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Chapter Text

"Alright, boys... This is it. The mysterious #672..." Nightmare grinned and opened a portal, stepping through. He waited for the others to pass through, stopping at Cross, who refused to come through. "Aren't you coming, Cross?"

Cross looked to the side, avoiding eye contact with the dark king. "I don't think it's safe. Something's..... Not right."

Nightmare scowled. "Did I ASK for your opinion? Get over here NOW!" He raised a few pointed tentacles at Cross, who reluctantly stepped through. Nightmare closed the portal and started to advance through the AU. Horror came running to the two, looking confused.

"It's just a long hallway, sir," Horror said the moment he reached them. "There's no one here."

"What do you mean, 'no one's here'?" Nightmare began to get confused also, with a touch of agitation. "Why would Ink create something empty like this? It's suspicious..."

Cross crossed his arms, glaring at Nightmare. "I told you something wasn't right." He shook his head and started walking in the other direction, only to be met with a wall. "What the-? Wasn't this just hallway before??"

Dust and Killer had joined the other three, also wearing confused expressions.

"We found a room, sir." Killer said, looking to Dust.

"It's just..." Dust started.

"It's just what? Spit it out, Dust." Nightmare was getting beyond agitated now. His portals wouldn't work, and the hallway felt like it was ready to cave in on them.

"The... The floor only goes 2 feet. Then it drops. It's all foggy, and-" Dust was cut off as a portal opened, Ink and Dream bursting through and attacking.

Chapter Text

"I told you it was a TRAP!" Cross shouted, dodging an attack from Ink.

"I don't want to hear it, Cross!" Nightmare shouted back, sending Dream flying into a wall. He looked back the way they came to see the hallway had just gotten shorter. Turning to Ink, he grabbed the creator's scarf and pulled him up to look him directly in the eye. "What are you planning?"

"Now why would I tell you that?" Ink growled, kicking Nightmare as hard as he could. The dark skeleton tossed him into a wall opposite of Dream, who was readying a positivity arrow. The positive guardian shot the arrow directly into Nightmare's soul, then more into the surrounding areas to weaken him. Ink and Dream continued to push the dark sanses back, nearing the drop-off into the mist. Each of the dark squad started tumbling into the mist. Dust, Horror, Killer, Cross...

And then Nightmare. The dark king held onto the small groove in the floor as long as he could, glaring at Ink and Dream. He reached for one of them, grabbing Dream's ankle. Dream fell to the floor, kicking at Nightmare's hand with his free foot.

"Let me go!" Dream flipped onto his front and tried reaching for Ink. "Ink please! Help me up!!"

Ink looked from Dream, to Nightmare, then the mist they were soon to fall into. He took a step back.

"I'm sorry, Dream. But this is my one chance to get rid of him. And if I have to let you go in order to get that done, then... I guess I just gotta let. You. Go." Ink grabbed Dream's hand and peeled his fingers out of the groove. He let go, watching them both slide down into the mist, Dream's screams for help cutting off the moment they hit the bottom. Ink opened up a hidden panel in the wall and set the process for one hour, a process that should leave each and every person down there harmless and weak.

"I'm sorry, Dream. It had to happen," Ink said, shaking his head. "I'll come for you all later...." He opened up a portal, writing down the location, and left. The hallway disappeared completely, the ramp flattening into the wall.

Chapter Text

Ink walked into the Underswap household, nearly slamming the door behind him. He stomped the snow off his shoes and kicked them off, the melting snow forming a puddle on the floor. Ink turned his head to the noise and smell coming from the kitchen. Tacos. Blue must be home, he thought. The creator went up to Blue and watched him cook the browning taco meat over his shoulder.

"It smells nice," he said suddenly, startling the smaller skeleton he had been watching.

"OH! INK, YOU'RE BACK!" Blue squealed and turned around, hugging the other tightly. Ink inhaled sharply from the hug, feeling his already damaged ribs crack a little bit more. Blue pulled away and frowned, removing Ink's vial sash, suspenders, and the jacket around his waist. He yanked up his shirt and gasped at the terrible condition Ink's ribs were in, the "tattoos" on his bones smudged. Ink flinched.

"Blue...  I thought I told you to be careful. You know how I feel about that." He started to pull his shirt back down, only for him to be dragged to the couch and forced to lay down, Blue pulling it back up. 

"I'M GOING TO GET ASGORE TO HEAL YOU, SO STAY. HERE." Blue said, grabbing his boots from beside the door and pouting at the puddle of melted snow, ignoring what Ink had said. "CLEAN UP THIS MESS YOU MADE!!" He shook his head and pulled his little blue boots on, opening the door. Blue looked back at Ink who hadn't even made a move to clean up the puddle and ran out the door.

Ink sighed and got up, walking to the kitchen with a slight limp. He moved the sizzling pan of meat off the stove so it wouldn't burn and moved back to the couch, giving the little puddle a glance. The couch creaked as he lay back down on it. Ink pulled out a small paintbrush and, after wiping off the smudges, started painting back over the markings on his bones. It shouldn't take long for Blue to come back, he thought. But I wonder why Error wasn't there... Did he know? He's been capturing Blue a lot more often..... Could blue have told him? And if so......

The creator sat up suddenly and ran to his jacket, digging through the pockets. The location he had written down... It was gone! Blue must've taken it when he wasn't paying attention properly. That means... If he has it, and Error captures him.....

Error could get the location.

And get the dark sanses before he did.

Ink could barely remember the location. He tried to remember it, pulling up different portals, only to be met with genocide timelines or a sturdy wall from the trap. That' got to be a sign I'm close... Ink kept trying, trying, and trying again, until he finally got it. The small skeleton fixed his shirt and stepped through. All the mist had been clear, thank goodness, but something was missing.

The dark sanses. And Dream, too. Ink frowned, stepping over to Dream's fallen cape, picking it up. He shook his head. Poor Dream... I'm sorry I didn't get to you sooner. Ink went back through the portal, shutting it behind him. Blue stood there with Asgore, his arms crossed and a small half-eaten bar of Underfell chocolate poking out from his pocket.

"I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO STAY HERE. AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN BOTHER CLEANING UP YOUR MESS!" Blue sighed, looking at the towel over the puddle. "I'VE ALREADY TAKEN CARE OF IT, AND I BROUGHT ASGORE HERE TO HEAL YOU!" 

Ink looked up at the Swap Asgore, who had been patiently waiting next to Blue. "Right... Uhm.. I had gone to get the dark sanses, but-" Ink was cut off by blue.

"OH RIGHT!!! I FORGOT YOU ASK YOU HOW IT WENT! HOW DID IT GO??" Blue led Asgore to the couch for him to sit down, having Ink sit next to him. Asgore worked on healing Ink, Blue waiting for the creator to tell him how the plan went.

"Well, it worked... Kind of.... I think Error got the location somehow and took them. Dream, too." Ink watched Asgore's hands glow with green healing magic, along with black smudges from the paint.

Blue's smile twitched and he fiddled with his gloves. "DREAM, TOO..? HOW DID DREAM FALL IN THERE?"

Ink went stiff, searching for an excuse that didn't make him look like a total jerk.

"He, uh... Nightmare dragged him down with him. I.... I couldn't save him! I'm sorry, I.. I tried my hardest......" Ink conjured up false tears and let them roll down his face. Blue's eyes widened.

"OH GOODNESS! INK, DON'T CRY! I ASSURE YOU, IT'LL BE OKAY!" Blue pulled up the most confident expression and pose, his eyes sparkling. Asgore wiped Ink's tears, finished up, and left.

"Oh, I almost forgot. You left your taco meat on the stove, but I took it off so it wouldn't burn." Ink glanced over to the kitchen. Surely the meat was cold by now.

Blue squeaked and ran to the kitchen, reheating the meat and getting the tacos pulled together. He brought out a couple for himself and Ink. "HERE YOU GO! APOLOGIES FOR NOT GETTING IT DONE SOONER!!"

