Safe With Me (Shatteredmare fic)

Cross

Cross was at the entrance of Nightmare’s--No, Shattered’s castle--preparing to go through the entrance. It was funny. Shattered wasn’t smart enough to add his own guards to what was formerly Nightmare’s castle.

This would be too easy for Cross.

Maybe… a little too easy.

Cross ignored this, silently pulling his scarf over his mouth as he came in through the door, unlocking it with the key Ink gave him. Ink made the key that would unlock Shatterd’s gate and front door, but that was the extent of it. Ink didn’t know the other doors’ keys well enough to make him a key based on one.

When that was done, he carefully peered down the hallway. He didn’t see anything. Wow, was this hallway bigger than he remembered?

Cross shook his head. He was pretty sure it was always this size.

Cross was tempted to summon his knife, but right now that would not be best. It would be pretty hard for Cross to sneak around a practically pitch black castle holding a big, glowing, bright red knife that basically screamed “STAB ME” to anyone with even remotely good eyesight. Someone like Shattered. Cross had to admit, Shattered could be pretty powerful if he wanted.

Just like Nightmare.

Or, well, the corrupted Nightmare.

That was why Cross was here… He had seen this “Nightmare” Shattered was with, or, well, who he claimed the little skeleton was… Cross didn’t know why his name was Nightmare, but he just knew there had to be a correlation between this new Nightmare and the goopy one.

They couldn’t be the same person though. The new “Nightmare” has too small of a frame compared to what Cross remembered of the goopy one, and he didn’t act scary or anything, and not to mention he wasn’t covered in concentrated Negativity. That had to mean something. He didn’t even act the same. He was a scared ‘lil bea--I mean skeleton- and he had to be saved from Shattered before anything… escalated. If they hadn’t already.

He came through the castle, carefully making sure that no one was near him when he quickly ran up the spiral staircase that led to the bedrooms. He just had to find the one Shattered and this “Nightmare” was in.

Cross was at the top now. He had two options. Go left or go right.

He was about to go right, because he remembered that was where Shattered went the most when Cross still lived in the castle, but then he heard… giggling. Loud giggling. Coming from two people.

One was soft and bubbly, enjoying themselves. The other one was kind of hard to hear, but Cross assumed it was a male. Whoever he was, he wasn’t giggling as much as the other one, but when he did it was a little baritone and cheeky.

“What the…” Cross couldn’t help but mutter. He raised an eyebrow, pressing himself up against the wall… On accident he realized he was pressed up against the wrong side, and he briefly saw Shattered sitting on his throne with someone wearing purple on his lap. Cross swore under his breath as he ducked away, quickly hiding to the opposite wall. He hoped and prayed that Shattered didn’t see him. He probably didn’t, he was too transfixed on whoever he was holding. Cross didn’t know what specifically he was doing, but Shattered was definitely one of the people giggling.

Seeing as no one else was in the throne room, Cross had to guess that the other person giggling was the little Nightmare on his lap.

Cross could only imagine what Shattered was doing with him.

I don’t care what happens to the little guy. I’m just kidnapping him so I can get more info on Shattered so I can defeat him and get the ORIGINAL Nightmare back, Cross thought, nodding to himself. He sighed, lifting up the gold heart-shaped locket beneath his scarf and pulled it up to view. After a brief moment he put it back under his scarf.

He noticed that he didn’t hear giggling anymore. Curious, Cross carefully peered around the corner. He didn’t see anyone sitting on the throne other than a lonely Nightmare.

It’s a trap. I know it is. It has to be, Cross thought meticulously, ducking and looking around himself.

No one. The only person in between Cross and his goal, which was kidnapping Nightmare, was no one. Not even Shattered.

Where he had gone was none of Cross’s business, but if he wanted to get Nightmare right now, he would have to make up his mind before Shattered came back from whatever he was doing.

If I go now, there’s a chance I could be caught, if I’m not fast enough, Cross thought. But if I don’t go now, and I try after it’s too late, I could definitely be caught… unless I decide to do it early enough. Then I can have Nightmare to question. He had to keep thinking. He squeezed his eye sockets shut, thinking. After a moment he opened his eyes, looking around the corner again and seeing that the Nightmare was still on the throne. It’s decided. I go for it before it’s too late.

Quickly Cross whipped around the corner, racing for it.

Only to realize that someone had grabbed hold of his scarf and yanked him backward, forcing him to be thrown at least three feet backward down the hallway and away from Nightmare. When Cross landed on his back, landing on his elbows some, too, he had the wind knocked out of him.

His eyes had shut for just a second. When he opened them again he saw above him was Shattered, a malicious grin spread across his face.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t for my good friend Cross,” Shattered drawled, his only-showing eyelight shrinking a bit.

Cross growled, kicking upward and somehow managing to hit Shattered. As he did this he did a backwards roll, landing on his knee and foot with his hand on the ground a couple of feet backward and away from Shattered. He stood up, summoning his knife briskly and holding the tip of the knife’s edge on the ground. “Stay back, Shattered,” he warned.

Shattered growled. “You tried to take him, didn’t you?” He asked, laughing a bit.

Cross shrugged. “That’s not your business,” Cross said. He tried to act cool; act natural, but he couldn’t help his nonexistent heart beat faster as he imagined Shattered piercing a tentacle through his chest- It was not a pleasing sight.

“Oh, Cross~~” Shattered cooed, stepping forward. His tentacles slid from out of his back with ease. “I think you’ll find that Nightmare is completely my business.”

Cross flinched, stepping backward half a step. Cross didn’t mean to do that, but Shattered was getting close. Without a single warning, Cross stepped forward, swinging his knife in a downward motion in an attempt to hit Shattered, but he dodged with ease. A tentacle grabbed the knife, throwing it behind Cross. It stabbed into the ground.

Cross looked back, but he nearly regret that decision. He realized he was about to be stabbed when he narrowly dodged it, whipping in a pirouette motion to avoid a tendril stabbing his chest.

“You will regret even considering kidnapping my Nightmare, do you understand?” Shattered hissed, grinning widely. Four tentacles perked to this and they prepared to launch themselves toward Cross. He barely ducked from the two on top, jumping into a leap and rolling to the side to avoid the next two. He was huffing a little when this was done. Shattered was giving Cross quite a fight.

That was when he felt someone grip Cross’s shoulder, pulling him up to stand up.

“Cross!” Ink hissed. “Cross, let’s get out of here!”

Cross nodded, grabbing his knife and preparing for Ink to teleport them.

Gladly, Cross would have loved to teleport himself, but Shattered’s castle has been magically enchanted to not enable magic from anyone other than Shattered. Ink’s teleportation skills can’t really be considered magic since he uses ink to do it.

Ink splattered liquid on the floor with his paintbrush, quickly grabbing Cross and forcing him into the liquid, just before Shattered sent more tentacles toward their direction.

Too bad for Shattered that Cross had friends.