Yep. I don't know why, but I have too many ATE ideas that need to be brought out.

So yeah.

You get 40,000 more words of ATE stuff! Woo!

This is totally why I haven't posted anything for the past..week?

Just kidding! The revision history goes back to July 19th!

..So, checking that, this was made in a little over three weeks..

What am I doing with my life-

Anyways, please enjoy this!

I would really, really appreciate any and all comments! They really make my day, and I love to see each and every one of them!

With that said, let the story of ATE continue!

~~~~~

"Kidnapped"

Classification: angst.

Warnings: kidnapping (duh), sad Dusty.

~~~~~

I was scared. Usually, I wouldn't have been upset about being taken away from Ink, since I didn't exactly like being his prisoner, but..this was worse. Ink had been out this morning, but I wished he had stayed, even if he would have just tortured me. The kidnappers struck soon after he left me alone; Fell was supposed to come after thirty minutes, but I didn't get thirty minutes before they came. I had been hugging my Hope when someone covered my mouth from behind to muffle a scream; I blacked out soon after, only to wake up to the inside of a cell, with chains holding me off the ground by my wrists..it hurt. The kidnappers hadn't approached me as of yet, which meant that I had no idea what they were planning to do with me..I hoped it was giving me to my brother, but I honestly doubted it. I hoped that my questions would be answered as a still-alive Gaster approached my cell and entered it, looking at me curiously.

"The dictator's little pet.." He murmured. "It was rather difficult to attain you.."

"Wh-where am I?" I hoped they wouldn't hurt me.

"That would be a rather unintelligent question to answer; ask something else."

"..Wh-who..are y-you?" My wrists hurt; I wanted to touch the ground.

"Better question, although still pointless." He grabbed my chin to look at my eyelights. "I am the Gaster of an unimportant timeline."

"Wh-why am I..here?"

"Ransom." His answer shed light on most of the questions I had at the moment; I understood now. "You are likely the most valuable being in the multiverse, since the dictator likes you so much; your ransom will bring safety to our little group, not to mention the means to not be wiped out."

"Can I..get down from here?" My arms hurt so much..

"You would try to escape." He scoffed.

"I wouldn't." I shook my skull.

"Give me one good reason to let you down."

"I-if I tried to escape, Ink would find me easier; I'd be better off staying here. And..it hurts; if you hurt me too much, Ink might wipe you out instead of paying your ransom..he doesn't like people hurting me without his approval."

"..Well, that's two good reasons.." The Gaster hummed, releasing the chains and letting me fall to the ground with a thud. "If you try to escape, we won't hesitate to chain you up again."

"I won't.." Then a question came to my mind. "Um..do you know anything about the resistance?"

"Doesn't everyone?"

"D-do they know I'm here?"

"Yes, although we're expecting Ink to pay the higher ransom for you; your brother may love you, but he can't provide what we want."

"What..do you want?"

"Protection, what else?"

"Oh.." I frowned, looking down and not finding..my Hope. "Wh-where is my doll?"

"Your what?" The Gaster didn't know.

"M-m-my d-doll.." I was tearing up; I wanted my Hope!

"Oh, we left the ransom note on it; if you really want it so much, wait for Ink to pay your ransom. If that's all, I'll leave you alone now."

With that, he left me. I curled up on the ground - sand - and cried for a while, wishing that my Hope had also been kidnapped. Soon, I accepted that Ink was going to come for me eventually, and I played with the sand in my cell. It had been a while since I had been able to play without anyone paying attention to me, and I honestly enjoyed it! Whenever I would usually play, someone would be watching me, and it was almost always Ink. He would often comment on my games or study my movements intently; I rarely had time to play alone. So I played with the sand and built a small "castle" - it wasn't really a castle since the sand was dry, but I tried - in my cell. About two hours later, the Gaster returned with some rope and entered my cell again.

"Well, everything is in order." He smirked, beginning to tie me up in the rope. "The dictator has agreed to our terms, surprisingly; you really are quite valuable, aren't you?"

I sighed as the Gaster led me into a portal, presumably to hide the true location of his group's base; he seemed very secretive. I didn't enjoy being pulled around, but Ink had done it enough times before that I simply didn't care anymore..it was just another form of transport. The Gaster soon brought me to a clearing in this new universe's Snowdin forest, where Ink stood with an annoyed expression; he glared harshly at me, forcing me to drop my gaze to the ground. When we arrived, the Gaster untied me and returned me to Ink, who had no trouble forcing me to the ground and stepping violently on my skull.

"You little idiot." He growled, pressing down on my skull harder. "I don't know why I bother with you.."

"P-p-please.." I had found that begging for mercy in these situations sometimes helped, but not always; with my skull audibly cracking under the pressure, it was a hopeful option.

Ink scoffed, kicking me to the side and throwing my Hope at me aggressively; that was his way of showing mercy, and I was very thankful for it..he had shattered my skull in the past, and it wasn't a pleasant sensation. I held my Hope tightly, not moving from the ground I had been pushed onto; if Ink wanted me on the ground, I was going to stay on the ground.

If I heard the screams and cries of pain from the Gaster, I didn't react.

~~~~~

"Ignorance"

This story follows the "Another Toy" timeline; don't be surprised if I make more stories in that timeline..I just really like that one..for some reason.

Classification: angst.

Warnings: violence, mention of blood.

~~~~~

Papy had been my toy for..seventy-three years..I believed. I wasn't sure. Papy was probably keeping track; I could ask him later. By now, the incident roughly forty years ago had been entirely forgotten, and Papy would never leave me..I hoped. I didn't like the thought of Papy's leaving me; it scared me. He was still my brother..I hated being apart from him for too long, but I was okay if Ink was with me. Sometimes, I was left alone in Ink's room, but it wasn't too often. Ink had taken Papy for "mental-checks" once a week ever since the incident because he didn't trust that Papy was going to stay forever; they took hours, and I didn't know what happened during them..I wasn't allowed to come along. I was alone with my Hope right now, waiting for them to return from a mental-check. Papy always came back from them injured, but I wasn't allowed to know why, since Ink told me not to ask, and I wasn't going to ask if he didn't want me to. I usually had my babysitter with me when they were gone, but Fell was on a mission today, which meant that nobody could watch me. That was fine. I played with my Hope. Ink and Papy returned after five hours, and I was happy to see them, rushing over to hug them; I hugged Ink first, since he was the best, and Papy came second.

"Ah, it's good to see you, Dusty!" Ink smiled, patting my skull before I went to hug Papy.

"It's good to see you, too!" I giggled, reaching up to hug Papy, who was much taller than me; he had to pick me up so we could hug properly.

"Dusty, do you ever get tired of being carried around?" Ink noticed that I was very small; he was three feet taller than me - roughly twice my height - while Papy was three and a half!

"Not if you don't want me to." I hugged my toy tightly before being let down.

"Good. Well, in that case, it's time for bed. I feel like I might have a nightmare tonight, Dusty; I want you in my bed."

"Of course, Ink!" I didn't mind being Ink's guard against Nightmares; he never had any when he made me sleep in his bed. I had been planning to cuddle with Papy tonight, but I wouldn't go against Ink's plans; Papy could wait until tomorrow night. "Good night, Papy!"

"Good night, Dusty and Ink!" Papy smiled, waiting for Ink's signal for him to go to sleep, which was given immediately; he went to his spot on the floor and started to drift off to sleep.

"Good night, Papy!" Ink chuckled.

Ink grabbed my hand and began to lead me to his bed, where he set me down next to his pillow before beginning to change into his pajamas; for all intents and purposes, I was his living teddy bear now, and I would remain as such until Ink deemed me not. Before he could finish changing, however, the door was burst open by a guard, who immediately shrunk in fear as Ink's glare found its way to him.

"Why didn't you knock first?" Ink growled out, finishing his changing quickly.

"S-Sir, w-we think y-you might want t-to hear this.." The guard whimpered slightly, possibly wondering what horrors were in store for him after this offense.

"Well? Out with it!" Ink yelled, almost bringing Papy out of his dream state, but not.

"Th-th-the resistance..th-they're finished..S-Sir.."

Ink's outlook changed in a flash. "You mean..they're gone?"

"W-we captured th-their leaders and..m-most of their w-warriors..they can't..recover.."

Ink smirked darkly. "Bring their newly-captured leaders here. No need to bring the old ones, just the new ones. Be quick about it, and forget punishment for your insolence..I'm in too good of a mood to bring it about."

"Th-thank you, Sir!" The guard saluted and left instantly, leaving us alone.

"Well, Dusty, isn't that good news?" Ink began to put a jacket and sweatpants over his pajamas, not bothering to change out of them.

"That's very good news!" I grinned; Ink could now rule unchallenged! That was amazing!

"I wonder how Papy will take it.." Ink glanced to the sleeping skeleton, smiling in his dark way.

"Do you want me to wake him?" I offered.

"Yes, Dusty, but don't give him the news just yet..I want him to see it..I want to make sure that he's completely severed ties with his past, and what better way than to face him with the destruction of it?"

"That's a great way!" I was obliged to agree with Ink, even if I was sure that he had severed ties.

"Now go wake him, Dusty."

"Yes, Ink!"

I made my way over to my toy, sitting beside him as I softly shook him awake.

"Time to wake up, Papy." I whispered to him.

"Mm.." Papy yawned, sitting up and looking at me confusedly. "Is it morning?"

"No, Ink wants you awake for something."

"Oh..what is it?" Papy tilted his skull curiously, looking to Ink for answers.

"You'll see, Papy." Ink answered. "You'll see."

Ink then gestured for us to come closer as he sat down on the side of his bed, and we did so, with me in Ink's lap and Papy on the floor in front of us. Ink hummed a tune as we waited for the prisoners to be brought in - although Papy didn't know what was going on - for whatever reasons Ink wanted. Soon enough, they came. The Outertale Sans and Papyrus and Classic Sans were chained up tightly, no doubt under the influence of magic suppressors as they were forced to their knees in front of Ink. Papy was surprised at the introduction, but he didn't say anything, since Ink hadn't given us permission to speak yet.

"Papy, up here." Ink ordered; Papy immediately sat next to Ink and me. "Better."

"What did you do to him?!" The Outertale Sans glared at Ink.

"Heh, I'd be more worried about myself if I were in your situation, but if you must know, I've simply.." Ink ran a phalanx across Papy's skull. "Made him mine."

"You..you psychopath!" The Outertale Sans had tears in his eyesockets.

"True, true. He lasted for thirty years, you know; he was stronger than Dusty, even with the lack of determination. Dusty did last longer, but the strength just wasn't..there. I think the difference was that..Dusty was only counting on him, while he counted on both outside forces and himself; now, however, he only counts on me. There's no point in trying to save him, if you were planning on that; you won't reach him."

"You're so..so twisted.."

"Yes, I suppose I am." Ink scratched Papy's skull, drawing blood. "But aren't we all?"

"I don't know how we ever fell for your lies.." Classic Sans was angry.

Ink chuckled. "I mean, I am a master of manipulation..actually, you, specifically, gave me such a hard time; you found out about my being evil over three hundred times! Too bad, really; you've lost two whole years of your life, and you don't even realize it!"

"..." Classic Sans was silenced by that revelation.

"What..are you planning to do with us?" The Outertale Papyrus was afraid.

"Good question." Ink complimented, likely already knowing the answer. "You two will join my army, and Classic...will be my permanent prisoner."

"Wh-what?!" Classic Sans didn't like that idea.

"Classy, if you die, I'm gone." Ink shrugged. "I'm not taking the risk of making you a guard; you'll be a prisoner. Oh, and don't worry about suicide attempts; if you die in this universe, you'll get an instant reset and be returned to your cell instantly. And..you will get company; I wouldn't leave you hanging, friend."

"I'm not your friend."