"It's fine, Blue. Thanks." He smiled, enjoying his taco with Blue.

--------------------------------------- In the anti-void ----------------------------------------

Error frowned, watching all the little skeletons mess around in front of him. Every so often he had to pull a puppet or a shard of glass away from one of them, but other than that it was uneventful. He looked over to the sleeping group of three next to him. It was a small set of twins, connected with a tail and small flickers of gold and purple magic trailing from their heads and meeting at the center of the tail. The third one... Error didn't know what it was. It dripped black gunk all over his stuff and was just in general a terrible thing to have around, but the purple twin just wouldn't let it go. Even now, the small being was clutching the thing in its sleep. The destroyer looked back over to the others. 

"YoU gUys sUrE hAvE a lOt oF EnErgY.... GoTTa fiX thAt." Error frowned, pushing a screaming Cross away from a sleeping Horror. He already witnessed what happens when Horror is woken up, and it wasn't pretty.

The main person he had to worry about was Ink. The creator would surely love nothing more than to fiddle with the poor little dark sanses' minds...

Chapter Text

Use the link to see the image...
https://www.deviantart.com/saxophlute12/art/Another-Chance-DreamNightmare-Ref-791500679

Chapter Text

"Wh- nO, hEY! PUt It dOwn!" Error shouted, grabbing an Underfell doll from the... Thing. That's what he had been calling it, and it seemed just fine with that. The thing ran around Error's part of the anti-void, dripping black gunk over EVERYTHING. Cross had grabbed the tail and began pulling at it.

"PONCHO!!" Cross screamed the one word he knew (At least, that's what Error thought), upset that the thing had dripped its icky gunk all over the poncho Error had grabbed to cover the tiny skeleton. He continued to pull at the small beastie, the poncho mess only worsening. Dream had stood, wobbling a little, and walked to Cross, the poor little Nightmare being dragged along behind him.

"Help him!" Dream turned and pouted, crossing his arms. Nightmare tiredly looked up at Dream and sighed.

"Don't wanna...." He was interrupted by a yawn. "Wanna sleep." The purple twin rolled onto his side and curled up. Dream yanked on the tail, his brother yelping and sitting up. Cross snickered, laying on top of the beastie, who was looking fairly content ripping apart the Underfell puppet and playing in the dust filling.

"Get! UP!" Dream stomped his foot, squirming when Error grabbed him. The destroyer started glitching terribly, setting Dream in the time-out cage, lifting a small bar on the top to slot the tail through. This allowed Dream to have time-out, while also letting Nightmare walk/crawl as far as the tail would let him and interact with the others. Dust remained on the highest point of the bean bag, picking at dried bits of melted chocolate and collecting the tiny bits of blue string he found, left over from Error's projects. Dream squealed, being pressed up against the cage bars quite uncomfortably. 

Killer, being strangely emotional, stayed by Error, since out of all the inhabitants in that area other than Nightmare, he was less likely to make him cry. Error groaned, laying on the 'floor' of the Anti-Void, drifting off to sleep.

---------------------------------------------Doodle Sphere - Ink's House---------------------

Ink huffed, crumpling up his ruined sketch and tossing it into the garbage bin. Being one who liked to plot out his plans on paper, he had been spending hours trying to figure out how to get all 6 children, and possibly even Error. But, so far...

"Nothing. Nothing. NOTHING. I've got NOTHING!!" Ink growled, slamming his head on the desk in front of him. The ink bottle on his desk tipped over, spilling onto everything and making quite a mess.

He hadn't even finished the first page of plans, and he hated it. It was absolutely terrible. The creator's mind, instead of making plans to get the dark sanses, pulled up thoughts of what Error was putting into their heads. He could be telling them all Ink's dark secrets! The destroyer had already fiddled with Blue (who somehow still trusted him), so how could he be sure he wasn't telling THEM everything?!

Ink stood suddenly, pushing his chair out with so much force it fell over. He grabbed Broomy and stormed out the door, slamming it behind him. There was work to be done, AUs to be created and protected, and enemies to be found.

Chapter Text

Ink stepped into Sci's lab, frowning. "Sci, I need your help." He took three steps, then stopped. There was a yellow line on the floor, marking where he should stop. A sign nearby read: 

CAUTION, UNSTABLE EXPERIMENT AHEAD

Ink waited not even a minute before stepping over and speed walking over to where Sci lay on his back under a piece of the machine.

"Sci, get up. You said you had Error's new location, right?" He not-so-gently kicked Sci in the foot, growing more impatient by the second. Sci tried sitting up suddenly, hitting his head. He slid out from under and tried again, sitting up successfully. The sans rubbed his head, nodding.

"Yeah, I've got the location. Calm down..." Sci stood and told him the location coordinates. Ink left quickly, without even saying a quick "thanks"... Sci frowned, turning to pick up the screwdriver he dropped.

-------------------------------Anti-Void-----------------------------------------------

tap...

           tap.....

                                    tap.......

The sound of footsteps and gentle breathing was all that could be heard in the Anti-Void. Ink narrowed his eyes as he approached the dark sanses, who seemed to be dressed in random clothes. He scoffed. Error couldn't even pull together a proper outfit for them! Ink crouched down beside the group of small children, his eyes quickly scanning the pile. A stray tail (Ink had no idea why a tail would be there) lay limp on the floor. Ink moved to the other end of the tail to find dream sleeping in what seemed to be a cage. Shaking his head, he found the latch and gently scooped up Dream.

"Shhh... I'm here now.." Ink whispered to the sleeping Dream before turning to frown at the pile of dark sanses.

They're so.... cute- No! No, NOT CUTE! These are murderers, Dark Sanses! NOT. CUTE!!  Ink thought, scowling. He opened up a portal and gently set Dream on the couch- Only for the small guardian to hang suspended from the tail. Sighing, Ink dug through the pile of children to find the other end of the tail. He dropped Dust who, miraculously, remained asleep. Ink furrowed his brow, picking up the small skeleton on the other end of the tail. 

"Hm... How strange.." Ink bit his lip and set them next to Dream before moving on to the other sleeping sanses. He dumped them on a small pile of pillows and tattered blankets. A small sneeze came from behind him and Ink froze. He slowly turned around to see a tiny creature dripping black slowly stand and stare at him. The thing remained silent, looking around. Upon finding that Nightmare was no longer to be seen, the thing growled. Ink dove forwards, covering the creature's muzzle to shut it up.

"Shut UP!" He hissed, dragging it into the portal and slamming the doorway shut. Ink sighed, dropping the creature, which climbed onto the couch. It sniffed the twins for a moment before squeezing between them and curling up. Ink heard a small yawn and groaned, looking down at the pile. Killer had woken up and was now staring at Ink with blank sockets.

"Ewwa?" Killer said, obvious confusion in his voice. "Whea Ewwa...?" He sneezed rather loudly, falling backwards onto Horror, who awoke with a piercing scream. This set off a chain reaction of screaming and tears, leaving Ink clutching the sides of his skull, trying to block out the noise.

"SHUT. UP!!!" Ink screamed, stomping his foot. The noise level gradually lowered until just sad sniffles were left.

"NOW. HOPEFULLY, you will all STAY QUIET!! FOR THREE! SECONDS!!!"  Ink snarled, scowling down at the dark sanses. 

Killer stared for a moment. "Not Ewwa?"

Ink sighed. "No, not Error. I'm INK. INK." He jabbed a thumb at himself.

The think growled from the couch, covering the purple twin's head. The voice underneath was muffled.

"No Ink! PbbBBt geddofffff!" Nightmare kicked and squirmed, grabbing the creature tightly. The thing didn't move. Dream slipped off the couch and started walking to Ink, but the moment he got out of range, the tail pulled taught. The gold twin fell back and stared at the ceiling, too startled to respond negatively.

Ink sat down on the couch with a huff. "Children. Of course I picked CHILDREN, because who doesn't love 'em!!" He began regretting his decision.... So much regret for such a small creator.....

