Chapter Warnings:

Raids and battles

Minor/insignificant character death

Violence, (sort of) in perspective grapple between two characters

Chapter Five Start

Nightmare.. was frustrated, to say the least. It had been weeks since he first noticed what was now their unofficial stalker, and as he suspected, their visits were a recurring event. From raids, to battles, and even just lower-priority meetings, he would hear a little buzz of static and the same little square of white would show up somewhere in the background. He'd never gotten a chance to get close, or get more than a glimpse once the observer noticed the attention they were drawing.

The occurrence was undeniably sporadic. More than once hed sent Dust ahead to remain on the lookout for their onlooker, only to see a lack of mysterious multidimensional windows anywhere nearby. They'd never managed to find out much more, despite their best efforts. Dust's surveillance had revealed their viewer had black bones predominantly, but had a red interior, oddly enough. They also seemed to have disproportionate eyelights, but not much else was noticeable due to distance and the portal creating an odd effect.

The others of Nightmare's group had, inevitably, noticed this, and were informed of the current situation when they had brought it up. Horror and Cross had been a little worried at the news, but Killer had laughed and made a dramatic rendition of 'a highschool girl finding out she has a secret admirer'. Dust had played along too, like a friend at a sleepover, and it had lifted all their spirits enough to make them laugh. Nightmare wondered if their spectator had been there to see it.

He set aside what little notes he had on that enigma, and set out for the living room. They'd be having another raid today, and he knew his brothers little group would show up at some point to try and stop them. The gang were ready in the living room, and Nightmare opened a portal to their target, a smaller copy of Swapfell.

Nightmare's questing tendrils curled around the portals outer rim to hold it open, and the group stepped through and started on their path to a nearby store. The townsfolk of Swapfell, although fierce, retreated from their path, sensing the LV twined around their group. The doors little jingle sounded feeble in wake of their entry, and both the stores attendants wisely ducked under the counter.

The group gathered what supplies they may need, fabric for Cross, kitchenware for Horror, general healing and food items, and so on and so forth. Overall they weren't loud, but there was still occasional chatter at gag items or stupid advertisements. Nightmare could see the streets growing emptier as word of the group spread, but what he wasnt sure of was whether this timeline was in contact with the 'beloved' Star Sans group.

Nightmare called to the group, "Boys, wrap it up. Were heading back."

Killer whined a little, "Aw, so soon? C'mon Boss, can't we have a little fun first?" Dust and Horror perked up at the prospect, and Nightmare leveled a sigh.

"Fine, fine, we can get rid of this one. The creators going to show up though, so keep an eye out." He wasn't really looking forward to having to deal with his brother so soon, but he knew the others were going to get restless sooner or later.

The murder trio lit up, and Killer continued, "Just means more fun for the rest of us!" He slung his arms around Horror and Dust, the taller skeleton having to crouch a little.

Given the go ahead, the group set out on their hunt of sorts. Killer and Dust headed outside to pick off citizens still in the streets, and Horror prowled towards the counter, cleaver in hand. He yanked the two employees out from underneath the counter, dusting them before they could even utter a cry. An attack clattered to the ground, the employees had been smart but not fast enough.

Nightmare headed outside after Horror, Cross decidedly staying near for lookout reasons. He usually wasn't up for these sorts of things anyway, leaning more towards stealth and recon assignments.

He could see the other three were making good progress in purging life in the area, and only once they were a good amount done did he start his corruption. He knew it would only be a few minutes before Dream and Ink were alerted, and his crew were to keep on their current tasks until any sign of their forces were to show.

Negativity flowed off of Nightmare's frame, midnight seeping into the ground below, coiling tightly around the core of the world. His eyelight sparked the moment the worlds positivity gave, his darkness quickly filtering into what was left. His brother would be here any moment now, the extinguished light undoubtedly striking to the little guardian.

Right on queue, a portal opened in the foreground, the brighter trio moving through to assess the situation. Killer and Cross were the first to respond, the quicker twosome dashing forward to divert the creator and the positive ones attention. Blue's focus was stolen away by Dust and Horror only a few moments later, all of them diverting attention away from Nights.

Nightmare closed his eye and anchored himself further with his tentacles, seeking footholds using despair and discord scattered throughout the world. Negativity consumed the world further, stronger waves lapping at the extremities of the Underground, the rising tide eager to pull all into the depths.

Nightmare could see the tall spires of New Home sinking in the distance, the upper class enveloped with the rest of their fallen kingdom. Hotland and Waterfall would be soon to follow, he knew. Marble and jade borderline with gold, gilded shine swallowed in eternal night... He could picture the palace's fall.

