Abyss stared across the milky waters, tense as he caught the sound of metal on metal, smelled the acrid metallic blood and sweat in the noxious smoky breeze, and recognized the wavering mana in the air as attacks. Lots and lots of monster attacks.

"You feel it too, don't you?" Alter asked lowly beside him.
"Yeah…" He stared at the wafting smoke and mist, all illuminated by dull, greyed twilight.
"It's so thick I can almost taste it." Kin muttered morbidly, tongue running over his teeth before he grimaced.
"And I can already taste the blood."

"Man the ballistae!" Uthar suddenly bellowed. "Double-time on those oars, Bonden. An' every able-bodied man jack among you better be ready or you'll be using your guts for pillows!"

The Dragon Wing burst forth in activity, humans scuttling around frantically as they prepared to fight for their lives. The skeletons clustered at the foredeck, peering through the smoke in morbid fascination as the armies drifted into view.

"Oh my God there are other skeletons!" Dance gasped, spotting a Blaster firing into the mass of bodies, turning as it carved an area out of them with it's laser.
"A ship!" A voice cried out from the chaos. "A ship is coming up the Jiet River!"

"Crap, we're spotted." Mecha swore lightly, Kin standing protectively around Beats as Abyss flinched from a sudden noise, Alter resting his hands on the smaller's shoulders in concern, Dance holding a sharp bone attack out of nervousness.
Then the others noticed it as well, just in time for the humans to hear it.

The air was shaking, as if something were splitting it apart. It sounded like enormous sails flapping in the breeze, coming from several directions at once, the noise of the armies only adding to the confusion as the air thudded- that is, until the dragons fell out of the sky.

"OH HOLY SHI-" Mecha screamed with a high-pitched audio screech, stopping himself just in time as the first one swerved and halted it's descent, becoming apparent how it was entirely skeletal, staring at them with wide sockets as the Rider upon it hesitated as well.

The second dragon remained in the air, hovering in place as the skeletal one regarded it, then zeroed in on the small team of skeletons.

"Are you all the monsters on this ship?" He asked in Wingdings.
"It's just us." Abyss answered tensely.
"Who are you?" Kin demanded.
"GB. My friend here is Blue. We think it's best that you and…. Carvahall stay here. Go back down the river even. The Empire might attack you."
"Blue?!" Dance questioned, staring at the Blaster faced skeleton with whitish eyelights in the saddle. "As in Blueberry? He looks nothing like him!"

Then the Rider spoke.
"A lot of things have happened since we've last met, Dance." That voice was unmistakably Blue's, as shocking as it was.

"Please. We can't convince you to not fight, if that's really what you want, but at the very least stay safe. Stay together." He paused, the magnificent, glittering blue dragon turning and flying off.
"We have to go now; the Varden and the Wyrdaí Islingrya need us." Blue nodded to them as his armored ride, GB, Gaster Blaster Sans, raced off the ship and teleported to the air, flying away in the direction of the chaotic mess of glowing blue cables in the sky.

The skeletons stared after the dragons as they dove into the battle, displaying terrifying violence against the troops as Roran drifted over, followed by Jeod and Horst.

"A Rider! A real Rider! Two of them! I never thought I'd see the day, much less that it would be Eragon- and a skeleton like you are, eh?" He regarded the small, shocked group and shook his head. "I guess you told us the truth, eh Longshanks?"
The scholar only grinned like an overexcited kid.

Roran was silent awhile, then took off running, darting along the length of the ship to where Uthar stood at the wheel.
The others started following, confused and uncertain before they heard him speak.

"Ground the ship."
"What?" The captain questioned incredulously.
"Ground the ship, I say! Stay here with the rest of the soldiers and use the ballistae to wreak what havoc you can, keep the Dragon Wing from being boarded, and guard our families with your lives. Understand?"
The seaman stared at him blankly for a long moment, then answered. "Aye aye, Stronghammer."

Horst then reached the leader of Carvahall. "What do you intend to do, Roran?"
"Do?" The man spun around to face him.
"Do? Why, I intend to alter the fate of Alagaësia!"

