Geno's POV
I get up and look around as soon as I get back to consciousness. I look around. I'm in a field of flowers. I stand up and look around. Not a person or building in sight. I try to walk carefully and make my way through the field. I notice nearby flowers are wilting as I go by. I get excited, thinking it's Reaper. I smile and turn around, but couldn't spot him.
"Reaper?"I call
Silence.
"Reaper!"I shout
More silence.
"Reaper! This isn't funny!"I yell
I take a few steps along the wilted flowers, looking around. Not a sign of Reaper.
"Anyone?"I call
Nothing.
I head through the field again, curious. I look around, trying to find someone. Anyone. But then, I touch a flower and it wilts. I look at it, then tap one next to it. That one wilts. What the? I remember the bomb and vials. Did I swap bodies with Reaper or something? I try to open code, portal, something, but fail. I seem unable to summon that. I keep walking, looking around. I check the river and see my reflection. I'm myself, not Reaper.
Then how...?
The grass under me starts to turn and I jump. Soon as I remove contact with it, new grass grew. What is going on? I hear footsteps and panic. I run and trip, quickly getting up again. I feel something hit me, knocking me into the river. I get taken away by the current but manage to pull myself up from the water once it calme down a bit. I climb out and cough, weakly crawling onto land.
I lay there, panting. I try to catch my breath. My soul is pounding and I'm soaking. It's freezing and the wind makes me shiver. I take my jacket off, wringing any water that I could out of it. I lay it on the ground and let it dry. I wring out the sleeves of my shirt and the bottom of my shirt. I lay down, waiting for my jacket to dry. But I notice it changed. The ends of the sleeves turned black and the edges of it too.
"Geno! Geno? Where are you?"A voice calls
I jolt, sitting up. I get my jacket back on. I feel someone hug me from behind. I absolutely panic. I put my hands out so there's no way that I touch them, come in contact whatsoever. I do not want to accidentally kill someone.
"H-Hello? Who is this?"I ask
"Geno! It's me, Ink! I saw you get knocked into the river by some minion! I'm so glad you're okay! Take my hand, I will help you up!"Ink's voice says
He releases me from the hug and comes around to face me. He reaches out for my hand and I jolt, crawling back and hiding my hands from his reach.
"No!"I snap
"Huh?"He says
"I don't want to hurt you!"I say
"What do you mean? Wait, your code was messed with too, wasn't it? Let me guess, you got some of Reaper's code and now whatever you touch dies."Ink says
I slowly stand.
"That's a way to put it....Ya....But what do you mean by 'too'?"I ask
"I think I got some of Error's code."He says
I look over at him.
"I can see that." I say
"Are you still able to summon your stuff like code? Or anything? I can only summon strings."He asks
"Hmm, let me see."I say
I try to summon something.
Anything, really.
What do I summon?
A scythe.
I jump and drop the scythe.
"Nope! Ain't using that!"I say
Ink and I look at each other. I hesitantly pick it up.
"Definitely Reaper's code."We both say
"Well let's go find the others! I saw a village nearby!"He says
I nod.
Ink sped off, sprinting ahead of me. I try to run to try to keep up. I feel a pain yell out from within me. I trip and fall down.
"Geno?"Ink calls
I sit up. He puts his hand out to me.
"Come on, take my hand. I'll help you."He says
I shake my head.
"I can't take your hand."I say
"Oh, right! One sec!"He says, then summons strings
My soul appears in response.
"Wait, Ink no!"I snap,covering my soul
"Relax, I'm not thinking that. I'm gonna create."He says
He then begins to twist and turn the strings, his fingers moving quickly. Then, he uses the edge of the scythe to cut the strings. He hands me two gloves.Rainbow due to those being the strings he used and could use. They looked cool.
"Put these on."He says
I nod and put them on. He grabs my hand. He doesn't turn to dust. The gloves protect him. He then begins to jog ahead of me, keeping me close by the hand.
