Andlátkyn; Vandr Sanses unin Alagaësia

Memory

The Apple Twins were sunbathing in Life's garden drowsily in the noonday sun, both reading books and talking about them mentally when Dream noticed the approaching figure before Nightmare could.
𝓐𝓬𝓽𝓾𝓪𝓵𝓵𝔂, 𝓲𝓽 𝓵𝓸𝓸𝓴𝓼 𝓵𝓲𝓴𝓮 𝓪 𝓼𝓶𝓪𝓵𝓵 𝓹𝓻𝓸𝓬𝓮𝓼𝓼𝓲𝓸𝓷.. He corrected.

Nightmare closed his book, looking up curiously, blinking at the sight.
It was strange, it seemed all of shapes were made of shadows, their minds linked in strange ways as they flitted here to there. Only one silhouette stood out, a set of gentle red lights gazing out of their face.

As they drew closer to the Twins, both sat straight in surprise. The shadows were clearly vague forms of various monsters, and the one skeleton in their midst that was actually physically there was Horror, two eyelights shining vividly as he strode forward with a steady confidence never seen before.

The pair was standing by the time Horror stepped out of the shadows beneath the dusky pines, the blurry yet distinct figures calming down as they stabilized behind him, almost as if hiding from them.

They stood, bewildered as Horror finally stopped in front of the two, his mind strangely lucid and clear as he beamed.
"Hey guys." He greeted softly, his normally hoarse voice surprisingly smooth and gentle.

"... Horror?" Dream asked nervously. The other blinked at him, bouncing on his toes a little. "Can ya see them?" He asked eagerly.
"You're… friends?" Nightmare quested, raising a non-existent eyebrow. Horror nodded furiously. "Yea, we were wonderin' if you could so we found ya first. But uh, everyone's kinda bit scared. Heh."
"Who are they? Why are they here?" Dream asked before Nightmare silenced him, staring hard at the shadows that peered at them.
"It looks like your AU." He murmured.
For the most part it was true. A majority of the spirits resembled the monsters of Horror's starved world. Some seemed to be random.. outliers.

"It is." Horror admitted, glancing back. "Mostly." He cringed slightly as four skeletal figures formed from the dancing grey and brown shades. A young pair of skelebros and what looked to be a normal set stood on either side of him.
The older Sans shrugged and spoke in a casual wisp of a voice. "He ate us."
Horror stared at the ground.

"Horror, are all of these your victims?" Dream spluttered. Nightmare elbowed him as Horror's gaze snapped up. "Never call 'em victims." One of the more indefinite figures rested a paw on his shoulder from behind.
"He chose his targets based on their suffering." Nightmare explained.
He ate almost everyone in his AU before he could stop the habit, though. He added quietly.

Dream gaped at them for a long moment.
"That's… a lot of monsters." He said in a small voice.
Horror crouched down, a vaguely shaped MK darting into his arms before he stood.
"I wanted to give them a second chance. Someway, somehow. It always felt like I did it when I.." He looked away, instead smiling softly at the beaming child in his hands.

"What changed." Nightmare asked.
"Agaetí Blödhren." Horror spoke clearly. He glanced at the Twins.
"I don't know what that bird was, or that dragon, but something happened. It woke them up." He hesitated, then dipped his skull to display the old injury.
"Boss, I can think for the first time in I don't know how long."
"Your mind is clear?"
Reddish tears pricked the corners of his sockets. "Before Undick clear. I don't care if you couldn't do it yourself, Boss, I can think!" Horror was crying, grinning explosively.

Nightmare hesitated, recalling his now failed promise. "I said I would be the one to heal you." He muttered. Horror switched the wriggling monster kid to one side and rested a hand on the darker's shoulder. "Boss, it's okay. Really. It doesn't matter if it was you or not."
"S'not like you care any less." The ghostly Sans added, being hugged from behind by his Papyrus. Horror's smile widened as he stepped back again.