Nightmare's POV

I wake up, finding myself deep underwater. I look around, seeing nobody around and that I was deep down in dark waters, no sign of the surface. I look down and find that my body was half skeletal and half octopus, with purple tentacles extending from at least my waist. I only had a lavender shirt for clothing and was clearly in my passive form with my white bones visible to my sight.

I recall everything The Twister said and realize what happened. I lost....everything. Just when everything was going right. I had my own home, friends, family, a husband-to-be, kids, and even made up with my brother! I had respect and love, no bullies to worry about. Only Fate, Shattered, and whoever they sent after us to worry about, but it'd be nothing since I had them....But now they are gone....I have to start from nothing....But why...? I was happy! We were happy! Loved! Safe! Everything we could want! But.....Not enough for someone else's twisted fun....Still....It feels so unfair.....

I broke down crying right then and there as thoughts ran through my head. Will I get bullied or attacked again? Will anyone remember? Assuming not since The Twister wants me to keep this secret...Will I even find anyone? Will they be okay? Will I have to rebuild all our connections? Our loves and bonds? And I'm the only one who recalls? This is horrible! What if they go against me instead? Twisted to do so? Or....No....

"Hey, little guy! What are you crying about?"A voice rumbles

I look up and see an enormous figure looking like Horror looming over me. He had stripes on his cheeks and down his arms. He still has that hole in his skul, his eyes a darker red with only one blood red eye glowing visibly. He wore a dark brownish shirt. He had a long tail with spots and lines going across it and a white underbelly like a whale shark....He was much bigger than me, making me realize how small I am.

I guess there's my answer about the memory...Yet he seems so friendly and took notice of me despite our size difference....

My thoughts only fed on this info and I feel more tears roll down my face.

"I lost everything I love...."I say

He frowns, tilting his head.

"You lost your pod too?"He asks

"P-Pod?"I stutter

"A pack or family...I recall faintly having a big one but can't recall a thing about them...I can't locate anyone...Not even my brother..."He says

"Oh...."I say, trying to hide the joy of hearing his faint recollection of our "gang family"

"Wait! I have an idea! Will you be part of my pod? We don't have anyone else so...."He says

I look up at him with a smile. I wipe my tears, loving the sound of that. This is a first step towards regaining what I lost.

"Yes, I'd love that."I say

He picks me up and puts me on his head.

"Sooo, what's your name?"He asks

"Nightmare."I say

"I'm Horror! Now, hold on, I'm going to hunt some food for us!"He says

I cling onto his head as he seems to soar through the water on his own current. The most he had to do was cruise around, opening his mouth to reveal rows of teeth. Small creatures seemed to just float into his mouth like krill, tuna, sardines, small fishand even plankton. I realize just how lucky I am to have grabbed his attention. He could've just as easily eaten me without a second thought. He shuts his mouth and shakes his head a bit like he was swishing around mouthwash or something, then spat out some bones and smaller fish, continuing to cruise away casually.

"Hmmm...Now to find some shrimp..."He says, looking around intently

I glance around curiously, seeing that we were come out of a cavern. He was heading higher to the surface.

"How deep were we?"I ask

"Quite deep. I mean, that was a canyon you were in. Most shrimp are closer to the surface."He says

"Oh..."I say, realizing that he is going there for me

I think for a little bit and soon the shrimp came into sight. That's when I hear my name being called right as Horror claws at a group, making sure they can't flee.

"That should be good. Dig in, bud."Horror says, pushing the grub to me

"Nightmare!"A voice yells again as I dig in

I see someone looking like Dream come swimming closer. Even he was bigger than me. He had long, yellow tentacles below him and fins coming from his head. No crown though.

"Brother! There you are! Oh my...You found a friend huh?"He says

"Hey, Dream."I say, smiling at him

He looks down at all the food he had trapped in his tentacles.

"I was thinking that you'd be hungry by the time I found you, so I was gathering some food. Even ran into a pissed-off jellyfish...That may also have been having crashes or mood swings....But clearly you already got that..."He says, then releases the prey he found

An angry jellyfish? Mood swings and crashes? Error? Wait! I have to get to him! I can't risk the Twister hurting him again!

"Ooo! Welcome to the pod!"Horror says

"Pod?"Dream says confusedly, tilting his head

"This is Horror, Dream. I woke up alone and he was alone as well, so we decided to join together in a pack-like family of our own, like a pod."I say, climbing off of Horror to hug him

"And now you're part of it!"Horror says with a big grin

"Oh...Great!"He says

"You mentioned a crashing, angry jellyfish...?"I say

"Yeah, weird black one with tear marks. Red, blue, yellow colors. They also seemed to be growing with blue strings and boy did he have a mouth on him, snapping at me for passing by and apparently getting too close to his cave. Whatever."Dream says

"Where'd you see him?"I ask, now confirming it to be Error

"In a cave down in a canyon over that way."Dream says, pointing in the opposite direction that Horror and I came

"Cool, thanks!"I say, quickly zipping down

I swim as quick as my tentacles would allow me to go, diving into the canyon as soon as it came into sight. The deeper I went, the darker it got. But I hear a glitchy voice humming in the distance. I swim closer to it, into a cave, and that's when I spot him. He held a pearl close to his chest, looking unharmed. But he looked so upset. I could sense his pain emotionally.

I swim deeper into his cave.

"Error....."I say

He looks at me and his eye lights shrink. He drops the pearl.

"NiGhtmArE!"He exclaims, charging at me

He hugs me close in his hands, smiling and crying tears of joy.

