It was a pretty nice day today; Ink and Dream were nowhere in sight, and we were in our third and final universe of the day. There was a small chill to the air, which I enjoyed, and it had a pleasant feel to it; it didn't feel as comforting as dust, but it was comforting, nonetheless. The innabitants were scared of us, but that didn't bother me. Should that have been worrying? I had seen my versions of them die at my hands; I wasn't even killing these. I was probably just overreacting. Nightmare gave the signal that we were done here, and I sat down on my tree branch. I liked being in the trees; it made me feel tall. Maybe I just wanted to be taller than Papyrus, but his ghost still loomed over me, so that wasn't happening anytime soon; I liked being short, anyway.

"Good job, brother!" Papyrus cheered.

"Thanks, Paps. You're the best." I said.

"Today was a good day. Let's head home." Nightmare ordered; I could hear him from the tree.

"Not so fast, Nightmare!" A voice yelled from behind. I was wondering where they were.

"Well, it was a good day." Killer joked.

"Don't do that." Nightmare deadpanned.

"You're not getting away this time!" Ink stated. "We have more power, and we will defeat you!"

A stout skeleton that looked like me, but Papyrus themed stepped into view, with a confident smile on his face - how many different versions of me were there? 

"Surrender, Nightmare!" The short skeleton demanded.

"That's not possible, Blueberry." Nightmare replied. At this point, Killer and I fully understood the reason for our actions, and felt more determined to help Nightmare keep his balance in check, even if his brother had to be oblivious to it.

"Brother, we can help you be a better skeleton! It doesn't have to be like this! Please?" Dream pleaded. He seemed more of a pacifist, but he felt he was fighting for a worthy cause, I guess.

"Enough talk. Are you going to fight or not?"

Killer and I readied our weapons, but we weren't going to trigger a battle if we didn't have to. There were a few moments of silence before Nightmare opened a portal, and he and Killer walked through; I opened my own. If the others weren't fighting, we weren't either. If we could leave peacefully, we did so without hesitation, but fighting was in our nature; we couldn't abandon that forever. That was part of the reason we had a training room. It felt good to get rid of that excess energy sometimes, especially when I was confused by my old notes I had been reading; I had written them when I wasn't exactly in my right mind, and deciphering what they said was easier said than done. I was currently attempting to translate the phrase 'It won't ever come back.' I didn't remember the context, and it was written on a single sheet of paper - what a waste. I must have thought it was important to dedicate an entire sheet of paper to it, right?

When we arrived back home, we had some free time, which I was going to spend trying to translate that phrase based on other research, but the others had different plans for me. They said I was stressing myself out too much, and I should relax. I was the most relaxed I'd been in years; of course, they didn't know that. They set me on a couch in the living room, and I just stared at them confusedly.

"You're going to relax." Nightmare said.

"Yep! Ya need this!" Killer agreed. I couldn't exactly turn them both down. One, maybe, but not both; I simply gave a sigh of compliance. "What's the most relaxin' thing you can think of?"

"Nothing." I responded. I could think of a few things, but they might not have been considered the best.

"Come on! There's got to be somethin' that relaxes ya!"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Just tell us, please? We won't judge ya for it, really!"

"Can I go now?"

"You're staying right here. I can feel your tenseness from a mile away." Nightmare commented. "What relaxes you?"

"...Dust.." I sighed.

"Finally! An answer!" Killer looked overjoyed. "I know where ya keep the remains of your family and friends!"

"That sounded so wrong." Nightmare facepalmed.

"It did, but I'm still gonna get them for him!"

"I can walk..." I stated.

"Stay there." Nightmare ordered. "You're even more tense now."

I begrudgingly obliged, since I had no choice in the matter, but I still crossed my arms in rebellion; that was about all I could do, because Nightmare wouldn't let me stand up. That only served to increase my tenseness, but he didn't seem to notice. Before long, Killer returned with a jar; I guess it didn't matter to him which one he picked, since he was running with it. He handed it to me and took a seat next to me. I supposed they were going to stay and make sure I was relaxing like they told me to. I inspected the jar of dust; the dust looked small, yet tough.

