p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"uspan style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"Chapter 33- The Last Goodbye/span/u/em/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"When our gazes locked, time seemed to slow. Papyrus's tearful eyes widened. Unmistakable recognition flashed across his face. The brief glance was enough to drown me in an overwhelming rush of emotions. Aching longing and sickening horror, love and regret… I'd wanted to see him again so badly—but not to watch him emdust!/em/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"Error chuckled, a cruel, malicious sound./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""WeLL, em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"HopE. /emBeEN misSIng YouR BrOthEr, haVen't yOu? he taunted darkly./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"Ink suddenly teleported and lunged at Error. But the Destroyer was faster. Ink was ensnared by strings before they even collided. He was whipped mercilessly against a nearby tree—emCRACK—/emand crumpled limply to the snow./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"There wasn't even time to call for Dream's aid as Papyrus's soul was pinged roughly forward and enwrapped in coiling threads. A psychotic smile cracked up Error's face. He met my gaze, and with icy hatred, gleefully concluded—/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""TiME's uP."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI dove, hand outstretched, wings pumping frantically. I could see the strings going taut as the jolt traveled up the threads. emmaker, help us! /emI prayed desperately, snapping my wings in close as I twisted through the gaps in the rapidly closing web. The threads blocked my way—em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"no!—/emError yanked./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"Papyrus's soul shattered. His body turned to dust. And yet, in that moment, I felt an overpowering surge of hope as I caught the quiet voice of foresight—/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Trust Me."/span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"The strings collapsed tight around me. I phased straight through them, evading the stake shooting up to impale me. I refused to give up. I defied the despair and grabbed the fading shards of my brother's broken soul. Wrapping both wings and shield around myself, I fell to the snow and shoved the fragments together./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"Crackling light gushed from my cupped hands as I summoned healing magic. Error turned all his strings on the bubble. Blinding beams of gold blasted them back. Another surge of unnaturally powerful energy rippled the air. My bones shone like the sun as the blazing magic overflowed my speeding soul. I didn't know what was happening, I just knew to hold on…!/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"Suddenly, with a mind-searing flash, the photon storm stopped. The protection bubble disintegrated as my energy sapped completely dry, and I crumpled. The hazy light began to clear. I breathlessly pushed myself upright, exhausted. For a moment, I wasn't even sure what had happened. Blinking away the speckles burned into my vision, I forced my eyes to refocus. And there, before me, I found… emPapyrus/em./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"Whole once again, his undamaged soul glowed a whiteish gold. Even as I watched, it slowly saturated back to its normal, navy-blue hue, and absorbed back where it belonged. Startled, Paps snapped his eyes open. They filled with tears when he saw me. I felt mine doing the same. Before he could speak, I took his face in my hands and lovingly tapped my forehead to his./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""don't worry," I insisted softly, voice breaking joyously. "this is all just a bad dream." I embraced him warmly. Smiling past my tears, arms tightening, I whispered— "i love you, papyrus." And with a final flicker of magic, I flash teleported my brother to safety./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"Stupefying weariness clouded my mind. The teleport had cost me the last of my magical stamina, and overexertion could be deadly. Even so, I stumbled up, prepared to continue the fight. Ink struggled to his feet, leaning on the pine for support. He gaped, stunned. Error blinked in disbelief at the empty snow./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"For a moment, I dared to hope the Destroyer would abandon his assault until another day. Then, his gaze filled with unparalleled rage. I took battle stance, ready to summon a shield. The magic static roaring around Error manifested, and he suddenly blasted a fatal torrent of threads… at emInk/em./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"My soul seized up. I opened my mouth to cry out. Ink snapped out of his daze just in time to watch the wall of needling strings hurtle forward. With a burst of colorful light, an earsplitting cacophony of em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"cracks/em split the air./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"I was frozen. My sight started to spin as dizzying dread washed over me. Resilient as the Artist was, it was doubtful even he could survive such an incredibly colossal attack. Error laughed gleefully, psychotically elated. Then, the glowing haze cleared./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanInk's eyelights constricted as his sockets widened. He let out a horrified, choked gasp as he stared at the deadly strings, the strings that had stopped barely an inch from his bones…but had blasted straight through Blueberry./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"The young Protector gazed numbly at the rigid