Spirits and Souls

And I cry Despair

Woah... i was shocked with how quickly my brain came out with this one.

Despair....

The absence of hope.

When the darkness clawed to far into ones self, and you knew there was no turning back.

He could still feel the memory of the humans ropes, ropes that bound his magic.

There hatred and greed, there murderous hearts.

The taste of the black apples flesh on his tongue, the surprising tangy taste and sticky juice that dribbled down his throat and face as they forced the apples into him.

He's cried and begged.

But no one came.

Dream too far away, led away to help the humans for a few days who were just as greedy as the rest.

He didn't even notice at first when his tears bled black, as he'd gone into shock the only sounds there cruel laughter and his own gasping breaths.

"Who needs a freak like you, all we need is sweet little Dream, so innocent and easy to lead around," the leader sneered, readying another apple.

There were only a few apples still gold, not changed to black by the malice of his captors.

How was his body continuing to intake the apples, he should have become full and gotten sick from it now.

"Dream..." he whimpered.

They forced the latest apple down his throat, and he broke.

OoOoO

Nightmare did not have clear memories of what followed, just that he screamed a scream one hoped never to hear. The humans covered there ears in pain.

The world was blurry around him, but he swore the corrupted influence of the apples bled out of his body.

A body he would soon become to familiar with and too well known by.

The splashes of blood he remembered, knowing that he'd killed them.

Nightmare wasn't exactly in control of his body or metal facilities, once the apples power activated the power itself puppeted his actions.

Nightmare hadn't thought apples could be evil.

He'd gained too many levels that day.

Then Dream returned.

No... Dream.. no.. I'm sorry...

The betrayal on his other halves face as took in the dust and blood, his new corrupted body.

The humans of course had told Dream he'd eaten the apples by himself.

How he hated Dream for always falling for there lies.

Dream.. help.. please.. make it stop...

In one moment of clarity, he stopped his body from killing Dream.... not that turning him to stone was any better.

He fled.

OoOoO

The sane moments were rare after that, as his mind retreated from the traumas.

There were a few... destroyed Au's while his mind was comatose.

Nightmare didn't know how much time he lost after he left his AU.

After... Dream.

Dream.. I'm so sorry...

He was very lucky Error was the one that found him.

He didn't want to think what would have happened if Ink had found him.

He didn't even remember Error knocking his feral self out.

OoOoO

"No.. bad Nightmare.. bad!" Error said, and actually sprayed water into the feral Skeletons face.

Nightmare hissed eyes unfocused.

"Right... getting him back to sanity not to a good start," Error said, heck he knew insanity as his job kept him in the anti-void a lot and a few days there would drive anyone around the bend.

He sighed and stared as goopy tentacles wrapped around his left leg, and a certain corrupted Sans tried to gnaw on it.

"Food, right knew I was forgetting something," Error said, not like he had to eat.

OoOoO

It was over a year later.

Nightmare came back to semi-sanity waking from his own name sakes, fearfully hiding in what one could only call a nest of blankets.

He cried and shivered, his throat raw from earlier screaming.

"Breath kid," A voice whispered, he continued to stare blank eyed at the world around him.

Strangely even years later he remembered that moment, touch phobic Error climbing into his nest and gently pulling him on his lap, draping blanket over him. A glitching hand gently ran over his head.

Then, Error sang.

It was a beautiful song, a lullaby that he had a feeling only existed from whatever AU Error originally came from.

Errors voice wasn't glitching.

For the first time since the apples, Nightmare allowed himself to cry.

OoOoO

Things progressed from there, not to say it was easy or he didn't regress in moments.

Error taunt him to live.

Not just survive.

He also learned of the balance, as error still had to do his fate bound duty.

He didn't know why he called Error Dad teh first time.

Or why Error accepted it.

Later he understood, as Errors AU was gone and with it his family.

The next time he called him dad on purpose, he caught his caretaker pretty much parent blush.

Error was such an innocent ins some ways.

He learned to be Happy again.

It took five years for him to leave the Au Error had saved him from a feral state on, but he did it.

He'd lost apparently thirty years since he was forced to eat the apples.

"Ready kid," Error said, after all sooner or later the baby bird left the nest.

"I was born ready," Nightmare said with a grin.