Daemons
Chapter 12

“You want me to be what?”

“My wingman, I need you to tag along with me.”

“Fuck dude, do you seriously need a wingman?” Horror complained, lounging lazily along one of the many couches in the mansion while sharpening his axe. He glared up at Error, who merely sent a similar look back. “I mean you’ve already found your soulmate, hell you were the first one out of all of us! It’s not like you really need help getting into Kiki’s pants.”

“First of all, don’t call him that.” While the others had all heard the pet name thrown around several times through the many phone calls shared between the two lovebirds, according to Error he was the only one allowed to call his little artist that. “Second of all, I’m not trying to get into his pants, why is it you automatically jump to sex? And third, this was a request from Ink. Apparently a friend of his that admittedly helped us out a lot has had a bad string of relationships and failed dates. So I got asked to bring someone along tonight in the hopes that maybe his friend might take interest.”

The snake daemon stared at his brother for the longest time before huffing and getting up. He then proceeded to simply walk away with his axe thrown over his shoulder. “Hey, where the hell do you think you’re going?!”

“Away. My hope is that if I walk away from you long enough you’ll leave me out of your stupid plans for tonight and bug someone else.” No way was he going to waste a night that he could spend searching for his soulmate on whatever the hell the spider daemon was trying to drag him to. At least that was the plan until he felt a quick tug on his arm before his axe was pulled from his grip. That caused him to furiously whip around, scowling at Error who was currently retracting the strings wrapped around the weapon. “Get your hands off of Bertha!” Horror shouted as he lunged at the glitchy skeleton, only to become entangled in a web of blue strings.

The chuckle coming from his brother only served to piss him off more as he watched his beloved axe be toyed with. “Wow, from the way you react when anyone touches this thing, you’d think this was your soulmate,” he teased, dangling the axe mockingly just in front of Horror. The snake daemon, replaceing his arms and legs too restricted to reach for it, started straining his neck to try to bite it and grab hold. When that proved ineffective, he felt his legs already starting to fuse together as he started to transform. Error must’ve caught onto the subtle changes through his strings, smirking devilishly as he brought the axe back into his grip. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” A second set of arms appeared from underneath his coat, gripping the handle of the axe as if threatening to break it.

The snake’s eyes went wide and his movements immediately stilled, a small whimper coming from him as his brother threatened to break his trusty weapon. Error’s smirk merely grew at the docile behavior. “Good boy. Now, here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to keep your axe for the night, you won’t be needing it anyways where we’re going. You’re going to head upstairs and make yourself look presentable, and you’re going to come with me. I don’t care if you have absolutely zero interest in Ink’s friend, but I promised him I would try and you’re the only one I could bring. If you behave yourself tonight, then I’ll give you the axe back when we get home, deal?”

“Why me?” Was the only complaint coming out of the other skeleton’s mouth, his body slumping in defeat before he nodded his head.

“Because, like I said, you’re my only option. Dust, Fell, and Killer all have their own soulmates, so Ink would get upset with me if I brought someone who already had a boyfriend for his friend to meet. Reaper’s already bailed to spend the night chasing busses, and I’m not gonna even try convincing Nightmare to make a public appearance. Don’t know how he plans to ever replace his soulmate by hiding in the mansion all the time, but not really my concern at the moment.” Horror felt the strings tying him up slowly begin to loosen and unravel, eventually being set back on his feet. The snake sent his precious weapon a longing look, almost looking to Error with puppy dog eyes. The spider’s reaction was to merely scoff. “Oh please, you seriously think after all the times I’ve put up with Dust’s shit that ‘the look’ will work on me? Like I said, you’ll get Bertha back after we get home.”

“Fine,” Horror groaned, adjusting his shirt now that he was free. “Please tell me we’re at least going to a bar or something I can stand.”

“It’s a dance performance.”

“Oh for fucks sake dude! Do I look like the kind of guy with even the remotest interest in fucking ballet?!”

“You look like a guy desperate to get his axe back. Look, I don’t give a damn if you even watch the performance, but his friend is one of the lead dancers and Ink already got me two tickets for this thing. So you’re going, end of story. Be down here ready to go in an hour, and if you either try to sabotage this or are late I won’t hesitate to break the damn axe.” Horror watched his brother wander off to get ready, grumbling as he stormed off to his own room.

Living in the mansion had come with some serious perks he’d never had the privilege of having before; things like his own space, a bed, more than one outfit, and food every day. Some of these items he’d gotten tastes of when he joined up with Nightmare and the gang, but he’d never had so much at his disposal before. Going hungry was definitely not going to be something he ever missed.

