Chapter seventeen:

Dust goes to Outertale and he glances around. He turns to look to the visible stars in the sky. He stares at it for a long while. "They haven't been able to find much on Cross. He won't get caught." He ponders to himself feeling some confidence in his words. He turns to glance down the path that he can take. He takes a few moments of contemplating going down that way. He could do it. His mind even goes to that mailbox. He could see if a note or letter was left. His feet almost take him in that direction before he creates a portal behind himself.

"Brother?"

"It's nothing Paps. I'm okay." Dust assures his Papyrus and heads through the portal. He heads out of his room glancing around at those in the living room.

Error is sitting reading a book. His eyes moving from one side to the other as he diligently reads every line.

Killer is taking a nap on the free space of the couch. He is laying on his back and actually looks rather comfortable.

Eclipse shifts around one of his teddy bears on the floor as he lays there. He does seem focused on the bear though slightly in thought. His eyes hold a sparkle of happiness with the the thoughts.

Dust turns and heads to the kitchen where he finds Blood eating snacks alone. "Hey, love? Where is Nightmare?"

Blood pauses in his eating to answer. He is polite enough to ensure that nothing is in his mouth when he does so. "I haven't really seen him. He went off somewhere. I thought he was going to the living room."

Dust slightly frowns and heads towards the living room. He stops as Nightmare can be seen doing a visual check on everyone. He highly doubts anything other than anger will come if he suggests peace. He keeps his mouth shut and gives a small dip of his head as Nightmare walks past. He hears the bedroom door close and lets out a small breath. He turns away heading to the balcony wanting some fresh air. He stares out wondering why he had contemplated trying peace. Why he had even considered trying to talk Nightmare to end the war peacefully. He's going to need some time alone out here.

Clarity is standing on the balcony floor. Her eyes looking a little far off in the distance. Her gaze is just as distant as she is within her own mind. She smiles to herself. She hums a light hearted tune as she stays out there.

"Sounds like you're pretty happy today."

Clarity stops humming and turns around, already knowing who she'll see. "Hi mommy!" She greets Dream with a wide smile.

Dream comes over and joins her in sitting on the balcony floor. His legs are criss-crossed as he sits there. "What's gotten you all happy today?"

Clarity is about to tell her mother all about Eclipse, when she remembers her deal with Blue. She can't tell her mom about the friend she made yesterday. She can't go back on her promise. "Today just feels like it's going to be a great day." She informs Dream as the two look out past the balcony.

"It does feel like a nice day." Dream admits looking out across what can be seen. He can feel a slight breeze and the weather is just right. He almost feels like sitting out here with Clarity all day.

"Mom?" Clarity begins in which Dream turns to her. She continues to stare off into the distance though. "What was it like when you met dad?"

"Well when we first met there was a fight going on." Dream admits as Clarity listens. "The first time we actually spoke to each other was when I found him checking a world out. I'll admit it started off tense. Neither of us sure of the other. Though there was just something different about him. I couldn't put my finger on it at first. As we talked a bit more we eventually found a connection. We became more relaxed as it continued. We listened to what the other had to say. We agreed to meet again. Things went off from there. Eventually your father told me that he loved me. And I knew in that moment that's what I was feeling for him. I finally put my finger on what made him so different. We kept it all a secret until your father decided to join us here."

"That's cool." Clarity admits with a slightly bigger smile on her face. "Do you think I'll find who I am to be with one day?" She turns to look right at Dream when she brings it up.

Dream glances to her then lets out a breath. "I suppose one day." He admits to her letting their eyes meet.

Clarity smiles at her mother. "I can't wait!"

A week has gone by.

Clarity is in the kitchen humming softly as she colours a picture she drew. She is sitting at the table with her legs swinging. She turns hearing someone enter the kitchen and even stops her humming. She spots Blue who offers her a small smile. "Hi Blue!"

"Are you ready to go?" Blue asks of her watching as her face lights up in excitement. "Your parents are a bit busy so it's the perfect time to go."

"I'm ready!" Clarity puts down her crayon and hurries over to join Blue.

Blue opens the portal and they head on through to Mythtale. "Okay. Let's see if we can find your friend."

Clarity looks around hoping to catch a glimpse of the friend she had made. She turns and spits a familiar figure exit out of an alley. "Eclipse!" She rushes over and Blue turns in surprise.

