(*grabs Dream by the neck* You... have been safe for TOO LONG.)

Several years had passed since the Apple Incident.

Dream had been fortunate enough to make it out alive. He couldn't say the same about anyone else in the village. Even if he had been turned to stone, he'd still been alive. He was thankful that his brother had only done that to him, rather than killing him without a second thought. It was kind of like he was given another chance. Not by Nightmare, unfortunately, but by the Tree of Feelings.

He had the last golden apple that the Tree of Feelings had grown. He was the protector of the sole object that gave dreams, hopes, and all positive feelings to the Multiverse. He had to do whatever he could to protect it. It meant he had to do some gruesome things. His hands weren't clean, they were covered in blood and dust that no one else could see. He wasn't born with this much LV and it wasn't just the apple that gave it to him.

He was LV 99. And yet he was the one running from the fight.

He had been confronted with violence on numerous occasions. It was something he'd grown familiar to and, while he didn't like it, he accepted it as part of his life now. Normally it was in conflicts between his team, the Star Sanses, and his brother's forces. But there were others, too, who sought his head.

Just like before, the legend of the Tree of Feelings was known to some worlds. And where there were tales of power and great fortune, there was a breeding ground for malicious intentions and greed. His mother had protected the holy tree and its sacred fruit for millenia for this exact reason. Humans and monsters both came to her and asked for a golden apple, to which she denied them. If they continued to pursue them, she had to do what he'd had to do as well.

"With great power comes great responsibility," as his brother once said.

However, his hunter this time around was no ordinary person. He wasn't even certain if he could call them a human or not, but they greatly resembled one. The aura of darkness and cruelty they emitted was enough to make him run as though his brother was nipping at his heels. He just barely managed to move out of the way in time as one of their attacks whisked by, buzzing with dark energy. It hit a tree and sliced it right in half, and the tree exploded a moment later.

"Where do you think you're going, golden one?" His predator asked him tauntingly. Their voice sent shivers down his spine. "Are you running away~?"

Dream swore under his breath, scrambling to get away as the bits of the tree flew past his face. He'd thought he had a good distance ahead of them, and while he hadn't been planning on stopping, he hadn't expected them to catch up so soon. He hopped down a cliff and ran deeper into the forest. While he was unsure of where he was heading, what he did know was to not turn around or look behind him.

A whooshing sound came from behind him and he threw himself down, nearly stumbling over his own two feet and the mangled roots of the trees. A giant scythe-like blade whirred right past above him and sliced right into the tree in front of him, lodged in firmly and tightly. The blade was a deep red and radiated that dark energy that made him feel nauseous. He struggled to get up from the ground and, ignoring his scraped up knees and hands, kept racing forward.

If I hadn't ducked just then, that blade would've gone straight through me...

"Oh little guardian~!!!" The ever-nearing voice called out. It was so eerie, like one of those little girls from horror films. "I'm gonna find you~!!!"

Dream found himself at a dead end. The forest came to an end in a small clearing, but opposite of him was the sheer face of a large mountain. He turned on his heel to take another route, but stopped in his tracks.

"I found you~," they taunted with a smile. "Are you lost, little lamb~? I can take you to the slaughterhouse~."

Dream made a 'tsk' sound as he started to walk backwards. With every step he took back, they took a step forward. As they walked into the clearing, the silvery moonlight let him get a better look at them. They definitely had the body of a human. Tanned skin that was covered in dirt and scrapes, dark brown hair that was knotted and matted down, and empty voids for eyes with a black substance leaking out of them.

He'd seen that kind of substance before. Similar liquid also came out of Killer's eyes. However, unlike with Killer, he couldn't sense the aura of HATE or negativity from that substance alone. No, whatever this person had on their side was much darker.

"Are you interested in my eyes?" They asked, tilting their head. "It's amazing what kinds of things chaos can do you."

"... You're Chara. From Reapertale," Dream said after a moment. "Reaper told me about you. You... you killed Toriel."

"So what if I did? I'm proud of that," they replied. "Anyway... you know what I'm here for."

His predator-- Chara-- brandished their weapon. It was the same scythe from earlier, made of a black metal with a long, sharp, blood red blade. The blade pulsed with chaotic energy. Dream eyed it wearily. He reached behind himself, grabbing the two knives he had.

"You know I'll never let you have it." Dream's voice had a dangerous edge to it. "It's the only one left. If you take it, you'll ruin everyone's hopes and dreams. Everyone's ability to be positive."