cords that had sealed his fate. The threads etched cracks over nearly every inch of his body. The thick, hole-riddled shield he'd summoned crumbled. Pain washed into his stiff expression. Dragging his faltering eyes up, he looked right at Error. And as the welling tears slipped down his ashen face, he smiled forgivingly./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"Blood-red "ERROR" signs filled the Destroyer's eyes. Horrorstricken, Error shrieked a strangled cry of dismay. He staggered back, then suddenly disappeared through a portal. The strings disintegrated. Blueberry slumped limply back, right into the Artist's shaking arms. Ink stumbled to lower Blue to the ground as I dashed for them./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""No. No, no, no! emBlue!" /emInk wailed, tears streaming down his face, hands blazing with magic as he desperately tried to stop the cracks from spreading. "No! Please, emno!"/em/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"Sliding to a stop, I hastily pressed my palm over Blue's chest and pinged his soul forward. Cupping my palms against it, I saw that his HP was at 0. My weak, flickering magic was all that kept the cracked mass from shattering./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Dream," Ink called, voice breaking. "Dream, come quick!" I glimpsed him teleport in nearby./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Ink—?" his sweeping gaze landed on his fallen friend. "B-Blueberry?!" he gasped, sprinting for us./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""dream, help," I requested tensely, my magic stuttering. His hands were squeezing around Blue's soul before I could blink./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""What happened? How, emwhy?!"/em/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""I don't know," Ink sobbed, crushing paint vials in his dripping fists faster than they could reform. "It happened so fast! I—I didn't—!"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Window." All attention snapped to Blue. Slowly, his eyes drifted ajar. His distant gaze met Dream's expectantly. "Needed… me."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""You redirected the portal I left you?" Dream realized, deeply dismayed. Blue's mouth twitched up in a brief smile. "Blue, no…! What have you done!?" Dream sobbed bitterly, devastated. Blue's dimming eyelights flickered./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Don't cry," he requested feebly, distressed. We all cried./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"Ink hastily pulled an arm across his face, attempting to see past tears as he struggled to keep Blue's body from dusting. Blinking through tears of my own, I saw his trembling soul shudder. If it shattered, all the magic paint in the world wouldn't save him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"Our collective powers were weak. Ink was injured and exhausted. The overwhelming fear in the universe was dampening Dream's powers, and I'd emptied my energy reserves to save Papyrus. We were merely staving off the inevitable. Blue was as good as dead, and he seemed to know it./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Never… said g'bye," Blue whispered hoarsely, tears of his own welling up. "Paps." Ink sobbed./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""No, Blue. Don't say goodbye," he insisted. "You'll see Carrot again. You're not going to die!" Blue tried a faint, distant smile on him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""S'alright."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""No, no it isn't!" Ink argued. Even as he spoke, Blue's pupils began to dim and his gaze began to drift. But then, his eyes suddenly snapped wide in alarm./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""S-s-soul?" he stammered weakly, frantically distressed. Puzzled by this inquiry, we glanced between each other. Blue noticed. He weakly twitched, a fragile attempt to move. "Scarf!" he exclaimed desperately, each flinch lowering his slim chances of survival./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"Hoping to calm him, I briefly left the cracking soul in Dream's care. Reaching out with my magic, I searched around the ruined scarf. Beneath his ribs, to the left, was the void where his soul belonged. To the right—a second one. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"Bewildered, /spanspan style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"I pinged it forward. It slipped, not from behind his ribs, but deep from the folds of his scarf. A red, faintly glowing, clearly emhuman/em soul. Blue saw it and heaved a shaky sigh of relief./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Safe," he breathed, thick azure tears slipping down his cheeks./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Swap Chara!" Dream gasped. "Error didn't destroy her!?" I glanced back at the soul hovering above my hands. I was grateful I hadn't accidentally touched it earlier, or else I might have—/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""absorb!" I exclaimed, holding the glowing mass out towards Blueberry. "blue, absorb the human's soul. it'll save you!" To my dismay, Blue slowly shook his head./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Could h-hurt her. Can… unabsorb?" he asked. Ink nodded vigorously./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Yes, you can unabsorb! It's not permanent. Chara won't get hurt—Blue, just do it!"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Don't h-have… human's permission."