The day of the meetup was coming quicker than Nightmare would have liked. Every day was too long, and every possible course of action was..unpleasant to think of, at best. Nightmare would have preferred to fight Error 404 on his own with his gang (and perhaps Error) behind him, but Error 404 was too strong. His power level was almost on the level of Ink and Error, the two strongest known beings in the multiverse, and his intelligence..made him stronger than either one of them alone. He knew how to make himself appear stronger than he really was; he could create new tactics to use in battle on a whim and change his fighting styles in a moment's time to get the advantage. So Nightmare needed help. And, to his despair, that help had to come in the form of..
"Nightmare?!" Blue hopped from his chair in surprise, as did several other judges; this was supposed to be the multiverse's monthly meeting between judges..not exactly something Nightmare, his gang, and Error were invited to.
"Error!" Ink giggled, not bothering to get up. "This is kind of a private meeting; how'd you get here without alerting anyone? Are you a spy now? You-"
"Shut up, Ink." Error approached the table, wearing the most serious expression he could muster. "We have a problem."
"..." Ink blinked, registering somewhere in his scrambled brain that this was important. "Uh, what's going on?"
"Error 404 kidnapped my brother, and I want him back." Nightmare explained simply. "You and the Destroyer have an agreement to put your quarrels aside and work together if that glitch does something; he's doing something. Stop it, if you would please."
"Um..that's not really multiverse-conquering behavior.." Ink pointed out. "It's just one kidnapping, and..you know, I think that kid's been kidnapped at least once already by us, and he was perfectly fine! He can take it!"
"Ink, that's a bit.." Blue tried to correct his friend. "Insensitive.."
"What? It's just one kid, as opposed to what he did last time; it was really scary last time!"
"..Ink." Nightmare fought himself to remain calm, though his aura was increasing, and his tendrils were twitching violently; he couldn't afford to lose himself. "If you do not help me, I will go through every universe one by one and burn their cities to the ground until you do. Does that help you make your decision?!"
"Well, you're kind of easier to stop than-"
"Ink!" Blue let out a sigh, shaking his skull. "Who knows what he could have in store for that poor child?! It's your duty to help stop him, and it's my duty to help you do it! We're going to do it, Ink!"
"..This has something to do with your 'morality,' doesn't it?" Ink assumed.
"..Yes, Ink, it does.."
"All right, all right, I'll help.." Ink rolled his eyelights. "But I still don't see the point."
"Good." Nightmare's trembles subsided, and he managed to bring his aura's effects back to normal. "We will need to inform you of the situation so far..can we get rid of these judges?"
"Easier done than said." Error opened portals under every judge, delivering them all to their home universes before locking them out of the meeting universe..temporarily.
"Let's get started, then."
Nightmare walked down the room and sat down as close to the artist as he would dare - close enough to hear the conversation, at least. Killer, Horror, Cross, and Dust sat next to him, and Error took a seat on the other side of the table, clearly not wanting to sit next to Ink either.
"So what's the problem?" Blue decided to get to the point. "When did it happen?"
"..Shortly after our last encounter, we found Dream gone." Nightmare started to explain.
It took a few repeats to relay all the information to everyone who needed it, but by the end of it, even Ink understood the fact that Dream needed help, although he didn't understand as much as the others exactly how desperate the situation was. He couldn't know of Dream's role..he would have singlehandedly made it common knowledge. But the fact that Dream was Nightmare's brother (and Blue's constant pressuring for Ink to "do the right thing") was enough to convince him to help.
"So, what's our plan now?" Ink wondered.
"We have to find him." Error informed. "I've started a search through the codes, but it would take months to go through every universe to find him; I need a faster way."
"I don't know any faster ways!" Ink shrugged.
"What are you talking about?! You located 404 in less than an hour last time!"
"He was causing destruction to codes and plotlines last time; I can only sense that! I can't track people!"
"Well, that's just great." Nightmare buried his face in his hands; he should have just kept his brother home..Dream would have been safe, then. He would have been happy, then.
"Can't you track people with your aura?" Ink thought.
"I've tried; he's disrupting everything, somehow..I can't even make contact through dreams.."
"You can visit dreams?" Ink tilted his skull. "That's so cool!"
"..That's not important."
"Let's get back on track." Error suggested. "Nightmare, could you track them if you were in the same universe?"
"I should be able to, but how will we find the unvierse they're in? What if he's switching universes periodically?"
"Well..he knows that you're going to be the one looking for him the most desperately. Where would you hide from you?"
"..I have trouble navigating to universes that are sickeningly positive."
"..That's not knowledge he would possess."
"I have made it a point not to mention it often; this is..unfortunately a necessary time to do so."
"Well, we need common knowledge about you; what would make your powers weaker in the search for Dream?"
"Doesn't a lot of negativity get you, like, high, or something?" Ink volunteered some information.
"..." Nightmare looked up at Ink with disgust. "Do you have to phrase it like that?"
"Same effect, right?"
The dark Guardian sighed. "Yes, when I am surrounded by overwhelming negativity..I tend to lose focus of reality occasionally..my powers become easier and more powerful to use, but harder to control..your point is unfortunately valid."
"So..a good place would be a highly negative universe." Error concluded.
"But Dream couldn't survive there.." Cross mentioned. "He'd..he's positive..it would kill him before the date 404 wants to meet up.."
"That is also true.." Nightmare nodded. "And..we do need to find him before then. We can't comply with the ransom, therefore he will have no incentive to..keep Dream alive.."
"What did he ask for?" Blue wondered. "Maybe we can get it for you."
"You can't; it was..something very personal and impossible to give up..I doubt he knows the weight of what he has asked for."
