Let's try something. Read this chapter and count how many protective or Big Bear moments you find in it. Comment them and we'll see. I'm curious how many can be found.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Error's POV

I feel something disconnect from my neck. E!Gaster yells and then is gone. Nothing kept me out of control. I blink a few times. I see Ink in my strings. I look at his soul. It's ok. He's ok. I smile. I look down and around to see the little virus broken to pieces on the floor. I look at Ink and see him shaking, broken to tears. I smile and pull him close to me.

"I gOt yOu InKy!"I say

"G-Glitchy?"He stutters, looking up at me

"I'm herE, InKy."I say

"H-How...?"He asks

"Woo! I did it!"A voice cheers

I look over and see Nightmare running over, his tentacles shrinking away. He smiles and comes over, hugging the both of us. We hug him back, surprised, curious and Ink a little confused.

"What did you do?"Ink asks

"I came out to find my brother and I witness it all. I turn to my other form and used a tentacle to whack the thing off you, Error. It seems to have worked. You're both ok, right?"He says

We nod.

"Good! I'd rather you be the stupid puppeteer than the dumb puppet, Error!"He says

I know that's his way of telling that he cares. I smirk.

"ThaNkS, BuD. BuT hOw dId yOu sWiTch? I tHoUghT yOu cOuLdn'T dO iT wIlLiNgLylY."I say

"Nope! I just never wanted to! I always could! But if I wasn't willing, it's a tougher process!"Nightmare says

"So, wHaT I aM hEarIng iS yOu mAdE eXcUsEs, exCusEs?"I say

"What? If I was honest do you think anyone would trust me in this form? Besides, I learned things...Like where I really can fit in with this multiverse of doofuses."Nightmare says

Translation:I've grown close to you guys. You aren't so bad. I've found a special place with you guys.

"Good pOInT. Good to kn0w."I say

Ink nuzzles my head.

Then, I hear Palette by the ladder space.

"GET AWAY FROM DREAM! NO! GET YOUR HANDS OFF HIM! GET BACK HERE!"Palette yells

Whack!

"Dang it!"Palette yells

We each look at each other.

"I will go check on Reaper and Blue."Ink says

"Ok."I say

He slips away to do that. Nightmare and I go to investigate. We find Palette coming down the ladder with a dripping paint roller. He is not pleased. He seems aggrivated. He looks at us when he reaches the bottom of the stairs. 

"We hEaRd yOur yeLlS. WhAt hApPeNeD?"I ask

"Dream was on a patrol to secure things, but then someone snook up from behind on him. They took him. But they won't get away with it. I whacked them with paint before they ran off with Dream!"He says

"WhaT cOloR?"I ask, thinking there may be a trail

"Orange."He says

"Ohhh they are so gonna get it! Nobody hurts my brother! Nobody! When I find them, they are dead!"Nightmare yells

"Oh wow, Nightmare! You really are protective of your brother now! You're like Gothy's Mama Bear Geno, though you seem more of a Big Brother Bear."Palette says

Nightmare's face brightens. He crosses his arms.

"I am not!"He denies

"Ya, and Geno isn't a protective Mama Bear."Palette says

I chuckle, catching the sarcasm.

"Fair point."He admits

"Nightmare, you and I go and protect the others. Dunno if there's another attack is coming. Error has that look like he has a lone wolf idea."Palette says

"How can you tell?"Nightmare asks

I begin to climb.