. • ° . • ° . • ° . • ° . • °

Error paused as Blue contacted him, hesitating as the other explained the ship on the river and the skeletons present, how everyone else was too busy to deal with them.

You're asking me to help them.
You are the only one, Error! Trust me, you can do it!
I'd rather not be attacked by skeletons, thank you.
You won't, I just feel it! They have Alter and Dance with them, they are less prone to violence anyway!
….Fine. But if they attack, I'm leaving. You'll have to find someone else to deal with them. Like Dream! Why not Dream?
He can't leave Nightmare's side.
Damnit….

He sighed irritably and swung himself into the sky, away from the battlefield as he spotted the ship on the water, killing a magician that thought it was a good idea to attack his mind. He teleported atop a dark, glitching Blaster and flew over to the river, approaching the craft as it fired a bolt into the armies.

He paused at the railing and spotted the group, recognizing the pair Blue had mentioned- and then the short one standing in front of them. A human onboard froze at the sight of Error, but he ignored them as he carefully stepped on the deck, staring at the small team that stared back at him in mute disbelief.

"Are you Lord Error?" A voice caught him off guard. Scowling internally at the title he glanced over at the older human with a scar on his face- "That scar.. you're Jeod. You come from Teirm."
"I- Yes- How did you know me?"
"Eragon spoke of you."
"Oh! I am pleased to know that. It's an honor to meet you, I've heard so much about you and your deeds in Farthen Dûr." He held out his hand. Error deadpanned at him.
"You didn't hear enough. I don't like touching."

Jeod hesitated, then dropped his hand. "I'm sorry about that. But what brings you aboard our humble ship during battle like this?"
"Well, it wasn't to meet you. It was to check on the other skeletons Blue mentioned…" He glanced at them, the group clearly hiding one of the youngest in their number. "I didn't know Abyss would be here."

He strode over, ignoring the scholar that had sheltered Eragon and Brom briefly a month before the skeletons had begun falling in their world. Abyss puffed up his wings, shielding the others from Error as best he could. Error sighed, javelins firing from the ballistae toward the Empire's troops as he faced them.
"I'm surprised you haven't attacked me yet." He admitted, not sure what he was supposed to do.

"You haven't attacked us." Dance explained tensely. "Yet." The robotic one added. Error ignored them in favor of the smallest one there. "I remember you, you know."
"You tried to kill me."
"It was a bad week and I was pissed at Ink. I'm actually sorry for that."
"Wasn't I an abomination to you? Me and all the AU's?"
"When you get tired of explaining a truth, you start falling into the lie. We met years ago, Abyss, and back then, things were very different."
"How do you even remember me after that long?"
"And how do you remember me?"
Abyss had no response.

Error continued. "I inevitably became friends with Nightmare and his boys used to be so utterly insane…" He peered across the battlefield, spotting the purple flashing lights of Dust fighting in the distance. "And part of why you stuck out to me is that Dust and Killer are still sore about you beating them. You're one of the few who were capable. That, and Cross has met you before he was ever part of the gang."

The other seemed to relax a little. "He joined them?"
"By a maddening series of events that Ink had gotten involved in as a game. Ironically, everyone forgot his horrifying acts and just attributed it to X-Gaster and his madness. Ink was the reason the man went insane."

"Why are you here?" The green one finally spoke, tense and afraid.
"Blue thought it was a good idea to send me over, because apparently everyone else is too busy. Even Dream. He's too busy protecting Nightmare. Come on. Look at him!" He waved his hands at the distant figures tearing apart the enemy.
"If anything, Dream needs a break more than Nightmare." Error sighed irritably. "If anything, I believe it's just as bad an idea for me to be here than you do."