Rifling through the few sets of clothes he had, he tried to pick out the nicest ones, aka the ones with the least amount of stains, so that Error would have absolutely no reason to snap his axe. His blue hoodie and pretty much everything else he’d been wearing before arriving at the city had been scrapped due to poor condition and blood stains, but he honestly didn’t care. The guys had thought it would be funny to get him a bunch of plaid so that he’d look like some lumberjack with his axe, so that was all he’d been given for shirts. The surprise to them all was that he actually ended up liking the plaid, getting worn jeans and boots to go with it. He was particularly proud of the jean jacket he’d found in some thrift shop that completed the look, at least in his opinion. Dust could keep the damn blue hoodie, he was happy with his new look.

The next step was one that he absolutely hated, but unfortunately had to do any time he went outside. Giant holes in heads weren’t normal, not even by skeleton standards. He’d trying going out the one time without anything covering it, only to send the first person that saw him running in fear and screaming for the police to get the ‘psycho’. Next time he’d tried putting a random ball cap on, only for a gust of wind to knock it off and the above scenario to repeat. So now he had to bandage and tape his skull to cover the hole because the sensitive fucking humans would freak out and call the cops on him otherwise. The cap still went on to cover the bandages, as he’d gotten sick and tired of people asking him if he was alright or needed to go to the hospital. It might’ve not been very windy out earlier, but he wasn’t taking any chances with Bertha on the line. “Leave it to the damn spider to hold my axe hostage,” Horror grumbled as he started wrapping his head, having gotten used to it after the number of times he’d done it and no longer needing a mirror for anything other than final taping to ensure nothing came loose.

When the top of his skull was sufficiently mummified, Horror put the black baseball cap on to cover the bandages, replaceing the contrast enough that any of the white fabric that could be seen would blend in with his skull and not draw attention. Stepping out, the snake realized he still had some time before he had to be ready, so he found his feet taking him to the kitchen to look for a snack or two... or three. His brothers would often make fun of his typically voracious appetite, but he couldn’t help it. After going so long without food in the past, having it available in excess often led to kitchen raids that left the room in a state of chaos. At least as a skeleton he wouldn’t ever gain weight, so he was free to enjoy the food in that respect.

In hindsight, going to the kitchen was a mistake, highlighting the reason why he wasn’t supposed to be left alone in this particular room of the house. The daemon completely lost track of time, and eventually lost his pants and shoes in favor of slithering around where he could more easily reach the top shelves in search of goodies. The room was already a disaster, discarded cookie boxes and other food packaging thrown on counters and floor alike. As the time to meet Error came and went, Horror continued to pull random things out of cupboards and shovel part of it into his mouth before throwing the rest of the box aside in favor of something else. After getting yelled at for finishing off the last of an item too many times, he’d developed the habit of making sure there was always enough left over for someone else to enjoy, even if it only prolonged his time in the kitchen and made the mess worse.

“What the fuck?! Horror!” Said skeleton heard the furious cry come from behind, turning around with a couple crackers sticking out of his mouth to see Error seething at the chaotic scene before him. His brother was all ready to go from the looks of it, wearing a different coat and pants that were less stitched together, limiting the hobo look he always seemed to be going for. The snake however was more concerned with the two crackers in his mouth, pulling them inside to be chewed while his hand slowly slipping into the box to pull more out while he never broke eye contact with his brother. As two more crackers slipped out of the box, it seemed to only anger Error more. “Put the damn box down!” He shouted, strings coming from his fingertips to wrestle with him if it came to that. “Drop it! Drop it or I’ll bring Bertha into this mess!” The box immediately fell from his grip and landed on the floor, a couple of the crackers falling out before Horror quickly shoved the ones in his hand into his mouth. “Oh my god, Night’s gonna blame me for this!” The glitchy skeleton whined, hanging his head in his hands and groaning at the state of destruction.

While he felt a bit of guilt for causing the mess, Horror’s thoughts were more focused on food right now. Pulling his head out of his hands, Error must’ve seen where Horror’s good eye was focused because he quickly crossed the kitchen floor and grabbed hold of the snake’s wrist, dragging him out of the kitchen while his strings gathered up the discarded articles of clothing that had thankfully been tossed aside far from the carnage and had been spared from most of the mess. Error practically threw his brother into the nearby guest bathroom on the ground floor. “Five minutes is all you’ve got. Change forms and get your freaking pants back on while I hunt down someone to deal with this mess.”

As the door slammed shut and the spider daemon stormed off, Horror sighed and started changing back to his monster form, already missing how powerful his snakelike lower half always made him feel. Within the allotted time he’d managed to get his pants and boots back on, brushing off any crumbs and trying to remove any stains on his jacket and shirt with the time he had left. Once he was as presentable as he was going to get he placed his hat back on his head and stepped out, Error already leaning on a nearby wall and ready to go. “Great, you’re ready. Let’s get out of here before Dust manages to replace a way out of his new job and we’re stuck with the blame.”

