Summary: The yellow chicken is intimidated.

A/N: I'm not too familiar with Dreamswap, so there's bound to be more errors than just the Sans here.

Nightmare's breaths came heavy and fast as his feet pounded against the sidewalk. Despite the aches in his legs and the slow loss of magic from his various wounds, he pushed onward.

Cross and Error flanked him on either side in a similarly ragged state. The distress radiating from both their souls was palpable, nauseating to even the Guardian of Negativity. Nightmare dared not allow his mind to linger on it, nor the faux godly being following not too far behind him and his friends.

He needed to focus on escaping- or, at the very least, getting Cross and Error out of the situation safely.

His purple eyelights darted around the empty streets, which had long since been evacuated after the seemingly kind shopkeeper they met ratted them out to the Justice Reign. (If he and his friends made it out alive, that rabbit monster would be plagued with the gift of glitter for a lifetime. Enough to make up for all the hurt and misery the two skeletons behind him were experiencing.)

The shrunken purple pinpricks looked left, right, up, down- anywhere for something he could use to his advantage. That's when he saw it: an alleyway.

A long series of narrow passageways with twists and turns and plenty of little nooks to slip into- the perfect place to lose someone.

He veered toward the entryway of their salvation and dashed inside, only to be met with a solid wall.

It was a dead end. A corner they could be pushed into; a box of walls none of the three monsters had the magic to escape.

A sinking feeling - hopelessness, despair - weaved its way into his weakened soul. Given the pained whines behind him, Error and Cross were overcome by similar feelings as well.

At the sensation of fiery hot magic sparking in the air, Nightmare spun on his heels and trembled.

Dream stood at the mouth of the alleyway, head held high and wings flared in conceit, prowling forward like a lioness stalking a gazelle.

The Guardian of Negativity did the only thing he could think of. He caught Error and Cross by the shoulders and forced the two behind him. They huddled close as the short skeleton became the living barrier between them and the bloodthirsty-winged tyrant.

"It's the end of the line, Nightmare. There's nowhere left for you to run and hide; our battle finally ends now. Rejoice." Dream sneered, a devilishly pleased grin stretched across his jaws; nothing like the soft, warm smile that had long since faded from the negative guardian's memory.

"N-night..." Error whimpered, fearfully.

Meanwhile, Cross gripped Nightmare's shoulder and trembled.

The silvery-boned skeleton fought back the tears that threatened to spill from his eye sockets. All the while, his soul squeezed in dread.

He had to do something. If he didn't, then after himself, Error and Cross would be... eliminated.

There had to be a way out. Something, anything they could use to defeat Dream or get away from the other, like a secret weapon-

There is one, he recalled. There is one way out of this.

It would be risky, but if they could pull it off...

Nightmare took a deep breath, face steeled with determination as he said, "Execute Operation: T."

Cross gasped. "Are you sure? I thought we agreed it was too powerful?"

"I-it'll be dangerous-ous..." Error added, uncertainly. "A-a-are you sure we-we can do i-it?"

"I'm certain. If we want to get out of this alive, we have to use it. It's the only way."

Error and Cross shared a look before they crouched behind Nightmare.

"Are you still attempting to escape?" Dream scoffed. "You know it's futile- even if you do, every person in this town will turn you over to the Justice Reign the second they spot you. There's no place in the multiverse for creatures like you."

Nightmare merely glared at the beast he once called "brother" as his friends hosted him atop their shoulders and gripped his ankle to keep him steady. Once stable on his perch, the negative guardian spread his arms akin to how one might do it if they were trying to keep their balance on a thin platform or rope.

"What are you doing?" Dream asked, a tilt of nervousness worming its way into his normally confident voice.

Nightmare did not grace him with an answer. Instead, he stared down at him and cried, "Charge!"

The Guardian of Positivity squawked, spinning on his heels and fleeing when the trio chased after him.