After seeing the violet buttercups on the table, Nightmare was... disturbed.

He wasn't sure what sort of feeling it was when he saw them, nor what sort of feeling he had felt earlier with (N/N).

The purple flowers were certainly rare—they didn't even exist. But then again, the Castle and his mind were almost one in the same. Did that mean something was wrong with him? With his mind?

"...S-Sire?"

Nightmare whipped around, his tendrils barely missing the neck of a Papyrus. The servant shivered slightly, sheet white eyes widening. The way they would act sometimes was either foolish or extremely comedic.

When Nightmare had first created the guards, they were programmed to be efficient and silent, like robots of a sort. However, after a while, something in Nightmare longed for something more... sentient. Improvements were made, codes were modified, and the current Papyrus guard was created. Nightmare still regarded them as items, however, not bothering to name any of them.

"S-Sire, Dust is in the library with (N/N)," the servant stumbled over his words. Nightmare's eye narrowed.

It was quite clear that Dust had it out for (N/N). He had walked them around, hung out with them, even gone so far as to flirt with them—well, mildly flirt. (N/N) never seemed to catch on; if they did they didn't show any interest.

That was good.

Leaving the servant behind, Nightmare stalked off to the throne room. The throne itself was a culmination of darkness and negativity, making the only being able to sit on it himself. Not only was it fit for him, it also ensured that the only ruler would be him. No uprisings, no revolutions.

Sitting upon the throne, Nightmare put his skull in his hand and pulled up an Orb of Sight. The Orb would allow him to see anywhere within the Castle he wanted to. And right now, he switched to the library.

There, just like the servant had informed him, was (N/N) and Dust. They were flipping through a large book—no, wait. Nightmare leaned in closer.

The cover was hidden, but the pictures at the tops of the giant pages gave away the book's identity. It was the archive of universes.

Dust was talking away while, flipping through the book, (N/N)'s eyes wandered around in thought. Even without his aura-reading abilities, Nightmare could tell that they weren't interested in whatever Dust was saying.

To his surprise, Nightmare found himself smirking slightly. Their disinterest only left open gaps in Dust's head, gaps that Nightmare could seep through.

A sudden movement caught Nightmare's eye, making the king slide his gaze from (N/N) to the hooded skeleton. Dust had moved, scooting a bit closer to the other figure.

Nightmare twitched. The temperate reacted immediately, dropping a few degrees. He watched as Dust shivered. Oh, he knew what was coming now.

After a few more words were exchanged, Dust poofed away to his room. Coward, Nightmare sneered, allowing the temperature to rise once more.

Nightmare watched as (N/N) rose from the book, slamming the cover shut hard. They were obviously furious and confused; Their aura was a dead giveaway.

But there was something layered beneath that anger, something lacquered with concern.

Sadness. Homesickness, to be exact.

Nightmare rolled his eye. Of course they're homesick. I destroyed their home, after all. But then something roused inside of him. Something warm and slightly blurred, something strange. Old but new.

The... feeling... wanted to do something for the fighter. It wanted to help them. It wanted to say it was sorry, that there was some point where he had felt the same—

A huge, agonizing sting went through Nightmare's skull like a nail through a steel beam.

Reeling back in shock and pain, Nightmare clutched his skull with one hand. His nonexistent ears rang with an unknown voice, a mysterious sound that made his bones prick with the torture.

He wanted to scream, but it was like his mouth was glued shut. Everything hurt. It felt like his insides were trying to ooze out.

After a few more soul-ripping pain filled moments, the stinging dwindled. Nightmare collapsed, the Orb disintegrating into the dark floor. It had never been that bad before.

A few days ago, when Nightmare was talking with (N/N), Horror had cut in. There was the tiniest tingle, the sort of feeling that humans would get when their circulation was cut off.

But this? This was new.

Sitting up straight once more, Nightmare summoned a servant. "Call the others here," he snarled, the faint pain turning into a slight headache. "There is something we need to discuss."

"And (N/N)—" Nightmare slammed his hand onto the throne, eye wild. A tendril nearly sliced the Papyrus in half, making the latter jump slightly.

