Given An Unwanted Second Chance

Chapter 23

After that declaration from Dream, we left Sci's house, going into the nearby forest.  As soon as we were out of sight, I carefully summoned my tendrils, feeling a bit stronger.  Not by much (as Sci said it would take a couple days to recover), but it was something.  I felt less off-balance.

I could tell it made Dream tense, but he didn't say anything.  He merely opened a portal to...somewhere.  Supposedly where this Reaper was.

Reaper...Grim Reaper?  Wasn't that the name of death itself...?  I really hope I wasn't about to super die or something...

Dream spoke quietly, sounding terse.  "You first."

I nodded quietly as Gradient gripped my arm tightly, following close behind.  Horror and Cross also followed, with Dream being last.

We appeared on top of a hill with a lone tree, and under it sat a goat lady quietly sipping tea.  She seemed startled as her sipping had paused, glancing at us expectantly.  She tilted her head slightly at me.  "Nightmare...?  Why do you emerge from Dream's portal?"  She continued speaking, turning her attention to the golden-clad skeleton emerging behind us.  "What is going on, Dream?"

"Do you know where Reaper is?"  Dream asked.

The goat lady frowned.  "Doing his job, at the moment.  Do you need him?  And...why are you two here?"

I didn't answer, leaving Dream to speak.  "A lot has happened these past few days.  I just...need to see Reaper."

"I can see a lot has happened...you two aren't at each other's throats."

"At the moment..."  I muttered dejectedly.  

The goat lady glanced at me again.  "That's a tone I'd never think I'd hear from you, Nightmare.  Is something the matter?"

Dream sighed.  "Just...can you get Reaper?"

The goat lady stood.  "I can...just wait a moment."

She turned away, walking down the hill and out of sight.

I looked at the lone tree, feeling a strange sense of sadness again.  I automatically walked towards it (Gradient still latched to one of my arms), placing a hand on it.  I tilted my head, remembering the stump I had first awoken by.  And Dream's devastated form...

"What do you remember from him?"  Dream asked.  I turned my head, looking back at him.

I processed the question before answering.  "Proper memories?  None.  Just wispy senses and recollections...  When I first fought people, I got strange, fogged memories of Nightmare fighting, but I toned it down to not kill anyone."  I paused, looking more closely at Nightmare's brother.  "What was that stump in the clearing where he died?  What was with the destroyed village and decimated bodies? "

Dream closed his eyes, turning away.  I had a feeling I opened a very old wound with my questions.  "Nightmare touched one of my apples.  It...it changed the entire tree to negative apples.  He ate the first one he touched...and then another...and then so many more.  If I hadn't been carrying a golden apple of my own, the whole multiverse may have become nothing but negative feelings."

"And...he destroyed the remains of the tree and killed all those people...? "

Dream still didn't look at me, though he nodded slightly.  "The Tree of Feelings.  I don't understand why he did it.  He tried to kill me in his rage...but being creations of the Tree of Feelings, we couldn't die...just like Ink and Error.  However..."  He trailed off, seeming hesitant.

"We became more...killable to an extent due to the apple and apples that were absorbed, correct?  I know that much from the others..."

Dream gritted his teeth.  "I suppose Nightmare became more mortal than I expected...  I should've never agreed to let my soul be used like it did..."