’s gentle.” He finished and hauled the big bucket with milk, “How about I get this out of the way and help you introduce yourself to him?”

Nightmare thought for a moment to then hesitantly nod. Farm could understand the fear, the horse was massive for him, let alone to Nightmare who was another half shorter. He left the milk for Crop to deal with and came back to Nightmare, carrying a carrot with him. He picked up the kid and walked into the box where the aforementioned animal was waiting, “Hey, big boy. This is Nightmare, say hello.” He said, with a smile. 

Nightmare was looking sheepishly at the animal, gasping when he came closer and let out a huff into their faces. Farm chuckled and put the carrot on Nightmare’s hand, “Just hold it out to him, don’t worry, he doesn’t bite.” He said quietly.

The young guardian nodded and held out his hand, waiting with a bated breath as the horse got closer. He gasped amazed when the animal gently took the carrot, his soft lips brushing against Nightmare’s hand. Farm really couldn’t believe this little bugger really was responsible for so much trouble in the past. Although now after meeting Mare he was separating the two more and more, since the two had such different personalities.

He would never imagine Mare petting a horse with such an amazed expression that Nightmare was now sporting on his own face. He can’t believe that in the past animals would really hate this kid, he was so gentle and loving that it really had to be the fault of the villagers he wasn’t adored by all kinds of animals.

“Brother! Horror wants to show Nightmare the orchard, do you know where he is?” Crop called from outside of the barn.

Farm looked at Nightmare with a smile, “I will work with the animals for a bit, so how about you go and play outside with Horror?” He asked, chuckling when Nightmare nodded enthusiastically and when Farm put him down ran out to join Crop who then showed him the way to the orchard where Horror was waiting, Cross hot at their heels.

Cross wasn’t bored even though normally just walking around without any purpose would have him itch for anything to do. And yet, just watching Nightmare run around and pet all the different animals was entertaining him well enough. The child was brightening up the room with his smile and chiming laughter. To think that without him he would probably still be stuck in that white hell with Chara screaming at him. He would never have met Killer, Dust, Horror and others. He never would have started to trust Dream.

He shook his head to focus on Nightmare who was now running between the trees. At least he was supposed to, but what Cross saw was a sight that almost gave him a heart attack… if he had one. Nightmare was climbing the trees and jumping from one to another.

“N-nightmare! Wait! That’s dangerous!” He yelled, running after him to be able to catch him if he fell.

Nightmare just laughed as he stopped to hang upside down from a branch, “Join me, Cross! Please?” 

Cross stopped under him, trying to reach up to him, “Please, come down. You will get hurt.”

“My mom was a tree, I know how to climb, I never fall down until I want to.” He said with a smile. Seeing how that didn’t calm Cross down he simply jumped down, landing without any issue.

Cross immediately started checking Nightmare over, letting out a relieved sigh when he figured out there was nothing wrong with him, “Please don’t scare me like that again.”

Nightmare pouted, “I grew up around forests, I was climbing trees my whole life. I know how to do it without getting hurt.” He mumbled.

Cross hugged him softly, “I understand but I am also not used to seeing that, so please… be more careful.” Nightmare nodded and returned the hug. He didn’t really understand Cross’ fear but he could also feel that it was a real emotion and he didn’t want to make his friend feel like that.

After that they went where Horror was taking care of small saplings of fruit trees. Cross looked at it with open curiosity. Mare was now back in his spot on Nightmare’s shoulder, looking at the small plants, “This is plum sapling, those are cherry ones. And this one is…”

“An apple tree…” Nightmare whispered with wide, hopeful eyes.

Horror smiled, “Yep, you got that one right, kiddo.” He said proudly, but both couldn’t help but notice that Nightmare wasn’t exactly listening to them.

Chapter Text

Nightmare was again in the world with the wall of negativity, Mare observing and making sure he didn’t overdo it. The child looked at the bitty skeleton with a frown, “Do you know what may have caused something like this to happen?” He asked softly.

Mare shook his head, “Except for the unbalanced feelings I have no idea.” He said calmly.

Nightmare sat down in the snow, drawing circles in the snow with a finger, “Can you teach me more magic that only I can use, as the guardian of negativity?” He looked at Mare with hopeful eyes.

Mare chuckled, “Of course, it’s not like you would not learn it in time by yourself. You deserve to learn how to control your magic. We will start soon, don’t worry.” He got up and walked to Nightmare, climbing up his arm to his shoulder, “Didn’t you have plans for today already?”

Nightmare nodded and got up, “Yep, you can come with me as long as you promise to behave yourself.”

The bitty skeleton rolled his eyes, “Don’t worry, I will behave.”

Nightmare closed his eyes and frowned, trying to open a portal only to sigh when it just flickered, not stable enough to use. Mare patted his face, “You are already advanced in magic for your age, you will get it in time. For now let’s use the doorway from the Doodlesphere.” He assured him. Nightmare nodded and started walking through the Snowdin.

“Isn’t there an easier way of traveling?” He asked with a pout.

Mare chuckled, “Not between the AUs, but…” He smirked, “There’s something more subtle than a shortcut that I will teach you. It was one of my favorite ways of moving around undetected or spying.”

Nightmare smiled eagerly and sped up, “Really? What is it?” He asked, walking through the hidden doorway, making sure it was closed after him.

“Moving through the shadows, melting in with them and manipulating them.” Mare said simply, patting Nightmare’s face as the kid vibrated in excitement, “Calm down, let’s do what you planned first and then once we return you can start learning. I’m sure you will get the hang of it quickly.”

Nightmare blushed flattered and headed to the door that led to Dreamtale, “You really think so?”

Mare scoffed, “When have you heard me say things I didn’t mean?”

The little guardian chuckled, “That’s true.” He whispered and opened the door, walking slowly through the village towards the tree.

Mare finally realized where they were and started looking around with a frown, “What are we doing here? There’s nothing here, isn’t there?”

Nightmare smiled sadly, “I hope I am not actually wrong… maybe you will help me?” He pleaded with his eyes.

Mare sighed and nodded, “Sure thing kiddo, always.” He assured softly and fell silent the rest of the short trek up the hill. He could feel Nightmare’s magic wash over them as he walked through the protective barrier put up by the child. It was complex and strong for sure but he wasn’t sure why to protect just a tree stump. He didn’t understand it… not until Nightmare gently brushed the dry leaves off it to reveal a little seedling growing from a crack in the middle of it.

“Now I know for sure… those leaves, it’s an apple seedling. But is it just a normal one or of the tree of feelings?” Nightmare muttered softly, tears already beading in his eyes.

Mare looked at it closer and reached out to get a feel of its magic. He tilted his head, “It’s still too small to say for sure, but it’s connected to the roots of the tree stump, not coming from a seed that got stuck down there. It may end up just being the tree without the spirit in it, or without the apples of feelings. I’m sorry kiddo I can’t give you a better answer.” He said gently, but not trying to hide the truth.

Nightmare nodded and sniffed, “I… I understand, it’s too early. Should I tell Dream? What if it gives him false hope? What if the reminder makes him hate me?” He asked with a sad tone.

Mare patted his hand, “Nightmare, he would never hate you for this, not when it was me who cut that tree down. I will leave it up to you whether you want to tell Dream but whichever you decide on I will be there for you.” He said reassuringly. 

The little guardian smiled weakly and pet Mare, relaxing as Mare leaned into the touch, a quiet purr resonating from him. They spend several moments in a comfortable silence as Nightmare regained his calm. That was until Nightmare’s phone started ringing, Dream’s name on the screen. Nightmare picked it up, “Hello, Dream?”

“Ah, Nighty, I understand if you are walking somewhere in the Multiverse but we are having a meeting soon so if you want to join us it starts soon. Error will be here.” The positive guardian spoke with a kind tone.

“Okay, Dream. I’m done with what I’m doing so I will be back soon.” He responded and let Mare climb up his arm so they could leave together.

Once in the Doodlesphere Nightmare went to the meeting room and seeing that people were still gathering snuck inside and found Dream sitting next to Ink and Error. He poked Error’s leg gently, gathering his attention, the destroyer smiling, “Hey, kiddo. How you doing? Heard you were causing chaos while I was busy.” He teased while picking him up to plant him on his lap.

Nightmare pouted, “I was perfectly behaved, thank you very much. Did you finish your job?”

Error smirked, “You will have to wait until the meeting starts to hear about it.” He said and gave Nightmare a chocolate bar, returning to his conversation with Ink while Nightmare ate the sweet treat, sharing a piece with Mare who left his shoulder to sit on the table..

Once everyone had gathered, Ink got up, gathering their attention, “Welcome, it has been a while since we had an important meeting but there’s a lot of news to be shared so I thought it would be best if you all heard it from us instead through the rumor mill. We will start with Error.” He said with a smile and sat down. 

Error didn’t bother standing up, especially with Nightmare on his lap and simply started speaking, “I was approached by Ink about stopping the RESETS in Undertale. After a lot of experiments in Dusttale I figured out the correct code sequence and went to work and can now with full confidence say that the original UNDERTALE is free of RESETS and will remain on the surface.” He said with a nod towards Sans who was smiling gratefully, already aware.

“Frisk has noticed it and was warned that if they do something there are no more chances or redoing it.” Sans revealed with a relieved smile.

Ink looked at Error with a thankful smile, “How much would it cost us to have you do that to other AUs when they reach the surface.”

The destroyer sighed, “Only after everything has stabilized can I get rid of the RESETS. Do it too early and you will regret it and ask me to revert the changes.” He warned, “But yes, once the AU is at the right moment I can get rid of the RESET.”

Ink nodded, “Thank you, Error. We will keep that in mind. Next on the agenda…” He looked at Nightmare and smiled reassuringly when the child curled in on himself at the attention, “How is getting rid of that wall going?” He asked. The others knew about the issue as it was mentioned in previous meetings.

Nightmare smiled, “I am slowly chipping away at it…” He frowned and hung his head, “Sorry it’s so slow.”

Ink jumped, “No, don’t apologize. You are doing great and better than us when we tried to get rid of it. Take all the time you need.” He assured him with a serious tone.

Nightmare nodded and looked at Mare who got up, “I am taking upon myself teaching Nightmare how to be a guardian of negativity. I will slowly assimilate him into his powers so his magical core is not damaged. If any of you sees something dark moving, wait before attacking since Nightmare may not control it fully at first and it may end up with him making shadows move.” He warned the others. Mare didn’t specify that those moving shadows may have Nightmare himself in them, but that would be the kid’s choice to share that particular talent, they just need to know to not touch any shadows.

Everyone nodded their understanding, not wanting to scare Nightmare out of learning how to use his magic. Ink sat again, “Is there anything else of importance?” He asked.

Mare looked at Nightmare with a beseeching glare, the child fidgeting nervously. Dream noticed and looked at the young guardian, “Nighty, is there something you want to tell us about?”

The negative guardian looked at Dream with an anxious gaze, “You won’t be angry?” He whispered.

Dream smiled, “Of course not, I promise we won’t be angry.”

Nightmare took a deep breath to calm down and spoke louder, “I… I went to Dreamtale and found an apple seedling growing out of the stump of the tree of feelings. It’s too weak to say if it will grow to be the new tree of feelings and I can’t check for sure, my magic is not that good at it… I’m sorry…” He finished weakly.

