Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

White. That was all that remained of his world. All the monsters, humans, and places were gone. The things he was supposed to protect, his greatest treasures, faded into oblivion.

It was ironic. That he had lived and managed to get a new soul, while everyone else was dead. They escaped the white, while he trapped himself back in it. All because he trusted those X-Tale traitors.

“ Some protector I turned out to be.” He muttered to himself as he stared at the void around him. He hated this place. He hated himself for letting this happen, for letting his wants get in the way of his job.

The white of the antivoid is all encompassing, the little area Error claimed for himself gone, just as he was. That little spark of something, anything, was gone. Just as everything else was.

Ink, that was his name. He was the protector of the multiverse; the multiverse he helped destroy. He groaned and flopped down onto the ground. He stared at the ceiling and sighed.

He could try to destroy his soul, but he doesn’t deserve freedom. He should sit here and rot, just as he should have all those years ago.

His eyes close, and he slips into a monochrome nightmare of memories.

Why did he go to X-Tale? Why did he think it would be different, that he could have a normal life? Why did he listen to him? Why did-

“ Are you alive, or are you one of those weird monsters that don’t dust?”

Ink shot up and grabbed the voice with his paint. He dodged away with a jump and glared at the newcomer…. And gasped.

It was Nightmare. But he was dead, wasn’t he? He was gone just like the rest of them. Try as he might, he would never be all-powerful. No one could survive, no one but a being without a world.

“ Wow,” the not Nightmare exclaimed, looking at him in awe, “ you’re alive.”

“ Of course I’m alive!” I can’t die even if I wanted to. “ Who are you?!” He couldn’t let his guard down. Nightmare was the monster who started all this; he wouldn’t let anything else happen.

“ Oh, you’re right, I didn’t introduce myself. My name is… to be determined!”

He’s crazy, a true lunatic. “ What do you mean your name is ‘to be determined’? I won’t fall for any of your tricks, Nightmare.”

The not Nightmare looked at him oddly, a face he’d never seen Nightmare make. It looked more like what Cross looked like when…

“ Ah, yes, I am a Nightmare, not your Nightmare. I am from a different multiverse entirely-”
That doesn’t make sense. There is only one multiverse with millions of aus, but if there were multiple aus, wouldn’t that mean there would be more than one multiverse?

“- and then he decided that I should check to see if anyone was-” He missed something, didn’t he? This not Nightmare… Notmare was still talking.

“ What do you mean by a different multiverse? That’s not possible. There is one multiverse, and it’s gone. It’s all antivoid now.”

Notmare looked at him with pity, another thing Nightmare never did. “ I assure you, this multiverse isn’t the only one. There are billions of multiverses, just like there are aus. We call it the Omniverse.”

That can’t be true. It’s just him. He is all that’s left, but he’s not. The proof is right there. Notmare, he’s real, isn’t he? If he were hallucinating, it would be someone with a bit more pull on his script, and a bit more correct. Normal Nightmare is just the right amount of cruel to be a guilt hallucination without any change.

Ink dropped him, letting him fall to the floor gracelessly. He towered over Notmare, leering at him. “ Let’s say I believe you, Notmare. Why would you come here?”

Notmare mouthed his ‘name’ and sat up, letting Ink continue to tower over him. “ I did tell you, didn’t I? I came because Devastation sent me here to see if this multiverse really was dead. It makes his job easier if it’s truly empty.”

Ink frowned. Dead, that's what his multiverse is, isn’t it? That’s what the antivoid is anyway. It would make sense for his world to be considered dead; they were all dead, and he was all that was left. He never really counted as a real being anyway, or did he? Notmare said a multiverse is truly dead when it’s empty. Does that mean-

“ Woh, let’s pump the brakes on this spiral train, shall we?” Notmare was holding his shoulders and tracing circles with his thumbs. “ I don’t know what that was about, but your negative feelings are poking into my mind.”

Ink jerked his shoulders away, turning to him with a scythe made of paint. Just like Papyrus had, he missed Papyrus; he would still be here if Cross didn’t…

“ Don’t touch me!”

Notmare’s eyes widened, and he backed up, hands held up. “ Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. I just wanted to help. I know what it’s like to lose yourself to your mind.”

“ No, you don’t.” Ink chided. How dare Notmare pretend to know? That he knew what it’s like to destroy your multiverse. All those people he was supposed to protect are gone, and it’s his fault.
“ You will never know what I’ve gone through. The pain I feel.”

This isn’t right. It feels like his paints have worn off, but he doesn’t need them anymore. He has a soul. It’s stolen, not his, he didn’t mean to.

“ You’re right, I don’t know what you’ve been through, but I do know what you’re feeling.” Notmare acknowledged, “ I can feel your emotions, and I assure you I know them all too well. I won’t tell you my life story, but I will tell you that it gets better if you let it.”

“ What’s that supposed to mean?”

He’s tired. He wants this to be over. Needs it to be over.

“ Come with me, to the In-Between. It’s a place to start over, to let go. It would be a perfect place for you.” Notmare held a hand out for him. “ This place needs to be destroyed anyway; if it stays much longer, it’ll cause problems for other multiverses.”

That’s it then, he could stay, join the others in eternal silence. It would be over… But he doesn’t want to. He wants this to be over, yes, but he doesn’t want to quit. If he quit, then he wouldn’t be able to fulfill his promise.

“ What is the In-Between?”

“ The In-Between is like the Omega Timeline of the Omniverse, a place outside the normal multiverses but still a part of them. It’s nice, and lets beings from every background live there, even bad guys.”

Ink looked at him, then at the antivoid around him. It would be gone, all of it. He took a golden locket out of his pants pocket and put it on.