"So you saw a village?"I ask
"Yep!"He replies
"Are we sure we should go there? What if it's a human one and monsters are still underground in this timeline?"I ask
"I already checked and we're all clear! Monsters are making their own surface village, which is the one I found! Now come on! You know I wouldn't lead ya wrong!"Ink says with a wink
"Ok!"I tell him
We move as fast as we can and reach the village. Ink takes us to an inn and we are given a room to stay in. We go down the hall and pass another guest I guess. They have dark bone color, red nose and eyes, green coat and long dark blue scarf. There was an ink mark on his cheek, like Ink's, except red, yellow & blue. There are glitch marks made of paint blobs covering them. Their eye lights were like Error's. They looked like some version of Error. He keeps his head down from sight.
But when Ink passes them, their head went up. Their face went yellow and they smile. I notice their eyelights twist and in a blink, they change. Into hearts.
I smirk. I lean over to Ink.
"Someone's giving you the look!"I whisper teasingly
"Huh? What look?"He says
"Ya know the kind I'm talking about. That dude we passed seems happy to see you."I tell him
"Huh?"He asks
"Right behind us."I say as we reach the room
He looks at me. He looks behind us. He looks at me again. An idea hit me.
"Wait, if we have their code, would they have ours? And in that sense-"I say
"I'm gonna go say hi!"Ink tells me, cutting me off
He walks over to the dude. I go in the room but could hear them. Also I used the peekhole to watch them.
"Hello!"Ink says
"H-Hey."The dude replies
"You're Error, aren't you?"Ink asks
"Yes....Are yOu mY InKy?"He asks
"Hmmm, are you my Glitchy or from Timeline---------------?"Ink begins
The dude has taken something out. The scrapbook.
"That was my Glitchy's bro's book."Ink says
"So iT's yOu, InKy! HeH! GooD tO fInD yOu!"Error says
"Ya! Wait, so you were giving me a look? I can guess what kind already!"Ink says teasingly
"W-WhAt dO yOu mEaN? H-HoW cAn YoU gUeSs?"He asks
"Your eyes, silly. They formed hearts."Ink replies
"W-What do you mean?"He asks, giving a perplexed look to Ink
"I think you have my code and I have some of yours. Your eyes made heats. Like mine would."He says
It looked like he was processing this. Then, his eyes got covered in color blobs and his face went yellow. He crashed.
I go and lay on the bed. A few minutes later, I see Ink walk in with Error. I wave to him and he waves back. I smile and try to think. He notices my gloves and Ink explains the situation to him. He nods. We all chat and try to stay calm or plan things.
After a little bit, we all went to sleep. Ink made a hammock of strings for Error and his phobia, while Ink and I slept in two small beds the inn's room had. It is peaceful and quiet. But I find myself wide awake, trapped in paronoia. Error and Ink sleep peacefully but I couldn't. I worried about Reaper, E!Pap, Blue and Dust. Where they are, how they are, if they're ok, are their codes messed with, etc are the kind of things I wondered. Soon, I had enough. I write a note and leave the inn. I have to find them.
I run and look around, trying to find anything out of the ordinary. Hours seem to pass. The sun begins to rise. That wasn't so hard. Soon, I feel something hit my head. I reach up it it's....popcorn? I look around and see popcorn was falling like drizzling rain everywhere. Then it begins to pour. I run and duck under a tree for shelter. Someone is messing with the code! I look around and check my surroundings.
I see someone under another tree, holding a code screen. Other glitches hover nearby. I recognize him.
It's Reaper!
I smile. I gaze at him. He seems alright, maybe got my code is all. I walk over to him, the tree branches sheltering me from getting hit.
"Reaper!"I call out
His head shoots up. He looks at me. He smiles. I feel my face warm. I like it when he smiles.
"Geno!"He cheers, running over to me
He hugs me tight. I smile. I hug him back. He nuzzles his head against me and I tense, remembering how much of an idiot I was earlier. Can't be one again. Stay calm. I feel my face warm but my body relax.