"I have known him and have hung with alternate children of alternate versions of him and Ink. You can just tell after a while. Also he is climbing the ladder."Palette says

"What? Error wait!"Nightmare says

"I kNoW wHeRe t0 gO! I gOt tHis!"I say

"Hewwo? Guys? Have you guys seen Geno?"A tiny voice says

I look and at the tunnelway to the base is Reaper. He's smaller and kept tugging a cloth over him like a blanket or cloak to hide something. He looks up at us in worried fear. I feel my soul sink and bow my head, knowing completely about where he could be, why he's not here and what could be being done to him. Nightmare climbs up the ladder and pats me on the back to comfort me. Then he slides down the side of the ladder. Palette goes over to Reaper. He squats and looks at Reaper, soon accompanied by Nightmare. They lead him down the tunnelway, thinking of breaking the news away from me most likely. There's a high chance that he might've killed me if I was near. I continue to climb and find a trail of orange paint leading into the horizon. Night is falling and it must be going so far. It could take so much time to run or go there on foot based on the trail. I check my memory and find the location I saved the moment I got that first electric shock. I open a portal and walk through, quickly reaching this location.

I come face to face with E!Gaster. I quickly tie him in my strings before he could react or do anything to trick or use me. 

"Wow, sO tHis iS hOw yOu thAnk mE fOr gEtTinG riD oF thOse pEsTs fOr yOu?"He says

"ThEy aRe mY fRiEnDs, nOt pEsTs! YoU dId nOthinG gOoD! So dOn't saY tHaT cRaP!"I snap at him

"I diD yOu a fAvOr."He says

"ShUt iT! YoU uSeD mE! A stRaNger, aN eNeMy, usinG mE aS a pUpPet foR yOuR sHeNaNiNGAns IS nOwHeRe cLose tO a FAvOR oR sOmeThIng tO tHanK yOu fOr! YoU jErK! YoU ArE nOt a pUpPeTEEr fOr pEoPLe! YoU aRe n0 hEr0!"I growl, tightening the strings

"WhAt dO yoU wAnt tHen? WhAt Are yOu hEre f0r?"He asks

"WHaT dO yOu tHinK YoU iDiOT?!"I snap

"YoU'Re hErE fOr yOuR faMilY?"He says

"WoW! You uSeD yOUR hEaD aNd aNsWeReD cORrEcTlY! Yes, I aM! ThEy aRe pArt oF mY bRo aNd I's wOrLd. TheY aRe aLso mY bEsT bUds. We caN't lOse 'em."I say

He smiles with joy.

"OkAy, ThEy'Re hEre."He says

I look around. No sign of them. Maybe he means in the building.

"OkAy, theN bRiNg tHem oUt."I say

"Pardon?"He asks

"YoU hEaRd mE."I say

"BuT tHey'Re aLreAdy hEre."He says

"Yes, sO bRinG tHem oUt. QuiT sTalLing. AlL 3 of ThEm. And If tHey aRe hUrt iN aNy wAy, wE aRe gOnNa hAvE sOmE iSsUeS."I snap

"T-T-Three?"He repeats

"Yes, tHrEe. So bRinG tHem Out. Or I wIll gEt tHem mYsElf. NOW!"I bark, tightening the strings to give him a sense of what I'll do

"O-Ok! SeRrAm! SeNd ouT TesT 34GD!"He yells

"Yes, sire!"Serram responds

"YoU tEsTed oN tHeM?!"I yell

"No, SerRam dId."He says, throwing Serram right under the bus

"BuT cLEaRLy yOU'Re tHe mAstErmInd sIncE he fOlLowS yOuR oRdErS. If tHey aRe iN aNy sorT oF hOrRibLe cOnDiTiOn, yOu wIlL uNdo iT oR iT's oN yOu!"I growl

I hear footsteps.

"E-Error?"Geno's voice calls

"Buddy? What are you doing here? Please don't tell me they caught you or are using you for another test. Especially not Dream's possible test partner."Dust's voice cries

To hear Dust's voice cry is rare. But the emotion, the pain, the fear in his voice is something I've never heard in all the days that I've known him. I look over to them and froze up.

Their condition is horrible. Pure, abusive, torturous, condition from the test. My two friends looked horrible. There stands Dust and Geno, their pain clear. Geno was crying and in both their eye-lights were such strong emotions. Only their genocide eyes are visible so that must mean something. And nothing good. Geno's genocide eye was falling like a tear and Dust's was starting to do the same as well. 