"YoU aRe OkaY! ThAnK tHe StArs!"He says

"I should be saying that about you, Error. And you remember everything? Others seemed memory wiped...."I say

"NoBoDy cAn gEt iN oR wArP tHiS sKuLl! I sAw tHe sTrIngS aNd kNeW iT c0uLd oNly mEaN tr0ubLe. BuT m0rE weNt t0 yoU whIcH w0rRied mE aS iT alL fAdeD aWay....WhAt aRe wE g0iNg t0 do?"He tells me

I smile at him sweetly, trying to calm him.

"Well, you're going to have to calm down so you don't risk crashing. And we can try to get the group back together. I mean, I already regrouped with my brother and Horror. We're making a pod, like a gang. You could join it so we'll stick together!"I tell him

I hear a loud growl from behind us. An ocean sunfish was swimming into the cave, its gaze locked onto Error. Error shoves me aside and growls back at the predator. I felt my body morphing as the sunfish paces back and forth around Error, waiting for a time to strike. Nobody hurts Error! Not my group! I could only see out of one eye but I was focusing on the sunfish.

Right when it went to charge at Error I grab it with a tentacle. I shove it down to the floor and realize how big I grew with my tentacles and everything. Now they shine a luminous black and green like my goopy body. Error looks up at me, his eye-lights small and shaking. Then he smiles happily. I look at the sunfish that was now trembling in my grip.

"Don't ever go after a member of my gang again. Or I'll make you pay."I growl

It nods out of fear and I release it. It swims off quickly, whimpering. I smirk.

"NiGhT, yOu ArE giGanTiC. YoU nEeD yOur oWn cAvE bEfoRe tHis cAvEs iN."Error says

"Good point."I say, swimming out

I look around, scanning the area. I find a cave lower down that was even bigger and empty. It had different tunnels and areas. It even shallowed out to a cavern where land above water area. I look around it and smile, knowing that I could settle in here easily. I glance to see Error swimming in, already using strings from his face to knit something together. He sat on a ledge leading to a smaller tunnel, fit for someone's personal space.

"Jeez, Nightmare can swim fast! Where'd the lil guy even go?"I hear Horror say

"He was looking for that jellyfish for some reason...He has to be around here somewhere..."Dream says

I was already sorting the spaces eagerly, planning where will be what and who stays where. I labeled the space Error was in to be his, my other tentacles decorating or marking spaces for Dream and Horror. I mark out the living space to eat and chill at, check to see if the spaces are big for anyone and smile.

"YoU'Re reAlLy iNt0 tHis, aRen'T y0u?"Error asks

"It's like making my castle all over again! It's one of the fun parts!"I say, decorating a space of my own

"Brother! Where are you?"Dream calls out

"In here, Dream!"I say, digging into the hole meant to be my personal space

I settle on the ledge, the rest of me in the "bed" or nest meant for my body and tentacles to rest in. I rest my head down, watching the two enter. They step back, startled by the sight of me.

"Well that's certainly a growth spurt..."Horror says

"Brother, why did you leave so quickly when I mentioned...him?"Dream asks with a glance to Error

"This is my friend, Error. I wanted to check on him after you mentioned how upset he was."I say

Horror swims over to his space as I put seaweed or vines to cover up the other spaces for those who haven't reunited with us yet. And to cover the front entrance for some sort of privacy or security.

"Oooo! This seems cozy! Is it home?"He asks, seeing the wall in that space labeled with his name

I nod.

"I thought it had enough space for our gang or pod."I say

Then I hear a loud horn blaring and my focus zoned in on that.

"Nightmare? Are you okay?"Horror asks

"I'll be right back."I say, swimming to find the source of the horn.

I was getting closer to the surface when it started getting louder. I peek above the water and see someone looking like X!Chara on a row-boat and blowing a horn.

"What are you blowing that for?"I ask

"Oh I was just blowing this horn for the heck of it. Stole it and now I'm just bored. Aaand most lands already banished me or want me in a cell for my troubles soooo I'm here."He says

"Man, you're really chaotic, aren't you?"I say

"Uh huh.."He says, then realizes someone was talking to him

He looks over to me in shock.

"Oh! Hey Nightmare!"He says

"Hey. I am remaking the gang since things were twisted. Would you like to join us?"I ask

"Hell yeah!"He says

I reach out with an idea in mind. He shakes my hand but a bright glow climbs along his arm and across his body until it's blinding. When I coulld see again, he had a long, snake-like tail in its place of legs. He smiles, unfazed.

"Lead the way!"He says, hopping in

I smile at him, leading him down the cave and brushing the vines away to let him in.

"Wooaah!"He says

"Ooo! Another new member!"Horror exclaims with a smile

"HeY, ChArA."Error says, already making a hammock in his assigned space

Dream looks confused but sighs, seeming to give up on asking for answers on what is going on. He settled into his space, shutting the drapes of vines or seaweed behind him. X!Chara curiously checks out his space, then notices the other reserved spots besides the marked out spots for living or chilling as a group like a dining or living room area.

"So..You expect to get more back into the group?"He asks

I nod.

"I just don't have a clue where they'd be or where to find them."I say

"I'm sure they'll show themesleves in one way or another eventually. This is them we're talking about. And some of their personalities will be easily recognizable or noticeable."He says

"ThE fIsH aRoUnd hErE aRe pReTtY chAtTy so I'D bE suRpRIsEd iF rUmoRs dOn'T spReAd abOuT tHem."Error says

I smile and nod. Horror's head pops up as some distant tune is heard. He grins. He chuckles, his voice rumbling through his chest and rows of sharp rows of teeth but it seeming so sweet and innocent. He swims out without a word, his tail waving goodbye.

"Oooo, someone has plans."Chara says

I smirk, content with the family I've gathered so far.

TBC