31 - Unexpected



No, no, no. The question wasn't how he got here. The question was why he came here, and possibly more important than that, what were we going to do with him? We could make up as many reasons as we wanted concerning the way he got here, but the fact remained that he was here, and we had to do something about it.


It started out as a normal night, with Killer running me and Cross around the house with his lightning-fast speed that even Cross had a tough time catching up with. I had been with Nightmare's gang for three years and ten months when the incident occurred, and it seemed like nothing new was happening; how wrong I was! Killer zoomed us through the house, not missing a step and not tripping over anything: he even successfully dodged Nightmare when he was turning a corner with a book in his hand; this was Killer's favorite game (other than backgammon and AU chase, of course), and he was a master at it. He ran us up and down the corridors, with Paps and Chara having already given up following us. Killer even managed to be graceful when running up and down flights of stairs, which Cross and I really appreciated, since we didn't want to be crushed to bits. We actually enjoyed this game, but we probably wouldn't have been telling Killer that, or he'd have wanted to play it all the time. We were only halfway through the game when Killer came to a sudden stop in front of the living room, obviously in shock at something. When Cross and I looked out from behind him, there was a moment of silence.


Nightmare's brother Dream was lying on the living room floor, passed out.


Killer wasted no time, heading straight for the string that was connected to the bells that lined the halls and pulling it, forcing a ring to permeate through the house. Before a minute had been allowed to pass, Nightmare was seen coming down the hall. He didn't see his brother when he reached us.


"What's the problem?" He asked. 


"I dunno how to explain this, so just take a look!" Killer gestured towards the passed out skeleton.


Nightmare's eyelight widened, showing the shock he was in, but we also knew that his mind was working; that didn't mean we waited for him, though.


"What are we gonna do?!" Killer was worried, and quite possibly having an episode.


"We should think about this logically." Nightmare had made up his mind. "He can't survive the amount of negativity surging through our house; we need somewhere that has positivity."


"What about Killer's emotion room?" I suggested. "You can create artificial positivity there, right?"


"Good thinking, Dust. We need to take him there immediately."


"C-come on, I'll g-get his left arm." Cross volunteered.


"Yes, we need to hurry." 


We lifted the unconscious skeleton up off the ground and carried him to Killer's emotion room, where he would often go to stabilize his erratic emotional instability. It actually looked like another normal bedroom, except for the fact that it had a panel on the wall which could fill the room with different emotional feelings; I didn't fully understand it, but Nightmare made it himself, which was impressive. Nightmare had also been working on an addition to Killer's communicator that would produce the same effect, but he could take it with him instead of having to sit in an isolated room, waiting for his emotions to return to a relative normal; I believed he was almost finished with it, if not already done. We set Nightmare's brother on the bed in the corner then watched as Nightmare adjusted some settings on the panel. Before long, a calm feeling of positivity flooded the room, but Nightmare could stand this; it was his magic, after all.


"So what do we do when he wakes up?" Killer wondered. 


"I have no idea." Nightmare admitted. 


"D-do we l-let him leave?" Cross questioned. "Or do w-we hold him?"


"He is an enemy.."


"What do I do when I have to fix my emotions?" Killer inquired.


"All right, just give me one second to think."


We stayed silent for a while, waiting for Nightmare to make his decisions. After a minute or so, he let out a slow exhale and began to speak again.


"This is what we're going to do." Nightmare started. "My brother will be kept here as a class A prisoner; that means we will bring him meals, and conversation will be permitted. As much as I don't want to keep him here, the fact remains that he has possibly located our house, making this a difficult situation. If he asks to leave the room, kindly remind him that he would die outside; the fact that this positivity is derived from negativity means that while he can survive in it, he won't have his powers, which means he can't escape. He is my brother, so I will ask you to be kind to him. I'll decide if you will guard him later; for now, just be polite. Is that understood?"


"Yes, Dad." We replied in sync.


"Oh, and we will have to inform Horror and Error of the same when they visit us next."


"What about my emotions?" Killer was still confused.


"We can try out the prototype. I have it finished, but there's no guarantee that it will work."


