Freedom | Killer x Female!Reader

24.

Nightmare POV

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I'm not quite sure how I know it, but it's him. It's Slash. Only he's... Different.

His eye lights are void of color, for one thing. They're just white, though there is an odd, golden glow emitting from them, but it's hardly noticeable, even in the dim lighting. He's swapped out his usual aggravatingly bright orange outfit for an army-like one, and there's a gun in a holster around his waist.

I had assumed he was dead. I suppose I should've known Shattered was keeping him here, brainwashing him like he did to Cross and Killer, from the way the gun is pointed directly at my head.

I flick a tendril; a silent order for the others to teleport away quickly. Everyone but Dust obeys.

Slash doesn't react. He keeps the gun aimed at my head silently, his expression unreadable. He's simply a husk now, void of any emotions that could possibly get in the way. Shattered's done a lot to him, it seems.

Then Shattered steps out from behind Slash, smirking considering the mass amount of pain he's clearly in from our battle.

"What did you do to him?" Dust snarls, breaking the silence. I have to haul him back with a tendril so he doesn't launch himself at Shattered.

"Nothing." Shattered says dismissively. An obvious lie to anyone who's anyone. "He realized helping you was a lost cause and chose to work for me instead."

"A lie, but whatever." I grab Dust with a tendril. "Keep Slash. We don't need him, anyway. We have what we came here for, so we'll be taking our leave now."

"Oh, no, you're not going anywhere." Shattered says, and Slash's grip on the gun gets a little tighter.

"I think we will."

Shattered flicks a tendril, and Slash pulls the trigger.

But we're already gone.

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Dust and I materialize in the castle, and everyone save for Killer turns their attention to us. I dodged a bullet. Literally.

"Are you guys alright?" Cross asks.

"We're fine." I say, leaning against the wall.

"Where's Slash?"

"Slash is lost to us, apparently."

"What?" Horror tilts his head. "What do you mean..?"

"Shattered brainwashed him just like he did to Cross and Killer." Dust growls.

"So we go back, get him, and undo it." Cross suggests.

"No." I shake my head. "We'll be fine without him."

"You were serious when you said we don't need him?" Dust looks up at me coldly.

"Yes, I was serious. We do not need him. We'll be fine. We have Y/N, which was the only reason we went there in the first place. Finding out Slash is alive does nothing to help us. Besides," I turn my gaze to Error, "we have him now."

"You said you'd let me go if I helped you. I helped you. So I think I'll go now." Error crosses his arms and opens up a glitchy portal, as if bringing him up caused him to remember that I said he could leave.

"Wait, Error." Cross says, causing Error to hesitate. "We could still use your help."

"You don't need my help."

"We do, though. We need all the help we can get. If Slash really is lost to us, we need you more than ever."

"Well, Nightmare said I could go if I helped you guys get her back, so I'll be leaving now. I have no desire to stay with you anomalies."