Chains of Negativity

Chapter 1

Nightmare sits on his throne, a million thoughts racing through his head. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to function with such little negativity in the multiverse. There was a piece missing, something Nightmare was overlooking. A simple fix that would solve all his problems. The fact that he couldn't think of anything more was just so frustrating to him.

Cross walked into the throne room, worried about his Boss. Nightmare had been practically moping around everyday, snapping at his team. It never took Cross long to figure out what was wrong with his Boss. He deemed himself his closest subordinate, which meant he also deemed himself in charge of Nightmare's feelings, even when he didn't want him to.

"I've been thinking," Cross started, quickly interrupted by his Boss.

"About?" Night droned out, not even looking at him.

"You need a direct source of negativity. Something to... be your beacon. Someone," Cross hinted.

Nightmare didn't even register what his underling said for a few moments. His body started to unwind as the words went through his head. Someone. All he needed was someone to be his source. It was easier than a village or even a team.

"Then go. Find someone for me then. See who would be able to supply enough negativity."

Disappointment ran through Cross as he left the throne room, he wished his Boss understood his hint. But he was ready to inform his teammates about their newest mission. Nightmare sat differently on his throne, thinking-well-brooding. He didn't know if a lone person could even make a difference, or even help by that logic. There was only one way to find out.

The team made their way out of the castle, mainly equipped with tools to document their findings rather than weapons. The mission would be more stealth oriented than confrontational. None of them looked forward to the hours ahead, but not doing the task would end up worse for them. So they went off, not excited for their long day, but not minding the hours as the end result would benefit their Boss.

The hours went by slowly, every second more boring than the last, but they did eventually manage to finish their mission and return home. They presented Nightmare with a thicc stack of documents for him to read over. Every Sans they could find was documented, from Lusttale to Underswap to Fellswap. That was the only ask; the person be a Sans, so that's the only rule they followed. Well, besides not being seen or injured in any way, but that was nothing they couldn't handle.

Nightmare groaned when he saw the sheer amount of documents he was given. Though the variety was helpful so that he could be a little more picky with his choice. He took the stack and flipped through them, trying to see if he could eliminate any possible Sanses just from first glance alone. A surprising number of profiles ended up in the bin before he even got through the first page. He managed to find something wrong with so many of the Sanses that within less than an hour he had halved the amount of profiles. He had gotten rid of the papers that had very obvious issues, whether the Sans was too weak for his tastes, too strong, or just plain annoying.

The hours stretched well into the night as he searched through the stack of paper. The moonlight shone through the window, illuminating the room and eliminating the need for candles or even a simple overhead light. He preferred it like this, he enjoyed the blissful silence of the night much more than the chaotic nature of the daytime. After hours of work he managed to narrow it down to three last profiles. First was far too annoying for his tastes. The second was his brother, and he had no desire to be anywhere near him. But the third? Nightmare grew more intrigued as he read the final prolife. As luck would have it, the final profile would pique his interest.

He leaned back in his chair, thankful that the hours of work paid off in the form of a perfect victim for his plan. Sure, it would not be easy to capture him, but he believed it would pay off in the end. This was perfect, he was perfect.