How to Establish Your Gang and Take Care of the Children in It

Rule 6: Don't Question Your Mother, Especially if She's a God

Nightmare didn't wake up.

After all, he was in the Dreamscape. It would be hard to wake up inside a dream. What Nightmare did was gain awareness of where he was and what he was doing. In the Land of Dreams, only a select few people could actually control it and recognize it for what it was. Everyone else simply skimmed the top of it, never fully being immersed in what was commonly known as sleep. One of the Dreamscape controllers such as himself or Shattered could invite others in deeper, but normally the Dreamscape was unoccupied by the average person.

At the moment, while his physical body was recuperating, Nightmare had no choice but to be in here. But at least this was the one place where he could talk to his brother, no matter the physical distance between them. All Mare had to do was wait for Shattered to fall asleep, and then they could talk. Nightmare could get some answers.

At least while he was waiting he wouldn't be bored. The Dreamscape was always shifting, always changing. There was never a shortage of things to do, and today was no exception.

As interesting as it was, the Dreamscape wasn't a playground. It could be, yes, but at the moment Nightmare had business. Part of his description as the Guardian of Negativity was to take care of the Dreamscape and make sure it stayed up and running. Without it, life would become blank and empty, since the Dreamscape was also where all emotions were formed.

There was one part of the Dreamscape that was always in the same place- the center. No matter how the Dreamscape shifted, this one part remained rooted in the same spot. Literally.

It was also, coincidentally, the place where the line between asleep and awake was the thinnest. Where all emotions coalesced into the physical world, objects made up completely of magic and feelings.

A spirit was sitting at the base of the Tree of the Sun and Moon, singing a sweet, gentle melody. It was a simple tune, happy and wistful at the same time.

The spirit of the Mother Tree was beautiful. Of course, as a spirit, she could look however she wished. Today she had golden hair the color of the sun during a perfect sunset.

Nightmare knelt down in front of her, bowing his head in respect. "Mother."

The Mother Spirit didn't look the least bit surprised to see him. Instead, she simply smiled softly. "You're back much sooner than we'd expected, my son. But then, you always were an overachiever."

"Back?" Nightmare frowned in confusion. "I came here recently?"

"Yes. You did," The Mother Spirit said simply. "Of course, you wouldn't be able to remember it."

"I don't remember much since I became dormant," Nightmare admitted. "That was because of you?"

"No, my son. It was at your request we did this." Nightmare looked up, but the Mother Spirit's expression revealed nothing. "We've never actually seen you so desperate, come to think of it. You were willing to die to save your companion. A life for a life, you offered. She wanted to take the offer, but you were always my favorite child. So pure-hearted and desperate to please. In the end, we decided you could live, but with a price. Your memory was part of that price."

Nightmare stopped himself from asking questions. The Mother Spirit clearly wasn't going to give him any answers, not when he'd... asked to forget? Why would he forget what had happened? What could have happened that would make him want to erase his own memory? Somehow, he felt that this wasn't the whole story. But he wasn't going to get his answers from the Mother Spirit.

"Mother," He said instead, looking up. "Where is my brother? Has Shattered been here to talk to you?"

"Sadly, your brother is not around to be found, my son," The Mother Spirit said with a small shake of her head. "He isn't dead," She added as she saw Nightmare's stricken expression. "He's simply not in the mood to see you or we at the moment. And, of course, his magic mastery reaches far above yours, so you won't be able to reach him yourself."