When Soul comes to, he quickly realizes that he doesn't know where he is. Soul should be familiar with every AU by now. It's nearly impossible that he could have missed one given how long he's been at it. Weirder yet is the fact that Soul is pretty sure he was just in a heated battle with the two Balance Keepers. What was he.........? Ink. Soul just jumped into Ink.

"What's happening?" Soul asks out loud. He looks down at himself to find the same plain bones and blank clothes that he wore in the Dreamscape. This is definitely not Ink. Where is he?

The ground shutters. Soul stumbles and tries to keep his balance at the AU shakes around him. Something is very familiar about quakes like these. Soul takes a few steps forwards, and before he knows it, he's running towards the source of all the commotion. A few monsters are screaming as they run past Soul in the opposite direction. They take little interest in him, and one monster nearly bumps into him. The AU shudders again, and part of the sky seems to deteriorate. Soul only knows one monster who can do that kind of damage.

"Error! You're here-" Soul shouts as he rounds the corner, but his voice quickly dies out. That monster has to Error, surly, but he doesn't look like the Error that Soul is familiar with.

The tall monster stares off with a certain detached expression on his face. He has dark black bones, but none of the red or yellow ones that Soul is familiar with. Even Error's blue tears have now been changed to white. The white lines trail all the way down his neck and creep along his arms like swirling vines. Error's outfit is also very strange. He's unrecognizable, but Soul is still sure that it's Error.

"Error?" Soul asks again.

The black boned monster stands up a little straighter and walks forwards. Soul doesn't move when Error gets closer, expecting him to say something, but Error remains silent and walks straight through Soul. Soul gasp in shock and clutches his chest. Error doesn't notice him at all. The Destroyer lets strings grow off his fingers and wrap around a building, crushing the code and continuing the destruction of the AU.

Soul is invisible to Error. How could that be? Soul wracks his brain to try and come up with an explanation, reviewing over everything he remembers before appearing here. The answer comes to him abruptly: none of this is real. Soul did successfully jump into Ink. This is a memory. Soul has never before been so overwhelmed by a memory that he's practically trapped by it. Soul currently has no perception of what's going on in the real world. How could this be? Is it because Ink is a God? Soulless? For all he knows, Soul could actually be stuck here while Ink is still in control. Soul wasn't able to take over Cross, either.

Error is still destroying the AU. As Soul watches, he notices that Error is kind of...... slow. Error seems to be a little unsure of what he's doing. His strings occasionally fail to grab something properly. Sets of codes aren't completely destroyed the first time, and Error has to go back over them. He's not very good at it. Inexperienced.

A strange sound makes Soul turn around. A portal has opened up behind him. It looks strangely generic and lacks thought. The monster that drops out is instantly familiar to Soul. The monster's white bones are decorated in black vine-like patterns. Instead of a paintbrush, a short double-sided spear is strapped across their back. Ink looks incredibly plain wearing only a few bland colors. When Soul looks between Error and Ink, it's obvious that their appearances are exact inverses of the other. They even have the same height and build with eerily similar faces.

Ink takes a moment to get his bearings before realizing what is happening. The AU is half way destroyed at this point. "Hey! What are you doing!?" Ink shouts. He runs at Error.

The Error that Soul knows is nearly expressionless. The few moods that he does seem to show are anger and annoyance. Nothing gets to him. The Error in this memory seems to panic when he sees Ink running at him. Error doesn't shift to fight like Soul expects, but tries to run. Error's face is full of surprise and fear as he tries to get away. The normally sure-footed destroyer trips over some ruble after only a few steps and goes sprawling onto the ground. He sits up only to come face to face with Ink. This is the point at which a brutal fight should break out. Error was clearly destroying one of Ink's precious AUs. Soul expects Ink to retaliate, but it never happens. The two beings stare quietly at one another.

"....... You're like me," Ink says quietly, clearly in awe. He's not aggressive or single-minded. This Ink has taken the time to truly understand the situation. This Ink has a soul.

"Who are you?" Error asks, still wary and fearful. His voice is smooth and does not glitch.

"My name is Genesis! I am a Balance Keeper," Ink smiles brightly. He extends one hand to help Error up.

Error regards the offered hand with uncertainty, and after a moment of hesitation, takes it. "Call me Encryption. The other Balance Keeper."

The memory bends and wraps around Soul. The scenery blurs until it becomes something new. Many voices rise up from the mess and assault Soul's ears at the scene comes into focus. Many different monsters are gathered around in some sort of massive room, seemingly throwing a party. Soul's attention immediately lands on Ink. The Creator looks different than he did as 'Genesis'. His outfit is more elaborate, as if more thought was put into it, but the spear remains on his back. Ink keeps looking around as if he's expecting someone. Another monster tries to start a conversation, but Ink is only halfway interested. When Ink finally does snap to attention, Soul turns to follow his gaze.

