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Dream and Nightmare had been taking baby steps towards repairing their relationship. Small meetings here and there, little gifts to show they still cared deeply for one another. Trust was slowly being built, was growing stronger every day. And Dream knew his twin was growing to deeply trust him when he agreed to let his youngest child spend the day with Dream. The golden twin had seen how protective his brother and Error were of their children, how especially protective they were of their youngest. The fact they were trusting Dream to keep an eye on Cross for an entire day showed how far he and Nightmare had come.
Cross had been excited, especially when he found out it would just be him and Dream spending the day together. Dust and Horror had made plans to go visit Sci so Dust could brainstorm new chemical reactions before they would drop by Horrortale to visit Horror’s brother. Killer had initially been tagging along with Cross and Dream but had woken up to bad chest pains, dizziness and shortness of breath due to his S-AFib acting up. Cross and Dream had offered to just stay at the castle to keep Killer company but he’d waved them off, telling them to go and have fun and that he’d join them next time.
Dream had been happy and excited to spend the day with his youngest Nephew, ushering the smaller skeleton through a portal and into the Omega Timeline. Cross had never been to the Omega Timeline so was amazed by all the sights and fascinated to meet all the different residents. He was hesitant to go near any Gaster Variants, but seemed to draw strength and confidence from Dream who was patient and understanding with him.
Dream took Cross for ice cream, allowed him to participate in a few snail races and even stood by as he sparred with some Undyne’s and Papyrus’. It was probably halfway through the day when Ink appeared. Cross was a little wary, his relationship with the Creator not exactly one to write home about after all. But he had come to understand to a degree why the other had done what he did during the whole X-Event saga. Didn’t mean Cross agreed with his reasoning, but he could at least be civil with the elder.
“Have you taken him to see the echo flower field yet?” Ink asked as he absentmindedly looked over his scarf.
“Not yet. We were just about to head over there now. Though, I did want to quickly speak with Core about something.” Dream said, looking over at said grey-scale coloured child.
“Oh, well if you want to go talk to them I can take Cross to the field and we’ll meet you there.” Ink offered with a smile. Dream blinked, surprised at his friend's offer before glancing down at Cross in question. He knew the younger wasn’t Ink’s biggest fan and wasn’t about to make him do something he didn’t want to.
Cross looked between the two, eyeing Ink for a good few moments before turning to Dream with a small smile. “We’ll be alright for a few minutes without you.”
“If you’re sure.” Dream said, still a little hesitant to leave the younger unattended. Nightmare and Error had both explicitly told him not to leave Cross alone, to keep him in sight at all times. But this was Ink, the Creator, the protector of AU’s. Surely Ink would be able to keep an eye on his Nephew for a few short minutes while he discussed some important business with Core.
“Make sure to keep an eye on him, okay Ink?” Dream pressed as the two started walking off in the direction of the echo flower field.
“We‘ll be fine, stop your fussing. You have nothing to worry about.” Ink huffed as he ushered Cross away. The monochrome skeleton glanced back at Dream, offering a small wave before the two vanished amongst the crowd of the Omega Timeline.
You have nothing to worry about. They were such cliche last words and ones that should have had red flags waving the moment he heard them. If he had listened to his gut, had chosen to just skip his talk with Core then maybe he wouldn’t be running around the Omega Timeline like a headless chicken.
“Cross?! Cross! Can you hear me Cross?!” Dream yelled as he ran through the crowded streets. Core and Ink were right at his heels, the human child looking a strange mixture of amused and concerned while Ink was just confused.
“I’m sure he’s around here somewhere.” Core tried to reassure the Golden God.
“You can’t know that! What if he’s hurt?! What if he’s been kidnapped again?! We need to find him and we need to find him before Nighty finds out he’s missing or else he’ll never trust me again!” Dream cried, phalanges digging into the sides of his skull.
“You worry way too much.” Ink huffed only to yelp when Dream suddenly grabbed him by the front of his shirt, tugging him up to be face to face with the God of Positivity.
“If you had been watching him like you were supposed to I wouldn’t need to be worrying!” Dream yelled.
“Hey, this is hardly my fault.” Ink argued.
“This is all your fault! You were supposed to be watching him!”
