Loyal Servant (Crossmare) (Rewrite)

Dizzy

"Is this really doing much to kickstart your magic?" Cross questioned as he slowly circled Nightmare with his blade drawn. He had insisted they fight. Not anything real, obviously, but a brawl nonetheless. "I don't wish to hurt you," He said as Nightmare watched him carefully.

"If anyone wants me to fix Horror, I'll need more magic to work with. So I need emotions. I need to be angry, and if you are as well, that's even better," Nightmare replied. The only thing he had to defend himself with was one of Killer's knives. It made Cross feel even worse about coming at him with a giant blade. "Come on, Cross. Attack me. There must be something I've done in the past to anger you," He urged.

Cross couldn't think of anything, continuing to pace around the flat clearing. They had found the snow laden field beside a small lake that the river had led to. They weren't the only one's there, Dust, Killer, and Horror all watching from the sidelines.

"Any quarrels I had with you have been resolved," Cross murmured, glancing down at the snow. I'm no help to him.

That was when Nightmare decided to charge him. It really didn't take much to block his attack. He lifted his blade and shifted it only slightly to catch Nightmare's knife before it could crash down upon him. Cross grew confused when Nightmare glanced up with a guilty expression. "Forgive me for this... But I need the magic," He whispered. Cross pushed Nightmare back by shoving against their locked blades, still being gentle about it. What are you about to do? "I need you to remember your past. I need you to remember your life before me-" Terror flooded through Cross as Nightmare spoke. "-Back when your world was destroyed. And how it was destroyed."

Oh, he might just be angry about this mention for some time. As cruel as Nightmare could be when he got upset, he seemed to at least respect keeping Cross's history out of it. The sudden crash of memories his words caused made him both furious and distraught. He remembered everything as if it were yesterday. The screams. The look of horror and betrayal in his friends eyes. The child who told him it was all for nothing. Being back in the moment so suddenly dazed Cross. He actually swung his blade at Nightmare, though he ducked back before he could be struck.

"That's right," Nightmare essentially purred as he warily continued backwards. Clearly the emotions fed him well. Cross had straight up forgotten the goal of their brawl and was about to drive for Nightmare again out of sheer frustration. Nightmare noticed his burning pinpricks and froze up. "Cross. Don't actually try to kill me. Remember your loyalties," He warned. Cross realized his intent and turned his back on Nightmare. Don't attack him. Attack something else. He lifted his hand and summoned an array of knives just to stab them into the trunk of the nearest tree. His frustrations didn't vanish, but the lingering emotions helped them in the long run.

Nightmare approached Horror. "I need to see your soul," He said, which had Cross staring over his shoulder at them. Shockingly a part of his anger overwrote itself with jealousy. Souls were sacred to their owner, and viewing them outside of a battle situation was often considered... Intimate. He had the context to know better, yet still his mind chose to react poorly. He received a glance from Nightmare, who probably sensed his reaction. He swiftly looked elsewhere.

He didn't care to watch at first, but when he heard Horror yell out in what sounded like agony, he turned on instinct. Horror did have a pained expression on his face while black wisps of Nightmare's magic spanned out from his chest. Cross couldn't see Horror's soul at this angle, but he assumed the waves of dark magic emanated from it. He only teleported to Nightmare once Dust gave him the king a powerful glare. He immediately placed himself between them, staring Dust down.

"What are you doing to him? I thought you were bringing his emotions back!" He spoke over Horror's cries. Cross stepped forward, forcing Dust to move back further. He bumped into Killer, who placed a hand to his shoulder to steady him. "He sounds like he's dying."