Blue watches as Clarity hugs the other though he doesn't get closer yet. "Hm. I wonder what kind of mythical creature he is." He ponders slightly as he looks over Eclipse. "Maybe some kind of shadow creature?" He shrugs it off for now and heads over to the two. "Okay." His voice gets their attention. "We need to go somewhere first. And as long as I'll be able to see you both you two can play together." He tries to figure out Eclipse now that he is closer. He almost feels like the other is more than meets the eye.

"I'm sure we'll be good. I learned a new fighting move over the week. I wanted to show it to my friend." Eclipse tells Blue.

Blue is curious about Eclipse, though he supposes that if he acts as a good friend it should be okay. "Stay close to me you two. I don't want you to get lost out here." He leads the two as he starts heading towards Muffets place. He knows that it's a good place to start to try to find the Underswap Papyrus Kitsune. He makes sure that the two stay close, which he finds easy as they run around him playfully. 'They are good friends.' He thinks to himself as he watches them chase each other. 'It can't hurt to let this friendship continue.'

They arrive to Muffets place.

Blue goes to his spying spot and peeks inside. He sees the kitsune talking to Muffet alone. He turns to the two kids as they look to him. "Okay. You two can play just stay where I can see you."

"Will do Blue." Clarity tells Blue and the two move a little away.

Blue can still see them so he accepts it as okay. He looks to the Kitsune watching him. He does so for a bit then looks to the children. He sees Eclipse trying to attack a fluttering leaf to show Clarity. He turns back to the Kitsune only to see that the other is walking away. He ducks down going to not be seen. He waits for a bit then peeks up. He glances around trying to find the other. He freezes for a moment when he sees the Kitsune approaching Clarity and Eclipse.

Clarity and Eclipse look to the Kitsune who starts talking to them.

Blue snaps to reality and hurries over to them.

"We didn't mean to get in the way." Clarity apologizes. "We were just playing."

"It's okay. Kids are meant to play. I haven't seen you two around before. Where are your parents?" The Kitsune questions the two.

For a moment Blue pauses upon hearing the others voice. His mind flashing back to his brother. He closes his eyes and shakes his head. He opens his eyes and gets to Clarity and Eclipse. "Alright you two. Time to go."

Clarity hurries over to Blue and leans against him. She relaxes as he places a hand on the top of her skull. "Can we go to the park?"

"Yes. We're going to the park." Blue agrees trying to not make eye contact with the kitsune. Even as he can feel the others eyes on him. He turns as Eclipse moves close to him as well. His eyes end up drifting to the Kitsune and for a moment their eyes meet. He finds himself stuck in place for a few moments. He could easily see the other in his brothers clothes. He wants to move closer, he wants to... He snaps back to reality as Clarity grips his shirt. "G-G-Good day." He stutters barely getting it out. He then turns and leads the two kids away from there. He can feel the kitsune version of his brother watching him. He contemplates glancing back, though hearing a voice stops him so he keeps going.

"Hey Pappy! Do we have a mission today?" This worlds Blue, a fairy, questions his kitsune brother.

Blue gets far enough away he can't really hear the others response. He lets out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. He can feel his soul pounding in his rib cage. He actually spoke to the version of his brother in this world. He stops walking as there is a tug on his arm. He looks up and realizes that he was heading towards another monster. He would have ran into that monster if he wasn't grabbed. He turns and sees Eclipse holding his arm.

"Maybe I should lead the way to the park." Eclipse suggests and Blue nods his head in agreement. He takes the lead still holding the others arm.

"Thanks. For making sure I didn't run into anyone." Blue tells Eclipse as he continues to follow him. He glances to Clarity making sure that she is okay and still with them. He sees her walking alongside him holding his shirt. He turns back to where they are going after that. He doesn't mind that Eclipse doesn't really respond to his thanks.

They make it to the park and stop at its edge.

"Okay. You both can play together for a bit." Blue tells them then watches as the two hurry off. He sees them go for some of the slides together. He can see them trying to bump each other while running, with the other trying to dodge.

"They're cute."

Blue quickly turns in surprise to look at the monster that has approached him. He sees a random monster woman who is probably a mother. "Yeah. Kids tend to be rather cute." He agrees looking back locating Eclipse and Clarity.

"I'm sure you're very proud of them both. They are yours, aren't they?"

Blue pauses for a brief second at surprise upon hearing that. He quickly relaxes himself reminding himself that it would have been brought up eventually. "No. I just know their parents. Sometimes I take them out for them." He does so that it's not a complete lie. He does know Clarity's parents. He briefly wonders about Eclipses parents.

"Aw. That's adorable and so nice of you to do." The monster praises him.

