The pair of skeletons- one a god and the other a deity's Voice- emerged from the trees together, one half carrying the other and using a gigantic paintbrush sort of as a walking stick. They climbed a low mound of dirt piled over a stone wall separating the fields from the forest.

Not a word was spoken between them, just a soft silence bespoke the weariness of one and the eternal patience of the other. Slowly the armored one guided the scarf-wearer to an approaching ragtag group of monsters and dragons, who all perked up at the sight of them.

Eventually, the thundering footsteps of Saphira and Epic's tyrannosaur were impossible to ignore, forcing Ink to look up in first distant surprise, then faint admiration at the glittering blue dragon.

The next thing they noticed were the apologetic looks on both Razz and Black's faces, the pair stepping aside to reveal a worried Muffet and a fairly tall skeleton in an orange hoodie.
Blue gasped faintly at the sight, and Ink leaned tiredly on his paintbrush to let him go.

Glancing back at the god for a moment, Blue then stepped forward. "Papyrus?"
"Bro?" Thin sockets teared up in a mix of disbelief and relief. "That really you?"
Muffet only nodded to him, clasping several hands together and stepping aside.

After a moment of hesitation, Carrot darted forward, scooping his much shorter brother into his arms as Blue pounded his backside hard enough to produce dull clacks.

"I was so scared of what you would do without me!" The older of the two gasped, voice wobbling with untold relief. "You.. you are not meant to be alone!"
"Neither are you." The orange clad mumbled into the bandana.

Blue finally leaned back, hopping off to look him in the sockets. "I was never alone."
Carrot briefly glanced up at Eragon and Saphira.
"Did he help?"
"Actually, to be brutally honest, Eragon has needed our help far more than we ever needed his. That isn't to say that we never needed you, though." He turned to smile at the human, who nodded somewhat bashfully.
"I do believe I have needed less help since the Burning Plains."
"And I agree with you on that." His grin widened, and he promptly tugged his brother over.

"It's about time you all met one another. I've been waiting ages for this!" He explained as Carrot impulsively pocketed his free hand, one still gripping his sibling's shoulder. "Papyrus, meet Eragon, Dragon Rider, Shadeslayer, and now Kingkiller- names that you will soon understand. And also Saphira, last hatched female of her race and in my opinion, the most elegant and beautiful."

She blinked at the compliment with a faint hum, Eragon holding his hand out. Carrot hesitantly took the hand.
"I'll admit, you don't look like any human I've seen before. Guess that's the difference between here and the Multiverse, huh?"
"I wouldn't say that I am like the rest of my race. I have been changed to be more like an elf. My cousin Roran, however, is a human without magic."
"I certainly wouldn't call him normal. I've never seen a human quite so Determined as he is, not even Chara or Frisk." Blue mused.

Carrot quickly retracted his hand in alarm as GB snorted. "He is kinda terrifying. Good thing Reset simply doesn't exist in Alagaësia. He probably would have used it to march to Urû-baen alone and kill Galbatorix himself somehow. Stars know he'd do it."

"Wait, there is no Reset here?" Black questioned as Carrot stared in bewilderment.
Eragon blinked. "I have no idea what you just said."
I said Roran's terrifying, and giving him magic would make me want to stay far away from him. He explained with thought.
Eragon paused at that, then shook his head with a chuckle. "I can't say I can argue with that. I heard he singlehandedly killed Lord Barst in the attack."
The violent commander? Draco questioned.
The human nodded.

"I'm afraid we lack context to all of this." Razz pointed out. "It do sound bruhtastic." Epic commented a few yards off, comfortably seated on the back of the tyrannosaur, reptile sitting as well.
"All things that can be explained in due time." Blue announced, clapping his gloved hands together. "But at the moment, I've noticed that it's getting late and there is still much that needs doing. Ink?" He turned around, everyone facing the unusually small god that had been silently watching without a word.

"Yeah?" He straightened slightly, appearing oddly drained before his gaze flicked back to the now stiff Carrot glaring at him.
Blue's voice softened. "Will you help us?" He offered.

The multicolored eyelights drifted to the mass of monsters in the distance, growing difficult to see in the growing darkness. He seemed uncertain.
"Are you sure? I've.. caused a lot of bad."
"And now's the time to make amends for it."
"Since when have you even cared?" Carrot growled out.

"Papyrus-" Blue warned. "No, you don't understand, I need to know what damn game he's playing this time. I'm done, what he did to you-"
"What he did helped us." Blue asserted then, gripping the jacket sleeve. His brother looked back at him in confusion.
"If Ink hadn't done what he genuinely thought was the right thing, the.. Bads never would have had the chance to truly try to be better. They were not even allowed to be. I've always told you that they didn't want to be evil anymore, that if given the chance they would change. Well Alagaësia gave them that chance. Eragon, Saphira, you remember what they were like at first. Not the greatest, but they were never outright trying to be wicked."

Eragon hesitated. "Well, I believe Nightmare was trying to hold up some sort of facade, but it was not a perfect mask. It started slipping as soon as we entered Gil'ead."
"It did, didn't it? His king of negativity persona was a point of pride for him, I admit." He chuckled faintly.

"Was?" Ink softly echoed, a glint of curiosity in his puzzled eyelights. Blue regarded him again with a smile. "I almost wish you could have seen his transformation." Looking back up at his brother then, he sighed, stepping away.
"I know a lot of lives and universes are now lost to the Void, but I cannot help but recognize the silver lining. A world without Fate? A world where Destruction does not have to destroy, a world where the Twins simply don't have to fight but instead work together? You have no idea what's become of the others, and you should find out."

"We have heard of some changes according to what deities have sensed back in the Multiverse, but we don't know any of the details." Black admitted. Blue glanced back at him, then Razz, then shared a look with GB and Eragon.
"Come with us." Both Riders spoke at once, startling the others as they stood by each other in front of the dragons.
"We'll show you."

"To where- you have a tail?!" Carrot switched topics in alarm as he noticed.
"It was a change brought on by a creature of fire. One of many." He grinned, whitish eyelights seemingly staring into the others.

Blue then hopped into a previously unnoticed saddle upon GB, Eragon climbing into Saphira's.
"You can fly with us, yes?" The human asked.
There were several blank stares.
"...Why do you have a saddle." Razz deadpanned at GB. The skeleblaster immediately flushed, looking away.
"It's an Alagaësia thing. We stand with Saphira and Eragon, so.. it just kinda came with. Dragon Riders are supposed to ride dragons, after all."
"You're not a dragon!" Black exclaimed.