“Wait, you got Dust to clean up the kitchen? Willingly, bribery, or blackmail?” It was honestly hard to tell with Error, and the lack of answer he received simply left him guessing. Though the evil chuckle he gave off implied it was the last one, which made sense as he seriously doubted that the monkey would ever willingly volunteer for chores of any kind. A glance over his shoulder revealed their youngest brother already grumbling to himself with a broom in hand and a tail picking up discarded boxes to set on the counter. When Dust looked back, all it took was one look from Error for the younger skeleton to pick up his pace and get back to work, further cementing the blackmail idea. “What the hell did you do to him in five minutes?”

“Turns out Ink is friends with his soulmate Blue. All it took was me pointing that out to him and how it would be so easy to pay his little soulmate a visit and he was quick to grab the broom.”

“Dude, threatening a soulmate? That’s low, even for you.”

Error shot him a look of mock surprise, clearly meant to be seen through. “Oh, but I said nothing of the sort! I merely pointed out how my soulmate could help me replace his if the need ever arose, I never once threatened the little Blueberry.”

“For you, knowing where to replace someone is enough of a threat,” he pointed out. Honestly, the way Error’s mind worked was terrifying, constantly spinning little webs and entangling people without them ever knowing until it was too late. While he wasn’t as powerful as Reaper or as ruthless as Nightmare, their strategist’s cunning made him just as dangerous.

Once again the glitchy skeleton answered with a dark chuckle, the two starting the walk into town. While living just outside of the city made it safer for them and gave them the freedom to be in their daemon forms as they saw fit, it wasn’t exactly the most convenient thing ever considering none of them knew how to drive. Nearly all of them were more mobile in their daemon forms and weren’t limited to travel via roadway, so it had never been an issue. It was situations like this though where they were limited in the use of their daemon forms that pointed out to him just how inconvenient legs were. “Are you sure I can’t take off my pants?” He whined, hoping that the older daemon would relent.

All he needed was one look to know that he wouldn’t be getting such freedom tonight. “After trashing the kitchen? You’re lucky I let you keep the damn jeans instead of making you wear dress pants. But you have a point that our daemon forms would be so much more convenient...” The spider trailed off as a wicked glint appeared in his eye, Horror immediately regretting his complaint. Without warning a set of vibrant blue threads wrapped around his middle, any words of protest cut off as he was suddenly yanked into the air.

“Error, you fucking spider! Put me down before I squash you!”

The threat held little weight apparently, even though Horror’s daemon’s form was far larger than any of the others. “You really think you could squish me? I’d like to see you try one of these days.” Despite spiders being the smallest of all their animal counterparts, Error never seemed to be too worried about his size or strength compared to the others. “Though if you still want down I’d happily oblige,” the glitchy skeleton added on as his other arms worked his threads to pull them through the trees at a much faster pace than walking.

The genuine tone behind his brother’s words made the snake daemon pause, looking down only to frantically grab hold of the strings with one hand and his hat with the other. “Whatever you do, please don’t drop me!” He frantically shouted back, now aware of how they were very high up in the air and moving at a very fast speed, enough that he really didn’t want to hit the ground.

“What was that? It’s a little hard to hear with the wind,” Error called back, making the other skeleton’s soul sink and his eyes widen in dread of the next words. “Drop you, is that what you said? Okay then!” The snake’s desperate attempts to correct the other daemon turned into a scream of pure terror as he started plummeting towards the ground.

A few meters above the ground the strings around him went taut once again, halting his movements with a sudden jerk that cut off his shrieking. All he could hear for the next few minutes was his soul practically beating out of his chest and the spider daemon’s laughter, Horror breathing heavily while he was slowly reeled back in to his previous position behind his brother. “Never would’ve guessed you scream like a girl,” Error smugly commented, turned around so that he wasn’t even facing where they were going and simply relying on his strings to inform him of their path and any obstacles. “I’m gonna love using that against you for the next while.”

While he was tempted to make another comment back in response, the way his words were so easily manipulated made him pause. Instead of giving his brother more ammunition to use against his already wounded pride, he chose to instead quietly grumble and let himself be dragged along as the pair continued to effortlessly glide through the trees. “Oh, giving me the silent treatment now, are we? Don’t want to say something else stupid?” Error chuckled as the younger daemon turned away, purposely looking away from the other to avoid getting dragged into something else. “Fine by me, I rarely get moments of peace and quiet at home.”

“You’re never home,” Horror quietly grumbled, still holding onto his hat to avoid losing it along the way. “You’re too busy making out with Kiki.”

“What was that?” The subtle edge to the spider daemon’s voice made it clear that he’d at least heard part of what was said if not all of it, daring Horror to expand on his thoughts or say something else about his little artist.

“I said go fuck yourself,” he shouted back before returning to silence, making it clear that Error wouldn’t get him riled up again, at least for the length of their journey to the city. Even when they got to the point where Error had to put them both down and they had to continue walking, Horror maintained his silence much to the amusement of his brother.

