Brush

The party warily approached Dream and Nightmare's ruined home after an hour or so of walking and checking for any sign of the corrupted guardian.

"Do you think he'll still be here?" Bonnie asked, staring up at Dream with uneasy eyes.

Dream frowned, patting the fidgety bunny on the head as reassurance. 

"I'm not sure, Bonnie." He answered slowly, switching his gaze between the house and the rabbit. "I hope so, though."

Ink examined the devastation done to the house, noting the broken window and unhinged door. Not to mention all of the bits of rubble- what in the stars happened here?

"This poor house." He pouted, running his hand along the bricks.

"Are you done being dramatic?" Error huffed, gaining the artist's attention. "Let's just go in already- we shouldn't be delaying this."

"Error's right, let's go." Dream agreed, stepping towards the slanted door that sat ajar. He lightly pushed it, causing a low, unsettling creaking sound- and then the door suddenly gave way, collapsing forward onto the ground. Dream tensed, jumping back slightly in alarm.

"Great, as if things couldn't get any more scary." The destroyer grumbled, the 'ERROR' signs flickering a little more than usual.

Dream took a deep breath and bravely entered the house, the rest of the party following close behind. The living room quickly came into view and Dream felt his heart drop. There was no sign of his brother, only remnants of the positivity-infused strings scattered across the carpet.

"He's not here." The guardian spoke softly.

Blue gently placed his gloved hand on Dream's shoulder as a way of comforting the distraught guardian. 

"Don't worry, Dream- we'll find him eventually!" He tried to encourage, offering a weak smile. 

Dream didn't say anything in response, instead keeping his eyes fixated on the strings. 

"Hey- what's that?" Bonnie asked curiously, hopping forwards and gesturing towards some kind of torn cloth- it was smothered in the same gunk that coated Nightmare.

Dream's dull eyes lazily trailed over to whatever Bonnie had found and then widened in recognition. He tentatively approached the stained, lilac cloth and crouched down beside it.

"That's his cape!" Blue exclaimed, rushing over to the two and scooping it up. 

"Blue- be careful, it's covered in the negative goop." Ink warned, joining the trio.

Blue scoffed, shaking the bits of cape frantically as if it would magically remove all of the goo. Well- it removed some of it.

"Give me that." Dream huffed, taking the tattered cape from Blue and wandering off into the kitchen.

Error inwardly groaned. He just wanted to find Nightmare and fix this mess- though he supposed the cape could help them. He still couldn't understand how talking to someone could save them, it just didn't make sense. If someone tried to save him from evil by talking to him, he wouldn't listen to them so why would Nightmare?

Error faltered. But what if it was his friends trying to save him? Maybe he would listen after all.

"Friends?" Error mumbled to himself, furrowing his non-existent eyebrows in bewilderment.

What a silly thought, these aren't his friends. Only Nightmare is his friend. The sudden sound of glass shattering startled the destroyer out of his confusing thoughts.

"What was that?" Bonnie asked, tugging on Ink's scarf. 

Ink spared a glance down at the rabbit, his eye-lights rapidly changing.

"I'm not sure." He answered, striding over towards the kitchen.

"Dream, are you alright?" He called out, peering in and locking eyes with the guardian.

Dream sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled.

"Sorry, I knocked over a glass." He apologised, kicking a few shards up with his boot. "But- hey I washed the goo off the cape- it's just, uh... in pieces."

Dream held out the individual pieces of cloth to show Ink and the rest of the party who filtered into the room. Error stood beside Ink, analysing the damage done to the cape.

"I can probably do something with that." He mumbled, lifting his hand up to the tear-like stains beneath his eye-socket and creating some blue string.

"It'll have blue patches, though."

Ink perked up.

"Oh- I can just paint over that!" He declared. "It'll be as good as new."

Error stared at the artist for a moment before nodding slightly and weaving the blue string through the cape. He worked quickly, stitching together each part until it was almost as good as new. Ink grabbed Broomie and with a few delicate, precise swipes painted the blue patches the same lilac as the rest of the material.

Dream grinned widely, turning the cape around so he could view it. He didn't know why it made him emotional yet he couldn't help the slight waver in his voice as he thanked the two. Blue, having immediately noted the change in tone, bolted over to Dream and enveloped him in a comforting hug.

