A few weeks later, Ink's POV

I walk around, checking on everyone. Almost everyone is accounted for. Key word almost. I find Geno just chilling in achair, reading a book. Science had cured him of whatever the chemical on the arrow did by now. Surprisingly, Reaper isn't with him. I walk over to speak to him.

"Hey, Geno."I greet him

"Hiya, Ink. Blue still gone?"Geno says

I nod.

"Three weeks now. Is it bad that I'm worrying?"I ask

"No. I don't blame ya. But you and I both know that we're not alone in that. Dust and Error seem just as worried. Swap!Pap is too of course."Geno says

"Mhm."I say

"Anything from Dream?"Geno says

"Nothing but a keep our sign on his door."I tell him

"Ah, so we're at the emo phase."He says

"He says he isn't feeling well."I tell him

"Excuses excuses."He says

"Where's Reaper? I'm surprised he isn't with ya."I ask

"Seattle."He says

"What?"I say

"And by that I mean in a box surrounded by speakers playing Seattle noises I found in TubeYou videos. Loop them and bam! Done. You'd be surprised what you can find on the undernet and use."Geno says

Meanwhile

https://youtu.be/8s5H76F3SIs

"Geno? Ink? Hello? Someone?"Reaper calls from the box

Complete silence.

"Welp, time to check my lists."Reaper says

Back to Ink!

I look at Geno. I smirk.

"I see."I say

There's a crashing sound. It comes from the kitchen. Error was last seen going in there

"Is everything okay?"I call

"Yep!"Error says

Geno and I shake our heads.

"I'll go check on him."I say

Geno nods.

I walk into the kitchen and find an arrow on the floor. Science picks it up and scurries away. I look and see Error laying on the counter.

"Error? Glitchy?"I say

I feel my scarf get a tug. I look and there's a string around it. It loosens and swings back. Then it swings and knocks me forward. A hand grabs my scarf. I look forward and see Error. He smiles and his face is a bright yellow.

"HeY, InKy.~"He says

"G-Glitchy? What are you doing?"I ask

He tugs my scarf, bringing me closer.

"StArTiNg tHe hUmaN nEw yEaR oFf riGhT."He says, winking

"H-Huh?"I say

He pulls me close. His face is bright, mine is. He keeps tugging and soon, we kiss. I am caught off guard and tense. I push away and puke. He didn't even flinch. This is unlike him. I tear my scarf out of his grip. He stares at me. The kitchen door opens.

"Hey, Ink? We have a situation so Reaper and I are gonna investigate. We'll be back."Geno says

"Okay, have fun!~"I say teasingly

"It's not that kind of situation."Geno tells me, then leaves before I can ask

"So, you're Ink?"Error says

"Yes. You of all people should know."I say

"Wow. Master will be proud. You're coming with me."He says, taking a mask off to show someone unknown

They grab my arm and next I know, I'm out cold.

Two hours later, Dust's POV

"We're back!"Geno says

"Welcome back..."I say as I look around for Ink and Error

"Dust! Hey! How you doing? What kind of mood are you in? Do you have any weapons on you?"Reaper asks

"I'm doing good....A good one....Not yet, why?"I ask, looking at him suspiciously

"Good, so you won't hurt us as much as you would in a bad mood."Reaper says

"What are you talking about? Have either of you seen Ink and Error? Or at least his brother?"I ask

"Error and Ink are probably kissing in a closet or something."Reaper says

"E!Pap is probably working on a photo album."Geno says

"Ah okay. I'll go find them."I say

Reaper blocks me with his scythe.

"Dust, we need to talk."Reaper says

"It's about Blue."Geno says

"W-What is it?"I ask

"We...have a situation with him."Geno says

"He's on the list."Reaper says

"W-What?"I ask

"I'm so sorry, Dust..."Geno says, handing me a scarf

Blue's scarf. I realize what they're trying to say. I look at them, shocked. I want this to be a joke. Neither of them were lying or joking with me.

