Dream is worried but finally visits Ink. Karma finds out where he is and isn't sure what to think.

——-

SevenSins Multiverse

Karma had to say he was enjoying being carried right now. While he had made it outside to that cool air, his legs now felt numb. His opinion swiftly changed when he found he had been taken much somewhere much warmer than he wanted.

While that had to have been one of the smoothest teleportations he had ever experienced, that didn't change the disgustingly warm temperature he was being subjected to. He hissed at the monster holding him but Ink only cooed at him in response. Was he being mocked? His hackles rose but when a hand gently started petting his head he relaxed in the hold.

The only reason he allowed this Ink to hold him with little fuss was he felt their SOUL was vastly different to that mean Ink. He had no idea what he had been grabbed and was wary where he was being taken to. Karma was quite comfy resting his skull on their shoulder but knew he should look around. Finally seeing his surroundings he would admit it did look nice. Especially with all the colourful flowers surrounding the small house but that was overshadowed by the heat from his bones starting to increase.

They seemed to be heading towards the direction of another SOUL but at this point he just wanted to go back to the snow. He might have his scarf now but the benefits from this new arrangement were too few for his liking. They steered clear of the front of the home and instead headed to the back, where there were a set of seats with a familiar goat monster sitting down.

"I-Ink. What a-re you doing h-here? N-not that you aren't w-welcome, o-f course!"

When Ink sat down he jostled him a bit too hard, when they placed him on their lap. He whined when the pain in his chest flared at the abuse it was being dealt with. He felt tears gather in his eye sockets at the sudden pain and just wanted it to all stop. When Karma felt something dripping from his chest wound he was tempted to look, but a voice distracted him from his plan.

"Oh —. I'll be —— back. I-Ink, the —- needs to — off"

Karma did his best to bat the hands away but he wasn't strong enough to prevent his scarf from being removed. He had just managed to get that back. Why was Ink talking it away from him again?

The goat monster came back and placed a container of pink cream on the table. He watched as other medical supplies joined it and was a tad confused. Surely using healing magic would be preferred? This seemed like a very human method to treating injuries. He had felt the magic in others around him, so why was this chosen?

He saw the goat monster look intently at his chest, before putting on some gloves and grabbing large amounts of the cream. He braced for the pain but the cold that rushed into him was wonderful. He was a bit surprised how much they were using to cover his ribs and observed how nearly all the cream was gone. He didn't know why the goat monster looked sad about this fact. Probably took a lot of effort to make.

"That's all i can do. H-ave tt—t-hem k-eep i-it on for a-a-s l-long as p—ossble"

Poor monster looked to be struggling with their words. He did not sense any SOULS nearby, so they must prefer their time alone. Anxiety can be annoying like that. He wanted to feel his chest, as he felt it was no longer attached to him. He wasn't hot anymore but still not as cool as he would have liked. His plan to touch his chest was foiled, when his wrist was grabbed by slightly clawed hands. Gazing up he saw black substance drip form Inks mouth and sockets, but when he next blinked it was gone.

"Let's put some bandages over it. No need to wipe away all the hard work Lo-Life did"

He was placed on the other spare seat and let Ink do what they wanted. He occupied himself by looking over Life. She had pretty white fur but it was dotted around with pink. Even her wings were a vibrant pink and he almost wanted to touch them to see if they were real. The truly unusual thing was they seemed to pulse in random patterns as time went on, he was mesmerised.

When a buttoned shirt was put on him he was surprised how it looked identical to what he had worn before. Impressive they even had a spare, as his old one had been rather cut up the last he remembered. The other finally looked happy with their work and put on his scarf. He was picked up again and they were swiftly heading away from Life. He pushed his head past Inks shoulder in order to wave goodbye to Life. No need to be rude to the monster who had healed him.

The scenery changed again, with them appearing in a grand entrance hall. It was rather large but looked much smaller due to the armchairs and sofas scattered about. Even the walls were cluttered with painting and pictures, leaving no spot free. As Ink waked upstairs they passed by an open door, with a variety of different toys piled high. He was impressed they hadn't collapsed yet and wondered why he even had so many.

This new building was beautifully decorated, no matter how cluttered it looked at first glance, but there were odd black spots scattered about. They didn't look like a design choice but almost as if someone had thrown paint at the wall. The room they finally entered was very colourful and when he was dropped on the bed, he felt himself sinking into the thick mattress.