It wasn’t much longer after they left the forest behind before they reached the city outskirts, managing to get on a bus to head into the city proper. When it became clear that the snake daemon still wasn’t in the mood for conversation, the glitchy skeleton hopped onto his phone and started texting his soulmate back and forth. Hearing the joyful laughter and looking over to see the genuine smiles directed at the device only served to hammer home how lonely Horror felt. There was a reason that he’d volunteered almost every night to head out and search the city for information or threats, and with Reaper having encountered a low-ranked hunter only two nights ago there was even more need for regular patrols in the hopes of catching wind of hunters moving into the city before it was too late. But for him it worked to increase his chances of running into his soulmate, and hopefully not be the last one in the group to replace his. With only Nightmare and Reaper remaining beside himself, his odds of being the last one were steadily increasing.

While Error continued to be absorbed in his phone, Horror let his imagination run wild as he blankly stared out the window, wondering what his soulmate would be like. They’d be made for him, so they probably wouldn’t be squeamish about violence, likely a fighter of some sort. Oh, and they’d definitely love food and not be a picky eater. Maybe they’d have something that made them stand out as strange like his damaged skull did, something that maybe they had to hide too to avoid upsetting humans. Would they like plaid? Would they wear plaid too?

Then again when he compared the soulmates the others had, maybe his soulmate would turn out to be the exact opposite. Error never seemed like the type to have any interest in art, and while Dust’s soulmate matched him in terms of energy Blue seemed too innocent for their murder monkey. Fell’s soulmate definitely didn’t fit the edgy vibe the cat threw off, though he was more aware than most of how their brother hid his more dorky interests to avoid ridicule. And then there was Killer, whose soulmate turned out to be Nightmare’s twin brother. While he never actually met the guy, Reaper had described him as overly positive, at least until the guy apparently attempted suicide. Honestly Killer was the hardest to determine whether he matched his soulmate or not, but it all made him question whether his ideal soulmate would be the exact opposite of what he was expecting.

“Horror... Horror... Snap out of it man, we’re here!” The words went completely unheard as the daemon was simply too lost in thought, only snapping out of it when he was roughly shaken by his shoulder. “Come on dude, this is our stop. We miss it and we’re stuck walking about ten minutes back to the campus,” Error growled, practically pulling his brother out of the seat and towards the nearby doors. “What the hell were you spacing out about anyways?”

Forgetting about how he was in a pissy silence earlier, Horror righted himself and fixed his hat as they stepped off of the bus. “Just wondering what my soulmate will turn out to be like,” he admitted.

“Well, who knows, maybe they’ll turn out to be one of the dancers tonight?”

“Fuck no, you seriously think I’ll ever fall for a dancer? They’ll be so small and frail that I’d snap them like a twig.”

“Not my fault you’re freakishly strong,” Error muttered before his usual grumpy face was replaced with a smile that meant only one thing. “Kiki! Over here!”

A short skeleton that had their back turned to them spun around at the call, their face lighting up as they started running at the two daemons and launched themselves at Error. “Ruru!” They called out, leading Horror to assume that this was the famous Ink. Honestly he had no idea what was so appealing about the shorty, though the black stain on the artist’s cheek made him feel a little better about the few stains littering his own outfit.

The couple embraced as soon as Error caught his smaller partner, spinning around a bit before they kissed. What would’ve been a tender moment between the two was completely ruined when Horror made a gagging noise beside them, drawing a glare from his brother. “Can you not? I don’t want to deal with you being jealous all night, so keep your lonely single status to yourself.”

The spider’s smug grin as he openly flaunted his soulmate was wiped off his face as a fist gently bonked the top of his skull. “Oh come on, be nice,” Ink chastised, surprising the other daemon with just how easily he brought Error to heel. As the smaller was set back down, he came over and took a brief look at Horror before holding his hand out to him. “Nice to meet you, I’m Ink. Not sure if you’re exactly Lust’s type, but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

As Horror introduced himself, Error came over and threw an arm around the smaller’s shoulders. “Sorry, I know he doesn’t exactly seem the type but he was the only one available. Honestly the guy I knew that your friend might get along with was already gone by the time I got home, said something about having to catch a bus.”

“Oh well, I’m sure it’ll be no big deal. Lust has dated pretty much every type at least once, so I’m sure he’s tried a redneck before.” Being called redneck only served to bring a light bit of color to his cheeks, prompting laughter from his brother and a confused reaction from his brother’s boyfriend. Yep, this night was gonna suck.

After his laughter died down, the glitchy skeleton turned his attention to the smaller skeleton leaning against him. “Well, you said we had to meet up with your friends before heading to the performance, right? Should we get going? Wouldn’t want us to be late.” Ink excitedly agreed, grabbing hold of Error’s hand and leading the way while Horror quietly followed from behind.

