Nightmare's POV

I walk through the portal, finding a large room full of tapestries around me. I see various colors of threads connecting the tapestries yet a majority of the figures depicted in the pattern-filled tapestries are faceless...Then I see a shining tapestry raised high and connected to Mom's tapestry with a green string. This bright tapestry is titled Positivity, depicting Dream with his crown and spear along with his wings. His eyes have doubled, all glowing a bright yellow and he has another set of arms. One holds his spear, another holds a few blue threads dangling, a third is a tight fist while the fourth hand is open and raised with a few souls hovering above it. The threads dangle lower to a depiction of me and Error, tied to our wrists as we are shielded beneath his wings. I am depicted with my tentacles and a bright crown resting on my head, yet also my eyes are visible and there's a detail of a small smile. For once I don't look like a sinister monster. Instead of just goop depicting my body, the depiction shows me with purple clothes similar to my old self....Making me seem more like a person than an abomination...I shouldn't be too surprised by Dream's tapestry that details indicating my existence as a brother...giving me a soul instead of making me seem like a soulless monster...Error's depiction is just as flattering or loving. Instead of a faceless "glitch" or just a destroyer, a lot of care is given to depicting his face with his eyes behind his glasses and his smile. His long blue scarf wraps around his neck and instead of the strings around his fingers trapping souls, he is depicted to be making a puppet. Obviously, a lot of care was taken into this tapestry to make us people, not just roles.

I stare in awe at the large tapestry, seeing what he has been shown to become. Not only is he alive, but he has changed drastically once joining their ranks. If he is as big as he is shown in this tapestry, then he is at a minimum a dozen times bigger than me and we're probably small enough to fit in his hands. I feel a large wave of relief wash over me as I see that he is okay and that Fate indeed has no influence over him. Red strings try to reach his tapestry but get repelled. Fate's tapestry is shrinking in the corner near the ceiling as the number of the tapestries with red strings seems to be rapidly shrinking. Then I notice the golden threads connecting between Dream's tapestry and Mom's tapestry as they intertwine with Mom's green threads. Mom's threads connect to his tapestry and Obscuro's. Then from Dream's tapestry, the golden thread connects to my tapestry and Error's tapestry. I guess that indicates that he has selected us. I see a similar depiction for me in my tapestry as I was shown in Dream's tapestry, except in mine I had my castle behind me and moons in the corners. A similar case was for Error as he was depicted surrounded by puppets and his brother. Then I notice a key detail about our tapestries. Instead of my tapestry being labeled Negativity, there's a silver, twinkling stitching of my name in big letters at the bottom. Instead of Destruction, Error's is labeled in bold blue letters forming his name. He...gave us our names...on our tapestries...

"Oh yes, he was set on making sure those names stay. Whenever we interact with him, he refuses to hear you referred to by your title or role and the same goes for Des-Error. He wants your names to be spoken and has made it clear that you're all entirely under his protection. Nobody can touch you or him. From the moment that he was transferred here, he has hit the ground running and has been trying to work hard. Doing what I don't completely know when it isn't focused on these tapestries or Fate. He seems to be trying to eliminate Fate's influence, specifically with you or Error. We're responsible for various multiverses so he has been trying to eliminate Fate's influence on the versions of you in those worlds. Other than that, he keeps his plans to himself."Destiny tells me

I glance around, then take out my phone and snap a picture of the tapestries. I glance up to where Destiny's voice is.

"Is that really what my brother looks like?"

"Mhm. Once joining our ranks, he got the form to fit our ranks too. He has taken full advantage of it just like I'm sure that you've taken advantage of having tentacles. The extra limbs help get a lot more done, don't they?"

"When can we have him back? All of him, I mean."

"We are currently trying to figure that out. This problem obviously hasn't happened before but we're trying to handle it. We are specifically trying to find ways to transfer things over to Nim so that his efforts aren't for nothing or give Fate an opening to undo everything. The last thing he wants is Fate to become a threat again. He may not say much, but he certainly has a plan in mind."

