An alternate timeline or whatever to 'Let Me Stay'

In which they don't bring in DS Blue the Bastard Child and give Bastard Dream actual emotions

Because I was ✨indecisive✨ and also craving angst

This is just as old as the other. How old? No idea, but I know I wrote them around the same time. This one also has more to it already written,but I cut it off here because this seemed like a good place to end it. For Quotev Purposes

You do have to read at least the start of the other one to know what's going on here, but you should've theoretically already read it, so it's fine

A plan was formed.

It was Ink's idea, really.

The new AU only needed a few minutes to finish itself.

Nightmare watched.

Blue was going to tell Ink about the tickets for the new movie he wanted them to go watch later, but they were curious about the forming universe.

"The codes say it's called 'Romancetale'," Ink told them.

Nightmare snorted. At least it wasn't Cupidtale or something.

"Is that new?" Blue asked.

"Yeah," Ink said. "Never seen it before in my life."

Dream looked on edge. Nightmare sensed how silly he thought he was being; why would the name of an AU unnerve him like that?

Of course, he should be scared.

But not yet.

Heh heh heh.

This was going to be wonderful.

"So," Ink started, "It looks like this AU is centered around Frisk and Chara. The Sans too, though I think he's more of a side character, or maybe support cast?"

"...Chara?" A voice above them called. "Sans cloned himself. Three times. Send help."

Dream looked up.

His felt his soul drop.

This Frisk still had the basic colors of their kind; pink/purple and blue.

But they were wearing a Greek style dress, were flying with pristine, feathery white wings, and had a ornate but seemingly decorative bow. On their hip was a quiver of arrows, and on their head they wore a laurel wreath decorated with cherry blossoms.

A symbol of love.

Why was he so scared? This should be a place he felt comfortable in.

"What the hell are you- Oh. Huh."

Chara, too, looked like a Greek version of their counter parts. Like Frisk, they had a decorative bow, a quiver fulls of arrows, wings, and a laurel adorning their brown hair. But their laurel had thorns, and their wings were pure black.

"This is new," Chara said.

Ink gasped. "You can fly?!?"

He began to fangirl.

Blue studied the two humans-er, angels??-for a moment. He seemed to make the connection.

"You two are the embodiments of Eros, aren't you?" He asked.

Frisk smiled. "Yes, actually. How did you know?"

"This AU is called 'Romancetale,'" he said. "You're both wearing Greek dresses. And those bows don't exactly look like the kind you can fight with."

Chara snorted. "We can fight just fine if we have to," they assured him. "But they're powerful enough for what we do."

They pulled out one of their arrows. The tip, instead of a regular arrowhead, was a black heart.

Frisk pulled out one of their own. Theirs were red hearts.

Oh dear.

Dream did not want to be here.

If Frisk decided to mess around...

"My name's Blue!" Blue said, oblivious to Dream's plight. "This is Dream, and that's Ink."

"Nice to meet you three," Chara said.

"Where did you come from?" Frisk asked.

"We came from other AUs," Ink said.

Chara and Frisk seemed to freeze.

"A-AU?" Chara all but choked out.

"Who're the new characters?"

Chara groaned, the strange nervousness gone. "Nooo! We talked about the puns!"

A new Sans, who wore normal, non-Greek clothes, seemed pretty chill. He didn't look terribly different from your average Sans, except for the light pink tint in his eye lights and the 'I'm in Love with my Car' hoodie.

"Heh. Sorry, kiddo. Can't help it. It's what I do when I meet-"

He stopped short.

His gaze had landed on Dream.

The guardian of positivity felt like a target had been painted on his back.

"...some new [friends]," the Sans continued. His gaze didn't leave Dream.

And unlike most other times, his gaze was accusing, and not love struck.

Dream wanted to leave.

...Wait.

Ink wasn't nearly as excited as he should be.

He knew these people.

...Did he create this AU?

"Sans?" Frisk asked. They seemed more stiff then moments prior.

"Yeah?" Sans looked at the humans.

They seemed to share a silent conversation.

Chara grinned. "Oohhhh. I see."

