Take Me Home.

Chapter 5: I Saw a Piece of Heaven

What he figured seemed to be true. They were going to stay, for now at least until they could find a place that'd house them, though that was unlikely. They were wrongdoers as people thought. We killed their family, and ruined their lives, and regardless of our explanation, it'd never clear us of our crimes.

Dream seemed to be the only one who was welcome enough to forgive us, but Killer thought it only made it harder for him because of that, for not taking justice against us, and instead welcoming us to stay for as long as we needed to.

So with a sigh, Killer knew it'd only be better for them to leave soon enough, but as it is, this was the safest place.

And so they planned.

Killer was searching the castle for weapons and such, though it seemed Dream didn't necessarily have a weapon room, more like a few weapons here and there. Cons of having a sort of team that can spawn their own weapons. Though sure, we could do that too, but it didn't hurt to have actual physical weapons that aren't made of magic so they aren't taking any energy to do that.

Sucks.

Though there was a training room, that was a plus. It was mainly just usual gym stuff like a punching bag, treadmill, etc etc. It seemed to mainly be unused though, so Killer happily took it up.

A few hours later he was flopping down onto the ground. Cross appeared not too long after to hand him a cold water bottle. He drank it greedily, and thanked him. Cross sighed in response.

By the time we'd gotten more familiar with the building and where things were, we found a few things that might be good for defense. Like a shield or two. They were made of a rough and sturdy material. Might be able to last for a little bit, though that depends if Nightmare himself was coming along, or if it were going to be Dust or Horror.

..Killer hoped it wouldn't be them. Together they made the Murder Time Trio, and if they had to fight each other because Nightmare made them? Well fuck.

He didn't want to, and he knew the others wouldn't want to as well, but Nightmare wouldn't give them a choice. It was either death, becoming a traitor (though that was technically death as well), or actually doing it.

And they knew that.

We all knew that.

But it was our weakness. We cared too much about each other to provide a proper fight. Though, sparring? That was fair game to fight full on, though we'd been always careful not to provide any real damage.

...Nightmare would surely hurt them if they went easy on Killer though.

This was such a harsh decision.

But it wouldn't be happening if he just gave himself over to Nightmare.

He shook his head. Cross needed him, and..

Selfish. What's the difference between Killer and Cross, and between Dust and Horror?

Well nothing really. The difference was that instead we ran away, while they stayed suffering.

It was really sad, wasn't it?

So he sighed, getting himself away from his thoughts. When it happened, it happened, and he'd have to deal with that. For now he had to prepare for whatever Nightmare was going to throw at him.

And then a new aura appeared. One he could feel from a few floors up from the entrance due to its power.

Dream.

Cross gave me a hand, and Killer took it, bringing himself up and off from the ground. "We should go check on him." He spoke, and Killer would just nod, Cross leading the way to the entrance.

So they went, heading up to the entrance after a few minutes of walking down stairs (why won't anyone install elevators??). Dream, the beam of positivity he was, was just putting away his coat on the rack, turning around to greet us as if already knowing we were there, though to be fair he probably did, based on intent and auras and all that nonsense Killer never bothered to properly learn.

"So, how have you been doing? Are you two alright now?" He asked, his lips turned up into a smile.

Killer stiffly nodded, looking away, though Cross shot him a pointed glare, sighing. "..Nightmare knows we're here."

That faded the mood rather quickly, hadn't it? Because Dream's shoulders had tensed up. "..Figured so much. He has a sort of connection to you two. It's the same for the others, and I'm not sure how to break that. Don't want to ruin your hopes, but he might end up chasing you two forever."

Cross blinked, almost as if in surprise. "And you decided to just tell us this now?"

"What was I supposed to do? You would've been worrying way too much instead of focusing on each other.. Plus I'm his other half, remember? I can fend him off if need be."

Killer piped in. "Yeahh, but then we could've prepared for the inevitable. Also no offense sweet cheeks, but you're kinda like a harmless fly to 'em. Annoying, but weak."

"But what if that's what I want? Because then I'm underestimated by him."

"But you really don't have much of an advantage. He knows you. You don't know him. He's changed. You haven't changed all that much. You're predictable. A thorn in his side yes, but one that he knows all too well and can easily trick."

Dream sighed. "I've fought him for years. I've won my battles, he's won his. I can hold up my own against him, you two just need to be careful."

Killer opened his mouth to retort back but Cross stopped him, shutting his mouth. "We know a bit of how Nightmare's mind works, and we can hold on our own too. We may not be as strong as an immortal god like you or him, but we didn't pick up just nothing from working under him for months."

"..Months for you but years for me." Killer mumbled, crossing his arms.

"..See? We can be helpful too. We can help you get a better insight in your brother's head. He might not slip up all that much during battles, but maybe we can fill in a few of the blanks. Killer especially."

He sighed, letting out a groan of annoyance. "Yes, yes, let the right hand man be the one to provide the insight."

"But you do have experience, Kills."

"Eh. It was more so running errands, delivering orders, and more harder missions for me. Nothing personal."

Dream would blink. "Really? He hadn't discussed any plans with you?"

Cross raised an imaginary eyebrow instead. "..You know it was much more than that."

"Sorry, sorry. Maybe I don't wanna speak about my trauma in front of the goody two-shoes who probably had it way better than all of us and wouldn't understand." Killer snapped.

..Maybe that was too much. Emotions were running high and piling up before falling all over again. That's how Killer had worked. Maybe there was just too much stress there.

Nightmare could help. He'd feast on it, and there'd be no more emotion to worry and be overwhelmed by.

Killer waved the voice off, shaking his head. "Sorry. But so what does it matter what he does? He doesn't trust me, even less now that I betrayed him. Maybe it's just too soon for me to rip off the bandaid right now and confess."

"..I should be the one saying sorry, Kills. I didn't mean to push you. How about you go take a break, and we can sort it out together? You aren't alone in this, and you don't have to say anything if you don't want to."

He shook his head. "Cross, I rather not. I can contribute too. I just.. Talking about what he did to me is just too much. I can, though, provide a part of the way he thinks. How he acts and does things, I mean. It's not perfect, and might not be all that much help, but it's something."

"Thank you." Dream responded with a soft smile.

And so Killer opened up his mouth and spoke.