This is my 6th attempt trying to publish this goddamn chapter--

❤️💜AAAAAAAA 31kkkkkkkk💜❤️

---Nightmare's POV----

So many flashbacks were hitting me just from looking at the collapsing building. I winced, looking down as I tried to block out all the memories. Block out all the fear.

Currently the worst thing to look at were the dead trees that used to be a forest. That's where some of the clearer memories are... That's where Dream and I had gone, simply wanting to check out the lab because we were curious. No. Because I was curious. I had dragged Dream there. I don't think I would have ever been able to forgive myself if it had been him that got caught instead of me.

But Dreams gone now. The last I ever saw of him before as nine years ago. When I had turned passive to escape the prison. He had trapped me at our old base and I'd had to collapse a porch on him to escape. If I'm honest, I still regret doing that...

"Nighty?"

I jolted, looking down to see Cross looking up at him, his face laced with concern.

"A-Are you okay?" He asked, squeezing my hand softly.

I blinked, realising that everyone else was already half way over to the entrance, all of them stood around the wide, ominous opening. "Y-Yeah...I-It's just...bad memories..."

Cross sighed, gently tugging me along to the others, the kids close by our sides. "It's okay...just try to block them out..."

"I'll try..." I mumbled, wincing as we stopped by the others, looking into the dark entrance. I could faintly see the outlines of broken and toppled desks with paper strewn across the floor from when everyone tried to evacuate in a panic while I was defying expectations and ripping through my restraints in the experiment room.

Error glanced back at me nervously, clearly wondering how I was coping as well. "You gonna be okay, Nightmare?"

"I'll be fine." I growled. "I'm not going to loose it and attack all of you."

"Maybe you will..." Geno muttered. "How can we even trust you?"

I whipped around, hissing loudly at him. "What the fuck do you think I'm talking about?! Do you think this place will make me kill all of you suddenly!? I'll tell you something, Geno. It doesn't. But, if it does, then I'll make sure you're the first person I slaughter!"

Reaper then growled loudly, stepping in front of the shocked looking Geno. "So much as lay a fucking finger on him and I'll call your little psycho's favourite asylum people right here to drag him back to the cage where he belongs!"

I slapped him. Full on slamming my hand into his face. "Fucking try. I dare you."

Reaper looked like he was about to launch himself at me when Ink ran in between both of us.

"BOTH OF YOU STOP IT! WE CAN'T ATTACK EACH OTHER LIKE ANIMALS!"

I growled, going to push past him when I felt something tug on my arm and stop me. I hissed, whipping around, but instantly froze as I saw who it was.

Cross pulled my arm weakly, seeming terrified over both my sudden outburst and Reapers threat.

Immediately I forgot all about Reaper and hugged Cross to my chest, sighing softly. "D-Don't worry Cross...y-you're safe..."

He nodded weakly, pressing closer to me as the kids death glared Geno and Reaper. "Lets just get this over with..." He mumbled. "If X is in there he w-will have heard o-our yelling and will probably come for us...m-meaning we won't have to search far if w-we're looking for him..."

Ink sighed, nodding. "Cross is right...come on guys. Lets just go in and get this over with..."

Error went by Inks side, holding onto his hand as he peered into the pitch black darkness leading into that hell of a lab. "Uh, I don't fancy my chances of not tripping over something stupid and impaling myself on something else stupid..."

"You'll be tripping over dead bodies." I growled, stepping forwards and into the darkness with Cross pressed right against my side.

I blinked, letting myself adjust the intense change of lighting. Soon enough I could clearly see an outline of everything, but that was it, just outlines. "Cross stay close..." I muttered, glancing back at the kids. "Can you guys see?"

Incubux gave a small nod, still holding Eph for us. "I can, so so can moonlight. So I'll guide NiXss, Moonlight will guide Noah, and you'll guide Cross."

I nodded in agreement, looking up and back at the door as Ink and Error cautiously stepped forwards.

They both jolted as I looked at them, probably creeped out by the fact that all they could see was my glowing blue eye.

"I-Is everything okay in there Nightmare?" Error called, his eyes straining to see anything other than darkness.

