One-shots [Reqs: 5]

Ha Ha Ha

Blood on his tongue, fire in his mouth, pain, pain, pain-

The gang's laughter growing louder and louder the more he panicked. He'd bitten his tongue.

It was just a harmless prank. A harmless prank. Choking down his cries, forcing laughter, strained, shuddering laughter. Wiping his face, smiling, blood seeping through his teeth, he bit out a laugh so fake, he nearly cringed.

"Good one! Th-that was really f-f....funny!" Chest tight, head spinning, that laughter calming somewhat as he struggled to show he was unaffected. That he thought it was funny too.

But his blood was warm on his face, his soul was shaking, his eyelights were gone, and he was two seconds away from passing out. Liquid thicker than tears welled in his socket, the viscous hate trickling down his face.

A funny joke. He laughed harder, breathing thin, wheezing. He couldn't hear their laughter anymore. He couldn't hear anymore. He was screaming, he knew it. He was crying, he could feel it. But he was long gone. He slipped away, far, far away into the prison of his mind. And he stayed there, floating in the silence.

-

Cross's eyes opened with a soft creak, his hazy vision focusing slowly. He was in the medical wing, chained down- Why was he chained down? His eyes opened fully, limbs shifting, or trying to. There wasn't much leeway, not with the chains on his wrists.

His neck was stiff, pain shooting up and down his spine as he turned his head. The room was empty. A creeping feeling of anxiety started to prick his mind, his breath hitching. "G...Guys?"

Nobody came.

"Killer? Dust?"

Nobody came.

"Horror? E-Error?"

Nobody came.

"N...Nightmare?"

Nobody. Came.

Cross stifled a sound, swallowing a sob. Panic began to swirl in his mind, pushing tears down his cheeks. He'd been abandoned. They left him.

He broke down into quiet sobbing, choking as he felt the very familiar feeling of his soul cracking.

Then the door opened, and Nightmare stepped in. He stared at Cross with a wide eye, his tentacles frozen in the air behind him. Cross didn't dare blink, else Nightmare would vanish.

"Nightmare...? You're- You're here?"

The old king was slow in his approach, but when he got to the bedside, Cross reached out, flinching as he hit the end of the chains. He pulled on them, breathing heavily as he continued to try to reach his boss. 

When his bones creaked, Nightmare met him halfway, gently pushing his hand back down and fiddling with the cuff. Only when all the chains had come off did Cross sit up.

"What happened..?"

Killer scrambling across the floor, terror written across his face--

Nightmare's eye darted away, a nervous edge to his voice. "You, um... Well, you lost it, to put it simply."

"CROSS NO-!" Horror's body dropping like a stone, Dust's hoarse screams as he tried to drag Horror away--

Cross stared down at his bandaged hands, sifting through his fuzzy memories. All he got were blurry images of overwhelming red and purple.

Knives tearing up from the floor, Killer failing to outrun them--

He stared at his hands, flexing his fingers. "I-I didn't hurt anyone, did I?" Nightmare's back was turned to him.

Nightmare howling-- bones snapping-- black dripping from glowing red blades--

Cross quietly called out Nightmare's name. "Please tell me I didn't hurt anyone." The dark monster sighed. "Cross, I... I don't want to lie to you. Don't ask me to start now."

The implications had a bolt of shock tearing through his mind like lightning. "Ha..How bad?"

Cross thrashing on the bed-- chains rattling-- "C'mon- Wake up!" Nightmare begging under his breath--

"Nightmare?" Cross was trembling at Nightmare's silence.

Four limp bodies, Nightmare's weak healing magic refusing to work-- his own injuries aching as he redirected his magic--

"Nightmare? Boss?"

Dust trickling through his fingers-- Dream finally answering his calls-- Horror's arm reforming, relief flooding Nightmare when the three of them woke up--

"It wasn't anything I couldn't fix, Cross. They're okay." That eased Cross's nerves more than he let on. With the anxiety dying down, there was room for his guilt to come flooding in. "Boss, I.. I'm sorry. I-I tried to keep it down-" 

Nightmare shushed him, "It's okay, son, they forgave you already, and I did too. It was an accident." Cross was crying again, but this time, Nightmare held him in a hug. "Everyone's okay."

-

Cross learned why he wasn't able to leave his bed the moment he pulled back his blanket. His legs had been completely wrapped up, and he could tell that his kneecaps were shattered. 

When he asked, Nightmare apologized profusely. He'd broken Cross's legs, but it was the only way he could've gotten Cross to stop.

Cross easily forgave him. He'd have done the same if he were on the other side of it.

It took Cross a few days before he asked is he could see the others. Nightmare was hesitant at first. So, the others made the choice before he did.

Killer showed up first, beaming and sporting a few new scars. Cross winced when he saw them, opening his mouth to apologize, but Killer sat down nearby and started showing them off, claiming that they made him look cooler. And Cross couldn't help but laugh.

Horror brought him a cake, a chocolate monstrosity that Cross almost cried over. He showed Cross his arm, which looked completely brand new. "Now, I just need to get the rest of me done," he'd joked.

Dust was the last one to show, and even if he didn't say much, there was a newfound glint of respect in his stare that Cross grew bashful over.

But, Nightmare was right. Everything was okay.

--------

I wrote this in thirty minutes in a rootbeer-induced craze, in the Sticky Notes app that computers have, while listening to this song

Anyways, Flamango_55 i am working on ur request uwu it'll be out in like a week, and if it isnt, then whoops, i musta lost my mind