So, I had the power of Hope. In the same way humans had power over Determination, along with the soul qualities of Bravery, Justice, Kindness, Patience, Integrity, and Perseverance—I had Hope. After visiting a few more AUs with Ink and Dream, I finally understood.
Hope is not born of a carefree life. On the contrary, it blossoms from a life of pain. As long as that pain doesn't get the better of a person, they have Hope; it's as strong as Determination. And I had it emanating from my very being.
By pinging souls gold, I could find hurt that needed to be healed, the scars that obscured the chance of a happy future. The moment both a soul and myself were encased in gold, I was invisible to the one pinged. I could talk to them and hear their silent thoughts like a breeze rustling autumn leaves. I was the whisper in the back of their minds, encouraging them to not give up. It filled them with Hope. Once they accepted it, the gold seeped into their soul, and both Hope and Health Points were restored. Perhaps they were the same thing.
Lately, whenever I summoned Gaster Blasters, their lights were now tinted gold. They were larger, slightly faster, and more attuned to my wishes than I remembered. Strangely, I discovered I could also summon a sphere of light, similar to that of the blaster's beams. After experimenting with it for a few days, I came to an astoundingly profound conclusion: it did nothing. It was completely harmless. It dealt no damage points nor healed them. So, if I ever got bored, I could play with my glowing, watermelon-sized marble. Fun times. Add that to the list of unexplainable things in the universe—or, universes.
As for the rest of my skill set, things remained mostly unchanged. The wings were never a mystery; they were meant for flying. Thankfully, I had managed to master the skill. Glitch teleporting was harder to control. I'd used it when I had protected Papyrus for the last time in my world and when I escaped Error's strings. It was faster than typical teleporting, which normally required a short leap through space. This kind of shortcut was instantaneous, from point A to point B in zero-point-zero seconds flat. That was, if I didn't simply phase through things. It had happened a few more times on accident, but I was bound to get it under control sooner or later.
Since the visit to UnderFell, we'd visited a handful of other AUs, settling minor scuffles or glitches as we went. But… the real battle had yet to begin.
In hindsight, I believe the majority of my perilous days begin as boring.
My mind was drifting around like a newborn butterfly in a summer breeze; aimless, untethered, and easily distracted. Ink's explanation of interlocking AUs had been dragging on for a few hours; he kept losing his train of thought and starting over. It took all my willpower to stay awake, let alone pay attention. I doodled lazily, just nodding occasionally or giving a little "um-hmm" of affirmation as Ink jabbered.
"So! For example, since UnderSwap has so many opportunities for variation, things like SwapFell, ButtonTale, RebornTale, and—" Ink stopped to think. "Hmm, you know what? Now that I'm listing them—why are there so many weird spin offs of UnderSwap? I mean, it's such a nice universe, why are so many of the alternations kinda messed up? I mean, SwapFell!Sans, he… ah…" Ink's eye lights went out. He frowned and concluded—"SwapFell has problems." There was an awkward pause. "What were we talking about again?" I stifled a sigh, but decided to be patient and persevere in being kind.
"underswap alternations," I answered. My flat voice hurt my own ears. But Ink didn't seem to notice.
"UnderSwap! Ah, yes! Thank you, Serif,"
"um-hmm," I murmured.
"So! As I was saying, there are so many spin offs of UnderSwap, like ButtonTale, RebornTale, SwapFell… SwapFell is really weird, ya know? I mean…" oh, good grief. here we go again. i swear i've heard this spiel at least four times in the past half hour. "… Rather unfortunate character flaws, but amazing design! And—"
Ink slowed to a stop, his eye lights flickering nervously. Just as I was about to remind him of the lesson's topic for the fifth time, he gasped and sprang up.
"Oh my goodness," he breathed, then shouted "DREAM—" Dream leapt from a portal even as the words left Ink's mouth. Landing with a roll to keep up his momentum, he flung open another portal ahead of him and affirmed—
"I felt it too. MelonTale. Hurry!" Jumping up, clueless but trusting, I followed close on Ink's heels as he sprinted for the swirling gateway.
