The Stage is Set

Chapter 27: The Crying DayDream pt.4

Cry baby - Melanie Martinez

This is family.

***

Cross holds onto the memory as tears fall. He hopes they can go back to those days, back to just playing around and baking. He wipes his sockets before steeling himself. If he wants those days back, he has to fight for them. He will have to save his friends, and his family, to get there. Cross grips his swords tightly before looking at Error for answers. For their next move. Killer twirls his knife, his mind in the same place. His soul pulses in a way that makes him curious. It isn't painful nor is it a good feeling. It's numbing, ticklish, like small pins when a limb falls asleep. He thins his mouth as he stares down at his soul. Something isn't quite right with it. Nightmare wiped his sockets as he turned back to see his brother again. Peaking from around the pillar, Nightmare watches, praying they'll all get out of this safely. His line of vision is drawn to the only light source in the room, his brother.

Dream growls at Shattered, his mouth overflows with hate as toxicity starts to overflow from his aura. It lays thick in the air with the smell of ozone and rot. Something sweet is now rotting. Positivity, now forced to be as pure as possible. Shattered smiles in amazement. He's so close to his feast. He just needs Dream to channel those feelings. His tentacles coil around each other in anticipation. He's so close, so hungry for the power that Dream has. He just had to have Hallucination do a little more work before he could achieve his goal. Then he can take over. Then he could take this Ink too.

A reward for his work.

Hallucination fills Dream's field of vision with tears flowing down his face. Dream's eye pips flash amber before his sockets glow amber and his pips turn black once more. Dream recoils back from seeing his own face so close. He knows it's all in his head. All an illusion made by Hallucination. He hates this part of his powers. He hates how they are using it against him. Hates them in general. Dream never asked for this. Hallucination grips Dream's face tightly, squeezing with the threat of his hand going through the aura-made skull. Hallucination pulls away with a moan of pain as tears fill those familiar sockets. He cradles the hand as if Dream burnt it. Hallucination's breath hitches as he maintains eye contact with Dream, tears spilling down his face.

Hallucination screams out a sob, causing Dream to flinch at the hideous sound. "You're all on your own and you lost all your friends." False anguish dances around his words and the sobs dissipate. The tears are gone. Hallucination moves to yank Dream's skull up as he steps on Dream's injured leg. Hallucination looks down at Dream with disappointment and disgust. "You told yourself that it's not you, it's them."

Dream clenches his jaw with a shake of his skull. No. His friends and family were never at fault. And will never be at fault. They're innocent. It's all him. It's all his fault. He can't do his job without other people helping him. He ruined the relationship between him and his brother. He hurt Ink with his questions. Curiosity is dangerous. It's upsetting. It caused Ink to cry. How many times did he make Ink cry? His brother? Cross? Blue? How many times did he hurt them? Was it subconsciously?

He didn't mean to, he swears.

How could he cause someone negative emotions? He shouldn't. He's the guardian of positivity! He's not allowed to feel sad. Never allowed to feel hurt. He can't risk it. What if he worries his brother? What if he makes his brother upset? What if his brother leaves him? What if his brother sees him as useless? He's supposed to be helpful. How can he be helpful if he's so damn helpless? He's not allowed to be young. Not allowed to live the years he missed out on. Ink had tried, but all the other AUs would judge. They never wanted an incompetent guardian like him. They all know he can't do anything right. Sometimes he can't even hug his own brother because they end up burning each other. How stupid is that? That he can't touch his own brother. He's so stupid. Naive. A disappointment.

A disgrace.