#shattered reader

In hindsight, you should have seen this coming, really. Blue and Ink wanted desperately for Shattered to be "saved." The Crescents- especially Nightmare- wanted Shattered to go back to "normal." You and Shattered really should have expected that the two groups would eventually try working together, even if they were traditionally on opposite sides. A single, shared goal can be one hell of a unifying force, after all.

You should have seen it coming. Ink and Blue wouldn't keep just begging Shattered to let them help him forever, not when he kept refusing so violently. The Crescents couldn't stop Shattered on their own.

So... It made sense, that both sides would work together. It made sense that they would ambush you as one force (although their lack of cohesive ability to work together almost let you and Shattered escape). Ink almost grabbed you too, determined that you should "return to your own story," but you managed to escape that, at least.

You were lucky Shattered had given you a "portal device" already. Not really anything high tech, it was actually an enchanted necklace that would let you call upon his powers (technically) to make a portal wherever you needed to go. So you managed to escape Ink, making a few jumps to make yourself hard to find before going home.

Except... Shattered hadn't come with you. You'd failed at the task he made a deal with you for (the silent promise you'd made to him), to help watch his back. And to get him back, it would be you against... Lets see. Two godlike entities and their five mortals. You were still somewhat human, but becoming more and more like what was apparently the phoenix in your ancestry with every "treatment session."

Well then.

You watched quietly from the doorway while Nightmare trained. Ever since losing his corruption to his brother he'd been on edge, probably because he had lost his strongest weapon and his brother had gained said asset. Horror, Dust, Killer, and Cross hadn't left him and neither would you, but everyone was adjusting.

Thankfully Dream- well, Shattered- was quiet for now. He'd lost control for a while, although thankfully not nearly as long as Nightmare had at first, according to him. Still, everyone was recovering from injuries as well as the changes. Some of those injuries would leave permanent issues...

But back to Nightmare. He was training almost every day, having picked up a pair of kukri blades he was surprisingly skilled with. His movements were fluid and agile, and yet you noticed it in his eyes. He was anxious, probably felt more vulnerable without his tentacles to protect his back and blind side. After all, the corruption hadn't healed all injuries, and neither had losing it.

"Need a sparring partner?" You'd picked up surprisingly good control of your fire magic since joining Nightmare. And to think, at once it almost burned you alive from the inside out.

He looked at you, face relaxing slightly when he saw that it was you* entering the training room and not one of his men. "Sure. You'll be better dodging practice, and a moving target would help."

You chuckled, changing into more fire resistant clothes and wrapping your hands to protect them before stepping into the main part of the training area where Nightmare was waiting. You launched yourself at him immediately, hands already on fire.

He jumped out of the way, you trailing after him. Honestly, the lack of tentacles was a huge benefit to you, less dodging to worry about. You managed to get close, although he blocked your fire with his blades. (Another reason to wrap your hands, direct contact with Nightmare's weapon.)

You grabbed one of his blades with your hands, letting the intensity of your flames increase, making the handle hot and letting the flames lick his cheeks. He pushed back, undeterred, and attempted to push you out of the way.

You jumped back, pulling the blade still in your hands and Nightmare along with it. That managed to unbalance both of you, sending him tumbling into you and sending you both to the ground.

You were pinned under him, Nightmare momentarily too dazed to realize he had the upper hand. You were about to replicate a scene from one of Cross's animes-

When your pump started blaring, cgm trying to alert you to your blood sugar plummeting. You groaned, moment ruined. Nightmare helped you up so you could dismiss the alert (for five minutes at least.)

You grinned at him. "Aw and here I thought it was just your pretty face making my legs feel shaky."

Nightmare's face exploded in a bright purple blush as he shoved you towards your phone. "Just go take care of yourself already! And stop hanging out with Killer! He's a bad influence on you!"

Finding Shattered was harder than you'd hoped. To be fair, neither of you had many allies to lean on, which meant you had no real sources of information. Eventually though, you managed to slip into the Omega Timeline and piece some things together, although it took time (fortunately, your "treatment" left your appearance shifting often enough that it was hard for anyone to actually associate you with Shattered, although you were still cautious.)