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanDream gave a muffled cry as a shard of Blue's soul disintegrated. The cracks were beginning to break through Ink's healing magic. Time was running out. Desperate, I changed the magic holding the child's soul from teal to gold, and discovered that I could indeed read her mind./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""blue, chara gives her permission!" I assured. "i can hear her!" Blue struggled to focus his gaze on me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""J-just saying," he murmured weakly, smiling sympathetically./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""i'm telling the truth, i promise!" I exclaimed, considering trying to force an absorption, when— "wait," I murmured, listening intently. Then, I carefully started repeating what I was hearing. "do not worry, small human. for i, the magnificent sans, shall be your fantastic friend!"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"Blueberry's eyes opened slightly./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""remember, the day we cooked together? we finished the tacos, then tried cupcakes. but you'd never made them before. you set the oven at 450 degrees instead of 350. it set the fire alarms off, remember?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"The damage was spreading beyond Ink's control./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""then, that time i said you weren't cute, then kissed you on the cheek, and insisted instead that you were actually span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"adorable/span—you blushed bright as a star and hid in your scarf…"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"Dream's magic was failing, sending a new fracture trembling through Blue's dying soul./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""and when papyrus heard you'd convinced captain alphys to befriend me, he said you were 'the best peacemaker in the underground.' then…" I stopped talking, for Chara had burst into sobs and was pleading frantically that I save her friend./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Chara?" Blue murmured, eyes brimming with tears and dimming alarmingly as another soul fragment shattered. Then another. I held the determined soul out to him again./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""do it, emnow/em—em!"/em/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe weakest flicker of pinging magic tipped the soul from my grasp. A bright flash of light suddenly startled me back, sending wrinkles of energy flaring through the air. The glow disappeared as fast as it appeared, and I watched as some mystical force gently set Blue back on his feet, now restored by the incredible power of a human soul./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"He seemed uncertain about this new arrangement. His baby-blue eyes, which were now bordered with a soft determination red, blinked confusedly. Intricate, translucent designs of similar color glimmered where the cracks had been./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"The patterns soaked into his body, merely leaving a faint haze. Blue hesitantly tapped his arm, sending a red surge through the swirls yet again. A crackling glow washed across his limbs and snapped crisply around him like static. His eyelights shrank. Before he could freak out, he abruptly glanced up, as if listening. Then, he grinned./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""I'm glad you're safe too, Chara," he agreed, smile growing. He was promptly tackled in an embrace by Ink and Dream./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Blue!" Ink sobbed, squeezing around his shoulders like a python. "You're okay, for real?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""I'm alright, Ink," Blueberry promised. "I'm fine!"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""And very lucky to be!" Dream exclaimed, on Blue's other side, hugging him just as hard. "Don't you emever/em pull a stunt like that, ever again! What would we tell Carrot? How could I live with myself if you got dusted? Oh, what were you thinking?!" Blue's stressed expression scrunched as he glanced up./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Me neither," he agreed solemnly, then offered Dream a sheepish grin. "I'm fine, now. And, what brother doesn't know can't hurt him. So… Chara says she won't tell him if you won't…?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Unbelievable," Dream breathed numbly, earning a weary but warm laugh from Ink and a distressed murmur from Blue./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Please, don't be mad," Blueberry beseeched. "I'm sorry for scaring you, honest. But I couldn't just sit by when my dearest friends needed my help! Ink would have been emkilled/em, and I didn't know what else to do—!" A huff cut his plea short./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""No apologies," Dream retorted firmly. "I'm downright emproud /emof you—reckless as you can be. And of course I won't tell Carrot, at least not yet. Are you mad? He'd go absolutely crackers."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"Chuckling, relieved, Blueberry untangled his arms from the embrace and reached towards me invitingly. Releasing a calmed sigh, I joined the group./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""thanks, blue," I said, embracing him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""What for?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""for saving ink, and trusting me," I clarified, smiling. At this, Blue tightened his hug, just as grateful as I was. But before he could form a reply, his attention was drawn aside./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Oh, stars," he murmured, staring. "What is emthat?