Anguish pulled him from the picture, the subtleties of it unfamiliar, and he turned to see the source. The feeling was there and gone on Dream's face, materializing and vanishing before Nightmare could truly taste it. He couldn't help but frown at the state of the others aura, the ambiance pulled tight to the guardian's tense frame. Killer was trying to keep Dream distracted, attacking from different sides and pulling his attention in different directions, but it seemed the strategy still had some loopholes.

Despite the sudden attack upon arriving, the older guardian had focused enough to get an understanding of the situation in those moments. Nightmare turned before he could even see Dreams eyelights set. He wasn't going to let the scene distract him, no matter how interesting the other guardian's falters were.

He grabbed ahold of the anchors he had in the world, using the attachments to pull on the remaining land. He needed to finish this up, even if it wasn't going to be pretty. Dense lashings shot out from the sea consuming the walls and lower levels, the lengths stretching overhead onto buildings like thick cables. His hand turning shaky, Nightmare grit his teeth in a low growl at the sudden, artificial flare of positivity behind him.

Distracted by his task and the sudden, blinding aura, Nightmare was struck by an arrow in the right scapula. Pain blossoming in the area, he almost didn't catch the second arrow heading for his left side. The arrow pulsed a weak blue before he shattered it in his palm, and he turned to catch the positive guardian's gaze.

"Pulling that trick again, are we?" Nightmare's tentacles lashed in rising agitation, the others overextended aura only serving to worsen his mood.

Dream flared his aura further, seemingly ignoring Nightmares upset. "Well how else should I get your attention? Last time I tried to tap you on the shoulder you punted me into a tree." The positivity beacon's smile was shaky at best, but still he pushed positivity outwards.

Nightmare snarled, "You're looking at a repeat of the incident if you don't stop harassing me with your aura!" The ground behind him groaned ominously.

Dream called out, "You haven't faced me in a while yourself, tossing me around doesnt count!" Another swell of positivity was the breaking point.

Vision hazing in his anger, Nightmare hardly noticed when the ground behind him split with a deafening crack, stone thrust upwards to form an impromptu wall. Negativity seeped from the cracks, and Dream's eyes widened. He startled into a sprint before Nightmare could slam into him directly, but swerved into the surrounding pine forest.

Weaving through trunks and low hanging branches, Dream managed to twist out of his range every time he tried to grab for him. It was only a matter of time before they broke through the treeline into a clearing, the snow untouched. Dream was quick to grasp onto branches of the surrounding trees, pulling himself upward just as fast. Had Nightmare's head been clearer, he may have found himself a touch impressed with Dream's improvement. He wasn't nearly so quick in their youth.

As it was, Nightmare's expression twisted into a scowl. His tendrils struck at branches like a whip, determined to bring the positive guardian to him. Tree limbs fell and broke the snow around the base of the trees with a thunderous snap, rustling loud in the space. Still, Dream evaded.

Their tumultuous game of tag continued for a time, Nightmare's frustration growing in time with Dream's tire. Finally, one of Nightmare's tentacles snagged Dream's ankle, and the other skeleton came crashing to the ground in a moment of indescribable satisfaction. A flare of blue from Nightmare's eye socket, and he was on the other in an instant, snow leaping airborne in their scuffle.

This close, Nightmare could see the sweat glistening on the others skull, and knew this fight wouldn't be much longer. They both were too tired. Their arms met in a desperate grapple, both fighting to gain the upper hand. Dream's fist met with his ribs, wet snapping rippling in the space between them, but Nightmare only grew angrier. A tentacle tightened its hold on Dream's right arm, his ulna creaking with a dull whine before it snapped in its iron grip.

Dream drew in a gasping breath at the sharp pain, adrenaline pushing him to drive his fist into Nightmare's side. The latter muffled a cough before he reared his skull back and crashed it into Dream's with a crack, effectively knocking the other out. Panting, he flopped over face down next to the other guardian.

With a dull groan, Nightmare pulled himself into a sitting position before the snow could hurt his front too much, adrenaline wearing off quicker than he expected. His entire body ached, his magic burning at the contact with the snow, and his reformation was struggling. He felt over the large dent and resulting cracks in his skull, obviously that last move wasn't the smartest. Nightmare shuffled his way over to Dream, ignoring the sensation of rough concrete on his lower legs, and checked him over roughly.

He could see his skull looked alright, at least, the bone strong enough to hold up to the blunt force. Other than his snapped ulna, the only obvious injuries were scrapes and several larger cuts from Killer, so overall not too bad. Nightmare began seeking out large concentrations of magic and the familiar auras he knew of. Meanwhile, he began brushing pieces of bark, leaves, twigs, and even small rocks off of Dream almost absentmindedly.

Nightmare hauled himself to his feet, taking a few moments to make sure he was stable before huffing a sigh. He eyed the unconscious guardian in slight frustration, getting Dream situated would be a struggle he was not looking forward to. After several long minutes of adjusting the skeleton in a way that would not sabotage his precarious ribs, he felt okay enough to get moving. Nightmare began trudging his way through the snow, grimacing at the sting. It was going to be a long walk.

