Geno's POV

I slowly wake up from a nap, still stuck in this large box. I slowly try to move but it hurts. I still have the cloak so everything that occurred wasn't a dream. But I can hear movement. Someone was outside the box. I hesitate but know I should find out who.

"Hello? Someone there?"I call out

"Geno! You got boxed? Let me get you out!"A voice says

The lid comes off and Dream peeks in.He smiles and leans out of my sight. The hood slides over my face. I slowly get upand peek out of the box. He is in a red box and I am in a blue one. He leans on rhe sides and smiles at me kindly. I grip the edges tightly.

"I-I'm ok, Dream. I'll stay where I am. Where are we? Why are we in boxes?"I ask

"We are being transported to a safer place. The house was compromised. It was attacked. But we are safe. The boxes are to protect us and make it subtle."He says

"Who calls neon boxes subtle?"I ask

"Ink!Pap does. He made these."He says

"I see..."I say

"Any other questions?"He asks

"How are we getting transported?"I ask

"Some truck."Dream says

I nod. I smile. At least I am safe. We are going somewhere safe.

"Where is everyone?"I ask

"In other trucks and boxes. Reaper is who knows where and Error has gone missing."He replies

"Oh..."I say

"But I see you are wearing his cloak. Is there something going on between you two? Are you okay? Where have you been?"Dream asks

I feel my face burn a bit. That bit grew and grew the more I thought of a response.

"Well, I uh, dunno about okay. I've kinda been stuck with one of Renew's helpers after I was kidnapped. I-"I try to explain

"You were kidnapped?"Dream cuts me off

I nod.

"I didn't know! Why didn't you call us? Call me?"He asks

"They don't exactly let their prisoners have phones or ways to call for help, ya know."I say

"Ooooooh! Continue. What about you and Reaper?"He says

I begin to wonder how clueless Dream is or why I'm here. And I also wonder how I got stuck here with him, a small part of me did at least.

"Well, he did save me-"I say

"Him? Save you? That seems far-fetched. With his job and all."Dream, once again, cuts me off

"Yes him. Indeed. It isn't. Because it happened. And if you want to talk about far-fetched you can go talk to Raven about that. Or Goth."I say

"Why them?"He asks

"Because they are kids of alternate versions of Reaper and I. So is Shino but I don't want you hurting her feelings with whatever will come out of your mouth or offend her with her family and all."I say

"OOOOOooooo! No wonder they look like you and Reaper."He says

"Yes, exactly."I say

"Continue."He says

"Ok. That was what I am trying to do to answer your questions."I say

"You were?"He asks

I nod.

Why am I here?

"He and I are on great terms. We are very close and before I was taken or put in this box, we got seperated though. He's very nice and the best person I have known in my opinion."He says

"Ah! So your in love! You love him! But does he love you?"Dream asks

I nod.

"He told me."I say

He smiles.

"How cute.~"He says

I feel my face burn more.

"How deep is this love?"He asks

"I dunno how to measure love. Probably as deep as Cross' love or care for you."I say

"Pfft. As if."He says

"Dude, you gotta see the signs or you're more blind than Reaper and slower to pick up on things."I say

"What signs?"He asks

"Oh my Asgoro..."I groan in frustration, shaking my head

"What?"He asks

"The look in his eyes when he is with you or just looking at you. The swing of his mood, energy, or emotions. The dude goes from a low mood or energy and often is bored or something. But the moment you arrive, his mood is high and he is full of energy, excited and everything. He has made gifts for you. Some with his own chocolate stash. But as far as I know, he's been too shy to give you one of them in person. He wants to protect you! I should know, he told me. Do you realize how much it is for him to care enough to do that? Oh and the way he talks about you! He speaks so highly about you, not a single bad thing to say. Ask anyone! Plus, I think there's a reason your own brother sent him to you when you reunited and how Cross acted towards you. There's just so many signs. I'm surprised you haven't noticed. I thought you would've noticed his positive emotions, being the protector of positivity and all."I explain