/em" We all turned to see what he was looking at. There was nothing there./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""What is it, Blue?" Dream asked./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"Blueberry broke away from the huddle, too distracted to explain himself. He leaned side to side, then ducked and looked up, then stood and walked in a circle. It was almost laughable. "That, Chara?" he asked distractedly, still carefully observing the empty space before him. "Is emthat/em what that is…?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"None of us knew what he was talking about until he hesitantly reached forward and lightly tapped some unseen surface. The glowing word "em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"RESET" /emsuddenly appeared beneath his hand. My eyes went wide at the sight. Blue inspected the lettering, considering the implications./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Serif, I think I might be able to fix this place."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Yes!" Ink exclaimed. "Of course, Chara's determination can reset the world!" Then, thoughtfully, he looked from Blue to me. "It looks like… your journey's over."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"It hadn't sunk in until that moment. I was standing inside my world again. I was emhome/em. My gaze drifted back to the ruined town. For a split second, I could envision it as it used to be. My soul rose with bubbling hope until I looked back to my friends—and I was suddenly deeply saddened./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""i guess… this is goodbye," I whispered. Blueberry blindsided me with a crushing hug./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""It's not goodbye, Serif. Mweh! I shall be back. You can count on it!" When Blue didn't let go, Dream pried him off me so he could have a turn./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Once a friend, always a friend. Distance doesn't change anything," he assured, embracing me warmly. "Visit often, alright, love? If you ever need me, just call my name. I'll be there, anytime, anywhere."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""thanks, dream," I breathed. "i will." He stepped back, smiling. Then, there was Ink./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Looks like you saved your world after all, em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Angel,/em" he teased, embracing me. I chuckled. But before I could acknowledge his crazy theory must have been right, he added— "But you've saved so much more than a universe. Blueberry, Dream. Me." His grip tightened as he whispered— "Thank you, Serif. Thank you so, so much." And holding me at arm's length, Ink briefly tapped his forehead to mine in blessing./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI felt my throat tighten. Tears welled and threatened to escape. All I could do was give an overwhelmed nod and indebted smile. Ink smiled, too, and rejoined the others. Blueberry hit RESET. A single joyful tear slipped free. The brightening light blurred away the world's details. And, smiling, side by side, my friends faded away./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"When our gazes locked, time seemed to slow. Papyrus's tearful eyes widened. Unmistakable recognition flashed across his face. The brief glance was enough to drown me in an overwhelming rush of emotions. Aching longing and sickening horror, love and regret… I'd wanted to see him again so badly—but not to watch him emdust!/em/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"Error chuckled, a cruel, malicious sound./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""WeLL, em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"HopE. /emBeEN misSIng YouR BrOthEr, haVen't yOu? he taunted darkly./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"Ink suddenly teleported and lunged at Error. But the Destroyer was faster. Ink was ensnared by strings before they even collided. He was whipped mercilessly against a nearby tree—emCRACK—/emand crumpled limply to the snow./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"There wasn't even time to call for Dream's aid as Papyrus's soul was pinged roughly forward and enwrapped in coiling threads. A psychotic smile cracked up Error's face. He met my gaze, and with icy hatred, gleefully concluded—/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""TiME's uP."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI dove, hand outstretched, wings pumping frantically. I could see the strings going taut as the jolt traveled up the threads. emmaker, help us! /emI prayed desperately, snapping my wings in close as I twisted through the gaps in the rapidly closing web. The threads blocked my way—em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"no!—/emError yanked./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"Papyrus's soul shattered. His body turned to dust. And yet, in that moment, I felt an overpowering surge of hope as I caught the quiet voice of foresight—/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Trust Me."/span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"The strings collapsed tight around me. I phased straight through them, evading the stake shooting up to impale me. I refused to give up. I defied the despair and grabbed the fading shards of my brother's broken soul. Wrapping both wings and shield around myself, I fell to the snow and shoved the fragments together./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"Crackling light gushed from my cupped hands as I summoned healing magic. Error turned all his strings on the bubble. Blinding beams of gold blasted them back. Another surge of unnaturally powerful energy rippled the air. My bones shone like the sun as the blazing magic overflowed my speeding soul. I didn't know what was happening, I just knew to hold on…!