Blue checked his watch.

"Guys, we gotta go. The movie is going to start soon."

Ink's attention swiveled back to his friends. "Oh! Right! Let's go!"

He waved to the three new comers. "See ya!"

Dream followed them.

But he caught the sharp, knowing, accusatory gazes from the three Romancetale characters.

"That's the guy you were talking about, huh?"

Sans turned to Nightmare, who nodded.

"Easy to tell?" He asked.

Sans shrugged. "Unlike most of the other judges, I see a person's love life, not their LOVE." He shuddered. "Sometimes it's TMI, but in cases like these, there's a reason I help these two out."

Frisk nodded.

Chara pointed their middle finger in the direction Dream had gone.

"Sometimes I love my job," they sighed, "And sometimes I wish people weren't assholes so I don't have to do it. This is definitely both of those times."

Frisk laughed.

"Extra-strength?" The asked their friends.

"I think so," Sans said. "Not a single commitment, but several deliberately broken hearts to his name?"

Frisk poked through the quiver until they found one they wanted. They pulled it out, and Nightmare recoiled from how much sheer love came from it.

They three of them noticed and laughed.

"It was nice of Ink to create us with knowledge of the AUs," Chara snickered. "I really hope we can mess with you in the future."

Nightmare scowled. "I can kill you."

"Maybe another time," Sans said. "Like they said; later."

He gave Chara a pointed glare. They shrugged.

"Can't blame a hate child for trying~!"

"One question," Frisk interrupted. "Do we want Heartbreaker to know what we're doing, or do we want to be assassins?"

"Love assassins?" Chara snorted. "Terrifying."

"Personally," Nightmare said, "I think he should know. He can try to run, but I get the feeling that you always find your targets."

The two 'angels' grinned.

"They do indeed," Sans chucked.

"Oh, and about the AUs-" Chara gestured to the three of them. "We're going to need nicknames."

"Hey. Dream, right?"

Dream turned.

It was that Sans from Romancetale. His eye lights were gone.
"Y-yes, that's right. You're the Sand from Romancetale, if I remember correctly." Dream offered a friendly smile.

Sans didn't return it.

"I know what you've done," He said.

Dream gave a nervous laugh. "I'm sorry?"

"You aren't now, but you will be," Sans assured him. His left eye light became a red heart with crosshairs. "Playboy."

The Frisk and Chara of his AU appeared behind him.

Frisk smiled sweetly at him, but a particularly large arrow was nocked in their bow.

The Chara was grinning devilishly behind a one-way portal. On the other side of it, Blue was smiling and laughing at the joke his brother had made.

Dream's soul thudded in his chest.

Embodiments of Eros.

Eros, otherwise known as Cupid.

Did they... Were they going to...

"U-um-"

"You want him to fall in love with you?" Frisk said, pulling back their bowstring. They were aiming straight for Dream's soul. "You want to break his heart like everyone else's?"

Dream swallowed. "I- I don't-"

"Run, playboy, run," Sans called.

Dream ran, disappearing through a portal before Frisk could shoot him.

Ink was drawing something. He looked up when Dream came in.

But something was wrong.

His eye lights didn't light up like they usually did, and Dream sensed no heartache.

In fact...

Was that satisfaction?

"You look like you ran into a demon," He laughed.

Dream chuckled. "Something like that." He began to walk to the kitchen.

Ink grinned. But it was...sharper.

"Yeah," he said, "Romancetale Frisk and Chara can be scary sometimes."

Dream froze.

"And Sans-his nickname is Charm, by the way-he's quite intuitive, wouldn't you say?"

Dream slowly turned to look at him.

Ink's expression was chilling and accusing.

"Don't look so surprised, Dream," he laughed. "Even if he hadn't asked for my help, I would've eventually figured it out."

Dream felt his bone marrow go cold.

"Wh-who-? What-?"

"Who do you think?" Ink turned away and continued drawing. "The only person who sees through everything you do, apparently."

Nightmare.

Of course, who else?

Damn it.

"So you did make the AU," Dream murmured. "It seemed strange that you recognized the humans."