Dream blinked slowly, digesting the news while Reaper chuckled, “So this was what you were talking to Life about that one time. If you two give me permission I will bring her there to check on that. For the record, I don’t remember ever collecting the soul of Nim but that may have been before I took over after my father… I’m honestly not sure.” He finished with a shrug, “I would need to check the afterlife, unless she moved onto reincarnation.”

Dream cleared his throat and spoke to Reaper, “I would appreciate it if you could request Life’s help on this matter. This is however not a priority so tell her no rush. We know she must be busy.” He said slowly and looked at his sibling, smiling weakly, “Thank you for sharing this, Nighty. It’s a bit of a shock but I am glad you are not shouldering this knowledge alone.”

Nightmare relaxed and smiled softly, doing grabby hands at Dream who took him from Error’s lap and hugged him, the child now sitting in his lap. Ink let them have this moment and looked at the others, “Any other pressing issues?”

With that the meeting went on, Nightmare listening intently in case he would need to help in any way.

-------------

Nightmare was looking at Mare with excitement, waiting for the other’s directions. The bitty skeleton smiled at Nightmare, the last thing he wanted was for the kid to be nervous of learning to control his own powers, “Alright kid, the easiest thing to start with are the shadows that already exist. After that we can get over creating shadows and then hiding in them and moving through them. Don’t rush anything, go at your own pace.”

Nightmare nodded, “Is there a special way to connect to a shadow?”

Mare shook his head, “Just try focusing on it, reach out with your magic and see if it clicks.”

Nightmare hummed thoughtfully and with a chuckle moved to sit under his desk, hiding in the shadow of it. Mare nodded approvingly and sat outside of the shadow’s bounds, “Now, go ahead and try, just connect to it, don’t try moving yet.”

The young guardian closed his eyes and slowed down his breathing, reaching out with his magic, going into a meditative state. Mare looked towards the door as Killer, Dust and Cross entered. Mare put a finger to his mouth and made a shushing sound. They joined the bitty on the ground, “What is he doing?” Dust asked in a barely there whisper.

“Trying to connect to the shadows.” Mare replied in an equally quiet voice.

Cross shook Dust, “What?” Dust hissed looking at the soldier, finding him looking panicked at Nightmare. When they looked there the shadows were darker and sharper, hiding the child from sight, “Is it supposed to happen?” He asked Mare.

The bitty gasped and got up, “Nightmare, enough!” He shouted but it was too late as the shadow enveloped Nightmare and then melted back into the ground, as if swallowing the child. Nightmare was nowhere to be seen, “Fuck!” Mare climbed onto Cross’ shoulder.

Killer blinked slowly as if his mind hadn't caught up with the situation yet, “What… what just happened?”

Mare sighed, “Nightmare is a faster learner than I thought. He was just supposed to connect to the shadows, but instead he connected, manipulated and now melted into it. He’s in what could be called the shadow realm, we need to find him and make sure no one attacks any shifting shadows when he tries to return. I did warn them but who knows what those brain dead bastards will do.” He growled and patted Cross’ face, prompting him to move.

“Where can we find him?” Dust asked worried, “The Multiverse is vast, we can’t go everywhere and look into every shadow.”

Mare snorted, “Calm down, it’s not a portal, he can’t jump universes with that. He needs to be somewhere in the building.” He calmed them down, “Look for weirdly moving shadows.” He ordered and everyone left the room, splitting up and starting to run around, looking at all the shadows they walked by, trying to notice any movement.

They were panicking, not wanting Nightmare to be hurt or worse, stuck in the shadows for who knows how long it will take them to find him. Killer was panicking slowly, his soul going haywire. The one and only plus was that he couldn’t land in other worlds in the multiverse. But they all still couldn’t help but think on the Void.

If it comes down to it they would probably be able to ask Dream for help in locating Nightmare but if they had to ask Dream hell would be coming. The positive guardian was much too protective over his little brother. Even if no one blamed him after the bullshit that happened with the corruption and abuse Dream’s fury still brought terror to everyone’s soul.

Dust was methodically checking each and every cupboard in the kitchen while Cross was checking the training room to make sure that Nightmare didn’t suddenly resurface under the weapons stacked there and got hurt in the process. 

Mare was internally kicking himself for letting himself to be distracted from Nightmare while he was teaching him something as complicated as manipulation of shadows. He can’t believe himself, how dare he underestimate Nightmare just for the fact he was a child, he knew Nightmare was strong despite his age, he managed to get him out of the apple, something even he thought to be impossible.

If Nightmare got hurt or trapped he will never forgive himself.

None of the skeletons searching was aware of one of the rooms that was occupied that should be warned.. All they hoped about was that they would be able to find the small guardian of negativity.

Neither knew of a little child running giggling through the shadows.

Chapter Text

Nightmare never before felt more free. He was never scared of the dark and running in the realm of shadows was like going to the park. The moment he wanted the shadows to form a slide it was there, still looking like a shadow and yet tangible and ready for him to use. When he imagined a wolf it started running around him and howling like a real wolf. But the funniest was when he focused he could see through the shadows and could feel like an entrance, only for him to use.

Shame he couldn’t move across the Multiverse with the shadows, it feels much more natural than his attempts at creating portals.

He was peeking through the shadows into different rooms until he came by one filled with skeletons that were conversing. He knew it was rude to eavesdrop but… in the past he often avoided being hurt by spying on the villagers to learn what they had planned for him. It helped him many times to protect the tree of feelings as well.

In the room was Wine, Black and Edge, bowed over a table with papers scattered over it.

He was listening for a few moments and it sounded a lot like politics which made Nightmare’s skull swim, trying to keep up with it. It was also incredibly boring. Nightmare tried to push on the weak barrier of the shadow keeping him from the room and tumbled out with an ‘oof’, the others looking at him startled. 

“Nightmare? When did you get in? How did you get in?” Wine asked, looking at the locked door.

The child blushed embarrassed and accepted Edge’s hand to get up from the floor, “Uhm… Mare was teaching me some magic and I didn’t listen to him when he told me not to move the shadows after I could feel them and I could walk through them and come here.” He said while shuffling his feet.

Black opened his mouth, probably to reprimand Nightmare, judging from his stern expression but then a harsh knock on the door interrupted them. Edge went to unlock and open the door to show Killer there, his soul swirling agitated, “Did you see Nightmare?” He asked with a panicked voice.

The child ran to him and hugged his legs, feeling his friend’s distress, “I’m sorry Killer! I didn’t mean to worry you!” He said with a teary voice.

Killer picked Nightmare up and hugged the child, “Hey, little guy, it’s alright. We were worried but you are alright and that’s what matters.” he assured him in a soft tone.

The skeleton then balanced Nightmare on one arm, the other taking out his phone to message the others that he found the little guardian. Soon all the skeletons looking for Nightmare came running, relieved that the child was found.

Wine chuckled when Nightmare let out a squeak, squeezed by Dust. Mare looked at him from Cross shoulder, “Did Nightmare seem different when he stepped out of the shadows? Any weird symptoms?”

The three exchanged glances and shook their heads, “He seemed a little out of balance since he did fall when stepping out but nothing else.”

Mare let out a relieved breath and looked at the child, “What were you doing in the shadow realm? I told you to not try yet, what if you got stuck?”

Nightmare pouted, “I walked around and played, I felt safe there. And I could leave anytime, I just felt… nice there.” He whispered quietly.

Mare sighed, “I get it kid, but you need to be more careful.”

Nightmare nodded and yawned, nuzzling closer to Killer, “Am tired…” He mumbled.

Killer chuckled and turned to walk back to Nightmare’s room, “You certainly had your fun, let’s go and take a nap, little guy.” He whispered softly, pressing a kiss to the child’s skull.

Cross let out a relieved breath, “Let’s agree to not let Dream know that we lost him.”

Dust laughed, “Agreed, I like being alive, thank you very much.” He joked, righting his scarf hat was hanging loosely around his neck after all the running. 

Edge hummed, “I believe I am right to believe you taught a child a technique to be even better at sneaking around without being detected… and you think nothing bad will come out of that?” He looked at them with a deadpan expression.

Cross and Dust exchanged glances while Mare glared at Edge for daring to point that out, “Stealth will help him survive and shadows are the basis of his specialized magic. I am not going to withhold his birthright from him, especially since I can teach him, instead of leaving him to figure it out on his own.” He stated confidently.

Black nodded, “I need to agree. He’s a child who by job description will have to deal with a lot of dangerous individuals. Not all negative beings are as easy to deal with or nice as Horror, Killer or the three of you. He will need a way out of dangerous situations and shadows are everywhere.”

Wine hummed, “I still think he deserves more of a childhood, but we all know how difficult it is to get.” He said with a sad tone.

They couldn’t help but agree.

---------------

Horror finished his tasks for the morning and waited for Farm to come back. After thinking about it for a long time he decided nothing will come of it until he talks to the other and he just hopes that it all won’t bite him in the ass.

He didn’t have to wait long for the skeleton to come, “Hey, big guy. Doin’ good?” He asked with a kind smile.

Horror smiled weakly and let out a huff, “I think so… can we talk?”

Farm gulped nervously, “Sure, let’s go somewhere where no curious ears will hear us.” He motioned for Horror to follow him to the orchard, away from their brothers who were most probably making breakfast. Once they were in the relative privacy Farm looked at the bigger skeleton, “What did you want to talk about?” He asked with a smile.

Horror took a deep breath and started playing with the friendship bracelet he got from Nightmare to stop himself from tugging on his empty eye socket, “I was thinking about the confession you made, trying to understand my feelings and all…” He looked at Farm who was smiling encouragingly, “I am still not 100 precent sure I know what I feel, my head may forever be too messed up for me to ever be sure of my decisions… but I know I can feel something towards you, maybe it’s love. It definitely feels like more than friendship but…” He took a deep breath again to calm down the mounting anxiety, “I want to try being with you, I want to try and find out if what I think is love really is that feeling. I’m sorry I can’t give you more sure answer or if you don’t want to risk being with me only for me to find out that I was wrong about my own fucked up mind and…” Before he could continue he felt teeth clack on his cheek in a brief kiss.

Farm was smiling at him, a green blush, bright like young spring leaves on the trees, adoring his face, “Thank you for being honest with me but please don’t worry. Being together is to find out if our feelings go deeper and if we work together despite the attraction. Love or not, I want to try being together with you and we will just take it slow…” He then chuckled and rubbed his neck nervously, “And on the topic of that, sorry for the kiss, I just couldn’t stop myself but if you don’t want me to kiss you, I can… not?” He finished anxiously.

Horror blinked slowly, still catching up to Farm’s word to then chuckle with a rusty sound and lean down, pressing a soft kiss to Farm’s teeth, “I don’t mind kissing, if anything, I would love more.” He whispered.

Farm relaxed and slowly wrapped his arms around Horror’s neck, initiating a long, lingering kiss, his eyes closing in pure bliss as the anxiety of waiting for the answer to his confession left him.

