"We have to take him to ScienceTale," Cross speaks up quickly, seeing as Nightmare isn't responding. "Sci might be the only person that would help us."

"Okay, okay," Dust takes a moment to gather his thoughts, "Sci's gonna freak out with the King of Negativity on his doorstep, so he might think we're there to trash his AU if we all go. Cross, you've gotta go with Nightmare."

"What? Why me?"

"You don't look as scary since you're still in pajamas."

Cross's face heats up in embarrassment as he realizes that yes, he's still wearing nothing but a thin tank-top and rather short pants. Unfortunately, there's no time for him to do anything about it. Killer says nothing. Hie attention is still on Vestige.

"Fine," Cross sighs, before nudging Nightmare, "Pick up Vestige. We've gotta go now before he gets any worse." Nightmare is jolted out of his thoughts, and after a moment of hesitation, he picks Vestige back up the same way as he did last time. The surface of Veatige's bones now have a nauseating give to them. Where Nightmare touches his baby, the King's limbs sink in ever so slightly. A few drops of black goo drip off of Vestige's form and hit the floor. The drops sputter and hiss as the magic dies and evaporates to nothing, not even dust. Nightmare curls one of his arms against Vestige's back, shaken by the sight.

Cross opens a portal right outside of Sci's door and starts banging on it before Nightmare has even stepped all the way through the portal. Thankfully, Sci's AU is currently in the late morning instead of the godawful hour Nightmare has woken everyone up at. Cross is still knocking on the door when it swings open. He has to look down slightly in order to see the other monster's face.

Sci is very confused when he opens up his door to find one of the bad Sanses standing on the doormat with too little clothing to be outside. Then Sci turns and sees Nightmare, nearly jumping away reflexively. The only thing that keeps Sci in place is noticing the tiny bundles Nightmare has nearly obscured with three of his limbs.

"Ohhhh, hey, you brought Vestige back," Sci says nervously. He doesn't want to be blamed for keeping Vestige away from Nightmare in the beginning.

"Back?" Nightmare repeats coldly, falling back into his familiar pattern of coldness.

"Dream and Ink brought Vestige here yesterday for me to look over him. That's all," Sci says quickly.

"Be nice. We need his help," Cross mumbles before speaking up so Sci can hear. "So do you know what might be wrong with him? Vestige's soul is......."

"Has it gotten worse?" Sci asks, momentarily losing some fear as the professional in him takes over. "My lab is downstairs."

Nightmare, still holding Vestige, walks behind Cross as Sci leads them both through the house. Sci tries not to let his unease show. He never thought monsters with such...... reputations would be in his house. Papyrus is still at school, thankfully. The baby gate that's normally in front of the stairs has also been pushed aside since Sci was moving stuff around today. Sci is too nervous to say anything until they get to the same lab room as yesterday.

"Alright, you can set him on the table." Sci opens a cabinet on one wall and pulls out the notebook he has written down Veatige's information in yesterday. Nightmare does as he's told, but stays standing right next to the table, watching every movement Sci makes. Vestige doesn't seem to care to hold himself and flops onto his belly.

"Where did the stabilizer go?" Sci asks now that he can see Vestige clearly. "It was a green bracelet that I put around Vestige's neck yesterday. It's supposed to help some of his symptoms until Ink could copy Nightmare's soul."

"Why would Ink need anything with my soul?" Nightmare growls, frowning at the thought.

Sci pauses in what he's doing, looking up at Nightmare in disbelief. "You don't know.....? Didn't Dream tell you?"

"I just took Vestige last night. When Dream was sleeping," Nightmare admits. He's starting to realize that it wasn't one of his better ideas.

"Why are you all like this?" Sci takes a calming breath before launching into his explanation. "Ink and Dream brought Vestige to me because his soul wasn't formed properly. Ink says that he makes souls before the body, and it was a bit of a mess with Vestige. Ink thinks that if he can copy pieces of Nightmare's soul into Vestige's soul, it should stabilize him."

Cross can see the tension rising in Nightmare at the thought of willingly letting Ink anywhere near him, and quickly speaks up. "Is Vestige going to die if his soul isn't fixed?"

"It's hard to say," Sci says gently. "Monsters are made of dust and magic. When the dust is ripped apart, the magic dies, but Vestige is made of pure magic. I'm not an expert on biology, but I do know monster magic. My guess? He wouldn't die right away. The soul is the command center for magic. It would be a slow drain of his magic fading after his soul breaks. Even now, it looks like his soul is starting to fail with the strain. Vestige's body demands an immense amount of magic to maintain."