"I'm so glad you're ok...."I say
"Really? You should worry about yourself first! You are still recovering! I missed you,Geno!"He says
"Eh, I'll be ok. I missed you too. I want to make sure everyone is ok though. Now are you the one that's making it rain popcorn?"I ask
"Yes....I tried to make a portal but you see how that went. Coding is harder than it looks."He says
"Well, let me have a try. Maybe I can fix it."I say
He nods and passes me the code screen.
I take off my gloves, knowing it won't work with them on and put them in my pocket. I work at the code screen carefully. Reaper stands beside me.
"So, did you find anyone else or are you by yourself?"He asks
"I found Ink and he found Error. They're at an inn right now so I may go back there. Or I'll go to find E!Pap, Blue or Dust."I reply, finishing the coding
"Hey! It stopped!"Reaper says
"Yep. Now we won't get into trouble."I say, reaching back into my pocket for the gloves
But they're gone.
I notice Reaper reaching for my hand. I internally panic but quickly swipe my hand out of his reach, shoving it into another pocket. I look around nervously for the gloves.
"What are you looking for?"He asks
"Some gloves Ink made for me."I tell him
"Are these them?"He asks
I look and see him holding them. I nod.
"Can I have them back?"I ask
"Sure, if you'll hold my hand."He says with a smirk
"Ok."I say
I'll put the gloves on and hold his hand. Simple as that. Piece of cake.
He doesn't hand me the gloves. He extends his hand to me. He wants his end of the deal first obviously.
Worst.
Timing.
Ever!
If I could've crashed like Error does, I would've. Right then. Right there.
Frick.
"Can I put the gloves on then hold your hand?"I ask, my voice a bit shaky
"Why? You know Science gave me a device to make sure I won't hurt you. Holding my hand is safe."He says
"I know...B-But-"I begin
"Do you not trust me?"He asks, cutting me off
"I do, it's just-"I say with a shaking voice
"Why is your voice shaking? Are you scared? Of what? Why?"He cuts me off again
At this rate I'll get nowhere. He will just keep cutting me off.
"Because I am scared...I don't want to-"I begin
"You don't want to what? Are you scared of me? Why? Huh? Because you know there are other, bigger things than worrying about me. There are-"He cuts me off
"Well if you let me talk I can explain! Quit jumping to conclusions. I know! No, I'm not scared of you! I don't want to hurt you! I don't want to hold your hand!"I snap, cutting him off
"How would you hurt me? Besides not trusting me. Seems like you've done that for a while now."He says
"Why you little-!"I snap, but stop, I take some breaths and calm down.
I will not go down that road again.
"You have the device but I don't. Now that the code for us changed, that's an issue. That's how I could hurt you. I do trust you, unlike how you seem to trust me. And ya know what? Keep the gloves, you're right. There are better things to do than to worry about you. And I'll go do them. So long, Reaper."I say, then run off
I run until he's out of sight, but keep going for good measure. I look around but then hear noises. I summon the scythe. I look around again. Goth's Geno appears.
"Oh dear, that seemed rough for you."He says
"It was I guess....He didn't read the page did he?"I tell him
"I'm afraid what you've been told is the truth. He hardly opened it ever since Blue have him the page. He's even had the time, but didn't use it. But he's being dealt with right now."He replies
The scythe shakes in my grip.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to be alone right now..."I say
"Of course. See you soon!"He says, then poofs away
I look at the scythe. My grip becomes tight and firm. I lift it up, then lower it. I have an idea, but first, I have friends to find. I wander around, finding E!Pap's scarf by a trail of footprints.
Bingo. Let's do this!
Meanwhile, with Reaper who got KO by a branch possessed by his alternate self
I open my eyes and look around. It's dark all around me. Where am I? What am I doing here? Where'd that branch come from? Did I seriously mess things up with Geno again?
"Welcome to your mind, other me. You're here to talk. I threw it at you because you were being too much of an idiot for even me to handle. Seems like you did, bud."A voice says
I turn to look and see alternate me, Goth's Reaper, in front of me.
