Oooh y'all're gonna l o v e this chapter.
I think my writing hit a growth spurt-

P.S., this chapter is actually really important. It dives deeper into Dust's backstory and his relationship with Pap, or his Papyrus, and also foreshadows a lot of future events and explanations.
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...Why do I do these things to myself?

Blue had thought that talking to Dream was a good idea, he had planned out everything he would say, ("Hey, are you alright? If you're in a bad mood, the Magnificent Swap will help you in any way he can!"), but now, as he and his boyfriend Dust were walking to Dream's room, Swap started to feel uncertain. He was second guessing himself and wondering if he should just turn back. But no, he had agreed to do this, so he would just have to carry on and get it over with!

...But, even so, where is this uneasiness coming from?

He had felt it a few steps ago, and now it was getting stronger. Swap knew that Dream and Nightmare both left certain auras they had gotten from their parent, Dream giving off positivity and Nightmare negativity. But the aura coming directly from Dream's room was not positive or negative. It felt... wrong. Blue couldn't put his finger on it, but whatever it was, it wasn't right. What the hell was going on in there?

Swap bit his lip. Had he really done something wrong? Was he going too far with the prank, and made Dream angry? He couldn't be angry at him, he's one of his best friends! Is he really that stressed? Maybe this was a bad idea...

Just as Swap opened his mouth, however, Dust slipped his hand into his, gripping it tight. The gesture sent a tingle down Swap's spine, and he immediately felt better. Maybe Dream is feeling down. If he is, then they just gotta cheer him up! Yeah! That's right!

They stopped at Dream's door. The uneasiness was off the charts, now. Dust must have noticed the expression on Swap's face, because he gave his hand a last tight squeeze and a reassuring smile, mouthing the words, "Don't worry." Swap smiled in return. I can do this, Swap thought.

He opened the door.

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Dust had to admit, he wasn't nervous at all.

Now, don't get him wrong, Dream's a great guy, he's had some conversations with him before and hung out with him a couple of times, too (of course, they were with Blue though; he and Dream wouldn't be friends without him). He appreciates Dream and his brotherly nature. He also somewhat reminds him of his brother...

No, don't think about that. Now's not the time, Dust thought, shaking his head. He looked over at his partner and saw the nervousness in his eyes. He gave his hand a tight squeeze, mouthing "Don't worry." Swap smiled back, and Dust felt butterflies in his stomach as he turned away, blushing. His smile is always so adorable...

He didn't even notice Swap turning the knob and pushing the door open. When he did, though, he looked into the Dream's room. He gasped.

Nightmare was on Dream's bed, chin rest on his knees and his arms across his chest holding himself tightly. Dust looked closer. Was he in... pain?

"Hey, Nightmare." Nightmare flinched and turned to the door. He looked shocked, as if he didn't want any unplanned visitors.

"O-Oh, hey guys," Nightmare said, voice shaking slightly. He kept switching back and forth between smiling and a neutral expression. Dust looked at him weirdly.

"Uhh... you alright?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

Nightmare laughed awkwardly. "No, no, I'm- ...I'm fine, don't worry about it." Nightmare's eyes switched back and forth, scrambling for a change of topic. "What are you guys doing here?"

Dust shook his head, sighing. "We're here to look for Dream. D'you know where he is?" Nightmare shook his head. "Alright, uhh... Thanks anyway."

Before Dust could turn to leave, Nightmare stopped them. "Wait." Dust turned around. Nightmare had stood up. "What do you need him for?"

Dust shook his head again. "It doesn't matter. Cya." He said, with a hint of forcefulness in his voice. Nightmare furrowed his eyebrow. "Is this about Dream?"

Dust turned around, surprised at how spot-on Nightmare was. Was he gonna defend his brother?

"Look, Dream didn't mean any harm to Swap or whatever, so don't go coming after him like he did. Now scram," Nightmare said. Dust blinked for a second, then slowly smiled. "And what if I don't?" He threatened. He was started to boil for an unknown reason.

"You know Dream. He's good. He didn't mean anything." Nightmare took a step towards Dust and Swap. Swap flinched, but Dust stood his ground. "Did he now?" He knew he was just teasing him. He knows that Dream is fine. He's fine.

Dust's fingers twitched.

"Dust, c'mon, I won't let you talk to Dream, " Dust sensed a slight stutter in Nightmare's voice. He was afraid. "He can't talk right now."

"And why can't he? What, did he lose his voice? From yelling at Blue?" ...Where did he get that from? Dream never yelled, did he?

Nightmare looked taken aback, apparently thinking the same thing. "What the hell do you mean?!" Dust's hands slowly curled into fists. "No one is messing up my Baby Blue, Nightmare, I swear to that. I may not deserve to keep him; I may not deserve to prance around this fucking place carefree as if nothing was wrong like him, but I'll least pretend I am. You're not ruining him. You're not. You're not!"

