Chapter 16 – Finding Oneself, then Getting Lost
The sound of a tsundere plane passing overhead woke Nightmare from a fitful sleep. Looking around it took him a few minutes to remember all of the events from the day before. Looking over to the couch where Blaster looked about ready to fall off, he barely contained a snigger. The other looked a bit comical with a single long claw wedge between his fangs, sucking on it as his other hand was caught on a thread on the carpet. His tail looked to be wedged rather uncomfortably between his fibula and tibia. How it had even gotten between them Nightmare didn't want to think. Getting up from his makeshift nest, he did a quick check to make sure that nothing was out of place or had deteriorated. When all seemed fine, if a little damp from his tentacles he heaved a wet gurgle of a sigh of relief and made his way back to the bathroom to clean his teeth and get ready for the day. After so long in the void where he hadn't been able to do these menial chores, it was a great feeling to be able to take care of himself again. The shower the night before had been pure ecstasy for him. Hearing a shriek from downstairs, he teleported quickly.
The scene in the living room was rather confusing at first. There were too many moving bones to keep track of. What was very obvious was that Blaster had finally fallen off the couch and had a very abrupt and rude awakening when he came in contact with the floor. His tail was no longer threaded through his leg, which was good, but the horn-like tips of his skull had become entangled in some loose threads that resulted from the deterioration of the couch the day before. Blaster was trying to get the strings off his horns, but his claws either just sliced them or smacked the apparently sensitive protrusions. Nightmare couldn't help but laugh, causing Blaster to yelp and jump away from him, not having noticed his reappearance in the room. The strangled drowning sound of Nightmare's laughter wasn't exactly comforting either.
"Well I'm glad you find this funny!" he snapped at his black companion.
"Sorry, sorry. Want some help?" wheezed Nightmare, a faint gurgling still present as he stifled giggles.
Blaster had to suppress a shiver at the sound of Nightmare's voice. "I don't really have a choice, do I? These claws are pretty useless for manipulation I am finding." He flexed them, glaring at his fingertips.
"You'll figure them out, I'm sure." Assured Nightmare as he made his way over, just missing stepping on the swaying tail that whipped around on the floor.
"Huh" was the only reply he got. In the meantime, Blaster tried to get his feet untangled from each other and his toes straightened out. In his flailing, the claws on his feet had jammed together and were pretty snug.
When Nightmare got close, he could see that the horns on Blaster were a little serrated on the back, which was how the strings had gotten caught and why they were holding on so stubbornly. He began gently pulling the strands away, going with the serration so he wouldn't cause Blaster any more irritation. He couldn't stop the smirk that came to his face when he noticed how the other was struggling with his feet though
He remembered when he had first woken with his tentacles. They had caught on everything, dirt, leaves, and every manner of thing they met would stick to their slick surface as they had dragged. It had taken quite a while to develop the muscles so that he could keep them up and actually use them for anything.
In Blaster's case, he just needed to relearn how to do things, not necessarily master a whole new set of limbs. After a few minutes all the strings had been removed and Blaster finally freed his feet from one and other. Nightmare offered a hand to help his new friend up and although it was hesitant, Blaster took it. With his claws being so long, his hand seemed to dwarf Nightmare's. Nightmare didn't think twice about it and carefully pulled Blaster to his feet. Immediately Blaster stumbled and had to catch himself with his other hand on Nightmare's shoulder. His tail was whipping in every direction, trying to figure out how to balance while his too long toes almost over-balanced him and threw him down once more.
"Easy now." Nightmare calmly told him. He let one of his tentacles reach behind Blaster and still his tail. Whipping it around like that would do no good at all. "Try to breathe and calm down. You can do this." He told him. Nightmare rubbed absently over the fingers of the hand he held in his own. In the past day he had had more contact, physical and mental, with others than he had experience his entire life. Maybe when he had first been born he had had some contact, but it hadn't lasted long enough for him to remember. The contact was nice. As he rubbed his phalanges over the claws in his hand, he noticed an inconsistency. Looking over at the hand and raising it carefully so he could look closer, he noticed what looked like several small cracks or breaks in the bone. As Blaster tried to tighten his grasp to maintain his balance with the movement, the claws extended a miniscule amount before sliding back, seeming to grow and extend from these cracks. "Hey, Blaster, I think I may have found a solution to your claws getting in the way. Have you tried retracting them?" he asked.
"Retracting, what do you mean?" he was still looking at his feet as he tried to figure out how to stand.
