Unrequited LOVE

•Chapter 31•

Surviving a destroyed SOUL was impossible (except in Ink's case, weirdly), so why were you alive? Waking up in a place that resembled a bloodier version of the void - unbelievably naked, no less - certainly wasn't your idea of the afterlife, but life was never fair.

After waking up, you began to explore the space. It felt familiar, yet so, so different. Your magic was also disabled, most likely because of your missing SOUL.

Damn, how does Ink do it?

The very thought of Ink - or the others, for that matter - hurt a thousand times more than a dying SOUL. The distress became so great that you curled up on the ground and sobbed.

I want to go home.

The realization that you were without clothes only cemented the despair. It seemed you were stuck here, naked as the day you were born, with no conceivable way out.

Yup. Death sounds mighty good right about now. It was a joke; death was the last thing you truly wanted.

...That didn't mean you wouldn't kill for some clothes.

Heh.

***

The funeral was a sordid affair. Everyone, even Nightmare and his gang, was present. There were no speeches, just long moments of overwhelming silence.

And it felt good, in a way. There was no pressure or judgement from anyone; they were all in the same boat.

When they began to disperse - after properly burying your coat near your house - grief turned to anger.

"i'm gonna kill him," Red muttered lowly.

"we all want to, pal," Sans sighed. "you aren't alone."

And then the conversation shifted to the fate of your belongings...

"What should be do with her house and stuff?" Dream asked. Everyone perked up.

"...we should... leave it," Horror said, inserting himself into the conversation.

Dream nodded. "I think that's best... although we should probably remove all the food before it rots."

Nods all around. They all agreed on that, at least.

Nightmare, who'd remained quiet throughout the whole affair, spoke up. "You're missing the second biggest problem; who's going to take care of the neutral-void in (Y/n)'s stead?"

"I HAVEN'T THOUGHT OF THAT," Blue admitted, shooting a look at Ink and Error. "IT WOULD HAVE TO BE WHOMEVER HAS THE MOST KNOWLEDGE OF THE NEUTRAL-VOID."

"i know next to nothing about it and i don't think error does either," Ink said regretfully. "she never really talked about that kind of stuff. with us, at least."

"t-t-th3 $qu!d's r!ght," Error added. "u-u-unfortun@t3ly."

"...wait..." Suddenly, Horror perked up. "there was something... she had."

"What do you mean?" Dream asked, suddenly interested.

"...a book."

"what kind of book?" Sans prompted.

Horror hesitated, one hand coming up to tug at his dead socket. Ink flinched. "...an instruction book... something like that."

"THERE MIGHT BE INSTRUCTIONS IN THERE," Blue realized, somewhat happy. "DO YOU REMEMBER WHERE SHE KEPT IT?"

Horror shook his skull. "i wish."

"we could search t' house," Red offered. "it ain't robbery."

And so, it was decided. They would go to your house, one last time, and search for the supposed 'book'.

***

Nightmare felt a strange chill when he stepped past the foyer of your house. The others followed behind, chattering nervously. Coming here probably felt like a breach of privacy.

It probably was.

...He just hoped you wouldn't haunt him for it.

Bad joke, Nightmare.

"Me, Dust, Killer, and Horror will search the upstairs," he announced. Ink looked like he wanted to object, but held his metaphorical tongue. Other than that, everyone seemed okay with the plan.

Good.

He began to ascend the stairs, followed by his 'gang'.

"J-JUST YELL IF YOU FIND SOMETHING," Blue called after them.

Nightmare didn't respond, merely rolling his uncovered eyelight. Perhaps.

Your room was surprisingly clean, though messy enough to have a bit of personality. The random feathers scattered throughout the space, as well as various knicknacks, cemented the fact that this was definitely your room.

Dust, interestingly enough, seemed very interested in your living space, too. "you don't think she would mind if we took a few clothes, do you?"

"I think she would very much mind," Nightmare said dryly. Talking about a dead person's wishes made him feel weird, especially when it was you. "Even though she has no use for them."

A huffing sound left Dust's mouth, but he made no more comments.

Nightmare busied himself with searching your bookshelf. It seemed like the most logical thing... until it wasn't.

Romeo and Juliet... seriously??

The impromptu discovery of one such book - Romeo and Juliet, to be exact - defied all logic. What was worse was that, when he flipped through said book, scribbles covered nearly every page, ranging from written footnotes to long, embarrassing rants about select characters.

It didn't matter if you were dead or not; this was treason.

"what'cha got there, boss?"

Nightmare slammed the book shut at Killer's intrusion. "N-Nothing."

The other skeleton merely laughed. "romeo and juliet? that's dumb."

"shouldn't... talk bad about the..." Horror trailed off. They all knew what he was going to say.

Silence ensued for the nth time that day.

Suddenly, Horror spoke. "i found it."

***

And the plot thickens... again. Also, (Y/n) is alive. Is anyone surprised? ...Nope. The power of fanfiction compels you.