I didn't sign up for that shit

The living Dead

Killer had felt the temptation to take a look at the tree and Nightmare of this universe. But in the end he kept stopping himself from doing it. No matter how much he wanted it, he would torment himself with the sight. It would be enough for him to remotely protect this alternate version of Boss.

With the construction of the treehouse he had hidden the presence of the other Nightmares. It had kept both his hands and mind busy, giving him no chance to let his mind wander. And once the treehouse was ready, the villagers were his next distraction. It was really amusing to see how easily they get irritated. It was very refreshing.

The best was still when he broke into the jewelry store. It had taken him a long time to find the right rings. After all, every ring should suit its wearer. But as soon as he had them? Killer had never seen a fat man run so fast. It was amusing to see how hard this person was trying to catch up with him. But Killer carried the title of rat with pride and quickly disappeared through the alleys. It was always worth the scandal of Error. All he had to do now was wait for the right opportunity to put his plan into action.

Basically, Killer was just waiting for Horror to return. But before he could say anything, when Horror came back to the treehouse, he stiffened. The arrival of the Dream of this universe made him nervous. Killer didn't know how different this Dream was from the one he knew. But he didn't want to risk this Dream being worse than the one he knew. So while Frezh, their self-proclaimed snake dad, held the horned guard in his grasp, Killer carefully pulled Horror behind him, straight to Cross. Error and Dust were right at the front. The two were their powerhouses, Error with his threads and Dust with the little bones that he could conjure up by now. The two were the only ones who could use their magic. Crossy would probably be next, assuming how sparks would come when Cross tried to conjure something. But Killer didn't mind being among the last. After all, he'd relied on his knife rather than his magic anyway.

Killer watched the confusion grow on Dream's face the longer the conversation went on. He seemed surprised, but still his look said he knew them. On the same page, he seemed confused by the facts that were said by Error and Dust. That only added to the confusion in Killer himself. They were missing an essential piece of information. Without this, there could be major misunderstandings. But before Killer could even ask, Dream spoke again.

"Would you come with me? I would like to introduce you to someone."

Killer wanted to say no. It was a bad idea. They didn't know this Dream. He could lure them straight into a trap and neither of them would know. It would be too dangerous to just follow this dream.

However, he followed Dream without hesitation when he mentioned that he wanted to take them to the tree for it. That alone just left very little wiggle room as to who they'll meet. And Killer couldn't help but get excited at the prospect of a reunion, even if it wasn't his boss. Maybe that's why the way seemed so long. Because, on the one hand, Killer was excited to see Nightmare again. But on the other hand, he was also nervous. After all, this was a different Nightmare. What if he doesn't like them? Or what when they frighten him away with their appearance and he no longer wanted to see them? Or-

"Killer, calm down. You think too much. ", Said Cross' voice next to him and Killer only now registered the hand on his shoulder. He looked over at Cross, who gave him an encouraging smile. But Killer could still see his nervousness. Apparently Cross was worried about meeting that other Nightmare too.

"Thank you Criss-Cross. Don't worry too much." Killer patted him on the shoulder and then moved on to where Dream was. So he could focus his thoughts on this rather than on a possible, approaching dilemma.

They were only a few meters away from the tree. But no Nightmare to be seen far and wide. It was comforting and worrying at the same time. Comforting because it delayed the meeting. And worrying, as it could also mean that the villagers might have him in their hands right now. But Dream didn't seem concerned in any way.

"Come down brother! I want to introduce you to someone!" Dream shouted up into the treetops and with a mixture of surprise and curiosity, Killer looked up.

"How often then, Hover. I don't want to meet any of your so-called friends." Said a voice that sounded so much like their nightmare, low and with a rumble. And yet this voice had a softness that hadn't existed in their Nightmare. Soon Killer also had a picture to voice when Nightmare appeared to jump out of the treetop. And boy, that Nightmare was breathtaking. Nightmare seemed a little smaller than Dream, but that didn't make him look any less imposing. On the head were long, thick, curved horns of a billy goat. On his back was a gigantic pair of feather wings, which were provided in different shades of purple with small cyan dots that made the wings look like a small galaxy. Killer was sure that Error would love this detail. But there, under the feather wings, was a pair of dark bat wings that were just a little smaller than the feather wings. From Nightmare's tailbone came a long tail, at the end of which there were also purple feathers, but these were covered with significantly more cyan. There was even a little gold earring in the shape of a scale in Nightmare's left earhole! But the biggest highlight were the many small purple, black and cyan scales on the bones of Nightmare, which shimmered breathtakingly in the light of the sun.

"Besides, you know you shouldn't bri-" Nightmare froze in mid-sentence and looked at the baby gang in shock. Killer could watch tears build up in Nightmare's eye sockets and Killer didn't doubt for a second that it was the same with him and the others. And when Nightmare slowly got down on his knees, it was like a signal for the Babygang. Because each of them ran and threw themselves into Nightmares waiting arms, tears just streaming down their cheeks. Killer also felt how Nightmare started crying and these beautiful wings and Nightmare's arms closed around them, pushing them closer to the guardian of negativity. And there, in the safety and warmth of Nightmare's arms, Killer could only think one thing.

They were home.