(Ink's POV)

Dust and Horror were wrapped in my purple chains. The moment Nightmare disappeared with Dream, Error had caught them in his strings. Surprisingly, he didn't erase them, so I wrapped theme in chains. Killer disappeared moments after.

After contacting Blueberry, I made my way to the evacuated people, the two skeletons being pulled. Strings wrapped around me. I forgot about him.

"Sorry Error, but I don't have time to fight. I need to find Dream." I said bluntly. He seemed surprised, he probably thought I was going to stop him.

"YoU'rE jUsT gOiNg To LeT mE gO?"

I manage to put on a fake smile. "Yeah. Consider it a sorry for disrupting your break. See ya pal!" I hopped into a ink puddle.

(Error's POV)

"HeY sQuId, WAiT a SeCoNd!" And he's gone. Great.

I sighed and stared at the sky again. At least nothing changed about the peaceful atmosphere. I could go for squid and battle him. But after what he just said, I agreed to just go back to my break.

One thing was strange to me though. Nightmare's soul. It wasn't just the look of it that was odd to me. It was the energy coming from it. Somehow, I felt that there was something...else battling over control of the negative energy around it.

How is that possible?

I couldn't figure it out. Maybe I should ask Nightmare about it. That's if he will stand being around me...

(Neil's POV)

I stood in silence while Ink talked about the situation. I couldn't believe it.

"You just let Dream be taken like that?"

"I didn't mean for it to happen." Ink tried to reason with me. I wasn't angry, more concerned for Dream's safety.

"Well, do you know where he is?"

"Probably at Nightmare's place."

The twin. I thought. "Well, when do we get him?"

Ink and Blueberry exchanged worrisome looks. I don't like their looks. "We...need to come up with a plan."

"But Ink, it's like you said. Nightmare is going to kill Dream. I don't want him to die!" Blueberry pleaded.

"Blue, the last time we went all in the castle, we got ambushed by Error and Killer. And we barely got the hostages out. And that's when Dream was not around. This time, they'll be prepared."

"But it's just Killer and Nightmare." Blue thought.

"Eh, they're more dangerous than these two we caught." There was angry mumbling in the back.

"You know we can hear you right?" Dust mumbled. Horror was giggling, and it was making the serial killer skeleton uncomfortable. "Dear god Horror, shut up!" Ink kneeled down to them.

"Will Nightmare be there at the castle?" Dust gave a 'really' look.

"Duh. He does almost all of his business at the castle. Good luck trying to get him back."

"Sorry Neil, but we need to get you back. Can't have you get hur-" I wasn't there, and all of them noticed. "Where did he go?"

I was far enough away from the group, alone in the trees and taking a breather. I just wanted to catch my breath. First, I seem to be teleported to a different dimension, Dream left to apparently fight some kind of battle, and now he has been kidnapped by his brother and being held in a castle. What a weird day.

I want to make sure Dream's okay, but what can I do? I'm down a arm and not a fighter. I feel helpless right now...just like back then.

Flashback

Fire was spreading to each of the houses, the townspeople screaming in despair. I was pinned under heavy boards and my arm...

I couldn't feel my arm! I tried to move them off me, but I was tired and coughing from the hot embers. I could hear my son in the other room.

"Dad! Help!"

"I'm coming!" I tried calling out. My lungs felt on fire, the heat roaring in my ears. My fur was black with ash, and I still couldn't move. What happened to my wife? My son?

"Mom, please move! We need to leave! Mom? MOM?!" My son said more clearly. But soon he was coughing as well. Finally, for what seemed like a agonizing few minutes, me son came into view. He was also covered with ash and several large cuts. It must have been when the foundation collapsed on us. And was one of his ears missing? He ran to me, helping remove each of the boards. We both were coughing so hard, our lungs felt lie they were coming out.

"Dad, come on. Dad!" He tried to wake me up. But I blacked out for a second.

What happened after that?

End of Flashback

I lightly hit my head against one of the trees, my eyes tightly shut.

"Come on Neil! Don't focus on the past! Focus on saving the one friend you have right now." I told myself.

Then, a figure with a cloak filled with the most beautiful gradient colors peered from the trees. Her eyes were a bright shade of turquoise, but the cloak covered most of her features. She pointed at me slowly, and I looked behind just to see if she was looking at someone else.

"You there. Do you know what happened here?" She asked in a quiet tone.

"Uh~, my friend Dream was battling his brother Nightmare. He got captured." I could tell that she was holding back anger because of the amount of shaking she was doing.

"I see. I must talk to Quetzalcoatl about this." She was about to turn away. But I wanted to keep talking to her.

"Wait! Are you going to rescue Dream from the place?" She nodded. "Let me come."

"NO." She bluntly replied.

"Please? He's my friend, and I can't lose another one." That seemed to catch her interest.

"What is your name mortal?"

Mortal? "Neil."

"Then come with me Neil. And don't complain about anything otherwise I'll leave you alone again. I don't need distractions." I grabbed my shoulder as we left the group behind.

I'm coming Dream.