"An AU is under attack," Ink explained. "Get ready for battle." And with that, we plunged into the portal.
The moment my feet touched the ground, the world was pitched into chaos. We were in Snowdin. Or, what was left of it. Past me darted panicking townspeople. They were fleeing the west side of town. Where the forest ended and civilization began, bright bursts of bubblegum pink and lime green, and deep blue and red flashed. The very ground winced at the sound of an explosion. danger, straight ahead. We forged onwards. I managed to catch a glimpse of the catastrophic fight that was shredding the foundations of the world.
I recognized the two combatants as Error and Melon!Sans. Melon dashed around, summoning enormous green Gaster Blasters, their eyes blazing pink, their beams even brighter. He was missing one of his green slippers, and even as I watched, he kicked the other one away. His shorts were of the same lime as his abandoned shoes, the side-stripe as red as candy, same as the horizontal band on his evergreen jacket. The cherry red, black speckled tufts on his hood were missing some chunks. Beneath, the light pink sweater showed a few tears—too close to bone for comfort. Despite the distance, I could see his dominant eye ablaze, watermelon pink. He wasn't holding back.
Error launched attack after attack, almost relaxed in stature. He wasn't afraid of losing this fight. In fact, it seemed Melon wasn't even the one he was attacking. The Destroyer aimed his efforts at a tight, tangled cage of bone attacks: a protection field of sorts. Beneath the white walls, I could pick out the hunched form of Melon!Papyrus. While Watermelon's appearance resembled that of a, well, watermelon, Papyrus's mirrored a cantaloupe.
He cradled something close in his orange gloves, trying to shield it from the danger. The ends of his scarf, akin in color, were wrapped around the object as if to keep it warm. His "armor" was composed of vertical stripes of pear and pine green, completed with orange belt and bootstraps. He watched the fight with wide, terrified eyes, flinching each time Error's attacks shattered Melon's.
We were almost in range of them.
"Watermelon!" Dream yelled, "Over here!"
Melon glanced up, barely dodging a spike of blue threads. At first, all I read in his face was concern. But then his confused gaze landed on me. After glancing between the three of us, as if doing the math, there was a flash of slight recognition. Though I couldn't hear over the distance, I'm pretty sure he said "Blueberry." Turning to Papyrus, he exclaimed "RUN!" and the walls dropped.
Papyrus scrambled to his feet, sprinting towards the three of us; Melon was close at his heels, occasionally turning to deflect attacks. Now I saw what Papyrus was holding: a human soul. The human of their world was literally in the palm of his hand.
They were gonna make it. Just as the last gap of distance was closing, there was a gut-wrenching noise. A cacophony of cracks. Papyrus came to a skidding stop, horror registering in his eyes, and whirled. Melon had been hit. Spikes of threads impaled him from behind. His face was blank with shock and pain. Papyrus didn't even hesitate. He ran back. Despite our cries, he dashed straight towards his doom. Glitchy laughter filled the air as Error cruelly yanked the strings back. Right as Papyrus reached his brother, catching him before he could hit the ground, Melon turned to dust in his arms.
Horrorstricken, Papyrus numbly clutched the colorful jacket as Error reared for another attack. In a split second, Ink yanked the yellow and green paint vials from his sash. Shattering the yellow, a bow materialized in his clenched fist. The green formed a long arrow. Not even slowing to take aim, Ink launched the projectile at Papyrus. The arrow exploded in a burst of green, solidifying into a protection bubble just as a pounding torrent of a harsh Blaster laser engulfed Papyrus. The light cleared. The bubble was breaking—but Papyrus was not. Ink launched into action.
"Serif! Protect Cantaloupe and the human soul! Dream! Flank me!"
