Hello. If anyone still cares about this, I'm just gonna leave it here.

Prologue

Nightmare always prayed he would never be one of those unfortunate Glitches who saw the inside of the CleanCode prison. It was operated and guarded entirely by robots. A pair of them escorted Nightmare and Herobrine through the bland halls, decorated only by cell doors. The pace they were going at was too fast for Herobrine, who was limping on his broken leg. No one bothered to pull the arrow out of it either. The robots couldn't care less about his injury, of course. If he started moving too slowly, they'd shove him forward, causing him to cry out in pain. Nightmare flinched as they did it again. Tears streamed down Herobrine's face, and he limped along at a marginally faster pace. Blood from the arrow through his calf soaked his jeans. Nightmare would have let him throw his arm over my shoulder, but his hands were secured behind his backs with heavy-duty handcuffs that prevented teleportation.

"What's our plan for escape?" Nightmare whispered. There was no way Herobrine would just let himself be dragged off. Not the Herobrine he knew.

"E-escape?" he glanced up at him weakly. "Nightmare, l-look around you. This is the end of the line. No one escaped from h-here. Face it. This is i-it." His gaze fell back to the ground. He stumbled on his bad leg and fell to the floor with a scream of sheer pain. The guards showed no remorse. They picked him back up by his hair and put him back on his feet, completely ignoring the sobs. Nightmare didn't believe him. How could Herobrine be put under this kind of abuse and say that this was it?

"You don't believe that. I know you don't," Nightmare protested. "You saved Memory from this. And as long as she is out there and alive, I'm not gonna give up! I'd destroy this whole prison brick for brick just to see her again!" I was now shouting, and it was getting the attention of the imprisoned Glitches. Hollow eyes, sunken cheeks, and pale faces surrounded me and stared at me with nothing but misery in their eyes. No. I would not let this happen. This wouldn't happen to me! "What happened to you, Herobrine? Why are you suddenly giving up? You never give up!"

"That version of me was never real," he said quietly.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not real, Nightmare." He shot me a glare, but his blank eyes were full of pain and fear. "I never was. I'm not supposed to exist. I'm supposed to be in heaven or wherever you go when you die."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'M DEAD, NIGHTMARE!" he grit his teeth together in a futile attempt to stop the tears now pouring down his face. "I was human, and I DIED."

Nightmare froze for a half second, but the robot behind him slammed one of its metallic arms into his back, forcing him forward. "You're… dead?"

Herobrine nodded. "So, if I'm not even real, then what's the point of fighting anymore?"

Only then did Nightmare realize that he had truly given up. There was nothing left in him. What was he going to do now? Nightmare wasn't brave or strong, he was a father just trying to keep himself and his daughter alive in a world that was no longer theirs. He couldn't abandon Memory. She lost her mother, and she wasn't going to lose him, too.

Several years ago…

"Memory!" Nightmare stood outside the small concrete building that functioned as their home. Just outside was a dense forest, no doubt where Memory was running rampant now. Hopefully she hasn't gone far. "Memory! Come inside!"

"Coming!" A small figure ran out of the trees. Memory had a large smile on her face, and a larger beetle in her claws. "Daddy! Look what I found!"

"Very cool. Now, let it go, so it can go home."

"Okay!" She let go of it, and the bug flew back towards the forest. She giggled and waved as it left. "Bye, bug!"

"It's dinner time, so go wash up and get to the table," Nightmare ordered. He stepped out of the way of the door so she could go inside.

"Yes, Daddy!" She scampered inside and vanished from sight.

Nightmare smiled and stepped inside, closing the door behind him. The house smelled like freshly baked cookies, and the source was the tray just now being pulled out of the oven. Idea pulled them out and set them on the counter to cool.

Memory looked a lot like her mother, with the same soft blue skin and long dark hair. But Memory had red eyes, like her father. Idea caught Nightmare staring at her, and smirked. "What?" she asked with a giggle.

"Nothing. Just noticing how beautiful you look today." Nightmare slowly walked over to her.

