Archive of Our Own

Work Text

This story will be posted on all fanfiction sites I have an account in. They are all under the name AnnaRaeBanana, and no fanfiction I post on here won't be posted on those sites as well. A few things to note:

1. The first real chapter won't be posted for a while yet; I only just passed into the thick of it. So, if you have the patience to wait, I would greatly appreciate it.

2. Speaking of updates, I hope to do them in a constant order, but so far that hasn't happened. Don't expect them to be regular, however much you want them to be. I am working on a system to do this for future stories, and hopefully, it'll be done soon.

3. As always, please keep an open mind.

Criticism is only allowed if you are going to be nice about it. If you intend to be harsh and judgemental, then I would advise you to leave now. You would not like me when I get provoked; my words can cut deep. Any Constructive Criticism and warnings if the characters are getting too OOC and other warnings you have are all greatly appreciated.

Your friend and writer,

AnnaRaeBanana

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

"In the end, its all a question of balance."

Rohinton Mistry

Anonymous

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

He didn’t believe it.

He couldn’t believe it.

Not his brother. Not his sweet, kind, innocent, good brother. It just didn’t add up.

But the truth was staring at him. All he had to do was look around.

Nothing looked the same. From the ground to the forest to the village; all of it was ruined. Houses had been burnt down and demolished. Bodies of their prior inhabitants lay across the ground, he didn’t know of any survivors. The trees and grass had been stripped of their colour and life, leaving them gray.

Then there was the tree in front of him. This brown, broken, and dead tree. The cause of this disaster.

His kingdom had been proud to be the home of this tree. It’s what put them on the map and had people coming from all over to see it. Just a glimpse, or a picture if they were lucky, was all everyone wanted.

So that they could boast they’d “stood in front of the Tree of Feelings”.

Heh…Feelings.

A curse in itself.

People—Monsters and Humans—claim that they could never live without these feelings. These emotions. Truth is, they just don’t know anything else. And most love pretending that they don’t need to know anything else. The unknown is the most terrifying thing in the world, after all.

At least, that’s the lie they tell themselves. A lie to make challengers quiver and doubt. Make them turn tail and not mess with the ‘perfect’ world they live in.

But this isn’t about him or a lie or a questioning of the universe’s rules.

It’s about Feelings and how nothing good comes out of them.

Which, he thinks, as tears start filling his eye sockets again, is another goddamn lie. But can it be helped? No, because everything he knows is—was—proven to be a great big lie sealed together with little white lies he should have spotted.

Negativity is something people ignore. They want to smash it into a bunch of pieces and then burn those pieces simply because it hurts. Sometimes, they recognize that they need these ‘bad’ feelings. Those people are smart.

They recognize Balance.

If there’s dark, you need light, and vice versa. If there’s creation, you need destruction, and vice versa. Love and hate, sanity and insanity…positivity and negativity…and so many other things. All of these are required to keep a balance.

The people who recognize this are rare. And those that don’t, are the worst, though unfortunately the most common.

It’s their fault this happened. They were the ones who drove his brother to…

He doesn’t understand.

He can’t understand, though he wants to. He wants to so badly.

“Brother…” He says to himself in a broken mutter. The tears were slowing to a stop, finally. “Why…”

He’d been trying in vain to come up with an answer that made sense. He’d tried to place the blame on the people of his kingdom, himself, someone other than his brother.

It’s not working.

The sound of static startles him, bringing him out of his mind. In front of his eye sockets, white blocks appear, making an opening big enough for someone to come through. It looks familiar. Like one of those portals from the desolate kingdom of…

“…A Pixelian Portal?” He mutters, wiping away his tears.

Pixelia Kingdom is known for being small, not really considered a kingdom at all. Only a handful of people live there, all ‘glitched’ in some way. All of them can create these portals to get to another kingdom quickly.

“Ugh, big oof.” A foreign voice startles him again, confirming his thoughts. The voice was glitching a bit, repeating a couple of letters and words with an underlying static. Its pitch kept moving from high to low, like it couldn’t decide what one it wanted. “Whoever it was really did a number on this place, huh?” A skeleton like him came through the portal.

Like the other residents of Pixelia, this one had bones coloured black, yellow, red and blue. They had blue markings under their red eye sockets, just two small squares. Red glasses also sat on their face, held up by pieces of tape.

The most interesting thing about this newcomer, in his opinion, was their eyelights. They were uneven, the right one was a diamond within a diamond, the outer one yellow and the inner blue. A black oval sat in the middle of that eyelight. The left one was a small white circle, going surprisingly well with its opposite.

The clothes on the other’s back were odd, but in a good way.

A yellow robe with black accents was the largest article on them, the sleeves ending a bit before their elbows and the bottom ending just below their knees. The robe was connected with a few strings. Underneath it was a black long sleeved (at least, he guessed it was a long sleeve) shirt with a white pixelated design of a face on it. They were also wearing red sport shorts, ones without the accent line on the side. Black clothing hid under the shorts, though he couldn’t pinpoint what it was. Black and blue gloves were donned on their hands and the same colour scheme was on their boots. On top of everything else, they had on a blue scarf matching the robe in length.

He had never seen a Pixelian before, so his gaze went immediately to the large pen they were holding after everything else. It reminded him of one of those art tablet pens he saw in pictures and around his kingdom, consisting of a black body with a ring of red near the nib and a blue halo with the word ‘error’ printed on it twice at the opposite end.

The next thing he noticed was that the newcomer didn’t notice him. They were too busy looking at the grey around them. He saw them glance at the tree and take a sharp breath. It was a predictable response. The tree had taken a lot of damage from the fight and probably would never recover.

The newcomer continued to look around, never once looking at him.

Weird.

He took the time to wipe away his stray tears and the tear tracks left on his face, wincing as he brushed against the shallow cut on his cheekbone. He forgot about his injuries. Now that he remembered, he could feel exhaustion setting in, his bones aching and the bleeding injuries stinging.

“Oh well!” His attention was drawn back to the newcomer, who looked disappointed yet relieved. Their pen was now resting on their back and they turned back to where their portal used to be. He hadn’t noticed it had closed. “Nothing for me to do here. Guess I’ll head b—”

He was talking before his mind was thinking. “…Who are you?”

The newcomer started.

“GYAHH!” They quickly turned to him, an almost comical surprise on their face. “There was still someone here? Oh!” It must have sunk in that he asked a question. They straightened up, pointing their thumb toward themselves, a grin appearing on their face, revealing yellow teeth. “Well, that’s a great question! I’m Template, a protector of kingdoms! Well, technically self-proclaimed, but…” He tuned out Template’s rambling as a feeling came over him.

He and his brother were connected to the Tree of Feelings, another reason this all happened. See, the tree had these special apples. Apples made of positive and negative emotions. If someone were to eat a positive one, they would be filled with positivity, and that positivity would drown out every other feeling. The same would happen if someone ate a negative one.

The two of them were supposed to guard the tree, protecting it from those who thought to steal and harm it. He guarded the negative side; his brother guarded the positive. He had it easy as no one usually wanted a negative one. His brother, however, had many people asking to have an apple or to hang out.

But that’s not the point.

Both of them had an aura corresponding to the apples they guarded. This aura affected those around them, whether intentionally or not. It also gave them a sort of sixth sense.

They could feel the emotions of those around them.

Templates’ emotions did not go with his act. On the outside, he appeared cocky, confident…happy. The inside, however, was the complete opposite.

Fear. Insecurity. But of what? Template had nothing to fear or be doubtful of, that he could tell. Then again, he said that about his brother and look where that got him. He also hasn’t known Template long.

A thorough mask, in any case.

“How long did it take to perfect that mask?” He blurted out the question before he meant to. Template abruptly stopped. Looking up (when had he looked down?), he saw why.

Template was surprised. Again, predictable. No one expected to have their mask, if they had one, to be torn down in seconds, by a stranger no less. The surprise turned into something more: apprehension. He should calm the other down before he scares them away.

“What do you—” Template started, though he paid no attention to what they were saying.

Someone with a mask tries to hide how they’re feeling. They try to ignore that they need help. They also can’t see that telling people doesn’t automatically mean that they’re bothering them. He made the mistake of overlooking his brother’s fake smiles and promises that he was fine.

Look where that got the both of them.

He can’t let that happen again. It doesn’t matter if he’s just met Template, he can’t let them hide anymore. He needs to save someone, if he couldn’t save his brother.

“It almost perfectly hides it…you’re afraid.” Templates apprehension melted away into some sort of shame and guilt.

“Of what? Please,” He looked right into Templates eyes, trying not to show how desperate he was, “tell me about it. Don’t live forever behind that mask or you’ll make the same mistake as my brother.”

Template held his gaze for a while, staying silent. He just hoped that he got through.

Then, Template broke off, looking to the ground, and he thought they would turn and leave without another word. But they didn’t. Instead, they sat down, setting their pen beside them, and got comfortable.

“…Who exactly are you?”

He relaxed; Template wasn’t leaving. This was good.

The question they asked finally sunk in, and he tensed again. Would they leave, after knowing who he was? Or just act weird? It’s not every day you talk to someone like him, after all.

He could lie. Say a fake name and an excuse why he was here. But that would make him untrustworthy. That, and he doesn’t lie. He made a promise not to.

So, the truth it is.

He closed his eye sockets, not wanting to look at Templates’ reaction, “The first prince of the Kingdom of Dreams,” He heard a sharp intake of breath from his companion,

“Nightmare.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Template kept looking at him with these small pinpricks of eyelights after his reveal.

It was honestly getting annoying.

Nightmare gets it, he really does. It’s not everyday you meet someone like him. After all, royalty doesn’t exactly shout to the world that they exist for fear of being assassinated. But that shouldn’t mean staring.

Not like the villagers did.

The comparison made him stiffen. Rage began to boil in his soul and he snapped, “can you not stare like that?” There was a harshness in his voice that he didn’t mean, but it was too late now.

Template blinked. Did he really not notice he was staring? Template’s expression turned from confused to a sheepish realization, “Oh gosh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to stare.” he said, fidgeting with his fingers slightly, “It’s just…in Pixelia, we don’t have any royalty, and I’ve never encountered any until now…”

It was true. Since the population of Pixelia was so small, they’d never thought to have a leader. They all lived their own lives. No one told them what was right or wrong, except for the unspoken rules they seemed to have.

So, it made sense that Template wouldn’t know how to treat royalty.

Nightmare sighed, “It’s alright. I don’t blame you.”

Template smiled. Nightmare could tell that his words had reassured him by the relief that filled the air after they were said, “Oh, good! I didn’t want to end off on the wrong foot. I’ve had that happen before, and it wasn’t pretty. All I did was ask for an autograph, and instead I got chased out of town. Can you believe it?” Template shook his head in remembrance and fell silent.

The two sat there, neither wanting to leave and waiting for the other to say something.

Nightmare was glad. Template took his class pretty well after the staring; he didn’t bow down and completely treat him like a different person. Nightmare hated that part of being a prince. You could never have any true friends, as everyone was taught to respect and treat you like a god. It was annoying, at least for Nightmare. But Template didn’t do that. He still treated Nightmare like his equal.

Now the only thing that would be annoying would be his rambling. But he could deal with that.

It reminded him of his brother. His happiness drained away at that thought, melancholy and nostalgia replacing it. He doesn’t think that it would ever go away. The grief would remain for years, like someone who lost a loved one. His brother wasn’t dead though, not physically anyway. Mentally was a different story. His body may exist, but the brother Nightmare loved was definitely gone, and a hole ached to be filled because of that.

So, someone might as well have died. It would be easier to explain that what actually happened.

“Say, Nightmare?” Template asked, bringing his attention to reality. The other skeleton was looking around the place, uncertainty radiating off of him.

That made Nightmare curious, “Yes?”

“Can I ask you something?”

Nightmare narrowed his eyes. There was only one question he could ask, and that question was one he feared. But he would have to tell him eventually, so why not right now?

“I suppose.”

Template hesitated, “…what happened here?”

Nightmare stiffened. He was expecting this, but it seems that he wasn’t as prepared as he thought he was. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Template, he did, even though they had only met today, but it was too soon. Much too soon. The memories started playing in his head, making his breath hitch.

First was the morning. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and he was happy. It was his turn to go out to buy things today. Excitement. Nervousness. His little brother was right there beside him, supportive as always.

“You’ll be fine! They won’t even notice you in the cloak. You got this!”

“Hehe, thanks, -----! You always know how to cheer me up.”

“Pssh, You’re too nice, Nightmare!”

Next was the town. He never went out there much because the people hated him. They thought him evil. Bad. Dangerous. They were wrong, and he was starting to believe his brother when he said he was good. Kind. Safe. His brother was the one who came up with the cloak. It worked. The people were so much nicer.

“That will be $12.45, sir.”

“Here! Thank you so much.”

“It’s no problem. Have a nice day!”

“I will!”

But good things don’t last. As he headed home, the sky darkened. At first, he thought it was a thunderstorm. That made him worry. The storms made his brother scared. Terrified. Frightened. His pace quickened. Then the lightning and yelling started. The lightning was wrong. Unusual. Troubling. Yellow. It wasn’t supposed to be yellow. The yelling was coming from the tree. That meant only one thing. His brother was in trouble. Surrounded. Hurt.

“Good! Now take a bite.”

“If you don’t, we could always motivate you.”

“Nightmare won’t be in our way then, and everyone will be happy!”

“It’s two birds with one stone.”

“Don’t you want that?”

“Don’t you want to help us?”

Smug. Triumphant. Pushing. Those were the people’s emotions. Hurt. Anger. Guilt. Those were his brother’s emotions. Nightmare couldn’t tell which was worse. He didn’t know what to expect when he pushed through the crowd, but this wasn’t it. His brother; his sweet, kind, innocent, good brother was there, an apple in hand, and a decaying tree behind him. He locked eyes with him. He couldn’t read him. Panic. He could always read him! What was going on…?

Panic. Hurt. Confusion. Right.

“…Dream?”

Tranquillity. Calm. Peace. Wrong.

“…I’m sorry, big brother…”

He ate the apple…

“—mare!”
He couldn’t breathe. Failure. Traitor. That’s wrong, no, right. He failed his brother. He couldn’t stop him. Betrayal. But he wasn’t a traitor, right? If they were switched, would Dream feel like this? That wouldn’t be right. Dream wouldn’t be sad.

“—ghtmare!”

He was a traitor. Breathe. He shouldn’t think right now. He betrayed Dream. No, Dream betrayed him. Nothing makes sense anymore.

“Nightmare!”

Nightmare gasps. Template is in front of him, worried and concerned. That’s right. He wasn’t witnessing the destruction of his brother. He was after that. This was the aftermath. Shame filled him, but he couldn’t tell if it was his or Template’s… who had just witnessed his panic attack.

That wouldn’t do. If he wanted to bring Dream back, he couldn’t get overwhelmed like this. No matter how much he wanted to, he had to be strong. Dream needed him, if his last words were anything to go by. He would get him back. He wasn’t a traitor, and neither was Dream.

Nightmare closed his eyes and breathed.

“Are—are you alright, Nightmare?” Nightmares eyes snapped open. He forgot about Template, who was still kneeling in front of him, “I’m sorry for asking. I wasn’t—I wasn’t thinking—”

“It’s fine, Template.” Nightmare said, forcing a smile. Template didn’t buy it. “It’s not your fault. I’m okay, though.”

“…you don’t look okay.”

“Well, I am. Or I will be. It’s just a bit too soon to explain, okay?”

Template still looked unsure. But he didn’t say anything. The two sat in silence again. Then Template jumped up to his feet, “Oh! I just remembered. I was supposed to come here and write a report about the destroyed kingdom. Then I was to return to Pixelia!” Template stopped, an idea coming to mind. “Wait!” he turned to Nightmare, “You can come with me!”

Nightmare blinked. “What?”

“Well, your kingdom was destroyed, right?” Template said, shrugging and rubbing the back of his neck. “You need rest. And this place won’t really give you that, with all the memories that may spring up. So, you could come with me? You can hang out in Pixelia to rest and figure out what to do.”

Nightmare began to refuse, but paused. It wasn’t that Template was wrong…he had just never left the kingdom. He didn’t want to leave all this familiarity behind. But Dream…

To save Dream, he would need to leave eventually. And if he stayed here, he would stay trapped in nostalgia and the memories of what he should’ve done. That wouldn’t be healthy. If he went with Template, he would have a friend to help him. And he would get a head start on his quest to save his brother.

“Alright.”

“Aw, come on, don’t be like—wait,” Template blinked, looking befuddled, “did you say ‘alright’?”

“Um…yes?”

“Oh…no one’s said yes before.”

“Oh.” Nightmare said, standing up as well. “But before we go, I need to grab something, if it’s not destroyed.”

Nightmare didn’t wait for Templates answer. He started walking around, searching the ground for his cloak. It had fallen off, more like got ripped off, during his fight with Dream. He wanted to take it with him, as a reminder of what his goal is.

Also, as a reminder of his brother, the one he loved.

There it is. The cloak was buried under some dirt and rocks. It was ripped and torn, but it was still wearable. Nightmare sighed in relief, putting it on. It brought comfort and safety, which is exactly what he needed.

When he turned back to Template, who had followed him around, he found him with a pensive expression, as if he was battling with himself on something.

“What is it?” Nightmare asked. He crossed his arms in defensively.

“Take off your cloak.”

“What? No! I’m not leaving it behind.”

“What? No, no, I don’t want you to—” Template sighed, facepalming himself, “I want to fix it for you.”

“What?”

“FOR THE SAKE OF—I said, I want to fix it for you!”

“I heard you the first time, so there’s no need to shout,” Nightmare said rubbing the side of his skull where his ears would be, “you made my ears—whatever we have—ring. I just wanted to know how you would fix it.”

“Oh.” Template flushed yellow, embarrassment filling him. Then he grinned, “You’ll just have to see.”

Reluctantly, Nightmare took off the cloak, holding it in front of him. Template grabbed his pen from his back, focusing on the cloak and preparing himself. He took in the colors and patterns on it, and pictured what it had looked like when it was brand new.

Template waved his pen around, glowing lines appearing from the tip. The lines swirled around the cloak, lifting it from Nightmare’s hands, who watched in awe. The cloak glowed white, the lines disappearing, and it settled back in his hands.

Nightmare held it up, baffled. It was as good as new. The purple was vibrant and the moon symbol was clear. There was an added silver outline on the back and a new silver coating on the inside. The coating was silky to the touch, and it merged with the note sewn into fabric. It read:

Dear Nightmare,

Happy Birthday!

♥, Dream

Nightmare smiled sadly, but didn’t let himself drown in misery this time. He put the cloak on and told Template he was ready to go. Template nodded and opened the portal, green grass and a colorful world appearing on the other side.

Just before he stepped through, he took one last look at his kingdom.

“I’ll save you, Dream. I promise.” he thought, turning back and stepping into Kingdom Pixelia.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to jump off earth’s surface and be able to defy gravity, be able to fly through the sky and feel the clouds?
Dream had.

He would think about it every day when the people of his kingdom got too demanding. He would wish he could just fly away from everything. Hurl himself into the void, if you will.

But he didn’t do it. He didn’t run away, when he could have. He didn’t stand up for himself, when he could’ve. He didn’t do it because he had to protect his brother. People say the older is supposed to protect the younger, correct? But who protects the older, then? The protection between brothers is a two-way street. They protect each other.

That’s why he didn’t argue when the people had said he had to come into town more often than Nightmare. He didn’t argue when the people proclaimed that Nightmare would make them miserable, and he wouldn’t want that, would he?

Now, though…

Now he’s flying. He’s actually flying. It filled him with happiness and delight, though some part wished to share it with his brother. Which was stupid. Nightmare would only bring negative emotions, which would bring the mood down.

“Positive and negative are two halves of a whole.” he would say, ‘You cannot have one without the other.’

Bullshit.

If that’s true, then why did he feel negative emotions before? It would make sense for the person representing positive emotions to only feel positive emotions, because that is what they represent. Their other half would only feel negative emotions, though, which isn’t good, even if it’s for ‘balance’.

Negativity is a disease. It makes people drown. It makes people think that death is a better alternative than asking for help. Why would anyone want to feel them? Why would the person who represents them accept that that is their job, and nothing more?

He couldn’t understand it.

He didn’t want to understand it.

So, he pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind. He had to keep his mind clear.

BOOM

He paused. That explosion sounded like it shook the ground, not that he could feel it, and it sounded like it was close. His curiosity was peaked. What could’ve caused it? A war? Fireworks? Or perhaps…a destroyer?

He flew down towards the explosion and landed on the ground. He recognized this kingdom. It was Kingdom Alter, a rather small and unknown kingdom. He only recognized it because it was the only kingdom he had ever travelled too.

The kingdom was destroyed. People lay crushed under rubble, limbs sticking out the only indication that there was life here. Ink coated the ground, which trailed back to the skeleton standing in the kingdom’s center. Ink swirled around the skeleton, hiding most of their features.

Dream felt nothing from this stranger. That was new. He always felt something. His curiosity peaked even more. He wanted to figure this out. He smirked, his mind made up.

“Intriguing…”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Pale was frustrated.