/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"Suddenly, with a mind-searing flash, the photon storm stopped. The protection bubble disintegrated as my energy sapped completely dry, and I crumpled. The hazy light began to clear. I breathlessly pushed myself upright, exhausted. For a moment, I wasn't even sure what had happened. Blinking away the speckles burned into my vision, I forced my eyes to refocus. And there, before me, I found… emPapyrus/em./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"Whole once again, his undamaged soul glowed a whiteish gold. Even as I watched, it slowly saturated back to its normal, navy-blue hue, and absorbed back where it belonged. Startled, Paps snapped his eyes open. They filled with tears when he saw me. I felt mine doing the same. Before he could speak, I took his face in my hands and lovingly tapped my forehead to his./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""don't worry," I insisted softly, voice breaking joyously. "this is all just a bad dream." I embraced him warmly. Smiling past my tears, arms tightening, I whispered— "i love you, papyrus." And with a final flicker of magic, I flash teleported my brother to safety./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"Stupefying weariness clouded my mind. The teleport had cost me the last of my magical stamina, and overexertion could be deadly. Even so, I stumbled up, prepared to continue the fight. Ink struggled to his feet, leaning on the pine for support. He gaped, stunned. Error blinked in disbelief at the empty snow./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"For a moment, I dared to hope the Destroyer would abandon his assault until another day. Then, his gaze filled with unparalleled rage. I took battle stance, ready to summon a shield. The magic static roaring around Error manifested, and he suddenly blasted a fatal torrent of threads… at emInk/em./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"My soul seized up. I opened my mouth to cry out. Ink snapped out of his daze just in time to watch the wall of needling strings hurtle forward. With a burst of colorful light, an earsplitting cacophony of em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"cracks/em split the air./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"I was frozen. My sight started to spin as dizzying dread washed over me. Resilient as the Artist was, it was doubtful even he could survive such an incredibly colossal attack. Error laughed gleefully, psychotically elated. Then, the glowing haze cleared./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanInk's eyelights constricted as his sockets widened. He let out a horrified, choked gasp as he stared at the deadly strings, the strings that had stopped barely an inch from his bones…but had blasted straight through Blueberry./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"The young Protector gazed numbly at the rigid cords that had sealed his fate. The threads etched cracks over nearly every inch of his body. The thick, hole-riddled shield he'd summoned crumbled. Pain washed into his stiff expression. Dragging his faltering eyes up, he looked right at Error. And as the welling tears slipped down his ashen face, he smiled forgivingly./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"Blood-red "ERROR" signs filled the Destroyer's eyes. Horrorstricken, Error shrieked a strangled cry of dismay. He staggered back, then suddenly disappeared through a portal. The strings disintegrated. Blueberry slumped limply back, right into the Artist's shaking arms. Ink stumbled to lower Blue to the ground as I dashed for them./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""No. No, no, no! emBlue!" /emInk wailed, tears streaming down his face, hands blazing with magic as he desperately tried to stop the cracks from spreading. "No! Please, emno!"/em/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"Sliding to a stop, I hastily pressed my palm over Blue's chest and pinged his soul forward. Cupping my palms against it, I saw that his HP was at 0. My weak, flickering magic was all that kept the cracked mass from shattering./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Dream," Ink called, voice breaking. "Dream, come quick!" I glimpsed him teleport in nearby./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Ink—?" his sweeping gaze landed on his fallen friend. "B-Blueberry?!" he gasped, sprinting for us./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""dream, help," I requested tensely, my magic stuttering. His hands were squeezing around Blue's soul before I could blink./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""What happened? How, emwhy?!"/em/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""I don't know," Ink sobbed, crushing paint vials in his dripping fists faster than they could reform. "It happened so fast! I—I didn't—!"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Window." All attention snapped to Blue. Slowly, his eyes drifted ajar. His distant gaze met Dream's expectantly. "Needed… me."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""You redirected the portal I left you?" Dream realized, deeply dismayed. Blue's mouth twitched up in a brief smile. "Blue, no…! What have you done!?" Dream sobbed bitterly, devastated. Blue's dimming eyelights flickered./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Don't cry," he requested feebly, distressed. We all cried./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"Ink hastily pulled an arm across his face, attempting to see past tears as he struggled to keep Blue's body from dusting. Blinking through tears of my own, I saw his trembling soul shudder. If it shattered, all the magic paint in the world wouldn't save him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"Our collective powers were weak. Ink was injured and exhausted. The overwhelming fear in the universe was dampening Dream's powers, and I'd emptied my energy reserves to save Papyrus. We were merely staving off the inevitable. Blue was as good as dead, and he seemed to know it./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Never… said g'bye," Blue whispered hoarsely, tears of his own welling up. "Paps." Ink sobbed./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""No, Blue. Don't say goodbye," he insisted. "You'll see Carrot again. You're not going to die!" Blue tried a faint, distant smile on him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""S'alright."