With nothing better to do, he simply tried to tune out the conversation ahead of him that was half lovey dovey stuff and half artistic rambling, instead looking around campus. He’d never thought to go looking around here for his soulmate, choosing to instead inspect areas where he felt a hunter was more likely to be hiding. It was his main responsibility when he was out patrolling anyways, so exploring spots where hunters didn’t seem to be likely sounded kind of stupid to him.

Paying just enough attention to where they were going so as to not get separated or lost, the snake daemon was completely caught off guard by Ink running ahead and dragging Error with him, forcing Horror to scramble to catch up. Finally looking where they were going, he realized that there was a group of skeletons waiting up ahead that the artist was clearly running towards as he waved back at them. Killer was among the group, standing next to who he guessed was Dream even though the golden skeleton looked absolutely nothing like their leader. The one dressed in blue had to be Dust’s soulmate, the blue starry eyes giving it away as it was a pretty unique eye shape. And the one wearing glasses, was that Fell’s soulmate? Holy crap, were all of his brothers’ soulmates friends with each other?

The only two in the group that didn’t seem to be familiar in the slightest was a skeleton in a wheelchair with a red scarf and the monochrome skeleton standing just behind him. Wondering if maybe there was a running theme here, he paid particular attention to those two, but all he ended up getting was a weird look from the pair before he gave up and assumed neither of them were his soulmate. So much for that theory.

“So, who are your friends Ink?” Dream piped up, snapping Horror’s attention back to the bulk of the crowd.

The artist had a giddy expression on his face as he wrapped his arms around Error’s middle, catching the taller off guard for a second before he hugged back. “Well, I guess now’s the perfect time to introduce you all to my boyfriend! Meet Error!” Instantly Dream and Blue darted forward to inspect the glitchy skeleton, staring at him critically before turning to Ink and legitimately squealing, the pitch making the snake daemon chaos cringe and shuffle away as the two congratulated their friend and started babbling nonsensical questions that he could barely understand.

His movement only seemed to draw the gaze of the group of squealing skeletons, Horror almost feeling like prey that had given away its location to a predator. Given that he was usually the predator, he was not liking the role reversal as the pair separated from Ink to inspect him instead. “If that one’s the boyfriend,” Blue started, the look in his eyes unnerving the daemon. “Then I guess this must be your champion! But, you really think he’ll go for a hillbilly?”

“Hillbilly?! Champion?! Error what the hell have you dragged me into?!” He shouted at his brother, trying to back away from the two brightly colored skeletons that were now following him.

As his brother gave a shrug and a look that said ‘sorry’, Dream suddenly backed off and laughed a bit. “Of course the scatterbrain didn’t mention anything,” he chuckled, earning an indignant ‘you’re one to talk’ to his back from Ink that was promptly ignored, making it clear who the comment was about. “Ink, Blue, and I came to the conclusion a while ago that our friend Lust was hopeless when it came to replaceing love for himself, even if he was great at helping literally everyone else. So we’ve kinda made it a challenge to see who can pick out a proper boyfriend for him first! It’s Ink’s turn to choose a champion, or in other words the guy he thinks that Lust might show some interest in, aka you. We’re just surprised that he’d pick... someone like you, no offense.”

“To be fair, Error actually helped me pick this one,” Ink piped up, back to clinging to his boyfriend’s side. “They live together!”

A strange look flashed across Dream’s face as his gaze turned back to Killer, and while most paid no attention to the silent exchange the snake daemon was pretty sure he already had it pegged. Since Dream was Nightmare’s twin, that meant that he’d grown up learning all about daemons and the many quirks of the race, including the concept of soulmates. Since Dream had met Error when setting up the mansion for them to live in, the golden skeleton knew that he was a daemon, and that was probably the source of the smirk on his face following his look to Killer for what he guessed was confirmation. He knew that Ink’s chances of winning their little challenge this time were pretty much nonexistent.

“Um guys?” A far more timid voice piped up, drawing everyone’s attention to Sci. “I-If we want to make it in time, we should p-probably get going now.” How did their resident edge lord have someone like this for a soulmate? They seemed so... weak, completely lacking the backbone and fiery temper Fell was infamous for.

“He’s right guys, we should get moving,” the monochrome skeleton confirmed, leading the way as he pushed the chair bound skeleton in front of him. The others were quick to follow as if he was their leader, with Ink dragging Error along and excitedly babbling to his friends about things that ranged from embarrassing to flattering. Once again, Horror chose to walk in the back of the pack and let the others have their fun, simply enjoying the near permanent blush on his brother’s cheeks as their entire relationship was laid bare for the others to comment on.

As they approached the dance hall, more and more people started to crowd the streets, with Horror slipping up to walk next to Killer so that he wouldn’t get lost. But at some point the frog daemon stopped, all others following Dream as the golden skeleton stopped as well and gave his soulmate a hug. “Sorry Dream, wish I could come in with you,” he muttered, sending the smaller an apologetic look.