Well, actually, he felt nothing. He always feels nothing. But everything he’s read about feelings and emotions pointed to him being frustrated, even if he doesn’t feel it, since, y’know, he doesn’t have a soul to feel things with. No, he wasn’t damaged in some way. He was born like this.

…Being soulless was hard to explain.

Since he was a kid, Pale spent most of his life going from doctor to doctor. He travelled all over the kingdoms, from hospital to hospital. He knew a lot for his age, despite never attending a real school. And Little Pale was happy; he got to travel, never staying in one place for more than a year.

But he grew bored eventually.

So, when his fifteenth birthday came and went, he packed his things and ran. He made it all the way to the Kingdom of Pixelia, but his memories of the time spent there were fuzzy.

He remembers rain, and a glitchy voice shaking him. Remembers almost giving up, but being brought back with gentle hands, then nothing for a long time. Then fire. That’s it. He knows something more happened, but he just can’t remember. He doesn’t want to either.

His memory resumes with him at a bar, surrounded by what people call ‘The Destroyers,’ a group of people who specialize in destroying kingdoms, people, and clothes alike. They do many other things that are considered ‘bad’, but it was the first place Pale felt free.

The problem was, though, he couldn’t actually feel freedom. He got hints, vague impressions of it, but when it came down to it, he couldn’t really feel free. His soulless being was like a chain, forever keeping him from being normal and fitting in. It kept him from being his true self. But this also made him one of the most fearsome Destroyers,  as he couldn’t feel the remorse or compassion needed to not be a destroyer. And he liked it. Sorry, not sorry, but he did.

Which leads him to his present mission: destroying the Kingdom of Alter.

The Destroyers used to have a leader. Their leader was the number one, people were afraid to speak his name. He could bring Kingdoms to their knees with a snap. But one day he disappeared. Rumor was that he retired, but the world refused to believe it. Even now they didn’t, because the Destroyers were still getting missions from an anonymous source. Papers would randomly appear, giving them a Kingdom, day, and time. They all instantly knew what it was. And though they were surprised and confused, they would go along with it.

Pale was pretty surprised himself when a slip of paper appeared in front of him from thin air. There was no indication of where and who it was from, but he hadn’t expected that. What did surprise him, was that he was being sent out for a small kingdom. The better and more feared Destroyers were usually reserved for the big ones, not that he was complaining, of course.

So, when the time came, he left the base and travelled to the Kingdom of Alter. And boy, was the destruction beautiful. His ink was splattered everywhere, decorating the ruined buildings and bodies. They went together wonderfully. And the screams. That was the worst part of his job; they were so loud and shrill. They were unnecessary, but he had long learned to tune them out.

Unexpectedly, he was interrupted. He was standing in the middle of the wreckage, all signs pointing to him. And someone walked up behind him, their feet soft.

They paused.

“Intriguing…”

He jumped. Nobody was supposed to see this, much less approach him. Don’t they know who he is? The insolence. It was probably one of those ‘Protectors,’ idiots who proclaim themselves as someone who can stop the destroyers.

But they knew who he was.

And this person was intrigued by him. Hmm. His curiosity peaked, Pale turned around, taking a step back in surprise.

The person was a skeleton monster, just like he was. Only…this one had wings. Four of them, and they flapped a little. Wings that were probably twice the length of their arm span. Golden feathers, though a bit translucent, shimmering in the sun–almost glowing. They were breathtaking. The person the wings attached to was incredibly beautiful as well. Pale could tell that even when they moved, walking forward to him. They had a serene expression on their face; a smile that felt both fake and natural at the same time. Golden eyelights—rare in a skeleton—stared back at him. One of their eyes flamed with magic. They had a golden tattoo across their left eye: it was a thin stipe, with a sun-like symbol at the end. A crown sat on their skull, the ends swirled in the middle of their forehead.

As they continued, Pale noticed that their clothing moved along with them, drawing his eyes. Around their neck, they wore a black scarf, the end having a white triangle with points at the ends of it. At the top of the scarf was a design of a sun, still white. Underneath, they wore two white cloaks with  golden trimming on both. The first cloak was small and had a golden underside. It came together behind the scarf. The second cloak was under the first one, pointed at the end with more gold designs that surrounded most of their body. A black undershirt could be seen just beneath it.

The stranger stopped and tilted their head, looking Pale up and down. Assessing him.

“Yes,” they said, “very intriguing.”

Pale narrowed his eyes, “Who are you?” This newcomer had a strong aura about them. The aura made Pale want to listen to what they said, even if it took hours. He wanted to stay around them, if only for his curiosity to be satisfied.

“That doesn’t matter yet.” They began to slowly circle him. Pale followed them, never turning his back to them. “What I want to know, is who you are.”

“You haven’t heard of me? Or the Destroyers?” That was next to impossible.

“No, I haven’t heard of you, but I have heard of the Destroyers. Everybody has. The Destroyers and the Protectors; sworn enemies, the reasoning why pretty self-explanatory.” they stopped, gazing at him thoughtfully. “You’re a Destroyer, aren’t you?” It was more a statement than a question.

Pale said nothing, which was answer enough.

The stranger smiled, “Of course. That explains why you are the one standing in this fallen kingdom.” they tilted their head. “But you were surprised that I haven’t heard of you before. Why?”

“My name is known throughout the kingdoms as one of the most feared Destroyers. I play with the people, with no remorse or compassion.” Pale smiled; his smile made people fear him even more than his reputation did. The stranger wasn’t fazed. “They call me ‘The Soulless Destroyer’.” A fitting name for him.

His title seemed to do the trick. The stranger straightened, gazing straight into his non-existent soul. Their smile widened, “I remember you now. I’ve read about you many times before, fearing that you would come and destroy my kingdom. My brother thought it foolish. He never feared you; he hated you instead.” they shook their head, as if in disbelief. Then they bowed, taking Pale by surprise. He took a half step back. “My, my. I am dearly sorry. I should have recognized you right away.”

Pale blinked. This was new, “It’s fine.”

“But it’s not!” they straightened, looking genuinely upset. Pale couldn’t tell if it was an act or not. “With your reputation, I should have known who you were. I’ve been so rude.” they sighed, “I have to make it up to you. What would you like me to do?”

“You really don’t have to do anything,” Pale said, stepping closer. He was so confused. “It’s fine.”

He was ignored. “Oh!” The stranger clapped their hands, bouncing forward until they were right in front of him, “I have an idea.”

Pale sighed.

“You are soulless, correct?” Rhetorical question, stranger. “So, you cannot feel emotions. At all. And that stops you from being free, happy…positive. But you can’t help it. You were born like this. Unfortunately, I can’t give you a soul. But what if I told you I know someone who could give you emotions?”

“That’s impossible.”

“It’s not. Some time ago, an artist came to my kingdom. He was a traveller. He got in a fight over something—I can’t remember—and his brush broke. I helped him. Kept his mood up, as well. He is indebted to me. He owes me a favour.”

Pale couldn’t see how this related to him. He told the stranger just that.

“Because he is just like you; soulless.”

Pale stood back as the stranger knocked on the door.

It had taken the stranger a couple of weeks to track down his friend. During those days, the stranger never talked about himself, only asking questions about Pale and his life. It was frustrating; the stranger now knows almost everything about him, but he knows nothing about him. He didn’t even know his name.

But Pale couldn’t bring himself to care. If the stranger was right, then after this he would feel emotions. He would finally know what it was like to truly be free, though he was a bit hesitant. It would take some getting used too.

Luckily, the stranger promised to help him get used to feeling this.

Pale shook himself out of his thoughts in time to see the door open. His eyelights shrunk at the skeleton who opened the door.

It was him. But also, not him. He looked eerily similar to him. The same bone structure, same hoodie, same clothing colour scheme and even the ink stain on their cheekbone was the same. But this one had colourful eyelights that changed every time he blinked—right now, there were exclamation points in both. The other seemed just as surprised to see Pale as Pale was to see him.

The stranger wasn’t bothered and ignored their surprise, “Hello, Ink.”

The copycat skeleton blinked, his eyelights changing to a star and square. He tilted his head at the stranger, probably confused. His eyes found the stranger’s crown and straightened; recognition sparked in his eyes, “Dream? What—”

“It’s been a while, I know.” the stranger—Dream—said, pushing past Ink and into his house. Pale followed him. “I need a favour.”

The house was simplistic, but was also very messy. Art and knitting supplies were thrown everywhere, the knitting ones collecting dust. The living room was connected to the kitchen, and across from Pale was a hallway with three doors, only one closed fully. The walls were splattered with paint, but none of it ever reached the kitchen, which was spotless.

But all of this was forgotten by Pale when he saw the shelf. It was full of pictures but covered in dust. Curiosity overtook him and the next thing he knew, he was standing in front of the shelf, a handful of pictures in his hands.

The first one was a hand. Just a hand trying to push the camera away; clearly, someone doesn’t like pictures being taken of them. Through the few gaps, Pale could see a few letters, but he couldn’t make out the word they spelt. He turned the picture over; nothing. He put the picture at the back of the pile.

The next one was of Ink. He had his arms crossed and a pout on his face. He was blushing rainbow. The photo was a bit blurry, as if the person was shaking when they took it. It was also aimed a bit above Ink’s head, like the person was taller than him. Pale turned it over. This time, there was a sentence in cursive and a response that was crossed out. It said:

‘Someone thinks he’s so clever!’

‘

-----

! XD’

The third picture was one of a doll version of Ink. It was stitched with blue thread and looked pretty detailed, enough that Pale could tell the person who made it had done some before. The doll had buttons for eyes; one a star and one a heart. It was also holding a card in its arms, addressed to Ink in the same cursive writing from the last photo. There was nothing on the back except for some dried tear stains and a few scratches.

The last photo was of Ink with another skeleton. Ink had his arm stretched out, holding the camera, and the other arm holding the skeleton close to him. He had a wide smile on his face and his eyes were closed in joy. The other skeleton, however, was the opposite. He had his arms crossed and was looking off-camera. The skeleton’s bones were black, mostly—some were red, or blue, or yellow. He also had the same coloured clothes. A word was floating around him: ‘Error’. That must’ve been the word from the first picture.

Pale stared at the new skeleton. He looked so familiar. Could he be the voice he remembers? He does look like his voice would glitch. But he looks like he would have a deep voice; the voice he remembers was higher. Pale shook his head. It didn’t matter right now. He flipped over the photo, his brow bone raising at what he found. The word ‘why’ was scribbled over and over on the back of the photo. It wasn’t the cursive writing he’d been seeing. It was more straight and messier.

Curious.

He shook his head again and put the photos back. It wasn’t his problem, nor should he care. Pale turned around and walked over to the other skeletons in the house.

“—just make some vials without knowing why!” Ink was in the middle of saying when he approached. He had red symbols as eyelights and looked to be on the verge of shouting.

“I already told you why.” Dream said, looking much calmer than Ink did. “My friend is soulless and wants to feel emotions.” He tilted his head, “I thought you would understand that.”

“I—Of course I do.” Ink sighed, reaching up and rubbing in-between his eyes, “And you know what? Fine. I’ll make the vials, but it will take me a few days to make the number you want.”

Dream narrowed his eyes, “I don’t have a few days. I need to get started on my plans. You will make it in under 24 hours or you will regret it.”

“You can’t just threaten—no, no. You know what? Fine. I’ll do it. Just come back by ten.”

Dream smiled, “Thank you, Ink.”

Ink waved his hand, “Yeah, yeah. Whatever.”

Pale looked back and forth between them. What, does he not get a say in this? Oh well. It was probably for the best.

At ten exactly, they returned. They had left after Ink agreed, going to the close Kingdom Under to spend time exploring and assessing everyone and everything. This time, Ink was waiting outside for them, a few boxes behind him and an armful of vials in his hands.

Ink looked at them apprehensively as they approached. He ignored Dream and walked up to Pale, handing him a rainbow of vials. Pale stared at them. What.

As if reading his mind, Ink sighed and took a vial back, “These are what I use to feel emotions. Each colour represents a different emotion, and when you drink a bit of them all, you feel the whole spectrum of emotions. But I would advise you to…” Ink trailed off, staring at Pale.

Pale had zoned out after hearing that the vials were what he used to feel emotions. He had opened the first one and downed it. The same with the next one. And the next. And the next one. Until they were all gone. He didn’t even realize Ink had fallen silent, even when he took the last vial from his hands and downed that one. He stared at Ink.

“…not drink all of the vials at once.” Ink finished half-heartedly. He sighed again. He turned to Dream, who was watching his friend in amusement. “Yeah, he’s probably going to pass out from an emotional overdose. It’s a good thing I made more than one batch.”

Dream laughed, completely ignoring Ink’s last sentence, “I know. I’ll take care of it.”

Pale heard none of this, as he had indeed passed out already.

His head hurt. That was the first thing Pale noticed. His head hurt like someone took a baseball bat and hit him with it over twenty times. He groaned. His whole body actually hurt, but he didn’t know why. Did he drink too much again? Did he make love with someone? What happened?

Then he remembered: Dream, Ink, the vials. His eyes snapped open and he sat up. He had drunk the vials, but he felt no different. Why? Then again, Ink did say that he shouldn’t have had as much as he did. He must’ve had an emotional overdose of some sort. Wait, where was he now then? If he’d passed out, where is he now?

Pale looked around. He looked to be at the end of a forest on top of a hill. If he squinted, he could see a kingdom of some sort in the distance. How did he get here? His eyes found Dream standing at the bottom of the hill. Well, that was one question answered.

He should probably join him. Pale stood up, stumbling a bit as his head started pounding again. He took a step forward and tripped over nothing. He yelped, and rolled down the hill, swearing like a sailor. He landed beside Dream and laid there.

“Good morning, Pale.” he heard Dream say and groaned in response. Dream laughed, “It’s good that you’re awake. I was beginning to get worried.”

Pale snorted at that and stopped. He snorted. Wasn’t that a sign of happiness? Of laughter? But he didn’t feel anything, just a twitch of his eye. He frowned and stood up, brushing grass off of him. Dream was still staring at the distance. What was he looking at?

“Do you see that in the distance?” Dream said, pointing.

Mindreader

, Pale thought and followed his finger. It was the kingdom that he saw before, a bit closer, but still very small and very far away. He told Dream that. “Yes. That is Kingdom Pixelia, a rather small kingdom. They don’t really view themselves as a kingdom at all, really.”

“Okay,” Pale said, tilting his head, “And why are we here?”

“Because that is our first stop on our journey.” Dream paused, “Well, I suppose it’s my journey, isn’t it? I haven’t even asked if you would join me.” He turned to Pale, locking their eyes together, “Will you join me?”

Pale thought about it. Will he join Dream? He doesn’t even know what he’s agreeing to. But Dream did help him get emotions, even if he wasn’t sure what was happening with those emotions right now. He was genuine in his help as well, even after knowing who he was. Pale owed him one. The least he could do was help Dream in whatever he needed.

“I will.”

Dream smiled.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“It’s not a bad thing, Kevin.”

“But he’s a stranger, Bessie! Not to mention he creates misery everywhere.”

“Tell that to Lisa. You remember how her husband died? How he committed suicide? She couldn’t understand and was drowning in grief. Then Nightmare came. He had her look at things in a new perspective, and now she’s doing a lot better.”

“Coincidence.”

“Whatever. I said all I could. Now, pay for your bread and go.”

Template laughed quietly to himself as he passed by. Yes, he was eavesdropping, but he couldn’t help it. It was too good to ignore. And it involved his friend, so he had to listen. What if they were being mean? If he hadn’t listened in, he would have never known that.

Anyways, it had been a few weeks since he brought Nightmare to Pixelia. In the beginning, people were very suspicious. And he couldn’t blame them. It had been years since there was a last stranger in the kingdom. Nightmare’s negative attitude and aura didn’t really help, either.

Then Nightmare stopped someone from committing suicide.

In the fricking middle of the kingdom.

The dog monster was going to shoot herself, and she had threatened to do the same to those that tried to stop her. She was crying and shaking. Template himself was frozen; he had never had to deal with this before. But Nightmare showed up and spoke to her from a safe distance. He started by introducing himself, and made casual conversation. Everyone was confused. Why was he so calm? Nightmare then asked for her to put the gun down, and when it made things a tad worse, he switched tactics. He told the dog monster how she felt, proving that someone understood. She started crying more and eventually dropped the gun. Her family hugged her and took her back home.

After that, everyone treated Nightmare with hospitality. They were awed and thankful. Template snorted, remembering the first time Nightmare was met with friendship. He had around ten people surrounding him, trying to give him gifts and flowers. His eyelights were small, and he was clearly uncomfortable. Luckily, Template saved him.

Nightmare was a good friend. He was patient, calm, and kind, though it did appear that he was in his own world sometimes. Template had a hunch he was thinking about before he found him. Template wanted to ask for what happened, but he made himself wait. It wouldn’t do them any good.

Template shook himself from his thoughts as he neared the house. He had gone to get groceries for Nightmare. Why the other couldn’t do it, he had no clue, but he didn’t mind. He swung the door open (it was never locked), yelling, “Honey, I’m home!”

He grinned, waiting. There was a bang as something metal crashed to the floor. His grin widened and he closed the door, making his way to the kitchen.

The house was small, but it fit the both of them well. The living room was the first room to greet him. There was a couch, a couple of chairs, a TV, some plants, and lots of books and movies. The dining room was in the same room; behind the couch was a kitchen table with four chairs. A door on the right led to a bedroom and another to a bathroom. There was a hallway at the end that lead to the kitchen, where Template stopped just on the edge of.

The kitchen was themed white, which was a pain to clean. The fridge and oven were yellow, though. Nightmare was in the middle of the kitchen, front soaking wet, glaring at him. The sink behind him had water running out and down the side of it. A pot sat in the middle of it. It was obvious what had happened: Template had startled Nightmare so bad (even though he should be used to it by now) that he had jumped, dropping the pot he was washing and making a mess.

Template played innocent. “Oh my! What happened?”

Nightmare narrowed his eyes at him. “You did.”

“I didn’t do anything!” Template said, walking past Nightmare to set the groceries down. “All I did was say I was home.”

He heard Nightmare sigh deeply. “Exactly.”

Template snickered and dug through the bag to grab a snack. He pulled out an apple and stepped back. Nightmare took his place, taking the groceries out and putting them away. Template watched.

“You know,” Nightmare said, as he put the sugar away, “you could help.”

Template swallowed, “Yes, I could. But you have it covered.”

Nightmare sighed again.

“Oh!” Template remembered what he overheard, “Kevin’s acting up again.”

Nightmare groaned, stopping his wiping of the floor, “Again?”

“Yep. He still refuses to see you as a good thing. Bessie tried to talk to him, but you know how he is.”

“I do.” Nightmare crossed his arms, “That will be a problem when…” Template raised a brow bone when Nightmare trailed off. His eyelights got fuzzy and he seemed to be remembering something.

Template sighed. This had happened before. He assumed it had something to do with his past, but he still doesn’t know what it was. Nightmare hasn’t said anything. But Template put together a few things.

Nightmare mentioned that he had a brother named Dream, right before getting lost. He always seemed sad when he brought Dream up, so that meant Dream was either dead, missing or had something to do with the destruction of their kingdom. The last one seemed most likely. Then there was Nightmare’s cloak, which was a gift from Dream. So, they clearly loved each other. That’s what doesn’t make sense. If Dream did destroy the Kingdom of Dream, then why did all the evidence point to him loving Nightmare and his kingdom? Why destroy something he loved?

Template would have to wait for Nightmare to tell him, however long it took.

Nightmare was still lost, so Template sat his apple core down and walked over. He waved his hand in front of Nightmare’s face.

No reaction. Template sighed.

He reached up and slapped Nightmare. Nightmare jumped, a hand flying to his cheek and he stared at Template in disbelief, “What the hell, Template?”

“You were lost in the past again.”

“So, you slapped me?!”

“I do this every time. Why make such a big deal out of it?”

“You don’t do this every time. You shake me. That is a lot better than slapping me!”

“I was impatient.”

“Yeah, that was obvious. But still, you didn’t need to—”

“AHH!”

Template’s head shot towards the window, but he couldn’t see anything. He looked back to Nightmare, who had done the same thing. They looked at each other with shrunken eyelights. They both knew what that was. A scream. But why?

Template shook his head at himself. That didn’t matter. What did matter was making sure everything was okay. He ran out of the house, knowing Nightmare would follow. At the end of their street, a crowd was gathered. That must be where the scream originated from.

He pushed through the crowd, freezing when he saw them. Nightmare came up behind him, asking what it was and if everything was okay. Template couldn’t answer him; he was too surprised and confused.

Nightmare huffed and pushed in front of him. He also froze when he saw the two skeletons: one winged and one with a black smudge on their cheek bone.

Template looked at Nightmare. He must know one of them. Template lowered his voice down to a whisper, “Nightmare?”

When the human female screamed, Pale grinned.

It was very amusing. Pale had had people scream at the sight of him before, but he could never quite enjoy it, until now. The vials Ink had given him took some time to affect him, especially because he drank more than he was supposed to.

But now he had a few emotions, which he recognized from the many books he read. Like amusement, which he felt now.

His gaze moved around Dream and him. A crowd had gathered, even though they hadn’t been there long. His gaze stopped at a skeleton who pushed his way through the crowd. There was nothing particularly exciting about him, but he was somehow familiar.