"Yeah." Blue feels relief when the other gets pulled away by her own child. He heads over to one of the empty benches sitting down to let the children play. He keeps track of the time and keeps track of the two.

After awhile the time comes for them to go home.

Blue has worked out a timeframe for being able to leave and come back. He hasn't been caught yet. He gets up and heads over to the two. "Clarity it's time to go home."

"Already?" Clarity softly whines in disappointment.

Blue pats her skull gently. "You'll get to see your friend again next time." He assures her gently rubbing her skull. He turns his attention to Eclipse. "We should get you home too." He gently holds the kids hands and leads them away from the park. "Eclipse. Where do you live?"

"I can get there safely on my own." Eclipse pulls away and moves in front of Blue who stops. He looks up at the other. "Don't worry. I'll be fine."

"If you're sure. Who are your parents anyways?" Blue only asks that question purely out of curiosity. He does wonder who would create a monster like Eclipse.

"Oh. Well my parents are the head of some big operations. They run the whole thing." Eclipse isn't sure about telling Blue what his parents actually do. He almost wants to tell the truth though Blues voice stops him.

"I see. Well if you're sure you'll find your way home then we'll be on our way."

Eclipse nods hoping that the adult won't notice him relaxing. "Yeah. Have fun!" He turns away heading off as does the other two. He never knew that once he turned twelve something would happen. He is sitting on the couch when he turns as Killer approaches. He notices his mother holding something that looks like a Temmie. His eyes follow the other until said other stands almost in front of him.

"Eclipse. Come with me." Killer tells him so, with great curiosity, Eclipse got up to go through the portal. He has lead his son to world that has been slaughtered. He doesn't tell him though the others are stationed around to watch how it goes. He places the Temmie down before taking a few steps back. "Kill it."

Eclipse turns to Killer then looks to the Temmie.

Killer waits for a few moments to see if the other would do as told.

Unable to form tentacles, Eclipse summons a bone in the shape of a knife.

"Do it." Killer encourages even as Temmie stares at Eclipse.

Eclipse moves closer to Temmie who starts to gain a terrified look realizing the danger. He raises the weapon as he keeps his focus on the small monster.

Killer watches and waits.

Eclipse hesitates for a moment then swings the attack striking Temmie. He manages to hit a spot he was told to go for.

Temmie falls with a slash to the neck and dusts having taken enough damage.

The others come out of hiding and head over.

Eclipse glances around in surprise then turns to his father who speaks.

"You did an excellent job." Nightmare tells his son. "I knew you had it in you." He pats Eclipses back in a good job gesture.

The others also give their praises to Eclipse for his first official kill.

Eclipse smiles softly at the praise. He just doesn't think he'll tell Clarity. He doubts that she'll want to hear about this. He knows her pretty well after all.

Over the years Eclipse and Clarity have grown and played together. They are now sixteen and their wardrobe hasn't changed; though now are made bigger to fit them.

Eclipse is standing with his mom to his left and his father to the right. He had been trained by his parents one at a time. He was told that it was because they were trying to make an idea happen. He supposes that it must have a lot of risks of failing if it's taking so long. He watches as a portal opens up before them. He follows after his parents through the portal and into Gemtale. He glances to his mother upon hearing words being spoken.

"Alright Eclipse. Just like you were taught you and just like you practiced. This time you'll join us in attacking this world."

"It'll be glorious!" Nightmare confirms as Eclipse turns to look at him. "Let's go."

The three of them start heading off to find their first targets. They spot Doggo and Killer places a hand on Eclipse.

"Okay." Killer whispers to Eclipse. "This is your opportunity."

"Take him down." Nightmare demands and Killer releases Eclipses shoulder.

Eclipse takes off heading straight for Doggo. He summons his knife shaped bone attack and swipes it at the dog monster.

Doggo yelps loudly and is knocked to the ground from the sudden strike. He twists around snapping his jaws to try to find the attacker. His eyes darting around looking for any sings of movement. His eyes land upon the attack just before it sliced his torso. He closes his eyes as he turns to dust.

Killer and Nightmare approach Eclipse when the deed is done. They are both smiling at the quick work their son managed to accomplish.

"Well done." Killer tells Eclipse verbally. He looks up with his face turning to serious as barking can be heard. "The other dogs must have heard the yelp."

"Let them come." Nightmare decides as Killer and Eclipse glance to him.

Killer nods and summons his knife as a wide smirk appears on his face.

Eclipse prepares himself for the upcoming attack.