Then there's a loud screeching alarm that goes off, echoing throughout the halls and a low rumble starts.

"What's that noise?"

"That's an alarm for a new entity entering the realm...That could be dangerous since it's easily molded one way or another...It's best that you go now for your safety."

"And you're sure it isn't just for me entering this realm?"

"That alarm is for any new and UNKNOWN entities, Nightmare. You're a guardian and a very well-known one so no, this isn't for your arrival. But you should go because I'm not hearing a lecture from Positivity if I don't."

I see a portal open in front of me and get pushed through it. I find myself back sitting on my throne and the portal shuts behind me. I see Error walk back into the room and cross his arms.

"So? WhAt wAs tHaT vIsIt liKe?"

"Cut short but I learned a lot. Dream has definitely left his mark in that realm."

"DiD yOu se3 hiM?"

"He has been very busy from what I'm told but I saw the changes in the tapestries that represent us and our lives. He has completely changed how we're depicted and if I am to believe Destiny's answers, he has been shown to change as well. Here, I took some photos." I say, motioning for him to come over.

He walks over and I pull up the picture of Dream's tapestry on my phone as he puts his glasses on. He glances at my phone, then at me with an annoyed look.

"OkAy gRaNdpA, diD y0u f0rGeT hOw tO tUrN yOuR pHonE oN?"

"It is on!"

"ThEN yOuR bRIgHtnEsS sEtTiNgS aRe SHiT."

"No they're not. You may need new glasses."

"YoU aNd dReAm mUsT bE eLeCtrOniC nIghT aNd dAy aS wElL bEcAuSe hIs pHonE doEsn'T hAvE tHis sEtTiNg."

"Doubt that. This is the normal setting." I say

"I sWeAr iF I sWipE aNd tHe bar is eMPtY-"He says, narrowing his eyes.

He swipes my phone's screen, slightly brightening the screen to show the settings for screen brightness at 0%. He smacks my tentacles and shakes his head.

"YeP, nIgHt aNd dAy wIth yOuR pHoNeS."

"Well if my settings are so wrong, what is Dream's brightness?"

"YoU miGhT go blInD iF I sHoW YoU."

"Try me."

He quickly swipes until the bar is full and my screen becomes a blinding white, making me squint and glance away to let my eyes adjust. It's even weirder having to care for two eyes again instead of one.

"TolD yA sO."

"Yeah yeah. Now can you see the picture I took?"I ask, swiping out of my settings to pull the picture back up.

He takes one glance at Dream's tapestry on my phone and instantly crashed. I facepalm, shaking my head as the rebooting bar appears above his head.

"Night! What did you do to Error?"Obscuro asks, floating into the room with little Dream sleeping in his arms.

"Hey, not my fault he can't handle a phone picture! He was the one who changed my brightness setting!"

He floats over, seeing my picture.

"Woaaah...That's Dream?"

I nod.

"We will be getting him back soon...all of him. He's making a lot of changes but they're figuring out how to return him to us."I say

"What do you hope for?"

"For him not to get into too much trouble."I say, shaking my head.

Then Error falls forward onto the floor, still rebooting. We glance down at him and Obscuro looks at me.

"Sooo, how long do you think this reboot will be?"

"It depends on how much of a look he got at this picture."I say, readjusting the settings to the brightness I prefer.

"True. I'm sure seeing that after we got tiny Dream in our castle would've overloaded him."He says

Then we hear little footsteps coming closer like soft taps on the tile floor. I see Dream peek in. He sees Error and quickly runs over to help lift him up. He carefully helps Error into his seat, watching him reboot for a few moments. Then he looks between us.

"How long do we have you for?"Obscuro asks

"As long as you wish. Now, I think there is a matter or two that has to be handled, isn't there?"

"Like...Like what?"Obscuro asks

"Why Nightmare is cut down the middle still for starters."

"This is what the blast did to me, Dream."

"Yeah, we thought it was part of the magic realm creation thing."

Dream looks at him in surprise, then at me.