Then again, the skeleton from the photographs was also familiar, so he can’t be for sure.

But it was still worth taking note of.

No.

No, no, no.

This couldn’t be happening. Not now, when he finally had people being friendly to him. This would ruin everything. This will ruin everything he’s worked on for these past weeks.

Why now? It was too soon. It was barely a month since their fight, so why would Dream be here now? He wasn’t ready. He wouldn’t be ready for a while yet. Damnit. How did he find him? Was he really that obvious?

Nightmare should’ve expected this. Dream was smart. He wouldn’t be able to just forget what happened and make a new life, even though he desperately wished he could. Dream wouldn’t let him. Wouldn’t let him…

Live.

Dream’s mind was different now. He didn’t believe in the balance of the world. He believed that the good was good, and the bad must be bad. That the bad was to be eradicated. Those stupid apples. What did they do to his little brother?

It hurt. It hurt so much to know this.

Nightmare’s hand absentmindedly reached up and grabbed his chest, where his soul would be.

Maybe he could stop it. Maybe he could change Dream’s mind, make him see things clearly again. It hadn’t been that long. Perhaps the apples had worn off? Although, that was unlikely. He remembered his book saying that the apples were permanent. But they were their guardians. Maybe they reacted differently.

And words wouldn’t be the key to this. Would they? He’d already tried that. It didn’t work. Dream wouldn’t listen.

He could still try. If he failed, then he would have to accept that they are enemies now, and not brothers. If he succeeded, then all the better for everyone.

It depends on Dream, if he’s willing to listen.

Speaking of Dream, he’d noticed Nightmare. His head tilted and he looked a bit surprised to see him here. Why? Did he not know Nightmare was here? Unlikely.

Dream smiled warmly, like nothing ever happened between them, “Hello, Brother.”

Oh no.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Well, wasn't this a coincidence?Dream honestly hadn't know Nightmare was in this kingdom. Though, now that he thought about it, he had been feeling something drawing him here. That was why he chose this place to start. It must've been Nightmare's magic, his aura.Nightmare brought Negativity and misery with him, wherever he went. It was a part of his magic, his soul. Dream knew this, just as he knew he was the opposite. He brought Positivity and happiness wherever he went. People preferred him. Before, way back when, Dream had wanted Nightmare to receive the same attention he did. After all, it can't be that hard to control one's aura, right?Dream had trained himself to control his aura first, so he knew what to explain to Nightmare. It took him years. And now, he could control who was affected by his magic. But Nightmare hadn't wanted to learn.No, he had. Nightmare told him that he wished to control his magic. Dream never told him he had learned—No. That was wrong.It didn't matter. So, what if his brother was here? It would not stop him. There were so many people here, so many guideless and poor people. And Dream needed some followers. He had Pale, but he was only one person. He would need an army. He would need...An empire.All he needed to do was convince them. His gaze left his brother and travelled across the crowd, words gathering in his mind. His smile widened."Tell me, everybody," Dream started, his voice clear and powerful, quieting the whispers. "how is your life? Is it good? Happy? Sad? Or how about unfair? You have parents that love you, siblings who love you, a family who loves you, a nice home and education...but everything you work for is obsolete."The hook. If this worked, he would have a start. A good start. All he had to do was to wait and play his cards right. Yes, this would be perfect."You are obsolete. But you see for the blind man, do you not? You walk for the impaired; you speak for the mute; you hear for the deaf; and you mend the broken. Yet you are nothing. No one listens to you and your problems. No one sees your problems. You are just a tool. A bin for everyone to throw their problems in and forget about them. Forget about you. And now you have to carry their problems until you crash and burn."He remembered his kingdom. All the greedy, vile people it was filled with. Dream knew that they used him; they were addicted to his aura. He knew this. Nightmare knew this. Yet, they never stopped it. He never stopped it, never spoke up, because he was afraid.And fear was something he shouldn't be able to feel.He opened his mouth to continue, but someone interrupted. "Dream, wait." Nightmare said, walking forward. "What are you doing? Where are you going with this? Please, Dream, stop this before you go too far. Come back home. Come back to me."Dream narrowed his eyes, snarling. "Shut up, Nightmare!" Could he not see? Is he not listening? He should recognize what he's saying. He should be agreeing with him. Or could it be that the people were right? That Nightmare..."But—""Quiet!" Nightmare stopped, his mouth snapping shut and his eyelights shrinking. Dream stared at him, stared at his surprise, before continuing his speech. "There are many reasons for this feeling. The feeling that everything you do doesn't matter in the long run. Abandonment. Being ignored. Derogatory names. Those are just a few. And they can make you feel sad and angry. They can make you feel mad at yourself and the world. They can lead to depression and rage, which could lead to suicidal thoughts and actions. But they could also lead to you making another person feel the same way you do. Then it repeats. It becomes a cycle; a cycle forged by one core feeling: negativity."Hook, line and sinker. He knew he won already. He could feel the emotions switching in the air. Dream was convincing them. He smiled. This was perfect."But I offer a way out. Negativity makes you do things—think things—that are bad. That are triggers to dangerous territories. Therefore, negativity itself is bad. I know this from experience. I want to change it. The world now relies more on negativity than positivity to keep itself running. What if we changed that around? Wouldn't it be better for everyone? A world filled with happy people, no fighting to be seen or heard. Doesn't that sound lovely? That is my goal. All you have to do is—""You're wrong, Dream." Nightmare sounded heartbroken, looked it too. "I thought you knew this. The balance? The world relies equally on both positivity and negativity. You cannot have one without the other. You cannot have a perfect world. It's impossible. Dream—""I said, quiet, Nightmare!" Dream shouted, a staff appearing in his hands that was then held to Nightmare's throat. Nightmare stilled. How dare he! If Nightmare cannot see the better picture soon, then...well, let him hope it doesn't come to that. Without tearing his gaze from Nightmare, Dream continued, "Pixelia, you do not need to be invisible. You do not need to roll with the punches. If you will help me, I will build you a world where there is nothing but positive feelings. No hate, no sadness, no anger. You will never be negative again. I ask you now, will you join me?"All was quiet for a moment. Dream waited. He already knew the outcome.Surely enough, a cat monster stepped forward. "You know, I think he's right! After all, who here has truly smiled since Nightmare came here? Me, I haven't smiled since before my daughter left. And Nightmare here just made things worse."People murmured between themselves. Eventually, the murmurs grew to be yells of agreement. People agreed with the cat monster, therefore agreeing with Dream. Dream smiled."Kevin, I can't believe you!" A female human stepped forth. "Can't you see him for what he is? Nightmare is a helper. He understands how people feel. And this, this winged stranger is promising something impossible. He is power-hungry. Can't you see that?"Again, people whispered between themselves, yelling their agreements eventually. But that was fine. Dream had a bigger crowd; people agreed with him more.The cat monster Kevin groaned. "Bessie, spare me your nonsense!"People argued loudly. Mostly words were thrown, but there were a few fistfights breaking out. Families broke apart, friendships dissolved and siblings were torn. It was...beautiful.Dream leaned towards his brother, smirking. "Do you see now, what I was saying? Negativity—your magic—is a curse. There is no balance. There never was."Nightmare couldn't believe it.What was Dream talking about? Dream knew there was a balance. So, why was he saying all of this? Was it something he did? The apples? Their people? Nightmare just didn't know. And that bothered him.All he wants, all he has ever wanted, was for Dream and him to be together, safe and happy. They balanced each other out. They were meant to be together. Or so he thought. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe they were meant to be on opposing sides, instead of working together. Maybe they were meant to be enemies.It hurt his soul to think that. If that was the way it was meant to be, then they would have to fight for the rest of their lives. Nightmare didn't want that. He never did. And he was sure Dream hadn't wanted it before the apple incident.Now? He wasn't sure. With how Dream was talking, all the denial of balance and negativity, Nightmare wasn't sure of anything anymore. But he had to try. Maybe Dream didn't mean all of this. Maybe he was just scared or hurt.Nightmare wouldn't know until he tried talking to him."Dream, please," He said, staring into his little brother's eyelights. It felt like they were the only two left in the world right now. Just them; no people, friends or apples. "you don't mean this. You can't mean this. Please, Dream. Just come back. Come back to me."Dream stared at him. Nightmare held his breath. If this worked, then everything could go back to normal. They would hug, Dream would probably cry, but that was fine. Nightmare would calm him down. Then they would calm everyone else down, saying it was all a misunderstanding and—Dream was laughing. But not like how he should laugh, happily and bubbly. This laugh was cold. Heartless. Yet it still had a serene feel to it that made Nightmare shiver."Oh, Nightmare, Nightmare," Dream purred, his aura turning sharp and strangely pitying. "my dear older brother, you can't see it. That's a shame. I had hoped, even if it was very unlikely, that you would see things my way. The right way." He sighed. "Oh well, I suppose this is goodbye then. For the next time we meet, we will be enemies."Dream smiled, a warm and friendly smile that made a kind of anger fester in Nightmare. Tears also welled up, but he blinked furiously to keep them from spilling. Dream smiled, after everything he did, everything he said, like he was still a good person. That he wasn't delusional in the slightest.And yet, though the anger was still present and simmering deep down, Nightmare couldn't find it in his heart to blame him. He knew there was another reason for this. Another reason why Dream would act like this. And he would find it. No matter when and where or how long it took.Dream turned away from him, and Nightmare panicked. Even he had a resolve made, and he knew he could reason with Dream, he still couldn't give up now. He couldn't bring himself to. If he did, he would have to take the journey alone. And that...
"Promise we'll stick together? Forever and always?"

"I promise! Forever and always."
...was unthinkable.So, in an impulsive movement, Nightmare reached out and grabbed Dream's arm. He opened his mouth to say something as a tear made its way down his cheekbone, but he was interrupted by a light.A big, blinding, golden light.It seared with positivity, which seemed to almost burn Nightmare. He gasped in pain. Negativity welled up inside him, trying to protect him from the onslaught of its opposite. And it both helped and didn't. Nightmare felt the pain go away before a wave of exhaustion came upon him.And that was the last thing he knew before giving into unconsciousness.When he came to Pixelia, he hadn't expected to witness an argument between two brothers.He came to get supplies. Just that. He wasn't even supposed to have stayed this long. His friends and family would be looking for him, panicking. Well, his friends would. His only family disappeared a few years back.Which was fine. It didn't bother him. Sure, his brother was the only one who tolerated his upbeat energy. Sure, his brother was the one who protected him from those bullies. And sure, he never really had any friends, true friends, before his brother introduced him to his. But that was all in the past. His friends liked him and loved him for who he was, just like his brother did.Speaking of his friends, he was supposed to have gotten the supplies two days ago and be back at the kingdom by now. But he got...distracted. It wasn't his fault! If anything, it should that female human's—Bessie? Was that her name?—fault, she was the one who insisted he rest and sleep for a bit.Then the argument happened. An argument that made him have conflicting emotions. And the light. That blinding light.He had closed his eyes tightly when it happened, throwing his arms up for extra protection. It lasted for what felt like a few minutes. And when he deemed it safe to open his eyes, he was shocked at the aftermath.All that remained was him, his supplies he finally got, and a clearing where the kingdom should be. It seemed that light had teleported them all away. The question was, did it teleport all of them in the same place? Or were they separated?He wondered about that for a bit, before he realized he would have no way to find out. He smiled to himself and shook his head. He stood up, dusted himself off and gathered up his supplies.If he left now, it should take him a day's walk to get home.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Ink was officially done with the kingdoms.He had been enjoying a nice dinner in his home when one of the guards of Kingdom Under knocked at his door. They apparently needed a little help and they had heard about who he used to be.Ink used to be the leader of the Protectors, the opposite and enemies to the Destroyers. The Protectors cleaned up after them, making sure the survivors had a place to rest and live. Ink was the best of them. His abilities and fights were known throughout the entire world. People admired him. People wanted to be him. Which wasn't bad exactly, but...he gave it up a long time ago.But apparently, even though he announced his retirement and everything, that didn't mean he was to be left alone. And it wasn't like he could refuse to help someone when they asked; it wasn't like him! Though, he knows all he had to do was say no and that would be it. He could close the door and stay at home, comfortable.But that wasn't him. And it was times like these that Ink wished Error was still—Well, that didn't matter. Nothing could change the past, no matter how much people wanted to. And he has had almost two years to accept this.Ink sighed and shook his head. He had finished helping the kingdom and was headed home. Back to his food. As he walked, he overheard a snippet of a conversation that shouldn't have caught his attention."...telling you, Mary! That kingdom, or empire, whatever, is basically happiness reincarnated." The one human was saying."A bunch of buildings cannot be happiness reincarnated. The leader could be, but even then, I thought you knew better than to believe every rumour you hear?" The other one replied, crossing her arms and standing in front of her friend, who stuck their tongue out at her.Ink stared at them for a bit before realizing what he was doing and walking past them quickly. He turned into an alleyway and the laughter faded. He breathed out and slumped against the wall. Those two brought back memories. Good memories, yes, but they hurt. They hurt so much.And the rumour they were talking about. Ink knew it wasn't just a rumour. The kingdom/empire sounded impossible, but if the leader was a being filled with positive energy? Then it was very likely to exist. He knows this.It made him remember a visit he had about a few weeks ago.Dream. He had to be the leader of this new place, the start of these rumours. Who else would be able to be that positive? That's right; no one. He used to be a kind kid, always willing to help. But something must've happened. Ink could picture him now: sitting on a throne, wings folded behind him, a smirk planted on his face, an aura of authority and positivity...It made him sick.And there was his companion. A Destroyer. Not only that, but a Destroyer that was eerily similar to Ink himself. The other looked like him, had the same ink stain on his cheekbone as Ink did, had the same colour of clothes. Even the lack of a soul was the same. It was like the Destroyer was meant to be everything Ink could've been, if he hadn't seen the beauty of the kingdoms. That terrified him.Ink shivered. It was getting late; his food would be cold by the time he got home. Well, he could teleport. That would be faster in the long run. He had forgotten he could teleport, actually. It was a good thing he remembered.Ink grinned and grabbed his paintbrush off his back. He swirled it around, making ink form around him. He travelled through the ink, landing in the trees right before his house. Now, it was time to relax. Finally.Ink hummed to himself as he walked. He stopped within a few feet from the door, his humming silencing. He blinked and he knew his eyelights had turned to two question marks of different colours. His grin faded.There was a visitor, who had turned at the sound of him approaching.Ink tilted his head. "Core?"As Dream thought to himself by the window, someone knocked at the door."Come in." He said, picking his drink up and taking a sip, not turning around to face the visitor. He heard the door open and close, footsteps making their way to him before stopping. The visitor's aura was familiar. It was Pale."My Lord," Pale greeted. Dream could both hear and feel the mocking tone that his words were covered in. "the people have finished the building of Section B."Dream hummed. "Already? Didn't they start at the beginning of the week?""They're eager to please you. They're happy.""I suppose that's the best thing out of all of this. And the guards? The team I sent out scouting?""They still haven't returned. But it has only been a day.""I guess." Dream finally turned around. He set his drink down again. "Tell the people to take a break for a few days. They deserve it. And, if you can, tell the Captain to come visit me. I need to go over plans with him."Pale nodded. "Of course." He left.Dream turned back to the window; his hands clasped behind his back. It was a beautiful day out. The sun was high. The birds were singing. He could even see some flowers blooming. People were walking down below, chatting happily to one another about anything, smiles wide on their faces.It was perfect. It was his.His mind wandered to his fight with his brother a few weeks ago. Though, it could hardly be called a fight. There were no armies, no physical blows, no magic. There was only an argument. An argument that set their fate into stone. There would be no going back. No regret. No...sentimentalities.Dream still wondered about that light. It was some sort of clash of positive and negative energies. But the books he had read with Nightmare way back never mentioned anything like it. Was it because it never happened before? Never happened with their mother? That was unlikely. Their mother was the expert of the tree, the apples and feeling. She was the expert on everything they knew.So, there had to be an explanation for it. He knows what, where and who caused it, but not the how and why. And that frustrated him to no end.But he had more important things to worry about. That argument was a few weeks ago. Lots of things happened since then.After the light, Dream had passed out. He was left strangely drained. When he came to, it had already been a few days later. The people informed him that the light had teleported them away from Pixelia, and it had probably done the same with Nightmare and his people.Pixelia was now split. Dream doesn't know how Nightmare's faring, but he didn't really care. As long as Nightmare stayed out of his way, everything would be fine. Everything would run smoothly. And that was what mattered.The people had also begun to build a new base while Dream had been sleeping. They were happy to serve him, believing him to be a sort of god, or at least a miracle worker. Dream was grateful for that. It meant less work for him to do. And now that he was leading them, the people were even happier. It was liberating, if at times tiring.Pale was his second hand. He was someone Dream could trust, and rely on. He also acted as Dream's messenger and representative. Dream was grateful for his help most of all. If Pale wasn't here, he might have cracked under all the expectations that came with being a leader, even if he had been preparing for it his whole life.Dream smiled bitterly.He doesn't like to think about the past. He was sure Nightmare didn't either. It brought back—for Dream, at least—bitter feelings and negative thoughts. And those were not welcomed. So, he avoided trying to think about those times.But they held their moments.Like reading and learning about leading a kingdom.Both Nightmare and Dream had to learn from a young age; their mother died when they were babies, and the people wanted a leader quick. One of the council members was filling in for them, but that was only temporary.It was hard. The two were twins, so close in age that they both learned at the same time. But Nightmare was born first, in the last few hours of daylight and named after the first star in the sky. So, it was assumed by the two of them that Nightmare would rule as king, with Dream as prince and advisor.The people didn't like that. They didn't like Nightmare, but they loved Dream. It was clear that Nightmare's aura, even though he had no control over it, was causing this to happen. It caused the people to be more physical with him. But there were more ways to get hurt than that because while Nightmare was the people's punching bag, spouting insults and names, they were more verbal and emotional with Dream.He didn't protest though. Why would he, they were right! He was worthless without them. He was nobody without them. He was theirs. He was—His mind needed to shut up and be quiet.Dream breathed slowly in and out, his eyes closing and reopening. During his spiralling thoughts, he had smashed his drink on the floor. It was staining the floor. He couldn't bring himself to care.There was a knock at the door. It was the Captain.Dream cleared his non-existent throat and sat at his desk. "Come in."The Captain entered. He rambled about himself, how it was so great to see Dream, how happy they all were and about everything else. He didn't even notice the shards of glass beside him, or the liquid staining the floor. Dream ignored it as well. He could clean it later."Yes, yes," Dream interrupted the Captain, picking up a pen and paper. It was time to get started on those plans. "that's all nice, Kevin. Now, about the sentries along the east and south..."
Fear. It was all around Nightmare. The black forest around him reeked of it. Anger. Hurt. Betrayal. It all was present. Why? He was over it. Why was it here now? Was he really that weak? That must be the reason. He has always been weak. Weak and cocky and evil.

"Why would we ever have some demon as our king?"

Was Dream right? What would Dream know of being weak? He was the golden boy. The saviour. The helper. The king. What was Nightmare next to him? What was the moon to the sun? Nothing. The trees bent forward, trapping him. His breath caught.

"It's for the best, brother. There has to be positivity in the world. Not negativity. Negativity hurts. That's all it ever did; all it will ever do."

He couldn't breathe. He needed to breathe. What was happening? Why was the forest getting bigger? In. Out. Something was wrong. He was supposed to be doing...something. Something important. Something to do with Dream. What was it?

"You see for the blind man, do you not? Hear for the deaf. Speak for the mute. Mend the broken."

Something happened to Dream. Something that wasn't supposed to happen. It should've been him. But what? He can't remember. Why can't he remember?

"Negativity is a curse."

He couldn't breathe.

"There is no balance."

Nightmare felt wetness on his cheekbones.

Tears. He was crying.

Hurt. His chest hurt so much.

He closed his eyes tightly.

He felt miserable.

He sobbed, falling to his knees. This wasn't right.

He opened his mouth and screamed.
Nightmare shot up in his bed, panting. He blinked.His cheekbones were wet. The bed sheets were tangled around him. His hand was clenched tightly on his stinging chest. It was quiet.He glanced at the clock. 4:37 a.m.He had a nightmare. A bit ironic, given that was his name after all. Luckily, he didn't seem to wake anyone. That was good. He would hate to bother anyone with this.It had taken a while for them all to get settled. The people were restless, some crying and some angry. They lashed out at one another, almost getting into fights that could end up with some death.At least, this is what Template told Nightmare had happened. Nightmare had been asleep for a week. So, he couldn't really see it for himself.But Template was a good leader. He filled in for Nightmare, and though the people had doubts, he was really good with them. He was fair, kind, helpful. Probably has done better than Nightmare will, in the long run.The people had also started building a base. A kingdom. This time, it wouldn't just be a few houses scattered around with miles between them, a safe place for glitches and outcodes, as it was designed to be. It would be a real kingdom, like Kingdom Dream was. The people were, and still are, rather excited about this change. Even if they missed their families and friends that followed Dream.That's what his magic was good for. Nightmare's negativity gave the people a chance to work through their grief healthily and safely.Template had suggested yesterday that they send scouts or something like it out to other kingdoms, spreading the word about their kingdom, which wouldn't really be a kingdom. It would be an empire. But Nightmare wanted to do that himself. It showed commitment, if the leader went and asked people to join.So, they agreed to head out today. And since Nightmare was awake, he could get their stuff ready. Even though he'd rather sleep forever.The ruins of his kingdom and the dust of his family surrounded him. It had been a good day, a good month. But then it all fell apart. Words can hold immense power. They can convince someone to do almost anything.And he let himself be convinced to do the most terrible thing.
"Don't say that! You have new and cool clothes now!"

