Chapter Text
They had been sent on a mission to spy on the remaining star sanses, Dream and Ink. Even with the two star sanses down a teammate they still manage to be a thorn in Nightmare’s side, messing his plans up and stopping attempts at antagonizing any stray aus. The two didn’t even seem affected by the lack of their bright blue member, their missions and battles continuing on as if nothing ever happened, which pissed Killer off. Almost as much as how pissed off he is to be huddled in a wet cold bush between his teammates Horror and Dust. He shifts on his knees uncomfortably as he twirls his knife against the cold slushy ground.
“Watch it asshole”. Dust mutters threateningly beside him as Killer had shifted a little, accidentally brushing shoulders with the dusted monster.
Killer rolls his eyes, if he had been the Killer of the past he would have responded with a snarky comment, or a rude jab, but instead, he just shifts a little to give Dust some space. It’s not like they hated each other in the past, they both just had problems and refused to face them, even with Nightmare's help and aura, the two just struggled to keep a straight head. But… not after Blue joined. For some reason, the new, and anxiety ridden member had actually sparked something deep down in their doomed souls to try and be at least a little better. Does this mean they would stop all their rampaging and murdering? Probably not, Killer loved killing just as much as the next guy, but he found it in himself to at least give himself standards thanks to the bright Blue guard of anxiety.
Ever since Blue had joined their team, found by Nightmare and immediately taken in due to Nightmare’s rage from how he was treated by his teammates. Things around the castle had been getting pretty tame, even more so than they already were. Despite this welcomed change it didn’t mean the lack of Blue, and the new member of Nightmare’s team, slowed the remaining star sanses down any further. Which kept the team on their toes and Nightmare’s rage, now fueled by Blue’s mistreatment, grew ever brighter towards the creator, and especially towards Dream.
So naturally, as to try and gain the upper hand on the two gods, Nightmare sent his trusted murder time trio to go and ambush the two while they were taking a quick stop in a neutral au. The au itself hopefully shields most of the trio’s presence and auras from Dream and Ink. Nightmare had given them specific orders to try and capture the positive guardian so Nightmare could finish him off himself, or at least torture Dream for whatever wrongs he’s done to their boss.
The shared past of the twins was always a mystery to the gang, and from what they heard from Blue, the same goes for how Dream keeps it secret. But it doesn’t really matter much to Killer. If Nightmare hated Dream it was for a damn good reason. Over the years he’s gotten to know Nightmare, and he couldn’t have met a more honest and genuine monster, sure he was a killer like the rest of them, but he was gentle and protective of the small dysfunctional family he’s attained. Nightmare wouldn’t hold a grudge or hate for no reason. So if Nightmare hated Dream, Killer hated him too.
Besides, he had a list of reasons as to why he should hate Dream himself. The guy was nice, better than most of them, but Killer hated how happy he always was. How fake he always appeared to the tear stained murderer. Dream irked him in a way that just made him hate the guy for some reason, a lot of the time was just due to how childish he would be sometimes. Naive, ignorant, unobservant, Dream was still pretty mature, but his mannerisms, at least to Killer, resembled that of a child who has yet to fully understand the world. He acts all high and mighty, offering a helping hand to literally everyone, even Killer himself, but after a while he had stopped trying with them all. Realizing it was a waste of him to try and talk them out of their delusions and devotions to Nightmare.
“They… should be…. Here… any minute… now…”. Horror mutters beside him, addressing the group as they settle into the bush and go silent.
Ah yes, Horror. For some reason, he’s really the only one to respond to Dream’s pleas, actually tries to listen to the guardian. As to why he does it? Killer has absolutely no idea, to indulge the positive skeleton? Lifting his hopes up before disappointing him by returning back to Nightmare? Or maybe he’s just an actual genuine guy, who cares what people have to say, even if it’s his enemy. Killer respected Horror for that, after all the shit he’s been through, Horror doesn’t owe anyone the time of day, yet he always puts others before him. It’s something Killer envies from the cracked and sharper skeleton.
In Killer’s opinion though, he doesn’t think Dream deserves Horror’s attention. The guardian already gets a buttload of adoration from everyone he meets, he doesn’t deserve the attention from an actually genuine monster like Horror. ‘Spoiled’, is a word Nightmare used to describe his brother once, and Killer can totally see it. The guy must have been showered in love and praise for the entire time he grew up, being the definition of a ‘golden child’. This always led to Killer comparing him to that of a spoiled brat, he already acts somewhat like a matured child, why not add on some more childish names, Killer could care less.
“Why are we spying on them again? I thought we were sent on an ‘attack mission’, not a ‘sit in freezing cold snow until our bones turn blue so we can try and eavesdrop on our enemies’ kind of mission”. Killer breaks the silence with a scoff, feeling bored, cold, and impatient with their current situation.
“I… told you… I want… to… try and… listen to them…”. Horror mutters slowly, the other two waiting for his response patiently, it clearly being a common thing for the sharper skeleton to need a moment to process.
