A Splash of ink

Chapter 11- Insanity isn't always fun and games (SwapDream)

Paperjam has a rather bad day but things soon start to look up!....wait...what are these two doing here?

————

SwapDream Multiverse

Paperjam could tell that today was not going to be a good day.

He sometimes had days like this, where the numbers felt too much, constantly flashing at him to pay attention while he just wanted it to all stop .

He knew from experience that there was nothing to do but power through it but it could be so very hard...

Even the trip to the beach didnt help to lift his mood, despite having been thrilled to be going here a few days ago.

Instead he sat quietly in the sand, slowly cupping some in his hands and blankly observing the way the granules fell out of his fingers.

He hated days like these, where the world felt sharper and his mind no longer hid the things he tried to bury, despite his best efforts.

The gazes of other abominations also felt much more searing today, making him want to hunch in on himself and hide.

"..why don't I fit in with others, Fluffy Destroyer?" He quietly asked, looking up at them with dull eyelights, not noticing the tears falling down his face.

Dream used his wings to shield the babybones, glaring darkly at the passing monsters and using his magic to scare them away.

He crouched down and carefully brushed away their tears, sighing at the child's rather turbulent emotions.

"You think differently than them and not everyone likes this. They adore their neat little boxes to stuff people into and tend to get upset when someone doesn't conform to their ideals.~"

He spoke with years of experience, unhesitantly looking directly at the babybones, not fearing their deeply penetrating gaze in the slightest. He let them see the truth in his words, carefully pulling them closer when he saw their breath hitch.

"...I don't like being like this.... It hurts, Dream! "

"I know it does but you will survive it. You will learn to live and on day even thrive , Paperjam.~"

Dream calmly observed all the madness and tiny fragments of sanity, still left in the small child, carefully patting their cheek in comfort. There was very little he could do to help, pulling the child fully into his arms when they began to cry in earnest.

He knew it would be hard for them, as he himself had struggled early on but it was all about balance , even if his brother thought he always went overboard.

He was insane, not a saint!

He was unsure what exactly they expected from him, having a feeling they thought he should act like everyone else does, which sounded terribly dull and impossible .

"It's ok. Let it all out. I will protect you while you do. No need to fear.~"

—

Dream watched Paperjam carefully over the next week, unsettled at how quickly their mood shifts had become. He intimately knew insanity and this clearly wasn't just that.

The babybones' personality had slowly gone back to normal' after another week but he was clueless what to do now, humming as he felt new visitors in the AU.

He had been expecting them to arrive quicker than this but he guessed he had made it harder, by using his magic to hide Paperjams Code.

He couldn't make it too easy for anyone to find them after all. Where would the fun be in that?~

He smirked when he spotted them, intrigued by the monsters as he hadn't expected these variants at all. They looked far less 'civilised' than he expected but it only made his interest in the babybones grow.

However did they manage to get a Creator and Destroyer pair, as caretakers?

The omniverse truly had a variety of fascinating monsters, deciding it might be time to expand the variant types he brought as 'guests'.

"Little one. There is someone here looking for you.~"

He smiled at their clueless look, using his wing to push them in the direction of the two frantic monsters. He was rather fascinated how quickly the new monster's emotions switched from fear, to pure relief with a deep sense of parental love, when they spotted the child.

He stood back and watched as the two monsters fretted over the child, observing the way the Error type released magic in the air, which the child automatically absorbed. So that's how they had been feeding them!

Paperjam was puzzled why Creator and Destroyer were here, letting their questions wash over him as he observed them back. He titled his head in confusion when Creator crouched in front of him, their hands twitching weirdly at their side as if they wished to do something.

While deeply puzzled by this action, what he did understand was the way their numbers were flashing, which were looking rather odd at the moment.

He slowly reached out his hand and gave a featherlight touch to their face, patting them like Fluffy Destroyer sometimes did to him.

"Your numbers have gone funny, Creator. I think you need more paint."

Ink choked back a sob in relief, glad they had found Paperjam alive. He had nearly destroyed Fresh when they admitted what they did, only his mate preventing him from acting out his desires.

Getting away from his multiverse was nice though, almost freeing in a sense and he was growing rather tempted to just never go back.

Sharing a look with his mate they silently agreed on their next plan of action, both looking forward to where this could take them.

——

Dream watched the little family leave, his brother standing by his side as the portal snapped shut.

"See brother. I can be civil~"

"...you let him go because you had no clue what to do with him, didn't you?"

Dream spluttered at the accusation, his brother sighing as they grabbed yet another cigarette, having missed being able to smoke as freely due to having a child around.

"Just admit it. You are only used to dealing with sane monsters."

Nightmare would have been impressed by his brothers mental 'growth' if he hadn't bared witness to Dreams' frantic attempts to keep the frankly feral babybones alive.

At one point he was convinced he saw Dream fully regain their sanity, after being pushed over the edge once again, which had been one of the most horrifying things he had ever witnessed in his life.

He breathed out the smoke from his cigarette and sighed in relief as some of his stress vanished, silently wishing the kids caretakers luck. He was just glad they weren't his problem anymore, socket twitching in annoyance when he heard his brother mutter at new potential 'guests' to bring home.

He desperately needed a break...

~~~~~~

*In the New Multiverse*

Ink: *Smiling brightly but with a highly murderous undertone* Im sorry but I think i misheard you. Where exactly did you send Paperjam to?

Fresh: *Feeling something is off but cant quite put his finger to it* I dropped them off at SwapDream, my bro! I bet they are having a rad time

Error: *Quickly grabbing Ink before they can dust Fresh* You can do that later! Lets get to the babybones first
-
*Paperjam reuniting with Creator and Destroyer*

SD Dream: *Smiling far too widely to be natural* See brother! I can be good sometimes~

SD Nightmare: *Looks at them knowingly*...did they try to eat your fancy dishes again?

SD Dream: *Close to tears* They ate all of my plates! I had so many, now they are all gone!~