While Horror wasn’t the smartest out of his brothers, Error was and was kind enough to fill the clueless skeleton in by flashing the ticket in his hand. “Well, I could always give you my ticket-” he started, only to be cut off by Ink grabbing his wrist and shoving the ticket into his hand.

“Oh no you don’t! I already told Lust that I’d bring someone for him to meet, so Killer can’t take your place! I am not losing my shot at winning by having my champion give his ticket to the guy that’s been clinging to my competition for the past couple days!” As he looked to Error for help, the spider made it very clear that he had no intention of upsetting his soulmate or letting anything get in the way of the artist’s plans, actually agreeing and helping to drag him inside. An added little comment about Bertha made him give up and stop fighting.

As Dream said goodbye to Killer and the pair agreed to see each other in a couple hours after the show was done, the snake was finally made aware of how long his torture would persist for as they headed inside and were directed to their seats. With Error half leading half dragging him to his, he wasn’t surprised when he was almost pushed into his seat by the other daemon. Thankfully he was next to his brother instead of one of the others that he didn’t really know, offering a slight comfort to him.

More and more people piled into the room, and with the grumpy daemon soon growing tired of sulking he instead looked down the row that was predominantly taken up by the group he was with. He had the aisle seat, meaning that if it weren’t for his trusty axe being threatened he would’ve bolted and never looked back. To his left was Error with Ink right beside him, followed by Blue, Dream, and then the monochrome skeleton. On the other side of the seat was the scarfed skeleton, having been moved out of his wheelchair in order to sit on the theatre chair while the monochrome skeleton worked to fold the chair up and take it out of the aisle next to where Horror was sitting. That left Sci sitting on the scarfed skeleton’s other side, and a few strangers filling up the rest of the row past that.

Almost as if he could tell that Horror was looking at him, the scarfed skeleton turned and stared directly at him with a look that set the daemon’s instincts on edge, causing him to very quickly divert his gaze. However he managed to look forward just as the monochrome skeleton was coming back from setting the wheelchair aside, catching a similarly unnerving glare as the skeleton seemed to slow his pace when walking by him on his way back to his seat. The second the stranger sat down, he and the other skeleton were talking and joking amongst each other, occasionally switching to talk with Dream or Sci to the point where Horror wondered if he’d imagined the whole exchange. But he still couldn’t shake the looming feeling of dread that felt like it was hanging right above him. Damn Error, he was definitely going to pay for getting him involved in this.

Eventually the theatre was completely filled, with the conversations among the many guests starting to die down. The daemon was actually starting to enjoy the peace and quiet, wishing he had his axe and could relax by sharpening it like he often did. Unfortunately that peace was very quickly ruined as Ink practically flopped across Error’s lap and startled him, grinning at the now frowning skeleton that was seriously wondering what his brother’s soulmate was up to now. “Okay, Lust is gonna be one of the lead dancers in the show, he should be pretty easy to recognize and should be leading one of the groups. The guy’s a skeleton with purple eyelights that are most often heart shaped, don’t know what his costume is for this show but I’m sure you’ll recognize him. So just sit back and watch and hopefully show some interest!”

A skeleton with purple eyelights shaped like hearts? Guess that was pretty distinctive, and he figured the odds of there being more than one skeleton in a lead position were pretty low. Wait, was he getting excited to see them? No, that couldn’t be right, this was nothing but a waste of his time. He needed to be out looking for his soulmate instead of watching this stupid performance that he had zero interest in. And yet, he couldn’t deny that a part of him was legitimately interested in seeing this skeleton appear. Whatever was driving him to be interested, he had no clue what it was, but as time passed he found that feeling in him growing stronger. No longer thinking about how long this performance would be before he could leave, he was now wondering how long it would take for the damn thing to start.

The lights began to dim as the rest of the hushed whispers floating about drew silent, everyone’s focus drawn to the stage as the dark curtain concealing it from view drew back, the lighting focusing on a single figure curled up into a ball on the ground. Not a skeleton, the human girl unfurled herself to be wearing what looked like a fairy costume, complete with pastel wings and sparkly clothes that seemed to shimmer with her every movement.

Another two joined the girl on stage dressed in similar outfits, the three dancing about and seeming like they were having a great time as they jumped and spun across the stage. The music was so jovial and upbeat... Horror honestly couldn’t stand it. When the hell was life ever this happy? The best thing that had ever happened to him was meeting Nightmare and the others, and even then they’d all been constantly running for their lives nonstop until this city. Now all the others were disappearing as their soulmates either needed or wanted them nearby, leaving the snake daemon once again all alone. If real life wasn’t this happy, why were they trying to portray a world that was?

These thoughts made him quite thrilled when the tone suddenly shifted at the appearance of what looked to be a human soldier, a scout from the light armor they wore. All the fairies stopped in their tracks and stared at them before both the fairies and the human ran off stage in opposite directions. A few quick scenes were shown of the human and fairies reporting this, commanders from both sides ordering their forces to prepare for battle. While he never expected fighting to come out of a dance performance, this was certainly turning out to be less of a waste of time than he thought it would be.