It was then that a certain steel entered his voice.
"Sure I am. Just as much as Saphira." With a snort, he gently tapped his skull against Draco, who hummed and gestured to the others with a wing as all three dragons turned.
"But wha 'bout Susie?" Epic called.

Saphira was the first to pause, regarding the enormous reptile with a glittering eye. She was the only one big enough to carry such a beast, though it wouldn't be easy.
"Have you ever wondered if she wanted to fly?" Blue called almost teasingly.

Epic regarded the dragon, then seemed to share a look with the dinosaur that seemed to sense something happening.
"Yanno she bite hard, Bruh?"
"There are ways to keep an animal calm." Eragon pointed out, Blue nodding to him.

"Are you actually about to fly off with a tyrannosaurus?" Black questioned, having already summoned a Blaster to climb up on.
"Saphira's more than capable."
At that, the dragon snorted, staring into the dino's hazel eyes even as it stared back with surprising intelligence. She then hooked her talons beneath the enormous belly, and the rex rumbled, head waving about in a mix of curiosity and concern.

"This is going to be a sight." Ink commented idly, a hint of his old personality gleaming through as he leaned on his paintbrush and watched.
Carrot shot him a look, but dragged the silent Muffet onto Razz's Blaster with an apologetic smile.

The swapfell scowled at that, but allowed it as they rose into the air, Ink still on the ground and observing it all. Saphira finally lifted the anxious dinosaur off its feet, ignoring the lowing that commenced as she threw her weight into the air, raking deep crevasses in the earth as she took off.

Susan bellowed in alarm, kicking before going still, bright eyes locked on the terrain below. The other dragons then teleported into the air, the rest of the group ascending on Blasters. They began to fly towards the walled city, but GB turned and began to circle. Ink hadn't followed them, instead staring up at the vista for a long moment.

He seemed to jolt at that, blinking as his lights shifted through shapes and colors before he swung Broomie, flinging out his namesake until it formed into a dripping black Blaster that he appeared on, zooming after them.
When he nervously joined the group, they flew on to Urû-baen.

When they passed over the tremendous wall and dipped under the shelf, shouts and cries rang out from the people below, melding into a weak cheer as the Varden greeted the dragons and Rider that had slain the evil king.

"What is that all about?" Black called, eyelights glittering as he sensed something about it.
"A mad tyrant is dead." Blue replied. "Eragon struck the killing blow, but out of spite he still blew himself up in a nuclear explosion in our faces. It was quite the alarming sight, I'll admit."
"... What?" Carrot blanked.
"Long story." Draco supplied with a rumble.

"...I saw it." Muffet was barely heard over the wind. "It was so bright I could see underneath a human's skin in front of me... that human then.. died."

Casting a glance at the spider, Razz then questioned. "And you say you were at ground zero?"
"Just as there are spells here that can create nuclear explosions, there are spells to protect against them. We had the strength to create such spells in the seconds we had. The rest we can go over later."
They then dipped down to a dispersing crowd guided by two figures on the ground near a square.

Draco landed first with a muted clatter, GB bouncing along behind him as the pair got out of the way of the great glittering blue dragon as she thudded against the cobblestone, cracking it.

Susan bellowed once more at being set on her own two feet again, stomping off a few yards before Epic giddily guided her back to the group. The rex was shaking her head and squinting at Saphira, but not overly upset.

"Is that a fucking T-Rex?!" One of the figures yelled, charging over. It turned out to be Killer, though he was nearly unrecognizable to most of them without his black, endless tears and pale rings for eyelights when once he had none. The only thing that really made it clear who was standing before them was the glowing, red-white heart hovering in front of his shirt.

Hopping off of GB, Blue grinned at him. "Indeed. Her name is Susan, as it seems."
It was then that said dinosaur had fully returned, snorting. Epic snickered from atop her back. "I jus' rode a T-Rex carried by a dragon, Bruh."

The other figure was approaching as Killer went stiff at the sight. "You just.. you actually have a T-Rex?" He questioned in shock.
Epic just grinned wider, hopping off and changing the subject. "Ya lookie like ya feelin', Bruh!"
After a brief hesitation at spotting Carrot edging towards his brother, Killer smiled.
"Have been for a while." He then glanced to the side as Horror strode up, a remarkably peaceful smile on his face as he walked with his sockets closed.

"You.. can feel?" Razz hesitantly questioned. Killer blinked at him, Horror looking over with a misty breath as Black continued. "Did Nightmare really allow your emotions back?"
"He never took them. They just.. went away when I was nuts. Anyway, why are they here?" He asked Blue, content to ignore the other swaps.

"Killer, they're my friends." Blue reminded patiently.
"They were always assholes." He pointed out.
"They're fells." "Excuse me?" Black squinted at that. Blue chuckled. "It's true, you are still like Red."
"He's abhorrently crass."
"They are words, Black. Get off your high horse." Razz argued, being more fond of swearing.
"Why are you defending that slob?"
"I'm defending the use of fucking language, damnit-"
"Can you not have this argument right now?" Blue interrupted with a faintly amused glint in his lights.

"Fine!" Black scoffed, squinting at Horror before gesturing. "Since when did your right light work again?"
The other huffed in amusement. "Since the Agaetí Blödhren fixed me." They nearly all flinched at his smooth, calm voice.
"The what?" Razz questioned.

"The Blood-Oath Celebration." Blue clarified. "Something the elves have once each century. We were in time to witness it. The event changed all of us. It gave me the tail." He pointed out.
"What actually happened, then? If it returned his light, why not his skull?"
"I wanted to keep it." Horror cut in. "It's a part of who I am. What I am. The flame that did this knew that."

"What is this flame? A fire elemental?" Black queried. Literally everyone shrugged.
"No one knows." Blue admitted.
Then a new voice spoke up from the side, previously unnoticed. "Sometimes I'm an elemental."

They all turned to see a human leaning on a pillar, arms crossed. Her hair was golden, yet gleamed with red in the sun as it fell down her back and front in waves. She wore a slim, pale tangerine shirt over an ankle-length skirt of crimson, dark brown leggings visible under the fabric as she uncrossed her legs and strode forward.
"You know, I never took the chance to appear in the Multiverse while I still could. A bit of a shame, but I suppose it's better I never formed an attachment to it."