"Wha-How? Huh?"I say
"I'm another you, I know what's you think. But I didn't think your mind would be THIS dark and spacious. Eh, more room for imagination I guess. Hmm...."He says
"What do you want to talk about now?"I ask
"Oh, ya! That's right! I want to talk about how you messed up! Come along now, sit by the fire! I'm gonna show you a story!"He says, snapping
A fireplace with a fire appears with a pair of chairs. He drags me over to one and we each sit. He snaps again and a book appears in his hands. The scrapbook Geno made. He opens it.
"This is a mighty nice scrapbook, all the notes, memories and pictures. But there's something missing. Do you know what that is?"He says, flipping through the pages and showing me them.
"What?"I ask
"Fear and lack of trust. The things you questioned him about. Seems to me he trusted you the most and was actually feeling safe around you. Why did you even say those things? Now you really messed things up."He says
"I dunno. I got hit with anxiety and some visions. I didn't want it to be true. I just don't want what I see in those to happen."I say
"Oh, well that makes sense. Just bad timing. There goes your hero. He saved your life by running off and not taking your hand, ya know. Good luck with the slap."He says
Then he disappears.
"Slap..?"I mutter
WHACK!
I wake up.
"WheRe iS gEnO yOu d0oFUs?!"Error snaps
"I thought he went back to you guys. He said he might."I say
"And you have his gloves because...?"Ink asks
I notice their changes in appearance but know now is not the time to mention it.
"He dropped them."I lie
"Oh no! Error, we have to find him! With his condition and new code situation, h-he could-! Or someone could come along a-and...use him!"Ink says, dropping hints of something to Error
"Crap! You're rIgHt!"He says
"WhaT nEw cOdE?"I ask
Error removes the device from my wrist.
"We mAy nEeD tHis laTer."He says
"WhAt dO yOu mEaN?"I ask
He and Ink facepalm.
"YoU'Re ReAl sLoW tO pIcK uP oN tHiNgs, yA kNow?"He says
"Reaper, do us a favor and touch that flower beside you."Ink says
I nod and hesitantly touch the flower. I expect it to wilt. But....It doesn't die. Doesn't even lose a petal. Then it hits me. I get the situation now. Ink hugs me to calm me down. Error gets a call. It's from E!Pap. He answers.
E!Pap's POV
"HeLlO?"I whisper
"I'm hErE PaPy. WhAt'S uP?"Error asks
"I foUnD GeNo bUt a pOrTaL opEnEd. ThErE'S sOmEoNe cOmInG tHrOuGH."I whisper
"WhY aRe yOu wHisPeRiNG?"He asks
"BecAuse 1. GeNo dOesN'T kNow I aM hErE aNd I dOn't waNt tO scAre hIm. He sEeMs dOwN. 2. I dOn'T kNoW whO iS coMinG thRoUgh aNd I wAnT to haVe ThE elEmEnt oF sUrpRise if I hAvE tO pRoTeCt GeNo."I reply
"Ah, I see."He says
Then, I see them. It's Dream! Though I notice he has black streaks coming down from his eyes. Guess he was crying. Help has arrived!
"Hey, buddy. You seem down."Dream tells Geno
"Dream! What are you doing here?"Geno asks
"I'm here to come get you. Now come on!"Dream says, extending his hand.
Geno reaches for it.
"Are tHey a ThreAt PaPs?"Error asks
"No, it'S DrOom, bRoThEr!"I say
"WelL tHat's amA-WaIt, dId yOu sAy dReAm?!"Error says
"Mhm! I'M goNna gO saY hI! Bye bRo!"I say
"BrO, wAiT-!"Error begins
"Love ya!"I say, then hang up
Geno grabs Dream's hand. I stand up and run over to him.
"Geno! DrOom! Hey!"I cheer
"It's Dream."Dream says
"Whoops, sorry."I say
"It's okay. Good to see you're okay, E!Pap."Dream says
"Yes, it's so good to know you're okay, E!Pap. Come with us!"Geno says
"WherE aRe wE gOinG?"I ask
"Home!"Dream says
"OkAy! Let'S gO!"I say, Dream taking my hand
Then the three of us go through the portal.
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Worst.
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Decision.
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Ever!