He blinked as horns began to sound from the Empire.
"And I don't even know what that's about." He muttered, frustrated. "There's just so many damn humans." He started ranting. "I kill one soldier, and ten more take his place. I'm puppeting half their army at the front lines as it is and there's still enough of them to easily fight their own comrades- this is such bullshit. Human wars are full of shit!" The armies all fell silent as drums began to pound.
"Øh, whadda¥a know, sounds like.. li[{e a b0s$ batt|e!" Error fumed, voice glitching. "Do you se€ the $hit we're putting u₱ with he®e? Varden, Orrin's calvary, Hrothgar's dwarves, even Urgals- all are here and there's still more of Galbatorix's soldiers be¢ause this new Fa+e said £u¢[{ ¥ou."

There were strange figures in the distance as Error finished ranting, glaring at the sea of humans as several hundred strings dipped down and plucked Empire soldiers from the fray and threw them over the rest of their troops. Alter made a choking sound upon seeing it, Error sighing wearily.
"And it's just as I said…. Still more replacing them."

He looked at Abyss sadly. "Would you believe me if I told you I'm sick of it?"
"You… definitely sound the part. This looks horrifying."
"It is. I'm covered in blood. Humans don't even have the audacity to dust, they just lay there in piling corpses to trip over and scare the hell outta you." Error was silent for a moment.
"I don't like staring at their faces after they're dead. It makes it so much more horrifying. I'd rather theses humans just up and lea-" He cut off, going stiff.

Dozens of darker blue strings started spanning the space of the sky, slicing through Error's strands and snapping the great red pillars they stood upon.
"What the h€l|?" He questioned in confusion.
"What?" Dance asked. "Wait, those don't.. what?"

Error stood up on the guardrail, staring in disbelief as strings similar to his own took down his latticework, destroying the destroyer's creations. He started racking his memory for what could possibly have the ability to do this.

Then the red dragon appeared.

"You must be absolutely fucking kidding me." Error blanked, voice almost devoid entirely of glitches- even static.

He watched, hopelessly unaware as the figure atop it's back reached out, a beam of pure red light coalescing in their palm before arcing across the sky and striking the dwarf king in the chest, killing first his magicians, then him.
"Hrothgar!" Error yelped, teleporting from the ship as he reached the dwarves, already much too late. The dwarves were screaming, shocked at the loss of their king.
Eragon, he and Saphira were already there, and were already taking flight as both roared in rage.

Error was frozen in disbelief, shocked at the suddenness of the dwarf's death. Reaper appeared before him, glancing sadly at Error before bending over, resting his hand on the dead king's chest.
"Kausta medh eka, dvergr Könungr. Kausta un stidja medh eka, pömnuria vinr. Mor'ranr er medh ono. Slytha unin eka. Slytha unin dauth."

Error stared at him, slightly confused, yet silent as a faint light seemed to fade from the dwarf.
Reaper glanced at him.
"We wouldn't have been able to save him if we tried."
"....No. But that doesn't stop the pain. He was a good dwarf. Better than so many others."
"Maybe he was… but it was his time. All I did was save him from the painful afterlife of this world."
"What did you do."
"I took him myself."

They stared each other down, one for answers and the other for none.
Then Error was distracted, a mind reaching out to him through his strings, specifically an armband as it panicked.
Broski, help, I know dis ain't yer strings but I can't- we can't breathe! Help!

He spun around, Soul clenching as he spotted his brother hanging from the royal blue strings helplessly, clawing at his neck vertebrae as they held him, Lust and Red like dangling ornaments, the one pulling the strings floating on a Blaster high above the battlefield.
404.
An old, vicious madman that liked to toy with Error each time they crossed paths. The other glitch was far younger than Error, and was truly a creature of sadistic pleasure.
And he was dangling the lives of his friends and family right in front of him.

Error wasted no time in teleporting over, cutting the strings in one swipe of a bone attack and snatching the others in his own strings, this time carefully as he set them down on Blasters for Bird to carry to safety, having evaded the other's malevolent strings in the initial attack.

"What do you want, 404?" Error called, enraged.
The other glitch grinned. "Oh Error! So glad to see you! Did you miss me, old friend?"
"We're not friends, and never will be."
404 gasped dramatically, holding his hand to his sternum. "How insulting! I just wanted to catch up with you! Do you even care about dear old 404?" The other's voice dripped with disgust, every other word drawn out as he lost his smile.