"No, I haven't. Are you sure that's all true? Or maybe he is just looking for a reason to get more chocolate."Dream says in denial

"I tested that. We worked at a Grillby's together once and before we closed up, Grillby and I tested him. We put a bar of chocolate on one table on one side of the place and a phone with a note of your phone number on a table on the other side. Ya know which one he went to?"I explain

"The chocolate of course."He says

"Nope, the phone. He called you but you didn't pick up. That's another thing, calls. He keeps making calls to make sure you're okay. Calls you hardly answer. I think if he didn't love you so much he would've stopped checking on you. But he doesn't. That has to mean something, don't you think?"I say

He looks at me with a shocked look. Then he chuckles, laughing it off.

"Now you're making stuff up."He says

"Am I? Let's see. Do you have your phone with you?"I ask

"Yep, why?"He says, taking it out of a pocket

"Check those voicemails of yours."I say

He taps a few things and then a robotic voice speaks from his phone.

"Thank you for finally checking your voicemails! You have 40+ voicemails. Which one would you like to hear? Let's get some spring cleaning up in here!"It says

I can see he is flabbergasted. He looks at me.

"Who's making stuff up now?"I ask

"That could be from anyone."He insists

"Then you have a way to go to prove that then. 40+! My, that sure is a lot."I say

"Where do I even start?"He asks

"With the oldest one and work your way up to the most recent."I suggest

He nods. He scrolls and taps the screen. A voicemail plays out.

"Hey, this is Cross! I hope this is the right number for you, Dream. Ink gave me it since he wanted us to become friends but we both know how his memory can be. Heh...And now he's glaring at me.......Shoot. Well, if you ever want to chat or hang out, call me back!"It says

"That's just a friendly greeting."Dream says

"That's how it starts."I say

He taps a few things, probably deleting it. He goes through a few voicemails like that. He reaches his 12th voicemail and the big question at the time was asked over it.

"Hey Dream.....It's Cross, again. I dunno if you're even getting these but I hope you're doing well. I'm hunting down those jerks who tried to hurt you. They will pay. Ink!Pap or Renew? Those two. But I was wondering something....Would you like to be friends? Shut up Chara I know! *sigh* I'm Stupid! Just...Just call me back soon."Cross says on the voicemail

"I don't think someone would be so self-critical or anxious about asking to be a friend unless something deeper was going on. Plus, those events didn't effect him. It effected you. Why would someone, considered your enemy in Nightmare's gang, go to find and get revenge on some other enemy of yours? Isn't an enemy of an enemy an enemy's friend?"I say

He looks at me and shakes his head in disbelief. Then he goes through some more voicemails. One was clearly an accident. One caused by X!Chara. Voicemail 39 of 49.

"Chara, for the last time, you aren't getting control. We have to look after Geno until we reunite with everyone. And we can't do that if you're spending your time in control trying to steal chocolate and kill those people who have it. No I don't just mean Dream, I mean everyone everyone. Yes, I love Dream. I'd love to protect him. I thought you of all people would know that by now. Check my pocket? Why? What did yo-SHoot! Dream! I-I-I, um.....Ignore this! Sorry! Chara tricked me! So stupid! Sorry, Dream if you're listening to this!click."Cross is heard saying

"What do you say to that?"I ask

He is silent. He goes through the next four voicemails. All of them are from Cross, apologizing for that one. At the same time, he was checking up on Dream. The four after that were checking on him, usually when he was out running errands and stuff telling by the background noise or just not wanting to intrude. Two after that were trying to contact him when he got taken away, apologizing about some broken promise. He admitted in number 48 while apologizing that he takes the silence or lack of calls back as a message from Dream that he is unhappy for whatever reason. He had locked himself in his room for an unknown reason after all. Though Dust told me what he discovered so I know the truth. And he took that reason as himself and was apologizing to Dream for just about any reason he could think of or CHara suggested. The last one was a promise to fix the first promise and find him. Protect him. All that. I look at Dream with a smirk. He looks absolutely mind blown.

