Remembering Nightmares

What Does It Mean

Nightmare groaned lowly as he felt cool hands shake him gently.

He knew who it was from how cold they were, but he had to admit, Cross was getting warmer.

Cracking his lonely eye open, he turned onto his side facing the white wearing skeleton.

"Another bad dream?" He whispered, one of his tentacles calmly rubbing the white skeleton's head.

The survivor leaned back into the slimy appendage, his tense body relaxing as it always did around the King.

"I-I think..." He finally whispered, pulling his head away from the moving limb. "I-I rem-remember it th-this time..."

Those words caused the large skeleton to sit up, a soft purple flame bursting in the room.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He muttered, his throat clogging up.

What if the small skeleton remember? What if he hated the King of Fear? What if he cried?

"I-I was there... I-In that void, b-but not-nothing was there... No tr-trees or ho-houses... I-I was talking to s-someone... a-a child... Then, a we-weird thin-thing appeared... I was in a forest... W-we di-didn't like it... Th-Then a-a white ver-version of th-the guards p-pinned me to a-a tree..." Cross paused, his arms instantly wrapping around him as his eyes flickered between circles and X's.

Nightmare pulled the smaller being to his chest, his mind instantly making the connection to a few months prior, when the small monster begged him not to leave.

"Did he touch you?" There was malice and deep fury.

The small skeleton shook more, tears swiftly spilling out of his eyes.

"I-I don't re-remember... Ju-Just pain... A-Anger... an-and fear... I was so scared!" Sobbed the tiny monster, who buried his face into NM's night shirt. "I-I fe-felt so a-alone!"

The tar covered skeleton held the other closer to him, his body filling with that unmistakable rage that tempted him to search for the bastard that had harmed Cross. That had raped the soft soul!

The dark Sans though pushed himself from that idea, he needed to comfort Cross. Cross was more important at the moment.

After a few moments of whispering reassuring words and rubbing circles into the smaller's back, he finally pulled away from his savior.

"B-But... H-He to-took me so-somewhere... He... He to-touched me... He hu-hurt me fo-for any-anything..." More tears fell, but the small child needed to talk about it. "Th-then... Then I-I was freed... I-I had m-my sw-sword... H-He was be-begging me fo-for MERCY... B-But... I killed him, I made him understand my pain... I ended him and his world..." The younger looked up at the older with fear and worry in his eyes. "Nighty, what does that mean?"

Nightmare gulped lightly, letting his tentacles rub calming patterns in the innocent one's bones. That world... That was Cross's first world, his first real taste of blood and fear... Holding someone's life in your hands and not feeling the lick of remorse...

"It means... You're remembering... I know it's a bad memory, but that monster was a bad one, he and his world needed to die... You did what you had to do..."

The white wearing creature's fear turned to confusion. How was that good? Maybe there was a good reason as to why that monster had hurt him? Does that make him bad?

"D-Does th-that make me ba-bad?" His voice shook as the tears once again started to form in his soft eyes.

"No, no! It just meant you had no other choice! I promise you, you're not bad, you're the best skeleton monster I've ever met! I'm better because of you!" The King of Terror hurried out, making sure that his little Cross was looking him in his eyes. "You're the best one out of all of us."

The smaller gave a tired, sad giggle. He pushed himself closer to Nightmare, the warmth radiating off him in welcoming glows. He just needed to be near him right now... Someone who could fight back the worst before it could happen again.