"Look here, on your fingers." Nightmare drew his attention to the cracks. "The bone seems to slide together here, it extended then shrank back when you gripped my hand. I figure if it can extend, maybe it can retract. If you can retract your claws, then maybe you will be able to do stuff again." He explained.
Blaster looked at the cracks, interested in this new information. He had been so consumed with how useless he was as he was that he hadn't even stopped to consider there was a way to fix it. His first thought was how to adapt to it. He flexed his hand and watched as indeed the claws extended at the cracks just like they would have bent if it had been a knuckle. He relaxed his hand and the claws pulled back to the length they had been before he had flexed. He tried to flex them toward the back of his hand as if to lift a claw. Instead of lifting, the claw indeed retracted. Once it retracted to the point it was no longer than his phalanges had once been, then he could lift it very slightly. He relaxed the claw once more and it re-extended.
"Well, that is going to be a pain to get used to." He grumbled.
"But at least you know it's possible. I bet you can do the same with your feet. That would make it easier to walk too probably." Gurgled Nightmare in a laugh.
Just to test the theory, Blaster lifted all of his toes in unison. Sure enough they all retracted and instantly he felt more balanced, though not completely. He carefully took a step back from Nightmare, not willing to admit that he was just a bit glad to release the other. He was still wobbly, and the strain on his toes was distracting, but he was able to stand upright on his own.
Slowly Nightmare released Blaster's tail. He had caught it while it had been raised and so had held it there, once released though, it swung to hang down, following the natural line of Blaster's spine and curving back up near the end to miss the floor. Once it was release, the amount of balance Blaster regained was noticeable as his stiff posture relaxed and instead of a wide stance, he was able to shift into a more comfortable standing position. He twisted to look at his tail and grinned. Maybe this would all work out after all.
"Do you want to try to get yourself around and I'll put together a breakfast for us and we can get restarted on the data we have or wait until Dae gets back with what she took with her?"
"Go ahead and start on breakfast. I'm going to try walking and getting used to this." Blaster was well and truly absorbed in the art of his body now that it had been pointed out to him.
Nightmare shrugged and made his way into the kitchen to see what he could scavenge and make into an edible breakfast for the two of them. He found Tem flakes in one cupboard, and assorted types of crackers and noodles in another. Checking the fridge pulled up cheese and some unidentifiable items. Not wanting to rummage too much, Nightmare settled for grabbing a couple different kinds of crackers and the cheese. It would hold them for now and they could continue to munch as they worked until Daedarath got back with the data she had taken with her. He grabbed a platter that happened to be sitting on the counter, brushing off what looked like dust into the sink. Turning to grab the cheese from the fridge, an explosion from the sink sent him flying out of the kitchen, the metal platter following shortly after as it rolled out on its edge. He took a second to let his vision settle then started to push himself to his feet. Glancing to his left he saw Blaster staring at him wide-eyed from where he lay beside the couch, likely having hit the floor upon hearing the explosion.
"What'd you do? I don't think I had any exploding stuff in the cabinets." He choked out.
"I don't know. Just dusted off the tray on the counter. Was gonna bring the food out on that. Figured cheese and crackers. I'm not much of a cook."
With a groan, Blaster's head thunked against the floor. "That wasn't dust. Those were trace amounts of unstable powdered chemicals I was using in some of my research. I'm surprised it only blew up that much."
Nightmare's look of reproach was totally lost on Blaster, but he just sighed and got up. Any other things I should be aware of before I start trying to get food again. I don't need to lose my head here."
"Uh, how about I just come with you. I can't really remember what all I had in there plus Dae was in there yesterday."
"Somehow I don't see her leaving unstable stuff just sitting open on the counter though." Countered Nightmare as he helped Blaster to his feet and allowed him to use his arm to balance himself.
Blaster glared at his houseguest, starting to get irritated. "Well sorry I'm not as clean as her and not used to having company. I normally spend all my time alone and on my own!" Yanking his hand away from Nightmare he managed to correct his balance on his own and somewhat clumsily stormed into his kitchen, leaving Nightmare to stare after him. After a few moments, shuffling and grumbling could be heard, and dishes being moved was audible. "I'll make us something. I'm tired of being useless."
