Alloy is still unsettled by the dead grass that surrounds the meeting hall in Dream's AU. He wants to fix it. Dream and Nightmare's homes was beautiful once, and it can be again. Alloy sees his friend visibly shudder when stepping into the AU. Nightmare hasn't been back since the incident. Dust looks around curiously. He's never seen outside the building. Blue happily walks beside his murderous acquaintance. Dream must have seen them coming, or sensed his brother's sickening aura, because he runs out to meet them.

"Brother! I didn't think you were still coming." Dream had assumed that the bad guys had already decided to go after Alloy's attacker on their own.

"I said I would, didn't I?" Nightmare growls.

"Dream! It's great to see you!", Blue shouts. He rushes forward and catches the Guardian of positivity in a tight hug. Alloy blinks. That looks....... kinda nice.

     "I've been trying to get into the office for the last few hours,"Dream explains once Blue lets go, "Come on, I'll take you to it. Ink put some type of lock on the door."

Dream leads the way into the meeting hall. Alloy looks all around as they enter and leave the main room where he had revealed the balance. He hasn't had the time to explore this AU further. He didn't realize it was used for anything but meetings. Alloy is curious. He found the Destroyer's trunk of dolls and captured souls, but there was nothing is the DoodleShpere. Did the Creator reside here instead? The meeting room runs parallel to a long hallway that the group moves through. Dream ignores many doors before stopping at an unmarked room towards the hall's end.

"I'm not sure what Ink did to this door, but it has to be linked to his magic. I can't see where any lock is," Dream sighs, slightly frustrated. He jerks the doorknob, but it doesn't open. There's no keyhole or visible latch keeping it closed.

"HeRe, let mE try," Alloy offers. He moves next to Dream and tugs on the knob himself. It doesn't budge. Alloy thinks for a moment before slipping the brush off his shoulder. "StanD back, plEase," he tells the others. Then, the God Balance slams the butt of his paintbrush down on the doorknob with all his strength, breaking off. Dream jumps and squeaks in surprise.

"Wh-Why'd you do that!?", he stutters. With Ink starting to disappear for good, Dream doesn't like the idea of ruining the last pieces of his friend.

"It's teChnically mY office, right!?" Alloy wears a mischievous smirk that's so much like Error's that Nightmare forgets, for a moment, that Alloy isn't Error. "I can do whATever I want wIth my oWn stuff."

     When Dream said that Ink had an office, Alloy expected a small little room with a few sketch books. He was wrong. Ink's office is more like a large work room. It's nearly 30 feet from wall to wall! The room is a perfect square with shelves and filing cabinets taking up every bit of wall space. A few tables are shoved together in the middle. There's only one spinning chair in the entire room. Papers and some art supplies are still scattered about. This scene makes Alloy feel odd. The room doesn't look neglected at all. It looks like Ink could walk in at any time, but he never will again. Despite that, Alloy does feel at home.

     "Office? More like an elementary school art classroom!" Dust laughs.

     "Whoa.... that's a lot of crayons." Blue stares at one six foot shelf that is literally just a giant crayon rack. Every imaginable color and shade is perfectly ordered, black rising to the purest white at the top. Similar setups are nearby for colored pencils and markers.

      "What's this?" Nightmare walks into the room and picks up a small object off the table.

     "O-Oh! That's mine. I asked Ink to fix it, since I couldn't figure it out, but..... I guess he never got around to it," Dream rushes forwards and tries to take it back. Nightmare shoves him away to get a closer look. The object is another music box, this time turquoise and ivory.

     "Mine now," Nightmare hums. Dream's face falls, but his brother doesn't budge. Nightmare really just wants to fix it up, but he can't say that in front of others. He might even give it back one day once he's listened to it for a good bit. Nightmare holds up the music box for one of his tentacles to take and hold until he gets back home.

      An awkward silence falls for a bit, but then Alloy slips past the brothers and deeper into the room. All eyes are on him. The god looks around for a moment, thinking. Then, Alloy plops down in the spinning chair. Blue is about to question him when Alloy raises his leg and shoves himself away. The chair goes flying across the room. Alloy spins around and stops himself just before he crashes into a filing cabinet. He pulls open a drawer and grabs a stack of notebooks before kicking off and flying back to the table.

     The others watch this ridiculous display in shock as the God of Balance spins and flies across the room. Alloy is cackling uncontrollably as he works. This is definitely familiar, and god, he's missed it. Dream can't but bit giggle. That is his Ink.