"And you're not denying anything?" Ink shook his skull. "Well, whatever. It's not like I can make you stop."

Ink stood.

"But, before I forget..."

He began walking towards Dream, his sketchbook in hand.

"As of right now, Nightmare is getting everyone who's heart you've broken together. He's going to tell everyone what he told me, and what he and I've done." He smiled. A sweet smile, but there was something sinister behind it.

Dream took a step back. His spine pressed against the counter.

"You look so scared. Pal." Ink said. His voice was quiet, and his tone was full of obviously false sweetness.

Dream still sensed his satisfaction. It burned like acid.

"Don't worry," Ink laughed. He tore off the page he'd been working on and tucked it into a pocket on Dream's shirt. "I'm sure you can handle it. Right, Dreamboy?"

Ink left through a portal.

Dream wanted to gag.

He hated that nickname.

Only Nightmare had ever called him that, when he-

...That's what that was.

That accusatory look Nightmare always gave him.

He'd never understood what it was.

He was a fool.

He took out the drawing, and almost flung as far from him as he could.

It was an unfinished drawing of Blue rejecting him.

The only thing missing?

The broken heart, the space in the middle of his colored pencil chest ready for the last piece.

"So, what are your nicknames?" Ink asked.

Chara stretched. "Well, I was thinking...Eros is the Greek and Roman god of love, right? The word 'Romantic' literally means 'originating from Rome'. And, the Greeks are known for their tragic stories. I was thinking Frisk, our resident Cupid, could be Rome and I, our resident Tragedy, could be Greece. Or some variation of that."

"That's...really creative," Ink said.

"Creative is one word for it," Nightmare grumbled.

Ink poked him. "Stop being salty. Did you tell the others?"

"175 rud3 70 74lk 4b0u7 p30pl3 wh0 4r3 l1573n1n9."

Ink turned and scrunched up his face.

"Did I know you guys were hiding back there?"

Error flipped him off.

Ink happily returned the gesture.

Everyone who Dream had toyed with was present and accounted for.

"Lets see," Reaper said, "Ink's already told Dream about the plan. You three," He nodded to the Romancetale characters, "Have already threatened to screw him up. Anything else that needs to be done before the fun starts?"

"Make sure Blue doesn't know," Nightmare said. "This entire plan hinges on Blue being completely unaware of what's going on. If he suspects something's off, he's going to dig deeper, and he'll figure it out."

"Ooooh, a challenge?" Greece smiled. "This will be interesting~!"

"I agree," Rome said. They twirled one of their arrows like a baton.
Nightmare noticed that there was a name engraved on the wooden shaft.

"Permanent, or do we want him to earn Blue's love?" Greece mused, examining the arrows in their own quiver.

"I think let him earn it," Rome said. "Let him prove his dedication." They smiled, but something about it sent shivers down the skeleton's spines.

"And I think I know exactly who should be the judge of that," Greece grinned.

"I'm flattered," Charm grumbled behind them, "I'm sure."

Dream was anxious.

The only place he felt safe was anywhere away from Blue.

Whenever he was near his friend, those two would show up. What were their nicknames? Greece and Rome?

But of course, he couldn't tell Blue that he was hiding from the embodiments of friggin' Cupid. He'd think something was up; and he'd be quite right.

And it was hard to stay away from him when they lived in the same house.

One might think Rome and Greece would have the decency to stay out of people's houses, but one would be mistaken.

Dream managed to survive a few months without making Blue too concerned or getting shot by Rome.

It seemed like everyone else was trying to give them an opening to, though.

Ink wasn't bluffing when he had said that Nightmare was getting everyone he'd screwed with caught up. Each and everyone one of them treated him with the same respect and reverence as before, but he knew better.

Finally, he ran out of luck.

It was a lovely February morning.

The fourteenth or February, to be exact.

And in the mail, came three invitations.

Dancetale Sans, the resident party animal of the multiverse, threw a Valentine's Day party every year.

Ink decided to go; no surprise there. So did Blue.

Dream didn't.

But Ink and Blue insisted.

