Karma is confused where he is but is very happy that brother is here!

Nightmare is overworked and this sick babybones just brings up so many questions.

——

S̷̲͗ṯ̶̇̅ringVerse

Location: ??

"I nee-d to ge-t up!"

"Lay back down! You are in no condition to be up yet"

"No! Father mu-st be so ang-ry. I don't wa-nt to mak-e it worse"

"...little one. He just w-wants you to be healthy. H-He is worried sick, not angry"

Karma was baffled by this response, squinting where the voice was coming from why was his vision so blurry? Were they talking about the same monster here? Reaper rarely looked happy, especially with him.

Maybe his brother was trying to make him feel better? It was kind of them to lie about that but it was far too late for that. He already knew the truth after all. Why did his bonds feel weird? What is happening to him?

He startled at something wet being put on his face and could tell the conversation was over, so resigned himself to staying in bed for longer. He turned onto his side and closed his sockets but held onto consciousness for just a bit longer.

"Br-ther....Cud-dle please?"

He chirped when the bed dipped and clung to his brother were they always this cold? feeling himself relax at having someone safe close by.

-

The next time Karma woke up he was feeling even warmer than before. He tried to move to a cooler spot on the bed but it was all too warm. Annoyed, he sat up and opened his sockets to look around.

He hissed when a wet thing fell off his skull and onto his hands what was it called again? not liking the texture on his bones. He threw it off the bed but he still had the problem of being far too warm.

He looked around and had no idea where he was, so he grumpily pushed off the covers why was it so heavy?! and stood on the floor. He chirped at his success and searched for the door, soon making his way over.

He might be a tad wobbly but it was fine. His brother had no idea what he was talking about, he was so ready to go and help father with his work! Why did that sound wrong?

He pushed open the door and groaned at how big this place was. The corridor looked very long and he was unsure which way to go. Taking a guess he decided left was a good option and walked down the hall, briefly looking inside each room he passed. There were a lot of bedrooms in this place but still no sign of his brother.

He was close to giving up but the next door he opened was much more exciting. Walking further in he spotted a lot of bookcases and the many rugs littered about that felt nice on his feet. He stumbled further in and paused when he spotted a big chair by the window.

Squinting didn't make the image any clearer but he was pretty sure someone was sitting in the chair. His magic was acting rather odd and seemed to slip from his grasp whenever he tried to use it just where was it all going? .

Maybe this was his brother!...what did they look like again? Karma whimpered and clutched his chest in pain. Why was everything so confusing? . He looked up as the shadowy figure came closer, lifting his arms up.

"I d-n't fee-l good, br-ther"

He sighed in relief as they picked him up, their cooler body feeling wonderful on his bones. They moved back towards the chair and he let himself be shifted to sit on their lap, resting against the other's chest.

"Eat up. You have been sleeping for a while"

Karma wanted to frown at the thought of food but as soon as something warm was pressed against his mouth he reluctantly drank it. It felt wonderful and he was disappointed when it was taken away.

"Slow down. Your body won't be able to take more, little one"

He grumbled but easily settled, feeling much better after that. They sat in silence and Karma was sure something was wrong with this. He could feel himself start to tense up but was relieved, when he spotted something moving behind his brother, feeling this was familiar. Everything was fine everything hurt .

"You should be back in bed, little one"

"St-ry"

"I don't think you are well enough fo-"

"Pls-e, br-ther?"

Karma chirped happily when their voice started up and he leaned back into them, using his wings as a blanket for himself, grabbing one of brothers hands to hold. He gave a questioning hum, when they stuttered again but their voice soon smoothed over.

Was brother getting sick?

He happily listened and tried to stay awake father wasn't here to look at him weirdly, so he could just enjoy himself. but he could feel it was a losing battle.

"-and then the fluffy bunny went home and was very ha-"

Karma was so happy brother was here.

-

The next time Karma woke up he felt so much better. Patting the side of the bed he could feel it was warm, so knew his brother had been here, but was sad they were gone. He knew they couldn't stay long in this Omniverse, so was surprised they had managed to stay so long with him.

Hopefully he could ask them next time he saw them how they did it. He would love to be able to see them more often.

Sitting up he grinned at feeling less dizzy and swiftly threw off the covers and got up. He frowned at his clothes, as they felt different to what he was used to but they were very soft.

Opening the door to the room he started to walk out but soon bumped into a very large figure. He managed to right himself but when he stood back to glare at them, he chirped in annoyance. Why was everything still blurry?!

When he saw a familiar shadowy shape behind the big one he perked up.

"Brother?"

"I'm glad you are up, little one"

...that wasn't brother. He felt disspointed but unsurprised and soon found himself in their arms and placed on a seat in another room. He was bewildered how they got here so fast but maybe magic here was different? He felt himself start to tilt and resigned himself to falling on the ground. It's not his fault everything was spinning!

He squeaked as he was swiftly grabbed and placed on a cool lap this felt really familiar and jumped at the clank of a plate on a hard surface.