Hesitantly Horror broke the kiss and straightened, cupping Farm’s flushed cheek gently, “We should go back, the breakfast is probably ready.” He said softly.

Farm chuckled, already longing for another kiss, “You are probably right, let’s go.” He said with a sigh, his expression brightening when Horror took his hand gently and didn’t look like he was going to let go anytime soon.

Horror had no intention of hiding their relationship from anyone. He was not ashamed of it and he was glad it didn’t look like Farm was about to hide the fact they are together from anyone, at least here at home. He won’t hold it against him if he wants to keep their relationship hidden from others in the Multiverse.

He’s just glad he’s accepted despite his wavering confidence in his emotions.

--------------

Dust sent another wave of bones at Killer, yelling out as he missed again. He was annoyed, even if he didn’t really mean to hit him either way. He was just frustrated that he didn’t know what to do about Red and Sans. That situation was making his head spin and his soul hammer with anxiety and just like in the past, he turned to anger and fighting to hide his weakness.

But no amount of LV will help him with this situation.

He paused when it was Killer’s turn and the other was just looking at him, “What?! It’s your turn! Fire you bastard!” He shouted, magic crackling agitated in his joints.

Killer sighed, “No, you are either going to tell me what’s bugging ya or go to Nightmare and cuddle him so he takes away that foul mood of yours.” He said with a steel voice.

Dust covered his face with his hands and screamed, “Damn you, you perceptive fucking bastard, just let me be!!!!” He yelled and sat on the ground, hugging his knees.

Killer smiled sadly and walked to his side, laying on the ground next to him, “Alright, lay it on me. Apparently with the return of my sanity I became our group's free therapist… at least for you and Horror. Cross still needs to take that stick out of his ass before he talks about shit that bothers him.”

Dust let out a weak snort and laid flat on his back, staring blindly at the high ceiling of the training room, “You know that apparently before I went crazy I was in a relationship?”

Killer looked at Dust with a frown, “Did you remember it?”

The hooded skeleton shook his head, “No, I was told… although after that I don’t know if what I think are memories is that or just something I thought up because of their worlds.” He said with a growl, angry at himself.

Killer hummed, “Well, that sounds shitty, so I get the anger at it. Who told you?” He asked with a calm tone, recognizing that at least someone needs to be reasonable here.

“Red and Sans… I don’t know what I should do about this. I don’t remember anything from that, I don’t remember anything from before I started killing everyone, trying to gather LV… I… I-I d-don’t r-rem-remember!” He pushed the heels of his palms onto his eyes, sobs shaking his body and tears streaming down his face.

Killer sat up and put a hand on Dust’s sternum, rubbing gently, giving him time to let it out. He may be a teasing bastard as Mare would sometimes call him when he thought he couldn’t hear but he knew when to be quiet and bite his tongue. 

“I was happy and t-that f-fucking d-demon destroyed it and n-now I c-can’r ev-even r-remember i-it!” Dust sobbed, his breath hitching, “W-why d-did they f-fucking t-tell me!? Why?!” His hands fell from his face, revealing his soulbroken expression, his eyes focused on Kiler, “Why?” He asked with a desperation clear in his voice.

Killer smiled sadly, “I don’t know, Dusty.” He said, using Nightmare’s nickname for the skeleton, hoping to help calm him down with it, “I don’t know, but…” He looked up at the ceiling, “They wouldn’t tell you without a reason.”

Dust sniffed and found Killer’s hand on his chest, squeezing, “What do I do now?” He asked with a hoarse voice.

The goopy-eyes skeleton hummed thoughtfully, “Talk with them, tell them that you need to know their intentions and once you find out we can think what next. Take it step by step.” He said slowly, carefully weighing his words.

Dust sighed, rubbing at his face to get rid of the tears, “Thanks… I would have probably hurt someone if I kept it inside.”

Killer chuckled quietly, “Yeah, I gathered that much. I still advise cuddles with the kid, his hugs are magic.” He whispered with a wink.

Dust snorted, “Sure, I will. I feel like even if I don’t he still will make me cuddle up with him.”

“Little nosy empath.” Killer said fondly, “The kid cares and I for one don’t want to be the one that hurts him to the point he doesn’t care about others anymore.”

Dust nodded as he sat up, “They won’t survive long, we will get rid of them unless Dream gets to them first.”

“Indeed.” Killer got up and offered Dust his hand to tug him to his feet, “Let’s go, lunch is going to be ready soon and last I heard Nightmare learned how to make pancakes from Horror and wanted to make some for us.”

Dust smiled, “Oh, to see Nightmare’s horrified expression as we drown them in ketchup. Can’t wait.” He said weakly but with clear amusement, tearing a laugh from the other skeleton.

In the kitchen Killer immediately took out his phone, snapping pictures at the sight of Nightmare, covered in flour, in a cute purple apron and flipping pancakes on the pan in front of him, the tip of his tongue poking out as he concentrated.

Dust chuckled at Killer’s actions and went to sit at the table. Nightmare looked up from the pan and smiled, handing the spatula to Cross who was supervising him, “Dusty!” He jumped from the stool and ran to his friend, the other smiling tiredly and hugging him, placing him on his lap.

“How are you, kiddo? Having fun?” He asked, brushing some flour off Nightmare’s cheek.

Nightmare nodded, chuckling happily even as he started to absorb Dust’s negativity, “Me and Cross made pancakes and Horror brought some jams for them. And I learned more about the shadow magic today and Mare said I’m good enough to move through them when I want.” 

Killer hid his phone and joined them at the table, “Sounds amazing, kiddo. You sure are one talented skeleton.” He praised.

Nightmare blushed and then jumped from Dust’s lap to help Cross bring the plates to the table where jam jars were already spread out. They sat down and started eating, Nightmare happily spreading cherry jam onto his pancakes. Cross ate a more modest meal even as everyone could see him eyeing the chocolate spread on the table. Just as Killer said before and will always say, Cross needs to get rid of his military manierism, no one cares here if he stuffs his face with chocolate.

Nightmare put another pancake on his plate and put some chocolate spread on it. After taking a small bite he made an exaggerated face of dislike and patted Cross’ arm, “Cross, I don’t like it. Can you eat it?” He asked with a pout.

Dust and Killer exchanged amused glances as Cross fell for the weak ploy to make him enjoy his meal and took the pancake from the kid. Cross ate it calmly, even as a faint smile played on his teeth, “How is your work going, Nightmare? I heard a lot of praise from Dream and Mare.”

Nightmare beamed, “The wall shrunk a bit today and I got good at ignoring the whispers of that goop.” He said innocently and returned to his meal, not noticing everyone's terrified gazes.

Killer put his fork down and let out a slow breath, trying to stop his hands from shaking. He and the others all dealt with voices in their head, and now they hear that the goop that Nightmare was slowly getting rid of and touching practically everyday was talking to him?! He noticed Dust was looking at him worriedly just like Nightmare who apparently caught on to their distress, “Alright kiddo, let's back up.” He said with a shaky tone, “What do you mean whispers?” 

Nightmare looked at them and frowned worried, “I… Do we have to talk about it?” He asked quietly but he had a feeling nothing would save him from that line of questioning.

Maybe he should have mentioned it earlier?

Chapter Text

Nightmare cowed in front of the worried gazes of his friends. Killer leaned closer to Nightmare and held his hand, “So tell me again, what do you mean whispers?”

Nightmare held onto Killer’s hand tightly, trying to reassure himself they were just worried about him, “It would try offering me power and magic and strength and protection and that I can do everything I want if I just accept it…” He whispered.

Killer gently held Nightmare’s chin, “Why didn’t you say anything before?” He asked gently.

Nightmare sniffed, “Because some are still acting like I am evil and if they heard they would stop me from helping… I don’t want to stop, I wanna be useful.” He said with a meek tone.

Dust drummed his fingers on the table, “Will you tell us if it becomes too much?” He asked and they all relaxed when Nightmare nodded adamantly.

Cross hummed, “When you work on the wall, take one of us with you besides Mare too.” He offered and again Nightmare agreed. If those were the conditions for him to continue working on the balance he is going to do it.

Killer hugged Nightmare, “Also, even if you didn’t work on anything you would still be our little amazing skeleton. You don’t need to be useful for us to care about you.” He said seriously, smiling when the child returned the embrace.

The three were debating whether to bring it up to Dream but ultimately it was Nightmare’s secret and they will keep it till their dying breaths.

--------------

Dream stood aside as Life approached the sapling that grew out of the stump of the tree of feelings. They both could feel Nightmare’s strong magic surrounding it protectively but it wasn’t what Life would be focusing on, even if it was an impressive feat of magic. 

The tall goat kneeled by the stump and raised her hands, glowing emerald green of her magic. She closed her eyes and focused on the energy of the sapling. She couldn’t help a small smile that appeared on her face which made Dream’s hope grow. She stood up regally and looked at Dream, “I have good news dear Guardian. Nim is still alive, I don’t know how, but she is and our best bet is to let the sapling grow naturally and wait for when she awakes.”

Dream let out a relieved breath, “Thank you, lady Life.” He said with a respectful bow.

Life chuckled, “It was a pleasure, my dear. Do bring Nightmare for a visit, I miss the laughter of children in my garden.” She said softly.

The positive guardian smiled, “Of course, I’m sure he will be glad to see you again.” He said and waved as the goddess left.

He felt like a heavy weight was lifted off his shoulders. Now not only did he have his brother back and balance was slowly being regained there was also a chance of their mother returning. When he learned about the cruelty of the villagers he… with guilt in his soul but still started appreciating that they were gone. He couldn’t imagine looking any of them in the face and not screaming “how dare they hurt his cute little brother!” The thought of them awoke ugly desires in Dream and he was glad he couldn’t listen to them and indulge in a little revenge in the name of his brother. He could only be glad that Nightmare was healing from the ordeal and found true friends.

One of which was really nice, Dream couldn’t help but notice. When Cross is not under influence of X Chara he’s really a charming monster and time spent with him was always pleasant.

Maybe he should ask Cross to spar with him, it always gives a chance for some up close touches. 

Dream smiled with a blush at the thought and opened a portal to get back to the Doodlesphere. He headed towards the house, smiling when he felt Nightmare’s aura surrounded by many people. His once lonely brother now had many people seeking his company, appreciating him for the kind and loving monster he is.

He entered through the door and paused seeing Nightmare laughing and twirling in a purple romper dress with sleeves reaching his elbows. He used all of his strength to stop the squeal at the adorableness of it. He looked simply adorable with matching shoes and his golden circlet on his skull, but what gathered his attention was Mare perched on a table and wearing another dress… It seems Nighty had them matching.

Around were Nightmare’s friends, Horror visiting them today and surprisingly Error as well.

Nightmare looked towards the door and beamed at Dream who felt like his soul was struck from the overload of cuteness. He rushed into the room and scooped Nightmare up, “Oh, Nighty, you look so cute!” He gushed, twirling him around.

Nightmare let out a squeak, making grabby hands to Error, asking for saving, but the destroyer just chuckled amused at their behavior. Dream kissed Nightmare’s cheeks only to have his face pushed away with Nightmare letting out a whine, “Nooo, no kisses! Am too big for them!” 

