Chapter Text
You see Nightmare was having a good day: Cross had not burned down the kitchen in his quest of making pancakes. Error had fixed up Nightmare’s cape from their last prank on JR. It got caught in the fire from one of the firecrackers. He was left running in circles until Cross had come in with a bucket to put out the fire.
Not his best moment.
And he finally got to get started on a new romance mystery he had his eyes on for a while. So yeah, it was perfect.
Until it wasn’t.
Groaning, Nightmare pushed himself up as he glanced around. Seems like he was in a basement with some smoke?
Great, this didn’t seem mudery at all.
“Hey Night? You okay?”
Looking over, he saw a white and black blob for a couple seconds. Why hello there Mr.Glob. Why are you talking and bleeding? One blink later, he saw that it was actually Cross just looking at him.
“About as good as usual. Where are we?”
Cross helped him sit up as Nightmare fixed his cape behind him. Now that he could see better, he saw Error was next to him, and in front of them was Sanses? Tensing his body for action, he turned to Cross.
“And who are they?”
Cross rubbed Nightmare’s back and shot him a grin.
“Don’t worry Night, they aren’t gonna hurt us. In fact, they want to help!”
Relaxing Nightmare nodded and looked back at the group of skeletons in front of him.
There was an original Sans, an Underfell Sans, and an Underfell Papyrus. Plus, one Papyrus he has never seen wearing an orange hoodie and seemed to be glaring at Error, but he is not moving. Nightmare will have to keep a close eye on that one until he understands more about this situation. Other than that the situation was perfect. Undertale and Underfell tend to be neutral towards him and his group. They all looked like they weren't going to fight for now. Besides the Underfell versions, but that was kind of normal for them.
“Alright. I’m assuming they were waiting for all of us to wake up before explaining?”
He had shot the question towards the classic Sans since he seems to be the leader here.
Stepping up, Classic nodded, a tired grin on his face. “Yeah just waiting on your buddy there to wake up”
Cross put on his serious face and saluted classic. “Understood Vanilla''.
Marching over to Error, Cross had kneeled by him and reached into his jacket, pulling out a brown bag. Looking over to Nightmare for permission.
Sighing, he waved him off. He couldn’t stop Cross if he wanted to. Besides, he wanted answers now. So Error's beauty sleep will have to wait.
“Go ahead, but you are dealing with the strings”
Cross nodded and started to blow up the lunch bag while the others watched with a confused curiosity. Once it was nearly blown up, Cross had clenched his hand around the opening and held it on top of Error’s face. His stern attitude switched for a more mischievous one as he slammed his hands together. The bag had made a loud bang along with spraying the now awake and scared Error with Glitter.
So that’s where his glitter bags went...
“What the Fuck!”
Error had shot up and nailed Cross in his forehead, making the other groan rubbing his head. Nightmare, along with the others in the room, snickered at the two. Once Error was out of his daze, he glared over at Cross.
“Cross what the fuck!”
“I should be saying what the fuck! What is your skull made of!?”
Smirking at Cross's pain, he answered smugly.
“Idiot repellent.”
Sitting up, Cross rubbed at the sore spot, annoyed.
“Then why aren’t you in pain too?”
Knowing this could go on for days, Nightmare decided to end it. They needed answers and to know if this place was safe.
“Enough, Error you can yeet Cross later. Right now, we have a situation.”
Ignoring the betrayed shout of what from Cross, Nightmare had turned to face an amused Vanilla. Looks like that is going to be his nickname now.
“Come on, we can talk upstairs.”
Nodding, he gestured for the other two to stick close as they walked up the steps, following their hosts. Nightmare was more than confused on how they got here, but he hadn’t sensed any malicious intent from none of them. Maybe annoyance from a few, but that was it. So far it was safe for them.
The living room was vast and had the comfiest looking cushion he had ever seen. God, he wanted to jump on those seats and just suffocate in all the coziness. There was a coffee table set in the middle on a rug and a flat-screen T.V. Overall, the living room had a homey feel to it.
He could see Cross trying to move over to the cushions to jump on while Error was gravitating towards the gaming set up underneath the T.v.
Sighing, he grabbed both of them by the hood of their jackets. Honestly, did they not have any self-preservation? Shooting their annoyed looks with a quiet later, they both slumped but agreed. All three took a seat on the largest couch in the room.
Nightmare patiently stared at the fidgeting group in front of him. They were nervous, but why? Suspicious, Nightmare narrowed his eyes but kept his expression neutral.
“So Where are we and who are you?”
Vanilla took a breath and sighed. Tired.
God, how many more times will he have to do this show and dance? It was bad enough with just two pairs of his brother and him. Then with the two gods as well. Now, he isn’t sure who these three are, but he hopes they won’t be as bad as the others were when they first got here. So far, he knew the Cross guy was cool and a prankster. The glitching (why was he glitching?) skeleton seemed alright, if not a bit grumpy. Although the third skeleton was the one he couldn’t get a read on. All he could get from the guy was that he liked purple. It was also weird that none of them had a Papyrus with them.