“Why though? Don’t we know enough? Besides, their lives are so public I could probably find what Dream ate last Friday”. Killer responds bitterly, much rathering the idea of fighting than sitting.
“I just… feel… like… we need to… this time… something… just feels… off…”. Horror responds, his bone brow furrowed as he speaks, peaking through the bush to see if the stars are coming.
Dust turns his head over to give Horror a concerned look, at least, Killer thinks it’s concerned, with his hood hiding most of his expressions it really comes down to body language with Dust.
“Feels off? How so? Did you hear them say anything important the last time we fought them?”. His voice is low and quiet.
“No… I just…”. Horror sighs, not having a proper explanation for his sudden need to eavesdrop on the two. “Please… just… trust me… and wait just… a little… longer…”
Killer groans dramatically as he throws his head back.
“Fiiineeee, whatever”. The trio always tend to trust Horror’s gut instinct, even if it doesn’t make sense, it always tends to go right for them when they do.
They sit for a moment longer until two familiar voices come into earshot, making the trio tense, automatically going into the defence from the sound of their voices alone. Killer silently wonders if Dream can feel the three of them hiding in the bush as they approach, wondering if he and Ink will pop up and attack them.
“We better get some good info out of this for next time or so help me Horror…”. Killer mutters begrudgingly as he feels the cold and wet seep into his clothes from the snow they’re sitting in, feeling somewhat warm between his two teammates but dreading the soggy embrace.
The air around them smells sickeningly of fresh pine and dirty snow, the wind brushing a soft bite against any exposed bones they have out. The sound of Ink and Dream’s footsteps rapidly approaching makes the trio still and go silent, Killer gripping his knife tighter as they listen to their voices getting closer.
Ever since Blue had joined and Killer listened to his unheard struggles within the group his anger towards the other two stars had heightened significantly, especially for Dream. How can a so-called empath not manage to pick up on his friend’s struggles? Let him get to such an exhausted and worn down state that his mental health crumbled. He didn’t manage, he ignored. That’s what Killer believes, and he’ll die by that grave. Maybe if they manage to get the jump on the two he can beat Dream to a pulp and present him to Nightmare all wrapped up, his birthday is coming up soon anyways. So, exacting revenge for Blue then giving his boss a birthday gift would be like killing two birds with one stone in a way, Killer feels a little giddy at the idea.
The voices get louder before eventually stopping nearby, pretty close to where the trio were hiding actually. They managed to pick the perfect spot, Horror’s gut feeling helping them yet again.
The two shuffle for a bit, and Killer scowls as he hears Dream's usual calm and content voice, loathing how ignorant he can be after all the things he’s done. This only fuels Killer’s internal hate, the tar leaking out of his eyes coming out in bigger and tackier quantities.
“This is getting out of hand Ink”. Dream sighs, killer can imagine him pinching the bridge of his nose. “Error has been getting more active recently, not to mention the spike in negativity coming from my brother as well… and… Blue…”. He sighs again, his voice coming out quieter. “Oh blue…”
There’s a small pause, as if Dream was awaiting a response, after a second he continues.
“Do you think it could be because they think we’re weaker with a member down? Trying to take advantage of the fact that we don’t have extra hands?”. There’s another pause, before another, louder, sigh.
“Ink.”.
“Huh?”. The artist replies, his voice giving away his lack of attention to the other.
“Were you even listening to me? This is important Ink”. Dream responds, his voice a little more stern than before.
“Uhm… totally”. The colourful skeleton chuckles nervously, very clearly, not having heard one bit of it.
“What did I say?”.
There’s an impatient groan before Ink responds with slight irritation.
“Something about Error and your bother getting more active, Blue, yada yada”.
There’s a long pause, almost as if Dream was taking a moment to process Ink’s lacklustre response.
“I was asking you if you think it’s because Blue is gone, that they’re trying to tire or run us out?”. Dream replies patiently, although there’s a small strain to his voice that Killer picks up.
“Maybe, I dunno, they’re kinda failing if they are”. Killer can almost imagine the nonchalant shrug from the short skeleton.
There’s a constant sound of footsteps going back and forth, Dream most likely pacing.
“This is all our fault, we ignored Blue, we hurt him, I hurt him… we need to find a way to fix this. We can’t just leave him with Nightmare!”. The last part comes out a little more panicked, Dream letting some of his worry slip out.
“Yeah we can”. It’s such a simple reply, coming from the artist’s mouth so naturally, it makes Horror growl quietly beside him.
“What? No we can’t Ink! Blue could get hurt! My brother may be playing nice now but you don’t know what he can do. Blue could be in danger!”. Dream sounds baffled at Ink’s calm response.
“Listen kid, Blue made his decision, and the creators tell me that he honestly seems happier with your brother. He chose his side, so let’s not dwell on it. All it really is for us is just a new speedbump that we can run over then forget about. The multiverse needs us, we can’t just stop, it won’t wait for us”. Ink replies.
There’s silence, Dream clearly not knowing how to respond. The pacing from earlier stopping, the sound of the wind and bushes shifting with it now filling the Mtt’s nonexistent ears. Dream seems a little distressed, clearly not wanting to forget about it and move on, making Killer internally scoff, he was fine ignoring it until Blue left.