Dream chuckled and put Nightmare down, “Of course, Nighty. No kisses for big boys.” He said with an amused tone.

Nightmare stuck his tongue out at Dream as he hid behind Error, “Where were you?” He asked.

Dream smiled as he sat on one of the couches, “I was with Life checking on the sapling… it’s mother, just kind of asleep. Your protection is really strong so we don’t need to worry.” He said with a gentle tone. 

Nightmare fidgeted and moved closer, “So mother is alive?” He asked with a hopeful expression.

Dream nodded and picked Nightmare up, placing him on his lap, “Yes, she is. And maybe in the future she will wake up and we will be able to talk to her again.” He said nuzzling his younger brother.

Nightmare hugged Dream, “Do you think mother hates me?” He whispered.

The positive guardian backed from the hug and held Nightmare’s chin to ensure the child looked at him, “I know mom doesn’t hate you. You were just a child and what happened is not your fault.” He told him with a serious tone.

“And if she hates you, you have us. You don’t need some stupid tree spirit that doesn’t understand what her child is going through.” Killer said with a vicious grin.

Nightmare sniffed and smiled, even if Dream worried a bit about the grim promise but… he could appreciate the level of care Nightmare’s friends showed him.

-------------

Cross and Dream were sparring in the training room, the soldier asking Dream for one with a cute blush on his face, and how could he refuse. He could feel his soul flutter when he saw Cross look at him with puppy eyes and he couldn’t refuse him. He also couldn’t help the flush when they were sparring and he saw Cross all sweaty and gasping for breath… he hopes his blush will be associated with the exertion.

They were dancing around one another, attacks flying and blades clashing as they spared, magic buzzing between the two, vision tunneling around the other… which caused the two to not notice two curious eyelights observing from the doorway.

-------------

Nightmare ran away from the training room, jumping through the shadows to reach the crafting room where Ink was trying to endear Mare to painting with colors other than blood red and black. Mare practically melted from relief at his sight while Ink just beamed, thinking he had another victim for his mission of spreading art, “Hey, Nightmare, what’s got you running like that?”

“Dream and Cross are being weird!” He called with a pout, sitting down on a pillow on the ground. Mare came to Nightmare and sat on his leg while Ink joined the two on the ground.

“What do you mean weird?” Ink asked with a grin.

Nightmare shrugged, “I don’t know, they got those weird feelings wafting from them that are like something fluttering in your stomach and they look at one another and blush all the time and all, and look over each other’s bodies like they are hungry. What is it? It’s weird.” He said, crossing his arms and pouting. Being an empath was nice but then there were times like this and he was angry he couldn’t understand feelings, especially these positive ones. He didn’t like not knowing things.

Mare coughed to hide his awkwardness while Ink paled. It was going in a bad direction and if Nightmare starts asking questions they will have to give him THE TALK. Ink wasn’t ready for death and he was pretty sure Dream will kill anyone who sully his little brother.

 “Uhm… It was the power of friendship?” Ink said unsure, hoping it will dissuade the child.

But Nightmare wasn’t that clueless, “If so then why I never felt those feelings myself or from someone towards me? Does that mean Killer and everyone is not my friend?” He asked with a frown.

“No!” Ink shouted, this was not what he was trying to achieve, “It’s just… a special kind of friendship feelings… you will understand when you are older.” He said and got up to run before he could be asked more.

Unfortunately for him, Nightmare had other ideas and latched onto Ink’s leg, “I’m big enough to know! Tell me!” He demanded with a pout, “I want to know!”

Ink panicked and melted into a paint puddle, escaping that way. Nightmare sniffed as his victim disappeared and looked at Mare who tensed, “Are you going to keep it a secret too?” He asked with a pitiful voice.

Mare let out a sigh and let Nightmare pick him up and pet him slowly, calming down from his emotional episode, “Just… trust us on this Nightmare. You are a bit too young for us to have that talk.” He prayed that Nightmare understood, he didn’t want to talk about people feeling horny for one another.

Nightmare pouted, “But you promise to tell when the time comes and not just pretend you don’t remember that talk?” He asked quietly.

Mare nodded, “I promise, we will have that talk when you are older.” He said, glad that Nightmare was dropping this topic. He didn’t want to find out what would happen to his body if Dream was to shoot him with a positivity arrow.

He needs to tell those two bastards to learn and keep this shit in the wraps, or else Dream himself will have to be explaining himself.

-------------

Nightmare came to Underswap after another few hours of dealing with the wall of negativity, glad it was really shrunk now and that he could work on it longer than when he first started. He came here alone and came with a mission.

“Nightmare! What a nice surprise!” Blue called out, Stretch trailing behind him lazily, a cigarette in his mouth.

Nightmare smiled and ran towards Blue and hugged him, “Hi!” He called with a smile, “I came for a visit, Dream said your Underground is nice.” He said softly.

Blue chuckled, “Yes, the Magnificent Sans will show you around Snowdin, we were just going to check on the traps.”

Nightmare tilted his head, “Traps? Are you hunting?” He asked.

Blue shook his head, “No, traps for humans that fall underground. It’s a monster tradition and I shall introduce it to you! Mwehehehe!” He said with a puffed up chest.

Nightmare nodded eagerly, happy to learn something new. Stretch was trailing behind them lazily, slouching and yawning every so often. Nightmare listened to all the information with a smile, asking questions all to Blue’s visible delight. They spent a few hours like that until it was time for lunch, “How about you eat with us, Nightmare? I will make some tacos.” Blue offered and Nightmare immediately agreed, grinning as he would finally be able to implement his plan.

In the he looked around the house amazed, seeing how both similar and different it was from Horror’s house that he saw before he saved him from there. It was definitely less run down. He looked at Blue and Stretch that went into the kitchen and smiled, “I will go wash my hands!” He called and after an agreeing shout from Blue he went inside and closed the doors to then slip into the shadows. He traveled through them upstairs and into Stretch’s room. 

“Messy…” He whispered and started looking around. He knew snooping around wasn’t nice but there was a reason for it, “Got ya.” He said with a smile and shuffled the things, hiding the correct items in his inventory, swapping them around. Now there was only one more thing but that could wait for a bit. 

He slipped back into the shadows and returned to the bathroom, closing the water after indeed washing his hands and went to the kitchen where Stretch was either napping at the table or skillfully faking it.

“I’m almost done. Stretch, wake up, please don’t drool on the table!” Blue called, putting plates in front of them. Nightmare murmured a thank you before digging in, Stretch yawning before doing the same. Nightmare had to admit, he was glad he didn’t get to taste Blue’s food before the skeleton learned to cook. Dream told him horror stories about glitter mixed in the food.

When he finished the meal he gave Blue a hug and begged one out of Stretch, the tall skeleton bending down to hug the child.

Once Nightmare left, Stretch to Blue’s chagrin reached into his hoodie for his cigarettes, only to frown and take out a bunch of lollipops. Blue chuckled, “Well, seems someone tries to make you quit.”

Stretch scoffed, “Well, it’s no surprise he asked me for a hug now. I should have expected it, he was acting suspicious, giggling to himself as he left.” He said with a fond smile, “But he overlooked the fact I have a stash in my room which he didn’t get.” He said with a satisfied tone, shuffling his feet as he headed upstairs. Blue sighed, sad that he was right and turned to wash the dishes only to jolt at the shout from upstairs, “How the fuck?!”

“Language, Papy!” He shouted, frowning when he heard Stretch run down the stairs and back into the kitchen. It has been a while since he saw him move so fast, “What happened?” He asked.

Stretch showed off his hands, filled with even more lollipops. Now that Blue looked closer he noticed all of them were vitamin lollipops. He smiled, glad that Nightmare cared about his brother so much, even if they didn’t have much contact.

“I have no idea how he got upstairs and into my room. The door was untouched, still locked and he was only in the bathroom and he never was in my room before so a shortcut shouldn’t have been possible, especially since we didn’t hear him take one.” He ranted, opening one of the lollipops and popping it in his mouth with a slightly annoyed expression. Yeah, he can buy more cigs, but he can bet that Nightmare will somehow get into his things again and swipe them from him.

Stretch huffed and relaxed his shoulders, sucking on the sweet. It wasn’t honey but he could appreciate the taste all the same. And he feared if he was seen smoking despite Nightmare’s… scheme the child would probably cry and he doesn’t fancy dying by Dream’s hands… although he would probably be most merciful out of the whole Nightmare protection squad . 

Well, guess he should bow down to Blue’s nagging and Nightmare’s less than subtle dig at his smoking and finally try to quit… maybe he should get Money and Mutt to quit too? Get some smoking buddy solidarity going before Nightmare gets to them as well.

He’s sure that would go over well.

Chapter Text

Dust sat in the living room at the Doodlesphere, glaring down Sans and Red, “I thought about what you told me. Before I make any kind of decision I want to know why you even decide to tell me about it. It’s not like you are alone. And how can you even be sure it was me, I changed after all.” He said coldly, his eyes narrowed in clear suspicion.

Sans sighed, “It’s not that easy. You did get that feeling that you knew us from somewhere, didn’t you?” When Dust nodded he continued, “We got the same but since we didn’t get through gods know how many RESETS it was stronger. And we could talk with one another to confirm the suspicions.” He explained.

Dust sighed, “Okay, that explains how you knew it was me, but I still don’t know why you told me. What do you want from me now that I know?” He pressed.

Red and Sans exchanged glances and Red finally spoke up, “Well we wanted you to know, because I know I would hate not to know. And we didn’t want you to suddenly get your memory back and wonder why we never told you or anything. As to what you want to do with that information…”

At that moment Sans took over, “We would love to try again, to see if the feelings are still there for you, if there is a chance of being together again. But what matters most is what you want, because if you don’t want to try for romance again we are not going to tie you up and force you to love us.” He said with a small smile.

Dust grinned darkly, “What if I wanted you to do that?” He teased only to chuckle quietly, “Nah, I need to think on that, but… you can give me your phone numbers, so if I have questions I can just message you.” He said passing over his new phone he got from Sci that connected him to everyone all over the Multiverse and most importantly could reach Nightmare no matter where the little god wandered over.

The two nodded and Sans took the phone, putting both of their numbers and taking Dust’s phone number to put it into their phones before handing Dust’s phone over, “Wanna… I don’t know, see the pictures we took when together and before all went to shit?” Sans offered, not ready to finish their little meeting yet.

Dust thought about it for a few moments to then nod and move to the couch the two were occupying to be able to better see the pictures they brought.

He still didn’t know what he should do but at least he talked it over and could talk with Killer if he needed a second opinion.

Who would have known that crazy bastard would give good relationship advice?

---------------

Dream and Cross were training again, their dance with one another becoming even more fluid, their faces flushed from more than just exertion as they enjoyed each other’s presence. Then there was a stilt in their dance as Cross slipped and accidentally tugged on Dream, the other falling on top of him. Their faces were inches from one another and in that split second they decided to close that distance, kissing passionately.

There was a gasp and a cry followed by little feet running away. When they looked towards the door there was Killer looking shocked at the two and considering how he was supposed to be with Nightmare for the whole day… it explained who was the one to cry out. It didn’t explain why Nightmare cried and ran away from them.