"Sounds cool!"


"Dust, would you mind waiting for my brother to wake up and telling him what I told you, and staying with him until we return?"


"Sure, Dad." I saluted.


"All right. Cross, Killer, we've got a watch to update, come on."


Nightmare, Cross, and Killer left me alone in the room with the unconscious Dream. This was one of the times I wished Paps still stayed by my side all the time. He would have been great company while I waited; he was happy playing with Chara, though, so I wouldn't intrude on his happiness. I could handle myself alone; I probably just bored him anyway. He was better off without me. He's the best. I waited alone in the emotion room, mostly unaffected by the positivity that permeated the surroundings; apparently, one's code was part of what allowed the guardians to affect their emotions, and mine was a bit broken. After about half an hour, the positive guardian showed signs of finally waking up, which at the very least meant that the positivity created by Nightmare was working. When Dream was fully awake, he seemed surprised; I decided to lighten the mood a little - we were supposed to be kind, after all.


"Welcome to Nightmare's deluxe apartments." I greeted. "Our samples for the night include chicken tenders, Papyrus's spaghetti, and chocolate chip cookies."


"Uh..what?" I confused Dream thoroughly. "Why am I here?"


"That's sort of what we wanted to know. It isn't every day you find somebody passed out in the living room. You're our prisoner now, by the way."


"Is this..Nightmare's house?"


"Indeed it is."


"Then I did successfully locate it! This is great!"


"You can't exactly leave, you know; or did you intend to get trapped here?"


"I took it into consideration as a calculated risk!"


"In that case, I'll get straight to the point. You can't leave this room, or you will die. Meals will be brought to you, and you don't have any powers. Any questions?"


"Why is this room filled with positivity if it's Nightmare's house?"


"That's another thing. Don't touch the panel on the wall, please. It's very complex machinery, and probably the only reason you're still alive right now."


"So it..makes positivity?"


"More or less."


"Why are you being so nice to me? Aren't you supposed to be insane?"


"There's different types of insane, I'll have you know. The type I am is referred to as 'blissfully aware.' I know I'm insane, and I can control it. As for being nice, you're a prisoner, and we're generally a lot friendlier with prisoners than your establishment is."


"And what is that supposed to mean?"


"I've been a prisoner over there before. I know what I'm talking about."


"I'm sure it wasn't so bad."


"When one surrounds himself with the blind and calls himself leader, he will be followed."


"What?"


"Old saying of Error's. One of those things that takes time to understand."


"So are you even going to question me?"


"That's really up to Nightmare. I'm just a simple-minded freak, right? I'm incapable of questioning anybody."


"Do you really think that about yourself?"


"It doesn't matter what you think of yourself. The world will always find problems with you and try to break you down; it's better if you just accept their view and keep your own ideas within your inner circle."


I began fidgeting with a dagger as we talked.


"Why are you answering my questions now, when you wouldn't when you were our prisoner?" Dream asked.


"Your questions now are less important than the others, and my answers hold no true value." I continued fidgeting.


"Where is my brother?"


"Off somewhere; I get to stay here until he comes back."


"Why didn't you put me in a cell if I'm a prisoner?"


"You wouldn't survive the negativity levels anywhere else in the house; when I said you'd die if you left this room, I didn't mean we were going to kill you."


"Why does this room create positivity when the rest of the house is so negative?"


"You would have to ask Killer about that. This is his room, after all."


"I thought Killer Sans had no emotions. Ink told me none of you had emotions, but here you are!"


"I wouldn't trust Ink with a speck of dust."


"And why not? He's a great skeleton!"


"What have you done for him?"


"Well, lots of things! I help him with his job, his emotional state, and all kinds of stuff!"


"And what has he ever done for you?"


"Well, he helps me try to get Nightmare back!"


"And?"


"And he-" Dream paused. "Well, he..I'm sure there's something else I'm just not thinking of right now!"


"I think you get the point of this, don't you?"


"No?"


"Fair enough. This is just another meaningless conversation that'll be forgotten in a couple days, anyway."


"How are you so negative, even surrounded in positivity?"


"Sarcasm."


