Reborn As A Dust Sans [Undertale Multiverse]

Ch39 - Creator

Ashe's POV

You shifted uncomfortably, not really sure of what to say. There was such a deep fear in your chest, even with that positive aura trying to smother it. These people had hurt you and them being so friendly now didn't change that. If anything, it almost felt as though you were being gaslit.

These were the same ones that hurt you, right? The same ones that attacked you, threw acid at you, almost killed you? You were sure that these were the same people. That wasn't what you were questioning. It was just that seeing them like this was just so conflicting. 

Dream was speaking so quiet and gentle. Ink didn't have those red target-shaped eyelights. They both seemed like normal people. Even in battle when you fought to keep them distracted, they... they didn't seem so normal like they did now. 

You didn't want to talk to them. If you gave them the silent treatment, would they go away and leave you alone? Or would they stop pretending to be nice and lash out?

Just as the silence was starting to linger, Ink's eyelights suddenly shifted to exclamation points as though he just figured out something major. He gasped, then immediately threw up black ink to the wooden floors, wiping it from his mouth as he practically vibrated with excitement. "I figured it out what's been bothering me! You're a creator!" he exclaimed.

Dream gave Ink a wary expression. "A creator? Like... the voices you say make you create stuff?"

"Yes!" He backpedaled. "Well, maybe, I'm not sure if they were one of the ones who guided me exactly, but they are definitely a creator!" The term was unfamiliar to you, but it didn't exactly feel incorrect, so you didn't correct him. Maybe he meant the whole dying as a human and ending up a Sans thing, you weren't too sure. "Wait, if you're a creator, why would you hang out with Nightmare of all people!? He's evil!"

Still trembling slightly, you couldn't help but snap a little at Ink. Maybe you were being defensive, but this was all getting to be too much. 'You literally tried to kill me for no reasonI!

"That was before I knew you were a creator!" he tried to excuse. "And again, why him!? You should be on our side!"

'Unlike you, he and his group didn't try to murder me within seconds of meeting me! Your acid-ink-stuff almost killed me!' you signed quickly, trying not to cry at the memory of how much pain it had caused for you. If Outer hadn't come to your rescue that day, you probably would have dusted.

"But I didn't even use that one in the battle toda– oh..." he paused mid sentence, expression dropping. "...You were the one in that empty timeline, weren't you?"

You tried your best to convey 'well duh' with your expression.

"Well, it's not my fault we mistook you for Dust! You look reaaaaally similar! I was, like, way overdosed on red paint, too, so its not like I meant to do that much damage!" he tried to explain. "Plus, your LV is way too high! Only evil people have high LV! You're a creator, you're not allowed to be evil!"

"Wait, Ink, what do you mean? Mistook him for Dust..?" Dream interjected, clearly not following the conversation.

'Your group showed up in my timeline a little while black and attacked me for looking like Dust,' you explained to the positivity guardian. 'I hadn't even met Nightmare and everyone else yet. You three were the first Sanses - er, Sansi? - that I got to meet, and you tried to murder me.'

"I mean, we weren't trying to kill you–"

'You almost DUSTED me! And - and now you've taken me from my family, cut off my magic, and you're acting like you are somehow the good ones in all of this!'

Dream was the next to speak. "Look, I promise neither of us have any intention of hurting you. We just want to ask a few questions, that's all."

'You do realise we are enemies now, right? There is no reason I'd want to answer whatever questions you have. I trust Nightmare and the others, and you're not going to trick me into betraying them."

"Listen. You're caught up with some terrible people right now, but that doesn't mean you can't change. That you can't do the right thing," Dream reasoned to you. "Everybody deserves a chance. That includes you."

'You haven't even apologised,' you signed with teary sockets. 'You almost killed me, and even after realising, all you can think of to say is that I can do better.'

"The fact you're listening to what I have to say instead of immediately trying to kill me proves you aren't evil like Nightmare's gang. If we tried this with any of the others, I can guarantee they'd be trying to throttle me and screaming profanities the entire time, but you're calm."

'There's literally a magic suppressor strapped to my throat,' you sniffled. It didn't feel like he was really listening to you and it was making you feel worse. 'I'm outnumbered and can't use my magic, attacking you like that would just get me dusted. Being logical doesn't mean I'm any less likely to fight you the moment I think I have a chance, just that I don't have a deathwish.'

"We don't have to be enemies, Ashe," he soothed. "Your timeline was like Dust's, right? What your Frisk put you through was terrible, and while I don't agree with what you did, I understand it. But you don't have to suffer anymore. You don't have to work for Nightmare or do the terrible things he tells you to. You can be free."

You shuddered at the mention of Frisk despite not actually remembering them. He was clearly trying to appeal to you, but considering he had so little understanding of your situation, it wasn't really getting through to you. For being related to Nightmare, the two really were so drastically different.

"You're safe here. Nightmare can't hurt you anymore. You won't ever have to go back to him again, I promise," the guardian continued.