"Undyne." I muttered.

"How do ya know? It isn't even labelled." Killer wondered.

"Texture."

I opened the jar.

"You're cleaning that if it spills, you know." Nightmare pointed out.

"Yeah.." I took some dust in my hand and lifted it in front of me. I watched as the familiar magic circled me; I was aware that the others could see it too, but they couldn't see the memories, just the magic.

I felt overwhelming sadness take hold of me: Undyne's final feeling before turning to dust. I decided to access a happy memory, to relieve some of the sadness, so I went to a cooking lesson. Papyrus would always come home with a big smile on his face after cooking with Undyne, claiming that he was going to join the guard someday. I watched as they brutally demolished the ingredients for the food, creating what most would call an abomination, but to them, it was art - that didn't mean it tasted good, though. They had so much fun together, and then I killed them. I guess I couldn't change the past anymore, could I? I remembered when Papyrus came home from this one, with a bowl of soup in his hands, and broth all over his skull; it was hilarious! He really is the best brother anybody could ever ask for. When I felt content, I allowed the dust's magic to release its grip on me, returning to reality, and placing Undyne's dust back in the jar.

I noticed the others staring at me in awe. They were the ones who insisted on staying; I didn't make them watch me. I figured that they would be unresponsive for a while, so I walked back to my room with Undyne's dust. After I reached my room, entered, and placed Undyne on the dresser with the others, I pulled out the sheet of paper I was trying to decipher. I never thought translating my own words would be so difficult. I guess I was in a different state of mind when I wrote it, but I should have been able to understand what this said, right? Maybe the kid? No, I didn't think that was it. Before I could continue, the door creaked.

"How'd ya do that?" Killer asked, entering the room.

"I don't know." I honestly replied. I actually didn't know how I could manipulate dust like that, but I enjoyed doing it.

"But it was so cool! You must do that all the time!"

"It just comes naturally. I don't know how I do it."

"Bummer. What exactly happens when ya do it?"

"I can access memories. It's really not that interesting."

"That's so cool! What're ya looking at?"

Killer wasn't much for privacy; that much was well known. The best way to deal with this was to simply show him what he wanted to be shown, and end it quicker.

"Just some paper." I returned.

"It looks important. What's it say?" Killer questioned.

"I'm trying to figure that out."

"'It won't ever come back.' What's that mean?"

"I don't know yet."

"Huh. Hope ya find out soon! I'm gonna go do somethin' else."

"Bye."

Killer then left me and Paps alone.

"What do you think it means, Paps?" I wondered.

"I am not sure, brother." Papyrus replied. 

"Did I say anything to you about it when I wrote it?"

"I cannot remember; I do believe you were researching dust, though."

"You're the best, Paps."

"I am the Great Papyrus!"

"I wonder what it could mean."

"It is a mystery, brother, but I know we can solve it!"

"Thanks, bro. You're the best."

Now I had a lead: dust. This phrase somehow related to dust, but how? Dust didn't regenerate? No. Dust never returned to the same spot? That was false. I could feel that this meant something important, but what could it have been? What was I missing here? Was it referring to my sanity? No, that wasn't it either. 'It won't ever come back.' What won't ever come back?

"Dust." Nightmare grabbed my attention.

"Hm?" I questioned, looking up.

"What do you think about another possible member of the group?"

"It would be fun. Whatever you think is best; it's your gang."

"Just wanted an opinion. I'm not looking into anything yet, but I want to have options open for the future."

"Good planning."

"Thanks. What are you doing, if you don't mind the intrusion?"

"Just trying to figure out what this means."

"Hm. That's a rather odd phrase; it could apply to a multitude of things."

"Yeah."

"Well, if you need any help, I'd be happy."

"Thanks, but I think this is something I'll have to figure out myself."

