From Murder to Dust

SD - 1 - Shatter

Dream looked down at what he was holding before finally turning and showing it to me. My eyelight widened as I realized what the dreadful thing was, but..shouldn't it have been turning gold? Dream was a positive spirit..he wouldn't have been able to hold a negative apple unless..he was filled with negativity. That was why his aura was weakening! He had been flooded with negativity! Oh my, had I been the cause? I hadn't meant to drive him to this! I found myself incapable of thinking clearly; I had to compose myself and get my brother as far as possible away from that fruit..

"D-Dream.." I had no idea what to say.. "W-we can talk about this, c-can't we?"

"No." Dream said plainly. "No, brother, no, we can't. I'm tired, Nightmare. I'm tired of these games we play. The only reason you want me to stop is because you still have some remnant inside of you that still cares for me; I appreciate the thought, but I hate the rest of you. You go around hurting people all the time, not caring what anyone thinks. What do you think I feel when I think of you? People ask me if I have a brother, and I'm forced to say, 'Yes, he's the one who torments the multiverse.' People talk about you around me, and they don't even think that I might still care for you! Brother..to put it quite simply, I've tried not to be ashamed of you, but trying can only work so long..I don't want to have to try to understand you; I want to fully understand you. I want to know what I'm missing..and this will give me that. After today, I'll finally be able to see what you see, and we won't have to fight anymore, because I'll help you! Maybe I can finally convince you to stop attacking the multiverse..but if I can't, at least we'll have eachother."

"D-Dream, are you even listening to yourself?!" I couldn't move.

"Yes, brother, I am. I hope we can finally be closer..this shouldn't be a waste."

Dream lifted the apple to his skull; I couldn't move. He actually bit into it..I still couldn't move. Why couldn't I move?! The negativity..it was so strong..I couldn't handle it. Dream ate the entire apple, but I still couldn't move. Was this torture? It must have been. I was still frozen with pure fear as my brother fell on his knees and screamed out in pain; what had I done? It was my fault that Dream was being negative. It was my fault that he had eaten the apple; heck, it was my fault that there even was one! I thought I had eaten them all, but had I ever checked?! No..I hadn't. This was my fault, and I was facing the consequences. I watched with fear as a familiar black liquid began to creep onto my brother's body..as the same fell from my own. I was too afraid to move..what had I allowed to happen?! Before I could process what was happening, a black appendage seized me around my cervical vertebrae, lifting me up to come face-to-face with what some might have mistaken for me..but it wasn't me..it was Dream. The same black slime that had covered me from skull to phalanx now covered him, and he gazed into my now-violet eyelights with a single yellow one.

"That wasn't so bad, now, was it, brother?" He addressed me; I could barely hear him over my thoughts.

I had allowed him to make the same horrible decision that I had..what kind of a brother was I?! His eyelight was on the right; he was blinded in one eyelight, as I had been..what relevance did that even have?!

"I said.." Dream growled. "Was it?"

"I-I.." I could barely speak; I realized that my old voice was back.

"I see..you're just so stunned that you can't even comprehend what I'm saying; I get it. Luckily, I also have a solution for that."

"Wh-what?" I had no idea what I was saying..what was even going on?

Before I could react, I was slammed into the unforgiving ground; at the very least, I had regained my senses..Dream pulled me back up to face him.