Y/N POV
~~~~~~~~
I let out a yawn and sat up, causing Dust to mumble something sleepily. He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me back down, cracking open an eye socket to give me a kiss on the neck, then closing it and falling asleep. He snored quietly and then rolled back over onto his other side.
Adorable genocidal man. I thought with amusement as I planted a soft kiss on his skull and climbed out of bed.
"Nooo." He whined sleepily. "Come baaaack."
Unable to disappoint him, I climbed back into bed. "Happy?"
"Mmhmhm yes." He nodded and kissed my neck again, wrapping an arm tightly around my chest. "Now stay."
He fell back asleep.
I let out a sigh and waited for him to roll over.
"ALRIGHT, NERDS, GET UP SLEEPYHEADS." Killer burst through the door. "BREAKFAST IS READY."
"Your head is gonna be for breakfast if you do that again." Dust grumbled and buried his head in the pillow.
"C'mon, Dusty." I tried to pull him out of bed.
"I'm tireeeeeeed." He muttered.
Killer giggled and grabbed me, slinging me over is shoulder as I let out a yelp. "Dust, I'm taking your girlfriend if you don't get out of bed."
"Take her, I don't care." Dust waved his hand. "She makes me get up early."
"Wh- Dust!" I protested.
"Welp. Okie-dokie." Killer grinned and carried me out of the bedroom.
"Can you put me down?" I asked.
"Nope."
I let out a sigh. "Fine. Whatever."
He giggled again, then paused He set me down and looked at me. "I... I am glad you're, y'know, on our side? Or we're on your side? Anyway, I'm glad we're not fighting anymore."
"Yeah, me too." I clapped his shoulder. "Now let's go, or Nightmare's gonna have our heads.
He nodded and we ran through the halls towards the dining room.
"Finallyyyyyy." Horror groaned as we appeared. "You guys were taking forever- Where the fuck is Dust?"
"Sleeping in, like the lazybones he is." I giggled and sat beside Killer.
"Just like before." Cross let out a sigh.
I grabbed a bagel from off a plate and noticed Dream kept casting glances at Nightmare.
"It's weird, y'know?" Ink said. "Like, being here with y'all. Like, I like it! It's nice, being friends, but it's still weird, living under the same roof."
"You're just not used to having wacky roommates." Horror giggled.
"I mean... Not really. Blue and Dream were wacky enough."
"Hey! I'm not wacky!" Blue protested.
"You are." Dream poked Blue.
Nightmare inhaled sharply and rubbed his forehead but said nothing.
Must be weird for him. I thought. Being around his brother after so long of fighting... And having me here probably doesn't help. I mean, he tried to kill me how many times? None of them worked. He must feel... I don't even know what he's feeling.
"Hey, Y/N, stop daydreaming about Dust." Killer elbowed me. "I'm trynna tell you something!"
"Huh?" I blinked. "Whoops. Sorry. Got distracted."
Killer grinned. "I'm done with breakfast. Wanna... Continue your training?"
"I- What?"
"Y'know, like we did before!"
"I mean... Sure." I looked at my empty plate. I had one bagel.
Eh. Screw food.
"C'mon, then!" Killer grabbed my arm and dragged me through the halls.
~~~~~~~~
We opened the doors to the training area to find Dust beating up a wall.
"Uh-" Killer made a face. "He looks... Mad."
Dust stopped brutally murdering the poor wall and sighed, placing his head against it. He was saying something, but I couldn't hear him.
"Why don't we go somewhere else?" Killer suggested.
Part of me wanted to go give Dust a hug, but I figured he needed his alone time, so I nodded, and we backed out of the room.
"We could go..." Killer narrowed his sockets. "Hmmm..." Suddenly, he grabbed my arm and pulled me against the wall. "Shh..."
The door to the training room flung open and Dust walked out, eye flaring red and purple. He was covered in sweat.
"Will you SHUT UP?" He snarled, presumably at his ghost brother. "I'M SICK OF HEARING THAT. I'M SICK OF YOU, ACTUALLY. I'M SICK OF EVERYTHING. I'M SICK OF THIS CASTLE, SICK OF NIGHTMARE, SICK OF DREAM."
...
"NO." He shot a bone into the wall. "I'M NOT GONNA LISTEN TO YOU. I'M GOING BACK TO MY AU, AND I'M TAKING Y/N WITH ME. I DON'T WANNA BE HERE ANYMORE."