Chapter Text

Cross sniffled, pouting and tugging on Ink's scarf.

"'Nk.. 'Nk 'm hungee...." The small, poncho-clad child whined, tugging harder.

"Okay, stop. Stop tugging, there's stuff in the pantry." Ink grumbled, scooping up a Horror who was about to cause another crack in his skull. The creator had tried his best to smooth down the head injury as much as possible, since Dust had already scraped his leg on it.

Tears welled up in Cross's eyes and the pout deepened, the child sticking out his bottom lip as far as possible. "Can't open pantwee..... Big door!" Dust toddled over and put his head on Cross's shoulder, also sticking out his bottom lip.

"'M hungee too!" Dust exclaimed, alerting Horror and Killer of the two kids' goal. Ink frowned deeply before marching off to the pantry with a huff. He yanked open the door and tossed a large jar of apple sauce onto the table, then moving to the cupboards to get little plastic bowls and spoons.

"Alright, get to the table! All of you!" The short creator peeked around the corner, looking into the living room where Nightmare was fussing over Dream, who had tripped over an alphabet block but seemed just fine. The twins looked up to Ink, Nightmare nudging the creature who was faking sleep. 

"Yesh 'Nk?" The magic trailing down Dream's skull, spine, and his half of the tail glowed brightly as the child smiled.

"You too. Get in here, the others have begged for food." Ink returned to the table to scoop out apple sauce into bowls and set them in front of the kids who had climbed onto the extra chairs the creator had drawn. Cross whined, patting the seat of the chair and bouncing impatiently.

"Hewwp! Hewwwwwp pweeeeeese!" Cross screeched, looking back at Ink who picked him up and set him on the chair roughly. The child almost immediately shut up, grabbing the little spoon by the bowl set there for him. Dream and Nightmare scrambled onto two seats directly next to each other and started with their apple sauce. Ink slouched down in his chair, rubbing his tired eyes. He glanced around the table, groaning when he saw Horror with apple sauce in his skull and Dust flinging some at a giggling Killer. Ink also noticed the purple twin sneaking some sauce down to the odd creature, whispering softly to it. He just couldn't understand why the child was so darn attached to the thing, but the one time he had tried getting rid of it...

Tears. Tears, screaming, and chaos.

Ink shuddered, tapping the table. He watched Cross slide off the seat after eating only half the bowl and pushing the rest off the table, where the creature was happily "cleaning" it off the floor. Ink frowned.

"You're all getting baths afterwards. Messy, sticky brats....." He stood and shooed Dust, Killer and Horror away from the table and grabbing a damp rag. Waiting for the twins to finish up theirs, he worked on cleaning off the one side of the table. Once Dream had slid off and started running (Dragging the poor Nightmare behind him), Ink finished it off. He tossed the rag in the sink, took off his scarf, and marched the kids upstairs. After getting the large bathtub at a warm temperature, it took around 10 minutes to strip the kids and get them into the water. Even after that, Horror began screeching and trying to escape the water. In the end, it took around an hour and a half to get them all bathed and put in proper pajamas. (Cross, however, insisted on the poncho)

Ink tired them all out with a quick game of tag (And.. possibly even a small sleeping potion. Shh-) and put them all in bed. He headed to the bathroom to clean up the mess when he heard the patter of little feet behind him. Turning around, he sighed. 

"What is it, Cross." Ink was too tired to deal with this. He was ready to give Cross a stronger dose and lock the room.

"'S dark.. An' I don' wanna sweep awone." The small skeleton rubbed his eye socket, clutching a large white teddy bear he had found. Ink sighed, scooping up the child and going back to the room. He created a night light that displayed stars and planets on the ceiling and put Cross into the bed that Dust had already climbed into with Killer and Horror.

"Good night.." Ink yawned and left the room, leaving the door open a crack. By the time he reached the bathroom he was far too tired to take care of it. So, he shut off all the lights and went to bed.

----------------------------------Anti-Void--------------------------------

Error stretched, yawning. He blinked once, twice...

And froze.

The kids were gone. He takes a nap, and the kids disappear. He looked out over the white "floor", and saw the goop trail the creature leaves behind didn't go past the little area.

"ThEY dIDn'T WaLK oFf......" Error frowned, standing up and digging through his stuff for some sort of evidence of how they left. He tossed the bean bag aside and went to the cage.

There.

His piece of evidence.

A paintbrush.

Error refused to keep any paintbrushes in his area, and the creator was the only one who carried paintbrushes with carved handles and could open portals. He growled, snapping the brush in two.

"DanGIt, InK.... I'lL MaKE yOu PaY FOr WhATevEr yOu dO To thEm!!"

Chapter Text

Ink groaned, feeling a heavy weight on him. "Nnnn... Geddofff...." He rolled over, the thing falling to the floor with a loud squeal. Ink froze, staring at the ceiling. The creator sat up and looked over the side of the bed, confusion growing.

A tangled mess of Dust, Killer and Horror lay on the floor, the three grumbling and blaming each other for falling off.

"Why were you in my bed?!" Ink growled, pulling the blankets off himself and hopping out of bed. The three managed to untangle themselves and stand, the top of Horror's head (as he was the tallest, but youngest of the three) reaching to about right under the top of Ink's chest, instead of the low middle it had been last night. Ink shrugged it off as his morning mind messing things up and went to get ready for the day. When he turned around, he found Cross perched on his bed, looking around two and a half inches shorter than Horror. Ink pulled his shirt on, looked at the four for a second or two, then went to wake the others.

Ink gasped.

The creature, which could easily fit in his lap before, now took up nearly half the twin-sized bed laying down. Dream, who looked like he had been wide-awake for at least two minutes, was half-off the bed. Nightmare, however, was fast asleep and laying on top of the thing. 

Ink flicked on the lights, causing the still-asleep twin to squeeze his eyes further shut.

"Turn the lights off!!" Nightmare shouted, sitting up. The creature raised it's head and growled, narrowing it's single cyan eye at Ink. The purple twin scooted closer to the edge, causing Dream to fall the rest of the way off the bed onto his head.

"Ow! Be careful" Dream grumbled, sitting up and rubbing his head.

"You were the one hanging off the bed." Nightmare replied with a frown.

Ink stood in the doorway, his confusion peaking. "You- Wh-- How?? I swear, you were little toddlers last night!"

Dust walked by Ink into the room to retrieve a little play knife and inspect it. He stuck his tongue out. "Well, OBVIOUSLY, that was last night." Dust scowled at the play knife and threw it to the floor. Killer picked up the toy and pocketed it. A scream from downstairs alerted Ink and he ran down the stairs to find Horror holding a piece of chocolate far out of Cross's reach.

"I had it FIRST!!"


"No ya didn't"


Cross screamed louder as Ink scooped him up and dragged him to the couch.

"Sit!" Ink shouted, dumping the kid on the couch. Cross grumbled something Ink couldn't quite make out, crossing his arms.

"What was that, CROSS?"  Ink frowned, grabbing the young child's face and lifting it up to look at his own. "Say that again. Do it now or I SWEAR I'LL PUT YOU IN THE BASEMENT!!"  

Horror raised his hand. 

"Sir can I go to the basement?" Horror asked loudly. "The pantry's down there...." He added with a mumble. 

"No. You can't." Ink snapped.

Cross inhaled deeply and repeated what he had said, loud enough for Ink to hear.

"YOU'RE NOT MY MOM!  Jeez..."

Ink raised a brow. "You're right. I'm not. A mom wouldn't shove you in the basement, would they?" He smirked, Cross's eyes widening in fear. The creator grabbed Cross's wrist and dragged him down to the basement, moving the pantry to a different location. Ink came back up the stairs, slamming the door behind him and locking it. The remaining kids stood quietly, watching Ink carefully. Ink frowned and stormed off to the kitchen to get toast for himself.

The creature sniffed the air and started howling, Nightmare desperately trying to quiet it. Ink tossed the bag of bread at the thing.

