Reborn As A Dust Sans [Undertale Multiverse]

Ch27 - Planning

Dream's POV

Dream couldn't help but replay the memories of their recent battle with the Bad Sanses his mind over and over. There were a few things that had struck him as unusual, and he was uncertain as to what those changes might mean.

For example, why was Nightmare talking to Chara? Were they making some awful deal? He knew his brother could be manipulative, but if he was encouraging more genocide routes to turn an AU negative, then that was something he would have to bring a stop to.

But there was also that strange new sans that had shown up. They were a bit smaller, but since they were next to Dust, Dream had a short moment to compare the two. This new one looked a little more.. sharp. The pointed teeth, the claws, the tattered black scarf.

Were they really a DustTale variant, though? The changes seemed too... unique. And the longer he lingered on the thought, the less sure he was of that assessment. That, and they were... familiar, somehow. Had they met at some point? They did look enough like Dust he could've gotten the two mixed up, he realised.

Then there was... whatever happened with Fell Papyrus. He hadn't seen it, not fully, but he had gotten a few glimpses mid-battle. It looked like they had been... corrupted or something? Though even started talking strangely after. Unless it was possession? Both possibilities were concerning.

He cringed. If there was a new threat to the multiverse, then they were going to have to call for a council meeting. And a council meeting meant a whole lot of yelling and not really getting anywhere. As much as the meetings were useful in distributing information and coming up with plans, they always dissolved into arguments when it involved new threats.

And stars, the constant demands... Dream was exhausted. He was already stretched thin, running on absolutely zero sleep. He never really had any time to himself, having to jump from timeline to timeline to help, to do everything and anything that was asked from him.

He couldn't say no, either. He was the positive guardian! He was expected to be perfect. To do what he was told. And, truth be told, he was starting to get tired of it. Tired of having to be 'positive' for everyone. Tired of trying to get through to a sibling that seemed intent on killing him. Tired of the constant battles, and for being blamed whenever anything went wrong.

A sigh escaped from him as he forced the thoughts from his mind. If the village taught him anything, it was that what he wanted didn't matter. That he wasn't allowed to express anything but positivity. So he shoved those thoughts away and returned his focus back to the matter at hand - this new sans that had joined his sibling.

"YOU OKAY, FRIEND?" Blue let out.

"Of course I am," Dream let out with a warm smile. He didn't want to worry his friend. Blue was already doing so much for the Star Sanses. "I was just thinking about that new sans who was at the fight earlier."

"OH! I DID SEE THAT, THOUGH I WAS KIND OF FOCUSED ON FIGHTING DUST..."

Dream turned to Ink, frowning. The creator was already working on a new AU despite only having just gotten back. As much as he was concerned might be overdoing it, jumping from project to project, there just... wasn't really time to talk about it.

All three of them were overworked.

"Hey Ink..." the positive guardian let out in a soft voice, wanting to include the creative god in the conversation more. "There's only one version of Dusttale, isn't there?"

Ink merely let out a distracted "Yup" in confirmation as he continued his work.

"Then how come there was a second one when we fought last?"

"WERE THEY A DUSTTALE TYPE THOUGH? I DIDN"T SEE THEM LONG BUT I KIND OF THOUGHT THEY WERE FROM A HORROTALE...:"

Dream shook his head. "They looked a lot more like Dust than Horror," he reiterated.

"INK, DID YOU SEE THE NEW SANS?"

"New sans?" Ink let out confusedly, looking back with eyelights in the shape of question marks. Then, recognition seemed to flood through him, and he became more energetic. "Oh! Right! I remember! They were the one that called Killer 'aunty' and got dreambot super distracted!"

Dream blushed in embarrassment at that. "Hey! It was a valid question! I don't want to misgender anyone," he pouted. "But that's not the point. Where did this new dust come from if there is only one DustTale? Did you make another copy and forget about it?"

Ink frowned, his eyelights cycling through various symbols and shapes. "I don't think so," he let out, looking a little distant for a moment. "I don't make all the timelines though. Some just kind of pop up on their own," he explained.

"MAYBE IT WAS A COMPLETELY NEW ONE? LIKE, AN ORIGINAL WE JUST HAVEN'T SEEN YET?"

The guardian nodded at that. "That might explain why they weren't behaving like Dust," he confirmed. "They also seemed kind of positive for somebody working for my brother. Do you think this is a recent arrangement?"

Ink shrugged. "No idea, but I bet they'd be easier to kidnap if they're new! We just have to create a diversion to separate them from Nighty–"

"--please don't call him that–"

"--And we can interrogate them for information!" Ink finished enthusiastically, clearly proud of the idea he had come up with.

As much as he hated when Ink used his childhood nickname for his brother, he had to admit that it wasn't such a bad idea. Ink could be quite intelligent when he put his mind to it, he just struggled to take anything seriously and never actually went through with what the team had planned.

Dream nodded, though. "Maybe we could use your new AU to lure them?"

Ink snickered. "We both know only Ruru comes to the new ones," he retorted. "Though I guess Nighty does help Ruru sometimes. Hm. Maybe that's a good idea after all," the god let out distractedly.

Dream tried not to grimace when Ink, yet again, called Nightmare 'Nighty'. The guardian was an expert at hiding his true emotions at this point, though, so he was sure nobody noticed his discomfort.

Blue tilted his head. "ARE WE SURE THEY ARE ACTUALLY BAD THOUGH? I DIDN'T REALLY SEE THEM FIGHT..."

Dream looked to the swap variant for a moment, their uncertain expression. They could be a little naive at times, the guardian thought to himself. Blue had been kidnapped by Error numerous times, the literal destroyer of worlds, yet still tried to defend him - they had such a big heart and always wanted to think the best of others, even when it was obvious they were bad. It worried the guardian, sometimes.

"Well, if they aren't bad, then surely they'll answer our questions!" Ink exclaimed.

Dream grinned and nodded. "Its worth a try! Now, lets talk about our plan in more detail in case things go wrong..."