...
"If you say that one more FUCKING time, I will find a way to kill you again."
...
"GO AWAY, YOU STUPID INCORPOREAL IDIOT! I DON'T WANNA SEE YOU ANYMORE."
...
"Good riddance." He let out an angry sigh and walked away.
"...That-" Killer inhaled. "I didn't realize-"
"He's just having a bad day." I said, not sure if it was true. "He'll get used to being here again."
"...Yeah, I hope so." He pulled the doors to the training area open. "Let's, uh, do this?"
I nodded and we walked in. I immediately headed to the rack of weapons and grabbed a baseball bat.
"Uh- We're not gonna use these?" Killer summoned two blunt bones.
"Nah, I wanna use this right now." I grinned.
"...Ok." He shrugged. "Do you even know how?"
"We'll find out. I used to play softball when I was eight. Haven't picked up a bat since."
"Hmm..." He teleported over to where I was and grabbed a baseball. "I dunno why we have this, but..." He threw it up in the air with a grin. "Wanna play?"
I snorted. "What happened to training?"
"Well, it's kinda training!" He protested. "It's just... Fun!"
"Alright." I grinned. "Sure."
He threw the baseball at me, and I swung. The bat made contact with it and the ball went flying. It nearly hit Killer in the skull, but he ducked. It bounced off the walls and then bonked him in the skull.
"Maybe we... Shouldn't play this where there are walls." He muttered, rubbing the back of his skull.
I giggled. "We could take it outside."
"Good idea."
~~~~~~~~
"Ready?" Killer asked. We had found a clearing in the forest outside the castle that was perfect for playing baseball.
"Yup." I nodded.
He threw the ball at me and I swung the bat. It hit it and the ball went flying. Out of instinct, I dropped the bat and ran.
"Oh, it's going!" Killer watched me run. "Past second, in the outfield, OH! IT'S A HOME RUN!" He clapped as I got back to the place I started.
I let out a giggle. "Your turn, doofus."
"Yippee." He grabbed the bat, then paused. "Wait, crap, I gotta get the ball." He teleported and then reappeared a moment later with the ball. He handed it to me. "Let's go."
I went to the middle of the clearing and threw the ball. He swung.
...And missed.
"Strrrike one." I said, amusement growing.
He tossed the ball back.
I threw it.
...He missed again.
"Strrrrrrrike two!"
I threw it again.
...He missed. Once again.
I giggled. "You keep missing."
"I dunno how to hit it!" He said with a sigh. "It's coming at me too fast."
"Here. Can I show you? You're doing a lot of things wrong."
He nodded and I walked over.
"Alright, so first, you're standing wrong." I explained. "Right foot back here, left foot like this."
He copied my stance.
"Good." I nodded and went behind him. "Now, for holding the bat-" I put my arms around him and grabbed his wrists. "You wanna hold it like this. Right over your shoulder, and your hands right here."
He nodded. "Alright."
"And when you swing," I added, "you swing all the way through. I noticed you were stopping midway. You wanna bring it all the way through, like this."
He took a deep breath. "Alright. I think I got it."
"Let's try again." I picked up the ball and went back to my spot. "Ready?"
He nodded.
I threw the ball. He swung and made contact with it. A smile grew on his face and he dropped the bat. The ball came at me, and I caught it in my hands, wincing, but a grin growing. In a normal game, he would've been out, but I let him have his fun, watching him run around like he was a little kid.
Finally, he halted. "Did I do it right?"
"Well, I caught the ball, so technically you're out, but..." I winced and dropped the ball, looking at my hands. "Damn, I shouldn't have done that. Heh... Wow, this stings."
He walked over. "What happened?"
"I caught the ball without a glove." I chuckled.
"Stay here." He teleported away and reappeared a few moments later with some bandages. "Here." He wrapped them around my hands.
"Thanks." I said as he backed away. "You did good, for a newbie."
He grinned. "Heh, yeah, guess I did."
"...Where do you come from?" I asked.
"Hm?" We both sat down on the grass.
"What's your AU like?"
"..." He looked awkward. "Uh- It's... Well... I guess, in a way, it's like Dust's AU. Except..." He chuckled awkwardly. "Let's just say I made a deal with a genocidal kid and killed everyone."
