Book 2: The First Fallen Human

Shaky Strings

Blue laid in the hammock quietly. He had his eyes closed as he hummed quietly to himself. He blinked open his eyes as he heard a fizzle, signaling someone had arrived. He shot up, grinning. "Greeting-" He stopped himself, staring at the arrivals.

For a solid moment, he was absolutely baffled. Was that... Was that Cross?? "Wowee! How did you get out of X-Tale?!" He cried, rolling out of the hammock and facing him.

X was taken back too. Was this... Was this Code? It looked like him... kind of... He was also taken back by what he'd said. "Whaddaya mean??" He asked, his brow furrowed. Blue blinked.

He opened his mouth, but before he could answer, the other skeleton caught his attention.  "Error??" He asked, his eyes wide. The skeleton flinched back and Blue jumped. "No, no, it's okay!! The Magnificent Sans will not harm you!!" He gave a comforting grin.

Glitch was trembling. All he could picture was Code, grinning maliciously as he reached out for him. He jumped as Blue clapped his hands, getting his attention. "Ah!! You must be alternate versions, right??" He asked, his starry eyes certain. X rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. DreamSwap is what you guys call it?" He stated, already seeming bored of their conversation. Blue blinked before his eyes lit up and he gasped.

"NO WAY!!" He squealed excitedly. "That's SO cool!!" He took a step towards them before pausing. "Is it okay if I come over to you?" Glitch blinked. X raised an eyebrow and Blue flushed a bright blue. "I know it's odd to ask, but you both seem wary of me. I promise I am no threat!" He said, giving another comforting grin.

"Y-Y-Y-Yeah..." Glitch said softly. Blue's eyes lit up and he bounced over to them, stopping in front of them. He stared at them curiously. His gaze turned to Glitch, who seemed to freeze up. Blue blinked in concern.

"Are you alright?? Am I too close? I can move back!" He fretted quietly. The fear seemed to fade a little in Glitch's eyes and he gave a weak scoff.

"N-n-no, it's f-f-f-fine..." He said, looking away. Blue smiled at him cheerfully and Glitch seemed to come a bit more out of his shell.

"Well! I wish I could offer you guys something, but I'm afraid I can't! I definitely would've made tacos!" Blue said, crossing his arms with a huff. X gagged a bit and Glitch gave a weak laugh. Blue's eyes lit back up. "You already laugh a lot more than my Error does!" He was clearly delighted by the fact.

At that, Glitch blushed yellow and looked down. Blue giggled a little. "So, why've you two come to the Void? Most people avoid it if they can!" Blue said, seeming curious. X blinked and nodded his head to Glitch. Blue turned his attention to him.

"I-I-I just-t-t wanted t-t-to see..." Glitch mumbled. Blue stared at him before laughing.

"MWEH HEH HEH! As good a reason as any!" He said, shrugging with a huge grin. Glitch glanced up at him before nodding. Blue's smile faded once again as he stared at him in dismay.

"You remind him of someone else." X stated matter-of-factly, shocking Glitch so much that he shut down. As he was reloading, Blue blinked up at Cross in confusion before his eyes widened.

"OHH! You guys have a version of me in your world too, right?" He asked with wide, starry eyes. X sighed and nodded. He gestured to Glitch, who was still coming back into focus.

"He doesn't have the greatest history with other you. In fact, it's pretty bad... Your counterpart messed him up good." X said, sighing. Blue was shocked. He covered his mouth. Glitch fully rebooted as Blue turned to him.

"I'm so sorry!! I didn't mean to scare you!" He said, seeming dismayed. Glitch blinked at him in complete confusion. "Your Cross just told me there's bad blood between you and I!" At that, Glitch turned on X with an angry glare. X shrugged.

Glitch started to say it was fine again, but Blue shook his head firmly. "Not at all!! I don't want any bad feelings between us!" He quickly held out his hand. "Greetings! I am Underswap Sans! You may defer to me as the Magnificent Sans, or Blue!" Glitch was taken back.

For a moment, he seemed too stunned to say ANYTHING. Then, he covered his mouth, screwing his eyes shut as he let out loud, glitched, muffled laughter. Even X seemed surprised. Glitch sighed and smiled, almost seeming relieved as he reached out and shook Blue's hand.

"I-I-I'm DreamSwap Error... b-b-b-but I'm also called-d-d Glitch." He said. Blue gave his hand a comforting squeeze, a hint of pride in his starry eyes as he pulled back. Glitch blinked, seeming surprised before blushing.

"I'm Cross." X stated bluntly. Blue blinked at him before snorting and giggling softly. He nodded as X raised an eyebrow. X didn't get what was so funny. Glitch smiled a bit too.

Blue sighed. "I'm REALLY happy that you guys stopped by! It's really nice to have visitors every now and then!" His eyes were shining brightly. "But you should probably leave before Error comes back! He said he would be back soon and I don't know if you guys want to really meet OUR Error!"

"What's wrong with yours?" X asked, puzzled. Blue gave a nervous grin before rocking back and forth of his heels.

"Well... let's just say he does NOT like visitors. Or AU's... and you guys are both of that." Blue said, seeming nervous. X blinked.

"Aren't you an AU?" He asked flatly. Blue nodded, grinning.

"Yep! But I'm different! He kinda stole me from my timeline! So I had no choice to stay here!" He affirmed with a nod. X snorted.

"So what's keeping you from going back now?" He asked, shrugging. Blue stared at him and his smile slowly faded. X went cold. Oh. Bad question. Blue's eyes had gone dark. He quickly shook himself, his eyes lighting back up before coughing awkwardly. When he spoke again, his voice sounded strained.

"Uh..." He looked down. "My... my timeline's already been RESET... so... I've already been replaced." He gave a wrecked-looking smile and Glitch seemed dismayed now. Blue quickly shook his head. "Uh, y-you guys should go... it was nice to meet you..."

Glitch had never been so taken back. Even with a face that looked like Code, he felt BAD for the other skeleton. He waved goodbye and turned away as X opened another portal. He paused before going through, turning to look back at the Blue.

Blue noticed him and jumped, wiping his eyes as he gave another smile. He was crying. Glitch felt his chest hurt before he forced himself to turn away. He stepped through the portal before it shut behind him.