Fern's Pov:
Just like how Killer slung me over his shoulder, Nightmare carried me in a similar fashion with his tendril holding me up in the air. Despite how big this place looked, we arrived at his office once more with the doors closing behind us. A sigh came from the squid's drooping expression as he finally set me down, "Now that your escapade is over, let's continue our previous conversation, hmm?" He hummed softly, somewhat sitting at the edge of his desk.
"While you were messing around in the kitchen, Cross informed me of your... status. Not many Sanses possess a 'kind' soul like yours. Your counterpart has a soul of perseverance for reference," Nightmare speaks, his sockets half-lidded to gaze down at me, "It's quite a surprise you've survived in your AU for so long." His eyelights examined me closely, his cyan gaze almost penetrating through me.
Oh, right. There was another Naturetale me. Lavender, wasn't it? I've only read them briefly on the internet but I'm a bit surprised we don't have the same soul. Although, I guess other Sanses don't exactly have the same soul anyway. My attention went back to the squid-like skeleton, his tendrils waving behind him as one of them came closer, interrupting my thoughts.
"You don't mind, do you?" his tendril gestured towards my chest, almost touching my sweater as I felt a slight pull that tugged me forward. My soul easily floated through my chest, showing my acceptance towards his CHECK. It felt different than when I had pulled it out myself, more vulnerable but surprisingly gentle.
The green light shimmered softly, less dull than it was before I came here. I shivered from how close his tendrils traced its shape, making me look away to better ignore the sensation.
Nightmare's Pov:
"You're... not much of a talker, are you?" I asked, a bone-brow raised on my neutral gaze as I held his soul. It was definitely what Cross had said, a bit brighter than what he had described but a kind soul it was. Fern... seemed to always be left in his thoughts from what I had seen, thinking and fidgeting. He seemed anxious but not exactly scared, even after meeting Horror who, by all means, was much more intimidating to look at than Killer. He was light and a bit too small for a Sans when I had carried him earlier; meek is what I'd describe him as. At least he wasn't like Killer; that loudmouth kicking my doors.
He shook his head, "I... don't really know what to say, to be honest."
I hummed, moving his soul to the right of me, "That would entail that if you had something to talk about, you'd speak?" my voice giving a soft rumble. His words seemed to contradict him, his head obviously reeling with thoughts and questions, but he kept them to himself pretty well.
"It seems you look better than before," my tendril traced the edge of his maidenhair, the soft leaves tickling my tendril. He nodded quickly, " Uhm... Horror... gave me some... soup," he spoke quietly, his fingers fiddling with the oddly shaped patches on the over-sized sweater.
"And? Was it to your liking?" I tilted my head slightly to the left, accentuating the question.
Fern's Pov:
I nodded my head vigorously, "Yes! It was warm and the cubes were super soft!" I've never had something like it before; the slight thickness of the soup, it's creaminess and peppery flavor mixed with the soft, salty potatoes. It was... delicious, I thought solemnly. I clenched my hand into a fist around my sleeve as a quiet chuckle came from Nightmare, the permanent scowl on his face softening with his sockets.
"Hmph, Horror certainly has gotten better at his craft," he spoke, seemingly proud as he mentioned the skull-fractured skelly. Perhaps it was an odd occurrence for this dark king to have such an expression as it only lasted for a few seconds, his gaze returning as it was prior.
I relaxed my hand, the maidenhair around my neck tenderly shifting as the thought of that big skelly cooking in the kitchen might look like wearing an apron. It definitely wasn't what I had thought his talents would lie in, but I suppose it made sense with how he insisted to feed me himself. It gave me a warm feeling, an unfamiliar one although I don't think it was a bad feeling.
"Continuing with the matter of why you're here," Nightmare continued, returning my soul back to me, "As the ruler... king of negativity, I'm obviously capable of feeling such deep emotions. Since you were so far away, I couldn't exactly see your nightmare, but I could feel how scared you were. Was it about your Frisk?"
The question stumped me a bit, was I scared of Frisk? Were we scared?
Not really.
Sans had always believed that Frisk would change even if he faced death. It was when Frisk started targeting everyone else that Sans began to fear loneliness rather than the slight pain from her knife that barely compared to the amount of anguish he experienced. He feared the silence that eventually consumed the barren underground which made him sleep for eternity.
"....No...." My eyelights downcasted, the feeling coming back to me as I felt myself understanding Sans despair, "I...I wasn't scared of her.... I just didn't... want to be alone."
Nightmare's Pov:
Alone, huh.
His eyelights slightly faded as I unconsciously absorbed his feeling of loneliness. Again, he became lost in thought as if finding understanding within himself. Despite how he looked, he had a better grasp of understanding his own feelings, looking at himself as if it were just another person to him. I didn't think it was much of anything, but I suppose this was what I had seen when I held his soul earlier.
The visible cracks on his soul were slowly healing as he continued to venture through his mind. Perhaps it was a perk of having a kind soul--
*BAM*
Fern's Pov:
Breaking me out of my thoughts, a loud sound came from behind me, letting the door swing open and hitting the wall which somehow didn't leave a crack on the wall.
"Heyyo, boss. Lemme borrow that for a sec," Killer hollered as his foot slammed on the floor, letting him propel himself towards me, "Yo, pipsqueak. Help me out for a bit." He grabbed my arms as he held me in front of him, using me as a bone shield. "Wait, why are you-"
"KILLLLLERRRR!" I heard a voice boomed from the hall, a skeleton running at the end of the hallway, a faded red scarf dancing in the air behind him. Wait, isn't he running... this way? I thought as I stepped back but finding as I couldn't move back any further because Killer was behind me. The hooded skelly was closing the distance, his eyelights seeing red in both a literal way and a metaphorical way. He seemed to not have noticed me as his eyelights focused on Killer, jumping in the air as red bones began to take form around him.
Maybe it just came naturally, my maidenhair hugged my neck tightly as a translucent shield with faded fern patterns surrounded me and Killer, making the bones strike the barrier, some even cracking the shield from my lack of magic. I clenched my teeth tighter, sweat starting to form above my bone-brow. Instinctively, I spread out my arms, trying my best to cover Killer if any of the bones were to get through. Feeling another bone pierce my shield, I tried to thicken my shield with more magic, the shield reducing in size as I did so.
It's... red..... it's red...Papy...
The memory shoved itself into my thoughts, the cypress vines falling towards the ground, his five-petaled flowers breaking apart before dusting. I couldn't even get to his dust before she blew it away like it was nothing, like Papy was nothing.
"S-stop... leave my brother alone!" I cried out, not realizing the glowing green tears that trailed my cheeks. My shield that had turned into a porcupine, absorbed the magical bones, the red fading to green as it slowly closed up the shield.
My eyelights blurred as the room fell into silence, the sound of piercing bones stopping as I tried to flicker away the blurriness.
"What'd you just call me, weed?" I heard Killer say from behind me, a hint of shock in his voice.
What did I say? Wait, did I say that out loud?
YOU ARE READING
Another Chance (Reborn as a Sans From Naturetale)
Fanfiction"Please just... leave me alone..." Maybe that was the last straw for me, the last beating I could take before it finally kicked me off the edge. The last of anything I could handle. I've had enough of this. There was nothing I could want, nothing I...
