Dysfunction to Refunction

Chapter 6

(Sorry for a short chapter this time! I wrote this like at 1am XD)

"C-Chara? Did I say Chara? Slip of the tongue."

"Technically, skeletons don't have tongues."

"Psh. Sure we do. See?"

He stuck out a red ecto-tongue. Nightmare rolls his eyes, annoyed and slightly disgusted. A tentacle smacked Cross on the head, forcing the skeleton to bite his tongue painfully.

"Owowowow!"

"That's what you get for being stupid. Now, we have work to do."

He opens a portal to a random AU.

"Go do your job. Call my name when you are finished."

"What about you?"

"I'm…"

No. He cannot say how exhausted he was. Despite not doing any work on the previous AU, he had worked himself to the bone before meeting Cross.

"In need to take care of some business. Leave."

Cross didn't hesitate this time to run through the portal, finding that any more time with Nightmare might end in a new bruise on his person. 

Nightmare settled in one of the cabins that had been made empty. He moved some furniture and collapsed onto one of the beds, sleep overtaking him.

Meanwhile. Cross had already begun to look for monsters when he found that… The AU was empty! Dust covered everything. It couldn't have been the human since no resets had occurred so…

A snap. From a branch to Cross's right. He looked but no one was there.

"Looks like I missed one. Guess I didn't know there was another skeleton in the Underground…", called an eerily deep voice.

'Male', Cross thought.

'Highly likely to be the killer. Must be faster than most monsters. Efficient or emotionally driven. Possibly as powerful as me…'

Cross looked around, knife drawn.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you n o t t o p l a y w i t h k n i v e s ?"

A small, normal-sized knife whizzed past the black and white skeleton, grazing his cheek right below his red scar. Unlike his lightning shaped scar, the new cut would heal. The threat was close and he was caught in unfamiliar territory…

"Really? Hiding in the shadows? What a douche move. Face me, ya coward!", he yelled.

As if provoked, a black figure suddenly appeared a few feet in front of him.

'Teleportation? Or speed? Could be a Sans for all I know…'

"Coward, eh?"

Now that they were closer, Cross noticed that they were wearing a hoodie. The exact same one he used to have before joining the Royal Guard! That basically screamed 'Sans'.

"You're a Sans?"

"How rude."

The Sans drew another knife from their jacket pocket.

"I thought ya were askin' for a M A D T I M E."

Cross gave a sadistic grin.

"W H E R E A R E T H E K N I V E S ?"

A fierce battle followed. Blows were traded as both brawlers gained bruises, cuts, and a couple cracks in their bones. Eventually the two agreed to a truce as they came to realize that they were too evenly matched.

Panting, the Sans held out a hand.

"Names Dust."

The other shook the offered hand.

"Cross."

"Like the religious kind?"

"Hah! As if. Nah, the 'X' kind."

"Sure. What brings you here."

"Uhm… I don't think I'm allowed to say."

"Allowed? You working for someone?"

Cross mentally kicked himself. One minute and he was already about to spill the beans. So much for 'assassin'...