"Maybe." I called back, telling the kids to stay put as I gently pulled Cross over to one of the walls where a big box was attached to the wall. I ripped it open, blinking as I saw all the wires and electric stuff. "Error I'm gonna have to borrow your better kid."

"Excuse me?"

"The one that's good with electronics."

A loud sigh came from the door. "Gray Nightmare needs you."

I could see the outline of the kid poking his head through. "Oh fuck no. You know when Pj was listing all my phobias or something? Well one of them is going into dark abandoned labs full of dead bodies and killer octopuses!"

I rolled my eye, simply stretching a tentacle out to him. It wrapped around his wrist, nearly making him shriek in surprise.

"Wh-Wha--?!"

I yanked him over, smirking as he almost tripped over a fallen part of the ceiling. "Oh how nice of you to join us. Now fix."

"I can't fricking see anything!" He hissed.

I went to say something when suddenly a soft red glow formed out of no where, lighting up the power box slightly. I blinked, looking to my side to see Cross holding one of his red knives, shakily holding it up so that the kid could see.

"This'll work..." Gradient muttered, leaning forwards as he started fiddling with all of the wires and panels.

A good minute later and the smashed lights above us flickered before turning on. Most of the lights were damaged beyond repair, and in this room only two lights came on. They illuminated the room slightly, casting shadows across everything creepily. And every few seconds they'd flicker off, plunging us back into pitch black darkness for a few seconds before they'd flash back on.

Cross let out a muffled scream to my right before covering his mouth with his hands, looking like he wanted to throw up.

The whole room was littered with bodies. Some were laying splayed out on the floor, their limbs twisted in sickening ways. Dried blood had hardened around them, all of the bodies having gaping holes in their backs that went right through their chests.

A few bodies had been impaled by sticking up table legs or bits of debris that has fallen from the collapsed ceiling. Right by our side a body lay, their head crushed under a chunk of ceiling.

"I-I think I'm going to throw up..." Cross mumbled weakly, clinging to me.

I rubbed the top of his skull softly, sighing. "Sorry..." I looked over the bodies, blinking curiously. I don't remember much of what had happened after I broke out of my containment unit. Everything in my memory is just a mess of blurs and screams.

A muffled gasp signified Ink seeing all the mangled bodies as he stepped in. His wide eyes swept across the room before resting on me. His aura radiated so much fear and wariness. He was currently terrified of me.

The others were all the same. One by one as they stepped in their fear spiked tenfold, each of them giving me horrified looks as they processed that it was me that had done all of this.

Only Cross and the kids seemed fine. They were terrified. I could sense that much. But they weren't terrified of me. That relieved me more than I could ever attempt to explain.

Once we were all inside, I stepped forwards, moving to walk back over to the others.

They all flinched, almost stumbling back.

I froze, growling. "So this is how it's gonna be now, huh? All of you are suddenly scared of me because you're seeing my past?! I've told you about this before! You know what happened!"

"You told us..." Error muttered. "You just didn't mention how many you killed..."

"I told you!" I hissed. "I killed all of them!"

"We didn't think there'd be so many...and this is o-only the first room!"

"Did you think this was some fucking low budget minimum staff project?!" I yelled. "No! These fuckers spent millions on staff and equipment to force me into this monster! DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?!"

They all stumbled back, looking shocked again.

"You're already turning psychotic..." Reaper muttered. "Only time can prevent us from ending up like your old friends..."

I growled loudly, feeling my tentacles rise by my sides slowly. But then I froze, letting them go limp. "Fucking X has planned this. He's trying to break the group apart. How can we help each other if we don't even trust each other?"

Error winced, nodding. "He's messing with our minds...he's targeted Geno and Reaper...I can only assume he was behind the whole framing thing...and now that we're here he's targeting you and Cross..."

Cross clung to my side, looking over our kids worriedly. "W-We need to trust each other...o-otherwise we d-don't stand a chance..."

I nodded, flinching. "Not a chance..."

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Long-ish chapter of 1652 words :3

Mmmmmm trust in that group is crumbling as bad as the decaying building :P

Mmmmmmm shit gonna gO dOwN--

>:3

-Jess-