Cross glared as he saw X-Chara lean back in Nightmares throne, crossing his legs and smiling. Cross wished he could smack the smug look right off his face.
"What are you doing?" He growled while the imposter let out a quiet hackle. He stretched around on the throne further before sitting up and puffing out his chest like he already had the title of royalty. He even looked to Cross with a strong and powerful stare.
"Oh, I'm just getting a feel for it. Soon enough it, and all other of your beloved kings assets, will belong to me," X-Chara told him before slumping back down again. Cross really hoped someone would walk in and see this fool. "Oh, and about that wedding. I made the day as close as possible. Only a couple weeks. I'd be more inclined to call it my coronation day then wedding day, however."
"Someone will figure you out by then," Cross warned.
"Well, someone already has thanks to you. And I don't think she's doing too well because of it," X-Chara replied right before the doors swung open. He jumped from the throne and scrambled up onto his feet, acting as though he had never been sitting upon it. Cross rolled his eyes then looked over at whoever entered.
Fell stood in the doorway, eyes narrowed into his constant scowl as always. He didn't wear any armor or fancy attire. He wore the fluffy jacket he always had on when off duty. "Chara told me of what happened to Zoie," He told X-Chara, walking across the room to reach his side. He seemed at ease, falsely assuming his safety around his so-called friend. "Do you actually think she's the one behind those notes? It seems... Off," Fell told him.
"You haven't known her as long as I have. There were hints through all the years I've been around her" He replied with a quick lie. Fell tilted his head. "What?" He questioned upon seeing the action.
Fell studied his gaze, then bowed his head. "It's nothing. I just thought maybe you would put more thought into this before accusing her. She has been your, uh, friend for years. She always wanted to help you. Even healing you when you've been injured in battle," He pointed out, seeming to annoy X-Chara with his continued objections. "Don't you think there's a possibility that someone has framed her?"
"No. I know it was her. I'm sure of it, so you can drop it and do your job," He told Fell with a slight growl in his voice. His gaze wavered with a flicker of anger as well, setting off some sort of alert in Fell that made him step back wearily.
"Are you feeling all that well, Cross?" He asked slowly. "Usually you have less of a temper than this. The anger is sort of my thing," There was a sense of passive aggression in his voice. X-Chara looked like he wanted to strike him because of it, but held back from doing so.
"I just want to be alone," He lied, and so Fell nodded, wisely turned and walked away. Cross saw him glance back one last time before disappearing out the door. They slammed shut behind him.
"It seems Zoie isn't the only one sensing your odd behavior now," Cross pointed out. X-Chara hummed in an annoyed tone.
"It doesn't matter. This castle will be mine soon enough," He told him, then smiled for a moment. "You really need to stop rooting for my destruction, you know," He then said as he sat back down on the throne. Cross narrowed his eyes, but tried to stop his confusion from showing. It seemed he noticed anyway. "Oh? You haven't put those key pieces together yet, have you? Fine, let me explain it simply for you. Cross, if I am killed, you'll never be able to return to your destroyed body. It will be too late for you then."
Cross hadn't thought about that. If the imposter was killed, he'd have no body to return to. It would just be dust. "I'll figure it out," Cross told him, turning to leave the room.
"And where are you going now?" X-Chara asked as he sank further into the cushioned seat.
"I have people to visit," He told him before walking out.
***
Cross watched Nightmare as he looked himself over in the mirror. "Not the prettiest view..." He admitted to himself out loud. Cross would have given him a thousand reasons why he was beautiful right then and there if he could. To him, all the horrors others saw when he looked at him were just wonders. His flaws were unique beauties.
The king glanced around to make sure he stood alone, even daring to flick the lock on the door with a sway of his tendril to be certain no one would enter. Then, with a deep breath, his black coating began to morph and shift around his body. For a moment the blackness flowed out faster, creating a shadowy puddle beneath his feet.
Cross's eyes widened as he saw white start to peak out from under the inky coat. The tendrils recoiled as well, disappearing with the rest of the darkness. As the last of it melted away towards the floor, Cross could see an even more beautiful skeleton gazing into the mirror with purple tinted pupils that shone like stars. His bones were the fairest and smoothest white he had ever seen on a skeleton. Even his pure white teeth had shiny fangs.
He adjusted his purple clothing that was laced with gold and black. It looked like a suit, and Cross had never seen someone so gorgeous. Why hadn't Nightmare showed him this side sooner? Did he feel more sensitive about this somehow?
Then Cross thought back to one of the times he had failed to catch a threat before Nightmare had been attacked. Someone had plunged a dagger into his shoulder before Cross could intervein, or had at least had tried to. It didn't seem to make him do anything more than wince, his inky black coat bubbling before spitting the weapon out and covering the wound back up like it had been a scratch.
