Repeating Steps

Death

Ink didn't ever think he'd ever be the target for one of Dream's arrows. The concept had never even occurred to him; not as an idea, never mind a possibility. If there were two people Ink could trust to never hurt him, no matter the situation, it had been Blue and Dream. It had always been Blue and Dream.

Until now, that is.

Ink had thought that nothing could've made it so they'd be on opposite ends. The three of them had stuck together for so long that being without them felt unnatural and foreign. Blue and Dream had become parts of him that he would give up everything to keep. They had become more important than any art piece, or mindless whim, or even whole AU's could be to him.

The whole multiverse, if Ink let his mind wonder that far. Himself, his very concept, the strands of code and magic that kept his soulless state intact. Everything, if he let himself linger on it, meant less than them.

It was a dark thought. One Dream and Blue would be horrified by, surely. They'd refuse the idea outright- their righteous natures never letting them even consider themselves more important than everything they knew. Dream and Blue would be horrified by many things. Ink had known that for decades now.

They never really did truly come to understand what his soulless nature implied. What it could mean. Most people became too disgusted by the concept to really understand what it meant- to be truly soulless like he was. Not even Error had, despite all he knew. His hatred always kept him from truly realizing.

Blue and Dream cared for him even after the truth had been let out. Even without the hatred, or disgust, or fear, even they never realized it. Perhaps the only way to really know was to experience it. To lack the biases and emotions that the soul was made of to see the truth uncovered.

He could see it in Dream's expression. He thought he knew now. Thought he finally unblinded himself to see the truth. The heart aching hatred- the loss, the hurt, the begging- all emotions Ink could name but never feel, all rolled up into one messy, unexplainable emotion. There was fury in those eyes just as there was grief. He stared up at him as if he thought he could see Ink for who he truly was.

He hated him, Ink realized. Hated that he had loved him. Hated anything to do with him.

Hated what he had thought Ink had done.

Blue and Dream hating him had been a fear of his, long ago. Back before they knew about his lack of soul. He stared into his own eyes, saw the murky purples, oranges, and greens, and felt the fuzzy grip in his chest and known it as fear.

He had been afraid they'd hate him. Leave and judge him just as everyone else who had realized had done. But they hadn't, and that fear fizzled out and died, left a small plant that grew and strengthened the trust between them all. After that, there had been no fears, no second thoughts, or stray doubts.

If they hadn't left him after all that, nothing could pull them apart. It had been such a core thought of his, a trust in the universe similar to how he could trust the sky to be blue. It had defined his decisions, broken beliefs, and formed new ones. There was no Ink without Dream and Blue, and the same was said for them.

The bowstring was pulled back further, shaking ever so slightly.

White eyes stared at a crowd of familiar faces, some more important than others. Dream stood at the front, eyes desperately trying to convey a stone-cold look despite his inability to do so, but there were others there as well. Error stood amongst them, his height immediately making him stand out. His red eyes held his usual look of hatred, but it seemed more muted now. Less feral and more relieved, making him for once not look like a beast.

Dream's brother stood there too, along with most of his usual tagalongs. They, like Dream, all had their weapons out, minus Nightmare, though Ink knew Nightmare didn't need one to hurt him. Outer was also there, Gaster blaster floating in the air. If Ink were a better person, perhaps he might've been happy to see them all on the same side for once instead of fighting each other.