Then the darker strings darted down, grabbing something and bringing it back up to their height. Fresh whimpered slightly, writhing as the thin noose started cutting him, glasses missing as the parasite looked to Error in terror, the eyelight on the other side flickering a reddish color as it focused on him.
Error held back from reaching for him, afraid that the other would do something.
"What are you doing? Put him down."

"Oh, this?" 404 regarded his prisoner in disgust. "Look at this garish thing. How in the world did this abomination attract you more than me, a fellow glitch of the Anti-Void? It's disgusting! Am I replaced by this neon monstrosity?! How dare you, Error! You're supposed to pay attention to me!"

Before any of them could blink, a dark string darted over, wrapped around the neon one's neck vertebrae, both strands yanking in opposing directions as a loud crack rang out before the body fell, all in a matter of a second.

Error choked, throwing himself off his Blaster and into the open air after the falling figure, nothing but the screeching of the parasite reaching him as the body was dusting. He fell through the air like a spear, dust hitting his face and blinding him, the distant sound of glitched screaming ringing from the battlefield amid the metal clashing and dragon roaring.

Right as he was reaching out for the flailing purple parasite, Error's arms were ripped away, literally torn off his body as more dark blue strings wrapped around him. Error screamed, watching Fresh fall to the ground, at a height that would instantly kill him.
"£®€$h!"
"Oh, does little blackie boy really like that thing?"
"I $wear, Føur, i£ yoü doπ't le+ m€ the fμc[{ go I w¡ll make the ®est of y0ur e×ist€π¢e an utter h€||!"
"And how would you do that?" 404 snickered. "I'm pulling the strings now."

Error snarled before suddenly a red and white glitching figure slammed into him, the force causing him to release his strings and yelp, Error suddenly falling again. Then he was suddenly caught by blue magic, Geno's familiar face appearing to slice off the strings with Hvitrfreohr and hand Error back his left arm, the glitch over his right side gone as he stared straight into Error's sockets. "Do what needs to be done."

The god of destruction nodded, then teleported to the ground and, just in time for dust to rain down upon him and to catch a small, wriggling creature with blue magic, the parasite squalling at him as he brought it to his hand.

Sighing shakily, Error pressed Fresh into his ribcage, shuddering at the possibility of the other actually dying.
"You're okay…. You're okay."
The tiny creature pressed it's head against him, nuzzling softly.
I'm sorry. Brah, I'm sorry.
"Don't apologize. You can't control another's actions."
Petals, he… he wanted.. The parasite's voice was oddly emotional.
He said he was sorry.
Error didn't question the emotion.
"It's okay, Fresh."
What am I feeling, Error? Why am I feeling?
"I don't know. But it's alright."

He rubbed his phalange over the rubbery skin, smiling softly. Fresh peered up at him, beady yellow eyes blinking back tears as he whimpered.
I don't understand.
"Sometimes, we just don't know. And that's okay. Right now, it's time."
….I don't know about this, brah.
"It doesn't matter."

A wall of red, glitching bones rose up around them, blocking out the violence outside. A yellow, blue and red Soul emerged. "Come here, Fresh. I'll keep you safe."
But what about you, bro? What if you can't do it?
"I can do it. I've done basically everything imaginable at this point and have been fine…. Come home, Fresh. You've been gone for so long when you never should have left."
Tears were slipping down his face.
There's gotta be another way... Pops. He begged.
Error just sighed, petting him gently.
"We don't have time to argue, Fresh. Any moment, Geno can get hurt." He glanced up, seeing the bloody glitch battling 404 and now apparently the familiar Fatal in the sky, Reaper at his side.
"We have to hurry. I can't lose Geno, and neither can you."

Fresh followed his gaze upward, then squeaked mournfully. He slowly faced the gleaming Soul wreathed in it's own blue nest, strings reaching towards him, hovering. The Soul gradually lowered, now in front of him.
"It's okay, Fresh."
...I.. don't even know what to do.
"Don't think about it, just act."