"Ugh...fine."

"Pfft!"

"...What."

"You look like a giant X with feet...that's...x-ordinary."

"You still awake?"

"Uh...yeah?"

"You look pretty tired, bro. Sometimes I think you could fall in love with sleep."

"Xapy, get your foot off!"
He ruined everything. Tears fell from his eyes in streams. His sword clattered to the ground as he fell to the ground.What has he done?"I'm sorry..."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Taylor, we talked about this. The rumours are fake.”“How can we know for sure, though? C’mon, Ethan. We could still hope that it does exist. Doesn’t it sound nice?”“It sounds fake. You can’t be happy forever, babe. That’s not possible.”“Why do you have to be such a party pooper?”Nightmare groaned as the couple laughed. This wasn’t getting them anywhere. He let his skull drop to the table, resting on his arms. He sighed.Template had been the one to suggest stopping at the tavern in the first place. They had been walking for a couple of days, because Template had also forgotten he could open portals until the tavern idea. So, both as a means to gather information and rest, they entered the ‘Hearts to Hearts’ tavern.The tavern, according to Template, while not too well known, was famous for its inviting atmosphere. The owner prided themselves on making many couples come together in their tavern. The reviews for this place were also pretty good, besides the few that accused the tavern of just being used for sex and turn on. Template’s words, not Nightmare’s.The only thing was, that the tavern was full of couples. Nightmare couldn’t look in one place without seeing a kiss, sometimes more. The thought of it had Nightmare blushing faintly, a pale purple on his cheekbones.When Template and him had entered, the two had gathered a few stares, most likely because they were very different from each other and nobody was quite sure how the two could be a couple. Which they weren’t, thankfully, and Nightmare would gladly shout it if he wasn’t looking to remain hidden. The thought of anyone liking him in the first place was laughable, anyway.Template had only laughed and dragged him to one of the corner booths, ordered Nightmare to gather whatever information he could, before leaving to get them drinks (just water; neither of them had any intention of getting buzzed at all).All Nightmare heard was rumours about a kingdom/empire that is endless positivity. This was no doubt in his mind Dream’s work. How Dream managed to spread his influence this fast was pretty surprising, but Nightmare just felt a painful ache in his chest. He couldn’t even bring himself to be mad or angry or vengeful. All he felt was sad.He missed Dream. He missed his little brother, not this delusional leader passing as him.Before he could sink further into his thoughts, the clank of a cup being placed next to his skull made him lift his head and stared at the water for a bit. Template had returned. Nightmare smiled a bit, grabbing his cup and taking a sip. Mm…that was refreshing.“Thank the stars,” Nightmare said as Template sat down across from him. “I thought you had left me all alone amongst all this love.”Template grinned. “I would never. What do you take me for, a forgetful jerk?”“Yes.”“Well then…I clearly had a very different idea of our friendship.”“I don’t know what you’re talking about. What’s this ‘friendship’ you speak of?”“Now that’s just hurtful.”“You’re smiling.”“So are you.”They both laughed, even if their humour was terrible. Nightmare couldn’t lie; he did see Template as a friend, and it was nice to finally have one of those. Soon, they calmed down and started to get a bit serious.Nightmare sighed, taking another sip. “The only thing I’ve gathered is that there is a kingdom or empire, whichever, that is basically positivity if it was a place. Everyone’s happy there.”Template hummed. “It seems Dreamy McWingy has been busy.”“Template, I’ve told you about the nicknames.” Nightmare had told Template about Dream and their relation but didn’t go into detail. Though being told Dream was a good person once, Template’s opinion of him was still pretty negative, hence the nicknames. And though Nightmare told him to stop, he did smile at them.He was also torn between a favourite. ‘Mr. Light Chicken’ was a good one, but so was ‘I Need Sunglasses’.“And I’ve told you, you need to laugh once in a while.” Template laughed, sighed, and leaned back. “We need to find somewhere that can help us gather people too.”Nightmare shook his skull. “But where? Most people would choose positivity over anything else, however unhealthy it might be.”Template looked like he was about to answer when a new voice joined the conversation. “You could try the kingdom north of here, the one in the mountains.”Both of them looked up at another skeleton. He looked fairly tall, probably taller than the two. He had a hole in his skull that looked like it had been painful. His left eye socket was gone, fading into the hole. Despite the intimidating site, his smile was warm and he radiated kindness. He wore a flannel shirt that was rolled up to his elbows, black jeans and some worn sneakers. He had a towel draped over his shoulder. He also had his arms crossed, and Nightmare could see the glimmer of a ring.“The name’s Horror, and before you get alarmed, I’m actually rather nice. I’m also the husband to the owner of this joint.” Horror chuckled, grabbing a chair from a nearby table and sitting on it backwards. He showed his ring off, looking proud.Template seemed to get his voice back before Nightmare. “What kingdom do you mean?”Horror raised a brow bone. “You’re not from around here, are you?” The two shook their skulls. Horror smiled. “Well, that’s alright. There’s a kingdom in the mountains. It’s said to be a good kingdom, advanced in technology and stuff. At least, according to the rumours.”“Rumors?” Nightmare finally spoke, curiosity overtaking him. “You mean, you don’t know for sure?”“Heck no. Nobody really does. People seem to leave and stay up the mountain. I was an adventurer, but something about that mountain gave me the creeps. I did try to find the kingdom, but something attacked me. I think. I don’t remember. I remember waking up here, under my love’s care.”“Wow. What happened?” Template asked, looking rather curious as well.Horror pointed to his skull as chuckled as their eyelight’s shrunk in surprise. “Yep. Hurt like a bitch too. But that was a few years ago. Now, I try to avoid the mountain as much as I can. But if you really need help to gather people, the kingdom’s your best bet. They have a good army, apparently.” He stood up to leave.Nightmare blinked. “Wait. You’re not going to ask why we’re looking for people?”“Nope.” Horror shook his skull. “Not my business. Besides, based on your earlier conversation, I’ve gathered you’re looking to put an end to the Empire of the Sun, where positivity flourishes. And based on your expressions, I’m right.” He looked away. “I’ll be honest, I don’t like the rumours going around. It seems too good to be true and based on my experiences, it probably is. It gives me a bad feeling, and—”“Horror, I need your tallness for a second.” A voice called from the back of the tavern, cutting Horror off.All three of them turned their skulls. Another skeleton stood at the doorway behind the bar. Nightmare couldn’t see much, but he could see the new skeleton’s upper body. He wore a purple leather jacket that was outlined with black fluff, a black shirt underneath that and he had black gloves on. His eyelight’s were unique, one was a purple heart and the other was a pale purple oval.Horror smiled, and Nightmare felt love emanate from him. That other skeleton must be his husband. “Love, we’re almost the same height.”“Exactly. Almost. Besides, shouldn’t you be working instead of conversing?”“It’s my break, the one you scheduled for me.”“No, no. I’m pretty sure your break was, like, an hour ago.”“Lust, dear, it’s good your handsome, because you’re not smart.”That was a mistake. Lust’s browbone’s raised and he scoffed. “Well, then. I guess I don’t need your help after all.” He turned and disappeared.Horror’s eyelight’s shrunk as he realized what he said. Actual horror emanated from him now and he scrambled to follow his husband. “Wait, Lust, dear. I didn’t mean it. Sweetheart? Luuuussstttt…” He also disappeared.Template burst out in giggles while Nightmare slowly blinked.“I feel like I was thrown from a mystery novel to a romance novel in the span of a minute.” Nightmare said, which made Template laugh harder.Once Template calmed down, they made a plan. They would rest in the town inn for tonight and tomorrow morning they would start north. The kingdom was their best bet, and it would be good to be allianced with a kingdom like that before Dream finds it. If he hasn’t already.But Nightmare couldn’t help agreeing with Horror about the feeling he had. Nightmare felt uneasy too. Like something important was about to happen.Dream looked on with half-closed eye sockets. His skull was propped on his hand and he drummed his fingers of his other hand on the other throne arm slowly, the click making the thief even more hysterical.His guards had caught the child skeleton stealing some bread from the kitchens. Thieving was a crime, and crimes were always bad, so they had brought him to be punished. Dream had been in the middle of a meeting before the guards interrupted him, which was a bit annoying, but annoyance was negative, so he shook it off.The child was sobbing, blue tears streaming from his eye sockets. He was forced to his knees and he rattled loudly. It was a truly pitying sight. But Dream was kind. He asked the child to explain himself.“I-It was for m’ br-brother,” the babybones had said, his voice raw from the tears. He had sniffed. “he’s hungry, an’ s-so am I. We-we ‘ave no parent’s o-or home, s-so…” He had trailed off. Now, everyone waited on his judgement.He could send the kid to the cell’s, but that would leave his brother, who was most likely younger than the kid was, to starve and die. And the kid would probably make a ruckus too. And Dream wasn’t mean. He couldn’t separate them.Dream stopped his tapping. “What is your name, child?”The kid looked up, terror coming off him in waves. He sniffed. “S-Sans, sir.”“And your brother? What’s his name, how old is he? How old are you?”Sans sniffed again, wiping away his tears. “U-um, m’ brother ‘s Papyrus, he’s o-one, I think? A-and I’m s-seven.”Dream nodded, sitting up straight. “How long have you been without parents?”“Um, f-five months, I think?”Dream nodded again. He stood up and walked in front of Sans, crouching to look at him at eye level. He used his aura to help the kid calm down a bit as he talked. “Five months with no home or parents, huh? That’s a long time. And you’ve been taking care of your brother all this time?” Sans nodded, and Dream smiled warmly at him. “You know, I know someone who had his family taken from him recently; his wife and unborn child died of a sickness. He’s been a bit depressed recently. If you want, I’m sure he would look after you, give you a home again?”Sans lowered his gaze and thought. Dream waited. “…is he nice?”“Yes, I would say he’s very nice. He would’ve been a great father.”“…can I meet ‘im?”“Of course. Pale,” Pale stepped forward, ready for orders. “go get Dr. Gaster.” Pale started to move to the doors when a voice stopped him.“No need to.” A skeleton entered the room. He was tall, taller than the rest of them in the room. He wore a black coat with a white sweater underneath it and black pants and shoes. One of his eye sockets dropped a bit and a crack ran up from the socket, another crack ran in the opposite direction on the other socket. He spoke with his hands, as his language was a bit hard to understand. This was WingDings Gaster, the head scientist.Dream stood and Gaster took his place. Gaster smiled at Sans, who was awed. “Hello, Sans. I am WingDings Gaster.”Sans was silent for a bit. “You’re tall.”Gaster chuckled. “Yes, I am. Now, would you like to come with me? I can give you a home and proper care for both you and your brother.”If Sans had a lip, Dream was sure he would be biting it. Finally, Sans agreed and Gaster picked him up, placing him on his shoulders. Sans gasped in amazement and giggled while Gaster smiled fondly. The two had formed an instant connection.“Now,” Gaster said, moving to the door, “let’s find your brother.”The two left and soon after, the guards did too. Dream sighed and turned to Pale. He had a request to make, one he had been thinking about for a bit already. “Pale,” he started, pausing for his friend to look at him, “I have a favour to ask of you.”Pale blinked. “Yes?”“I want you to take the Captain and a few of the guardsmen out to neighbouring kingdoms. I want you to spread the word about our empire. Can you do it?”“Yes, I can, but…” Pale narrowed his eye sockets. “Are you sure you want Kevin coming? He’s the Captain, yes, but he’s also…y’know…Kevin. He’s basically a human chicken.”“I know you’re feeling about him, but please bear with him? He’s eager to please.”“…you’re making him come because he annoys you, aren’t you?”“Of course not.”Pale sighed and let it go. “Very well. I’ll gather them and leave tomorrow morning.” Pale turned and left, leaving Dream alone.Dream’s wings ruffled a bit. Pale was a witty person and preferred jokes and sarcasm over fighting now that he has his emotions. If Dream was honest, he got on his nerves sometimes. Dream looked over at the window, observing the view for a few seconds.…that was enough. It’s time to get back to work.Lust can say that without a doubt today was probably one of the busiest days the tavern had had for a while now. Usually, they have a few couples and a few singles, but today was just bursting with people.Which made for some interesting rumours. Lust is no stranger to rumours. He had to deal with many rumours of himself simply because his name is Lust. So, he doesn’t usually get involved in the gossip. But the recent rumours had been catching his interest.He asked one of the groups what they were talking about earlier. They looked at him like he had been under a rock his whole life. Then they had filled him in.The Empire of the Sun, as the rumour is called, is an empire that started recently. Nobody can quite tell if it’s a kingdom or empire, so it’s up to personal preferences. They said that the place was brimming with positivity and hope. That no one there was sad or angry or hurt or traumatized. The place was everyone’s dream come to life.Lust was intrigued. It seemed too good to be true, but it sounded amazing too. It resonated with Lust.Lust’s life hadn’t been kind to him. He had lived in a poor part of town, almost on the streets. He starved and was thirsty for most of his childhood. He had had no parents, as no one wanted someone named after a sin. He was hated by many religious folks and the church was definitely not one of his supporters.But he kept hope. And he was taken in by, at first, a kind man, who said he wouldn’t harm him. And he didn’t. Until he was older, around ten. Then the man had advanced on him and touched him in many different ways that Lust didn’t like. The man ignored his screams and kept doing it for years.Lust eventually ran. He got himself a home and worked and worked until he was happy and healthy. Then he met Horror, the love of his life.Lust had been walking in front of the mountain when Horror was thrown at him. He never saw what threw him, but he doesn’t care, as whatever had had brought the two together. Horror was pretty out of it the first couple times he woke up, but Lust kept taking care of him until he was well again.Lust expected Horror to leave when he was well, but he stayed. He stayed, they fell in love, got married and the rest is history. He wouldn’t trade his life for the world.But it wouldn’t hurt to take a vacation.“Hey, Horror?” He said as they were cleaning up and getting ready to close. Horror hummed to show he was listening. “Did you know about the new rumour, the one about Empire Sun?”Horror was silent for a bit. “I did.”Lust blinked. He honestly hadn’t expected Horror to know. The two had a code; they would always tell the other about the rumours they heard. He turned to face Horror. “Why didn’t you tell me?”“I have a feeling that the rumour isn’t all that good. It sounds good, yes, but it has a…I dunno…fake feel to it.”“You should have told me.”“I should’ve. I just…” Horror sighed and came over to Lust. He grabbed his hands and held them, looking Lust in the eye. “I know what your life has been like. I don’t want to deny you the things you need, but I know that this kingdom, empire, whatever, is not what you really want. It would be too much positivity.”Lust was silent. It always amazed him how much Horror loved him. And Horror was right, but…Lust sighed and smiled. “I know, you’re right, as always. I promise I won’t leave.” He pressed their teeth together in a kiss. “Now, it’s your night to cook, isn’t it?”Horror grinned. “Yes, it is. I’ll get started right away.” He rushed off.Lust let his smile fade. He hated lying to Horror, to anyone, but this wasn’t something he could let go of. He needed to at least check it out. He wouldn’t be gone long and he would leave a note. Besides, if he left tonight, it would take him a day if he pushed to reach the kingdom.He wouldn’t leave forever.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Nightmare was exhausted.They had been walking for almost two days straight, apparently forgetting the need to rest in fear of Dream getting to the kingdom before they did. He didn't really understand it himself, even if he was one of the idiots doing this in the first place. Yes, he called himself an idiot. Anyone would in this scenario.Template had forgotten about his portals. Again. But when they both realized that, they had already been walking for a while, and Template had said that his portals wouldn't work if he didn't know where he was going exactly. So, they were forced to walk.Nightmare didn't mind, though. It was nice, like he was back in Kingdom Dream, taking a break from his studies with Dream, walking through the gardens and forest. The times when they were happy. Simple times laced with a bittersweet aftertaste.And now he ruined it for himself. Go figure.He should be over this by now. It had been just over a month since the destruction of his kingdom, so why wasn't he over it? It frustrated him, but at the same time, he knew that getting over things like this took time. He couldn't just wave his hand and will it all away, however much he wanted to. He would have to be patient.Patience had never been his thing. Or at least, it hadn't been before the villagers got so rough with him. He had been the impulsive and reckless twin. He had always put his heart before his mind and it always worked out for him. The villagers put an end to that quickly though. They made him afraid to anger them, afraid to tell Dream about the abuse. He struggled with the fact that he had to wait and hope they would stop. He struggled with the fact he had to be patient. He still does.But with Template, a real friend, he could do it. Template would help distract him if his thoughts went too dark. And in turn, Nightmare would be there when Template's insecurities got the best of him. They would be there for each other. After all, that's what friends do, right?But that would be later, after they found this kingdom. For now, Nightmare should probably focus on finding them a spot to finally rest.With that in mind, Nightmare came to a full stop and turned around in time to see Template face plant onto the ground. Nightmare blinked. He set his pack down and crouched beside Template. "Uh...you alright?""I'm dead."Nightmare raised a brow bone. Well, at least he knew Template was alright if he could joke. "Dead people don't speak, and dead monsters turn to dust about now. I doubt you're dead.""Nope, I'm dead. Can't go on anymore. You should continue without me.""Maybe I should. But then again, after I get about five feet away, you'll come running to catch up. Don't think I could get rid of you if I tried.""Shush. I'm trying to sleep here.""Two things," Nightmare said, raising one finger, "one, it's the middle of the day and we don't have a camp set up yet, and two," he raised another finger, "I thought you were dead?"Template groaned and rolled over, glared at Nightmare, then put his hand on Nightmare's face and pushed him over, sitting up. "I hate you.""Love you too. Now, help me set up camp?"Template groaned. "Fine."They moved to start setting up but a voice interrupted them. "It's a bit out in the open, is it not?"A skeleton stood by the trees. This skeleton was familiar to Nightmare, though he couldn't place why. They had a mostly brown outfit on, vials strapped to their chest, a brown scarf around their neck and a blue sweater around their waist. There was an ink stain on their cheek and their eyelights changed with every blink. This was an interesting monster, that was for sure.The skeleton tilted their head and smiled, their eyelights a green circle and a yellow star. "If you don't mind, you could stay with me for a bit? I have room for a couple people to stay for a couple days and you look like you need it. Well?"Ink was having an eventful day, and that was putting it mildly.The last month had been hectic, what with him moving his house to the Omega Woods and all. Core, the leader of the woods, had visited him at the beginning of the month with a proposition: move to the Omega Woods and help protect it in exchange for safety. Naturally, Ink was both surprised and awed.The Omega Woods were very hard to find. It wasn't definite, but many believed someone had placed a barrier spell around it. Why? Because the Omega Woods was where people who lost their families, friends, homes and jobs, basically everything, could go to be safe, and because it was so hidden, they could rest.Ink hadn't thought he would be approached to protect it. Yes, he had been a Protector. Yes, he had had a hand in defeating the leader of the Destroyers.But he had failed many times before, so what if he did it again?Though, he couldn't refuse. It was too good an opportunity to let go of. Core was also his friend, and he couldn't refuse a friend.The rest of the month had been about moving into the woods and settling in. He found a few friends in the residents, had a mission already involving rounding up a few kids (which, in his opinion, was quite fun) and made a name for himself as a good and helpful protector.Ink couldn't lie; it did feel good to be needed again. It filled some sort of hole in his non-existent soul, like something missing was found....Anyways. So, it didn't surprise him too much when he ran into a couple of stray skeletons during his rounds. It was just another thing to add to the hectic month of his. The pair looked pretty exhausted, so Ink asked them if they wanted a place to stay for a bit.The two just looked at him for a moment, which gave Ink a minute to observe them.They were about the same height-wise, though the purple one was a bit smaller than the other. That one had white bones, like any other skeleton, and purple eyelights. He was wearing a purple cloak with a silver outline. However, all that was rather normal when compared to the crown he wore; a golden circlet with a moon carved into the front of it.The other skeleton made Ink freeze, thinking that E—someone might have returned. But it wasn't. It couldn't be. So, he forced himself to look again, but closer. Yes, this skeleton was similar to Er—the someone, but there were a few differences, like the giant pen and the clothing choice.But the glitches and bone colour? That was the same. Just like Ink and his Destroyer counterpart.Eventually, after another moment of staring, the glitched skeleton gasped, grabbed his companion by the arm and turned them both around. Ink blinked."Nightmare! Nightmare, do you know who that is?" The glitched skeleton whispered, or tried to, as Ink could still hear him. Ink smiled slightly to himself (he definitely didn't feel a stab in his chest when he heard the glitched voice, nope) and pretended to look around as he eavesdropped."...uh, no? Am I supposed to?" Nightmare asked in return, confusion in his voice.Glitchy (there definitely wasn't another stab when the nickname came to mind) gasped again. "Nightmare! I can't believe you! Haven't I taught you anything?" In the corner of Ink's vision, he saw Nightmare get shaken."Woah, woah! Calm down, Template, and just tell me who he is, okay?!" Nightmare almost yelled in surprise.Template, Ink found himself thinking, trying to remember the name and finally gave into just writing it on his scarf."Fine. That's Ink! Protector extraordinaire! The former leader of the Protectors! GREATEST ARTIST IN THE WORLD!" Template exploded, making many hand gestures and his yells gave into gibberish. Nightmare and Ink just blinked at him.(Somewhere, in the back of Ink's skull, he recalled a fond memory of a similar breakdown with a certain someone.)Nightmare sighed, drawing Ink's attention to him. He looked at Ink. "We'll take your offer, thanks." Template stopped his yelling and had an offended look on his face as he looked at his companion, mumbling something under his breath that Ink didn't hear.Ink smiled, shaking his head to clear his mind. "Of course. Gather your stuff and I'll take you to my house."As they gathered their stuff, with Ink helping with a few things, and started to walk, Ink found himself observing his new companions. Especially Template. He couldn't help comparing Template and E—him, someone who he knew a long time ago. They were so similar! The same bone structure, the same voice, though Template's did tend to be in a higher pitch most of the time, the same smile...the same everything.It made his chest sting and Ink wanted to break down crying. Again. But he won't. Ink had a duty to this world. A duty to protect it. It didn't matter whether he retired or not, the vow he made years ago, with a confident smile and cocky attitude, still stood. He was bound to his word with magic.All Protectors had to take a vow. It was to make sure they would never go back on their word, never turn out like someone named Shattered. Ink hadn't questioned it then, but he will also never regret it. Sure, he will always have a duty to protect the kingdoms, but he can live with that. Besides, there are so many Protectors, so it's unlikely they will need his specific help every time there's a crisis.Ink closed his eyes. He could still recall the words...
"Do you, Ink Comyet, vow to protect the numerous kingdoms of Earth? Do you promise to protect everyone, from infant to elder, child to adult, even the animals of Mother Nature herself? Do you swear to offer your services, under no hesitation, when a Destroyer seeks to attack and harm a kingdom, no matter the size of it? If you will do all of these, speak now."

