Chains of Negativity

Chapter 2

TW: Physical and verbal abuse

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The Star Sanses relaxed in their home, they were thankful for the break they had given themselves. This day was their favourite day of the week; Chore day. A day that seemed awful to most, but that the Stars loved. It mostly consisted of cleaning, baking, meal prepping and other odds and ends to get the base ready for the week. Ink was on the floor, dipping candle wicks into hot wax while Swap and Dream were curdling milk for cheese. Each skeleton was focused on their respective tasks, though all of them enjoyed the menial nature of their work.

Dream and Swap were quietly chatting with each other, but didn't bother to include Ink in their conversation. He was very focused on the candle making, watching the colour of the wax lighten as it dried on the wicks. Ink didn't mind their quiet conversation between each other, maybe it bothered him that they weren't including him, but it wasn't anything new to him. Ink looked down at the boring white candles and decided to add some pigment to the candles. It was something he was scolded for in the past, but he just couldn't help himself today. The other two didn't even notice as the small skeleton raced upstairs to get the powders that would change the colours like witchcraft. He always felt like a little goblin when adding pigment. The colour's quick change was always something that delighted him.

Ink decided to make lavender, so he added a small dash of red and blue to the wax. He watched as he mixed the pigment and it turned the mixture into a beautiful lavender shade. He didn't know why Dream disliked that colour so much, it was far too pretty to be afraid of. He continued to dip the candles in the wax, the pretty lavender much nicer than the boring white. He looked over at his friends, waiting for Dream to get mad and scream over the colour again, but it never came. Yeah, maybe Dream didn't even look at him, but he didn't yell, so that must mean that he was okay with the colour today!

Ink continued on, this time without fear of being screamed at because Dream was absolutely okay with it today. He bounced his head along with the music they played in the background, as another way to distract and relax them from their usual stressful lives. The next chore on his list was to spin wool, which excited him too. Dream and Swap would clean the kitchen, preparing it for meal prep. Overall the day seems calmer than usual.

Dream placed the cheesecloth over the pot, collecting the curds and letting the whey settle beyond the cloth at the bottom of the pot. He secured the cloth tight and let the whey drip down. Dream looked over at Ink for the first time in a while. His eyes went wide with a mix of shock and anger when he saw the colour he had dyed. That fucking purple, again. He was told off, time and time again by Dream. He hated the colour. It reminded him of his brother, and he hated those memories. Dream walked over to Ink and yanked the half-made candles out of his hands, earning a surprised and confused look from him.

"What are you doing Dream?" Ink asked.

"Ink! I told you about the purple!" Dream yelled.

"B-but-"

"But nothing! This is the fifth time Ink! I'm getting so sick of this!"

"I'm sorry, I forgot." Ink muttered, hanging his head shamefully.

"I'm so sick of your stupid memory bullshit Ink!"

"I'm sorry..."

Ink sat there while Dream yelled at him. He insulted him in every way he could think of, his memory, his intelligence, anything he knew Ink was insecure about. He was frustrated, and this is how he was going to take out that frustration. Dream crossed his arms and turned away from him, trying to calm himself down. Ink just wanted to finish with his task and run away to his room to feel sorry for himself, so he reached out for the last few candle wicks to finish up. In that split second when he reached out for them, Dream turned back around and kicked his hand away.

Ink let out a yelp and jumped back from the shock of just getting kicked. He pulled his hand back to his chest and tried to soothe the pain away with his other hand. Dream just started yelling at him again. He continued to lay into him, just making Ink feel worse about himself with every word. Swap came over after a few more minutes of yelling, taking Dream's hand and leading him to his room. Ink could hear him calming Dream down as they walked to his room.

He sat there, trying to process what just happened before the tears began to flow. They were so hot it felt like they were cutting his cheeks. That thick feeling came about in his throat, as his vision went blurry and it became hard to breathe. He slowly let out soft sobs, knowing if he was too loud Dream would come back. It hurt. It hurt to be there, to not be loved, especially by those he cared so deeply about. He didn't know what he did wrong to make Dream hate him so much. All he knew was it hurt.

Nightmare looked over his chosen file one more time, ensuring that every detail was perfect. He summoned his subordinates to the throne room, as he knew exactly what their next mission was. They all filed into the room, one by one. None of them were excited for yet another mission. They all hoped it would be short and that they could just rest for a while afterwards.

"Don't worry, it's not that bad." Nightmare said, feeling his gang's exhaustion.

"It's always 'not that bad'." Cross grumbled.

Nightmare chose to ignore this comment and proceed with the meeting.

"I have chosen my candidate. I will need you to kidnap him and bring him to me."

This caught some of their attention, some wanting to know who was chosen. The others just stayed bored, wanting to go and rest. Nightmare stood up and threw the filedown at the men. Cross grabbed it and looked it over. He was surprised and extremely frustrated when he saw who his Boss wanted. He passed the paper around to the rest of the Bad Sanses. Some were surprised, and some frustrated because they knew how hard it would be to kidnap him.

"You will bring me Ink." He announced to the group below him.