Timidly, the parasite stretched one tendril over, the limb ensnared by the strings as it tapped against the surface lightly. The Soul pulsed, then slowly hummed, the glitches that first accompanying it fading to a soft background static.
Squeezing his eyes shut, Fresh tugged it nearer, Error slowly sitting down as the strings of his Soul started wrapping around the parasite, sinking into it's flesh as Fresh squawked in surprise, eyes wide.
Brah, what-
"Relax."
No, what is your Soul doin' to me?!

Error didn't answer, instead setting the small one in his lap and petting him softly. Fresh whimpered, getting encased in glowing, light blue strings as he desperately leaned into his hand.
You're scaring me…
"Don't be. I'd never hurt you."
I…

By now, the Soul was pressed against his little body, allowing the parasite to wrap it's limbs around it until it disappeared under the blue string covered tentacles and body, slowly starting to calm down. His movements slowed, and his eyes slid shut.
...Brah, I don't know what dis is, but I'm feelin' pretty conked out already.
Then go to sleep, Fresh.
The parasite flinched slightly as Error spoke in kind, then went limp, the strings now covering his eyes.
Okay, brah…. Wake me up when da fighting's over.
I will.

Error gave Fresh's little head one last pet, then slowly slid his Soul back into it's rightful place, having to lift up his shirt due to it being unable to pass through because of the body now due to the large parasite/underdeveloped monster child clinging to it.

He spotted the contents of Fresh's inventory scattered amid his old host's dust on the ground. Error slowly picked up the sunglasses beside him, staring at the [Yo]-[Lo] silently.

Without a word, he summoned a string and tied the arms to the back before hooking another on either side, slipping the new necklace over his skull, sighing at the rest of everything present. He started picking it all up and fitting it in his inventory, knowing that Fresh kept it all for a reason- he'd been through Fresh loosing hosts unexpectedly before, after all. Never in a situation such as this, but it wasn't entirely alien to him, either.
Finally, he paused at the bloody bat/mace, crystals glittering coldly upon the metal.

He picked it up tenderly, staring at it as the sounds of the war finally faded back into his attention.
404.
He just tried- and nearly succeeded- to kill Fresh in front of Error.
Fresh, who was, when all else was stripped away, Error's son.
Rage began to boil in his bones.
"¥0u wâπt ātt€πt¡øπ¿ I'll 6i√€ ¥øû ått€πtï0π."

He snatched it in his remaining hand and leapt up into the sky, glitches spreading out in a black cloud around him.

. • °

"F̵̦̺̈́͊̆̑̚̚͠O̴̾Ǘ̶̮̚͝R̸̀͊̉!̶̛́̄̒" The glitched scream echoed across the Burning Plains, so tremendously loud and commanding that all fighting ceased, all faces looking up as a black cloud shot towards the figures in the sky, smashing directly into the one of the dark blue strings with an explosion of black that spread out across the sky, blanketing the underside of the cloud of smoke and dimming the sky to the point that it seemed to be the dead of the night.

Yet, enough light pervaded to reveal the figure hovering in midair. A skeleton with red, blue and yellow bones that glowed floated before them, the blue and white one writhing on the dragonic skull in agony.

Error, God of Destruction, first Lord of the Anti-Void, the original Aftertale Sans, in all his true colors, and they were of Justice, Integrity, Patience, and most of all, Determination.
The dense, overbearing weight of the billions upon trillions of lines of code now floated free of their anchor, flooding the sky for miles as Error turned his rage upon the one known by an almost identical name.

With a howl so corrupted it became a roar, Destruction threw itself upon Corruption, in a battle so maddening, only other gods could comprehend what they saw. It was a supernova in the sky.

But unfortunately, the darkness created by the code allowed dark things to arrive at the scene.
Reaper had just brought Geno safely to the ground when he saw it.
A little girl in a simple black dress, smiling.
"No…"

"What?" Geno asked, confused as he saw the horrified expression upon his lover's face.
"..Chara…"
"Oh helloooo, Death." The girl giggled.
Now the bloody glitch spun around, staring at the young human with red eyes, holding a pure black scythe glowing with dull red light.
"Heehee. I missed you, Sans!" She giggled, hugging the weapon and twirling her tattered skirt.
"How are you here?" Reaper demanded, pulling out his scythe and standing in front of Geno.