"Frisk?" I guessed.
He shook his head. "Another kid. The first kid to fall into the underground. Chara."
"Oh."
"Yeah. Ya ever seen that weird black goop coming out of my sockets?"
I nodded. "Once, I think."
"Yeah, that's determination." He laid on his back.
"...I thought determination was a feeling."
"It's also a physical thing. It's what keeps human souls alive, and what allows them to come back after death."
"W- Come back after death...?" I whispered.
"Yup."
My soul appeared over my chest, glowing brightly, which drew Killer's attention. He sat up, eyes wide.
"Wow, that-" He chuckled and scooted closer. "That's bright. Must have a shit tone of determination in there."
I looked at my soul. "...Is that how I was able to come back?"
He nodded. "Yeah. Probably."
"Is it normal to be in a black void and hear a voice in your head after you die?" I asked.
"...A voice asking if you want to come back or stay dead?"
"Yeah."
"That's the SAVE screen. There's an AU called Aftertale where Sans gets sent there after injecting himself with determination to stay alive in a genocide timeline."
My soul went back into my chest. "Wow. So I can... Die... And I can come back? Over and over again?"
"As long as you have the will to live, yes." He nodded.
"Hmm..." I noticed a knife on his belt, an idea hitting me. I lunged for it, causing him to let out a yelp. I grabbed the knife and sat up.
"Ya could've just asked if you wanted that." Killer chuckled awkwardly. "May I ask why you want it?"
"Testing something." I mumbled and plunged the knife into my chest.
~~~~~~~~
2nd Person POV
~~~~~~~~
Well that was
Quite dumb
Wasn't it,
Y/N?
What
Would you have done
If your plan didn't work?
Maybe you shouldn't
Do that
Again.
You see a glimmer of light in front of you, though that was all you could see. You reach out towards it without a second thought.
Then
The future
Is in
Your hands.
~~~~~~~~
Y/N POV
~~~~~~~~
I sat up with a gasp and bonked my head into Killer's skull.
"Y/N! WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?" He shook me violently. "WHY DID YOU STAB YOURSELF? WH- WHY?!"
"Man, been wanting to do that since I was a teenager." I muttered.
"WHY DID YOU DO THAT?" He looked genuinely worried.
"I wanted to see what would happen." I admitted. "I wanted to see if-"
"WHAT IF NOTHING DID HAPPEN? WHAT IF YOU STAYED DEAD. Y/N, WHAT- WHAT WOULD DUST THINK?"
"..."
He sighed and hugged me. "I'm just glad you're ok."
"Sorry, I just-" I sighed. "I don't really know what came over me."
"Please don't do that again."
"I won't, don't worry."
He pulled away with another sigh. "I'm hungry."
I giggled. "We can go get some food."
"Idea." He teleported away.
I laid down on my back. That was kinda dumb.
A few minutes passed, and then Killer appeared. "I got sandwiches~"
"You could call them Sanswiches." I giggled.
He snorted. "Nice pun." He handed me a sandwich.
He sat beside me and we started to eat.
"What was your life like on the surface?" He asked me.
"Pretty nice until my entire family died in a car crash." I mumbled. "I ended up in an adoption center and lived a shitty life, until I ran away when I was eighteen. Then I got a job... And my life was depressing but normal. Then I fell."
"Would you go back if you could?"
"...No. I hate humanity. There are so many problems humans cause, and don't bother to fix."
He nodded. "Y'know, Chara hated humanity." He murmured. "They were a pretty strange kid." He stayed silent for a moment. "...You remind me so much of Dust."
"Do I?"
"Yes. You both lost everyone you loved. I mean, so did I, but... You just really remind me of him."
"Huh."
"Argh... I should apologize." He sat up.
"For?" I tilted my head at him.
"For making Dust do that to you. I... I was the one that took him out to go kill things and raise his LV. If I hadn't of done that..."
"It's fine, Killer. I'm over that."
He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. As I finished my sandwich, his eyes drifted over to the baseball bat. "...Wanna continue playing?" He gave me a lopsided grin.
"Sure." I stood up and dusted myself off. He tossed me the ball and picked up the bat. "Ready?"
He nodded and I threw the ball.
~~~~~~~~
"That was fun." I said as we walked inside the castle.