"But of course he just said and did all that for more chocolate. No other reason."I say with sarcasm

He is silent. His face lights up.

"Woah! Is someone blushing?~"I tease

"What did you mean by in person?"He asks

"He has put those gifts in your favorite places. Places he knows you go. Then he just hopes you find them. Never face to face. And it takes a lot for him to put something or someone above chocolate."I say

"So that's why there was some bar on the windowsill or in the park on the bench that I sit at."He says

"And who put you in that box?"I ask

"Emm....E!Pap, why?"He asks

"Oh! Then you definitely have something in that box."I say 

He looks around. He bends down and comes back up with a chocolate bar. He looks at it in shock. He looks at me.

"Am I gonna die by X!Chara now?"He asks

"No, no. He wouldn't let X!Chara hurt you, or anyone. He protected us all, and you from X!Chara once and he has made it clear he will do it again."I tell him

"He has? How? When?"He asks, opening the wrapper of the chocolate bar and splitting it in half

He eats one of the halves.

"He did something similar to what you did. You locked yourself in a room to keep everyone else safe from some problem you had, he seperated himself to keep you and all of us safe. That's why he disappeared before you sent Blue after him. He was losing control of Chara and Chara was losing control due to some kind of virus thing. That was his way of protection and he'd probs do it again."I explain

He is silent. He dials something, then lifts his phone by his face.

"Hey, Cross? It's Dream. I hope you're doing well. I know you're busy or in another truck doing something but...I'd love to hang out with you more. E-Em...Cya!"He says, hanging up

I smirk at him.

"Voicemail."He says

"How ironic. But it seems someone is in love."I tell him

He looks at me and realizes that I meant him. His face got like what Error calls a glowstick, bright yellow and bright. Then he slides out of sight into the box.

I slowly, carefully to protect the wounds, climb out of the box. Curiousity gets me. I look around. I peek in other boxes. I find Blue, Dust and S!Pap in three other boxes. In the rest were just common luggage or items to be boxed in trucks. Most likely to keep our cover. They were all asleep peacefully. They clearly came willingly. In boxes and all.

There comes a sudden pain in my leg and I remember it's broken. I drop down and I press to bottom of the bus in pain. Then there's a sudden stop that makes a screech sound and made everything shake. Everything went sliding or hopping. I go back into the box quickly. I frown and hide, grabbing the lid and putting it on. I hear something open, probably doors. I feel something lift me up from within the box. I don't move but could feel my soul pound. I peek out by slightly raising the lid. A hand reaches in. I duck and hide in the box. The box turns upside down and the lid comes off, making me fall out. I turn over, struggling to sit up. I find a figure looming over me. I freeze up.

"Can't get away from us that easily, Geno."They say, reaching out to me

"Back away from him now!"Dream shouts

Then a bunch of arrows go flying, knocking the figure away from me. Dream leaps out of the box and truck, running over.

"You okay?"He asks

"Ya...I am...Thanks. Ugh, though past wounds aren't making anything easy. Like I said, neon boxes, real subtle."I say with sarcasm about the boxes

"Past wounds? What do you mean?"He asks, picking me up

"They tried to use violence to get info out of me."I say

He gets back in the truck and shuts the doors, locking it. He gives two pats on the door and we're back in motion.

"Who's driving?"I ask

"Science's bots made with Goth and Palette's help to make it more secure than his."Dream says

I nod. Then, without warning or any words, Dream takes the cloak off me. He rolls up my sleeves, the ends of my pants, even tries to lift my shirt up. I knock his hand away and keep the shirt the way it is. I fix the bottom of my pants and my sleeves. I put the cloak back on.

"What the hell?"I ask

"Sorry, I was just checking for your wounds."He says

"A little less act, more ask or talk next time."I snap

"Ok,well let me bandage or try to heal them."He says

"Fine."I say

He does just that.