The girl's smile fell, seeing the dark weapon of shadows.
"You have a new scythe."
"Answer the question, demon."
"Why should I, Death? You have no power over me. You're only a god- I've killed plenty enough before."
"You must be mistaken, because Toriel is still perfectly alive."
"Oh? She came back so soon? After she accepted Death into her garden so foolishly?" Her voice mocked him, twisted and wrong, full of hate and madness.

"'Oh, my child! I missed you so much! You've come back, back!' HAHAHAHAHA!" She laughed madly, black peeling off her clothes and floating around her as her eyes became voids, dripping the black that engulfed all light.
"Oh Sans, play with me, play with me! I've waited so long to meet you again. What do you, Death? I ask only one more time. Join me. Sow the seeds of my little entropy. Return everything to the true form!"
"Go back to hell."
Her expression darkened with his response.
It was suddenly quiet. The only sound was the violent and explosive battle above them and the roaring of dragons, but it was all muted as Reaper's Chara, known as Entropy, stared at the ground.

Then her head slowly rose, carrying a blackened and rotted smile.
"𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚜𝚠𝚎𝚛, 𝚖𝚢 𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍."

. • ° . • ° . • °

The battlefield was still, all the mortals staring up at the gods and quivering in fear, slow to realize they should still be fighting each other- many simply unwilling to.

Dream and Nightmare felt something terrible nearby, watching them from all around- yet it was formless. They couldn't face the enemy when it was ringing them on all sides, invisble yet unmistakably there. They stood, blind sides to each other as they searched for whatever was seething around them.
Even the humans nearby had backed away, sensing the malevolent entity and fearing it.

Then the wretched voice spoke, black smoke rising from the earth.
"I've waited a very long time for a day like this."
Wisps of red light flickered from the black, both rising up in front of Nightmare in a devilishly familiar grin.
"Hate." He spat with disgust.
"I knew it was you behind that weapon in Farthen Dûr."

"Oh? I'm remembered. How delightful." The deep, smooth and rumbling voice washed over them. The ground at the shadow's feet was black, red embers flying up around him, joined by vapors darker than night.

Dream hesitated at the sight, then Nightmare stepped forth, blue glinting off his form as the color flashed in his aura. "I sense something new with you." He stated to the entity darker than he; a being of true Soul corruption rather than a glitch like the one above them.
Hate grinned. "As do I with you."

He tilted his amorphous skull to the side, red sockets studying them.
"You've met your counterparts of this world." He noted, amusement in his voice, a sound like hissing snakes within it.
"We know the Astralle." Dream confirmed, standing confidently beside his twin.

"Then surely, you know the beings that create the Shades… spirits like me.~" Hate purred, leaning closer as his vapors curled in their direction, laughter evident in his burning satanic sockets.
The Twins hesitated. "No.." Dream whispered in disbelief.
"Oh, but yes! You may be a match made in heaven, but we, we are the uprising of hell itself! I know the remnants of Durza desire revenge, for I was there when the final blow was struck. Now they are me, and I them. We are madness. We are true depravity. We are not the dark, but what you fear lies in the dark. I am the Darkness. I am madness. I am shadow." He laughed then, his voice echoing across the accursed land.

"Oh, Galbatorix." He sighed. "He is only the middle man now. He was always only ever a phase. But now, now he has become the one to give us everything we could ever want. Of course, I have seen his desires. He thinks us only tools. The poor, foolish man. Pity a king, why don't you?"

"... You're mocking me." Nightmare realized.
"Ah yes, he admits he is the same. Only a phase. Only a tool. Even you are merely a temporary thing."
"And what? You are eternal?" Dream questioned.
Hate winked. "I'm only closer to the end, little light. Everything falls to unordered chaos eventually, and even further beyond that, it fades to nothing. All things began in void, and it is only inevitable that it will return to the great empty."