“I do not remember this.”
“Of course you don’t, you oversized goldfish!”
“Hey! That's just rude and uncalled for.”
“Shut up! You lost my Nephew!”
Core watched on as the two bickered back and forth. They smiled, not nearly as worried as Dream was about the missing skeleton. Core knew there wasn’t anything in the Omega Timeline currently that could pose a threat to Cross so they weren’t really all that fussed. It was amusing to see Dream and Ink fighting like an old married couple though, so Core decided to stick around and see how things would play out.
Right as Dream looked seconds away from bodily throwing Ink across the courtyard they were standing in, a loud upbeat tune began to play. Dream froze, face filling with shock that quickly melted into panic before he plastered a very obviously fake smile onto his face as he lifted the phone to the side of his head.
“Nighty! How lovely to hear from you.” Dream laughed, his voice a tad bit higher than normal as he fought to keep the panic from showing.
“We literally spoke this morning.” Nightmare’s voice echoed down the line sounding tired and fed up with his twin already. “I just wanted to check in with Cross and ask him what he would like for dinner as Horror and Dust will be out late so Error will be cooking tonight.”
“You want to speak to Cross?” Dream asked, sweat starting to bead along the top of his skull.
“I just told you I did. Can you put him on please?” Nightmare asked, a touch of annoyance seeping into his tone.
“Oh, well he’s a bit tied up at the moment. Right in the middle of a very intense snail race. We’ll call you back with the answer. Okay, love you, bye!” Dream yelled into the phone.
“Wait-!” Nightmare’s voice cut off as Dream hit the end call button. He stared down at the phone in his hand for a few seconds before turning to Ink and Core who were watching on in amusement.
“We need to find Cross. Now!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cross sighed as he wandered aimlessly. He was hopelessly lost and the only one to blame was Ink. The forgetful Squid had been leading him through the busy crowds towards the echo flower field when he had gotten distracted and ran off before Cross could do anything. Now Cross was left stranded in an AU he didn’t know with no idea where Ink had run off to and no idea where Dream was.
“Stupid Ink and his stupid memory. He had one job, take us to the Echo flower field and he couldn’t even do that.” Cross grumbled as he was pushed and shoved by the other monsters and humans that called this AU home.
Normally, Cross would have just used his phone to call for help from either Nightmare or Error by this point but he had foolishly decided to leave his phone back at the castle. He was kicking himself for that decision now. Not that he would call Nightmare or Error though. He’d probably try calling Dream first cause even he knew that if his adopted parents found out what had happened they would make the Golden God suffer. And as annoyed as Cross was at Dream and himself for trusting Ink he didn’t want his Uncle to get in trouble.
Cross looked around, trying to figure out what his best course of action would be. He wasn’t too worried, he knew the Omega Timeline was one of the safest places in the multiverse so even though he was lost he wasn’t really in any danger. It was just extremely annoying.
“How the hell am I supposed to find Dream in a place this big and this busy?” Cross sighed to himself.
“Cross?” The voice is familiar, sends a jolt of surprise and just a small amount of fear racing through his mana lines. After all, the last time he’d heard the voice he’d been locked up in a shed in some random AU with a magic suppression collar wrapped around his throat.
Cross turned, eyesockets wide as he took in the sight of his human half brothers. XFrisk and XChara were dressed in casual clothes, their long hair tied back and their own eyes wide in shock. They looked to be in their late twenties or early thirties if Cross had to guess and if he was honest with himself they looked much happier and healthier than he’d ever seen them.
“What?….What are you both doing here?” Cross asked, wary. Sure, the twins had saved him from his brother and XUndyne, had reunited him with his new family but he’d still caused their universes to collapse, had still killed XFrisk and had XChara removed from his soul and locked away. He wouldn’t blame them if they still held a grudge towards him.
The two humans glanced at one another, a silent conversation passing between the two before XFrisk stepped forward, kneeling down to be more at eye level with the short skeleton who had grown tense at their approach.
“After the whole mess with your custody hearing and what followed, the Council deemed Chara and I as reformed enough to be allowed to leave X-Tale. We live here in the Omega Timeline currently and have brief visits back to X-Tale every few weeks.” XFrisk explained.
