My Friend Over the Phone

Chapter 4 - Getting to Know Them

Dream decided to drop by his brother's castle again, this time to actually visit him.

It's been forever since he's really talked with him, besides the reconciliation between them a few weeks ago. He's so happy he had his brother back! Words couldn't describe how lonely he's been without him...

Nightmare's phone rang. He froze, and scrambled to pick it up. Oh, it was just Dream. They hadn't talked at all since they made up.

The King wasn't quite sure how to feel about his brother at the moment. He was happy to have him back, but he still felt like something was missing. He didn't know how to describe it, but Dream was different. He didn't know how, or in what way, but something was off about him.

Then again, since he left their Universe for the first time, he had seen many horrible things, and caused a few horrible things too. No one's really the same after watching someone getting murdered in front of their own eye sockets. But unfortunately, that's just the way things have to work in this beautiful, although messed up Multiverse they lived in.

He answered his phone.

"Hello, Nightmare!" Dream's peppy voice greeted. If there was one thing that hasn't appeared to change, it was his twin's positive attitude.

"I was wondering if maybe you could introduce me to your friends? I would love to meet them properly!" Dream calling his underlings his friends made Nightmare freeze for a moment. Were they his friends? Cross, Killer, Dust and Horror?

Besides, why would Dream want to suddenly be all buddy-buddy with a group of genocidal skeletons, when they had been trying to rip each other apart for Fate knows how long? About thirty years since those four entered the picture? Ink, Error, Dream and himself had been fighting a lot longer, as they've existed and been on opposing sides of the battlefield for centuries now, because of their jobs and all. Blue and Nightmare's team had only been around for a little over a decade(Blue was still around then but he wasn't part of the Star Sanses before that).

They were Nightmare's friends, weren't they? Even though he oftentimes felt more like their mother, with how often they fight and/or break something and Nightmare would have to fix it. He'd been a lot easier on them since the beginning of this whole mess, and he did like having them around, despite them being very tough to deal with about ninety percent of the time. He really did love them all as family, and Cross more so.

"Sure," Nightmare finally responded, "I'm sure they'd love you."

"Okay, awesome!! I'm pretty busy today though, so is it alright if I drop by at maybe... 8:30 at night, or something like that?"

Nightmare smiled. "Sure, they'd still be awake fighting over what movie to watch whether you'd be coming or not." Dream laughed. The Guardian of Negativity didn't realize how much he missed that laugh.

"Okay. See you tonight, brother!" After Dream hung up, he decided that he needed to go outside. He needed to get out of his office.

Downstairs in the kitchen, Cross was yelling over his shoulder at seemingly nothing. Nightmare was about to ask, then he remembered the whole "ghost" thing with both Cross and Dust. Cross' soul had been torn in half and sewn back together with another half of XChara's soul by XGaster, according to Cross, and now the two were stuck together forever. Cross was in control of the body they shared, but when he falls asleep, or if he relinquishes control on purpose, XChara can take over.

Nightmare briefly tuned in to their conversation as he passed the kitchen. Satisfied that they didn't appear to be arguing over anything important, he continued towards the door.