"Eh, potato, potatoh. I think you'll actually get comfortable after a while; your cell is basically a pillow wonderland, and your visiting hours are forever! I'm such a nice person, am I not?"

Silence.

"I think you're a nice person, Ink!" I stated my opinion.

"Well, at least someone does." Ink rubbed my skull softly, causing me to giggle.

"What did you do to them..?" The Outertale Sans didn't seemed as concerned about himself as he did us..weird.

Ink chuckled. "Oh, Outer..never caring about yourself. If you're that interested, I'll just have to show you. I came up with the idea a long time ago, but it's certainly changed since the beginning; I figured..if people have pet animals, why can't I have pet..people? Sure, they're harder to train, and you have to break them down more, but the result is certainly worth it. They're more interesting than animals, and they can shower me with praise and affection."

"You are so sick.." Classic Sans couldn't bear to look at Ink; I didn't understand why.

"It isn't as if they know that I'm manipulating them, of course; I can literally say it, and they won't even understand! In fact, I'll prove it. Dusty?"

"Yes, Ink?" I looked up at my master curiously.

"I have a confession to make. I've been cruelly manipulating you into my personal toy all these years; could you ever forgive me?"

"Of course, Ink! You deserve forgiveness for anything!"

"Point proved. If you'd like, I could let them spend a few hours with you - not that it would do anything to help their conditions."

"How could you do such a thing?" The Outertale Papyrus didn't understand.

"Because I felt like it." Ink rubbed my skull passively. "Now, I must know something..Papy."

"Yes, Ink?" Papy looked to Ink, wondering what he was wanted for.

"What do you think? Your precious little resistance, the cause you fought so hard to defend..it's gone, now; how do you feel about that?"

"I.." Papy twitched slightly.

"Be honest." Ink urged; the new prisoners seemed afraid of Papy's response.

"W-well, I.." Papy was shivering. "I-I do not..I-I d-do not..kn-know..?"

"I see." Ink pulled out a knife. "Outer, could you ever imagine hurting your brother with something like this?"

"No." The Outertale Sans was quick to respond. "That would be so wrong.."

"Heh.." Ink placed the knife in my hand. "I guess you're about to see what someone like me is truly capable of, then. Dusty, punish Papy..very hard."

"Yes, Ink." I climbed out of Ink's lap.

"No mercy, Dusty." Ink added; I nodded, walking over to Ink's bedtable and grabbing the punishment collar, which I then put around Papy's neck and activated.

"What is..that?" The Outertale Sans wondered.

"It's an invention I had my top scientists make..you see, I put Dusty through so much pain and suffering that he can no longer feel pain under normal circumstances, and Papy trained himself to like the pain..but this invention makes pain feel ten thousand times worse than normal. In short, neither of them like the collar, but we only use it for punishments, and they understand that this pain is for punishing; don't you?"

"Yes, Ink!" Papy and I nodded.

"Good. Continue, but punish him on the floor, Dusty; I don't want my bed dirty."

"Okay, Ink!" I grabbed Papy's arm and led him to a spot on the floor before beginning the punishment; his screaming only made me flinch for a second.

"I think you can understand." Ink picked up, heard clearly above the screams. "Now we'll discuss important matters!"

And they did. As I was punishing Papy for whatever reason Ink wanted, Ink spoke to the prisoners about their new jobs and the punishments that they would face for their choice to resist Ink. The Outertale brothers were both going to face harsh torture for an entire year before being drafted into the army, and they would be in different sections; usually, Ink didn't take both brothers, but he would make an exception because the Outertale Papyrus was a good fighter. As for Classic Sans, Ink didn't want to risk his death, and scarring his mind too much would pass over to all Sanses, which left the only possible route of simply locking him up immediately..his cell was probably the most comfortable cell in the entire compound, but it was still a cell. Actually, every main character in the original Undertale had been locked up since Undertale had been taken over to prevent their deaths, which was a smart move, really; they couldn't permanently die that way. So Classic Sans was taken to the Undertale cell block, and the Outertale brothers were taken to the dungeon. When we three were the only ones left, Ink took off his jacket and sweatpants and sat back down on his bed; it had been an hour since bedtime.

"All right, Dusty." Ink yawned. "Papy's punishment is over."

"Okay, Ink!" I stopped torturing Papy.

I cleaned the knife's blade off with Papy's shirt - Ink told me to do that so I wouldn't get my jacket dirty - and removed the punishment collar from him, effectively ceasing his screaming and rendering him unconscious; it wasn't uncommon for us to go unconscious when the collars were removed. When that was done, I went to Ink's bedtable and placed the knife and collar inside of a drawer.

"Time for bed, Dusty." Ink grabbed my wrist and pulled me into his bed before turning out the light. "Good night.."

"Good night, Ink." I cuddled closer to my master and drifted off to sleep.

I was woken up two minutes later by a sharp tugging; it wasn't Ink, since I was being pulled away from him. I opened my eyesockets to see..Papy?

"What are you doing, Papy?" I rubbed my eyesockets tiredly; Papy wasn't allowed to wake me up unless it was important!

"D-Dusty, I am a-afraid.." Papy whispered; I felt the fear in his voice.

"What happened, Papy?" Perhaps he had a bad dream?

"I..m-may I have a hug?"

"Papy, no." I shook my skull softly, not enough to wake Ink up. "You know the rules, and so do I; toys aren't allowed to request comfort from their masters without good reason. Unless you have a reason, I will not oblige. Do you have good reason?"

"..N-no.." Papy frowned, bowing his skull. "I-I am sorry for waking you up.."

I sighed. "That's okay, Papy; what has you so afraid, though?"

"I..still care for the ones in the resistance..I do not want them to be hurt.."

"Oh.." I had forgotten that Papy used to be part of the resistance against Ink; I grabbed his hand softly. "Papy, everything will turn out all right in the end; your old friends deserve their punishments, don't they?"

"..Do they?" Papy..didn't think so.. "They were just doing what they thought was right..just as Ink does what he thinks is right.."

"There's a difference, Papy; Ink is always right, while your friends in the resistance were wrong."

"Dusty..have you ever thought that maybe..just maybe..Ink is not..always right?"

My eyesockets widened as I gasped incredulously; did Papy actually just say that?! That was..that was ridiculous!

"How dare you, Papy?!" I scoffed at the mere thought that Ink could ever be wrong. "That's it, Papy; you're in timeout. Go sit in the corner and think about what you just said; I expect an apology for Ink in the morning, and don't you even think about going to sleep tonight..you've lost that privilege until Ink forgives you."

Papy nodded slowly, backing away with tears in his eyesockets. "I-I am sorry.."

"No more speaking until you apologize in the morning. Go and sit in the corner, now."

"Y-yes, Dusty.."

Papy walked over to the corner slowly, crying as soon as he got there; he should have been ashamed of himself, thinking that Ink was actually less than perfect! I went to sleep once more, cuddling with Ink as I descended into a dusty nightmare and wondering what punishment Ink was going to give to Papy in the morning; Papy deserved a very bad punishment for his thought processes. I wanted the old Papy back; the old Papy didn't wake me up without good reason, ask for comfort without good reason, or say bad things about Ink! I continued to think about Papy's insolence until I woke up from Ink's stirring. I smiled as he rubbed my skull softly, waking me up while he did the same. He soon sat up and stretched before changing into his day clothes. As Ink changed, I looked over to my toy, who was curled up in the timeout corner; he obviously hadn't fallen asleep, since he looked tired. I hoped that he had thought long and hard about his mistake last night; nobody talked about Ink that way. When my master finished changing into his normal clothes, he finally noticed that Papy was in the corner, and he sat next to me on his bed to ask why.

"Dusty, why is Papy in timeout?" Ink questioned. "Did he do something last night?"

"He broke three rules." I nodded sadly; my toy was being disobedient, and I didn't like it.

"What rules were those?" Ink was interested.

"First, he woke me up without a good reason. Second, he asked for a hug, with the only reason being that he wanted one. Last, he.." I bowed my skull; I didn't want to even think about that offense..much less speak of it..

"What did he do, Dusty?"

"W-well..you know the list of rules that are above all others?"

"Yes?"

"He broke..rule..one."

Ink's eyelights widened as he scooted back slightly. "He..did?"

I was tearing up. "P-please don't kill him!"

Ink pulled me into his arms as I began to cry; breaking that rule usually ended in death! The first rule Ink had in his empire was, "Never doubt Ink's perfection." Subjects were allowed to complain, call Ink names, criticize his every movement, and be discontent with their lives, but nobody was allowed to think that Ink wasn't the one in control..it was the most feared law in the entire multiverse! Papy needed a good apology..maybe Ink would forgive him! He just..needed an apology.

"All right, Dusty." Ink said, when I slowed down my crying. "If Papy can give me a very good apology, I'll forgive him, but you need to apologize, too."

"What..do I have to apologize for?" I wiped my tears away.

"For allowing him to be so insolent as to even think of saying such a thing. You will apologize first. Get on with it!"

"Yes, master."

With that, I slid off of Ink's bed and got on my knees before begging for his forgiveness, which he graciously gave within an hour. He said that he was going to give me forgiveness within the first minute, but he liked to hear me beg; I could understand that, since Ink said that I was good at begging. Next up was Papy, who was finally called out from the timeout corner and placed on his knees before our master..Ink didn't seem happy.

"Papy, Dusty says that you broke rule one.." Ink stated. "Do you confess?"

"Y-yes.." Papy stuttered.

"I've decided to give you the special privilege of begging for my forgiveness on the matter." Ink was so kind! "Dusty has already obtained my forgiveness, but you..have not."

"D-Dusty, Ink? I-" Papy was cut off.

"You do not have the right to call me by my name; have you forgotten the rules?"

"N-no, master.." Papy was treading on thin ice; one wrong word would mean his end.. "I apologize for my ignorance.."

"Good. As for your question, you should remember that a master is responsible for his toy's actions..by breaking that rule, you also put his life at risk, Papy; you almost made me kill my favorite toy." Ink glared, pulling me onto his bed. "That is the only reason you're getting this chance; my toy values you. Now, I expect you to apologize, and I expect you to beg, because your life is at stake, and Dusty would be soulbroken if I was forced to kill you; do you understand?"

"Y-yes, master."

And Papy begged. He begged for forty hours, never ceasing. When Ink finally deemed it enough for Papy to be forgiven, he still had to endure a horrible punishment, but his life was spared, and that was all that mattered. As for me, Ink was also forced to punish me, since I was still at fault. Papy was punished with a collar and paint. I was punished with a month of isolation. We didn't speak of the event after that; there was no need. Papy went back to his old self after that.

I liked it better that way.

~~~~~

"Hide and Seek"

Classification: probably more on the fluff side.

Warnings: grouchy Ink.

~~~~~

"Look, kid, you need to let me through!" The newest high rank glared at me, but I wasn't moving.

It was a late morning in Ink's empire. Ink didn't usually sleep this late, but today was a different story; he had gone to sleep late last night after doing a lot of paperwork, and he needed to rest more! This high rank obviously hadn't heard of Ink's anger at being woken up too early, and he had knocked on the door much too loudly for Ink's liking..he had almost woken him up! I was the only line of defense between the inhabitants of the compound and a grouchy Ink. Ink didn't care who he attacked when he was woken up early, and more than one guard had been killed in his rampages..I had died several times.

"Be quiet!" I whisper-yelled at the high rank. "Do you wanna be killed?!"

"Look, kid." He was determined to get through. "You may not know this, but business is business; not even our leader can afford to sleep in! Now let me through."

I shook my skull, returning the guard's glare; he didn't know what beast he wanted to awaken.

"All right, I've tried being nice about it." The high rank pushed me to the ground and walked over to Ink's bed, waking him up.

