Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Dream was stuck on the ground, unable to process anything. His skull felt like it was about to detach from his body. His hands shook, he couldn’t process anything.

Dust stained the ground and his clothes. Why? There was a pair of goggles in his hands, but he couldn’t process who they belonged to. Everything was so blank.


“Awww. Can Dream not handle another death? By now I thought you would be used to it.”


A dark and cold voice is heard from behind Dream. Negativity making the the world around him cold and familiar. He was able to recognize it. Nightmare .

Dream took a shaky breath, trying his best to ignore the parasite’s comments. Looking down at his hand. In his hands, a pair of goggles were placed. The accessory was adjusted to fit a small head, it seemed goggles were newly cracked. But why was there some dust on it? 

They were TK’s.

Everything came back to Dream like a flood. His worst emotions taking control. The Guardian's breath hitched, his eye lights becoming blurry as his eyes stung from the tears being held back.

TK is dead.

A child had died, young and innocent. Dream couldn’t save him. He failed, again. He failed for another he really cared for. He failed for someone many people care for. He failed his friend. Just like he failed his brother.

Dimmed yellow tears dripped from his eye sockets, his voice shook, his breathing becoming unstable. His SOUL felt so heavy, he couldn’t bear to look at the dust anymore.


“What’s wrong, Dream? Are you really that sad that another one of your “dear precious friends” died? Come on… You know better than to mope around in battle.”


Nightmare’s voice echoed, it was cold and empty of emotions. Dream hated that voice. It would make his feelings boil with anger and pain. But now, he couldn’t feel anything but regret.

As Nightmare taunted Dream, he would start getting a better look at the environment around. Oh how he wished he couldn’t.

Epic was still on the ground, knocked out cold. Ink and Abyss were away in another location, fighting the Destroyer. The other goop skeleton was out of view, most likely causing more havoc. The others were farther away, still putting up a fight.

Nightmare stood a few feet away from Dream. His malicious grin grew the more tears fell down his “brothers” skull. He found the negativity and lack of positivity coming from Dream, interesting.

The entity had the chance to kill the other off, getting this stupid war over with. Though, instead of just killing Dream then, he wanted to make things worse.


“I honestly don’t understand. The kid jumped in front of you to block my attack. Only to end up dying and saving you. Leaving you with me and his pile of dust, oh, as well as his little goggles.”


Nightmare shifted around Dream, slowly circling. Dream didn’t move, he sat on his knees with the goggles still in grasp. Slowly, the taunting words would become more apparent to him.


“What did he accomplish besides his own death? You could have survived that attack, only resulting in you becoming weaker. What do you think “mother” would say about you crying over a mortal?”


That last sentence did it. Dream couldn’t take those words anymore. He couldn’t take Nightmare anymore.


“Shut up..”


Dream’s voice sounded exhausted and powerless, though there was a new sense of anger. Nightmare just rolled his eye, not giving a damn, and moved right in front of Dream, staring at the hopeless Guardian.


“Dream, your little words don’t work.”


Nightmare took a step back as his tendrils slithered behind him just like a snake. He was getting bored at Dream’s lack of reaction, he wanted to see Dream suffer more.

The entity’s tendrils got ready to strike once again, but something caught him off guard.

The other stood right in front of him, just a few feet away. He moved so fast Nightmare didn’t see it at first.

Dream’s eyelights were empty. He had fresh marks and scars from his skull to the holes in his clothes. The only thing that stood out from his regular stance and appearance were the goggles that hung around his left arm like an oversized bracelet.

He had an arrow aimed right at Nightmare. It didn’t glow blue or gold. It was a fiery orange. It was made of his own anger. Toxic emotions that had been building up for decades, centuries even.

Nightmare laughed; he thought Dream wouldn't pull it.

He thought wrong.

Very wrong.

The arrow was shot right towards Nightmare, hitting him with a burning pain. The entity tried to shift away, taking several forms in seconds just as the arrow was sent. It was too late. He was sent back by the strength of the arrow hitting a tree.

A loud crash and a sudden shift of negativity got everyone's attention.

Killer was seen teleporting over to his boss, followed by the others. Before any of the other Stars could attack or even stop them, Nightmare's Gang left. Error even left soon after.

That left the Star Sanses and others with their "victory" .

Dream stood right in the spot where he shot Nightmare, panting and trying to catch his breath. His body was unstable. All he could hear was ringing in his ear. A pain everywhere. It all hurt, but he tried to push through, keeping a steady stance.

Unfortunately, despite the Guardians' attempts, his bow fell to the ground, followed by his own body and consciousness. He laid flat on the ground with TimeKid's goggles held close.