"Quit it with the useless chatter, Hate. What do you want with us?" Nightmare hissed, tendrils writhing.
"What do I want? What do I want? Well of course, I want to drive all living things to fall into madness and burn, but that is not what I am here for." He flashed a wicked smile.

"Are you done blathering, then? What is you have come here for? Because if it was your intention to kill us, we would have long since started fighting."
"Ah… I missed your intelligence, Nightmare. Such refreshing cunning. I miss when we were friends. Such good times, tormenting AU's. Such life you had! Whatever became of the good old days? Hm… you grew soft. Attached to pathetic mortals. You've fallen so much further than even that. Look at you, Mare. Siding up with the very fool that fought you day in and out, for thousands of years. How could you become so weak?"

"If you hope to antagonize me, you have chosen the wrong path. I still remember you well. I remember how you betrayed me for entertainment. How you stole my body from me and forced my mind under illusions. It was because of you I have 'gone soft'. It was you who taught me how much the fool I'd been. It was you who made me realize I needed real allies. It was because of you I inevitably grew to change- it was you who brought me to my senses in the end. All because you betrayed me. I will never house you again, Hate. But all the same, I must thank you. I would have never realized my own foolishness were it not for you."

Hate studied him, flamelike vapors waving slowly.
"How interesting." They fluttered in tune with his words.
"You forget, Nightmare. We belong together. I am your spirit of vengeance, your rightful fury, your true-" "Once, I believed you. Once, Hate. But you are not I. We are not halves. I was mistaken. I understand now why I felt so incomplete." He glanced to his brother, Dream, who smiled.

"It was he who existed just as long as I, he who never gave up on me, even when I fought against him every chance we met for millennia, he stood strong. Perhaps we will not be for eternity. Perhaps you will outlast us. But that does not make you any greater. We still existed for thousands upon thousands of years before you bubbles out of Multiverse's accumulated hate, but you are merely an individualized fragment of a greater whole, entirely corrupted and discarded as waste that was never quite eliminated."

Nightmare stared long and hard at Hate.
"You only survived so long because you feed off of toxic Negativity and Determination. You will only ever outlive us, however we may fall, because there is still enough Negativity and Determination being produced to sustain you…. And yet, it is only because of our existence that it can be produced. In the end, it is you who is the fool." Nightmare sighed, a tentacle reaching out to the wicked entity that scowled.

"You pity me." Hate growled, incensed by the words. Nightmare slowly nodded. "I do. Despite all you've done, I know I have done the same, and we are too similar to ignore. We are both shadow. But... we are not the same darkness." One of his tendrils reached over, brushing the side of Hate's smoky face. "You are only the worst of myself- and I can accept that. Perhaps you were not yet a mind of your own in those first millennia. It doesn't matter. All that does, is what you want with me here and now. Because in the end, you are no longer me, and I no longer you."

"I want you to remember me." The red and black creature finally hissed, writhing shadows spiking before it becomes away, sneering. "You've become no better than him. You DISGUSTING hypocrite. I'm glad we are no longer the same. I will show you what I really am, you sorry excuse for a king of Negativity. I will show you-" "You remind me of the Apples." Dream interrupted thoughtfully. Hate glared at him, hissing fervently as his body began losing solidity, writhing like a bunch of snakes.

The dark entity lunged at the Guardian of Positivity in blind rage, only for the light one to flare his aura of light. The shadow fell to the side, screeching horribly as it writhed, shape devolving into something entirely meaningless as the vapors clawed at the main body, the sound reminiscent of the wail from Durza when he died.

Dream looked upon the creature sadly. "Nightmare's right. You are something of a pity. I don't blame him for your existence; it is of no one's fault. Just a symptom of what was wrong in our Multiverse." He crouched down beside the lump as it flinched away from him, his aura excruciating to the being of darkness.