They blinked at that sentence, then Horror hesitantly spoke. "You're.. human?"
She grinned at him, blue eyes unnaturally bright. "You think Abyss is the only shapeshifter around here? No, I can appear human too. Not often, though."

With a look of dubious suspension of belief, Black questioned as he crossed his arms at the woman.
"You're the one that spontaneously gave Blue a tail and fixed up those two?"
She fixed her bright eyes on him. "Killer never needed my help. He just needed time and a little tweak to his wyrd. If anything, Blue needed my help most." She glanced at the swap, then his brother.

"... It's your story to tell." She then decided, stepping back and leaning over to peer around Saphira. "Why are you hiding back there, Ink?"

Killer immediately stiffened as Horror's sockets widened. The short god flinched, hooking his brush under one arm as he made to walk away.
"Well. You know. I threw them here. They're going to hate me. Especially after... everything." He gestured vaguely, eyelights dim, purple and blue.

"I thought Blue told you that you should learn to forgive yourself."
Blue straightened in surprise, staring at her but saying nothing.
"And believe me, I know how hard that can be." Her smile grew strained. "I've been there and done that too. Sometimes it's easier to remove yourself from the ones you hurt and try to move on in an attempt to forgive yourself. Sometimes others don't give you a choice to. Sometimes you just have to deal with the guilt and try to be better. Someone.. a lot like you taught me that." There was a hint of pain and nostalgia in her eyes there before she straightened and faced Carrot, ignoring the look on the god's face.

"You." She stated, Carrot blinking.
"My only advice is to shut up and listen to what others will tell you. I know you mean well, but you need to cast aside the lingering emotions of the past and pay attention to the now."
"Who even are you?" He questioned.

"Who I am will never matter to you. What I am, however, might be relevant someday. Who knows how involved I'll be." She then waved a hand dismissively, glancing at Epic.
"Cross is out there to the north in Urû-baen. Have fun saying hello. Also don't forget, Fresh is not what he used to be."

At that, flames flickered at the hem of her dress as she walked off, trailing embers before the flame shot up and evaporated, leaving nothing but floating sparks drifting in the faint breeze.

Even Epic seemed surprised by that encounter, glancing at Blue. "She always like dat?"
"I-" "I think so." Horror answered, staring at the place she disappeared.
"She's a little creepy, tibia honest."

Razz hesitated, then huffed in frustration. "Alright, I can't hold this back anymore- why the hell do you sound so damn similar to Classic?"
Both he, Killer and Blue gave him a dry look.
"Did you forget?" The first swap questioned.
"Because I'm.. basically him but older?" Horror finally replied. Razz paused at that, then his jaw closed. "Right."

Killer then frowned. "Speaking of, I was told he showed up in the throne room during all the chaos yesterday?" He asked the Riders. Blue lit up. "He did! I think he just walked in while we were fighting, I almost hit him when he appeared behind me."
"He was not what I was expecting." Eragon admitted.
"I wasn't expecting that either. It's been quite some time since I met him last." He blinked suspiciously at a fluttering cerulean butterfly drifting by.

Epic then shrugged at the conversation, turning Susan away. "Anyway, seeya Bruhs! I gots somebody t'see!" He waved as the tyrannosaurus idly stomped off, head still rising over some of the smaller buildings.
"Make sure you take whatever you two do outside the city!" Blue called knowingly. "There's been enough devastation here!"

"What do you expect them to do?" Eragon questioned in faint surprise.
"We may never know." Blue sighed. "I only know that during their misadventures they had managed to acquire a tyrannosaurus, and seeing said dinosaur proves that they do in fact get into all manner of nonsense. She seems happy to be here, at least."

Ink then awkwardly muttered. "I guess those universes won't affect everyone that badly, then.."
Everyone stared at him. Blue then shook his skull. "There needs to be somewhere to safely house all those dinosaurs, Ink. Not to mention how we very likely should separate them by time periods. You will help with that, yes?"
"... It's my fault they're displaced."
"It is." He nodded, squinting at the vast shelf. "Are there abnormally large bats hiding up there?"

"...Oh. Those." Ink cringed. "They should probably be moved."
"Ink, when did you create a world with giant bats?"
"I think I was inspired by a human holiday at the time. I uh. Forgot the name, though."
"I don't think we need to know the inspiration behind it."
"Well the bats eat people sometimes." Ink explained a little more nervously.

"Of course they do." Razz facepalmed.
"Well not often!" Ink defended with a bit more energy. "I thought I'd mention it because they won't be around their normal food right now! Which is mostly wild boars! Kind of big boars, actually." He shrank back into himself. "I should probably do something about that.."

Blue simply slowly turned to Eragon, sharing a look with the human. He seemed to understand, facing Ink. "How big are the boar they usually feast upon?"
Ink paused, freezing for a moment as he was put on the spot. His lights flickered through shapes and colors as he thought before he gestured vaguely. "Bear.. ish size? I think they were based on another inspiration, but it's.. been. A while."

"Can they hunt larger prey? Or would that intimidate them?"
"That, I wouldn't know. The details fill themselves out. I created them, but they're in charge of their personal preferences. Maybe if it was a really big boar?"
"So they might hunt Nagran." Blue concluded.
"Hunt what?" The god asked.

"Giant boars native to the Beors." Eragon explained. "It could serve as food while a long term plan is plotted out."
"Yes, it would have to be temporary, otherwise the bears wouldn't have enough food." Blue added thoughtfully. The human dared to smile, somewhat proud to have contributed to their cause- before it shifted into a frown. "How can we reasonably transport one or the other across Alagaësia?"

"Most likely with Error's help." Blue mused, staring at the small colony of enormous chiropterans.
"He seemed to prefer to be alone last we saw him, though."
"He'd just recovered his children, Eragon. I think Chaos would have helped him remember himself. I can sense him already."

He turned and was about to speak when Ink interrupted with a thoughtful frown, slowly lifting his scarf to study it. "I actually think I recognize that name. Who exactly is Chaos?"
"Temmie with a torn ear." Was the deadpan response. Ink stared harder at his scarf. "It sounds familiar? …Like did we hang out? I-"
"Do you remember the Skittle Incident?" Blue questioned.