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""No, no it isn't!" Ink argued. Even as he spoke, Blue's pupils began to dim and his gaze began to drift. But then, his eyes suddenly snapped wide in alarm./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""S-s-soul?" he stammered weakly, frantically distressed. Puzzled by this inquiry, we glanced between each other. Blue noticed. He weakly twitched, a fragile attempt to move. "Scarf!" he exclaimed desperately, each flinch lowering his slim chances of survival./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"Hoping to calm him, I briefly left the cracking soul in Dream's care. Reaching out with my magic, I searched around the ruined scarf. Beneath his ribs, to the left, was the void where his soul belonged. To the right—a second one. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"Bewildered, /spanspan style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"I pinged it forward. It slipped, not from behind his ribs, but deep from the folds of his scarf. A red, faintly glowing, clearly emhuman/em soul. Blue saw it and heaved a shaky sigh of relief./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Safe," he breathed, thick azure tears slipping down his cheeks./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Swap Chara!" Dream gasped. "Error didn't destroy her!?" I glanced back at the soul hovering above my hands. I was grateful I hadn't accidentally touched it earlier, or else I might have—/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""absorb!" I exclaimed, holding the glowing mass out towards Blueberry. "blue, absorb the human's soul. it'll save you!" To my dismay, Blue slowly shook his head./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Could h-hurt her. Can… unabsorb?" he asked. Ink nodded vigorously./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Yes, you can unabsorb! It's not permanent. Chara won't get hurt—Blue, just do it!"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Don't h-have… human's permission."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanDream gave a muffled cry as a shard of Blue's soul disintegrated. The cracks were beginning to break through Ink's healing magic. Time was running out. Desperate, I changed the magic holding the child's soul from teal to gold, and discovered that I could indeed read her mind./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""blue, chara gives her permission!" I assured. "i can hear her!" Blue struggled to focus his gaze on me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""J-just saying," he murmured weakly, smiling sympathetically./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""i'm telling the truth, i promise!" I exclaimed, considering trying to force an absorption, when— "wait," I murmured, listening intently. Then, I carefully started repeating what I was hearing. "do not worry, small human. for i, the magnificent sans, shall be your fantastic friend!"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"Blueberry's eyes opened slightly./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""remember, the day we cooked together? we finished the tacos, then tried cupcakes. but you'd never made them before. you set the oven at 450 degrees instead of 350. it set the fire alarms off, remember?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"The damage was spreading beyond Ink's control./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""then, that time i said you weren't cute, then kissed you on the cheek, and insisted instead that you were actually span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"adorable/span—you blushed bright as a star and hid in your scarf…"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"Dream's magic was failing, sending a new fracture trembling through Blue's dying soul./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""and when papyrus heard you'd convinced captain alphys to befriend me, he said you were 'the best peacemaker in the underground.' then…" I stopped talking, for Chara had burst into sobs and was pleading frantically that I save her friend./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Chara?" Blue murmured, eyes brimming with tears and dimming alarmingly as another soul fragment shattered. Then another. I held the determined soul out to him again./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""do it, emnow/em—em!"/em/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe weakest flicker of pinging magic tipped the soul from my grasp. A bright flash of light suddenly startled me back, sending wrinkles of energy flaring through the air. The glow disappeared as fast as it appeared, and I watched as some mystical force gently set Blue back on his feet, now restored by the incredible power of a human soul./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"He seemed uncertain about this new arrangement. His baby-blue eyes, which were now bordered with a soft determination red, blinked confusedly. Intricate, translucent designs of similar color glimmered where the cracks had been./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"The patterns soaked into his body, merely leaving a faint haze. Blue hesitantly tapped his arm, sending a red surge through the swirls yet again. A crackling glow washed across his limbs and snapped crisply around him like static. His eyelights shrank. Before he could freak out, he abruptly glanced up, as if listening. Then, he grinned./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""I'm glad you're safe too, Chara," he agreed, smile growing. He was promptly tackled in an embrace by Ink and Dream./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Blue!" Ink sobbed, squeezing around his shoulders like a python. "You're okay, for real?