Ink eventually lets out a sigh with the tense silence.
“I know this is, uh… bothering you, and I’m afraid I can’t help much right now, so how’s about we change the subject huh?”. He shifts so quickly that the sudden cheer in his voice makes Killer grip his knife tighter.
“Your birthday’s coming up, yeah? That’s exciting!”. There's a small noise, sounding a lot like a small confetti popper, Ink probably created it as an attempt to cheer Dream up. Dream sighs.
“Yeah… it is…”. He mutters, his voice filled with sadness and reluctance, clearly not excited for the day to come.
Why he doesn’t seem at least a little excited, or even happier from Ink’s subject change baffles Killer. How can he not be excited about his own birthday? Dream's birthday is probably a big day where thousands shower him in gifts and compliments, most likely giving him an ego boost (at least, that’s what Killer thinks). So the fact that he just sounds so… unhappy for the exciting day to come makes Killer feel angry, he can probably understand some of it is from missing his brother, since they’re twins after all, and that’s probably gotta sting. It still makes Killer angry at how ungrateful the guardian sounds about the day.
When it comes to Nightmare and his birthday, he usually doesn’t say anything. It took Killer the longest time to actually find out when his birthday was, and when he did, he and the gang threw Nightmare a small party, shocking the negative guardian. Ever since then Nightmare has slowly gotten more comfortable having small get-togethers with his new found family to throw a birthday party for himself. They’re short and quiet, with only his crew, but Killer sees how happy Nightmare is with it. He doesn’t like the big parties where there’s millions of people appreciating him, he likes being around his true people, the ones who really care. Not to say that Killer knows what Dream’s parties look like, but he can assume they’re definitely not quiet or small. The fact that he takes the day for granted and just seems to shrink away from it makes Killer mad. Not just for Dream’s childish ignorance, but for his own boss’s lack of a birthday. Nightmare might be happy with it, but Killer sees the unfairness, why does Dream get all this appreciation and Nightmare doesn’t?
Just another reason to hate Dream he guesses.
He shifts between his two teammates, growing increasingly impatient. Dream and Ink are dropping no new useful information and Killer is beginning to think this was a waste of time. Horror notices this and places a reassuring hand on Killer’s shoulder, stilling the shorter skeleton and making him let out a soft sigh. Killer crosses his arms and decides to wait just a little longer, for Horror’s sake.
Even if the more the two talk the higher his hate for them grows.
They eavesdrop back into the two stars' conversation, hoping to find something useful before they decide to ambush the two.
“So… how old are you turning again? 500 and…..?” Ink asks curiously, small repetitive tapping noises coming from his direction, he’s most likely holding out a notebook and tapping his pen or pencil on it as a stimulation. If Killer was paying attention more, it would almost sound like a nervous tap, like Ink was trying to distract himself and Dream from their new situation. Almost like his lack of care was a way to protect himself from the loss of their dear blue friend.
Why he would be taking notes confuses Killer but he could care less right now, he just needs a good reason to be hiding in a bush. Cmon’ give us some kind of info, anything. He thinks to himself.
“506”. Dream’s voice comes out short and sweet, he sounds like he’s trying so hard to be excited about the idea, but his voice betrays him again with a hint of sadness to it.
Why are you so sad about your birthday Dream? Killer questions himself silently, Dream hating the idea of his own birthday confuses the murderer a little bit. He knows some of it is because he misses Nightmare, but what are the other reasons? That can’t be the only one. Dream being as old as he is has probably gotten millions of love and support from those around him, something their boss never really got. Dream should be happy for the day that celebrates him, Killer knows he would be. Maybe it's the immortal's guilt? Living so long could possibly make one get bored of the world around them. But that doesn’t sound like Dream, he’s quite the opposite actually, fond and explorative of the world around him, again, childish.
Killer sighs, not wanting to solve the useless reason as to why Dream could be sad about his birthday, he zeros it down to him just missing Nightmare. With that being the reason, Killer could care less about it. Dream ruined it for himself by the sounds of it. He had destroyed the relationship between the brothers, (from what Killer had come to the conclusion of) so he doesn’t feel the slightest sympathy for the positive guardian.
Although… Now, just like Horror. Killer couldn’t get this small nagging feeling that there was something else at play here. Like there was something important they might hear, something that could change their perspective, or give them information. So he listens back in, the nagging feeling growing.
Ink hums thoughtfully.
“And… uh… what’s your other age again?”. What? Other age, the hell is Ink going on about now?
“The amount of years you’ve actually experienced life? Y’know, outside of being trapped in stone?”. He writes something down in his notebook and waits for Dream to respond.
Seriously, what the hell does Ink mean by that? Outside of being trapped in stone?
Dream’s voice comes out small, as if he had to think about it for a second, almost not believing himself when he says it. Or just doesn’t want to believe it.
“…”
“…”
“Twelve… I’m technically turning twelve soon…”.
WHAT???