"You're just now noticing?" She smirked and gave him a quick kiss.

"EEEWWW!" Memory exclaimed, but her disgust was quickly overridden by the sight of cookies. "Oooh!" she tried to reach for one, but she wasn't quite tall enough to reach them.

"Is that how you ask?" Nightmare reminded her.

She stopped reaching for them and looked up at her father with the sweetest look. "Can I PLEEEASE have a cookie?"

Memory knew how to get her father. Nightmare sighed and handed her one with a smile. "Careful, it's hot."

Memory didn't care about her dad's warning, of course. "Thank you!" She skipped away to the table, where she could enjoy her treat. Idea shook her head and laughed.

"Hey, no cookies before dinner!" she bopped Nightmare on the head with her spoon.

A knock on the door disrupted the peaceful moment. Dread filled Nightmare. No one knew where they were. He was careful to cover his tracks when he and Idea fled Neo City… right? He and Idea exchanged concerned glances, as they were both thinking the same thing.

"It's not possible. It can't be," Idea whispered in terror.

It was. The person outside knocked harder and shouted, "CleanCode! Open up!"

Idea went as white as a ghost. She snatched Memory up and tried to teleport away, but she just ended up on the other side of the room. CleanCode must have disabled teleportation.

"Open this door or we'll open it for you!" the person on the other side shouted. This was followed by more loud knocking.

There was nowhere to run. The front door was the only exit, and the windows were too small to be options. Idea held Memory closer to her chest as Memory began to cry. "Shh, shh. It's okay. Don't cry. It's okay."

They probably waited too long to open the door, because it was kicked down and the living room was swarmed with CleanCode agents. "Hands in the air, Glitches!"

Nightmare complied, and Idea clutched Memory. The agents didn't seem to care that she wasn't complying, probably because they only said that to appear threatening and in control. They swung their guns around haphazardly, and Nightmare was a bit worried that one of them was going to hit another with the tip of their gun or misfire.

A man walked in behind the rest of the agents, and Nightmare knew from the second he saw him that he was their leader. His bright blue eyes surveyed the room like it was a land he just conquered. "Hello, Nightmare and Idea," he said casually, like he was addressing friends.

"How do you know our names!?" Idea demanded.

"I've been tracking many of the Glitches that escaped Neo City when it was destroyed. But allow me to introduce myself. My name is General McArthur, CEO of CleanCode. I would say that it is a pleasure to meet you, but" he chuckled. "no one enjoys meeting a program-corrupting internet monster."

"Stop it, you meaniehead!" Memory leaped out of Idea's arms and ran towards McArthur. Idea tried to snatch her back up, but Memory cleverly avoided her claws. She leaped at McArthur and tried to claw and punch his stomach, but all this seemed to do was amuse him.

"Aw, who's this?" He picked her up by the scruff like she was nothing more than a yippy dog. She struggled in his grasp and clawed at his wrists, growling. "Your daughter? She's so cute. It's been a while since we've had a kid in the prison."

"Put her down!" Nightmare said, taking a step toward McArthur. The agents all focused their weapons on him as soon as he moved, though.

McArthur just chuckled and watched Memory dig her claws into him. "It really is adorable watching Glitches try to hurt me. especially when they're as cute as you." Memory snarled. "Kill those two, but this one is coming with us," McArthur ordered.

Chaos erupted. Gunfire blanketed the room, and it was a miracle that Nightmare was only grazed on the shoulder before he dove down and grabbed Memory from McArthur's grasp. Another bullet hit him in the side, and he roared in pain. He shoved past the agents in his way and found himself laying on the grass for half a second.

"You idiots! They're out here!" McArthur shouted.

The CleanCode agents rushed outside, and Nightmare got a glimpse of inside.

Idea was laying on the floor. Black blood oozed out of multiple bullet holes in her chest, and her eyes were glazed over, lifeless. Her mouth hung open, and a single drip of blood ran out and trailed down her cheek.

Nightmare whimpered quietly at the memory. They killed her. They killed her for no real reason.