Most kids would react with an ‘ewww’ or something similar but Nightmare wasn’t a normal kid and who knew what the child imagined would happen next. And so the two skeletons on the ground scrambled up and went towards the door, Dream feeling for his brother only to find him hiding his aura away. 

Killer frowned, “Since when were you two dating? Did I miss it?”

Dream and Cross blushed, “No, we didn’t make it official yet.” Dream said, twirling his thumbs.

“Then you better find Nightmare and tell him before he decides you are keeping secrets from him.” He said seriously.

Cross blushed, “Why would it matter? It’s not like much will change…” He muttered, probably worried about talking romance to the kid.

Killer growled, “Are you daft? He’s probably thinking you are going to steal Dream or something like that. The kid is carrying trauma over trauma, why do you think he doesn’t need to know about his family’s relationships?” He snapped, jolting the two into action, running through the halls and looking into rooms to try and find Nightmare.

Dream finally found him in the library, hidden between the shelves and crying, “Oh, Nighty…” Dream tried to get closer when Nightmare glared at him and separated them with a wall of bones.

“No! Leave! Go back to Cross, why are you here? Not like you need me anymore!” Nightmare said between sobs.

Dream frowned, “What? Nighty, me being with Cross doesn’t mean I don’t need you anymore. You are my only brother, of course I need you.” He said softly.

Nightmare shook his head, “No! You love him now, why would you care about me anymore and with Cross you will steal everyone else and I will be all alone again! Of course he likes you more than me, everyone does!” He cried.

Dream shook his head adamantly, “No, Nighty! I love you and I love Cross, but those are two different kinds of love. Please, brother, I am not going to leave you and neither will the others!” Dream shouted desperately. 

His loud tone caught Cross’ attention, getting him to join them. When Nightmare noticed him, Nightmare glared, “Traitor! You are going to steal my brother and my friends!” He shouted, his aura flaring out in waves.

Cross staggered under it but shook his head, “No, kiddo! We are not going to leave you, no one will leave you. We can still be friends, no matter what is between me and Dream!” He called over the wail of the magic in the air.

Killer found them as well and shortcut behind the wall of bones, gathering Nightmare into his arms, “Come on, kiddo, breathe. It’s going to be alright, we are here, we love you.” He said with an honest tone. 

Nightmare devolved into full out sobbing, clinging to Killer, the bones disappearing and his aura calming down. Killer glared at the two and motioned for them to follow him and Nightmare as he headed towards Nightmare's bedroom. Once there Killer climbed into the bed with Nightmare sniffing and curled in his arms the two stood at the side of the bed, “Now, kiddo. Let’s have a nice, calm talk.” Killer coaxed, rubbing his back in slow circles.

Nightmare nuzzled into Kiler’s chest, trying to hide in  his jacket, “Everyone leaves me, I will be alone again, and now I don’t even have my mom.” He mumbled miserably.

Dream got closer, “Brother, it’s not true. We are not leaving you. Just because we find ourselves lovers doesn’t mean they take your place. What we feel towards our partners and towards you is different. No one can take your place in our lives.” He said in an honest tone.

Cross nodded, “Yes, I will always be your friend, even as Dream’s boyfriend.” He promised.

Nightmare looked at them both with a teary face and nodded slightly to then hide in Killer’s chest. The skeleton hugged Nightmare close and nuzzled the top of his skull, “How about a nap kiddo? You need it.”

Nightmare nodded and cuddled into Killer, letting out a small sigh as a blanket was wrapped around him.

Cross and Dream nodded at Killer, “We will leave him with you, thank you Killer.” Dream whispered as Nightmare’s breathing evened out.

While that would have been handled better, at least it wasn’t a total disaster. 

-------------

Unaware of what was happening in the Doodlesphere, Farm and Horror were walking through the streets of a city in one of the surface AUs. They decided to go out on a date, Horror having invited Farm with his face brightly flushed.

Farm noticed a nice ice-cream stand and took Horror’s hand tugging him towards it. Once both were in the line they blushed, realizing they were now holding hands. Though that didn’t make them part their hands.

Once in the front both took their portions and headed to the park to eat and talk, about everything and nothing, simply enjoying each other’s presence. The warm weather, accompanied by the sweet smell of flowers made for the perfect atmosphere for a date and thus many couples were attending the park, but the two skeletons paid them no mind.

Miraculously they found a free bench under the shade of a willow, right next to the pond, giving them a good view. Horror looked at Farm with a small blush, “I’m sorry, I’m not the best at planning.” He said softly.

Farm smiled and shook his head, “Don’t be sorry, I’m really enjoying myself. It’s nice to relax for a while and it’s even more enjoyable in a good company.” He said softly.

Horror blushed and his eye caught sight of some ice-cream that remained in the corner of Farm’s mouth. He decided to just go ahead and gently held Farm’s chin and kissed him in the corner of his mouth, “There was ice-cream…” He whispered upon the end of the kiss, his face bright red as Farm blushed bright green.

Emboldened by it, Farm gently cupped Horror’s face and tugged him for another kiss which the other returned eagerly. They kissed for a long time, soaking up the touch of their partner.

--------------

Still torn over the issue with Dream and Cross, Nightmare went with Mare to work on the negative wall again, the black obstacle practically gone now. Nightmare tore it with an unseen before by Mare vitriol, but when remembering what Killer told him happened lately he wasn’t that surprised.

“Come on, kid. Talk to me.” Mare said once the wall broke down and Nightmare sat in the snow with a pout.

Nightmare looked at Mare and picked him up from the boulder he was standing on, “Dream took away my friend, he has so many and he still took Cross.” He muttered bitterly.

Mare hummed, “Well, he will take some of Cross’ time away from you, but you know he is not taking Cross as a friend but as a lover?”

Nightmare grimaced even more, “But what is the difference?” He asked, clearly frustrated.

Mare sighed, this was getting dangerously close to a sex talk he had to avoid earlier. “You see, a friend is a platonic companion, but a lover shares more physical aspects…” He said calmly.

Nightmare tilted his skull, “Like kissing?”

Mare nodded, “Yes, like kissing and more that you are too young for.” He said simply.

Nightmare sighed and got up, putting Mare on his shoulder and headed towards the doorway, “Well, at least I’m done with the wall. Hope negativity will settle down now.” He muttered.

Mare hummed, “How about we go, tell Ink we are done and then go on to Dreamtale for a relaxing time?” He asked, patting Nightmare’s cheek in a soothing manner.

Nightmare nodded and closed the door to the Doodlesphere behind himself to then start heading towards the manor, “I hope Ink is there… I don’t remember them telling me about a meeting but they often do one without planning.” He said with a sigh. He really didn’t like how chaotic Ink was, it meant he couldn’t predict what he would do next, and when he can’t predict his moves, he can’t prepare for them.

Inside Nightmare felt many auras in the meeting room and headed there. Inside he noticed many but seeing Dream and Cross sitting next to each other soured his mood. Purposefully ignoring the two Nightmare walked to Ink and tugged on his scarf, when usually he would approach Dream first.

Ink looked down and grinned, “Hey, Nightmare! What do you need, kiddo?” He asked with his eyes jumping between shapes.

Nightmare scowled, “The wall is now fully down. Do you need me for anything else?” He asked back, idly petting Mare on his shoulder.

Ink hummed as he checked the notes on his scarf, “Nope, not that I know of, you are free for now.”

Nightmare nodded, “I will leave then.” He said and without speaking to anyone else left the room, leaving some confused skeletons in his wake and discouraged Dream.

Ink seemed to be the only one amused by the situation, “Wow Dream? Did you have a fight with Nightmare?” He asked with a chuckle.

Cross glared at Ink as he patted Dream’s back while Killer huffed, “Nightmare is not happy Cross and Dream are dating and these two still didn’t give him enough reassurance, more focused on each other.” When it seemed Dream wanted to argue, Killer growled, “How else would you name it when you left him with me to go talk with Cross right after he cried.”

Dream flinched, “He was clinging to you, he obviously didn’t want me there.” He whispered.

Wine sighed, “From what I hear he is pushing you away because it hurts less than being left behind.” He said, Dream getting a guilty look for not having realized it.

Cross squeezed his shoulder gently, “I will talk with him when I get the chance, even if he tries to get rid of me.” He said in a confident tone. He can be persistent, he survived in the white void, he can talk to a kid about dating his brother.

Meanwhile Nightmare was killing time in Dreamtale, walking in the forest, exploring it, letting the memories of his childhood fill him. Even if most were negative, there were still some happy highlights. 

Most included either Dream or his mother which soured them a bit. He hated that Dream got Cross and so many other friends. Nightmare knew he would never have so many friends, and that made him possessive of the few he does have. To have one just stolen from him like that made him feel bitter and sad and… if he’s going to be abandoned anyway, why should he try? It’s better to walk away first and avoid most of the hurt.

He was sure Mare and the others didn’t agree with this outlook, but what did they know? They didn’t live Nightmare’s life, they also made more friends over time, friends their age. He noticed Horror and Farm getting closer, he noticed Dust talking a lot with Red and Sans… only Killer seemed to stick by him, not trying to make more friends, but he also spent a lot of time with Dust, Horror and Cross. Who is to say he won’t leave when those three do?

He can only trust Mare to never leave him.

Mare who was freed from the apple and who still hissed at anyone not Nightmare who tried to touch him or even looked at him for too long. Mare who slept by Nightmare’s pillow and petted his cheek when he thought he saw something Nightmare would like. 

If the worst comes to it he can just move into one of the empty houses with Mare and stay here forever, hoping his mother will one day speak from within the new tree that was growing from the stump. He knows how to take care of himself, he already was alone as a child, but now he at least will have Mare… so not fully alone.

It’s going to be alright…

Chapter Text

Hearing about Nightmare’s trouble, Dust was tempted to cancel the date with Red and Sans but Mare told him to go and also think on how to tell Nightmare about him dating as well… and to warn Horror to prepare himself as well.

He felt a bit guilty, but at this point he's practically used to ignoring guilt, but this one was a bit harder to push aside… he didn't want to see Nightmare’s teary face, looking at him with these big puppy eyes.

“Heyah Dust, ready to go?” Red asked as the two appeared at their meeting spot.

Dust nodded, “Yeah, I'm ready, alright…” He mumbled, going with them, letting them show the way. He had no idea what they had planned for today, only hoped it was nothing too… outgoing.

They walked down the street and reached a karaoke bar. Dust frowned, not knowing why they chose here. Sans noticed his look and grinned, “We chose the place mostly for the food, since we figured Grillby’s may be a bit much and this place has got private rooms so we will have some freedom to talk.” He explained.

Dust hummed, “Okay, as long as I don’t have to sing I’m good.”

Red sniggered, “Well, I am going to let you hear my angelic voice.”

Sans snorted, “Red, you sound like a dying chainsaw.” He teased amused.

Red tutted, “Ah, I sound like that only when I sing high and drunk.” He said with a smug wink.

Dust smirked, “You mean otherwise you sound like an angel?” He asked as they entered the building, Sans talking with the front desk. They gave him the number of the room they have and off they went… for the best, the human at the front desk made Dust itch to summon a bone, for self-defense or not, who knows.