"OkaY, I'm noT entiRely sure, but thEse should be tHe oldest AU noTes. We can cheCk the neweR ones if....... wHaT?" Alloy gives his friends a strange look when they're still staring at him in shock and amusement.

       "Do you remember this place, Alloy?" Dream laughs, "You seem to know where everything is."

         "UmmMm.... Maybe? ItT's familIAr, buT I can'T rememBer anything spEcific," Alloy hums, looking around the room again. He can't quite picture himself sitting in here and writing in all these notebooks. Alloy almost feels guilty for it.

      "Don't worry about that!" Blue catches it after their conversation outside the codes, "You already know which records to look in. I'm sure that we'll find this Error 404 somewhere."

      "Error 404?" Dust asks.

      "That'S his naMe," Alloy explains.

     After that, the skeletons split up the records into smaller pieces. Since there was only one chair, they end up spread around the room on the floor in small groups. Blue grabs Dust by the arm and happily drags him over to one corner. Blue is excited to get to know him, but Dust doesn't know what to do with the small ball of energy. Dream uncharacteristically chooses to sit alone and quietly read through his portion of the notebooks. Nightmare almost did the same, but Alloy pats the spot next to him when they make eye contact. The young god is laying on his stomach, swinging his legs in the air. Nightmare hesitates before sitting down next to him.

     "SooOoo.... whatT are you thInking abOut?" Alloy asks after a moment. He's trying to pay attention and get through his portion of the notebooks, but he keeps getting distracted and reading bits of the notes for worlds long past. All of these notebooks are hand written by Ink.

     "..... You, I guess," Nightmare answers after a moment. He's never heard of most of these AUs in the records, and is shocked that so many came and went before his time. Just how long did Error perform his 'job'? The King of  Negativity suddenly winces and scrunches his eyes closed.

     "WhAt's wRonG!?" Alloy is quick to pause his reading, concerned.

     "Nothing, I'm fine," Nightmare opens his eyes again, "I'm just not used to spending so much time around Dream. His aura makes me sick. I can't understand how he can be so okay with mine."

     "ActuallY, Dream's Magic is weaKeneD by your neGativity, sure, buT he doeSn't geT physiCally sick. You wouLdn't Either if you cHanged to Your hAlf or even comPletely uncoRrupteD form," Alloy says casually, going back to what he was reading.

     "You must have bees in that thick skull of yours. I can't even do that," Nightmare huffs, "Besides, from what Sci says, it'd probably kill me. I'm like this for a good reason." Alloy pauses at that. He looks up at his friend, and Nightmare is once again struck by how much that look resembles Error.

     "The NightmAre I know wouLd never let soMething as silly as corruptEd magic kill hiM. YoU are far stroNger thaN whaTever iT triEd to dO to you," Alloy says in a deathly serious tone, but then he turns playful. "BesIdes, me anD the bOys have Been sOfteninG you up! YoU've gaiNed back so mUch sinCe the Destroyer fiRst met you."

     Nightmare has no desire to dwell on this topic. He was taught over and over again that he was nothing before he ate the negativity apples. Underneath the tar-like magic, Nightmare knows that he is weak. The event left him with a short temper and unable to completely understand positive emotions, but at least he isn't weak.

"So you mentioned this Fate was the one who was forcing Error to destroy? Do you think they're still around?" Nightmare changes the subject. Alloy tenses then, but doesn't look away from his notebook.

"She's not doNe with this MultIverse yeT. SometimEs, I can feel her..... watcHing me. Looking for vulnerAbility," Alloy shivers, his voice more melancholy than anyone is used to. "She kinD of scaRes me, Nightmare. Even mOre than Error 404."

"She won't have you again. Error was unable to ask for help, but now you shouldn't have to create or destroy if you don't want to. I'll make sure of it," Nightmare growls.

Now he recalls the times Error would try to speak, but cut himself off from the pain that griped his soul. That makes the king angry. He was helpless to help one of his own. Nightmare looks back down at Alloy who has resumed reading, humming as he does so. This naive god is also now one Nightmare's own. Alloy's initial love towards him and the gang may have come from echoes of Error, but Alloy really does care and cherish the people around him. He believes everyone in this room to be his makeshift family.

That decides it for Nightmare. It will still take time to learn, but he will look after this young one because he's Alloy, not just Error.