S11-7
A nightmare

It's been about two years since Kris and Susie were married. They got their own house, got the jobs they were looking for, and Susie said that she might be expecting a little one.

About a week before their Anniversary, at night, Kris and Susie had just gone to bed. All was peaceful, until Susie was woken up by Kris, who was tossing and turning in his sleep, sweating, and mumbling.

Without warning, Kris woke up screaming. "SUSIE!"

Kris was hyperventilating, having just suffered a panic attack as the result of a nightmare. "Hey, you alright?" Susie asked.

He turned to her, then hugged her tightly, tears streaming down his face, and Susie could hear him talking to her in relief. "You're OK... Thank God, you're OK..."

Susie returned the embrace. "Yeah, I'm OK. But are you? You must've had one hell of a nightmare."

"It was... It... Oh, who cares? You're alright, and that's all that matters to me right now."

That morning, Susie went to the Flower King, where Asgore Dreemurr was. "Susie? What brings you here?" Asgore asked.

"It's about Kris. He had a nightmare last night."

"Oh. Is he alright?" Asgore asked with concern.

"Yeah, but he didn't tell me what it was about. All I know is that he woke up screaming my name, and he was relieved that I was still there."

"I'll ask him about it later. You enjoy yourself."

"Thank you."

Later that day, Kris and Susie went to Strike Zone Lanes, and the latter was competing against MK in a game of bowling.

In the first round, MK knocked down seven pins, while Susie scored a lucky Strike. MK ended up getting a Spare.

"Nicely done, Susie!" MK commended.

"I think I'm getting the hang of it!"

"MK and I got married a week after you and Susie did! It was like a fairytale dream come true!" Noelle was beaming.

"I'm so happy for you two." Kris said, smiling.

"Thank you, Kris."

At that moment, Kris's phone beeped. "Hang on." Pulling his phone out of his pocket, Kris saw that he had a new message.

"Kris, come to the Flower King. There's something we need to discuss." ~Asgore

"I should get going. My dad's calling me for something."

"OK. I'll let Susie know."

Kris has left the building.

Eventually, the bowling match was over, and Susie had won. "YEAH! VICTORY!"

"Good game, Susie. You wanna go again next week? Doubles?"

"Oh hell yeah!"

Now that the game was over, Noelle joined the conversation. "Kris's father wanted him for something, so he had to leave."

"Oh. I should check in on him." Before Susie could turn to the door, her phone beeped, displaying a new message.

"I know what's bothering Kris. Can you come here please?" ~Asgore

With that, Susie departed, arriving at the Flower King in almost ten minutes. "Asgore?"

"Susie, I'm glad you could make it."

She looked around, seeing that Kris was nowhere to be found. "Where's Kris?"

"I sent him home. That nightmare Kris had last night? He said it was of you dying from childbirth."

It all made sense now. He woke up screaming Susie's name. He cried as he hugged her. Kris was afraid that Susie might die from giving birth. "Thanks for telling me this."

Now that she knew what was going on, Susie headed home, seeing Kris sitting on the outdoor bench that overlooked the garden in their lawn. She sat down next to the troubled man. "I know what's going on. Asgore told me. I'm not gonna die from childbirth. You've got nothing to worry about, K?" Instead of verbal response, Kris rested his head on Susie's shoulder. "Look... I'm not going anywhere, I promise. When our kid is born, I'll be fine. You know as well as I do how tough I am. I'll make it."

Kris looked into her eyes, concern still very much present within his own. "I haven't had a nightmare since the day after we first met."

"Care to tell me about that one?" Susie asked. "It's OK if you don't want to."

"I dreamt I was in my bed, back when I lived with mom, but I... I-I didn't feel like me. It was like looking through someone else's eyes. I could only watch as I hobbled out of bed and into the middle of the room. I watched my hand slowly raise into the air, and..."

"What happened next?"

"I tore out my own soul... That's when things got freakier. My perspective was left with my soul, and my body had a mind of its own. Remember that old birdcage in the room I shared with Asriel?"

"Yeah?" Susie was becoming increasingly alarmed.

"I watched as I threw my soul into it, and from behind those bars, I saw my own body pull a knife out of nowhere, wearing a sadistic, murderous grin. It was horrible..." Susie's eyes went wide as Kris finished retelling his last nightmare.

She pulled him into a warm embrace. "I'll keep you safe, Kris. No matter what."

"Thank you..."

Any and all real-life couples out there would understand the concern, the fear of losing their loved ones.
Having a nightmare about it is within reason.

Remember the ending to Deltarune? That wasn't just a nightmare. That was his first nightmare.

I'll see you all next time.