One of their arms merged, as did their waist. They split from their both they were literally stuck together. Geno's skull was melted a bit, floating like glitches. Dust's hood merged with his skull. Their clothes even merged. It looked like blobs of paint mixing. They looked terrified. This test can not possibly be a success.

"GuyS!"I yell, running over to them

They use each of their solo arms to hug me, but I can tell that was painful for them.

"Why are you here, buddy?"Dust asks

"To gEt yOu gUyS bAck! I'm sOrRy fOR wHat I dId! I dIdn'T mEan tO! I diDn'T wAnt to! And nOw tHey dId tHis tO you! I aM soRrY! I-I-!"I respond

"Shut up, Error."Geno cuts me off

"We know you weren't in control. You have nothing to be sorry for. It's okay, bud."Dust says

"G-G-GuYs...."I say with a shaky voice

"Come here. You need a hug."Geno says, pulling me into another hug

"Let it all out."Dust tells me

I cry and cry, releasing all the guilt or apologies I kept holding up in me. They comfort me and I smile.

"T-Thank you."I stutter

They hold me tighter, silent. I look at them and see that they were showing pain-filled expressions and holding back sounds that give away their pain. I frown and break from them.

"WhAt did yOu dO tO tHem?"I snap, bringing E!Gaster close

"MaDe tHem tHe fReAkS tHat ThEy aRe. EvEn mAdE tHem amAlGaMaTeS fOr GoOd meAsURE. ThE reSulT iS spEctACuLaR tO mE. AnD sOon, DreAm wIlL bE onE to0 wiTh wHoEvEr wE cAptUre neXt."He says

"I hAvE tHe aBiLiTy to Kill You aNd tHaT is aNyThInG bUt wiSe wOrDs tO sAy rIgHt nOw. Fix iT. UnDo iT!"I say

"I canNoT! OnLy SeRrAm Can!"He says

I punch him before releasing him from my strings.

"GeT oUt oF mY sIghT. SeNd hIm ouT!"I snap

He runs off.

A few moments pass and out comes Serram. He looks at us, shaking his head.

"YoU kNoW wHaT tO dO."I say, whipping strings from my hands

He jumps in fear, skittish and jumpy.

"Y-Yes sir!"He says

He turns and moves quickly. He then has Geno and Dust pinned to the ground, their arms pulled behind their back. They yell loud and seems endless in pain. They disappear, their souls appearing and floating up. Even their souls were combined. It looked like two random pieces forced together. Kinda like putting a corner puzzle piece to a center piece with glue. Not right. Freakish. Wrong. Serram grabs them and roughly tears the two apart, like someone trying to break a pencil or stick of some kind. I take the souls from him before he could try anything.

"Now whErE'S DreAm? My thIrd.....My tHiRd fRieNd."I say

I am not sure if we would call each other friends. More of friends of common friends. And I'm mostly here to get Dream back for Nightmare, him being brothers, and also for Cross and his obvious crush on Dream. If I left him behind, they'd both be soul broken or angry and never let me live that down. As well as the fact that he's a Star Sans, meaning I would hurt my relation with Ink and Blue as well. Plus as I thought, we had something in common after all. Something we could talk about. Something we understand about each other, relate to, etc.We are both used or manipulated to hurt others. Heck, he's still handling it. Maybe we could be friends.

"Oh! He's getting the training tests."Serram says

"WelL stOp iT aNd SeNd hIm oUt."I say

"Sorry, no can do. You are Sir, not Sire."He says

Suddenly, Geno reappears from his soul. He looks at me, checks himself, checks Dust's soul and smiles. Then he looks at Serram. Hatred fills his eyes. Anger fumed from him. He tackles Serram down and punches, kicks, wrestles. He doesn't summon anything but fights so viciously and angrily that it seems he doesn't need to. Next thing I see, Geno is sitting on Serram to pin him down, bending his legs to a painful position.