"I can feel the negativity radiating off of you. I know what sarcasm feels like, and that isn't it."


"Huh. I thought it was; I guess I'm just dumb."


"How much longer do we have to wait for Nightmare to come here? I want to see him!"


"He's a bit busy at the moment; it could take a while. Sit tight, will you?"


"Fine. Do you ever wash that jacket? It's covered in dead people."


"It's kept clean with magic so I don't have to remove the dust; it's part of my aesthetic."


"It's sickening."


"Different people have different opinions."


"I guess. Do you do anything for fun other than murdering innocents?"


"You have no idea."


"What is that supposed to mean?"


"Are you good at board games?"


"Yes? Is that important?"


"Don't tell anybody else that."


"Why not?"


"Because it will greatly affect how your stay here is taken."


"Okay?"


At this moment, Nightmare entered the room, followed by Killer and Cross. Killer looked happy; the prototype must have worked. Nightmare motioned for me to join the others behind him, which I gladly did. He began conversation.


"I expect Dust has informed you of the situation?" Nightmare questioned. He was playing his part well: not even a hello.


"Yes..." Dream responded, probably hurt at the absence of a greeting.


"Good. Do you need anything before we leave you?"


"I need my old brother back."


"We'll be leaving, then."


Nightmare led us out of the room, down a hallway, and stopped in the living room, sitting on a couch. He didn't look very good, so I took it upon myself to inquire.


"Are you okay, dad?" I sat beside him.


"Physically, I'm just fine." Nightmare sighed. "Mentally, I'm freaking out.."


"We could tell." Killer hopped over the back of the couch, landing on the other side of Nightmare.


"What did you talk about, if you spoke?"


"I hinted a little that he should stay far away from Ink, and what you told me to." I shrugged. "Nothing else important."


"Okay. Do you boys want guard duties, or should we leave him alone?"


"I-I'm okay w-with guarding." Cross said. 


"It's been so long! Sure!" Killer jumped.


"I wouldn't mind it." I replied. 


"Very well then." Nightmare had a few more things on his mind. "Maybe don't call me 'Dad' in front of him?"


"Okay, Dad." We harmonized.


"The classroom is right next to the emotion room..and the walls were built specifically so the person or people inside could hear. That could be a problem."


"We could do school normally and just ignore him?" Killer hoped.


"He would have questions."


"We c-could tell th-the truth?" Cross saw no other option.


"Well, we could, but what would he think about that?"


"Who cares what he thinks?" Killer didn't care. "He might just think we learn stuff, and that's what we do!"


"He might think that because I'm teaching you, there's still good in me, which is what we're trying to avoid?"


"Oh. Right." 


"We could move class somewhere else." I input. "There are other storage rooms."


"Good thinking." Nightmare complimented. "All in favor?"


"Me!" Killer saluted joyfully.


"I-I can move the d-desks." Cross stated.


"I'll get the chalkboard." I planned.


"Right. I'll help you; let's get started with that." Nightmare stood up and started to guide us to the classroom.


Within a few hours, we had completely moved the school into a different room, and we practiced being polite; Nightmare did care about his brother, but it was in everybody's best interest not to show it. We would just be kind towards him while exhibiting our obvious eccentricities; we were still insane at the end of the day, and we wouldn't deny that. We weren't sure how long we were going to have to keep Dream here, but he would certainly be treated well in Nightmare's house, enemy or not. Horror and Error were a bit surprised when they found out about the situation, but they also treated Dream kindly, and Horror refrained from calling Nightmare 'Dad' around him. Chara had taught Papyrus the art of pranking, which more or less scared the living positivity out of Dream when the objects in the room began to float around, and he didn't feel comforted when we told him the house was indeed haunted -we didn't say by who specifically - by ghosts; it turned out Dream was terrified of ghosts, which pushed Cross and I to kindly ask Paps and Chara to not prank Dream.


Overall, it was quite the unexpected occurrence, and we had a lot to do.


~~~chapter end woot~~~


Dust bean meet Dream bean.


Oh, what is that? Another section with multiple parts?


Thanks for reading my hectic writing!


Bye!

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