"What was it?"
"..I would rather not answer that question. It has no bearing on the situation; just know that we cannot pay the ransom.."
"I think it would help if you told us what he wants, Nightmare." Ink wanted to know.
"He requested control over every universe Nightmare has power over, all right?" Error lied. "The start of an empire - one we can't give him."
"You..take over universes?" Ink blinked, not having known that.
"..Only a few." Nightmare wasn't going to tell Ink that he only had the universes of his boys under his 'control.' Cross's didn't even really count, considering its state.. "Can we get back to the point?"
"Well, I guess we can't give those up, after all.." Ink admitted, laying his skull in one of his hands. "We have two days before 404 wants that meetup, which basically means..we have two days to find that kid. I'll start searching through mainly-positive AUs with Blue, and you guys search through the negative ones; he could be anywhere.."
There were billions of alternate universes.
Every original universe had thousands of copies. Every original idea had fell variants, swap variants, and every other variant known to the multiverse - if it didn't yet, it would. In the multiverse, anything that could be imagined was possible. Every possibility needed a universe in which it happened. Every copy was minutely different from the rest of its kind, whether it was a difference in color saturation across the world or one single character's personality was entirely changed. In some universes, everything was peaceful; in others, war was an irrefutable constant. In many universes, those states changed over years of time. Some universes were new - others were old. New universes were coming into existence at rates none could measure. Old and new universes died of many causes. Nightmare could only hope his brother's kidnappeer was staying in one AU, because if he was moving, they would never find him.
The days passed too fast. Thousands of universes were combed through one by one, but..
Thousands were less than a drop of water in the ocean that was the multiverse.
There wasn't enough time.
"Nightmare, how good it is to see you!" Nightmare hated him.
"Where is my brother?" Bargaining was dangerous. It was also his only option now. "I..I can't give you what you asked for; you know that. I can give you something else..give me a chance.."
"I didn't peg you as the begging type, Nightmare." 404 let out a chuckle. "And you know I'm not the most flexible..I want what I asked for. You know my price; I'll hold up my end if you hold up yours."
"..You know as well as I do that I can't give you that. You..must want something else. Anything else.."
"..No. No, I don't."
The glitch turned, and a portal opened beneath him, letting him fall just in time to avoid being snatched by one of Error's blue strings. It wasn't the universe Dream was in. Nightmare knew that much.
"Coward!" Error growled, stepping out of the shadows.
"Being cautious is not the same as cowardice." 404's voice still remained..he could do a great many things, couldn't he? "Well, Nightmare, I hope your last words to your dear brother were a goodbye; I was going to give you his dust, but..I think not. A beggar doesn't deserve such luxuries. Maybe I'll keep it in my collection..I wonder if it'll sparkle! Time to find out, I suppose.."
"No.." Nightmare's legs buckled.
There was no more time to find his brother.
Dream was going to die, and it was all his fault.
He should have protected him.
His brother..his small, fun-loving, positive little brother..
Why couldn't he protect him?
It was his job to protect him! He was the older brother! He had failed when he was a child..
He had failed now.
"Hey.." Error sighed, opening a portal. "You should get home..I..I'm so sorry, Nightmare.."
He was such a failure.
Dream's skull rose when he heard laughter. It..wasn't one of the judges Mr. Error 404 had goven his positivity to..it was gltichier. Error?
No..
Erorr 404 was laughing. He had a weird laugh..like the villains in the movies Cross and Killer had shown Dream. But glitchier, of course.
"What are you laughing about?" Dream wondered, giving 404 a confused expression.
"Oh, nothing for you to worry about; you stay positive and keep up with your work, and you'll be just fine." 404 chuckled, coming over to check Dream's progress. "Another batch filled - good job."
"Can I go home when I make all you want?" Dream wanted to see Nighty again..
"The answer to that is, remarkably, still no."
"But you can't need too much more.." Dream groaned. "I'm getting tired.."
"Then sleep." 404 teleported into the glass cage.
"I want to go home!" Dream shouted, giving 404 a glare; he had never saw the need for glares before, but..they at least made him feel a little less powerless here.
"That's a shame; you'll be staying here for quite possibly the rest of your life - unless I decide to move you to a similar universe, of course." 404 leaned against one of the walls, smiling at Dream in his smug evil way.
"My brother will find me! And he'll make you pay for all this!"
"Oh, that's quite impossible."
"..Why?" Dream's glare turned into confusion. "He wouldn't stop looking.."
"Oh, you're right; I wouldn't put that past you. But..he has stopped looking."
"...Why?"
"Oh, I told him I killed you. And I made it really convincing, little Guardian..he isn't going to come looking for you anymore, because he thinks you're dead. He's probably mourning you right now - how sad.."
"Wh..what?!" Dream couldn't stop the tears from forming in his eyesockets. "Y-you what?!"
"I told him that you're dead, Guardian. He believes me. Now sleep it off; you're tired. I expect you to keep up with the workload; I don't tolerate laziness."
404 teleported out of the glass cage with the box of liquid positivity, and Dream couldn't help but do as he had been told.
He lay down on the cold stone floor, and he cried himself to sleep.
~~~chapter end woot~~~
..The beans are not doing well.
Frisking heck I think the latest chapter of Spilled Ink on Ao3 (10000/10 would recommend) punched me in the gut so hard that it made me write angst everywhere.
Well..I mean..this is the plot I planned, but..dang this is dark.
Public Service Announcement: everything is going to be okay in the end. Fear not.
Of course I don't know when the end will be, but-
It'll be okay..eventually.
Thanks for reading my hopeless writing!
Bye!