"No," the king warned quietly, in a voice that would have made even the bravest of souls shiver. "Just the Sanses. No one else. Is. That. Clear."

The guard couldn't have scuttled away faster.

Sighing, Nightmare rubbed his temple. The Castle shifted silently, rooms rotating, corridors lengthening and shortening with his racing thoughts. Somehow, the pain felt phantom and raw, like he had felt it before. Where? When? Why??

"Boss? What'd you want?" Killer twirled his knife between his fingers. The others stood idle beside him, wearing bored expressions. Oh, yes. Finally, a distraction for the tired king.

"...Does (N/N) still believe you?" He asked, putting on a commanding aura. Dust shrugged, then nodded. Better to say nothing than something else to set me off, hm?

Horror groaned, "Do you know how hard it is not to just cut them up into pieces and devour them? I swear, I'm going to starve to death if I stay around them for too long. Their scent is just so... alluring."

Error smirked, his form warping and snapping back together. "Don't g-g-eeee-et you-r-rsself-self allllll wor-wor-workk-ed up," He mocked, "It might-might-mmmiii exce-eeee-eeed the li-li-limi-its of y-y-you-rrr bro-brokkk-broken skul-ll-ull."

Killer simply nodded. The skeleton knew when Nightmare was in a terrible mood, and this just happened to be one of those times.

Raspberry shifted, and Nightmare only had to glance once at his shaky aura to confirm that something was bothering the skeleton. With a sigh, Nightmare drawled, "Raspberry, you should try a lot harder to mask your emotions."

With a small 'eep!' Raspberry stopped fiddling
with the edge of his crimson scarf and half-heartedly cleared his throat. "Well boss," he started, "I-I think they might catch on... and..."

He didn't have to finish for everyone to know where his thoughts were going.

If (N/N) found out their security was a lie, if (N/N) found out their whole new life with them was a lie...

Nightmare wasn't stupid. He knew potential power when it existed, and there was a lot of potential in the easily angered human. If they lost that new potential, then...

Well. The Star Sanses would most definitely taste the opportunity to steal (N/N).

A sudden wave of protective feelings washed over the group, and they all looked to Nightmare. The king was sitting in a quite distressed pose, leaning to the side. His neon blue eye flickered wildly, like he was looking over an elaborate plan.

Ironic, since that was almost exactly what he was doing.

Protect (N/N). Keep them away, far away from the truth. They can't find out. They won't. Just keep the lies short and insignificant. Weave a web. Catch them without them knowing, then harvest the potential.

Waving the other Sanses away, Nightmare almost smiled. Almost. Protect? Really? No no, simply blind (N/N). Nothing more.

They are just a weapon.

And then, at the very moment Nightmare thought he had the victory, you burst through the door.

:):

The Author rubbed the sleep from her eyes, staring down at the draft.

Yes. This would do nicely.

"...It sucks, you know."

The Author groaned and whirled around to face the shadowy figure twirling on her desk chair. Of course she would show up at 10:49 pm. What was she thinking?

"Oh stars, look at all of those mood swings," the cloaked being drawled playfully, scrolling up and down. "And oh my goodness, what happened there? Were you half asleep? Of course you were. Y'know, insomnia isn't always the best way to go with... this."

The Author massaged her bruised eyes. Yeah, her nights were sleepless. Yes, she chose not to sleep. Yes, she tried to make use of the time she had, but she want that kind of person.

The figure smirked. "Get some rest, if you can. It's a biiiig day tomorrow and you don't want to miss it. Besides, you need a break." Peering over the Author's shoulder, the figure chuckled softly and darkly. "Yeah, you should take a break before Error's text breaks you. Anyhow, see you tomorrow~"

And she was gone.

Finally at peace, the Author slid her eyes closed. Details, details. It was all about the details. A flower here, a prick of darkness there. Yeah. She loved that.

She hoped the readers did as well.

But for now, sleep.

After about 5 more minutes of wait, Narcisa finally arrived, rumpled hair and all.

"Fiiiiiiiiine," The pajama wearing girl murmured, placing her warm hands on the Author's head. "G'night. See you tomorrow... maybe..."

Yeah, the Author sighed before drifting. Maybe.