The Stage is Set

Contacting A Past Life pt.5

Swap, not knowing Killer, misses the tell of his lie. He smiles proudly and fully of cockiness. "Ah, yes. My angel is wonderful to me. Knowing he doesn't have to talk to those beneath us, yet doing so only to tell them about us!" Swap almost purrs at the thought as he blushes. "So kind and loving, he truly is a deity walking with me. So beautiful, isn't he? Truly, a perfect being. And he's all for me! All his love is mine, and isn't that great?" Nightmare bristles, wanting to scream out how Swap's painting Ink as a thing to own. "And here he went, to tell you all about the two of us. Oh, how I can't wait to hold him again. He's so perfect. He'll be so happy to see me again. So thrilled! We'll be able to continue our lives together! He won't ever have to live with all this filth again! Just the two of us. Just as it should be." He sighs before looking at the floor. "He must have been so destroyed after I was deleted."

Cross perks up. "Yes!" He flushes with how loud he is. Cross can't lie to save his life, but if there is something he can do, it's protect his brother. Swap steps closer to Cross, and Cross rubs his arm. "Yeah, he was really upset. I don't know much, but I was the first to meet him out of our group." He chuckles softly as a memory comes back to him.

***

It was so cold. So lonely. Just the two of them sitting in this empty world. How could he do this to everyone? His brother? His friends? Why did he do this? He's so lonely. Please, he just wants a friend. Even if it's just one other person, he just wants someone to talk to. Someone who isn't Chara. He can't take it anymore. He's sorry. He's sorry. He's sorry! He knows that Chara is staring at him with pity. With disgust. The anger he had turned into understanding after the first few... Days? Hours? Years? He doesn't know anymore. He wails as another wave of guilt hits him. His tears paint the floor in front of him a pale violet. He sniffles as he tries to wipe his face dry. Why is he still crying?

Why can't he stop?

He sits up in confusion as he watches the small puddle of his tears bubble. It bubbles as if it's boiling before turning black. He leans back, and Chara floats behind him in fearful curiosity. He watches as his tears take the form of someone. The darkness of his tears slowly becomes different colors, revealing the person who was made from his tears. Their top is different from what he's seen before. The way it's tucked into their pale coffee pants with a long sash that loops around their waist. It's holding the biggest paintbrush he's ever seen. They don't have either humeruses, just their forearms. They're wearing no shoes, and they have gloves on. As he trails his gaze back up to their face, he notices their hat. It looks like a rice hat with a sand-colored veil.

He stares at those surprised eye pips, and they change color and shape. That's so cool. He wishes he could do that. Maybe they could? He moves his gaze to fall on the paint splatter that paints their cheek. Then, his attention is drawn to the large angel-shaped wings on their back. Such a strange skeleton. He stares at them as they tuck their wings back and take their hat off. He can feel Chara leaning into his back. They smile at him as they crouch down to make eye contact.

"Hey there." Their voice is soft.

They hold out a hand to him. What do they want him to do? It's been so long that he's started to forget some common courtesies he used to know. He looks back at Chara to see if he knows what he's supposed to do. Chara quirks a brow with a shrug. Maybe a handshake? Cross doesn't know either. He looks back at the other skeleton, watching them put their hand down. He openly stares at them as they move to sit down on their heels.

"My name is Ink. What should I call you?"

Oh. Names.

Cross blinks before shuffling to mimic Ink's way of sitting. His skull faces the ground, and his pips move to look at them through the fluff of his hood. "...My name is Sans."

Ink snorts, and he almost feels offended. Why are they laughing at him? His name isn't that funny... is it? He stares as Ink blushes as they look away. Oh. Did they not mean to snort? So... They weren't laughing at him? That makes him feel slightly better. Although, he does see what could be funny about his name. Comic Sans. It does sound a little silly for a soldier.

Ink shakes their skull. "Ah. Well, maybe a nickname, perhaps? There are a lot of 'Sanses" in the Multiverse. It's hard to call them all their names without confusing them all."

He stares back at Ink in confusion. "Multiverse?" Chara shrugs into his back, so even Chara's confused about it. Did Alphys ever talk about a Multiverse? He doesn't remember. It's been too long.

Ink nods. "Yes. Do you want me to tell you about it?"

Cross looks behind himself at Chara. Does he want to learn about it? It's piqued his interest, but he also doesn't want to bore Chara. Chara nods back at him before gesturing to his sockets. Oh, he's still crying? He quickly faces forward and wipes at his sockets. He nods at Ink, watching as their attention is drawn to something over his shoulder. A feeling of surprise fills him as there's only Chara looking over his shoulder. Could it be that they can see him too?

Ink blinks in surprise before smiling. "Oh! I didn't know you weren't alone!" They smile at Chara, and he blinks in shock.

He leans forward, closer to Ink. "You can see him?"

Ink nods and waves to Chara. He feels Chara move to hide behind him, but he's not surprised. Chara's always been wary of new people. He smiles as he glances back to Chara to see him waving at Ink. He looks back at Ink, interested in learning about this Multiverse thing. Maybe it could take the edge off of his loneliness for a bit. It's been so long since someone other than Chara has talked to him face-to-face like this.

He listens with awe. The amount of other AUs there are. He's one of them? His story could be so different than others or similar, and he would've even known. There could be others out there that are just like him. There's an original too. Could the original also be a part of the royal guard like he is? Could he get his world back? Ink said he's the protector, he can help.

Can't he?

Not. Ink doesn't have that kind of power. At least, not bring it back the way he knows it. His world would be too different than he remembers if Ink remade it. As far as Ink knows, his world is the only one like this in this Multiverse. The only one with this color palette, this type of storyline, and the personalities of his friends. Ink bringing them back would change them. He doesn't think he could handle it.

Ink smiles at him again. "So, did you think of a nickname you want to go with?" Ink chuckles. "Most go with what their AU is known for. Like Farmer or Fell. But, I don't think you want to be called 'X,' am I right?"

He shakes his head. No, he wouldn't want that name. "Maybe... Cross? Is that alright?"