"So you've been just staying like that because that's what you thought this realm was meant for? That you were meant to do so? This entire place was made so that you didn't feel forced to do anything and do what pleases you! The reason that you were split was because I had dreams of you in both of your forms Nightmare but I didn't want you to think I favored one over the other. Either one is you, my brother. But that never meant you couldn't change your form to the one that makes you comfortable."Dream explains

Wait...So this whole time I could've changed...? I feel a bit stupid now...

I clench my hand tightly as I attempt to shapeshift. I feel the goop slip away and hear Dream gasp as I reach his height. I smile at him, hugging him close before letting the goop take over and morph my body, causing him to be lifted off the ground in my arms.

"B-Brother...what was that?"

"That was my way of showing who is really in control now. The corruption from the apples and this goop may have twisted me into something horrible...something that hurt you...but it's not in control anymore. I am. So even when I'm sprouting tentacles, you can be sure that under all this goop that your brother is the one calling the shots...Stronger than ever before..."I tell him

He glances up at me, his small golden eyes still sparkling with an innocent joy. His expression dims at my last statement.

"You're always strong, Brother."

"I wasn't strong enough to stop you from getting hurt..."

He frowns.

"None of us can stop a prophecy, Brother. None of us were in control of the situation. I'm just glad that you're okay..."

I hug him closer, seeing how serious he is...He's right and hearing it from him is comforting...Having him here as confirmation that he's ok also is perfect...

Then he turns his attention to Obscuro.

"Obscuro, my dear brother, we are also going to have a talk about what I've seen and sensed from you lately. Let me make this clear, neither of you are weak or failed me. I didn't get hurt because of you, Brothers. I got hurt because of a prophecy that a fool set into motion and created, not because of my two brothers. So please, stop holding onto that."

Obscuro and I look at each other and sigh.

"It'll take time...not exactly the easiest experience to move on from...or the smallest guilt to let go of..."Obscuro says

"Well...we will try..."I say

He claps his hands happily.

"Wonderful! Now, Nightmare, when was the last time you celebrated your birthday?"

I frown when he asks that even with a smile. I used to enjoy having my birthday and would "celebrate" it by consuming or creating more negativity in AUs...Amazing how much things have already changed. I don't want to have a birthday without him and I don't want to celebrate like that, knowing that any messes created in AUs will only hurt him. Wait...how did he celebrate today when all he could do was work for others? Ugh, I hate the idea of him helping assholes or random people in AUs and getting disrespected on his birthday. I clear my throat, narrowing my eye at him.

"Our birthday, Dream. I can easily ask you the same thing. I hope your last birthday celebration at least had some sophistication and wasn't you running a charity for the multiverse of jerks."I say

He glances up at me and grins.

"Error put a stop to that routine, you don't have to worry."

"What?"

"He came to my house once on our birthday before I met Obscuro. He made sure I didn't go out helping people and gave me the necklace that disguises me. We just spent the day reading together if I remember correctly. Then the rest of the events kept things busy. Error going missing, all the Owl Beast issues, Obscuro's arrival, and so on to today. That said, time for some birthday fun!"He says, then hops out of my arms.

He quickly runs into another room, cheering something and laughing. Then Error finishes rebooting and glances around.

"Wh3r3's dReAm? I h3aR h1m giGgLiNG."

"He is probably in the kitchen. He said he wants to have some birthday fun. He's probably trying to bake again..."Obscuro says

"CRAP! DrEaM!"He says, quickly running down the hall.

I glance at Obscuro and he shakes his head.

"Does...Does Dream have such poor baking skills? I've been around him and he has given baked goods to me before..."I asked

With all the plans and training to fix the messes we're facing, I didn't really see Dream's skills or activities when he actually relaxes...Then again, none of us could relax for long.

"Let's just say that he hasn't perfected his baking skills. Swap can tell you the struggles and mistakes. And I'm surprised you didn't notice the issue with our brother being the size of a child running to bake alone in a kitchen. I don't go after him since I don't have much kitchen skills either and my powers won't help fix anything since they're meant for chaos."He says

"I guess that's something we'll need to work on. You should be able to make your powers obey your desires, not the role you have."

