Dream, Guardian of Positivity, doesn't know what to think anymore. Everything has been changing so fast, and it's becoming hard for him to remain optimistic.

Unlike most incodes, Dream had turned his back on his AU after what it did to him and his brother. There wasn't much of it left after the incident, anyways. Dream has regretted it every day for not seeing how Nightmare suffered. The villagers did not want negativity. They only wanted positivity, and Dream took their bribes and manipulation as friendship. He only realized it when Nightmare snapped. Dream has never once blamed him for it. All he's ever wanted is to try and mend their bond.

Ink found Dream after Nightmare's corruption. The Guardian of positivity was lost and now without a purpose or his brother. Unknown to Dream, this was shortly after Ink had created Error 404. The Creator had promised himself that no one but him would ever fight Error after that. Dream may have become another soldier if not for this. Instead, Ink took Dream from his crumbling world and offered him a home. Ink introduced him to the Multiverse.

Dream knows now that he could have been the next Paper Crane: fodder to fall to the destroyer. Alloy had found the truth, and it broke him. Dream was uncertain of how he felt about Alloy at first. Knowing Ink wasn't against it might be the only reason that Dream didn't initially try harder to get his best friend back. Alloy is very similar to Ink, but he's also Error. Ink was Dream's hero. That illusion has been shattered. Ink was not the good guy, and although Error wasn't exactly good, he wasn't as terrible as everyone thought.

And then Alloy was killed by one of Ink's weapons. Error 404 hates both Ink and Error. 404 refused to believe that they were gone, and thought that the new God of Balance was just Error being puppeteered by Ink. Alloy never wanted to fight after learning about how his two components treated 404. Combined with that and his poor combat skills, 404 was able to rip Alloy apart as his friends could only watch. Dream remembers feeling utterly useless as the young God looked up with utter terror. Of course, Dream has always seen himself as weaker than his brother. Nightmare was able to escape his bonds out of pure rage. Such strong emotions have never come from so far deep in Nightmare's soul since before the incident. He took back Alloy's soul and broke almost every bone in 404's body before Dream could convince him to stop. In a way, it was a blessing. Nightmare smiled at his brother for the first time in decades once the tar-like substance on his body retreated.

It got worse. Nightmare collapsed shortly after the battle. He was coughing up a mixture of blood and corruption.

************

"B-Boss!?"

"Nightmare!" Dream screams, rushing forwards, he manages to grab onto his brother before he hits the floor, supporting Nightmare with one knee on the ground. Alloy's soul drops and hits the floor where it slides away. Blue picks it back up, shaking slightly, spooked from the recent battle. He watches numbly as Dream and Dust struggle.

"What's wrong him him!? Boss? Nightmare!? Can you hear me?" Dust is starting to panic now. He throws one of Nightmare's arms over his shoulder to help prop him up. The King of negativity is listless and unresponsive.

"We need to get him to Sci," Dream's voice is shaky. He can't loose his brother right after getting him back. But Alloy is dead.

"Take him, then. I'll look after Alloy," Blue mumbles. His eye lights are only pinpricks. He cups the soul delicately to his chest.

"Okay. Dream, open up a portal to Nightmare's mansion. The others can protect him and Alloy until we get Nightmare patched up," Dust nods, trusting Blue. Dream almost tries to argue. Almost. There's no time right now to deal with both Alloy and Nightmare. Alloy's soul is technically indestructible, unlike Nightmare. His brother may be dying.

Dream nods and opens a portal for Blue before summoning one into Sci's lab. He and Dust both stand and lift Nightmare back up. He barely responds, tentacles limp as he's carried though the portal.

********

It's already been a week since Sci put Nightmare on a mixture of magic supplements and pain medicine. Nightmare's own soul magic abruptly overpowering the corruption has thrown off the entire way his body has operated since the incident. Monsters are made of magic. He spewed out so much of it with his aura and dispelling most of the corruption on his body that his soul nearly cracked instantly with the strain. Like in Sci's experiment, two combined magic sources don't do well when one is overpoweringly stronger.