Well, that was the cue for me to start running, with or without my Hope; it would be there for me later. Everyone in the compound knew that if I was running through the halls fearfully, it was a good idea to take cover, and the yells of an angry tyrant behind me sealed the deal; some guards hid inside lockers, others ducked into the nearest closets, and a few just made portals to different universes, since guards were allowed to take cover in just about any way when Ink was rampaging. As for me, I didn't have the luxury of magic, I didn't have a locker key, and the doorknobs were too high for me to open quickly enough, which left my only options as already-open doors and rooms without doors. For some reason, Ink just liked to target me when he went on rampages; if I bothered to look on the bright side, I had memorized most of the compound in an attempt to find the best hiding spots. Today, my hiding spot would be in the armory, inside of a cabinet that usually held nothing; today, it held helmets, but I couldn't worry about that, since I had no time to pick and choose my spots; I was running on pure fear. In the last seconds I had before Ink reached the armory, I pushed myself as far back into the cabinet as I could go, and I shut the door as fast as possible. Now I waited.

"Dusty.." Ink called out; his voice had an audible edge due to his rage, which he was likely intending to take out on me, in the most painful ways possible. "Come out, come out, wherever you are.."

In cases such as this, Ink was fine with my disobedience to those words; subconsciously, he knew that I was scared to death, and that would have made my obedience rather..weird. Why would I have ever come out of my hiding spot if I knew that he was going to beat me mercilessly? It just wasn't logical. So I stayed still. I tried not to breathe - as much as breathing calmed my nerves - as Ink began to look through the armory, making quite a lot of noise as he did so. I tried not to cry as he began looking through the cabinets near me, audibly ripping out anything that was to be found in them. I tried not to scream as he opened the cabinet I was in, grabbing my leg tightly and pulling hard enough to throw me at the opposing wall of the armory; I was, quite literally, doomed. I made myself as small as possible as Ink approached me, growling harshly as he knelt down beside me, possibly to beat me with his fists this time instead of his brush. I expected a lot of things to happen as he came down to my level. What I did not expect was for him to begin to..laugh? He began with a small chuckle, which grew into a hearty laugh..what the heck? I looked at Ink as if he were absolutely insane - he probably was - as he laughed uncontrollably.

"Oh, Dusty!" Ink touched my nose ridge..playfully? "That was so much fun! So suspenseful! Daring! Quick!"
Ink giggled as I wondered if he knew that he was still in his pajamas. "Let's do it again.."

I was very confused. One minute, Ink was on a rampage with the intent to likely kill me, and the next, he was forcing me to play Hide and Seek with him. Well, it was better than being ripped apart, as that guard earlier likely had been. After a minute to allow Ink to change into his day clothes, he began to explain the rules of our game.

"All right, Dusty!" Ink sat down on his bed, bouncing slightly when he landed on it. "Here's how the game works! You get two hundred seconds to hide somewhere in the compound, and I will find you. If you manage to last an hour without my finding you, you win! If I find you, you lose! What is the prize for winning, you may ask? Well, if I win, I get to force you into whatever I feel like doing at the moment for thirty minutes, which will either be torture or fun, and if you win, same thing, but I can refuse. Does that sound fun?"

"Isn't your winning just what we do..every day?" I had to ask!

"..Shut up, Dusty." Ink glared slightly before returning to a smile. "Now, your timer starts as soon as you leave the room! Don't worry, I won't track you or anything; that would ruin the fun! Now get going!"

That was enough incentive to make me run out of the room, holding my Hope tightly. Well, there were a lot of places to hide in this compound, but I believed that I knew the best. I knew my way to the cafeteria rather well, and I knew that there was one place that nobody went to: the fourth pantry. The fourth pantry held some..odd things - namely, paint. Nobody but Ink liked paint, which made it the perfect place to hide. Keeping track of how much time I had left mentally, I made my way to the cafeteria rather quickly, with a minute and a half left to spare before Ink would come looking for me. In my time in the compound, I had quickly gotten used to the smell of paint, and I was essentially able to ignore it when I stepped into the fourth pantry; I had to. I scanned the room quickly for the best place to make myself scarce, deciding on a large - larger than I was - paint can that was surprisingly empty with a lid; I could fit inside, and the lid was easy to shut. Now I hugged my Hope and waited. I was almost tempted to just fall asleep while waiting for Ink to either find me or not, but I decided to stay awake; Ink might have gotten mad if I slept while he was playing a game with me. So I waited.

Hiding in an empty paint can for an hour wasn't the most exciting thing to do, but I endured; it was better than being tortured. Soon enough, the hour was up, and Ink locked on to my magic signature to teleport directly to me - something I hated..it felt as if I would never be truly alone. He lifted the lid off the can of paint and pulled me out, grinning happily; he was in one of the best moods I had seen him in...ever.

"That was a really good spot, Dusty!" Ink patted my skull approvingly. "Now, what do you want to do?"

"Huh?" I tilted my skull; had he been serious when he said that I could pick something to do?

"Silly! Weren't you listening? You get to pick what we do for the next half-hour!"

"U-um.." I thought of something to do that wouldn't be painful. "M-maybe..nothing?"

"..Excuse me?"

"J-just..relaxing? L-like..nothing.."

"..." Ink took a long, deep breath before exhaling slowly. "Fine. We'll do..nothing."

I smiled slightly when Ink agreed to do nothing. Usually, I liked to have my mind focused on something, whether it was good or bad, but being a torture victim for so long just made me..tired. Ink never gave me a real break, except when he wanted some sort of reaction from me or at night, and I had to sleep at night! My mind was tired, and my body was exhausted. Needless to say, I practically collapsed when I was finally going to get a real break; Ink caught me, of course..my legs just gave up.

"Uh..Dusty?" Ink was confused as to why I had nearly fallen on the floor; he brought out my soul to see if something was wrong. "Huh..I guess I've been pushing you too hard..heh..never thought I'd say that..come on, Dusty, maybe we'll just extend this time to an hour; you kinda deserve it."

So Ink carried me back to his room, where he set me down on his bed gently before hopping on. When he was sitting comfortably on his bed, he wrapped me up in blankets and placed a pillow on his lap, which he positioned my skull on before rubbing it gently. Although he was normally the cruellest being in the multiverse, he could certainly be kind; he just chose not to be. I enjoyed his soft touch against my skull as he quietly hummed a comforting tune that proved to be the only sound in the room. For once, I felt..safe. I knew it wouldn't last, but I tried to savor every second; I had to.

And I did.

~~~~~

"Reverse"

Classification: angstyyyyy.

Warnings: forced bondage, torture, mental torture, ignorant torture, evil Dust, violence.

~~~~~

"Hey, Dusty.." Ink addressed, rubbing my skull passively.

"Yes?" I responded.

"Have you ever wondered what it would be like if you were in my place and I was in yours?"

"...No."

"I guess you would have to be meaner..probably taller, too." Ink chuckled. "Maybe I'd be the small one."

Ink hummed for a minute before picking up the conversation again.

"Actually..I don't think a world such as that would be too outrageous.." He said. "Maybe somewhere..it exists. What do you think, Dusty?"

"I think.." I didn't like the sound of that. "It wouldn't be any better."

"Possibly.." Ink stopped rubbing my skull. "Anyways, it's time for your fifth torture session of the day!"

