The Path We Walk

Ch.24 The Secret Counsel of Balance

Previously...

Nightmare clears his nonexistent throat and walks to the center of the room. Core follows. He begins speaking  "Alright. Now that everyone that can make it is hear, we can begin. I know this was surprising for some of you to be called here, but this was a serious emergency. This not only effects us balance keepers, but the safety of the whole multiverse. May I call to order, The Secret Counsel of Balance."

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Now...

  Core steps forward after Nightmare calls the meeting. "To begin, we have a few new people in this meeting. Some Nightmare and I decided would be needed for the content of the meeting. The others have joined us in our cause since our previous gathering. For those new, welcome. I will try to give a brief explanation of why this counsel exists and how we came to be. As you should all know, in the multiverse there are a series of balances. The balances of creation and destruction, negativity and positivity, order and chaos, life and death, and finally good and evil. If these balances tip to much toward one side it can effect the multiverse and other balances negatively. The counsel was created for communication between different balances in order prevent problems. We also invite those that are aware to help us in maintaining them. An example being Nightmare's group. They not only help in spreading negativity, but chaos and death as well. This helps Reaper and Fresh with their work. The counsel was originally established when the scales of life and death leaned too much toward life. Reaper and his brother were desperate for assistance in rectifying this. The problem was they were created to reap the souls of the dead rather than to spread death. Due to a previous incident, Reaper confirmed accidentally, it was it was  dangerous for them to attempt to reap a soul before their time as it causes negative side affects. So, he needed outside help. This lead to him seeking me out for help in finding a solution. I in turn, lead him to Nightmare. Nightmare agreed to assist him and in return, Reaper wouldn't act against him and his group. This lead to Reaper being introduced to them and reuniting with his lost love. We soon started having regular get togethers to keep in communication. Until we decided to create an official counsel. We now have a regular meeting every six months or sooner in an emergency. This is only the second time we have called an emergency meeting. The first being, to repair my own balance with Fresh. Now that we have explained everything we-" Core was saying when they were interrupted by a groan.

  "Everyone, but Reaper, stay back to give Error some room! He's waking up!" I say to everyone. Wine and I back up a bit to keep from activating his haphephobia and overwhelming him.

  Reaper comes closer and carefully hold Error's hand. The young skeletons stand behind Reaper. "Erry, you with us?" Reaper quietly asks.

  *GrOaN* "FuNkInG SqUiD AnD HiS FuNkInG ReD PaInT! I HaVeN't GoT ThAt HuRt In AgEs! HeLp Me Up ReApEr, I HaVe To FiNiSh WoRkInG BeFoRe We ReAcH ThE MuLtIvErSe LiMiT." Error says barely coherent.

  "No can do Error, healer's orders. Ink really messed you up and your still suffering from serious magic exhaustion. Your lucky to be alive with how you came in. I'm actually surprised you managed to wake up so quickly." I tell him. He turns and squints in my direction.

  Wine goes to his cloths scraps and pulls a pair of cracked glasses from them. "Here. I found them in what was left of your cloths. They're a bit damaged, but you should still be able to use them until we can get new ones." Wine says as he holds them out.

  Reaper grabs them and places them carefully on Error's face. I had to keep myself from cooing. They made him look younger and super cute. Error looks around confused to see everyone. "Well. Now that your awake Error, we need to know what exactly happened. We know it was Ink that hurt you." Nightmare says.

  "UgH! InK WeNt On A HuGe CrEaTiVe SpReE. I WaS In ThE MiDdLe Of DeStRoYiNg An UnDeRfElL Au, WhEn ThE InK BlOb JuMpEd Me. I CoUlD TeLl He WaS AlReAdY On HiS ReD PaInTs By HiS EyElIgHtS. I TrIeD To FiGhT BaCk, BuT He HaD Me ChAiNeD Up AnD StArTeD AtTaCkInG Me. YoU'vE PrObAbLy SeEn ThE ReSuLtS. I'Ll Be FiNe ThOuGh. I HaVe To Go DeStRoY Or It WIlL CaUsE PrObLeMs WiTh ThE BaLaNcE. I CaN FeEl HiM CrEaTiNg AgAiN." Error tells us.

  "You will not! We've never seen you in such horrible condition before! We know you can get pretty hurt, but your limbs and ribs were literally broken in several places! You were on the verge of dusting even with your immortality! If it wasn't for Aster's healing, Reaper would have had to reap you. You would have left your children behind. How do you think they would have felt if that happened?" Nightmare tells him. Error looks almost ashamed.

  Core comes to the bed. "We know it's not your fault that Ink hurt you, but you can't keep doing this. You need time to recover. That's why we called everyone here. We need to figure out what to do to keep the balance. Ink is out of control. He almost singlehandedly ended our multiverse. We're still at risk with you temporarily out of commission and him creating. We need more than just a temporary solution, we need to take action. This can't go on. If Ink isn't going to try to maintain his end then we are all going to have to step in. Nightmare explained your condition. You more than almost died Error. You were hanging on by a thread. You didn't have the magic to heal yourself left. Aster being a true neutral healer was more than just lucky, it was practically deity sent. You would have dusted otherwise." Core says to him.

  Error seems to realize just how close he was to dusting. He closes his eyesockets and his shoulders shake as he starts sobbing. Reaper sits on the bed next to him and carefully pulls the glitchy skeleton to lay on his chest. The aura of the room is somber. Everyone is filled with sadness, anger, and a touch of regret. Dream was feeling quite guilty. Everyone is thinking about how close we were to Error dieing and the rest of us following soon after. The rest of the multiverse doesn't have any idea how close we were to being wiped out. And, if we don't come up with something soon we will anyways.