Nightmare's POV days later

Finally, after so much searching, the scented trail of Killer's blood leads us to a city made out of marble as shiny as the pearls from a clam and stones as dark as a squid's ink. It was a divided look between light and darkness, but that wasn't what I was focused on. I lost the scent of Killer as many more strangers' scents as well as the scent of goods muffled it up. Horror paves a way through the busy streets either by force or just by onlookers fearing him upon a glance and getting out of his way. Many guards stood around and he growls at them, making them tremble. Whispers start to fill the streets and bits of the conversations are heard, mentioning Color's rumors and wondering if Horror is one of the rumored beasts Color spoke about. Others wondered why such a huge "creature" would dare to come here while some caught onto how he is searching for something and wondered what it may be. Few noticed me on his back and any comments would be that it's a strange sight.

"Ah! There you three are!"Horror says, approaching three guards

They each start trembling in their armor, one cleaning their speared trident from the blood the stains it. The stench told me that it's Killer's blood.

"H-Hello Sir. How might we help you t-t-t-today?"One asks

Horror snatches the trident and spins it in his hand.

"Mighty nice tool you got here, huh?"He says

"Why thank you, Sir. This has been passed down through my family for generations!"A second says proudly

Horror smiles, then snaps it in half with one hand. He takes the broken halves and breaks it until there is too much to salvage or fix.

"Sir!"The three shout in shock

"That is what's going to happen in three seconds if you don't give me a good reason not to kill you for attacking my friend! Now talk! What did Color have you do to him?"He snaps

"Oh shoot! You're one of the freaks Color warned us about! We should be asking you that!"They say

"Well I'm not the one with his blood on my hands or weapons! And I'm certainly not the one about to die to pay for it, though I can't say the same for you!"Horror growls

He grows in size and I get tossed off his back as his anger sets off his transformation. I glance around, spotting a little boy swimming around the streets with a list in his hands. He has chains glowing a bright blue on his wrists but doesn't seem to be bothered by it.

"Okay, today I have to get some food. Hmmm, only the healthiest of foods will help him heal and I can't leave the borders to hunt like he would...Maybe I can find sweet candies as well to cheer him up. Those bad people don't even care for him properly....Sissy says I should also get blankets or proper pillows for him...I really should especially to cushion his tail...Is this what it's like to care for a pod? A family? Doesn't matter, I'll do anything to care for my family...You got this Moonlight."He mutters to himself, tucking the list away

I watch as he slips between the market stands, snatching anything that catches his eyes and stows it away in a satchel slung over his shoulder. I follow behind him, curious on how this is unfolding. Then a little girl knocks into him, swimming at full speed. She was also chained at the wrists and they resembled each other closely.

"Sissy! What are you doing here?"The boy asks

"I'm chasing that mean man away! He tried sneaking in again but I lost him!"His sister says

"Then who is with Dad, Eclipse?"He asks

"Shoot!"She squeaks, zipping back the way she came with her brother following

I follow after them, then hear Killer scream in pain.

"Dad!"They shout, rushing into a building. Next thing I see is Color getting thrown through a wall by half a dozen tentacles. Then a bright glow of magic seals the wall shut again. I swim to a window, gazing into a bedroom.  I see Killsy laying on the bed, his tail wrapped in a cast and trapping him in bed. He grips his arm, shaking his head while the twins quickly try to help him.

"Are you ok, Dad?"The girl asks

"He injected something into me..Ugh....Are you both okay?"He asks

The two nod.

"Ooo! Ooo! I got stuff to help you!"The boy says, giving him more blankets and pillows.

"Thanks...I'm sorry that you both are stuck here."

"We wouldn't rather being anywhere else, Dad!"The boy says

"We want to keep you safe. We're not going anywhere."The girl says

I gently put my hand up against the glass as the twins snuggle up to him. The twins doze off and Killsy smiles.

"Such wonderful twins..."He mumbles

He kisses the boy on the head.

