The Path We Walk

Ch.8 Together Forever

"Well I think it's a great idea." I hear, as I see Chara and Frisk materialize next to me. They looked to be red ghosts. They looked different than they did in my soul. The two of them were younger, the age they were in the underground. They had short hair, their sweaters, shorts, and regular shoes. It was hard to see the details when their whole body was the same color and transparent. "Looks like I'll have Chara and Frisk following me around as ghosts now." I say to myself.

Without missing a beat,"I'm sure Dust's brother Spirit and Cross' Chara X will be please to have new friends. We'll have to make sure you all get nicknames." Wine says.

I knew the least about Wine, so I was somewhat surprised that he was so calm about the fact I would be haunted by ghosts. Though he felt genuine. I tilt my head in fake confusion. I knew who he was talking about due to my knowledge of Undertale, but he doesn't know that. "Spirit haunts Dust after his death. X Shares a soul with Cross, so they float around as a ghost. Their situation is kinda like the three of yours." He explains. I nod my head.

"Looks like we're stuck together you two. At least, we'll never be alone." I tell them.

"By the time we're done with you, you'll Wish you could be alone." Chara says cackling. Frisk just smiles.

"So now that you've been caught up, what's your decision." Nightmare interjects.

"I get to choose?" I ask.

"Of course, forcing you to work for me would just cause problems in the long run. So I would prefer for you to work for me willing. Plus, it's your soul I can't do what I need to do to it if your unwilling." He explains.

"Well, you help save me from an endless genocide hell and possession. And, are willing to make sure I don't go on a murderous rage. But, I'm not really sure I could do your work. Destruction of property and chaos via pranks, yes. Straight up killing, no. " I told him.

"Not everyone who works for me has to kill. We all take up different jobs. From maintaining the castle and cooking to espionage and sabotage. Wine's younger brother is one of them. We can find something else you can contribute to the group." He tells me.

"What would you do to my soul, exactly? It's kinda the culmination of my being, so I'm a bit concerned about having someone mess with it." I say.

"Well it's both very simple and extremely complex. The easiest way to explain it is I would change the state of your soul. How your soul normally is its most 'open' state. What I would do is change the shape of your soul into a 'closed' state. They're different ways of closing a soul. For magic, the soul 'memory', or the body. But, we can get into those another time. What we would be doing is closing your emotions. This would prevent you from triggering your pseudo LV spike. It's a bit uncomfortable, but it'll be easier while your soul is still unstable. This would also allow me to fix some of the damage as well. I've done this before to Killer, after I found him. I had to do it quite a few times until he was able to handle his own emotions. The guilt and trauma wasn't something he could handle at the time. But luckily I don't have to do it anymore, so his is back to normal." Nightmare explained.

"Ya, if it wasn't for the boss I don't think I'd be where I'm at now. So I really owe him for that." Killer told me. I could feel his reverence for Nightmare.

I think about it for a moment. If I don't have to kill, then I don't have any issue helping them. They do what they do to help the multiverse. They just get the short end of the stick. If I can make things a bit better for them I don't mind. And, while I don't really like having someone messing with my soul, I know I'll be in good hands. I can handle not having emotions for a while longer. I have my answer. I just have a few things I need to do. "Would it be ok if I have a week or two to take care some stuff in my Au?" I ask.

"That would be fine. Error needs to check on the code in your universe to see the damage anyways. So, he can drop the two of you off. I'd be by regularly to make sure that your soul wouldn't revert back." He tells me.

"Alright then, you got yourself a deal." I say holding my hand out.

Nightmare face turns into a terrifying smile, but I can feel he's just relieved and genuinely happy. He shakes my hand. "I look forward to working with you. Now, let's get your soul taken care of. I'm sure you would like to be on your way." He says as he makes sure I'm laying down comfortably.

"Alright, Wine you know what to do. Killer make sure the flower doesn't interfere. Error make sure nobody comes into the room. We've been here for a while, but it shouldn't be much longer." Nightmare commands.