Suddenly, the air grew cold. A flash of metal caught the attention of those who knew what it signalled.

The return of the demons.

The portal disk flew around the group of skeletons, corralling them into a smaller area. The smarter ones didn't think to teleport, but Pale, not understanding nor caring what was going on, attempted to teleport out. Once outside the disk's orbit, he was met by a wall of fire. A humanoid stepped out of the flame-like portal that had appeared. The humanoid was clearly male, and wore a black, tailored suit, a maroon tie, and black loafers to match the suit. His dark hair was highlighted with flaming red and orange, giving it the impression it was a fire, crackling and almost... alive whenever the wind blew at it. His eyes were the same, dull maroon as his tie, and his expression gave nothing away save for boredom.

This was Derek, the fire demon.

"I would get back in with your... companions, if I were you," he spoke with a deep, melancholy tone befitting a businessman. Makes sense, right? He looks like one, sounds like one, acts like one... Nevertheless, it didn't faze Pale.

"And what if I don't?"

"Then you'll become reality's first char-broiled skeleton."

Pale remained where he was. Without a soul, he could not maintain fear. Solar watched as this happened, and quickly got the destroyer's attention.
"Pale! Get back here before you get killed! That's an order!"

Pale turned around at the mention of his name, and did as he was told. It hadn't sounded like his boss, but it wasn't in his nature to disobey a direct order. He stood next to Dream, completely missing the annoyed and concerned look Solar gave him. The rest of the group waited in nervous anticipation as Derek watched them. Criss was especially nervous.

"Hey bruh," Epic whispered to him. "What's with the man in black, bruh?"

"That's Derek," Criss hesitantly whispered back. "He is one of Baron's lackeys. He might look calm and harmless now, but don't be fooled. I know I was surprised when I first met that- that creature. If something gets him riled up, he'll rain hellfire down on the idiot who unleashes his rage."

Indeed, Derek's temper was like a living flame. If enough fuel is added, even the tiniest coals can spark a raging blaze as fierce as a gasoline fire. But once that fuel is used up, the fire returns to smoldering coals. He was one of the most unpredictable of the demons. And the edgiest, if I'm being honest.

Another portal appeared, and out stepped another humanoid. He wore a plain grey tee under a green, black and grey vest, ripped jeans, and neon green high tops to match the green streaks on his vest. Half his head was buzzed short, revealing brown hair, in contrast to the other half, which was the same vibrant green as his vest.

"-Ugh-, -why- -do- -I- -have- -to- -be- -here-?" the newcomer groaned, glitching a bit in annoyance. Yes, his body glitches like Error's. Come to think of it, the two are quite similar, in more than just appearance.

Derek, of course, did not respond. The newcomer rolled his piercing blue eyes and looked over at the prisoners. Dream lit up when he saw the newcomer, and waved cheerfully at him.
"Hello, Temerari!" he chirped.

Temerari sheepishly waved back, but immediately stopped when he realized Derek was staring at him with a disapproving glare. He crossed his arms and looked away, stealing a glance at the prisoners every now and then.

Suddenly, the portal disk encompassing the group spiraled up, then floated down, landing about twenty feet away.

Everyone held their breath.

Emerging from the portal was none other than the true leader of the troupe of demons.

Baron.

Following him was Caligo and their captive, Nightshade. Caligo had morphed his arm into a viciously sharp spike, and held it against Nightshade's throat to keep him from escaping.

Error glanced at Nightshade, silently asking if the guardian was alright, then growled at the demons.
"Let him the fuck go, you white freak!"

Temerari burst out laughing at the remark. His body glitched out until there was nothing left of him but a ball of green static, and an annoying hum where his laughter should be. He soon calmed down and returned to a physical state, still snickering.
"-D--do- -you- -know- -how- -racist- -that- -sounds-? -Hahahaha-!"

Baron turned his head in Temerari's direction, and he immediately shut up and lowered his head.

"My, my, you're easy to find," he began, a grin playing on his lips. "It's a wonder I had to lure you out at all~"

Error snarled and summoned a gaster blaster, aiming it right in Baron's face. Gritting his teeth, he prepared to fire.
"Let. Him. Go."

Baron chuckled lightly, further infuriating the glitch.
"First you must hear out my demands."

"LIKE HELL I WILL-"

"Ah, ah, ah, I have the bargaining power, here. Not you. Now, I suggest you stand down, or your precious, little guardian dies~"

Error hesitated. He once again glanced at Nightshade, who slowly shook his head. It was a warning not to do what the demon wanted, for what he wanted probably involved their enslavement. Like what happened with Fatal Error. He wasn't willing to go through that again, especially not with Error. At last, the glitch desummoned the blaster. Grumbling, he glared at Baron.
"What the hell do you even want, asshole?"

Baron's amused grin fell to a serious frown.
"Stop destroying. Permanently. Swear to it, and I'll let him go."

The rest of the group had remained silent, but looked to Error for his decision.
"Why do you want me to stop?"

Baron sighed. If he had eyes, he'd be rolling them.
"You ever wonder where Ink came from? Why he was so eager to stop you, even though he shouldn't have cared? When he was unable to care?"

