Reborn As A Dust Sans [Undertale Multiverse]

Ch26 - Nom

Ashe's POV

You let out a soft breath of relief when Nightmare said his welcome to you. 'Thankyou Mr Nightmare,' you signed politely, already feeling a little relieved. If Nightmare was okay with you, then everything would be okay.

"How polite," he hummed, tendrils gliding in the air idly. "However, there is no need for such formalities here. Please, just call me Nightmare."

You tilted your head, suddenly reminded of the various nicknames Killer had referred to him as. Feeling slightly mischievous, you gave the most innocent smile you could muster. 'Can I call you Noots like Aunty Killer does?'

You were surprised with how delighted Killer was with you basically outing him. He was snickering, rather loudly too, but raised his hands placatingly and let out a "Not my fault, boss, Dust was doing it too!"

The sigh that came from nightmare reminded you muchly of an exhausted parent after dealing with the antics of their children for much too long. "...I would prefer it if you did not," he said after rubbing his temple.

You simply nodded to his request, already trying to think of a decent nickname you could call him by. You were sure you could come up with an idea he would be more keen on. Maybe Nighty would be a bit better? Or... Hm. Mommare seemed like it'd be a fun way to tease him, like you were teasing Killer with the aunty title, but you weren't sure he would appreciate that. You only called Killer aunty as a joke.

A tendril snaked around you, pulling you with a firm grip so you were in the air, but it was gentle and clearly had no hostile intent. It was sudden enough you were startled from your thoughts.

He looked to the others before they could speak. "Relax, you lot. I will not bring them any harm. Ashe and I simply have some... matters to discuss. You are all dismissed," he let out.

Horror pretty much immediately started moving to the kitchen, followed closely behind by Killer... and then by Cross, who you had a feeling was joining for damage control with how mischievous Killer's grin was starting to look. Speaking of, Cross still looked a little roughed up from the battle, but he seemed pretty alright now.

Nightmare looked to you, briefly, and seeing you were rather content in his tendrils, begun to walk down the twisting hallways without bothering to let you down. You giggled as he did so, thoroughly entertained with his goopy tendrils. You stared at them. The black oozing substance, cool but comfortable to the touch, and a sudden thought came to mind.

Don't do it, don't do it, don't do it–

Oops.

Nightmare stopped immediately in his tracks and gave you a look. Whelp, he clearly noticed what you did. "...Stars, did you just lick me??" he let out in an exasperated sigh. You could only give a sheepish grin. "For the love of Nim, do not go trying to lick random things," he scolded, teal orb narrowing at you. "My corruption is poison when consumed - did you swallow any?" he continued with a frown.

"OH NO! POISON IS VERY BAD! ASHE, ARE YOU OKAY? DO YOU FEEL FAINT? WHAT ABOUT NAUSEOUS? DO YOU NEED A SICK BAG? SHOULD YOU LAY DOWN?" Ghost Papy rambled worriedly to you, not even stopping to let you respond. "OH MY STARS, WHAT DO I DO? NYEH! THIS IS TERRIBLE!'"

You were pretty sure you heard Nightmare sigh and mumble something along the lines of "best not to risk their health," but were too distracted trying to calm your sibling.

'Papy, I'm fine, it just tasted kinda weird. Like, hm. Apples and... charcoal or something. I'm fine though. Papy? Papy!' nYou frowned. Not knowing how else to get his attention, you clapped loudly, which seemed to work. 'I'm fine, Papy, you don't need to freak out,' you insisted.

"NYEH... I WAS WORRIED, ASHE. MAYBE DON'T TRY TO EAT THE TERRIFYING SQUID CREATURE AGAIN?"

You snickered. 'Squid? Is that because of the one eye and the tendrils?'

"YES! AND THE GOOP, OF COURSE! EXCEPT... I DON'T THINK SQUIDS ARE POISONOUS. HM. THIS IS A DILEMMA...ARE OCTOPUSES POISONOUS? OCTOPODES? OCTOPI..? WAIT, WHAT IS THE PLURAL AGAIN..?"

'I'm not sure, Papy,' you sighed noncommittally. 'But I kinda want to lick Killer's tear stuff too now. And maybe that meanie Ink just to annoy him. I wonder if his different paints have different tastes?'

"NYEH! YOU ARE TERRIBLE, BROTHER!"

You barely noticed when Nightmare had sat you on a chair in his office, too distracted with talking to Papy, but your attention was certainly drawn back when Nightmare begun pressing three little yellow pills in your hand, along with a glass of water. 'What are these?'

"I had Sci develop these to counteract the effects of my corruption. You are, admittedly, not the first person to have licked me. I can't count the number of times Killer has tried biting me just to be a nuisance... These will prevent any adverse reactions, and should help you gain an immunity to it, but do not make this a habit," he explained. You were pretty sure he was scolding you. "In addition, don't think I did not see what you signed to your sibling a moment ago. Please, for the love of Nim, do not lick Killer's tears OR Ink's paint. You WILL end up making yourself sick."

You pouted at that. He probably had a good point, but that seemed like the boring option. 'Are they poisonous too?' you pried, taking a moment to swallow the pills with water. You might have been a tiny bit nauseous now, but you had no intention of admitting that.

He sighed. "You are as troublesome as Killer," he muttered, seemingly to himself. "Killer's tears are made of liquified HATE. It is not poisonous, but it will cause dizziness and confusion. In addition to that, the majority of the paints Ink uses when fighting against us are acid. I assume I do not need to explain to you why it is bad to try to consume acid, yes?"

That caused you to sigh a little, but you nodded in acknowledgment. So no licking Killer's face, or Ink's paint. How disappointing. Best to know now rather than find out the hard way, you supposed. Maybe the knowledge would be useful to you eventually. Actually...

'Is the stuff that ghost Papy's eyes leak also liquid HATE? And is it the same as the stuff that the fell Papyrus started leaking when Papy possessed him?'

Nightmare seemed to take a moment to contemplate that. "I have not encountered any variation of your brother that was not mere hallucination, so I am unsure. DO NOT use that as a reason to test it."

You nodded. Maybe you could-

"ASHE, NO, I KNOW THAT EXPRESSION. WHEN DID STABBING PEOPLE BECOME LICKING THEM INSTEAD?" he scolded lightly.

'You're both no fun,' you signed half-jokingly.