Dreamtale Oneshots

A Shattered Vision

Thank you LaunchSteinward for this awesome suggestion :> I hope you all enjoy and remember to brush your teeth before you

Nightmare couldn't sleep. 

It's nothing unusual, the guardian tends to have a lot of trouble sleeping at night for a variety of reasons. Most of the time it's simply because he doesn't want to- he'd rather stare outside of his window at the night sky or go for a long walk to clear his mind. Though, sometimes the reasons can be a lot darker. 

Nightmare has nightmares. They can be truly horrific to the point where they feel real and leave him paranoid for days. There's always a figure in his night terrors- it watches him, taunts him, talks to him.

He was afraid of it- but not for those reasons.

The figure looks just like him, though covered in a strange, inky-black substance. It's voice is gargled and his words cut deep- deeper than any blade. He doesn't know what to do about it or how to get rid of it; he doesn't want to be stuck with this creature.

He refuses to believe that they're the same person. He will never become that thing.

A sudden rush of cold air filled his bedroom, causing him to shiver. The guardian glanced over at his window and sighed. He'd forgotten to close it. After a few seconds of fumbling with the bed cover, Nightmare shuffled to his feet and padded over towards the open window, yanking it shut with a little too much force. He didn't know why he did that. He released another sigh, resting his arms on the window sill and peering out through the glass pane with dull-lilac eyes.

There were no visible stars or moon. The sky was blanketed with thick, dark clouds that prevented the comforting moonlight from reaching his room. Nightmare let out a bitter huff. He hated clouds. Despite the lack of view, the guardian continued to gaze out through the window- though his mind was elsewhere.

He couldn't stop thinking about the vision he'd had a while ago. He'd tried to come up with ways to alter it though he had no way of knowing if his efforts were in vain.

Well, he supposed there was one way.

He'd contemplated taking another sip of the potion just to see if anything was different though he was afraid. He didn't know what he'd see and it scared him. But he needed to know. He had to.

Nightmare groaned, burying his face into his arms. All of these thoughts were driving him insane and he could feel his breathing quicken.

Surely he'd changed something about the future, right? He's tried so hard to do things differently in hopes that it'll stop what he'd seen- he barely approached the Tree of Feelings anymore! He wouldn't become that monster, of course he wouldn't. He made a promise to Dream that he'd stay by him forever and he vowed to keep it. He could never hurt his dear brother. Never, never, never.

His mind was slowly becoming scattered and unfocused, fear pricking him like needles and dread washing over him in waves. He lifted his head up and clenched his fists, glaring out through the glass pane with watery eyes.

He wouldn't hurt Dream and he wouldn't become that monster.

Never, never, never. 

Would he?

Nightmare let out a frustrated cry for even questioning that, closing his eyes shut and baring his teeth. A stray tear rolled down his cheekbone and dripped onto the window sill, staining it lilac. He had to know. He had to know if he'd altered the future somehow. The guardian took a deep breath, reopening his eyes and clicking his fingers.