I sighed.

~~~

Location: Multiverse #8699, Nightmare's castle.

Time: Midnight.

Point of view: Alternate Ink.

"Well, boys, we've done it." Nightmare stood in front of his gang with a wicked grin. "The multiverse..is ours. But there is no time for celebration just yet..it is time to ensure that this is our permanent victory; we wouldn't want to lose it. With that said, each of you will have the task of making sure that our enemies will never rise again; you will each pick one - seniority rules. I'll let you discuss amongst yourselves."

Nightmare then left the room, and we were trapped in a cage. Blue was crying on my shoulder; I didn't mind. Nightmare had played the foulest card in his deck one month ago, and it had worked; half of the multiverse was in ruins, and the rest had been forced to pledge loyalty to him. We hadn't been strong enough to overpower him in time, even with the new recruits; now we were all doomed. Blue's brother, Abyss {small floofy boi credit to Meta-kaz because I needed a character lol}, and Dance {teandstars} had all agreed to join us in a last-ditch effort to defeat Nightmare once and for all, but..we had failed. And now, we were just items, ready to be taken and broken at a moment's notice by these mentally sick individuals; I hoped Error wouldn't go too hard on me. How I knew the Destroyer would choose me? Well, we were mortal enemies, and he had been eyeing me up since the cage had first been brought in; I didn't miss the glares of hatred. Dream had already been taken out of the cage by his brother, likely as a trophy of his accomplishment in conquering the multiverse; I felt bad for him, even if I was low on my vials. The gang members spoke for a good ten minutes before Error finally stood up, his eyelights locked on me.

"Hey, wait up!" Killer shouted, standing quickly; the others followed suit. "I'm the senior!"

"Old man." Cross smirked.

"What did you just call me?" Killer was annoyed. Greatly. I would have used a more colorful word, but my vials were low as it was.

"Old man." Cross snickered, running to avoid Killer's attacks.

"You take that back!" Killer hurled several bones at his ally.

In the midst of the fighting, I didn't miss how Dust silently sidled up to Error, whispering something to the glitch while pointing in our direction, and I didn't fail to notice Error's devious grin as he shook Dust's gloved hand. I wondered if he was all right with touching if there was something between him and the other..or maybe they were just used to eachother that much. The duo ignored the rampage going on in the background, exchanging few words as they quietly unlocked the cage we were in, knowing that there was little doubt as to who they would choose, and the others certainly weren't going to argue with them about it. We didn't expect Error to wrap his strings around Blue's neck. When I gave the glitch a look of confusion, he kindly elaborated.

"Yeah..the thing is, I hate you, Inky." Error chuckled softly. "There is no way in hell that I would choose you; besides, I wanna know how long it'll take for the berry to..break."

"Don't touch my brother!" Swapyrus tried to keep Error from taking his brother..again; this time, it was no accident.

"Sayonara, suckers!"

Error teleported back to his seat with Blue, leaving the rest of us wondering who Dust was after; with Error's decision, we had no clue. We were stumped when his expression turned to a kind tone, with eyelights promising no pain as he held a hand out towards..me?

"Hey, artist." He smiled. "I'm not gonna hurt ya..yet. In fact, we kinda aren't allowed to hurt you guys too much until..tomorrow. Stop looking so scared, and enjoy your day of peace; you'll have to."

"Why would you tell us this?" I was skeptical.

"..I don't like surprises. And, artist..you aren't gonna have many of those anymore..because I'm just like that." He gestured once more with his hand, and I took it, waving a solemn goodbye to my friends.

When Dust brought me to his seat, he allowed me to sit first before reaching under his and bringing out a..collar?

"What's that for?" I didn't like it.

"Boss's orders; I won't make it too tight, no worries." He assured.

True to his word, Dust didn't tighten the neckwear to the point of cracking my vertebrae as I had thought he would; he actually made it quite comfortable, and I had plenty of room to randomly stick my phalanges between it and myself. Blue..wasn't so lucky; I tried not to look at the horrors that Error was already putting the brave skeleton through. Meanwhile, Dust was telling me about the events that Nightmare had planned for the day, and some of the details were..terrifying. Nightmare returned to the room after an hour, dragging a similarly collared - although I could tell, even at a distance, that it was tighter - Dream behind him; I could barely feel Dream's usual positivity..he wasn't even smiling. Nightmare was angered when he found three of his subordinates playing around instead of doing what he had ordered them to do, but he didn't show it..yet. He urged them to just pick their prisoners in the order that they had joined him, with Killer choosing Dance, Horror deciding to pick Swapyrus, and Cross (who had probably bribed Horror) being left with Abyss. The last three were collared - tightly - and seated next to us before Nightmare spoke again.

"Interesting choices." He was looking at me when he said that. "Well, the day is only beginning; we have much to do, but first, for the prisoners, I'll explain your situation. You're welcome. Since you six were the last to oppose us, we're taking advantage of your perfect numbers as opposed to us, and each of us is now..in possession of one of you; you are at the mercy of whoever chose you, specifically, and I believe that they will take advantage of that fact. They can and likely will torture you, break you, order you around, and much, much more; they are to regard you as pets. Today, however, will be spent integrating you into our systems, and we shall begin with physical identification. Each of you will receive a mark that has been chosen by your new..owner. The collars are permanent, by the way; if you take yours off without permission, I can guarantee that someone will be displeased."

Nightmare continued to ramble on for the next hour, and at some point, I just tuned him out; he used too many words for my liking. When I was snapped back into reality, our surroundings had changed from the dark meeting room to the moonlit outdoors of Nightmare's courtyard. Dust had placed me in his lap as we sat on the ground; I was confused as to why Dream was tied to a pole without his shirt.

"What's going on?" I muttered to myself, but Dust heard me.

"Branding." He whispered to me; I jumped back slightly.

"What?!" I whisper-yelled; I didn't know why we were whispering, but I didn't feel like questioning that right now.

"You're going third. Do you have any areas where you don't feel much pain?"

"W-well, I don't really feel my sternum well, since my soul is..nonexistent.."

"I'll put it there, then. Thanks for the info." Dust hummed. "I think that's where Dream is getting his."

There was no more whispering after that. I wanted to cry tears of pity for my friend, but I was running too low on my vials to do anything more than care. At least I could do that. I mentally cared for my friend from a distance as Nightmare approached him with an evil grin and a rod that held a crescent-moon-shaped piece of metal that had been heated up far too much. I lowered my gaze to the ground as I heard the screams of pain amidst Nightmare's laughter. Killer was next, marking Dance with a target symbol on his left humerus. When it was my turn, I had virtually no more vial power left; I didn't even flinch when the symbol resembling a pile of dust was burned onto my sternum..I didn't feel it. Blue had a glitchy-spiderweb imprinted on the back of his skull. Swapyrus received an axe symbol on his right patella. Abyss had an "x" placed on his sternum. Then it was quiet. Nightmare gave his minions permission to show us to our new homes, and I was alone with Dust in his room.

"Why?" I asked, looking at the mattress in the corner that was clearly meant for me.

"Why what?" Dust looked to me, sitting down on his own bed, which was far more elegant.

"The others have been dragged around and abused." I was beginning to notice the monotone in my voice. "You haven't done that to me."

He smiled. "I don't have to tell you anything. Just accept it, Inky: the quicker you accept it, the easier your life will be." He squinted slightly, studying my eyelights. "You..need your vials, don't you?"

I nodded; thought was becoming harder.

"I'll get them for you." Dust left the room.

He returned only a few moments later with my sash full of vials. Instead of just giving me the sash, he began to ask questions, apparently trying to learn which emotions were produced by which vials; he..found them interesting. With every one he learned, he gave me a good amount of it, until he knew them all. In the end, he hung my sash on the wall, telling me that he would give me a refill every day. I..hadn't ever used all of my vials, really. It was a new and weird sensation; I usually only drank one when I felt that the time was right or for happiness..feeling all of them at once was sort of..relieving? I didn't know the word for it. Dust spent the day making me feel comfortable, and at the end of it, he tucked me in as I fell asleep. Honestly, I had never felt more wanted in my life. I didn't know why, but..I liked it. Time went on in that way for a long time. Dust never made me feel as if I was unimportant or lesser, and he always gave me the care I needed; in return, I didn't ask about the screams that came from the rest of the castle, and I never gave him a hard time about anything. If he wanted me to do something, I would do it for him. He never asked me to leave his room; he didn't want me to see the rest of the castle. He would sometimes come "home" injured.

"O-oh, goodness!" I ran over to him one day; he looked horrible. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah.." Dust maneuvered over to his bed, virually collapsing on it.

"Master, let me help you.." I grabbed a first aid kid out of a drawer.

"Wh-what..what did you call me?" Dust looked at me confusedly.

"U-um..master..I called you master..I'm sorry if that was out of line.." I grabbed some bandages. "I just..feel like you deserve that title; you're the only one who's really been there. You've protected me from the outside world, given me a purpose, and..cared. I won't call you that again, if you don't want me to.."

I began to wrap Dust's wounds, wondering silently how he became so injured. After a moment, he spoke.

"You, uh..you can call me that, if you wish.." He smiled softly. "It was just unexpected, that's all."

"May I ask.." I looked at the injuries carefully, finding that they certainly were not from accidents.

"No..don't ask."

"All right."

I nodded and continued to treat his wounds, using a bit of healing magic - I wasn't very good at it, but I had been getting better - to make the pain more bearable. After an hour, Dust looked much healthier, and he pulled me closer for a cuddle after I had put away the first aid kit.

"You know.." He started. "Next month is your ten-year anniversary."

He paused for a minute.

"Nightmare wants to see you with the others..I can't say no." He continued. "I know you haven't left this room in all this time, but..would you, this time?"

"Of course." I nodded.

"Thank you, Inky."

"Anything for you, master."

Actually, I was rather excited to see the outside world! On any other anniversary, all that really happened was Dust's giving me a piece of cake and saying, "Happy anniversary!" but this time, I would see the rest of the castle! On the morning in question, I rose earlier than usual, giving myself enough time to prepare for the day ahead. I put on my best clothes, fantasized about what could happen - the good and the bad - and picked out my favorite collar - just because I had to wear a collar didn't mean that I had to wear a specific one, and I had about thirty at the moment. When Dust woke up, I was sitting on my bed, ready to go. He sat up and chuckled at my enthusiasm.

"I see one of us is prepared for the day!" He commented. "All right, I'll hurry up, then!"

And he did. Within only two minutes, he was ready, and I was so excited! Before we were to go out, Dust set me down on his bed and looked at me seriously.

"Okay, Inky." He pulled up his hood. "Today, I want you on your best behavior, okay?"

"All right!" I nodded happily.

"Remember manners training?"

"I do!"

"Remember speaking?"

"Speak only when spoken to!"

"Other people wearing collars?"

"Speak quietly and only if you allow me to."

"Nightmare?"

"Speak only if he wants me to, and bow in his presence. I call him by royal titles."

"Good, I think you'll do fine. Remember to stay close to me; this isn't a tour of the castle."

"Got it!"

"All right, then." He paused for a moment. "Boy, I must be nervous..are we forgetting something?"

"Uh.." I thought hard about daily routines. "My medicine?"

"That's it! Thank you, Inky!"

"You're welcome!" I smiled.

Dust took my sash - I didn't know why I called it that - and brought my medicine - I couldn't recall why I needed it - over, giving me the appropriate doses of each vial, as he did every morning. When that was finished, he put the sash back on the wall and grabbed the leash that was connected to my collar; it was to keep me close and lead me, although I didn't think that I needed it. The halls of the castle were made of stone, with purple carpets lining them; there were decorations, too, but I was more interested in staying with Dust, since this was an important occasion for him, and I didn't want to ruin it. Dust stopped outside of a large double door, telling me that this was our destination before we entered; I nodded in response. Then we entered. There were many other people there; some had collars, and some didn't. Instead of going directly into the small crowd, Dust led me straight to the..throne. This was no doubt a king's room, and there was a black throne atop a small rise, with five or six steps leading up to it. On the throne sat the one I knew as Nightmare; all I knew was that he was the king. In his left hand was a golden leash which led to a golden collar; a golden skeleton sat at the end of it, but he held a frown..I wondered why.

"Do what I do, but you remember speaking rules, and don't get up until I motion you, even if I get up first." Dust whispered to me silently; I understood.

When we reached the bottom of the small staircase, the king looked down at us. Dust knelt down, bowing his skull in respect; I copied the action.

"My king, it has been an honor serving under you this past decade; I wish you many more." Dust said, before pausing a moment. "I bring before you the charge given to me at the beginning of your reign; I believe you'll find him to your liking."

"Well, that's interesting." Nightmare stated. "The only prisoner who's bothered to kneel is the one we haven't laid eyelights on in the longest. Rise, Dust."

Dust stood; I remained on the ground.

"Tell me." The king continued. "Why have you refused to show off your pet until now? Was he not to your liking?"

"Not at all, my liege." Dust replied. "He is an excellent companion. I have not showed him off because the time wasn't right."

"..The others held frequent torture sessions. They showed off. They broke their pets thoroughly. Why did you not do the same?"

"Your highness, I believe that those methods are quite..ineffective. If you will test my charge, I believe you will find a being more to your liking."

"..I never thought you would deem torture ineffective. But I shall do as you suggest. Rise."

Dust pulled slightly on my leash, and I stood.

"Well, Dust?" Nightmare looked to Dust. "What am I to look for?"

Dust smiled. "If you would like, I believe I can do a sufficient job of showing you my goals."

"Go ahead."

"Inky?" Dust turned his skull to me.

"Yes, master?" I didn't miss the look of surprise from the king as I turned to look at Dust.

"When you were brought here, it was as a prisoner. Please, tell our king what you'd like to do."

"Oh!" I turned to the king. "I'd take great pleasure in serving under you, your highness."

"..You're joking." The king had the faintest grin on his face; the golden skeleton at his side paled, if that were possible for a skeleton. "What in the world did you do to him?"

"I call it..mental readjustment." Dust smirked. "By foregoing violence, I trained him to depend upon me, and..only upon me. You can take the reins, of course. You're his king, after all; he owes you his life."

"Well, you will have to give me the details concerning this experiment.." The king chuckled. "Meet me tomorrow in the laboratory, and bring him along..I can guarantee that your reward for this endeavour will be the highest I've given so far. Good job."

"Thank you, my lord." Dust bowed.

"With that said, perhaps you would be interested in attempting this with another?"

"Your word is my command, my king."

The king spared a glance in the direction of the golden skeleton, who whimpered and backed away slightly before being pulled closer with his leash. "Yes..well, I believe that there has been enough business for now; today is a day of celebration, after all! But..one last thing; how in the world did you get him to address you as 'master'? None of the others have even gained trust."

"My liege, he started calling me by that name of his own volition; it was as unexpected for me as it must be for you."

"Interesting. I'm looking forward to our discussion tomorrow. You are dismissed; enjoy the festivities."

"We will, your highness."

With that, Dust and I both bowed a final time before he led me away from the king.

"Inky, that went much better than I had expected it to." Dust seemed relieved.

"Did I make any mistakes, master?" I hoped I didn't make him look bad in front of royalty..

"No, Inky, you did wonderful. At this rate, you may just find yourself in the king's service by the end of the week."

"That sounds quite exciting!"

"It does, doesn't it? Well, the rest of us who are in current service will be leaving soon to do something important; you'll be left here without me..do you think you can handle yourself?"

"I can."

"Very well. You may interact with the others that will be here, although I do have to warn you of something."

"Yes?"

"They..used to know someone who looked, quite frankly, exactly like you, but he was a complete rebel."

"What was his name?"

"Lost to the sands of time, I'm afraid - they have apparently replaced his name with..yours. If they mistake you for their friend, please kindly remind them that they aren't thinking correctly."

"I'll remember that. What exactly does 'rebel' entail?"

"..He fought the king - almost won. If you pretend to be their friend, they will never leave you alone; they'll likely take to thinking that you're brainwashed, even if that isn't the case. Don't let them get in your head; you are not, and you have never been, their friend."

"Yes, master."

"All right. With that said, I must take my leave; play nice."

"I will."

At that point, Dust walked toward the exit, and the people without collars - including the king - followed close behind. Now it was just me and the other collared beings. They gathered near the throne, where the golden one seemed to be stuck; I decided to follow them, but I had to remember that they would likely mistake me for their old friend.

"Ink!" Someone..tackled me. "What happened to you?! We haven't seen you in so, so long!"

"Um..would you please get off?" I politely requested. "I can't move.."

"Not until you tell us where you've been!"

"Get off of him, Blue.." The golden skeleton sighed, speaking up for the first time.

"But I missed him!"

"He didn't miss us.."

Silence. The other got off me.

"..That can't be true." The blue skeleton that had tackled me whispered in disbelief.

"I..I'm afraid you have me mixed up with someone else.." I clarified. "I..haven't met any of you before..sorry."

"That's a lie." A skeleton in a blue hoodie stated. "Memory problems, sure, but you've never forgotten us."

"I..don't have memory problems?" I tilted my skull; Dust had often commended my ability to remember..

"I think he's been brainwashed." The golden skeleton resumed. "Dust did something to him..changed him..there is no other way he would willingly offer himself to my brother!"

"..." The blue skeleton looked at me longingly. "Ink, you surely haven't forgotten us.."

"I've never met you." I shook my skull.

"What did he do to you?!" The tallest skeleton in the group was angry. "What did that monster do to you?!"

"Well, if you're referring to Dust, he's a monster in the literal sense, but I wouldn't say he is in the metaphorical sense."

"Tell us what he did, and maybe we can think clearly enough to decide that."

"Well, he gave me shelter, food, cuddles-" I was cut off.

"Cuddles?!" The skeleton in the blue robe was mad. "The rest of us had torture sessions and barely got enough food to live off of, and you got cuddles?!"

"..Yes?" I shrugged unknowingly. "He was really nice to me.."

"Hold it.." The golden skeleton looked at me studiously. "Ink, if what you say is true, then it is possible that..you have been tortured in the worst ways.."

"But he's never raised a hand to me, even on bad days."

"Ink, do you drink anything on a daily basis?"

"Just my medicine."

"What does it look like?"

"Well, there's a bunch of colored vials full of liquid..why?"

"Ink, I'm going to ask you a question, and I want you to be completely honest with me: do you have any idea what those vials do?"

"..." I pondered the subject for a moment. "No, I have no idea."

"Dependency.." The golden skeleton let out a small sob. "Why would you let him do that to you?!"

"I don't understand..?"

"Stars, Ink, do you want me to spell it out for you?! He's taken your individuality, Ink! You're a pawn! He's playing you like-like a fiddle!"

"..." I tilted my skull; I didn't understand. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm sorry."

The golden skeleton was crying. Everyone else was silent; they seemed to understand what he was talking about, although, I did not. Soon enough, Dust and the others returned, and I decided to make my way over to them; I didn't understand what the other collared beings were so sad about.

"Did you miss me, Inky?" Dust smiled.

"Maybe." I nodded.

"..Why is Dream crying?" The king was interested in the golden skeleton.

"He said something about playing fiddles and started crying." I bowed in respect for the king.

"..." The king shot a glance to Dust, who was only smirking, before looking to me. "I think I like the new Ink."

"New, your highness?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"Dust, you need to tell me how you did that to him.." The glitchy being was staring at me.

"Did..what?" Dust didn't seem to understand what the glitchy being was saying. "He's always been this way; isn't that right, Inky?"

"Of course, master."

I hadn't known it to be any other way.