"Since when did you have wings?"He asks

"They experimented on me."I say

 Then the truck stops. I frown, but thank him. Dream peeks out.

"I think we're here. But I think I see someone coming."He says

I climb out as others were climbing out of their boxes. We are just in open field. No people. No settlements, buildings, no shelters on the horizon. But a figure was running across the horizon to us, some stuff held in their arms. Dream summons his bow and arrow, aiming it at the figure.

"Identify yourself!"He yells

"E!PaP."The figure yells in response

I remember stuff Serram said. Threats mostly.

"E!Pap! You're okay!"I cheer, running to him

"Oh! GeNo! YoU'rE bAck!"He says, eyes widening, smiling and pace quickening.

I slow in my steps to ease the pain in me. I gaze at him. It's him alright. I smile. He comes closer and closer. He looks down and turns to face away from me. 

Odd. 

"E!Papy! Good to see you and Geno!"Blue shouts, making me jump as he runs out from my left

"YeP! AnD I aM nOt alOnE!"E!Pap says, turning around

I gasp.

"Hi, Geno...."Fenna says

"Hewwo..."Samara says

"...."A lil guy to Fenna's right says nothing

"You know these two?"Blue asks

"Yep, when I was taken, these two became my friends."I say

"Oh! InTeReStInG!"E!Pap says

"Who's this and that blue guy?"Samara asks

"I'm Blue! UnderSwap Sans but you can call me Blue, most do. The bud holding you is E!Pap. Here, let me show you a scrapbook to show you everything and everyone who is good."Blue says

"Good people?"She asks

Blue gives me a look of astonishment and worry.

"Samara here was seperated from her brother anc Change, put to work and didn't really get good treatment or meet many good people. Nor did Fenna."I tell him

"Oh! Oh dear, well let me show you the brighter side of the world."Blue says, going beside E!Pap and showing her the book

"I'd like that, thank you sir."Samara says

"They got tricked and went right into a booby trap. I came to tell them that you were taken but made the same mistake. And Reaper here triggered the trap again on himself when trying to go after you."Fenna says, elbowing the dude beside her

His eyes widen, the eye-lights shrinking.

"Fenna!"He yells

Sure enough, he sounds like Reaper. He is so tiny again, even with two little ears and a tail. It is him. Guess the traps were chemical-related.

"Heh, no regrets."Fenna says

"Reaper? Hey! Oh my stars, you look adorable!"I say, going beside E!Pap 

His face lights up.

"G-G-G-Geno!"He shouts

"You wanted his love, you're getting his love."Fenna says

"Reaper...You're okay, right? Nothing hurt you in those traps did it?"I ask

"I-I am ok....N-N-No. Are y-you? Y-You're still wearing my cloak."He says

"That's great! Yes, I'm fine. And I sure am."I tell him

"Y-You....You look cute in it."He stutters

I feel my face warm.

"You're stuttering! Are you sure you're not losing your touch, Reaper?"I say

"He did finally reach his goal of falling in love with you and getting the love back."Blue says

"Guys!"Reaper shouts, his face burning up

"Aww, Reaper."I say, reaching to him

"G-Geno? W-What are you doing?"He asks

I tap his nose-hole gently.

"Boop!"I say sweetly

His face burns up even more. His ears go down but his tail sways rapidly, showing part of him was happy. He is silent.

"E!Pap, may I-?"I begin

"Go riGhT aHeAd, GenO."E!Pap says before I could finish

I smile and pick him up, gently. Sliding him out of E!Pap's arms and into mine. His face burns and he gazes up at me in wonder and such. I could feel his tiny soul beating. I couldn't help it. He is so cute.

"Geno?"He says with a shaky voice

"Come on now, we're at a new shelter."I tell him

"O-Ok. Can you put me down?"He asks

"No, not risking losing you, my wittle Grim Reapa.~"I say, teasing with the name and kissing the top of his head

"G-Geno!"He shouts, blushing even more

"Oh come on, you like it."I say

"No!"He says

"Your tail says otherwise, silly."I say, seeing his tail wag crazily

He's silent.

