Melody and the rest of the team slept soundly in their beds as the moon shone over the castle. Newton, however, was quietly tossing and turning. He had a distressed expression showing as his dreams were turning to nightmares.

Within Newton's mind

Newton moaned, sitting up and rubbing his eyelights. He blinked in surprise though when he saw his location. It looked like Bunkum...but not at the same time? The green grass was the same, but the sky was gray and there wasn't anything as far as he could see. The location still felt familiar though.

He stood back up, wondering why he was back. Didn't Melody set up his room in this new realm she welcomed him at?

His questions ceased when he looked ahead and saw a figure approaching. When they came into view, he blinked in surprise but smiled a little.

"M-mumsy. Do...do you happen to know–"

"I might 'ave known this had something to do with you!" Newton froze, smile vanishing. Why was she looking at him so coldly? What did he do?

"Wh...what?"

She crossed her arms in a disappointed manner and only replied, "Don't you remember what your father said?" Upon mentioning him, Captain Pud then appeared beside Nana Pud. His cold disappointed expression locked onto Newton's intimidated one.

"P-papa, what is–"

"It does not matter what your intentions were! You disobeyed my orders and caused a lot of trouble in our world!"

"Papa, p-please try to understand! I just wanted to help make Bunkum better!"

Then new voices began whispering all around. They were indecipherable but haunting. He even heard Grounder and Stitch.

"Meega nala questa!"

"You expect me to believe that this runt is your friend?!"

"Runt" "Monster" "Disappointment" "Coward" "Your fault" "Failure" More voices echoed all around him. The whispers were getting louder. Newton dropped to his knees, holding his head. He was beginning to tremble.

"S-stop! STOP!"

"Newton?"

Newton froze, looking up. All the voices cleared after hearing that one familiar gentle voice. Melody alone was standing in front of him in her sackperson form. She looked worried.

"M-Melody!" He quickly got back on his feet and embraced her. "Oh chum, I–"

"Get off me!" She then roughly shoved him off, causing his joy to immediately vanish. She was now looking at him with an angered expression.

"B-but, dear friend, it's me! Newton!"

"I know exactly who you are, you monster." Newton's eyes widened. Something in his chest twisted up just hearing that word. And from her? Why?

"I can't believe I actually wanted to trust you and care about you. After everything you did, you don't deserve that. Release a great evil? Lie to me? Try to kill me?" Newton didn't realize he had tears rolling down his bulb cheeks. He thought...she forgave him. Is that why he was back in Bunkum?

"I guess they were right after all. YOU ARE NOTHING." Her voice became distorted as her eyes turned dark purple. Then with a wicked smile, black ooze began seeping out of her mouth as she floated in the air. Newton let out a scream and fell on his back, backing away from her.

Once all the ooze fell underneath her, Melody blinked. Her eyes were back to their normal shade of brown and she went unconscious. She fell to the ground in front of Newton. "Melody!" Newton crawled to her side, holding her close.

The black ooze bubbled, then rose and shaped into a familiar form. The Titan in his shadow from before.

"Hi, Newty. Didja miss me?" Newton looked up, trembling. No, why were they still here? Why won't they go away?!

"G-get out of my head! LEAVE ME ALONE!" He released his grip on Melody and held his head. He was on the brink of madness at this point.

"Now why would we do that, Newton? Us Titans need to stick together, after all."

"I-I'm not–I'm not one of you! I'll never be like you!"

"But you already are, don'tcha see?" Lifting his hand, the Titan shadow lifted Melody in the air and into his arms. "After all, you did torment this little princess into playing this game of yours. Only fair if...we cut her from the picture."

As he stated this, a large pair of scissors appeared and snipped in the blink of an eye, cutting her body in half. Stuffing poured out in front of Newton as he knelt there in horror. The two pieces of Melody's clothed body then fell on top of the pile of stuffing.

"No...NOOOOOO!" His titan self cackled and darkness swirled around the two. The ground gave away from Newton and he fell into the black abyss. He tried reaching for Melody, but he fell short. "MELODY!"

He then collapsed, surrounded by nothing but pitch black darkness. The Titans' dark cackles rang all around him and Newton quickly got to his feet. He was on the verge of falling to his knees again, but he needed to find a way out.

Looking around, he then saw the shadow Titan. "You...YOU MONSTER!" Newton had tears streaming down his bulb cheeks. Anger filled his heart while fear kept him in place.

"Oh, dear friend." Wait...that voice. When the shadow form turned around, Newton's heart jumped in fear. The Titan now had his form when he was possessed. "Can't you see? YOU ARE ME!"

Newton then felt something wrap around him, holding him in place. "No! NO, LET GO!"