"You'll teach me?"He asks excitedly with stars in his eyes.

I chuckle, seeing him look up to me so happily and in awe. Is this what Dream enjoys about having a little brother? I'll admit, it does feel nice to be looked up to or able to provide such guidance. I shake my head, sighing.

"I'm still figuring out how to keep a hold on my powers and make them mine, not my role's. I still absorb negativity without trying to. So far I've been able to use my powers for positive or good things like turning a negative into a positive. But I haven't gotten a solid grip on it yet so I don't think I can teach much of anything to you. But when I figure something out, I'll be sure to tell you."I say, trying to be as honest as possible.

"Over five hundred years and you're still figuring it out? Man, I hope I have better chances after over two hundred years."

"It has been a gradual process that has progressed and eroded over time. Fate may not control me but the actions Fate set into motion still have lasting effects. It's simply the consequences of my actions after eating those apples. Corruption was something that twisted my mind and tore down any progress I made at getting control until I...had next to none. Heh, I guess I should thank you for that living hell of hallucinations about Dream. That was what snapped me out of it and it was probably a good thing that you overpowered me....It gave me a chance to regain control again and rebuild what was broken...And not just in relationships. You can say that I'm starting where I left off years ago. Now unless you have a living embodiment of your powers trying to consume your body and take control, I think you have better chances than me."I explain

He glances at me as my words sink in. Then he leaps at me, pulling me into a hug.

"I'm even happier that I did it then! Sure, it was fun for me to break down the jerk hurting Dream and see you redeem yourself...It was nice to see a different side to you...But knowing that it helped you get free from corruption makes it so much better! Now, I can tell this is a negative subject so how about we quit talking about this for now? Let's go make sure there's some cake left for you, if any."He says, soaring down the halls.

"No, dr3Am! d0n't t0uCh tHa-!"

I chuckle as he soars down the hallway hearing Error shout. I follow behind him and see Error's strings force some gloves onto Dream's hands and a whisk into his hand. Dream stands on a stool, stirring the whisk in a bowl as ingredients sit on the counter with a recipe book open beside him. Obscuro hovers beside him while Error has his strings to sort things. I glance at Error and stifle my laugh when I see chocolate cake batter on his face.

"What happened?"

"He s0m3h0w f0und tHe el3ctr1c m1x3r...anD nEaRlY sliPpeD oN th3 st0oL trYiNg t0 pLuG iT iN. On top 0f tHaT, hiS aiM wiTh iT seNt bAtTeR fLyiNg."He says as his strings wipe the space clean.

I chuckle, shaking my head. Obscuro helps Dream make the cake and I wipe Error's face before he gets tempted to eat raw cake batter.  Soon the cake is made and Dream visibly enjoys putting icing on it. We don't bother putting candles but Dream still looks proud of it. I pull him close to me with a grin, lifting him up so he can actually see the top of the cake. Then Palette steps in and glances around at the kitchen.

"Swap wanted me to check on things here. How is the birthday goi-? Oh please tell me that someone other than Dream baked!"

"HEY!"Dream snaps

"Dad, or Tiny Dad I should say, I love you but I know if I report back to Swap that not only have you returned but you're half your size and baked then he's going to have a soul attack. Your baking is good, it's just the process of making it...Welcome back?"

Dream sighs.

"Right...That's true...It's good to see you again, Palette."

"Did you?"

"Under my supervision and Error's."Obscuro says

"Okay, that will probably help. But everyone will be glad to know that you're back, Dream! What a birthday gift, huh? Be right back!"Palette says, running off.

We smile and I start slicing the cake, making sure there's enough for any of our friends if they choose to come. For now, we sit together enjoying our slices. Me, Dream, Error, Blip, and Obscuro. Dream sat in my lap to reach the table(he would've needed a booster seat or something if he didn't) and kept smiling up at me as we had our slices. I smile back at him, knowing exactly why.

It's nice to have a birthday together again.

TBC