Dogamy, Dogaressa, and Greater dog all hurry towards them. They charge to attack upon seeing the dust.

Nightmare and Killer move first as they charge at the dogs.

Eclipse dashing after them to join the flight.

Nightmare slams into Greater dog managing to knock over the canine. His tentacles grabbing the limbs of the armour to force them down.

Killer attacks Dogamy slamming his knife into his shoulder, as the other tries to stop it.

At seeing Dogaressa head for Killer Eclipse leaps onto her back. He slams his weapon into her shoulder by her neck.

Dogaressa howls in pain and tries to throw Eclipse off of her.

Eclipse hangs on and manages to summon another weapon slamming it into her chest. He leaps away as she turns to dust. He turns to look to where his parents are.

Killer twists the axe around and slams the blade onto Dogamys throat. He gets up as the other turns to dust.

Nightmare has Greater dog wrapped in tentacles and crushes him. He turns to his family as Greater dog turns to dust. "Let's go. We have others to take down." He takes the lead with the other two following after him.

They crouch down as they spot Snowdin. They can see the crystal buildings and monsters enjoying the day.

"Eclipse. You'll be going in alone." Nightmare tells his son. "I wanna see how you do on your own. Find one and take them down."

Eclipse heads out going into Snowdin and some residents turn as he comes in. He gets a few greetings by a few residents. He returns them and keeps going. He doesn't want to give them enough time to ask where he's from. He spots Undyne and thinks that this will really impress his parents. He moves around going behind the buildings and peeks out at Undyne. He needs to get her alone. He turns and tosses a rock into the bushes.

This gets Undynes attention and she heads to investigate. She keeps her armour metal to try to not alert enemies by the gleam of crystal. She does have a headband with round sapphire gems on them holding her red hair out of her face. She stops by the bush crystal spear summoned. "Show yourself." She demands not realizing that Eclipse is raising his attack to strike her in the head.

Eclipse sends it flying at her head, however Undyne spins around and knocks the attack away. He gets up knowing that he's been spotted.

"Who are you and what the hell do you think you're doing!?" Undyne demands glaring at him with her left eye that isn't covered by a plain black eye patch. She aims about five, mostly floating, spears at Eclipse.

Eclipse remembers a trick that Dust and Blood had told him about. "Sorry. I was just seeing if I could possibly be in the royal guard." He lies as he prepares an attack under Undyne. "I thought if I had gotten a hit on you then you'd let me in."

"That is very reckless of you. That is not what the royal guard is about." Undyne is about to go on then suddenly Eclipses attacks shoot up from under her. She makes a sound of pain dropping her spear as her attacks vanish. "Y-You're supposed t-t-to be better than this if y-you wanted in t-the r-r-royal guard." She tries to get free and Eclipse clenches his teeth.

"I just wanted you to put down your guard." Eclipse sends an attack right down onto her face. He watches her turn to dust then turns as a portal opens up.

Killer and Nightmare come over to him.

"That's a good boy." Killer praises Eclipse with a smile.

"Is that it?" Eclipse questions and Nightmare nods as they head through the portal.

"Yes. We have been planning to use this place. We have been exploring every inch of the world. Learning every little thing. Every little advantage. And now that you're old enough to join we can really get the plan going."

They make it home and Eclipse lets his parents head away for now.

Eclipse glances around and only sees Error out on the balcony. He makes sure that Error isn't looking at him then opens his own portal. He heads through it to Mythtale. He really hopes that Clarity is there.

Blue has eased a little on how far they can be as they became older. Though he still wants to make sure he knows where to find them.

Eclipse hurries along and skids to a stop almost running into Blue. "Ah. Sorry about that."

"Eclipse!" Clarity hugs him and he hugs her back.

"Hey Clarity."

"Well I suppose you two are going to the ravine park." Blue mentions and Eclipse as well as Clarity nod. "Alright. Let's be off on our way."

The two follow after Blue.

They arrive at the ravine so Eclipse and Clarity head off on ahead.

Blue glances to see the version of his brother in this world and the version of himself, at the market together. He goes by a tree and watches as he mentally places himself and his own brother in their spots. He sighs softly to himself. "I wish you were still alive. Though maybe it is for the best. You're not in pain or misery now."

Behind him for a moment a ghostly appearance of Stretch, Underswap Papyrus, appears. He watches him before his form fades away.

"Eclipse. You seem a little off today. Is everything okay?" Clarity asks as they stand on the dirt path of the ravine alone in the spot.