Back in reality

Melody moaned a little, waking from her sleep. She faintly heard shouting a couple rooms away from hers that snapped her out of her dreams. Figuring it was Scratch and Grounder arguing or something, she climbed out of bed, rubbing her eyes.

But she then heard a muffled scream. It sounded like Newton. Troubled, Melody exited her room and made her way down the hallway to Newton's room. As she went past Lilo and Stitch's room as well as Scratch and Grounder's room, both doors opened quietly as the team quietly peeked out. Seems Melody wasn't the only one that woke up.

"Newton? Hey, are you alright?" She quietly opened the door to Newton's new room and froze. He was out of bed on his hands and knees. His blanket was sprawled everywhere and his eyelights looked clouded as tears flowed down his bulb cheeks.

"You...YOU MONSTER!" Melody's never seen him so shaken and unstable. Whatever is happening in his nightmare must be something horrible. If she didn't stop it soon, he could hurt himself.

Taking action, Melody went behind Newton and quickly embraced him firmly. She kept a firm hold, even as he struggled. "No! NO, LET GO!"

"Shh Newton...it's okay! I'm right here." She felt Newton freeze and untense. His vision of the black abyss seemed to have faded as he found himself looking around the carpeted bedroom. Purple wallpaper and a few blank sheets of blueprint paper on a desk.

Melody's arms loosened a little and she still felt Newton shaking like a leaf. If Scratch and Grounder shook as hard as he was right now, they would practically fall to pieces.

"M...Melody?"

"Yes, I'm right here, Newton. It's okay." Newton paused for a moment, then shifted, turning around to see for himself. With the light glow coming from his face, he could see Melody. He gently reached up and cupped a cloth hand over her cheek. Confirming this was reality and she was alright, he let out a shaky breath he didn't realize he was holding.

He then firmly hugged her, gripping the fabric of her pajamas as if his life depended on it, and began to sob. Melody hugged back, holding him close. She kept silent, allowing him to let out all the distress he felt.

After a few minutes, his sobs quieted down to sniffles. "D...dear friend...I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean t-to…w-wake you at this hour…"

"It's okay, Newton. I'm not bothered by that at all." She offered a tiny reassuring smile, rubbing the top of his head.

"W-wait, did I hurt you?" He quickly looked up and looked her over.

"No, I'm fine. Are you hurt though? I think you fell out of bed during all this." Newton stopped and checked himself. No cracks on his bulb and no tears on any of his limbs.

"I-I believe I'm fine."

"Good." Newton silently relaxed once more in her arms and rubbed his eyelights with his pajama sleeves. As he relaxed, he recollected his thoughts. Out of all the nightmares he had, that was the worst one his subconscious could ever unleash by far. He's...not even sure that he could even tell Melody about it. It could reopen the wound.

"So much for a good night's rest. For someone who claims they aren't bad, you sure like to cause a lot of trouble."

Newton growled under his breath. "Why can't you just leave me alone?" But he then froze, realizing Melody must have heard the growl. He looked up and her concerned expression gave him the answer. She did.

"I-I'm sorry, chum. I…" He tried to put on a fake smile that he would usually use to hide the pain from others. "It's nothing."

Melody frowned. She knew that common phrase. "It's nothing" always meant it's something. Given his nightmare, she didn't blame him on not telling her about it. But she still wished he could be a little more open with her, especially if something is still on his mind.

Newton looked down. He couldn't look at her with that expression showing. He knew it meant he offended her and she knew he was lying.

"If you don't want to talk about your nightmare, you don't have to. But if...something is troubling you, Newton, you gotta know that I'm here for you. We all are." Referring to the ohana, she hoped that maybe that would help him relax a little. Maybe open up someday when he's ready.

Newton paused, letting that statement sink in. Unlike the Melody in his nightmare, deep down he believed her. She was willing to go out of her way to save a place she never knew and a friend that betrayed her. ...Maybe he can try to clear some doubts.

He cleared his throat, having Melody look up, giving him her full attention. He fought to keep his eye contact with her as he said, "Dearest friend...I…" What should he start with though?

"What if your precious friend is laughing at you too?"

Newton's expression turned into a fearful one. Melody...laughing at him. He has been mocked and laughed at before, especially by those classmates at Popit Academy. Having Melody, the one person he believed would understand him the best and care for him greatly, laugh at him like they would. It would destroy him.

"Newton?" Melody looked nervous. He seemed really troubled. Why did he look so afraid? Was he nervous she was going to do something to him?

Newton took a breath, trying to regain his composure. "I...I-I have to ask...d...do you...laugh at me?"

Melody gave him a questionable look. Laugh? Why would she?

Newton continued, trying hard to keep his voice clear and steady. But it still felt painful he needed to ask. "Wh-what I mean is...do you...mock my failures…? A-am I...nothing but a big embarrassment to you?"

