Broken Hourglass (Sanscest Multiship)

Chapter 12 - Moving Forward

In moonlight, a small child sat under a large apple tree with a lantern, reading. "And then, the dogs had a party," Nightmare explained excitedly. He put a hand one of the tree roots.

'That's wonderful' came the reply.

"Yeah! And then-" He didn't get to finish that sentence.

"Nightmare!," came a shout from an open door, lighting spilling out from the brightly lit hall. "Get back in here this instant!," a women shouted.

The child stiffened and whispered "Goodnight, mom," to the tree. Guess he's always been friends with strange creatures.

'Goodnight, little prince,' it replied. Pretty sad that his best parental figure is an actual tree, but it's best to try not to judge.

Nightmare walked inside, staring at his feet the whole way.

"I thought I said you weren't to be out after dark," Soliel scolded.

"Sorry," Night whispered.

"Dear creators, it's like you only exist to make me miserable. Go to room. Go!" The queen was not a happy person when upset, which she was often, because she's honestly a bitch.

"Of course, mother." The child walked to his room, trying to not upset his mother further.
—
Nightmare looked over to Reaper talking with a worker at the counter. Remembering Epic's instructions, he assumed that was Ccino and as such. went over to them.

"Actually," Reaper was telling Ccino, "We were sent here by a friend."

Ccino had a slight shift in his mood, going from happy customer service to a bit wary. "I might know 'em; might not. What's the name?"

"Epic. He sent a letter with us to give to you." Reaper said. "Hey, Blue!" He shouted over to Blue, who came right over.

"Yeah. What's up?," the knight asked.

"This is Ccino, he owns the cafe. Give him the letter Epic gave us."

Blue removed shoulder guard which revealed the letter which had been hidden there and he handed the paper to Ccino, who quickly snatched it away. Producing a letter opener from somewhere under the counter, Ccino opened the envelope and read the note.

The cafe owner got up and went to talk to the actual customers, getting them out as quickly as possible, saying something about a sudden emergency and he locked the doors as soon as everyone but the team had left.

All of the blinds suddenly closed via magic and Nightmare had a sudden thought that this might be another trap, but he quickly brushed it aside. There wasn't any actual reason to not trust Ccino.

Behind the counter, a secret passage had opened. "This way," Ccino urged them.

Walking around the counter and into the passage, Nightmare noticed that it was quite wide and surprisingly well lit for a tunnel. The concrete floor was slanted downward and it took a minute but they reached a door. Ccino knocked and a small section slide open revealing the eyes of a monster who was guarding the door.

"Oh, it's you." He said. "Who are these guys?"

"They are guests. Now you better let us through without issue or the boss is going to take an issue with you," Ccino said.

The door opened only a second later.

'I don't like this', Nightmare thought. 'Oh, glad to hear you're awake sleepyhead'

Mare was the name designated to the angry lab-made creature that shared the body with formerly Nightmare, but now just known as Night. It was easier split the name to not get as confused.