Ink finally glanced at him in confusion, yet in the same instant his sockets widened and his teeth parted in faint shock.
"It was a meeting!" He gasped.
Black grimaced as Razz groaned. "It was hell. You mean to say you know that Temmie?"

With a devious smirk, Blue replied. "I gave her the idea. She's.. very hyper on Skittles."
"Why on earth would you give anyone that idea?!" Black cried.
"Truthfully? It was a distraction. She was supposed to be released before anyone else arrived, but the sugar rush started sooner than expected and she went wild in the Anti-Void before remembering her mission." He was then chuckling. "I would feel bad, but I have to admit that it was funny."

"I was kicked across the room!" Razz snapped, eyelights flaring.
"It was impressive." Blue grinned devilishly.
"You know, I still wish I could have seen it." Killer noted.
"You would have been calling for blood, I know it. Much worse was spilled that day." Black scoffed. GB just shuttered at that sentence, squinting at Blue.

"Why haven't I heard about this?" Eragon asked with a faintly amused grin to his friend.
"There were more important things to talk about than Chaos's Skittle Incidents."
"Plural?" Carrot asked, hand still on his brother's shoulder.

At that, Horror grunted. "Dust fed her skittles and set her on Killer once. She went after the whole mansion."
Killer audibly shivered. "I am still finding glitter in weird places."
"Worth it for what happened to Nightmare though." Horror pointed out, to which he started snickering chaotically.
"I don't even know where the toilet paper came from."

Black looked like he wanted to ask- as did Eragon- but Horror suddenly paused, glancing to the side in confusion.
"What's wrong?" Blue was already tense, looking at the same patch of nothing.

Horror just waved at him, turning around suddenly to peer down the street.
"I'm.. sorry?" Black asked. "What is this?"
"His spirits." Eragon explained, Blue walking up and appearing to murmur to what genuinely looked like nothing to the others. After a moment, he paused and stared down the street with Horror.

"Can you explain to us normies what's going on?" Killer finally asked.
Blue glanced at him before Black gasped, drawing their attention.
"I hadn't realized I could do that." He stated while staring at the spot Blue had been speaking to a moment before, eyelights gleaming a hint brighter.

"..So Loyalty did wake them?" Blue addressed GB. The skeleblaster huffed, gesturing to Ink.
"While you were gone with him."
"I'm sorry. I was too distracted to notice." He faced Killer as Razz then inhaled sharply, seeing the spirits the rest were still blind to.

Except there wasn't much to do before a colorful group appeared around a corner. Only monsters could be so varied and yet close to one another. Even more, they were familiar to all present, though different from the ones they knew. Even stranger, it consisted of four skeletons, two more than usual.

Horror was unusually still, staring. No one could see his face, but the stiffness in his shoulders indicated a certain tension in him.
"Is that..?" Killer trailed, glancing over. No one else spoke, feeling it was inappropriate to. One of the trio ahead- the tallest- finally noticed them, freezing in place and tripping up the one walking next to him. It was then that the approaching group finally saw them, stopping in place in uncertainty.

"Horror, you should.." Blue fell silent for a moment, then patted his backside. "Go. I know the feeling."
Horror finally turned slightly, giving him a look before they all flinched at a particularly shrill shriek.

Another of the group was suddenly running on all fours, GB rearing up with an inarticulate cry of his own as he charged forward as well, forcing Blue and Horror to duck as he simply galloped over them. The pair met with a clack, GB skidding to stop his forward momentum as his currently smaller brother clung to him.

A moment later Horror vanished in a flash of red and blue, reappearing ahead and throwing himself around his own brother without a sound. The other simply remained silent, slowly falling to his kneecaps so that the other could stand and not dangle.

Blue nodded at that, glancing back at his own brother with a smile before marching towards the mostly confused group.
He stopped before them, surprisingly having almost undivided attention.
"Alagaësia's quite the place, isn't it?" He found himself asking.

"... You're wearing an armored skirt." The Undyne among them deadpanned in shock.
With a snort, he looked down at it. "Well I pull off skirts rather well! It seemed having armor of the like was the only direction to go after that. Utility and fashion."
"Uh.. why?" She further inquired, the only one not stunned to silence.

"Well there was a war here. Can't leave my legs unprotected. However it's just ended, so I suppose you all are lucky to have missed it."
"A.. war?" She hesitantly quested.
"Indeed! The human behind it is dead now, so everything is working out! On that end, anyway. It seems with the Multiverse here we have a lot more to do."

"You don't have to help everyone." His brother pointed out behind him. Blue shot him a look, but didn't reply.
"As someone sworn to upholding peace and keeping justice, I would like to help. However, before that I would like to talk to you first?" He addressed the first Papyrus, currently carrying his brother without much thought.

"Me? Really?" He gestured to himself in surprise.
Blue nodded. "A bit of a personal desire of mine, really." He admitted.
"Oh of course! Sans, you stay here." He set Classic on his feet, the original shrugging and pocketing his formerly dangling hands. There was still an eerie cerulean coloring his eyelights as he grinned at Blue with hooded sockets. It wisped slightly, a glowing butterfly landing on his shoulder.

Blue simply huffed at that before a voice startled him. "You really want a one-on-one conversation with him that badly?"
They all turned to look at Razz and Black standing side by side, arms crossed in mirrored poses.
"You act like you've met already." He squinted suspiciously.

"Of course, we took him and others to the Omega." Razz waved.
Blue let out a scandalous gasp, hand over his front. "Before me? How could you?"
"You weren't there!" Black defended.
"The betrayal!" He cried in a fake sob.
"What were we supposed to do, drag you back through the Void?"
"I'm going to Fall from this!"
"Blue!" Black scowled, Razz pinching between his sockets. Carrot was smiling a little at the shenanigans.

"Ugh! Come on with me, we must escape these traitors!" He waved to the first Papyrus, who was keeping a false disappointed expression at the others before grinning. "Why of course! This is a betrayal of the highest order, I can hardly believe they would do this!" They started walking away, neither really angry as everyone found they were lightened by the silliness.

As they left, the pair of swaps scoffed together. "Fine! We'll leave too!" Black huffed, facing Razz. "Our brothers?"
"Of course! Let's go." They strode off back down the square, strutting with self-importance.

