A/n: :) enjoy the update

The guardian slept soundly in the timeless space that was his soul, his consciousness being like wisps of smoke or flames that quickly come and go. Glimpses of star-filled skies, of endless white space, of universes and universes that the other him traveled through and saw. It was little compared to what the other entity actually experienced, but it was more than the guardian knew the world ever was. He saw people that he would never meet yet already knew, he saw places that he would never step foot in yet could memorize the entire layout of said place, he saw libraries full of books, of unread stories, simply waiting to be shared to the world. Once, the guardian swore he saw a library that seemed truly reachable, yet the ocean of sleep pulled him under its cruel waves before he could break through the invisible barriers.

Fortunately, this would not be the last time he saw that particular library. Distantly, Passive wondered when his companion would visit again. Despite the pain and heavy guilt that he did not know the source of that came with the visits, it was the only time when sleep did not haunt him every second. The being could only sigh as he noticed a small ripple in the dark space surrounding him. Despite being tired of knowing he could never reach the outside, it was the only thing that broke the monotony of his prison. He watched as an image slowly faded into existence, a dark library with many, many books. He could see the candles that lit up the large space as well as a nearby desk with paper resting on it.

'The other me must be enjoying the books...' He thought, envy creeping into his mind. It had been many years since he had been able to read, after all. The books used to be the only place where he could be himself and happy, without the threat of pain and danger looming around the corner. Without it, Nightmare was more than a little upset. As he continued to watch the screen, an odd feeling of discomfort crept forward. Usually, when viewing the outside world, he would watch through the eyes of the other him. Not from another viewpoint, however, the screen had not moved even an inch for a couple of minutes already (it might be minutes, or maybe hours, time has no meaning in a space like this). This meant that the other him was either staring at a spot at a bookshelf, not blinking or moving for no reason, or there was something else at play.

The spirit reached out to tap the viewing monitor and recoiled when it reacted much like rubber or some kind of elastic glass. He frowned and pushed at it again. This wasn't normal, not at all. The screen was meant to have a solid barrier, not something that could be broken.

'Something that could be broken...' Nightmare's eyes widened. Could this possibly be a way out? The more pressure he applied to the elastic wall, the more it gave in. For a moment, the guardian stopped to think about what he was doing. What would happen if the other him noticed? What if this was just another mind game, despite the other promising to finally stop? Would this ember of hope be nothing but a self-made hallucination? One made from his own desperation of wanting to be free? Nightmare took a couple of deep breaths to gather his courage before finally deciding to at least try and leave. If he did not, he would be forced to live knowing that he had given up a potential opportunity. With a bit of force, he continued to push against the barrier. It seemed to be somewhat of a mix between rubber and glass as it soon started to crack under the force. Nightmare continued, refusing to give up and the cracks only grew larger. Finally, a loud shattering sound broke through the abyss, and Nightmare was quickly dragged through the viewing screen and into a sea of bookshelves.

"...I... I did it." He said, voice hollow with a hint of an echo. "I did it. I am free.... I-I am free!" Laughter bubbled up his throat and he made no effort to stop. Despite the very obvious oddity that were his transparent bones, he was happy. Nightmare looked around, after seeing no glimpse of the goopy form of the being that had taken over his true body, he did a small joyous jump. "T-There are so many books here! I could stay here for days reading-"

"Myth?"

The ghost froze and quickly turned to face a familiar face by the entrance. "...you are...you are the skeleton I met before." He blinked, now remembering the incident. Nightmare had been convinced that it was simply a dream due to how short it was and how he could barely remember anything. "...Cross, right?"

"Yeeeaah." The black and white skeleton nodded cautiously. "Hello again...I guess?"

===== =====

Mercy slowly strolled down the hallway, mind wondering about something. He was sure that he was forgetting something, but he just couldn't figure out what. The Error Sans stopped and turned to glare at one of the nearby walls in suspicion. So far, all of the rooms' entrances were spaced rather evenly, yet this particular hall was almost completely empty. There were a couple of classes near the ends of the pathway but the middle was completely blank. It didn't seem like something done on purpose and Mercy knew that he was supposed to know what used to be here. He once again racked his brain to try and force the answer out, was there supposed to be a meeting room of sorts? Wasn't it the room where he met the other teachers? He continued to glare at that spot for a moment longer before finally deciding to leave. Why was this small little memory issue bugging him so much? If it was important, he wouldn't have forgotten. Unless he was becoming like Ink, that is.

'No, whAt aM I thiNkiNg' he thought with a scowl, 'iT's pRobAblY jUst nOthIng. ThErE's nO wAy iN hElL tHat i'M bEcoMinG likE tHe sQuiD.' Still, the thought lingered in his mind.

Mercy sighed and checked the time through the code. '45 miNutEs...' he smiled, he had 45 minutes till lunchtime was over. After a bit more searching through the panel that held the entire multiverse, he copied a strand of code and teleported to the location. Mercy immediately opened the nearest door. The wallpaper of the room was faded and scratched and there was only a small unstable desk and mattress inside it. Rolls of bandages were messily splayed out on the floor and homework books that seem to have been in the hands of an angry 5 years old were placed by a single worn-out pillow. Mercy hummed softly and closed the door. This time, he headed over to a nearby couch and sat down.