"It hurts doesn't it? Not so nice now is it? Too bad you don't have any knives, huh? Now, if you can tell me what I want, maybe I'll let you go in better condition than you left me twice now. Or should I throw you in water like you did to me to get you to talk? Do you know where you keep those chains?"Geno growls

I'm silent. I know what had gone down and know how Geno felt. Oh, remembering what Geno told me about his time with this guy made me just so much angrier. Though, it seems he is handling it. He is getting revenge, some sort of justice or giving karma.

"Ok! Ok! I'll give you what you want! 3rd door on the left! That's his room! Code 12D345 to release him!"Serram yells

Then, Geno elbowed him on the skull roughly, like a wrestler move without the fall part, like Reaper did. Serram is knocked out. Geno gets off him, looks at Serram, frowning. He then summons something. A chancla. He whips it down on Serram once with one hard swing and kicks him to a corner.

"FeEl bEtTer?"I ask

"Oh ya! Very much! I feel he deserved that for everything he did not just to me but Sarama, Fenna and Dust! As well as Dream now! Speaking of which, let's get him!"Geno says, running off

I run after him, Dust soon reforming. Dust and Geno hugged, glad to be back to normal. Then Dust hugs me, happy to be free again. We hear a shattering sound. Then some pinging noise. Dust ducks and I get hit in the face with something. I open my eyes again and find Dream's crown at my feet. And stuck to that crown are shards of glass and it has odd fluids soaking it. I pick it up and wipe the fluids off it. I pick the shards out of it carefully and it loos good as new. How'd it go flying like a boomerang here?

"G-Guys?"I hear a voice say

I turn my head and see Dream pressing against a door frame, shaking weakly and tearing wires off his arms. He is soaking wet. And he looks terrified.

"DrEaM!"I shout, the three of us coming over to him to assist

"How'd you get out?"Geno asks

"Thank Asgoro you're okay!"Dust says

"Well, there are some perks to having a circular crown that's so light. Easy to throw like a frisbee and well, glass and frisbees don't mix."Dream says

"Well let's get you out of here!"Geno says

The four of us go to the nearest exit and find a trail of orange paint.

"What the? What's all this paint doing here?"Dust asks

"FoLlOw it, It wIlL taKe uS HoMe."I say

They nod and follow it. Geno uses his code ability to erase the trail that we pass, making it unable to get back to out hideout. We move quickly without stopping. Then we reach the hatch in the ground and climb, one by one, down the ladder. I look around and watch the sun come up. The darkness is over for now, just like night. Light and good times surely are here, like day. I climb down, shutting the hatch.

We walk down the tunnelway. We each smile at each other, excited and happy to be back. But then, once we reach the main room, we each slowly parted by ways. One by one, everyone split apart. Geno went to find Reaper. Dust went to find Blue. Dream went to find Nightmare and Cross. I went to find Ink. 

When I did, I smile. He is curled up on a bed, hugging a pillow. Some of his vials had less than others so I know he was ending his phobia attack. He seems to be asleep. I lean over him and kiss him on the head. He opens his eyes and looks at me. His face goes rainbow as usual.

"HeY InKy."I say

"Glitchy! You're back!"He cheers

"sUrE aM! EvEryOne iS OkAy nOw ToO! ThEy aRe-wOaH!"I say, then get pulled down by Ink

I fall onto the bed and he hugs me close, holding me so I couldn't go. He nuzzles his head against me. I feel my face burn.

"I-InKy?"I stutter

"Ya?"He says

"WhAt's g0inG oN?"I ask

"Oh! I wanted to hug you!"He says

"B-BuT I tHiNk tHis w0uLd be c0nsIdErEd a snUgGlE!"I tell him

"Hmmm, maybe.~"He says, grinning and gazing at me

"Y-Y-Y-You c0ulD hAvE aSkEd!"I say

"But where's the fun in that?"He asks, winking and kissing my cheek

"OkaY tHen."I say, shifting and wrapping an arm around him

His eye-lights shrink and his face gets very rainbow. Then he slips out of my grip and tries to run. 