"It's okay, Dream!" He exclaimed. "Please don't cry!" 

Dream sniffled, covering his eye-sockets with his gloved hand and choking out a laugh. 

"I'm sorry- I don't know why I'm-"

"It's okay, Dream." Ink chuckled, joining in on the hug. 

Bonnie hopped over, jumping up and hugging Dream tightly. He giggled, glimpsing over at Error and staring expectantly with his ruby red eyes.

"No." Error huffed.

Ink was the first to step aside, followed by Blue. Bonnie continued to hug the guardian, making Dream laugh lightly. He uncovered his eyes and pat the bunny's head. Satisfied, Bonnie leaped away from the hug and stood beside Blue.

"I think we've spent enough time here." Error spoke up. "Let's go search around the village for Nightmare."

Blue's eyes shifted into stars as he suddenly held up the guardian's pet rock. 

"I have the hostage!"

Dream rolled his eyes, stepping over and patting the depressed rock. Poor Keith, he didn't sign up for this.

"Great, well let's get going." Error said, turning away and leading the party out of the house. 

Dream lingered behind for a moment, staring down at the lilac cape before draping it over his shoulders and loosely tying it in place. A small smile etched it's way onto his face as he hurried after the rest.

--

"Where do you think he is?" Blue asked curiously.

They'd been wandering around for quite a while, trying to spot any sign of the corrupted guardian yet he was nowhere to be seen.

"I'm not sure- maybe it's time we use the rock as bait." Error sighed, watching Blue's eyes shift to stars as he retrieved the pet rock and held it up proudly.

"He has a name." Dream spoke up, folding his arms. 

Blue giggled, running forwards a bit and holding the rock up even higher as if he were offering a sacrifice.

"Nightmare!" He bellowed. "We have your pet rock, Keith! If you don't come and collect him then we will kill him!"

"No we won't." Dream face-palmed.

"You have five minutes to meet our demands, Nightmare!" Blue proclaimed, completely ignoring Dream. "The clock is ticking, mweh heh heh!"

"This will never work." Error murmured, taking a seat on a convenient sized rock. 

"It might do, we just gotta believe." Ink reasoned, observing Blueberry who had began to frenziedly run in circles while yelling something about imprisoning Keith.

Bonnie joined in, hoisting his sword up into the air as he ran with Blue. Dream's mouth twitched up into a slight smile.

"Ink's right, Error." 

Error raised a non-existent eyebrow, turning to face the guardian. 

"Let's at least give it a try!" He urged.

Bonnie and Blue ceased their frantic running and nodded along to Dream's words. The guardian approached the two, plucking Keith out of Blue's gloved hands and hoisting him up into the air.

"Brother!" He called out as loud as he could. "Keith hasn't been fed in months!"

Still, there was no answer. This didn't deter the determined guardian from trying again, however.

"Night!" He exclaimed. "Keith misses you- and so do I!" 

Blue tapped Bonnie on the shoulder, gaining his attention.

"Let's help." He mouthed, receiving a huge grin and nod from the purple rabbit.

The energetic skeleton crouched down and gestured for the bunny to hop onto his back. Bonnie did so and was lifted up, holding his sword up to the sky once again with one arm while the other rested on Blue's shoulder.

"Nightmare!" Blue yelled. "Your friends miss you!"

"I miss you, Nightmare!" Bonnie joined.

Error listened to them all begin to call out for the corrupted guardian for a minute or so before deciding to do his part. He heaved himself up off the rock and thought about what to say.

"Nightmare, please come back- your brother and his weird friends are going to drive me insane!"

"I thought you already were." Ink joked.

Error narrowed his eyes at the creator.

"Nightmare, come back before I destroy Ink!"

Ink pouted.

"Nightmare, come back before I destroy your best friend!" Ink yelled.

Error prepared to retort however was cut off by a sudden flash of midnight-blue right before him.

"I'm going to destroy you both in a second!" Nightmare snarled, his cyan eye glowing violently and staring into Error's soul. 

The destroyer and creator shrieked, leaping away in opposite directions away from the corrupted guardian.

