"Okay, so in brief summary it went: kidnapping, separation, torture, damage, glimpse, saving then now. Our problem right now is trying to get Error out of hiding long enough to save Blueberry."

Paps and Chara nodded along. "Can you just search the void? You said that's were he last was."

Ink was going to speak but you shook your head, beating him to the explanation. "That's a no go. The Antivoid is endless and dangerous. Just look at what happened to me. Not only that but Error can manipulate dimension travel just as well as Ink. Ink's been looking for a long, long time... and so far this predicament is the closest he's ever gotten."

Paps groaned and lit a cigarette. "Okay, so what now?! That can't be it. Why did he want my brother?"

"The most I remember is hearing him talk about a puppet... but my theory is he'll be twisting him against us. See, Error knows how vital Sans is to ours, and all timelines. He's aware if he takeout such a key component, this AU could come crumbling down. That's his goal though. Error thrives on the ideals that the only universe that hold exist is UnderTale, however, Ink here has the ability to create AU's. I think he's going to twist Blueberry AGAINST us and use him to collapse the dimension. Really, as I see it, Blueberry has the best chance of saving himself seeing as his cute, and optimistic personality has a talent for changing cold hearts. Unless we try using a vantage to draw him out. Then we can leave Error to Ink and take Blueberry back."

Chara pursed her lips and tapped her chin. "How do we draw him out though?" She asked. "We don't have anything he wants."

This time Ink took the stage. "I think the best way to draw out this idiot is to keep going with his plan. If you continue with the order of the timeline, you'll face Sans again, right? So that means he'll have to put something in its place."

"Chara, who was the last monster you battled?" You asked.

"I finished my battle with Napstablook. I guess it's a good thing he's on our side now because he was REALLY helpful when you went missing."

You nodded and looked down at your hands. That was a habit you had when you were thinking. "So we probably need to go through a lot of the timeline to get back to Sans. Don't we get back to the crew until after the Tem Battle, Asgore, and Papyrus if we chose genocide, but we're good on that part."

You looked at Ink and started to direct you questions to him. "Can we press the progress, maybe skip a battle or two?" You asked.

Ink shook his head and sent Paps an apologetic look. "I can't say that's the smartest move. Error... is unpredictable. He sees these plots of his like games. The other Sans are like puppets to him. It's really twisted."

You faked a snort and rolled your eyes. "Calling that fucker 'twisted' is an understatement. He's straight up psychotic." He muttered.

Chara placed her hand over yours in a comforting manner. You squeezed hers in return. "We need a backup plan." She said.

You all turned our gaze to her and raised a brow, well... at least you did. She shrugged and continued. "I'm just saying. If he's expecting us to go with his plan then he might throw in some twist to screw us over. We should have a backup."

You smiled and ruffled her hair. "We already have a backup, it's just a secret so we can't tell you."

Ink looked at you curiously and furrowed his brow. "We do?" He asked.

"We do!" You chirped.

You glanced at the clock and sighed. "It's getting late. Paps, I'm gonna hit up Muffet's and go to my place. If you come up with any other ideas, call me."

"Whose taking the kid tonight?"

I sent him a look and pursed my lips. "I've told you before... ask Chara, not me."

Chara looked at me and pointed a finger towards Paps. "I think I'm staying here for the night. There's too much stuff on my bed at home."

"Then clean it off ya dingus!" You nagged.

"That's too much work." She whined. "And the guest room doesn't have the same home feel."

You peered at her. "Maybe I should drag you home. You've been spending too much time around Paps."

Paps chuckled and threw an arm around Chara. "Don't worry about it. The kid's in good hands."

You sighed and waved it off. Turning to Ink, you waited for his answer. He glanced at you and blushed his rainbow hues. "What?" He asked.

"Where are you staying? Here or my place?" You asked.

His eyes widened and he made an 'oh' face. "I can just go back to my AU for the night. I don't wanna trouble any-"

You rolled your eyes and grabbed his wrist, tugging him with you. "If you're going to be helping us capture glitch freak, you need to stay in this AU. You can use my spare bedroom for the time being."

"Um... okay."

You stopped in the door and looked at Papyrus. "I'll come by tomorrow at 10 so Chara and I can pursue the timeline. Make sure you empty Chara's pockets before bed, she smuggles chocolate."

Papyrus saluted you, accompanying the act with a chipper "Eye eye."

Chara glared at you and muttered, "traitor..." under her breath.

You rolled your eyes and snickered. You closed the door behind you. Turning to Ink, you yanked your head in the direction of the river. "Follow me."

He followed you quietly as you walked to the river and found the river guide. "Hey, we're heading to Hotlands." You said curtly.

They nodded and let you board. You motioned for Ink to follow and he complied quietly. The guide pushed the boat off and you took a seat, crossing your legs. You fiddled with your clothes, not sure of how to continue a conversation with the monster in front of you. Eventually you found your fingers tracing the scars that lined your flesh. You counted the remaining marks, not even finishing with one arm when you got to your stop.