The screeching and writhing slowed. Then a single red spot regarded him, an eye or eyesocket of red, no one would know.
"ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴏᴍᴘᴀʀᴇ ᴍᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴀ ᴅɪꜱᴇᴀꜱᴇ?" It asked him, red light flaring.
"ɪ ᴡɪʟʟ ꜱʜᴏᴡ ʏᴏᴜ ᴅɪꜱᴇᴀꜱᴇ."
The red and black shadow lunged, throwing itself upon Dream, solidifying enough to slice through his bones, ripping into the delicate vines and reaching for his Soul.
Dream screamed, tearing at the demon in agony as it cut deeper, only to find that it was too amorphous to find a grip on.
"HELP ME!"

The words finally snapped Nightmare out of paralysis, lashing out at the evil as his tentacles stabbed through Hate, finding little purchase, instead, it clung to them, attracted by the Negativity. Unfortunately, it's intent was still entirely focused on Dream, refusing to budge as it snapped a rib. Dream choked, writhing on the ground as his vines spasmed.

Brother, you need to come to me! He finally realized, grabbing onto the vines as they clung to him desperately. He is focused on only hurting you, we can stop him if you were to rest! You're tired. Come to me, Brother.
The vines wove into the branches, a sign he had been heard. Alright, Brother. Don't let me fall with him.
I would never.

The violent spirit seemed to be gnawing on his bones, snarling as it made them bleed, the golden sap that poured out burning it like acid burns flesh. Cloth ripped as it directed it's attentions to the pulsing, ethereal apple that glowed fiercely in defiance of the malignant poison that lashed out at it, screaming as the pure light defended itself, vines crawling towards Nightmare, who's barren branches bonded with the leafy appendages.

Around them, the world stood captivated by the sheer insanity, the only ones still fighting being those made of magic. Gods and monsters alike, for it was they who would decide the battle.

The gods locked in a deadly embrace above, one pair of erratic, glitching explosions and the other of screeching crows, clouds of darkness as both sets clashed besides each other. Light and dark did not necessarily mean good and evil, the two armies pulling apart before explosions among the mortals forced a ripple between both sides, realizing that they too, must fight.
Fight for what they believe in, or fight to see the next day.

Dream's fading eyelights met Nightmare's, red-tinted shadows flashing past his face.
I'm sorry.
You were already forgiven, Brother.
…
We are one.
We are…

The world around them was practically tearing itself apart as the God of Positivity and God of Negativity became one.
A monstrous creature of hell let out a piercing cry of rage as the body before it turned to dust, swirling away as it glittered golden, dancing around a darker figure.

Then it stood there, as the air around the being glowed dimly, gazing down upon the snarling creature crouching before them. Green moss burst forth from the acidic rocky earth, a patch of green amid the endless splotchy greys, browns, slurry orange and milky white that was the Burning Plains.

"Leave, Shadow of Shadows. You have accomplished nothing but weakening yourself." Spoke the two-sided god, blue-green orbs softening to a yellow-purple as they gazed down upon the seething ire.
It let out a wail, not a sound of pain, but of fury. All the humans nearby collapsed, clutching their heads in agony.
The god stood before the demon benevolently, unaffected by the entity's vehemence.

Finally, Hate rose up, returning to a deceptively calm state as it returned to it's stable form, sneering.
"One day, Nightmare. I will return one day. I will have you. I will have you, King of Negativity. Be it with your weak brother or not, I will return to you. This I promise." Hate snarled, before a smirk played across his face.
His next words were spoken in the language of the elves.
"Some day in the future ahead of us all, I return to you, Nightmare, as your lost Hate. Nightmare; the King of Negativity, Lord of nightmares, dark half of the Cicállaé, and carrier of the bad apples of the Libra Tree!" He directed a single, wisping phalange at them in his earthshaking proclamation.

Then he blew apart, like the drifting smoke on the foul wind.
As Hate disappeared, so too did the enemy skeletons and monsters, all fleeing from their opponents as the Empire fell to retreat, pulling away from the armies of the Varden, who all let out a roar of victory.

But Cicállaé, they stared at the space previously occupied by the unholy manifestation of hate and Determination itself in abject horror.
As the armies of light cheered thunderously all around, the combined God of Emotion fell to their kneecaps and sobbed.