How to Establish Your Gang and Take Care of the Children in It (On Hiatus)

Rule 34: Your Glitch is a Bastard. Accept That it's Just Part of his Charm

Oh, God.

Oh, oh no.

"Y-you're serious?" Horror asked shakily. Killer nodded. "Half of his SOUL- as a damn souvenir- and he's just- Oh, God."

Killer nodded again, glancing away. Horror slumped down against the wall, sitting back on his heels as he buried his face in his hands.

"No wonder Cross was so terrified," Horror muttered.

"That's all you have to say?" Killer snapped. He started pacing back and forth, flicking one of his knives out of its sheath and spinning it anxiously. "He's sitting in there, virtually unmonitored, Cross is almost dead and Mare's completely exposed, and all you have to say is wow, Cross is scared of the guy who tried to murder him!?"

"I'm trying to think!" Horror replied snappishly. He exhaled sharply, closing his eyes and clenching his fists. "I don't- Killer, this is horrible, but-"

"But what?" Killer cried. "We have to do something! We have to-"

"We have to what?" Horror asked, cutting his friend off as he stood up. "Go in there guns blazing? Try to fight Error? Explain to Mare why we would attack a guest- no matter how begrudging of a guest he is?"

Killer started to say something, then stopped, closing his mouth with an audible click.

"As much as I hate it, and as much as you hate it, Error is here under Mare's protection," Horror said. "We can't do anything. It's not our problem to solve." He took a deep, shaky breath. "All we can do is wait."

"How can you say that?" Killer demanded. "He tried to kill Cross!"

"Dust tried to kill me."

Killer balked, startled by both the words and the blunt tone. "He- what?"

Horror shrugged. "It was before you met us. He was in a terrible frame of mind, and saw all three of us as threats. One night, he walked into my room and pulled out a knife. Broke my wrist, too."

Killer looked surprised, furrowing his bonebrow in a frown. But he stayed silent as Horror continued.

"Some internal argument stopped him, thankfully," Horror said. "So there we both were, sitting on the floor, crying after attempted murder, and it turns out Mare had been standing in the doorway the entire time. Just watching. Not interfering or trying to stop Dust. Not doing anything to help. Naturally, my response was something along the lines of 'what the fuck?!'. And you know what Mare responded with? 'The only way to get Dust to feel safe is to let him realize himself that we aren't a threat'. Attached to a long, sentimental speech, of course."

Killer snorted. "Of course."

"Anyway, the moral of the story is that Mare didn't interfere because it wasn't his problem to solve," Horror said gently. "If he had tried, it would have only convinced Dust we were threats. Nothing would have been fixed. It's the same here, Killz. If we rise to Cross' defense, nothing will change. It has to be his decision, because it's his grievance."

"And if Error gets off scot-free after what he's done?" Killer asked quietly.

Horror met his gaze evenly. "Then we respect Cross' decision, and trust that he was right."

Killer hesitated, glancing away. "I don't like it," he snapped. But that anger wasn't there for Horror.

"I'm not exactly ecstatic about it either," Horror said with a shrug. "But it's the only way for things to get better."

"Fine," Killer said with a small huff. "You're right. But for the record, I don't like it."

Horror put a hand on his shoulder. "You don't have to. The important thing is that you've decided to do the right thing."