I skidded to a stop in front of the fragile bubble. I threw a quick glance back. Confusion mingled with the sorrow as Papyrus gaped at me, seeing this reflection of his brother. i'm sorry… i know what that feels like… Snapping my attention back to the battle, I prepared to fight for all I was worth. Even though the attacks were less often, thanks to Ink and Dream distracting Error, the strings just kept coming. I summoned a Gaster Blaster, blocking a barrage of sharp black bone shards. Pinging up a chunk of ground, I let the stone and clay absorb needles of strings. Bone attacks of my own met Error's midair.
There was a sound behind me. I whirled right as a black mass slammed into my chest, almost breaking a rib. I was thrown onto the ground, held there by the darkness as it spread out, covering me like a huge sticky blanket of tar. A new skeleton materialized from the shadows. My eyes widened in horror. He looked just like Classic… except for the fact he was made of dripping black. It consumed him, save for his left eye, which blazed blue. Three tentacle like things extended from behind his shoulders, the fourth currently holding me to the ground.
The few seconds of stargazing came to an end as my skull stopped spinning. Before the black could reach my arm, I yanked it up, summoned a blast of bone shards, and flung them at him. To my horror, the moment the attacks touched the tar, they sizzled like acid and were absorbed by the darkness. The dripping skeleton evidentially read my dismay. He tipped his head to the side.
"You actually thought such a pathetic attack could stop me?"
I shivered. That voice… But before I could deal with this new threat, I heard a different sound. Shattering. The green bubble shattered as Error's death-blue strings slammed into the barrier. For a split second in time, as I craned to glance behind me, I saw the fear in Papyrus's face as another volley of threads shot through the air. i won't fail, i won't let him die!
In desperation, on instinct, I shut my eyes tight and focused all my magic energy. Even with my eyes closed, I could see the explosion of light. The strings ricocheted in all directions as they collided with a bright golden bubble. The glowing marble! It wasn't an attack; it was a shield. When I opened my eyes, I found the dark skeleton was much closer, yet he didn't seem to have moved.
"You should not have done that," he warned, voice sickly sweet like venom.
I tried to block out the words. Upon discovering I couldn't teleport, in hopes of turning invisible, I tried to ping him gold. But the moment the magic wrapped around his soul, the gold morphed black. Agony spiked into my soul. My breath hitched and I screamed, my very being stuttering in pain. The black hastily covered my mouth.
"You shouldn't have done that either," the shadowed creature laughed. Fear filled me at the sound of his voice. "Ah, pain and fear. I love the combination." I would have shrieked had I been able. I had heard him in my head, clear as day, sharp as a knife. who… who?! He smiled. "I am your worst Nightmare. The more afraid you are, the easier this will be, so don't fight it."
The grip tightened a bit. New fears sprouted in my mind. I felt short of breath. The lightly acidic goop slowly started seeping into the gaps between my bones. I winced. "A puppet feels no pain, as you will soon enough." Tighter. "All you have to do is one little thing…" His words were working deep into my consciousness.
Cantaloupe pounded on the sphere, shouting to the others to come save me. But nobody came. The sound of his cries were growing muffled; another tar tentacle was enveloping the bubble. "Just one thing. It's simple." Tighter still. It was hardening. Black was oozing too close to my eyes. It was getting between my ribs, too close to my soul. what is it? what do you want?! I thought desperately, delirious panic taking grip of my mind. His smile grew. "Just... let go."
My thoughts stuttered. That was all he wanted? it'd be… so easy. tired. maybe… let go…? so… easy… The world's spinning began to blur together. "Just let him go… I'll make it quick." This caught my attention. him? The skeleton's smile faltered. "Drop the protection shield," he ordered, forcefully this time. Something in my mind suddenly kicked, fighting back… and my senses snapped back into place.
I felt a burst of fury and energy. My attacker suddenly shrieked, withdrawing the goop from the bubble as it emitted a strong burst of crackling light. you can't have him! I thought defiantly. "Wrong answer." Instantly, smothering, crushing pain encased my soul. My bones felt like they were snapping. The last thing I heard as black ate at my vision was the audible growl—"You definitely shouldn't have done that!"