A tug on his wing made him screech, when he noticed Ink was the cause. He was not impressed with the other and was more than willing to show it. Their face changed and he watched their eyelights flash through multiple colours.

Karma felt the others' magic expand again, like it did when he was sitting in the snow. Seeing nothing special happen he decided to drag it towards him. He was not missing out on magical feeding again just because the adults said no. He had been far too accommodating in the last multiverse it seemed. He was not wasting the chance he was given now.

"You are an odd one aren't you?"

What sort of question was that? He was who he was. It probably did mean he was stranger then others but he didn't want to bother to change that. It felt exhausting even thinking of acting like others.

" Idiot, you don't touch random people's wings. Just because you don't take yours out doesn't mean you can pretend you forgot "

...when did he get here? These odd monsters were managing to sneak up on him too often for his liking. He observed how much taller than most Errors this new bieng was, but the most eye-catching feature was their wings. They were tricoloured consisting of blue,red and yellow. He looked at his wings and pouted....at least his looked more interesting than Dreams at least.

"Calm down. I'm not taking them away from you"

They leaned far too much into his space but when they reached a hand to his face that was a step too far. He almost bit them but sadly they were too quick for him. The message was clearly received though, as they kept their hands away after that.

" Heh. Fiesty one, aren't you. Here. Welcome to the club "

He had no idea what they were talking about but his eyelight grew when he saw the small pile of shiny stones, now on his lap. He had lost his last collection but now he would make sure to always keep it in his inventory.

"See ya Ink. Dream is already being irritating so expect company soon"

He listened passively but his focus never left his new collection. When two small beads were added to the top of his pile he chirped in confusion.

"We can add it to your scarf right now! They are even multicoloured, making them the best"

Karma's wings were flapping at the sheer glee at all the new items but why was Inks face so stiff looking? He still hardly knew anything about this strange place but the questions kept piling on.

His mind was wandering till he saw something black floating to the floor. When he turned towards it he noticed it was his feather. Moving one of his wings in front of him, he noticed that even slight movement jarred a lot of others feathers.

He couldn't say he was that surprised by this, as his magic was probably focusing on healing his ribs. He shook his wings and watched how many feathers joined the ones on the ground. It almost reminded him of snow in a morbid way.

He still had a decent amount that he would be able to fly but he was getting a tad too close to being earthbound. The wound must be more serious than he thought if it was draining his energy this much. Movement of the bed startled him but before he could look, he was grabbed and placed face down on Ink chest.

He was about to push up when it suddenly got dark, making him feel much more relaxed. A soft purr escaped him and he decided a nap sounded like a good idea. The soft buzzing of Inks SOUL helped lull him into sleep soon after.

-

Dream admitted he was slightly worried about ink's odd behaviour. It had been a few days since he had seen the two, making his stress increase. He had tried contacting Ink directly but his messages were constantly left unanswered. He had contacted the other Powers for help, but the only one with useful information was Life.

Apparently straight after grabbing Karma, they had gone to Life to deal with the wound and had even taken large quantities of healing paste. That was rather worrying news to hear and made him even more determined to visit Ink. He doubted Ink had even been around a babybones or knew how to care for them. Who knew what he was doing right now?

Nearly a week had passed and he had finally gotten up the courage to head over to Inks place. He usually wouldn't worry about such a trip, but with Ink odd reactions he worried what he would see. Βlue had been happy to come with him but his brother had merely kicked him out of the castle, when he asked for help. The most disturbing reaction was hearing Error laugh at him then walk away. He hadn't been aware the other could feel that level of happiness without causing disasters.

He teleported to the front of Inks home and was pleased when he spotted Blue. When he was spotted the other enthusiastically greeted him, making his wings lower in relief from least having someone on his side.

Pushing the door open he walked straight towards where he sensed the highest emotions but it felt rather different from what he was expecting. When reaching the living room he spotted the reason. Karma was here as expected but so was Fresh. He was shocked Ink had even invited Fresh over, as they usually didn't get along. In this case Fresh seemed content with sitting on the floor next to Karma, who was busy showing off some toys.

Looking closer he realised these were all items belonging to Ink. The other rarely removed them from their assigned room, so he was rather baffled they were here. Just what had he walked into?

He doubted Ink would have left the two alone and was right, when he finally spotted Ink standing in the corner silently watching the two. Their eyelights briefly flickered to him and Blue, before going back to the others. At least his arrival was met with hostility.

