Chapter Text
“P-please… mercy” he didn't even know why he was begging, Cross knew when the creator got that look in his eye absolutely nothing would stop him from reaching his goal. Yet here he was powerless to stop the inevitable
“well C, you know how it is, honestly i know i'm an airhead but wowzers I can't believe I forgot to do this way earlier!” Ink spoke In a tone that lacked much of anything which only made Cross’s frazzled nerves go into even more of an overdrive. “Ya know C…. way back when I was with Xgaster he told me about this one au he tried. Had a buncha vampires yaknow? Plopped it inna ya code, and wouldn't cha know? He couldn't get it out no matter the overwrites! soooooooooo now that i remember gonna help him out hehe!”
Any other time Cross would’ve laughed at how ink was like those cliche villains in his anime just revealing his plans, yet the way he talked dripping with those fake emotions of his and holding What looked like a long file that had him physically shaking. A creak in the floor had both skeletons turning their skulls. Cross never thought he'd be so happy to see the positivity guardian yet, in a flash of panic Cross realizes that ink is not stopping.
No no… nononononono not here.. not with them looking. Cross locks sockets with dream and silently pleads with the god before him, yet whether it's from the shock of it all, or something else Cross really didn't want to think about right now. “I-ink? Friend? W-whats going on here? I know yo and Cross don't get along the greatest but there's no need to pin him like that… or use a… weapon on him.”
“Dream!” Ink’s eyelights flew by many different shapes and colors as he visibly brightened seeing the guardians presence. “Dream! Oh, thank goodness you’re here!” Ink’s voice, though still unsettlingly cheerful, held a note of what might have been relief. He tilted his head, his gaze flicking between Dream and the trembling Cross pinned beneath him. “Well, isn’t this just perfect timing? You can see it all firsthand!”
He gestured with the file, the metal glinting ominously in the dim light. “See, Dreamy, I was just about to… tidy up a little loose end. You know how it is. Sometimes, things just don’t quite fit, and you have to… adjust them.” His smile widened, but it didn’t reach his shifting eyes.
Cross’s breath hitched in his throat. He could feel Dream’s golden aura radiating concern, but the god of positive emotions seemed frozen, his usual bright demeanor clouded with confusion and a hint of something darker that Cross couldn't quite place.
“Ink,” Dream said slowly, his voice laced with uncertainty, “what exactly are you doing? And what is that?” He gestured towards the file in Ink’s hand, his gaze unwavering.
Ink chuckled, a light, airy sound that sent shivers down Cross’s spine. “Oh, this? This is just a little… reformatting tool. You know, for making sure everything in the multiverse runs smoothly. Sometimes, you just need to… make the story play out as it should.” He winked, a gesture that felt utterly wrong coming from him.
Cross’s silent plea intensified as he watched Dream. Please, Dream, do something. He’s going to… he’s going to… The thought was too terrifying to complete. He could feel the cold metal of the file pressing against his mouth, a chilling premonition of what was to come. Cross’s bones started to shake uncontrollably as he tried to thrash the creator off of him, yet Ink just laid his weight more into him not caring about the struggle beneath him.
“Play out as it should?” Dream echoed, his brow bones furrowing in disbelief. “Ink, that sounds… incredibly vague and more than a little concerning. What exactly needs ‘reformatting’?” His gaze flickered down to Cross, his expression softening with worry before hardening again as he looked back at the artist. “And why does it involve pinning Cross down with a weapon like that?”
Ink paused for a moment, lifting the file away from Cross’s teeth for the briefest of moments. “Oh! Did he never tell you? wow C, i never thought you’d be the one to keep secrets, much less from Dream.” Ink spun to face Dream “Well if he never told ya lemme spill the can! He's a vampire doncha know? Those teeth there, that i'm oh so graciously fixing after far far too long, are fangs that he uses stars knows how much.”
Cross personally didn't realize his fear could've dove any deeper but the way Dream’s gaze snapped from Ink to him, a mixture of shock and something akin to… betrayal? It sent a fresh wave of icy dread through his skeletal frame.