From what you'd gathered, they had initially brought Shattered to some place of basically pure positivity (an AU maybe?) hoping that would blast away the corruption, you guessed. That worked absolutely horribly and had harmed Shattered badly instead (your SOUL ached just imagining how he might be hurting, and at how badly you'd already failed him.) They'd brought him back to wherever Nightmare usually stayed to keep an eye on him while they tried to figure out what to do next.

But... You had no idea where the Crescents' hideout even was. And no one else did, either. So you decided to try something you probably should have tried at the start (although in your defense, it hadn't occurred to you that it was even a possibility.)

Because... Your portal charm used Shattered's magic. Which meant it was tied to him, right? So it should be enough to use it to just reach for his magic-

- and pull yourself through. Stars that was weirder than normal. You felt like you were actually traveling through something for once, instead of just stepping through a doorway. That method seemed to push you out of a shadow in a hallway... Somewhere. Looking around, you were in some kind of castle, maybe. Probably. It did feel like something Nightmare might live in. (He looked kinda princely to you.) But Shattered was nowhere in sight. The charm had taken you this far, you decided to use it again to try to feel for him, hoping it would lead you in the right direction.

"You're not supposed to be here."

You turned around to find yourself face to face with Killer. When had he snuck up behind you so silently?! It wasn't long before the rest of the mortals were arriving as well- Dust, Horror, Cross, Blue.

You stared him down. "Im getting him out of here." They knew who you were. They knew who you meant.

Killer laughed. "I'd like to see you try."

You grinned. "Gladly."

Killer summoned his knife and ran at you, just as you encased yourself in flames. (They were almost an armor as much as they were a weapon. Over time they had started to look almost feathery as they encased your body.)

Of course, he wasn't your only enemy. You had to dodge attacks from Dust, Axe, everyone attacking you at once, really. It was a miracle to find a spot to simply avoid losing your head. And was no surprise when all the attacks broke through a few walls as you were chased through the castle (although you personally couldn't care less about the damages.)

You tried to focus on your task, tried to focus on feeling for Shattered as you ran. You hoped you were getting closer.

You figured you were probably on the right track when Nightmare himself appeared, twin blades at the ready.

"Im afraid I cant let you go any further."

"Make me."

You... Definitely weren't expecting Dream of all people to eat a corrupted apple. Slightly less unexpected was for him to grow his own goopy tentacles and go completely out of control. You all returned home with your tail in between your legs after that, and you had no idea what became of Blue or Ink after that fight.

Nightmare retreated to his room and locked himself inside. You and the rest of his men were left to tend to your wounds alone. You expected him to come out eventually but... He didn't. Days passed without even a sound to indicate he was even alive, and the aura he naturally exuded was getting weak.

Which is why you were breaking into his room now. You were totally prepared for yelling and scolding and maybe to be thrown out by his tentacles.

"Come on, it's just me," you said gently, trying to coax him out. "I saw some injuries on you, can you please let me take a look at them?"

What you weren't expecting is to find Nightmare so... Small. And fragile looking. That bashed in part of his skull reminded you a lot of Horror. He seemed determined to hide his current state from everyone, even you. You only caught a glimpse before he was out of sight again.

"I already treated any wounds," he said gruffly, facing away from you.

"Oh yeah? And when was the last time you changed any bandages? Over a day?"

"I've been keeping clean!"

"Then let me see."

He finally edged back into view. He looked shorter than you like this. The corruption must've given him a height boost somehow.

"So did the corruption transfer from you to Dream?"

"It would appear that that is what happened, yes." He refused to meet your eyes. "Do not tell Killer about this."

"He's going to find out eventually." You started changing his bandages, leaving his eye alone for now. "He lives here, and he's worried about you."

"I'll never hear the end of it, ending up like this. I look frail and weak, hardly fitting to appear to be a leader."

You needed healing, badly. The wound in your chest wasn't bleeding anymore, but it still looked bad. You had quite a few other injuries, but that one was the most deadly. He needed healing as well, but there wasn't anyone he could trust anymore for that. He could save you, at least.

He took you to Reli. He was sort of a doctor (he'd say scientist but it was the same thing, right?), and he knew your body better than anyone, with you going through his procedure to become a monster. So he'd be the best person to fix you, right?

