Chapter Text
Nightmare sighed.
He wandered the hallways of his castle like a goopy ghost.
He didn't really know what to do with himself. The influx of Positivity in the multiverse hadn't been that high lately, giving him and his boys the chance to actually take a break. Error destroying AUs generated enough Negativity for Nightmare not having to lift a single tentacle.
Killer was mentally and emotionally stable and only acted up because he liked being a gremlin.
Horror had gotten over his hang-ups concerning food, be it his episodes where he would starve himself or bouts of becoming feral and trying to eat whatever came into his line of sight.
Dust had come to terms with his brother's death and overcome the hallucinations.
And Error had learned to trust them and ask for help. Even if they still needed to remind him now and then.
All his boys had found hobbies or taken back up passions they had given up when their timelines got stuck in the Resets.
Killer pranked them all, and sometimes even himself, carved and trained is bodily flexibility and swiftness. He was like a cat, he could scale the highest trees and even outer walls of buildings, literally bend himself backwards and touch the ground with his fingertips, and dodge anything aiming for him in a fight.
Horror, of course, baked and cooked, and liked to try and improve new recipes.
Dust studied alchemy and science, and he helped Killer with his training.
And Error had even started a business of his own. He was selling his dolls and other things he sewed, knitted or crocheted, online multiverse-wide. Of course he kept his true identity a secret. Online he used the alias 'Mal' as short for 'Mal Function'.
Nobody suspected anything so far. Otherwise Error would be out of business immediately, no one would ever knowingly buy something from the Destroyer.
To make it short, Nightmare was kinda bored. Even if he hadn't read every book in his library, yet, reading gets boring after a while.
His boys didn't need his help anymore and he had nothing to do.
He needed a purpose.
For many years he helped his gang through bad days, night terrors and panic attacks, finding ways together to cope with one issue or the other.
Now they were happy, healthy and thriving and Nightmare had lost his purpose.
But he didn't know what to do about it.
Lucky for him, he wasn't the only one, who noticed.