I'll Make You Mine

Lure Into the Darkness: Nightmare

(Now that I think about it, Nightmare is putting way too much effort into kidnapping Ink. He could've just said, "Welcome to the dark side, we have PopTarts™" and Ink would've immediately been interested.)

"-and then he dared to blame me for it. Can you believe him?" Ink rambled, closing the restaurant's door behind him. He no longer wanted to fight; Broomie rested on his back. Nightmare laughed to humor him, though it was flat and dry. He knew the artist was talkative, but he hadn't stopped since Nightmare gave him the pink paint and kiss. It was rather excessive if you asked him, and he was already sick of it. The first thing he'd train him to do was to stay silent unless spoken to.

The two stepped through the portal Nightmare summoned. He stepped inside and offered a tendril to help Ink cross. Ink took it, grinning. His eye lights turned to stars. "I didn't know you were such a gentleman."

"Believe it or not, I'm not always spreading misery. I can be rather polite." Nightmare looked around his main hall. Black and purple tiles shimmered on the floor. A black chandelier hung from a high ceiling, glinting light all over the room. Tall stained glass windows covered the back wall, designed with stars. Two staircases rounded on either side to an elevated point. A shiny railing surrounded it. The wall had an open gap the size of a train tunnel to continue walking through the castle.

Ink's jaw dropped, speechless. His eye lights glowed. Nightmare crossed his arms. His tendril squeezed the artist's hand as he looked over the hall. "Do you like it? This is my hall. I've never used it for its true purpose, I never have a reason to, but it does please me."

"Are you kidding me? This is AMAZING! I've heard of your castle but I didn't think it was this pretty! I thought that was a myth because no one could ever find you!" Ink vomited a puddle of paint on the floor. Nightmare stepped a foot away. At least it was of similar consistency to his tendrils, so he could clean it. Ink's positivity shot a spike through Nightmare's skull. He set a hand on his head to numb the pain, but it did little to help. Ink caught on and his voice lowered to normal. "You okay?"

Nightmare sighed. "Yes, yes, merely a headache. Don't scream like that again. And keep your emotions in check."

"Oops, sorry."

"Don't worry, Inkblot. We've all done it at least once. As long as it's not during one of boss's caffeine highs, you'll be a-okay!"

The last voice echoed and laughed from the top of the staircase. Killer sat on the railing, kicking his dusty white slippers with a cocky grin. Nightmare lost count of all the times he's told the emotionless skeleton to stay off there. He didn't bother scolding him as he slid down the barrier and landed with a showman's bow. Ink smiled and snickered.

"How did the date go, boss?" Killer said as he stood back up. He looked between the two, hovering his finger at Ink. "And . . . do you have a title, or should I call you Ink?"

"You can address him as either 'co-boss' or 'your highness.'" Nightmare said, holding Ink's waist with a tendril. Ink shivered at the touch. "Regarding the date, it went excellent. But I assume you can already see that."

"Co-boss? I can get used to the title." The artist's voice trailed off, either from awe or confusion. He stood in front of Killer on his tiptoes and held his hands behind his back, similar to Nightmare's own posture. "That means I'm above you."

Nightmare rolled his eye light. His tone was soft yet mocking. "Not yet, Inky. You need to prove you're capable as a leader before you start ordering others around."

"That's going to be so weird." Killer shook his head with a small smirk. "'Cause you know, you are- were an enemy."

"I know. That does sound weird . . ." Ink zoned out as he thought about it, cocking his skull.