I was lying in my bed, virtually helpless; I couldn't move my limbs, most of my bones were fractured, there was still paint everywhere, and I was shaking. I wasn't in a good spot, but it was better than being on Ink's floor. We had hoped that Ink had forgotten the location of Nightmare's house, because we were planning everything there; the others were in the living room. Papyrus wasn't being allowed to see me because of my condition, and I was happy about that; he's the best, and shouldn't have had to see his brother in such a state. I didn't know what I would do if he saw me like this; I didn't know what he would do if he saw me like this. At the moment, I was being watched by the kid, who wasn't very enthusiastic about anything. They looked like they were dying to talk about something, so I obliged, unfortunately.

"Nice weather we-we're having.." I coughed up some paint; my clothes were going to have to be washed..again.

"What's so nice about it?" The kid scoffed.

"I dunno.."

"How long did it take for you to break?"

"What kind of question is that?"

"I wanna see how weak you really are."

"Six weeks and a day.."

"Wow. Took me years; proof that you're weak."

"Why are y-you so intent on proving that I'm w-weak!" I coughed up more paint.  

"...No reason."

"There's got to be some reason."

"Look, I'm just a kid! I'm always seen as some innocent, kind, child! I don't want to be seen like that, but I always...just forget it."

"I see what you're saying. You don't want to be seen as weak, so you're intent on making sure you're stonger than somebody: me."

"Yes! I just want to be seen as something other than a pathetic child! If I could be stronger than the strongest monster in the world, then maybe I'd be seen differently, okay?!"

"Well who's the strongest monster in the world? Paps? Asgore? Undyne?"

"No, stupid! It's you! It's always been you!"

"Kid, I'm not strong..I couldn't even run down a hallway without t-tripping!" I coughed up more paint.

"Sans, I've always wanted to be like you! You're always so strong, and you always know exactly what to do! When I made you snap, I felt horrible, but I thought that if I showed it, you would see me as weak! When you started killing me over and over, it was because you saw me as a threat! You saw me as strong, and I liked it! Sans..I'm sorry for what I did..I was selfish.."

"You.." Great, now I felt bad; the kid really knew how to spark emotions. "Look. You're young. Everybody makes mistakes: s-some are just worse than others. As much as I'll regret this later, I'll forgive you for your mistake. This doesn't mean we're going to be happy, dandy friends, though."

"I understand...thanks, Sans."

"Don't mention it. Seriously. Ever."

"Okay.."

I started to cough up more paint, more than usual; I hoped it would stop soon, but I doubted it.

"Gosh, how much paint did you even consume?" The kid was freaked out by it.

"Imagine how much water you could drink in multiple hours without being able to s-stop...for months." I was still coughing. "A-and you're allergic."

"Ouch.."

"Yeah.."

"On a brighter note...if you're the same size as me while you're an adult, were you a tiny kid?"

"Wh-what?"

"Oh, come on! You're like, the smallest skeleton in this house!"

"I'm not that small!"

"Oh yes you are! How small were you as a child?"

"W-well, I was..s-smaller..." I muttered.

"I hope Ink injected a de-aging potion or something into you; I would love to see that."

"No, you wouldn't."

"Yes I would!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Are you two bickering again?" Nightmare had entered the room, snickering.

"No!" We harmonized.

"So you agree with me!" I chuckled.

"What? No!" The kid groaned.

"Well, I came to check on Dust and give an update on our situation." Nightmare started. "If you want me to come back later.."

"No, that's fine." I quickly stated. 

"Do I get to leave now?" The kid resumed their bored outlook.

"Yes, you get to leave." Nightmare stepped out of the doorway, and the kid left without hesitation.

"Hey, Dad." I smiled 

"Hello, Dust, how are you feeling?"

"A-all right!" I coughed up more paint.

"Agh..that must be awful.."

"It's not too b-bad...it was worse going in.."

"Well, we've come up with a plan to defeat Ink, and hopefully it will work."

"What is it?"

"Error will be sent out with Killer and Horror to adjust the code of the guards, so there will be no consequences for disobedience - thanks for that information, by the way."

"No problem.."

"Your Frisk, along with Cross, Papyrus and I, is going to be sent out to rescue the other humans, which should be easy once most of the guards are free. Once the humans are in their universes with their judges, we will fight Ink and his last few allies, hopefully ending this dreadful dictatorship."

"Wait..if the original kid is trapped in Ink's base, why aren't they resetting?"

"We're not sure. Some sources say Ink has been bribing the child, others say Frisk is in a different universe, and a few say Ink altered the code of the child to prevent a reset. It doesn't matter which is true."

"What are we going to do with Ink when he's defeated?"

"I'm not sure. A fair trial is basically impossible, since every being in the multiverse was affected somehow."

"Y-yeah.." I coughed up more paint, which Nightmare wiped away.

"You're one of the worst affected, you know; the dead will come back with a reset, but you would only be brought back to life with one."

"I'll be fine.."

"No, you won't. Dust, there's paint covering your soul; we can't get that off. You could be in pain for the rest of your life.."

"Re-really, it's not th-that bad!" I coughed up a lot of paint, which Nightmare again wiped away.

"I know you're just saying that so we won't worry." Nightmare sighed; I was.

"I.." I didn't feel well.

"Dust? Dust, are you okay?"

"..." I felt lightheaded.

"Dust!"

"..." I felt horrible. 

"Dust, can you hear me?"

