The Sapling of a New Generation

Chapter 1

The enemies were fighting as if for their life. Another horrible attempt of the glitching creature of the anti-void to destroy an AU. Their views on the world were the perfect definition of black and white, most said. Not a single shade of gray in any of their eyes.

Such a small au it was, none of them were sure what its name was. Either way, one of them didn't even bother to know. It was another useless creation that was thrown away and abandoned. The sketchy lines of the locations and the story were nearly done! Yet so lonely and forgotten, with only a human roaming around in the empty world.

But now, not anymore. They were held hostage by the blue glowing strings, squeezing the small red soul. They were almost there, the soul was on the verge of shattering into a million pieces. The human could do nothing as they were hung up by the same strings, right above the cliff of the poorly colored blue waterfall. The supposed Frisk was trapped in the vibrant threads, like a bug in a spiderweb. The human could not fight back either: one slight move and they would be brought into worse agony by the strings tightening around their throat.

With blurry eyes they were barely able to watch the two new monsters fight in the area, the bright save star being the only source of light. It brightened the one who seemed to be the hero, the warm color making his brown clothing pop. The human simply begged to be saved, repeating their pleas in their head in order to not piss off the enemy who could crush them with a swift movement of their hand.

"Why are you protecting this bullshit in the first place? It's bound to be abandoned, to rot in the void!" The villain screamed, throwing another fit as he always did. The destroyer was bored, and this was the perfect thing for him to tear apart without feeling bad about it. But no, Ink had to play the hero in the story. The powerful Protector of the Multiverse, what a pathetic fraud. He didn't even bother to fight back, dodging each of Error's attacks as he fired left and right.

"The creator promised to come back to this! Leave it alone and stop with the disturbance!" The artist threw back, trying to kick some common sense into Error. He didn't lack it, no, he simply had different views. He was a parasite, a virus, a destructive and deadly creature of the anti-void that had laid its eyes upon alternative universes and timelines.

"Promises are empty words nobody has ever followed. Just like you!" With another yell, Error angrily swung the heavy bones attached to his strings towards Ink. Yet again, Ink jumped right over them, letting the bones shatter against the wall. "Because once they promise, they forget and don't come back until it's too late. Oh, why am I speaking, associations won't make you remember the time you literally ditched me in Outertale!"

Ink's pinpricks have been refreshing with each blink of his eyes, the shapes and colors changing into rather hostile and sharp forms. The flaring red color was displayed vibrantly within the pointy squiggle as he stared at Error in anger. "Are you seriously still mad about that?! That I forgot I was supposed to hang out with you?!" As he spoke, he lifted Broomie with a swift move, shielding himself from a bone that nearly pierced through his eye. This foolish reason cannot be the only one that caused Error to try and destroy a nearly finished project.

"YES I'M STILL MAD, NOW FUCKING DIE AND LET ME FINISH MY WORK!!" Error grabbed the strings in the air, lifting himself up near the human soul. The child shivered and closed their eyes in fear, their breath catching in their throat as the destroyer tightened his grip around the strings. It was the time when Ink had to strike, and unfortunately, both figured it out.

The artist ran towards Error from the opposite side of the path, and swung his paintbrush right at him. But just then when the ink was supposed to hit him, Error fought back. The glitching Gaster Blaster fired right down onto the pile of black ink, ripping apart the blue webbing he had made earlier and taking it down with the magic. Ink stood right before the glowing save star, and it would have hit him perfectly if Error didn't miscalculate the attack.

Instead of damaging Ink, the mixed up ball of magic crashed onto the save star. The explosion that the mixture had created made the artist roll back to the edge of the cliff, nearly falling off of it. He didn't even notice anything at first, powering up to protect himself from another possible strike. But it didn't happen. Instead, Error was staring down at the save star with wide eyes. Or at least, what it had become. A tiny skeleton curled up on the ground, the shiny checkpoint glowing through the black, seemingly fragile and wobbly ribcage. As the destroyer gawked at it in confusion and fear, the protector's eyes began to glow the same vibrant yellow as the save star in the small skeleton's chest. Just as confused, but rather curiously, he approached it. Ink had completely forgotten about the prior fight, his attention focused on what he assumed was a newborn child.

The destroyer of alternative universes, the feared and hated thread towards the multiverse. Had created something new. Sorry to disappoint, but the phenomenon was unacceptable. While Ink was distracted with the new fascinating creation, carefully studying it with his big starry eyes, Error was panicking. He raised his hand in an attempt to kill the newborn, but his body was holding him back. Just like with any other things he struggled to face. The glitching hand slowly lowered as it trembled, and he didn't know what to do.

Completely ignoring his surroundings, he fled into a newly made portal behind him, leaving as quietly as he could. The creation was not his problem, he convinced himself. Despite the strange feeling in his soul and draw towards it, he wanted nothing other than its absence. Anything but being near something made out of him and his enemy. His enemy!

The destroyer had run away, leaving the damaged world with the unwanted guests behind. Ink sat in front of the small skeleton, gently touching its arm. With the slightest contact, it started to wake. Their huge eyes had opened slowly, the hot pink sockets matching the same colored markings on their cheeks. So intriguingly similar to Ink's splash on his jaw. The child started to breathe when its eyes opened. Confused on what he should do, Ink looked up at the place where Error was present just a moment ago. Great, now he has to deal with even more trouble. What is even supposed to be done with a child? The strange parental instincts were kicking in, aside from the curiosity and confusion.

Before picking up the newborn from the puddle of magic, the artist stood up on the ground and freed the trapped soul. The Frisk dared breathing again, taking in a sharp gasp before exhaling shakily.

"Oh dear.. you're safe now!" Ink reassured the human, splashing paint onto the air. It instantly materialized into a platform, the edges of it pointy from the splat and quick freeze. It's like the black paint became an ice sculpture. After it formed, Ink freed the human's body from the blue cocoon in the same manner as he did the soul, cutting the strings and letting Frisk land carefully onto the platform. With shaky legs, the human looked up at their savior. They smiled in grace, watching the strange skeleton pick up the newborn creation from the ground and vanishing into the blue path as a puddle of ink.

The location sure as hell was damaged, but at least it wasn't as dull as it used to be.