Error scoffed, though a horrible train of thought had taken root in his mind.
"Wh-why does that matter?"

Sensing the glitch's growing unease, Baron smiled.
"I was the one who set him on the path to being the 'Protector of AUs.' He was supposed to have been enough of a challenge to keep you from destroying the entire multiverse. However, he was not enough. Then Dream stepped in. At the time, we figured two guardians would be enough. But, of course, Nightmare just had to find others to... recruit to his side. And then there was the Fatal Error issue. It was then that we decided to intervene personally. You all remember Grim, do you not?"

Five of the eleven skeletons nodded their heads solemnly. Terror looked up with a pleading eyelight.
"D-does demon guy know what happened to the Kind One?"

Baron hesitated, seemingly considering his words.
"Not exactly, no. Point is, Grim was to be our... champion, of sorts. We had been watching and waiting for an opportunity to stop you ourselves, and Grim was our ticket to doing so."

"So you've been 'existing' since I've been alive?!" Error raged. "Why didn't you free me from the Anti-Void before I went insane?!"

"The Anti-Void is an infinite, blank space, similar to the edge of the multiverse. Believe me, if I could have pinpointed your exact location, perhaps things could've been different. Then again, you might not have been where you are now, nor would you have joined forces with Nightmare. Surely you would not have met Ink and your other adversaries, and you most certainly would not have gained your reputation as the destroyer. So, which fate would you have preferred: living in a random AU somewhere, facing reset after reset and watching the same things happen over and over again, or here, as the former destroyer, with Nightmare at your side and watching your back? That is, once you accept my conditions."

Error looked over at Nightshade, and sighed. Nightshade tried to speak, tried to beg Error not to give in to the demon's deal for fear there was some catch involved, but Caligo only tightened his grip. He whispered something in Nightshade's 'ear', and the guardian gulped. He wanted to scream. This has to be some sort of trick! There was no other explanation for these cruel, heartless beings to make a deal with Error unless they had something to gain. What could their plan be?!

"Fine," Error looked back to Baron, noting the desperate look in his boyfriend's eyelights. He assured himself that this would all be over soon, that he and Nightshade could escape and retreat back to the safety of the castle once he agreed to Baron's stupid demand. He hoped with all his twisted soul that Baron would stay true to his word. If he didn't, then Error wasn't keeping his end. He had nothing left to lose, anyway.
"I swear to stop destroying. Permanently"

"Excellent." Baron snapped his fingers, and Caligo pushed Nightshade towards Error. The glitch let go of Template and rushed to Nightshade, protectively pulling him closer.
"Now for the other issue."

Caligo disappeared in a wave of mist, as did Temerari in glitches. Each of them swirled around their respective targets and, before anyone could react, both positive guardians were being pulled into a portal. Terror tried to stop Caligo from pulling Solar in. Taking his hand, he tried to pull him back.

"No! We can't lose another friend!"

Unfortunately, Caligo was freezing Solar's arms, cutting off circulation and making it impossible for him to hold on. The corrupted guardian was pulled through, leaving Terror to stumble backwards onto the ground. He sat there, staring where Solar had been. Not another one. All his friends.... They all leave him! He can't hold on to a single one! He looked up at Baron, his eyelight burning with hatred. Demon guy was taking all his friends away from him! Grim was gone, Solar is gone, everyone was gone! He stood up and charged the demon with his machete, but Baron dodged. He roundhouse kicked Terror to the ground. He panted heavily, but got up. His DETERMINATION spurring him on, he attacked again, almost landing a hit. Baron drew his sword and blocked another hit. He side-stepped as Terror swung down, kicked his legs out from underneath him, and slammed his knee into his already shattered eyesocket. Terror flew backwards, but tried to get up, groaning in pain. Baron dug the heel of his boot into Terror's chest and bent down to his level, his eyeless gaze peering into Terror's two souls.

"Stay down."

Terror, whose eyesocket was bleeding badly, obeyed, and closed his one working eyesocket, slipping into unconsciousness. Baron nodded, and left through a portal.

(Me: No! My baby!
Nights: Well, ya gotta admit, Baron has style.
Me: *grumbling* Stupid little eyeless gremlin cringe-ass motherfucker-)

Emerging on the other side, Baron let out a frustrated sigh. So many problems. And with Grim gone, he'd have to deal with them, himself. Brilliant. You could feel the sarcasm emanating from his lazy-ass corpse- *smack* - er, I mean, ✨Sarcasm✨

Dream struggled out of Temerari's grip and looked around. It seemed they were in the same blank world as when this mess started. Solar was thrown to the ground, the ice on his frozen arms and shoulders clinking against the "floor." He was definitely shaking, decidedly from the cold, so Dream went over to try and help. A spire of ice rose before him, stopping him in his tracks. He stepped back in surprise as Caligo appeared where the spire had been.

"/Ah/, /ah/, /ah/, /no/ /interacting/ /with/ /the/ /prisoner/," he cooed.