"SHUT UP!!" He shouted, scowling at the goopy creature. It continued to howl until a glitched portal appeared. Ink dropped everything and rushed to grab his giant paintbrush.

Error stepped through, grabbing the kids with his strings. The goopy creature nudged them towards the portal.

"WhERe iS CrOSs?" Error scowled attacking Ink. The creator swung his brush to strike back, dodging the strings. Error hissed at the burning red paint on his boned.

"Now why would I tell YOU?" Ink yelled, swinging again.

Error laughed, managing to snag Ink's arm. "I ThOUghT yOu WoUld'Ve WANteD tO gEt riD oF thEm. They'Re kiDs!"

"I spent time setting up that trap!! I can't let it go now!!!" Ink paused, glancing to the basement door. It sounded like Cross was throwing a silent tantrum against it. Error paused as well, then smiled. The glitch walked to the basement door and opened it, Cross tumbling out. The child gasped.

"Erra!" Cross squealed.

Error grumbled. "It'S ERrOr...." The destroyer pushed Cross into the portal and gave Ink a smirk. "MaYbE NeXT tIme You'LL ThINk  aHEaD bEfoRE tURniNg pEOplE inTo ChilDReN."

With that, he vanished into the portal.

Ink frowned, calling Sci. It took a few rings, but he eventually picked up.

"Excuse me, but WHAT THE HECK?!" Ink screeched, Sci wincing on his end.

"What happened?" Sci questioned, his voice shaking.

"WELL, last NIGHT they were TODDLERS! But this MORNING, THEY JUST- HHH????"

"Grew? Well, yeah... I told you it was experimental. It's bound to wear off, at least the age." His voice shook more and he started fiddling with a desktop toy.

"Oh- You did???"

"Uh. Yeah. Twice....." Sci mumbled. "Are you done yelling at me yet?? I need to finish up my machine."

Ink sighed. "Fine." He hung up, shoving his phone back into his pocket. Ink stared at the floor of his now trashed living room and scoffed.

"Stupid children, stupid Error.... I could've handled it! I have a basement! Kids hate basements, right??" He sat on his couch and put his head in his hands. "I really should've thought this through........ Now I gotta clean this crap up."

Chapter Text

Toddlers were.... Difficult. Five to Eight-and-a-Half? 

Even more so.

Dust was.. Sarcastic. Always speaking to his Papyrus, which was... Annoying. He would talk behind people's backs to him, and not even at a whisper that no one could hear.

Everyone could hear.

Horror? Hungry. Always begged for Error's food, then ended up falling asleep if he had been told no.

Killer was.... Trying his best. It was clear the little maniac wanted to please Dust, but... Couldn't seem to do it. Poor kid.. If he hadn't stabbed Error in the leg with that play knife, he'd probably have more pity.

Dream and Nightmare were, of course, inseparable. Nightmare and that goop creature thing? Oh, if the twins weren't attached by a tail, Error was sure he would've run off with the thing by now.

And Cross? Cross was...

Loud .

Very, very  loud.

It took Error nearly an hour to shut him up after Horror had tripped over him. I mean, sure, it was completely his fault for laying in the middle of the Anti-Void "floor", but Horror could totally have watched where he was going. Cross constantly whined about how being the youngest is so tough and he should be getting more attention, which usually earned him a smack from the eldest, Nightmare.

Who, apparently, was also the only one they ever really listened to.

He should've expected it, since he was practically a parent figure to them before the whole.....

Incident.

Error groaned, stretching. He pushed the thing off him, along with the blanket he had stolen specifically for it so that his clothes weren't ruined each time the thing decided to lay with him.

But still...

The thing left a huge  mess everywhere it went, and overall it was exhausting trying to clean it all up. So, today was the day he'd take them all out to get more  blankets to hopefully  cover the entire space that the creature was allowed to go in. The kids were, to say the least, VERY excited.

After all, they had only ever been to that terrible gray place, the big weird white place, and the meanie rainbow guy's place.

Error snickered at that last one. They were very... Simplistic with names. Good.

He liked simplistic.

"AlRigHt, YoU LiTtLe ANkLeBiTerS-" They all looked to Horror, who mumbled a quiet "shut up" to them all. "It'S TimE I TaKE YoU SOmeWheRE OTHer THAn THE ANti-VoiD ANd Ink's HouSE."

They tilted their heads in confusion. Error mentally slapped himself.

He sighed.

"Big WeIRd WHiTE plACe aNd MEAnIe rAinBow Guy'S plACe."

A chorus of understanding "Oh"s and "I get it"s echoed throughout the group, along with understanding nods. Nightmare spoke up, waving his hand in a "continue" motion.

"Go on...? We get to go somewhere else aaaaand..?"

Error sighed again.

"And, As YoU alL KnOW, THat ThiNg  HaS bEEn MaKINg thIs PLaCe A cOMplEtE mESs! We'RE gOinG To Go GEt MorE BLanKEts To cOVeR ThE EntiRe  floOR."

"What floor?" Cross questioned, then yelped at Dust smacked him in the back of the head.

"The floor we're sitting on, idiot!"

"But I don't see one...."

"It's the white space  we are sitting on right now !" Dust rolled his eyes, not-so-whispering to his invisible Papyrus companion.

"DuSt, WhaT DiD I Talk To yOU aBOuT BeInG NiCE tO OTherS?"

Dust grumbled.

"GlAD yOU rEmEMbEr. NoW, I nEEd yoU aLL To Be oN yOUr bESt BeHAvIOr, UndeRsTANd?"

More nodding.

"GoOd. I hAVe A FRiEnd THat ThinKS yOu aLL aRe AduLTs-"  "Why?"  "-ReaSonS. So Don'T SwArm HiM, AnD WaTCh oUT fOR hIs BrOTHeR."

"Who's his brother?"

"TaLL gUy In an ORAngE JaCKet. DoEsN't LiKe me At All."

"Who would ever not like you, Error?" Cross stuck out his bottom lip, pouting.

"Uh... PrEttY MUch EvERyONe? DoESn'T MAtTer. LeT'S Go...."

Chapter Text

Error opened a portal, instructing the kids to stay put, be quiet, and be very patient. He stepped through, carefully making sure Blue was aware of his presence before speaking.

He cleared his throat. "HeY BluE?"

The smaller sans smiled at him, setting a box of old clothes on his bed.

"Error! Great to see you! What can the Magnificent Sans help you with today?" Blue chirped excitedly. Sure, the glitched skeleton had come to visit only a couple days ago, but he was still very happy to see him.

"YOu KnOW HoW A coUPlE DaYs Ago I AskEd YoU FoR A spARe bLAnkET?" He asked, fiddling with strings in his pockets. Blue nodded.

"Did you ruin it already?" He tilted his head.

"WelL, No- YeAh- KinD oF? I nEeD MoRE. Like.... EnOUgh To COvER The ENtIre FloOR iN My ArEa in thE aNti-VoiD."

Blue furrowed his brow.

"The whole  floor? Why?"

"It'S HaRD tO ExPLaiN... Do YoU MiND iF I bRIng THe GanG In?" 

The little skeleton inhaled sharply.

"The... The gang?" He paused, then went and shut the door to his room.

"Pap.... Papy shouldn't be home for a while, so.... I guess? Go ahead......"

Error stuck his head in the portal, telling the kids to come on through. They all hopped through, Blue's jaw practically dropping to the floor. Cross felt a little afraid and clung to Error's shorts, frowning.

"Those are the dark sanses? They're so... Tiny." He looked down as Dust approached him. The small child scanned him up and down, narrowed his eyes, and-

"Dust, no-"

Delivered a swift kick directly into Blue's leg.

"DUST YOU LITTLE-" Error grabbed Dust, who had started screaming the moment he was touched. Blue crouched down, holding his leg.

"SorRy aBOut HiM, He'S QuiTe thE BrAT..." He grumbled, tying up Dust and letting him hang from the ceiling. Killer remained silent.