"D-Does his brother know?"I ask

"We already told him. He's going to give Nightmare a bad time."Geno says

"Is he the one responsible?"I ask

"We don't know."Reaper says

"I have to go, cya."I say, clenching the scarf and lifting my hood.

They let me pass and I walk outside. I tuck the scarf in my pocket. I look up, then down again. I sit down at the front steps. I break down, crying. Blue is gone! I couldn't protect him! He's dead! Another beloved one gone. Taken from me and all I did was nothing. I'm so stupid! I sit there, crying without seeming to stop. Then, I hear wings flap. I look up. My crying lessens. This can't be real....

"Dust!"A voice cheers

There, a magnificent angel flys down to me. Light blue halo and wings. A dark blue coat and light blue scarf. Gloves in a pocket and long pants with black boots. An adorably innocent grin on.A skeleton. Blue.

"B-Blue?"I stutter

"Dust! I'm here, Dust! I'm here! It's okay!"He says

I reach out to take his hands but mine went through his. Glitched even.

"Oh right, spirit consequences."He says

"Blue? What happened? How are you here?"I ask

"I think you're forgetting who we're allied with. Change did me a favor and gave me a temporary condition. Hehe."He says

"How'd you die?"I ask

"....Cross killed me. Dream sent me to find him and when I did, something was off about him. Next thing I know, he attacked me and well, I got here."He explains

I notice the wounds all over him. Tears fill my eyes. I hear the door open. I look. It's Ink!Pap.

"Who are you talking to?"He asks

"A friend."I reply

"But.....Dust, nobody is there."He says

I look back at Blue. I can see him. Ink!Pap can't. Am I hallucinating?

"Look, I get that you're grieving. You lost Blue and he meant a lot to you. He meant a lot to all of us and is a great loss to us all. But we're already dealing with it. So quit being a stupid weirdo and talking to someone who isn't there."Ink!Pap says

Tears run down my face. What excuse do I have? What could I say to him? Apparently nothing. Blue flies over to Ink!Pap. He does not look happy. He shoves Ink!Pap by the scarf into the wall.

"What the?!"He yells, getting caught off-guard.

A message was written in the dirt. I am here.

"Nobody can say that to my friend, Dust! Don't call him those things!"Blue snaps

Ink!Pap looks around, completely alarmed. He then runs back inside. I gaze at Blue in complete awe. I'm not hallucinating? He puts his hands on my shoulders.

"I'm here, Dust! I'm here. Don't worry, I got you. I, the Magnificent Sans, am still right by your side."He says

I got a closer look at his wounds. Cross didn't hold back, that's clear. Tears fill my eye sockets.

"Don't cry, Dust. I love you. And please don't get rid of my scarf, it's how I found ya."He says

"O-Ok."I say

I could see something is on his mind. I ask if he's ok and he nods. He hugs me and I'll be honest, that was the best feeling I felt in those moments. He then stiffens up, his wings opening again. He pulls back and was frowning.

"You have to find Error. I have a bad feeling."He says

"W-What? What's wrong?"I ask

His eyes widen.

"That feeling just became a bad action. I have to go. I'll be back though. Cya soon, Dust!"He says, flying off

"Wait! Where are you going?!"He asks

"To stop some boneheads from destroying the only family Error has."Blue says, then keeps flying

I feel the scarf in my pocket. It glows. I smile. I then frown and stand. I have someone to talk to. I go inside and upstairs. I go to Dream's door. It had a keep out sign. I don't even glance at it. I jiggle the knob. It's unlocked. Idiot. I shove the door open. At first, I am shocked at what I see or could see in the dark room. I shut the door behind me and lock it, now he can't escape. Things might get ugly.

"I sense bad emotions from you."He says, his back to me

And the Captain Obvious award goes to...!

"No kidding, Captain Obvious!"I snap at him

"You're angry, very angry."He says

"Of course I am!"I say, shaking a fist at him

He turns to me. I could hardly make him out of the darkness.

