(This was a long time coming... I'm very sorry for the wait again, everybody. Once again, motivation decided to walk out on me for a while. This may become a frequent thing and I hope it isn't too frustrating. To make up for this, there are two major plot reveals in this chapter!)

~Ink's POV~

Nightmare was acting very odd. He had a light dusting of violet on his cheekbones and he was rigid with how tense he was.

"Is something wrong? Has Y/n been sick again?" I asked him worryingly, scanning him for any sign of something that might be wrong. It felt strange to be in a room alone with him.

"N-no it's not about Y/n... its um... m-maybe this was a bad idea... I'm sorry I shouldn't of come in here." Nightmare looked like he was on the verge of a panic attack. He was wringing his hands nervously and he was looking everywhere but me. He started to back up towards the door but I stopped him.

"Hey, its alright. What's eating you?" I asked him worryingly, I scooted a bit to the side for space for him to sit down if he wanted to. He eyed the spot, looking like he wanted to accept my offer but was hesitant.

After a few moments, he made up his mind and sat down. He was looking at the floor and seemed like he was thinking intensely about what he was going to say. I didn't try to pressure him, he was already doing that to himself.

"So, um, do you remember when I collapsed in Deltarune?" He started after what looked like heavy consideration.

"Yeah, I do. I was wondering what that was about."

"W-Well, did Y/n told you that I'm regaining my memories of when I was corrupted?"

I was surprised to hear that and I know my answer was already in my expression before I spoke. "No, she didn't. How long have you been remembering?"

"A week or so after we left the VOID? Anyway, I- uh, had a bunch of those memories hit me at once when I saw Cross. That's why I collapsed."

I couldn't help the smile that appeared on my face when he said this. He looked at me almost alarmed when he noticed. "Do you have any idea what this means? You have so much information on Cross that it should be easy to get Y/n out!" I couldn't help the excited lilt in my voice.

"Um, not exactly. I still don't have all my memories back. And the ones I got were- uhm, a bit different than you're probably thinking..."

"What'd you see?" I asked in the same excitement I had before. Upon seeing his gravely but also nervous expression I felt my smile fade.

"It was- well, more mundane things. Just instances of me and Cross, um..." To my surprise, Nightmare's blush intensified and he brought a hand to anxiously pull at the hem of his shirt. A light sweat seemed to be building on his temple as well.

I silently questioned him, wondering why he was getting so flustered. I wasn't always the best when it came to picking up on things. He took a deep steadying breath to calm himself down before continuing, "W-Well... it seemed like Cross and corrupt me had a- um, a r-romantic relationship. To the best of corrupt me's ability, anyway..."

I simply stared at him for a moment, absorbing and processing this information. When it clicked, the possibilities of what all that could mean seemed endless. "That... can be extremely helpful."

Nightmare looked at me puzzled, "How come? I'm not corrupt anymore so I doubt he would still have f-feelings for me..." I noticed how somber this seemed to make him. He had stopped picking at his shirt and instead opted to rest his hands back in his lap.

"That's not necessarily true. When you had collapsed, I noticed he had a concerned look on his face. Not to mention, he called you Night instead of Nightmare." I pointed out to him. His face seemed to lighten slightly and the fading blush on his face seemed to rise again.

"Still... we can't really be sure, can we?" There was a hopeful lilt to the question that I didn't pay much attention to.

"Well, there might be. If we got Dream close to Cross he would be able to read his emotions right?"

"Only if he was currently feeling them. Dream isn't entirely the best when it comes to reading emotions behind the surface. Especially with someone like Cross who was trained to hide his feelings."

"I bet we could make it work. We just have to figure out how to lure Cross out into the open for us to- are you alright?"