“You mean you both left on your own?” Cross asked.
“Things in X-Tale were never right, and while Mum and Dad are slowly seeing and understanding that what they did and believed were wrong it still felt like we were guests in our own universe.” XChara said this time.
“Asriel is the only one who actually fully understands how messed up everything was and while he was allowed to leave with us he chose to stay to help make the others see sense.” XFrisk added on with a shrug.
“Oh, well, I’m glad you're both happy then.” Cross said with an awkward smile. Here, the human twins softened, their eyes filling with a warmth and fondness Cross thought he’d never see directed at him again.
“What about you, Bonehead? What are you doing here?” XChara asked while eyeing the surrounding area. He was half expecting Nightmare or Error to suddenly appear given how protective they were of his half brother.
“Um, I’m actually here with Dream. We were spending the day together when Ink offered to take me to the Echo Flower field while Dream quickly spoke with Core. Ink being Ink got distracted, forgot about me and took off.” Cross said, his annoyance at the situation slowly creeping back.
“The Squid just left you?” XChara asked, eyes flashing crimson in his sudden anger.
“Yeah, but it’s Ink so I’m hardly surprised.” Cross shrugged.
XFrisk and XChara once again glanced at one another. Both were actually thrilled to see Cross again and talk with him. They had missed their half brother and had felt so much guilt for the kidnapping incident a few months back. They had wanted to reach out and see how Cross was doing but hadn’t known if the other would want to hear from them. But they both could clearly see that under the unease and slight fear that Cross was pleased to see and hear from them. They wanted to reconnect with their sibling, and what better way to do so than to keep watch over him until they found Dream.
“You know, we can take you to the Echo Flower field?” XFrisk offered hopefully.
“You can?” Cross asked.
“Yeah, it’s one of our favourite spots here.” XChara said.
Cross began to smile only to pause, face scrunching up in worry that had the two humans internally panicking. “I don’t want to impose. You both probably have stuff to do.”
“Nothing is more important than catching up with our hermano.” XFrisk cut in, the familiar term slipping past his lips before he could properly grasp what he was saying. It had them all tensing, unsure and scared of crossing lines. Cross looked between the two of them, searching their faces for something. He seemed to find it, for a beaming smile quickly stretched across his face.
“I’ve missed you both.” He said. The two humans smiled, XFrisk quick to pull him into a firm, warm hug.
“We’ve missed you, to.”
The three siblings are quick to fall into step with one another, Cross sandwiched between them as they made their way towards the Echo Flower field. Conversation flowed easily as they caught each other up on their respective lives, happy to be reunited once more and know the ever present threat of an Overwrite no longer existed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“It’s ringing again.” Ink pointed out only to have to quickly duck the fist that came flying towards his face.
“I know it’s ringing again! You don’t need to tell me every single time it does.” Dream seethed as his phone buzzed angrily from his pocket. It was the fifth time in the last half an hour that it had rung but Dream was hoping if he ignored it then it would eventually go away. “I still can’t believe you lost him.”
“I still can’t believe you're blaming me for it. You know how bad my memory is, if anything you shoulder half the blame here.” Ink shot back.
Dream opened his mouth, ready to unleash hell on his forgetful friend when his phone rang for the sixth time. A strangled whimpering sound ripped from his throat as he reluctantly lifted the phone to his head and hit talk knowing he couldn’t keep ignoring the calls.
“Hello?”
“DREAM! What the hell is going on?!” Nightmare screamed down the line causing Dream to flinch and Ink to grimace in sympathy.
“Nighty, so nice to hear from you as always.” Dream smiled even as his eyelights wavered in terror and panic.
“Enough with the pleasantries, put Cross on the phone now!” Nightmare demanded.
“Cross, yes, um, about that.” Dream forced a laugh even as his soul began to race wildly inside his chest.
“What has happened, Dream?” Nightmare asked, his voice deadly calm.
“Well, um, funny story. Cross is maybe, kinda, sorta-”
“Dream!”
Dream’s head snapped up, eyes widening at seeing Cross waving happily at him from his perch on the shoulders of an adult human with Snow White hair. Another adult human was walking beside them and all three had Echo Flower crowns sitting on their heads.