"Good. Then I assume everything went according to Fresh's plan?"He says

"What are you talking about? Wait, did you side with Fresh?! Why?!"I yell

"I don't have to tell you anything. Maybe.~ What? They get to side with the enemy and I can't? You guys are no fun."He says

"This is unlike you, Dream."I say

"Well that's what happens. People change. Sometimes there's a piece of someone that changes and all it takes is something like an arrow to the arm to get that encouraging little push. What do you even know about me, Dust?"He says

My fists clench. I step back and turn the light on. Now that....THAT shocked me. Dream looked so much like Nightmare, tentacles and all. He gives me this sly little grin. I could see the outline of his crown and clothes.

"I may not know a lot about you because we aren't all buddy-buddy but if there's one thing I do know. Dream would never let his friends, his fellow Star Sanses, die!"I snap at him

"What are you talking about?"He asks, losing that cockiness in his tone or confidence in his eyes

"I'm talking about Blue."I say

I watch as all the goop sank off of Dream as soon as I said those words. Once it sank off, the tentacles shrink to non-existance and it disappears. He looks at me in shock.

"B-Blue's what?!"He asks

"Dead. He died."I say, bowing my head

"H-How? Did you kill him?"He asks

My grip on Blue's scarf tightens. I look up at him again and absolutely broke. I let loose. Tears were in my eyes but I yelled and yelled like I never have before. He accusses me of that?! Me? After everything? After the times I've helped him and Blue and Ink! After all the care I've given Blue! He thinks I'd just kill him?! What about everything he said just a few seconds ago or told Blue to do, huh?! The nerve!

"No! I didn't kill him! I love him! When will you get that into that dense skull of yours? I would never hurt Blue! He meant the world to me! You've SEEN how I act with him! I won't ever wake up one morning and be like:'Oh, today is a good day to kill the person that I love the most!' No! But you, you! You seem perfectly fine with sending him into trouble! Getting him into trouble! Or acting like his parent and criticizing him or punishing him the past weeks! Cross killed him! Because of you!"I yell

"What do I have to do with that? How'd that happen?"He asks

"Oh, I dunno! Maybe because even after all the red flags Cross has shown and how sketchy or dangerous he's been acting, you thought it would be perfectly fine to send BLUE of all skeletons after him! Not me, not Error, not Ink, not Geno, not Swap!Pap, not Reaper, not yourself, not anyone! Just him! He found Cross and when he did, Cross killed him! Mercilessly! And you know how that could've been prevented, right? Don't you, Dream? It was if you kept your mouth shut and never sent him on that stupid mission! At least not alone! Or maybe you went yourself and handled it! But no! You wanted others to do it for you! You wanted what you wnated given to you, whatever that was! You were a cowardly lazybones to do anything on your own!"I snap

"You're wrong....You're lying!"He says

"Oh! Here we go again! 'You're wrong! You're lying! That's not true!' Denial, denial, denial! Always denying! Always his fault, her fault, our fault, their fault, your fault! But you never have owned up and said that maybe, just maybe, it's my fault! You know how much good that will bring us all? HUH?! Cause I've heard it all before, Dream! And you are wrong! I have his scarf right here, handed to me by Death himself! Go ask Reaper, he will tell you! He will show you his list! Because what I'm telling you is the truth! And I have my ways of learning the truth, unlike you!"I snap

I look at him. Not even a tear. Just a blank expression. Jaw hanging, eye-lights small, silent. But not a single tear. He stares at me, not showing any emotion. If I had the ability to put something on him, it would be a buffering sign. It was like he was taking it in. Still, not even a tear. No sign of guilt, remorse, grief, sadness, anger, shock, nothing. Not a thing. I frown. This was all too familiar.

"Not even a hint of emotion for your own friend. Huh, and you say INK is emotionless. Thought you would have acted the slightest different....I'm just gonna go."I say, reaching for the door

"You're not gonna hurt me?"He asks

"You don't deserve it. Then you'll just use that to seem like a victim or prove your point that we're bad and you're good or something. You'll just use it against us. Besides, Blue's felt worse. And you just seem in so much pain already."I say with a shake of my head

"Where have you heard it before?"He asks, his tone full of shock

I look at him over my shoulder.

