Reborn As A Dust Sans [Undertale Multiverse]

Ch5 - Stars

Ashe's POV

You moved through the forest at a rather casual pace, momentarily stopping at random intervals to look at bugs hidden in the foliage or dull brown mushrooms growing in fallen logs. You tried not to disturb anything you came across, instead trying to keep any evidence of your movements hidden.

In theory, could you live of bugs, or would that not be enough to sustain a skeleton? And what kind of mushrooms were they, could they be edible? Not that you would be willing to eat them anyway, but it was a curious thought to you. It kept you occupied whilst headed home.

“...ASHE, SOMEONE IS HERE,” your brother let out in a voice that displayed both excitement and concern.

You frowned at that, immediately considering your options. The underground was empty, so if there were newcomers, they must have been multiverse travellers... which likely meant either the Nightmare Gang, the Destroyer, or the Star Sanses. Or somebody entirely different, but you hoped whoever it was, you would at least know of they were safe to be around or not.

The first two would be bad for obvious reasons. The latter though... would the Star Sanses be able to help you leave this dismal place? You weren’t causing any trouble, so there was no reason to assume they would hurt you. Still, though, you felt the need to be careful, to learn more about the situation before exposing yourself.

With a practiced ease, you climbed into the closest tree to ensure you would not be spotted, then turned to Papy with a determined expression. ‘Papy, can you find whoever it is and describe them to me? I don’t know if they’ll be a potential friend or a threat.’

“OF COURSE, BROTHER! WILL YOU BE HIDING IN THE TREES?” You nodded to his question. “STAY SAFE!” With that, Papy disappeared into the forest in search of whoever he had sensed.

In the silence that followed, you moved from tree to tree, staying deathly silent as you did so in order to avoid drawing any attention to yourself. You always chose higher branches, but sturdy ones that could still hold your weight, since it would be hard to see you even if they looked up whilst directly beneath.

Papyrus floated back, his expression seeming less excited and more concerned. You wondered if that meant the intruder was hostile, though you couldn’t be sure. ‘You okay, Papy?’

“THERE ARE THREE STRANGE SKELETONS,” he explained. “THEY ALL LOOK A BIT LIKE YOU, BUT DIFFERENT. ONE IS SHORT WITH A BLUE BANDANNA, ONE HAS BROWN OVERALLS AND A GIANT PAINTBTUSH, AND THE OTHER WEARS LOTS OF YELLOW.”

You nodded, instantly recognising the descriptions as being the Star Sanses. That meant they were probably here to help, or maybe they were even here by accident. Still, you didn’t want to be too trusting, so you planned to spy on them a little and figure out their plans just to make sure it was safe to approach them.

‘They’re the Star Sanses. I'm not sure if they will help us or not. How far are they?’

“THEY ARE GETTING CLOSE,” he said simply. “IF WE WAIT HERE, THEY SHOULD COME BY IN LIKE FIVE MINUTES FROM THAT DIRECTION.” He pointed when mentioning the direction, which was sort of to your left.

‘I’ll wait for them. Its better to be cautious just in case.’

After a solid ten minutes of waiting perched in the branches, the three figures came into view. You kept your breathing calm and relaxed, trying not to allow yourself to outwardly feel anything too much. You knew that the positivity guardian was an empath, so you wanted to be careful, though you were a little uncertain if you could stop yourself being immediately identified by emotions alone.

Dream wore an outfit that consisted of black, gold and white. His magic bbow was already in his hands, drawn and prepared to shoot at any moments notice, making you wary of leaving your spot. His gold orbs glowed intensely, magic at his fingertips already formed into a teal colored arrow.

Ink held his paintbrush in his hands. It was strange seeing him without a grin. His expression was very focused, orbs scrutinising every thing around him, though there seemed to be bubbling excitement and determination there as well.

Blue looked just as tense as the other two, though had no weapon in his hands. Not that it mattered, since you could feel his magic in the air, ready to summon attacks when called upon.

It was as though they were all waiting for unseen threat to emerge from the shadows and ambush them, as though they were fully prepared for an intense fight to begin the moment they let their guard down. Though perhaps it was because they seemed to have recently come from a fight. They were covered in wounds, parts of their clothes ripped, but mostly okay.

It was not a comforting sight, but you swallowed down your anxiety in favor for continuing to observe.

Did their battle readiness mean they were here looking for one of the so-called threats to the multiverse? If Dream was here, did that mean they were looking for Nightmare? They... weren’t here for you, were they? You hadn’t done anything to draw attention to your au, at least, not to your knowledge.

As they continued to move through the forest, you followed, the trees keeping you from being spotted. You listened carefully, trying to pick up on any conversation that might pertain to their goal.

“...should have come sooner,” Dream said. You didn’t quite pick up on the earlier parts it the conversation, but it seemed like they had been talking for a little while now.

“Nightmare probably sensed it when you did and got here before us. Its been like three hours, Error was probably distracting us on purpose...” Ink let out with a sigh. He was starting to look like he was getting bored.

“MAYBE INK IS RIGHT... IT DOES SEEM AWFULLY EMPTY HERE, DREAM. MAYBE WE SHOULD HEAD BACK?”

“No, there’s definitely somebody in this AU. But its like... their aura is muffled or something. I can’t quite sense where they are,” Dream explained. That was interesting – your aura was muffled to them? That was probably the reason why you had not been found instantly.

“...Muffled?” Ink echoed curiously.

“Yeah. Like something is blocking me from sensing it fully.”

“YOU MEAN LIKE NIGHTMARE?”

“I really can’t tell, Blue,” he sighed. “Just stay cautious.”

You shifted onto the next tree, still watching. You wanted to talk to them, but were a bit worried they might assume you a threat with how tense they all were. Maybe you should just drop down from the tree and try to talk to them? Or maybe you should wait a little longer and see if they relax a bit? Or maybe you should—

Body reacting before your mind could process what happened, you threw yourself from the tree to avoid being impaled by a glowing teal arrow. Did Dream just shoot at you!? You didn’t even do anything!

“Dust! What are you doing in this AU!? Did Nightmare send you!?”