Trigger warning for those who need it: Mentions of R*pe

~Y/n's POV~

I wasn't quite sure where I currently was. I knew for a fact that I must be dreaming, considering I had just been lying in bed with Ink. This could be a timeline jump, but everything felt and looked slightly fuzzy. 

I attempted to move so I could examine the space further, but I realized that my arms had been chained to the ground. Since I knew this was a dream- or a nightmare- I wasn't very concerned. I certainly didn't like it, but I couldn't get hurt. 

Since I couldn't get around to look at the area, I had to scan what I could see. There appeared to be grass underneath my feet, but it was as pitch black as the VOID. I felt a shudder go down my spine at the thought. There was a densely packed forest circling all around me, but these trees weren't like anything I had seen before. They curved and bent in odd ways and the bark reminded me of tar. Not to mention that the leaves were an unnatural shade of red. I couldn't see very far beyond the trees, there was an odd thick fog that covered the place.

I felt like something was watching me... I really hated that feeling. I turned around and saw that one of the trees wasn't like the others. It had a large glowing yellow eye in the center of the bark, staring straight into my SOUL. As soon as I noticed this unsettling feature, the other trees suddenly had eyes of their own. All of them were different colors, but they all were staring at me. I felt sweat forming at the base of my forehead and I was starting to shake.

I attempted to break free of the chains that were restraining me from escaping this creepy scenario. None of the eyes were blinking, and for a moment I wondered if they were even real. The chains made zero noise as they clanked together in my efforts to escape, leaving the area completely silent except for my quickening breathing. 

"Sorry about all this, but I needed to be able to talk to you alone."

I let out a small shriek at the sudden noise and flinched wildly in the direction I heard it from. I calmed down at once when I saw it was just Nightmare. He looked extremely apologetic as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Nightmare? What the hell is going on?" I questioned him, now that I was less afraid. I only just noticed that I was still wearing what I had worn to bed. Which meant I was shirtless in front of Nightmare. I couldn't even cover up because my arms were still tied down with chains.

"I can only appear in nightmares so I had to make this place scary. I'm really sorry but I know I wouldn't get a chance to talk to you alone when you're awake." He explained to me, still looking quite sorry. He had also noticed that I was basically half naked in front of him and his cheeks became a light purple. Before I knew it, a long sleeved sweater had appeared on me. Much better.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" I asked him wonderingly, deciding not to draw attention that I had been topless. He seemed to appreciate that and sat down on the dark grass. I followed his lead and did the same thing. The grass was actually quite soft and I couldn't help but run my fingers through it. The chains felt a lot less tight now.

"Well, when you were telling me and Dream about the timeline that you saw about Ink and Blade... something happened. It's the reason I spaced out for a while when you were throwing up."

I silently urged him to continue, but he wasn't looking at me anymore. He was staring down at the grass, lost in whatever he was thinking about. The fog was really starting to set in now, I could barely see the staring trees around us. 

"I think the amnesia is starting to go away. I'm starting to remember what happened while I was that... tar octopus thing. While you were talking, I remembered what had happened before the battle began. I remember getting that message from Blade, the one saying that she got ambushed in Overtale. Me and those other Sanses had been expecting something like that to happen so we were prepared. I'm starting to remember bits and pieces of the battle but it's still not all there."

This... certainly wasn't the news I was expecting to hear. I couldn't exactly say I was surprised, though. I did have a small thought in the back of my mind that perhaps Nightmare would begin to remember things now that we had gotten back from the VOID. I reached out my hand to touch his, which was fumbling with some of the grass. Unfortunately, the chains didn't allow me to reach that far and stopped me just before I could reach him. 

Nightmare noticed my plight and the chains instantly disappeared without a trace, which allowed me to finally take hold of his bony hand. It felt slightly different than Ink's hand. Ink had more of a paint texture while Nightmare's was more smooth like marble. 

"Night... what ever you might remember, it wasn't you. You aren't that tar octopus. You never were him and you never will be. He is a drastically different person than you and you just happen to know his memories." 

I scooted forward in front of him and leaned in to pull him into a hug. He didn't hesitate to hug me back, pressing his face into my shoulder. He always did like to do that, not that I minded in the slightest. I rubbed his back in support, and really tried to emphasize how much I cared about him in the hug. 

"T-Thank you. It means a lot, Y/n. I'm really scared about what I'm going to remember. The things you told me in the VOID... I don't want to remember them."

I wasn't sure how to comfort him in that aspect. He had every right to be afraid of those memories and there wasn't anything we could do to stop him remembering. We just had to roll with the punches. I hugged him tighter than before, offering my continued support.

"Was there anything you left out when you told me about some of the things I did as that tar thing? I... want to be prepared for when I remember."

I was fearing that question. There had been things I purposefully left out. Mostly the fact that he had almost let me get raped on multiple occasions. I wasn't sure if he could handle that information, and I certainly didn't like retelling those events. I felt a shiver go up my spine that I knew he could feel.