You stood and thanked the guide, flipping him some gold. Ink thanked him as well and followed you off the boat.

"So, where's your house?" He asked.

You smirked and answered dumbly. "Hotlands."

He snickered and and sent you an appreciative look. "Hardy Har Har. Seriously though, I wanna make a note of it."

You glanced at him and raised a brow. "Didn't you MAKE this place?" You asked.

He nodded, but soon followed with an explanation. "Yeah, I made the world, but I can't make people make it how I want it. I simply provided materials. I can't create life."

"Then how did all the people come to be?" You asked.

He scratched the back of his head and smiled. "That's a complicated situation dealing with another AU."

You smiled at him and pointed up ahead. "Well, my house is five minutes past Undyne's lab. Just stay on the path. You'll have to explain the life thing to me sometime so make sure you remeber."

He chuckled and nodded. "Okay, deal."

After two more minutes of silence, you reached the door. You fished the keys from your pocket and twisted the door open, stepping aside to let Ink in. He nodded his head in thanks and stepped in, eyes wondering.

"Nice place." He chimed.

You shrugged and locked the door behind you. "It's not much but it's home. The crew offered to chip in with rent so Chara and I went for something small. Lucky for us, this one went for cheap because marketing in Hotlands isn't all that hot."

You chuckled to yourself as you threw the keys into a bowl next to the door. Sans would've hated that pun. He was so adorable when he was mad, like a bouncing stuffed animal.

You were lost in your fantasy of him flipping out over puns. It wasn't until Ink snapped his fingers that you came back to life. Your (E/C) eyes rose to his mismatched ones and you smiled apologetically. "Heh, sorry Ink, I was just thinking."

He put a hand on your shoulder and squeezed lightly. "Don't worry (Y/N), we'll get Swap back."

You raised a brow and looked at him. "Swap?" You asked.

He blushed lightly and laughed. "Uh, yeah. I've made it a thing to address the different versions of a person based on their AU, except for the original of course. This one is Underswap so everyone is Swap, then insert name."

You peered at him. "So which one is the original universe?" You asked.

"It's an AU called Undertale. It's a universe where pairs of people are completely opposite of how they are here, hence Under-SWAP."

"So Sans is a lazy, wisecracking bum while Paps is a vigilant, joyous manchild?"

Ink snickered at your wording, but nodded. "Pretty much. Then Undyne and Alphys are switched, Toriel and Asgore, Muffet and Grillby, Temmie and Flowey-"

You started laughing so hard you had to lean on a wall. "Flowey, with six human souls?! Ha! That sounds hilarious!"

Ink sent you a knowing look. "Tell that to Frisk. Fight him is HELL."

You snickered and walked to your kitchen, finding a small cup and pouring a cup of water. Ink followed and you poured him his own drink. After giving him his drink, you sat on the counter and turned your attention go him.

"So what about the other AU's?" You asked.

"What about them?"

"What are they like?" You asked.

He glanced at the clock and back at you. "There are hundreds of AU's, you know that right?"

You rolled your eyes and jumped off the counter. "Well then pick one and tell me about it. And if after you're done with that one, I'm still well awake, you can go on."

He shrugged and walked into the living room. "Okay, if that's how you want it."

You whooped and dove into the couch, hugging a pillow and waiting happily.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
You fell asleep while he was explaining the third AU, one called Underfell. You didn't notice you were asleep until he shook you lightly.

"Hey (Y/N), maybe you should go to bed." He cooed softly.

You grunted in response and snuggled your face into your pillow. "I'm too tired to move." You complained. "But I guess it's my fault for asking about the AU's."

Ink chuckled and stood. He offered a hand to help you up but you ignored it and stayed hunched around your pillow. You closed your eyes and let sleep tease you. Suddenly, you body left the couch and boney arms circled your body.

"Ink?" You muttered curiously.

"It's not good to sleep like that, especially when not all of your wounds are completely closed." He said frankly.

You heard a door swing open but you kept your eyes closed. Lazily, you vaguely motioned in the direction of guest room. "Your room is right next to mine so come get me if you need anything." You said drowsily.

He chuckled, his warmth seeming to be infectious. You put your face into his chest and sighed as warmth hugged you. Soon your back met with the mattress and Ink began to pull away. In your drowsy state, all you cared about was your comfortable source of heat. You growled and grabbed his sleeve, yanking him down.

"Don't go yet, you're comfortable." You groaned.

"Well what do you want me to do? Aren't you the one who told me I needed to rest to catch Error?"

You ignored the second half of his question and patted the pace next down. "Lay down for a little bit, I'm cold."

He blushed lightly but complied to the order. He sat on the bed, still on top of the covers and looked at you. You smiled dreamily and adjusted yourself so your head rested on him. "Good skeleton." You yawned, the swaddling warmth returning.

He chuckled and put an arm around you. "Good night (Y/N)."

"Goodnight Ink."