"Rest well, Moonlight."He says

Then he kisses the girl on the head.

"Sweet dreams, Eclipse."He says

He leans back against the pillows with a sigh.

"I sure hope that injection isn't anything serious..."He says, then holds his head with a groan

Two guards enter the room with needles. They stick it into the kids and pull blood into the syringes. They squirm but another injection puts them to sleep. Killer growls at them and they back away nervously. Then one gets a knife and slashes a cut across his arm, getting a vial to collect the blood in. The sight angers me. Then the guards leave.

I sit on the windowsill, seeing this routine take shape. They'd periodically come and go, taking samples or testing the three of them. This made it hard for them to really rest but they managed it the best they could. It wasn't like Killer could do much with his lower half bandaged and in a cast, making it impossible to move or fight. Soon the twins wake up on their own and I smile, leaning against the glass. A light tapping sound results and I realize that I morphed to my bigger form.

Shoot.....

Their gazes snap to the window and they look at me in shock. I wave to them and Moonlight zips out, beside me within seconds.

"Papa! You're really here!"He cheers as his sister comes up beside him

"I'm not too sure, Moon. They injected us with plenty of unknown icky stuff. How do we know it's not a hallucination?"She asks

"No, Sis! It has to be him! He looks too real!"He says

"Kids....."I say, reaching out

Moonlight eagerly hugs me, squeezing me firmly. His sister pokes me with a tentacle before hugging me as well. I smile at them. Then I hear a groan of pain, seeing Killsy twist in bed.

"Nighty...."He mumbles

I look at the twins and they smile, pulling me inside. I snuggle up to Killsy and get cozy with the kids on me. Some guards come in again and I grin.

"Hello there.~ Now, how much do you cherish your lives?"I ask

SLAM!

"Thought so."I say

"Mmmm...Wha?"I hear Killsy say, slowing waking up

He hugs my arm gently, slightly opening his eyes.

"Summer cuddles..."He mutters, starting to doze off

"Dad! He's here!"Moonlight says

"Huh?"He says, blinking awake

He looks up at me and I smile at him. His face erupts in a bright red glow.

"N-Nighty..? I-I-I....H-How..? Wh-When..?"He stutters

"I snook in and followed the kids to you. Don't worry, they can't hurt you anymore."I tell him

He leans against me.

"You still have explaining to do..."He says

"Right...I didn't tell you sooner since I didn't want to overwhelm you with too much at once."I tell him

He smiles at me happily.

"Thank you...For that. How do you feel?"He says

"You ask with a broken tail."I say with a shake of my head

"I'm honestly curious. This is the first that I see you back to your senses...Indicated by your eye not being orange anymore. What..do you feel?"He asks

Right, I spoiled him and he thinks it was part of summer instincts.

"I feel happy now that I know that you're safe."I say

"O-Okay...Um....I love you, Nightmare."He tells me, the kids cooing with smiles

I look at him in surprise.

"Yeah, I um..I've had time to think...Especially with this cast hehe...I'm sure that I love you, past lives or not and I want to share it with you...I trust you..."He says

I wrap a tentacle around him gently and smile.

"Are you truly comfortable with this decision?"I ask

He nods.

"Okay, then I'm happy to hear that."I say, kissing him on the head

Then I whistle and Horror bursts through the door.

"Nightmare! I heard that! Did you find Ki-?"Horror begins, then sees us

"Hi!"The twins cheer

He smiles widely, quickly coming over and hugging the three of them.

"I am so glad that you're okay!"He exclaims

He nuzzles his head against each of ours, then quickly sits down at the end of the bed, watching the door.

"I already know that you can't leave. Some guards told me everything. So I'm waiting for someone to come so I can persuade them to undo it."He says, picking at his teeth

"And if they don't?"Killsy asks

"Another fine meal for me."He replies

Killsy nods, snuggling close to me with the twins in our arms.

And now...The wait begins.

TBC