Wounds Heal, Scars Fade

Chapter 8: The Plan (Ink's)

~???/TimeVerse~

A Gaster sits at a table much smaller than him as the 'Leader' tries to get the others all to focus on the image that the 'Leader's' Multiversal 'Friend' sent.

"Guys! Maybe it's him! Maybe after so long, we've finally found-"

The computer in the middle of the table dings, a video beginning to play when the 'Leader' presses a button.

"So, Error, do you know your family? Who you used to be before you became the destroyer?"

"N0. It d03sn't matt3r."

"Why not?"

"W3ll..." Error picks up a rock, throwing it off the cliff of the starry AU.

"What family w0uld want m3?"

"Why wouldn't they want you? You're a sweet kid, you love to draw, you love chocolate, you're selfless, you're kind, you always think of others."

"I'v3 kill3d M!11!0N5 0f inn0c3nt m0nst3rs. N0 family wants a murd3r3r."

"Do you enjoy killing?"

"What kind 0f qu3sti0n is that?"

"Tell me, Error. Do you enjoy killing?"

"...N3v3r hav3..."

"What would the result be if you just deleted the AU?"

"Th3y w0uldn't lik3 it much, and all th3 p30pl3 w0uld dr0p int0 th3 V0id t0 suff3r f0r3v3r."

"See?"

"I'm a murd3r3r, I s33 that."

"No silly. The choice you picked was the more merciful of the two options, it's like. Picking the lesser of two evils. Yes. Murder is bad, but in a situation where it was either murder or their suffering, you choce the kinder option, even if it hurt you. Plus. You didn't enjoy that. Your LOVE may have increased, but it didn't change that you love others with your whole soul."

"What's l3ft 0f it."

Error's soul appears in his hands, the poor thing still badly mangled and damaged, cracks littering the smaller than average soul, which is rainbow but with emphasis on Light Blue and Yellow, with Green and Dark Blue being close behind.

Ink looks away from the soul-

And the recording ends.

The Gaster stands up, the 'Leader' following the Gaster.

"Was it him, Dad?" The Gaster remains silent, but the flecks of pure magic in a liquid form tell the 'Leader' the whole story.

"I'll talk to my counterpart, and we'll begin to transition him home. Your eldest son will be home again after so long. I promise." The Gaster pauses, but says nothing, only entering his home and locking himself in his room, sobbing quietly at the pain and trauma those two Deities have inflicted upon his first son.

~UnBalancedVerse~

Dream stands at the head of the table, looking around at all the monsters he's gathered, even the Bad Sanses.

"We need to talk to Ink, and find out what he fully knows about Error. He clearly is hiding something from everyone." The massive group nods, and Dream teleports them to where Error is, since Ink doesn't have his vials and emotions. Dream only vaguely finds it weird that Error is feeling content but doesn't question it, wandering while searching, stopping at the edge of a clearing where Ink is meeting a child sized version of himself.

"So you got my video?"

"Yeah, Dad was really upset. It really is him. We thought he died when he was pulled into the Void."

"We can transition across using ink, but I've never tried to send Error through ink. I have a bad feeling he'll react bad to it."

"We could try to take him back the way he came here, but that relies on the Void, which is a finnicky deity at best."

"Error doesn't have Their strings over him anymore. I made sure of that. I'm the new Destroyer while also being a Creator. I'm balancing this world all on my own. The Deities know they can't kill me and don't want to. I'm their favored child and if I die, this multiverse will die with me, reverting back to the original timeline."

"Hmm..." Ink watches as his child self paces back and forth, finding the action strange, but not important.

"Maybe...Okay. Ink. How much do you care about this multiverse?"

"Not much. After all, they mindlessly followed Dream, Blue, and Stretch's anger without consulting Error's side. Even the 'Bad' Sanses tormented him for fun. It SICKENS me that I spent so long surrounded by such empty people. And I'm the soulless one." The small Ink smiles.

"Then...Why don't we rain on their parade? Kill Origin and the rest go."

"You mean Classic?"

"Yeah yeah, whatever UT is called here. We call him Origin, just like how we call me Imprint."

"Kill Classic and we all die. What about Error?"

"Error belongs to TimeVerse. Even after millenias, he's still got his core code connected to TimeVerse thanks to Dad working with another Deity." Ink grins, malice on his otherwise emotionless face.

"Well that's a fantastic idea. Kill Classic, drop the others all to the ground, but Error and You head home. How?"

"Dad's Deity friend should come through. If not, I have a feeling Error will instantly recognize me. We used to be best friends when he was called Lapse."

"Like an Error?"

"No no. He was Dad's first child, so Dad was careful when he picked Lapse's name. Lapse can mean more than a mistake. And Dad picked the form which means "An interval or passge of time; elapsed period." And when used as a verb, it can mean "To come to an end; stop.". Lapse had the strongest control over a power which I only saw once, when I nearly died. He brought time to a complete halt. Dad didn't know, and once Lapse released the power, I had to explain what happened. It left me awestruck, Dad proud, and Lapse happy. He saved his younger brother. He named me after that moment, saying I had left an Imprint on his memory, and he'd never forget me." Imprint grins cheekily, opening an ink blotch portal on the ground.

"Call me when you're ready to kill Origin, so I can be ready to meet with you and Lapse." Ink nods, and Imprint jumps through. Dream feels chills run down as even though Ink is humming happily, he can't sense a single emotion from the soulless creator. Nightmare's aura gets suffocating however.

"I know you guys were listening. Did you get it all?" Ink looks right at the group.

"Because I look forward to you all failing to stop me." Ink laughs, snapping his fingers and vanishing without a trace.

(1067 words.

So Ink seems to be OOC?

He's not. In this story, he learned about Error early enough that when The Stars V. Error began, Ink had already had a full understanding of Error, and began to hate the Stars and everyone who hurt Error as he learned more.

In the beginning, he didn't know Error was actually only 13.

It was only after last chapter or the chapter before that he learned Error's real age.

And that's why he seems to hate them all now.

Not only had they chosen to attack a Sans without talking or discovering the reasons behind Error's destruction. But now Ink knew that everyone had chosen that path, and subjected a literal child to that kind of hell.

Ink, in this one, follows more the original idea of wanting to protect everyone. He doesn't want to fight anyone if he can at all help it. Hence why when he discovered Error's existence, his first choice was to learn more about Error.