Nightmare never let anyone see this, not because he thought it was in any way shameful, but because it was his true weakness. To reveal his bone like this might as well be like walking around a battlefield without any armor. He needed his coat to keep him safe if he were taken by surprise. It's what made him much more of a hassle to defeat.
Cross felt blessed to have been able to see this. He knew now that Nightmare was beautiful inside and out, and he wanted to tell him that so badly. He walked a bit closer, and gently hovered his hand just above Nightmares. He pretended he was holding it.
Someone attempted to open the door, which startled Nightmare away from Cross's fake touch. Within moments the oily black darkness from the floor shot back towards the king and covered him up again. When the tentacles behind his back reappeared, he used one to unlock the door. "Come in," He quickly said.
X-Chara walked in, glancing to Cross for a moment. "I just wanted to ask... What will you wear at the wedding?" He questioned, remaining in the doorway. "I mean, I can always find someone to get you a nice suite-"
"You'll always protect me, right?" He interrupted to ask. The imposter gave a curt nod. "Then I know how I'll go. I think you'll like it," Nightmare told him with a soft smile. Cross felt fear rise in him. He knew what Nightmare wanted to do. He would go in that beautiful form, leaving himself vulnerable to an enemy he didn't even know existed.
"I won't let you kill him, you know," Cross told X-Chara. He could see the challenge flash on his face. Turning away, Cross rushed to find something else. X-Chara made no move to stop him. Though he probably couldn't without sounding far too suspicious to Nightmare.
He hurried up the stairs, and followed the hall down towards the guards' rooms. He looked over all the rooms then walked towards Fell and Charas. Entering through the closed doors, he could see and hear the two talking.
"I'm just saying it was odd. Usually he is much kinder with us. I've come to know him as a good friend but that hostility seemed so genuine. He was mad that I questioned his judgement with Zoie. Somethings up with him," Fell told Chara, voice lower than normal. Clearly he didn't want anyone to hear this conversation.
Chara, who had been brushing out her hair, sighed and put down the brush before she turned to Fell. "What do you think it is? He might just be nervous with the upcoming wedding. You should be more careful about this sort of thing anyway. Nightmare might just have you thrown out if you challenge Cross like that," Chara warned, a bit of her usual attitude in her voice. Yet it still seemed more serious than her casual voice.
"I know that, but... I think maybe, if that note did come from Zoie, it was for ulterior reasons. Not because she wanted to rid of Nightmare, but help him," Fell told her.
Chara paused for a long moment. "Do you really think she was onto something?" She questioned.
"Maybe, but what do I know? Cross could just be on edge after all," Fell sighed. Quickly Cross looked around, then spotted the brush. With a swift and powerful movement, he managed to knock it off the desk in one attempt. He wanted their attention. They couldnt abandon this idea yet.
Chara turned on it with a sense of fight in her eyes, then calmed upon realizing it was only the brush that had made the sound. Fell just narrowed his eyes on the fallen object. "That's... Not normal," He muttered. Chara picked it up, staring at it for a few moments before some sort of realization struck her. "What are you thinking?" Fell asked.
"I think I understand what could have happened. And it's not good," She told him, placing the brush back onto the desk and quieting her voice further. "When I used to live in my own universe, I'd have the same fight over and over again with the Frisk there. We had one body, and the two of us always fought for control. Eventually, I learned how to keep it. Now it's mine, and it even looks like me. But... It's possible to keep the old spirit's looks."
Yes, Chara! Cross wanted to hug her for figuring this out.
"You think someone's possessing Cross? What does that mean? What do we do?" Fell asked, voice getting a tad too loud. Chara hushed him and he moved closer to stand only a few inches away.
"We have to be careful. We don't know who this corrupting spirit is. But if it is what I think is is, Cross must be wandering the halls as a ghost. Odds are he's here now, and was the one that moved that brush," She said as she gestured her head to it. Fell looked around, but clearly he still couldn't see him. "We can't let the imposter know we are onto him. If we gather more evidence we can make a move. We will have to take him by surprise and keep him locked up somehow. We must be careful though. If he dies, so does Cross," She told Fell in a whisper Cross had to lean in to hear.
"When will we catch him?" Fell asked.
"We can get him when he least expects it. When he isn't paying attention to anyone else but himself," She said. She stopped to think for a moment. "The wedding. He won't be ready for an attack. It's the stage he's set, why would he be thinking about any pawns being out of place?"
Fell nodded. Cross did as well, though he hoped they got him before he got Nightmare. Actually. On second thought, he hoped they would catch him right when he strikes so Nightmare doesn't retaliate. Either way, at least now there was a plan.
He backed out when Fell pulled the rather unnerved Chara into a hug for comfort. He wanted to go check on Zoie now.