“ Yes, let's go Notmare.”
Notmare chuckled and grabbed his hand. “ Next stop, the In-Between.”

Chapter Text

It’s not common for things to survive an obliteration event. Beings that do are usually strong and ancient, and they tend to come out broken. At least, that’s what Devastation told him.

He had never met a survivor before. He only started helping Devastation five years ago, and Devastation never really told him what to do if there were survivors. He did say that they were dangerous and would probably attack first, asking questions never.

But this Ink variant is just … small and pitiful. Well, not small small, he is a bit taller than usual, but he hunches into himself like he carries the weight of the world on his back. Like he was before he found the In-Between.

And, sure, he did attack him when they met, but he didn’t actually hurt him. It should be alright to let him into the In-Between, but he definitely needs to bring him to Devastation first. He’d make a big deal of it.

He sighed and turned to the Ink variant. “ Listen, I’m still gonna bring you to the In-Between, but I need to introduce you to someone else first. I promise he won’t hurt you or anything, but he is a bit … glitchy.”

The Ink variant looked at him, hollow and blank, with both his eye lights a dull white. “ It’s Devastation, right? You said something about making his job easier.”

“ Yes, he is the destroyer of the Omniverse and one of the guardians of the In-Between.” He replied, though maybe he shouldn’t have said the first part. Protectors and destroyers usually hate each other.

The Ink variant simply hummed and looked at him expectantly, still looking dull.

It was odd to see an Ink whose eyelights stayed the same; he had heard that they constantly shifted shapes and colors. But this variant’s right eye light is stuck in a pale ‘X’ shape, while his other is just a pinprick in his socket.

“ Alright, then. Are you ready to go, or do you need a minute?” This is his home, no matter how barren it is.

“ You are odd Notmare,” The variant proclaimed, “ nothing like Nightmare, even if you look like him.”

He would have ended up like Nightmare, though, if he were fully corrupted like most of his variants.

He chuckled and opened a portal. “ Well, I am going to take that as a compliment. We should get going, this world is bound to collapse in on itself.”

The variant (goodness, he really needs a name) nods and jumps. He jumps after him.

The core of the Omniverse is a lot like the Doodlespheres in multiverses, except it is a million times the size of those spaces. A never-ending domain of calm rippling waterfalls, floating islands, books, and mirrors. It doesn’t have a true name yet, but Devastation and he have been calling it the Hub.

The variant landed crouched down on the main island, gold locket jingling. He, however, slipped and fell flat on his back.

“ Come on, I just wanna look cool once.” He muttered. The variant looked at him and smirked, his left eye light changing into a little spiral.

They could change, that’s incredible. He’s sure that if he tried, he could get them to change like they're supposed to. They’re said to be quite the sight.

“ I really hope you have a good explanation for bringing a being of balance into the Hub.” A glitchy voice echoed around them. “ I have grown fond of your attempts, and I would hate to have to kill you because you broke one of our rules.”

Devastation is the true being of destruction for the Omniverse; he is the destroyer of destroyers and the conqueror of guardians. He would look just like any other Error if he didn’t have an extra set of arms or the jagged crack going through his eye socket. He stood in front of them, glaring disapprovingly at them, with his arms crossed to sell the annoyed look.

“ Hello Devastation!” He greeted with a smile. He knew Devastation wouldn’t kill him, even if he certainly could; Devastation needed him to get his yarn, chocolate, and social interaction. Plus, they were friends… he thinks. “ There was a survivor from the multiverse you sent me to, and he wanted to live in the In-Between.”

“ A being of protection,” Devastation began, “ you brought a being of protection into the Hub.”

“ Yes,” he answered. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. He really should have thought this through. “ But that’s only because I knew you would have made a big deal about not telling you!”

Devastation sighed, low and heavy. “ Alright then,” he turned to the Ink variant, “ why do you think you should be allowed into the In-Between? You came from an Obliteration Multiverse and lived. From the survivors I’ve met, most of them tend to be the cause. How can I know that you can be trusted?”

The variant looked a bit shocked by that. That’s good, he’s more awake now. “ But Notmare said I could live in the In-between.”

Oh, great, he’s never gonna live this down.

“ Notmare?” Devastation sounded smug, that asshole. “ Did you finally decide on a name? I gotta say it’s a pretty great name considering the fact you’ve been trying to figure one out for the past five years.”

“ No! I thought you were grilling him, not me!”

“ You really don’t have a name yet? I thought you were kidding.” The variant asked.

“ I’m working on it.”

The variant hummed and looked back at Devastation, holding onto his locket. “ My multiverse was destroyed by the X-Event. Those X-Tale anomalies destroyed everything I was supposed to protect.”

Oh, another multiverse destroyed by the X-Event. He wished that it were less common than it was.

Devastation nodded; he was just fishing for information to make his job easier, wasn’t he?

“ Where is your brush? All you squids have one.”

The variant looked angry, which was less good, but still an emotion. It pressed into his mind warm, like a heated blanket. “ X-Tale’s Sans destroyed Broomie.”

Oh, oops. He should have realized that. He needs to pay more attention, beings of balance are no joke, especially protectors and destroyers.

“ Your paints?”

Now he looked defeated, small, and hollow just like before. “ I have a soul; my paints are meaningless now.”

That’s right, the variant had a soul. He could feel the emotions. They’re dull, but they are certainly there.
“ Hmm.” Devastation looked curious; that’s better than being wary. “ I suppose you can stay, but I would like to talk to Notmare privately.”

Asshole. He hates Devastation. Why was he friends with him again? Oh, right, they were the chosen guardians of the Omniverse.

“ I hate you so much.”