He had seen what he needed to see, this home was no place for a child. It was indeed true that Gradient is not his kid, but rather the kid of his counterpart, but that did not mean that the kid was still not one of his. No matter what kind of person the Error of this multiverse is, Gradient is still the child of an Error. Mercy would not deny the safety of one of his own.

Mercy opened up the codes once again to check on the second issue that he had wanted to investigate. This multiverse, or rather, this specific Najverse, belonged to Crow. With some observations, it became increasingly obvious that the deity had neglected this world to the point where it struggled to properly function. The ex-destroyer bit back a growl of disappointment as he looked down the list of issues in the coding of the multiverse. Why was the Deity of Change forbidden from influencing the people of this world? Why were both Fate and Destiny not bothering to do anything to help fill in the holes that came with the lack of change? Why was this world limited to only this town? The rest of the surface seemed to simply not exist, rather, it was replaced by vague memories that barely showed the monsters and humans of this place what it truly was like out there.

This is the reason why Mercy had felt the code glitch when he had arrived. This is the reason why the system had been working on overdrive, trying to patch up the forced changes that naturally came with the arrival of Mercy. The children of this world were never meant to meet someone who had been blessed by deities that they had never even heard of. Mercy was from a multiverse touched by enough Deities to break this fragile existence that is the Najverse. Hell, Mercy's arrival itself had caused the last remaining pillar holding this world up to crack.

Why did Crow neglect this multiverse till the edge of collapse? Why did Crow put him in such a breakable world? Did he not care or was he confident that he could fix the issues that Mercy was causing.

Because of the neglect and lack of change, the beings of this world lived without learning and changing. Their personalities do not change. If the code deemed that they would be a hot-headed person with little to no remorse, the living being would be stuck that way. That is the result of the people who have been turned away by the deity of change. Mercy's interference is what forced the code to allow the children and adults around him to become more aware of their surroundings. It's like the incident with Blue and the Anti-void all over again, except on a much larger scale.

Mercy acknowledged the fact that only those aware of resets back in his multiverse were blessed by change. The others who were not aware were forced to repeat their lives over and over again, which never gave them a chance to truly change and learn. Has Mercy been like this in the past? Before Fate had forced him away from his AU and into the white void that he calls home? Or had he been aware, like most of the sanses in the other AUs?

...

He is not quite sure whether or not he wants to remember.

===== =====

Classic groaned as he opened the portal to another AU. He shouldn't be the one doing this, how did the others forget that if he died, they would all die too? But, then again, he was also one of the only ones who can open portals to other AUs. It's a common belief nowadays that he didn't know how to open the gateways, but how could he not know how? It's simple physics, magic theory and a lot of assumptions about the AU locations. In the end, Classic had managed to figure it out without the help of anyone else. "Any luck?"

"AH!" Classic jumped as a head poked through one of the portals he opened. "Bird! Don't scare me like that!" He hissed.

"Sorry, Classic." The winged sans chuckled, "I'm just feeling a bit nervous...y'know, with both Ink and Dream missing. Stretch won't tell us if Blue is in his Au safely or not and even with Error gone, Nightmare and his group of goons are still a threat. Not to mention the weird multiversal earthquakes that are occurring once in a while. Sci says that they're getting stronger every time."

The original sans sighed. "Sometimes I wonder why I haven't joined the neutral side yet... If I was part of your group, I wouldn't be forced to clean up what the star council does." Classic tilted his head sideways at the memory from when he had been forced to join the good side. Ink had approached him and straight out lied, claiming that as the original, he was in the most danger out of all the other sanses.

Bullsh*t.

Classic has not been in any danger ever. In fact, the most dangerous people he's met are the people from the other, more dangerous AUs. A fell papyrus is more dangerous to him than freaking Killer Sans.

The sans groaned in frustration and opened another portal, this time, without a destination in mind.

"uh...Classic?" Bird whispered.

"What?"

"Where does that go?"

Classic looked over and froze. The portal was showing an entirely white space with no ceiling, no walls, and so many souls and glowing blue strings. "Isn't....isn't that Error's antivoid?" he mumbled.

"There's so many souls..." Bird gulped. "You're...you're not going to go in there, are you?"

Classic stared into the portal and nodded slowly. "I..I am. It might give us some clues."

"But what if there's a ghost? Or terrifying amalgamations? Or what if it's cursed?!"

"Well... honestly, I don't think I would be surprised if it is. I'm going in."

"Classic, no!-"

Classic entered the portal and closed it before Bird finished speaking. He stared at the familiar blue strings that glowed brightly as if greeting the newcomer. "So Error is alive." he hummed with narrowed eyes. Magic is created from intent, it's connected to the being that created it. If Error truly was dead, these strings would not still be here. "...this puppet." he looked at the small toy that looked like him. "...why does it look like mine?"