Nightmare had just clutched at his chest and his sockets shut tightly. His teeth were clenched in a way that seemed painful. It was brief, however, and he let go off his chest with a huff. "Y/n just felt a really big shock..."

~~~

~Y/n's POV~

I had only woken up a little while ago and I already feel like shit. This wasn't an uncommon occurrence anymore. I wake up and near immediately I have to go to the bathroom to vomit. It's been not great but Cross has been helping me through it.

Every time this happened, I would send out my SOUL and brush against it. I wasn't entirely sure why I started doing this but I was. But something strange happened whenever this occurred. The magic sensors in the room would go off and Cross would come barging in. Since I was always quick to de-summon my SOUL when he entered, he correlated it to me having been sick. It baffled him why my sickness seemed to be magical. I didn't dare tell him the truth.

What baffled me was why my SOUL seemed to be creating a magical surge out of no where. It hadn't done that when I first made contact with it. I had taken moments to simply stare at the SOUL and there did seem to be something different about it. Was there more white there than before? It was too minuscule to tell and I wasn't sure if I had just been looking at it for too long.

As much as it would be nice to get someone else's view on it, I couldn't do that. I trusted Cross not to hurt or kill me but I didn't want to bring this up to him. The subject of my SOUL seemed like a personal thing. After all, it was the culmination of my being.

There was another thing on my mind this morning as well. It had been a week since I was first captured. I hadn't done anything out of line so I should be allowed outside my room now. Though... I wasn't sure if I wanted to be. It was safe in here even if it was limiting. From time to time I could hear Dust or Killer outside my door and it sent shivers down my spine.

Despite Cross' best efforts, I was still tremendously bored. I was basically bedridden because everytime I started to walk I felt dizzy. Was this really the effect of stress? It had to be, I had no other explanation. Though, to be honest, I didn't really feel that stressed out? This whole situation was just suck-y for the most part.

I decided to investigate my SOUL for the millionth time today. I didn't feel like drawing or reading so I was basically out of other options. The SOUL twirled as I took it out of my body, it really was a beautiful thing. A strange tingle spread through my body as I did this, almost like a small bit of electricity had flown through me.

I had barely a second to react when the door was burst open. It was unsurprisingly Cross and he was looking quite upset. I hadn't had time to un-summon my SOUL and when I noticed that Cross had already seen it, I didn't bother.

He didn't say anything for a second, closing the door quietly behind him. He was staring at my SOUL with faint curiosity it seemed. Under one of his arms there were a few books that looked heavy.

Upon seeing me eye the books he spoke, "I've been trying to research why there seems to be magic created whenever you've been sick. I think I may have found the answer but I need to ask you a few questions, if that's alright."

I was mildly surprised that he had done that, I guess he was just as inquisitive as the other Sanses. "Sure I guess, I'd like to know the reason too." I very much knew the reason but I wasn't about to spill that.

Cross sat down next to me and opened one of his books on his lap, leaving the other two next to him. As he flipped through pages I made a movement to put away my SOUL, but was quickly stopped. "Keep that out, I'll need to see it again."

I felt a small bit of nervousness creep up my spine but did as he said. Had he figured out I was sending messages?

"Ok, first question. Have you been feeling fatigued and dizzy for no apparent reason?" Cross asked once he finally found the page he was looking for.

"Yes, pretty much everyday."

"Have you been having frequent headaches and back pain?"

"Unfortunately."

"Have you had several mood swings?"

"I think so? It's a little hard to tell sometimes."

Cross had stopped for a moment, reading along in the book some more. He gave a sigh that sounded resigned. "These next questions may be uncomfortable to answer and you don't have to, but they would be very useful to finding the reason."

"Um... I guess I'll give it a shot then."

"You mentioned you were having your period but I noticed you've barely touched any of those pads. Have you had any extra bleeding aside from that one time?"

This had been on my mind this whole week. "No. It was only a spot... but maybe the VOID changed my cycle?"

Cross didn't respond to that, instead flicking to his next page. He gave a small groan when he read it and I noticed a light purple start to form under his mask. "...Have your, um, breasts been, uh, tender or sore?"

He clearly hated himself for asking it and I felt a flush of embarrassment rise to my face. I looked down at said chest as I processed if I should answer. "...yes."

The air was very tense and Cross shook his head like he was trying to get it off him. "Final question (thank goodness), have you been... uh, have you done- ugh." Cross seemed frustrated that he couldn't get the words out.

"You don't have to ask if you really don't want the answer." I tried to reassure him, assuming that was the problem.

"I don't and I do. It'll make the reason almost guaranteed to be right. But at the same time I personally don't want to hear if..."

We sat in an awkward silence for a moment as Cross weighed his options. I, myself, was overwhelmingly curious what the question was. It seemed like it was bad judging by Cross' reaction.

"...I'm being irrational. Have you and Ink recently... done the dance with no pants." His face was properly purple now, making him look like a grape.

I couldn't help but burst out laughing. I really tried not to, but it was out of my control. Instead of being extra embarrassed, Cross joined in my giggles with his chuckles. They sounded.. nice. It reminded me of Dust's before he went batshit crazy.

My giggles finally died down enough for me to answer, "I'm definitely gonna have to use that one. Yes, uh, we have. Why does that matter though?"

Cross shut his book and set it aside before facing me properly. He had a serious expression on his face that made my smile fall. We sat there for a moment while he gathered his thoughts.

What he said next shook me to my core. "Y/n... you may be pregnant."

~~~

(Surprise! I hope these twists weren't too obvious while also not coming out of no where, it's a bit tough to juggle those two. The main reason for this chapter coming out today was because it's my birthday! Instead of everyone giving me gifts I wanted to give one to you guys! I hope you enjoyed it!)