Chapter Text
In a pocket dimension across the omniverse, there was an oddly shaped planet. It looked something like an egg.
On this planet, was a town called Ficlet.
In this town...
Were a *lot* of different kinds of people. From all walks of life and all sorts of places.
There were Endermen, aliens, skeletons, humans, Vikings, dragons, and so on...
There were shops and businesses of all sorts for everyone. Want to drink a good book? Go down Coley St for all your fanfiction needs.
Looking for a good education? Well, look no further than Monster University or Sky High.
Got a hankering for a good old fashioned milkshake? Take a rocket ship up to the Shooting Star Milkshake Bar as it passes by. Keep in mind, its only available three months out of the year.
Just about anything you could imagine is here. Just about everyone from a host of Fandoms is *here*. As long as you have an invitation from one of our many recruiters, then you are welcome...
[Welcome to Ficlet]
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Three months ago, Littleverse...
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[Protocol Split Complete]
[Proceed With Plot]
Fresh sighed and rubbed the space between his sockets. The snowy forest around him was quiet, with only the vague voices of Ink and...
Fresh could hear his own voice down there. Back where he left Ink and the kids.
His brows creased as he considered his options. There was another him. There were two of him now.
How was he going to explain this to his kids? Dream and Nightmare were going to be so confused.
He hung his head and took a calming breath. It would be alright. He could do this. They would figure things out.
He started back down the path, not bothering to clean up the jukebox or beanbags.
"Excuse me, young man? Or am *I* the young one? Hm, no matter. Might I have a word with you?" A voice says behind him.
Fresh turns around to find a human man wearing a lab coat and a pair of goggles around his neck. He rose a brow. Today was apparently the day for visitors.
"Sup, broski? How may I be of assist?" Fresh asked with a bright smile, pushing his worries aside.
"It is more a matter of how I can assist you." The man says with a mysterious smile. "Allow me to introduce myself first. Or would that be second... My name is Professor Paradox, and I'm here to offer you an invitation."
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Present day, Ficlet...
"AAAAAAHHHHHH! HEHHEHEHEHEHE!"
Childish shrieks filled the modest home as a colorful skeleton chased a little ~~demon in disguise~~ skeleton child with a towel.
"Chun! Ya get yer little butt back 'ere, mister!" Fresh shouts.
Chun darts under the couch and giggles.
Fresh sighed and sat down on the couch instead of trying to drag the child out. He wasn't attempting that one again.
Ignoring the giggles under the couch, Fresh pulled out his phone and scrolled through the numbers. His thumb paused over one number in particular. He wondered...
Despite the many, many failed attempts in past...
He dialed Dan's number.
["Moshi Moshi?"] Dan's voice came out from the other side of the phone.
"Dan man! How's it been?" Fresh says with clear relief in his voice.
["Uh, pretty... Uh... Yes?"]
"Not good, huh?" Fresh guessed, frowning.
A hand shoots out from under the couch and grabs his ankle, causing him to yelp in surprise.
["Not really, no."]
"I'm sorry ta hear dat..." Fresh says as he pries the little fingers from his ankle, giving the toddler a look.
Chun just giggled. The little Ink Sans looks completely unrepentant.
"Is it anythin' ya can talk 'bout?" Fresh continued.
["Uh... Well the War officially started, albeit most of the primary fighters aren't here. But some of the important ones are here Nonetheless."]
"Ah, war. What is it good for?" Fresh asks rhetorically, giving up on freeing himself and leaning back on the couch. "How'd dat go? I hope no one got hurt too bad. Though, somehow I doubt dey were let off dat easy..."
["One of my baby siblings got scattered... My brother basically beaten blue, and my other baby sibling practically beaten neat death.]
Fresh closed his sockets and hung his head. "I'm sorry, Dan... I wish there was some way I could help."
["Eh, it's fine kiddo don't sweat it. It's not like my other baby sibling is stuck in the void! Oh wait, he is!"] Dan laughed, almost hysterically.
"I see... I don't suppose They got any plans to fix that?" Fresh certainly hoped so. For his friend's sanity.
What was left of it, anyway.
["They do, they're just really slow at it. At this rate he'll just be another me..."]
"Wonderful!" Fresh says sarcastically, rolling his head in annoyance. He sighed, "Well... anything else happening? Something good?"
["From my knowledge? Absolutely fucking nothing! Although, Noir made some new friends. So that's a start I guess."]
"Your son? You found him?" Fresh perks up. If he remembered correctly, Noir had been missing.
["Mhm, turns out he was trapped in the void for awhile. And then fell into an UnderFell timeline, then an UnderSwap timeline, he's uh... Holding up for the most part..."]
"At least you know where he is now. And he's safe?"
["Despite me having to interfere and practically YEET him into my daughter's universe? Yeah, he's 'safe.'"]
"As safe as can be expected, I suppose... But you have a daughter now? I don't think you mentioned her last time." Fresh tries to redirect the conversation to something lighter. He couldn't step in and help physically, but maybe he could get Dan's mind off his troubles. At least for a little while...
["Hm? Oh, yeah! I adopted someone recently, she's really adorable and kind. Helps me with nightmares and the like, I even have a granddaughter now too!"]
"That's great! What are they like?"