Suddenly, there was a flash of light. The black twitched back. I caught a glimpse of Dream dropping onto the ground between me and my doom.
"Nightmare! Stop this!" Dream exclaimed. To my utmost relief, the goop pulled away from my soul, likely due to the distraction.
"Get out of my way, Dream," Nightmare demanded. "Or do you want to fight me?" It felt as though the body of the tentacle was raising.
"I'll do neither," Dream replied firmly.
"I said, flee or fight," Nightmare snarled dangerously. The weight on my chest was lifting, leaving but a thick, hardened band holding me down.
"Release Serif first," Dream insisted. Too late, I realized what was happening. A smile cracked up Nightmare's face as he shrugged and said—
"As you wish." The tentacle ripped off my chest and slammed into Dream from behind. In an instant, he was enveloped in a coiling vice grip and yanked face to face with Nightmare. He chuckled as Dream writhed; a freakish gray material began vining up him, turning his thrashing limbs dead. "You fool. Your weak light and irrational standards cannot overcome darkness," he taunted. light. light! nightmare hates light!
I snapped out my wings as hard as I could. The case-hardened tar shattered. Thrusting upwards with my wings, I shot into the air, summoned a ring of Gaster Blasters, and flung both my hands forward with all my might. The blasters fired. Blinding beams engulfed the two skeletons. With a shriek, Nightmare dropped Dream. I took the plunge. Swooping dangerously low, I grabbed Dream, who was surprisingly heavy; we only remained airborne for a few seconds, but my momentum was enough to get us away from Nightmare. Coming to a tumbling stop and releasing my friend to the ground, I whirled and summoned Blasters. Seven more had fired before Dream cried out—
"NO! Don't hurt him!"
wha… what? In my moment of hesitation, Nightmare recovered and sent a shaft of spiked tar our way. I dodged it, tripping over Dream, who was struggling to stand. To my horror, I realized what the gray was and why Dream was so heavy; he was partially turned to stone. Yes, it was beginning to fade, but not fast enough. Neither of us were strong enough to teleport, let alone defeat this enemy. I couldn't form another shield without dropping the other. only one shield, only one choice.
"dream! do you trust me?" I asked.
"I… y-yes?" Dream answered shakily, fighting to stay on his feet.
"good," I replied, "because this is a long shot. hold on tight."
Leaping skyward once more, I gained as much momentum as I could, folded my wings, and dove. Racing to beat Nightmare's next attack, I reached out, snatching Dream just in time, and flung my wings out again. The stone was crumbling, but he was still a deadweight. Coasting a few feet from the ground, I twisted, dodging attacks as I zoomed for the bubble. Just as we reached it, I dissolved the walls for a split second. Dropping Dream into Papyrus's outstretched arms, I overshot and let the walls reform behind me. Dream cried out after me, begging me to return to safety, but despite how tired I was… I had to draw Nightmare's attention away from the bubble.
Within minutes of death defying taunts, right as I started to falter—Nightmare stopped. It was as if he was listening to something in his head. A terrifying smile spread across his face. He shot a chilling glance my way and literally melted into the shadows. He was gone. About the same time, I realized the sounds of battle had gone silent. Ink, breathing hard, holding his shoulder, stumbled over to me as I landed.
"You okay?" he asked concernedly.
"i'm fine. but you're hurt," I pointed out. Ink shook his head.
"It was only one blow. I'll be fine."
I glanced over to the bubble and let the walls drop. Dream was on his feet, stoneless once again, hands holding up the hovering soul of Determination. Even as I watched, the human reformed around the glowing red mass. After exchanging words with the child and Papyrus, he turned and walked towards us. Uncharacteristically monotone, he announced—
"Melon, Cantaloupe, and Strawberry Frisk will be fine. Reset in twenty seconds. We have that long to get out of here."
He opened a portal, leapt through, and was gone.