Dream and Dust stayed there while Sci got Nightmare into a stable condition, though he still didn't wake up. The nervous scientist later theorized that the only reason Nightmare didn't die was because Dream's own aura can weaken the corruption some. When Dream heard this, he began to panic all over again, consumed by the "what ifs". Dream hasn't left Nightmare's side since, not even when his gang came to take him home.

***********

Dream is huddled up in an arm chair, hugging his knees to his chest. This is the first time he's seen Nightmare's finely decorated room. A music box is still sitting dismantled on the desk. Dream's moved an armchair from its place in the corner to right at the end of his brother's bed. He's hardly left. The gang didn't like it at first, but they relaxed after a few days and stopped supervising him. All Dream does is watch. He watches, and does his best to keep his aura bright even though it's painful.

Nightmare hasn't moved from the spot where Cross laid him down on the bed seven days ago. His breathing is shallow, and his eyes haven't opened. Dream has tried to desperately distract himself by re-memorizing his brother's face. All he's ever wanted is to free Nightmare from the corruption, but Dream never knew that this would be the price. More than half of Nightmare's body is free from the tar. His pale bones almost seem to give off a hint of moonlight, much like how Dream's always seem to hint at a warm glow. It would make him happier if Nightmare would show any sign of life. He doesn't even twitch in his sleep. Cross has to force feed him the medicine every morning.

Alloy's situation isn't much better. Neither he or Error have started to reform from the recovered soul. Dream has also been paying special attention to the Doodle-Sphere to see if he can sense Ink's paint-induced emotions, but it's too early to tell if is there. Dust explained it to Dream that Error's only ever been out for a few days at most. Poor Blue has taken it upon himself to look after Alloy the most. Blue and Dream have both practically lived in the mansion for the last week. The former has only left once to reassure his brother that he was okay. Dream is pretty sure that Blue even sleeps in the same room where Alloy's soul rests, nestled in a blanket.

The Guardian's attention snaps back to his brother abruptly. He had still been staring at Nightmare as his thoughts wandered off. Dream almost dismisses what he saw as a figment of his imagination after a few minutes, but then it happens again. One of Nightmare's long tentacles tenses and curls at the end before relaxing again. It's the most movement there's ever been. Dream launches himself off the armchair and stumbles to stand beside Nightmare's bed. He takes his brother's hand and squeezes it gently. All Dream wants now is for him to be okay. Nightmare's hand abruptly tightens.

"Dust! Cross!" Dream hollers at the top of his lungs, now holding Nightmare's hand with both of his. "Brother?" He asks quieter, "Nightmare? I'm here."

Loud stomping thunders down the hallway as the others react to Dream's cries. Cross arrives first, slamming the door open and rushing to the bedside. The rest of the boys file in around the bed. Blue even comes to stand in the doorway. He's cradling Alloy soul in a small blanket.

"What's wrong!? Is is Nightmare?" Cross panics.

Before Dream can try to explain, Nightmare's body spasms as he breaks into a harsh coughing fit. He's very much awake as he tries to cover his mouth with his free arm. Dream and Cross help him sit up to try and ease the coughing. Dust holds a glass of water to his lips after it calms down some to try and get him to drink. Nightmare is panting when the coughs die down, and a black ooze is running from his mouth, but he opens up his eye and looks around at the group. A chorus of "Boss", "Nightmare!", and relived sighs sounds out. Nightmare seems to look rather out of it until he spots Dream. They're still holding hands.

"D-Dream!" Nightmare rasps, voice sore and rough, "G-Go. You ha-have to go."

"What?" Dream asks, confused.

Nightmare scrunches up his face for a moment, clearly still in pain. One of his tentacles wraps around his torso while the other loosely wraps around Cross's waist for comfort. Nightmare is shivering. "Go. All-oy. He's is in the dream sca-ape. I couldn't reach h-him."

"N-Nightmare!? You shouldn't be dream walking at all in your condition," Dream chides him. Nightmare just glares. Even in his incredibly vulnerable state, it's enough to stop Dream from arguing. Dream hesitantly sits back down in his armchair and forces himself to relax. The boys will looks after Nightmare until he's back.