I take him to where Dream is standing. Reaper frowns and attempts to hide himself in the cloak with me. I help him and hide him in the cloak. He peeks out through the hood opening but was basically holding onto my shoulder to stay hidden. I approach Dream and he smiles at me. Dream leads me to a trap door. He opens it. There are some scanners and a ladder leading down. I go down it with Dream following. We are literally going underground. I start to hear a soft purr. My face warms.

"R-R-Reaper!"I whisper

"Hm?"He responds

"Are you purring?"I ask

"Maybe.~"He says

Then I feel him nuzzle his head against mine. I could hear him clearly purring. He reaches up and nudges the hood, making it fall over my face. I feel something tickle my neck. I turn and he is looking at me. He smirks at me and places a hand on my cheek.

"I love you so much, Geno. You're purrfect."He whispers

Then he leans in and kisses me directly. At first shock gets me but it passes as soon as it came. I don't fight back and kiss back. But then I pull back and lift the hood back up. 

"Awww."He says

"Reaper, let's actually get in the shelter before that starts. Later."I tell him quietly, reaching the bottom of the ladder

"Okay..."He says

We go inside with the others following. It was a nice space. Still needs some time and putting together but it seems cozy. Little do we know what is to come or what Error is being put through.

Meanwhile

"Sire, I have come."Serram says

"GoOd. HaVe yOu bRoUghT hiM?"E!Gaster asks

"Wasn't easy. Quite the fighter your younger one is. But yes, I did and he's ready."Serram says, dragging a tied up, masked and gagged person

"TaKe tHe rEstRaInTs ofF. LeT mE seE iT iS hIm."E!Gaster says

Serram takes it all but the handcuffs off. It's Error.

"LeT mE gO yOu sOn oF a BiTcH! TrY YoUr iDioTic pLaNs! I dARE yoU! You ArE aLl cOwArDs! Won'T eVeN fIghT pRopErlY. JusT wAtCh, I'd kIll yOu bOth iN sEcOndS anD I mEaN sEcoNds iF yoU reLeAseD me!"Error snaps

"Just press the button, sire."Serram says

E!Gaster does as told. An electric shock went through Error, excrutiating pain spreading rapidly. He shuts his eyes and when he opens them, he was not in control. E!Gaster is.Serram frees Error completely now.

"PeRfEct. Let'S gO fInd tHosE idIoTs brAiNwAsHing My sOnS."E!Gaster says

"Check for your control. Gotta make sure you can use his attacks."Serram says

E!Gaster nods and turns to two dummies with pictures on them. One is Geno and the other is Dust. He sways his hands and the dummies are torn to pieces among attacks.

"You got this, sire. The end is coming."Serram says

"No, tHiS iS oNlY tHe beGiNniNg. ThOsE tWo aRe jUst tHe bEgiNninG. GeT yOur teSts rEady, I wAnNa sEe wHat tHoSe iDioTs cAn Be Put tO uSe fOr."E!Gaster says

"Yes sire."Serram says

The two part ways, leaving only the unconscious body of E!Gaster in the room.

Geno's POV a few days later

I'm sitting in the space that became my room that is shared with Reaper, Shino, Goth and Raven. We didn't decide it, Science did. Dream has a room with Nightmare that he insisted on, which is now shared with Fenna and Samara. Blue, S!Pap and E!Pap are in another, awaiting Error to join. Palette, Ink!Pap, Ink, and Cross are in another and whoever is left is in another. Currently, it's just Reaper and I. I hold him close and nuzzle my head against his. I smile. I feel so happy. He is still in his tiny form so he couldn't really escape, but didn't want to either. His tail sways and he whispers puns or jokes to me, making me laugh.

