Reborn As A Dust Sans [Undertale Multiverse]

Ch25 - Mine

Nightmare's POV

It wasn't difficult to tell that his subordinates had come with an unexplained extra. He wasn't pleased that they had brought this fragile looking skeleton to the middle of the battlefield. They had a hood covering their skull, but he could see the wound in moments where they moved, see the way they were slower and less coordinated than the others. Why bring something so fragile to a fight that usually lead to bystanders being pulverised to dust?

Ashe, he overheard them refer to the smaller skeleton as, was a variant that was only two thirds the height of Dust. Though they didn't contribute directly in the fight much, it was clear what side they were associated with, especially with Killer and Dust (and even Horror on occasion) carefully keeping the attention of the Stars and Fell nuisances away from the little skeleton,

Being the guardian of negativity, he could certainly feel the emotions of his teammates, even if Dream seemed completely oblivious to it. There was so much brotherly love from his team, so much adoration. This new skeleton was not just some random ally. No, they were family.

Ashe had sibling bonds with Horror, Dust and Killer. Almost his entire gang, fully intent on claiming this skeleton as part of their family. Each bond was reciprocated, too. Strong. Healthy.

How curious, though, that they were a Horror-adjacent Dust variant. Ink had never made a duplicate of worlds like Something New and DustTale, so it seemed strange to him. He would have to have Error investigate later - after all, some alternate universes formed naturally, so it may not have been created by Ink. He was curious, though, if their uniquities made them an original, or if they were technically a copy. If the former, Error would be displeased they were involved in the fights for the balance.

Nightmare frowned. It wasn't just the little dust variant, he realised, for they had a spirit attached to them. A Papyrus, he realised, when said spirit possessed the fell variant and joined in on the fight. Still sloppy and vastly inexperienced, but the distressed emotional state of the fell sans meant that the two were mostly balanced in their fight. Definitely an original, then, as Dust's papyrus had been nothing more than a guilt-induced hallucination.

When Nightmare revealed himself to Ashe, he was not surprised by their reaction. Fear, overwhelm, anxiety. He let himself bask in the negativity, consuming it, allowing it to strengthen him. He was pleased that they didn't seem to be trying to fight him, simply waiting for him to act first. Such a smart little skeleton, knowing not to fight something far stronger than them.

Truthfully, he didn't want to frighten Ashe. He had been struck by several positivity arrows whilst protecting Cross earlier in the fight and it had left him more vulnerable than he was used to. He would have portalled them out, but he had to finish making the deal with the local Chara - he just needed the backup to support Horror since Cross had gotten ambushed.

This little sans may have been important to those he considered his, so he didn't harm them, just scared them a little. He needed that little boost of negativity.

He frowned when he recognised how sickly they looked. Did they even notice how their eyelights flickered from the rapid depletion? How they were struggling to stand, how their breaths were coming out so heavily? It reminded him of Cross when the soldier would overwork himself (such a workaholic).

He commanded them to tell his sibling to cease. He figured clear, concise directions would be more effective whilst they were in this state. But when faced with sign language, he realised it would simply be quicker to deal with it himself than rely on a variant who was so sick they could barely communicate.

So Nightmare acted. He used his tendrils to completely dust the Fell papyrus,. The ghost Papyrus was left in their place, looking a little disorientated at first. Nightmare turned to address the spirit. Oh, how their terror fuelled him further. "Return to your sibling. Possessing this vermin has left their magic depleted to a dangerous degree. Do not do this again unless your shared magic is both plentiful and stable, or you will kill them."

That was all he needed to say for the Papyrus to immediately flee to Ashe. Good, he mused quietly to himself. It was always better when people listened instead of starting pointless arguments.

By the time they reached the safety of Dreamtale, Nightmare already knew a little more about Ashe and how much his little family had grown to adore them. Everybody's emotional states were... very telling. Ashe especially. There was such an expanse of grief, of sorrow and longing, yet the presence of his little family created so much joy in the little skeleton. How curious, that they were so attached to what belonged to him.

"So which one of you are going to tell me about the little extra you brought along?"

Anxiety demanded. He could feel the collective anxiety of the group instantly rise. Hesitation, uncertainty, even protectiveness. They all even stepped forwards slightly as though ready to jump to their defence if Nightmare were to lash out, not that he would.

His cyan eye settled on Ashe. Watching. Assessing his reaction. After all, Ashe was a new variable, and he wanted to know what they would say. Would they be polite? Agitated? Would they bail at the first sign of danger? First impressions were important.

"Eheh... Well, Boss, we uh..." Killer began, only turn to Dust as though asking for help in explaining.

"Er...." Dust fumbled, also struggling to vocalise. "Well–"

"Mine," Horror declared simply, pulling Ashe a little closer in an unspoken show of protectiveness. Well. Horror certainly contributed, though not in the most helpful way. Still, Nightmare was amused.

Interestingly, it was Ashe who ended up responding. 'Big brother Horror and I met at Farmtale, and then I got to meet Uncle Dusty and Auntie Kills, and now I get to meet you and Mr Penguin!' The small skeleton signed out with a nervous smile. Several snickers erupted from Killer, and he felt strong embarrassment from Cross (who, at this point, had been given enough healing candy to be awake again), at what was clearly a nickname for the monochrome soldier. 'I guess that means I'm surprise adopting you as my parent now?'

There was a... very long silence. The collective anxiety of everybody rose.

Nightmare grinned. It was time to stop teasing his group, he decided. He had made them anxious enough - he wouldn't punish them further for their foolishness, though he would probably scold them later for bringing an injured, untrained skeleton into a fight against gods like Dream and Ink.

"Well then, Ashe," he said simply. "Welcome to the family."