(credit to this song. I kinda use it but no, they don't sing it!)

A week later: Nightmare's POV

I gaze out the window, watching Dream train the kiddos. They all smile and enjoy themselves. The little ones, Radier, Shino, Jasper and Ghastly are versing each other under Dream's supervision. Cross was training the older kids, Palette, Goth, and Étoile with sticks. There is a slight glare and reflection on the glass window. That reflection changes and starts to speak.

"You know the saying, Nightmare. If you can't beat them, join them. You can't beat me so your best choice is to join me. Become this again and we could work together! It could be great!"It says

I shake my head.

"You're so stubborn."He says

I say nothing.

"You have 4 hours to change your mind. Then, the hard way will begin."He says

But then the window gets sprayed and wiped, removing this reflection.

"Go away, foul being!"Dameon yells from beside me, wiping the window with a cloth

"You saw him too..?"I ask

He nods.

"Is that the form Ghastly talked about?"He asks

I nod.

"And the being causing you fear?"He asks

I nod.

"Allsun, it's okay. If he tries any other visits, I'll spray him away! Ooo! Maybe I could get Suave's help too! Point is, you have nothing to fear!"He says

Besides the remaining 4 hours....

I force a smile and nod.

"Let's go see Raven!"He says, taking my hand

He runs off, dragging me to Geno and Reaper's house. He knocks a happy rhythm and the door opens. Dameon peeks in and smiles.

"Come on in."Raven says

He pulls me inside and shuts the door. He pulls me over to Raven, who is busy reading a book.

I look at the cover.

How to save someone from a code b*tch, Vol 2:Viruses, Parasites, Manipulators.

Interesting title.

"Hey, Raven!"Dameon says

He looks up.

"Oh! Hey you guys."He says

I notice he puts the book away before I could see anything he was reading.

"How's your reading?"Dameon asks

"Good."Raven says

We talk and then I leave.

I check my phone.

I had set a timer so I could get away before time runs out.

Protecting them comes first.

I have 3.5 hours left.

I frown. Maybe I should just go now to cause less risk and get it over with. 

Nobody will miss you. You're worthless. You don't deserve their love. Once you're gone, they'll realize that.

"Shut up."I mutter

I get a pain in my skull as a response.

I open the contacts of my phone. I call Dream and walk away.

"Hello?"Dream answers

"Hey, Dream.."I say

"Oh! What's up, brother?"He asks

"I think I'm gonna leave for a while....maybe even forever, if you get what I'm saying. Please watch over those kiddos. They mean a lot to me."I say

"What are you thinking? Don't go!"He says

"Trust me, it's for the best. I'm too weak to fight him much longer....Guess this farewell in that case. I love you guys. Goodbye...."I say

I hang up before he could start to protest. I feel tears fill my eyes. I don't want to do this, but it's the best option to protect them. 

I trudge through the snow, past my house. I see Suave in the window and wave bye to him. His eye-lights shrink and he leaves the window.

Odd....

I look at my hands and see they are changing. Shoot. 

I keep moving, but at a faster pace.

"Unclemare!"A voice shouts

I look and see Palette running over.

I guess training sessions ended. Shoot, that means Dream, Cross and those kiddos have free time! They could be coming right now! I should keep going before anything happens!

I check the timer. 2 hours, 45 minutes.

I keep going, but then Palette cuts me off.

"Unclemare! Don't go!"He tells me

"Did Dream send you after me?"I ask

"No, I heard your call with him. You aren't going anywhere. Please!"He says

"Palette, please. I'm trying to protect you. All of you."I say

"From what? From who?"He asks

A pain fills my head.

"Ughh....No, not now. Not yet....No. I still have time...."I mutter

"Huh?"He says

"Nothing, Palette."I say

He frowns. He reaches up to my head.

"Something is not right. I sense pain in your head. And it's being caused by...Tim!"He says

I look at him.

"Ever considered being a detective? Nice job."I say

"We can help you, Unclemare. I know we can. You don't have to hide away or distance yourself from us. You aren't ok, not like this."He says

"But..."I begin

"Please?"He begs, giving me the puppy eyes

"I...I can't stay. I can't risk you guys."I say, running off

I feel my soul get pinged.

He blue attacked me.

He lifts me off the ground.

"Then I'm sorry but you're not going anywhere."He says

"Palette, please!"I say

He takes my phone.

"What's with this timer?"He asks

"Nothing."I say

"Are you meeting him?"He asks

I shake my head.

I sigh.

He gives it back to me. I tuck it away.

Some time later....

I get an idea. I check my phone and find that I have an hour left.

SHIT!