What surprised him even more was how the characters still were dancing while telling this story of war between humans and the forgotten kingdom of fairies, using their actions in place of words in combination with lighting and audio effects that truly brought the story to life. It was like watching a movie unfold as the scenes progressed.

A large gathering of fairies now dominated the stage, many wearing armor and bearing weapons while what looked to be the military leaders stood ready on a raised dais. There was one seat in the middle that remained empty though, Horror assuming that the next person that stepped onto stage would be the leader of the fairies and take the empty seat. And he was right. Out walked a skeletal figure with a golden crown on their head, long legs elegantly striding to the dais while a regal purple cloak gently fluttered behind them. Violet wings protruded from their back, the cloak fashioned in such a way so as to not interfere. All movement stopped as the newcomer approached, the music going silent so that all that could be heard was the echo of their heeled boots clicking along the ground. It wasn’t until after reaching the empty spot that they opened their eyes and a set of purple hearts were revealed. Horror realized that this was the friend he’d been brought along to meet... and they were gorgeous.

If he remembered correctly, the others had referred to them as Lust, yet the daemon couldn’t understand why someone with such angelic beauty would be named after one of the seven deadly sins. A fallen angel perhaps? This idea was only further cemented in his mind as the cloak that had been concealing his body up until this point was ripped off, revealing an ornate set of battle armor from head to toe, complete with a heart emblazoned on the chest that matched his eyes. A warrior king, preparing to lead his people into battle against the human forces, drawing his sword as a declaration that sent the fairies into an uproar.

That scene marked the end of the first half of the show, the curtain drawing close to announce an intermission. And yet Horror found himself disappointed as he watched the velvety fabric hide the gorgeous skeleton from him. His gaze lingered on the stage, only interrupted when Error chuckled beside him. “Well, that was not a turn of events either of us was expecting.”

“What? What are you on about?” Instead of getting an answer, the spider daemon simply got up and gestured for him to follow, Horror doing so after a moment’s hesitation. They went outside of the theatre, replaceing a quiet spot towards the back of the building free from any possible eavesdroppers. “Okay, we’re completely alone, care to explain yourself now?”

A chuckle came from the glitchy skeleton, the knowing look on his face unnerving his brother just a bit. “And here I was just bringing you to placate Ink, never thought you’d actually replace your soulmate here.”

“Wait, what? Who? When? Where? How?” He was utterly confused as to what Error was implying, struggling to wrap his head around it. He’d found his soulmate?

“Geez, calm down and maybe I’ll be able to explain,” Error huffed, waiting until Horror wasn’t outwardly freaking out to explain his observations. “That skeleton, the one on stage that just so happens to be the friend you were brought here to meet, I saw how you were staring at him the entire time he was onstage. Even when the curtains drew close you continued to stare where he’d been, looking like a lost puppy when you couldn’t see him anymore.

“Wait seriously?” The older daemon nodded his head, Horror still trying to wrap his head around what this meant. He’d finally found them, his soulmate, the one he was destined to be with. All this time searching, and they’d been right there in front of him. “I need to see him,” he suddenly decided, wanting nothing more than to hear the purple skeleton’s voice and truly meet him.

Just as he turned around to head back inside and replace them, a set of strings wrapped around his arm and tugged him back. “Hold it Horror, I’m not about to let you do something stupid,” he growled, shooting back the glare the snake daemon sent at being stopped. “He might be your soulmate, but the two of you are still strangers. You’ve never had a single conversation, and yet you want to break your way in backstage and completely interrupt the production, probably pissing Lust off in the process?”

Horror blinked a couple times before going limp, no longer fighting to go as he realized that Error was right and he was an idiot. “I’m so stupid,” he grumbled, looking to the back of the building longingly, as if he could see Lust just past those walls. “So what the hell do I do? You found your soulmate first, so help me.”

“Chill dude, I’m not gonna leave you high and dry,” the spider daemon assured, retracting his strings and releasing Horror’s arm. “Look, Ink already planned on introducing you to his friend after the performance in the hopes that you two would hit it off, so if you can wait until then and simply enjoy the show in the meantime, then you’ll get a chance to talk to him. Even though I was the most awkward creature in existence when I met Ink, we still hit it off really well and it wasn’t long before we couldn’t stop messaging each other. Can you wait until the end of the show?” Once he received a nod, Error smiled back. “Good, then let’s grab our seats and see how this all ends. Don’t know about you, but I’m pretty curious to see what happens.”

The two returned to their seats towards the end of the intermission, Ink immediately clinging to his boyfriend and asking what had happened and why they’d left. The glitchy skeleton was easily able to play it off, calming the smaller down to where he was simply back babbling about the show and his opinion on it as an artist.

