Reborn As A Dust Sans [Undertale Multiverse]

Ch47 - Omega Timeline

Ink's POV

Excitement buzzed throughout Ink's entire being, so much so that she would have thought she was overdosing on yellow if it weren't for the fact the vial still sat half-full on her sash. The moment she emerged from the portal with Ashe by her side, she began to run, dragging the other along by their hand as she bounded through the streets in search of the quaint little boutique she had always wanted to visit.

Spooky floated by their side, but Ink paid the spirit no mind. She had been able to see them this entire time, but something deep within his non-existent soul screamed at her to not let Dream know they existed, to keep the funny little spirit a secret, so she did, for now at least. It was easier to pretend it didn't exist than to come up with an excuse if she was caught talking to them.

When the artist finally slowed down, she returned her attention back to the smaller skeleton. 'Where are we?' Ashe slowly signed, looking warily at their change in surroundings.

They looked a tad disorientated. Ink was hyper aware of the emotional state of others, a sort of trauma response from having to de-escalate arguments with Dream, but her soullessness made it difficult for her to actually understand the emotions and react appropriately, which was why she often came across as inconsiderate or rude. She knew the other was uncomfortable, just... not how to help.

"Welcome to The Omega Timeline!" she exclaimed, wiggling her phalanges as though she had made a dramatic reveal.

'The Omega Timeline? What's that?' Ashe responded, earning a highly dramatic gasp from Ink

"HM. I HAVEN'T HEARD OF IT EITHER. I WOULD BE CURIOUS WHAT THE WET PAINTY ONE HAS TO SAY," Spooky let out.

Ink was careful to wait until Spooky was finished talking, to not talk over them, but to still feign ignorance. "You don't know!?" she exclaimed, eyelights sparkling. "This is one of the most well known places in the entire multiverse! Everybody who lives here are outcodes! They were either born like that, or their AU was destroyed by Error, or something else happened, so this is their home now," she explained.

Ashe nodded to the explanation, expression curious with the desire to learn more. It seemed strange to Ink that a Creator would know so little, but she didn't mind - it meant she could share her knowledge and teach them! Nobody ever trusted her to explain things, so this was a pleasant change.

Ink had quite a good reputation here, of course, being one of the main defenders of the worlds targeted by Error and Nightmare. Even though her soullessness was public knowledge, the majority cared more about her actions than her state of being, so those who were suspicious of her were at least polite enough to never say so out loud.

Ashe, on the other hand, earned a different type of attention. Glances of suspicion, distrust, confusion. It wasn't all that surprising - Ashe did still look an awful lot like Dust, but since the smaller was clearly a guest of Ink's, the residents of this place weren't so sure what to think. Ink made sure to give her 'terrifying smile' (as Blue called it) to deter some of the more judgemental gazes cast Ashe's way.

'Then why are we here? I work with Nightmare. That seems like a... conflict of interests or something?' the shorter asked.

"I trust you! Creators wouldn't... well, maybe I know less about you than I thought I did, but you seem nice, so I'm not worried! And! Well! Um! DressesAndSkirtsAndStuff!" Ink blurted out, flustered. She was naturally boisterous and confident, but even with the other by her side, she was nervous about trying on such feminine things. "This place has heaps of different stores for multiverse travellers! It's to help with the uhhh, economy? Or whatever Blue called it? So it's got a giant shopping district! Which! We are going to! Right now!"

'Multiverse travellers? So could my... could my family visit?'

"Oh, um..." Ink trailed off. She still wasn't sure why Ashe considered the other a family and tried to hide the small amount of hurt she felt.

When Ashe came to this multiverse, the voices of all other creators faded away. There were no more demands to create new worlds, no screaming at her for taking breaks, no expectations to work until she was so exhausted she couldn't see straight. There was just silence.

It was terrifying to go from so much to nothing at all. She loved the voices. They made her feel loved. Special, even. When they left, she was terrified she had done something wrong, that they had abandoned her because she messed up, and Dream was just... so angry when she tried to bring it up, calling her delusional and attention-seeking. Blue was the only comfort he received.

But the longer she spent away from them, from both the voices of the other creations AND from Dream, the more she realised that maybe, just maybe, things hadn't been as perfect as she had assumed. She had been... a little bit blind to some of the things going on. Maybe she shouldn't have been dismissing all those little things that had been bothering her this whole time. If somebody as nice as Ashe had faith in the bad Sanses, then there must have been a reason for that, right?

...What was she thinking about again?

"HMPH. I BET ROTTEN LEMONFACE WOULD NEVER LET OUR FAMILY VISIT," Spooky pouted, brows furrowed in annoyance.

Oh! Right! They were talking about the Omega Timeline and whether it would allow the nightmare gang to visit! Ink would have thanked the spirit if she weren't still pretending she didn't see him.

"Um, so, the Omega Timeline isn't open to everyone, exactly, just whoever Core Frisk thinks is safe. Dream doesn't get to decide who gets to visit," she responded, missing the look that Ashe and Spooky shared. She hadn't realised how she directly responded to Spooky's comment. "Actually, now that I think about it, I stopped coming here because Dream said we were both banned? I totally forgot about that. But, er, clearly I'm not anymore, so, I dunno what was up with that."Ashe signed something that Ink didn't quite see, but Spooky gave a firm nod at it.

"INKY SPLOTCH SKELETON! IT HAS COME TO OUR ATTENTION YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO SEE AND HEAR ME. IF YOU CAN, PLEASE CONFIRM!"

Ink paused for a moment. "Nope," she grinned, staring Spooky right in the sockets. She wasn't being obtuse or dumb - she was just messing with the spirit, a tiny form of petty revenge for being so mean to her friend. Well, Dream probably deserved it, but that wasn't the point.

"HUH? BUT YOU LITERALLY JUST RESPONDED TO ME! AND YOU WERE LOOKING RIGHT AT ME!"

Ink averted her gaze."No idea what you're talking about~"

"BUT! YOU JUST DID IT AGAIN! YOU RESPONDED TO ME!" he screeched. "BROTHER, YOU HEARD HER RESPOND TO ME, RIGHT? RIGHT!?"

Ashe snorted. 'I think she's just messing with you, Spooky,' the smaller signed.

Ink felt her chest flutter. She. Hearing the other using her pronouns just made her feel so warm and happy. It was like a dream come true, a dream she had spent so long trying to push away. The happiness she felt now was more genuine than the constant yellow Dream forced upon him. For the first time in centuries, she was truly happy, not just the plastic artificial kind she had grown used to.