(I say this a lot but I'm sorry for the delay in chapters. I'm working on a side story that is proving to be a lot of work if I want to get it out on time. I've also haven't had a lot of motivation here lately)

~Y/n's POV~

I felt myself jolt awake as the nightmare ended. I quickly calmed down once I realized what had happened and took a deep steady breath. That was a lot of information to take in. I was scared of what Nightmare might see, I didn't want him to be subject to that horror. I supposed there would be one positive of him remembering... We would be able to get inside info about the other skeletons in Nightmare's old group.

I turned to my side to see if Ink was awake. Oh, he was already out of bed... That was odd. He usually never left bed without me. We usually woke up at the same time, in fact. I sighed with slight worry and got out of bed. I had to search for a little bit for my shirt because I didn't remember where I had thrown it. Luckily it wasn't terribly hard to find, it had apparently landed on one of the standing mirrors in the room. 

I stared at myself in the mirror as I got dressed. I looked unusually pale and there was a very faint outline of my ribs against my skin. The marks of the VOID would always haunt me even if I wasn't there anymore. I swear I could occasionally still hear it whisper to me, begging me to come back into it's icy embrace. I shivered as painful memories started to resurface. I wished I could just forget that it even happened. I wished I could just remember the times I had with Nightmare in there.

Actually, there were some moments I did wish I could forget about him. While mostly all the time I spent with Nightmare was good... we had our moments. Moments I would carry to my grave if I was lucky. Things were desperate while we were stuck. Ink wasn't the only one with secrets kept hidden. I don't think I could ever tell him. Even though I regretted what I did deeply, would he still be upset? 

I slapped myself gently as I felt a single tear run down my cheek. Stop it, Y/n... you're better than this. You're better than the desperate and lonely woman you had become in there. Me and Nightmare were back in the multiverse and we left those parts of ourselves behind in the VOID. The parts that so craved physical intimacy and emotional comfort that we... 

I heard the door creak open behind me and I flinched. I turned my head around and to my surprise it was Nightmare who had come in. I had been expecting Ink but this made more sense. Of course he noticed my negative emotions. With all the time we spent together, he had become really fine-tuned to my feelings.

"You alright?" Night asked me as he gently shut the door behind him. I knew it was just a rhetorical question considering he definitely knew I wasn't. I shook my head anyway and turned back to face the mirror.

"Sorry... Sometimes after experiencing one of my nightmares there some side effects. Like remembering bad memories, increased sensitivity to negativity, amplified emotions, and some other ones." He explained guiltily, not making eye contact with me in the mirror.

"It's fine, Night. You can't control it. I'm just experiencing the first thing you listed. I'll get over it." 

"Bad memories? Do you, um, want to talk about it?"

I pondered this for a moment. For one, he already knew about this memory. But that also made it worse. I didn't want to hurt his feelings. Even though I'm sure he already knew about how I felt about that whole thing. After all, I was the one who had stopped it. I wasn't sure what to do, did I tell him or not? I did want to vent a bit, and he was the only one I could tell.

"Do you remember... in the VOID... when we kissed?" I finally questioned softly. I definitely didn't want to risk Dream or Ink hearing it. Especially Ink. If he found out what we had done... he would be crushed.

"O-Oh, uh, y-yea... that." Nightmare's skull had flushed a light purple. He shifted his feet and put a hand on the opposite arm. It was a telltale sign he felt awkward and embarrassed. 

I felt even more regret swell inside me at his reaction. I shouldn't of mentioned it. We could've gone our whole lives not mentioning it but I did. "Never mind... forget I said anything."

"What? No, Y/n, it's alright... I regret it too. I was the one who initiated it. I was desperate to feel something that wasn't overwhelming hopelessness. I was foolish to drag you into that. I'm so sorry, Y/n."

I felt a few more tears spill out at his heartfelt apology. I quickly pulled him into a hug which he returned with a small hint of hesitation. "Night... that's not the part I'm upset about. I completely understand why you did it because I was feeling it too. I kissed back, at first. I just feel so guilty for basically cheating on Ink."

"You weren't cheating because I'm the one who started it. Even if you did kiss back. The whole thing was loveless. R-Romantic love, I mean. We both just wanted to feel... anything. We just did it in the wrong way."

"I suppose you're right... it still feels like cheating, though. Even if there wasn't any romance behind it."