Ink raised his head and smirked. "I do."

"Then rise, for I now proclaim you Protector Ink Comyet, the Creator."
He opened his eyes again and shook his head, clearing his thoughts yet again. While he was thinking, he had stopped at some point, as Template and Nightmare were a few feet ahead of him. Ink quietly swore and ran a bit to catch up. Luckily, they hadn't noticed him falling behind.Ink took a breath and took the lead again. He had to focus on this now. Knowing himself, if he got lost in his head again, he would get them all lost.Laughter and bickering filled his mind as he focused on his two companions behind him. It seemed they were having fun. That was good.The next few minutes were spent with Ink listening in on the conversation behind him—which, no, wasn't creepy at all, so shut up! He eventually straightened up as a familiar house came into view.He smiled. "We're here!""...and then, to prove to his brother he did want to understand him, he took a bite of the apple!"Pale raised a brow bone. On his right side, a bird monster and a male human burst into laughter. On his left, a female human giggled slightly, trying to muffle herself with a hand. Next to her, Kevin sighed and shook his head. "You call that scary?" he said, leaning forward to poke at the fire. "C'mon, Ethan! Have I taught you nothing?"Ethan narrowed their eyes and crossed their tentacle arms. "You're telling me you wouldn't be scared if a person you loved made the same mistakes you did because they were so desperate to show you that they understood how you felt?"The female human tilted her head slightly. "Well—""Shut up, Linda, they weren't talking to you!" Kevin rolled his eyes to the sky."My names not Linda.""Do I look like I care, Karen?" At this, the female human sighed, giving up. Kevin directed his attention back to Ethan. "And for the record, no, I wouldn't. Who would even do that? You know, Ethan, there's this thing called 'communicating', those brothers in your story should try it sometime.""It's also called a 'story' for a reason, Kevin.""Yeah, yeah, whatever." Kevin waved his hand around, cutting him off. He then smirked. "Now, how about a real scary story, everyone?"As Kevin started his story, with which everyone seemed invested in, Pale shook his head. He got up to get himself some air away from everyone else in the camp. Sometimes, people were just too much to handle.Pale leaned against a tree, glancing back as there was a wave of laughter around the fire. He was exhausted. It had been a long few days of travelling. All he wanted to do, if he was being honest, was head back to the Empire and pass out on his real bed.But Dream asked him to stay with these bunch of idiots. And he couldn't let down the big boss, now could he?He sighed. There was something about Dream that he had realized this last week. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he felt there was something...off about the winged skeleton. Something almost lost. Which was weird, because Dream seemed to be a confident leader. He always had a smile on his face. His smile...there was something off about that too...like it was too fake or something....he didn't have the energy to think about this anymore.Pale walked back to the fire. Kevin was finishing his story and it seemed like it had been pretty scary. The bird monster and male human were holding onto each other. The female human was pale, a hand held to her heart. Ethan was looking at the trees next to the group, looking quite nervous."...did anyone else hear that?" Ethan whispered, not looking away. Pale followed his gaze, squinted, but saw nothing.Kevin grinned. "See? I spooked you so hard you're hearing things! That's how you tell a scary story, everyone!"Before anyone could reply, a twig broke in the trees, making everyone except Kevin snap their gaze to it. The bushes rustled too. There was something in it. Pale narrowed his eyes, violently shushing Kevin when he began laughing too loudly.Pale took a step towards the trees. "Who's there?" he called, holding his hand up when his guardsmen tried to advance too. "Show yourself!"A beat. Then, one by one, a group of humans and monsters emerged into the light. They were all injured, with varying degrees of seriousness, some even unconscious. One of them stepped in front of them all. The leader, most likely.They were a fairly short skeleton. They had two scars over their left eye socket, and also had red-coloured eyelights. They were frowning. Red gloves adorned their hands, one of which was clasped over a gash on the opposite arm. A red bandana was around their neck, below it a black chest plate outlined in gold. They also wore black shorts, held up with a golden belt with a red buckle, and long red boots with a bit of a heel on them. They leaned heavily on one side.Pale looked over all of them once more, before stopping on the leader. "Tell me your name, kingdom and business."They scowled further. "...I am Razz." Their—his—voice was rough, like he had been yelling for a while. It was also cold and sharp. "I am from Kingdom Swapfell, which has been destroyed. We are what's left of it. As you can see, we are injured and need a place to rest. Your camp was the only place we saw in close proximity, so we came here."Pale nodded. The group had come because they thought he would give them the shelter they needed. The question now was if he did.Dream did say to spread the word of their empire. So, if injured people needed a place to stay, away from whatever danger they came from...it was the perfect way to get more people. But it would be very easy to turn them away. He had, after all, been a Destroyer. He wasn't supposed to care about any kingdoms.He wasn't a Destroyer any longer, though. So, that left only one choice.As Pale began to answer, however, Kevin intervened. "Ah, shit, man," he said, dropping his sword and straightening with a sympathetic look. "of course, you can stay! We don't mind. Honestly."Pale blinked. He was the leader of this group, so why was Kevin making the decision? He looked over to the human with raised brow bones. The rest of his guards looked away. Kevin blinked, looked around, and seemed to have a realization."Oh! As long as that's alright with you, too, Boss Pale...heh heh..." He rubbed the back of his neck.Pale continued to stare at him silently.Kevin shifted, sweat breaking out.Pale watched him for a few more seconds before sighing and turning back to Razz. "Yes, Kevin is right. You may stay here, if you want. You are also free to treat your injuries with the medical supplies we have with us."Razz seemed to sag in relief. "Thank you, sir."Pale nodded. He gestured for them to follow him with a hand and began walking. "Come. I'll show you some tents you can use."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

As Ink thought might happen, Template and Nightmare immediately passed out on their beds when they arrived. They must've really been tired.Ink smiled to himself as he put their bags next to the door. He made sure both of his guests were comfy, with the covers on them, before turning to leave. However, before he left, he found himself gazing at Template's sleeping face with a longing feeling in his chest.He battled with himself about indulging in the feeling. He didn't want Template to wake up and think he was a freak.But it couldn't hurt to do this for a few minutes, right?Ink nodded to himself. Yes, it couldn't hurt to reminisce for a minute. With his mind made up, Ink carefully knelt next to Template, gazing at him for a few seconds before reaching out and carefully removing the other's glasses. He folded them up and placed them on the bedside table. He directed his gaze back to Template.Without the glasses, the resemblance was even more prominent. Ink inhaled sharply, feeling his chest constrict further. He recalled gazing at a sleeping face so similar to this one what felt like centuries ago. It had been a long few years since...it still hurt, anyways.Before he could stop himself, Ink reached out a hand and gently ran it down Template's skull. Glitches fizzed into existence where he touched and Template shifted, mumbling something indistinguishable. Ink snapped his hand away like it had been burned, gasping, tears brimming in his eye sockets.After a beat, Ink scrambled to his feet and made a hasty retreat.He shouldn't have done that. God, he was so stupid! He knew that Template wasn't...him. How could he be, E—he is dead! Ink knew this. He knew they were two separate people. That didn't make the pain of seeing the similarities any less, though.Ink took a shaky breath in and out. There was wetness on his cheekbones, and he realized he had started crying. He tried to wipe them away, but they kept coming. Choking back a sob, he sought refuge in his room.His bedroom was pretty normal. A double bed in the middle of the back wall, two end tables on both sides of it, a closet on the opposite wall with a mirror next to it. Clothes were strewn over the floor—he was never the best person at keeping his room clean—and there was a piece of the ceiling fan on the floor. He still doesn't know how that happened.Ink sat on the edge of the bed and picked up a lone photograph on the end table. It was a photograph of him and...someone important (he still can't say the name). This was one of the only photos they had taken together where they both were smiling, where they both were relaxed and happy. It was special.He held the gaze of the memory of the black boned skeleton in the picture. Those eyes looked so happy and they almost seemed to sparkle, even frozen in time. This made him sob again, pulling the picture to his chest, wrapping his arms around it and hugging it."God, I miss you, so, so much..." Ink said, falling on his side, curling around the photo. "Why did you have to go...?"He should've made it in time. He should've tried harder. If only they hadn't had that nasty fight that day. If only he hadn't been so mad at him. If only he hadn't said all those horrible things. Maybe then he could've reached him in time.Maybe then he wouldn't be all alone.Maybe then he would stop having the sound of a string snapping someone's neck echoing in his head whenever he slept.With his mind filled with guilt, remorse and sadness, Ink fell into a fitful sleep.If you asked, Dream would tell you that he was perfectly fine and that today was a very good day. No, it definitely wasn't a bad day, why would you say that? Yes, he was sure he was fine, thanks, but you could mind your own business, okay?...he would be lying. He knows he would be lying, deep down, buried underneath all this positivity, but he would never admit it. That would be agreeing with Nightmare. And Nightmare was wrong.He had to be. It was the only thing that made sense.So, today was a good day. The best day of his life, even.A nearby kingdom had been destroyed and his guards that had been patrolling near their borders had invited the whole kingdom, at least what was left of it, to stay at Empire Sun. Which ended up being roundabout 3,000 people, as the kingdom had some great security and army. So, the empire pretty much doubled in size in one day.This also brought up an issue. There weren't enough houses yet, so the kingdom had to stay in the castle until some were built. Which made the castle just a bit crowded. Dream couldn't walk into a room and be alone, that was how crowded it was.Dream wasn't saying this shouldn't have happened. He was fine with it, happy really, but it would've been nice to be told there would be an influx in people instead of waking up to a castle filled with strangers. That had been a start.His morning had been spent with the leaders of the kingdom, trying to find a way to get them some housing quickly. However, no matter the decision they made, the fastest would be around two months. And that was if his people worked hard and without many breaks. The leaders of the kingdom, luckily, understood.It seemed the castle would remain crowded for a bit. Which was...annoying, if he was honest, but he wouldn't kick them out. He wasn't bad. It would just be a bit overwhelming at first.Dream would get used to it. He had to if he were to be a good leader.Still, somewhere inside him, he felt...wrong. He felt like this wasn't how it was supposed to be. He had eaten the apples with a clear plan; get stronger, make people realize they were wrong about him, protect Nightmare, and then...it got blurry. Almost like he was forgetting something.What if he was? What if the apples had clouded his vision, his judgement? It would make sense. He had read somewhere, long ago, that something like that would happen, so he was to never eat one, let alone almost all. So...what if Nightmare was...right?Dream shook his head immediately at that, leaning away from his desk. No, no, Nightmare was wrong. He knew this. He didn't know why his thoughts had decided to go down that path, but he would be careful about the future.Just to be sure, he closed his eyes and sighed. He ran over everything reaffirming it to himself. Nightmare was wrong. Nightmare didn't understand a thing about what Dream's plans are. So, he should just stay out of his way.He smiled and began to laugh. Yes, that felt right.Ink hummed as he flipped the pancakes. They looked perfect, if a little burnt.He smiled and set them on a plate. This made ten in total now. He shut the burner off, setting the pan aside. Taking the plate full of pancakes, he walked over to the table, setting the plate down in the middle of the set plates. Now, only one thing was missing. The maple syrup.He turned back around to look for it and almost jumped out of his non-existent skin when he noticed Template standing there silently. The glitched skeleton flushed a mixture of blue and yellow and sheepishly smiled."S-Sorry!" Template stuttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "I, uh...I didn't mean to startle you."Ink let out a shaky breath, shaking his head. "It's fine. Just...tell me you're there next time, okay?" He smiled softly as Template agreed, going off into another ramble in his nervousness.Just like E-that someone, he thought. Only that someone would ramble to cover up his flusterness and embarrassment.Ink eventually stopped Template, inviting him to take a seat and eat some pancakes. He grabbed the maple syrup—Mrs. Butterworth, his favourite. They ate their pancakes in relative silence, Template looking around as he ate.Ink, on the other hand, focused on his pancakes. And his thoughts.The feeling of grief and longing from last night hasn't faded, not one bit. Conversing and sitting with Template only amplified them. He didn't like feeling this way. He tried to move on and accept what happened, but he just...can't.The guilt wouldn't go away. It kept reminding him that he should've tried harder. He should've been there. He should've seen the signs or at least told that someone he was there for him, made sure he believed it. Especially when he gained a bit of stable sanity. Ink should've been there to make sure his guilt didn't consume him.Then...then he would still be here. They would be happy.Template's voice brought him back to reality. "Umm...Ink?"Ink quickly wiped away a stray tear making its way down his face and looked up. He blinked at the empty seat in front of him. Looking around, he found Template standing in the living room, in front of his shelf of pictures. It seems he had moved while Ink was lost in his thoughts.He stood up and walked over, standing next to Template. "Yeah?""Can I ask who this other skeleton is in these pictures?"Ink paused. He felt frozen, like he was falling. Like someone had swept the floor from beneath him, sending him into a dark abyss. He felt dizzy.He must've made some sort of sound as Template looked over, concern evident in his eyelights. "Ink? Sorry if I can't, it's just that he looks like me, so I was curious, but—"Ink cut him off before he could start to ramble again. "No! It's, uh..." He shook his head, taking a calming breath. "Yeah, yeah. It's fine." He gazed at the pictures, feeling sadness well up in him again. "That's...that's Error."Template blinked, looking back to the pictures. "Error?""Yep." Ink grimaced, memories flooding to the surface. He didn't want to get lost in the past again. "He was a good...friend...of mine. He had a bit of a, uh, rough past, but we eventually became friends. It was a pretty slow process."Template was silent for a bit. "...I remember that there was a Destroyer named Error."Ink sighed. He knew that would come up. "As I said, he had a pretty rough past. At first, he was so angry." The grimace on his face faded into a nostalgic smile. "We fought all the time, even when we met when he wasn't destroying a kingdom. I was determined to be his friend, though, even if I was meant to be his enemy."Template was silent again, this time for much longer, making Ink take his gaze from the pictures to him. The glitched skeleton was staring at the photos with an unreadable expression on his face. Then, Ink's gaze dropped to his hands, which were closed into a fist.Ink looked back to the photos. It was true that Error and Template looked very similar. Similar enough to be mistaken for the same person. That was probably the problem.He looked back to Template, who hasn't changed. If Ink were to take his experience, his meeting with his Destroyer counterpart, he could probably guess what Template was thinking. He looked back to the photos before making up his mind.Keeping his gaze on the pictures, he chose his words carefully. "...y'know, just because you look like him, doesn't mean you'll become him."Out of the corner of his eye, Ink saw Template startle, looking over to him with wide eyes. "What?"Ink smiled widely, laughing a bit. "Yeah!" He looked over to Template, pointing at him. "You may look like him, and you may sound like him, maybe you even have the same magic as him, but that doesn't mean you'll become him. Error is Error, and your name isn't Error, is it?"Template didn't answer, not that he needed to, instead looking away to something else in the room. Ink's smile turned warmer, even if his audience couldn't see it. "No, it's Template. And you are you. You are your own person. It doesn't matter that there was a destroyer who resembled you. You aren't him."Ink fell silent, watching the other. Eventually, he saw Template give him a small smile, more subdued than usual, but a smile nonetheless. "...thanks."Ink grinned. "No problem!"Nightmare knew he had missed something as soon as he entered the living room.There was a bit of tension in the air. Unnoticeable to most, but he wasn't really most, so he could notice it. He paused a bit and looked between the two others in the room. Ink was sitting on the couch, a sketchpad in hand. He didn't look up when Nightmare entered the room.Template, on the other hand, immediately looked up from his seat on a chair next to the couch and grinned. He rushed up to Nightmare and, before he could question what he was doing, dragged him into the kitchen, sat him down at the table, put some pancakes on his plate and sat down next to him, letting out a relieved sigh.Nightmare stared at him. "Are you alright, Template?"Template glanced at him and smiled. Nightmare narrowed his eyes; that smile looked a little too forced. "I'm perfectly fine!" Template laughed a little, glancing behind Nightmare. "I'm just fine and dandy!"Forgetting any thought of eating the pancakes in front of him, Nightmare reached out and set a hand on Template's arm, making him jump. "What's wrong?"Template gazed at him for a bit. Something flickered in his eyes and he glanced behind Nightmare again before looking away. Before Nightmare could speak though, he shook his head and looked back with a smile that was visibly forced. "Really, Night, I'm fine. Really. Truly. 100%. I haven't been this fine since—""Template."Template fell silent, a surprised look on his face from the seriousness in Nightmare's voice. Nightmare didn't care though; he just wanted Template to tell him the truth.The friends stared at each other for a bit.Then, Template slid his eyes away, face blank. Nightmare inwardly sighed and prepared himself for another dose of 'I'm fine' and things similar.Though...Template didn't say any of that. "There used to be a Destroyer named Error."Nightmare blinked, caught off guard. "What?""A Destroyer. Named Error." Template glanced behind Nightmare again. This time, his gaze stayed there as he spoke. "Ink knew him. Even had some pictures of the two of them together." He frowned a bit. "He said they were friends, though I think they were more."Nightmare took this all in. He struggled to see how and why this affected Template this much. "And this is...bad?"Template's gaze snapped back to Nightmare. "What? No!" He shook his head quickly. "No, not at all! Just..." He sighed and leaned back, looking at his hands. "Error was a Pixelian, okay? And that's not bad either! But...he looked a lot like me. Like, a lot, a lot like me."Oh. That's why this affected him that much. That made sense."Oh." Nightmare shifted a bit before continuing, gazing at his friend in concern. "And...you know that you're not him, right? That—"Template huffed a weak laugh, cutting Nightmare off. "Yeah, yeah. I know all that already. I'm not him and even though I look like him, that doesn't mean I'll become him and everything like it." His gaze travelled back to the living room. "Ink already said all of that, anyways, so..."Nightmare tilted his head. He glanced behind him at the skeleton mentioned, who was still focused on his sketchbook. He suspected that Ink was doing more than just drawing, though."Just..." Nightmare turned back to Template when he started to speak again. The other was staring at his hands again, a faint look of horror in his eyes. "It's hard to look at my own hands and not see him in my place, destroying things, y'know?"Nightmare stared at Template. He supposed it would be hard to look at your hands while knowing there had been someone who looked like you doing terrible things with similar ones. He gave a small smile to Template, who couldn't see it."Take your time." He said, patting the other on his arm. "I won't force you to hastily how you view things. Just remember what Ink said, okay?"Template was silent for a bit. "Thanks, Night."Nightmare smiled. "Of course."From then, the day sped up a bit. Nightmare ate his almost cold pancakes while bantering with Template. They were laughing for a bit after one of their jokes. Then, they decided to get going, now that they were pretty rested.They gathered their things and thanked Ink for letting them stay. Ink convinced them to let him teleport them closer to their destination. Nightmare stayed behind as Template started down the path and turned to Ink, who was watching the glitched skeleton go with a wistful smile on his face."I wanted to say thanks," he started, waiting for Ink's confused gaze to land on him before continuing, "for what you told Template about him and Error." He really was, too. He didn't like his friend doubting himself, so he was grateful that Ink had enough sense to reassure him.Nightmare watched as Ink took a few moments to remember what he was talking about. "Oh!" He laughed, waving him off. "It's fine. I just did what anyone would do."Nightmare looked at him for a bit more, searching him. He didn't find anything, though. Template called his name and he started off to catch up, throwing another thanks at Ink. Once caught up, Template tagged him and set off running. Nightmare blinked for a bit before giving chase.With that, they were on their way to Kingdom X.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

