Chapter Text
Sci sat slumped in his chair with his feet propped up on the cluttered desk in front of him as he looked over various reports. So much data, so little time. Which was kinda ironic, considering his AU was known as TimeTale. Still, it was nothing three all-nighters and seven coffee pots (coffee mugs are for the weak) couldn’t fix. He paused his reading to chug down his eighth one despite the lukewarm temperature. Caffeine was caffeine. Setting down the empty pot, he sighed and started skimming through his notes again. But a sudden chill stopped him. He peered over the rim of his glasses at the darkest corner of the poorly lit room.
“Hello Nightmare. You’re early,” Sci said, nonchalantly throwing the papers onto a teetering stack.
He watched as the darkness suddenly swirled and funneled like one of Sans' self-sustaining trash tornados before taking on the shape of Sans himself. Only goopier. And with several tentacles protruding from his back. This strange but not unfamiliar visitor rolled his cyan eyelight at the unphased skeleton.
“Why do you feel the need to do that?” he said in a deep, throaty voice.
Sci shrugged, taking off his glasses and smudging the lens with the corner of his lab coat.
“Why do you feel the need to make a dramatic entrance all the time?”
Nightmare narrowed his eye as he marched across the room. “I’m not in the mood for pointless chit chat today, Sci. You know why I’m here, so let’s get straight to the point. Is it ready now or not?”
Sci met Nightmare’s annoyed glare with an indifferent look of his own. ”Alright, alright, don’t get your tentacles in a knot. It’s ready.”
He got up, leaving Nightmare to loom over his desk as he sauntered over to the fridge across the room. Reaching past the mist that hissed out at him, he carefully grabbed the vial out of it’s tray. He turned around, not even so much as flinching when he saw Nightmare standing directly behind him.
“Here ya go,” he drawled, holding out the corked beaker.
Nightmare kept his hands tucked inside his pockets, directing a tentacle to take the vial instead. He held the fizzy liquid a safe distance from his face as he studied it. It was an unassuming white color he found hard to take seriously. He turned his attention back to the scientist, only to see said skeleton had already returned back to his desk chair.
“Are you sure this will do the job? It doesn’t look like much,” Nightmare scoffed.
Sci shrugged again. “That’s because it won’t take much. A couple ounces should do the job.”
“You had better hope it does,” he said, frowning. “Dream’s magic is powerful- almost as powerful as mine. Just one miscalculation on your part could screw everything up.”
The other waved a hand dismissively. “Don’t worry, I was very precise. As soon as he drinks it, he’ll be as harmless and helpless as a baby bones.”
“Hmph. If you say so. Just remember, a potion like this is the only thing keeping your AU from being destroyed” Nightmare said casually.
Sci chuckled humorlessly. “Trust me, if anyone knows how useful I am, it’s myself.”
Nightmare continued to eye the skeleton warily. As the master of negative emotions, he could feel any ill intent radiating off a monster. But when it came to Sci, well, it was hard to judge someone who was pretty much an emotionless husk at this point. He didn’t exactly trust him, but even he could admit the neutral scientist was an invaluable resource. Unfortunately, this caused the majority of his threats to fall flat- just another reason why Nightmare couldn’t stand him.
But after taking another look at the vial, he felt his irritation subside a little. If Sci really did hold up his end of their little business arrangement, then one of Nightmare’s biggest problems was about to become so much smaller. He smirked, feeling his mood improve as he imagined the soon-to-be weak and helpless Dream begging him for MERCY. Oh yes, this was all going to be worth it in the end.
Gripping the vial, he glanced back at Sci. “I’ll see myself out then.”
Sci half-heartedly waved, not looking up from the papers he was flipping through. “Yeah, sure. Tell the boys I said ‘hi’.”
Nightmare huffed in response. Of all the monsters in the multiverse, Sci just had to be the only one outside of their gang who knew about Nightmare’s bond with the four of them. All thanks to that freak accident that required the scientist’s assistance and led him to finding out. Nightmare would’ve dusted him on the spot if he wasn’t more useful to him alive.
After all, he couldn’t have everyone finding out that the leader of the Dark Sanses was more than just a leader to them. How was he supposed to spread mayhem and despair if everyone thought he was a big ole’ softie underneath his tar-like goop? But Sci had proven himself valuable in more ways than one by keeping Nightmare’s little secret to himself.
Sure, he knew it was still a risk, but so far every risk that Nightmare had taken with the scientist had paid off. And if the potion worked like Sci said it would, then this would be his biggest pay off yet. So while Nightmare was naturally a bit skeptic, he couldn’t help feeling confident his plan would succeed, especially now that he had what he needed to accomplish his goal. He chuckled darkly to himself as he slipped through an inky portal into his office.
When Nightmare emerged on the other side, he found two other skeletons were already waiting for him. Killer was busy pacing the rut in the floor between Nightmare’s desk and the fireplace, while Cross hung limply over the back of the reading chair. That is, until he spotted Nightmare coming through the portal. Cross instantly scrambled over the chair and bounded over to him, his mismatched eyelight’s zeroed in on the vial.
Killer calmly walked over and joined him, crossing his arms. “You were quick," he said dryly.
“That’s the potion?” Cross asked, lifting a hand towards it.
“Yes. Don’t touch it,” he said firmly, retracting the tendril away and holding the vial above his grabby hands. He didn’t even want to think about the headache he’d have trying to bargain again with Sci for a replacement.
Cross let his arms fall but kept staring at it. “Why is there so little? That’s not even enough to suppress my magic!”
Killer snorted. “How would you know? You’re not a scientist.”
“Uh, because I have two working eyelights?” retorted Cross, tugging on his zygomatic bone.
“Sci said it will do the job,” Nightmare interjected quickly. “Since he’s the one who made it, I’m sure he knows how much Dream needs. Besides, he wouldn’t dare backstab us like that.”
Both skeletons hummed and nodded in agreement.
“So now what?” Killer asked.
Nightmare grinned sharply and grabbed the vial from his tentacle, eyeing the liquid as he swirled it around.
“Now it’s time for the final phase. Cross, go find Horror and Dust and tell them to get ready to go. I want to leave as soon as possible.”
“You got it!” Cross saluted, before running for the door.
“Oh, and Cross . . .” Nightmare called out, causing the monochrome skeleton to stop and face him.
“ . . .tell them Sci said ‘hi’.”