“Hell no, but maybe closer to a smoking rock band member screaming into the microphone.” Red said with a shrug and so on they went. First they ordered some food, getting a few plates of fries and fried chicken paired with beer. 

“Heard Nightmare has a big case of baby blues.” Red said as they waited for the food.

Dust sighed, “I wouldn’t call it that. He’s rather worried about everyone leaving him for someone else. He definitely didn’t grow up with normal relationships around him. He doesn't understand that romantic and platonic are different. And honestly, not many kids get it, but most didn’t grow up the way Nightmare did.” He said with a shrug.

The two hummed, “Well, if you need us to back off to make him feel more secure, give us a heads-up.” Sans said with a soft smile.

Red nodded in agreement, “Yeah, and if you think we can talk with him to make him feel better we will do that as well.” He assured him.

Dust smiled weakly, “Thanks… but I'm guessing you didn't invite me for a date to talk about Nightmare.”

Red smirked, “You got us there sweetheart, we brought you here to woo you with fast-food and our angelic voices.” He joked earning himself a chuckle from Dust.

Soon the food came and as promised Red put on a show of his singing, getting Sans and Dust to laugh happily, and as they ate they also talked, Dust getting reacquaintanced with them. He didn’t see himself getting in a relationship so quickly, but he didn’t see a reason to keep them away from him. 

He just hopes Dream and Cross will explain the relationships right. He doesn't want to stress the kid out by adding his own to it and Horror is sure to feel bad about it.

-------------

It was pretty early but both Nightmare and Cross were early risers so he didn't worry much about looking for him too early when he went down to the kitchen. 

He hoped to catch Nightmare before he started preparing himself breakfast and seemed he was in luck.

Nightmare was just pulling out a carton of milk from the fridge, “Hey, kiddo. How do you feel about spending the day with me? I know a nice breakfast place where we can go and then we can play around.” He offered with a smile, Nightmare watching him with suspicion.

“Don't you have my brother to be canoodling with?” Nightmare asked bitterly.

Cross held back the flinch. He knew now this was a defense mechanism from Nightmare but that didn't mean it didn't sting, “Nightmare, I'm still your friend, and today I'm all yours.” He said with a small smile.

Nightmare shrugged and put the milk back into the fridge, “Okay, let's go. I'm hungry.”

Cross smiled and offered Nightmare his hand, the other grabbing onto his sleeve instead with a steel expression. Cross didn’t let this phase him and opened a portal to one of the surface AUs where he walked once with Dream and they found a nice diner with a good breakfast menu.

He led Nightmare inside and they chose an out of the way booth. Soon a waitress came and offered them both menus, Nightmare getting the kid menu and crayons that he looked at in distaste, “I will give you cuties time to check over the menu.” She said before going to refill some man's coffee.

Nightmare looked over the menu and quickly decided what he wanted, to then angrily start scribbling on it as Cross decided what to get but mostly thought how to talk to Nightmare without making this an argument.

“Okay, cuties. What can I get for you?” The waitress asked as she appeared at their booth, notepad at the ready.

Cross smiled, “I will take coffee, eggs and bacon with hash browns.” He said calmly.

Nightmare hummed, “I want blueberry pancakes with eggs and bacon and orange juice.” He said petulantly.

“Got it, I will bring your drinks in a bit.” The lady said with a cheery smile and left.

Cross put down the menu and fidgeted with his hands, “Okay, Nightmare. I know this situation is new to you and all, but you need to understand… Dream will be your brother no matter what. And I will always be your friend too. That will never, ever change.” He said softly, pausing as the waitress brought their drinks.

Nightmare scoffed, “Don't lie, I know how things work. You like Dream more than me now, you don't want to be my friend anymore, because everyone likes Dream and not me.” He said with a pout, his eyes betraying his sadness.

Cross took Nightmare’s hand and squeezed gently, “Nightmare I like you, love you as my friend who I owe to so much and that will never change. But I also love Dream in an intimate way. You I love in a platonic way.” He said softly, “When you grow up you will too find someone you will love romantically, who you will want to kiss with and do other stuff. And that won't mean you don't want to be friends with Killer and the others anymore, right?”

Nightmare nodded but the conversation took a break as the waitress brought their meals and they focused on eating breakfast. The child was a bit subdued but at least he wasn't glaring daggers at Cross anymore, so it was an improvement. 

After breakfast Cross took Nightmare to a trampoline park where they had some fun, Nightmare finally smiling again. After that they got some crepes and relaxed in the park, Nightmare napping on his shoulder adorably.

Cross hoped that means Nightmare won't feel threatened by his relationship with Dream again, but he also knew that Nightmare will have his issues that will pop up whenever he feels anxious.

But as long as they try it's going to be alright.

----------

Horror and Farm were working side by side and chatting as Horror tried to bring up the topic that was bothering him, more accurately, Nightmare.

The child was lately rather touchy about intimate relationships and worried about being abandoned. And while now he and Farm were practically an official couple it would do well to tell Nightmare and explain it to him.

“Hey, Farm…” Horror spoke softly, the other humming to show he was listening, “You heard about the things happening around Nightmare lately?” He asked and when Farm nodded he continued, “I think I should tell Nightmare about the two of us and maybe stay the night with him, show I'm not going anywhere.”

Farm smiled, “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Let me bake something for Nightmare, show him I'm a friend to him too. That I'm not about to steal away his friend.” He said softly.

Horror hugged Farm, nuzzling his skull, “Thank you, you are the best.” He said, kissing his cheek.

Farm blushed, “I try my best, bud.” He said with a wink. Horror chuckled and kissed him gently, Farm deepening the kiss, tangling their tongues together but they were broken apart by the hens screaming at them that Horror’s attention was not on them, and that was blasphemous. How dare their favorite person not pay them any attention?

The two laughed and went back to work.

----------

And as he planned, Horror called Nightmare and made sure the kid had a day they could spend all together, just the two of them. He came with a bag of food for the two of them and met Nightmare in front of the house in Doodlesphere. 

Nightmare ran out to meet him, jumping at him with a happy laugh, “Horror! Hi! I missed you!” He said, purring as Horror hugged him close.

“Hey kiddo, I missed you too.” He said, nuzzling his skull, “So, I heard you want to go camping with me? You are in luck, I'm a master of camping.” He said with a grin.

Nightmare nodded, “I heard it's fun, but I never did it before. Can we camp in Dreamtale? Can we?” He asked excitedly.

Horror nodded, “I don't see why not.” He said, heading to the doorway to Dreamtale, “Farm made us food to share. He couldn’t come because of the work on the farm, but wanted to somehow help in our little adventure.” He said softly.

Nightmare blushed happily, “Farm is nice… you have those feelings that Dream has for Cross…” he added a bit anxiously.

Horror hummed as he opened the door and they walked through and started walking up the hill, “Well, yeah, me and Farm are together. But that doesn't mean I won't be your friend. Farm also wants to be your friend. We won't abandon you just because we are dating.” He said softly. 

Nightmare nodded, cuddling into Horror a bit subdued as he absorbed the news. He definitely took it easier than the news about Dream and Cross, but that may also be that Horror vowed to spend a whole day with him now, while Dream often is too busy to sacrifice a whole day for him like this.

When they reached the hill by the tree stump Horror set up a nicely sized tent where the two of them would sleep, with a sleeping mat spread on the floor and two sleeping bags with pillows added in so they slept comfortably.

After that Horror went with Nightmare to the river where they gathered large stones to make a nice ring for the firepit, “Okay kiddo, how about we go for a walk in the forest and gather wood for the fire?” He asked, grabbing a large bag.

Nightmare nodded excitedly and together they walked through the forest, Nightmare sharing with Horror stories of his childhood here, what he amd Dream would do, how they collected fruit or herb and flowers, how they played here or how they ran through the forest before sunset would catch them unaware away from the tree.

Together they spent an amazing day, eating the food Horror brought and what they foraged in the forest. Horror lit up the fire letting them make baked potatoes and smores. They talked well into the night to then watch the stars until Nightmare drifted off. With a smile Horror put out the fire and tucked Nightmare into his sleeping bag to then enter his own, falling asleep easily after the pleasant day.

-----------

After Nightmare was back he was clearly in a better mood and when the next meeting happened he came inside and sat with a monster he didn't see for a long while who was now feeling a bit different. 

“Hi, kiddo.” Geno said with a smile, accepting Nightmare onto his lap where the child cuddled up to him.

Nightmare looked at Geno with an innocent look, “Why do you feel different? Like there is a smaller aura inside of you?” He asked softly, making Geno and Reaper who was next to him blush brightly.

“W-well, you see Nightmare. I'm pregnant, so I have a little souling in me that has their own aura.” Geno explained as the others tried to not think about one of their alternates having a baby with yet another alternate. It was definitely too complicated.

Nightmare nodded and pet Geno's belly, “So there's a little skeleton in there?” He asked, “Or is it a little ball of energy that you will create a body later? Use a skeleton, flesh bodies are not used to magic, they explode.” He said resolutely, Geno blinking stupefied as Dream covered his face.

He hoped to hold back on that talk, but seems he will at least have to explain that not all monsters get born like they were born. 

This is going to be difficult to explain without having Nightmare bring up the dreaded question ‘ Where do babies come from? ’ 

Once Geno shook that question off he smiled, “Well, not all monsters get born the same way, you will have to ask Dream about that. For now just know the baby is growing well and healthy.” He said softly.

Nightmare smiled and cuddled up to Geno, “I know, the soul is feeling really happy now.” He whispered. Geno chuckled softly and pet Nightmare’s skull as the child relaxed on his lap.

The rest of the meeting went by calmly as they discussed different things happening across the Multiverse, Dream happily sharing that he almost finished returning the balance of feelings to where it should be.

Ink was talking about the latest AUs Error have destroyed, all of them either empty or with corrupted code. And when the talk of code was mentioned Ink started counting out possible signs of corruption and warned them to inform either Ink or Error if they ever notice as such in hopes of stopping this before it gets to the point that Error has to destroy an AU to stop it spreading it towards the rest of the Multiverse.

As the talk happened Geno cooed, getting everyone's attention, Dream immediately getting out his phone to take pictures of his brother who fell asleep cuddled into Geno's chest, holding onto the frayed ends of his scarf. Even Reaper couldn’t fight that cuteness, watching his lover and the sleep child with a lovestruck gaze.

Who could ever resist that sight?

Chapter Text

After the meeting when Nightmare woke up from his nap Dream took his brother to the kitchen to eat lunch. He was so worried about raising that point, but someone had to and he was Nightmare’s family.

“Now, Nighty, you asked Geno about his pregnancy, right?” When he got his brother’s attention and a nod in answer he continued, “You need to know that we weren't born the way normal monsters were born. You see…” He paused, blushing a bit.

Nightmare pouted, “Are you going to say I'm too little to learn about it again?” he asked bitterly.

Dream shook his head, “No, I'm just trying to figure out a way to explain it without going into details that you ARE too young for.” He said softly.

Nightmare nodded, “But… if it's tied to monster biology then I should know as many of the details as possible. I do have a monster body after all.” he demanded.