"Eat up"

Karma glared at the table suspiciously, as he was unsure what was on it. He tried to use his magic to compensate for his weird eyesight and grew irritated when it didn't work. He could feel blinding anger build up and his fingers curled into his palms, feeling them harshly dig into himself. A pat on his head made his anger vanish, only for it to be replaced by deep sadness.

He started to sniffle and felt tears fall down his face. Before he could wipe them away the cold person did so, gently cooing at him.

"It's ok, little one. There is no need for tears. Here you go"

His hands were opened and he was handed a food item that he was sure was a sandwich. Taking a tentative bite confirmed it and he slowly ate it all, feeling much better from all the magic he could feel in it. He felt his eyelight begin to focus and chirped at getting a brief glance at the room but it soon fizzled out.

He hoped this wasn't a permanent issue. He had so much work to do! This place felt wrong and needed to be fixed. He needed to leave it's his role/Duty/Punishment/WHY CAN'T HE BE FREE!/WON'T ANYONE SAVE HI-

Another sandwich was stuffed in his mouth and he growled at the cold being. He could feed himself. No need to be rude.

——

Nightmare was a very organised monster. He had to be in order to deal with all the work to help maintain the Balance, that hardly anyone seemed to know anything about and to deal with all his idiots.

He had no idea why he had taken them in but he blamed the temporary insanity from eating the apples he ignored the fact that they entered his life after his sanity returned .

That is to say he had a rough schedule for each day, so getting a message from Error, that they had left a guest in the living room, was not reassuring. He had sped to the room and stared in disbelief at seeing a babybones laying on the floor, muttering incoherent things to themselves. He quickly snapped out of it and picked them up, cradling them close.

They were burning up but now he could hear what they were saying.

"-so co-d. V-ry n-ce. Min-e now"

He chuckled at the high endorsement, glad his corruption was useful for something. He walked towards one of the guest rooms, picking the most colourful one.

Hopefully this would be calming when they woke up, as the rest of the rooms were very much not meant for babybones. He knew he should have prevented Killer from scattering their knives around the place.

He mentally added it to the list of things to do, now that he had a young guest and gently placed them on the bed. He would leave them in their clothes for now, not wanting to stress the fragile body more.

He didn't bother to contact Error, as he knew they would be too busy to answer, so grabbed a chair and settled beside the bed, to keep watch.

He surprisingly didn't have to wait long before a quiet voice spoke out.

"Bro-ther? When d-did you g-et here?"

Nightmare nearly choked at the title and stared in disbelief at the child. What was he supposed to say to that?! His alarm worsened when he felt their anxiety grow and he could see magic build up in them. He pushed back his corruption, not wanting to scare them with his deeper voice, before answering them.

"H-Hey. It's ok. There is no need to panic. I'm here. You need to calm down. B-brother is here"

He let out a shaky breath when the odd magic calmed down but now he had to physically push them back down. Why are they trying to get up? They should not be wasting energy on this!

"Brother! I need to l-look after y-ou"

"Why? I am fine. It's you who is ill"

This was rather stressful but he was soon able to pull back his hands, when he saw they would no longer push themselves. Just where did Error find this one?

"Wh—y are y-ou ne-ar me th-en?"

Nightmare hid his face in his hands, letting out a shuddery breath. Was this his penance? Why did all his sins have to be brought up now? "Are you ok, Dream?" "I'm a tad warm but stay away. Don't want you to get ill, brot-"

"J-Just go back to sleep. I will stay right here"

"..p-promise?"

"Of course, l-little brother"

He watched over them carefully and took out his phone. He needed answers now and was so happy when Error answered, even if they sounded out of breath.

" What? I'm kind of busy righ no- "

"What do I do?! They called me brother "

Silence came over the phone as he knew that Error understood how he felt about that word. He hadn't been called that in centuries and it was painful to be called that again.

" ..look. If it's too much trouble i'm sure i can find someone else- "

"No, Error. I can do it. I didn't mean to imply...how should I help?"

" You might not like it but go along with it. No need to add more stress to the situation...I've got to go, Ink is being an idiot again "

Nightmare looked down at the phone and readily agreed.

He didn't like this. Maybe his subordinates could help?

-

"BOSS! WHAT DID YOU BRING INTO THI-"

"Move you, idiot! You are about to get-"

"JUMP, CROSS!"

"Do not let that magic touch you! The flowers are all dead!"

Nightmare had thought they could handle things but clearly not. It had been a week since the babybones arrived and very little needed to be done, to keep the still sleeping guest healthy.

It was just as he was coming back from settling the Negativity balance, that he came upon this scene.

He quickly pulled his idiots out of the room, unsure why none of them thought to teleport away, and slammed the door shut before a scythe could come flying through. It was a good thing he had many spare doors, with how his idiots went about their daily lives with little care to their surroundings.