I have a trick to get down. It's wrong but it may work. He may be mad but I'll make up for it some other time when I get the chance.

"Hey, um, Palette?"I say

"Ya, Unclemare?"He asks

"Did you tell Goth where you were going?"I ask

"No, why?"He asks

"Cause I can see him coming."I say

"Really? Gothy!"He cheers, looking away

His blue attack gets cancelled out by his excitement. I drop down and run off.

"I don't see him. Wait....HEY! GET BACK HERE! GUYS! UNCLEMARE IS ON THE RUN!"Palette shouts

I run and lock myself in the cabin. I sit in the corner and hug my knees. I see I'm turning more by the second. The glove conceals nothing. I start to shake and cry, scared.

Oh, the things you do for love. Shame it isn't rewarded. Tick tock. You can end it quicker if you just give in. It will be easier.

Fuck you.

I hear a banging noise. That noise keeps getting louder and louder. I check my phone. 45 minutes. 

BANG!

"NIGHTMARE!"a bunch of voices yell

Oooo! You brought guests! Witnesses! Perfect!

Fuck you again.

I look up and see Dameon, Shino, Jasper,Radier,Dust,Palette,X!Chara,Raven,E!Pap, Encre,Fallacy,Cross, Ghastly,Dream, Étoile, even Suave come in. My soul sinks, feeling horrible. They see all the words I carved into the walls over the weeks. Everything from within my head, everything Tim told me. I just sit there in silence, letting them take it in. Dream had to explain to them what has been happening now. They all corner me, standing around me. I jump and press against the wall.

"S-Stay back....I don't want to....I don't want him to....I don't want us to hurt you....Please, just go."I say

"We're going nowhere."Dream says

The others nod.

"I know what's going on with you and understand. We do."Palette says

I look at them, scared and confused. Dameon kneels down in front of me. He takes my hand. Shino does the same with my other. They give me such comforting smiles.

"You look in the mirror and you don't like what you see"Dameon says

"The person lookin' back at you is not who you want to be."Shino says

"You see a failure, a screw-up! someone who doesn't deserve love. Which is really just Tim, not you!"Jasper tells me, standing between them

Radier clim to the wall and sticks to it.

"You started to give up on yourself."He sighs

"You think there's nothin' left."Dust states

"But I see your flaws! I see your pain! And I see past all of it!"Palette says, hugging me

"I see your strength hidden within. Know you can rise out of this!"X!Chara says, going to a spirit and hovering over me

"You can do everything they said you couldn't do. Don't listen to that jerk!"Raven exclaims

"DoN't GiVe uP oN yOuRsElF!"E!Pap says

"I believe in you! I believe in you!"They chant

I stand up shakily.

"Vous vous tenez devant moi et je sais exactement ce que je vois! Une œuvre d'art unique! Tu es un chef-d'œuvre!"Encre tells me with a friendly smile

Translation:You stand before me and I know exactly what I see! A unique work of art! You are a masterpiece!

"I see a survivor, a fighter!"Cross says 

"You're so worthy of love! More than enough! You've got too much to give! Please don't give up on yourself!"Dream pleas, hugging me

"I see your flaws! I see your pain! And I see past all of it! I see the strength hidden within!"Étoile says, joining the hug

"Know you can rise out of this!"Dameon says

"You can do everything they said you couldn't do!"Shino pipes up

"Don't give up on yourself!"Ghastly says


"I believe in you!Believe in you! I believe in you! Believe in you!"They all chant again

"I believe-"Ghastly begins

"You will move mountains!"Fallacy finishes

"I believe-"Étoile begins

"The waves might hit you-"Cross continues

"-but you will not break!"X!Chara finishes, hopping on Cross

"We beLieVe-"E!Pap begins

"You have so much inside!"Palette finishes

"No one can take your light!"Dream tells me

"Even when darkness comes you will win the fight."Suave says

"You will win the fight, will win the, you will win the fight, will win the-"Jasper repeats

"I see your flaws!"Radier says

"I see your pain!"Dust says

"And I see past all of it!"Encre says

"I see your strength hidden within!"Ghastly says

"You can rise out of this!"Étoile cheers

"You can do everything they said you couldn't do."Fallacy assures me

"Don't give up on yourself!"Dream reminds me

"I believe in you.Believe in you.I believe in you. Believe in you. I believe in you. Believe in you. I believe in you. Believe in you!"They all chant

Ghastly comes over to me and hugs me. He steps back and looks at me. I'm almost completely turned.

"Guys, he has 5 minutes."Palette says, holding my phone and showing the timer

"No he doesn't! He has his whole life ahead! He's strong! He can beat that idiot! I believe in you, Papa!"Ghastly says

He has this determined look in his eyes, full of hope.