Dream sighed, “Okay, I will try then…” he took a deep breath and continued, “So, when two monsters love each other very, very much, they want to be intimate, like kissing or making love. For monsters to get pregnant there needs to be love and the intent to have a baby.” He started, Nightmare nodding.

“What does ‘making love’ mean?” Nightmare asked innocently.

That made Dream blush even more, “W-well, it varies between monster kinds, but skeletons have something called ecto and after summoning it they… well…” he started stumbling over his words. That was definitely getting too close to THE TALK.

Nightmare sighed, “So… when I get older?” 

Dream smiled and nodded with a relieved breath, “Yes, but I need to warn you as you travel more and more AUs. If anyone ever touches you or talks to you in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable, I want you to get out of there as fast as you can, no matter the means, and tell me or the others that you trust.” He said with a serious expression. 

Nightmare nodded, “Okay, I will do that, brother.” He said softly, finishing his food, “Can I go play with Error? He wasn't at the meeting, do you know where he is?” He asked hopefully. It was much too long since he last spent some time with the destroyer.

Dream hummed, “I think he is in his Antivoid. But Ink said he's working on fixing code errors.” He explained.

Nightmare deflated and took his phone out, “Oh, maybe I will just text him if he wants to hang out later when he's not busy.” He said, sending him a text and then jumping off the chair, “I will see if maybe others are free.” He said, only to yelp as he fell through a glitchy portal that opened under his feet.

Error caught him in the strings and read, “Hey Error, heard you are busy, wish I could see you but I can wait until you are free, text me then.” He looked at blushing Nightmare tangled in his strings, “You know that no matter how busy I am I will always make space for you, kid. Did you have anything you wanted to do?” He asked, letting Nightmare down so he could make himself comfortable in a beanbag.

Nightmare blushed, “I… I found some embroidery hoops and I wanted to learn how to do that.” He said softly.

Error smiled, “Okay, I will show you and then give you hints as you start working on the basic stitches for embroidery and I will work on codes, okay?” He offered.

Nightmare smiled and nodded, taking everything out of his inventory as Error’s phone rang. The destroyer picked up, “Yeah?... no, Dream, I didn't do it by accident. I wanted to spend some time with Nightmare and so I'm doing it.” He said calmly, “I will drop him off for dinner, bye.” He finished and hung up, looking at Nightmare with a smile, “Okay, let's get this lesson started.” He said softly, giving Nightmare a lesson on everything he knew of embroidering and then let him practice as he started looking over the codes of some AUs that he was alerted about.

“Error…” Nightmare started, Error letting out a hum to show he was paying attention, “Is there a lot of issues with codes lately?” He asked softly.

Error hummed, “No, not really. It's more that in the past I would just destroy any glitching AU, and now I'm fixing it which takes longer. And I still am checking if all the AUs have enough space to safely grow.” He explained.

Nightmare nodded, trying to make a rose on his embroidery, “I see… I also check on the balance of feelings everyday. It is good right now, and I stopped having those weird aches. Do you think it was tied together?” He looked at Error with a worried expression as he asked it.

Error smiled softly, “ Yeah, I think it was, especially with you being so small and it being so out of whack. But seeing as it won't happen again I don't think you have anything to worry about.” He assured him gently.

Nightmare smiled, feeling calmed and returned to his embroidery, Error giving him pointers when he noticed him struggling. By the end of their hangout Nightmare filled the whole material with practice stitches. 

Nightmare left through a portal with a lighter heart, smiling happily as he waved to Error, promising to see him soon.

Error waved back with a smile, glad that he decided to bring Nightmare in for this. He then looked at the letter laying on the ground from the Reapertale Asgore and sighed.

He will be seeing Nightmare soon again and in not as pleasant circumstances as today. 

He just hopes no disaster will strike them.

-----------

The next morning Nightmare was eating some oatmeal with Dream who was sleepily sipping on some coffee when with a flash of light two letters landed on the table in front of them.

Dream tensed while Nightmare poked the letters with his spoon warily, “What is it?” He asked quietly.

Dream picked up the letters, “They are from Reapertale Asgore. It's an invitation for a yearly meeting of gods and guardians. We never got an invitation before because of the fighting… same with Ink and Error. I think because of the peace between the four of us we will be required to come this year.” He said calmly.

Nightmare frowned, feeling anxious now, “We have to? I… what if they are mean?” He asked softly.

Dream smiled reassuringly and kissed Nightmare’s forehead, “Don't worry, we won't let them hurt you. And remember, it's for gods so Reaper and Life will be there as well.” He said in a calming tone.

Nightmare smiled, relaxing slightly, “Okay, when is the meeting?” He asked, returning to his meal. No reason to starve over this.

Dream hummed as he opened the letter to him, “In two weeks. I guess we need to make sure Ink doesn't forget. He may do so at such a time.” 

Nightmare nodded, already rather familiar with Ink's forgetfulness, “Do we need to dress in a special way? The villagers would wear special clothes when there were festivals and other important things happening.” He asked with a tilt of his skull.

Dream continued reading, “There’s nothing there about dress code, but judging by how fancy this is we may need to dress better… We can also ask Reaper about this. He went to those for years so he should know better than us.” He offered with a smile.

Nightmare frowned, “Does that mean clothes shopping?” He asked softly.

Dream chuckled, “Indeed, possibly.” He said calmly, putting down the invitation and returning to his breakfast.

Nightmare groaned, “I don't want to. My clothes are perfectly fine and I have so much already. Something from my closet should fit this occasion.” He whined unhappily.

Dream smiled softly at his little brother, deciding to not answer that, since Nightmare seemed to just want to complain for a bit. He will ask Reaper later what they should wear… he will probably have to make sure Ink is presentable for the event as well… and ensure he won't forget about the meeting.

He just hopes nothing bad comes out of it.

------------

When the time came Dream was wrangling Ink, who refused to dress up as Nightmare watched them struggle with Mare in his lap. The twins were dressed in matching black suits, Dream with a golden necktie while Nightmare had purple one. Mare himself was dressed into a long black dress.

Dream finally got Ink to wear a button-up shirt and a suit vest and looked towards Nightmare, finally seeing Mare was also all ready to go, “No, he's not going with us.” He said calmly.

Nightmare pouted, “He's a part of me and he was a guardian longer than me. If he isn’t coming then I'm not coming either.” He said with a steel tone, holding quiet Mare closer. The bitty didn’t care either way, honestly, he would rather stay, but if Nightmare wanted him there he's not going to tell him no.

Dream and Nightmare glared at each other for a few moments before Dream wilted with a sigh, “Okay, you can take him, but you are going to make sure he doesn't do anything.” He said calmly.

Nightmare nodded and helped Mare get on his shoulder where he sat silently. Soon enough Ink came, looking at least half presentable and the group left through a portal to Reapertale.

On the other side Error was waiting for them, wearing his usual patched coat and a sweater, but swapping his shorts for suit pants and his flip-flops for dress shoes. 

Nightmare beamed when he saw his friend, “Hi, Error!” He called, rushing to his side.

Error smiled at the kid, “Hey, squirt. Ready for the most boring meeting of your life?” He asked teasingly.

Nightmare hummed, “If it's so boring why do they organize it?” He asked softly, taking the hand Error offered to him.

“They want to harbor friendships and all between gods. Since if we are to fight it ends up a bit more destructive than if just two normal monsters were to fight.” Error explained with a shrug.

Mare scoffed, “Ain't that an understatement.” He mumbled, Nightmare glancing at him with a frown.

“So they won't try to fight here, right?” He asked the Destroyer.

Error hummed, “They shouldn't, but if they try… hide in the shadows.” He whispered.

Nightmare nodded, letting Mare climb into his hand where he held him closely.

Dream joined Nightmare and took his brother’s hand, smiling at him reassuringly.

Ink grinned, “Wanna hold hands too, Error?” He asked teasingly.

Error grimaced, “Only if it's not attached to you.” He whispered and followed the twins as they entered the main hall, Ink cackling as he went with him.

The inside was lavishly decorated, and many gods were milling about already, whispers following the four as they walked deeper into the building.

Nightmare curled on himself when he noticed gazes falling on him, moving closer to Dream, feeling nervous.

He didn't have good experience with gods, even if he only met Knowledge and War. Life and Reaper were different… Life was nice, and Reaper was a version of him, he had to be nice, right?

Dream squeezed Nightmare’s hand reassuringly, “It's going to be okay, brother, we will keep you safe.” He said quietly.

Error smirked, walking close, “Stand strong, they look because you are strong and to be feared. Don't show weakness, kiddo.” 

Nightmare nodded, taking a deep breath and straightening his spine, putting on a confident face. He won't let them think he's weak, he won't be weak again… never again.

------------

“Asgore, they are here.” War said, the head god, humming from his throne as his right hand came in.

“Well, let’s hope then they will listen to reason.” He said, standing up and putting on a kind smile, trying to hide his inside thoughts.

The two left the throne room to join the guests in the main hall, coming just in time as the four newcomers reached the middle of the hall, “Welcome, gods, goddesses and guardians. Let's give an especially warm welcome to the four guardians of balances that have finally reached peace and could join us here.” He said, opening his arms in an inviting motion.

Nightmare hugged Dream’s leg as he saw him, “He feels dark, I don't like him.” He whispered, Dream petting his skull.

“He's the king of gods and as such certainly has an agenda. Let's just get through the meeting and we can leave.” Dream assured him.

Asgore’s voice boomed over the room again, “Now, we have quite a few topics to talk over, let us move to our seats.” He motioned over and the gods started moving, everyone finding their seats, Nightmare happily sitting between Dream and Error, who made Ink swap places with him, ignoring insulted glances of other gods at him.

The child started looking around and when he spotted Reaper and Grim he waved to the gods, who nodded at him with a smile. When he spotted Life, she was sitting at the top of the table, next to Asgore, looking so unhappy that it was almost tangible in the air, so he stopped the wave, not wanting to make her more annoyed. But then she spotted him and actually smiled at him, giving him enough bravery to give a little wave that she returned, before with a frown looking ar Asgore who sat next to her.

“Now, let us start.” Asgore said, starting with the topic of some fae forests in the AU, going through other boring topics. That led Nightmare to doze off, his mind drifting as he pet Mare, waiting for anything of note to catch his attention.

He knew he should probably pay attention, but as a child, he was woken up for it even earlier than usual and this was boring. He would rather be home with his books or playing with his friends.

But then his body froze, his soul stopping as Asgore brought up the next topic, “Now, let's talk about locking away the negative apple.” 

Dream got up, clearly enraged, “Excuse me, but what?! No one is taking away anything of my brother and definitely not the apple of negativity. He is the guardian and he is the one who will guard it.” He said with a steel voice.

Asgore smiled a paternal smile that made Nightmare’s insides itch, “Now… this is not how we make decisions here.”

“He said no.” 

Everyone froze at the voice, one that brought terror to them all, eyes focused on Mare who was standing on the table in all his miniature glory.

“Demon!” War yelled, glaring at Nightmare, “You brought him here!”

Nightmare grabbed Mare and held him close before she could do anything, jumping down from his seat and running towards a pillar, standing in the shadow of it, “Mare is mine, the apple is mine, I won't let you take either of them!” He yelled, the time slowing down as if frozen as he waited to see if he would need to hide in the shadows.

