I do not own the Despicable Me franchise.

Minion Nightmares

"AAGGHH!"

Jolted from his sleep by the scream, Gru tumbled out of his covers and hit the wooden floor running. He ran blindly down the hallway and stumbled into the girls' room. "What's de matter?" he asked frantically, trying to clear the haze from his vision.

"It's not us."

"What?"

"It's not us," Margo repeated.

His mind slowly started to wake up and his vision cleared. Gru blinked and stared at his daughters, who were staring at him with expressions of worry on their tired faces. The screaming continued, now sounding much farther than Gru had initially thought.

The source of the screaming hit him with force. "Eet's de minions," he said in a rush, backtracking for the door. "Go back to sleep. I will take care of dis."

Margo gave a nod, knowing that Gru would take care of the problem and let them know if anything was seriously wrong with her cousins. "Come on guys, back to sleep."

"But what if something is really wrong?" Agnes asked, hugging Kyle tightly.

"Then Gru will come and get us so we can help," Margo assured her little sister. "Got it Edith?"

Edith paused at the end of her bed, turning to give Margo a look of annoyance. "I'm not tired."

"You look ready to drop." Margo rolled her eyes. "And you heard Gru. We have to go back to bed."

Reluctant, Edith crawled back under her covers and rested her head against her pillow. "If I miss a fight with a ninja, you're all going to feel my wrath."

…

Gru sprinted down the stairs, his bare feet sliding on the wood. His fist slammed the red button that activated the transport tube and he jumped in, his heart pounding. For the first time in his life, it seemed that the elevator leading to the lab was not quick enough.

He reached his underground lab and raced all the way to the sleeping chambers, where the screaming got louder and louder. Gru met Nefario at the entrance, the elderly man also investigating the source of the noise.

"What's going on?" Nefario hollered to be heard over the cacophony of screams.

"I don't know!" Gru hollered back. He hurried into the chambers, where he discovered most of his minions wailing uncontrollably. Placing two fingers between his lips, Gru let out a sharp whistle, a command he often used to bring about silence.

It worked. The minions quickly stopped their wailing and settled for sniffling as they turned to their master.

"I am goeeng to take a guess and say dat yoo all are haveeng bad dreams," Gru said softly, seeing the troubled looks on their faces.

The minions nodded, peering over the edges of their bunks and staring at him with sad eyes. Gru slowly walked down the long hallway, letting his gaze run over every yellow creature. "I know yoo have all been through a horrible experience. Yoo were forced to do t'ings yoo didn't want to do. But I am goeeng to tell yoo somet'ing right now-eet ees not your fault. Yoo have notheeng to be ashamed about."

His voice carried down the hallway, allowing every minion to hear what he was saying. "I am not angry with yoo. I am not disappointed een yoo. Eef anyt'ing, I am at fault."

Cries of protest rang out and Gru had to whistle again to regain order. When they settled down he continued. "I did not put attention to de fact dat I could not find most of yoo when I needed yoo. I brushed eet off, t'inking yoo had chosen to take vacation days to get away from all de jelly makeeng and testeeng."

A few smiles were cracked at this.

"But dat was not de case. Yoo were een trouble. And I did not come until eet was too late."

"Ton oot etal!" Radcliffe exclaimed, hanging out of his third-level bunk to stare earnestly at his boss. "Uoy devas su lla ni emit!"

His brothers chimed in their agreements. Gru felt his heart swell, from affection and guilt. Affection because he knew no matter what he did he would forever be the apple in their eyes. Guilt because he knew he had some bad news to break.

"Boss!" Tim called from his fifth level bunk. "Evah uoy nees Mark? S'eh ton wnod ereh. Si eh sriatspu?"

Closing his eyes, Gru swallowed thickly. "I am afraid I have some bad news," he said. "Mark is missing."

A stunned silence fell over the chamber. Horrified expressions descended on the faces of the minions Gru passed and as he continued his walk down the chamber he knew not one expression would be of indifference. It didn't matter that there were thousands of them. Sure, some minions had their groups of close companions but they all knew each other. They were a close-knit species, they had to be, in order to survive the abuse taken in their early lives.

It killed Gru to see the devastation, to hear the fresh sobs of Tim and Phil, who were Mark's closest friends and siblings.

