«Idylisstale;A Tale Of Three Siblings»

Chapter 5-Splotch?

Error approached the armada warily. Ink stared the taller down, smug and sure of himself.

"Error! Give it up now, and we won't kill Nightmare and his Gang. Try to fight back, and they die." In a show of threat, Ink raised his clenched fist and a multitude of Gaster Blasters powered up.

Error, out of the corner of his vision, saw Geno move protectively towards the cages and Blue tense up.

He grinned.

"Whatever you say, Creator." He inclined his head in mock respect, shocking Ink's army and the squid himself.

All of the draconian skulls dematerialised, for the simple reason of that the destroyer had never shown any form of respect-mocking or otherwise-to Ink, and nor had he ever called Ink by his title.

"R-ready?" Ink's voice quavered, shaken. He regained his composure and spoke again, this time clearer. "On my mark." Once again, the blasters were summoned and charged.

This time though, they pointed at Error.

A resonance of protest exploded from where the Gang was, comments ranging from pleading to swearing. All of this was ignored as Ink's eyelights flashed shapes and colours, and before he could say anything, Error broke into a fit of laughter.

Confused, Ink faltered yet again. "Oh, dear Creator. You didn't think if show up to an ambush without backup, did you?"

He extended his phlanges, strings shooting out and grabbing Souls out of the surrounding shrubbery, their owners not too far behind. "Now, I'd like for you to meet my newest ally."

Ink was panicking; how in Fox's name had he known about the Ambush? And who was his new partner in crime?

He cast a glance behind him at the Gang, and was even more bemused when he saw that they were as befuddled as he was. "Who is this ally, Error? We have all of your backup right here."

The destroyer cast a dark smirk in Ink's direction. "Verse. This is Ink, the squid. Come say hi!"

A human girl barrelled out of the snow coated pine trees that lined the soon-to-be battlefield. She paid no heed to the masses of assorted Sanses, immediately turned to face Error and started arguing with him.

Ink studied her, taking into consideration how nimble she was, and taking interest in her black-to-white gradient silky, bob-style haircut. Ink inched closer, hoping to gain information by... Listening in. Not eavesdropping.

"Well, at least be more careful! You could get killed. Go hide." That was the only excerpt from their squabble that Ink heard.

Error, clearly done with their brief fight, obeyed the girl and strolled into the bushes, flipping the Light Side off.

The girl turned and scowled fiercely, sweeping the crowd. She looked at Ink, dead in the eyelights, and her stoic expression turned to one of utmost loathing.

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Verse glanced about under a bored veneer, unknowingly striking each of the Judges with cold terror when she cast that already infamous, Rhadamanthine gaze at them.

It was as if she was peering deep into their Souls, seeking out their darkest secrets and getting ready a plan to exploit them. One or two gave an involuntary shudder, or maybe more.

Verse, ready to call Error back to ask which one was Ink, took one last glimpse at the throngs. The moment she locked visionary implements (a skeleton didn't have eyes, did it?) with that one monster, she didn't care who or where Ink was.

She only had eyes for Splotch.

It was undeniably him. Those ever-changing eyelights, that paint-splatter of a birthmark, that easily detestable haughty mien... Even his style was the same, though there had been an outfit change somewhere in the course of their time apart.

Before Verse had caught up to her emotions or her logicality–which was chasing her feelings, trying to wrangle them back–she had taken off, running towards Splotch like there was no tomorrow.

In her hands materialised a weapon, a blunted dagger. Verse, now a spectator of her body's actions, realised with a pang that that was the same blade that had slit her flesh and drawn blood before her and Error first re-met.

Her body leapt up-to a height that she could easily reach but so many others could not-and landed on Splotch's back, straddling him as though he were a horse. She beamed, every inch of her face manic.

Verse raised her dagger and plunged it down, burying it in Splotch's skull. She carved a gaping , turning Ink into a skeleton nearly akin to Horror–the wound's edges were jagged and unprofessionally torn apart–but it served her torturous purpose.

Ink spat up marrow and dust at this sudden attack, keeling over. Verse pushed his limp body away from her as he collapsed, his falling momentum growing sizeably.

Nimbly, she landed on her tip-toes and curtseyed contemptuously. Her lower lip curled into a sneer worthy of the Malfoy Family.

Before anyone else could react; assist Splotch, attack Verse, anything, Verse shot towards Splotch at thrice the time of light speed, poised to strike again. A bone–Classic's attack–and she managed to dodge thanks to her agility.

Snarling at Classic, Verse made a strategic retreat, bloodlust aroused by the sight of Ink's writhing form, marrow and dust splattering his skull.

Practically every single monster in the vicinity either hustled and bustled to Ink, or just looked at her in shock. A few got into an defensive position, weapons ready.

Verse smiled and flicked her wrist, the Multiversal sign of “bring it on, bitches”. She leapt forwards nimbly, her dagger coated in dust and marrow.

However, before she could wipe out half of the Originals, she was pulled back. Icy strings looped around her limbs, tightening around her an dragging her back across the snow. Verse fought like a demon, but could not escape.

"Verse, chill. You're gonna kill him, and as much as I hate him and I know you do too, I don't want the Balance I've been forced to keep to collapse." Error's voice managed to calm Verse quickly, but it did nothing to reassure the Judges.

Verse tsked, but stopped struggling and stuck her tongue out at the pixelated skeleton. "Ugh. Fine. So where's Ink?"

Error gave her a blank stare, confused. "What do you mean? You almost killed the squid lord." He squinted, tilting his head in inquiry.

Verse gaped, open-mouthed at Error's words. She whipped around–as much as she could with Error's strings around her–to look at Splotch, and a moment of reality-flipping vertigo hit her.

That.... That was not Splotch.