~~~~~

"Celebration"

Papy is in this because I can't think of a story without him at the moment.

Classification: ehh more fluff than angst.

Warnings: lil' violence, nothing much.

~~~~~

It had been a day under one hundred years since Papy had become my toy, and tomorrow, we would celebrate the occasion; it had been exciting during my one-hundred-year anniversary, but I was sure that Papy's would be even more exciting! It was currently the night before, and Ink had just changed into his pajamas. I was finishing up with a torture session, since that would give Papy some excitement tomorrow; he was always happy the day after a torture session, especially if he had enjoyed it more than usual, which he likely had, this time. When I was finished, I wiped off my blade and placed it into Ink's bedtable drawer, where a host of other knives and torture devices lay, including the punishment collar, which I decided not to look at..I didn't like the punishment collar. I soon returned to Papy, whom I had promised to cuddle with tonight; Papy enjoyed cuddles even more than torture, which was impressive, since he enjoyed torture a lot! Of course, before we could go to sleep, Ink had something to say, and we listened carefully to hear every word.

"Well, it's been a long ride, you two." He smiled, sitting down on his new bed; he had used to have a twin-size, but Papy didn't fit quite right when Ink wanted to cuddle with both of us, resulting in Ink's getting a king-size instead. "Come on up here; I don't remember the last time we all had a cuddle night."

Well, that was an invitation nobody could turn down; cuddles were great! Papy and I were on the bed within ten seconds, and Ink pulled me into his lap as he leaned on Papy's shoulder.

"You two have really been there for me.." Ink chuckled softly, but this chuckle was different - kinder. "Honestly, I don't think the empire would still be standing if you two hadn't helped me through the tough times..I know it wouldn't.." Ink brought me closer, resting his skull on top of mine. "I just want to say..thanks.."

"You're welcome, Ink.." I yawned.

"We will always be there for you." Papy said.

"Thanks, you two." Ink lay down on his pillow, still holding on to me. "Now, though, we cuddle."

"Yay!" I giggled as Ink placed me between him and Papy; I was too small to be on the outside, which gave me the honor of being in the middle of all of our cuddles!

I liked cuddles a lot! Instead of being cold, cuddles kept us warm! Ink liked to keep his room very cold, and Papy and I occasionally had to cuddle closely to keep ourselves warm; it was simply necessary. I remembered when I was the only toy in the room; Ink would sometimes make the temperature so low at night that I would have frozen to death if he didn't give me a blanket of some sort or cuddle with me. Although I couldn't feel pain, I was actually very capable of feeling temperature; I didn't know why. So we cuddled together, falling asleep comfortably under the warm blankets. And all was quiet until morning. Actually, Ink and I had been the head party planners of Papy's anniversary, and we had agreed to make this one special! When the first light of morning arrived, I woke up instantly, since Ink wanted me to wait in the place where the party would be held - the same place guard trainings were held - until Papy arrived, and I was to make sure that nothing went wrong; I would face harsh punishment if even one thing was out of place. It took a minute or so to wiggle my way out from between the sleeping skeletons, but I made it, grabbing my Hope and making my way to the event area. When I arrived-

"What in the world..?" I couldn't..

I looked at the decimated training area with tears in my eyesockets; everything..was ruined! The cake had toppled over onto the ground, the tables and chairs were a mess, the entire place looked like there had been a merciless battle involving blasters, and..there was no way I was going to be able to salvage any of it in only four hours! Well..there was only one thing to do. I picked up a lucky balloon that had survived whatever horrors had occurred in the training area and made my way back to Ink's room; if we couldn't have the party outside, I didn't think that Ink would mind if we had it inside. In any case, I was going to be punished, and I would have rathered to be punished after Papy's party instead of having no party at all! After envisioning the party layout in my mind, I placed the balloon in its rightful position and started toward the kitchen; we needed a cake. It seemed that whatever had happened in the courtyard wasn't unknown to the rest of the individuals in the compound, since nobody questioned why I was in the kitchen or why I was grabbing the ingredients for Papy's favorite cake flavor. Nobody helped me, however; I was fine with that, since I didn't know if they would be punished for helping me.

When the cake was in the oven, I decided to move on to decorations. The only downside to that plan was the fact that Ink didn't just leave decorations lying around; I had to make them. Papy's favorite color was red, just as Ink's was..I didn't really like the color red, but I couldn't remember why. It probably wasn't important. I decided that the easiest way to get red decorations would be to use some of Ink's paint on various items; it was a good thing that Ink had a lot of spare paint! After spending about an hour painting cardboard and other things, I felt that the decorations were ready for the party, and I spent the next fifteen minutes preparing Ink's room for the event; I had even found a spare table in my search! Over the next few hours, I finished the cake - finding the red icing was probably the most difficult part of the day, but I did it - and completed the party preparations. At one point, I wondered why Papy wasn't allowed to get gifts..I had received gifts on my centennial anniversary. Perhaps it was because of something he had done during the century? I wasn't sure. In any case, by the time I was finished with the preparations, I was..tired. I sat back in a chair as I waited for Ink and Papy to wake up, which they promptly did..or, at least, Ink did.

"Dusty.." Ink was looking at my hastily-prepared party suspiciously. "What is this?"

"The old party was destroyed somehow.." I bowed my skull sadly. "So I made another one.."

"What do you mean 'destroyed'?" Ink sat up curiously.

"..The training area is a mess..it looks like someone had a really bad fight there..everything was ruined."

"..." Ink sighed. "Do you know who is responsible?"

"No.." I shook my skull. "Are you okay if we have the party here instead? I know I should have asked you first, but I didn't want to wake you and risk..you know.."

"I understand, Dusty." Ink climbed out of his bed and began to change his clothes. "This place actually looks pretty nice; did you do all this yourself?"

"Yep! I, uh, used some of your paint reserves.."

"That's fine, Dusty." Ink began to walk toward the door.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm just going to see the damage to the training area; I'll be back in a few minutes."

"What if Papy wakes up before you get back?"

"Blindfold him and cuddle until I return."

"Okay!"

Ink left the room, and I climbed onto his bed, lying down next to Papy with a blindfold in my hands; if he woke up, I would have him blindfolded in a few seconds..and I did, when he woke.

"D-Dusty?" Papy was confused as to why he was being blindfolded.

"Shh, Papy." I hugged him tightly. "Just cuddle."

"..Yes, Dusty."

Papy was a bit scared - his voice made that evident - but he cuddled with me nonetheless. I enjoyed Papy's cuddles; he always made sure to make me as comfortable as possible, even if he himself wasn't. Papy was a good cuddler. We cuddled for a few minutes before Ink returned, and he seemed happy at the sight of our cuddling. He soon walked over to us, gesturing for us to cease our cuddling, and I pulled away from Papy promptly before running over to the party table with Ink, both of us taking our seats.

"Good morning, Papy!" Ink giggled.

"Good morning, Ink and Dusty.." Papy sat up, but he didn't remove his blindfold, since toys weren't allowed to take off things unless their owners told them to. "What is..going on?"

"Take off the blindfold and find out, Papy!"

"All right.."

Papy reached up to his skull hesitantly, lifting the blindfold to see exactly what we wanted him to see; he nearly cried at the sight, bringing his hands up to cover his mouth, lest he say something incorrect in the heat of the moment.

"Happy anniversary, Papy!" Ink and I shouted happily.

"I-I-I.." Papy was so stunned that he didn't know what to say. "Th-thank you!"

"Sure thing, Papy!" Ink smiled.

And the party started. We actually had a great time, and Papy seemed more than happy with his small party; he had a smile on his face for the entire day! He said that the cake was some of the best cake he had ever had, and he constantly complimented the decorations! It felt..right. I felt content as Papy enjoyed his day, and we finished off strong with a casual torture session; he giggled the entire time! When the day was over, I hugged Papy as he drifted off to sleep, making sure that he did not notice that Ink was holding a punishment collar that was intended for me..the party hadn't gone at all as Ink had wanted it, and he didn't know who had destroyed the original party, which left me as the default guilty party. When I was sure that Papy was sound asleep, I walked over to Ink, allowing him to place the collar around my neck and to activate it before teleporting to the dungeon with me and throwing me into a cage, causing me to scream in pain. I spent the rest of the night being punished for my idiocy.

At least Papy was happy.

~~~~~

"Begging"

Classification: angst.