"Hey! InKy gEt bAcK hErE!"I shout, grabbing the end of his scarf and pulling him back

I catch him in my arms. He looks at me, his face getting brighter and brighter in a rainbow. He looks at me and I smile.

"G-G-Glitchy?"He stutters

"HeRe's tHe fUn, InKy."I tell him, then kiss him directly before he could react

At first he is tense in surprise, but then loosens up and wraps his arms around me again. We part and smile at each other. I nuzzle my head against him. I see his face brighten even more.

"Glitchy!"He exclaims

"LoVe y0u InKy!~"I say

I could hear his soul race and smile. I look up, seeing one of his eye lights is a heart.

"I love you too, Glitchy."He says

Geno's POV

I look around for Reaper. He isn't under the bed. I soon find him sitting on the couch. He has his cloak back on. He is back to his normal size and without ears or tail. He seems unaware that I'm here because I walked over to him and he doesn't budge. Telling by his posture, he seems down. Perhaps messing with him will work. I wrap my arms around him from behind.

"My, my, someone has got a growthspurt. They grow up so fast it seems, huh, my Grim Reapa?"I say teasingly

"Huh?"He says, sitting better and jolting

"Hello, Reaper.~"I tell him

He looks at me with a smile and love in his eyes. He gently grabs one of my arms.

"Geno!"He cheers

"Hey, Reaper."I say, winking

"You're back!"He says

"Sure am."I tell him

"And you're okay?"He asks

"Mhm!"I say, nodding

"Since when did I become your Reaper?"He asks

"Since I love you the way you love me."I say

"L-Love m-m-me?"He asks

I nod, then lean in and kiss him. I shut my eyes and feel my face burn. I do not mind it. I feel his grip on my arm shake.

I break from him and smile. His face was so bright and I could tell his soul is racing. His eye-lights are small and staring at me in shock.

"Y-You just k-kissed me!"He stutters

"I did, and I could do it again.~"I say

He looks away, his face burning. He is silent.

"What? Surprised I am messing with you or showing you love? It was gonna come back to you eventually."I ask

He says nothing.

"Reaper, are you okay?"I ask, taking an arm off him

He quickly turns to me, kissing me and then runs off. I hear a door slam shut. My face burns and I feel the spot he kissed me, on my cheek. I smile and hop over the couch, taking a seat. This is great. S!Reaper and S!Geno come over, striking up a conversation. I feel happy. Things are good. And so are they.

Dust's POV

I open the door and peek in, finding Blue. He sat on his bed, reading a book. He smiles. He seems okay. He seems happy. That's good. I smile.

"Hey, Blue!"I say

His head goes up. He smiles at me. As far as I know, he doesn't know about anything that happened. Which is good. I come into the room and smile even more.

"Hey!"He says

He smiles.

"How are you?"I ask

"Good. I've just been reading through books."He says

"What kind of books?"I ask, coming over and sitting with him

"Just some books Goth showed me. Seems to be some historical myths humans made of monsters called Horror books. Who's Count Dracula?"Blue asks, looking at me

"Hmm, I think he's supposed to be the king of vampires."I say

"Ah, so like Fallacy from Vampireverse?"He asks

I nod.

"Guess so."I say

"I see now."He says

"So you're okay?"I ask

"Why wouldn't I be?"He asks

I sigh, then smile at him.

"Is everything okay, Dust?"He asks, gazing at me

I pull him into a hug. His face went a bit more blue and he looks up at me.

"D-Dust?"He stutters, putting the book aside

"Everything is okay now that I'm with ya, Blue."I say, smiling

I can feel my face warm after saying that. So did his. He smiles though.

"Well, that's good to hear. Do you want to read with me?"Blue asks

"Sure!"I say

I find a pile of books beside the bed. We go through them and I read the back covers to see what they're about. I see Blue holding one that seems too scary for him after I read its back cover. I quickly find a different book and give it to him.