For Horror, his attention was quickly consumed by the stage as the lights once again dimmed to signal the end of intermission, the daemon eager to see more of his beautiful soulmate in action. So of course the lack of his presence immediately left him disappointed. At one end of the stage were the fairy warriors, on the other side the human forces. Silence reigned for a moment before both sides launched into battle, somehow dancing while fighting with extremely impressive choreography. Maybe he’d cut dancers too short, as this was actually pretty good. It was too organized to be a real fight, with each person fighting only one other and carefully dodging their blows, but it still looked pretty cool.

As the battle waged on, the human forces seemed to be winning, with one particular member of the audience waiting with bated breath for his fallen angel to join the fight. And sure enough, he did, intercepting a strike for one of the other fairies with his sword and cutting the human down. The fairy king, now backed by his generals, stood face to face with the human commander and his generals. The generals from both sides launched at each other in the background, placing the two leaders at the front of the stage for their deadly dance.

From the way the fairy king was moving, it was almost as if his wings were real, the agile skeleton nimbly dodging and weaving around his opponent’s strikes, capable of acrobatic flips and twists despite the armor he was wearing and the sword in one hand. At one point he jumped over the other commander, curling into a ball and landing perfectly behind him before placing the sword against the human’s neck in a sign of victory.

Just as the daemon was sure that the fairies would win this, a sword suddenly was run through the king’s armor and stomach, instantly putting Horror on edge even though it was just a production and there was no blood. The king stumbled back in shock, turning only to see one of his own holding the blade yet wearing the same armor the humans did. The traitorous fairy pulled the blade out, the king falling to his knees. Before the human commander could turn around and deal the final blow though, the fairy generals rushed the field, cutting down the traitor and dealing a serious blow to the enemy leader before scooping up the king and fleeing.

The humans declared themselves the victor of the battle, driving the king’s sword into the ground with his crown hung on the handle, a symbol of his defeat. The lights faded to black, leading Horror to believe it was over, until the light slowly returned to a completely different scene. The crown and sword remained, showing that the lush green area was once a battlefield and the last stand of the fairies. Humans danced about and looked to be enjoying themselves just as the fairies had at the beginning, leading the snake daemon to pout at the lackluster ending to the story.

Yet as a large group of humans danced past, a cloaked figure could now be seen behind the sword. A pair of skeletal hands reached towards the blade, two purple hearts and a pair of violet wings visible on the figure just as the humans danced the other way, concealing them from view. When the humans finally cleared, the figure was gone, as well as the crown that had been hanging from the sword.

With that scene the curtain drew close as the lights dimmed to leave only a spotlight on the sword, eventually blocked by the curtains as the crowd erupted into applause. The dancers began to make their way back on stage, bowing and enjoying the attention and praise to their work. Looking to his left, Horror could see all of the others on their feet clapping, even Error as well as the one that had been in a wheelchair thanks to the assistance of the monochrome skeleton beside him. Grinning, the snake daemon stood up as well and began clapping with the rest of them, ignoring all of the other dancers and instead focusing on his soulmate that was center stage with the human commander, both of them smiling widely and looking so proud of themselves and their fellow dancers.

As the dancers exited the stage and the applause died off, it became time for the audience to leave as well. Following the group of skeletons out, the daemon waited for the promised moment of introduction. He stuck next to his brother for the most part, ignoring the excited chatter among the rest of the group as they congregated outside of the building to wait for Lust.

“So, how long until I meet this friend of yours?” He asked Ink, the artist diving into thought for a moment before explaining how they typically had to wait half an hour for their friend to finish up with changing and putting away anything that needed to be take care of immediately. So while the others continued to have fun and discuss the performance, Horror quietly waited on the sidelines to meet his soulmate.

A half hour came and went, the daemon growling quietly to himself at being forced to wait longer but simply assumed from how relaxed the others were that this was normal and the artist merely underestimated the time. But as another half hour passed he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going wrong. He felt like something was holding Lust up. And when the others started asking each other where their friend was, he started to worry.

Focusing his attention, Horror pushed all other sensory data away and went with one his snakelike nature made far more sensitive to him, vibrations. Typically he didn’t rely on that sense too often in his monster form, as it required far more focus compared to when he was in his daemon form, but he was still more than capable of accessing that sense and the information it gave him.

What he could feel wasn’t good. Several feet stomping about towards the back of the building, even further than where he and Error had talked. One of the sets of feet produced far more subtle vibrations, indicating a lighter frame behind the graceful steps. No doubt in his mind, they had to belong to Lust. And with the other sets of feet advancing on him, the daemon wasted no time in splitting off from the rest of the group and bolting, ignoring Error’s shouting and continuing to run. Not like the spider daemon could stop him in front of the crowd, not without outing himself, and their strategist would never do such a thing. Besides, if his soulmate really was in danger like his senses were telling him, then nothing would stop him on his path to rescue them... and of course he’d rip apart any who got in his way. Now he really wished he had Bertha with him.