"Are you ready?" I looked to my eldest.

"I'm ready.." Killer nodded.

"If you're ordered to kill?"

"I'll do it..I can't mess up this time."

"I'll be right behind you."

"Right.."

I opened a portal, and we began another attack. I had started combat training for my boys, but Cross and Error were in a less intense training routine; perhaps they would be ready for my older boys' routine in about a year. Killer's punishment had occurred a week ago, and he was scarred from it; his soul wouldn't regain its previous form, but he hadn't had any lapses in emotions again. We would have to be careful of his soul, since it was now exposed for all to see..and possibly attack. I was determined to protect him, however, and I would. Horror and Dust had both been training for the days when they would join us, and it was..hectic, to say the least. Horror didn't have as much of a reaction as Dust did..Dust, when told that he would have had to kill again, locked himself in his room and cried for about a day..we eventually got him out, but..he would need some time. Today, Killer was going on his second trip with me, and if he hesitated this time, I feared the consequences that would come upon him. We were going to another easier-to-handle AU, and it would hopefully be a successful run. We attacked the citizens. 

Killer always liked to look on the bright side of things; when he became a Guardian, he was promised a title, and he had received it: Guardian of the Emotionless. He wasn't too fond of it, but he accepted it; a title was a title, after all! We weren't exactly sure what it meant yet, but we could ask the multiverse if we needed to. Killer was doing well with his attacks, but he still needed to improve; he wasn't that skilled. I had encouraged him not to use magic unless he needed to, since a child's magic levels weren't very high as compared to an adult's, and he would tire easily if he used too many attacks; the knife was preferable at this point. Some time into our attack, Killer gave the signal that he was ordered to kill someone, and after a second..he did it. A monster turned to dust, and Killer had..killed. After a while, we were ready to go home, and Killer wanted to leave immediately; he had been slightly covered in dust, and I knew from experience that dust was irritating. Once we reached home, Killer headed straight for his bedroom to get some clean clothes, and he was going to take a shower as soon as he got them. I, on the other hand, was soon greeted by my four other boys.

"Dad!" Error jumped on me. "Is Kills okay this time?"

"I'm not sure yet..Dust, would you mind helping me?"

"Um, sure, Dad." Dust agreed.

"Right, then. How about the rest of you go play? This might take a while."

"Okay, Dad!" Horror saluted. "Come on, I think there's some chocolate here, somewhere.."

"Chocolate!" Error and Cross jumped; they loved chocolate.

Once the trio of chocolate-eaters had left, I sat down on the couch and gestured for Dust to sit next to me, which he promptly did.

"So what do you need me for?" Dust asked.

"Well, I was thinking that you might be able to help Killer when he gets out of the shower." I explained.

"What do you mean?"

"..He killed someone today. Gaining LV is a bit traumatizing for children, sometimes.."

"Oh.." Dust understood.

"I believe I've neglected to ask this, but..what exactly is your LV stat?"

"Four.."

"I'm sorry.."

"It's okay. You want me to help him get through it without having to break down every day, right?"

"If you can, it would help tremendously." 

"Okay. I'm going to need to get some things, though."

"Do you need any help?"

Dust nodded in confirmation, writing a quick list and giving it to me.

"Um..why do you need seventeen blankets and fifty-two pillows?" I didn't understand.

"Uh, did I write that?" Dust looked at the list again. "Oh, my mistake. I meant twenty-seven blankets. I can get everything else. Can we bring everything into the lower living room?"

"Um..sure."

"Great!"

Dust then ran off, leaving me to collect the items on his list; I wondered why he needed such exact numbers. In any case, I went to the storage closet and counted out the exact amount of blankets Dust had requested before getting the pillows. I honestly had no clue what they were for, but Dust obviously had some sort of plan. When I reached the living room downstairs, Dust had a virtual mountain of stuffed animals..I had no clue what was going on. During the next ten minutes, I was ordered to hold things, place things, and even sit on things as Dust did..whatever he was doing. Horror, Cross, and Error were as confused as I was, apparently, and Dust's actions proved to be an enigma among us. When Dust heard the shower water stop, he sped up his work, and as soon as Killer entered the living room, he was also confused. A great portion of our living room was dominated by fluffy blankets and pillows, and stuffed animals were everywhere; honestly, it looked like a fluffy paradise. When Killer asked, Dust was more than happy to reveal what he had been doing.

"Um..what is this?" Killer tilted his skull.

"Dad said you gained LV." Dust replied. "So I made you a fluffy land to prevent mental breakdowns!"

"Wow..I wasn't going to have a mental breakdown, though.."

"Silly! The mental breakdowns only start when the nightmares start! You're probably fine until you go to sleep, but after that, you'll like fluffy land better!"

"..."

"Now, do you want to cuddle, or is fluffy land going to sit here?"

"I think I'll pass.."

"Your choice." Dust hugged a teddy bear close; it seemed as if he would benefit from 'fluffy land' just as much as Killer would, if what he had said was true, but I was more concerned about how he knew that..

"Have you actually had a mental breakdown?" I hoped he hadn't.

"A couple. I've mostly healed, but they sometimes sneak up on me."

"Okay.."

"Fluffy land helps."