"I am sorry," Gru whispered. "I promise I will never stop lookeeng for him. But I want yoo all to know somet'ing- not'ing yoo did was your fault. I want yoo to really remember dat. Do not feel sad. Do not feel ashamed. And please don't feel de need to leave. Dat ees de last t'ing I want."

Someone tugged on his flannel pajama leg and Gru glanced down. A teary-eyed Bob pointed up and Gru followed his finger. On the fourth level bunk across from them, there was no head peeking down like there was for all the rest. Gru squinted at the nametag mounted beside the bed and frowned. Kevin was not one to keep himself isolated.

And then he recalled what Margo said to him as they boarded Nefario's airship to get home.

"Oh, Gru, before I forget, I just want to let you know that the cousins' recreation room is a bit of a mess."

At first, Gru had been too amused at how his girls often switched between referring to the yellow creatures as minions or cousins. But then he processed what she had said.

"What do yoo mean?"

"Well, the roof kinda caved in."

"What?!"

"Oh, we weren't hurt. It's just that Kevin was under the effects of the mutagen and tried to attack us. I think he tore up the spare room floor to get to us, since it is right above the recreation room."

"Great. My insurance will go through de roof."

Understanding washed over Gru and he climbed the steel ladder that was located near every set of bunks. He reached the fourth one and gazed at Kevin, who was curled under his covers. "Kevin?" Gru prodded gently.

Kevin did not respond.

"Come on, Kevin. Don't be like dis."

A long silence passed. Finally, Kevin whispered, "I tsomla truh meht."

"Yoo didn't mean eet," Gru said softly. "And dey are fine."

"Tub I dluoc evah dellik meht."

"Yoo didn't. And yoo know what? I t'ink, eef Dr. Nefario didn't eenterfere, yoo wouldn't have done eet."

Kevin twisted over and peeked at Gru, his eyes shining. "Yllaer?"

"Yes. Killing eesn't een your heart. I don't t'ink any mutagen on de planet can change dat."

When Kevin still looked uncertain, Gru added, "Eef yoo want, yoo can go apologize to de gurls eef eet will make yoo feel better. I am sure dey are still up."

Kevin thought this over. "Yako."

Gru climbed down with Kevin following behind. Kevin scampered down the corridor and just before he went out the doors, he turned around and hollered, "Evol uoy, Boss!"

And he rushed away, slightly uncertain of the reaction he would get to his bold statement.

Gru gripped the ladder as his emotions ran wild. It was the first time any of his minions declared such a thing and he realized that he was not as caught off guard as he should have been.

From the beginning the adorable cretins had claimed his rarely-given affection…and love.

A soft smile crossed his face as the other minions, emboldened by Kevin's act of courage, echoed the sentiment. Gru walked calmly down the hallway, reached the doors, turned around and said, "I love yoo all too."

Nefario gently shut the doors behind Gru. "That was one heck of a speech, my boy."

"I t'ink we all needed eet," Gru admitted. "Now eef yoo'll excuse me, I am exhausted."

"No need to tell me. You deserve a long, peaceful sleep."

The ex-villain nodded and headed back to his house. Before going to his room he peeked into the girls' room to see how things were going.

One look told him that everything went well. Edith and Agnes had gathered on Margo's bed, Kyle in Agnes' lap and Kevin snuggled in between Margo and Edith. The blankets were draped over them and they seemed to be sleeping fitfully.

Gru stepped back and retreated to his own room, his mind replaying the events that occurred over the past few days.

No other villain had understood his attachment to the minions. They didn't understand why he cared about every single one when they were carbon copies of each other.

Gru strongly disagreed with that.

Each minion had his own personality, likes, dislikes and hobbies. They were sentient creatures, not as stupid as the villain community believed.

They couldn't fathom why the once cold and ruthless Gru considered the yellow creatures to be family.

Dr. Nefario understood, shared his sentiments. The girls loved their cousins to death. And Lucy herself said that they were irresistible and held their well-being over that of Antonio, a parentless thirteen-year-old boy who probably still had no idea as to what happened to his father. Even Marlena took some time from her visits to go into the lab and visit with the cheerful workers.

If no one else understood his affection for the yellow creatures who were unfalteringly loyal, then so be it. They didn't need to understand.

Those he cared about did.

And that was all that mattered.