Sans AUs Oneshots & Short Stories (Discontinued)

Dreamtale (Dreammare?): Sacrifice

Setting: Dreamtale.

Characters: Dream, Nightmare, Cross, Epic, X!Chara, Ink, Error, Blueberry.

Summary: Nightmare doesn't have much time left, and his life rests in Dream's hands. Dream is desperate to save his brother, and is willing to do anything to achieve that wish.

A/N: Reeee more Dreamtale. I don't know if this counts as Dreammare. This goes with an idea in one of my AUs. I'm working on an Errorink smut and a Cream smut.

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"...... Cross?"

"Dream, long time no see."

Dream stood at the open door, blinking in surprise. He had not been expecting any visitors today, but the guards had told him that it was urgent business that could not wait for a scheduled appointment. Being the son of the Tree Spirit, who was this country's queen, he was treated like a valuable jewel. His older brother, Nightmare, was also treated the same way. His excessive love for books, knowledge, and the arcane arts caused them to enroll him in a private academy that was focused on magic. When he came back from the school, he'd agreed to put his magic to good use and helped the queen put an end to cults and other fiends. Dream hadn't seen him in a good few months, since he'd gone off on another mission.

Cross was one of Nightmare's close friends, and a good friend of Dream's, too. He was definitely the more reserved type, but it wasn't that he was shy. He just didn't like to talk about himself or be the center of attention. He'd run into a few months ago, before Nightmare had gone off on that mission. They'd made short talk then, as Dream was rather busy and Cross wanted to rest. It was rather late that day, too.

"Nightmare is your older brother, correct?" Cross asked him, probably just to make sure.

"Yes. You know that already, Cross," Dream replied with a smile, but then picked up on his grave tone. "Did something happen to him? I--"

"Please come with me," Cross cut him off, reaching into his pocket and showing a badge to him. "Nightmare and I need your help, right now. The situation is urgent, and the queen has called upon you to assist. This is an order."

Although he was filled with some doubts and a whole lot of confusion, Dream followed Cross and his other companions-- Epic and Chara-- to the one section of the castle he'd never been in. He felt a tidal wave of pressure and negative feelings wash over his being as he stepped foot into the area, and it nearly knocked the wind out of him. This entire section of the castle, which the queen had reserved for formal business purposes, was drowning in tension. It was completely different from all the times he'd walked by it, and completely different from the rest of the castle. He'd thought something was going on earlier, when some of the servants had ushered him into his bedroom and stayed with him rather than leave until they were needed again. But this.... what was going on?

Dream, Cross, Epic, and Chara walked past all of the areas he had known about. The rooms where the council held meetings, the rooms where the queen discussed affairs with foreign ambassadors and leaders. The surrounding servants were thinning out slowly, and soon the number of guards present was increasingly drastically. It was very unsettling. Completely different from the atmosphere he was used to. Dream felt like he'd walked into someone else's territory, and the tension in the air didn't make him feel any better about his worries regarding Nightmare.

After a bit of walking, they reached a sealed off library, which was nestled deep underground. Dream had only known that the dungeons were underground, and a few wine cellars. As the grand doors to the library were closed, and the four of them were inside, Cross gave Epic and chara orders to stay and guard the doors. Make sure no one came in and no one left unless ordered to. Their movements and convoluted routes, not to mention that even Epic wasn't making any jokes or smiling, confirmed that there was some kind of secret being kept here. Something was going on. As he and Cross scrolled past the endless shelves of books and wooden cases, he thought about how much Nightmare would've liked this place.