"That's... To be expected I guess? Owch..." Blue stood, looking back at the children. "Who's your oldest? Horror?" He guessed, since Horror seemed to be the largest of the group. Error shook his head.

"NopE. NiGHtMAre'S The OLdESt, WitH dREaM 18 MinUTEs YouNGer." He motioned to the two twins who were watching Dust swing. Dream looked concerned, and Nightmare just looked strangely amused.

"Wh- That's Nightmare? Shouldn't he be... Black and goopy?"

Error shrugged, pointing at the thing that hadn't been allowed to enter the room, but instead just stood by the portal.

"I'm gUeSSiNG hiS gOoP sTUff MaDE iTSelF A SepArAte BeIng, The ThING MakINg MY hOMe an AbSOluTE MeSS."

Blue stared at it for a bit, then nodding.

"Very confusing, but I think I have more blankets. It seems the kids might need new clothes as well... That shirt on Killer looks awfully small." He turned and started digging through the box of old clothes he had gotten out, but ended up dumping it on the floor.

"I have tons that could possibly fit you guys. Take a look!" Blue sat on the bed, watching as the kids gathered around the pile. Dust was released from his string prison, the small maniac diving at Horror the moment he got a chance. 

Horror, being much larger than him, simply tossed him off as he handed a poncho he found to Cross, who gasped happily.

"Tanks, Horror!" The youngest of the group slipped the old, smaller poncho off, along with the crop top that Nightmare.. Wasn't too fond of. The eldest grabbed the top and tossed it across the room.

Dream grabbed shirt with stars on it, yanking the old and tattered shirt of Nightmare, and slipping it on his brother. Nightmare stared at it, sighed, then smiled. He tossed one with stripes on it at Dream, who happily changed into it.

Once the kids were all dressed- Horror in a tank top and shorts, Dust in an over-sized sweater and sweatpants, Killer in a similar outfit, Dream and Nightmare in the shirts they picked for each other, and Cross in a short skirt, leggings, long tank top and the poncho- Error thanked Blue, picked up the blankets, and led the kids back into the Anti-Void.

The group spent just a few minutes laying out the blankets, the goop creature happy to be able to go wherever without Error yelling at it.

All was well...

Chapter Text

"I don't like it." Nightmare frowned, looking at the apple Error had stolen from FarmTale. Dream had opened his mouth to take a bite, but paused.

"Why don't you like it? It's just an apple, after all..." He set the apple down, turning to Nightmare.

"You won't know if you actually like it if you don't try it."

Nightmare shook his head, staring at the apple Error had given him.

"I feel like I shouldn't eat it. Like something bad will happen."

The conversation caught Error's attention and he turned his head. He thought this would happen... The whole apple incident must have left such a strong imprint on him for the purple twin not to like apples at all.

The dark creature raised its head, sniffing the apple. It snorted, pushing it to Nightmare, who still seemed unsure.

"You may think it's fine, but I'm not sure." He gave it to the thing.

"If you like it, then have it! I'll just wait till next time..."

It nudged it back.

Error frowned. This wasn't the first time Nightmare rejected food and waited the whole 24 hours before FarmTale sans set out food for them. It was... worrisome. He knew that even before when food was scarce he'd give it up for the others... But the others were well fed this time. Nightmare... Just wouldn't eat. If he kept going, he'd have to take the risk and bring him to a trustworthy doctor.

Dream spent a long time trying to convince Nightmare to eat, but he was too stubborn. The creature tried as well, but eventually gave up along with Dream.

Nightmare's bones weren't anywhere near as strong as Dream's, which was quite odd since the two were connected. It worried Error a lot. He decided to get up and talk to him.

"DrEam, MaxiMum DiSTanCE pLEAse..." 

Dream looked up at him, nodded in understanding, and moved away as far as he could. Error sat by Nightmare, who hunched over to make himself appear smaller.

"WhY Don'T YoU LiKE thE ApPLe?" He looked to the shaking twin, trying to make his glitched voice as soft as possible.

Nightmare paused, thinking.

"It... Gives me bad thoughts. I don't like it. I feel like... If I eat it.... Bad things will happen. Sometimes, when I blink... It looks black. And my hands.. Aren't my hands. And my clothes aren't my clothes!" He mumbled into his knees, avoiding eye contact with the older skeleton.

Error sighed.

"YoU KnOW.... I'm gOinG To tELl yOU a StoRY, oKAy?" He hummed, pulling Nightmare into his lap, Dream being tugged towards them just a little.

"A story...? Is it true?"

The destroyer thought for a moment, before nodding.

"I gUEss YoU COulD SaY ThAT." Error took a deep breath before starting.

"BeFORe yOU GUys WeRe.... MaDe, or WhaTeVEr, ThERe wAs a KinG."

"Was? What do you mean was?" Nightmare frowned, looking up at him.

"Don'T InTerrUpT plEAse. I sAY wAS, BeCaUSe hE's.... GOne. SoRT oF. He WaS StRONg, AnD CaRED foR ThoSE He nEeDEd to pROtECt frOM ThE CReaTOr, Ink."

"Ink?" He gasped, his magic flickering.

Error nodded.

"YeS, Ink. You SeE, InK DOESn't UNdERstANd thE BaLanCE. At aLl. ThAT KiNG RePResENted eVEry NeGAtiVE FeELinG In thE MuLTivERse. He cOUld kIlL WhOEvER HE wANted... ExcEpT FoR ThE StAR SanSEs. Ink, BluE... AnD ANoTHEr. The kIng'S BrOTHer. YoU SEe, HiS BrOTHER waS THe COmplETe oPPoSiTE Of hiM. AnD WiTH alL ThaT PoSItIviTY oN INk's sIde, He wAs PrETtY MuCH uNStOPaBLe. He WOulD ComE HOmE WiTH mIlLIonS oF ArrOWs In hiM."

Nightmare frowned. 

"Is that how he died?"

"No, It'S NoT. ANd HE's NoT DEAd."

"He's not? Then where is he?"

Error paused.

"He'S SaFE, ANd thAT'S AlL YoU NeED To KnOW."

He went to continue the story when Nightmare interrupted again.

"I jus' remembered. Ink knew our names! How'd he know?"

Error froze. He... Hadn't thought of how to answer that question, other than...

"BeCAuse... He'S The CrEAToR, Of COuRse."

Nightmare scoffed.

"That's stupid. Just because he's the creator doesn't mean he automatically knows our names!"

Dream looked over. Error spun his finger around, motioning for the gold twin to turn back around. Dream sighed and obeyed, going back to helping Cross with a puzzle.

"I... I knOW It'S StuPid. BuT I DoN'T THinK I cAN TelL You THaT TruTH yeT."

"So you're hiding something."

"No-" He sighed. "Yes. BuT I hAVe tO. To KEeP YoU All sAfe."

Nightmare went quiet, then nodded.

"I'd keep secrets too if it kept us safe. I trust you, Error."

Error smiled, hugging him.

"I tRUSt yOU tOO, NiGHTmAre."

Chapter Text

Cross went up to Nightmare, Dream off a little bit to the side. He sat by him, handing the older a popsicle.

"You look deep in thought." The younger hummed, licking his own frozen treat.

Nightmare shook out of his thoughts and accepted the cold treat. Error had been getting after him more for not eating, so he decided he'd eat to avoid being scolded... Just this once. Cross was known for ratting him out.

"Well I was, before you interrupted me." He sighed, biting the tip off his popsicle.

"Pff, sorry, but Error told me to pull you out of your deep thinking hole." Cross shrugged, watching the popsicle melt onto his hand. Nightmare grumbled and wiped the sticky mess of the other's hand.

"Of course he did..."

Cross nods.

"What have you been thinking about, anyways?" He hummed, finishing off his popsicle. "You gonna finish that popsicle?"

Nightmare sighed, handing it over.

