Guardians Guide to the Multiverse

Chapter One

"...Nighty?" Dream looked on in horror at his friends as they laughed cruelly around his brother, who has his arms up defensively against his head. His eyelights shrunk the more he saw, his hand trembling against the tree he was hidden behind.

"You're such a freak,"

"I don't know how Dream could love a monster like you,"

"You should do us all a favor, and disappear,"

The more Dream overheard, the more he could feel his magic crackle and spark over his friends' treatment of Nightmare, of his brother, who was one half of the most important beings in this world.

Dream could feel the magic transforming into his staff, and he finally s n a p p e d.

"h e y," Dream watched as the villagers turned around, their facings contorting nervously at the sight of him, "what are you doing to my brother?"

The villager closest to him, a small, measly, human, squeaked, looking into his blank sockets, as the group of villagers stepped back, away from Nightmare.

"D-Dream! We were- we were just playing around, ya know?" A rabbit monster says, frantically shaking their hands around as some sort of explanation.

Dream gazed over at Nightmare, who was still shrunken in onto himself, unable to look Dream in the eyes. Dream took a step forward, shielding off his brother from the group before him.

"Don't even try to take a step forward!" He cried, waving his staff towards them, making a weak shield around him and his brother.

He couldn't pay any attention to the villagers in front of him, the only thing he could glance back at was Nightmare, whose bones were marred and bruised, almost opposite than his nearly pristine, unmarked ones. It made him even more upset, angry tears clouding his visions.

When the villagers realized that he wasn't budging, they all left, not without leaving scalding glares towards Nightmare, making him flinch.

Dream dropped the shield, and immediately fell to his knees. He wrapped his arms around Nightmare, his earlier tears now falling down his cheeks. He slowly felt Nightmare's arms hug him back, before a sob escaped his brother.

"Dreamy-" Nightmare pushed his face into the crook of his neck, clinging onto Dream tightly, "I- I'm so sorry!"

Dream rubbed his brother's spine softly, letting out his own watery sob. "Nighty... why didn't you tell me this was happening?"

Dream said it as soft and delicately as possible, his intent of love and care overflowing with his need to take care of Nightmare. Nightmare tensed, before slowly relaxing as he began to speak.

"I didn't want you to do something drastic, they're still your friends," Nightmare's voice was muffled through his shirt, "it's not your fault the village hates me,"

Dream condensed a flinch, he thought only a small group of the villagers disliked Nightmare. "Everyone hates you, Nighty?"

His brother nodded tearfully, pressing himself against Dream even further. "I thought you'd agree with them," Dream felt his SOUL break at the idea, "I'm just a freak!"

Nightmare sniffled, and in a split second, Dream had made a decision. "It's not safe for us here, in this village," He got up, pulling Nightmare along with him, "we need to go see Mom,"

Nightmare's eye sockets widened, but nodded after a minute. They trudged along the village where Dream had found him, no one daring to approach with Nightmare there.

When they reached the tree, both brothers quickly hugged their mom, before sitting against the tree.

"Mama," Dream turned around, looking up at the branches, "can you- can you hear us?"

They watched as a tree branch slowly dipped up and down, and Dream continued.

"The village- they're like your attackers, Mama!" A fresh wave of tears approached Dream's sockets as his brother rubbed his skull soothingly. "They've been bullying and attacking Nighty!"

The tree seemed to have shuddered, loose leaves falling from the branches. My children...

A voice appears, shocking both of the brothers. "Mom?" Nightmare questions slowly, as if he was in disbelief of her.

The villagers are attacking you, my little firefly?

Nightmare swallows back a cry, "...Yes, Mom. They have bothered me for a while," Dream thought back to when Nightmare first came back with bruises, and realized how flimsy his excuses had been, clenching and unclenching his hands together.

And Dream? Have they harmed you, my little sun?

"N-no, Mama-"

"Dream is being used for his aura, Mom,"

Dream glanced at his brother, cocking his head confused. Sure, they've asked a lot of him, and sure, he doesn't like the tight spaces he's been forced into, but none of that could compare to what Nightmare had been through. What he didn't notice.

I see. Their mom had been silent for a few moments, and Dream took the chance to speak.

"Mama, is there any way for us to leave this place?" He asks, looking up at the tree. He didn't want to stay with the villagers, and he especially didn't want Nightmare to stay with them.

Yes, my children. But you would be unable to watch the apples.

"Well, what if we just take the apples with us, and once we're super strong, we'll bring you with us!" Dream says, smiling at his idea.

The tree doesn't answer, instead lowering down the branches to let them reach the apples. Dream does to grab a negative apple, before Nightmare yells for him.

"You can only touch the yellow apples, Dreamy!" Nightmare laughs at his mistake, plucking the negative apple in front of Dream. "And make sure to put them in your inventory,"

Dream grumbles, flustered, and gathers all the positive apples, placing them in his inventory.

"Well, now what?" Nightmare asks, looking between him and their mom.

There is someone that owes me a favor... Their mom starts, before producing a blue string and giving it to Nightmare. Tug on it, and you'll get out of here,

Dream and Nightmare nod, before giving their mom one last hug. "I love you, Mama!" Dream cried out, pecking the tree with his teeth. Nightmare follows the motion, and together, they pull on the string.

Nothing happens, at first. They stood there awkwardly, before looking at each other and laughing loudly.

A sound rang out across the hill, and Dream clasped his hands around his skull as the mixture of static and sizzling filled the air. Dream and Nightmare watched in awe as a flickering white... door? Ring? Dream couldn't tell, but shielded Nightmare as a skeleton (! they had never seen another skeleton before, even with one as strange looking as this one did) appeared from the whiteness.

The skeleton had multi-colored bones, though most of them were a dark black, and wore clothes that seemed to be stitched together. Dream flinched at the wave of negativity he felt coming off of him, but stood in front of his brother regardless.

"uHm... Hi ThErE, KiDdOs," The skeleton looked at the string that rested in Nightmare's hand. He scanned over the kids, noting the bruised bones of the purple kid, and the protectiveness of the yellow one. "YoU cAlLeD?"

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