Error has slipped through the large doors and now stares at the party with uncertainty. His looks have also changed. The white patterns along his bones have been restricted to just the lines under his eyes. Error also now wears a baggy jacket that is similar to the one Soul is used to.

Ink rushes over to Error with an excited grin. "Trojan! You came! I'm so happy that you decided to come." Ink throws one arm across Error's shoulders with little regard for personal space.

"Get off me, Acrylic. All your little followers have a fit every time you get too touchy. I hate their whining," Error frowns. There is no outright hostility, but a few monsters keep looking up at the two with disapproval.

"They're just gonna have to deal with it," Ink insist, "You're not the bad guy, you know? The whole point of these parties is so that I can show you off." Ink laughs and makes a point of clinging to Error even more.

"If you say so......" Error trails off.

Soul can't take his eyes off the interaction. This is a memory, right? If this was what Ink and Error used to be, what happened to make them enemies now?

Sounds and scenery blur together and change. Soul jumps as two weapons clash together right in front of him. The new memory jumps straight into the action as Error and Ink grapple with one another. Both of them are wielding some sort of sword, and both of them are smiling.

"Void!" Ink shouts, "I'm gonna win this time!"

"In your dreams, Nexus," Error jeers back.

The two of them spar back and forth, attacking and defending in a smooth dance. The two seem to be able to predict the other's movements with half a thought. Soul can't figure out if they've agreed not use magic or if they can't use it in this time. A rectangular boundary line in the dirt marks out how much space the two have to move around in.

Ink makes a swipe for Error's side, but the destroyer smoothly sidesteps out of the way. He retaliates with a sharp jab that Ink redirects with his own sword. Soul admires the way that they fight. It's clear that the two have done this many, many times before. There's a mutual respect and companionship between them that makes Soul's heart ache. Does Error ever think of Soul so kindly? Soul is very sure that he cares for Error in this special way, even if they haven't know each other for as long as Error and Ink seemingly have.

Swords locked, Error gives Ink a mischievous grin before the destroyer uses one foot to trip Ink. Ink loses his balance and staggers to the side. Error takes the chance to shove Ink out of the ring.

"Hey! That's not fair," Ink pouts.

"You need to pay better attention to your opponent's entire body," Error chastises. He holds out one hand to help the other up. "Round five?"

Ink smirks and grabs Error's hand.

The memory shifts again. Soul recognizes this new space as something close to the Anti-void, but not quite. An equivalent? The empty space feels new. Error is sitting on his knees just a few feet away. Soul walks around to see his face and is shocked to see that Error is crying. His tears follow the now blue lines under his eyes and drip onto his red colored hands.

A portal opens, colorful and fuzzy, and Ink stumbles through and lands on his knees next to Error. Neither of them say a word. Ink can't stop his quiet hiccups and sobs while Error cries silently. Something terrible has happened.

Again, the memory changes. Soul finds himself standing underneath a stunning expanse of stars. The AU is unrecognizable, but Soul has no doubt that these stars are in the same patterns as the ones from Outertale.
Error is sitting on a grassy hill nearby and admiring them. He looks almost exactly as Soul knows him. A few glitches even pop up at the edges of his form. Soul gets the feeling that this memory is much more recent than the others.

"Encryption?" Ink calls as he walks up. His spear has been replaced by a giant paintbrush.

"GEnEsis?" Error asks as he turns to look.

Ink winces. "What did she do to your voice? It sounds like you're blending knives!" He sits down next to Error.

"So whaT dO I caLl you thIs tiMe?"

"Ink."

"SOunDs stUpid. ShE's calLing me ErRor."

"Again?" Ink huffs. "I hate that one."

"ShE seEms to liKe it. ThInk it'lL stick?" Error asks.

"No way! She'll pick out something better next time. Besides, you'll always be Encryption to me."

Error sighs. He looks over his black bones, the freaky glitches, his voice. "SHe's tUrNing mE inTo a reAl monSteR noW."

Ink can't come up with anything to say to that.

More memories come and go. The order is messy, but Soul watches it all in fascination. Error and Ink's appearances are in constant fluctuation. Sometimes they look normal, but at others, they have great big wings and sharp teeth. Someone is constantly playing with their designs. Twisting them. The one thing that stays constant is them. Together. No matter how much time seems to pass, Error and Ink are the only constants in each other's lives.

And Soul remembers.