The doll incident part 1/Cross
Cross was getting tired of being alone.
He had left Nightmare’s group, not peacefully thanks to Killer, because of his own sake. Even the Lord of negative feelings identified that Cross was having trouble managing his PTSD and dumped him to his brother, not wanting to deal with more unstable minions. Dream thought that being surrounded with positive emotions would help him with his trauma so he brought him to the Doodle Sphere.
The Knight still felt uncomfortable around Dream thanks to their unspoken feelings, Blue was always trying to help every AU, Ink was constantly on the move and CORE was creepy. He didn’t talk to Lust, Classic or Red, so he felt left out and Epic seemed to be busy as well. So it wasn’t going great.
He still kept in contact with Dust, the only one who was sane enough to ask Cross about his whereabouts. Horror was also very empathetic but he didn’t know how to use a phone and, after days trying to teach him, everyone gave up. Killer was unstable so it made his interactions with him complicated and Flare didn’t pay him much attention, preferring the company of Error and a colorful skeleton named Mint.
So while there were positive emotions surrounding him, he still felt the same as being in Nightmare’s castle: total garbage.
He tried not to mope around while trying to clean the stains of what he supposed was ink from the couch. The Doodle Sphere had a little house in an isolated corner, it was created by the “Protector” and it was built to be undetected. Not that it mattered much, Error and the rest of threats that might exist couldn’t access the Doodle Sphere anyway.
A loud noise interrupted his thoughts. It sounded like blasters being fired and that put Cross on edge. If he recalled correctly, no one was going to visit the house in the next few days and, even if they did, Ink, Dream and Blue didn’t have gaster blasters. They sounded far away and for a moment Cross considered just leaving it be, it wasn’t his problem anyway, he wasn’t a member of the Star Sans. But a good part of him still remembered the X-Event and he wasn’t gonna let another lunatic have control over the Multiverse.
So he tried to teleport as close as possible to the sound. The good thing about the Doodle Sphere was that every AU was depicted as an island with their respective environment portrayed, so it made Cross’s work to hide much easier. Being this close to the sound made him realize that there were voices too, it sounded like a discussion.
- Ok, I know that you are angry and confused right now. But destroying everything ain’t gonna make you feel better! - said a high pitch voice, it didn’t sound familiar to Cross but it sounded desperate
- Maybe not, but it will suffice! - however, Cross did recognize that voice, it was Error’s
- I’m sure that Ink didn’t mean to break it! We can fix this, we can take it to Geno and-
- NO! I’m tired of your pathetic excuses, I just want it back the way it was!
It sounded like the destroyer was suffering? He never heard Error like that before, he never showed much emotion besides disgust. Another blaster was fired.
- He’ll learn not to mess around with my things - even though the blaster definitely hit something, Cross couldn’t see what it was
- Error, you are my friend, but I will not allow you to destroy this ones, not right now, not like this
- Move or you shall be moved
Cross felt it first before he could even react, the radiant heat of the blaster.
- Oh FUCK
It was the last thing he heard before everything turned black.
- HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW HE WAS THERE!
- If you didn’t start blastin’ your way through the Doodle Sphere, maybe we could have noticed!
- You are terrible at your job
- Don’t give me that shit, you know how much it hurts to tolerate your blasters?
- You could have moved and let me destroy the fuckin’ islands!
- Oh shut the fuck up Error, you are hurting my intelligence just by being here
- You are not that smart peanut brain, just yesterday you fell down the stairs THREE times because of your stupid sleeves
- I THOUGHT YOU PROMISED TO NEVER MENTION THAT!
- Promises are made to be broken anyways
- I never felt the need to hit someone but you are earning it real fast
- Shhhhh I think he’s waking up
Cross’s eyes felt really heavy but the need to protect himself from whatever was happening was way stronger. Relaxing was not something he could do nowadays. The Knight slowly opened his eyes, thankful that there wasn’t much light in the room. He tried to look around, finding that he was in some sort of cabin and by his side were two skeletons. He already knew Error, but beside him there was someone unknown.
They were tall and lanky albeit they clearly resembled a Sans, they had a white hoodie with a strange symbol on it, combined with black pants and black shoes. His sleeves had a white and black pattern on them and they looked huge.
The stranger got closer, inspecting Cross with a worried sight.
- You ok buddy? Nothing feeling, erm, corrupted?
- You are really smooth Melody
- SHUT THE FUCK UP ERROR, I’M PANICKING RIGHT NOW
If Cross wasn’t fully awake yet, he was now. He tried to be calm, using the magnificent coping mechanism of asking a lot of questions.