Nightmare is quiet for several long moments. His expression is unreadable, but it's only a mask for his whirlwind of emotions. Nightmare hates Ink. Nightmare despises the Creator. Why are there worlds full of joy and happy endings when others are cast in shadow and violence? Why must monsters be broken by their AUs? Ink gave Nightmare a story where he was the villain, so Nightmare swore to be the worst of them all. He kills monsters and terrifies others to ruin the paradies Ink otherwise might rule. Nightmare and Ink have never even had a conversation that didn't take place during battle. Nightmare can't stand the idea of doing anything with Ink.

The King of Negativity looks back down at the tiny being on the table. The Multiverse forgets that monster souls are made of love and kindness. Nightmare told himself that he gathered his gang because they all might hate Ink and the stories he's stuck them with. Only now will Nightmare admit that he was lonely in his single-minded goal of revenge; he wanted someone to understand his perspective like his brother used to. Monster hearts aren't meant to be alone. Even the most vile can't stand loneliness. Nightmare and his gang have all been healing from their traumas by simply being together. Inspired by the boys he cares so much about, and for the tiny Vestige that needs something only he can give, Nightmare thinks he can put it all aside just this once.

"You can contact the Creator, right?" Nightmare finally says, "Call him over here." Cross jumps a little at that, but then nods his head in reassurance. Cross trusts Nightmare. Cross is more wary of Ink after what he did to Horror, but Cross doesn't know what kind of decision he would make in this situation.

Sci seems relieved that Nightmare is allowing this and quickly exits the room to find his phone. The two Bad Sanses are too nervous about the upcoming confrontation to speak. As the silence stretches on, Nightmare has the strange compulsion to pick Vestige back up. He's too worried about more corrupted magic dripping off Vestige, so Nightmare settles for stroking his son's cheek with the end of one tendril. Vestige is partly stirred from his stupor with the contact. He blinks a few times in confusion before slowly grabbing the limb with his small hand. Nightmare usually despises it when his extra limbs are detained from movement in any way. Even so, he remains still and lets Vestige hold onto him.

Nightmare can sense the exact moment that his brother enters the AU. Dream and Ink must be here together. Nightmare has been distantly sensing his brother's distress for the last couple hours. Nightmare took Vestige from Dream's home in the middle of the night without leaving so much as a note. Footsteps thunder down the stairs and through the hallway. Dream almost skids past the open door with his speed. Dream finds Nightmare's gaze first, but he quickly turns his attention to Vestige laying on the table. Nightmare didn't quite realize what his brother was feeling from so far away. Now, in the same AU, Nightmare is shocked from the sheer force of what his brother is feeling.

"O-Oh my god!" Dream gasps, trying to get a hold of himself. He rubs at his eyes with the palms of his hands before facing Nightmare again. Ink appears in the hallway behind Dream with Sci. The Positive Guardian's emotions are all over the place, and Nightmare is surprised when it shifts to anger. "What the hell, Nightmare!? How could you do that?"

Dream's explosive anger and distress shocks Nightmare, and it takes him a moment to respond. "Vestige is mine, right? I have a right to take him if I want to."

"But why wouldn't you tell me you did want him?" Dream explodes, barely holding back tears. "Blue told me that you knew about Vestige now, but- but," Dream has to take a steadying breath. "I thought Vestige died, Nightmare! I thought he died while I was sleeping two feet away from him! Sci says he wouldn't leave dust behind. I thought it was all my fault......."

The room falls dead silent. Dream has been having a meltdown for the last hour because he thought his nephew died. The Guardian couldn't even bring himself to contact Ink. The Creator actually texted Dream first to tell him that Nightmare was at Sci's place with Vestige.

"I'm sorry," Nightmare says abruptly, breaking the silence.

"Huh?" Dream's eyes widen in surprise. He'd never expect an apology out of his brother. In fact, Dream can't remember the last time Nightmare wasn't scowling in anger or annoyance.

"I'm sorry," Nightmare says again, "For making you worry." His stance and face are cool and devoid of emotion, so unlike Nightmare's wrath in battle. Vestige had pulled on Nightmare's limb when Dream's loud voice startled him, and now cuddles with a good third of Nightmare's tendril. Vestige clings to his dad like he did with the rabbit toy. Watching his notoriously 'evil' brother comfort Vestige calms some of Dream's wild emotions.

"So, um, you're going to let me fix Vestige's soul?" Ink asks Nightmare awkwardly. He finally steps all the way into the room. Surprisingly, Ink's giant paint brush is nowhere to be seen.

Nightmare narrows his eyes at Ink, his light scowl returning. He looks away for a moment before pointing at Dream. "Stand in the corner next to Cross. Sci, stay in the doorway."

"Can I grab my notes first?" Sci asks quietly. With a nod from Nightmare, Sci grabs the notebook and a pen to continue taking notes on Vestige from the doorway. Dream complies after a moment of hesitation.