Warnings: mentioned death.

~~~~~

I had been Ink's toy for about fifteen years; I missed my brother. Whenever the pain got to be too much, I thought of him, and I imagined how proud he would be of me if he knew that I had endured so much. I doubted that he knew. I hoped he didn't know. I didn't want him to know of the horrors that I had been put through on a daily basis; he was too good for that. I sometimes imagined that he was looking out for me, even if I knew that he had better things to do..I could think about him all day; it was better than thinking of Ink. Today was another day in my vast collection of rough days; Ink had beaten me severely in a rage after receiving the news that he had lost - yes, lost - a universe due to the resistance's efforts. I couldn't have been more proud of my brother. After my beating, Ink had given me an unhealthy dose of paint..I couldn't find the words to describe how I felt after both a beating and paint; I didn't think there was a description that could possibly be accurate enough. Ink was finally giving me a break, however, and I lay on the floor, curled up and clutching my Hope, dreading the next spike in pain that I would doubtless feel soon. Ink seemed calmer than he had been earlier; he had sent an order to some of his most powerful warriors, and I didn't know why..until there was a knock at the door.

"Come in!" Ink bid.

A group of guards came in, with the lead one carrying- no.

"Is it done?" Ink smirked, grabbing the..jar.

"Yes, Sir." The lead guard nodded.

"Then that will be all; you are dismissed."

"Yes, Sir."

The guards left, but my eyelights were locked on to the jar of dust that Ink held; I knew whose dust that was..and Ink was aware of that.

"What's the matter, Dusty?" Ink didn't lose his smile. "Something you don't like?"

"P-please.." I crawled over to Ink's bed, ignoring the pain that came with the action.

"Oh, Dusty; you should know that nobody who gives me trouble can live.." Ink paused to lean in closer to me. "Unless.."

"Wh-what?" I was prepared to do whatever Ink wanted; he was the one in control.

He chuckled. "All right, Dusty. If you are willing to beg for his life in the most demeaning way possible, I'll reset your precious little brother and send him back to the resistance."

I nodded immediately, accepting his terms.

"All right, Dusty." Ink made himself comfortable. "Beg."

So I did. I sat on my knees and begged for hours on end for Ink to revive my brother. It was demeaning, but I didn't care; my brother was more important than my dignity. Fifty hours passed, and I did not sleep or eat. I only begged. In the end, my brother was spared.

I would do anything for him.

~~~~~

"Bath"

Classification: fluffy fluff.

Warnings: none.

~~~~~

I had been Ink's toy for about fifty-nine years now, and we had just watched another guard try and fail to become Ink's right hand. This time, it was a low rank, but because of his efforts and the fact that he didn't get too upset after failing, he was promoted to high rank status; he was content with Ink's decision. Actually, Ink decided to show the new high rank around personally, and I was to join them. The final area that Ink showed the new high rank was the private outdoor training area for high ranks; it was less crowded and larger than the area for low ranks. The guard was excited to try some of the equipment out, and Ink offered for him to use me as a training dummy for a little while; I didn't mind. The new high rank spent about an hour playing around with me, and I enjoyed it thoroughly, since he played nice. When Ink decided that it was enough, he called my name, but I was a bit startled by that, since I had been focused on playing at the moment. Long story short, I fell into a mud puddle that had been strategically placed for agility training, and I was now covered in mud. Nevertheless, I ran over to Ink as soon as I got out of the mud puddle, waving goodbye to the new high rank; Ink was giggling when I reached him.

"Dusty, that was hilarious!" Ink couldn't stop laughing.

"What was?" I tilted my skull, wondering what was so funny.

"You! You're absolutely filthy now!"

"Oh.." I looked down; I was fairly dirty.

"Well, I'm not letting you into my room with all that mud on you.." Ink's statement made me tear up; how was I supposed to spend time with him if I couldn't enter his room?! "Don't worry, Dusty! We'll just have to give you a bath!"

"O-oh.." I smiled; a bath would get the mud off me!

"Come, Dusty!"

Ink started to walk away from the training area, leading me to a small building nearby that we had visited earlier: the high ranks' spa. Yes, they had a spa. The high ranks had a lot of perks that the low ranks didn't, since they had more free time. Low ranks usually had tasks all day, ranging from cleaning to fighting to making armor! They didn't get days off. They would occasionally have some free time aside from daily meals, but they usually preferred to spend it doing..nothing; they were too worn out to do much aside from collapsing in a closet somewhere. The high ranks, on the other hand, had much free time, and there were many secrets that Ink had placed around the compound and outside for them to find and make use of, such as the spa. Not many high ranks knew about it, since they were supposed to keep the secrets..secret, but a few knew, and they enjoyed it. The high ranks' spa was actually a fairly nice place, but it was self-serve, since it was a secret; nobody minded, since there were manuals and Ink had placed some automatic functions around to make everything easier to use. Ink came here often to relax, and he sometimes brought me along; I was apparently good at massaging bones.

When we entered the building, I noticed that a couple high ranks were present as Ink led me over to the baths. I was glad that they were private, since I didn't want to disturb anyone who might have had a bad day; that would have been rude of me, even if it would have been unintentional. Ink soon led me into a room containing a bathtub and closed the door behind us before turning on the water, which began to fill the bathtub. As we waited for the water to fill the tub, Ink gestured for me to give him my clothes so he could wash them; I did so, and he left the room, probably to put my clothes in a washing machine. While he was gone, I tested the water's temperature by sticking a phalanx into it and seeing if I could stand the temperature; it was fine. I wondered if my Hope was waterproof before recalling that I had put it into my jacket pocket to avoid losing it. I then remembered that washing machines sometimes ate things and began to cry. I soon stopped crying, though, since Ink returned and told me that his washing machines were obedient, and he told them not to eat my Hope; I trusted that they wouldn't. When the bathtub was filled enough, Ink lifted me up and put me into it, beginning to wash me off.

"Have you ever had a bubble bath, Dusty?" Ink wondered; I shook my skull. "Would you like one?"

"What's a bubble bath?" I tilted my skull curiously.

"..." Ink stared at me for a moment before putting something into the water that created bubbles! "You're gonna like this, Dusty."

"Ooh!" I giggled as bubbles filled the bathtub; this was fun!

"Told you!" Ink chuckled as I played with the bubbles happily.

I continued to amuse myself with the bubbly water as Ink cleaned the mud and dirt off my bones, making me clean! Ink was the best! I wanted to do something for him in return..as soon as I finished playing with these bubbles; they were good bubbles. When Ink finished cleaning me off, he started to play with me, flinging bubbles in my direction; I, of course, returned fire, getting him wet, but he didn't seem to mind, splashing me back! In the end, we made a bubble peace treaty, since bathtime was over and my clothes were dry - Ink had put them in a dryer at some point. I was happy when my clothes and my Hope were back with me, and I was even happier when I noticed that the dust was still on my jacket! Today had been a fun day, and I hoped that tomorrow would be even better.

With Ink, I knew it would be.

~~~~~

"Carve"

Classification: angst.

Warnings: manipulation into guilt, forced self-harm, violence.

~~~~~

I had been Ink's right hand for about twenty years now, and everything was just fine! Every day was so much fun, and working for Ink was like a dream! In fact, I had been gone for several weeks on back-to-back assignments, and I was relieved to be returning to Ink successfully; I had completed every mission he had given me, and I had actually lived! When I first entered Ink's room, he immediately took note, running up to hug me tightly; I wondered if he had missed me.

"Dusty!" Ink shouted happily. "I'm so glad you're back! Things are boring without you! How did your missions go?"

"Successful as always, Ink." I smiled, hugging him back.

"And that is why you're my favorite. Come, Dusty."

Ink led me over to his bed, pulling me up into his lap when we reached it and rubbing my skull encouragingly.

"Dusty, you seem tired; how much sleep did you get during your missions?" Ink noticed.

"About an hour or two between them." I replied.

"Oh, would you like to get some real sleep now?"

"Unless you have something else for me to do."

"There's nothing right now; you can relax. In fact, those were all of your missions for the next month! You have a month of free time now..which begs the question."

"Yes?"

"What is this name that people have been calling you? Soul Carver?"

"Oh, um, they call me that because of my technique.." I hoped Ink didn't dislike the name..

"Because you..carve souls.."

"Yep. Is it not to your liking? I can tell people not to call me that, if you don't like it!"

"Oh, Dusty, getting people to not call you a nickname is like getting mustard away from a Fell Sans; instead, you bear the title proudly and show them that you're not afraid of it."

"Really?" I knew that Fell Sanses were very protective of their mustard.

"Really. Do you like the nickname?"

"If you want me to like it."

"I do. Dusty, didn't you once have a hobby?"

"I..think so." I vaguely remembered having hobbies before being executed by Ink.

"You used to carve wood, right?"

"..Yeah, I believe so."

"..Have you ever truly carved a soul?"

"N-no, that.." I couldn't imagine doing that to someone!

"I want you to try it, Dusty."

"B-but.."

"No buts. I already have a victim."

"I-Ink-" I was cut off.

"Dusty, are you trying to disobey a direct order?"

"W-well..I-I don't think that's right.."

"Dusty, you aren't here to think; you are here to do as you're told, and I am telling you to follow me to the dungeon. Now, are you going to do as you're told, or are we going to have a problem?"

Ink was serious about this..he had never spoken to me like that..but..what he wanted was wrong. My soul was practically shaking when I thought of doing such a diabolical thing! It wouldn't let me do it; in any other instance, I would have done what Ink wanted, but my soul came first..I had to disobey.

"Come, Dusty." Ink ordered, beginning to walk out.

"No." I stood firm.

Ink stopped in his tracks when he heard my response.

"What." Ink's voice was angry.

"I'm not going to mutilate a soul like that; my technique is different, for punishments, but..what you want..is not right..and I cannot allow myself to do such a thing." I said.

Ink turned around, smiling softly; perhaps he understood?

"Oh, Dusty, maybe you're right.." Ink chuckled, walking close to me. "What I'm asking of you isn't right..but you're still going to do it."

"Wh-what do you mean?" I backed away slowly from the one I called master.

"Come here, Dusty." Ink lunged forth and grabbed my skull tightly, smiling as he did so. "You are going to carve someone's soul up, and you are going to like it, because if you don't, I am going to have you thrown into an isolation chamber until you change your mind! Do you understand me, Dusty?"

"P-please.." Both options sounded horrible..

Ink sighed; his eyesockets were beginning to fill with tears. "I thought your loyalties were with me..but I suppose I was wrong..maybe I shouldn't have trusted you so much.."

I watched as Ink began to sob in front of me; he had put all of his trust in me, and I was betraying him..what kind of a person was I?

"...Ink, I.." I paused; I wasn't worthy of speaking his name.. "Master, I'll do it.."

Ink looked up at me, wiping his tears away. "Y-you will?"

"Yes.." I bowed my skull. "I'm sorry for questioning your judgment; I'm sure you have a good reason for wanting me to do this..can you ever forgive me?"

"Yes, Dusty; I'll forgive you. Now come along."

I sighed before following Ink out of the room; surely, he had a good reason for this..a great reason, even! He couldn't have just wanted to see me carve up a soul for kicks..right? Deciding that there was a good reason for Ink's desires, I said nothing more as he led me to the dungeon, stopping at an empty cell before pushing me inside.

"All right, Dusty." Ink tossed a..punishment collar at me. "Carve your soul."

"Y-you.." I grabbed the collar hesitantly.

"It won't stay like that between resets, will it?"

"N-no.." I lifted the collar slowly.

"If you're looking for a reason, consider it a new form of punishment; I'm punishing you for that little..event a few minutes ago. Carve your soul with the collar on; I want to watch."

I locked the collar around my neck; Ink's reason was..valid. I had allowed my morals to get in the way of duty..again. Ink had always hated my morals; he was trying to force me to forget about them, to throw them away! I..wanted to keep my morals; I was being punished for my insolence. Not trying to block the flow of tears down my skull, I brought out my soul and began to cut into it.

I felt that my screams were punishment enough.

~~~~~

"Need"

Classification: more on the angst side.