“ No, you don’t.” Devastation said as he grabbed him with his strings and lifted them both to a different island.

“ What do you want to talk about? I don’t wanna leave that Ink variant alone for too long, he doesn’t seem… stable.”

It’s obviously important. Devastation would never speak to him privately on purpose.

“ I think that Ink variant is the True Protector.” Devastation spewed out; he’s not the best in social situations.

“ What?!”

“ It makes sense. We were told that the True Protector would be an Ink variant with a soul, broken by the X-Event, without a brush, and extremely protective of the multiverses.”

“ That can’t be it. He’s just a survivor.” He argued.

“ And the last surviving beings of balance were us. None of the beings of balance can survive if their multiverse dies. You know that. He is the True Protector, and that’s why you brought him here, isn’t it?”

In the end, that is why he brought him here, isn’t it? He knew right away, it's a feeling that only the True Balance keepers have.

He sighed. This was going to become a big headache. “ He’s not ready, his world is gone, and he thinks it's his fault. His guilt his eating away at him. I can feel it.”

“ But he will be one day.” Devastation added. “ We didn’t start until we were ready.”

It’s true. They didn’t learn they were the True Balance keepers until a couple of years after their multiverses were destroyed.

“ What do I do? I can’t tell him, not yet.”

“ You go with your original plan. You take him to the In-Between and become his friend. We didn’t have that, maybe it’ll be quicker this way.”

And here he almost thought Devastation was being kind.

“ Wow, you certainly are kind.” He quipped.

“ I care about my job, nothing more, nothing less.” Devastation stated. “ Now take him to the In-Between and get out of my Hub.”

“ You got it, see ya, Dev.” He jumped down to the Ink variant.

This is just the beginning, isn’t it? He hopes it doesn’t go to hell.

Chapter Text

This place feels …right, more than the Doodlesphere ever did. It was odd. This place felt calm and ever-flowing like the ocean, while the Doodlesphere felt wild and changing, more like river rapids.

Notmare and Devastation left. They were also odd. He had never liked his Error (he called him useless and pathetic, he tried so hard to be his friend) or Nightmare (he lied; ruined everything we were so close to our happy ending), but these two seemed okay.

It was quiet without them. Why did they leave? Would they leave him here? Would he- No. Notmare said he would take him to the In-Between. He had to trust him; he promised Paps he wouldn’t let the past keep him from making friends or trusting people. He had to, for Paps.

“ You really like that golden locket.” Notmare was back; he didn’t leave.

He had grabbed the locket again. Of course, he liked it; it made him feel safe. The locket was all that was left, and it reminded him of family (before Cross ruined it all).

“ Yes, it was a gift.”

Notmare hummed. He liked how it sounded; he probably had a nice singing voice. Kinda deep and … what was he doing?

He looked around, and it was pretty. What was this place called again? It probably has a nice name, to match its calm feeling. Wait, ugh, he needed to focus; he was a trained royal guard, and he needed to act like it.

Notmare was still. Why hasn’t he said anything? X-Gaster said that should anyone find out what was wrong with him… Cross said that was wrong, though, but he … he was … and he …

“ Are you alright?”

Who said that? Where was he? Where were Cross and Paps? It’s hard to breathe. Where’s X-Gaster? He knows what to do; he always knows. No. He’s bad, we can’t trust him. Chara? Frisk? Where were they? He had to… He had to.

His locket was cold, smooth. Paps took good care of it. He loved it, but he would always give it to him whenever he felt sad. His brother was the coolest. In for one, out for two. In for one, out for two. In for-

“ -One, out for two. Yeah, that’s it, good job. Just keep holding on to your locket.” Notmare was here. It was over; they were gone. He’s not alone.

“ T-thank you.” That was awful. Why did he help? He’s not like Nightmare.

“ Don’t mention it. I’ve had a few panic attacks. They’re awful, so I learned a few tricks to keep ‘em manageable.” He’s … nice. “ Now, why don’t we get outta here? Dev’s in a mood, and I wanna eat.”

Notmare held his hand out. He grabbed it.

“ Yes… let’s get out of here.”

Notmare smiled, and then, they were falling. He screamed. He never should have trusted him! They were going to die!

Notmare laughed. Was he crazy?!

“ It’s okay!” He was smiling. Was it okay? “ Look around, trust me! You’re safe!”

He … trusted him. Notmare felt safe. He turned and ...

It was gorgeous. The sky looked like an oil painting, shifting through calming blues and pastel yellows. There were floating islands with hanging bridges connecting them. The ground was covered with buildings from varying periods and architectural styles. It was chaotic.

He was smiling; it felt weird. When was the last time he smiled? Look, there was a dragon made of bone. He was laughing. When was the last time he did that?

“ This is incredible!”

“ No,” Notmare exclaimed. “ This is the In-Between!”

This was incredible. To think there was a place like this!

“ Hang on, this part will be a bit bumpy.” Notmare dragged him closer and held his legs and shoulders.

As they got closer to the ground, Notmare extended his tentacles and grabbed onto a root growing out of one of the floating islands. He lowered both of them down.

“ That was incredible! This is incredible!” He jumped out of his arms and gestured to … everything. He turned back to Notmare. “ How is this possible?”

One of Notmare’s eyelights was a star and purple. He had two eyelights; didn’t Nightmare only have one? Did Notmare always have two eyes? Was his left one always purple?

“ Well, it’s bec-”

“ You have two eyes.” He interrupted,

Notmare looked at him oddly. “ Yes. I have two eyes.”

“ One of them is purple.”

“ Yes, it has been since I was born.”