That left the rest of the group to murmur to one another, the Muffet hesitantly walking up to ask a question or two in a soft voice, Carrot automatically supervising as he regularly glanced after his own brother- that pair having stopped further up the street to chat.

Eragon grinned at the sight, then excused himself and Saphira to report back to Nasuada. The dragon's talons raked against the stone in a takeoff not long after that. Everyone paused to admire the sight before Draco snorted loudly, stepping closer. He addressed GB's brother, Papster.
"Have you seen my brother?"

After a pause, the skeleblaster pointed back to the wall of the city.
"He and the other dragons have been working with gods to help explain the situation to the monsters out there."
Draco made a strange yelp-growl and straightened, preparing to jump before Undyne, of all monsters, cut him off.
"Wait! Are you.. Drakon's brother?" She squinted slightly as Alphys beside her lit up in recognition.

Draco nodded shortly, then teleported in a flash of gold laced with blue, reappearing all the way out by the wall and quickly swooping past it.
"Oh crap, I thought he'd be smaller!" She marvelled.
"He's actually bigger than his brother." Flowey noted in shock from his pot in Frisk's arms.

"Some AU's are like that." A forgotten voice spoke up, surprisingly weak and worn.
As Toriel and Asgore begrudgingly stood beside each other to speak with the swap Muffet and Carrot, the others slowly faced a skeleton with mismatched eyelights. He chuckled awkwardly. Once, he would have been unafraid. Bold.
Now all he had was the weight of his sins and the guilt tempering his once explosive personality.

"Yet again, another trashbag. Wow." Flowey noted drily.
"He's more like you than me." Classic pointed out with a slight glare.
Flowey scowled in disbelief at that, Ink hesitating before looking away.
"That's fair." He fiddled with the end of his scarf in his hands, staring at the cobblestone beside him.

Frisk then carefully balanced the pot on their head, Flowey scowling at it as they signed.
*What's your name?*
He blinked at that, shifting to lean on his other foot before he replied.
"I'm. Ink. You've probably heard about me." He winced slightly at their bewildered faces.

"You're tiny!" Undyne spluttered.
He flushed slightly at that, a faint swirl of color upon his cheekbones. "I know. Always been like that." He then studied her for a moment.
"...You were the one who was in the stadium just before…" He trailed at her confused expression.
"I didn't see you there."
"No, we did meet, I just looked.. different." He gestured vaguely before sighing. "Nevermind. I don't know why I'm talking about it."

"Wait, you were the giant squid thing?" She realized. The blush returned, a hint brighter.
"I'm not a squid." He defended, surprised at his own reaction. Before he had always been confused and amused at the nickname. Now he was slightly indignant.

"Look, this is fun and all, but in all seriousness, there's a lot of now homeless monsters out here? Us included? What are we gonna do about that?" Classic spoke up, regarding the creator with suspicion.

A slightly deeper but otherwise identical voice spoke up. "That's a good question."
There were several blinks at the jarring similarity. They turned to see the other pair of brothers returning. Horror squinted at Ink. "Before anything else.." He started in a low voice, turning towards Classic with a blank expression.
"Did you really heal him?" He asked, unexpectedly soft.

Glancing up at the beaming alternate timeline of his own brother, Classic huffed.
"I had the ability. Why wouldn't I? Being from a different timeline shouldn't matter." At that, he smiled. "Still bros."
"If that's your conclusion, then what does that make me?" He pointed out, lights briefly flicking to Undyne with a touch of suspicion.
Classic just shrugged. "I dunno. Haven't worked that part out yet."
"Fair 'nuff."

There was a pause as they stared at each other with odd expressions.
It was then that Killer walked up, faintly anxious.
Classic took a step back from him in recognition, lights flicking down to the exposed Soul. Undyne reached a hand out, a little nervous at the odd situation but just as silent as the others.

"Fuck." Killer stated, not sure what to say. He slowly touched below one of his own sockets, stained with faint streaks of grey.
"It's.. fuck, you're like a memory. You lucky bastard." He chuckled weakly. Horror nudged him, but didn't speak. He was staring at Frisk with an unreadable expression.

"I'm a lucky bastard now?" Classic replied a little uneasily.
"You got the good ending." A new, yet still nigh identical voice spoke. The other two turned, stepping aside at the hooded skeleton. Dust had a sad smile. "You held on."
Killer nodded sagely. "You didn't fall to ugly fucking pieces like us. Sorry you saw me broken before." He looked away, regarding Undyne and Alphys with an odd expression before backing away in shame.

"One question." Flowey spoke up, Frisk stiffening as Dust's unexpectedly malevolent gaze fell upon them, burning as Horror squinted at the flower.
"Sure." Dust finally ground out, not looking from the human. "Ask it. Maybe we'll answer."

After a moment of hesitation, he huffed and continued. "I heard you went crazy and killed everyone…" He paused as the burning gaze finally shifted upward to him, somewhat unsettled by the mix of rage and pain flickering with distant madness.
"Uh. How'd you do it?"

"Wrong question to ask." Horror growled, Dust standing silently. Flowey slowly leaned away from the burning orbs before Dust finally let out a low chuckle.
"He's right, y'know. You really think you want to know how I fucking snapped? Like some joke?" He chuckled a little louder, Frisk now leaning on a shivering Alphys as Dust paused to compose himself, staring at the stone above them.

After a few seconds, the flickering wisps of flame died down and he sighed. He cocked his skull to the side for a moment, then smirked at the flower.
"You were the first. Just a quick-" His phalanges clicked as he snapped, a tiny skull appearing over his shoulder. "And it was easy, too. A little too easy. The person I was then, that old me wasn't supposed to kill. That fact changed real quick. Too quick. Pretty sure you know that feeling. I remember everything you did. That's right. I'm not gonna beat around the bush- after everything that little shit did, I remembered. Every fucking time you-" He cut short with a shuddering breath as a hand rested on his shoulder.

They all blinked at Horror, who slowly shook his skull. "Let it go." He murmured. Dust stared at him for a long moment, his shoulders falling before he sighed. "Yeah. Yeah. I should.. go." He backed away, glancing at Killer before vanishing in red and blue- the colors briefly mixing into violet. He reappeared across the square, easy to spot as he leaned on a wall and tugged his hood further down.