When he finally broke through the treeline, Nightmare could immediately see Killer and Cross still going at it with Ink and Blue. Dust was a little dizzy, apparently low on magic, and was also attempting to help pull Horror out of a tree. As he got closer to the latter two, he could also see and hear Dust mumbling to somewhere over his shoulder.

Eyelight fuzzing a little, Nightmare shuffled over to Dust while hefting Dream further up. He was still unconscious, and Nightmare had ended up having to turn him a little so he could support Dream on his shoulder. A wandering tentacle grabbed hold of Horror and helped finally pull him out of the tree, the taller skeleton landing in the snow nearby before getting up.

Dust was the first to speak, "Thanks for the help Boss- Oh uh, whyre you carrying Dream..?" Dust had only noticed the guardian halfway through his sentence.

Horror contributed, "We gonna kidnap him this time?"

Nightmare's response was gruff. His ribs felt like they were on fire after having to walk so far, his magic stretched too thin for teleporting. "No, just delivering my idiot brother so we can finally leave." He still needed to finish corrupting the world.

"Yeah, Blue managed to open up a portal and get some of the remaining monsters out. Happened after he and Ink did some combo to knock me and Dust out of commission."

"Alright, let me just get him over to Ink, then I'll finish up here and we can be on our way." Nightmare held up Dream a little for emphasis before turning toward the walking paint palette.

There was a muffled gasp from Horror before Nightmare felt Dust tug on his sleeve a little. He turned, "What is it?"

Horror looked away a little awkwardly, but Dust continued "Boss, you've got a little somethin' on your shoulder. Right scapula, big blue arrow stickin' outta you?" Nightmare could only sigh, giving his less-than-present skeleton passenger the side eye.

He pulled the arrow out with a hiss, crushing the arrow as it pulsed weakly. That explains why his back pain felt worse than usual, among other things. He'd assumed snow had fallen on him.

Sighing for the nth time, Nightmare picked up his slow shuffle towards the artist and his blue tag-along. Killer and Cross backed up a little when they noticed him, Ink and Blue turning his way too just in time for Nightmare to shove Dream into Ink's hold. Ink hurried to steady him before turning to look up at the darker counterpart.

"Just take him and get out of here, I still have to corrupt what's left of it even if the people are gone." Nightmare barely waited for a response before he started walking away. Killer exchanged a shrug and a look with the rest of them before hurrying after Nightmare. He'd gotten a decent heading despite the obvious injuries.

"Wait wait, Boss you sure you don't want to slow down a minute? Your skull isn't looking too good, just take a break for a minute. We do have some of the healing food 'n supplies with us." Killer was worried, he didn't want Nightmare to hurt himself further if he could just take a moment.

A low grumble was all he really got in response, the other set on working and getting this done. Nightmare began to focus again, raising his control hand to get a better grasp, magic in the area powering up further with a resounding hum.

Killer would have to try a different approach, "Wait, Nightmare what if stalker guy sees any 'o this? This would be a pretty good time for an ambush, we're a little off our game right now-" Nightmare was cut off before he could respond.

"Wait, someone's interested in you guys? Wait who is it? You have to tell me, who is it? No one's ever interested in your group, we haven't had anything exciting happen in forever-" Ink popped up in front of Nightmare from out of nowhere, startling the negative king, who had to stifle a gasp.

Nightmare grumbled and shoved Ink out of his personal space bubble, irritated with his phenomenal ability for jumpscares. Even Nightmare and Dream had difficulty sensing him, the transparency of his fake emotions and lack of a soul letting him blend into the auras around him effortlessly. He was hard to miss otherwise though, his presence always loud and clear in both the visual and auditory sense.

Killer did not have the same restraint, eager to gossip even with his enemy. "Oh, I know right? Its just so confusing, no one ever willingly seeks us out on their own. We hardly even know anything about them too, they just open up windows and the place is all white-!"

Nightmare went to facepalm before he remembered the pulsing wound on his skull. Ugh. He settled for a groan, both at Killers lack of restraint and at the pointlessness of it all. There was no way scatterbrained Ink would know anything, he didnt even remember to wear shoes. Nightmare just wanted to get out of here and get done with the corruption.

"Oh wait, I think I remember who you're talking about!" Ink's cheerful statement was the perfect accompaniment to Nightmare's astonished look. The artist smiled as he grabbed at his scarf to scan through the notes.

Nightmare's jaw practically fell open, but only in that mildly sarcastic Nightmare sort of way. Definitely a rare occurrence, just like Ink remembering something, "Oh yeah, here it is. Black bones, blue lines on his face, right? His name's-"

Aaaand cliffhanger ;)

Words: 2,914

Pages on Docs: 6