"Monsters Inc?"He reads questionably

"Ya, it's one of the human stories for monsters. I think you'll like it."I say

"Okay."He says, opening it

He  does. We read and read happily.

Nightmare's POV

I hear a knock at my door. Strange. Nobody around here really knocks. Especially not on my door. Only Dream or that Palette kid. Most just burst and let themselves in or don't come near my room. And I know Palette is busy dealing with his "Gothy" friend or whatever, plus Dream was taken. So this put me at unease. The knock repeats. Maybe those idiots came back to try another attack and was knocking to trick me or somebody to answer. I turn to what I now call hostile form and open up when the last tentacle formed.

"Oh! Brother! I see you got your other form back! Congrats! Are you okay?"Dream asks

I am shocked. Here stands my brother. And he's asking me if I'm ok! I look around and see the others were casually passing in the hall. Dang my paronoia.

"Dream! You're back! I should be asking you that! Get in!"I snap, grabbing him with my tentacles and dragging him in

I shut the door.

"Am I in trouble?"He asks

I pull him close. I check for injuries and find minor wounds. There were bits of glass on him as well as tape with bits of wires on him. He is also very wet and shivering.

"How do you feel?"I ask

"Drained....Tired....Lacking energy mostly."He says

"But you are not hurt?"I ask

"Mmmm, no. Not really. I broke out and found Error, Geno, and Dust before they could."He says

"Oh thank goodness! Dream! I was so worried about you! I didn't want those idiots to hurt you!"I say, pulling him closer and hugging him with all my tentacles and both my arms

I smile, then shrink away to my other form. I hug him tighter now that my tentacles are gone. I look at him and he smiles. 

"Explain! And don't leave anything out!"I tell him

So he does. He explains everything to me and I listen. It wasn't much but I know one thing, I am grateful to Error for helping him. For saving my brother.

"Well, let's get you some rest!"I say, picking him up

"B-But-!"He begins

"No but's! You need rest, Dream and you are getting it! i will be right outside if you need anything, besides sleep. Just call. You're safe. I won't let anything hurt you."I say, putting him on a bed

I snap and he's in dry clothes. I have him lay down and tuck him into bed. I take his crown off and place it on a nearby nightstand. I begin to walk to the door, turning back to my hostile form. I had grabbed the doorknob when Dream calls my name.

"Hey, Nightmare?"He says

"Ya?"I respond, turning my head

Those idiots better not have made him sick with some chemical. Then again, Fresh already did that. Thinking of that, I go back over to Dream.

"Do you think....I'll become it again? Do that again? I don't want to....do that...hurt them....I...."He says

I know exactly what he means. He was thinking the same thing as me.

"No, Dream. Don't think those things. You won't become that again unless something absolutely made you or you had some strong emotion. You won't do it again. I know you don't. I get it Dream."I say

"How do you know?"He asks

"Because you're my brother. I know you. You're good. You just don't have it in you. Here, let's prove it. Show me your hand."I tell him

He gives me his arm. I take the glove off and see that the goop had shrank to only his index finger. It's getting weaker. He's stronger than it. I point this out to him and explain it. Then I put the glove back on him as he sighs from relief. He rests his head against the pillow and seems more relaxed now. I head to the door again.

"Nightmare?"He calls again

"Ya?"I say, looking at him again

"I love you.....Big Brother Bear....."He says, dozing as he spoke with a smile

I guess that name may stick. But it makes him happy clearly so I don't mind it from him. 

"Heh, I love you too, Dream."I say

Those words made his sleepy eyes sparkle with joy. I leave the room and shut the door to let him rest. I stand right beside it, leaning against the wall. I make sure nobody sneaks in or bothers him. I am a brother of my word. After some time, Cross passes me but did a double take.

"Nightmare! You're back in that form!"He says

"Indeed I am."I say indifferently

"And you're outside Dream's room?"He asks

"You got a problem?"I ask, my tentacles sticking out

"N-No! I'm just wondering why. Is everything ok?"He replies, stepping back and raising his hands defensively

He nervously rubs his hand against the back of his skull. I think on it, then smirk.