"But he's-"

"/Annoying/? /Yeah/, /I/ /know/, /right/?"

Temerari growled from behind Dream.
"-You- -fucking- -moron-, -Dream- -just- -wants- -to- -help- -him- -after- -you- -basically- -turned- -his- -arms- -to- - popsicles-. -Dick-."

Caligo rolled his eyes, but his impish grin never faltered. Of course Temerari would take Dream's side. It's his greatest weakness, that kindness of his. However, Caligo stepped aside and allowed Dream to rush over to Solar. He concentrated his magic to form an aura of warmth wafting from his hands. He spread it over Solar's frozen limbs, thawing him out.

Baron stood a few feet away, musing over the situation and how he would approach it. It would be so much easier if Solar wasn't so stubborn! What has he to prove?!

Speaking of whom, the corrupted guardian sat up after Dream healed him. He rubbed his arms, chills from the ice running down his back. As soon as he caught sight of Baron, he grimaced and stood up.

"You! What do you want from me this time?"

Dream looked from Baron to Solar.
"So you know him, too."

Solar nodded.
"He appeared a couple of years ago and somehow freed Nightmare just when I had him right where I wanted him. If it wasn't for this bastard, my multiverse would have been free of one nuisance."

Baron chuckled.
"Ah, Solar, your arrogance and audacity blind you. Perhaps you have yet to realize eliminating every source of negativity and darkness is a fruitless task. Take your counterpart, for example. He does not go around looking for trouble like you."

Solar scoffed and rolled his eyelight.
"He has his brother to deal with. One that is more dangerous than I could have ever imagined. When would he have had the time or patience to hunt down every threat to the multiverse if his own brother is the greatest of them?"

"That wasn't necessarily his choice. It was Nightmare who decided to break out of the monotony of his existence in Dreamtale, and it was inevitable Dream would follow. What do you think your brother thought when you abandoned your own responsibilities?"

"I made sure no one could get to the apples on the tree. I am a well-respected hero to the majority of my multiverse, and Nightmare is nothing but a pest!"

Dream gasped in utter indignation.
"Nightmare is not a pest!"

Solar snarled as he turned to the guardian in his body.
"So the murderers he harbors mean nothing? The things I've seen your brother do are far worse than my brother has ever even considered doing, and you defend him! Why?!"

"Because I believe he can still be saved. I lost hope that he could be brought back until you came along. But seeing him back to normal, I have the hope again that he can change, that he still has good in him."

"He's killed people!"

"And I'll forgive him! A friend of mine once said, if my enemy truly learns his lesson and regrets his actions, he is fit to forgive, no matter what his crimes are. And he's my brother, so how could I turn him away?"

Solar turned away, a scowl on his face.
"He still must pay for the crimes, no matter if you forgive him, or he will never learn his lesson."

"And that," Baron interjected, "is where I come in. I have orchestrated events to punish him thoroughly enough that he won't go back. In fact, it is you I must thank for that, Solar."

"Uh," Solar's expression turned confused. "Are you referring to me, or him?"

"You, of course. I have a better name for your counterpart. From now on, Dream, you will be known as Shattered."

Shattered frowned.
"Why 'Shattered'?"

Baron smirked, and waved his hand. Instantly, the two guardians collapsed to the floor, unconscious. He snapped his fingers, and the souls of each guardian flitted into view. He switched them, allowing the corruption from Shattered's body to take over his soul. They returned to their true bodies, and Baron dragged Solar's body over to the edge of the multiverse. He pressed a hand to it, and a section of the wall opened like a door. He dragged the unconscious skeleton through, closed the door, and threw him into a portal to Solar's headquarters. He returned to the other side of the wall and nodded to Caligo, who nodded back and turned to mist, leaving to carry out his orders. Temerari went to pick up Shattered, smiling a little at how strange he looked now that he wasn't a radiant ball of sunshine.

"-So-, -that's- -it-?" he asked, opening a portal back to the others.
"-That's- -all- -we- -had- -to- -do-?"

"Would you prefer I made it more complicated?" He raised a brow, daring Temerari to try and defy him. The glitching demon huffed and shook his head.
"That's what I thought."

With that, Baron walked into a portal, leaving a grumbling Temerari with an unconscious skeleton in his arms. A sudden realization hit him, and he snarled.
"-Hey-! -You- -can't- -see- -me-! -How- -did- -you- -know- -I- -shook- -my- -head-?!"

Grumbling more, Temerari hopped into his portal, taking care not to wake the skeleton in his grasp.

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Heya! A chapter for you who stuck around for... I don't even know how long! We get an introduction to four of the five demons, but sadly, the next chapter will be the last. It's muuuuch shorter than its predecessor, but it was never meant to be as long. In a way, this whole book is a sort of 'filler episode,' like in a tv series that adds some exposition, but there's no real advance in the story. Might just be my opinion, though. Heck, if you guys are enjoying this, then I'm glad! I only write for those who genuinely enjoy my work, and I feel accomplished if somebody likes it and comments that they laughed. It's kinda my goal to give people a good laugh in my stories.

Until next time! Cya!