Swap and Fell saw Horror and Dust leave, both leaving the scene in a rush. They were both relieved, but very confused to say the least. Though first, they needed to help each other before trying to be some detective and trying to figure out what the fuck juts happended.


"Fell! Are You Okay?!"


Swap asked with concern as he helped the other up. With Fell's injury he couldn't stand by himself, so he leaned over on Swap. He still had his salty attitude.

"What does it look like asshole!? I can barely stand..." Fell mumbled the last part to himself, not wanting to actually say it out loud. Swap was used to his response and got straight to helping him.

He brought Fell and himself over to where the others were, leaving the original battle scene.

US!Asgore was currently healing up the last of SS!Chara's last wounds, it seemed they had got a few cuts from flying attacks. Color was just sitting down on the ground, his expression blank. Fresh was staring over at a wall, his glasses set to 'YOLO'. CORE Frisk had just appeared, opening a portal for them to leave through and others to come through so they can help.

Color had gotten up right after, headed through the portal and into the OMEGA Timeline followed by SS!Chara. The OMEGA Timeline is full of other residents who are helping or trying to figure out what is happening, there are medic's right in the center helping and taking injured ones, and then there are all the scared and confused evacuated monsters and humans.

Going back over in the AU, US!Asgore was seen helping to heal Fell just as some other Monsters and Humans come in to help and make sure everything is fine.

That left Swap with the role of helping to find others. He knew it was best to head off to where Dream, Ink, and the others fought Error and Nightmare. Hopefully they were safe.

Just as the skeleton began making his way closer to the others, he got lucky and ran into Epic getting help from Outer. Being the Papyrus version of a Sans, he rushed over to them.


"Epic! Outer! Are You Two Okay?? Do You Need Help??? Where Are Dream And The Others?- Wait- Do You Know What Actually happened? Why Did The Others Leave So Fast????"


Swap got a little off track and started bombarding them with questions. His curiosity and concern taking the best of him.


"Woah- Hey, slow down a little, bud. We are fine. Epic and I are going to head over to the others since there's not much we can do injured and tired." Outer explained as he helped Epic up, he seemed tired and didn't even make a pun. The both of them had some injuries, luckily, they weren't that bad.

"I saw Abyss and Ink fighting Error somewhere near some buildings, I don't know where they are now since Nightmare and some other weirdo knocked me out. Dream should be around here, I don't know if he was the one who did the finishing attack or if he's even okay. So good luck with that, bruh." Epic spoke with an exhausted tone and slightly leaned up against Outer for support. Both of his eye sockets shut to maintain energy. (He was mainly just being lazy)


"Where's TK Then? I Don't Know If He Made It Back To The OMEGA Timeline During The Battle..."


Swap's voice became more concerned, now finally bringing up the kid. The whole battle and even after, he hadn't thought about how dangerous this battle was and that no one was helping TK with evacuating, he felt horrible now just noticing this.

"He's probably with Ink or Dream." Outer shrugged, knowing Swap could find them. He wasn't really that concerned, more tired than anything.

"Alright... You Two Head Back To The Others And CORE Frisk!!" Swap pulled himself together and told the two off. He wanted to make sure they knew what they were doing (Even though they said what they were going to do in the first place).

The two walked away leaving Swap to go find the others. And once again, he ran into some others, to be exact it was Abyss and Ink. And thank the stars they weren’t horribly injured. Ink had a few scrapes and cuts, and Abyss had a few injuries.

"Abyss! Ink! Thank The Stars You Guys Are Alive- But, Are you two, okay?? Is Error Gone Already? Also Where's Dream And TimeKid???" The more he talked, the more questions he had. And everytime he asked, he would stimulate his hands in a shaking motion. The poor skeleton’s stress was at an all time high.


"We're fine and yes, Error left shortly after Nightmare and the others left."

Abyss could tell the blue skeleton was stressed, which was very valid considering the situation. So, he tried to be calm to help Swap. Ink was silent and just walked off, which was unusual for him. Swap would have called out to him, but Abyss stopped him.


"Somethings up with him. I don't know what it is, but I say just give him some time. Also, I unfortunately don't know where TK or Dream are at the moment, but I know you can find them. Good luck!"


And with that, the short skeleton smiled and headed off to the others, leaving Swap to find the last two.

Unlike before, Swap was looking for Dream or/and TK for quite some time. Without the knowledge of where they were exactly fighting, it was a little hard to really locate their last known spot.

He did eventually find Dream. It was not the sight he wanted to see.

The Guardian was found laid flat on the ground, he was covered in wounds and dirt, his bow laid beside him; it wasn't even despawned, there were several areas where an attack had obviously been thrown, and there was a pile of dust close to where he laid.