"...Just so you know, I'm not like that. It takes a lot to actually get me mad, y'know? I'm not.." Classic nervously tried to defend himself to his friends.
Horror just snorted. "Unfortunately, you're the only timeline where things got better."
Classic glanced back at him nervously.
"There's gotta be more than you three."

Horror nodded. "And there is. Just one though. Omega's basically the same as Dust, except he found where Asgore kept the Souls first."
Classic's lights died as the others backed away in horrified understanding.
"Yeah, he's the most sane of all of us." Killer huffed. "Acts all high and mighty about it sometimes, like he didn't kill a kid." He squinted for a moment, then his smile fell.
"Just. Y'know. Thanks, I think."

"Thanks??" Classic was bewildered. Killer shrugged, hands in his pockets.
"For not snappin', y'know? It's nice in a way, knowing there's one of us that stayed.. good. Horror's just second-best, and he's been a c- murderer just like us." He cut off from what he was going to say, seeing a sharp glare from the other as his ring-like lights flicked up to his Papyrus.
"Egg-face." He shrugged as he said it, earning a squint.

Then he spun on one foot and stepped away, teleporting off as well. Horror sighed, regarding the others with a hint of shame.
"I've done things. I know that. If you knew everything I know you'd see me as the worst- and in a way, yeah, you're right. But hunger makes you do things." He paused then, regarding their expressions.
After a minute of silence, he regarded Frisk with an odd look.

"Let me guess, you hate them too?" Flowey asked. Frisk winced, looking away.
Horror's reply was unexpectedly soft, sounding worn. "..I used to."
It was a gentle admission.

He nodded to Undyne. "You too." He tapped the edge of the gaping hole in his skull. "You look like you've already heard, so I don't need to explain. I'm not.. mad anymore. It was stress that led to it. That's not exactly an excuse, but you're not the one that did it either. Not really. Just a you that was under immense stress. One that's already decided to pay for it."

"She's gone?" His brother rasped in surprise before clearing his throat.
"Yeah." Horror glanced up at the horrified Undyne. "Moved on."
He then stepped back, moving to stand beside his brother as he tilted his skull and squinted. His next breath was suddenly visible as a billowing red mist that escaped his nasal cavity.

"And y'know what? I've helped a lot of monsters. Might've been through unconventional means, but when faced with a slow death via starvation, things can get desperate. Either way, I've discovered a way to save monsters from death. Isn't that cool?" He glanced up at his confused brother, breathing out a greyer mist.

"..How?" Classic asked, both unnerved and suspicious. Horror blinked at him with an unexpectedly joyous glint in his crimson eyelights.
Then they felt a pulse emanate from him, the mist flowing off of him before shapes began to appear all around them. Figures. Monsters. Hundreds of monsters. All grey and indistinct, many of the closest monsters staring at them. Nearby, Asgore, Toriel and the swap Muffet gasped at the sight, Carrot glancing around in alarm.

"Sure, they're dead, but not completely. They're still here." Horror explained as a few waved. A bunny leaned over, waving at the tallest skeleton gleefully. Like a low murmur, they could hear the faded voices of all the spirits around them.
"How.. did you do that." Undyne whispered loudly.

"Bit of a secret. Most folks can't do it anyway. I don't think I'll do it anymore either. Personal decision." He huffed, seeing Blue return with Classic's brother.
"Horror!" He called. "Are you sure now's the time to show off the spirits?"
"Why not?" He asked, the pair joining the group.

"It's a very neat trick! How did you do it?" The first Papyrus asked.
"S'no trick. I can keep the dead around. That's way cooler. It ain't keeping the dead from dying-" he winked at Alphys- "but it's a close second."
The lizard was pale, likely having figured out how it was done.

"It is a very cool thing. I would prefer you didn't help anyone else, though." Blue pointed out, likely having noticed Alphys as well.
"Nah, don't worry. Wasn't planning on it. Most've my marbles are back anyway." He smacked his skull with a devious grin, something clattering inside. "Oops." He reached in and pulled out a handful of marbles. "I knocked a few loose."

They just stared in dismay before Blue scoffed. "Are you seriously doing that again? I swear, last time you did that you traumatized several dwarves who didn't even get the pun."
Yet in the silence as they all regarded the swap- mostly in bewilderment- a faint snickering caught their attention.

Shockingly enough, it was Ink, giggling into one hand as he tottered backwards.
"I'm so sorry, it's just-" He cut off, snickering.
"I wasn't expecting it?"
"Your humor is still atrocious." Blue deadpanned.
"I know I should have expected that one-" Ink waved frantically, covering his face.

Horror slowly regarded Blue. "...I didn't know he had dark humor."
Blue shot him a dry look. "He's made Dream scream in dismay with his.. jokes."
"That wasn't even that dark." Horror added, chucking the marbles in his inventory. His brother was squinting at him. He looked up, but before he could say anything there was a hand in his skull.

Horror yelped in surprise, gripping the arm as his brother fished out something.
"Sans, I have told you to stop putting things in there." He huffed.
"Paps- gah-" He stiffened up, grimacing. "That's the- hey. Hey!"
Out came a bottle of ketchup.
"Bro that's the only one left-" He begged, lunging.

"Sans." The deadpan voice had several lights turning towards the younger Papyrus.
"I mean my Sans." He quickly corrected, regarding his brother. "You wouldn't store things in your skull if you could, would you?"

Classic immediately froze, hesitantly regarding his older, broken self.
"It doesn't hurt." Horror explained quickly, returning to grabbing at the ketchup as his brother attempted to maneuver it to his own inventory.
"You wouldn't actually.." The younger Papyrus was dismayed.

At that, he coughed. "Nah, it doesn't sound as cracked up as it ought to be."
Horror abruptly snorted at that, the pause allowing his brother to put away the condiment.
"Paps no-" He gasped in, well, horror.
The pair of Papyri shared a nod at that.

"Wait.." Classic squinted at the sight as Horror stared in concern.
"Oh no." The broken one shook his skull, tugging his brother away. "You two are not ganging up on us. We won't survive. Nope."
"I second that." Classic agreed, moving to stand in front of his own brother.

"Absolutely not." The younger scoffed, pushing past him as the older planted his feet and Horror was sliding on the cobblestone. Beside them was a ghostly alternate, grinning with his own brother behind him.