"You know I won't." He looked up at the open portal above them, giving them a nice view of a night sky filled with stars. "It's just... I've been thinking about that story Error told me a year ago. I told you about it, right?"

Cross nodded, starting to work on the other popsicle.

"Yep! King, brothers, all that stuff."

"It's just.. I've been putting things together, and..." He looked to Cross. "I think he was talking about us. Me and Dream... The brothers."

The smaller hummed, tapping his leg.

"But you don't look like a king..."

"Yeah, I know, but... He dodged around some stuff and it..... Really got me thinking. So I asked Blue."

Cross gasped.

"You didn't!" All of the children knew that trying to pull information out of Blue was very easy, and Error didn't like it. The last time any of them did, it was when Dream asked Blue if he had any hidden magical powers.

Which he did.

And bragged about.

The arrows hurt Nightmare.

The arrows Error had mentioned in his story.

His main proof that it was about him and Dream.

Nightmare stood, alerting his brother, who turned to look at him.

"What are you doing?" Dream and Cross both asked at the same time.

"I'm going to ask him about the story," Nightmare frowned. "And if it's about Me and Dream."

Dream's eyes widened and he grabbed hold of Horror, who was by far the largest and heaviest out of the group.

"Nightmare, you can't! That idea is crazy, and he'll probably put you in the cage, which limits where I  can go!"

"Limits where you can go? Did you seriously just name a problem you  would have if I were put in the cage? How selfish ARE  you?!" Nightmare snapped, grabbing the attention of all the others, the goop creature narrowing its eyes.

Error frowned.

"NiGhtMAre? WhaT'S ThiS ABOut?"

"The story. I've been doing some thinking, and I've got some pretty good reasons on why I think it's about me and Dream!"

Error froze.

"It'S..... No-"

"DON'T SAY IT'S NOT!!! BECAUSE I KNOW IT IS!! "

The creature was growling now, a warning to Nightmare to calm down.

"NiGhtMAre, I... I'm sOrrY, bUT I HAd tO liE."

"But why ? Why did you lie..? And.... Why don't we remember?" Nightmare sat back down, staring at the white floor. It gave him a terrible headache... But he stared anyways.

Error sighed, gathering the children into a semi-circle in front of him.

"WeLL.... LeT Me TeLL YoU A LiTtLe sTorY....."

It took him about an hour to fully explain it, including Cross' interruptions. In the end...

Nightmare.. Wasn't happy. At all.

"Can I kill him?"

They turned to stare at him, shocked.

"Kill  him? Brother, surely he doesn't deserve that-"

"He DOES deserve it! Didn't you hear what he just told us? About what he did ? Ink shouldn't be living!"

The goop creature snarled, jumping to its feet.

"Don't you start! Sit back down!" Nightmare snapped at it, only to be pinned down by it.

"ThAnk YoU... PLeASe kEeP hiM CoNTainEd UnTiL He CaLMs..."

The thing nodded, smothering the purple twin.

Error left to talk to Blue.

Chapter Text

Error tapped Blue gently on the shoulder, causing the small skeleton to jolt and let out a squeak of surprise.

"E-Error!" He whispered, taking a deep breath. "What are you doing here?! Where are the kids???"

Error frowned, putting his hands in his pockets.

"NiGhtMARe Is.... VeRY, VeRy sMArt. ThAt, Or hE HaD HeLP." The destroyer narrowed his eyes at Blue, who had started to fiddle with his hands.

"I... Well, maybe, but he was so polite, and-!"

"PoLiTE Or NOt! Do yOu HaVE AnY IdEA hOW uPSeT He HaD GoTTEn aBoUT InK?! He AsKEd iF He cOuLD kiLL hiM!"

"With Dream attached to him, that'd be pretty difficult if he didn't agree with him-"

"I knOw, I'm JuST sO WoRRiED!" He sat on the bed, head in his hands. Blue smiled and sat next to him.

"Aw, you sound like a worried mother!"

The glitched skeleton snapped his head up.

"Don'T. EVER. CaLL mE ThAT aGaiN." 

The small skeleton giggled, laying back.

"I wouldn't mind helping out with watching them, you know. I could do it while Papyrus thinks I'm out doing my patrols! I'm sure Alphys would understand!"

Error shrugged, laying back as well.

"It'S YoUR cHOiCe."

"I'll talk with her right away!! Now you'd better get back to those kids, okay?" Blue sat up and hopped off the bed, pulling his battle body on.

The destroyer sighed, sitting up slowly and waving open a portal.

"AlRiGHt... LEt mE KnOW iF YoU CaN HeLP OUt oR nOt, OkAy?"

Blue nodded, watching Error leave through the portal.

Error walked into chaos.

Dust was screaming at Horror for tossing his knife at the goop thing (Who, by the way, sat on it and pretty much ruined it.), with Killer standing behind him holding a new knife he had stashed away that Dust apparently hadn't seen yet.

Cross was standing right at the opening of the portal, causing Error to trip and fall.

He groaned, holding his head and sitting up.

Dream was... Unconscious on the thing while it was- helping Nightmare escape?!

Error sputtered and ran to them, trying and failing to grab Nightmare and the thing before they disappeared through the portal with the view of an OuterTale sky.

Chapter Text

The trio hit the ground hard, a loud CRACK sound coming from Dream's left arm. The gold twin cried out in pain, clutching his now broken limb.

Nightmare sat up quickly, reaching to grab the arm.

"Don't touch me!" Dream snapped, turning away from him. "I'm not moving from this spot until Error comes back to get us!!"

"I just want to check your arm!" Nightmare flinched back at the reaction from his twin. 

The creature came up behind him and scooped up Dream, Nightmare adjusting him on its back. Once he was properly seated on the thing he sat himself behind him.

Dream pouted, holding his arm closer to his body.

"I'll only allow a Toriel or swap Asgore, since I can't properly TRUST you at the moment!"

Nightmare scowled.

"Fine, let's find one then. Buuuuut we'll have to leave the portal.~" The purple twin smirked, holding on tight as the creature started to run.

Dream screeched, nearly tearing into the sticky goop of the creature- Not that he could, but if it were possible, the thing probably wouldn't have a back anymore.

"Slow down, thing!" He squeezed his eyes shut as it came to an abrupt halt in front of the OuterTale Ruins door.

"THANK YOU." Dream hissed, slowly sliding of its back with Nightmare following after him. Nightmare started to walk towards the door, pulling Dream along.

"You know, Dream..."

"I don't want to hear it!"

"I didn't even say it."

"I don't care!"

"I was just gonna say we should probably name the thing!"

Dream stopped, tugging Nightmare backwards.

"Well, I call naming it, then!"

"But it likes me better..." Nightmare pouted playfully, holding back a snicker.

Dream scoffed.

"I don't care." He cleared his throat. "Considering how darned awful that ride was, I'm naming it Terror-!" Dream squealed as he was pulled forwards by Nightmare, who was only a couple steps from the door. The purple twin hummed, knocking on the door.

"Actually, that's pretty nice. Thing? What do you think?" He looked to the thing, only to get a shrug in response.

"Don't care?"

A nod.

"Alright, then. Terror it is."

The twins stood side-by-side in front of the door, Terror behind them, waiting for it to be opened. 

It swung open.

Dream clutched his arm tighter.

Nightmare swatted at Dream, a signal for him to relax.

"Oh, children! ... Strange, I've never seen you before...."

Before Dream could even open his mouth to speak, Nightmare blurted out:

"We're Dream and Nightmare, ma'am, along with Terror." He pointed back to the goop creature behind them. "My brother broke his arm."

The OuterTale Toriel visibly tensed at Nightmare's name, but still crouched down to take a look at Dream's arm. She peeled the child's fingers off the limb and hissed at the large crack in the bone.

"That's an awfully terrible crack, my child." The Toriel stood, gently grabbing Dream's other arm. She looked to Nightmare and Terror nervously.

"Now, if you two could please stay out here, that would be-"

"Can't."

She sputtered at the response.

