Shattered Souls [sequel]

X-tra Ordinary Encounter

"Haventale... Why would they choose Haventale? Attacking a pacifist timeline is looow, even for them." Ink's eyelights danced over the sheet of paper that was Haventale, and watched the edges curl and singe as if on fire.

Creators above, Ink loved the doodlesphere. He loved they way each Creator perceived it differently for different souls. He loved the way this one was a vast expanse of oranges and yellows, filled with sheet after sheet of paper; each one representing an AU. Some were even just normal sheets, making it harder for an intruder to cause too much damage.

Like before.

The half-baked antigravity was a strange one though, this Creator had quite a few random ideas. The 'floor' of the doodlesphere was a lot like the antivoid, except when you look up there's colours and paper instead of endless white punctured by blue string. Speaking of blue, he should probably call Blue and Dream so they could help in Haventale.

The multi-coloured skeleton drifted down to the floor of the doodlesphere and felt his feet connect with solid ground once more. He then carefully selected a cheery colour from his paint sash and whispered, 'This'll be fun if it works' before pouring half of it out.

Form a moment, nothing did happen, but then a skull with a golden circlet, followed by a sun cape, came falling through. Dream had been smart enough to drag Blue along with him.

"What the heck just happened?!" Dream said, evidently discombobulated by the change in perspective. Blue looked like he might be sick.

Ink laughed a bit, then gasped and his eyelights changed to multicoloured exclamation marks, "We have to go to Haventale, Nightmare and his gang are attacking it."

The other two shook off their confusion, nodded, and they were gone. Blue did wonder why Ink hadn't just texted, or told them normally, but it was a little pointless to ask. Ink's mind worked in mysterious ways.
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Nightmare paused in the middle of Snowdin to drink in his victory. Screams pierced the air in every direction, and their suffering was almost palpable.

After Error's little tantrum in the doodlesphere, there weren't as many AU's to attack anymore which meant the dorky Star Sanses were able to catch them much faster, but this time things were going really well.

From the goopy-skeleton's left, a door swang open and Dust walked out, ironically covered in dust. "Hey boss, all good?"

Nightmare hummed in reply, eyelight dancing over the ruin that was Snowdin. "The Star Sanses will be here soon. What's the progress?"

As Dust spoke, he counted the locations off on his fingers, "Everywhere from the ruins to here is empty. There's a group cornered in Waterfall by the rubbish dump. Still quite a few monsters in Hotlands and we're not sure about the rest."

"The child? And the flower?"

"Both dusted."

"Good, leave the group in Waterfall and tell the others to kill some of the monsters in Hotlands. I think that'll be enough for today."

"Sure thing boss."

Dust was gone in a flash, slightly sour that he couldn't kill as many monsters as the others. But it was for his own good. Dust and lots of XP did not mix well anymore.

Nightmare thought about following, he sure did love to see their fear up close, but if Dream and the others showed up they needed someone to stay behind. Of course, Nightmare didn't have long with this internal debate as he felt the presence of another behind him. Dream had his bow drawn, and curiously he was alone. The other two must be with the rest of Nightmare's gang in Waterfall.

"Hello there Dream, come to try and kill me? Or are you just going to pretend to try and then let me go as usual?"

The positive guardian gritted his teeth, Nightmare's words always seemed to get under his metephorical skin. Of course he didn't want to kill Nightmare, but if it meant protecting the AU....

"You won't win this time Nightmare."

"Oh? I beg to differ." Nightmare turned on his heel, "I'd like you to meet a new friend of mine Dream."

Dream immediately tensed, ready for an ambush, and unfortunately for Nightmare was able to dodge Cross' red knives. "This is Cross, and he might even like knives more than Killer."
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Cross was mad. Being the newest member he was stuck with the boring job, waiting in Snowdin while the others had fun. Nightmare even stayed behind with him, as if he couldn't fight for himself!

It was utterly embarrassing. Even so, Cross needed to do this job well. Ever since he joined it'd felt like he was on a probationary period, and earning the other's trust was a high priority.

So when Nightmare gave the signal, he didn't hesitate. The other skeleton, 'Dream', was Nightmare's brother apparently.

Family drama must be big among skeletons.

Dream was able to dodge his first strike, and continued to move gracefully as Cross attacked.

Nightmare was speaking, but Cross tuned him out. This Dream guy was a skilled fighter. To Cross it seemed he was just watching, learning, and waiting for an opportunity to attack back. Eventually Nightmare had finished with his speach, and was watching intently.

Cross switched to his giant knife instead of many little ones, Chara giving him the ability to make them. Dream smiled, and his bow was consumed with light and reformed into twin blades. Close combat it was.

Dream began to counter now, going in for a hit here and there. Each time increasing in intensity. Dream was testing him. Smart play, really, but Cross didn't need to observe because Chara could do that for him during the fight. In perfect timing, Chara said, When he strikes left, he's slower to recover. And he looks for openings on the right more often.

So his left side was weaker, and Cross took that advantage. The two continued to fight, and Cross decided that maybe he was enjoying this. It was so much more fun that just killing without a challenge. Dream seemed to be invested too, because he didn't notice when Nightmare slipped away to see the others until they teleported in with the order to retreat.

Surprisingly, Cross felt a bit disappointed when he had to leave, but also happy that his rookie job turned out to be fun after all.
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1103 words

Dream and Cross' relationship (platonic or romamtic or whatever) is and will be strictly up to your interpretation for the entirety of this fanfiction.

Sincerely, an airport terminal