At Their Mercy

Chapter 33: Rematch

A/N: Oh shoot it me again.

I've been busy with job orientation so I've been having a hard time getting my brain working to write. I'll be working 7pm to 7 am Monday-Wednesday and then Wednesday-Friday in alternating weekly schedules. Little exhausting, but hey, not too bad.

Anyway, I'm glad people were weeping over both scenes last chapter. It fills my soul with joy.

Enjoy

Erratum was surprised when they received a distressed call from Dream.

One moment they had been relaxing peacefully at their altar, watching Geno berate Fresh after managing to 'Fresh poof' his way into his and Reaper's home. The next moment, their entire mind was filled with frantic pleas from the positive spirit. He seemed distressed, but not in danger, as far as they could understand. If the situation was concerning enough for Dream to call for them, however, it was concerning enough for Erratum to answer immediately.

The Guardian felt confused as they landed in the familiar lounge of Nightmare's manor. It certainly wasn't the first place that crossed their mind when Erratum was considering where he might be. They could only Hope the two brothers weren't quarreling again.

They didn't have to look far as Dream was merely a few feet away, grasping at his brother's cloak desperately while Nightmare flared with violent magic. His tendrils were whipping about in equal outrage and Erratum could only assume whatever happened was drastic enough to throw his corruption back into a more active state.

"What is going on?" The two brothers turned abruptly toward them, Nightmare with a scowl on his face while Dream looked distressed. The Guardian was instantly alarmed by the bruising around Dream's neck. "Dream, what happened?" They ventured gently, approaching the both of them as though they'd snap at any moment.

"Just... some stuff." Dream smiled shakily. His voice was rough and it sounded painful even to Erratum, making them wince a bit.

"Some stuff??" Nightmare growled as his tendrils reared up. "Dream, he could have killed you!" He snapped at his brother's dismissive response.

"He didn't mean to!" Dream cringed as he rubbed the front of his cervical spine. "I-It wasn't him! I mean... not really. The Muses made him! Nighty, please don't do something drastic!"

"No!" Nightmare hissed, slapping his hand away as it grasped his cloak tighter. "He choked you hard enough to leave such a deep bruise, Dream! Everyone is simply idling by and refusing to make the tough decisions. We aren't going to sit here and let some... monster run free out there who's capable of doing this to their 'friends'."

Erratum sighed as they moved beside Nightmare. One hand moved up to a thrashing tendril, running a hand over it and allowing it to wrap tightly to their wrist. "Easy there, Nightlight." The name had come to them the previous night. Seeing Nightmare under the light of the soft glowing orbs covered in reflective golden paint had inspired them. Many of their followers had their own silly little names, and this one simply felt right to the Guardian.

The negativity crept back up to the right side of Nightmare's skull, leaving the spirit to stare wide-eyed and flustered at his brother for a moment. "Nightlight?!" He sputtered as he turned his head in their direction, though the traitorous tendrils on his back only wrapped tighter to the god. Dream tried to hide his grin behind his hand, amused by how quickly his brother had gone from intimidating to meek.