Warnings: mention of blood, violence, torture.

~~~~~

Ink's point of view.

Dusty had been under my full control for a while, and he really was the best toy anyone could have ever asked for; he always knew when I was sad, avoided sensitive topics, and was always able to make me happy, one way or another. Two months ago, I had decided to go on a trip around the multiverse, doing random pop-ins to make sure that the guards in the various AUs were taking their jobs seriously; most of them were, to my surprise! There was only one tiny thing that bothered me..I didn't take Dusty. I didn't even check in on him, but I had ordered a few guards to make sure that he was fed in my absence; I was sure that he was fine. Today was the day that I would return to my toy! When I walked through the door to my room for the first time in two months, I expected to see my toy eagerly awaiting my arrival; long story short, I did not. My toy..wasn't in my room? I checked all of his favorite hiding places, and I found that he wasn't in his corner, either..where was he? I walked outside of my room with a mission, stopping the first high rank I came across to find out where my Dusty was; he surely wouldn't have left the room without my permission! I hoped he hadn't been taken..

"Guard!" I approached the high rank.

"Yes, Sir?" He stood at attention.

"Where is my toy?"

"I..believe he's in the medical wing, Sir.."

"..What?" I hoped Dusty hadn't become ill without me..I enjoyed caring for him, even if I would never admit it.. "Why would he be there?"

"Um, I don't know all of the details, Sir; Dream was the one who took him in."

"And where is he?"

"He should be in the guard lounge; he's helping with lunch today."

"Right. Return to your duty, guard."

"Yes, Sir."

So I made my way down the hall, entering the guard lounge when I made it there; as the other high rank had said, Dream was helping Blue cook - perfect. I walked over to him quickly, intending to find out just why my toy was in the medical wing, of all places!

"Dream." I addressed, getting his attention quickly.

"Yes, Sir?" Dream faced me swiftly.

"Tell me about my toy."

"O-oh, Dust. I was going to give him some food nine days after you left, but when I got there..h-he was convulsing! I-I didn't know what was wrong with him, and healing magic didn't do anything! I took him to the medical wing..he should still be there."

"So you don't know what's wrong with him?"

"No..I'm sorry, Sir."

"It's..fine. I'll go see him, then."

I then proceeded to the medical wing, where some doctors immediately knew what I was there for, leading me straight to one of the private rooms; they were intended for high ranks, but I would not have been happy if my toy had had anything less. When I entered Dusty's room, I frowned at the sight of my toy's whimpering, before realizing that he shouldn't have been able to feel pain..what was he feeling? I sat down on a chair at my toy's bedside, grabbing his hand tightly, but he grabbed mine even tighter, and..he drew blood..

"Dusty?" I hoped that my assumption of his condition was wrong..but given the fact that I had been away for so long, I wouldn't have been surprised.

"I-I-In-Ink.." Dusty whimpered, increasing his grip on my hand and drawing more blood. "H-h-h-hel-help.."

"It's gonna be okay, Dusty; you'll be fine. Is it the need?"

Dusty nodded to the best of his ability; I shouldn't have left for so long without giving explicit instructions that Dusty needed to torture someone every few days!

"Okay, Dusty; I'm going to take you to the dungeon, now." I pulled my hand back, ignoring the black liquid seeping from it.

I picked up my toy quickly, teleporting to the dungeon instead of walking; my toy needed to torture someone now. Although, I was curious as to why the withdrawal symptoms hadn't worn off in over two months..perhaps his LV was higher than I had thought. I ignored those thoughts as I found a suitable victim for my Dusty in a cell; the victim was an Undyne, and I knew that Dusty enjoyed hurting Undynes. Actually, he enjoyed hurting anyone, but still. I handed Dusty a knife and closed the cell door behind him as he grabbed it hastily, smirking malevolently at the Undyne, who backed away in fear. I enjoyed watching my toy rip her to shreds. He was having quite the withdrawal, though; he went through five victims in the next few hours, and he went through five more in the hours after those! In the end, however, he was exhausted; I cuddled him to sleep that night.

He deserved it.

~~~~~

"Kneeling"

Classification: Ink roast.

Warnings: Ink do be roastin.'

~~~~~

"Sir?" An evil guard spoke up at a meeting; Ink had brought me along, since he wanted to display a few ways to break bones.

"Yes?" Ink responded.

"Well, I don't want to come off the wrong way, but.." The evil guard paused for a moment. "You never make anyone do anything when you enter a room..don't most rulers do that?"

"You mean a display of respect." Ink ran his hand across my skull, fingering a few cracks.

"Yes.."

"Interesting question." Ink chuckled. "I mean, people can kneel in my presence..I'm not opposed to the idea, but..the day I make kneeling mandatory is the day I give up on this empire.."

"What..do you mean, Sir?" A mean guard questioned.

"I'm a conquerer, and I'm a dictator; in simplest terms, I'm a monster of action! If I go around making people bow to me, I'm essentially saying that I'm content with my situation, but that will never happen, making it useless to force those around me to do something such as that. It's a sign of weakness. Other kings, rulers, they make people kneel; kneeling is a position meant to show weakness, and it should only be done when one has complete trust in the being on the receiving end. You can kill someone much easier when they're on the ground. For people who don't have some sort of permanence to their rule, it is very much a sign of weakness. If one tries to put others into a position of weakness around him, and if he is not omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient, it's a sign that he is weak. He is vulnerable. He puts others down to make himself feel better. He is worthless. I despise those people. Do you understand now?"

"Yes, Sir." Most of the high ranks replied.

"Of course, I'm not entirely against the idea..I'm content with Dusty's position, and I will confess that I may find myself weak near him, but that's normal with toys..they're just so intriguing. If that is all, you're dismissed. The next meeting will be next week, same time."

The high ranks left the room, and I sat next to Ink as he grabbed his papers from earlier in the meeting. When he was finished, he looked at me.

"Dusty, do you enjoy kneeling?" Ink wondered.

"..Not really." I shook my skull.

"I figured. You've done it, what, once over the years?"

"Yeah." I sighed.

"I forced you that time, didn't I?"

"Yes.."

"And that was because..?"

"I told you that I hated you.."

"Ah, right, I remember that now. Good times, eh, Dusty?"

"..."

"..I suppose not."

Ink supposed right.

~~~~~

"Demon"

Classification: angst.

Warnings: Ink exposition (Inksposition hehe), demons, possession.

~~~~~

"Dusty, please come out of there!" Ink pleaded; I was too afraid to!

"S-scary.." I hugged my Hope tightly, refusing to leave my hiding place.

"Dusty, what's got you so spooked? Did a guard play a mean trick on you?"

"Th-there's a s-scary monster.."

"Dusty, I'm a scary monster."

"N-not you..sh-shadow monster.."

"..A shadow monster?"

"M-mhm.."

"..That sounds familiar..almost as if.." Ink chuckled. "Broomie. He must be in town for a visit, Dusty! Come on out; he isn't harmful!"

I whimpered slightly, deciding that if Ink knew the shadow monster, he might have been able to protect me from it. When I climbed out of my hiding spot, Ink picked me up happily, but the monster was behind him! Ink turned around to face the monster when he heard my whimpers of fear, and all was quiet, until..

"Broomie!" Ink shouted happily, walking over to..meet the creature. "It's been so long! Where have you been?"

"Creator, I may be able to exist in two realms, but this one is much more dull than the other." The creature..spoke. "I see that you're making a life for yourself here, though."

"Heh, yeah. Oh, where are my manners? Broomie, this is Dusty, my toy; Dusty, this is Broomie, my..mentor."

"You forgot the tor." The..'Broomie' chuckled. "I am your tormentor."

"Eh, same thing. Broomie, you would find Dusty interesting; like you selected me, I have selected Dusty."

"It's nice to hear that you're passing the legacy on, but..why would you choose a mortal?"

"Resets make mortality questionable, and he's just so good at being submissive..not to mention the fact that he's the same idiot who slung rocks at me.."

"Paying him back?"

"You could say that." Ink looked down at me. "Dusty, I'd like to spend some time with my old friend; how about you go see if anyone in the guard lounge wants to play with you?"

I sighed, walking out of Ink's room and toward the guard lounge. I should have known that Ink was friends with weird black shadow creatures that scared the life out of me. When I reached the guard lounge, I didn't go unnoticed, of course, but Dream and the swapped Sans noticed that I was out of it, rushing over to see what was wrong.

"Dust, what is it?" The swapped Sans inquired. "Did Ink do something..mental?"

"Who's Broomie?" I asked, still shaking slightly from my fear.

"Um..Ink named his paintbrush that.." Dream shrugged. "It isn't a who.."

Some of the other high ranks became interested in our conversation when I simply nodded.

"Are you trying to say that it is a who?" The swapped Sans received a nod in response.

"What makes you say that, Dust?" Dream wondered.

"I saw..a creature.." I stated. "I-it was like a shadow..but it wasn't..Ink called it Broomie.."

Dream's expression went blank for a moment before running to a nearby bookshelf and grabbing a book of myths and legends, returning with it soon after. All was silent as he flipped the pages, stopping only at a specific point, where he pointed at a picture that looked exactly like the creature I had seen.

"Is this it?" He questioned.

"Y-yes..that's it.." I confirmed.

"I knew this thing would come in handy!" Dream smiled before looking to a description of the creature. "It's called a corruption demon. Unlike regular demons, this particular variety has the power to alter code, but only if the victim gives permission; if the victim does, the demon has unlimited access to the being's code until he - there are no known females - is finished. The demons often use trickery and cunning to lure their victims into their traps, and they often haunt a single victim for several months, or even years, before being accepted. The only way to drive one off is for a corruption cleaner to focus a large amount of energy and magic onto him; for this reason, they will often try to sway corruption cleaners into their holds, therefore lessening the threat against them. They also enjoy powerful targets, and they can have more than one. They have minimal contact with this realm, but they roam freely in another; the only way for them to completely cross over is a summoning ritual, after which they appear as shown in the picture above. Once they have been summoned fully, they may do many things, ranging from exploring to killing any and every being in their paths. The only way to free a victim is for a corruption cleaner to kill the demon; the victim's code will repair itself automatically."

Dream looked at a different section of the book before reading it.

"The corruption demons' victims will often fight them for many months, possibly even years, before giving in." He read. "If a demon gives up on a victim, the former victim will have a slight mark on personality, but will be unharmed. If a demon successfully traps a victim and changes their code, the victim will likely develop traits based on what the demon changed. Most demons use their victims in ways to prepare for the summoning rituals, which can only happen when a summoning stone appears. A summoning stone will only appear for a demon if he has his victim perform an unknown as of yet series of tasks. After the summoning, the demon can form fully into this world, completing whatever goal he has set for himself. Symptoms of corruption demon possession are as follows: insane tendencies, speaking to the demon (which seems only like speaking to nothing), hate for everyone and everything, manipulative tendencies, sadism, erratic emotions, a desperate but hidden need for companionship, an outward but false need for solitude, rejection for care, and a sudden and permanent change from the vicim's old personality. If someone is assumed to be a victim, immediate care is required; they will not be the person that was once known."

Dream looked at yet another point.

"Once the demon is summoned, the victim will sometimes look for their own victim, copying the demon's strategy." He noted. "If this occurs, it is a sign that the old victim is still desperate for companionship, and they will often do anything to keep their victim within their power. The relationship is often an abusive one, but it has been noted that the more the new victim is hurt, the worse the first's desire for someone's trust is. The first will often confide in the second, giving the second their complete trust, however misplaced it may be. The specifics of such a relationship are complicated, but they often lead to the second's death due to injuries. If the second manages to survive their injuries, they may develop a caring attitude toward the first, or they may plot an escape before it is too late. The first will often kill the second if they are caught in an escape attempt. If the first manages to keep the second alive until the caring attitude is developed, the second will often place themself at the first's mercy. If there is a suspected demon victim being overly protective over another being, it is recommended to separate them before the first can manipulate the second. No known second victim has taken on a third, due to low survival rate of the second in the first place, but it is likely that it is possible."

There was silence as Dream closed the book; I was shaking.

"So he's a demon victim." The swapped Sans said what everyone in the guard lounge was thinking.

"..." Dream looked to me before hugging me; I was crying. "It's okay, Dust..you're going to be okay."

"Isn't Error a corruption cleaner?" The swapped Sans remembered; I nodded, clutching to Dream like a lifeline. "So can't he kill the demon? And..then we'd all be free.."

"But Error is in the lowest dungeon.." An easy guard reminded.

"If enough of us tried to get him to the demon in time, we might have a shot.." An evil guard suggested.

"What about Ink's special magic suppressor?" Dream asked. "None of us know how to remove it.."

"Dust can ask him." A mean guard said. "It's obvious that Dust is the second victim in this situation; Ink trusts him."

"..Will you do this, Dust?" The swapped Sans hoped.

"I-I.." I sobbed; I was crying too hard to think right now.

"How about I make this decision for him?" Ink's voice startled most of the high ranks, and he ripped me from Dream's grip. "You will never even think of carrying out this plan, unless you'd all like to be low ranks for the rest of your lives! Accept that you can never be free..I have."

And with that, Ink carried me out of the guard lounge and back to his room; the demon had already left. Ink set me on the floor before lying down on his bed; I didn't miss his tears. He was..desperate for someone to be there..and he had chosen me. I didn't regret climbing into his bed to give him a hug.

He accepted it.

