The Price of Power

3 - Capture

Dream sat in a flower field with his brother, the both of them smiling as they conversed about life. It had taken so long for the two of them to understand eachother again, but Dream was just so happy that the day had come at all! It had been such a shaky start, when Nightmare had come across Dream injured after a battle with the feral inhabitants of one of the crueler AUs, but it had sparked the understanding and trust that the two now shared. Dream had seen Nightmare vulnerable, and when their roles had been reversed some time later, Nightmare had seen Dream beaten up and helpless, too; neither of them had taken advantage of the opportunity given, which had made both of them realize that there was still care left between them. They had met for secret meetings occasionally, off the battlefield where both of them were compelled to hide their care - their associates wouldn't approve. 

It was so..insane, really. Dream had always thought that Nightmare had gathered his gang together to form a military force, but it turned out that Nightmare had been so desperate for company that he hadn't noticed the red flags in said gang members; they had forced him to act colder and crueler then he used to in order to keep up to their standards, just so they would give him the affection he wanted so badly. He'd been abused as a child, and that seemed to seep through into his adulthood; he could never recognize the signs. Dream had gotten so many answers recently, such as the shocking fact that Nightmare spread negativity because he simply couldn't survive unless there was enough of it in the multiverse! If it dipped below a certain point, he would become ill, and he'd even done the stupid thing of letting it fall just to "prove" that he was telling the truth..his poor brother couldn't believe that his word would be taken at face value, since so many others had tricked him and mistreated him all his life. The betrayal that Dream had felt when Cross had left the Star Sanses had been nothing compared to Nightmare's shock, knowing that an enemy had hated him so much that he'd joined his "side" just to make his life worse.

Cross had seemed so kind when Dream had known him..he could hardly believe it, but the evidence was there! Nightmare had so many physical scars under his goopy exterior; Dream wondered how many emotional and mental scars he had alongside them. Nightmare had broken down in his arms too many times to count, and Dream couldn't help but feel responsible; he should have protected Nightmare instead of assuming he was evil, just because of the things he had to do to survive..Dream felt so dirty. Nightmare had so many trust issues and anxieties, and Dream couldn't help wondering if he could have stopped them from ever forming, if only he'd been there for his brother..as he should have been. 

But today was a good day. Today, Nightmare was so happy; it was a joy, to see Nightmare's smile. It was so similar to how it had used to be, but also so different, in its unique way, but it was genuine! Nightmare laid all his emotions out for Dream to sense - the ultimate sign of trust, in Dream's opinion - and Dream did the same for Nightmare, hiding nothing. Nightmare was truly happy, and he felt great excitement and anticipation, too..was he planning something? Maybe Dream should have brought a gift; Nightmare seemed to be eager for something.

"I didn't have the cat for long, though she really made things better when I had her.." Nightmare smiled nostalgically, twirling a flower between his fingers.

"What happened to her?" Dream questioned, before flinching as his brother's mood plummeted. "I-"

"W-well..I told you about Killer.." Nightmare answered, giving Dream all he needed to know; Nightmare had already told Dream about how Killer loved to torture poor defenseless animals..it was despicable.

"I'm sorry." Dream hugged his brother despite the coldness it brought, feeling a small decrease in sadness. "I shouldn't have asked..I should have known."

"It's not your fault; it's mine for bringing it up.."

"No! No, it's never your fault for wanting to talk about something! I should have kept my mouth shut; it was entirely my fault, Nighty.."