Loyal Servant (Crossmare) (Rewrite)

The Scientist

Nightmare grimaced, bearing his fangs at the skeleton Dream had brought before him. This was the royal scientist? His eye twitched and his tendrils moved at a jittery pace. Frustration made him tense as he watched his guest's every move. Dream wants me to put my husband's life in the hands of this skeleton? Has she gone completely insane?

The skeleton brandished a playful smile, a black hood pulled up over his skull. It didn't completely shroud his features, allowing Nightmare to see the sizable gash that trailed over his left eye. When he stepped towards Nightmare, the purple cloak-like length of his jacket swayed behind him. This stranger dared to extend a hand out towards him. Although black fingerless gloves sleeved his palm, Nightmare could tell from the way that the fabric caved in the center that he had holes in his hands much like Gaster. "Heyyy, nice to meet you, bruh!" He greeted, closing his scarred eye and staring at Nightmare with one bright white pinprick.

Nightmare recoiled, craning his neck back. "What the hell did you just call me?" He questioned. He's never had anyone dare to call him a name so disrespectful. He just about snapped then and there, but Dream placed herself between them. He pointed over her shoulder at the completely unbothered scientist. "You best show me some respect! You're in my castle, and I will not tolerate your insolent behavior," He warned. Unlike this stranger, he was very serious.

Dream let out a nervous chuckle, flagging him back. "Nightmare, this is Epic," She introduced him, the skeleton giving a small salute before he placed his hands within his pockets. "And Epic, this is lord Nightmare," She finished, slowly stepping back once she found Nightmare had settled thanks to her noting his proper title.

"Charmed," Nightmare sarcastically growled back. His trio stood nearby in the hall, watching with curious and amused expressions. They knew this was him being extremely tolerant. If it weren't for the fact he might just need this skeleton to save Cross, he'd have broken a couple bones by now. He was still tempted to do so... "Did my sister tell you why you're here?" He asked.

"Oooh, yeah. I've been told aaall about it by my best bruh here," He gave Dream a light shake. She gave him a smile, somehow unbothered by his abundantly friendly touch and ridiculous vocabulary. "You want me to take a look at a crossed soul, and find a way to undo that mess. Tricky business, I must admit," He told him, rubbing his chin in a thoughtful manner. He then snapped his fingers and pointed a finger gun his way. "But not to worry, my lord, I've gotcha covered," He chuckled.

"Right, because if you fail, and Cross is killed..." Nightmare began, letting his body morph so he could tower over Epic more than he already was. "I will personally see to it that every single person you've ever cared for in the slightest is left so unbelievably broken, that they drop to their knees and beg me for mercy," He threatened, winning a stunned glare from Dream. Seeing as Epic didn't immediately look uncomfortable, he bared his fangs and added: "You won't be spared. I'll strangle you, and laugh as I watch your pinpricks flicker into darkness while your life slips away..."

"Nightmare!" Dream exclaimed, crossing her arms and staring at him.

Epic still seemed unfazed. In fact his smile widened along with his sockets. "Oh, word? Is that a promise?" He asked, taking Nightmare completely off guard. Excuse me? "Specifically the whole killing me bit. Sounds like a win win to me," He said, shrugging his shoulders so casually at the thought of death. Epic stared at his dumbfounded expression and chuckled. "You don't have too much experience with my kind, huh?"

"Idiots? Yes, actually. Though most monsters I meet aren't particularly thrilled at the concept of their own deaths," Nightmare replied, extremely disappointed that his cleverly crafted threat meant nothing to this skeleton. He imagined Cross would find a situation like this quite funny. It wasn't often his haunting promises ended up ignored. "You must possess as little self preservation as Horror, and trust me, that's utterly depressing," He told Epic, pointing a tendril towards his guard. Horror wasn't insulted by this, as he simply waved at Epic. He waved back and Nightmare sighed.