"..." I passed out.

When I woke up, I was covered in paint, and my family was gathered around me.

"Dusty?" Killer looked worried; they all did.

"Wh-what?" I spit some excess paint out.

"Ya had a 'lergic reaction, an' ya threw up a lotta paint." Horror enlightened.

"O-oh.."

"W-we were r-really worried about y-you." Cross was crying. "I-Ink hurt you w-way worse than he h-hurt me."

"Ain't that the truth.." Chara was sad.

"I have a few questions.." Error looked at me.

"Y-yeah?" I coughed up some paint.

"Ink made many attempts to change your code." Error stated, scaring the others. "You know this, I assume?"

"Y-yes.."

"It's broken. You know this too, don't you?"

"I do.." I coughed, but no paint came this time, to my joy. "The magic that makes dust also makes code, and it's broken. I a-assume that's why the reset didn't change me completely."

"I see. Did he..hurt you only because of your broken code? Did he stop after he found out why?"

"No.." 

"Why would he do this?" Nightmare broke down crying; I wished I could comfort him, but I couldn't move. The others did it for me.

"This is cute." Somebody chuckled; my eyelights widened. "I hope you didn't forget that I knew the location of your base."

"You're not welcome here." Nightmare growled.

"Let me down!" The kid was struggling. "I'll kill you!"

"I highly doubt that." He laughed and launched the kid across the room. "I've come to make a deal."

"We don't want your deals, offers, or anything else you could possibly have in store." Error was ready to fight.

"Oh, I think you do, because if you don't, I might accidentally attack Dreamtale."

I coughed up more paint.

"What do you want, Ink?" Nightmare stepped in front of me.

"I only want a prisoner." Ink smiled.

"I assume this prisoner will receive the same treatment as Dust?"

"Yup! I'd really prefer having him back, but I'll take any of you!"

"...We need time."

"That's completely fine! I'll be back in two insignificant minutes!" He disappeared from sight.

The others gathered around me.

"What're we gonna do?" Killer asked. "We can't face him now!"

"We ain't ready." Horror left his axe in Horrortale's forest again.

"E-either one of us s-surrenders, or Dreamtale is d-doomed; that's all w-we have." Cross sighed.

"I'll do it." I didn't stutter.

"Dust, that's ridiculous." Nightmare looked stern.

"No, it's not! All of you are needed for your plan, which leaves only me. When you overthrow Ink, everything will be fine! I can last a little longer!"

"Why are you always right?" Error sobbed.

"But..." Killer frowned.

"I love you guys." I smiled.

"We love you too.." They all sighed.

"Your plan will work; I'll be waiting."

"I-it has to w-work!" Cross declared.

"Have you made your decision?" He was back.

"That wasn't even one minute!" Killer complained.

"Oh well."

"I'm going." I sighed.

"Oh, that's perfect!" 

Ink teleported to me, grabbed me by my skull, and brought both of us through a portal in what felt like less than a second; I had no time to react, and the others probably didn't even see it happen. Before I knew it, I was back in Ink's room, where some guards were waiting; they were terrified when they saw me back. Ink threw me down on the floor and stepped on my sternum, cracking it further, before turning to the now horrified guards.

"What is it?" Ink inquired.

"We-well, your shipment of p-paint came..early.." A guard winced at my condition.

"That's fantastic!"

"S-sir, is th-that Dust?" The guard hoped he was wrong.

"Yep! They couldn't hide him from me."

"O-oh."

"If there's nothing else, you can go now."

"Y-yes, Sir." The guards left swiftly, and Ink turned to me; I was scared.

"Your friends thought they could save you." Ink grinned. "We know better; you can't be saved. Isn't it nice being back?"

"Y-yeah.." I coughed up more paint. 

"I see you remember how to stay alive. Let's play a game, now that you're back. I just got a shipment of red paint."

I whimpered.

"There's the Dust I know!" Ink knelt down next to me.

I tried to back away, but I couldn't.

"Tell me..are you scared of me?"

He knew I was.

"Tell me!"

I was crying. 

"Tell. Me."

"Yes!" I cried.

"Good. Keep it that way. I'll go get that paint."

He left me on the floor, crying. I wanted my family; I hoped their plan would be successful, because I really didn't want to be tortured for longer than I had to be. They would save me, though; I knew they would. Their plan would work, and I would be free from Ink forever; I just had to stay strong - I would stay strong. I had more hope this time than I did last time, because my family would save me, and everything would be fine. Everything would be fine in the end, and it would all go back to normal. I had to convice myself of that; I would convince myself of that! I had to be sure that my family would rescue me! I was sure! I was sure! Yes, my family would rescue me, and everything would go back to normal, and we'd be fine. I could convince myself of that without too much trouble. What I couldn't convince myself of was that Ink didn't just have thousands of gallons of paint carted into the room; I was in shock and fear. The guards sighed when they saw me; they hoped I wouldn't ever have had to come back.

"This is going to be fun!" Ink proclaimed. "Leave us."

"Yes, Sir." The guards left swiftly, not wanting to hear my screams.

"Now." Ink turned to me, grinning. "I hope you're thirsty."

I hoped my family would save me soon.

~~~chapter end woot~~~ 

Dust bean again??

Killer: Ah Frisk, here we go again.

Frisk: I'm gonna change my name if you keep using it as a curse word!

Thanks for reading my repeating repeating writing!

Bye!