My Friend Over the Phone

Chapter 40

Dream once again tugged harshly at the chains binding him to the wall and floor.

Ink hasn't returned in a while, making him think something might've happened. It gave him the chance to get out of here, but also to make sure he's okay. He knows Ink better than anyone, therefore he knows something is wrong with him. Soulless as he may be, he still tries to be a good person. He wanted to check on him, tell him it's okay. Both he and his brother tend to parent their friends too much.

He tried to teleport, summon an attack to break the chains, anything, but it was no use. Without sight, he couldn't do a thing. He strained his ear ducts to hear Ink, or anyone approaching, but he heard nothing. A part of him hopes that Nightmare, or Killer, or someone would come for him if he waited, but the rest of him doesn't want to sit here, useless. He was the Guardian of Positivity for goodness sake, he can take care of himself(although people seem to forget that).

...But now that he thought about it, he probably wasn't getting out of these chains anytime soon. They were unbreakable with the state he's in now. Shakily, he tried to reach out. His aura had to reach Nightmare. He could only hope he was listening.

He was too weak to transfer his thoughts, but he could at least follow it to Ink's house. They were his only hope.

--/-/--

The static sound of footsteps as they pattered across the 'floor' of the Anti-Void filled Horror's ear ducts as Blue approached.

He must've felt the tug of Error's strings. It must be nice to be back together with your loved one after being apart for so long. He wishes he could know that feeling.

But now that Error was here, Horror was optimistic they'd be out of here soon. The Destroyer of Worlds has lived in the Anti-Void forever, he has to know how to navigate it, right?

The two caught sight of each other. Error ran to meet Blue halfway. He picked up the ex-royal guard trainee and they spun in joy, offering frantic little kisses to each other as they reunited after who knows how long.

But for Horror, it's been longer. He was a little jealous. Very jealous. He wants to see Dust again, and hold him in his arms like they were.

And maybe he'd kiss him a little, too, if he wanted.

"Horror?" Blue's voice interrupted his thoughts, "We're gonna go with Error to find a way out of here, okay?"

He simply nodded, getting up. He hasn't been good with words since he got the hole in his skull—(don't think about Undyne)—but now that he's gotten deleted, his code is all messed up now. He can barely think about anything at all.

(Other than his Dust.

He could swear that sometimes, he can see him, and Killer too. He knows Killer is only taking care of him in his place, but he can't help but feel angry at the way he consoles him when he breaks down. It should be him there, next to Dust.)

Error opened several portals, each leading to more whiteness. It hurt Horror's head just looking at it. He wasn't an expert in magic, he didn't rely on it like everyone else did. He figured they could handle that.

In the meantime, he'll try something else.

He closed his eye, and tried to focus. Dust? He called out in his mind. He was never good at focusing.

Just picture it in your mind, a familiar voice said. Who it was, Horror couldn't remember. Feel the magic flowing through your ley lines.

Despite moving into a new home, Horror couldn't help but picture the castle. How couldn't he? He'd lived there for a long time, and some of his most treasured memories occurred within those tall, violet walls. He could see the main parlour, with three couches and two armchairs all circling around a TV. Killer and Nightmare used to sit in the two chairs, while the rest of them huddled up on the couches to watch a movie. Nightmare's chair was hollow on the back so his tentacles wouldn't be bunched up for hours on end, and partially so no one else would sit in it. The coffee table had a secret compartment that only Killer knew about for the longest time, where he'd steal Cross' chocolate and hide it there. Stars, Cross was pissed when he found out about it. The once perfectly black carpet was covered in drink stains from all the times Horror or Dust would trip over a miniature step in front of the doorway that they'd always forget about. Nightmare was so mad every time a new stain appeared on that part of the floor.

Despite Killer's annoying 'throw knives at every moving thing in his peripheral vision' streak, Dust's mumbling-that-sometimes-becomes-yelling-and-crying, Cross' constant kissing up to the boss, and Nightmare banning the existence of apples in the household, he missed living with all of them.

Damn it, he got off track again. Parlour in the castle. The rest of it, he couldn't imagine. He had to see them, not imagine them. Come on, he thought. Show me something, anything..!

He looked. A white-eyed spirit looked back.

"HORROR!!!" He gasped, opening his eye. Blue stared at him in relief, "Thank goodness! Come on, We're gonna look elsewhere for a way out." Horror nodded, a little shaken, and got back up. Error was staring past him, like there was something interesting behind him. Horror turned around, but there was nothing other than the whiteness he's grown really tired of seeing. He looked back at the Destroyer questioningly, said Destroyer shaking his head and moving on into the portal.

As they stepped through, Horror had something on his mind. "Errrrooorr?"

"Yeah?"

"Whyyy caaaan'tt weee leeeaavvee??"

"...

"It's... complicated. See, It's not like any of us came here willingly. We were all deleted, which led to us dropping into an unknown part of the vast Anti-Void. Unlike the Void, this place has many layers, and each of them is incredibly large in area. I don't know where we are now, so teleporting is a huge risk. So, I'm trying to find the little part of this place I called home. From there, I'll know how to get out of here. Does that make sense?"

Horror said nothing for a long moment, his broken mind trying to absorb all of the information. He eventually nodded, smiling faintly, although no one could see it. "Leet'ss findd iit thheeenn." They went through the portal.

--/-/--

They looked at the strange-looking skeleton. Was it a skeleton? Why did they look so familiar? Almost as soon as they appeared, they were gone. But they couldn't help but feed off of their aura. So much negativity, and yet underneath it was hope.

  There's somewhere they need to be. But where? What needed them? Who needed them?

They had to wake up.

Wake up.