Given An Unwanted Second Chance

Chapter 48

I'm bringing it back cuz I missed this dynamic-

~~~~~

Consciousness came slowly, and for a moment, I forgot where I was.

I blinked open my eyes...er, eye.

Huh.  Why was I in Nightmare's form...?

...

Right, Dreamswap's Nightmare made me sleep in the midst of my panic attack.

I was made unconscious unwillingly, so I lost the concentration on my human form.

I took a sharp breath and pushed myself up, holding my head.  I felt dizzy...

"Eclipse?"

I was pulled from my shallow thoughts and glanced over, seeing Nightmare looking at me with concern.  "Are you okay?"

I blinked a little and concentrated a bit, forcing the liquid negativity to sink away and reveal my human form again.  I took a shaky breath.  "I think so...sorry about that..."

Nightmare shook his head.  "No, don't apologize.  Panic attacks are...not easy to deal with.  I should be the one apologizing.  I should not have forced sleep upon you..."

"It was that or continuing to panic..."  I said softly.

"So...you need Nightmare to help, huh?"

I turned my aching head towards Error.  "With Gradient's help, yes.  It probably wouldn't take long...it's just that my multiverse doesn't realize...I'm here."

...impossible.

I jumped suddenly at the hauntingly familiar voice in my head.

Wait...my thoughts don't...I didn't...

We should've tried that earlier...

"Eclipse?"  Nightmare asked softly.  "Something startled you.  What's wrong?"

...Nightmare?

Yeah, I'm...here.

"So, uh...did the portal stay open after I was...put to sleep?"  I asked, my voice shaking.

Nightmare shook his head.  "They didn't say too much else, but it did stay open until...what was their name...Cryo?...closed it again."

"Umm...a bit of context, but...my Nightmare wasn't entirely...dead?  He was merely an essence that existed in my dreamscape.  It's the ONLY place he existed..."  I trailed off before summoning my soul, looking over it.

...right in the center of the apple where the different swirls of color connected...there was the tiniest blemish of black.

My breath hitched slightly.  "There's no way...but I didn't...I was just trying to..."

"What are you talking about?"

I swallowed thickly, showing my soul to Error.  He glanced at it.  "Was that little black bit always there?"

"No..."  I breathed.  "I-It wasn't there yesterday, for sure..."

"How did that get there?"  Cross asked.

"My Nightmare...he appeared in my dreamscape, but he was very translucent and completely unmoving.  I panicked, and somehow...I think I created a bond?  I think because the bonds he had with his group got severed, he was disappearing.  And I somehow made one?  But...how...?"  I trailed off again, staring at the tiny black bit.  "...I can hear him.  In my head."

It's rather jarring to see an older version of my younger self uncorrupted...

I blinked, letting my soul fade.  My head still ached a bit.  "I...this...is so weird..."