#implied dreammare

When Venus had just needed to try to evade their father, it had been easier. They had been searching for weeks, trying to find Saturn, worried that their beloved younger sibling has been caught by the corrupted version of they’re loving parent. They hadn’t dared to go back to the dead remains of the tree, which had once been their wonderful home for as long as they could remember… Where currently stood their dad, Dream, turned to stone, a horrified expression on his face.

They did not dare attempt to enter any of the cities or settlements that they hid in the forest that surrounded them. Dennis did not know how many other survivors is of their world there were it, but as Nightmare hadn’t been drawn to their pain and fear, they could only assume that there were more than just themself, Saturn, and Nightmare left. They didn’t trust that any survivors wouldn’t turn them in to Nightmare - as they knew that he was trying to hunt them down.

They didn’t know why their father was chasing them, but they didn’t want to find out. They didn’t want to die - or worse yet, end up like papa, a terrified statue for all eternity. Venus was determined to find their younger sibling, Saturn. Both of their dads had said that other universes existed - so perhaps together the two of them might be able to figure out how to leave this desolate place, to find a cure for the stone-curse that had been laid on their dad…

Venus frowns as they thought that they sensed a familiar presence. They teleport behind the nearest tree, hiding a little as they see… Saturn, looking a bit worse for wear and definitely afraid. “Saturn!” They call out, rushing towards their younger sibling and hugging them tightly.

“I-Ack! V-Venus! Oh thank the stars you’re okay! I… I thought… I thought that you might have gotten captured or… Or worse.” Saturn mumbled, shaking a little bit as they hugged their older sibling back, doing their best to suppress the darker emotions that they’d been trying to deny for… Since the sky had turned red, and the grass and plants had died.

“I was worried about you as well, Sat. As soon as I got my head together, I started to look for you.” A small smile appeared on their face as they leaned into their face as they continued to hug Saturn tightly, having no intention of letting go any time soon.

“.. I was trying to find you, too, Ven…” Saturn admitted quietly, hiding their face in their older sibling’s shirt, shaking a little bit as they tried to put their feelings into words. “I… I miss papa and dad.”

“I do too.” Venus admitted quietly, hugging the other closer “I… Do you want to go visit dad? I… I mean we probably shouldn’t - father’ll have those weird shadow-guards in the village and we’d probably have to teleport in, see him for a bit and then teleport back out again… But…”

“… I really miss dad. D-Do you know why papa… Became what he is now?” Saturn asked quietly, shaking a little. He’d only seen Nightmare eat the apples and turn into the corrupted monstrosity that he was now.

“I… I was with dad, bringing groceries back to the tree… As soon as he saw the mob of villagers he made me teleport deeper into the forest. It was only when I felt the shift and heard the screaming I tried to run closer but dad teleported over to me and told me to run before going back and I…” Venus hugged their younger sibling closer, shaking a little.

“Oh… I-I saw him eat the apples and dad told me to run as far as I could so I… I did… Do you think we might have been able to calm papa down, if we’d have been there with dad?” Saturn asked - a guilty thought that had weighed heavily on their soul.

“I… I don’t know. But dad wanted us far away from what was probably going to be a really ugly fight for a reason, Saturn…” Venus pointed out quietly.

“… You’re right… And I… I want to see dad’s statue too.” the younger spirit decided with a nod.

Venus nodded silently and with a shaky breath, the two of them teleported over to the barren and desolate remains of what was once their beautiful home. Dad’s statue was a grey figure amongst a flat, black and red landscape, standing out prominently.

With a shaky breath, Venus and Saturn carefully went over to their dad, tears gathering in their eye sockets as both of the young emotive spirits tried not to break down completely. Saturn hesitated for a moment before rushing to where Dream stood, hugging him around the middle and breaking down into tears “Dad! Dad please come back! W-we miss you so much! We love you and… And it’s so a-awful without you and papa.”

Venus glanced around - they didn’t see or sense anyone around them and rushed over to their younger sibling and hugged them and the statue of their dead, tears running down their face as they murmured “Dad… We love you. We love you so much… Please come back to us… I… I have to hope that you’re still alive, just… Stuck inside there somewhere.”

The two of them cried against their dad’s statue until they had no energy left. Saturn stirred a little, wiping their eye sockets with the back of their hands and sniffled “We… We should probably get going…”

“Yes, you should. Come to your new home with me, both of you.” The warped and twisted voice of their father spoke from directly behind the two of them, causing both of the teens to yelp and scramble backwards, Saturn flailing a little as they nearly fell over. One of Nightmare’s tentacles grabbed Saturn and put them back on their feet, the appendage moving too quickly for either of them to follow.

“Aaah! P-Papa!” Venus yelped, taking a couple of steps forwards, shifting a little bit so that they were standing in front of Saturn and the statue of their dad, shifting into a defensive stance. They knew that they didn’t stand a chance against him - but maybe they could buy Saturn enough time to run away. They were afraid, but they were stubbornly determined to protect their younger sibling.

“Easy, Venus… It’s alright… Papa’s here… I can only imagine the hardships that the two of you have gone through… I’ve been frantically searching for the two of you for months. I… I’m glad to see that you’re both in one piece and whole, if not happy yet.” Nightmare murmured. His emotional aura was filled with… With concern and parental love.

No! That… That wasn’t fair… Venus was trying to figure out what to do, when Saturn peered at Nightmare from around their older sibling, shaking a little “… Papa?” Their voice was small and hopeful “… I’ve missed you…”

“I’ve missed you too, Saturn. I’ve missed both of you  I love you very much.” Nightmare murmured, and both of them could feel the truth of the other’s statement.

The two of them were wary but… Hopeful. Saturn hesitated for a moment before darting around their older sibling and rushing to Nightmare, hugging the taller being around the middle, burying their face into his chest, sobbing quietly. “P-Papa!”

“Shhh… It’s okay… It’s okay… I love you very much.”  Nightmare soothed, gently petting the top of the other’s skull with one of his tentacles, hugging the other back tightly, rocking them back and forth “Shhh… It’s going to be okay, Saturn. Papa’s here… I’ve had built a fancy new home, where you and Venus could live with me, if you… If you want to? I’ve missed you both so terribly…”

Saturn cried a little bit harder as he clung more tightly to their papa, nodding a little and answered softly “I… I… O-Okay, papa. I want to live with you again…”

Nightmare hummed and nodded in response, smiling a little as happiness started to fill his aura “I’m so happy to hear that, Saturn… Venus…? Do you want to stay with us?”