Cross woke up, when music drifted into the bedroom that they were using. Their ankle still hurt, but the crack had been carefully treated, and bandaged.

Slipping out of the bed, they hissed when they put weight on their battered ankle, and grabbing the nearest bedside object, to stop them from falling.

This was going to be difficult. They had never been through this before, but they resigned themselves to hopping around, like an idiot.

They winced, but before they could even do one hop, they noticed something metal, that had been left by a bedside object.

"Crutches?" They whispered. They had never used them before, most of the time, Chara would often 'glitch' any wounds that they had collected, during a mission, returning them to full health...

Oh... They ran away... They changed their story... Chara wasn't connected to them anymore, they would have to heal from any physical wounds the old fashioned way now, just like they did, when they came down with any viruses, or illnesses, they caught...

Cross sighed, and they grabbed the crutches, tucking them under their shoulders, to hold them in one place, while they slipped their arms through the open cuffs, grabbing the handles. The elbow cuffs were a bit snug, but it would have to do, for now, while their talus bone healed.

They were about to try and walk, when their head started to hurt. They closed their eyesockets, only to see silver, but when they opened them, it was gone.

"What was that?" They asked themselves, only to freeze, when they felt a shift in their Magic. The Void?

They were aware that falling through the Void had changed them, but this was the first time that they had felt it.

Something had happened, that was strong enough, to make the Void react like this...

"What happened?" They knew that they wouldn't get an answer, but asking the question, out loud, was their way of staring to process whatever this was... Why did they have a feeling that they couldn't identify? It was new to them... Cross sighed.

"I guess that I'll find out what it was, later..."

They looked at the bedroom door, and they huffed, before they made their way back to the bed, placing the crutches next to it.

Whatever had happened, it had drained some of their energy, making them tired... They slipped back into the bed, curling up, under the covers, and they went back to sleep.

-----

When they woke up again, they weren't alone.

It was dark, but a stack of books had been left, on the bedside table, with some water, and painkillers.

They blinked, staring at the dinosaur Monster, who had a book in her hands, and was looking at them.

"Are you okay now? You were out for a few days."

"A few days?" They mumbled... Why did it feel like they had been out cold, for more than a few days!

"Yes. You didn't have a bad reaction to the Magic that we used to treat your talus bone, but your Magic seems to have reached to something else, and it kept you out cold, while you recovered from the reaction." Alphys explained to them. "It's common for those with no bonds, to have stronger reactions to changes in the environment around them."

"Bonds?"

"You don't know what Bonds are?" Alphys asked them.

"No." They shook their head, partially lying...

Alphys frowned. "Well, Bonds are a part of Monster Culture, but each race has different meanings, and uses, for them... In the case of Skeleton Monsters, they normally take the form of connections between family members, a link that allows an individual's Magic to grow, develop, and identify who is a friend, or who is a foe. It is basically the party system in an RPG game... And you might not know what that it..." She mumbled.

"I know what that is." They whispered, hugging their arms around themselves. They could not live with the thought of having Bonds again, and to feel them twisting... Warping.. Breaking...

But they had never heard of them being described like this...

Had they been wrong about Bonds, the entire time?

They swallowed down the sour response that they wanted to say... It wouldn't help them now... Besides, this place could be different, when it came to the things that they knew...

Alphys had stopped talking... She could probably sense that she had triggered some emotions that they weren't ready to experience...

"I'll leave you alone now, but I have left some books for you to read, and I'll see if I can get you a phone." Alphys stood up. "I don't know how long you feel safe to stay here, but if you want to wander outside of the library, I would feel more comfortable if you had a way to call for help, on you."

Cross wanted to scream... That felt like an order... They were running away from that, but that anger faded when they saw the worry in Alphys's eyes.

This wasn't their shitty old man's assistant, but someone who believed in the same ideals that Red had.

And Red had only wanted to keep them safe.

"Okay..."