Getting closer to the pair on the ground, he was alarmed when Karma's eyelight connected with his. It felt like all his sins were being laid bare for all to see and were being judged. He untensed when they looked away and scowled at the smirk he saw on Fresh face. The other loved to see him uncomfortable and often pranked him when he was near.

He became more serious when he saw the state of the new Power. Dream let out a whine when he noticed the pile of black feathers, gathering underneath Karmas wings. Was the healing paste not enough? He would see if others could help out later.

"HELLO KARMA. I AM KNOWN AS BLUE. CAN I SEE WHAT YOU ARE PLAYING WITH?"

Dream noticed he had not moved for the door and walked over to Blues side. He observed the stuffed toys Karma was silently showing to Blue, admiring how numerous they were. He glanced over when he sensed Blues uneasiness and followed the direction of their eyelights. He held in a grimace at spotting Inks magic, condensed into beads attached directly to Karmas scarf. He would have to tread even more carefully than expected, if Ink was being this bold in his claim.

Inks unerring stillness was starting to make more sense now. He wasn't dealing with his fun loving and easily going friend, but the serious leader who would do whatever it takes to get what he wants. It seems that Ink wanted Karma but Dream wasn't yet sure for what. He had to say something soon, as he could tell how unhappy Ink was the longer they just stood her.

"Hey Karma. Do you know what a Virture and Sin are?"

-

Karma had been having some very odd days. Ink didn't keep him locked in the house like he was expecting but let him explore the world outside. He heard nothing of AU's so wondered if they even existed where he had ended up. The multiverses were odd places in themselves, having a singular universe was not the weirdest thing he had experienced.

He had been allowed to explore the whole mansion and Ink looked very happy when Karma started grabbing certain items from the other rooms. He still stayed in the same room as Ink, but as he was finally getting some magical feeding he didn't care.

A wonderful thing was that the number of shiny items he had found, to add to his collection, had vastly increased. Ink had been a large contributor to that and often smiled when he accepted a new item. While puzzled at this generous behaviour, he didn't bother to question it. His instincts just heard 'yours' and that was enough for him.

Ink still hadn't stopped trying to touch his wings though and he only seemed to be getting sneakier as the days passed. Thankfully he stopped doing it as often, after the other had tugged at a broken feather, making him wince.

While he had heard from Error that Ink had wings, he hadn't seen any sign of them yet. Every time he asked to see them he was swiftly deflected and given another shiny rock instead. It was rather annoying but did sooth his irritation rather nicely. He really needed to learn to control these bird instincts, he was getting too easy to bribe.

Today had been another difference, as he watched Ink pace in the bedroom as if gearing up for something.

"Now, little balance. We are going to meet one of my friends today. They didn't say when so don't be scared if you see another being in the house"

Ink did not look happy about this at all and he watched as their hands became more claw like, the longer they talked. Ink had seemed strangely shy about his hands early on and even wore gloves. Now they seemed content to leave their hands bare. He wished his hands could do that, it looked awesome.

A colourful mist suddenly enveloped the room, making him twitch in confusion. He couldn't see anything so was rather surprised when he was grabbed by another strange SOUL. He felt the sensation of a teleport about to occur and then he was suddenly near a beach. He chirped in confusion but stilled when he spotted the being that held him.

They dressed like a typical Fresh, but oddly didn't wear the glasses. The multicoloured wings were an intriguing addition, making his fingers twitch in want. He wondered what factors in this world affected what additions their bodies gained? He had nothing against other Flesh types but he admitted this one was so far his favourite. Why did everyone in this world have cooler wings than him? Should he dye his wings? It was making him feel a bit self conscious about them.

Magic from the monster pulsed at him, making him look at them in bafflement. He currently wasn't hungry, so ignored the lingering magic. He twittered at seeing the SOUL in one of their eye sockets but was unsure what the other was looking for. He twitched when he felt Inks SOUL appear near them and was about to turn to look, when Fresh's arms tightened around him, keeping him in place.

He huffed in irritation but this new position did allow him to be closer to their wings. If others were going to be rude to him, he saw no reason not to pay them in kind. Disregarding his usual rules, he grabbed the top of Fresh wings and pulled it closer to him. He made sure not to hold on tight but was happy when he felt no resistance. He puffed his wings when he noticed the tiny sparkles in the colourful feathers, making him want to add a feather to his collection.

