Loyal Servant (Crossmare) (Rewrite)

This Isn't The End

Cross held up an arm, shielding his face from any stray strings which hovered between him, and the pair of souls. His blaster moved swiftly, Error and Paperjam both too caught up in their brawl to pay his approach any mind. Almost there! He lifted one of his twin blades, aiming for the strings which trapped the gods' souls. I just have to cut them free!

"Cross! On your left!" Killer suddenly shouted in warning. He turned, finding a golden arrow soaring straight for his blaster. Dream! In a last ditch effort to avoid it, he leapt from his perch atop the weapon. The arrow burst right through his blaster, easily shattering it into dozens of sharp bone fragments. The broken shards shot off all around him, one slicing through his lower jaw. It cut deep enough to splatter blood, but he couldn't afford to care. With his previous jump, the souls were still in reach. With one swift swing, he severed the blue string and set the souls free.

Error must have noticed the connection break, for he looked back in alarm. Anger soon overtook his features, eye sockets filling to the brim with little glitches. "No!!! Back off, you stupid little anomaly!" He yelled, letting one hand off the book in order to send a wave of strings crashing down upon Cross. They sent him hurtling for the floor, where he crashed with a grunt and wince of pain. Something had cracked, but he really didn't have the time to worry about that.

He slowly rolled over. When he looked up, he could feel blood trickling down his neck. Attempting to push himself up onto his knees didn't go as planned. Exhausted, he only slipped back down. He propped himself up with his arms the best he could and watched the pair of dark skeletons above.

With one of Error's hands off the book, Paperjam gave it their all and fought furiously to snatch the book from their father's weakened grip. Cross felt a jolt of relief when they managed to yank it free. "You devious little mistake!!!" Error snapped, though his voice could hardly be understood with how glitched it had become. "I'll kill you like I should when I first found you!" He claimed, diving after Paperjam when they attempted to escape.

Paperjam suddenly created a bubble of ink around themself as they fell with the book in hand. When Error's talon-like fingertips struck it, they only screeched across the hardened surface. It seemed he couldn't easily penetrate the shield. Paperjam's ball bounced across the ground and rolled to a stop a short distance away from Cross. Error hadn't followed. Looking back his way, Cross could easily guess why not.

A dark shadow had fallen over the god of destruction, who stared up at the towering monstrosity with wide eyes. Nightmare had regained his control, and he was not pleased. He bared his needle sharp teeth and tensed his long talons, the waving tendrils behind his back making his already towering form look even larger. "Your audacity astounds me, Error," Nightmare snarled, his blue eye full of wild hatred. "In my eternal lifetime, I've seen a lot of outrageous and stupid behavior, but none quite as bold as this."

Cross noticed Ink nearby. Dream was at his side, standing with an arrow drawn back. She didn't aim for her brother however, her bow pointed towards Error instead. Everyone had their eyes fixed to him, including Paperjam once they dropped their shield. Error realized this as he rapidly glanced around. In the end he gave one last growl of defiance, then swiftly vanished into a portal. Once it closed, Cross sighed and let himself go limp. It's done.

Beside him, Paperjam shifted. A moment later they pushed the book along the ground towards Cross. "I think you better keep this close," They said. Cross was a little thrown off by them handing it over, but he accepted, pulling it close to his chest. "You're not going to turn to dust on me, are you?" Paperjam asked.

"No," Cross whispered back. "I'm just... so tired," He sighed. He started to close his eyes, but he soon heard footsteps approaching him.

"Cross," Nightmare spoke his name calmly. He shot his eyes back open, attempting to lift himself once more. "Can you stand?" Nightmare questioned, his voice surprisingly soft. When Cross shuddered and dropped back to the ground, Nightmare went to slip a tendril around his chest. With that he pulled him up, using another to hook his legs. From there Nightmare shifted him into his own arms, holding him close to his chest. "Just rest. I'll get you home," Nightmare promised. With that Cross let his eyes finally shut, trusting his lover to handle the rest.