He lost track of how long he sat there.All he knew was his limbs not moving, almost frozen in place, though they shook in his shock. A puddle of his tears had gathered beneath him, soaking into his clothes, though he couldn't move away if he tried. His gaze was glued to the ground in front of him. If he looked around, he knew he would catch sight of the dust of his family.He didn't want to see the mess he caused.His guilt grew just by thinking about it.He gave a dry sob, the tears seemingly having no end. But that was fine. He deserved to stay like this, drowning in memories and sorrow.God, he missed them. He could still hear all the laughter and teasing remarks from before...his chest felt tight. It hurt so much to think about, but he had too. He couldn't let himself move on, forget about all of this.He had to keep reminding himself of what a failure he was.It was the only way to make it up."God," he said, voice weak and barely there, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry." He kept mumbling apologies after it, making his tears come even faster.It felt like there was a weight on his shoulders that kept on pushing down. He deserved it though, right? It was his punishment. He should be happy. He should be accepting this with open arms. But he wasn't.Instead, he was ready to give up.He was ready to close his eyes and just wait to die."Are you sure we're not lost, Nightmare?""Yes, Template, I'm sure. We wouldn't be walking if we were lost.""I mean, technically we would. We wouldn't know where to go. We would still be lost even if we stood still. Like, honestly—""Shut up, I know what I'm doing." Nightmare sped up his pace a bit, gritting his teeth.He could practically feel Template smirking behind his back. "Do you now?""Yes." Nightmare hissed, turning and giving his friend a glare. "Now, shut up and walk."Template laughed before exaggeratedly saluting. "Sir, yes, sir!"Nightmare stifled a groan and turned forwards again, making sure Template couldn't see his smile. He rather liked bantering with his friend. That doesn't mean he won't act like he does, though.They had been walking for a while now. Ink had gotten them closer though, so they would probably reach the Kingdom before the sunset. Which was good. Then they could rest again and talk about an alliance with the kingdom. Hopefully, they accepted. Or they weren't too late. That would not bode well for them.Template believed that they were lost, especially because they didn't even have a map to tell them where to go. Nightmare, though, believed they were right on track. He didn't need a map to tell them they were going in the right direction.Speaking of, the path they were walking suddenly opened up into a clearing. It was a pretty place with some greenery and a waterfall a ways away."Huh." Nightmare heard Template say. "Guess you were on the right track.""Oh, shut up."Though...something was a bit off. The green of the plants suddenly turned white and the bark of the trees turned black. Everything suddenly became monochrome.And it all stemmed from the gated at the end of the clearing.Nightmare and Template shared a glance, both uneasy about this. This wasn't normal. Things don't just become devoid of colour overnight, did they? Though...they had to get to that kingdom. They walked up to the gate.The gate was pretty big, way taller than the two of them. It was painted black, or so they assumed, as the monochrome plants around it suggested it could be a different colour, they just couldn't see it right now. There were purple splatters over it. It also looked a bit rusted and there were dents in it, some of the bars completely bent outwards.Nightmare didn't like the look of this. It made him feel uncomfortable, like something was about to happen, something wrong. He didn't get this feeling often. The fact that he couldn't sense anyone at all was even more concerning.Something bad must've happened here.The friends shared another glance. Their uneasiness grew, but they knew they had to continue. Both for their curiosity, and to see if there truly was nobody left.Nightmare blinked as he felt a sharp bit of fear coming from beside him. He looked over at Template, who was staring up at the gate with an expression of fear. Nightmare frowned. He didn't like his friend to be scared.Before he could say anything though, Template shook himself and put up a brave façade. "Not to worry, Nightmare!" He spoke with confidence that would probably fool anyone that couldn't sense emotions. "I will guide us through this place! There's no need to fear with me by your side!" Template reached forward and opened the gate with a creak and started forward.Nightmare narrowed his eyes. He also didn't like his friend lying to himself, masking his feelings, for other's sake. He couldn't confront him now though. "Alright." He conceded, following behind. "But...you know you don't have to play the hero, right? You don't need to act like that with me."Template ignored him though. So, Nightmare sighed and just followed in silence.The kingdom looked the same as the gates. It was all monochrome, the only colour being the yellow of the flowers. It was also in ruins; buildings were almost completely collapsed. The fountain in the middle of everything was run dry. There was a mixture of both human bodies and piles of monster dust.It made Nightmare extremely uneasy and he could tell Template felt the same.Whatever had happened, it had been catastrophic.As they walked towards the castle, which was the only place relatively standing, Nightmare couldn't help but think about what caused this. Or who. Whatever or whoever it was had to be powerful.Well, he supposed it depended on if there was only one thing that caused this. It could be multiple. Still, with this amount of damage...it would have to be something he investigated more later. He would have his people be careful.They reached the castle. It was just like the rest of its kingdom. The friends stopped just outside of it.They didn't know what to do next."Hey, do you hear that?" Template said, glancing around and then to Nightmare.Nightmare, in turn, blinked. He didn't hear anything. But...now that he listened, he could hear someone...crying?This alarmed Nightmare. He didn't feel anyone before, so how could there still be someone? Though, now that he strained himself, he could feel the faint sorrow of another person besides him and Template.Glancing at Template, they had a silent conversation about whether to follow it or not.If they did follow the sound, they could find someone and learn about whatever happened here. Or it could be a trap and they could get killed. If they didn't and they left, then they could be leaving someone all alone here. Or they could foil and avoid walking into a trap....They had to follow it, didn't they? They couldn't just leave some innocent person. They had to take the chance. If it's a trap, then they fight their way out of it. It isn't? Then they just gained a new friend.They had to take that chance.Their mind made up, the two followed the crying into the castle, where they found a skeleton wearing the same colour scheme as the kingdom, sitting alone, surrounded by dust.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The first thing Nightmare noticed was that the skeleton was crying, eye sockets blank.Looking around, he could see purple puddles around. His gaze went back to the skeleton. They were injured. Cuts and grazes covered their bones, some of them looking quite deep. They bled purple. So, it was safe to assume that their tears were being mixed with their blood.The dust that surrounded them must've been their family. It would explain why they were mourning them so.Nightmare could feel sorrow coming off them. The sorrow was so great, that he could tell that the skeleton felt almost numb. Underneath that sorrow, he could faintly feel some...guilt? This made Nightmare a bit uneasy, but the skeleton didn't look dangerous.He glanced at Template. His friend was also staring at the skeleton, curiosity and some sympathy coming from him. Template then also glanced at Nightmare, locking eyes.One of them had to notify the skeleton that they were there. But who?Nightmare could tell that Template didn't want to. It was small and hidden under his other feelings, but it was still there. He didn't want his friend to force himself to do something he didn't want to.So...he'll talk to the skeleton.He turned to them. They were still staring at the floor, almost right through it even. He took a deep breath to calm himself and then walked forward a bit, making sure his footsteps were loud and able to be heard. It worked.The skeleton startled, eyelights—both a pure white colour—coming into sight and focus. Their head snapped up and locked onto their guests. They quickly stood up and took a half-step back, wary of Nightmare and Template.Nightmare smiled, trying to show that he was a friend and not a foe. "Hello. I'm Nightmare, and," he gestured to Template. "this is my friend Template."He waited for a bit. The skeleton stared at him blankly, wariness growing. As the silence stretched on for a bit too long, Nightmare decided to give it a little push. "What's your name?"The skeleton blinked. They looked between the friends for a bit before grunting a bit. "Cross..." His voice was rough from crying and seemed to waver a bit.Nightmare smiled anyway. "Cross, huh? That's a nice name." Cross narrowed his eyes at him, clearly not believing him. "Okay, uh...Cross, what—"Template interrupted. "—what happened here?"Nightmare slowly looked back, giving Template a deadpan stare. His friend smiled sheepishly, but the damage was done. He sighed and turned back to Cross, who wiped away the look of anguish on his face.He frowned and went to ask Cross if he was alright, but Cross interrupted him, answering Template. "Um...someone came and, uh..." He cleared his throat. "This place was annihilated by one person."Nightmare blinked. That was rather...concerning.Template was confused, though, from what Nightmare could tell. The glitched skeleton was probably confused as to why Cross didn't explain anymore. This wasn't that big of a deal to Nightmare.Cross's suppression was, however. Cross felt more numb then he did sorrow now. That wasn't good. It meant that Cross wasn't allowing himself to mourn in full, which would only hurt him later.Nightmare knows this. He also knows that he had to make Cross see this.However, Cross won't open up with Template here. Probably. So, he had to manipulate the other's emotions to stop his suppression. He didn't like doing this, but he had too. He knew that bottling things up only hurt later on. He knew this first and second hand.Carefully, Nightmare reached out with his magic. He pulled at Cross's sorrow, trying to untangle it and let it flow naturally. It seemed to be glued in place with some form of guilt. He would think about this later. The sorrow eventually unravelled into a nice line of healthy mourning. His work was done.Cross blinked, most likely feeling his sorrow take control. As he started to cry again, Nightmare turned around and grabbed Template, pulling him away. This increased Template's confusion, but Nightmare would explain it later.Shoving Template through the door, he turned back to Cross, who had sunken to the ground again. His voice turned gentler. "We're here for you, Cross."With that, he left, closing the door. He turned to Template.Before his friend could ask any questions, Nightmare started walking away, taking Template with him. "Leave him be," he said, answering a few of the unspoken questions. "he needs to mourn properly and without distraction."He could tell Template was still confused, but his friend went along with his word anyway. For that, Nightmare was grateful.Cross was quite confused when the sorrow he had tied down with guilt suddenly filled him.He knew, somehow, that Nightmare had something to do with this. He had suddenly started staring at Cross and looked away once the sorrow had risen. Then, he had taken his friend and left, giving Cross some privacy.Part of him was angry that this stranger had just come in and disrupted his punishment.The other part was grateful. This part knew that what he was doing was unhealthy and wanted someone to set him straight. And someone did. Now, he was mourning his family fully and without blocking anything. As he was supposed too.He thought about his family. His father, who wasn't the greatest person and did get wrapped up in the idea of perfection. His brother, who was the person he loved the most out of all of them. His friends, who made life worth living.And...Xhara. The one who started all of this, who caused everything. He had mixed feelings for this human. He was angry, betrayed, hurt and so many more.Xhara, the one who made him kill his kingdom.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Eventually, Nightmare deemed it time to return to Cross.The friends had wandered around the kingdom for a bit. They had created a game of guessing what each building was and what happened to it, including its backstory. It got them a few laughs between them.Nightmare made sure to tell Template why he had dragged them away. Luckily, the Pixelian understood and was more than happy to comply with exploring. In fact, he did most of the talking while Nightmare watched and listened with a smile.Nightmare also kept an eye on Cross’s emotions through all of Template’s excitement. Now that he met the skeleton, it was easier to keep track no matter the distance. That was good. He could make sure that Cross didn’t try to suppress his emotions anymore. Also, he could make sure the monochrome skeleton did, in fact, mourn his family well.Which he was. It was a healthy mixture of just the right amount of sorrow and nostalgia. Hopefully, by the time they returned, Cross would have mourned his family well enough to start to move on.Nightmare was glad. Though, he did find something a bit confusing.It was buried underneath everything, so it was a bit hard to place, but now that Cross was letting his emotions out, the guilt was also rising. Which, he supposed was good, as it meant the other wasn’t deluding himself as others have done. The question Nightmare found himself asking, however, was why it existed in the first place.Was it because Cross was the only one left alive? It would make sense. Most survivors of murders or accidents found themselves guilty of causing it, even if they couldn’t have prevented it. Cross could be feeling this survivor’s guilt.Nightmare didn’t think so, though. Call it a feeling or an instinct but he just knew that Cross wasn’t feeling that kind of guilt.However, he didn’t want to speculate about that now. He had felt Cross’s sorrow turning into acceptance, which meant it was time to return to him.“Hey, Template?” he called to his friend, who was currently climbing over some rocks.Hearing his name, the other turned to Nightmare. “Yeah?”“How about we return to Cross? I think it’s time.” Nightmare watched as Template beamed at him, hurrying down and past him, calling out to the other to hurry up. A smile tugged at his mouth as he rolled his eyes and followed.They got back to the castle quickly. As Template got there first, he opened the door and immediately bounced up to Cross, who had stood up when the door opened again. Nightmare hung back, a calm smile on his face as Template began to talk to Cross, who listened attentively.While he was content to watch Template and Cross, Nightmare found the thoughts from before returning, taking his attention.He couldn’t help it. He had to know why Cross felt this way if he was going to help him, he just had to. Or else, Cross might become consumed by his guilt and…well, he’d rather avoid thinking about that.If the guilt didn’t come from surviving, then it must come from…Being the cause.The realization made him freeze. It made sense. Why Cross was the last one remaining, why he said this kingdom was destroyed by one person, why he felt all that guilt. Why didn’t he see this sooner? Everything pointed to it.Then again, there was no real proof to it. No real evidence. Unless Cross admits it himself. Which he probably won’t, not for a while or he confronts him.Another thought came into his head and he glanced at Template, growing scared. If cross destroyed his kingdom, killed all of his friends and family, then who’s to say he won’t do it again?He was a terrible person for thinking this. Cross didn’t give him any reason not to trust him. But he just couldn’t let it go. He had to take all precautions. If that meant turning Cross into a villain, even if he isn’t, then so be it.Template wouldn’t agree. Nightmare already knew that the Pixelian wants to ask Cross to join them. If Nightmare denied him that, if he revealed what he thought, then his friend would be devastated. He didn’t like to see his friends sad.Still, he couldn’t help but fear for his friend’s safety.Template had officially run out of things to say.This surprised him. Usually, he had topics to talk about for days. Now, when talking to a potential new friend, he seemed to have only a handful.Maybe he was still being affected by his talk with Ink (which he still got giddy over; like, he met his idol!). It would make sense. Bantering with Nightmare had taken his mind off of it for a while, but he hadn’t been feeling like himself ever since.Anytime he looked at himself, he saw Error. It made it hard to return to normal.Nightmare understood, luckily. He was grateful to have him as a friend. Really, really grateful. Especially because he liked Template for who he was and liked him whether or not he was a hero.He shook his head clear of those thoughts. It wouldn’t help him now to dwell on them.Now, he had to find something to talk about with Cross. Cross was a good listener, even if he got a little lost in his mind sometimes. Like Nightmare did when things were bad. This is why he made such a good canadine for a new friend.Hm…Wait, they were here to see if the kingdom was willing to help fight Dream, right? Well, maybe they failed a bit, as this kingdom was already destroyed by someone—he would like to find out who and kick their butt—but…They had found Cross.They had still found a potential ally.Yeah. That made sense. Sure, it wouldn’t be a whole kingdom, but any bit counted, right? They had still, technically, achieved their goal.Besides, Cross looked like he needed some new friends.He nodded to himself. Nightmare would understand. He knew he would. All he had to do now was ask.The thought gave him the familiar anxious thoughts he always got. He got them talking to Nightmare, so it was only natural he got them with Cross. The thoughts that Cross would be mad with him, refuse his offer in disgust, laugh at him. The what-ifs…everything of the sort.He pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind.“Hey, Cross?” He began, waiting for Cross to look at him. When he did, Template took a deep breath. Just rip the Band-Aid off. “I was wondering…if you’d like to join us?”Pale had to hand it to Razz and them, they were quite powerful and helpful.They had remained at the camp for a few more days, just to make sure the group was healing well. A couple of the monsters did, unfortunately, fall down despite everyone’s efforts. Luckily, it was only a couple and everyone else was alive and well.Well, as well as they can be considering.The group hadn’t revealed anything specific about how their kingdom was destroyed. Pale, upon seeing this and recalling the crash course about how emotions work by Dream, told his guards not to push things. They understood. Everyone understood that their kingdom being destroyed is pretty traumatic and people won’t talk about it willingly, if they can help it.Pale had given Razz, who was the leader (at least, now he was) like he thought, a tour of the camp, as he had seemed like the least injured person among his group. That way, his group had someone they knew who could show them around instead of a stranger.Dream would be proud.…note the sarcasm.Pale doesn’t have anything against Dream. Honestly, he doesn’t! He just…realized that something was off about the leader. He didn’t know what, but he was sure it was there.If it wasn’t, then he was going crazy like many of the Destroyers did after a time.Pale shook his head as he started to pick up the pace again. He had to get out of his head. Today they had to get a move on again. They had fallen behind, so they had to do a bit of a rush. The problem was…they didn’t know where their little group of survivors could go.“Hey, Pale?”Pale blinked and came to a stop, turning. Razz was standing there. The skeleton looked better than he did a few days ago, though there were still some bandages on his arm.“I wanted to say thank you, again,” Razz said, doing a good job of keeping eye contact. He reminded Pale of a solider who never lets his guard down. “for letting us stay.”Pale tilted his head. “Of course.”They stood there for a bit before Razz looked over at his group in the distance. Pale followed his gaze. Some of the remaining kids were wrestling on the ground with some adults watching with amused grins. Pale saw Razz’s gaze soften out of the corner of his eye.Pale looked to the ground, studying it as he thought.Dream sent him on this…mission, if you wanted to call it that, as a way to draw more people to Empire Sun. Specifically, he said to invite people who were bordering on little to no hope, as he wanted to help as many people as he could be happy.And the survivors of Kingdom Swapfell fit that bill, didn’t they?“Hey,” Pale started, looking back to Razz. “I know somewhere you and your people would be safe at.”Razz snapped his gaze back to Pale.Pale continued, more confident now that he had the other’s attention. “It’s why we had this camp in the first place. We’re on the lookout for people to join us.” He fingered the tattoo on the side of his face, which he had forgotten about. “Join Empire Sun.”Razz inhaled. Pale knew then that the other had heard about their empire already. Dream was right. Word does spread fast. That was good. If the group heard the rumours already, they would be more inclined to join.Which was very good.“I…” Razz hesitated, looking back at his people. “I’ll be back.”With that, he ran off. Pale watched as he conversed with the adults of his group. He waited a few minutes, then Razz nodded to something they said and ran back to Pale, a grin looking to try and take over his face.“Okay.” He said once he took his place back at Pale’s side. “We’ll join you.”Pale nodded, smiling. “Alright. I’ll have a few guards escort you back, then.”Razz nodded also before pausing. “And, uh…one of the others wanted to let you know about Kingdom X. If you’re interested. She says they might be exactly what you’re looking for.”Pale blinked before narrowing his eyes. Interesting. “Tell me more.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Nightmare was scared.He knew that Cross didn’t mean any harm. He knew this. If the skeleton did, then he would’ve attacked them already. They would already be dead. So, he had nothing to fear, right?Yeah. Still…He couldn’t help but imagine. If Cross did actually intend to cause them harm, that he just wanted to lull them into a false sense of security. That the moment they returned home, to their base, he would turn on them and destroy everyone there too.God, he was a horrible person for thinking these things. He knew, on some level, that Cross was a good person. That he wouldn’t do anything like that.But the guilt…He knew Cross was good. Just like he knew that people who carried guilt knew that they did something bad. Just like Cross did. Nightmare felt his own guilt for thinking like this, but he just…couldn’t let it go.He trusted Template, he really did, but sometimes the other reminded him too much of…of Dream, before he ate the apples. The innocence, the happiness, the smile, everything reminded him of his brother. This also meant that the Pixelian possibly shared the same naivety that Dream did.Which made it Nightmare’s job to protect him.Before his thoughts could stray even further, Template shouted behind him. Nightmare’s eyes widened and he whirled around, his thoughts going wild.He was right. Oh god, he was actually right! Cross was just manipulating them, and now Template was dead. He was next and then who knows what will happen. No, he couldn’t die. He had to stay alive to fight Dream. Focus—Joy.The feeling coming from Template in waves was joy, not fear.First, Nightmare sagged in relief. Then he tensed back up with annoyance. Then, to top it all off, he facepalmed, laughing quietly to himself.He glanced back up at his friend. Template was bouncing in place, a grin stretched wide across his face. Cross was looking at Template with wide eyes. He clearly didn’t expect this reaction. Then, something seemed to come to mind and he smiled a bit, which made Template happier.“You mean it?” Template asked, as if he couldn’t believe what he had heard. “Like, really?”Cross glanced at Nightmare before looking back at Template, speaking with a quiet voice. “…Sure.”Template’s grin widened even further. Nightmare didn’t think it was possible. The Pixelian shouted again and seemed to finally remember Nightmare existed too. He turned and bounced up to him.“Nightmare,” he said, voice giddy from excitement, “Guess what?”Nightmare raised a brow bone. He decided to play along. “What?”“I asked Cross to join us and he agreed! Isn’t that great?” Template paused, leaning back. “I mean, he is allowed, right?”Nightmare hesitated. He was afraid of this.Template already made up his mind about inviting Cross, just like he suspected. Which was…quite the feat, actually, as it hadn’t been that long since they returned to the skeleton in the first place. And because he already asked, and Cross already agreed, Nightmare had to agree as well, or else he would be seen as a jerk.He looked at Template, who was looking at him with some version of puppy dog eyes. It was a struggle to resist them. He glanced back at Cross, who was also looking at him with a hesitant hope in his gaze.Well, he can’t just let them down now, now can he?Nightmare sighed and smiled slightly. “It’s fine by me, if Cross joins.”He got two smiles in return, one full and bright and the other hesitant and thankful. Template shouted for a third time, this time actual words, thanking Nightmare and then ran off. He could still feel the joy, even as Template disappeared from view and hearing.He shook his head at the door and sighed again, his thoughts drifting.He just…he had to make sure. If Cross did destroy his own kingdom, murdering his own family and friends, then he had to make sure that Cross won’t do the same to them. To Template. Hell, even make sure he won’t do the same to Dream!(They may be a bit…angry with each other right now, but Nightmare doesn’t want him dead.)He glanced over at Cross, studying him. The other was also looking at the door, longing radiating off of him. He seemed to be remembering something. He was still wounded and Nightmare made a mental note that if Cross does indeed plan to be a better person now and does intend to join them, then once they get home, they should treat his injuries.First, though, he had to get his answers.He took a deep breath, steeling himself. “Hey, Cross?” He waited until the other looked at him. “You…you don’t plan on doing to us, the same thing you did to your kingdom and friends, do you?”Cross was…happy.It felt surreal, but he was. Maybe not as much as he was before. He doubts that he’ll ever return to that stage of happiness without cheating, but maybe he could become close. Maybe he could even forgive himself.But that was in the future. Way, way in the future.He watched Template leave, a half-smile still on his face. There was a tight feeling in his chest. He thought for a minute that the overwhelming sorrow had returned, but this felt different. It felt…like…Longing.Or, what it’s closer to, nostalgia.Template was so much like his brother, Xapyrus. Their energy was almost the exact same and the way Template ran off in excitement just then…well, it just brought back a few painful memories. Good memories, mind you, which made them hurt even more. The memories flooded his mind and he struggled to not get lost in them.It would get better. They would still hurt, probably, but it would get better. They wouldn’t pain him as much. He just had to keep his head above the water for it to happen.He took a breath and let it out slowly.That was enough worrying to last him a few days.“Hey, Cross?” Nightmare’s voice shook him out of his state. Cross gathered up his feelings into a loose control and turned to the other, who hesitated a bit before continuing. “You…you don’t plan on doing to us, the same thing you did to your kingdom and friends, do you?”Cross froze.His heart dropped.No…All the happy feelings from before were now cold, just a memory themselves. It felt like someone had dumped cold water over his head, shocking his body. There was also a very faint ringing in his ears, though it was dull enough that it didn’t affect him that much.No, no, no…This couldn’t be happening.He thought he could hide it. How did Nightmare find out? Did…did Template know? What did they think of him? They probably hated him. They should hate him. He doesn’t deserve mercy after what he did.Cross opened his mouth and chocked a bit, nothing coming out. His mouth felt very dry. He swallowed and tried again. “H-how did…” He couldn’t finish, but he didn’t need to.Nightmare apparently noticed his fear and smiled sheepishly.“I can feel emotions.” He started to explain, shifting his feet. “Technically. So, I felt the suppression of your sorrow and mourning—which is very unhealthy, by the way.” He gave Cross a look before looking to the ground. “I, uh…I sort of manipulated your emotions until they were in front of everything. So then, you could mourn your family in full.”Cross stayed silent.That…that made sense.He didn’t really understand, not yet, but it did make sense. Nightmare was the reason his sorrow had appeared so suddenly. That was good to know. Now he knew who to thank.Nightmare started to continue and Cross forced himself to refocus. “Then, underneath all of that, there was guilt. Which made me a bit suspicious.” Nightmare looked Cross in the eyes, the sincerity a bit overwhelming. “I don’t want to believe you’re a bad person, Cross. In fact, I think you’re a very good person! However, I…I just need to confirm, okay?”Suddenly, Cross was calm.He understood what Nightmare was saying. If their situations were reversed, he would be doing the same thing. So, he wasn’t mad with Nightmare, or even offended. He was rather grateful, actually.It meant Nightmare was a really good leader.“Cross?” Nightmare’s worried voice brought him out of his thoughts.Right. He had to reassure Nightmare that he could trust him.Cross looked down and said, quietly, “…I won’t.”“What?”Cross looked back up and met Nightmare’s eyes, a new resolve within him. “I won’t screw up again. I promise.” His voice was confident this time. “This all happened because I was foolish enough to believe Xhara.” He gained a bit of a pained expression. “My…my friend, I suppose.”Nightmare was silent, though his look softened a bit.Cross looked away, his throat threatening to close up again. “My father wasn’t a good man. He got too wrapped up in his idea of perfection, which made him neglect me and Xapy, my brother.” He narrowed his eyes at the far wall. “I hated him because of it. So, when Xhara approached me and told me about…” He couldn’t talk about that, not yet. “things…I…”Nightmare was still silent.Cross shook his head again and looked back to Nightmare. “The point is, I won’t screw up again. You can trust me. I promise.”Nightmare gazed at him and Cross shifted.Panic began to well up as the silence stretched on for a bit longer them was comfortable. He couldn’t stop his thoughts from running wild. What if…What if Nightmare didn’t believe him?What if he told Template everything?What if Template began to hate him?What if they left him alone here?What if—Nightmare laughed and Cross looked at him in surprise. Nightmare looked…relieved. The purple-clad skeleton smiled at Cross. “I trust you.”Cross relaxed as well and smiled back.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