"What.. What do you mean you can't wait outside for Dream to be healed?"

"We're connected, ma'am." His side of the tail swayed, causing Dream's side to gently sway from the small force of it.

The Toriel clearly expected a simple energy connection, based off the expression plastered to her face.

Terror found it funny, and snorted.

"W-Well, alright then."

Nightmare shrugged. "Alright then. I understand your concern of having me and Terror in your house, but as you've seen it's very necessary."

Dream scowled at his twin's smirk as they were led inside.

Terror watched Toriel closely, growling as she hit a button on a simple pager, surely to notify Ink.

She turned and smiled sweetly at Dream, motioning for him to sit in front of her rocking chair.

He sat, Nightmare siting comfortably on Terror instead. Toriel situated herself in her chair and leaned forwards to gently grab the arm in her large paw.

"Now, this will only hurt for a moment, my child..." She hummed softly as green healing magic flickered across the bone, healing the crack.

Dream pouted, looking at his healed arm.

"There's a scar, Miss Toriel..."

Toriel's smile saddened and she nodded her head.

"Yes, that can happen if an injury is severe enough. Now, why don't you three stick around for some pie?"

A smile quickly appeared on Dream's face, while Nightmare frowned.

"Weren't you just wanting to keep Terror and I out?"

The smile started looking forced.

"Oh, come on, Nighty! It's pie, you just gotta have some!"

True, pie was a rare treat, but...

Something just didn't feel right.

Nightmare knew it.

Terror definitely knew it.

But...

Dream didn't.

Nightmare scoffed. Dream really was naive...

And according to Error.....

That's what got him in this situation.

If he wasn't so naive and actually considered for a moment that what Ink was doing was wrong- Along with Ink being a soulless creep- he might actually still be an adult.

He'd be without any connection to Nightmare, but... He'd be an adult. The way he used to be. Unchanged.

But no, Dream didn't see that.

He just dragged Nightmare along and accepted the pie.

Terror was restless, whining softly and sticking his head out the door, walking in circles...

That's what worried Nightmare the most.

Chapter Text

Terror went stiff, making no noise at all and carefully watching the door. Nightmare stood and walked to the creature, placing a hand on its head, sending a chill up his spine.

Danger.

He pulled his hand away in shock. What was that? 

Nightmare had no time to think about it when someone knocked on the door, Terror growling at the unknown visitor on the other side. Toriel rushed to the door, pushing Terror away before opening it.

Nightmare gasped, freezing up in fear.

There, on the other side of the door, stood Ink.

"You called him?!" Nightmare shouted, his hands curling into fists. He ignored the soft touch of his brother's hand on his shoulder. "I should've known not to trust you! You're just like everyone else!!"

"Brother, please-"

"Don't 'brother' me! This lady betrayed us!"

Ink thanked Toriel for her help and entered the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

"I think that's enough arguing for now!" His eye lights turned red, taking the shape of a target and a dagger. "Dream! Terribly sorry you had to get caught up in this.. It was a terrible mistake."

Nightmare frowned at Ink, grabbing Dream's arm. The gold twin was looking down at the floor, going over what he experienced at Ink's home, the story of why they were even in this situation in the first place... He puffed, standing straight and looking directly into Ink's eye lights.

"No. You've hurt my brother and his friends! I can't trust you!" 

Ink growled, grabbing them by the tail.

"I should've known he'd tell you!"

Terror pounced at Ink, only for the small skeleton to move out of the way, sending the creature through a portal to a dark room. The portal slammed shut, sending a terrible shock through Nightmare.

"Terror!!" he shouted, staring at the place where the portal had just been.

Ink yanked on the tail, pulling them towards another portal.

"Now with that... thing out of the way, I can do whatever I want with you!!"

The twins tried to grab whatever they could to keep themselves from being pulled through, wincing at the pain shooting up their spines.

Toriel watched, sad but glad to be rid of the thing and Nightmare... Even if Dream did have to leave. 

The doorway shut, leaving Toriel in a dead silence without the screams of the twins. Deep regret crept into her soul...

---------------------------------------------

Ink shoved the two into the basement, following after them and locking the door. He flicked the dim lights on, crossing his arms. 

Dream and Nightmare hugged each other for dear life, staring at Ink fearfully.

"My previous plans, of course, have been demolished," he said, approaching them slowly. "So, I'm going to go to Plan B."

Dream gulped, pulling together a minuscule amount of courage to speak.

"And... W-What would that 'Plan B' happen to be...?"

Ink's face changed, in a way, displaying a demonic smile and dark eyes.

"I'm going to teach you to listen to me, of course! No matter how long it takes, I  will achieve my goal!!"

Dream squeaked, Nightmare holding onto him even tighter. The creator laughed at the poor Dream's reaction, grabbing his recently healed arm.

"Each day, I will give you a task. If you disobey me, well..."  Ink snapped the arm with a swift movement, Dream crying out in pain. Nightmare jolted, reaching out to push Ink away.

The purple twin was shoved to the ground roughly.

"Let's not do that, hmm? Don't want to get hurt, now, do you?"  He cackled, releasing Dream's arm. "I'll see you tomorrow!!"

And with that, he was gone... Dream sobbed, holding his broken arm once again. Fear filled them, pushing out any feeling of happiness...

--------------------------------------------------

Error paced around the Anti-Void, the leftover children watching him with curiosity and worry. Cross clung to Dust, the oldest kid in the area.

"What's the matter, Dusty..? Why's Error upset?"

Dust frowned, holding back from shoving the smaller away.

"Dream and Nightmare ran away, idiot! Didn't you see? That's why the sky portal is closed up! So none of us escape, too!"

Horror scowled at Dust, pulling Cross away from him.

"Don't talk to Cross like that!"

Dust rolled his eyes, Killer copying him.

Cross pouted, hugging his knees.

"I'd never run away from him. He's too nice!"

Horror watched Error.

"I don't think it was a problem about Error not being nice..."

Chapter Text

Entry Twenty-Seven

          It's our "birthday" today. Ink has been.. Getting better, I suppose. We haven't had to do anything today-

     Yet.

     Dream's arm has finally healed, so that's made us happy. 

     We're 16 today, with the technicality of what Ink had done to us. He hasn't apologized for it, and screams at us each time we bring it up. Dream says he can sense pain and regret, but...

     I can't. Maybe the negativity is making him imagine things.

     .....

            Happy Birthday, brother.

Nightmare shut the small notebook, putting the blue pen in the little spiral that held the thing together. He set it under the bed- Something they were allowed once they reached 15- and looked to his brother who had been sleeping peacefully since at least 2 am... It being currently 9 am, that was a new record. Nightmare... Hadn't slept. He'd nearly drifted off a couple times in the night, but that was a big no-go. It was Dream's turn to sleep.

He didn't want to take any chances. Ink was.....

Unpredictable.

The last time they had both fallen asleep in the same night, Ink had taken just a little too much red and took it out on the twins.

So... Yeah. Never again.

The painter hadn't ever tried to even come in to do so again, but Nightmare still wasn't going to trust Ink with that again. 

After staring at their little clock on the wall for a minute or two, he figured it was time to wake Dream to make breakfast.

Nightmare leaned over, grabbed Dream by the shoulder, and shook him lightly.

"Dream... Get up."

He spoke softly as his twin slowly sat up with a large yawn.

"Did Ink come in already??" 

Nightmare shook his head.

"It's our birthday. And.. I thought maybe we'd try something different. Making a nice breakfast before  Ink comes to get us. Maybe he'll go easy.. Calm down a little." The purple twin slid off the bed, lightly tugging on the tail that connected the two.

"Oh. That.. Might work. Whatever." Dream yawned again as he got up to follow his brother to the kitchen.

"Oh.."

Ink was in the kitchen, a pan in hand, and quite literally dripping with yellow paint.
"Hey!" 

The creator beamed at them, which was a major  first.

"Error called today, which he like- never does, and said it was your birthday!"

