Broken Souls

Chapter 22

=Something Different #0=

Dream looks up from his chess match with Killer when the multiverse portal generator rumbled up from the steady hum of an idol to the full deep rumble of full power before a opalescent vortex blossoms over the landing platform.

Killer jumps up with a grin that fell into a look of horror as the generator's deep rumble escalates into a high pitched shriek. Flower, Bit, and Outer stumble through looking ill.

Horror scrambled through and kept going, scooping up Bit as he hit full stride passing Flower and Outer.

The next few moments were pure chaos as Nightmare was literally flung from the the destabilizing portal barely managing to reform his goop into an protective cocoon around Error, Nibs, and himself before hitting the ground and rolling.

Dream brought up a golden shield around Killer, Flower, Outer, and himself just before the generator exploded and the portal collapsed.

Outer holds Flower close watching smoke billow around the shield, "what the hell?"

Killer tries to stab the shield screaming for Nightmare, Error, and Horror until the smoke clears. Horror huddled with Bit in between an intact wall and a blast door.  A bubbling ball of Nightmare's magic was across the room.

Dream drops the shield rushing towards Nightmare with Killer. "Brother!"

The ball melts away dripping onto the floor first revealing Error with Nibs clinging to him, then it all splatters to the floor revealing a slender delicate gray boned skeleton with the left side of his skull badly damaged and the socket on that side completely shattered.

Flower stumbled towards Error and the strange skeleton. "Error? What happened?"

Error scrambles towards the strange grayed out skeleton and reaches for him only to stop hands hovering just over fragile bones. "Night? Why? You never..."

Bit squirms in Horrors hold, "Dream don't! Nightmare strength comes from negative energy!"

Error's strings snapped into place around Dream and tossed him to Horror instantly.  "Night damn it."

Horror catches Dream and tucks him next to Bit. "You might want to brace yourself whenever dad is hurt. Error stops locking down his aura."

Killer slides to a stop next to Error, "dad? Error, what happened? How can I help?"

Outer approaches slowly, "that is Nightmare without the goop? But he looks way more fragile than that Efiáltis guy.  What happened to his skull?"

Dream whimpers as a tsunami of negative energy hits him as Error slowly looks up from Nightmare's delicate bones barely held together by a thin tracing of goopy magic.  Pain, rage, grief, disgust, hatred, and resentment hammer at him in waves.

"What happened? His AU and his useless brother happened.  Nightmare is a good guardian who did his job instead of running off to play and catering to a bunch of leaches.  And he kept doing it no matter what was done to him, even when his oh so useless brother turned his back on him to side with his so called friends after all no one needs negativity do they." Error sneered at Dream, "never mind that no one would have anything but genocide runs without it.  Never mind that cruelty is a twisted form of positivity.  Never mind the real consequences of not having negativity in the world."

Nib flinches under the sheer force of Error's rage and ducks down into his pocket now is not a good time to draw attention.  He trusts Error but big folk can be careless when highly upset.

Horror passes Dream to Bit who just gives him a look as they are almost the same size. "Watch dat drag 'im out if e passes out."  Horror didn't even glance at him standing to hurry over to Killer and Error.