- I’m, ok? What the hell happened? and who are you? and why am I here? and-
- Ok, this is surpassing my social limits, I’ll be outside destroying things - said Error while moving towards the exit - The previous problem still needs to be resolved Melody, I wanna tear apart that stupid place
- I’ll think of a solution Error, don’t worry - said the stranger with a tired smile on their face
Soon after Error left the cabin, the stranger continued to examine Cross’s wounds.
- The name’s Melody just like you heard, I’m very sorry that you had to get a blaster on your face, that one was directed at me - murmured Melody with shame - The good thing is that I think that you didn’t get corrupted! Maybe… I hope
Cross was very confused but something about the tall skeleton was soothing somewhat.
- Alright, that's a relief? Can you tell me what is going on? A moment ago I was cleaning a couch and now I am covered in bandages sitting in an unknown bed in an unknown place, I’d like some context before freaking the fuck out
- That sounds reasonable - said Melody, finally focusing his gaze on Cross’s face - However, my presence is supposed to be unnoticed, so I’ll appreciate if you could keep this as a secret
Rather this skeleton was joking or he was extremely naive. Cross couldn’t decide, in the eyes of Melody there was nothing but seriousness despite the big smile on his face.
- You are now in the Anti-void, Error felt…at least I think he felt a little bad that he had hurt you so we brought you here. You are really strong! Few would survive the blaster of the Destroyer himself.
Cross only scoffed, amused.
- I was trying to stop Error from trashing the Doodle Sphere, you see, I think Ink ripped apart one of his dolls? Geno said that it was an accident but it triggered Error really bad. We are still trying to work on his emotions.
- I thought no one without Ink’s permission could enter the Doodle Sphere - said the Knight, trying to focus on the important information
- There is no lock that can’t be picked! Error is a glitch after all, he will eventually find his way around the entire Multiverse
So basically, Error knew the location of the representation of AUs, that was…not ideal.
- May I ask what is your role in all this? I’ve never seen you before - asked Cross with curiosity, still trying to gather enough information
Melody stayed quiet for a few seconds, contemplating the possibility of just joking his way out of the situation. He wasn’t supposed to be seen and yet, he had already made so many friends…Perhaps one more wouldn’t hurt, the “Code” didn’t care about Melody’s doings as long as he did his job.
- I’m…the Programmer, while Ink takes care of the creativity process of creation, I do the technical stuff and try my best to keep it working
- You don’t seem like the tech guy…- said Cross, eying Melody’s outfit
- Of course not! As I understand, each individual chooses their own form of expression, so I made music my form - if he could, Melody would have made stars with his eyes - Besides, is not like the “Code” cares about what I wear
- The..code?
Hesitance covered Melody’s eyes. Talking about the thing that gave him life was always a complicated subject. There were a lot of tangled feelings that he rather not disclose, more to himself than anyone else, but Melody decided to swallow his feelings, he would have time to think later, he was more concentrated now in making a new friend.
- The “Code” is what keeps everything running. The engines of the machine, the software of a computer, the pencil needed for a drawing. Without it, there is no order. It used to be auto sufficient, way back when there were so few timelines and almost no AUs
“The original creator, the one who made UNDERTALE, didn’t expect for his work to become so big. The “Code” was only made to handle what was originally created to. But when more worlds and more timelines started to appear, it overwhelmed it.
So it began to mutate, to gain conscience, to make judgments trying to maintain the basic order that it was made to do. Suddenly there were so many worlds that the “Code” couldn’t recall what it was supposed to protect.
I suspect that it may have been the original creator’s fault. Accepting all of this and encouraging it, the possibilities were infinite. So maybe it was him who finally made the “Code” decide to protect all of it.
It still has a preference though, as it knew that if UNDERTALE were to be in danger, the rest would disappear. But it started to sustain other AUs as well.
That much work is overheating even for a machine and with worry that something may escape its gaze, it created me. Born from the basics of a Sans, the “Code” gave me the job to constantly look for mistakes, viruses or potential threats, as well as supervising and helping the creation progress of AUs”.
- It is not a funny job, there is always something to do and little space for breaks - finished Melody with a tired tone.
Cross was left with no words. Trying to process everything.
- I know it can be a little too much, part of the reason why I decided to keep my presence unknown. Sometimes it’s best if you don’t know how the magic trick works
There was a couple of minutes of silence, the faint sound of Error’s grumbles could be heard.
- Why…why trusting all this information to someone like me? - was the main doubt that plagued Cross’s mind
- Why not? I already analyzed you and deemed you not a threat - said Melody, trying to hide the fact that he was yearning for a new friendship - Besides, even though I’m not supposed to, I can erase your memories if the situation needs it
And that was the beginning of Cross’s road to recovery.