“A… vampire?” Dream’s voice was barely a whisper, his usually bright eyes dimming with confusion and hurt. He took a hesitant step back, his gaze locked on Cross’s teeth as if seeing them for the first time. “But… but you never said anything.” The accusation hung heavy in the air, a silent weight pressing down on Cross’s already fractured hope.
Ink chuckled, a dry, humorless sound that echoed in the tense silence. “Well, of course he didn’t! Why would he? It’s not exactly the kind of thing you bring up over tea and pleasant conversation, is it?” He gestured with the file towards Cross’s mouth again. “Especially when you’ve been… indulging in less than swell habits.” Ink’s gaze flickered pointedly towards Dream, a subtle accusation laced in his tone. “It tends to make people… uncomfortable.”
Cross’s sockets widened in panic. No, no, this wasn’t how it was supposed to go. He tried to speak, to explain, but the words caught in his throat, choked by fear and the crushing weight of Dream’s wounded expression. He could see the trust in Dream’s eyes flickering, being slowly extinguished by Ink’s words.
Cross manages to “please Dream you have to believe me… its not anything like ink is-” he was cut off by Dream raising his hand in protest to his words
“Cross please i don't want to hear it you… you hurt people. And you want my help? My mercy? I’d hazard saying you’re not much better than my own brother… harming others for no reason… I'm shocked at myself. I never even thought that some of the drudges of negativity Could’ve been because of you. Do what you must ink.”
Dream turned and silently walked away from the pair. Cross couldn't help but tear up His last chance at freedom walking away as if he was the worst scum of the multiverse. Ink watched Dream’s departure with a smug satisfaction that made Cross’s bones ache with a fresh wave of despair.
“Well, well, well,” Ink drawled, his voice dripping with false sympathy. “Looks like your ‘friend’ wasn’t as understanding as you thought, eh, C?” He chuckled, a cruel, triumphant sound. “Honestly, I’m almost disappointed. I thought there’d be more… flair… the creators do love drama in their stories, ah well.”
Cross didn’t respond. The betrayal in Dream’s eyes, the cold finality in his voice, had left him numb. What was the point of fighting anymore? The one person he had dared to hope might see past Ink’s lies, past what he was, had just condemned him.
Ink, sensing Cross’s broken spirit, used it to his advantage. He shifted his grip on the file, the metal now resting directly against Cross’s teeth. “Now then,” Ink said, his voice taking on a chillingly businesslike tone. “Where were we? Ah yes… tidying up those nasty little imperfections of yours.” The glee in his shifting eyelights was unmistakable.
Cross closed his sockets, a single tear running down his cheekbone. He didn’t even try to struggle as Ink began to force his mouth open. The metallic tang of the file filled his senses, a horrifying prelude to whatever Ink had planned. In the crushing weight of despair, a single, desperate thought echoed in the void of his mind: It’s over.
It was indescribable, Ink held nothing back as the file went back and forth against his fangs. The scraping sound was horrific, each pass of the file against his fangs sending jolts of pure agony through Cross’s skull. He couldn't even scream, his mouth forced open by Ink’s relentless grip. The metallic taste intensified, mingling with the taste of dust as it sprinkled down as Ink kept at it.
With one last, sickening scrape, Ink stepped back, his expression proud as his eyelights beamed. “Perfect!” he chirped, as if he had just completed a particularly pleasing artwork. He held up the file, now coated in a fine white dust, for Cross to see. “All nice and dull. back to how the script wants you to be bestie! Isn't it so much better?”
With little else for conversation Ink opened colorful swirling portal opened up behind Cross, and unceremoniously shoved him through. With a soft ‘umph’ he landed on the ground Despite the lack of anything, and the mind numbing pain he was still in Cross recognized where he was instantly… it was his home, or well the void that was left of his world. Cross chuckled at himself wiping the welling tears from his sockets out of habit. Crying wouldn't do any good except to exhaust him further. He might as well sleep and figure out what to do from there.