Lapdog

Dog Thief

It was inevitable that Nightmare would run into his brother when he went out to terrorize the multiverse.

From the very beginning, after he caught his runaway dog, Dream had asked, demanded and pleaded him to let Cross go. To give him back.

Nightmare had sensed Dream's worried longing for Cross. So his dear brother had a fondness for his dog.

Well, that surely could be exploited.

So far whenever he even graced Dream's yapping with an answer, his replies could be broken down to that he would never let Cross leave.

This time he wasn't even out on a mission. He was acquiring gear for an Agility Parcours to excercise his pet.

At first he'd planned to just get the gear to set up a parcours in the training hall, but the floor turned out to be too sleek. So he decided to build a new hall next to the training hall by breaking down several walls to merge the respective rooms into one hall.

The Trio were still clearing away the rubble from demolishing and smoothing out the walls, before plaster and painting them and laying the new floor off not-slippery artificial grass and installing the anchorings for the movable jumps and hurdles of the parcours. If needed, everything could be put away to give his pup an inside playspace in case of bad weather.

He also had told them to leave the pet alone until further notice to give him positive enforcement that he was on the right path. He kept him still in isolation, but he visited and fed him more often, and worked on securing his acceptance of his place, praising and rewarding him with treats and affection whenever he showed submission and obedience.

However, he was on his way back already, when Dream showed up and instantly began yapping again.

"Please, brother. At least tell me if he's okay. It's been over half a year already. You never kept any of us for that long before agreeing to a ransom. There has to be something, you were ready to let him go for. Please, let me see him, brother, i beg you."

Nightmare rolled his eye in annoyance, thinking how Dream's whining had been quite amusing in the beginning, but it got old and now he just wanted him to shut the fuck up.

A thought came to him, and Nightmare came to a decision.

"Just give it up already, Dream. You will never see him again. Ever."

Dream looked at him unbelieving. "You can't keep him forever, brother. Please let him go."

Nightmare sneered. "Just drop it. Your boyfriend Cross doesn't exist anymore. He is gone for good," he spat, and inwardly relished in the utter distraught disbelief, Dream gave off. Nightmare could feel how the world around Dream shattered.

"I can't believe it. You are not a murderer!", Dream cried out in despair.

Nightmare scoffed. "Oh please, brother. How else do you think i gained my LV? It's not all from the villagers, you know. There is a reason my dungeon never gets overcrowded while no one ever left it."

Dream burst into tears of loss and grief and sank to his knees.

Nightmare turned away and left through a portal of his. Dream didn't even try to hold him back.

Another bother taken care of, Nightmare thought satisfied.