"Nightmare. He would tell me tales of you both and his issues that you would just shrug or laugh off. You had everything after all, a good life with friends and people doing you favors left and right. No worries or anything. You ignored his issues until well, ya know. And it seems you haven't changed. You're the same stupid, selfish skeleton that can't handle to face the consequences of your own mistakes. This atmosphere has too much stupidity so I'll find someone smart. We're gonna find a way to help our friends!"I say, then leave the room, purposefully slamming it behind me

I go around the house, looking for Error. I call out for him a few times. I get a slight, faint answer. I look around but don't see him.

"Error? We have a situation. Stop messing around and come here!"I say

"I aM hEre."He says

I look around. 

"Well, unless you're a spirit now as well, you're lying."I say

"HmmMmm...."Error says

Three strings shoot up and hit the ceilings. They bounce like bungie cords. I narrow my eyes, confused. Where was this going?

"W-WoaHHH!"Error yells

Next thing I see is a small spider flying up the strings into sight. But this wasn't any ordinary spider. It wore clothes and a recognizable scarf. And no, it wasn't Muffet.  It's Error. He looks right at me.

"OkAay, tHat'S nEw. So, wHat'S uP, DuSt?"He asks

I am surprised. You've got to be kidding me. I say nothing but put my hand out and gesture for him to land in it. He does so and I look around. I walk to the room.....the room Blue made for me and enter it. I find the tallest piece of furniture in it and place Error on it. He stands on six of his eight legs and looks at me.

"DuSt? ArE yOu oKaY?"He asks with strong concern in his tone

"I should be the last person you're concerned about. Your brother, Ink, B-B-Blue and yourself should come first. You have to of noticed that they aren't around, and not in a good way."I say

"DuST! YoU mAtTeR tO mE! YoU'Re mY bEsT fRiEnD! WhaT's wRonG?"He asks

"..."I place Blue's scarf beside him and walk out

"DUST!!!"He calls after me

I go outside and walk until the house is not in sight. I lean against a tree. I sigh and try to think. Can't get Error involved, he's a small spider and can get squished. Can't lose him too....Could I get Sprinkle involved? No, he's a good kid. Geno and Reaper seem busy and too good of friends to risk. Goth won't let me put Palette in danger and vice versa. Ink!Pap is hardly reliable. Cross is too dangerous. That leaves me on my own.....

Well, I guess I can just do it myself. Now I just need to plan. Ink may be with E!Pap and that means Blue is there...So.....maybe.....I summon my bone attacks and fire them at the trees around me. Planning. Action. That's what I'll do.

"Dust? Are you okay?"A voice asks

I look and there's that good kid Sprinkle.

"How'd you know I was here?"I ask

"You're not the only one that comes here when upset...."Sprinkle says

"What's bothering you?"I ask

"You answer me first."He says

"Okay...I learned that B-B-Blue died and in a situation like this, that's pretty bad. And to join that, my best friend became an spider the size of a miniature doll and two of our friends were taken, while another seems to have turned on us. Dream can't even show a care and has a dark side seemingly. It's just a lot to take in....."I say

I feel two arms wrap around me. I look and it is the kid. Sprinkle hugs me.

"I learned that too. I actually got worried that we lost you as well. Especially with Error panicking, worried about you as well."Sprinkle says

"Heh, at least I'm not alone."I say

"Error wants us to come back."He says

"But I know what he will do if we tell him and I don't want him to get lost as well."I say

"Then let's not tell him. Or anyone."Sprinkle says

I look at him and smile a bit, nodding in agreement.

"So what do we have?"He asks

"A situation."I say

"Let's find a way to solve it. Together."He says

His grip on me in the hug tightens. I smile and hug him back.

"Yes. Let's."I say