But then, there's a bunch of violent sounds, ending with Dust crying out in pain before it goes silent. I don't have a good feeling. Then I hear Ink shouting. That can't be good either. I look at Reaper. He seems worried. I get up and slip him under the bed.

"Reaper, I'm gonna go investigate. You stay under here until I get back. Don't want you getting hurt."I say

He tries to stop me but I keep moving, leaving the room before he could. And good thing I leave the room. I see Error cornering Ink, who is covered in wounds now. Error has his strings out. This is way too odd to be him. Then, I hear him speak, but it isn't his voice.

"EvErYoNe iS gOnNa ForGeT yOu Ink. ErrOr haS. YoU kNoW hOw i kNow tHiS? BecAuSe hE isN'T fIgHtInG bAck. He dOeSn't hAvE tHe lOvE, tHe mOtIvAtiON to. NoBodY is cOmiNg tO heLp. YoU'rE nOthIng. JuSt gIve iN. MaKe tHinGs eAsiEr."He says

It sounded like E!Gaster. Ink breaks into tears. He starts having a panic attack or attack from his phobia at those words. I check the souls in the area and see that yes, I am the only one out of the rooms, but that was because of protocol. And I could see, telling by the souls, that Error is fighting. He is doing everything he can to get back in control, while Ink's soul is about to break.

"Ink! Don't listen to him! He's lying! Everyone loves you! Everyone remembers you! Error cares about you! You're everything to him! I'm here to help!"I yell, running over and blocking Ink from trouble

"BoUt tImE yOu shOwEd uP."E!Gaster says, glaring at me

"I won't let you use him as a puppet to hurt others."I say

"Oh, bUt yOu dOn'T kNoW wHat wOrlD oF pAin yOu pUt yOuRsElF iN."He says

Before I could respond or make a sound, he grabs me with some strings and in the next instant, I'm gone.

Ink's POV

I watch as Geno falls apart until nothing is left but his soul. Then, Reaper's cloak hits the ground. I lost it.

"GENOO!"I yell

I get up. Error, possessed by E!Gaster chuckles. Dust and Geno's souls hover in his hands.

"You jerk! Give them back! Let Error go!"I yell, lunging at the souls

With a simple flick of his hand, the souls were gone.

"SeRrAm iS gOnNa hAvE fUn wItH tHoSe."He says

I recall Geno and Fenna explaining to me what happened to them when I arrived to the base and welcomed them. I know exactly who Serram is. I swing some punches at him, but he dodges most of them and caught my arm at the last one. He puts a hand to my chin, forcing me to look at him.

"NoW I wOndEr wHaT SeRrAm cOuLd dO wIH yOu. WeLl, onLy OnE wAy tO fiNd ou-WaIt! WhAt aRe yOu doInG?! AGH!"He yells

I am scared and confused. I am doing nothing. Besides crying and such. He shakes his head and blinks, revealing a change in his eye-light. It's small, but part of it became Error's normal eye-light.

"I dId iT! InKy! I aM hErE! I aM sO sOrRy fOr WHaT hE iS dOiNG! YoU dOn'T dEsErVe iT!"He says

"Glitchy....Error! You don't deserve this either! Don't apologize! You're not at fault here! You're being used like his puppet! You don't deserve that."I tell him

"O-OkAy...."He says

"Error! Tell me! How can I help you?"I ask

"M-Me? BuT iT's yOuR sOuL oN ThE liNe riGhT nOw."He says

"It's your life! Yes you. I can't just let him use you for the rest of your days! So tell me, agh! Tell me how to help you."I say, feeling strings wrap around my soul

"ThErE's sOmEtHinG hOokEd tO mY nEcK. ThAt mAy wOrK. It iS seNdIng sHocKS so bE cArEfuL. I lOve yOu, Inky. I-VisiToR tIme is uP. Y0ur tImE iS uP."He says, then E!Gaster as the eye-light changes again

Then, he pulls at my soul.

Crack! Thwack!