First meeting
Nightmare had passed out in an unknown Au after running away from Ink, and humans that worked for a lab found him passed out on the ground. Nightmare spent a very long in the lab and the entire time he was there, the scientists experimented on him, breaking him physically, and mentally. They tested his limits as much as they could. Drugging him, taking him apart, reassembling him, and forcing him to perform various tasks until he passed out was not uncommon for him. He would wake up at 6 in the morning exactly, and if he didn't the collar he wore would shock him awake. He would eat a small breakfast that consisted of a grey, unflavored slop that he hated with a passion, and after he finished the breakfast, he would be taken to an examination room where the scientist would check his vitals and magic levels before taking samples of bone, marrow, magic from any ecto he managed to summon, and negativity. After that was done, he would be given a list of things to do, whether it be chores, magic attack practice, soul manipulation practice, or various other battle methods. In his eyes, the scientists were training him. For what, he didn't know, but he didn't want to find out.
If he misbehaved in any way, he was either shocked, or he went without food that night, or the next day. He always wore a muzzle outside of mealtime, even during lights out. If he was caught with anything he wasn't given for an activity, he was shocked and put in solitude for the remainder of the day, and if he was caught picking at the cuffs that bound his hands, feet, neck, and tendrils, he was shocked. He was not allowed to have anything inside his containment area unless given permission by the head scientist, which was rare. The only time he was allowed to do what he wanted was right before lights out. He had one hour without his muzzle, and his feet and hands were unrestrained for that hour. He normally used this hour to read the few books he had in his room, but on rare occasions, he sang. When he was singing, and someone was passing by, they almost always stopped to listen, listening until there was nothing left to listen to.
He hated how he looked. The only time he ever had a chance to look at himself was in the examination room. The scientists had a large mirror that spanned the length of one of the walls and reached from the floor to the ceiling. He hated his appearance because it reminded him of what he has done to get there. His skull was broken, cracked. From his nasal cavity up, and to the left was completely gone. Torn apart by a monster's claws. The eyelight on that side was dead, leaving him half blind, but the negativity that dripped from him covered the hideous wound, so he could not see the gaping hole in his skull. He tended to try and swipe away the negativity, but at some point, he gave up on getting it off himself, and resigned to leaving it there.
Once, he had tried to escape, dashing towards the doors to the labs, only to drop as the collar on his neck began to shock him again. He never tried again after that, but he did try to attack the labs personnel as often as he could. Sometimes, he'd succeed, and the person he attacked would die, but the body was always taken away for study, and he would be locked up in solitude for a week. If he didn't succeed, he was shocked and locked up for two weeks.
One time, a natural disaster hit the lab. A hurricane. The lab's power supply was cut off, and the collar he wore didn't work, but he didn't know that. Regardless, he too the chance to attack and kill the head scientist, along with everyone else in the labs.
He had the chance to flee and took it, running far, far away, hoping to escape the lab, and he did. However, the scientists never liked when he used his magic, so he had a suppressor on that he could not remove without a special key based on one of the scientist's magic. No matter how hard he tried, and boy did he try, he couldn't get it off. He tried just about anything short of cleaving off his own skull, but it wouldn’t budge, so, with great sorrow and frustration, he wandered into a forest, leaning against a very large oak, and… He sang. He sang many, many, many songs deep into the night, but one in particular he unknowingly imbued with what little magic he had access to, letting a purple mist of magic escape his mouth.
“Come little children, I’ll take thee away. Into my land of enchantment.” The mist flowed from his mouth, traveling to and through the city, dancing through the streets, calling to those who have suffered just as much as he had, and it came to a halt at a skeleton who had passed out on the streets.
“Come little children, the time’s come to play. Here in my garden of shadows.” The mist woke him, making him grunt in pain as he clutched his side, but something about the magic enticed him, making him follow it as it moved further into the city.
“Follow sweet children, I’ll show thee the way. Through all the pain, and the sorrows.” As the mist flowed further and further into the city, it caught the attention of two more skeletons, beckoning them as well. They paid no mind to the other who followed the mist, and they stayed silent until it reached a building.
“Weep not poor children, for life is this way. Murdering beauty and passions.” Nightmare continued to sing, unknowing of what his magic was doing, simply happy to still have his voice. Not even the scientists could take that away from him.
“Hush now dear children, it must be this way. Too weary of life, and deceptions.” The mist had slowed when it reached the building and part of it branched off to reach towards a skeleton dressed in black and white with a bleeding red scar on his face. Enticing him, it went back to the other three before it branched off again, going inside the building.
“Rest now my children, for soon we’ll away. Into the calm and the quiet.” It flowed through a vent, flooding the building and putting the guards to sleep as it reached a dark cell that held no light, save a bright, glowing red target that was hidden in the corner.
“Come little children, I’ll take thee away. Into my land of enchantment.” The mist light up the room before beckoning the skeleton hidden and leading him out of the cell and building to meet the other four standing outside. His sockets widened as the mist began to speed away, making them all yelp in shock and give chase, not wanting to lose whatever had saved them.
“Come little children, the time’s come to play. Here in my garden of shadows.” They chased it all the way to the source, following it deep into the forest, and gasping as they came across a skeleton clad in a bloody white hospital dress that had a broken skull, much like one of them, and circlets on his head, with one floating above the other. He was singing softly, soothingly, and quietly as the moonlight reflected off him, making him look like an angel to all of them. Their breath hitched as they watched the mist return to him as he finished his song, sad to hear his voice leave their ears. The skeleton sighed heavily and opened his sockets, crying out in shock when he saw the skeletons that stood at the edge of the clearing he was in, backpedaling into the tree and yelping when his spine hit the hard bark.
“No! Please don’t be scared! We’re sorry if we startled you…” The black and white skeleton spoke quickly before noticing a few more details he hadn’t seen before. The skeleton’s eyelight on his left side, where his skull was broken, was gone, whereas the right one was entirely cyan, not matching the color of his magic. He also had cracks, scars, bruises, and cuts all over his body. It disturbed the skeleton greatly to see such an angel hurt, and he wanted nothing more than to hug him and whisper sweet nothings to him, telling him that it would be alright.
“Who are you five?! Where did you come from?! Why are you even here?!” The skeleton’s voice, though panicked, was beautiful to all of them, making them wish to hear more of his singing. His voice was so smooth and soft, loud but still quiet somehow.
“I… I’m… Dust… This is Red…” The hooded one spoke quietly, gesturing to the other one with the gold tooth, which prompted the others to speak as well. Dust backed way from Nightmare, not wanting to overwhelm him.
“Cross!... I’m Cross.” The black and white one yelped in shock when Dust backed up into him, knocking both over.
“…Horror.” The skeleton with a broken skull spoke slowly, piecing his name together like a puzzle.
“Killer… I must say, your magic is impressive… why are you so silent?” The last of the skeletons bowed slightly before noticing that the other wasn’t responding. He cocked his head to the side, looking at the other curiously. He waited for a response, but the one he got was not what he wanted to hear. Nightmare broke down into sobs, startling them as Cross tried to reassure him.