Ink's begging sounded innocent enough, but Dream knew better.

Blue simply wanted to hang out with his friends. Ink, however, was probably planning something.

Dream would've had to come up with a very good excuse to not go.

He decided that all he really needed to do was stay away from Blue. And avoid looking at him.

Rome, Greece, and Charm were almost definitely invited anyways; seeing as how they were still very new to the multiverse and missed the Christmas party.

It would be fine...right?

The party was alright.

Well, actually, it was a blast; Dance's parties always were.

But it was difficult to stay away from Blue.

Dream was able to escape under the excuse of getting a drink.

By the refreshments table, he found a familiar skeleton.

Dream chuckled as he poured himself a cup of punch.

"I didn't know Dance invited you," he said good-naturedly. "Having fun, Night?"

Nightmare smirked. His eye lights had been permanently changed to teal, but he had adapted to it. He wore an outfit similar to what he used to wear, but blue and teal instead of purple. He was quite fashionable when he didn't have black slime dripping off his body and turning everything he wore black.

"He knows me in this form as 'Somnus'. I'd prefer it if you'd not call me that while I'm here."

"What, didn't want to just crash the party?" Dream laughed.

Nightmare rolled his eye lights. "Contrary to popular belief, I do actually enjoy parties. Almost everyone knows me in this form, as well; so I get invited to a fair few." He snorted. "I think its hilarious that no one's made the connection, though."

"It's not like there's any real connection to be drawn," Dream pointed out. "I'm not sure if you've noticed, but even your voice changes when you change forms. You sound like a teenager, 'Somnus'."

Nightmare shrugged. "Still. I even showed up with some of my friends and no one batted an eye."

Dream raised a bone brow. "You entire...'friend group' was invited to a party?"

Nightmare gave him a pointed glare. "Yeah, they were. They're not completely psycho."

"Only mostly."

"Heh. Got me there."

They stood in silence for a few moments. Dream sipped on his punch, contemplating how strange it felt to be hanging out with his brother like this.

"So," Nightmare finally said, "How's it going with you and Blue?"

Dream almost choked.

Nightmare's grin was almost as sharp as it was when he burned down the village.

"Why do you ask?" Dream said carefully.

"Anxious, Dream?" Nightmare laughed. "Calm down. Look around. Do you see Rome or Greece anywhere?"

Dream hesitantly glanced around.

No...no...Wait- no, that was a costume...no...no...no.

No Rome. No Gree-

Movement in the corner of the party caught Dream's eye instead.

A flicker of a black feathery wing, over near...

Blue.

And suddenly, Dream felt something.

Something warm bloomed in his chest.

Blue laughed at something the other person said.

The warm feeling spread.

He heard Rome chuckle behind him.

Oh god.

No.

Nightmare placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Take a good look at him, brother," Nightmare whispered. The hand tightened. "That's the monster who's heart you were going to break."

Dream's soul ached.

"I-"

He couldn't form words.

Blue spotted him through the crowd.

He smiled at him, and all the air left Dream's lungs.

Blue's smile was so...

Beautiful.

Why hadn't he noticed before?

But behind the oblivious skeleton, Greece appeared.

They made eye contact with Dream, grinned, and shot Blue through the heart.

Blue didn't seem to feel anything.

Dream sensed no obvious changes in his emotions, but he knew better.

"And that," Nightmare continued, "It the monster who's heart you're going to have to earn." His words dripped with malice.

Dream was scared to move.

This was just...a bad dream.

Nightmare was messing with his head.

He's wake up and everything would be...

Blue's smile was gone. He had turned away and was talking to the person again.

There was no way this could be a dream.

If it were, he wouldn't feel an almost overwhelming need to just make Blue smile at him like that one more time, just one more time, and it wouldn't be fighting so aggressively with his instinct to run as far as he could from Blue.

Next to him, Nightmare chuckled. He could clearly see how well their plan had worked.

And he enjoyed the conflicting emotions coming from Dream.

"Let the Game of Hearts begin," he said. "You're going to need all you're tricks for this round, eh Dreamboy?"