I couldn't tell him that Palette was right. I don't have it in me. But he sparks some motivation in me. They all did. I weakly sit back down.

"I'll t-try. Thank you guys. Cya soon, I hope. Goodbye......"I say

I feel the energy leave me. I press against the wall and shut my eyes.

Ghastly's POV

I hug Papa close, scared of losing him. Yes, I know he's strong and have hopes for him. But I could see the fear in his eyes and when HE is scared, it's bad. I hear movement and back up.

"Guys? Nighty? Where are you?"Killer calls

"Who the hell told him that we were heading here?"Dust asks

"Ehehehe....."Jasper laughs nervously

"Jasper!"Suave snaps

"What? I thought if things went over well, or don't, having Killer here would help! A Plan B, ya know? Don't tell me you haven't seen the love between them, Suave! For fuck's sake!"Jasper snaps defensively

Suave sprays him.

Killer comes in. Everyone blocks Papa from sight. Killer looks at the walls.

"What the heck is all these?"He asks

"Heyyyy, Killer. Buddy, pal, chum, friend, how about we go and talk somewhere else?"Dust says, leading Killer out

"No, something is up. Where is Nighty?"Killer asks

"Right here."A voice says

A tentacle reaches in from outside and pulls Papa away. I run out and see that jerk Tim holding him. Everyone comes out. Papa begins to shake and twitch, like the enrgy is being taken from him. Then, Papa disappears. That got everyone to summon their weapons.

"Oh? So we're not gonna have a nice little cup of tea and chat? Such a shame."He says

Everyone begins to fire. Suave pulls me back with Encre and Jasper, trying to keep us safe. 

Their attacks seem to do no damage to him, just knock him back.

Uncle Dream fires some arrows at him rapidly, each getting on target, striking through him.

"Oh, was that to hurt, Dream?"Tim says, pulling the arrows out and breaking them

Cross charges forward and sliced one of Tim's legs off, making a puddle of goop.

"Ah, now that must've hurt.....for him. Cross, I get that you see a survivor in him, but you don't have to make his survival harder."Tim chuckles

"What are you talking about?"Cross asks

"I don't feel this. Every attack you make on me only hurts Nightmare. So you just severed our leg, but mine can grow back."Tim says, his leg growing back like a tentacle or gecko's tail

Cross' eye lights shrink. He retreats back to everyone, who stop when hearing this.

"Aw, what? No more fighting? Scared? I did not know that Nightmare's friends and family were a bunch of cowards! Then again, now I know where he gets it from."Tim says

Nobody moved, but they are all angry. Uncle Dream is crying. I can sense him losing hope for Papa.

"Now, where is Nightmare's youngest child?"He asks

I run out from behind everyone.

"What do you want?"I ask

"Well, do you want to see your father again? See him okay?"Tim asks

I nod.

"Please, don't hurt him."I say

"I won't if someone takes his place as my accomplice. You have unlocked your other form so how about I make you a deal? I will let your father live if you join me."He says, extending a hand to me

Brother places a hand on my shoulder.

"No!"He snaps

"Sorry, I was asking him, not his idiot brother."Tim says

Brother looks at me, full of fear.

"Kiddo, be smart about this."Killer says

"Nephew, don't go."Uncle Dream tells me

"Not you, cousin!"Palette says

I look down and think.

For Papa....His life is on the line. And I have the chance to save him. I should take it. I will take it.

"Raven!"I call

Raven comes over.

"You're seriously not gonna do it, are you?"He asks

"For Papa. But if you get a chance, do you know what."I tell him

He nods.

I look to Tim. I step forward and shake his hand.

"Lovely. Now, first things first, I want you to use your special attack on all of them."He tells me

My special attack? He's kidding, right?

"Seriously? But that could-"I begin

"Do it."He says

He clearly doesn't know what it is. I turn to everyone.

 I sigh.

"Sorry guys, it won't hurt that much."I say

I summon some tentacles and fire them like Papa showed me, but made sure they were different from my usual tentacles. It strikes through everyone correctly. But instead of crying, they begin to laugh and their positive memories appear around them. Joy spreads among them like a disease. But it's hurting Tim horribly.

"What the hell?"He snaps

"What? I'm doing what you told me to."I say

"How the fuck is it hurting me, then?"He asks

I slap him.

"Language! I'm only a child. Hehe. It's quite simple. You did not find out my special attack beforehand. Mine is to remind my opponent of all their good times and remove their negative motivation. Oh, I am sorry, is that bad for you?"I explain with a sarcastic question

"Holy shit..."He groans, dropping to his knees

"You made a mistake messing with my Papa. Now you're gonna face the consequences."I say

"Shall I?"Raven asks

"Go right ahead."I say

Raven comes over and does some work on Tim's code.

