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

Rule 8: Always Make Sure to Comfort Your Sociopath

Nightmare just about collapsed as he finished the spell. The dark circle under his eye grew larger and more noticeable, as though he hadn't slept properly in weeks, and he swayed slightly. If he had been standing, he probably would have fallen over.

Despite that, he grinned at Cross, both tired and triumphant. "I," He said at length. "Have not used that much magic on a ghost since I was a kid. Maybe I should go into the exorcism business."

Cross glanced to the side, expecting some sort of sarcastic remark from Chara, but they weren't there. He blinked, surprised. Huh. It had worked.

He wasn't sure how to feel about that. Chara had been the one constant in his life. In all honesty, they had been the only thing keeping him from complete insanity in that blank, empty nothingness. And now they were just... gone. At his request, no less. It almost felt like he'd lost a limb and wasn't sure how to cope with the loss.

"Alright," Nightmare said, his voice strong and solid despite him swaying from exhaustion. "It worked pretty well, but I'm definitely not infallible when it comes to spells like this. We'll check in later about this, but right now I need to leave before I clock out. Why don't you go see Horror- not sure where he is exactly, I'd check the kitchen or the living room- and talk to him. It's probably a good idea to get things cleared up with him."

Cross hesitated, then nodded. Nightmare gave him another small smile, then once again melted into a puddle of goo and disappeared, leaving him alone.

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Horror was in the kitchen, like Nightmare had guessed. The red-eyed skeleton was sitting at the table, shuffling several decks of cards into one large deck. For a second, Cross stared in confusion- the cards were not normal playing cards, but things such as Uno and Phase 10, as well as maybe one and a half decks of actual playing cards. Then he shrugged, chalking it up to Horror's normal random ideas and games. Things that seemed ridiculous to others, Horror would just explain patiently until it actually seemed somewhat reasonable. Playing cards like this was one of the less random things Horror had invented.

"Heya, pal!" The red-eyed skeleton said, brightening as he noticed Cross. He waved, then winced as the movement pained him.

"Are you still injured?" Cross asked, sitting down across from him.

Horror shook his head. "Nah, Mare's good at healing. 'M just a bit sore. If anything, I probably feel better now than I did earlier this morning."

"Mmm." Cross tried to match Horror's upbeat attitude, but failed. He still felt guilty about what he'd done, accident or no. "Horror, I... I'm sorry. You were just trying to say hello, and... you didn't deserve to be hurt because of two seconds of anxiety. I'm really sorry, and-"

"Hey, hey!" Horror said, making Cross pause. "I'm really not mad, C. Stop with the apologies, alright? You were just scared, and reacting to a potential threat. I don't blame you at all- if I were you, I'd have done the exact same thing. So just... don't apologize, alright? I do have one question, though, if it's alright to ask," He added.

Cross nodded, but he wasn't sure if he could talk over the lump in his nonexistent throat. First Nightmare, then Horror. Why were they so accepting of him? He didn't deserve this kindness- hell, he probably didn't even deserve to live after what he'd done.

"Who was it that you thought you were seeing?"

The question made Cross pause. That hadn't been what he'd expected. But then again, when were Horror's actions ever expected or rational?

"I... I saw Ink," Cross said. "He's a... well, he'd a skeleton that can travel through AU's, like Nightmare, and he took on the title of Protector of AU's. He used to visit me in X-tale. To keep me company, he said. But... I don't think he actually really cared about me."