This was not how he expected the meeting to go… Can it even get worse?

Chapter Text

War summoned her spear and threw it at Nightmare who ducks the hit, Dream summoning his bow and arrows, shooting at her, Error and Ink attacking her as well as more gods joined the fight, some screaming to stop it, some yelling to capture Nightmare.

The child though was under the table, trying to calm down enough to hide in the shadows, Mare whispering to him soothingly and just in time he managed to melt into the shadows with the bitty skeleton, as someone reached under the table to drag Nightmare out.

In the shadow realm Nightmare started crying, rocking his body as he clung to his wrist where he had the inventory bracelet, the negative apple hidden within it.

“Nightmare, kid, please breathe and calm down.” Mare tried to soothe him, wishing anyone else was here as well… even Ink could probably handle it better.

The shadow realm rippled as Nightmare took a shaky breath, slowly calming down, tears still falling down his pasty cheeks, “Why does everyone hate me? I didn’t do anything to them… Is negativity that bad?” He asked weakly.

Mare shook his head, “No kiddo, they are just paranoid. They know just how powerful you will grow to be, and think it would be easier to stop you before you get any ideas. Dream went the better route, raising you right so you don’t feel the need to corrupt again. They think if there’s no apple there’s no risk of corruption anymore.”

Nightmare frowned, “It’s not fair. I’m not locking War up because she may cause another conflict. I’m not locking knowledge away because she gave humans knowledge to kill and hurt others more effectively. I’m not locking Reaper away to stop death. Why am I any different?” He asked weakly.

Mare petted his cheek, “I don’t know. Sometimes things and people just don’t make sense. Sometimes they just do things that their lowest instincts tell them to do.” He said calmly.

Nightmare pouted, “That’s dumb.” He mumbled.

Mare chuckled darkly, “Doesn’t change the facts, kid.” He said calmly, “So, ready to take a look back into the meeting?” He asked.

Nightmare nodded and opened the veil between the shadows, looking through to see what’s happening on the other side.

-----------

“He escaped!” One god, who was reaching under the table, called out.

Dream growled, “Good, if any of you got your hands on him I wouldn’t care for peace anymore. You would be dead!” He yelled.

“Yeah, what he said!” Ink called out, waving his summoned brush.

Error nodded, glaring at the gods, Reaper looking just about ready to snap and start a killing spree with hugs.

“Calm yourself, guardian of positivity. We just want to keep the Multiverse safe.” Asgore said with a paternal tone, though he couldn’t hide the anger from his tone.

Dream scoffed, “You are just trying to make some demented version of Rapunzel out of him. Keeping him locked away and separated from his element, from his duties, friends and family. You can stick that in your arse, Nightmare is my brother and he will stay by my side and the apple with him.” He snarled.

 “I agree with Dream, though I don’t condone such language.” Life said calmly, glaring at Asgore, “A child should be with his family. If you try to separate them, I will not be standing still. And neither will the other gods of my faction. Are you ready to start an all out war?” She asked with a dark tone.

Asgore suddenly got quiet, as reality hit him. He certainly didn’t expect so many to be on the side of the guardian of negativity.

Suddenly Mare’s voice rang out on the table, “Is it safe for Nightmare to get back here?” He asked, his small form glaring at War who was twitching as if ready to summon another spear.

“Yes, we are going home. I hope the meeting next year you will actually act like the adults you are.” Dream said, kneeling by the table to help Nightmare out from under it as he emerged from the shadows, cuddling into Dream’s neck as he was picked up, waving to Life and Reaper, the two waving back to the still frightened child.

--------- 

A few days after the meeting it was still hard to see Nightmare, as the child would only leave his room for the meals, and then quickly return to the safety of his bedroom.

Dream worried about him, but no one could get him to talk about this, even Mare wasn’t able to dissuade his fears. 

The situation made everyone tense and some took it worse than the others. Killer above all took it the worst. Everyone lost count of how many times they had to stop him from storming into Reapertale to kill everyone there. They had to stop Cross almost as many times. Horror was more focused on making snacks and leaving them in Nightmare’s room, to ensure he ate enough.

Dust, surprisingly, was rather quiet about the whole situation, though some worried if he  was just a time bomb waiting to explode when everyone was least ready.

And so a week after the meeting of gods when Nightmare didn’t join them for breakfast, Dust suddenly stood up and Ink with Dream tensed, ready to react, “Calm down, I’m not going to attack Reapertale. I don’t have a death wish.”

He ignored Killer’s indignant ‘Hey!’ and left the kitchen, heading to Nightmare’s bedroom, knocking on the door, “Nightmare! I’m coming in!” He called and didn’t wait for an answer.

Nightmare was on the bed, peeking at Dust from under the covers, “What is it Dust?” He asked weakly.

Dust walked to the bed, dragged the covers off and picked Nightmare up, carrying the feebly struggling child out of his room and to the training room, “I think it’s enough hiding, Nightmare. I understand that you are scared. We all do, but you can’t hide from your fears, you need to face them.” He said, putting Nightmare down to stand on his feet.

“But… how can I stand up against them?” Nightmare asked weakly.

Dust smiled gently, “Just because they are stronger than you, doesn’t mean you should roll over and let them take over.” He said softly, “Instead, you should focus on getting stronger. And that’s what we are going to do. We will train so that next time you are attacked you can protect yourself.”

Nightmare relaxed a bit, nodding wordlessly, since he really didn’t have an argument against it. What followed were two hours of an intense lecture about fight tactics and fighting styles, and homework for Nightmare to decide which style fit him the most.

And yet, by the end of it, Nightmare didn’t run back to his room again, instead choosing to spend the day with Dust and Killer as Cross went with Dream to check over the Multiverse.

--------

A few days later, Nightmare came to the meeting room, happy to see Horror after a long time. 

The large skeleton caught the child that jumped at him, hugging him close, “Hey, Nightmare, glad to see you feeling better.” He said with a smile.

The young guardian beamed, “I feel better too and Dust is training me. He's amazing with magic, like really. But he said he's got something to do today so I have a day off from training. Are you busy today?” He asked with a puppy gaze.

Horror hummed, “No, Farm told me there's no tasks he needs me for today, but he went with his brother to the market to sell some things, so I'm all yours today.” He assured.

Nightmare beamed, squealing when suddenly Killer stole him from Horror’s arms, nuzzling his skull, “I feel hurt, you didn't ask me to spend time with you on your day off.” He whined playfully, avoiding Nightmare’s swatting hands.

“If you or Cross want you can join too. It's going to be more fun with more folks.” Nightmare said with a smile.

Killer grinned, “Knew you will see it that way. Any plans for today?” He asked eagerly.

Nightmare hummed as Killer placed him back on his feet, “I don't want to bump into anyone at all… can we play in Dreamtale today?” He asked.

Cross nodded with a smile, “I'm sure no one will mind if we go there to play around.” He assured the child.

With the destination in mind they grabbed some snacks, just in case and headed to the empty AU where they immediately had to run after the young god that rushed into the forest, giggling wildly.

“I swear, if he wasn't a guardian of negativity he would be a fae.” Killer grunted out between pants as they tried to catch up to Nightmare who was dashing between the trees and shrubbery without any issues.

Cross was less winded but still clearly frazzled, “Yeah, I swear, he's a damn forest spirit.” He whispered, not about to let Nightmare overhear him.

Horror chuckled at them, able to at least gauge where Nightmare was due to his experience with tracking, “If you don't catch up you will get lost.” He teased, following Nightmare at his own pace.

They caught up with him by the river where Nightmare undressed to his shorts and jumped into the water, swimming around with a happy relaxed expression.

Killer grinned and quickly shed his clothes to join Nightmare in the water. Except when he jumped in he immediately had to hold back a swear, “F… wow, kiddo, it's really cold.” He said, his teeth close to chattering. He certainly was not ready for the sudden drop in temperature.

Nightmare paused, his skull tilted cutely, “What do you mean? It's not that cold.” he said with a pout. 

Killer swam to Nightmare and placed the kid on his shoulders, “Oh, you are so cold to me, kiddo. Ignoring my chilled to the bone body.” He teased.

Nightmare laughed, “Killer, but we are just bones.” He said with a smile.

Killer grinned, “That you know of kiddo.” He said with a wink.

Nightmare pouted, placing his hands on Killer’s cheeks, “Are you keeping secrets from me?” He asked softly.

The other skeleton hummed, "Not exactly, you are just a bit too young to attempt that.” He explained.

The child puffed up his cheeks, “I'm better with magic than you, I can bet.” 

Killer smirked, “Oh? Is that a challenge?” He asked, letting Nightmare back into the water when he noticed him wanting to get off.

Nightmare chuckled, “Not much of a challenge.” He said, touching the water, immediately sending Killer running as the water around him became icy cold, while it was slightly steaming around Nightmare.

“That's cheating kiddo!” Killer yelled from the shore where he was shivering.

Nightmare grinned as he started leaving the water as well, “But you started it.” He said, touching Killer who relaxed as warmth filled his body, water steaming from his bones.

“Okay, I bow to your higher expertise, little guardian.” Killer said with a wink, getting dressed again.

Nightmare puffed out his chest getting dried and dressed as well.

Horror and Cross watched amused from the shore, not about to enter the water after seeing Killer’s initial reaction. “What did you want to do, Nightmare?” Horror asked with a smile.

Nightmare hummed, “I wanna explore the tunnels of the old mine!” He declared excitedly.

The adults frowned, “I don't think it's safe, Nightmare. It's been hundreds of years since someone last took care of those tunnels, they may have crumbled already.” Cross spoke gently.

Nightmare deflated, “Oh… I guess you are right.” He whispered dejectedly. 

Killer hummed, “How about we go to the area, and see how things look out there and if it's really degraded we will find another thing to do?” He offered with a soft smile.

Nightmare smiled slightly and nodded, “Okay, I like that idea.” he said slowly, taking Killer’s hand and leading the way through the forest towards the old mines.

He and Dream never went there before, since it was a bit far from the tree and the adults forbid them from going there, but he was always curious about them, ever since he read what mines are in a book.

When they reached the mines Horror and Killer started looking over the main tunnel first, whispering to themselves as Cross waited with Nightmare nearby.

After a few minutes Killer turned to face him with a smile, “We can go, but not too deep and the moment we tell you to leave, we leave. Also, don't get separated from us for even a moment, sounds good?” 

Nightmare nodded, “Yes, I promise to listen to you.” He promised, taking Cross' hand and tugged him forward, his other hand taking Killer’s outstretched hand. Horror followed at the rear, the four of them walking slowly as Nightmare looked around amazed, his eyelights having no issues with the dark tunnels. The support beams, while old, were still rather sturdy, thankfully and there were still carts standing around, waiting to be loaded, even though no one was coming.

“Do you know what they mined in here, Nightmare?” Horror asked as they explored the old mine.

Nightmare hummed, “They had iron ore and sometimes found precious crystals.” He said softly, only to freeze in his tracks, looking towards one of the side tunnels, “What's that?” He asked, pointing there.

The three adults paused, shock clear in their faces…