He hummed. It looked nice, and he liked purple. Not his purple, but Notmare’s was nice. He should tell him. People like compliments. Well, he and Paps liked compliments.

“ It’s pretty.”

Notmare’s eyes went wide, and he stuttered. “ W-w-what?”

Maybe Notmare didn’t like compliments. He should have asked.

“ Ah, I’m sorry. I made you uncomfortable.”

Notmare made another face and waved his hands about. “ No! I promise you didn’t make me uncomfortable. Just threw me off, that’s all. It’s alright, seriously.”

Oh, well, that’s good.

“ Well, well, well, looks like his majesty has finally decided to grace us with his presence.” An echoey voice rang. It sounded … odd, like tons of deep, garbled voices all spoke in tandem. He hated it.

They both turned and saw a black-boned Sans with antlers and yellow floating eyes all around them. They had weird little moving tendrils on their bones. He really hated it.

Notmare groaned. “ I’m not royalty, Eldritch, and I’m doing something right now, so go bother Luci.”

The Sans, Eldritch, grinned, turned their head, and blinked their eyelights sideways. “ No can do, your Highness,” they hissed, “ another one of those Gasters had tried to take control of the In-Between, again. So, you need to get rid of ‘em.”

He did not like looking at Eldritch. They made a part of his brain itch, and it was not fun. It made him feel like he was being watched. He should leave; he needed to leave. He had to-

“ My friend, are you alright?” Another voice, this one was calm and soothing. Where did the eyes go? Where did the light go? “ Please don’t be afraid, sometimes Elderitch forgets that they need to tone down whenever they meet someone new.”

The lights came back on as the voice’s wings lifted around him and settled back on the newcomer’s back. It was another Sans, this one with two sets of wings and eyeless sockets. His wings disappeared completely, and he smiled at him.

“ Hello, I am Luci. Sorry for trapping you in my wings, I figured you could use a break from Eldritch.”

Someone touched his shoulder. He jerked forward. Oh, it was just Notmare and … Eldritch. But, they didn’t feel itchy anymore.

“ Hey,” Notmare whispered. “ You okay?”

Was he okay? What happened?

“ Hey, Sweetheart,” Eldritch said, their voice sounded normal, and most of the eyes were gone. “ Sorry ‘bout that. I didn’t realize that ya were new.”

He looked at Eldritch and glared. He was okay, well, mostly. “ Don’t call me Sweetheart.”

Notmare snorted, and Luci (that was his name, right?) giggled.

“ Well, it looks like your friend is fine,” Eldritch growled.

“ Yeah, I knew he would be.” Notmare sounded smug. Was he missing something?

Notmare turned to him. “ Hey, I gotta go deal with something, so Luci here is gonna show you around. Is that alright?”

He turned to look at Luci (he was right). He looked nice. “ Yes, that’s fine.”

“ Alright, I’ll see you later,” Notmare says to him and turns to Luci. “Meet us at Frosty’s whenever you're done with your tour.”

“ Of course, my friend, we’ll see you then.”

Chapter Text

If there was ever a worse time for Eldritch to show up, it would be now. The Ink Variant was okay for a little bit, but after so long in the Antivoid (and whatever else he had been through), anything could send him spiraling.

“ Eld quit it!” He hissed. This was bad; he could feel the panic emanating from the Ink Variant. If he kept it up, he’d have another panic attack.

“ What? I’m not doing anything, you prick.”

Sometimes it sucked being one of the only empaths in the In-Between.

“ Your aura, idiot!” He can not believe this is a conversation with an actual god. “ You’re gonna give him a panic attack!”

Eldritch looked behind him and gasped. “ Shit.”

The eyes, shadows, and crushing weight started to dissipate, but it wasn’t quick enough. The Ink Variant was starting to hyperventilate. This was really bad. Terrible even. He was supposed to protect him, keep him safe, and get him ready to be the True Protector.

“ I didn’t mean ta’, I didn’t even see ‘em.” Eldritch was panicking.

He was going to snap at them (not his best moment, but he’s a bit stressed right now, so sue him), but Luci had followed Eldritch.

“ Relax, my friends, it will all be okay.” Luci’s voice was always calming, but its soothing effect was always heightened whenever he and Eldritch were panicking.

“ I used my scary shit on ‘em; he’s probably trapped in his mind forever!”

“ He’s a protector, Eld, I can assure you he’s stronger than that.” Well, he hoped he was.

Eldritch groaned something that sounded like ‘that’s even worse’ as they tucked themself into their knees. Luci’s eyes rolled from the golden bands around his neck and wrapped the Ink Variant in his newly unfurled wings.

“ My friend, are you alright? Please don’t be afraid, sometimes Elderitch forgets that they need to tone down whenever they meet someone new.” Luci spoke into his wings. He lifted them after a while and let them lie on his back.

The Ink Variant’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Luci. It must be a lot to go from the Antivoid to this, and it certainly doesn’t help that Luci and Eld look so odd.

“ Hello, I am Luci. Sorry for trapping you in my wings, I figured you could use a break from Eldritch.”

He grabbed hold of the Ink Variant’s shoulder. He turned to him sharply, and he slouched whenever he saw it was just him.

“ Hey, you okay?” He whispered.

“ Hey, Sweetheart,” Eld was pulling out the charm, huh? “ Sorry ‘bout that. I didn’t realize that ya were new.”

The Ink variant glared at Eld. “ Don’t call me Sweetheart.”

Ha! Serves him right. He snorted, and Luci laughed. It’s not every day someone shows Elderitch up.

“ Well, it looks like your friend is fine,” Eld growled.

“ Yeah, I knew he would be.” This is turning out to be an amazing day.