“-He’s right here! Cross, your father is on the phone and would love to talk to you!” Dream yelled as he ran towards the strange group, all but throwing his phone up to Cross who blinked in confusion before lifting the phone up to his head.
“Hola Papá?” Cross asked into the phone.
“Cross, dear, where have you been? I’ve been trying to contact you for the last hour but Dream kept ignoring my calls and said you were busy.” Nightmare’s voice was a mixture of relief, worry and annoyance and it had Cross turning to Dream who gave a soft resigned noise as he hunched his shoulders and screwed his eyes shut tight. He was clearly bracing for when Cross told Nightmare that he had lost him.
“Sorry Papá, I kept running off ahead of Dream in my excitement. I never left his sight but I would just get caught up in all the new sights and things to do, I guess I wasn’t listening to him.” Cross lied. He could see the shocked look on Dream’s face, see the way he seemed to sag in relief as he realised he wasn’t about to be murdered by his brother for losing his kid.
“Really? Nothing else happened?” Nightmare checked, still suspicious and unsettled by his twin’s behaviour.
“Yeah, I’m sorry Papá. I promise not to run off like that anymore.” Cross said while XChara carefully lifted him from his shoulders and set him on the ground.
“Very well. Just make sure you listen to Dream in the future.” Nightmare sighed.
“I promise….so what was it you wanted to speak to me about?” Cross asked.
“Error is making dinner tonight and he wanted to know if you wanted anything special.”
“Can he make his special Guiso?”
“I’m sure he’d be happy to. I’ll let him know.”
“Thanks Papá!”
“Of course my little moon. Remember to be home an hour before dinner so you can wash up properly.”
“Okay, see you later.” Cross smiled as he hung up, moving to hand the phone back to Dream only to squeak when the Golden God pulled him into a near bone crushing hug.
“Are you alright? Are you hurt? I’m so sorry this happened! Gods, I thought you were gone forever. No broken bones? You have all your fingers? No one hurt or touched you, did they?” Dream asked in rapid fire.
“Stop it, you’re hugging me to death!” Cross grumbled as he wriggled in the elders arms.
“Let the kid breathe, Dream.” Ink huffed only for his teeth to snap shut at the glare sent his way from not just Dream but the two humans as well.
“I’m fine Uncle Dream, promise. XChara and XFrisk found me. They took me to see the Echo Flowers and helped me find you.” Cross said after he finally managed to free himself from his Uncle’s tight hold.
Dream turned to the two humans, instantly recognising them as the humans from Cross’ home universe and the ones that had rescued him all those months ago. “Thank you both so much. If anything had happened to him I never would have forgiven myself.”
“Don’t mention it. He’s our little brother after all, we’ll always keep him safe.” XFrisk smiled, causing Dream and Ink’s eyes to widen.
“Brother?” Ink asked, once again getting narrowed eyed looks from the twins.
“In over half the timelines we lived through we were raised as siblings alongside Cross, Papyrus and Alphys. Hence why we still consider each other as brothers.” XChara said with a roll of his eyes.
“Still, thank you for bringing him back.” Dream cut in before Ink could dig a deep hole for himself.
“Our pleasure. It was nice to reconnect and catch up.” XChara smiled at the Golden skeleton.
“But maybe don’t mention us to Nightmare or Error.” XFrisk suggested. “They are still a little wary of us and probably wouldn’t be too thrilled to hear we were in close proximity to Cross.”
“I think keeping this whole escapade from them would be the best.” Dream huffed, Cross snickering at his Uncle’s tone.
XFrisk and XChara spent another hour with Dream and Cross before going their separate ways, though not before giving Cross their phone numbers so they could stay in touch. Ink left pretty quickly to as he could clearly see the two humans weren’t his biggest fan. Dream was just relieved the rest of his outing with Cross was quiet and relaxing and that he’d managed to get Cross back to Nightmare’s in one piece. His brother still eyed him suspiciously, clearly still suspecting that something else had happened but he was easily soothed by Cross excitedly telling him all about the fun day he’d had with his Uncle. Thus, Dream was able to leave with his head still attached and his reputation as the responsible Uncle still intact.