Not To Be Dramatic, I'd Rather Go Back To Homicide

4. Rumors

It had been six months since Dream has busted through the doors of the viewing room. In that time more universes became Fallen and more universes crumbled, some just disappeared without Falling and left no indication of ever existing. This left Ink in a self-destructive state, they wouldn't leave the Doodlesphere unless Dream dragged them by the scarves. Every few days I'd see Ink, tracing lines along the floor, muttering, scratching and gnawing at their fingers sorting out their thoughts and 'emotions.' Multiple times they'd sit in silence behind their throne, their face voided of emotion and eyelights white, I'll ask if they're okay and Ink's response will always be 'something isn't right, there's just no feasible way.'

In basic terms, Ink was in shock and not of any help for the most part.

Dream and his personal guards investigated the surviving universes, stringing together evidence of code tampering. Something has disrupted the natural evolution of the codes, meaning they were forcibly changed, some parts removed. Some of these universes were meant to be Fallen but not as quickly as they did and not as devastatingly. By looking through the established codes for two months I was able to uncover distinct storylines for all seven universes, four of them had exceedingly tragic events, one was a story of monster revenge and the other two were just copies.

The fact that copies had Fallen meant that this was contagious, all standing AUs were shut down but not destroyed.

"If we kill them, we won't know why this is happening," Ink had said, before collapsing on the ground in an inky heap. They've been slouched in their chair for days without moving, it's like when I restart or crash, but more concerning. We called in Fresh, despite my obvious fucking distaste for the parasite. They came in without reluctance and looked over the reports and pictures from the AUs. After one visit to a Fallen copy Fresh quickly deducted that it was corrupted with something similar to a virus. Although I wish Fresh wasn't alive, they did help quite a bit. Which sucks, coz if I killed them people would care now, or something.

Two months ago another bomb went off in a CandyTale copy, it targeted Dream who was visiting the new AU. Dream is always a target, Ink is as well but they can't be killed so there's no worry. Trackers were able to gather a piece of shrapnel from the explosion, with their face, but I digress. We possibly have a chunk of the bomb in our possession. It's under strict surveillance until any technician or scientist is conscious. But until then-

    "Error, your shirt is on backwards."

Dream is staying with me, for safety reasons, and that has ruined my well-structured lifestyle; work and then avoid people. Not to mention the piles of stress and pressure I've been under to find a solution to the Fallen AUs and the bombing incidents. What am I? A god?... well I am, but, that's not the point.

    "G-G-G-G-GO-O-OOd mOrnIng tO yOU tO-O-O-OO DrEAm, hOw wAs yOUr frE-E-EElOAdIng nIght's rEst?" I shuffled into the kitchen, cat slippers slapping on the blue linoleum floor. Oh yeah, I have a house. It's in the AntiVoid, so there's no actual day or night, but if I barricade the windows with my strings, I can make a faux night.

Dream huffed and I heard him wander to the stool at the kitchen bench. I asked if he wanted some tea, he perked up and said yes. I put the kettle on to boil and basked in the silence. For as long as Dream let me.

    "What will you do about the corrupted AUs?" I groaned and shot a demeaning glare to the Spirit. He smiled brightly and laughed, "There's no need for such a mean look Error. I'm just talking business." I leaned my back against the sink, stretching my arms up over my head.

    "I-I-I-I'm In my hOUsE, yOU ArE AlsO, UnfOrtUnAtEly In my hOUsE. W-W-WE dOn't tAlk bUsInEs-s-s-ss In my hOUsE. Th-th-th-thIs plAcE ExIsts sO I cAn IgnOrE yOU Al-l-l-ll." Dream chuckled and covered his mouth politely, even in a cream bathrobe and light blue tracksuit pants this Spirit can look like the most elegant monster to exist. It pisses me off how haughty he acts, but he's not doing any damage. Dream's nice to look at either way.