His exploration was stopped when he suddenly ended up in Inks hold and back in the living room. His wings started to droop at his fun being taken away from him, when he realised that Fresh had followed them back. His eyelight never let the others wings and he followed every movement they made. He must have missed something, as suddenly he was sitting on the floor by Fresh, with the pile of items he had hoarded in Inks room.

"Heya, baby wing. Wanna show me your rad new items?"

While suspicious of their motives he cautiously did, but noticed an odd thing. He would show an item and every time Fresh hands twitched towards it, but never grabbed it. He experimented by moving an item nearer their hands, as if to show it even closer, but still nothing. The next item he placed directly in their hands and watched as they froze in that position. He worried if they were even breathing at this moment, so was going to take it back when Fresh suddenly relaxed.

Was this another bird thing he didn't understand or was this new world that strange? He sadly had no more answers, so continued with his show and tell and felt oddly flattered when he saw how engaged they were. His pattern was interrupted when he felt two SOULS approach. He stopped talking and tiled his head in the direction they were coming from.

"Don't worry, little wing. It's just two of Ink bros friends"

Fresh might have said that but Ink's face didn't look happy at all. Karma would have to be wary of these newcomers. When they walked in he briefly acknowledged Dream, but it was Blue that was the true mystery. He had felt many Swap Sans SOULS but never one that felt immortal like this.

"HELLO KARMA. I AM KNOWN AS BLUE. CAN I SEE WHAT YOU ARE PLAYING WITH?"

Still very loud like other Blues sadly. He decided to show his latest item, which was a toy deer that had the fluffiest fur he had ever seen. Its antlers reminded him of this world's Nightmares, which is what attracted him to the item. Blue didn't seem to like it, if the downward turn of their mouth was to be believed. Putting it away, Dream's voice attracted his attention.

"Hey Karma. Do you know what a Virture and Sin are?"

What a strange question. He knew what they were but it felt like Dream was saying the words with certain intentions. He shook his head and watched as they both sat on the ground with him. He was unsure why Fresh had moved to sit beside Dream so they were all in front of him, but at least Ink moved to stand behind him. He leaned into their legs, enjoying having a grounding presence.

An unknown tension filled the room, making him curl his wings around himself. He fiddled with his beads waiting to hear what made evryone act so serious.

"Karma, do you know what you are?"

"A balancer"

The words shot out of his mouth with no thought. He had known ealy on in his new life what he was and his assigned role. He was too sensitive to his magic to not realise otherwise. This did seem to please Dream but then a nervous expression came over them.

"Do you know what we are?"

Now this was a question he couldn't answer. Their SOULS differed too much for him to be certain what their roles were. Shaking his head he then watched as Fresh suddenly grew long curved horns and a bright orange bone tail.

Karma's wings had risen at the sudden changes he spotted, but lowered them when nothing else happened. Looking over at the other two he realised there was something new about them from before. He finally noticed they had let their magic relax and it was spreading with no specific direction around the room.

Looking behind he saw Ink looked the same as before but there was now an odd look in their eyelights. It was like they expected something from him but he had no idea what. It seems Dream took pity on him and explained that there were two main Power types in the world, called Sins and Virtues. Apparently their mere presence allowed the mortals to lead more balanced lives.

This sounded not too different from the usual balancers just with different names. He wasn't sure what this had to do with him until he was told he was a new Power. He could technically say they were wrong, as his role did make his position rather flexible in the balance. It still didn't mean he really belonged to this world.

The thought of being an outcast again sent a lance of pain in his SOUL, making him reach for his new pin. Maybe this was a new start for him? He doubted he was missed anywhere else and was wondering if even Reapers powers would release him from this exhausting cycle of rebirths.

Perhaps Ink would let him stay? He suddenly squeaked when he found himself placed in Inks lap.

"We are the embodiment of the Sins and Virtues, little one but you are something rather new. I can't wait to see what you can do"

.....why did that sound rather ominous?

~~~~~~~

Karma: How dare you take me from the cold! I will figh-

Ink: *Gives a head pat*

Karma: I forgive you this time but you are on thin ice!
-

Karma: You can't distract me forever Ink! I will see your wings one da-

Ink: You can have an answer or *Shows one shiny stone*

Karma: .....I'll take the stone

*20th stone added to the collection that day*