"And I should care why?" They asked in return. "No one has ever done anything for me. The only one who ever cared was Asriel, and he was a god. Why should I give a damn about the feelings, dreams, yada yada cheesy childish crap of others? They're all obsolete to me."

Dream narrowed his eyes as he brandished his own blades. His best skill was in his bow and arrows, but that would be a poor choice of weaponry in such a close range. Chara was very much like the man who had killed his mother. Greedy, power hungry, selfish, only thinking of their own benefit. Corrupted. This was the kind of person that he and his brother had been told to beware of in the world.

"You won't get your hands on the apple," Dream told them. "Not until my final breath and each of my limbs have been reduced to dust!"

His statement only brought a smile to Chara's face. They raised up their scythe, gripping it tightly.

"Then die."

The fighting was long and tiring. Chara was a good fighter, he'd give them that much, but he had doubts about it being their own natural strength. The clearing had been expanded by their fighting, the collisions of their magic-based attacks destroying everything in the area. Chara let out a furious cry as they brought their scythe down from above, to which Dream crossed his blades to hold off the scythe. The impact sent out a shockwave through Dream's arms and legs, and he thought the ground beneath his feet shifted a bit.

"You're a good fighter. Not the pushover everyone makes you out to be," Chara scoffed. "But don't think that means I'm giving up!"

Dream grunted rather than giving them a proper response. His body was already tired from the long chase that they'd been in, and now it was hurting from overexertion in the fighting. He didn't know how much longer he'd be able to keep this up. He could only hope that Chara would give up their chase or that one of the others would find him.

Dream's scream tore through the night air as Chara's scythe skewered through his torso. His weapon slipped out of his fingers and fell to the ground. A sickeningly wide grin appeared on Chara's face as they twisted the handle of their own weapon, twisting the blade and pushing it in further.

"Where are all of your little friends, Dreamy boy?" Chara asked him. "No one's here to help you now. Such a shame."

Chara tore the scythe back out of his body. It sliced through one half of his rib cage and through his shoulder blade, and he crumpled to the ground instantly. He wasn't dead. Not yet, but he was very close to it. He shakily checked his stats. His HP was getting low. Chara used their foot to push Dream down and turn him over.

"One golden apple, please~."

They reached down and used a magic of some kind to bring his soul out. The golden light emitted from the apple filled the expanded clearing and some of the forest. Chara smirked as they bent down to snatch it up, their nails scratching the surface of its skin. Dream struggled to try and get up, but whatever progress he'd made was put down by Chara as they brought their scythe down again.

"Your soul really is unique. Not just because it contains all the positive energy in existence," Chara began, turning the apple over in their hands. "But because even if you die, it'll remain intact. Won't even lose a bit of power. I bet it'll actually get more powerful, since it won't be supporting someone as pathetic as you."

"C-Chara..." Dream breathed in sharply. "You don't know what you're doing. Just... just give it back and we'll act like this never happened--"

"Ha! Do you really expect me to fall for such shitty persuasion?" They scoffed. They brought a foot down on his chest, shooting pain through his body. "You really are pathetic, you know? It's not wonder why your brother is gonna live longer than you."

Chara then sighed and grabbed onto the handle of the scythe with one hand. "I should wrap this up. Last thing I need is one of your so-called friends or that annoying brother of yours showing up. But why would he ever help you? Silly me~."

More pieces of Dream's bones went flying as Chara yanked their scythe out again. The blade hadn't been pushed in as deep as before, but it was still enough to keep him pinned to the ground. Chara grabbed him and forced him onto his knees, but used their chaos-induced magic to create these sticky web-like shackles around his hands and feet. They put their hand under his chin and forced him to look up.

"Sayonara, Guardian of Positivity~."

A sickening slice tore through the entire world. It was like everything else had been put on halt to highlight this moment. The blade of Chara's scythe tore through him like a knife through butter, pulsating and charged with so much energy that the red hue nearly overtake the golden one provided by the apple.

-9999999999999

Silence filled the clearing. Not a scream was heard. Dream's head fell to the ground, detached from his neck. Not a moment later his body fell to the side. Chara stared at his decapitated corpse, grinning like the corrupted being that they were. They looked down at the golden apple in their hand. Running a finger over it, they cooed at the pulse of energy they felt from it.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure it has a nice new home," Chara said to the corpse that was beginning to dust. "Two down... four more to go~."

And then they left without a second thought or giving a glance back at the body. The positivity in the world started to fade, filling up instead with negativity. The last of Dream's body cracked and splintered, withering away into dust. His crown and cape fell to the ground, nestled on the piles of dust. A faint breeze started to pick up. Then the rain came.

Such a pity.