"'Kay." Called Nightmare. Feeling down and knowing it would only affect his surroundings negatively, he forced himself to go out back and try to work on the rubble a bit more. He didn't even notice when the handle to the back door melted in his grip as he opened and closed it. He did, however, notice when the rocks and rubble he tried to move began to disintegrate in his grasp. When he dropped one that actually had become somewhat goopy where his tentacles had been in contact with, he noticed that the goop solidified when it made contact with another rock, effectively melding them together. Looking at his limp tentacles that hung over his shoulders, he gave a depressed laugh. "Guess you are good for something when you are useless in common interaction." He walked past the pieces of wall and rubble that remained in the lab, not much in comparison to when it had first blow up and made his way over to the would-be portal. "Let's see if this works then." He said to himself and laid a tentacle along one of the seams. He was confused when nothing seemed to be happening. Pulling it back he looked at the appendage. "What, you're only going to melt stuff when I don't want you to? Is that it?" he groused at it.
"Well I don't think you are going to get much of an answer out of it, but if you come inside for breakfast I'm sure we can talk about it and maybe figure out how to control when it does melt stuff." Nightmare spun around, completely surprised. Daedarath was leaning against a wall grinning. "Now, if it does start talking, that I want to see and know about. It would bring in a whole new set of variables and problems into the equation."
"You startled me!" he whined even as he made his way over to her and she pushed off of the wall, dusting off her coat.
"Yeah, I gathered as much. Why were you trying to melt your structure though? I mean, I get that it wasn't all that much work for you, but still, this is to try to further science. What do you gain by destroying it? Do you not want to get beyond it?" She accused and sounded a bit upset and betrayed.
"No, nothing like that. I wasn't trying to destroy it at all. I was trying to use the melting properties that keep popping up to try to meld the stones together. Perhaps make it sturdier but also make it one solid piece. I wasn't trying to destroy it." He explained.
"Hmm, not a bad idea, but let's not take chances like that until you have complete control. Kinda like we shouldn't leave Blaster in the kitchen on his own before he learns how to move properly." She hummed.
"Oh please tell me he didn't get himself into trouble already." Groaned Nightmare.
"I found him trying to pull himself out of the oven without putting a hole in the side of it while it was on." She gestured that he lead the way back inside.
"Oh great stars. What was he even trying to make?" Nightmare's tentacles wrapped back around him even as one rubbed at his head as if it hurt from trying to conjure up the mental image.
Laughing, Daederath explained that he had been trying to put together a quiche apparently. "Now, on a different subject. You said that your appendages were melting things again? What upset you this time?"
Nightmare looked up surprised. "Upset me? Why would you ask that?" Sure he had been upset, but how would she know that?
"Well, the last few times that things in your local have been affected you were upset. I mentioned before that I think your emotions play a role in how your miasma affects the environment. The most apparent change is that when you are upset things around you tend to come apart on a molecular level. So it comes to reason that if you were just now realizing that you could 'melt rock'" she finger quoted "you were probably out here brooding and upset and noticed a reaction do to the interaction of your body in its upset state and the rocks you were dealing with. Am I right?"
It took him a few moments of thinking to realize what she was saying was completely correct. It also explained why most of the time when he was around her and Blaster he wasn't destroying his surroundings. He was content, dare he say even happy. "I never really thought about it that way. It was always just a part of me. I destroyed whatever I came in contact with. You really put a lot of thought into this, didn't you?" He looked back at her, just a step behind him with new respect.
"What, all this, hardly. I just observed and put the pieces together. I mean, come on, why else would you leave that problem magnet to make breakfast?" she laughed modestly. "So why were you upset?" suddenly serious and a bit worried once more.
"I accidentally blew up some of the powders he left on the counter and he seemed so mad about it. Then he told me that he would make breakfast himself. I guess it just reminded me of how my own family used to treat me. As if I wasn't really good for anything." He had been reaching for the handle, but let his hand drop. He really wasn't good for anything, was he?
"Well I can tell you that they were absolutely wrong there. You are extremely smart, powerful, and strong. You put up with being alone and ostracized for how long? That take a whole other kind of power and strength than just the physical. And now you are going just another step further and creating a portal that can all but break the universe! Tell me how many of them have done that! None, that's how many. You are worth so much, I wish you could see it." Daederath, who had been abandoned young herself, understood his pain and could sympathize. She didn't want to see him go through it alone and there was also the matter of the blood-chilling feeling that had started to crawl down her spine. It disappeared as she ranted at him and by the time she finished, it was completely gone.