Ugh, but he still had to deal with that Gaster. Who was going to show the Ink Variant around? Taking him to fight a Gaster would be a disaster (especially after all his X-Tale comments). Oh, Luci could!

“ Hey, I gotta go deal with something, so Luci here is gonna show you around. Is that alright?”

The eyes on the golden rings around Luci’s neck opened, looking surprised. He put his hands together and mouthed ‘please’.

“ Yes, that’s fine.” The Ink variant answered monotonously.

“ Alright, I’ll see you later,” He said and turned to Luci. “Meet us at Frosty’s whenever you're done with your tour.”

Please, Luci. Just take him on a tour, it’d really help.

“ Of course, my friend, we’ll see you then.”

Luci, you are a saint.

Luci smiled and grabbed the Ink Variant’s hand. “ Oh, let’s start with the stuff on the main walkway and work our way to the lesser-known stuff. I promise it will be fun.”

Luci turned back and gave a thumbs-up. This was why he was the best.

He turned to Eld and grabbed him by the shoulder. “ Alright, let’s go deal with another Gaster.”

Eld hummed and pointed to the floating island closest to the ground.

“ He’s up there, seems to be a Fell Variant, but he’s kinda glitchy. Probably been in the Antivoid for a bit; we should be careful, the Antivoid is known to shatter minds and shift abilities.”

Elderitch is always watching over the In-Between with totems created by their humans. Anywhere their humans can get to has a totem, so they’re mainly placed near big gathering places.

He hummed and glared up at the island. “ It’s probably Malware, the Gaster from that Corrupted Multiverse. He’s got a lot of negative emotions I can toy with, so it won’t be that big a problem.”

“ Yeah, it won’t, but we can’t keep doing this, Your Highness.” Eld sighs, looking at him knowingly. “ You should think about being in charge. I know you hate the idea of it, but we need someone in charge, and you are the best candidate.”

He groans and walks ahead. “ No way! I will not be like those other versions of me.”

“ You aren’t like them. You don’t even want the position.”

He knows that. He’s not stupid, but he won’t.

He walked faster, leaving Eld to catch up. A few beings stopped them on their way; an Undyne with red and white hair carrying a candy cane spear asked if they were ever going to make a group of guards; a Napstaton covered in buttercups complained about a group of kids vandalizing his music store; and a scientist, Muffet, told them about her latest experiments (something about spiders that could survive in the cold).

He could hear Malware cackling from the island, raging on about his credentials and past. So annoying.

“ I am the best scientist in the multiverse! I shall rule, and no one can stop me! Mwhahahaha-”

“ Okay, okay, cool your jets, man. I just so happen to have something to do, and I would rather not have to deal with you right now.”

Malware glared at him, mostly in shock. His eye sockets were covered in glitches, and his pale bones seemed to be splattered in the same colors destroyers were cursed with.
“ How dare you! I am not some fool you have to deal with! I am-”

“ Really, really loud,” Eld added, clawing at their teeth.

Malware looked pissed now. Great, just what I need. He grinned.

Emotions are so easy to mess with, especially those belonging to broken beings like Malware. Anger can turn to sadness, sadness to fear, and fear to anger. Negative emotions are a vicious cycle.

He started to weave into Malware’s emotions and memories.

“ Honestly, I’m kinda surprised.” He started with a cruel grin. “ If you’re as smart as you say, then you should have realized how pointless this all is.”

He wasn’t here to be kind. He was the True Guardian of Negativity and the protector of the In-Between. If people wanted to cause problems, they would be dealt with.

Malware shuddered and stepped back. The fear that comes from realizing you're outclassed is exquisite.

He could feel Eld start using their aura. Shadows and eyes encompassed the floating island.

“ W-what?” Malware crumbled into himself, falling to his knees.

This fight (if you could even call it that) was over. Nobody could stand against the combined might of an ancient elderritch god and the true guardian of negativity.

He walked up and grabbed Malware’s skull. “ We are going to let you off the hook this time, but if you dare do this again, you will be slaughtered without hesitation. Mercy is a luxury, enjoy it.”

Eld let their aura die down, and he dropped his hold of Malware’s emotions.

“ Come on, Your Majesty. Luci just texted: he and ya new friend made it to Frosty’s.”

“ Oh really,” he turned, letting Malware fall to the floor, “ anything else?”

“ Yeah, actually, your new friend got himself a name, Ebony.”

“ Ooooh. That’s a lovely name.”

“ Sure is better than yours, No Name.”

“ Ughhh. Shut up, you ass!”

Eld cackled and jumped off the island. He followed after him.

It took them twenty minutes to get to Frosty’s. A few more people stopped them, but it was only to say hi and warn them that Luci was showing around an Ink in an X-Tale guard uniform.

Frosty’s was a coffee shop built like a Grillby’s run by an Asriel named Frosty. His sibling, a Chara named Blaze, made the pastries while Frosty made the drinks.

Luci and the newly named Ebony were sitting at the counter, taste testing things with Luci’s other best friend, Siren. Siren was Lust from Aquariumverse; he held a strawberry cream puff in his webbed claws as his finned tail swayed to and fro.

“ Ah, my friends!” Luci exclaimed, waving them over. “ Come here, we are trying to find out what Ebony’s favorite flavor is.”

Eld grinned and grabbed at Siren’s treat.“ Sweet food.”

Siren growled and shoved them away.“ Get your own. I bought this all with my money.”

He chuckled and turned to Ebony. “ So, you got yourself a name, huh?”

Ebony nodded. “ I was told that I should figure it out right away so as not to be like you.”

“ How rude! Who told you that?”

