Yooo y'all get a generous chunk of lore so don't waste it. Also most of this IS NOT canon to Dreamtale lmao I'm just playing with my ideas. 

Tw: Gore mention

—Dream's POV—

"Hello, Blue!" 

The two collided in an enthusiastic embrace. Blue hugged Dream tight, ecstatic after the long period of not seeing his best friends. Dream reciprocated the feeling, flourishing in the positivity. 

"Hi Dream!" Blue exclaimed, pulling away and hopping from foot to foot. "What brings you by? Me? A lead? Tacos?!" 

Dream laughed, thought it was a little dry. "We need your help." Dream said, gesturing to himself and Ink, who was stepping out from around a corner, a too-innocent grin on his face. "It's... about my brother." 

Blue's smile faltered for a moment. Nightmare? Him again? Sometimes Blue just wished the twisted god of negativity would just melt into a puddle and disappear for good. That would make his job a lot easier. 

"Blue, don't be like that!" Dream advised, grabbing his comrade by the arm. "We need to go find Core, I'll teleport us." 

Dream felt Ink latch onto his other arm before he disappeared into thin air. Moments later, he was in Core's office, ready to deliver quite a grand speech until he saw what exactly was going on. 

"Wh-What happened!?" Immediately, any grip he had on his friends was broken, and he rushed up beside Toriel, who was holding an unconscious Core. Instinctively, his hands moved to heal, but it didn't work. 

"They're simply exhausted." Toriel whispered, rocking the child softly. "They fainted from overexertion. Nothing to truly worry about."

Oh. 

Dream felt his frame still as his soul slowed its erratic beating. For a moment, the darkest realities had filled his head. Visions of his brother coming and taking the life of the innocent child, tearing out their eyes and leaving them to scream in agony. It made his stomach churn. 

"Well then, I trust there is a reason the three of you have come here?" Toriel spoke, still cradling Core as she took a seat in her giant armchair. Her eyes flicked over the skeletons. "A little birdie gave me the inkling that this is a pressing matter." 

"It is." Dream confirmed with a nod, inviting himself and his friends to have a seat on the plush carpet. "But we have found a potential solution to our erm... situation."

The goat's eyebrows arched in intrigue, and she leaned in, curious. "So it's war plans?" She asked, making Dream stiffen. He didn't want to address them as that. 

"Well, 'War Plans' sounds a bit...intimidating." Dream replied, scratching the back of his skull as Blue twiddled his thumbs. "But technically, yes. We've found a breaching point. A weakness. A speckle of, well..." Something he could take advantage of. 

Dream took a breath, a small moment to think, think hard. In order to overtake his brother, he'd have to exploit you. Your truest feelings. Your love. Manipulate it, twist it, use it as a stepping stone for him to finally obtain victory. 

Love was no negative feeling. It was his specialty. 

"Of love." Dream finished strongly, golden eyes sparkling in the finality of his decision. 

The room fell silent. Glances were exchanged. Toriel looked slightly distraught as she brought a hand to her chin. "Between Nightmare and his subjects...?" She queried, mind boggled. 

"No." Dream said coldly, a harsh snort coming from him. His brother? Love? Never. Impossible. "My brother isn't capable of such a noble feelings." He waved a hand and waved the thought away from his mind. It was stupid. "I mean between one of his men and a human being they captured." Because that's much more plausible. Hell, it's believable at the least. 

"Dream." Ink whispered, leaning over to the scowling god of positivity. "Don't go off the deep end. You're missing the point." His fingers danced up and down Dream's spine, a soothing motion his often used to calm him down. The longer this war seemed to go on, the more susceptible Dream seemed to become to his own wrath. 

"I-" The scowl shattered as a look of alarm bloomed on Dream's face. He put a hand to his mouth, cringing when he found just the bittiest droplet of liquid hatred. "It's getting worse. We have to act fast." 

"This is quite the predicament." Toriel said, depositing Core in the armchair to pace around the room. "Does your brother still keep his oath? We could find an inning that way." 

"Yes..." Dream murmured, gaze downcast in shame. He remembered it all too well. Being weak. Being helpless. The times he couldn't see the light with all the negativity in the world. "He still holds fast to the swear of bringing me no harm... unless it is to defend himself."

Toriel nodded. Brow creased in thought. "I wish they were awake." She mumbled. "They could see for us. Tell us something we don't know." 

"I have a plan!" Blue spoke up for the first time, his gloved hand waving around in the air. "Pick me!" 

All eyes turned on him, and he grinned. "We could kidnap them!" He said, all too enthusiastic. "Keep them safe, get them out of the enemy's hands." He added, probably as not to sound so... harsh. 

"I suppose that is a feasible option." Toriel agreed, nodding. "Yes... if we were able to take a support or two, it would render the whole team in disarray." 

Dream remembered how concerned his brother was when they'd taken Horror. Bitterly, he also remembered how furious he was with all the guards who'd assisted you. He had to wipe memories that day. A terrible event.

"We should utilize the element of surprise!" Blue shouted, eyes slowly shifting to their starry state as he pumped a fist into the air. "Noo—Nightmare will never see it coming!" 

"No..." Dream replied, shaking his head. He had to remain good. Nothing underhanded. "We should send another letter. Give them a chance to repent." He stated, summoning some parchment and a quill. Ink perked. 

"Allow me!" The messy skeleton snatched the utensils and scribbled up a message, handing the paper to Dream in a matter of moments. "Here ya' go!" 

"...Ink..." Dream muttered, chuckling. Even though Ink practically scrabbled out the words, they were quite elegant, neater and more legible than most could manage. "This is very, very rude." 

"I know!" Ink replied, taking back the sheet and looking it over. "Just your brother's style. He'll love it!" 

Dream laughed as Ink fixed the message. In the moment things didn't seem so dire. So pressing. 

In the back of his mind, he even had a backup plan. Something that didn't need you, or Nightmare, or Horror or anyone. A thing so devastatingly great that it could send his brother back to the shadows for eternity. 

He just didn't want it to come to that. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Huh. Dreamy boi's got some issues, I see. Concerning? Yeah, but let's see where this goes. 

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed!

- De Moogus