 "I suppose we can keep it here for a while, if you think it'll help."

"Yay!" Dust lay down in the soft blankets.

The rest of the day was rather uneventful, but Dust had managed to persuade me to allow him to sleep in his fluffy land; he could be hard to say no to, at times. When bedtime hit, I sent the rest of my boys to their rooms; Killer didn't seem to be feeling bad at all, but he did only have two LV. I had a rather peaceful night, avoiding both the multiverse and any nightmares; that was rare. When I woke up, I decided to see if Killer had had a restful night; if what Dust had said was true, he wouldn't have been very happy. I made my way to his room, finding it..empty. Killer got up early, but not that early..I wondered where he was. I decided to see how the rest of my boys were doing. Horror's room was..also empty? I was a bit worried, at this point. Cross's room was vacant, as well, and Error's was in just the same condition. Had they gotten up earlier than usual? I hoped nothing had happened to them; the multiverse couldn't have taken them away from me..I hadn't done anything wrong! I looked in the kitchen, finding no trace; where were my boys? 

I decided to check the living room, finding..all of my boys cuddled together in 'fluffy land'; okay, that was adorable. From the looks of it, my boys were comfortable; I decided to allow them to sleep while I prepared breakfast. As I cooked some bacon and eggs, I wondered if the boys would want to go to a park today; I couldn't remember the last time they had gotten out - except for Killer, but that was different. When I finished making breakfast, I set the table and decided to see if my boys were ready to wake up. They looked rather comfortable in their little fluffy land, but they were going to have to get up at some point. Horror woke up first, sensing the smell of bacon.

"Morning." He whispered. 

"Good morning, Horror." I returned. "Why is everyone sleeping here?"

"..Bad dreams."

"I see..are you all right?"

"I'm fine."

"What about Killer?"

"He..didn't do too well."

"Okay. You can get started with breakfast; I'll wake the others." 

"Thanks, Dad."

Horror ran off to the kitchen, ready to eat his breakfast, and I sat down next to Killer, hoping that he wouldn't be startled as I woke him up. I attempted to wake him in the most soothing manner I could muster, and he eventually started to stir.

"Mm..Dad?" Killer groaned. "What..time is it?"

"Breakfast time." I answered.

"Oh.."

"I heard you had a nightmare last night?"

"Yeah..Dust was right..fluffy land helps."

"That's good to hear. Would you like some breakfast?"

"Sure.." Killer rubbed his eyesockets.

"All right, Horror's already there."

"Thanks, Dad."

I decided to wake up the rest of my boys, starting with Error; it was unfortunate that I had to disturb his rest.

"Error, it's morning." I rubbed his skull softly.

"Nuh-uh.." Error yawned. "Night.."

"There's some chocolate ice cream for later if you eat all your breakfast."

"Good morning!" Error was definitely awake.

"Chocolate?" Cross woke as well.

"After breakfast." I reminded.

"Erry, our time has come!" Cross took Error's hand and led him to the kitchen.

Last on my list was Dust. I sat next to the sleeping child, rubbing his skull as I had done with Error. He smiled a bit, savoring the moment; Dust liked having his skull rubbed.

"Dust, it's time to wake up." I softly alerted.

"Never.." Dust held a teddy bear close.

"Fluffy land will be here after breakfast."

"Mm..fine.." Dust opened his eyesockets slowly.

"Breakfast."

I picked up my middle child, and he showed no resistance; he seemed more tired than usual..I hoped he hadn't had a bad dream. When we reached the kitchen, I set him in his chair, and he started eating his breakfast. I took my seat last. As Horror grabbed his second plate, I decided to mention the night.

"How did all of you manage to end up in fluffy land?" I wondered. 

"Bad dream." Killer replied. 

"Same." Horror shrugged.

"It really is comfortable." Cross admitted. 

"Can we keep it?" Error fed a piece of bacon to Flapjack.

"Maybe not where it is currently, but I'm sure we can find a different place that will work just as well." I hummed.

"Fluffy land is surprisingly useful." Killer mentioned. "I didn't have any bad dreams after I slept there."

"That's interesting. Did all of you sleep well?"

"Perfectly!" Error proclaimed. 

"I had a peaceful rest." Cross smiled.

"I slept well." Horror said.

"Yep." Killer nodded.

"And Dust?" I noticed my middle child drifting off.

"Fine.." Dust yawned.

"I think you need more sleep."

"I do..too.." Dust tilted his skull forward sleepily; he must have had a rough night..

"Bad dream?"

"No.."

"What happened?"

"Everyone else..bad dreams..helped.."

"How late did you stay up?"

"Don't know.." 

"You may go back to bed, if you wish." 

"Thanks, Dad.." 

Dust promptly left the kitchen to go to the living room, where fluffy land would have led him to a pleasant rest. For the rest of the day, I watched my boys carefully. Killer didn't seem too damaged by the fact that he had gained LV, but I would have had to watch him closely..I didn't want something to happen when I wasn't ready for it. I hoped that Killer wouldn't have had to kill anyone else for a while..the multiverse was only testing him the first time, and he had passed the test.

Now we just had to stay strong.

~~~chapter end woot~~~

Killer bean kill ;-;

Thanks for reading my deadly writing!

Bye!