Horror eventually fell limp, allowing himself to be picked up before stiffening at the sight of something nearby.
"Bro, wait." He asked, kicking until he was set down.
From there, everyone was looking where he had been gazing.

The first thing they noticed was the strange, glowing bush in the middle of the street past the square- then they realized there were two figures in front of it, coming closer with synchronous steps.
Carrot immediately tensed upon recognizing one of them, grabbing Blue's shoulder and attempting to pull him away.

Blue ignored it, staying in place. There was a notable sound of dismay at that, but again, Blue didn't care. A few months ago he had sworn to not let others control his life, and now he was making that promise a reality, regardless of the consternation caused.

Instead of letting his younger brother drag him around, Blue strode forward, the action jolting Horror to trail after him.
"Nightmare! Dream! I thought you would still be Cicállaé!" He called.

The pair spoke in synchrony. "We felt Ink. Something changed." Their gazes slid past him for a moment, blue-green and purple-yellow. They spoke again, a feminine voice echoing after them.
"And we felt Destiny. So.."
The entwined vines and tendrils forming leafy branches lifted behind them, revealing a small god-mortal standing before a towering, dark figure with a furred one huddling close.

Blue glanced back in concern to see Ink staring with wide sockets, empty and lightless as he stood stiff. With a wince, he glanced back to see Error had also stopped, lights also absent.
"Is it too much to ask that nobody fight here?" He asked.

As the twins stepped away, Abyss strode forward. Blue was about to ask what he was there for, but stopped himself in confusion- why in the world was Abyss shoeless?

He made to speak again, but Abyss was already speaking in low tones to Ink, who had yet to move, yet to look away from Error.
Slowly, something black trickled down from his socket. He was crying.

Blue stood in the middle, ignoring his exasperated and bewildered brother as he glanced at Error again. The glitch was slowly handing the bundled child in his arms to Chaos, who stammered before she was pushed towards a silent Nightmare. Not once did Error look away from Ink. His face was unnervingly blank, but his sockets.. oh, there was something there. Blue couldn't tell what, but it was there.

The destroyer then took a step closer, long legs halving the distance between himself and Blue.
"Error, wait. He's different-" Blue impulsively pleaded, worried. "Give him a chance."
With another step, Error slowly looked down at him. His voice was uncharacteristically soft and muted. Only a hint of static colored his words as he spoke.
"This is between us, Blue."

Then he silently stepped around him, Blue wincing as he understood his place in the situation. He may be a Deity's Voice, but he was still a mortal, still a stranger to the ancient conflict between the two. Regardless of his friendship with the pair, they were still enemies with each other longer than he could imagine.

He wrung his hands in concern as he fell to watching the interaction. Everyone else stepped back, knowing their own place in comparison on instinct. Error just stood at his full height over Ink, who was still silently staring.

It was a long pause as they stared at each other, as if the silence itself could communicate the depths of what they could not say. The fact was that there simply were no words to describe it all.
Then Ink finally whispered.
"I. Remember." He seemed to want to look away, but couldn't.

Error finally crouched down, giving him with a hard stare. There was another unnerving length of silence before he spoke again in a quiet, deceivingly calm voice.
"Where are your paints, Ink?"

Ink stammered at that. "They- I- left behind. I-i-in the Doodlesphere. I-I don't know if they made it. I don't know why but I. I'm still, uh. Feeling anyway? I'm.. I remember everything. I don't know why. I don't know why I couldn't before, I-I-I remember fighting you, I think. Every time? A-a-and I remember you. Were. Begging. Me to stop. But I just. Didn't believe you? I don't know why- you were so, so.. so…" He shuddered violently, finally looking away as his tears dripped down. They plipped on the stones with flashes of prismatic light, seeping into the ground and making the rocks glow with color. Blue stared for a moment. Why in the world were his tears doing that? It wasn't normal, even for Ink.

Error just watched him cry for a moment, appearing utterly indifferent to the creator. When Ink reached up to wipe his face, about to continue, a quick hand suddenly gripped his arm. It was so fast no one really saw him move. Ink froze, each breath stuttering as he looked back at Error. "I'm.. sorry."

Error continued in that same unsettlingly soft tone. "A single apology can't make up for the centuries of.. scars." He only paused as if looking for the right words to say. Even just saying scars seemed inadequate.
It was clear when the grip on Ink's arm tightened, his face twisting in a cringe.
"I.. I know." He nodded shakily. "But I.. I don't know what else to say. I.. wish I remembered then? That. Doesn't sound right. Though it's true."

He took a deep- though wobbling- breath and glanced at the hand on his arm. After a few seconds, he seemed to calm a little, staring at the scarred red and yellow phalanges.
"I.. messed up. Bad. I.. let. My- The Multiverse die. I… kinda wish I died with it. I don't.. deserve to live when all my universes didn't. It's not fair to them. Not… to Balance."

With another breath, he met Error's piercing gaze.
"If.. you want to kill me. I understand. I get it. I deserve it. I'm not sure.. how you'd do it, but I get it."
Blue slapped his hands to his teeth, shaking his skull. Error simply stared. Ink gasped faintly, free hand reaching for his immobilized arm, wincing as the grip tightened.

Error's calm countenance slowly melted away then, glitches flickering as his face shifted into a furious snarl- one somewhat gleeful in a vindictive sort of way. The first hint of his raging emotions finally colored his next words.
"And give you the easy way out?" It was more or less a whisper, faintly hysterical.

"After everything you did to me. Everything Fate.. enabled and.. encouraged, and you want me to just kill you? I have killed. Billions and billions. I.. wanted to kill you. But that's too easy. I could torture you if I wanted. Maybe I do a little. But I don't want to devote the rest of my fucking existence to payback. I want.. peace, Ink."

Despite the shift in his voice to something aching and broken, Ink still cried out as his arm cracked, gripping it in agony but not actually attempting to stop Error. The glitch finally threw the arm down with a hiss, shaking his hand to dispell the glitches as Ink stumbled back.

He then rose to his full height again. "Killing you would be too easy." He reiterated. "But I still had a shit existence. You're right in that you deserve to fucking suffer, but you know what?" He took a step back. "I don't need to do shit. Look at you."

