Inkwhumptobertale 2024

Day Fifteen

Apologies - Childhood Trauma, Painful Hug, Moment of Clarity, "I did good, right?" 

This is a continuation of last year's Day Three!

Trigger warnings: brainwashing, referenced torture.

Comments are welcome and appreciated! 

Please enjoy!

~~~~~

Cross had been kidnapped a couple months ago, and Nightmare wasn't sure how to react when he saw him again. Cross had rejoined the Star Sanses..and Nightmare had no clue why. Of course, there were some possibilities..

One possibility. There was only one possibility that Nightmare was willing to entertain.

"They obviously brainwashed him, or they're forcing him to be on their side again somehow." Nightmare nodded to himself; that made sense. 

"He must have been, right?" Dust agreed. 

"Those stupid Stars!" Killer huffed. "We have to get him back before they can do anything else!"

"But how?" Horror wondered. "We couldn't find him before, and they won't let him leave their sight in battle.."

"Well..we could knock him out in a fight and drag him out before they can try to grab him." Nightmare proposed. "I'm sure he won't mind."

"Of course he won't!" Killer grinned. "When do we go out next?"

"Tomorrow. Tomorrow, we'll get him back home safe and sound.."

"Cross, you haven't touched your tacos." Blue noticed. "Something wrong?"

Cross only stared down at his food. He didn't feel like eating..he didn't feel like doing anything at all. Ever since he'd given in and rejoined the Star Sanses, he'd been..quiet; he'd said nothing that didn't have to be said, and he'd only done what he was told. But he was free from Nightmare's control now; the Stars were sure that this would pass. 

"Please eat." Dream requested. "You need to keep your strength up."

Cross obeyed as if Dream had commanded him to partake of the food, and Dream..couldn't help but feel wrong. What if that elixir had..hurt Cross? Dream had refused to consider the possibility in the moment, but with every day that passed, he was starting to wonder..

Had they made a mistake?

Maybe forcing that liquid down Cross's throat hadn't helped as much as the doctors had promised it would. When the idea had been brought up, Dream hadn't questioned it at all..but maybe he should have. Cross..he wasn't emotional. Ever since that final dose of that "medicine," after he had sobbed and begged for mercy until the Stars had finally let him go, he hadn't reacted emotionally to..anything. It was as if his mind had decided to block out everything that it perceived could hurt him; apparently, many things were perceived as dangerous right now, including making decisions by himself. Dream couldn't help but feel bad; was this because of what he had done? He couldn't imagine making such a huge mistake, but..

This Cross wasn't the Cross that Dream had known before. That Cross had been emotional. He had loved chocolate, and he had enjoyed being zany at times with the Stars. He had gotten up early in the mornings to train his combat skills, only to turn purple in embarrassment once he realized he had woken up the others with the noise. This...

This Cross was a blank slate. 

"Cross, how about you head to bed?" Dream suggested. "You'll need your rest; we're going to have a picnic tomorrow."