WOO-HOO!This could very well be considered the best day of Template’s life! He’s been having a lot of those recently and it was honestly getting a bit unnerving. It was turning out to be the best week of his life.It…It was just the best feeling in the world. Like, sure, they didn’t get an entire kingdom of allies. Yeah, if they had heard of this place sooner, maybe then they could have a bigger advantage. However, no one could predict this would’ve happened. No one could predict that the kingdom would be destroyed.(If you asked Template, he would say that he was probably missing something, but…)It happened.However, they did find a new friend.And, in his opinion, that was just as good, if not better.Could that just be the years of loneliness talking? Maybe. He did feel the exact same way when Nightmare first saw through all his talk of heroism. Usually, people either completely ignored it, laughed at him or ridiculed him for it.Nightmare…didn’t.It was a relief.He—Template yelped as he tripped over a rock, falling on his face. It was silent for a few seconds before he groaned slightly, rolled over, and began to quietly laugh at himself.He should’ve watched where he was going.He sighed after a while and stared at the sky. A calm feeling settled over him as he watched the cloudless sky. It was a pretty blue colour, too, that almost seemed to draw him in. He inhaled and closed his eyes for a brief moment.Then, he shot them open again and got to his feet. “Well! I should probably head back.”It didn’t take him long to get back to the castle. He hadn’t run far in the first place. Along the way, he admits he did get distracted by a bird—only once, though! Okay…twice. He couldn’t help it. They were pretty birds, okay?!Anyways, before he announced his presence to his friends, he paused and looked closely.They were talking too quietly for him to hear, but something about their poses made him pause. Nightmare was talking about something, using lots of hand gestures. He had a wide smile on his face. Template was honestly a bit shocked. This was the happiest he had ever seen Nightmare and he might even be a tad bit jealous.Cross, on the other hand, was listening to Nightmare intently, with a smile on his face as well. He nodded along every now and then, adding few comments, but when he did it seemed to encourage Nightmare to continue. And there was…wait, no. Template had to be seeing things. Well, maybe…He took his glasses off and cleaned them and looked again.Yep, he was right the first time.Cross was…blushing. Just a little bit. He probably doesn’t even realize he’s doing it.Huh.Weird.Template shrugged and walked up to the two, who looked up at his arrival. That was something he’d have to think about later. “Heya! Sorry for running off,” he directed this to Cross, “I was just excited.”Cross blinked and laughed softly, which made Nightmare smile, which then made Template narrow his eyes for a second. “It’s fine. I’m used to it.” Cross’s smile dampened a bit.Template blinked, tilting his head. “Oh?”Before Cross could answer, not that it looked like he would, though, Nightmare interrupted. “Anyways, now that we’ve done what we needed to do,” he paused, “and picked up another member,” he shoots a little smile to Cross, who smiled back, relaxing. “we need to discuss what we do next.”Everyone was silent for a few seconds.Template hummed, an idea entering his mind. “Well, we haven’t been at the base for a while. We could check in with them?”Nightmare blinked, thought it over, and smiled. “Sure.” He sent Template a look. “If you could open a portal, this time though, Please?”Template blushed slightly. It wasn’t his fault that he kept forgetting about his portals! Nevertheless, he flicked his pen and created a portal and the group headed through.Core paused in the middle of their walk.They liked going on walks. Something about existing in the middle of the trees, the animals and everything in between calmed them. And the calmness was exactly what they needed after this month, with Ink moving into the Omega Woods.Ink was a dear friend of theirs. The two had met years ago, before he came into the picture. They still had missed feelings about the Destroyer, even after all this time.That wasn’t the point, though.In order for the Omega Woods to be populated, to pretty much be the way they are, Core had developed a special ability. They could feel when someone lost something important. Which usually meant someone was in need of a home, with others like them. Which is what the woods are for in the first place.They didn’t feel like this constantly. In fact, at most, it only happened at least once a month. Usually, when they felt like this, they would drop everything and go to the origin of it. However, this time gave them pause.It felt…delayed.Weird.They should probably check it out anyway. They frowned and teleported.Core arrived in the middle of a kingdom, right in the castle, which was filled with dust. This gave them pause, though they didn’t feel anything. It happened. It was natural. Why would they feel something? Yet…there was no one around. They looked around, but there was still no living person around.They frowned further.That was weird. Maybe the feeling was delayed because no one survived? Though, usually, they never got a feeling in the first place if there was no one alive to give them the feeling. Maybe the survivor here just had someone they could go.That happened. It was rare, yes, but it happened.Core nodded to themself. That was probably it.With that, they shrugged and teleported back to the Omega Woods. They had a walk to finish, after all.Pale stared up at the ruined castle in front of him.They had arrived here a little more than an hour ago. A record for a group of their size, but then again, they had sent a few people to escort Razz and the other survivors of Kingdom Swapfell to Empire Sun. That had given them lesser people to worry about.Once they arrived here, he had called the order to spread out and check for survivors. It was rather unlucky that this place was destroyed before they could get here.So far, Pale didn’t think there were any survivors, based on what he saw. There was too much blood, too much dust. Too much death that suggested anyone survived. He didn’t have high hopes that his men would find anything.He sighed and entered the castle, looking around.Still no sign of anyone.Pale inhaled slowly. He had sent word to Dream that they had heard of a kingdom that would be a good asset to their empire. Dream would be expecting them to return with an ally. Which couldn’t happen, not with what they found.He…didn’t know how Dream would react to that.Something tells him it wouldn’t be that pretty.“General Pale!” Pale turned at the call. The female who no one knew the name of was at the entrance to the castle and approached him. “No one found any survivors.”Pale sighed. He knew it.“Now what do you want to do?”Pale looked away and crossed his arms.He didn’t know.They could continue to look around, but he doubts that they would find anything worthwhile. However, Dream was expecting them to return with more people than they departed with. It was either wait and face disappointment or go and face disappointment. Neither option was good.Though…It was better to just get it over with, right?Pale turned back to the female. “Help me gather everyone and tell them to meet at the entrance. We’re heading back.”“Template.”“…Yeah?”“Does this FOREST look like the base to you?”“…No?”“Then WHY THE HELL ARE WE HERE?!”“I DON’T KNOW!”“WELL THEN, FIX IT!”“I DON’T KNOW HOW!”“GOD—”“Uh…guys?”“WHAT?”
Grrr…
“AAAAHHHHH!”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

He gazed at the water that flooded his kingdom, frozen in shock. It had been such a normal day. So, when did things start to go wrong?He had woken up, same as usual. Gotten dressed, made breakfast, started his merry way to Alphys’s house for their daily training. They had been doing this training for a little over two years now, but he still hoped (even though it was unlikely) that she’d realize that he was ready to join the guard.He was, he wasn’t just saying that.He’s not stupid. Nor is he a child, like everyone seems to think he was. Like, for goodness sake! He’s over eighteen; which means, he’s a legal adult. It baffled him that people still—and would always, he knew that, too—thought he was a child and babied him because of it. Despite his…negative feeling about that, though, he bears it with a smile, because at least he has friends now and he wasn’t lonely like he had been as a child.Anyways—Alphys had greeted him with her usual grin and noogie. Then, they had started trading blows and turns, as usual. Undyne had come over at break time, bringing with her snacks and drinks, while giving a rejuvenating kiss to Alphys which had made her blush and stutter and him grin. They had continued training, this time with an observer who clapped and shouted encouragements for a few more hours until they called it quits for the day.However, before he could head home, alarms started up.He had jumped at the first one, as it had been so loud and frankly just a bit terrifying. He had tensed at the second one and grew increasingly worried and confused at the third, fourth and fifth one. It had gone silent for a second, just enough to wonder if it was over with. Then they started again, another five shrieks before going silent and repeating over and over.He had started to wonder what was going on.Alphys and Undyne had tensed as well, although they seemed to know what the alarm meant. They had exchanged words that didn’t make any sense to him, but seemed to to the other. He had watched them quietly for about a minute before his curiosity and concern pushed through.“What’s going on?” He had asked, making the girls turn to him in surprise, as if they had forgotten he was there.They had blinked at him for a bit before they got that strange look in their eye. The look which told him that he wouldn’t be told the full magnitude of what was happening—whatever it was. He had seen this look many times before. The only person he hadn’t seen that look from, was his brother, who had disappeared months ago.“U-uh…Well…” Undyne had hesitated, seeming to struggle to find the right words. His eyes had narrowed as he braced himself for being babied with a groan of frustration in his head. “It’s nothing really, honestly!” Undyne had tired to reassure, however she couldn’t really lie all that well; the high pitch in her voice gave her away. “But still, it is a bit bad…uh…”Alphys had then taken over for her. “It’s nothing to concern yourself over.” She said it so serious that he had believed her without a doubt, though there was a hint of frustration at being put on the bench again. Then the captain had smiled and patted him on the shoulder. “I do have a job for you, so don’t look so glum.”—That had perked him right back up—“I want you to go through the kingdom and evacuate everyone that you can, especially the children and elders. Okay?”The thought of evacuating his home made his heart twist in worry for what the alarms meant. After all, it wasn’t really a normal thing to evacuate. He had agreed, though, simply because he had been asked to do so and it would make him useful, which was all he had ever wanted.After that, he had run through the kingdom, making sure people knew to leave and helped them make sure they had their essentials. He wasn’t fast enough for everyone, as he had discovered as he ran, passing some bodies of people who he had known and those he hadn’t but still cared about. He pushed himself onwards, even as his heart screamed at him to stay and mourn them. He had to make sure others survived; that was his duty.He had managed to get around half of the people evacuated before the flood had started. One of the children he was helping had screamed, which had told him to turn around and see the dam crack, seconds from falling apart. His eyes had widened and horror and fear seized him. He had yelled for everyone there to run, and they obeyed without a thought.Now, they stood on a hill just outside of their kingdom and away from the water’s edge. It was close, too close in his opinion, but they were safe, at least for now. He watched his own reflection in the water, dull blue eyes staring back at him.His eyes weren’t supposed to be dull. They were supposed to be a bright blue, a blue that people said warmed their hearts when they saw it. Remembering this, he closed his eyes tight, as if he was caught doing something terribly wrong and he wanted this to not be real. He took a few breaths and opened his eyes again, brightness and optimism refilling in them.Everything would be okay, he repeated to himself, mouthing the words in a tiny whisper that was barely there. He looked over to the survivors, who huddled together, looking miserable and hopeless.He narrowed his eyes.He hated the feeling of hopelessness.He had to fix that. He took a step towards them when he caught the faint murmuring of people a ways away, from the direction where the Queen was having a meeting with her council. An idea sparked in his mind as his body moved towards the meeting. He knew he shouldn’t eavesdrop, but he might be able to help.He had to make his kingdom happy again.He had to.“—leave now,” Undyne was saying, playing with her hair in a nervous tick which revealed her worry, “we don’t know how long we can keep ourselves dry.” There were nods and agreements from the other people gathered there as well.Alphys was one of the ones who nodded, adding, “Not to mention, we have people who are injured and weak. They need a place to rest and recuperate.” This gained another round of agreements.All eyes went to the Queen as she spoke. “Where, though?” She looked around at everyone with serious eyes and a grim frown. “All our allies have their hands full with their own problems. We can’t add to that.” Everyone paused as they thought.In the silence, he looked down at his feet. He knew he shouldn’t be eavesdropping like this. Rather, he should be back at the makeshift camp with the rest of the survivors, leaving this decision making to the important people and the Queen. However, he was tired of sitting on the sidelines and playing the part of the obedient child.He wanted to make a decision, a big decision and be heard for once in his life. He has always been pushed aside and protected, as if he was so innocent as to need that. Yes, he wouldn’t deny that he was a bit naïve. That was fair. But there is a fine line between being naïve and being innocent; they do not go hand in hand, like some people might think. Maybe that was partially his fault, as he never did speak out and tell them what he wanted, hoping that it would show through on its own, but still…His hands curled into fists at his sides. He thought about the question that had been brought up at the meeting. If…if he could find an answer to that question, then maybe…maybe he would stop being treated like that. Maybe then he would be resected and heard. The thought playing in circles around his head, he glanced up at the gathered people. None of them seemed to have an answer yet.This was his only chance.Just like that, as soon as he confirmed it, his mind sprung into action, bring back bits of the speech he heard back in Pixelia. He didn’t remember all of what was said, but he remembered enough.He remembered how he had felt: wonder and amazement, along with a rising amount of respect.
“…If you will help me, I will build you a world where there is nothing but positive feelings…”
He also recalled some rumours he heard. Rumours about a kingdom of happiness, a kingdom of hope and light. A kingdom of positivity. And if there was one thing he knew about his people, it was that they loved positivity. Thrived on it, even.
“…No hate…”

“…no sadness…”