"Think of it like the hug we're having right now. This isn't cheating, right? There's no romance happening in this hug. It's no different than the kiss."

I didn't respond other than loosening the hug slightly. Night was rubbing my back gently as he tried to soothe my insecurities and anxieties. He did his job well because I was starting to feel myself untense. 

"Thank you, Nightmare." 

"It's the least I can do to make it up to you. Also, uh, one thing I should probably mention that will make you feel better about is, um..." Nightmare was suddenly very nervous and he let go of the hug to rub the back of his neck. He had a faint dusting of purple on his cheeks and I wondered what was making him so flustered.

"I, uh, t-think I like guys... I haven't been around too many guys but... T-The guys I have been around are, uh, to put it bluntly... hot." Night confessed while putting two hands over his face to cover it. I could still still the vivid purple on his cheekbones despite that.

I couldn't help but chuckle a little at his embarrassment. He really didn't need to be so shy about coming out to me since I have shown my support for the LGBTQ+ community on more than one occasion to him. Seeing that he only got more flustered at my small chuckle, I gave him some words of reassurance.

"Night, I support you no matter what. You could be gay, bi, ace, pan, trans, nonbinary, or any of the countless sexualities and genders. I will still be your best friend. And you're right, that does make me feel a bit better about the situation. Thank you, Nightmare."

Night had brightened up significantly and he pulled me back into a hug. I hugged him back and smiled against his shoulder. I wonder if I was the first person he came out to. Most likely, if I'm judging off his nervousness. It warmed my heart that he trusted me the same way I trusted him.

"I should be thanking you, Y/n. You're really the only one who sees me as me and not that corrupted form. I can see it in Dream's eyes that even he has trouble looking past it. I know for certain the others don't. It's why I'm sticking to the castle and hardly ever leaving. The multiverse hasn't forgiven me and I don't blame it. I did- The corrupted form did such terrible things. Even if you don't think I did those things, everyone else does." Night pulled away from the hug and put a hand on the opposite arm again. He was looking down at the ground, avoiding eye contact.

"Then we just have to prove them wrong. It's an undeniable fact that you weren't in control of the corrupt form, so let's prove that." I smiled as I put a hand on his shoulder. He looked back up when I did that, a slightly surprised expression on his face.

"H-Huh? You don't have to do that... how would you even do that?"

"Well... How about you come with me and Ink for a bit? We've been staying at my parent's house for a little bit because it's been ages since I've seen them. I'm sure they would love to meet you." I suggested without really thinking.

"I- uh... Would Ink be ok with that? I did kinda yell at him in that alleyway... And I doubt your parents would want to meet the reason their daughter nearly got killed."

"You didn't get me nearly killed. I told them about some of our time in the VOID and how you're my best friend. I'm sure they would like to meet their daughter's friends even if they're still warming up to me being friends with skeletons. And if Ink's able to see how important this is to me, he'll agree." I answered certainly, with only a small amount of doubt in my mind. Ink did seem a little jealous of Nightmare but maybe by spending time with him that would go away.

"I'm still not sure. I would love to explore outside the castle and see the multiverse but... What about Dream?"

"He'll be fine, I assure you. Has he been staying here all the time too?"

"Yeah... we've just been catching up. We've really missed each other but it's a little exhausting being around him all the time. He gets really hyper..."

"Then let's go ask Ink if you can tag along. Dream will be alright on his own and if he gets lonely he has the rest of the crew."

"You're right... I'm sure he probably wants to get out a bit too. He's never been the type to stay inside for too long."

"Where is Ink, anyway?"

"Last I saw him he was in the living room. Poison and Impulse dropped by for some reason. I left pretty quickly because Poison was glaring at me..."

I was a little taken aback that my two alternates were here. It seemed really odd that they would drop by at the same time me and Ink were here. "Do you guys normally get visitors?"

"We've gotten Blueberry once but I didn't see him too much. Him and Dream had a movie night they do every two weeks apparently. I just... hid in my room. I don't think anyone wants to come and see me. Like I said before, the multiverse hasn't forgiven me..."

I felt my heart sink at how he was talking about himself. I pulled him back into another hug because I just can't stop myself. "Then we just have to show what it's missing out on. C'mon, let's go see Poison and Impulse. Poison is a bit of bitch at first but she just has to warm up to you. I guarantee that she will. I don't know Impulse too well but she seems chill."

