ArtistTale: Ink and Adeleine

Act I: Chapter 3

(Perspective: Adeleine)

I have to admit, this Ink Sans, he's kind of cute. But that's not important. We were heading to the docks where we would then get on a boat, and sail to Susie's company on its own island. I still don't know why she decided to have her company on an island, but whatever. I mean, she does build amazing inventions for us, I can't complain too much. Anyway, we got to the docks to board a ferry.

"Have you ever been on a ferry?" I asked Ink.

"I don't believe so," Ink Sans, "I usually spend most of my time in the void or in the underground." I honestly felt bad for him. An artist who spends most of their time in an empty void with no color sounds plain old awful. I could never live a life like that. When we got onto the ferry, we sat down in seats where we could see the ocean.

"Wow," Ink said, "The ocean sure is beautiful."

"Indeed it is," Meta Knight said.

"It's going to be a long ride," I told Ink, "Once the boat starts moving, I can show you what it's like outside."

"Sure," Ink said. This was perfect. I could get some time to talk to him alone without Ribbon or Meta Knight interrupting.

"ALL ABOARD!" the captain shouted. About 10 seconds later, the boat set off. I got Ink to follow me outside towards the front of the boat. I made sure that Ribbon didn't follow me. Bless her little fairy heat, but she can be so annoying at times. As we went outside, the wind was rushed onto us.

"It's a bit chilly," I said, "How do like the view?" Ink just stared at it for a second.

"It's beautiful," he told me. Now, I had a chance to ask him some questions.

"What is Error like?" I asked.

"He's mean," Ink responded, "But he can also be kind of sweet. He was like a brother to me at one point. We even had a kid together. His name's Paper Jam, or PJ for short." Hearing those words made my mouth drop. He had a kid with this freak? First off, how? They're skeletons, and second of all, what?!

"You... had... a... kid with him?" I said shivering nervously. Ink looked at me and blushed.

"No! It wasn't like that!" he said, "We had him on accident." That only made things worse for me.

"On accident?!" I said, "How?! You're skeletons! Can skeletons get pregnant?! Are you a girl or something?!"

"Calm down," Ink said, "Let me explain. After a long battle, leftovers from both me and Error were left on the battlefield. Apparently, the materials combined and created a living life form, a baby skeleton that is. When we found out, we were both so surprised. Neither one of us were good with babies, but I wanted to raise the child with him. Unfortunately, he was a terrible father, so I ended up doing most of the work."

"Oh," I said, "Where is he now?" I was really glad he cleared things up.

"PJ? Oh, he's spending time with another guardian of the multiverse," Ink said, "I honestly think she's a better parent than Error or I could ever be."

"I see," I said, "How did you and Error end up like this? From what I know, I'm pretty sure he tricked you."

"Yeah, he turned his back on me," Ink said, "Even after I trusted him."

"I'm sorry to hear that," I said, "We'll find a way to defeat Error, I promise. I also wanted to give something back to you." I took the ink bottle out of my skirt pocket, and handed it to him.

"Thanks," Ink said as he took it. About 15 minutes later, we arrived at the island.

"LAND HO!" the captain shouted. Then, we got off the boat.

"So, what were you two talking about all by yourselves?" Ribbon teased.

"Shut up," I said to her.

"I am curious as well," Meta Knight said.

"Oh, not you two," I responded, "Oh, hey, is that not Haltmann Works Company I see there?"

"Are you trying to change the subject to get us to stop asking about it?" Meta Knight asked. Gosh diddly darn it! I was hoping that would work.

"Listen," Ink said, "We don't want to talk about it right now. Can't you just respect that?" Thanks Ink.

"We're sorry," Ribbon apologized, "We won't bother you about it if you don't want us to."

"Thank you," I said. We then headed into the building.

Inside the building, it smelled like a hardware store, if you know what I mean. We couldn't find Susie anywhere. All we could see was this giant machine thing that she must've been working on for a while.

"Hello?" I called out, "Susie? Anyone?" Then, I heard the nearby elevator. Susie walked out of the elevator, or floated, or something. I don't know, she doesn't seem to touch the ground, but she can't fly freely either. When she saw us, she was surprised.

"Guests? Here? Now?" she said, "Oh no! This can't be! I'm not even ready for the day! I haven't showered or done my hair or anything like that!" We all gave her a confused look.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said, "My name is Susie."

"We know," we all said. That didn't seem to help her, but only make things more awkward.

"Oh man," she said, "Today is not my day, is it."

"Ms. Susie," I said, "We're here because we need your help. This is Ink. His multiverse is in trouble. Everything he knows is being destroyed by a being known as Error. He somehow absorbed the power of Void Termina and is using it to destroy worlds, timelines, and AUs."

"That's awful," Susie, "It reminds of when I first came to this planet wanting to destroy all of the natural resources. Well regardless, how can I help?" She walked down the stairs from the elevator.

"We want to find a way to reach Galactic Nova," I continued, "If we get one of his wishes, we might be able to defeat Error."

"Nope!" Susie immediately dismissed, "That's way too risky. Do you remember what happened last time?"

"Susie, what else can we do?" I asked, "This being is more powerful than anything we've ever dealt with. Heck, maybe even more powerful than Void Termina himself. This thing can destroy the multiverse." That changed Susie's mind a bit.

"Well, I have done research on the multiverse," she responded "And I guess I have nothing better to do. Sure, I'll help you."

"Thank you," I said.

"But," she continued. Of course there was a 'but'. "I need you to get something for me in order to do so."

"What is it?" Ribbon asked.

"As most of you are aware, Galactic Nova was blown into bits," Susie explained, "I know way to fix to that, but the machine requires some materials. I need you to go to the big city Rhythm Route. There, you will meet Magolor. He will give you the Gem Apples I need for my rewinding machine."

"That doesn't sound so bad," Ink said, "That actually sounds fun. Seeing the big city, filled with so many colors."

"Hold on," I said, "There's always a twist when it comes to things like this. What else do you plan to do? Make us go to the swamp to find some ogre bamboo?" Okay, maybe I was a bit too extreme there. I promise, I'm a nice girl. I just don't trust Susie that much, after she betrayed me a few years back. We've always stayed friends, though. She was one of my few girl friends out there.

"I'm kidding," I said, "We'll go to the big city and get those gem apples."

"Thank you," Susie said.

"No, thank you," I said back. We both giggled.

"We'd better get going now," I continued, "I hope to see you soon."

"You too," Susie replied. We then headed back to the boat. Man, we were going to head to big city. It was going to be so exciting. Ink would love it there. He loves colors. But does he like loud noises? Well regardless, I was sure he would love it.

"ALL ABOARD!" the captain shouted as the boat took off, and headed back to Cappy Town.