How to Fix the Broken

Chapter 52: Ready?

Horror growled to himself as he walked among the garden. Dream has been slipping in and out of unconsciousness for days. Every time he woke he was muttering nonsense to himself, seemingly fighting the darkness that filled his eyelights.

They had called Sci to the mansion but he couldn't find anything wrong with him. Lust kept freaking out about something he had seen on Dream, saying it had looked remarkably like Nightmare's slime, only a more yellow tinge than that of Nightmare's cyan. He kept saying it was on his arm, but Sci never found anything, and when Lust had looked again, there was nothing there.

The pink skeleton hasn't left Dream's side since he fell. Other than the few times Dream woke, he was unmoving, pale, and frail. His eyes were closed so gently that he looked like he was dead. Each time between waking had become longer and longer, and based on the intervals, (according to Horror's math) Dream wouldn't wake for again till next week. Everyone was worried that the positive guardian had Fallen Down.

(For those of you who don't know, Fallen Down are those in a comatose state, unmoving, unaware, and not awake.)

Lust was starting to panic, refusing sleep and food. Horror had tried to get him to eat but he refused and Horror didn't push hard.

He felt like a such a hypocrite.

He couldn't force Lust to eat if he wasn't eating himself.

He looked at the bright red tomatoes in the garden. He was tempted to pick one just out of habit but he knew he wouldn't eat it.

He couldn't.

He knew the castle had plenty of supplies and food but he just couldn't bring himself to eat anything.

A cold gust brushed past him and for a moment he saw snow. He saw the crooked, stained teeth of his little brother.

Paprika. Well, that's what the multiverse called him. Or... more accurately, Dust and Killer. Most forget that Horror still had his brother, unlike his husbands who had... never mind.

Horror looked down at the reddish brown rectangles that made up the floor of the garden. He hasn't seen Paprika in years.

Undyne flashed through his mind and he straightened, his mind made up.

He shortcut back into the castle, accidentally scaring Lust.

"Oh... Hello Horror... what's up?" Lust said softly, his unfocused gaze going back to Dream. He held one of Dreams hands in both of his own, as though he was praying to the deities for help.

Actually, that was probably what he had been doing. Horror vaguely wondered which one he was praying to.

"Have you seen Dust?" Horror asked quietly, matching Lust's volume.

Lust looked horrible. The dark marks under his eye sockets had only gotten darker, and his bones looked rather fragile. "No..." he whispered. He looked back up at Horror. "We all used to be Scientists, we all know math... Dreams not going be waking up for a week isn't he...?" Lust asked quietly, the rim of his sockets lined with tears. "It started with 24 hours... then it was 48... 96... ... 192... that's 8 days Horror... he's not going to move for 8 days..." he looked back down at Dream, the pinkish tinted tears glistened on his cheek. He brought a hand up, his finger gently brushing Dreams soft cheek bone.

"No, I haven't seen Dust but I know where he is." Horror wasn't too surprised by Lust's sudden change in topic, every one in the castle avoided talking about their problems.

When Horror finally found Dust, who had been sitting (Hiding) in a tree in DustTale, and Killer, who was putting Insanity in bed, it was dark in DreamTale.