Nightmare flinched. "How- What-?" Even Dust was confused now. Why was he acting like this? Why was he- Oh. Oh... Oh no.

Nightmare suddenly realized. Whether it was from the slightly shaking fists or the low growl Dust was emitting. Nightmare looked frightened for a split second and took a step back. He tried to give a reassuring smile, but instead he gave a nervous stutter, and Dust could sense it. "D-Dust, it's okay, calm down, Swap is fine, he isn't hurt or anything-"

KILL HIM. KILL HIM!

Nightmare looked at Swap for support, but Swap was just staring at Dust. He had never seen his boyfriend like this before. What was happening? Did he do something?

Swap had to take his hand out of Dust's, for he was clenching his fists so tight it hurt to hold on anymore. And Swap could swear he saw a small glow in his eyes...

Swap finally came to his senses and grabbed Dust's shoulders, shaking them a little. "Dust! Dust, hey, what's happening? Dust?!" Swap shook him harder. "Dust I don't-" Swap heard Dust's uneven breaths and softened. He had to stay calm.

KILL HIM.

"Hey, Dust?"

"Don't worry! Everything will be just fine! I know it might seem bad now, but just trust me! You trust me, right?"

...Dust looked down at Blue and stared into his eyes, his expression softening, and for a moment, Blue thought he had gotten to him...

You see that, Dust? They're all like me... They all are...

Dust threw Blue off of him and swiftly kicked him into the wall. Swap let out a cry of pain as he fell over on the floor. His vision flickered and blacked out.

Nightmare had no time to react as Dust turned from Blue and ran at full speed at him. He grabbed the neck of his pitch black hoodie and rammed him against the wall harshly, and Nightmare swore he could hear his spine crack.

Nightmare dared himself to look into the eyes of his friend. There was no expression in those eyes. He thought he could see a battle inside of them until he felt a hand close in around his throat. Nightmare gagged and gasped for air as it tightened ever so slowly...

Nightmare heard the door slam open and a frenzy of clustered voices. One of them was calling his name.

He felt himself drop to the floor, not too unlike that of a rag doll. Desperately, Nightmare tried to keep his eyes open. But as he felt them flutter, he knew it was hopeless.

Nightmare closed his eyes.

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Dust...

Dust...

Dust!!!

Swap shot his eyelids open. Dream was kneeling in front of him, mouthing muted words to him, worry etched across his face. What he was saying, he couldn't tell. There was a ringing in his ears, not unlike a fire alarm, and it was getting louder...

"BLUE! Hey, Blue, c'mon, get up, please!"

Swap blinked. His eyelids felt slightly heavy, but he shook it off for his friend. "D...Dream?" He asked groggily. Dream gave a bright smile. "There you are..." Swap smiled back. Nothing mattered more than a smile.

Swap looked around. He seemed to be in Nightmare's bedroom. It was big, plum-painted walls and a canopy bed with purple veils on either side. The comforter was black, and the nightstands were also purple. The desk beside him was purple. Basically, Nightmare really liked purple.

"We're so glad you're back; Nightmare is resting in my bed, but we're sure he'll be fine! Ink is caring for him right now, and while I'm a little skeptical at his nursing knowledge, I trust him." Swap blinked a second time. "Patched up? Why is he being patched up?" Dream tilted his head. "Do..." Dream suddenly gave a look of shock. "Do you really not remember?"

Blue shook his head. He didn't understand, did Nightmare hit his head or something? And hens resting in... Wait, is this Dream's house?!

"Dream, why am I in your house?" Swap asked. Dream looked worried. "S... Swap, what do you remember?" Swap knew that Dream was serious if he was calling him by his real name and not by his nickname. Swap looked down at his hands. "I... I remember..."

Come on, the Magnificent Swap simply cannot be deterred by this... this! Whatever this is! While memory serves to not be a special ability of I, the Magnificent Swap, I simply cannot... wait...

Slowly, memories started falling into place. It wasn't as if it was flowing back in a nice stream, but as if they were being specifically placed by an eye dropper. In other words, extremely slowly.

Swap realized Dream was still waiting for an answer, and quickly went to answering when he realized he forgot what he had asked.

"U-Um... Come again?"

Dream repeated the question. "What do you last remember?"

"Oh! Oh, yes, um... I-I remember Nightmare and Dust... I remember a glow... and I remember yellow."

Dream looked at something behind Blue. "Gold shade?" He asked. Swap nodded. Dream suddenly looked... angry. Almost furious. "So that's what happened," he murmured under his breath. Swap suddenly grew concerned. "Dream, what's going on-?"

"Don't worry, I'll go now. You rest here, I'll come back for you. Ink will be here to check on you in a moment," he assured him. Swap blankly nodded and watched as Dream shut the door.

Swap shook his head. What was going on? Did something happen? All he remembers is...

Swap groaned. This headache was unbearable, and it was almost painful waiting for the memories to come back to him.