"Brother!" Dream cried out, tentatively approaching the unhinged guardian.

Nightmare glowered, spinning around to face Dream. Both of them froze as they noted each other's cape. 

"You have my cape?" Dream asked, staring wide eyed at the golden-yellow material Nightmare was clutching.

"Where did you get that- I destroyed it!" the corrupted guardian screeched, though his grip on his brother's cape tightened.

Dream swallowed thickly, taking a step back from his glowering brother. 

"I-"

"Me and Ink fixed it." Error spoke up, approaching Nightmare with a sudden air of confidence. Ink glanced at Error, his eye-lights flickering curiously. 

Nightmare narrowed his blazing cyan eye, locking eyes with the wretched artist that caused this whole mess in the first place. 

'You're thankful for that.' The voice seethed, interrupting Nightmare's thoughts. 'This is what we wanted.'

"Brother- I know you're still in there!" Dream suddenly cried out, approaching the corrupted guardian hesitantly. 

He outstretched his arms, as if offering a hug for his brother. Nightmare stayed stoic, watching Dream step towards him with indifference.

"Dream- I don't think that's a good idea." Blue tried to warn, worried that the guardian would get hurt again. Dream's been through enough pain already, and- and what is-

Blue's eyes widened.

"Dream!" He yelled, lowering Bonnie back onto the ground and darting forwards, shoving the guardian out of the way just in time before one of Nightmare's tendrils could pierce through his back.

The two tumbled onto the ground and hurriedly scrambled away as Nightmare growled and swiped another tendril at the two. Error and Ink leaped away from the attack, coming to stand beside the other two.

"Dream- are you okay?" Ink asked, helping the guardian stand up. 

Error peered down at Blue.

"Get up- are you hurt?" He mumbled, shoving his hands back into his pockets.

Blue shook his head, heaving himself up and wincing.

"Uh- that was brave of you, saving Dream and all." Error awkwardly tried to praise, the 'ERROR' signs spasming and his voice drastically shifting in tone. "Maybe you're not just an annoying anomaly after all."

Blue grinned. That's the nicest thing Error has ever said to him!

"Hey, uh, you two?" Ink spoke up. "I'm glad you're getting along but in case you forgot we are kind of in the middle of a battle!"

Ink managed to splash a fair amount of paint onto Nightmare, though it seemed to be merging with the negativity goop. With the remaining paint visible on Nightmare, he snapped his fingers and transformed the pink splatters into chains to restrain the corrupted guardian. It didn't last long, however; Nightmare easily broke free from them, sprouting two more tentacles from his back in the process.

Bonnie who had been hiding behind a few random bits of debris hopped over towards the party, standing beside Dream and gripping the lilac cape as a form of comfort. Nightmare's eye widened and he froze, finally noticing that the purple bunny was present.

"Bonnie?" He said aloud, voice sounding strange- like Nightmare's old, soft voice but garbled. 

Bonnie's ear perked up slightly.

"Nightmare- why are you hurting everyone?" He asked, sniffling. "You nearly killed Dream."

The bunny had tears in his eyes, confusion, fear and sadness clouding his mind. He buried his face into the lilac cape Dream was wearing, quietly sobbing.

Dream frowned, feeling a pang of pity for the poor rabbit. He lifted his hand up to pet the bunny.

"It's okay Bonnie, I'm not dead yet." He chuckled warily. "We need to save my brother, you want to get Nightmare back, don't you?"

Bonnie lifted his head up and nodded. Dream smiled faintly, patting the bunny once more.

"Then we need to remind him of all the good times we shared- and that we love and miss him very much!"

Bonnie wiped his eyes and nodded, beginning to grin.

Nightmare who had been observing the two frowned, all different kinds of feelings bubbling within him. Why was Bonnie here? What the hell is Dream rambling on about?

'It's all nonsense, we have to ignore them.' The voice instructed. 'We can't let them stand in our way anymore.'

Nightmare listened intently to the voice and nodded stiffly. 

"Enough, I can't be saved- you should know this by now." He declared, arching the tentacles high above himself in a threat posture. "My life was filled with pain, suffering and emptiness. I had no reason for my existence- it was as if I were dead. But now I finally have a purpose and I won't let you take that away from me!"