Reli took one look at you and told him he owed him big time. Which was fair. This wasn't the same as essentially offering Reli a free test subject. This was asking him to heal you. Which he did, he didn't want to lose his test subject. It was rough for a while, not just because of your injuries but also trying to keep your blood sugars stable while you were unconscious. Probably easier than it would have been before the treatment started, you'd commented ages ago how much more stable your blood sugars have been.

You did so much, for his sake. There was nothing stopping you from just going home, finishing up the procedure with Reli to become a monster, and living your life without him. He would have been powerless to stop you.

But. You stayed. Even knowing what he was, what he'd done in his life, you still fought to save him and bring him back home. He... He was still trying to process how he felt about that. Maybe he'd figure out what he felt before you woke up. Hopefully.

"it's incredible how much a monster they already are," Reli commented. "Their phoenix fire is honestly what even kept them alive through all of this. I think it's probably time to discuss their final procedure to make them fully a monster, once they're recovered."

Once you were fully a monster, you would no longer be a diabetic. Your deal with Shattered would be complete. Would you leave him then?

The thought of losing you now, after everything, felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped on him. He... He couldn't take it, if you left him.

You were worried about Shattered. He wouldn't tell you why he was sobbing when you woke up, and probably wouldn't. You were recovering well, thankfully, Reli mentioned something about "phoenix fire" and you being almost ready for the final procedure. Meanwhile Shattered lurked around quietly like a shadow.

"We should get out and go somewhere," you said one afternoon. "I'm going to go crazy cooped up much longer. Reli just said to take it easy, so we'll do something not too strenuous. Go find a neutral au or something." Which was partially for your own sanity and partially because Shattered needed to try and relax.

He looked like he was going to argue with you for a moment, but he relented without much of a fight. "Sure. Let's go to Outertale, it's pretty open to everyone."

You nodded. "Sure! Let me get ready and we can go!"

Could you consider this a date? Did you technically ask him on a date? Neither of you called it that. Eh, best not to think too hard on it right now. You got changed and went with Shattered to enjoy an evening in Outertale.

He seemed a bit calmer now, but thoughtful and quiet. The two of you spent time getting food and drinks in town before he finally spoke up.

"So... Reli says you're about ready for your final procedure to fully become a monster."

You nodded. He'd mentioned that, along with lots of ranting about how you having "phoenix fire" already was incredible.

"When... When our deal is done, where do you want to go? Back home? I'm sure Reli's AU could be a good place to live if you don't want to go back."

"Do I have to leave you? I thought our deal specified I would stay with you until I became a monster, but never said I had to leave."

"Please don't make this harder on me."

"Don't make what harder on you?"

"You're going to leave me eventually! Either by death or on your own! So let's just make this easy on us both and-"

You interrupted him by grabbing his hands and looking into his eyes. "I should've said this a long time ago. Shattered, I love you. I love all of you, all that you are. Please let me stay by your side until this soul of mins gives out and turns to dust."

He started crying at that, and at first you thought maybe you messed up somehow. But then he pulled you close and kissed you.

He almost lost you. You went up against his brother, alone, and you almost died. You were recovered now, mostly- he and Reli were just waiting for you to wake up- but you still almost died. You had burst into the room with your fire blazing brighter than he'd ever seen, the blood dripping out of your chest almost glowing like monster magic instead of human blood.

He could have lost you. You, who came to save him when you didn't have to. When you could have left him and lived your life. You, whom he was starting to realize he loved.

But you were going to die eventually, right? If not now, then in the future. You'd be a blip in his painfully long lifespan. You would- your deal was almost complete. You'd soon leave him regardless, and he'd be right back where he started, painfully alone and with everyone out to get him.

He- he should have just let you die. If you were going to leave him anyways, it should have been now instead of-

No. No he couldn't think like that. He didn't want you to die!

"Shattered?"

He startled, hearing your voice. He hadn't even realized the state he was in- sobbing silently, an absolute mess- until you called out his name. You were already trying to push yourself up, trying to sit up when you had been asleep for days and still recovering.

"Shattered, what's wrong?"

Without even thinking about it, he rushed to you, hugging you as tightly as possible. You still weren't sure what was wrong, but you comforted him anyways. (Stars, your chest ached.)