Maybe I'll just rest, that's what Dream told me to do anyways, Swap thought. He got up from his place on the floor against the wall and walked over to Nightmare's bed, not really caring about anything right now, however uncharacteristic of him it was.

Thinking of Dream, Swap closed his eyes.

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Nightmare opened his eyes.

He looked around. He was still in Dream's bright golden room. There was a pale yellow desk next to a window on the right and a cute dresser on the left. Nightmare shifted uncomfortably. He could feel something extremely cold on his burning throat. He also still felt a bit dizzy.

"Hey there, sleepy-head!" Ink shouted in Nightmare's face, blocking his whole vision of the room. Nightmare shrunk back a bit. Ink laughed and moved away toward the nightstand. Nightmare looked over to see a bowl of water and a towel, along with an ice pack and and pain medicine. Ink saw Nightmare looking and giggled. "It's for your strangulation, silly!" He said casually.

Yeah... That's right, I was choked by Dust, Nightmare thought. He read somewhere about the effects of strangulation and was lucky not to get any kind of brain damage.

"Where's Dust?" Nightmare's throat hurt as he choked the words out. He widened his eyes at the scratchy and nasally voice that came out. Ink blinked at him, then snorted.

"Pffft! Yeah, that's a common effect for strangulation. You got a little cut here and there, but don't worry! I've got some fresh ice on you."

Nightmare craned his neck. Indeed, there was ice on his throat, right on top of a similar towel like the one on the nightstand.

Nightmare suddenly remembered that Ink had dodged his question.

"I'm gonna put some jelly on it soon, so don't-"

"Where's Dust?"

Ink's expression darkened. "You know, this is one of those times where I wish I could suddenly forget," he said. Nightmare raised an eyebrow. Ink tried to avoid his eyes and pretended to focus on the bowl of water, swirling his finger around it. Nightmare forced Ink under his gaze, for it hurt to make any sound come out, and Ink sighed and gave in.

"Well... I don't know his exact location, but I heard he's come back from his condition. He might be with Blue; I heard he got amnesia, so he's probably hoping he'll forget what happened," Ink said. Nightmare suddenly felt bad. I mean, sure, he did slam him against a wall and choke him, but it wasn't his fault. Well, technically his fault. He was like a glass full of water. He wouldn't metaphorically spill over; he would crack all at once at explode into pieces everywhere, and that's the nicest way to put it. Dust may have never talked about it, but Nightmare could guess simply from how Dust avoided it. It's how his parent's died. And how...

"I have to put the jelly on now." Ink said, interrupting Nightmare's thoughts.

---Time Skip---

After Ink had applied to petroleum jelly on Nightmare's cuts, he (very forcefully) made him rest a little longer before he could stand on his own. Dream came by and talked to Ink a little outside before coming inside and fussing over Nightmare. And no matter how many times Nightmare said that he was alright and that Ink was a good nurse, Dream kept worriedly asking if Ink knew what he was doing, and Ink kept responding with, "Did Dust know what he was doing?", which would inevitably shut Dream up.

After a while, Ink swapped spots with Dream by the bed. He told him that he was gonna leave the room to go look for someone and dragged Dream along with him, despite Dream's constant protests to stay longer. The door shut loudly and Nightmare let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He was getting so much attention that he didn't necessarily like, but all the same appreciated. He shut his eyes. He wondered how Swap was doing, but he couldn't worry about that now.

Someone just quietly creaked the door open.

They seemed to hesitate for a moment, for Nightmare couldn't hear footsteps. Then, he heard a sigh, the the shuffling of shoes against carpet until they stopped right beside him.

Nightmare pretended to sleep as he heard another deep sigh emit from the user's mouth. He recognized the voice that also came out.

"Um... Ink's been treating you, right?"
"Sorry, of course he has. I just saw him walk out with Dream."
"So... You're alright? I... hope I didn't hurt you too much."

There was another shuffling of feet, and Nightmare guessed that Dust was squirming in his place, thinking of what to say next.

"Look, I know you know about my... condition... a-and I'm sorry for that... but I came to talk to you because..."

There was a pause before Dust spoke again.

"I can't face Blu- Swap after all do that. He hates me. He gonna be confused an angry and-" Dust sighed. "I just... don't wanna add fuel to the fire, okay?"

"So uh... Could you help me? ...No-no, that sounds really stupid... Could you- gah, who am I kidding?"

Nightmare heard Dust start to walk towards the door, mumbling something under his breath. He could hear the doorknob jiggle slightly, but before Dust opened the door, he said, "I thought that talking to a dead Nightmare would help..."

The door shut.
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...

*sobs while hugging a Nightmare, Dust, Swap, Ink, and Dream plushie*

This is probably by-far the longest chapter I've written in here so far, I'm proud. :)))

I hope you enjoyed it, because I said, it's an important chapter. I included a lot of backstory and personality and conflict here, I'm impressed with myself.

Thank you for reading!

~Jazz