With those words being said, Nightmare hurled the pointed tendrils towards each member of the party with a sinister grin on his malformed face. Dream grabbed Bonnie and skidded away from the oncoming attack, bringing his staff into existence as he did so.

Error used his blue strings to latch onto one of the nearby buildings while Ink and Blue simultaneously teleported away, all narrowly avoiding harm.

"Night, please- there's still good inside of you, please come back to us!" Dream pleaded, the blue and golden staff faintly glowing. 

"Somewhere inside of me?" Nightmare repeated, teleporting directly in front of the guardian. "There is nothing but hatred within me, Dream. Don't blame yourself though, this isn't your fault."

Nightmare stayed quiet for a moment.

"Brother?"

'What are you doing?' The voice snarled. 'This is a great chance to get him!'

Nightmare closed his eye for a second- and then it reopened with a burst of cyan light. He pulled his fist back and swung at his brother. Dream squeaked and hoisted up the staff, completely destroying Nightmare's attack. The corrupted guardian howled in pain, clumsily stepping back and cradling his burning hand. The cyan fire from his eye-socket sputtered.

"Brother, I miss you!" Dream yelled, tears building up in his eye-sockets. He gripped the staff tighter, the power and glow seeming to fade with the lack of positivity.

"I miss the times when we used to play hide and seek and tag- I miss the times when we would go out for walks in the middle of the night and when you'd get mad because I destroyed all the windows- but in the end we'd just laugh it off." Dream sobbed. "I just want my brother back!"

Nightmare stared at him.

"Stop crying." He grumbled, aiming another tendril at the distressed guardian. 

"I miss you too- you were my best friend! Night, Night, Nightmare- remember that?" Bonnie exclaimed, smiling weakly. "I was Bon, Bon, Bonnie!"

Nightmare faltered, though tried to ignore the horrible, confusing emotions surging inside of him and instead aimed a tendril down at Bonnie as well. 

"Don't you remember all the fun times we had?" Blue piped up. "Remember when we played hide and seek tag and we pretended to be villains from that cartoon show? That was fun and one of the best days ever!"

"Stop talking!" Nightmare yelled, covering his non-existent ears and arching another tentacle this time above Blue. Dream's staff began to once again glow, resonating with the positive memories.

"I'm sure you remember all the fun times we had too, Night." Error joined. "The time when I took you to see Outertale? Or what about the time when we all had a dumb sleepover- I actually enjoyed that, you know? You're my best friend, even now when you're trying to kill us all."

"Stop!" Nightmare screeched, aiming a tentacle above Error. "I don't know what you're trying to do but it won't work!"

Everyone except Nightmare turned to face Ink expectantly. The artist nervously fiddled with his scarf.

"I-" He began, unsure with how to phrase this. "I know what I did was wrong and I caused so much pain for you, your brother and our friends, but I promised I'd help fix this. We had some good times too, don't you think? Whenever Dream wreaked havoc on the home and I had to fix it, we used to make small talk. It was nice- and when I saw the painting you and Dream made of us all, you did really well- I loved it! Oh- remember that one time we all became cats except Error? That was hilarious!" Ink laughed lightly, causing the other members of the party to smile fondly.

"I don't understand." Nightmare voiced, arching a tendril above Ink. "I don't understand what you're doing- I don't- argh!" 

'Block them out!' The voice seethed.

Dream's staff had began to glow a bright golden-yellow light as well as his determined, starry eyes.

"Error, Ink- I need you to both restrain Nightmare!"

The creator and destroyer nodded in response.

"I won't let you!" Nightmare proclaimed, firing the pointed tendrils down at each member of the party with haste.

Bonnie hopped away easily and Ink and Error dodged. Blue rolled out of the way with a "Mweh heh heh!" and Dream blocked the tentacle with his staff, causing a burning sensation to jolt throughout the corrupted guardian.

Nightmare let out a hiss of pain and retracted all of the tentacles. Error took the opportunity to fire his blue strings at the distracted guardian and secure them around him. Ink copied, splashing a ton of paint onto Nightmare and quickly shifting them into chains.

"Dream, now!" Ink yelled.