Nightmare turns his glare back on Ink. "If you hurt Vestige or try to damage my soul, Cross will cut Dream's legs off."

"W-What?"

"I will?"

Cross and Dream exchange an alarmed look, but then the former shrugs and summons his giant knife. Dream shrinks back a little with a nervous chuckle.

"That's fair," Ink says blandly. Dream quickly shoots the Creator with his own glare. "Wh-What I meant to say was that I won't mess up!" Ink corrects himself. He reaches into the pocket of his jacket and pulls out a small, regular sized paint brush. Ink pulls up a stool to the table and somehow contorts his legs to sit comfortably cross-legged.

Nightmare huffs in agitation, still calling himself a fool to present such a weakness. The solid weight hanging onto the end of his tentacle is the only reason Nightmare hasn't tried to imaple Ink by now. The Creator almost killed one of his boys, but at the same time, Ink is the only one who can save his other boy. Nightmare slowly cups his hand to his chest and draws out his soul. Unlike Vestige's, Nightmare's soul has a real firmness to it. He's adapted well to corrupted magic. As with Nightmare's real body, his soul appears to be covered in a dense liquid instead of made from it. When no harmful action is taken against him, Nightmare leans over and summons Vestige's soul. From the corner of Nightmare's eye, he can see Dream flinch at the soul's condition.

Ink does not react to it. Instead, he becomes unnervingly monotone while focusing. Ink studies Nightmare's soul for several moments before lifting his paintbrush. The bristles darken as Ink channels his magic through it. For a moment, the black paint looks exactly like the dark corruption. Vestige squirms a little at the uncomfortable feeling of Ink's brush tickling his soul, but Nightmare wraps his tentacle further around Vestige to hold him still. The room is once again awkwardly silent as Ink works. It'll take him a while to finish, and it makes Ink nervous to have Nightmare literally breathing down his neck.

Fiddling with the notebook, Sci's curiosity finally gets the best of him. He's never had the opportunity to study corrupted magic in person before. While Sci refuses to involve Vestige, there's nothing wrong with questioning Nightmare. "So, um, Nightmare?" Sci starts, catching the King of Negetivity's attention. "I'm trying to start a bit of a medical history for Vestige. Dream and Ink always seem to take me for a real doctor, so I figured that I'd give it a shot. Do you have any idea how so much corrupted magic will affect Vestige?"

"Why? Do you think he'll go on a murderous rampage in a few years?" Nightmare growls, annoyed by the question. He doesn't want to discuss this. Nightmare wasn't born with corrupted magic. He only gained it in his darkest moment. Nightmare's magic corruption happened almost instantly with the dark apples' influence on him, but any monster can be corrupted slowly. Those smaller examples are usually called 'hate'. The black tears leaking from Killer's eyes are an example. Corrupted magic occurs from a monster's repeated exposure to horrifically distressing circumstances. Their soul's lose HOPE and gain LOVE. A monster with even a small amount of corrupted magic is harder to hurt both physically and emotionally. It's a defense mechanism. Nightmare honestly has no clue how being born with such a thing will affect Vestige, and he doesn't want to discuss it with enemies all around.

"I-I didn't mean-" Sci stutters, getting caught off.

"Give me that notebook." Nightmare reaches out with one of his spare tentacles and snatches the notebook before Sci can protest. "Do you have a copy of this?" When Sci reluctantly shakes his head, Nightmare flips open the notebook and starts scanning the pages. He has no intention of giving it back.

Nightmare looks distracted, but Ink isn't fooled. He's still being closely watched. With each light stroke of the paintbrush, Vestige's soul becomes a little more stable. Ink eventually finds himself with no more holes to fill code with. Vestige's soul is still really soft and frail. It's stable, but only barely. Vestige will probably destabilize again in a few years if Ink leaves it like this. The soul won't take the growing magic strain. Ink is very aware of Nightmare's attention on him. What will Ink say if he actually can't fix this? Starting to panic, the Creator tries to think of any way that a soul can be stabilized. He clutches at his chest when a terrible idea comes to mind.

"Okay....." Ink sighs uneasily to himself. It's hard for him to accept what he's about to do. He speaks up louder to address everyone else. "I've copied as much of Nightmare's soul as I can. Vestige is stable for now."

"For now?" Nightmare repeats.

"If Vestige uses too much magic at once, or even if he just grows and gets stronger, his soul could destabilize again," Ink explains with a wince. "I don't know how to add more to his soul without hurting him." Souls are delicate. Ink won't risk putting anyone in unnecessary danger like that.

"Then this was all for nothing!?" Nightmare's anger flares up. He can't believe that after all this trouble, Vestige is still going to die. This helpless creature that Nightmare's known for less than a day is making him unbelievably angry and scared.

