(Dream's POV)

I opened my eyes and suddenly found myself in darkness again. Nothing around for miles and no sign of a living being. I'm here again.

Let's see if I can find you again...

I walked around, trying to find a glimpse of any ripples on the floor. Then, I tripped and fell on something. A groan joined with mine, and my golden eyes met purple ones. I scrambled off him and looked at my brother getting up from the ground. The black chains were on him again, but he was standing on his knees this time. He looked at me with confusion.

"Dream, is it really you?" he asked. I couldn't respond as he shook his head in denial, quickly turning away. "No. It can't be you. This is just another trick. You hear me?! Stop torturing me using my brother."

I felt crushed. He didn't think I was real? Why? Before I knew it, some tears fell from my eyes, dripping on the ground. Nightmare looked in my direction, not knowing what to say. I wiped the tears quickly as they came.

"I'm sorry Nightmare. I didn't realize you were hurting so much. I was your brother, and we need each other. But while I was trying to keep the people around us happy, I didn't realize the one who needed me the most was my own brother. If you are real, I'm really sorry I wasn't there for you."

Nightmare's eyes went wide.

"It really is you." I kneeled down to his level and hugged him. It took a minute before I felt him return it. I didn't want to end the hug, especially since I hadn't seen him like this for a long time. However, he was the one who let go.

"How are you even here Dream?"

"I fell asleep, and I keep ending up here. Where are we anyway?" There was a awkward silence between us. My brother gave a sigh and rubbed his skull worryingly.

"Dream, you're in my soul."

"What?!" I couldn't help but yell. And that was awarded with Nightmare slapping me upside the head. "Oww."

"Don't yell in here!" he harshly whispered. "Otherwise, they'll know you're here."

"You mean the goopy 'you'?" I asked quietly this time. He flinched at the mention.

"Yes."

"I'm in your soul? But how?" I wanted to know how this was possible. How could I enter my brother's soul? I could never do that before, so why now?

"I don't know. It's possible our souls just naturally connected to each other over time, and the bridge came so close to the point where you can enter my soul. I think that's why you can see 'them' and me. The real me."

I grabbed his arm, not wanting to let go. This is my real brother after all!

"Have you tried entering my soul then?" I asked. However, he only shook his head and directed to his arms.

"Even if I tried, the chains are keeping me trapped in here."

"Trapped in your own soul? How does that work?" I tilted my head in confusion.

"Don't think about it too much. Ever since 'they' arrived, I've had no freedom here whatsoever. I can't move anywhere, so I've just been sitting here for a long time." I gasped.

"So, you've just been sitting here this whole time? I won't accept that!" I pull on the chains.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to remove the chains!" However, a chill rose to my arms the moment I touched them, and I fell backward. Nightmare sighed.

"Sorry Dream, but only I and 'they' can remove the chains. And I'm...too weak to break them off. I know I am, and they know it too, that's why they barely check on me. Because I'm going nowhere." His voice broke a little.

"Brother! Don't have that attitude about this! You need to be confident in yourself." He lightly scoffed in response, kicking the black liquid off the floor.

"When WAS the last time I was confident in myself? Why'd you think I ate the dark apples in the first place?"

Again, silence in the room...or soul. I stared at him, kneeling down, chained to the floor, and broken. I've never seen him so broken. I want to help him, but what can I do? I haven't had a conversation with him for years, and now it seems as if there was nothing to talk about.

I sat right next to him, leaning against his side and the ripples around us grew larger. We didn't speak, but sitting next to each other was nice enough. This was good enough for him, because he kept turning to see if I was there every minute.

"I missed you brother." Nightmare finally spoke out.

"Yeah. I did too."

"They've been causing a lot of trouble, haven't they?" We returned stares at each other. I wanted to ask something.

"Why do you call that goopy version of you 'them'?"

"They're not 'me'. Not technically. I actually have no idea what they are, but they insist I call them in the 3rd person. Guess it's just a habit to them." Nightmare shrugged.

"Oh. Can I call them Scourge?"

Nightmare turned a little by the suggestion. "I'm sorry, what?"

"What about pest? Or Bane? Havoc or Sins?" Nightmare was shaking, and something told me he was trying to hold in laughter. That made me smile a little.

"Where did you get such a colorful vocabulary?"

"I read some books in my free time."

"What kind of books did you even read?"

"Don't know. I never cared to see the titles."

"You are nuts. I'm the one who's a book nerd in the family." Was all Nightmare could say. He gave the faintest hint of a smile, and I grinned.

That moment was cut short by the liquid below us starting to bubble and foam. At one point, it got hot, scaring me back on my feet. My brother's eye lights shrunk.

"Dream, you need to leave."

"What? W-Why?" I asked. He rose as far as he could, giving a glare.

"They're attacking a pacifist timeline. And Dust, Killer, and Horror are involved. You need to leave so you can stop them." I nodded as I turned slowly. I didn't want to leave him yet, but I had to protect the positivity in the au's. I gave him one last hug.

"I'll come back, I promise."

"Just don't get hurt, okay?" Then I realized something.

"Wait. I don't know how to leave! How can I leave?!" Nightmare pondered for a minute, before giving regretful sigh.

"Sorry ahead of time."

He then punched into my stomach with all his force, making me gag at the vibration in my ribs. Everything went black in a second.

...

...

I woke up, falling on top of Neil.

"Dream, are you okay? What's wrong?" He pulled me up. I wrapped the sun cape around me fast, and opened the door.

"There's trouble. I need to go help."