Book 1: The First Fallen Human

Subtle Prison

Cross sighed as he laid on his back, staring up into the endless void. Next to him, Chara was also laying down. It had been a while since Ink had last visited and Dream had long disappeared. He closed his eyes, listening for some type of noise. A single indicator of life besides their breath, sighing together in unison. There was nothing. Cross opened his eyes, glancing to the side. The large dagger gleamed next to them, a loud burst of red in the whiteness. He sat up, stretching.

All of a sudden, a gigantic black ink bubble came up out of the ground with a loud whoosh. Both Cross and Chara shrieked as they moved away from it, eyes wide. They stared at it. It dispersed, dropping three things. Ink. Error. And... Cross's eyes widened. He even forgot that he was angry for them scaring him. Even Chara was wide-eyed and curious. A human laid on the ground, seemingly unconscious.

"I... Is that... Scooter?" Cross asked, his eyes wide. Even though she was unconscious, the aura of pain permeated from her like perfume. Ink sighed, nodding. He bent over, panting. Error sighed. He got behind her and bound her hands together tightly. Tight enough to cause blood to start dripping from her wrists. "H-Hey! Error!"

"D-D-D-Don't underestimate h-h-h-her." The other growled, looking up at Cross with a dark expression. Cross immediately pulled back, gulping. What had she done? He blinked as Ink spoke.

"We have to leave her here for a bit." Ink said, clearly offering a rushed explanation. Ink knelt down and untied what appeared to be a black leather coat from around her waist and laid it over her. Cross was still in shock as he nodded. Ink smiled. "Good! C'mon, Glitchy!" Error yelped as Ink grabbed him and they disappeared through a brush of paint in the void. It disappeared and Cross was left with Scooter.

Cross blinked before sharing a glance with Chara. "Get closer." Chara urged him, wanting to see the other human closer. Cross gulped before nodding and moving forward. He summoned the dagger to his hand and its tip brushed against the floor for a moment, causing red sparks. He lifted it and knelt next to Scooter. He stared at her.

"Is this... an... adult... human...?" The question was directed to Chara. Oh. That's right. Chara blinked. Cross had never actually seen an adult human before. He'd only had to deal with them and Frisk. They nodded. Cross blinked at them before turning back to Scooter. He reached out with a skeletal finger and moved long, grey hair from around where he assumed her face to be. The tips of the hair were faintly orange. He blinked as he saw pale, freckled skin. Her eyes were closed. She didn't even appear to be breathing. Cross furrowed his brow and placed a hand in front of her mouth. He felt no heat. "She's... not breathing..."

"What?" Chara asked, eyes wide. "Uh... humans kind of NEED to breathe!" Cross stared down at Scooter, startled. She had metal piercings on her ears and he'd seen large rings on all of her fingers. She wore a red hoodie with yellow fluff on the hood under a black sweatshirt. Grey skinny jeans and a gold chain hung from the belt. Black boots. Cross blinked as he noticed something. He moved her hair to reveal a tightly tied ribbon around her neck. He heard Chara gasp. "That's WAY too tight!"

Immediately, Cross reached out and picked at the knot with his bony fingers. He managed to slide his finger inside the knot before pulling it. He jumped as there was a cracking sound. He froze, staring down at Scooter. What was that noise? He loosened the ribbon a bit more and her entire head seem to shift downward with a scraping noise. Cross flinched. He hated that noise. Finally, he pulled the ribbon off and they both shrieked as Scooter's spine came up out of the back of her neck. Cross immediately went to touch his own neck, shaking.

"H-Her neck is broken!" He exclaimed. Chara had their mouth covered. Cross was shaking. He knew the human was dead if her neck was broken. He dropped the ribbon, eyes wide. Had Error and Ink...? No... He jumped as Chara spoke.

"Did they KILL her...? I thought she couldn't die!!" Chara exclaimed. Cross turned to her. He was shaking. Why would those two just come in and dump a dead body in her with him?! He felt a small heart attack as he heard a shaking breath being drawn in behind him.

"I... can't... die..."

They both shrieked and jumped back as there was a shuffling noise. Cross whipped around, his dagger held up. Scooter had sat up, her head twisted to the side abnormally. The spine was sticking up out of her skin. Blood trickled from her mouth as she blinked at both of them with dull, glassy grey eyes. Cross shivered. He was looking at a moving corpse. Something that was alive that was clearly dead. Scooter shuffled before sighing, his face unchanging.

"I... am bound..."

It was more of a statement, even though it seemed like she was having a realization. Scooter sighed and gurgled softly.

"My... ribbon... please..."

Cross blinked before nodding and coming forward, picking up the ribbon. He reached out shakily and lifted her head, flinching at the scraping noise of bone against bone. He wrapped the ribbon around her neck and tied it tight again, understanding now why it was so tight before. He pulled back  and Scooter blinked before rolling her head around. Cross flinched, inhaling sharply and Scooter stopped, blinking at him.

"Apologies..."

She sighed and sat on her knees, huffing quietly. Finally, Cross saw her look up and stare around.

"Where...?"

"X-Tale." Cross said quickly. Scooter's dead gaze moved to him and her face didn't change as she blinked.

"X-Tale."

She echoed his answer quietly, in a monotone whisper. Cross nodded, feeling his grip tighten on the dagger. He hated talking about it. Scooter blinked. Cross felt uneasy. He couldn't read her and it bothered him greatly. He slowly sat down, nodding.

"There... isn't anything left of my AU... but me and Chara." He said, sighing. Chara rolled their eyes next to him. Scooter's gaze immediately moved to them and Chara jumped. There was no way...

"Yes... I can see you, Chara..."

Both of them jumped at her statement and Chara blinked. "You... Can you hear me too?!" Chara asked in shock. Scooter blinked slowly before nodding. Chara seemed shocked. Cross was shocked too. He blinked before furrowing his brow.

"Uh... so I'm this AU's Sans... but I guess you already knew that... Everyone calls me Cross..." Cross stated, introducing himself awkwardly. Scooter blinked at him before nodding again. She opened her mouth and they both jumped as some of her body glitched in and out of existence.

"I... take it you already know who I am..."

Cross froze at her words, not wanting to seem creepy. He blinked before nodding awkwardly. Scooter sighed and looked down.

"Where did they go?"

"They... uh... didn't say. Honestly, they just kind of dumped you here and left." Cross said, shrugging helplessly. Scooter nodded before sitting down, seeming to wriggle into a more comfortable position.

"Then we wait."