~Ink's POV~

I couldn't sleep at all. Blade had been nagging me all day, and I couldn't get her words out of my head. My anxiety was already bad enough, having to meet Y/n's parents, but she had to go and make it worse.

"They're probably just pretending to accept you two because they want Y/n to be happy. I bet they despise monsters like the rest of the humans."

No, not all humans are like that. Y/n isn't like that. If she isn't like that, then surely her parents couldn't be either.

"Tsk, you're so naïve. The world isn't sun shine and rainbows you dipshit. Get it together."

I hugged slightly tighter around Y/n's slumbering form, but not enough to wake her up. I brushed her nice warm hair, it running smoothly in my bony fingers. It helped relax me, and I could feel Blade start to ebb away.

"...She calms you that much?" I heard Blade whisper, but since she was still in my head I could hear her just fine. Her voice had shifted quite a lot in tone. It was quite jarring, to say the least. She normally had a sharp edge and hiss to her words, but now that was all gone.

'...Yes.' I decided to answer, in my thoughts of course. Blade had never acted like this before, it was actually kind of scary. For 5 years she kept the same attitude going, effectively making me wary of every action I took.

"She... has a way with that. I- but that's not a good thing. She could make you less wary and you could make a stupid decision. Like you always do." She started softly, before trying to return to her old self. I could tell her heart wasn't in it though.

'Blade, if you want to talk about anything you know I'll listen.' I couldn't believe I was actually telling my girlfriend's attempted murderer that. But... Blade was acting off. Something about Y/n was changing her. I could feel something inside me, something that wasn't my own.

"I-I... no. No! What the hell are you doing?! I tried to murder Y/n! Why are you talking to me like that?! Oh I get it, you're trying to get me to talk so you can make fun of me. You are really an asshole Ink, aha..."

I could tell what the alien feeling was now. Depression. But the depression wasn't mine. It was Blade's... There must be something tearing her apart on the inside to cause this much sadness, but I couldn't tell what.

'You know I wouldn't do that. You don't need to lie to yourself. We... we can make this work out if you just talk to me.'

"Oh, so now you want me to talk. What happened to you telling me to shut up all the time, hm? Just push me away some more, why don't you? I'm just a fucking parasite to you, right? Don't even lie and say I'm not. I can read your mind more than you know. You despise me, you think I'm just a nuisance, you- you're- worried about me?"

I guess she was right, she could see further into my head than I thought. I hadn't been actively thinking about it but it was true, I was worried about her. I could feel her pain so much more now. It was agony. All that pent up anger, depression, guilt, and fear constricting her like a snake.

'I am, please Blade I can try to help you. I can't forgive what you've done... but I believe that anybody can change, if they just try-'

"Don't you fucking dare say that to me."

"Alright... alright. Well, what can I do to make you happier? You may have done some not nice things, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be happy.'

"The sun's rising. You should get the fuck out of bed before Y/n's parents think you're the lazy bitch you are." Blade ignored my question and disappeared into the morning sunlight peeking through the blinds. Well, she was telling the truth about one thing. I had been up all night.

I sighed into Y/n's hair, making it move along with the small wind my breath had made. I decided to brush it again, trying to distract my thoughts from Blade. She was concerning me, who knows what she could next at this point. I was at the hands of her merciless words.

I felt Y/n stir under me, my brushing must be waking her up. It was extremely early so I know she would be grumpy if she woke up right now so I decided to stop. We went to bed late so she needed her sleep. I could feel bags starting to form under my eyesockets. Everyone wouldn't be awake for a while... maybe I could get some sleep-

I heard a thud downstairs, like something or someone had fallen. It was faint enough that no one awake would be able to hear it, but I could. I teleported downstairs, that way I wouldn't wake up Y/n. I flicked on the lights with my magic, preparing my paint brush at who ever the intruder may be.

"Ink, it's just me. Don't worry." It was Impulse, surprisingly. She was rubbing the side of her head, she must've bumped it against something which caused the thud I heard.

I put away my paintbrush with a sigh of relief, I thought it could've been Dust or something. It still sparked the question of why she was here so early in the morning.

"What are you doing here? It's like... 7 am." I asked, looking over at the quietly ticking clock on the wall.

"Well, I saw something quite... interesting while I was on a date with Poison. Here, we should sit down." She gestured to the couch, before sitting down on it. She was leaning forwards with her holed hands clasped together. She looked anxious, something that wasn't too common for her.

I sat down next to her, wondering what was getting her so antsy that she took the effort of trying to find me. First, she would've had to gone to the infinite house which would be quite far away from where her and Poison are living. Second, she would have to ask Geno and Reaper where we went when she found out we weren't here. And third, she would have to find the exact house we were in.

"So, me and Poison were eating out at this human restaurant since she didn't like going to Grillby's. We were just talking when I felt a really strong magical presence outside, so I looked out and I barely caught a glimpse of who I believe was Cross. I couldn't see much since there was a bit of a crowd out there but I'm certain it was him. Poison saw nothing, so it could've just been in my head but I thought I ought to tell you so you could keep an eyesocket out."

It took me a little bit to process what she was saying. Cross was back? But why? What was he doing? I had no doubt that Impulse saw what she saw, she was correct about her gut feelings most of the time. She wouldn't of come to me if she thought it was nothing and she was correct. This was something. But I couldn't do anything about it, not right now at least.

"Thank you, Impulse. I'll be sure to be on the lookout. That's all we can really do right now. Which universe are you guys staying in right now?"

"For the time being, Overtale. I'm not sure how much Poison is liking it, though. We'll probably be moving... again."

"How many times have you guys moved in just this year?"

"6, 14 times in total. She really likes to be on the move, hates being in the same place for only a few months. But, we're seeing a lot of new universes so it's been nice. Maybe one day we'll finally find a place we both like and can settle."

"Well, if Cross is starting to show up places that might be a good thing. Though... can I ask which universe you've liked the most? I'm thinking of making a house for me and Y/n here soon. We've been extending our welcome at the infinite house and I'm sure she wants a change of scenery."

"Hmm, that's a tough question. What kind of place are you looking for? Pretty? Exciting? Peaceful? Good community?"

"I suppose peaceful and pretty. It'll probably be the new meet-up spot for most of us so not a lot of people need to be there either."

"I believe Outertale would be quite a good place. Absolutely gorgeous, not a lot happens there, and not a lot of people if you know where to go. I enjoyed it there but Poison didn't like how quiet it was, I won't forget how her eyes shone in the stars though."

Impulse was starting to get spacy, she put her hand on her chin and she staring at the ceiling. I snapped in front of her face to get her back to reality, she flinched and blinked a few times. Once she was fully back to the world, she blushed and cleared her throat.

"Uh, anyway. That's all I had to tell you. You should probably get some more sleep, those bags under your eyes aren't doing any compliments to ya." With that, she opened a purple portal and disappeared into it while pointing finger guns at me. She was quite right. All this information was making me exhausted.

I teleported right back into bed, like I had never gone in the first place. Y/n unconsciously wrapped her arms around me. I suppose she missed my warmth. I snuggled into her, and fell asleep almost at once.

Just before I fell into the realm of darkness, I saw the ghostly figure of Blade staring over us. I was long gone before I could tell why she was there.