Swap freaked the fuck out and ran out to Dream. He yelled his name trying to get him up. Nothing worked. That left the Guard to pick up the Guardian. He grimaced at the other’s cold touch.

He then ran. He ran back to the others. Forgetting about finding TK.

Chapter Text

It was a concerning scene as Swap ran over to everyone. Dream broken and hurt. Their Guardian and friend that they so ever cared and loved. He needed help.

So once Swap had left the AU, everyone followed to help. The world now empty

The AU was empty, all residents had been evacuated, the battle was over. The only thing that had been left was the mess created. Piles of dust still everywhere, it was heartbreaking to anyone who ever called that place home.

The battle aftermaths were not pleasing, just looking over at the area where Nightmare and Dream fought, it was horrible. Blood mixed in with dirt, toxic negativity wherever a previous attack had been thrown, that one single pile of dust where Dream had been found. Everything was really empty, ruined. 

Not many people ever think about how it must feel to someone who used to live in these destroyed worlds. It’s something that scars them for life. It’s even worse when you lose someone important during these times.

It’s hard for everyone, even for the beings who have to help those who were lost in these times.

A portal opened, it was dark and gave off a slightly dreadful vibe. Out stepped another skeleton, dressed in a dark robe and tired expression. A Sans, Reaper Sans to be exact. He was here for the souls that were not giving up, the ones that his brother couldn’t take. He already knew who he was here for, and he wasn’t looking forward to it. 

As the portal closed, he had already teleported over to the destined area. Standing over a pile of dust. His empty gaze glanced around the area, trying to spot the lost soul.

His empty eyes finally spotted the white monster soul, the only one who didn’t just go along peacefully. Someone who always put up a fight if it meant he could save or even see someone he cared for.

“You really don’t know when to give up, hm?..” The god questioned, staring down at the child. A hint of pain in his voice, he was never good at giving up someone he knew. Especially the young ones.

“I just wanted to see you one last time.” The soul responded with a shrug. His expression looked so calm, it had really been a while since he felt so at peace. He knew he was dead now, that he would not see anyone for decades, centuries, some of them he might not ever see again. It still hurt, there was a part of him that wanted to stay just a little longer.

“TK. You do understand that you have to go.. Right?..” Reaper asked, getting down on his knees to see eye to eye one last time with this child. He knew the other knew, but he almost wished they both didn’t. It almost felt wrong saying it was TK’s time, sadly, they both knew it was.

“I know, I know very well.. But hey! At least you won’t have to deal with lil annoying me.” 

“TK..”

Both souls went silent. One closed in, hugging the child. The last hug this child will probably have. It hurt them both, Reaper just didn’t know how to really show how much he really didn’t want this to happen. To the stars, how much he wished he didn’t have this job. 

“Kid.. You did great. It’s just time to go now..” Reaper softly stated. He wasn’t good at comforting, by now, with how many times things like this happened. He should have been good at it. 

“I know.. But please before I go, can you promise one thing?”

“ I don’t do promises.. You know that..”

“Please- Please, just once..”

“…”

“What is it?..”

There was another pause between both skeletons. Reaper had stood back up, looking down at the child with pity. His wings were out, just recoiled behind his back. He didn’t want to disturb anything else during this time.

“Can you promise to watch my Pap’s.. Make sure he never goes through what happened or learns about it- Please..” It was a simple promise, it was just so hard to accept. But, it was the child’s last wish. Reaper couldn’t make this any harder, it was just better to accept.

So he did.

The OMEGA Timeline was a mess after the battle. The news was making a big fuss over it, the usual. It certainly didn’t help when Swap came rushing in Dream half dead in his hands. 

Luckily, Dream was rushed off to the hospital in time. Leaving the others to wait and rest up. It still felt like something was missing. 

…

Swap sat in one of the several waiting rooms, he called his Pap’s, Stretch, several times just waiting to get something, just anything about Dream. He hoped to the stars his friend was okay.

Ink and most of the others were there as well, some had just finished getting healed. Fresh, Sidus, Dance, US!Asgore (he was helping heal others) and SS!Chara were the only ones absent.

Even some of the council visited several times to see if Dream and the others were ready to be questioned about what happened, since CORE Frisk wasn’t giving any real information. Fell just told them to fuck off and wait. Everyone was sick of how most of the council pushed so far ahead.

Literally everyone was on edge, Ink had cried almost three times the real reason unknown (most people just thought Ink drank too much blue, getting his emotions wrong once again), Fell was acting his usual way only a little on edge, Color was silent the whole time (he did call Ccino), Epic had left the room several times most likely looking for TK (since he was one of the only ones who remembered that he existed in the moment), CORE Frisk had appeared a few times, Outer was just sleeping on one of the chairs, and Abyss was just there.