“ Multiple people,” Ebony answered, grabbing a spider-shaped donut and a frozen mocha latte. He took a sip of the latte and gagged. “ Ugh, chocolate.”

“ Not a fan?” He asked, grabbing the discarded latte and taking a sip.

“ No.”
Luci hummed. “ So chocolate is definitely a no, and so are hot drinks. Why don’t you try caramel?” He offered another frozen coffee.

Ebony grabbed it after taking a bite of his donut. He grimaced and took a sip of the new drink. His left eyelight changed into a yellow star, and the ‘x’ turned a lovely shade of pink. Ebony hummed and kicked his feet.

“ And we have a winner.” Siren whispers with a soft smile.

“ Wait, why does His Majesty get to have some of the food?” Eld complained.

Siren glowered and smacked Eld over the head. For someone with zero magical capabilities, he sure does act like the strongest in the room. “ That was for Ebony to taste, if he didn’t like it then it’s fair game like this cream puff or that latte. Just be faster next time.”

He chuckled and stuck his tongue out. “ Yeah, Eld, be faster next time.”

Eld growled and jabbed a finger at him. “ You ass.”

“ How are you all liking your food so far?” A sickly sweet voice asked.

Ah, he really hoped Lolli wasn’t here today. It was always odd to feel its emotions. It was a type of parasite, but he could feel its emotions. Its host seemed to have died a long time ago, giving it access to their body without a fight. Most of its emotions tended to teeter between deeply positive and uncannily negative, like it was there and wasn’t.

“ That,” Ebony started pointing at the discarded drink that he was currently drinking, “ was disgusting, and the hot drinks hurt my chest. The spider donut is alright, but not as good as Muffet’s. Oh, but this caramel thing is great.”

Lolli seemed to glare at Ebony for a moment, only noticeable if you can feel emotions, before it turned to him. “ And how do you like the drink, Your Higness?~”

“ It’s alright, a bit too sweet for my taste, but it’s alright, Frosty did a great job.”

It grinned. “ Actually, I made that one.”

He looked at Lolli, then at the drink. “ Is this the first drink you’ve ever made?”

It nodded with a sly smile. It’s emotions fluctuating again, giving him a headache of sorts. This is why he hates being an empath.

“ Why don’t you get us the check, Lolli? We have been sitting here a while, and now that my friends are here, we will start our trek to my library.”

Lolli’s emotions turned to a sharp, bright point of rage. It nodded and chirped out a sure with a probably fake smile, and walked into the back.

He groaned and rubbed at his skull. “ Ugh, Lolli always gives me a headache.”

“ It’s because it’s obsessed with ya, like in a creepy stalker way.”

“ It is not.”

“ No, it most certainly is my friend.”

“ Yeah, I think you should avoid talking to Lolli as much as you can, Hun.” Siren added.

Ebony blinked at him. “ Why does the parasite give you a headache?”

Ah, so he figured out Lolli’s a parasite, huh?

“Its emotions are all over the place, making it hard to think.”

Ebony hummed and jumped off his chair. “ I wanna head to the library now, is it okay if me and Notmare leave now?” He asked Luci.

“ Oh, of course, my friend, we will see you later.”

Ebony nods and grabs his hand, pulling him out of Frosty’s. Dang, that’s really sweet. He smiled and followed Ebony out to the library.

Chapter Text

He watched as Notmare and Elderitch walked away. It was odd; he trusted Notmare, and he only met him today. It was just this feeling he had. Notmare felt safe. That was … dangerous. The last time he trusted someone, it went-

“ Are you ready for the tour, my friend?” Luci asked. He was waiting for him to start moving.

That was nice. Reminded him of Paps, but Paps was… gone. His brother was gone, and so was everyone else. Muffie, Miss Toriel, Mister Asgore, Dyne, Azzy, everyone, they were all gone. He missed them. They were never coming back, and it was all Cross’s- no, he doesn’t deserve that name- Sans’s fault.

“ My friend… Are you okay?”

He jumped and looked at Luci. He needs to get his shit together. He’s a royal guard, for stars' sake, he needs to act like it. Stoic and hard-working, that’s what he needs to be. A weapon in disguise, just as he was meant to be.

“ Yes.” He needed to be a royal guard. “ Show me around, please.” It was all he was good at.

Luci smiled at him and grabbed his hand. He dragged him to a big road and walked towards a little city-like area. The city was a hodgepodge of buildings from different eras, styles, and architectural types. It was a working disaster.

X-Gaster would have hated it. Things needed to be in order, and in their place (they needed to follow orders, and if they didn’t, they’d be remade again and again till they were right) just like he wanted.

“ This,” Luci started, gesturing to the city,“ is Home city, or that’s what we’ve been calling it. My dear friend, the nameless one, was part of the first group to colonize this place. They apparently named this place in honor of someone, but nobody really knows who.”

He pointed to an elegant dome-shaped building made of glass and wood. It was full of plants of all species. “ That is the Leaf memorial greenhouse. They’ll experiment on plants in there, but not in the Flowey type of way. It was founded by our friend’s dear mother, Madam.”

He hummed. The place was pretty, but a disaster waiting to happen. No guards, all the glass, and experiments; if it was built to memorialize someone, then it should be protected like it.

“ Where are the guards?”

“ Oh, we don’t have any guards.”

What? What? What?!

“ But there needs to be guards.” If there are no guards, then there is nothing for him to do. He has no purpose. He is useless, alone in the white, nobody needs him. “ Why isn’t there a guard?”

“ Well, we don’t have a ruler or anything, so it doesn’t make sense to have one, I suppose.”

Luci looked worried. That’s bad; he’s supposed to make people feel safe, it’s what he’s good at (all he’s good at).