Melody was shocked. Why in the multiverse would she think he's any of those things? "No! Not at all!" She even shook her head no to emphasize how sincere she was. She never thought Newton was any of those things, even when they first met and before the betrayal.

Newton almost seemed convinced by her answer. "But what if it's a lie to spare your feelings?" Newton's grip on Melody's pajama sleeves seemed to have tightened. This was painful enough to bring up. "I...I-I need a truthful answer, chum."

Does he really not believe her? Melody put on a serious expression and replied, "Newton. Not once have I thought of you that way. Not then, not now, and not ever."

Newton quietly nodded and leaned against her once more. But she wasn't even hugging this time. She was looking down in thought and her serious expression didn't change.

"Now you upset the one you care about. You don't deserve her. Not her care and not her time."

Melody then gently nudged Newton off of her and Newton had his head down. He was about ready to let the tears come back. "Maybe I...really don't deserve anything. Especially all this."

But then, a small glow in front of him had him look up. Melody's form changed back to its sackperson self and she had a tiny smile showing. An idea finally came to mind and she was determined to put it into action.

"Come with me. I want to show you something." She then took his hand and the two walked out of the room and headed down the hallway, going past the bedrooms. Melody then approached a metal door and it slid up, sensing her presence and opening up for her.

Melody stepped in and turned on the lights. Newton squinted for a moment, adjusting to the change in lighting, and looked around in awe. They were standing in a large lab. There were so many gadgets, blueprints, and supplies as far as he could see. It all looked a little more advanced than what he had access to back home.

"This is the Royal Laboratory. I was planning to show you this tomorrow, but I figured now was a good time. I plan on setting up a workspace for you here so you can come here whenever and work on all the amazing ideas you have with anything you need!"

She was willing to give him this? The lab? "Ch-chum...I don't know what to say…"

"Hold that thought." She then went to the back of the room and opened up a secret panel. With a small smile, she pulled out whatever was inside and approached Newton.

"Newton, do you recognize this?" He gasped, looking down at what she was holding.

"I-is that...the Pumpinator?" She smiled with a nod. Looking it over, it was true. This was the exact same device he gave her at the start of their journey together. Even after all he did, she still kept it?

"You...kept it? All this time? Even after everything I put you through?" Melody nodded with a bright smile. Hope seemed to have shown on Newton's expression. But his smile faded when more doubts clouded his mind.

"B-but...you were given so many better things! Like er...you were given rocket boots! And that thing that has you connect to other ziplines. A-And that one where you teleport–" He then yelped when he felt himself being pulled close and then locked into a firm embrace.

Melody frowned seeing he still had his doubts. She activated the Pumpinator and used the "Suck" function to pull Newton down a little to her level. She then hugged him, keeping him at her level, and spoke.

"Newton, it doesn't matter if it's not as great as the others. It was made by you. That's what makes it so special to me, because you mean a lot to me, even after all that happened. And if you were to disappear from my life, I'd throw myself into the belly of the monstrous monster without Boost Boots!" She had a tiny smile saying that, but her expression became serious as she continued.

"But I just want you to know, and I promise you it's true, that you are not any of those bad things. You only made a mistake and I'm forgiving you for it. You are not an embarrassment. You are not pathetic. And you most certainly are not. Nothing. I care about you so much."

She could not be any more sincere. A couple tears seemed to show in Newton's eyelights and for once, his doubts and the Titans' voices were silent. A very small, genuine smile formed on his expression as he firmly hugged her back. "I-I...care about you too, dear friend. ...Th-thank you."

Melody warmly smiled, glad she was able to convince him. It may take time for him to be his normal happy self again, but she can at least be there to reassure him that no matter what, she and the rest of the team will stick by him.

After putting the Pumpinator back, Melody took Newton to her room for the night. Her bed was bigger and cozier, after all. She climbed into the bed and helped Newton up. She also decided to stay in her Sackperson form as she and Newton fell back to sleep. This time, Newton felt a bit more confident that he'll have no nightmares tonight.

Meanwhile, Lilo was peeking into the room and she looked at the bots that were spying with her. "See? I told you he was good."

Grounder then asked, "Does this mean everything is gonna go back to normal?"

"Well...not exactly," Lilo replied. "We'll still go on adventures, take care of the kingdom and help out Melody if needed just as she will help us."

Scratch then added, "That sounds normal. So what's different?"

Lilo smiled. "Simple. The only difference is…" The four team members looked back in the room, seeing Melody and Newton hugging as the two smile in their peaceful sleep.

"We have a new member of the ohana to take care of."

THE END

Yay, it's done. I didn't want to leave it unfinished. So, to anyone that actually read and liked this, I'm glad I wrapped it up for ya. x) Till next fic.