Dream hugs his knees close, hiding his face behind them as sadness and despair roll in his chest. The sound of his people, those he should have protected, echo in his mind, mocking him for his failures. They plead for help, scream curses, die with painful sounds escaping them.
His hands find his ear canals, pressing on them hard, harder, and harder yet till he feels a slight pain in his skull, but he doesn't let up. His head clears slightly, enough for him to realise that he's crying before he's pulled back under the current. A laughter follows him down. He recognizes it as one that makes up his nightmares. He hates that laugh even though he could never hate the person behind it.
His people are fearful of that laugh. His people want the person behind that laugh gone. His people demand that he get rid of it, of them, of him…
His people…
...his people that...that…
...that died.
Gone, all gone. Because of him. He couldn't do it. He couldn't save them...he couldn't save him…
He couldn't do anything.
He wasn't needed.
He's not useful.
Can't even hold onto hope. Can't bring hope to them. Can't ever being hope to him again.
All he has ever caused was pain. Pain to them. Pain to him. Pain to himself.
Everyone hates pain. That's why there are pain killers. Hehe. Maybe… maybe he should become a pain killer and just-
"Hello?" A voice says. Not one of them. Not him. Just a voice. What's it doing here?
"Are you okay?"
It sounds familiar too. Sounds concerned. Powerful. Uncertain.
Should Dream look? What if it wasn't real? What if he failed them too? Brought them pain?
He shouldn't look.
He does anyway.
He finds Error standing before him, shockingly enough. Almost shocking enough to drown out the voices and sorrow, but he finds himself drifting further in. Error had destroyed his universe, leaving only his brother and him. Not that Nightmare had left much for Error to get rid of. Error also didn't have any hope that Dream could feel; maybe that was Dreams fault too?
"What do you want?" Dream croaks out, looking away. He misses the expression of concern the older and far more dangerous skeleton wears.
"YOu're cRyinG." Error mutters, at a lost of what to do or say.
Dream laughs bitterly. Yeah, he was, and he couldn't stop. They won't shut up. He won't stop laughing. There was nothing to see but blood. It was just him on a bloody battlefield, only him alive and his reaper has come.
...but he's still alive.
Dream grows angry at this fact. Why hasn't Error killed him yet? Why hasn't he finished the job?
"What are you doing here?!" He snaps out, glaring up at Error through his pouring tears, "Either kill me o-or leave."
Error doesn't move. Dream doesn't stop crying. He also doesn't stop glaring at Error, daring the other to actually do it. Finish the job like he should have all those decades ago. It would have been better for everyone.
Dream looks away first. The blood is gone, replaced by snow, the bodies having turned into trees and bushes. It was just him and Error.
"Why didn't you kill me all those years ago?" Dream whispers out.
No answer.
A fwump sounds out as the air is displaced beside Dream. He looks over to see Error sitting next to him, looking at him in concentration. Slowly, hesitantly, the glitches arms rise.
"Do...do You wanT a hug?"
Dream stares at Error in disbelief. As far as anyone knew, the destroyer was adverse to touch unless fighting, only accepting any form of touch from the original swap sans, Blueberry, and that was with reluctance. But… the way Error seems rigid, unsure of himself, looking around as though Dream has a trap for him, looking just slightly scared, like Dream was the bad guy here… it had Dream closing his eyes and just, falling into the skeletons embrace. If Error killed him, then so be it.
He fell asleep soon, anyways.
…
Waking up, Dream finds himself in a warm, slightly damp cave, snow just outside his reach. Draped over him lies a light yellow blanket with tiny white hearts darted about. He looks around, seeing neither blood nor a grayscale world.