“ So there isn’t anyone in charge?”

“ No, but we’ve had a few… troublemakers who tried to take the spot,” Luci answered nervously. “ All these questions are making me quite nervous, my friend. What are you trying to do here?”

He looked at Luci. He had no LOVE and obviously wasn’t trained to fight. Luci might have been a Sans (SO WAS CROSS), but he wouldn’t be able to stop an X-Tale royal guard, especially one that was also a protector of creation (he stopped being that in the sixth timeline; he was nothing).

“ I am a royal guard. It’s who I am, and it’s who I need to be.” He grabbed onto his locket again.

“ Ah,” Luci looked unnerved, but sounded relieved. “ I didn’t know that protectors were royal guards in their original Aus; it must have been nice to be given a job so much like your training.”

“ No, my creator only made me; everyone else was simply sketches on a white backdrop. I became a royal guard in X-tale a couple hundred years after I destroyed my soul to escape the Antivoid and become the protector of creation.”

Luci was pale, well paler than before, and the rings below his head had eyes that opened wide. That’s … bad. Was he mad? Maybe he’d like to get back to the tour.

“ What’s next on the tour?”

Luci stared at him for a moment, opening and closing his mouth like a fish (Dyne always hated it when he made that joke) before shaking his head and smiling at him.

“ Right, my apologies, friend, you simply surprised me, that's all. Next on the tour is the Spider Silk Boutique. We should probably do something about your clothes while we’re there.”

He tilted his skull. “... My clothes?”

He looked at his clothes. It was the new royal guard uniform. He got to keep the gray scarf with the black splotches and the hood from the old uniform, though it was always tied in a bow because he always tripped on it. They made him wear grey boots with little white Xs wrapped around his heel, but let him have a black skirt on top of white capri leggings. He was forced to wear a white turtle neck and white gloves with black tips.

“ What’s wrong with them?”

Luci grimaced. “ The In-Between welcomes all, but most of its inhabitants are from dead multiverses. And, I’m not saying that this is always the case, but the X-Event is usually the catalyst for their obliteration. So, most people here don’t particularly like people from X-Tale.”

Ah, great.

“ … Are you from a dead multiverse?”

Please, say no.

“ Oh, yes! But my multiverse was destroyed by the protector and destroyer!”

Oh.

Oh.

That tracks.

Luci squawked, seeming to remember he was talking to a Protector X-Tale royal guard. He waved his hands about, and his gold bands started circling his head as he spewed assurances.
“ I am terribly sorry! I assure you, my friend, that I did not mean to-”

“ Please finish the tour, Luci.” His voice sounded hollow, even to himself.

Luci sucked air through his teeth and nodded.

They walked in silence. They passed by a few people as they went. They waved to Luci, but he could hear them whispering about him. X-Tale monster. Be careful. What’s that freak doing here? Who’s that?

He wished he had stayed with Notmare.

The Spider Silk Boutique was built like a mini castle. It was the size of Grillby’s diner, but looked as if it came right out of a fairy tale.

“ This is the Spider Silk Boutique. A Muffet named Ella runs it; she’s really nice. Do you wanna go meet her?” Luci asked, sounding nervous.

“ No.”

His clothes are his own. If he takes them off, what will happen? He’ll still be an X-Tale royal guard. Nothing will change. He’ll always remember (he needs the clothes, he might forget without them, he can’t forget, he needs them, needs the memory, it’s his fault), so there’s no point in changing them.

Luci looked at him, and he thought it was pity. “ I’m sorry about what I said. You shouldn’t have to change who you are just for someone else, and it was wrong of me to allude to that.”

He blinked. Nobody… ever apologized for something like that. Dream wanted him to stop doing his job and protect all the people in the Aus and not the Aus themselves. X wanted him to be a weapon. Blue wanted him to-

“ It’s alright.”

“ No, it isn’t my friend. I had no right to tell you that.” Luci argued, grabbing onto his shoulders.

“ Really it’s fine, it’s happened before, not that big a deal.”

Luci’s eyes went wide again, and he frowned. “ It is a big deal, my friend. Nobody should ever tell you to change yourself just because they want to act how they want you to.”

“ Aren’t they, though?”

Luci made another face. It’s really hard to read faces. Luci’s hands moved down his shoulder, and he grabbed his hands.

“ Why don’t we just go in and you look around. If you find something you like, I’ll pay for it as an apology for what I said, how about that?”

“ … Ok.”

They walk into the boutique. The inside is a maze of fabrics, yarn, and thread. The ceiling looked to be made entirely of spider webs, and the floor had a purple carpet with black vines on the edges.

It looked … nice. Like how Muffie’s room looked, it reminded him of webbed blankets, sweets, warm hugs, and creepy crawlies. He’s gonna miss having sleepovers with her.

“ Ahuhuhuhu. Hello dearies!” The store owner, a Muffet (Ella, her name is Ella), with an LV at ten, who wore pretty lace gloves and a mini blue dress, spoke in a cheery voice. “ What can I help you with today?”

“ We’re just looking around, Ella,” Luci answered.

“ Of course, tell me if you need any help with anything. Oh, and don’t worry about my spiders, Luci, I know you're scared of them.”

Luci sighed, giving her a thumbs up.

They looked around for a little bit. He avoided bright clothes and things with itchy fabrics. Luci seemed to realize that right away and pushed him to darker, softer clothes. There was a pretty A-line dress with bones embroidered around the bottom.

“ Oh, that’s pretty!” A new voice exclaimed. “ You should totally get that, you’d look great!”