["Well my daughter is very shy, despite towering over me at a mighty 7'1. And my granddaughter is very open and energetic, she's smaller than me just barely but she's nice too!"]
"Guess dat makes ya da middle man." Fresh chuckles. The hand on his ankle has loosened it's grip and he can hear light snores from under the couch, causing him to smile lightly. "They sound wonderful. How did ya meet?"
["Oddly enough, dreams."]
"Dreams? Whatcha mean?"
["I was shoved into my daughter's dreams, and we met there."]
"...Dat's one ta meet. How'd dat go? Side's ya gettin' a new kid."
["Uh, few nightmares on both sides. Otherwise? Not horrible."]
"Glad dat worked out. Dey sound like dey're good fer ya."
["Yeah they're great! How are you uh, holding out?"]
"Uh... been aight." Fresh frowned, looking down at floor. A pang of grief makes his SOUL throb. "Had ta move ta a different world, but its nice here. Got a... adopted a little one myself. His name is Chun."
["Oh? And what's he like?"]
"Bit of a brat, if I'm bein' honest." Fresh chuckled. "He's like, three, I think. Constantly inta everthin'."
["Oh? How fun... He sounds like a handful!"] If Fresh listened closely, he could hear some snickering.
Fresh narrowed his sockets and huffed in amusement. "Yeah, yeah... laugh it up. Laugh at da man who gotta clean spaghetti sauce offa da bathroom walls. Don' even kno' how dat one happened..."
["It's easier than raising a brat who can manipulate code though! I can tell you that much!"]
"Dat's true. Don' kno' if I could handle dat." Fresh chuckled nervously, imagining the chaos that would spell.
["Yep! So uh, anything else interesting happen besides you moving and having a kid?"]
"New job. Imma a PE teach at dis wack lookin' school. Like, thirty somethin' floors, but wit one room each. Somehow it ain't fallin' over..."
["You? A teacher?"] Dan snorted a bit.
"Oi! I can teach! Not dat hard. Mostly jus' gettin' da kiddos ta move an' play. Easy peasy."
There was less stabbing and potential danger with his new job. No more worrying about balances and junk. It was almost like a vacation, it felt surreal.
["Suree... I bet if I came over there most of them would be using 90s slang."] Dan snickered a bit.
"True dat! Dee's kiddos be well versed in all da hip new lingo."
["That's not a good thing Fresh..."]
["Ya know what? You do you."]
Now it was Fresh's turn to snicker. "What da dealio, brolio? Don' like da way I talk? Somethin' shady wit da fly way I talk? I'll hav' ya kno' it's all dat an' a bag o' chisps."
["Fresh so help me god-"]
Fresh barely managed to control his laughter, not wanting to wake Chun up. "Sorry, not sorry, broski... I couldn' resist."
["Sure... Anyways, you uh... Anything you wanna talk about? I don't really have much on my mind here..."]
"A little o' dis, a little o' dat. Jus' wanted ta check in on ya." Fresh sighed, leaning his head back to stare at the ceiling. "Been tryin' ta get ahold a ya fer months now. Might be a time difference fer where we at now, but it had me worried... Ya said ya were dreamin' so least I don' gotta worry 'bout's ya sleepin'."
["That and I haven't exactly had the most free time. So uh... Sorry for not being able to call more frequently."]
"Don' worry, I understand. Don' think my calls were reachin' ya anyways... I'll keep tryin', hopefully catch ya at a good time an' all."
["Now isn't the worst, it's just a little... Well nah, very chaotic over here."]
"Guess dat's da best imma gonna get."
["Probably, anything you wanna talk about?"]
"Hmm... got any advice on how ta get a hyperactive child ta sleep at bedtime? 'Fraid da other kiddos didn' prepare me fer dis one."
["Have you tried humming to them? Maybe a song or two? That usually works for me."]
"Gotta get'em ta sit still first." Fresh deadpans.
["Trick em with candy or something."]
"'Spose dat could work. Thanks. Mayhap he won' 'memeber by mornin' too. Not likely, but a guy can hope."
Under the couch, there was a shuffling noise. The sort that indicated a small child was awake. Fresh looked down with a light frown.
["Or you could just throw em across a room until they listen."]
"Mmm... Nah, don' think I'll do dat one." Fresh shook his head as he leaned over to check on Chun.
Only to find the toddler gone. His glasses went blank.
["Oh? I think you should try it, it's a great parenting technique, trust me. I did it on Noir a few times, it might be why he's so weird-"]
Fresh sat up and scrunched his face. "...you're joking, right?"
["Maybe...? I didn't throw him hard, and he managed to luck his way out of injuries, so I'd say maybe!"]
"...Dan. Ya worry me."
["I worry myself sometimes too!"]
"I'd imagine so-
*Crash!*
"Aight, I gotta go." Fresh stood up suddenly. "Kid got inta somethin'."
["Oh, have fun then Fresh! I'm sure you'll have lots of it!"]
(Appropriate title: Dan leaves Fresh to Rot.)
"Yeah, 'xactly. Fun!" Fresh rolls his eyelights.
Bang! CRAAASH...!
"Aight, bye!" Fresh hung up and ran off. "Chun! Whateva' it is, drop it!"
Delighted giggles and more concerning noises were his only answer.