~ 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 ~ {𝑵𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒙 𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓}

Chapter 9: Contact

You slept through the night, but it was anything but peaceful. You just couldn't shake the feeling that you were being watched. Jolting awake for the 5th time that night, you slid out a dagger and swept your gaze across every shadow in the room.

Sighing, you fell onto your pillow again. Of course, just like all of the other times, there was nothing there. There was no one watching you, and you were just fine. But since you were already too awake, you decided to do some more exploring. It was a sudden whisper, an urge to do something. Eh, I have the time. The Castle was always changing, after all.

Landing lightly on your feet, you glided out of the room with your hood up. Luckily, there was no one in the long hall. Everyone's still asleep, you smiled to yourself, checking that your daggers were still there.

You already knew where you wanted to go: there was a room that had been blocked by multiple Papyrus guards, and you were curious as hell as to what was in it.

The room was found in no time, and there were less guards than earlier. A mere couple, both of which were dozing off. But as soon as you got close, they snapped awake. You swore.

"You aren't allowed in here," one said, attempting (and failing) intimidation. "King's order—"

"Oh, really?" You snapped, putting your hands on your hips. "'King's orders?' Psh. He's got a new order for the likes of you. He wants you to Raspberry's room now, unless you ever wish to see any sort of light again."

Eye sockets wide, the pair hurried off on nonexistent orders.

You chuckled. "Too easy," you muttered, soundlessly opening the doors. In surprise, your eyebrows raised.

The room was filled to the brim with ripped papers. They were scattered everywhere, ink dripping off of many tattered pages. Stacks varied in height, from two or three ripped papers to hundreds of faded words. Aside the occasional shifting of paper and the soft sound of your breathing, nothing else could be heard.

"...Damn," you whispered, turning a page over. At the very top, in hard-to-see ink, was a title: 'SwapFell.' On yet another paper was the title 'DustTale.'

(E/C) eyes glistening, you searched throughout the room. There were so many. They all had two parts, and were all faded slightly. But then you made a discovery.

Holding up a page, titled 'BirdTale,' you smiled remembering the kind shopkeeper. Hopefully she was safe now that your new friends had saved them.

The ink was barely readable. Squinting, you glared at the words. Then the page did something very strange. It started disintegrating.

It started at the edges, then made its way inwards. You dropped the page in shock, yet it dusted before even hitting the ground. "...What?" The question slipped out of your lips just as you heard the door open.

Gasping silently, you ducked behind a large stack of papers. Silent curses poured from your mouth as none other than Cross walked into the room. He casually studied the papers, occasionally dragging his fingers across the thin material.

The door behind him was still open.

Taking a deep, silent breath, you moved. One foot. Two. Halfway there now, reaching for the handle. An inch from where your fingers would have touched brass, your arm brushed against a stack of paper.

A page fell.

Cross snapped his head up and looked around almost worriedly, brandishing his huge knife. Crouching, you continued cursing at your carelessness. The sound of footsteps drawing closer shut you up, however.

"...I know you're there," a voice growled. "Come out and face me." The footsteps slowed, allowing you to breath again. Then a pair of mismatched eyes stared blankly into yours. Pressing your lips together, you suddenly realized how anticlimactic this was.

A moment of silence. Then Cross laughed, muttering to himself, "Yeah yeah, this is stupid. I know." He held out a hand, eyes slightly softer now. "What're you doing up at like 2 am?"

Cocking an eyebrow, you took Cross' hand and hoisted yourself to your feet. "I could ask the same of you."

The skeleton chuckled. "Well, Chara won't exactly let me sleep—"

"Chara?" You choked, suddenly hit with a wave of memories. "You know who Chara is? I-I thought... I thought they, they were, well, y-you know..." You made a bunch of hand motions. "Locked away!"

"...Oh. Oh," Cross nodded quickly, as if an unasked question had just been answered. Too quickly. "Yep. They're talking about you. Chara says hi."

"W-" But he was gone.

"Damn it," you muttered, before a certain page caught your eye. It was more ripped than the others, the ink barely comprehensive. There were a few pictures, but...

Picking up the page, you folded it and stuffed it into your pocket. Maybe later. The rest of the room seemed to go an forever, and maybe it did.

You were suddenly too exhausted to find out. The wave of sleepiness caught you off guard, and you yawned whilst rubbing your eyes.

Stumbling through the halls, making sure you weren't seen, you (somehow) made it back to your room. Was it just you, or did it seem like the room had gotten a lot... brighter?

Eh. You were too damn tired to care.

Climbing beneath the velvet sheets, you closed your eyes and let yourself drift away.

:):

Everything was a murky darkness, and you were stuck in it.

Ew, you thought, slushing through the darkness. How did I get here??

You were tempted to lash out your arms to see if there were any walls, but soon decided against it. Then it hit you: you were trapped. Oh stars, you were trapped. Struggling, you screamed bloody murder, cursed, and cries for help somehow all at the same time.

Suddenly, something caught your eye.

A fleck of gold.

There. Another. Another. Yet another. Look, two more. They all seemed to be floating from one source, and so you whirled around to where they were coming from.

There, the vine from which the branches were sprouting, was yet another skeleton. It looked fairly kind, however, with a welcoming presence. Everything around it glowed and pulsed like a heartbeat.

The golden crown on its head was like a vine itself, going very nicely with the boots and cape. It turned its golden gaze to you.

"Oh stars!" It cried, breaking into a concerned smile. "I-I did it! Ok, ok. Now to get you out..."

Everything was happening fast. Too fast. "Excuse me, but what—no, who—the hell are you??" The skeleton seemed taken aback, then muttered something lightly under his breath.

"There's no time to explain, just—" he grabbed your arm, "—come on! We have no time to lose—"

Wrenching your arm out of his grip, you stared at him. There was something familiar about him, but what...

Alas, there was no time for you to think. A tendril laced around your arm and pulled you down, down, down.

The golden skeleton reached for you, but he was too late. You were drowning. Gasping for air that didn't come, your vision stayed clear as your body failed.

The last thing you saw before suffocating was another figure floating there, and his golden crown with a moon carved in.

:):

Gasping awake, you darted your gaze around the dark room. Everything was in order, except...

Nightmare was sitting at the edge of your bed. Behind him, unnoticed by the former, was a messy bouquet's worth of violet buttercups.

"We need to talk."