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""I'm alright, Ink," Blueberry promised. "I'm fine!"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""And very lucky to be!" Dream exclaimed, on Blue's other side, hugging him just as hard. "Don't you emever/em pull a stunt like that, ever again! What would we tell Carrot? How could I live with myself if you got dusted? Oh, what were you thinking?!" Blue's stressed expression scrunched as he glanced up./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Me neither," he agreed solemnly, then offered Dream a sheepish grin. "I'm fine, now. And, what brother doesn't know can't hurt him. So… Chara says she won't tell him if you won't…?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Unbelievable," Dream breathed numbly, earning a weary but warm laugh from Ink and a distressed murmur from Blue./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Please, don't be mad," Blueberry beseeched. "I'm sorry for scaring you, honest. But I couldn't just sit by when my dearest friends needed my help! Ink would have been emkilled/em, and I didn't know what else to do—!" A huff cut his plea short./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""No apologies," Dream retorted firmly. "I'm downright emproud /emof you—reckless as you can be. And of course I won't tell Carrot, at least not yet. Are you mad? He'd go absolutely crackers."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"Chuckling, relieved, Blueberry untangled his arms from the embrace and reached towards me invitingly. Releasing a calmed sigh, I joined the group./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""thanks, blue," I said, embracing him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""What for?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""for saving ink, and trusting me," I clarified, smiling. At this, Blue tightened his hug, just as grateful as I was. But before he could form a reply, his attention was drawn aside./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Oh, stars," he murmured, staring. "What is emthat?/em" We all turned to see what he was looking at. There was nothing there./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""What is it, Blue?" Dream asked./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"Blueberry broke away from the huddle, too distracted to explain himself. He leaned side to side, then ducked and looked up, then stood and walked in a circle. It was almost laughable. "That, Chara?" he asked distractedly, still carefully observing the empty space before him. "Is emthat/em what that is…?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"None of us knew what he was talking about until he hesitantly reached forward and lightly tapped some unseen surface. The glowing word "em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"RESET" /emsuddenly appeared beneath his hand. My eyes went wide at the sight. Blue inspected the lettering, considering the implications./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Serif, I think I might be able to fix this place."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Yes!" Ink exclaimed. "Of course, Chara's determination can reset the world!" Then, thoughtfully, he looked from Blue to me. "It looks like… your journey's over."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"It hadn't sunk in until that moment. I was standing inside my world again. I was emhome/em. My gaze drifted back to the ruined town. For a split second, I could envision it as it used to be. My soul rose with bubbling hope until I looked back to my friends—and I was suddenly deeply saddened./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""i guess… this is goodbye," I whispered. Blueberry blindsided me with a crushing hug./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""It's not goodbye, Serif. Mweh! I shall be back. You can count on it!" When Blue didn't let go, Dream pried him off me so he could have a turn./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Once a friend, always a friend. Distance doesn't change anything," he assured, embracing me warmly. "Visit often, alright, love? If you ever need me, just call my name. I'll be there, anytime, anywhere."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""thanks, dream," I breathed. "i will." He stepped back, smiling. Then, there was Ink./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Looks like you saved your world after all, em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Angel,/em" he teased, embracing me. I chuckled. But before I could acknowledge his crazy theory must have been right, he added— "But you've saved so much more than a universe. Blueberry, Dream. Me." His grip tightened as he whispered— "Thank you, Serif. Thank you so, so much." And holding me at arm's length, Ink briefly tapped his forehead to mine in blessing./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI felt my throat tighten. Tears welled and threatened to escape. All I could do was give an overwhelmed nod and indebted smile. Ink smiled, too, and rejoined the others. Blueberry hit RESET. A single joyful tear slipped free. The brightening light blurred away the world's details. And, smiling, side by side, my friends faded away./span/p