Nightmare expanded his magic to the room and was able to sense that the babybones was not even aware and was merely acting on instinct, which was a rather alarming thought.

Who trained a child to do that?!

" Leave. I will sort this out. Do not come into the room from now on "

They all scampered off and he was hopeful this rule would never be broken for their sakes. He was almost impressed at the magic the child wielded, if it wasn't now his problem to deal with.

He sighed at his relaxing time disappearing and slowly opened the door, wincing at the hole in the door...at least the weapon was gone. He kept his tentacles poised and stared at the child on the bed.

" Babybones? Are you awake? "

Snoring came from the bed and he slowly inched closer, unsure why they weren't reacting to him like the others. He froze when their sockets snapped open and automatically pushed back the corruption. They looked to be in a rush to push everything off and were expending energy they just didn't have.

Sprinting forward he tried to keep them down, not wanting to put too much strength into the hold but they were too damn slippery!

Why was looking after a babybones so hard?!

"I nee-d to ge-t up!"

"Lay back down! You are in no condition to be up yet"

"No! Father mu-st be so ang-ry. I don't wa-nt to mak-e it worse"

While this was a new piece of information he had no idea who this 'father' was but going by the fear and anxiety he could sense, he decided he didn't like them.

"...little one. He just w-wants you to be healthy. H-He is worried sick, not angry"

It was disheartening to feel so much disbelief but it did get them to be still at least. He was curious what their role was though. He had not been able to get in contact with Error since last time and he wouldn't be surprised if the Creator was having another creation spree.

How the multiverse had not collapsed yet, was a miracle at this point.

Crouching closer he grimaced at the unfocused eyelight and waving his hand in front of their face hardly garnered a reaction. He sighed and went to grab a wet cloth, hoping to at least cool them down. The last one was a pile of ash on the floor, from whatever the babybones magic had done to it. Placing the new cloth on their skull, he smiled at the relieved chirp and stood to leave.

"Br-ther....Cud-dle please?"

He bottled his rising emotions and sat on the bed, soon finding himself with a clinging babybones. He used the cloth to wipe their face and laid down, waiting untill they would go to sleep. He could tell this was going to be a long process.

-

The babybones woke up sporadically but Nightmare made sure to be there each time. The one time he hadn't, he had found them wandering the castle and about to step outside. That had definitely caused him a SOUL attack and he felt this was so much more stressful than his usual role.

He had to try and convince them not to do their 'role' multiple times but he was unsure how successful he was on that front he failed to make Dream stop . He wanted them to relax and recover but their habit of pushing themselves was surely extending their condition. He was suspicious if this was even a normal illness but as Error wasn't here to update him, he just tried his best to deal with the symptoms.

He had managed to change their clothes to something cleaner but it was their wings he was having issues with. He knew his AU gave him a rather unusual childhood but he at least knew that wings were a more personal part of a monster.

He would usually not even consider touching them but it had been over a month and they were looking rather dishevelled. He was pretty sure they needed to be groomed regularly for the health of the monster but he wasn't fully sure.

"Br-ther?"

"Yes, little one?"

Nightmare had gotten better at hearing the title but it still made him feel off kilter each time. He had also had to stay in his un-corrupted form much more often, as he was wary of their reaction to it otherwise.

Of course Killer had tried to take a peek at the babybones again and nearly lost their life, when more of the strange dark magic shot towards them. It was a good thing he had expected this and managed to drag his no.1 idiot away.

He despaired he had to even number them at this point.

"C-n you sort my wi-gs? Itchy..."

Nightmare stared at them and felt unable to look away from the trusting eyelight. He wanted to laugh at the absurdity, of him ever being trusted with something like this. He knew it was just because of their state they were in, that they were even asking him this but he grimly accepted. This would just be another thing to add to his pile of sins.

"Of course. Let's sit you up, little one"

He propped them up with pillows, before getting a washcloth to gently get rid of the grime. He hummed at the repetitive work and was pleased to note that there was very little to do. He put the cloth away and carded his fingers through the feathers, admiring how soft they felt.

He had little experience with wings but he was sure he did a decent enough job, as he spotted the babybones asleep again that was most likely due to their low energy but he ignored that thought .

He shifted them to be laying down on their front and checked the back of their wings while he could. He covered them with the blanket and left the room, feeling emotionally exhausted. He hoped they got better soon.

He wasn't sure how much of this he could deal with without breaking even more.

~~~~

Karma: I'm fine!

*Karma swaying on their feet, looking close to passing out*

Nightmare: You can barely stand!

Karma: Could a sick person do this?

*Does nothing*

Nightmare: *Wary* What did you do?

Karma:..I just did a flip. Didn't you see?

Nightmare: *Sighs tiredly* Im putting you back to bed..

-
Nightmare: I only have the best things in my castle, gathered from the whole entire multiverse!

*Crashing in background, followed by cackling and the sound of a Gaster Blaster firing*

Nightmare:...That sadly includes idiots, as well