"I understand; there's food ready if you want any."

"Thanks. I'll be out in a little."

"Don't stress yourself out too much."

"I'll try."

I took a last glace at the paper before placing it back into my dresser; I was still at a loss as to what it could mean. It'd come to me eventually, I just knew it. I then walked to the dining room where Nightmare and Killer were already seated, having a conversation about something. I took a seat next to them and listened to their chat while I ate.

"I see you've decorated your room." Nightmare commented.

"Yeah..I was really...compelled." Killer avoided eye contact.

"My room isn't that scary. Is it?"

"Yes: if I never see it again, it'll be too early."

"Well, you never would have seen it if you had just decorated your room in the first place."

"Dust, you should consider yourself lucky."

"Eh." I shrugged.

"I thought I was supposed to be the emotionless one here."

"What happened to that?" Nightmare questioned.

"No clue. At least I'm not feelin' guilt, I guess."

"That's good."

"What're we eating anyway?"

"Turkey noodle soup."

"It's pretty good. It makes me feel more energetic than normal."

"I infused a bit of magic into it to improve the taste."

"What did you say?" I asked.

"I just infused some magic into the soup; it isn't harmful, if that's what you're worried about. I wouldn't poison you or anything, that's ridiculous."

"Magic."

"Yeah. Ever heard of it? It's kinda important." Killer stated the obvious.

"Magic...magic and dust. Magic makes dust."

"Are you okay? Do you want some water?" Nightmare worried.

The answer was in front of me the whole time. Magic was the reason dust could exist. Monsters accepted a type of magic that made them turn into dust, and that magic passed through the generations; nobody ever lost that type of magic since it had to be lost in a specific manner, such as a magic deficiency. I had a magic deficiency, and I lost that type of magic. Why didn't I see this before? Magic was the answer! The magic won't ever come back! The magic they accepted was adopted into their bodies but never merged fully, meaning it would never regenerate, not unless the magic was gained from an outside source. The magic formed the healthbar of a monster; a monster's healthbar was different from a human's because humans got theirs from their determination, while monsters got it from a type of magic that made them more vulnerable to attacks. I lost the magic, but I still had the healthbar. I wondered if it was different somehow.

Heh. I couldn't dust. When I died, I would leave a body. I supposed my name was ironic now.

I was in life what I could never be in death.

"Dust, are you okay?" Nightmare brought me back to reality.

"No." I replied; I felt myself slightly shaking.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Yes."

"Well, we're listening. Say whatever you want. We won't judge, right, Killer?"

"Sure." Killer listened.

"Do you remember.." I shook a little more. "Do you remember what I said when you told me I was close to dusting?"

"Yeah: no magic, no dust."

"I said no type of magic, no dust."

"So a type of magic produces the dust; I recall something about that." Nightmare said.

"And you remember the paper?"

"Yeah. Didjya figure out what it meant?" Killer wondered.

"It was referring to the magic; I still can't dust. The magic doesn't regenerate."

"I see. So when you..pass..you'll leave a body." Nightmare stated.

"Yeah.."

"Not the nicest news to find out durin' a meal, eh?" Killer tried to make light of the situation.

"Killer..." Nightmare wasn't having it. I was shaking more.

"Dust? Dust, calm down! Just relax! It's okay!"

"Okay..okay....okay..okay...okay..okay.." I repeated. I was trying to calm down, but it was hard.

I felt myself shaking more, and something wrapped around me. I blacked out.

When I woke up, I was in my bed. Killer and Nightmare were by my side. I supposed I was overreacting a bit, or I was having a relapse. Whichever it was, I was okay now, and I was feeling pretty relaxed too. I guess passing out had that effect sometimes. I was enveloped in a hug from both of my friends, and Paps joined in in his own way; I felt warm.

"Don't worry, Dust. We'll protect you."

~~~end chapter woot~~~

Dust bean has uncovered secret.

Ahahaha double chapter upload.

Thanks for reading my stressful writing! 

Bye!