Journey of the Sanses

Chapter 19: The Hunter's Replacement

Cross had always known that he was the last-minute replacement for WildTale Sans, and he had always wondered what would happen to the prophecy because of the death of the aforementioned skeleton child. He honestly wasn't surprised that Nightmare Sans had attempted to kill him before they had been captured by Drackallia, but what did surprise him was that Geno and Suave had put themselves at risk just to save him.

It wasn't like he didn't appreciate their actions or anything, it was just that he didn't really feel as if he'd been worth saving. That notion had bothered him for as long as he could remember, and he had never even bothered to tell anyone about it. The memory of when Decans had told the adults about the black-and-white skeleton's illness that he had gotten from a rotting deer corpse, even though he had promised to keep it a secret, served as his primary example of why he shouldn't discuss his problems.

In short, Cross didn't feel like he was worthy of being involved in the ever-important prophecy. However, he did have a weird feeling that the prophecy that had been created by Nightmare Sans wasn't exactly true. He didn't know why, but he had a hunch that Nightmare Sans was somehow double-crossing them and that his omen was only a fabrication of something else.

The question was, what was that something else - and if it was the real prophecy, did it involve himself instead of WildTale Sans? A sudden shiver up his spine indicated that there was a good chance that he was right in thinking that Nightmare Sans was trying to trick them and that he was actually trying to set them up for failure. With that in mind, he continued to walk behind his friends as they made their way to the X-Tale Universe - which was his domain.

To be honest with himself, he wasn't really sure how to feel about visiting his domain and reuniting with his mother - who was said to be none other than Queen Jakei herself, who was the ruler of the X-Tale Universe. He also wasn't sure about what to do about his recent suspicions of Nightmare Sans and his prophecy. For all that Cross knew, he might just be making up false theories about the goopy skeleton and his omen out of sheer boredom.

That was another problem that he had to deal with - not knowing himself and what his mentality was like. He could probably talk about it with his mother if he ever got the chance to. Of course, they had to meet Queen Jakei at some point so they could obtain her alliance, according to Sera's plan, and continue with their journey.

And maybe he could also voice his suspicions while they were there, or maybe they could all uncover the truth about Nightmare Sans' omen - that is, if his prophecy did turn out to be false. But for now though, he just wanted to take it slowly at a reasonable pace. After all, there wasn't really any point at the moment to be worried about anything. His friends and caretakers sure as heck didn't seem to be stressed over anything, so why should he?

With that, he followed the group through the semi-desert trail that was slowly transitioning into a monochromatic black-and-white shrub-land area. Despite the odds of them being proven correct, he hoped that his suspicions about Nightmare Sans and his "false" omen were true.

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When the group halted their excursion to rest for the night, Cross was nothing less than relieved. His legs had been getting sore, and his eyes were beginning to feel tired and sleepy. He was glad to see that there was plenty of soft shrub-land grass to use as a makeshift bed. When he - along with the rest of his acquaintances - had finished making their resting spots, he let out a large yawn and plopped down onto his "bed" out of pure exhaustion.

While the others had started talking amongst themselves, Cross simply laid down silently and waited for sleep to pull him into an uneventful yet peaceful state of unconsciousness. However, even though he wasn't engaging in their various conversations, he did listen to what they were talking about.

Reaper was currently talking about his experience with his mother and how he wished that he had said goodbye to his brother, as the group had been in too much of a hurry to say a proper farewell to the aforementioned skeleton and his mother. Decans and Suave, along with Cross himself, were listening intently while Geno and Sera were cuddling together on their soft lump of shrub-land grass.

"Gosh, they're so cute when they're like that," Cross thought to himself. He then turned his attention to the adults, who were pacing around their resting place at the moment - as if they were guardsmen who were on currently on duty. He smirked a bit in amusement at his mental comparison between the caretakers and soldiers who were probably hired to protect their ruler.

Eventually the sky transitioned into a dark blue hue, indicating that it was nighttime. Soon enough everyone in the group became tired and laid down onto their makeshift beds to go to sleep, so that they would be ready for tomorrow's travels throughout the region that was somewhat of an intermediate between colorful and monochromatic.

All the while, Cross contemplated on the possibility of his suspicions being true and whether or not if anyone would even listen to him. He could only hope that the visit to the X-Tale Universe and the meeting with Queen Jakei would answer his questions and prove if he was right to be suspicious of Nightmare Sans.

But little did he know that the dream that he was about to have would tell him all that he needed to know. But it wouldn't be about the prophecy at all, for it would be much more revealing than what he'd hoped for. But that was all unbeknownst to him, and so he fell into a peaceful sleep, totally unknowing of what would happen next.