Ink blinked up at him in confusion, then stumbled, falling to the ground with a gasp, clutching his arm. Error sneered. "Something Nightmare taught me once. Best way to torture some fuckers is to let them hurt themselves. You really hate that you failed the- no, your Multiverse. It all went to shit and it was your fault. I don't need to do anything! You can just keep living and stew." He pointed a single phalange at him at that, a dark grin on his face.

He then pointed at Abyss. "You. Make sure he doesn't forget with that memory bullshit you can do. I'm done here." He spun around, but the small changeling spoke.
"Fate's not around to keep him from remembering anymore. He's going to remember from this point onward regardless of outside influence."

Error paused at that, huffed, then continued on, stomping towards Nightmare and snatching his small son away as Chaos dived for a hug. Just as she wrapped her arms around him, they vanished with a harsh sizzle of static.

There was silence as everyone processed what just happened, then Blue made a wordless exclamation and darted to Ink's side, pulling up his sleeve to attend to the injury.
"No!" Ink yelped, flinching away. Blue froze in place, a little concerned before the god found the words to speak again.
"I uh. I deserve it. I don't want to heal it." He explained hesitantly, finding his way to his feet.

"But Ink, that's-" "Please." He refused to meet Blue's lights, staring uncertainly at the ground.
Slowly, Blue took a step back, studying him.
"... Alright." He agreed despondently.
Lights flicking about, his gaze finally met Blue's.
"I'm.. he's right." His shoulders fell. "Error's right."
Blue had nothing to say to that.

His black blood now dripping, Ink glanced uneasily at the group around them, then at Dream. The lighter twin dared to smile encouragingly. "You're doing better than I thought." He stated, taking a step away from his brother. "I'm glad you were understanding to Error. He deserves that more than anyone."

Ink stared at him for that, then his thoughtful gaze drifted to the wall of Urû-baen.
After a moment, he reanimated, shifting in place with a jolt.
"I should, uh. Do something right. For once, I guess." He chuckled awkwardly, seeing Classic.
"... Stars, I called myself the good guy." He laughed again, something about it sounding.. broken.

Dragging a hand over his face, Ink laughed again, a damaged, painful laugh that sounded more like a sob before he doubled over and gagged. There were several startled flinches as he then vomited a thick stream of black. The fluid spread over the cobblestone, oozing between cracks and seeping into the rocks and making them glow in unnatural hues.

"I need-" He choked and spat out one last glob of his namesake. "I need to do something." Ink finished his declaration and straightened, grabbing Broomie from it's place on his backside.
"Ink, you're in no state to-" Blue cut off at a hand on his shoulder. Dream was shaking his skull at him silently. Ink blinked at them, then huffed and vanished in a puddle.

"Are you sure he'll be alright?" He asked the lighter twin.
"We are sure." Nightmare answered. Dream then added. "Everyone processes grief and guilt differently. Let him do good while figuring things out. It's his first time truly feeling either."
"...I suppose, but anyone can be unpredictable with grief. Someone should keep an-"
"He is being watched." Nightmare interrupted.
"No need to worry." Blue frowned at that, but relented.

His brother, however, did not seem so easily swayed. "Really? And we're supposed to just believe you?"
"Papyrus-" He warned, but was again cut off by Dream. "My brother's not the same since you last saw him. Neither am I, for that matter."

"I can see that much. It's hard to miss that he has more tentacles and you're covered in leaves. How are we supposed to believe he's somehow a better person? Because he's getting close to you for once?"
"You don't know anything about Nightmare." Horror growled.
"As if I'd trust one of the psychos working for him, you c-" "Theyna."

He cut short in alarm at the single word, staring at Nightmare in bewilderment. Blue hesitated. As a spell, it couldn't do much against a monster given their unusual resistance to spells that directly affected them, but on it's own the sense of power and the resulting confusion it could cause could certainly achieve the same effect. It seemed Nightmare had been banking on that as Carrot stumbled over his words.

"We all have secrets of our own." Nightmare then said. "And nobody appreciates their secrets being told to those they have withholding from. You are familiar with this. You have your own secrets. Do not reveal another's. Especially one of my boys." The green in his eyelights faded somewhat, replaced by chilling blue.

"Brother." Blue finally spoke up. "I love you, but can you please respect everyone here? We are all trying to be civil here. Even Error respected that civility. Can you?"
"Bro, they're-" "Do not attempt to educate me on that which I know most. I know what they have done. However, what I see that you are blind to is their willingness to change and be better. So can you please just listen to him?"

"I gotta say I agree with him here." Classic finally spoke up. "Talkin' things out is a lot better than the violence you're vying for."
Carrot finally squinted at him. "Do you even know what he's done?"

At that, Classic's sockets went dark.
"I know more than you can imagine." He stated flatly. "And also context that I have reason to suspect neither of you have. The reason why is a bit shocking." A spark zapped off the side of his skull.

Carrot hesitated at that, then Blue squinted.
"Destiny is electric?"
At that, Classic tilted his skull. "You already know about that?"
Blue simply tapped his own. "Unity will never not recognize Destiny. However, I wish he told me sooner. He chose a terrible time to tell me."
"Huh."

"What are you talking about?" Carrot questioned.
"A discussion for a later time." Blue explained tensely, waving him off.
"Now." He faced the twins. "Can we get on with it?"

With a nod from the pair, the darker brother spoke. "And so we shall. There is much to talk about, isn't there?"
"Maybe we should start with Mother." Dream suggested.

A new voice spoke, having everyone turning yet again, some in aggravation at the interruption.
There stood Razz and Black, having found their brothers and surprisingly returned. Coming up behind them was Red himself, followed by Killer and Dust- albeit far more reserved than usual. The reason why became clear when Omega was spotted behind them.

"Lookin' like a pretty weird place for a meeting." Red pointed out as he arrived.
"It is what it is." Blue replied, then decidedly cast a spell in undertone to prevent eavesdropping from the wrong people.
"Now, I believe it is time." He spoke with finality.
"Time for annoyin' shit." Red huffed, arms crossed.

GB snorted at that, creeping closer to the impromptu meeting.
Better to get it out of the way. He cast his thoughts around, startling those who weren't used to the telepathy.
"Better to get it outta the way." Omega agreed, hands in his pockets as he noticed Classic with an odd expression.

It seemed now that everyone was finally going to come clean. The secrets kept hidden by Fate were going to be revealed, and the changes that had happened to those who had fallen in Alagaësia were going to be shared.
They were likely going to be here a while.