Stray Souls AU: Prologue
I decided to start with arc 2: "Of Men and Monsters" but wanted to add a prologue to sorta ease folks into the story. I will be creating and posting some character Bios (with Illustrations if my ADHD allows) of relevant characters so people aren't flying blind. This story is part of a VERY large overarching universe that involves A LOT of different fandoms. But my goal is to write it in such a way that you can still enjoy the story without knowing those fandoms. This particular story ("Stray Souls") is mostly focused on Poppy Playtime and Underverse (specifically, Nightmare and his gang). They're depictions are inspired by @calcium-cat's "One Small Dream" fic, and another character was inspired by her other fic, "A little Bitty of Hope". I also was very inspired by the fic "To Bring Him Home" by @titantimberwolf. You guys' fics are part of what inspired me to actually write this out. (I HIGHLY recommend both fics.) Also shout-out to my BFF (who I can't tag cuz they don't have a tumblr) for motivating me to write this! So without further ado...let it begin...
The factory stood, empty, devoid of life. It was quiet. They were all gone. The footsteps of a dark figure echoed through the abandoned corridors as he followed an equally dark creature down the lonely hallways in silence. He took in the dark bloodstained hallways, casting a cold glace over the corpses of prison guards. If his companion was to be believed, these men more than deserved their deaths.
Entering a wider area, he read the words written on the wall… “Safe Haven” and written next to it “but for how long?” They followed the tunnel, seeing more bloodstains as the smell of smoke and burned flesh hung in the air. As they neared their destination, they began to encounter the small broken bodies of smiling critters…faces frozen in immortal false smiles all while they lay cold and dead.
They entered what was once the safest place in the whole factory, now gone, reduced to ash and rubble. Nightmare followed the creature to the center of the room, where they paused to take in the devastation that was left. He felt his soul humming and pulsing with the lingering negativity…the last thing these beings had felt before death claimed them.
The fear, the betrayal, the anger…He felt them all now…just like he had felt them himself so many centuries ago…He turned to his companion.
“Why have you brought me here? To show me this? What do you expect me to do? They are already dead.” He felt his tentacles thrash behind him, the residual rage lingering in the room merging with his own anger at the fate these beings suffered.
The cat met his cyan eye but said nothing. She stood and continued on, meowing at Nightmare, prompting him to follow her. Despite his annoyance, he trailed behind her, continuing to take in the destruction. They took winding paths and strange tunnels before arriving in a large round room. They entered a small doorway along the walls of the room to find a large creature lying dead beneath a large crusher.
His cold indifference wavered slightly at the sight of the creature’s agonized expression. Frozen forever in a moment of pain and sadness. The same anger, sadness, and guilt that saturated the haven filled this room as well. He breathed it in, tasting each unshed tear, each unvoiced regret, each pained betrayal.
And no one would ever know…This place, buried so far below the ground, and no one knew it was there. Any living thing down here…it didn’t have much time left. There wasn’t enough food, or water, or shelter. His cyan eye followed the cat as she gently rubbed her head along the side of the dead monster, and he felt the sadness and disappointment radiate from her.
“I understand that you are upset, but I still don’t know what you expect me to do about it. They are already dead. I cannot revive the dead.”
The cat sprinted out of the room, the dark skeleton following close behind. As they ran, the world seemed to shift. Rocks and drips rising up from the floor to rejoin the ceiling. Water flowed backwards. Everything seemed to be going in reverse as he followed the cat through the building.
Finally, they stepped back into the main hub of the factory’s first floor. A tall blue statue standing still on its pedestal. Nightmare looked up through the glass ceiling, the moon and sun chased one another the wrong way across the sky. Coming to rest at the dawn of a new day, or perhaps...a day that had come once already.
“I see…I suppose I know the stakes now. And what if we fail? What then? Will you continue to reset this world over and over until someone snaps like Dust or Killer?”
The orange eyes met his. The slow, deliberate, shake of her head confirmed his suspicions: they had one chance to fix this. To give this world a better ending. One shot. They had better make it count.
“Alright then…I suppose we should get started. I take it you won’t be just handing us a solution on a silver platter?”
The cat grinned widely at him.
“Come now, Nightmare…Where’s the fun in that?” She started towards one of the dark corridors…stopping just before rounding a corner. Turning back to look at him one last time the cat gave him one final message,
“You and your allies are the last hope for these lost souls…they are counting on you, do not allow them to be forgotten and abandoned as you once were…”
With that the black cat disappeared into the shadows, leaving Nightmare alone, time frozen for a bit longer as he collected his thoughts. He looked up at the blue figure. Confusion and loneliness emanated from it. He steeled his features. If they were the last hope for these stray souls…then by all the stars in the multiverse…he would make sure they would never be forgotten again.
A black portal swirled to life, and he stepped through, leaving the building to resume its timeline as a lonely child stood waiting for someone to rescue them.