“…no anger…”
It would be…perfect.
“…
I ask you now, will you join me?”
His body was walking before he could think about it and his mouth moved, yelling, “ALPHYS!” Everyone there started and turned. But he had eyes for only one of them.Alphys’s eyes widened and she looked almost panicked for a minute before trying to hide it beneath anger. He knew better, though, and he felt a bit of guilt for making her worry. He knew she was only looking out for him.“Blue?!” Alphys said, almost hissing his name, taking a step towards him, “What are you doing here? You should be with the rest of the survivors!”Blue flinched, the guilt increasing. “I-I know,” He murmured, mostly to himself. Oh, why couldn’t he just be content enough to sit this one out? He shook his head. There was no backing out now. “But!” He straightened and looked Alphys in the eye, making her blink in surprise. He had never done this before, after all. “I know where we can go.”His attention slipped and he glanced around. Everyone there twitched with the reveal that he had been listening for a bit. Some looked exasperated that he had bothered to interrupt them while others were intrigued. A few just looked entirely bored with the meeting in general. The Queen was silent.Alphys hesitated. “Really?”Blue nodded, focusing back on Alphys. “Mhmm!” He almost smiled in remembrance but caught himself in time. “I heard of it when I was held up in Pixelia, remember? Someone named Dream was there, talking about a place where…” He hesitated a bit, even though he knew this was a good idea. “a place where there is nothing but positive feelings. Like the rumours we’ve been hearing about!”Everyone shifted and murmured amongst themselves. There were arguments and agreements that Blue heard, although he tried to still focus on Alphys, who was nodding slowly as she considered his idea.Before she could tell him of her opinion, however, the Queen stepped forward, silencing everyone with a resolute look in her eye.“Very well.” She said, smiling at Blue in thanks. “Then that is where we will go.”“Cross! Hurry up!”“I’m sorry for the fact that I find it hard to run in stressful situations.”“This is NO TIME FOR SARCASM!”“OKAY, YOU DIDN’T NEED TO SHOUT AT ME!”“Both of you, shut up! I think we lost it…”“…”“…”“…”“…oh, thank g—”
ROAR!
“NICE WAY TO JINX THINGS, TEMPLATE!”Dream was the slightest, tiniest bit annoyed at the dullness of his meeting. Well…perhaps dull wasn’t the right word. It wasn’t boring, they weren’t just talking on and on in a droning voice that made Dream want to sleep. If fact, he would rather it be boring instead of this mess.All the yelling was giving him a headache…As if in hearing his thoughts, the people seated around the meeting table grew louder.Dream winced, the pounding of his head growing to meet the level of volume, and subtlety tried to sink down in his seat, pushing down a yawn as well. He hadn’t slept well the other night, strange feelings—negative feelings, a surge of anger and disgust rising in him, as, after all, what use is he if he can’t stay positive all the time?—keeping him from sleeping peacefully, undisturbed.In all honesty, actually, it was selfish of him to think he should deserve to rest undisturbed while there are so many other people who can’t afford to sleep like that. It was his duty to help them; sleeping would only hinder his actions and leave him with less time. Less time meant fewer people get help which meant the more he failed in his duties as the guardian of positivity.It also meant less time he would have in planning to find Nightmare and destroy negativity for good.One of the councilwomen stood up so suddenly, that her chair made a horrible screeching noise against the floor as it fell. All eyes went to her and Dream took the time to rub his temples to try and help his head not feel like it’s exploding. “—weren’t such a goddamn asshole,” the councilwoman was saying, hands moving as much as her mouth did, “then maybe we wouldn’t have this problem!”Across the table, another councilwoman stood up, a councilman trying to make her see sense and stay in her seat. She ignored his efforts, however, and pointed a finger at the first one, speaking angrily. “Don’t go blaming this on me now—”The first councilwoman through her hands in the air, looking as done as Dream felt. “But it’s YOUR fault?!”“OH, come on—”Before she could continue, the doors to the room burst open and a couple of guards entered, both moving to stand to the side as Captain Kevin entered after them. Kevin was nervous, Dream observed as he watched the captain gulp, scan the room and everyone’s faces before landing on Dream. Kevin sagged in relief and briskly walked towards him.Another guard came running in, speaking quickly, “I-I’m sorry, sir! He just—” Dream held up a hand to silence him.He returned his attention to his best (though rather disliked) captain. “Captain Kevin,” he spoke as calmly as he could with his headache, “Why are you interrupting this meeting?”Captain Kevin hastily bowed and spoke quickly, just as the other guard did. “Another survivor group, much like our Swapfell friends, arrived.” The sentence had made Dream straighten and start out of the room before he could even process it fully. Kevin followed behind him, keeping pace easily, still talking. Dream listened with an attentive ear as he heads to the guest hall as fast as he could without running.“Their kingdom was attacked and the attackers knocked out an important dam of theirs that started to flood the kingdom. Their queen said it didn’t seem to be their intention, as the enemies retreated soon after.” Kevin fell silent, clearly thinking of what else to say.Dream saved him the trouble. “Do they have injured people? Those in need of medical aid?”“Yes.” Kevin nodded, still following Dream. “Surprisingly, while they all have some scratches, few of them are severely wounded.”Dream stopped at this and took a deep breath. He turned to face Kevin, keeping himself cool and collected, squashing down the irritation he felt at seeming to be the only smart one among the two of them. “But they are still injured, right?”Kevin hesitated. “…yes.”“Hm.” Dream narrowed his eyes and made Kevin fidget from his searching gaze. He decided not to press anything. “Is that all?”Kevin looked confused, as if he hadn’t expected that. “I think so. In any case, they can tell you anything else.”Dream nodded in agreement, turning back to start walking again. “Very well, you are dismissed.” He paused again after a couple of steps, turning again back to Kevin, who was luckily still standing there. “Oh, and be sure to get everyone who can do healing magic and bring them back here.”Kevin’s eyes widened in horrified realization. He quickly nodded, adding a bow on for good measure. “Yes sir!”Dream watched his healers heal their injured guests quickly and efficiently, nodding in approval. His headache had miraculously disappeared and he savoured the sweet relief of a calm mind. Now, he could focus and make sure his guests are treated as such and with respect.Straightening, he looked around until he spotted the goat monster in a crown and cape. She was watching her subjects get healed, concern etched across her face. A smile tugged the ends of his lips. She seemed like a great ruler.Nodding to himself, he walked towards her with quiet steps. “Queen Toriel?”She turned to him quickly and, upon realizing who he was, bowed. “King Dream,” she said, voice quiet and smooth, looking him in the eye. “I thank you for letting us in your kingdom.”“An empire, actually.” Dream corrected her gently, smiling in pride.Queen Toriel blinked in surprise. “Oh?”Dream nodded, looking out towards where the sun hung low in the sky, illuminating the room in an evening glow. “Yes. It just turned into one fairly recently, as we were running out of space and one of our councilwomen decided that it would be best if we spread out a bit. Make some Lords and have them go out with a fair bit of our people and build a smaller kingdom a few yards away.” He closed his eyes. “Close, but not too close.”He opened his back up again to see Queen Toriel nodding slowly, shock still written in the background of her face. “It makes sense,” she said, pausing before continuing “…Monarch Dream.”Dream laughed a bit out of surprise at the formal title. “Please,” he waved his hand as if it would dispel the words. “Just call me Dream. We are both rulers after all.”Queen Toriel smiled. “Very well. Then call me Toriel.”Dream returned the smile and looked around once more. Everyone looked so hopeful and happy to be given a place to rest. He watched as families shared laughter and tears while some even mourned for their dead. He made a mental note to check up on those ones, make sure they become happy again, even if it would take a bit.He returned his attention back to Toriel as he spoke. “Well then, Toriel, until your people have recovered and decided where you will go, or if you will go, now that you’re here, you are free to stay here in the castle.” He smiled yet again. “Your people will be given free rein to the place, as well as the surrounding town.”Toriel looked shocked once again, though she really should’ve been used to it by now. “Thank you again, Dream.” She bowed for the extra bonus, looking back at him with a conflicted face. “I don’t know how we’ll repay you.”Dream shook his head. “You don’t have to. Me being able to help is payment enough.” They exchanged another pair of smiles and settled into silence as they watched the people get healed.Blue watched in awe as Dream let them stay without hesitation. He had expected kindness from what he had remembered of the speech, but he hadn’t expected so much of it. He looked over his people, whose faces were newly awash with relief and hope.His heart warmed at seeing it.He looked back to Dream, who had drifted back to watch everything happen from then on in. Looking down for a brief moment, he looked back up with a force od determination gripping his heart.He walked up to Dream, who had heard him approaching and looked over at him. “Thank you, Your Highness. I know I’m just a boy and my words mean nothing to you, but really…thank you.”Dream blinked at him, seeming taken aback, as if no one had ever thanked him for anything, even though Queen Toriel had just before he approached. Blue frowned, a slight concern tugging at his heart. That wasn’t a good sign.Dream then composed himself and spoke in a quiet, though a bit shaken voice from what Blue could tell. “You feel than the rest of your people, like you are…happy. All of the time. I mean, genuinely, real happiness, not the kind that my magic can make someone feel, the fake stuff.” Dream stared at him with eyes that seemed almost…desperate for an answer. “How is that? How is it that you can remain this happy after a tragedy like this?”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

People were selfish.If there was one thing Dream knew without hesitation, it was that people were selfish. It was ingrained from the tips of their toes to the tops of their heads. It didn’t matter if they were black, white or even purple, never mind if they were human or monster. They were all selfish. They would always be selfish. He couldn’t change that. They take and they take, and he can’t change that, no matter how much he tries.He hated it. No matter how he felt, the villagers, his people, who were supposed to respect him, they always asked him for more and more and got angry or sad or…just something wrong when he couldn’t (or wanted to) do what they wanted. Which in turn made him feel guilty and angry at himself that he couldn’t be useful like they wanted him to be.As he said, he hated it. It was so frustrating. If he tried to be nice, they would ask about something he had said no to the day before. If he tried to reason with them, they would get defensive and blame Dream that because he was the prince, he should do things for them. Which, he wouldn’t lie, did make a bit of sense. He was supposed to help his people, as was his duty when he took the throne. But he was confused because if that was true, then his people would surely understand that he wasn’t some god and that he did need to rest, just like they did, right?Right?And then he ate the apple it was like a fog had been lifted. He realized that the selfishness, while ingrained too deeply to be removed from the individual, wasn’t there for no reason. It was there because it was caused by something. Negativity. Selfishness was bad and bad equalled something negative. It made sense. Dream was tired of being used and so he made it his goal to destroy that selfishness, and in order to do that, he had to go to the source.Destroy the source, destroy everything that stemmed from it.It was easy to understand.However, despite realizing this, there was one thing Dream knew he couldn’t—even though he really wanted to, needed to, even—change. His aura. Giving people happiness. That stemmed from him and he would be doing that for as long as he existed. That was fine. He could live with that. That would be doing his job anyways. He would be helping people, so yes, it was fine. Not exhausting at all.Which is why it surprised him when the Swap boy spoke. The boy was happy. Dream doesn’t mean the happy that people usually get from being around him. He means actually genuinely happy. It was surprising, especially considering what had just happened to his kingdom. If anything, the boy should be sad as hell. But he wasn’t. He was standing in front of Dream with a smile on his face.Dream was curious.This had never happened to him before. He had always been the one supplying people with fake happiness, making his own hell by getting people addicted to being around him. Yes, he will admit that it could get a bit tiring—just a bit though. Nightmare was always going to be wrong. Admitting that it was really tiring and made him want to pass out at times would be admitting that his brother was right. And he wasn’t.He needed to know how the boy could be this happy. It wasn’t natural. It was a bit relieving, yes, but it made him feel lost just standing there. He didn’t know what to do if he wasn’t making people happy. So, he needed to know how the boy was avoiding that. How he was avoiding the effects of Dream’s aura.So, he asked.And waited.The boy dressed in blue blinked. Surprise and…concern…came off him, another thing that increased Dream’s curiosity. He had never had someone be concerned or worried over him besides Nightmare.Dream shook his thoughts of his brother.He didn’t have time to think of him right now.The boy shifted. His brow furrowed as he thought. “I…I’m afraid I don’t understand what you’re asking me, Your Highness.”Dream waved his hand absentmindedly, shaking his head. “Please, call me Dream.” He paused and realized that he didn’t know the boy’s name. “Forgive me, but what is your name? I forgot to ask.”The boy was surprised again and Dream didn’t know why. It was a simple thing to answer. “M-my name is Blue, Your Hi—Um, Dream…” He said slowly, like it was the first time he had been asked it. Interesting.Dream nodded, looking him over again. Blue. It fit him. “That’s a wonderful name. Fitting to.”Blue blinked again. The surprise was getting annoying. “You…you’re not gonna laugh?”“No,” Dream frowned, “why would I?”Blue looked starstruck at this. Then he beamed, like this was the best thing in the world. The happiness radiating from him increased. He leaned back on his heels, bouncing in place. “That’s great! Everyone else laughed, but you didn’t. Thanks.”Oh. Well, he still didn’t really understand why people would laugh at a name, but okay then. Moving on… “How do you do that?”Blue stopped bouncing and looked worried. “Do what? Be happy?” He looked the emperor over, as if searching for signs of something.Dream almost laughed at how silly it all was. Blue shouldn’t worry about him. Of course, he was happy! Look at him! He practically radiated what happiness looked like. He was fine. It was Blue he was puzzling over. “Yes and no.”Blue tilted his head, curious.Dream shifted, struggling to put it into words that the other would understand. He had never explained this to someone before, not even Nightmare. “Tell me…do you feel something…off, like an itch that you can’t scratch or like there’s something else in your head besides you, even a little bit?”Blue scrunched up his face and thought for a few seconds. Slowly, he nodded. “Yeah, kind of. It’s like something is trying to, I don’t know, get in? If that makes sense?”Dream nodded, relieved. “Yes, that would be me, or more specifically my aura.” He tacked on a hastened sorry at the end at the alarmed and suspicious look thrown his way. “I can’t control it. But because I’m the embodiment of positivity, I always radiate it. Usually, that means people become happy around me.”“Usually?”Dream nodded. “Yes. But you’re not affected by it. You’re actually happy, so I don’t need to fill in that happiness for you with some fake stuff.”“Oh.” Blue looked down for a second before looking back up, confused. “But…wouldn’t making people happy a good thing?”Dream hummed, stealing himself. Here was the hard part. “You would think that, wouldn’t you? But no. The happiness caused by my aura isn’t real. They’re just imitations of the chemical that causes the emotion, which just duplicates upon itself. It creates a happiness that is both better and worse than real happiness.”He looked to Blue to see if he was following along. He continued at the slow nod. “It’s better because it’s more there than the real thing. It’s more upfront, more filling, bolder. Sometimes overwhelmingly so.” He smiles bitterly. “And it’s worse because when I leave, the happiness weakens and fades. This makes the person it’s affecting sadder than before, which makes then seek me out to get the fake stuff again and they eventually become addicted to it.”Blue looks saddened at this knowledge. “Oh.”Dream laughs now, small and forced. “Yes. Oh.” He falls silent, staring out the window at the setting sun. Had they been talking this long? He hadn’t noticed.Saying all of this stuff brought back memories that he wanted to leave behind. Why did he always think of the past? He wanted to get away from it, not wallow in it. Yet he kept bringing it up of his own free will. Why?A certain memory of when he really learned why selfishness was bad came up, taking over Dream’s vision.“Ugh, did we lose it now?!”“Template.”“Yes?”“We’re in a tree. We didn’t lose it; we’re hiding from it.”“Oh, right. Well, now what?”“I don’t—”“…I have an idea.”“…”“…no.”“Nightmare—”“No! You’re going to get yourself killed!”“Just trust me, okay?!”“Cross! CROSS! GET YOUR ASS BACK UP HERE OR SO HELP ME—!”
“Hey Dream! Can you help me with something?”

“Dream, you promised to play with us today, remember?”

“Hey, I need your help for a minute.”

“Dream, please. My brothers sick and needs your help!”

“Dream, help us.”

“Dream, help me.”

Dream took a shaky breath from where he was hiding. He gathered enough courage to peek out towards the street where the villagers were, looking for him. They wouldn’t leave. He hid again before someone noticed him, bringing his knees to his chest and hugging them.

It wasn’t that he wanted to hide from them. He liked them. One of the things he loved was helping them, putting a smile on their faces. It lifted his spirits when he was told he had made someone’s day. He loved playing with the kids. He loved healing someone who was hurt, seeing their face relax from all pain. He liked it. He loved it. It was just…

They asked him to do everything. Healing, cooking, playing, sewing, anything you can imagine. Sometimes people asked him to do things that he physically couldn’t do. He had to say no then, right? If he couldn’t do it? That’s what he thought. But they always got so angry with him when he told them that. It was like they didn’t want to believe him, like they didn’t really care, as long as they got what they needed.

It was like they were being…selfish.

He didn’t want to think of them like that. Being selfish was bad. That’s what the councilmen have told him, and they were adults, they were the leaders, people he was supposed to listen to. If they said that, then they must be right. All of their teachings, no matter how small they made him feel, had to be right. Selfishness was bad, it led to people being unreliable. Because Dream was a prince, and would soon lead this kingdom, he was to never be selfish.

So, if selfishness was bad, then why were the villagers like that? He wanted to deny it, that there must be another reason why they were acting like this, but he couldn’t think of anything else. That made him feel bad, like he was doing something wrong. He didn’t understand anything.

The only thing he was sure of, was that he didn’t want to do everything they asked of him. He knew that he affected them in some way by simply existing. But that shouldn’t mean he has to do everything they ask of him. Especially the mundane things, like helping someone put groceries away or help someone cook their food. They should be able to do those things by themselves. He shouldn’t have to help them.

He almost felt…angry…that he did these things. After all, if he hated them so much, why would he do them? It made him angry at himself, for not saying no in fear of anger being directed at him, and angry at the villagers, for asking these things of him in the first place.

He hated it.

He hated everything.

He just wanted to be free.

“Dream? Why are you hiding?”

Dream looked up at his brother, surprised he was even out here. Nightmare usually stayed away from the villagers, claiming he just didn’t fit in with them. He suspected that he was lying, but he couldn’t prove it and he would hate to made Nightmare upset by asking, so he kept everything to himself.

That went for any of his problems, too. He didn’t want Nightmare to worry.

“Oh, uh…” Dream stood up and faced his brother. He took a quick glance behind him and relaxed. The villagers were gone. He didn’t know why they were gone, but he was glad they left. He smiled at Nightmare. “I was just playing Hide n’ Seek with some of the kids.”

Nightmare blinked. “Oh.” He looked a little down and it made Dream’s brow furrow with concern. “I think I might’ve scared them off. I just came down to get you. It’s time for lunch.”

“It’s okay, I think they had other plans anyways!” Dream grinned, casting aside his worries. He would go over them later. Now was time for food. He grabbed Nightmare’s arm and started walking back to the palace. “So…what do you think we’re having? Oh, I hope it’s apple pie!”

Nightmare laughed. “That’s a dessert, silly! We won’t have it for lunch.”

“Aw, but I really want some now.”

“Then wait until after supper.”

“But that’s hours away!”

“You’ll be fine.”

“I’ll starve!”

“Then starve.”
“See? I told you!”“Well, yeah, but did you have to kill it?”“It was either it or us, okay? I’m not proud of it, but it was necessary.”“I suppose…”“…”“Well! We should get a move on.”“Why can’t we just take another portal?”“Because it has come to my attention that this will be a good bonding trip!”“…F—”Blue’s voice brought Dream back to the present. “I’m…still not sure how you want me to answer your question…but…”Dream blinked. His mood had definitely gone down, and he should probably get a hold of himself before it started to affect his aura. The last thing he wanted was for people to start feeling bad because of his inability to control his emotions.But he didn’t really want to. Some part of him, the bad part, wanted him to let his aura run unchecked, let it make others feel negative. He was tired of always doing things for them, so why should he shield them at all? Why bother caring if they’re just going to use him, treat him as a tool? Then again, if he didn’t do all this, he’ll fail and he doesn’t want to fail.There was no way out.Taking a breath, Dream shook himself. He gathered up everything but calmness, happiness and selflessness and tucked them all in a box. He then stuffed the box deep, deep down. Hopefully, it would stay buried there.He turned his attention back to Blue, who seemed to be struggling for words. “It’s alright,” he sighed. “I can make due. It wasn’t that important anyway.”Blue frowned at him and shook his head. “No. I want to help you.” he smiled. “That’s what friends do, right?”Dream stopped breathing.Friends.With Dream.With Blue.Friends…Blue wanted them to be friends. He wanted to be friends with Dream. Actual Dream, not just the one warped by the aura, by positivity. Dream. The real Dream. Well, at least he hoped that was the case; he could never be one hundred percent sure.…He had never had an actual friend before. Usually, he was just hanging out with people because they needed a boost, needed something fixed, help with something, things like that. Usually, it was just his job to make people happy. The only person who hung out with him because they wanted to was Nightmare.Well, actually, there was also…no, they didn’t count.A friend sounded nice. Just the thought of one made something warm spread in him, something that made him want to smile and jump for joy.Blue blinked, suddenly alarmed. “Unless, I’m not your friend, in which case, I understand. It stings a little, but I understand. I am a bit annoying, so if you don’t want to be friends, that’s fine. Totally fine. And then I am very energetic, so you may not want to be friends because that can sometimes be annoying too. Oh, also—”“No.” Dream cut him off softly. “I want to be friends.”Blue blinked again. A smile showed up again and he giggled. “Great! That’s great.” He tilted his head. “Now, I can try to answer your question.”“Oh, you don’t have to—”“I want to,” Blue said, face serious. He paused and his mood dimmed a little bit. Not fully, but enough for Dream to notice. “I…I had a brother once. Stretch.”Dream blinked. “Oh.”“Yeah.” Blue nodded. “Younger, though he was fairly taller than me. He quite lazy and laidback.” A smirk of remembrance appeared. “And he didn’t like puns, but said them because they made me happy.” The smirk disappeared, fading into a sad smile instead. “I never really made any friends growing up. People tired of me easily, got annoyed by me easily, things like that. Stretch was the only one who stayed.”“He…sounds like a good brother.” Dream couldn’t help but think of his own brother, even though the two sounded nothing alike. And he hated thinking of his brother.This day was full of things he wanted to avoid: Flashbacks and Nightmare.Blue perked back up. “He was! The absolute best! And he was the one to introduce me to the friends that I have now. They…tolerate me, at least. It’s fine.” His smile stayed firmly in place for his next words. “However, Stretch did vanish one day. I have no clue whether he’s alive or dead.”Dream paused. “I see.”Something like that shouldn’t explain why Blue was so happy all the time. In fact, it should explain why he would be sad. Hm. His friend got more and more interesting as the conversation continued.“I try not to let it bother me too much. I mean,” Blue chuckled a bit, “it hurt. Still does. It’s just…kinda already known that it would hurt if someone you knew your whole life, the only person who listened to you and saw at you as an actual person, was just…gone when you woke up.” He fell silent. “It would hurt knowing they essentially abandoned you, wouldn’t it?”It would.Dream knew this for a fact. They made sure of it, promising to be there for him always, made him hope for a way out of his duties, even if he knew it was selfish of him to want to hope for that. Then they never came back. They were there, then they weren’t.They abandoned him, with no remorse.“I know how you feel.” Dream said, bitterness seeping through. “I know exactly how you feel.”Blue gave him a small smile. “It sucks, doesn’t it?” He waited for Dream to nod before continuing. “But you see, that’s exactly why I’m so happy. I know what it’s like, so I want to make sure no one else feels the same way, or worse. I want to make everyone happy because everyone should be happy.” He tilted his head. “You know what I mean?”Dream smiled back, his wings giving a quick flutter. “Yes. I think I do.”He had never met someone who wanted to do the same thing he did. Yes, he was tired of being expected to always want to do it nonstop, regardless of his own health. That didn’t mean he didn’t want to spread happiness. He truly did want to. It made him happy, in a difficult way.But, despite Dream’s feelings on the matter, it helped to know he wasn’t alone.Yes, Blue would fit right in.He would be perfect.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

I know, I know. You're a bit disappointed in this being put on hold for an indefinite amount of time. But This is mostly just so I can stop feeling guilty about not posting anything. And so I can focus on school a bit more than I am. And also for my mental health in general, as whenever I think about this story, I start to feel drained. I'm not sure when this will return, but when it does, I will delete this note and post the new chapter right away. Hopefully, I have some chapters written out ahead of time so I can schedule them when I do come back. Until then, I will be posting oneshots as a focus and, maybe, another short little book. I'm not sure yet. But if you feel like it, then consider sticking around.