I grabbed Night's hand and dragged him out of the room before he could protest. He looked really nervous but I was going to make sure nothing goes wrong. Hopefully. Poison can be unpredictable sometimes.

As we traveled through the halls I heard the sounds of conversation grow closer and closer. I couldn't make out much but it seemed... distressed? I picked up my pace until I could properly hear what they were saying.

"You're certain it was him?" I heard Ink ask. He sounded concerned about something.

"Who the fuck else has a giant knife on their back or has a crack in their skull?!" Poison shouted back at him. I didn't have to see her to know she had thrown her arms in the air.

"Calm down, love." Impulse's smooth voice carried through the halls.

"I can't calm down when those bastards are roaming around doing who the fuck knows what!" Poison retaliated but then almost instantly I heard her again, "I shouldn't of yelled. But you gotta understand those motherfuckers did some fucked up shit to me when I was imprisoned."

Me and Nightmare finally entered the living room after what seemed like the longest hallway in existence. Ink was sitting on the couch faced away from us with his skull in hands, Poison was standing up with her arms crossed, and Impulse was sitting across from Ink with a hand on Poison's back.

Poison noticed us enter and flushed. She sat back down next to Impulse at once and averted eye contact. Impulse wrapped her arm around her embarrassed girlfriend and shot us an apologetic look. Ink turned in his seat to see what the other two were looking at and he seemed get happier upon seeing me.

"Uh, hey guys. I feel like we've missed something." I greeted them a bit awkwardly. What was I supposed to say when I walked into what seemed to be a heated conversation?

"Yeah... Here, we'll get you two caught up." Ink responded while patting the seat next to him. I quickly sat next to him and Nightmare awkwardly sat next to me. I had a feeling he wasn't used to being included.

"To put it simply, Poison and Impulse saw Cross and Horror in Deltarune. From what I could understand through Poison's swearing, she saw Cross creating a line through the ground with his knife. Horror had his back turned on her but the crack in his head pretty much gives him away." Ink explained while rubbing the side of his forehead.

"Deltarune? Isn't that the one symbol with the triangles and the circle?" I vaguely remembered seeing it on the RUINs door and asking Toriel about it.

"It is, but it's also the name of a universe that was created a few years after you two were sent to the VOID. I should probably head there to see if I can find out what Cross was doing." Ink answered before getting out of his seat. I quickly followed him and put a hand on his shoulder to stop him from going further.

"Don't you dare think you're going alone. Me and Nightmare are coming with you." I objected while sending a look to Nightmare. I know he probably hated the pressure being put on him but I know he wouldn't speak up himself.

"I-I am?" Night stuttered, his eye lights shrinking. I noticed him start to sweat and started to feel bad about dragging him into this.

"Only if you want to." I wasn't going to let Ink try and do this alone. I silently hoped that Nightmare would come with us.

"U-Um... if it's alright with both of you..." Night muttered into his shirt. His eyes had darted to the ground and weren't coming back up.

"Yeah it's alright with me... I just don't know if it's going to be dangerous or not." Ink sighed in defeat. He should've known he wouldn't be going alone with me here. Not since the one time he didn't come back for what felt like a year.

"When has that stopped anyone of us?" I tried to soothe his concerns with a bit of humor. He didn't look any less stressed. Had something happened before I woke up? He did have some bags under his eye sockets but that has become a more common thing here lately.

I grabbed onto his arm and hugged it, feeling a bit more clingy to him than usual. Even though we had been away for only a day it felt like so much longer, probably because the author took so long to update. (I'm really trying okay, it's hard with ADHD)

"Let's grab some things and then head out then. Does anyone else want to come with us?" Ink asked the three who had been watching quietly.

"Me and Poison have a lunch date so we can't." Impulse answered while resting her chin onto Poison's head, causing her to turn red.

"You don't need to tell everyone that!" Poison protested while trying to shove her much taller girlfriend off her.

"I think I'm gonna go visit Blueberry." Dream answered back, a wide smile across his face. He seemed happy to finally be able to leave the house. I noticed Nightmare looked a bit sheepish at the response.

"Guess it'll just be us three then. Go ahead and get some things you think you might need. The place we're going to is basically the equivalent to the Underground." Ink sat back down on the couch with a tired sigh. What was going on with him?

As much as I wanted to stay and comfort him, I did have some things I should probably bring like my money and phone. Who knows what might be there? I gave Ink a peck on the forehead and rushed off to my room to get my things.

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