"Error  called?" Dream gaped.

"I thought we locked up your paints, Ink." Nightmare frowned.

"Oh, you did. But I broke the lock. We should get another one. Could you do that? I'm almost done."

Ink dropped the pan on the counter.

A foul smell filled the kitchen. Something like..

"Ink, you're burning it!" Dream pushed the other out of the way as he reached for the pan. Nightmare groaned as he was tugged along, pulling back to provide some resistance.

Ink shoved back.

"No, you two go get a new lock."

"Okay. Fine. Whatever."

The twins stepped back and yote through a portal Ink opened up, dropping right into the Snowdin of one of Ink's favorite AUs.

"Let's just.. Go get that lock."

Chapter Text

"Horror Horror Horror Horror Horror Horror Horror Horror Horror Horror Horror Horror - Horror Horror Horror HORROR HORROR HORROR HORRORRRRRRRR!! "

Cross repeated, yanking on the larger skeleton's shirt. 

"Horror, I'm hungry!"

"That's what you said last time!" Dust snapped, covering his nonexistent ears with a pillow. "Horror, won't you just SHUT HIM UP?!"

Killer frowned as he nodded, also covering his skull with a pillow. "SHUT HIM UP?!" The younger copied, sticking his tongue out at the end for added effect.

The largest of the group, Horror, had been put in charge of the Food Box- a box full of snacks- since Cross just couldn't be trusted near it alone. The single-eyed skeleton shook his head 'no' at the smallest skeleton before responding.

"Error doesn't want another giant mess stretching far and wide across our space! You're giving everyone a headache. So knock it off."

Cross whined, dramatically flinging himself onto the floor.

"But I'll starrrrvve- You want me alive, don't you?"

"Personally? I don't." Dust mumbled, removing the pillow from his head. Killer nodded, removing his as well.

"Error will be back soon, so you can wait till then!" Horror pushed the youngest away as he leaned on the box.

All four snapped their heads up as a small vwoosh  noise announced Error's arrival vial portal. With a slimy-sounding whap, Terror was dropped on the 'floor' of the void.

"Terror!"  All four sounded at once, leaping up to greet the beast.

"CaREfuL. He IsN'T DoiNG so WelL frOM siTTinG In thAt sPACe foR sO lONg.." Error grumbled, blocking Terror off from the children as he pulled out a small card.

"I rAn iNTo InK toDAy, WhiCH waS a sUrRPiSE. RaN Off BeFORe i CouLD geT aNYThiNG frOM hiM."

Cross stuck out his bottom lip and pouted. "What if we never get them back?" 

The small being yelped as Dust delivered a rough blow to the back of his skull.

"We WILL get them back, you knucklehead!"

The glitched skeleton yanked Dust away and quickly scolded him before letting go. "YeS, we wILL gET THeM BacK. DuST, YOu DiDN'T neEd to HaRM CrOSs." Error sighed, opening up a panel. "HaCKiNG iNto Ink'S DeFeNSEs iS HArDER thAN yoU THinK."

"But it's been years, old man." Dust hissed, Killer copying the hiss.

"YeS, AnD IT's TaKEN yEArs. I'm AlmoST doNE, If yOu WouLD juST Be pATiENt!"

Horror gasped. "You're almost done??"

Excited mutters went through the small group of four.

"YeS, I'm AlMOst dOne. NoW ShuT Up."

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The two dropped gently into the area, large black cloaks draped over their bodies to their feet, hoods on their heads. "Lune"  looked to his brother before moving to the shop and entering. 

The shop was small, but was home to multiple items, including the powerful lock the twins were here for. 

"Oh, boys! You're back!" The little old half-blind bunny lady waddled up to the two with a false snake in her hands. "What have you been sent for this time?"

"Shine"  smiled sweetly at the lady from under the hood. "We're here for a lock, miss."

"Oh a lock! I have many many of those. Mitchel can show you. Mitchel, sweetie!" The lady called toward the back of the store, a short little bunny child running out from behind the counter.

"Locks 're in back! This way!" The child started running, the twins nearly tripping over themselves in order to keep up with the fast bunny.

They entered into a even smaller space, the walls filled with locks of all different kinds. The two quickly looked over the array, "Shine"  leaning over to "Lune"  and pointing out one of the stronger locks. The other nodded and grabbed it, thanking the child as they left to go purchase the item.

"And will that be it today?"

"Yes ma'am."

"20 G."

The golden twin handed over the G and pressed a small button on the inside of his cloak, signaling to Ink they were done. A portal opened beneath them and they dropped back into their prison home.

Error dropped into the area not long after they had left, a look of anger on his face.

"DanG IT... LosT theM AgAIn."

Chapter Text

Dream and Nightmare dropped into Ink's household, stripping off their cloaks and hanging them by the door. The two proceeded to walk to the pantry, Dream eyeing the busted lock on the floor and empty safe. Nightmare sighed, shaking his head softly.

"We'll have to go grab his paints before we put the new lock on."

"If he didn't drown himself in red already." Dream rolled his eyes, tearing at the tough packaging on the lock with his teeth as Nightmare led the way to Ink's room. The positive twin dumped the packaging in the trashcan set in the corner of Ink's bedroom, the bin overflowing with crumpled up papers and snapped pencils. Night grabbed the collection of paints off the nightstand, careful not to wake their sleeping captor.

The two migrated back downstairs to the safe, locking the paints inside with a soft click.

"There.. All finished for today.." Dream sighed, going out and slumping on the couch.

"We just have to hope that Ink doesn't come up with another late-night errand like last night.. I'm exhausted!" Nightmare flopped down next to him, eyes drooping shut. Dream hummed in agreement and laid on top of him, his eyes shutting as well as he fell asleep to the sound of his brother's soft breathing.

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Error was swarmed by the little Bad Sanses the moment he stepped back into the anti-void. A chorus of "Did you get them"s and "Did you bring back anything for us"s erupted from the group, but their words were soon put to an end when they noticed Error hadn't returned with the twins.

"SORRy.. ThOught I had Em... Back tO hacking it is." Error grumbled, sitting down and opening the code to Ink's home.

"And you're close, right..?" Killer piped up, Dust watching the smaller as he spoke up.

"YEs.. OR at lEast I shOuld bE." The glitch hummed, not minding when Cross leaned over his shoulder to watch him work with the code. "HOw's yOur guys' sanity?" He glanced up.

"We're all doin' a-ok!" Horror gave a thumbs-up.

"Any glitching..?" 

Dust lifted his foot, small glitches coating it. "It started when you left."

"I sEE... WE'll havE tO find a pROpER hOmE fOR yOu all sOOnER OR latER..." Error sighed, shaking his head. He preferred the anti-void.. But it was no place for young skeletons. The glitch opened up a window and motioned for them all to look through, slowly swiping through 'channels' to view empty and abandoned homes. "Why dOn't yOu all pick OnE tOgEthER?" 

The pre-teen and teens ooo'ed, looking over the homes available until they all agreed on one- An abandoned replica of a classic skelebros home. It didn't surprise Error in the slightest, and even brought a small smile to his face. 

"AlRight. UndERtalE 203 it is. GathER yOuR things." Error closed the codes to Ink's world for now and opened a portal to the home, watching as the younger boys scrambled to gather their few possessions. Terror held a single, ruined, goopy blanket in their mouth and wandered through. The kids followed through, Error coming in after them with a few of his own things and set them on the floor. The home was already furnished- good. He didn't want to have to steal more. Too risky, and he was far too lazy for that. The kids liked how it was already set up anyways. Chances are, it reminded them of their own homes.. Deep down, at least.

Error sat down on the worn-out couch and pulled up the codes again, pulling at strands and looping them back together. It was hard work, but after years of doing it, it had grown to be a simple task. Long, but.. Still fairly simple.

The code screen blinked red before flashing green, the panel fizzling out. Error grinned triumphantly.

"GEt a gOOd REst, bOys! TOmORROw, wE raid Ink's placE!"