"Don't worry, your little prince is fine."I say

The look aon his face makes me chuckle.

"P-Prince?"He stutters

"Ya. Oh come on, we both know that you like him. You make it so obvious. Like the sky is blue and we are skeletons obvious. he is just resting. Error got him here before trouble could take him."I tell him

He is silent.

"....Chara shut up. It isn't funny."Cross mutters

I smile.

"Plus, you didn't deny it.~"I say

He looks like he was gonna say something but decides not to. I smile.

"But don't think that just because it's obvious means that I'll make it easy for you. He is my brother. So be careful. Don't make mistakes like oh, I dunno,*cough*Reaper, *cough,cough* to him. Or I promise you will regret it. I'll be watching."I tell him

He looks uneased at this. Good.

"Go. I'll tell you when he wakes up."I say

He nods and runs down the hall. I may or may not have tripped him with one of my tentacles. He falls and keeps running. I chuckle.

A few hours pass and Dream comes out. I turn back to my normal form and hug him again. He smiles.

"You got any plans?"I ask him

"Well, that's pending. Do you?"He responds

"I'll probably go check on my gang to see how they're doing. Make sure they're not being used for those idiots and their plans. Fell and SwapFell are wild so their very easy to use for trouble. Horror and Killer could be doing who knows what. Plus we had recruited some dude named Cipher!Sans and he is unpredictable. Gotta check on them at some point."I tell him

"Ah, ok."He says, then walks down the hall

Instead, I wait a few moments before following him. I am curious about his pending plans.

Dream puts his crown on but it slid a bit to a side, crooked. He seems happy, then again, he's always happy. But some new kind of joy and excitement is filling him.

He went over to Cross, tapping him on the shoulder.

"Hey, Cross?"He says

"Ya, Dream? What is i-?"Cross responds, turning his head and looking at Dream

He cuts himself off and his face burst into flames. Man, he has it bad for my brother.

"Is everything okay, Cross?"Dream asks

"Huh? What? Oh! Y-Yeah! Everything is okay!"Cross says

"Well then why is your face so bright and warm?"Dream asks, placing a hand on his cheek

His face got brighter.

"It just got warmer."Dream says

I chuckle. Dream can be so oblivious.

"N-No reason. Why's your crown crooked?"Cross asks, reaching up and readjusting it

"Eh, it does that."Dream says

"Okay."He says

I watch and quietly ease closer.

"So what is up?"He asks

"I was wondering about something."Dream says

"What's on your mind?"He asks

"Do you want to hang out?"Dream asks

Cross' jaw drops.

"H-Hang out?"He repeats

"Yep!"Dream says 

I can hear the joy in his voice. These are his pending plans. This is where that new joy and excitement is coming from. I know Dream well and he seems so hyper or excited that if Cross says no, which I doubt he will, Dream will be in low spirits. He won't do anything, but his morale may go down greatly. Cross has been wanting to hang out for so long and here is his big chance. Saying no would be stupid.

Cross did hesitate though.

Just to make sure he doesn't make a bad choice, I glare at him. I don't say a word, but make sure he got the message:You say no, you dead!

"E-Em...."Cross stutters

"Hey, CrosS! I aM bAck FrOm pAtRol! YoUr tUrN!"E!Pap says

"O-okay! Duty calls! Cya Dream! Talk to you later!"Cross says, then runs off like Sonic

"Wait....WaS I jUsT uSed aS an ExIt tIckEt? WaIt...DaNg iT!"E!Pap says, realizing the situation

(E!Pap: The ship, I have interrupted! ;m;)

I walk away before Dream realizes I was behind him. Then I come back and hug E!Pap, seeing he is down and to lower suspicions with Dream. Dream shakes his head, sits down and picks up a book. He reads it. I shake my head. Oh, Cross, we're gonna have another talk.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TBC