A few others had popped in and out and there were a bunch of calls that came in. No one felt the urge to do something, everyone felt empty or it was like they were missing something.

That was until one of the doctors and a nurse came into the waiting room.

“We have some news.” The dog nurse spoke up with their voice stable and calm, just wanting to get straight to the point.

Everyone in the room perked up, Swap literally shot up out of his seat. CORE Frisk appeared and waited for the news. The doctor just flipped through a few pages she had in her clipboard, waiting for the nurse to speak up.

“Dream is going to be fine, he will have to be on bed rest for a few weeks. Other than that, he should be fine.” Swap let out a sigh of relief as the others slightly calmed down.

“Is he awake yet?” Frisk asked as their eyes darted across the room examining everyone. Slowly their monochrome appearance shifted towards Dream’s room. Abyss had to grab their attention before they teleported or made a run to the room.

“Yes-” The nurse was interrupted by the doctor before they could continue, “Yes, but he is very emotionally unstable. We haven’t been able to get any answer or calm him down.” The doctor finished, getting a sharp snarl from the nurse.

“Oh my stars, who would have known Dream is mentally unstable?.. OF COURSE HE’S MENTALLY UNSTABLE!!!-” Fell snapped back, getting real sick of this shit. “Fell- Shut up..” Color responded with an irritated voice, the flaming colors burning bright orange and yellow. His hands pinching the bridge of his nonexistent nose.

Swap ignored Fell and stared directly into the doctor's eyes. Ink right by his side. “May We Go speak To Him?” Swap directly asked the doctor. There was a pause between the nurse and the doctor, they looked at each other before agreeing. “Yes.”

Dream’s room was empty at the moment, only Dream himself was present. He laid on the bed staring up at the ceiling, his eye sockets hurting from the tears. He knew any moment someone would walk in this room and he would have to explain how he failed once again.

Machinery and medication stood all around him, his messed up clothes in a pile, the goggles right by his side. All he could hear were the annoying beeping sounds, by now he should have been used to this. He really was, but this time everything felt so new and horrible.

He wanted to cry again, but everything hurt too much, physically and mentally. All he could do is wait, like the failure he was.

His waiting didn’t last long. Hearing the door open he looked to his side, there stood his friends, the alive ones to be exact. He was happy to see them, unfortunately his happiness was buried under the other emotions.

Seeing Swap rush over to Dream’s side made him want to shatter. He could feel swap’s careful embrace, with Ink joining in. The Guardian couldn’t give anything back. Only failure.

“ I’m sorry, I-I’m so sorry.. ” Was all he could say. Over and over again as he began to hold onto the embrace he was given. Tears fell once again, they stung more than ever, just making him want to cry more.

Frisk looked at Dream with concern. Teleporting closer to the bedside with Epic and Abyss right behind. The others were right outside the room listening in since there were already too many in the room.

Swap held onto Dream as Ink backed up. Their pupil’s shifted rapidly as his hands shook, their expression was unreadable, it was flooded with so many emotions. He didn’t know exactly how to feel. They barely knew what to say.  

“Is he really gone?..” Ink knew the answer to his own question, they just wanted approval. 

“I-” Another was interrupted, this time it being Swap interrupting Dream. “Ink. What Do You Mean- Who Is Really Gone??” Swap questioned the other. His anger made his way to the surface. He never did and never will understand Ink.

“TK-”

They all went silent. 

“…”

Swap eyelights went empty, staring at Ink. 

“What Do You Mean- TK Can’t Be Gone.. Right?? He’s Not Dead- Epic You Said He Was Probably Back In His AU. Right-”

“I-I don’t really know, bruh- That was just a guess considering him..”

“I-”

“Shut Up Ink- PLEASE”

“Swap.” Abyss tried to speak over the other and get his attention, unfortunately Swap’s emotions (which are rarely in full control) were a mess.

“Someone Please Explain What The Fuck You Mean.. TK Can Not Be Dead, He’s Too Young! He Literally Just Joined The Group Officially Over A Month Ago-” Swap began to remable. The room just began to get darker as everyone’s negative emotions were fueled, even the others outside felt some sort of dread.

“I’m really sorry.. I couldn’t save him- He got in front and.. and N-Nightmare, he.. killed him.. I-I’m so sorry.. I’m sorry.. I’m really sorry…” Dream sobbed and choked on tears. The pain shocked him like electricity. He wished he couldn’t believe what he was saying, just like the others were. No one wanted to believe it, but they all had that feeling it was really true.

TK was really dead, he was really gone now