"Can't we do anything?" Dream pushes past Cross, who doesn't stop him, to step up next to his brother. Nightmare almost swipes him with a tentacle on instinct, but manages to keep it to a flinch.

"Yes. I can try one more thing." Ink meets Dream's eyes and slowly lays a hand on his own chest. Very few people actually know that Ink is soulless. If he does this now, in front of everyone, his secret will get out to the whole Multiverse. Dream's eyes widen in surprise. How can Ink summon his soul if he doesn't have one?

When Ink pulls his hand away, it takes everyone a moment to process what they are seeing. Six or Seven metallic rings rotate lazily around a central point. Each ring is made of a dark gold color with black engravings written in an incomprehensible language. The open interior of the bands house specks of glowing, white magic. With a start, Dream realizes that these white specks are the remainder of Ink's soul. The entire construct is slightly smaller than a tennis ball.

"I have no soul. I haven't had one for a very long time," Ink says quietly, "These bands exert pressure on the last minuscule pieces and keeps them from dispersing. They're the only reason I'm still alive." With his free arm, Ink grabs onto his sash. "I can't feel real emotions anymore, but these paint vials help me mimic it. My paint brushes control and direct magic since my soul can't."

"How is that even possible?" Sci gasp. He disregards Nightmare's earlier order and steps up to see Ink's soul up close. "No one can survive with so little soul matter! Not to mention the side effects......."

"Gods can't die by normal means. And as far side effects-" Ink starts to count on his fingers, "I have to synthesize fake emotions, I often fail to notice my body's basic needs until it's pointed out to me, I don't always recognize others' feelings, and my memory, well, that's the worst part." Ink has been avoiding anyone's eyes, but he now takes a deep breath and looks up at Nightmare. "Some day, sooner rather than later, I'm gonna forget how awful hurting Lust made me feel, and then I'm going to forget to be careful with my emotions."

"Is that why you tried to kill Horror?" Cross asks quietly.

"I never mean to! I don't want to kill anyone, but I continuously let myself get out of control. I'm a freak and a pain to deal with, but Dream is too kind of a person to let me deal with on my own." The Creator flashes Dream a shy and appreciative smile. "Creating someone else with a compromised soul is the worst thing I could ever do. If I copy one of the bands onto Vestige's soul, I think there should be enough pressure to keep it together."

Nightmare is still reeling over the fact that the Creator of AUs doesn't have a soul. Many claim Nightmare to be soulless when their precious protector has been incomplete all along. The rest of the Multiverse has no idea......

No one has anything to say at the moment, so Ink focuses back on Veatige's soul. He starts recreating a band using his own soul as reference. Nightmare is melting holes in the back of his head, so Ink puts an end to the uncomfortable silence. "Look, I don't care anymore if you spill my secret to the rest of the Multiverse. You might be doing me a favor, actually. No one will want my help when they're scared of me."

"We won't tell your secret," Cross pipes up instantly. Nightmare levels a glare at him, and Cross flinches before continuing. "Ink has exposed his biggest insecurity to his enemies in order to fix Vestige's soul. We owe it to him, Nightmare."

The King of Negativity stares at Cross for a long minute, but then looks away in acceptance. Cross is right. It's only fair. "Stop smiling. Your giddiness is nauseating," Nightmare spits over his shoulder at his brother. Dream flinches and tries to wipe the smile off of his face. He got very excited to see Nightmare do something nice.

"I won't say anything, either," Sci adds in.

Ink soon finishes the new metallic band around Vestige's soul. The writing on the side gleems in the light as it's set in place. Vestige had fallen asleep in Nightmare's grip after sitting still for so long, but Nightmare nudges him awake before picking Vestige up. The baby's eyes pop wide open as he looks around in curiosity. Vestige's body remains intact and doesn't drip anymore.

"He seems fine now," Nightmare mumbles softly to himself, overwhelmingly relieved. Dream can surely feel those emotions even though Nightmare's face is still cold. "I guess we're leaving then," Nightmare shrugs, "Bye." Deciding not to push his luck any further, Cross opens a portal back to the manor. He waits for Nightmare to step through first like any good guard.

"Wait, Nightmare," Dream speaks up suddenly, making his brother pause, "Could I- Can I visit Vestige? Just every once in a while?"

Nightmare doesn't turn to look back as he thinks. Dream is sure that he'll refuse, but Nightmare surprises Dream a moment later. "I'll think about it." Cross and Nightmare both then disappear through the portal with Vestige.

Ink stares at the spot where they once were. For that entire interaction, Nightmare didn't hit Ink once. The Creator smiles. Perhaps there's still hope for a better tomorrow; There's hope for a tomorrow where he doesn't have to fight anymore.