Dream rushed forwards and whacked his staff on the chains and string, infusing them with positive energy and causing them to glow a golden-yellow. He didn't put too much energy into them for fear of hurting his brother- just enough to weaken him and keep him restrained. Nightmare groaned, desperately trying to break away however all of his attempts were futile.

'You fool- you let them get you!' the voice belittled, causing the corrupted guardian's head to spin.

With barely any energy left, Nightmare gave in and succumb to the chains and strings, collapsing onto his knees. The tentacles retracted back into the gooey mess that coated Nightmare and the party let out a breath of relief.

The guardian of positivity made his staff disappear and stepped towards the corrupted guardian, crouching down so that they were eye-level. Dream's eyes widened; Nightmare was crying.

"Brother- please don't cry!" Dream choked out, voice wavering. "You'll make me cry too."

"I don't understand these feelings." Nightmare seethed. "Why do I feel so guilty and sad- I was supposed to feel hatred only!"

Ink, Error, Blue and Bonnie all came to stand behind Dream.

"The apples empowered your negative feelings and completely destroyed the positive ones. You felt hatred, but you felt all of the other negative emotions too." Ink stated, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

Nightmare glared at the ground, avoiding eye-contact with everyone. He felt shame- not just for letting himself be defeated but for what he's done. He was too weak to feel hate now; there was only sorrow.

"Is Nightmare going to be okay, Dream?" Bonnie asked curiously with large, hopeful eyes. 

Dream glanced down at the bunny, switching his gaze between him and Nightmare.

"Of course he is." Dream answered softly.

Nightmare scoffed, more tears cascading down from his eye-socket and mixing in with the gunk that coated him.

"How can you be so certain?" He muttered. "What if I'm trapped in this form forever? You'll have to kill me."

"I am not going to kill you." Dream stated firmly. "I did not go through all of this just to kill you. I am getting my brother back because I love him and miss him dearly." 

Nightmare stayed quiet. Then, he raised his eyes up to meet Dream's own and lifted his arm up. He reached forwards, wearily flicking Dream's forehead just like how he used to. Dream trembled, tears that had been threatening to spill finally falling freely down from his eye-sockets. He flung himself forwards at his brother, embracing him in a strong yet gentle hug.

"I miss you so much!" He sobbed, closing his eyes and hugging his brother as if he would slip away any moment.

"We miss you too, Night!" Blue wailed with watery eyes, rushing forwards with Bonnie and hugging Nightmare.

"I'm sorry about everything- I miss you too." Ink croaked out, tentatively joining in on the hug.

Error sighed, the 'ERROR' signs flickering rapidly as he stepped forwards and joined the embrace.

"Me too."

The party all hugged Nightmare as an emotional mess, all of them in tears- hell, even Error was crying. They stayed like that for a while, before a gentle, wavering laugh made them all freeze.

"I missed you guys, too."

Error, Ink, Blue and Bonnie all moved away from the hug, startled. Then, huge smiles broke out on their faces. Dream reopened his eyes, moving back slightly so he could peer at his brother.

"Nightmare!"

He couldn't believe it. The negative goop that had covered him had almost completely melted away- his brother was back!

Dream sobbed with joy, throwing his arms back around Nightmare and hugging him once again. This time, Nightmare returned the hug, laughing gently. 

"You're back- you're really back!" Dream bawled, hiccuping and sobbing violently. "Brother- I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too, Dream." Nightmare said gently, feeling extremely guilty for the pain he'd caused him. "I'm sorry for what I did- I didn't mean to hurt you."

"It's okay- it's not your fault and I forgive you!" Dream cried. "I'm so glad you're back, brother."

"You- I'm glad you're back too." Error sputtered, hastily wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his jacket.

Nightmare peered up at Error and raised a non-existent eyebrow, smiling lopsidedly. 

"Are you crying, Error?" He teased. 

Error rolled his eyes, stuffing his hands into his pockets. 

"You haven't changed at all." He huffed, sniffling. 

Nightmare chuckled, turning to glance at Blue and Bonnie.

"Night, Night, Nightmare!" Bonnie cheered.

"Bon, Bon, Bonnie!" Nightmare replied cheerily.

Blue beamed with bright blue starry eyes.