The new person was a Lust Sans, but he had fins on the sides of his head, a bony tail with a sharp, spiny fin going down it, and webbed claws. His eyelights were sharp and pink, and his magic was too low to summon any attacks. He was wearing a crop top with a cartoon shark, blue jean short shorts, and water shoes.

“ Oh, Siren!” Luci looked so happy to see the new monster. “ I didn’t know you were in town.”

“ Lulu!” The two hugged, leaving him awkwardly watching from the side. “ I’m only here for the day. We’re helping take down some poachers soon, so I’m trying to relax a little before then.”

“ Oh, how exciting! I will pray that everything will-”

Did Notmare tell him where they were supposed to meet up? Maybe he can get there all by himself, but he really likes this dress. Does this store take G? Does he have any G? Is he broke? How is he gonna-

“ Would you like that dress, Ebony?” Siren asked.

He looked around and saw nobody else in the store. He pointed to himself questioningly.

“ Oh, yeah. Sorry about that, Lulu said you didn’t have a name yet, and I didn’t just wanna say ‘hey you’ cause that’s like rude. And that dress is pretty dark, and so are some parts of your clothes, so yeah, Ebony. I can call you something else if-”

“ Ebony… Ebony~” He said, testing it. “ My name is Ebony.” He hummed; he liked that name. “ Hello, I am Ebony. It is nice to meet you.”

Siren blinked and gave Ebony a toothy grin (his teeth were so sharp). “ Howdy, I’m Siren!” He grabbed Ebony’s hand and gave a firm handshake.

Luci clapped excitedly. “ You have a name now, congratulations!”

Ebony smiled, but stood a little awkwardly. He gave Luci the dress and asked if he could use the apology on this. Luci agreed and purchased the dress (Ella ended up giving him some other clothes for free after learning he loved spiders and didn’t have any other clothes). Siren ended up joining the tour as they left Spider Silk.

“ This tour will have to be cut a little short to make it to Frosty’s on time, so we’ll make a quick stop at my library and then head over, sound good?” Luci asked.

Siren gave two thumbs up and told Ebony that this was indeed good. Siren gave new life to the tour, talking about everything and anything he found interesting, while Luci added actual facts here and there. People stopped talking about him behind his back because any time someone did, Siren started harassing them into apologizing (and telling them how disrespectful they were being).

Luci’s library was as big as a castle and filled to the brim with books. It was amazing. Luci headed right to the front desk to finish the last of his work as Siren showed Ebony around.

“ There a particular type of genre you like?”

Ebony glanced around. They were standing right next to a huge self, and he could tell there were books on it, but he couldn’t read the letters. He picked one up and opened it, but it was all too fuzzy. Why couldn’t he see right? Wait… his vision was like that before he picked up the book, wasn’t it? His vision wasn’t like this before! It was fine before, before… the X-Event.

“ I can’t read.”

“ Oh, you never learned? I can teach you some if you’d like.”

“ No, my vision is messed up. I can’t see the letters anymore.”

“ Oh.” Siren stood there and scratched at the back of his neck. “ Do you have glasses?”

“ No, I just realized my vision is messed up,” Ebony answered.

Siren made a face, the same one Luci kept making, and sighed. He grabbed Ebony’s hand and dragged him to the front desk. He banged his hands on the desk.

“ Ebony needs an optometrist.”

“ I’ll schedule one for him,” Luci said offhandedly as he sighed paper after paper.

“ Great!” Siren grabs Luci and drags both him and Ebony out of the library.

X would not be happy with him. He should stop letting these people drag him everywhere, but it’s nice. They’re here and real. He kinda wanted a hug.

Frosty’s was a nice cafe. The two who ran the cafe, Frosty and Blaze, were really nice, and Frosty gave Ebony a chance to brush up on his sign language. Siren bought one of everything for him to try.

Ebony tried a hot coffee first. It made his chest burn, and he pushed it away, coughing and choking. It felt his sternum (DYING, IT BURNED HE STABBED HIM) was on fire. Frosty grabbed him some napkins, and Blaze put ice in the other hot drinks they made.

Notmare and Elderitch came in after he tried the Strawberry Creme Puff (he liked it, but Siren looked at it longingly, so he gave it to him).

“ Ah, my friends! Come here, we are trying to find out what Ebony’s favorite flavor is.”

“ Sweet food!” Elderitch yelled as they tried to grab Siren’s Creme Puff. He shoved Elderitch away.

“ Get your own. I bought this all with my money.” Siren said as he valiantly defended his food.

Notmare laughed as he turned to Ebony.“ So, you got yourself a name, huh?”

Oh, yeah, Notmare doesn’t have a name, does he? Would it be okay to joke around? That’s what he did with his friends back home. Is Notmare his friend (he shouldn’t be asking this; Notmare is a stranger, he shouldn’t feel so safe)? He thinks Notmare is his friend.

“ I was told that I should figure it out right away so as not to be like you.” He joked.

“ How rude! Who told you that?” Notmare exclaimed, but he was smiling. It must be okay.

“ Multiple people,” Ebony answered, grabbing a spider-shaped donut and a frozen mocha latte. He took a sip of the latte and gagged. “ Ugh, chocolate.”

He can’t have chocolate. X would be upset. The chocolate in the house is his and his alone. They aren’t allowed to have any (that never stopped Cro- SANS, though).

He gave the Mocha to Notmare as he tried the caramel. It tasted just like the drink Muffie always made after their sleepovers.

Elderitch and Siren were arguing about something when a skeleton(?) came to ask how the food was. It was a parasite of some kind, obviously dangerous with its high LV and menacing stare. He answered its questions honestly. It stared at Notmare and made him uncomfortable.

He asked Luci if it was alright if they left early. Friends should always keep friends safe (he’s not going to screw it up this time).