This wasn't the first time that the memory of Idea's death infuriated Nightmare, but this time it felt different. It was stronger. More direct. Nightmare stopped walking with the bots. Herobrine was gone; he had been escorted a different direction. One of the bots shoved Nightmare forward roughly, but he still didn't budge. Their guns were pointed at the back of his head, but he still didn't flinch.

He was going to escape.

One of the guards grabbed Nightmare's arm, but he ripped away, snarled, and kicked it into a wall. The second guard fired, but Nightmare darted out of the way, bounced off the wall, and raked its face with his claws. He dug out one of its optical cameras and seriously damaged the other. It tried to grab him, but it couldn't see him very well. The first one recovered from Nightmare's attack and leaped at him, but he shoved it into the second one. Because of their large size and extreme weight, they toppled over each other. Nightmare ran down the hallway in a direction that he hoped was the right way. He had to get out of there. He didn't get far, though, before one of the bots fired at him in a last-ditch effort to kill him. Two of its shots hit the walls to his right and left, but one nailed him in the leg. He fell and hissed in pain, but quickly got back up and kept running. Nightmare took a sharp left, only to be faced with three guards. They instantly began shooting at him, but he dove underneath them and ran into an adjacent hall. He ran and ran for who knows how long, just to get away from the guards. He kept going until his leg screamed for mercy. Blood dripped down from the wound. It was a significant injury and running on it was definitely not a good idea. Nightmare had no choice, though. He paused for a second to catch his breath and give his leg a break.

"Nightmare?"

He looked over at the cell across from him. Herobrine hobbled over to the small, barred window in the door and gripped it to keep himself upright. "What are you doing?"

Nightmare scowled at him. "I'm escaping, Herobrine."

"Nightmare, no! get back in your cell! They'll kill you!"

He sneered at him. "No."

"Why not!?"

"I'm not giving up. I'm gonna get out of here and find my daughter." He turned and began walking away. "Enjoy your life of imprisonment, Herobrine."

"No, wait! Nightmare! Come back! Please!" he reached through the bars for me. He slipped and almost fell, but he caught himself. "Nightmare!"

A single tear trailed down his cheek as Nightmare walked away. Was he really going to leave his best friend here? He almost stopped, but he reminded himself that he had already given up. If he wanted to be in here, fine. Nightmare was escaping. His walk became a jog, then a sprint, and suddenly he was running full speed down the hall. Four or five of the guards suddenly intercepted his path, but he didn't care.

They began shooting at him, but he rolled out of the way and leaped at the first one. The hard black metal plates covering its body were unaffected by his claws, minus a few scratches in the paint. But there were soft wires in its joints, which he aimed for. With one swipe, Nightmare severed most of the wires in its shooting arm and almost cut the limb clean off. He kicked it in the face as he jumped onto the second one. The two other bots were shooting recklessly at him, hitting the first two more than they hit him. A bullet found a target in his thigh, and the other in his collarbone. He jumped on them, smashed their heads together, and ran off.

Nightmare veered right sharply down another hall, but he slipped and fell into the ground. His injuries throbbed horribly, and he bit his tongue so hard that the taste of blood filled his mouth. He almost gave up, right then and there, because of the pain, but he dragged himself to his feet. He was escaping. He was going to leave this prison.

There. Just about a hundred yards in front of him was a door that led outside. Relief and new energy flooded him, and with this new stamina he ran faster than before. His relief turned to dread, however, when a solid sheet of metal began descending over the door. CleanCode had realized that he was out. Using everything in him, he shot towards the door. He's not gonna make it. He's not gonna make it. He's not—

He slipped under the barrier seconds before it hit the ground. Excruciating pain filled his leg, and a new stream of blood poured out of the wound. He must have tore it open more than it was previously. Nightmare glanced back at the wall behind him before collapsing. He was free.

When he caught his breath, he opened his eyes and realized someone was standing in front of him. Someone with black skin and a white cloak. I slowly looked up to meet Entity 303's glowing red eyes.

"Make a wish," he whispered, right before Nightmare passed out.