"Y-Yes... there has been some things. But Night, I'm not sure you want to kno-"

"I'm going to know anyway, Y/n. That's why I need to know now. If it's that bad that you feel like you can't tell me then I need to be ready." He interrupted me quickly, pulling back from the hug and placing his hands on my shoulders. He had a stern look that held hidden fear.

"I-I know... I j-just don't know if I can physically tell you. I can barely think about it without wanting to vomit."

Nightmare's expression shifted at once. Now he looked guilty once more. He looked back down at the grass and let go of my shoulders so they rested where his gaze was. 

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't of pushed it." He really knew how to tug at my heartstrings. I know he wasn't doing it on purpose, but he was guilt tripping me to hell and back. "I'll close the nightmare now. Again, I'm sorry." He had raised his hand and I could feel my real body starting to wake.

"Wait! Don't!" I quickly stopped him, grabbing onto his arm to pull it back down to the ground. He looked at me puzzled, and I could feel my body go back to slumber. I let out a sigh of mental relief.

"I can tell you. You need to know."

"You really don't have to-"

"I know I don't have to tell you, but I can handle it. It's been over 5 years now. Though it still feels like yesterday..."

Nightmare didn't protest anymore, knowing he wouldn't be able to back down now that I had made a decision. I took a deep shaky breath as I remembered the events that took hold. I could still feel HL biting into my shoulder, tearing away most of what was there. My stomach churned at the idea but I held back the bile.

"The tar octopus... he... was going to allow me to be..." I could barely get the words out of my throat, it was like something had clogged it. I swallowed in an attempt to make the feeling go away but it didn't work. Nightmare clutched onto my hand that had been resting on my knee. The pressure helped distract me from the memories and instead I focused on the words. "S-S-Sexually a-assaulted."

I shivered as the words escaped my mouth. I was slightly proud of myself that I managed to get it all out. That feeling went away when I saw the pure horror on Night's face. His eye sockets had widened and his eye lights had shrunken considerably. 

"W-What? I allowed- I mean- He allowed that?! I-I'm so s-sorry- I- how could he have d-done that?!" Nightmare was freaking out, his hands were shaking as they clutched mine tightly. He seemed to angry at himself, even though it wasn't him that had done it. I also noticed that the light purple blush had returned on his face, and I'm sure mine was lightly dusted in pink as well.

"Night, it's alright. It's in the past and nothing was actually done to me. Well, not nothing but... I wasn't raped. Assaulted, but not raped."

"T-That isn't much better! Are you alright?" 

"I'm fine, Night. Like I said, it's in the past. I got my small vengeance on the one who was going to do it."

"...Can I ask who it was? So if I ever meet them I can also get my vengeance?"

I chuckled a small bit at his response before answering, "His name was Horrorlust, HL for short. He's from a combined AU of Horrortale and Underlust. Sounds like a wonderful place, I know."

His eyes had flashed in recognition of the name, and he cracked a smile at my joke. "I remember him, I think. Super big weirdo..."

"Don't need to tell me twice. He's the one who gave me that gash in my shoulder." I pulled down the hem of my sweater to show him the scarring left on the area.

"I wondered how you had gotten that... Who else knows about this?"

I hesitated for a long moment before telling him the truth, "...Everyone."

"What?! What do you mean everyone?!" His expression of horror had returned.

"Everyone was there when it happened. Ink, Dream, Blue, Fell, Error, Reaper- everyone who was at that party they held for us. Except Impulse, but she might've been told as well. And of course Goth, since he wasn't even born yet."

"T-They were there?!"

"Yes... I might as well explain the whole scenario."

So, I told him everything I could recall. The message we had gotten on the walkie-talkie about Poison, the battle that commenced, me getting captured by the mafia version of myself, the plan her and Dust made, the assault that transpired (though I glossed over most of that), and how I got everyone to safety.

Night had a grim expression the whole time. His eye sockets had gone dark a long time ago and he seemed deep in thought. His grip was deathly tight on my hands now, I was lucky I couldn't feel pain in this state. He silently pulled me back into a hug, his face not changing in the slightest. I pressed my face into his shoulder this time, like he had done before. Our roles had effectively been swapped.

"I-I don't know what to say..." His voice was shaky and so were his hands as they pulled me closer to him. I could feel the back of my sweater getting wet and knew he was crying, something I was very familiar with.

"Night... you don't need to beat yourself over for it. It wasn't you-"

"You keep saying it wasn't me but I was the one who chose to eat that damned apple. It was me. I-I'm the one who a-allowed you to nearly-" 

"No. You weren't. That apple changed you into a different person."

"B-But-!"

"There's no 'buts' about it. It's a simple fact. I don't blame you for what happened."

He didn't respond, but now he was starting to sway side to side. Since I was still in his hold, I had no choice but to also sway. The surrounding area was getting foggier and darker. I could barely feel Nightmare's hold anymore.

"You're waking up... I'll see you in the morning." Night explained to me, his voice sounding like it was under water. I hugged onto him tighter before I couldn't feel him at all anymore. I was back in bed, like it hadn't happened.

~~~