He looked over his shoulder at her and she could see just a slim line of electric blue lining his sockets. "Thanks Dae, I needed that." He turned back to the door and made his way in, holding it open for her to pass. When they made it back into the living room they found Blaster sitting on the couch, arms folded and pouting. Nightmare couldn't help chuckling at the picture even as he remembered how Dae had said she had found him. Instead of picking on him though, he made an offer. "You want to see if we can get any further on this portal stuff?" he wended his way around the couch to sit in the armchair across from him.
"I added some of my own hypotheses in this book. Made copies of the prints I took with me as well." She tossed a leather bound notebook onto the table.
Before Nightmare could lean forward to look, Blaster had already picked it up and started looking through it. At first it looked like he was only skimming it to look busy, but by the second page he was obviously vested in it. He seemed to have figured out his fingers well enough to hold the book for now.
When Nightmare looked up, Daederath was already gone. The smell of food that quickly thickened the air told clearly of where she had gone. Smiling to himself, he got back to writing down the equations, theories, hypotheses, and blueprints as he remembered seeing them in the two worlds that had put together the portals.
They all took a break for breakfast when Daederath brought it out, and again a few hours later when Blaster made his way to the bathroom. He stumbled a few times, but the look on Dae's face had Nightmare drowning in his own laughter. After that, it took them until almost supper time to realize the passage of time. By that time they had all had a chance to look over everything and had a clear idea of how to replicate the portal. The only thing they couldn't figure out was how to predict where they would come out once it was open.
It took another two weeks to finish building it and running all the wires. Once they had it all put together, they just had to supply the power to it. There had been debate on whether or not they should try to use the power of the barrier to try to weaken the barrier along with powering the machine, but after providing the fact that they would then have to make their idea known to others before testing it and the fact that Nightmare was literally a byproduct of trying to circumvent the human magic, they decided to just go with their own magic mixed with science's electricity. After that it should, by theory, sustain itself. It was decided that Nightmare and Blaster would hit it simultaneously with their blasters to provide the amount of energy needed while Daederath turned on the generator. Dae was not happy about it since it involved Blaster blasting something and his track record preceded him, but Nightmare convinced her that it was the only way to get the right amount of energy simultaneously.
So it was, Blaster with his Blaster, which looked similar to himself now, Nightmare with his pitch black Blaster, and Dae, jaw agape beside the generator.
"Dae, snap out of it. Wake up!" yelled Nightmare, hoping to get through to her.
By now he had learned how to channel his fear inducing miasma, although he still couldn't keep it from affecting his surroundings and those around him when he got upset. Blaster had also learned to get around on his own. He still feared going out to the bar on his own though given his different appearance. He didn't want to have to give the explanation of another failure to the rest of the world. Daederath, for her part, had been the crucial part in getting them both to the point they were. She kept Nightmare's spirits up and encourages his experimenting with his abilities while supporting Blaster in his little successes.
Nightmare sent out a small tendril of his miasma to her, getting her attention. "You okay to go ahead with this Dae?" he retracted it once she turned to look at him, at first worried, then relieved.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I still can't believe that my Blaster has something that powerful at his disposal is all." She shook her head and reaffirmed her grip on the lever of the generator.
Nodding, Nightmare met Blaster's gaze and held up a hand, three fingers up in a count down.
Blaster suppressed a shiver as he met the mismatched dead white and electric blue eyes and nodded. He still felt off about the other, but couldn't deny that they had grown closer. He considered the other his friend. Narrowing his focus, he steadied the blaster poised above him and when the last finger dropped, he released the pent up energy at the spot they had agreed to. The sound before was completely silent, now he could feel the thrum in the marrow of his bones as electricity met massive amounts of magic. He held it for a count of three, then release it and dispelled his blaster. He couldn't believe his eyes when before him, through the dust, in the tunnel like structure they had built, a purple shimmering haze filled every gap. He could just see the form of his friend of the other side. He looked to his side where Daederath stood, covering her ear-fins.
Tentatively she removed a hand, then dropped them both when she realized it was silent once more. "Did it work?"
Grinning widely, both skeletons said in unison "Come and see!"
She walked around Nightmare's side and he got to watch as her eyes went wide. "This is so HUGE!" she did a fist pump and danced a few circles in place before grabbing Nightmare and spinning him a few times. Not wanting to leave out Blaster and without releasing Nightmare, she tried to run through the archway to grab him.
Blaster, seeing what was about to happen ran forward yelling to her to stop. They reached the center at the same time and as their hands passed through and touched each other's they found themselves, along with Nightmare in another universe. The snow was dark with Dust and the trees all blackened.
"Now what do we have here?" a gleeful manic voice that none of them recognized asked from behind them.