"I'm glad you're back, Nightmare- now we can once again become an unstoppable force- at hide and seek tag!" Blueberry proclaimed, raising a fist up to the sky.

Nightmare nodded in agreement, trying not to move too much since Dream was still crying his eyes out on him. He turned to meet eyes with Ink and there was a silence between them for a moment.

"I don't know if you can ever forgive me for what I did." Ink mumbled guiltily. "It's just, everything was so predictable and- I don't know, I wanted something big to happen just so things would be different. I should've known better- I went too far."

Nightmare listened to what the artist said. He was angry but... part of him understood that feeling- wanting something to change just so you can feel something different. He gave the artist a slight smile.

"I can forgive you, Ink." He said softly. "I just won't be able to forget."

Ink nodded. He knew that was probably the best he'd get- hell, he was surprised Nightmare even forgave him. He wouldn't have forgiven himself. He doesn't forgive himself. But he'll learn from this horrible experience. He'll become better.

Dream eventually calmed his hysterical sobbing and helped his brother stand up, tearing off the chains and strings that bound Nightmare with the help of Ink and Error. Nightmare glanced around, acknowledging the devastation done to the village.

He frowned. He'd killed a lot of the villagers too... he spared a glance at Dream, wondering how he could still love him after he'd committed such a horrific act. He didn't want to ruin the happy moment though. He'd bring it up later.

"Well, I think Dreamtale needs a bit of fixing up." Ink commented, gesturing towards the debris. "I'll get to work on that and then we can let the surviving monsters of Dreamtale back in."

Or maybe Nightmare would have to bring it up now. Thanks, Ink.

Dream deflated slightly, recalling how so many of the villagers had lost their lives.

"I'm sorry I... you know." Nightmare tried to say, though couldn't bring himself to say it with Bonnie staring up at him.

Dream nodded in understanding, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder reassuringly.

"It's okay, it wasn't your fault." 

Nightmare sighed, shifting his eyes back down onto the ground and noticing something.

"Oh- your cape." He pointed out, moving forwards and plucking up the dirtied, golden-yellow cape from off the ground.

Dream grinned, untying the lilac cape he had been wearing. The two brothers swapped the capes so that they had their own back, putting them on and smiling widely at one another.

"Wowzers, this is the best day ever- I'm glad Nightmare is back to normal!" Blue declared, treading towards the two. "But now it's time to play. Tag, you're it!" He giggled mischievously, tapping Dream's shoulder and taking off running.

Dream snorted. 

"Well, you heard him. You better run!" Dream exclaimed, giving Nightmare, Bonnie and Blue time to flee before beginning to chase after them.

Ink smiled as he watched them go, leaning on Broomie. He was thankful things seemed to be somewhat back to normal, though he felt like he didn't deserve to be forgiven by them.

"Ink." Error spoke up, snapping the artist out of his thoughts. "You can fix this mess later. Let's just spend time with them- Nightmare probably needs it."

Ink blinked, a small smile forming on his face.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right." He replied.

The creator and destroyer both began to run after the others, catching up quickly and commencing the game of chase.

By the end of their game, they'd made it all the way to the large, pristine lake within the forest. It was just as beautiful as it had been before the chaos, and as Nightmare peered down at his and his friend's reflections, he felt that everything would be okay.

--The End--

I honestly didn't expect the end to be this close and I'm genuinely tearing up right now because I have finished this book. It just feels so surreal- like, I feel dumb for getting emotional but you have no idea the whole journey I've been on with writing this. I met so many amazing people in the comments and each of you who left nice, funny or just any comment in general made me so happy.

Honestly when I took a month or so break from posting every day, I wasn't going to finish this book at all. I was going to just leave it because I wasn't happy with it anymore. I didn't feel like I was writing enough or if it was good enough to publish but thanks to all of the positive comments from my readers, you really helped me gain confidence with this and gave me the strength to continue updating it. 

You guys mean a lot to me and you've unintentionally made me really happy and I can't thank you enough for that. I may throw in a few more oneshots into this book but for now... this really is the end.

I feel really silly for being so sappy and emotional but I can't help it aaaaaaa-

Goodbye you guys, remember to brush your teeth before you cross the road :)