“Well, do you know the multiverse theory?”
A nod from Purple and he continued. Good made his life easier.
“Well, you are in another alternate universe from your own and we pulled you accidentally from your universe to mine.”
He gave them each a few seconds to digest that as Sans went forward with introductions.
“The guy in the orange hoodie is Stretch.”
Stretch waved nonchalantly at the group. The other two seemed alright, but if they were associated with that glitching monstrosity then there was something wrong with them. For now, he will play nice and watch.
“Tall and spiky is Edge.”
Edge glared at Sans for the comment but did nothing else. While this group may seem docile, there was something about the purple one that had him on edge.
“Red and grumpy is Red.”
Red flicked off Sans but looked over the group. They seem alright and the move with the bag was some good shit. Although there was something about each of them that had him antsy.
“Finally there is me and you can call me Sans. There are more, but they are out right now. So you'll meet them later.”
Cross gleefully looked at each skeleton waving at each one. This would be interesting. They had been stuck in the base for weeks since Nightmare was paranoid about the winged asshole. However, these guys seem like fun. He had a chance to talk to them a little when he first woke up and they had some killer jokes!
Error nodded at each skeleton. Edge and Red were a bit of a prick, but he never really liked Underfell anyway. Full of tsundere and dicks. The orange hoodie guy was trying to glare holes into him, but he used to that so he shrugged it off. Although that gaming set he was dying to get his hands on. It was the same exact console that had just been released, but he didn't get a chance to snatch it before they went into hiding. Error didn’t mind staying in the base for a while, but even he hated staying in one place for too long.
Nightmare took note of each nickname of the skeletons. Not like it mattered, they would probably chill here for a couple of hours before heading back to the base. It has been a while since they went out. Due to his brother being more strict on his dumb laws. He knew the other two were getting antsy, so staying here shouldn’t be too bad. Plus, he hated staying in his base for long anyway. Something they all three agreed on.
“Alright. Can I ask if this is a neutral area?”
Sans was confused. Neutral? What the heck were they talking about?
Nightmare furrowed his brows at Vanilla's confusion. Was this a new universe that was just made and they hadn’t picked aside? That was strange but not unheard of. Typically his brother would try to reach a new AU to brainwash them onto his side.
“WE ARE BACK! OH, WE HAVE NEW GUESTS!”
Looking over to the door, he saw a Papyrus walk in with a bag in hand. Oh, this must be Vanilla’s brother.
Before he could introduce himself and his group, he sensed a familiar aura. Nightmare panicked for a split second before he steeled himself. Damn it, why can’t Nightmare ever catch a break!
Reaching into his hidden pockets, he grabbed two of his smoke bombs, waiting for him and his lackeys to walk in. As soon as he saw those yellow eyelights widen at his appearance, he started the attack.
“Guys invasive maneuver Puppet show!”
Then he released the bombs and covered the entire area in smoke.
Nightmare went straight for Dream and aimed a hit at his stomach. It went through and he quickly spun behind the crouched form and tripped him. Causing him to land face-first on the ground. Reaching for the anti-magic cuffs he had stolen, he swiftly placed them on the other and stood up on their back. He released a chicken call once he was sure Dream was down.
Listening out, he heard a peacock call followed by a raven one.
Summoning his staff, he spun it above him, clearing the area. Then pointed the sharp end of his staff at his squirming brother. Keeping a close eye on his form.
Weird, he looked different? Like no wings and smaller differences. Was this another trick? And why was it so easy to apprehend him this time? Sure they have gotten the drop on Dream and his henchmen loads of times, but it was never this easy.
Taking a quick sweep around, he saw that Cross had disarmed Ink and held him in a similar state as Dream. A knife on the creator's neck, keeping him still.
Error was able to string up everyone else and hang them from the ceiling, wiggling in their cocoon strings.
“What the fuck!”
“RELEASE ME AT ONCE, YOU CRETINS!”
“Looks like we are a bit tangled up here.”
“NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR YOUR PUNS BROTHER!”
“Dream! Ink!”
Looking back at the squirming from underneath him, Nightmare narrowed his eyes.
“What is your game Dream? Just because you don’t have your wings, you don’t think I wouldn’t recognize you? How stupid can you be?”
Dream stilled at his words and he could sense sadness with confusion coming off the other. That’s weird, Nightmare has never been able to identify his brother's emotions due to Dream setting up a wall of positivity to block him out.
“W-Wait, I think this is all a misunderstanding!”
And speaking in a soft, placate way? He only angrily demands shit like an entitled dick. What the hell is going on?
Stepping of the other, he used his staff and flipped the other to face him. He saw a familiar yet unfamiliar figure.
Yellow eye lights, watering with tears. Not the cold dead yellow orbs.
A soft yellow cape set over a blue outfit. No hooded jacket. But there was still a crown sitting happily on Dream's head. The same crown, he knew by memory was the one he gave his brother.
What was going on?