God of Balance

Chapter Nine

     "And I'm also sorry for what I'm about to do".

Alloy is confused at Nightmare's next words. He doesn't react in time when one of Nightmare's tentacles shoots towards him. It wraps around Alloy's waist and lifts him up into the air. He drops his brush in shock.

     "Let me gO let me go leT mE go! P-PLeaSe! PUt mE dOwN!". Alloy is crying and screaming within seconds of Nightmare picking him up. He's absolutely terrified of being touched. His voice grows horribly distorted and shrill. Alloy is in too much of panic to think of turning to ink or using his strings. He flails around wildly in an attempt to escape, but it has no effect.

     Nightmare finds himself struggling to keep a hold of Alloy. The kid is surprisingly strong. He has to remind himself that Error asked for this. The others advert their gazes and say nothing. Alloy's pleading and panicking has turned into wordless carterwals. He struggles and cries like he's dying. It sounds horrible. Nightmare might have given in if Alloy didn't suddenly fall limp. He immediately lowers Alloy and drops him on the floor in a heap. Is Error really that scared of being touched? None of the gang had ever tried after he explained the first time, making it clear he wasn't afraid to rip someone's head off. After watching Alloy completely lose it, Nightmare never wants to touch him again.

     Alloy is still on the floor, but he's slowly sat up. The color in his right eye has been replaced by a loading bar that hasn't begun to fill. Nightmare crashed Error. Ink looks just as disoriented and confused as his counterpart was last night, but his first reaction isn't to lash out. Ink isn't aggressive by nature.

     "Ink", Nightmare says simply. He doesn't like the creator, but there's nothing he can do about it now.

     "Nightmare?", Ink asks, confused. He looks around at the other bad guys and then his gaze falls to his brush. Ink's eyes widen. "I killed him......", he says, shocked. That ticks off Nightmare, but before he can comment, Ink bursts out crying. "I killed h-him so many times! I'm so-sorry Error!". Ink cries and pulls his knees to his chest, hiding his face. He's never felt real emotions before. It's all so much more complicated than his vials.

     "Quit feeling sorry for yourself! Didn't Error say you had to go find Dream?", Nightmare hisses. Ink suddenly lunges up to his knees and grabs Nightmare's arm. It seems he doesn't have a fear of being touched. Nightmare almost slams Ink to the ground. He only restrains himself after remembering that this is also Error.

      "But I hurt him! I di-didn't know about the screams! Or the injuries! And- And the balance-", Ink cuts himself off with a shudder of pain. He lets go of Nightmare and clutches his chest.

      "Pull it together man! You're suppose to be a God, aren't you?", Dust rolls his eyes, "Get a grip! If Error was really upset with you, he would've found a way to kill you off by now".

     This seems to sober Ink up. He has Error's memories now along with his own. Now that he thinks about it, Ink can feel the rage and and anguish fading over the centuries. Error hasn't been happy in a long time. Alloy is happy in ways that he could never be after hundreds of years of torment. Ink owes that to him.

     "Right, right, you're right", Ink takes a shaky breath. He grabs his brush and forces himself to stand. It feels weird to be alone and controlling these hands. Something leaves a gaping hole. Error is missing. After spending time as Alloy, Ink doesn't feel like himself anymore.

     "Good. Get going, then. I'm sure you can find Dream if you stop at Blue's first. He's probably worried about Alloy", Cross suggest.

     Ink nods and uses his paintbrush to open a portal. It's not glitching out like Alloy's, but rather swirls with different colors. Ink looks back before he leaves. "I...... I'm.... I misjudged you all. I'm sorry". Nightmare is genuinely suprised to get an apology from the prideful creator. Ink steps through his portal before more apologies slip off his tongue.

Blue's AU is almost always peaceful. Ink takes a moment to simply breath and steady himself after arriving. He stands in the middle of the street across from his friend's home. Ink nervously fiddles with the paintbrush. The bar in his right is a quarter full. He's running out of time, but he's still incredibly nervous. Ink eventually forces himself to march on forwards. When he's in front of the door, he can actually hear voices talking back and forth inside. Blue and his brother? Ink slings his brush over his back. He brings up a hand, hesitates, and then knocks lightly on the door.

     The voices stop. A moment later, the door swings inwards to reveal the owners of the voices. Blue almost tries to hug Alloy when he sees him standing on the doormat, still in one piece. Surprisingly, Dream is here. He was horrible busy yesterday dealing with the council, but he has finally come to find Blue early this morning after seeing the beacon.

       "Alloy! You're okay. What happened!? There are a bunch of scratches all over your eye!", Blue is fussing over Alloy and gets him to come inside without touching him.

     "Actually, Blue, it's just Ink", he shrugs his shoulders and smiles sheepishly. There's no distortion in his voice.

     "Ink!? What happened to you? Where have you been? Blue has been telling me about all these strange things you've done. Alloy? Is there a way we can help you? Get you separated from Error?", Dream spews. His concern overpowers anything else. By now, both he and Blue have noticed the loading bar in his right eye.

      "No!". Ink is surprised at how Dream's last question feels. The idea of Alloy never coming back hurts. He lowers his voice a little after realizing that he had shouted. "Um, sorry. Its just-......... just not what you think".

      "Please, just tell us what's going on! What's happening to you?", Dream begs.

     "Error is not controlling me, and I'm not doing anything to him", Ink wants to clarify that first. Dream seems surprised, but he's settling down to hear what Ink has to say. Blue looks like he suspected as much. "I........ killed Error. In the Anti-void. I only meant to capture him, but went too far", Ink has to pause for a moment. Remembering both sides really hurts. "His soul didn't shatter. I thought that I could fix it. When I reached out to take it, I- we............ Alloy showed up".

"I don't understand. Who is Alloy, Ink?", Dream asks again.

"I can't explain everything, not yet, but Alloy will. You guys have to trust him. I think the Multiverse will be better off in his hands......". It takes a lot for Ink to admit that, but knowing what he does now, Ink's realized that he and Error are not the right people to protect the AUs.

"You're going to disappear again, aren't you?", Blue mumbles sadly. Dream stiffens. The thought hadn't occurred to him. The bar in Ink's right eye is nearly full.

"No! You can't leave us!", Dream panics.

"Oh, Dream", Ink looks away guiltily, "I'm not leaving. I'd never do that. I'll just be........ a little different. Please don't hate Alloy. He wants what's best for everyone". Ink then reaches forwards and pulls both his friends into a fierce hug. "I love you guys, and so does he".