"Yeah!" He grinned. "I really enjoyed that."
"Where the hell have you two been all day?" Nightmare's irritated voice growled.
I paused. "Uh-"
"We were literally out in the forest." Killer snorted.
"Tell me where you're going next time you decide to wander off." He muttered and walked into the dining room.
"Grumpy much?" Killer whispered to me. "I swear, it's like someone tore off his tendrils and shoved them down his throat."
"WHERE THE FUCK HAVE YOU BEEN, Y/N?" Dust snarled as we walked into the dining room.
I flinched at his fierce tone. Killer placed a hand on my shoulder. "Dust, we were just outside."
"Doing what?" He walked up to us, eye flaring.
"Playing baseball. Chill, pal." Killer shook his head with amusement.
"Get your fucking hands off her." Dust slapped Killer's hand away from me. "Come on, Y/N, we're leaving."
"What?" I looked at him in confusion.
"We're. Leaving. End of story."
"Why?"
"BECAUSE I'M SICK OF THIS PLACE." He looked at me, anger and impatience in his gaze.
"Dust, I-" I pulled away from him. "I don't want to leave."
"Why?" He looked at me like I was crazy. "These people are our enemies."
"Not anymore."
"THEY TRIED TO KILL YOU, Y/N! THEY MADE ME KILL YOU! AND YOU WANT TO STAY WITH THEM?"
"They aren't that bad, Dust. Just give them a ch-"
He cut me off by slapping me. "These bastards don't deserve a second chance." He teleported away.
"..." I brought my hand up to my cheek. "I-"
"He's just grumpy." Killer hugged me. "Give him time to get used to being here again."
I nodded. "Y-Yeah."
"C'mon."
~~~~~~~~
"Hey, Y/N?" Horror looked at me.
"Hm?" I took a bite out of a breadstick.
"I was thinking maybe tomorrow I could teach you to cook." He grinned.
"Sure!" I smiled.
Suddenly, Nightmare stood up. "I have things to do. Don't make a mess, don't set anything on fire, and for the love of the Tree of Feelings, don't kill anyone."
"Can I go with you...?" Dream's voice was barely a whisper.
"What?" Nightmare looked at him. "Speak up. I can't hear you."
"I- Can I go with you?" Dream looked up at his brother.
"No."
"But-"
"No."
Dream sighed. "Alright."
Nightmare teleported away and Dream's shoulders sank.
"I was hoping he'd- He'd let me come... So we could talk..." Dream mumbled.
"He's been in a grumpy mood all day." Killer said. "Maybe he'll let you go with him another time."
~~~~~~~~
"Dust?" I opened the door to our room quietly. "A-Are you asleep?"
Dust was lying on the bed, face buried in a pillow. He didn't say anything.
I walked over and crawled into bed.
In the blink of an eye, he pulled me into a kiss and wrapped his arms around me. "I- I'm sorry." He sniffled when he pulled away. "I'm such a bastard. I shouldn't have slapped you like that. I shouldn't have gotten angry in the first place. I'm just... I'm just on edge." He buried his head in my shoulder. "I'm still trying to get used to this."
"I know, Dust." I rubbed his skull. "I know you are. It's weird for me, too. I just taught Killer how to play baseball." I chuckled. "You'll get used to it."
He sighed and closed his sockets. In an instant, he was asleep.
"Sleep well, Dusty." I whispered and pulled the blankets up to his neck. I closed my eyes as well and fell asleep.
~~~~~~~~
A/N: New chapter, yippee! I am determined to get two out today. I gotta eat lunch since it's almost one .w. but I'm gonna make another! I hope.
Your guys' support on this is amazing. I love each and every one of you so much. Every time someone comments, votes, or reads this, it motivates me to write more. You guys are what's keeping this book alive. So thank you <3
I have more plot figured out, but it could always change. My mind does that lmao.
...Error smothered me with his beanbag in my sleep. I woke up and found it on my face, and him standing over me with a smug grin and my laptop in his hands.
I'm not entirely sure if he sees me as a friend or an adopted daughter.
Not a very long A/N today, I know. But I don't have much to say other than thank you for being here with me on this journey. I never expected this to get this big. It makes me so happy to know I'm making others happy with this book. So thank you. Again. It means so much to me.
<3 I'll see you guys in the next chapter.