"There, Nightmare is free from Tim."He says

I smile, as does everyone else. 

Tim shrinks smaller and smaller, losing his power with all this negativity. 

"Did he just....kill Tim?"Killer asks

"I think he did."Cross says

"Awesome!"Killer says

"But hey! He used positivity! I'm proud of you, nephew!"Dream says

I come over and smile.

"And brother said that my special attack would be inaffective."I chuckle

"I was wrong!"Brother says

"How'd you know that would hurt him?"Palette asks

"Well, Papa said Tim was made from his dark side, the one that feeds on negativity. So, Tim got power through negativity. But if there's no more negative sources, where could he get power?"I explain

Killer and Uncle Dream hug me. I smile.

But then I see someone get freed from Tim. They begin to cough. 

Papa!

"Papa!"I shout, running to him

Tim weakly grabs Papa and shoves him through a portal.

"No!"I yell as the portal shut

"Hah! You won't find him!"Tim says

Killer comes over.

"Oh ya? I think we will. But I do believe that you aren't getting out of this."Killer say

That was his positivity, which made some box get free from Tim as well.

"What's this?"I ask

"How I was gonna get rid of your dad."He says proudly

I lean over it, hearing a ticking.

"You were gonna kill him with a clock?"I ask

That alarms Killer. He picks me up and tosses me to Uncle Dream. He picks up the box and runs off. I realize that is no clock. I get an idea of how to protect him.

"Wait! Mr. Killer come back!"I yell

Boom!

Shoot! No! Not him too!

Uncle Dream puts me down. Palette comes to me. He hugs me, telling me everything is gonna be okay.

"They'll be ok. They'll be back. Now, let's go home."He says as the sun goes down

I nod.

Brother comes over.

"Well, that was risky, Ghastly. Don't you-"He begins

I know he's gonna rant to me of how dangerous it was, what could've went wrong, what's going wrong, blah blah blah. I hold Palette's hand. Palette looks at me, then at Brother

"Cousin, he's already upset. Don't worsen it by telling him the bad side of the situation. He needs to be able to focus on the 1/2 of the glass that is full. That said, Ghastly, you can stay with us. Mister Dream's house. You can sleep with me. You can come too, cousin."Palette offers

"I'll stay with Jasper and his fam."Brother says, shaking his head

"I'll go with you, cousin."I say

He smiles and picks me up. He carries me off on his shoulders.

"Thank you, Palette."I say

"No problem! Wait, I'm gonna check on the others."He says

"Let's do it together."I say

He nods.

We go door to door, coming in and chatting with the others as everyone comes to their homes. We go to check on Classic and Fell. Palette finds the front door unlocked, which is odd. We go in and can't find them. But then we go upstairs and peek into a bedroom.

"Heh, Red, you sure are something."Classic says to a sleeping Fell

Fell grips Classic's hand tighter. I notice Fell has a smile, and not one of his scary ones.

"Phew, you guys are ok. Got worried with the door unlocked."Palette says

"Oh. Hey! Sorry. Fell here passed out earlier, I kinda got worried and forgot to lock that door. Hehe, Papy would say I'm such a lazybones."Classic says

We leave and make sure the door gets locked. I now walk with Palette by the hand. But I hear something from the forest. It sounds like crying. I look at Palette and his head goes up like he heard it too. He picks me up and we run to the forest. He puts me down and we search for the source of the sound. I get split up from Palette by the huge trees. I find the clearing where the log cabin is. The moon shines down on the clearing, making everything seem to be at peace. I remember Killer ran this way. I see some kind of wild animal, like a raccoon, attacking something. I could not see what because whatever the raccoon was attacking was hidden by a wall of the cabin. But it's definitely the source of the crying. I go over and scare the raccoon off. I check whatever was being attacked and freeze. Pieces of a box laid nearby. The same box Killer ran off with. It was covered with wires and chemicals. And....I found what the raccoon was attacking.

"Oh dear....Palette! Over here!"I shout

The poor victim begins to cry more. I kneel down and ssshhh them.

"Ssshhh, ssshhh, it's ok. You're safe. I won't hurt you."I say

They crawl over and hug me. I manage to pick them up. 

Palette comes over.

"I'm here. The crying stopped, what did you-HOLY CANVAS! Is that....?"He says

"Let's just head home. I think so."I say

We head to his house. I carry them with Palette walking beside me. We sneak into the house and up to his room. The three of us sleep there. Yes three.

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TBC