~~~~~

"Painting"

Classification: fluff.

Warnings: none.

~~~~~

Ink was an artist. He might have been a ruthless dictator and my torturer, but he had always been an artist. In the past, I had just seen him as a villain..I no longer saw him that way. Ink had shown me that he was the greatest being ever, and I now saw a side of him that he had never really cared to show. Although a nickname was 'the artist,' nobody had really seen him paint anything..it was just implied by his wardrobe and powers. In the five decades he had owned me for, he had never once truly painted anything by himself. Sure, he had forced me to paint things for torture games, and he had used his paint around the room and on me, but he had never painted any type of..picture. Honestly, I had no idea what was going to come of the course of action I had decided to go about, but I was confident that if I was turned down, Ink wouldn't have been too upset about it; my question was one that I had kept for quite a long time, even before Ink had shown me the truth! So, one day, when it was quiet and Ink had no work, I approached him as he lay on his bed, staring at the roof above calmly. I walked timidly over to his bed, and I waited for him to acknowledge me; I didn't want him in a bad mood for this.

"What is it, Dusty?" Ink turned his gaze to me, smiling slightly.

"W-well.." I had practiced this a thousand times last night, but I still couldn't find the words! "D-do you..paint?"

"..What do you mean, Dusty?"

"I mean..you're an artist, right? Do you..paint pictures?"

"..." Ink looked away for a second before returning his attention to me. "Not in a long time.."

"Have you ever..painted something you liked?"

"I would imagine so..but none of them come to mind at the moment. Why do you ask?"

"I-I..want to ask..w-would you..um.."

"..You want to see me draw." Ink assumed correctly, receiving a hesitant nod; he smiled. "Well, all right; I suppose I can draw something for you!"

Ink proceeded to hop off his bed, walking over to the door and placing a "Do not disturb" sign on it to ensure that we were left alone. After closing the door, he opened one of the drawers in a dresser that he had rarely ever touched since my arrival and pulled out some paper and painting equipment, which included paint; he then returned to his bed and pulled me into his lap as he set up his equipment.

"What shall I draw for you?" He inquired, as he neared the end of his set up.

"C-could you draw..Thunder and Lightning?" I hoped quietly.

"Sure!"

So Ink began to paint. He used a blue background to make his painting easier, and I watched in awe as he went through colors and painted as if it were second nature! His brush moved across the paper flawlessly as he made no mistakes with his techniques, and before I knew it, I was looking at an image of Thunder and Lightning playing with eachother. I stared at the picture, still awestruck, until Ink waved his hand in front of my skull to snap me out of my awe-induced trance.

"Are you okay, Dusty?" Ink questioned.

"Y-yeah.." I smiled at my master. "You're the best painter."

Ink laughed a bit at that. "I'm not so sure..I haven't painted in decades.."

"It doesn't matter; you're still the best."

"Thanks, Dusty."

"You're welcome, Ink."

The painting was placed on the wall after that; I often looked at it when Ink was out.

Ink was the best artist.

~~~~~

"Realization"

Classification: uh maybe a little angsty.

Warnings: torture.

~~~~~

Ink was torturing me again. His paint entered my skull and dissipated to wherever it went quickly, but not quick enough to release me from the unbearable pain it caused me. Today's torture session had been the worst I had ever experienced; Ink had forced his scientists to create a device that would heighten my pain sensors, making his paint even more effective than it had been before. I was begging him to stop, but he wouldn't. Then..I went numb. The pain..was gone. I decided to keep screaming; if Ink knew what was going on, he would have stopped it..but I didn't want it to stop. If I was unable to feel pain, I wanted to keep it that way! I just had to hide it. I could do that. And I did, for several months, but Ink caught on one morning..

"Good morning, Dusty!" Ink woke me up softly.

"Good morning!" I returned, sitting up.

"Did you sleep well?" Ink knelt down beside me, placing a hand on my spine.

"Yep!"

"..." Ink looked at me curiously.

"Is..something wrong?"

"Dusty.." Ink pulled his hand from my back, revealing that he had been holding a small paintbrush tipped with red paint.; oh, no. "Why aren't you screaming?"

"U-uh.." I backed away slightly from my captor. "P-pain tolerance?"

"But that isn't it, is it?"

I whimpered, shaking my skull.

"I thought so." Ink chuckled. "Your screams have felt forced lately..I had to know why..so tell me."

"I..I-I can't feel p-pain.." I answered.

"Well..that's both amazing and frightening.." He hummed. "It seems that I can no longer torture you properly..and that makes me angry, but that doesn't matter; we'll see a doctor soon to clear this whole thing up. For now, however, you will taste my mercy; enjoy it well."

I nodded.

"Good." Ink rubbed my skull softly.

Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad after all.

~~~~~

"Breaks"

Classification: on the angst side.

Warnings: torture.

~~~~~

Papyrus's point of view.

Ink took breaks. He had an entire empire, and he had work piled up into the clouds, but he took frequent breaks - probably more than he should have. When he was on a break, he sent the responsibility for his work to his next-in-command, my brother; when my brother was in charge, he did Ink's work more efficiently than Ink himself. Of course, my brother was Ink's favorite being to torment, whether he knew it or not; Ink more often than not took him on his breaks, which led his work to me. I wasn't the most efficient with Ink's work, likely because I didn't care enough to focus on it. After a few rounds of Ink realizing that none of his work was being done for him while he was on breaks, he sent his work to the most loyal high rank and forced me to come on his breaks, as a chaperone. Today, Ink was taking a break, and that meant that after delivering his work to the guard lounge, I was to follow him and my brother around for the next couple hours. Thankfully, he decided to take his break in his room, and my brother was by his side, ready to do whatever was asked of him, no matter what it was or how ridiculous it sounded..and I was going to watch. I leaned up against a convenient wall as I "chaperoned."

"Come, Dusty." Ink ordered, resulting in my brother's climbing onto his bed to be scooped up into a hug. "Are you ready to have some fun?"

"Yes, Ink!" My brother giggled happily.

"Great! Let's start with.." Ink's gaze shifted to me as he donned a malevolent grin. "Torture."

"Yay!" My brother seemed too excited regarding the subject.

Two minutes later, I had been forced to the ground, and my armor was in a pile nearby as the two seemingly-childlike skeletons contemplated how to bring me the most pain. They decided to use a mixture of paint and blades, deciding that the resulting screams were satisfactory for them and continuing. It took an hour for them to tire of hurting me, and they engaged in a quiet cuddle for the rest of the break; they didn't bother to heal me. I just lay there, on the floor, for six hours before Ink realized that my body had been incapacitated by the torture earlier.

He took another break as response.

~~~~~

"'Amnesia'"

Classification: um..angst? I dunno.

Warnings: lies, deception.

~~~~~

It had been about twenty years since my capture, and everything was honestly..horrible. I was constantly in pain, Ink was taunting me at every turn, and I seriously just felt like giving up. It wouldn't have been that bad, right? I supposed I wouldn't have ever known. Right now, it was morning, and thankfully, I had been reset last night; I only had a couple injuries, and they weren't very bad. I was woken up, as always, by Ink, who had a grin, likely because he could hurt me more.

"Good morning, Dusty!" He greeted, as he had every morning.

"Good morning.." I sat up, sighing softly.

"Did you sleep well?"

"...No." I had never said no before..I had always wanted to find out what Ink would do if I did so; his reaction was one that I hadn't expected..but I should have expected it.

Ink glared. "What do you mean, 'No'?"

"I..d-didn't sleep well.."

"Oh. Well, how about we fix that?"

Ink grabbed my wrist tightly, and I tried to pull away from his grip, but I was unsuccessful; Ink threw me across the room, and I hit..oh, no. I winced when I felt my body's hitting a sharp object on a wall I knew. Ink liked to keep things on his roof; his favorite was a large, colorful chandelier, held up by only a rope..and I had just come into contact with the sole support. I was going to die a painful death for this, wasn't I? I whimpered when I heard the chandelier fall onto the ground, curling up into my jacket to hide from my imminent influx of pain..but it never came. After ten minutes, I had gathered enough bravery to open an eyesocket and peek out of my jacket, finding that..the chandelier had fallen directly onto..Ink. I decided that helping him would be better than hiding..he might have lessened the extent to which I would have been punished. I nodded to myself, running over to pull my captor out from under the broken chandelier - he had been cut up fairly badly.. - and succeeding, mostly; there was no way I was going to be able to get him onto his bed, since he was at least twice my height. Instead, I sat next to him and waited for him to wake up, hoping that he would forgive me for getting him hurt..these situations didn't usually end well for me. After about an hour, Ink began to stir.

"Mm.." He groaned slightly, opening his eyesockets slowly.

"A-are you okay?" I mustered my courage to ask.

Ink turned his skull slightly to look at me, seeming confused when he saw me. "Who..who are..you?"

I was a bit surprised by his question, but I passed it off as a test..he just wanted me to tell him my nickname. "D-Dusty.."

"Do we..know eachother?"

At this point, I didn't know what to say! Part of me was hoping that he truly didn't remember, but another part said that he was just giving me false hope.. "Y-yes."

"Who..am I?"

"..You're Ink. D-don't you remember?" I was hoping with every ounce in my body that he didn't remember.

"..No."

"R-really?"

"I don't..remember..anything.."

That was hope. That was real hope. I smiled slightly, to Ink's confusion.

"Um.." He looked at me oddly.

"I'm gonna take you to a doctor." I stated, feeling hopeful.

"Okay..?"

I stood up and offered my hand to Ink, who took it and slowly decided to follow behind me. I knew that he was able to follow me, even after such an injury; Ink was immortal, after all! I found it difficult to suppress my joy at the prospect of Ink's not remembering anything; perhaps his empire would fall, and everything would go back to normal! I focused on those thoughts as I led Ink to the medical wing; it was selfish, sure, but I hoped that his memory loss was permanent. A world without Ink as he was a few hours ago sounded like paradise, and I was completely prepared to give up this life for just about any other. When we reached the medical wing, Ink sat down in a chair, and I ran up to a doctor that I recognized.

"Oh?" He looked down at me with a kind smile. "Do you need something, Dust?"

"I have a question." I said.

"Yes?"

"If someone got hit in the skull with a chandelier and lost his memories, would he get them back?"

"Um..that's specific..I suppose it would depend on the person..why do you ask?"

I pointed to Ink, and the doctor immediately knew what I was here for.

"We'll have answers in a few hours." The doctor was fully prepared. "You can take a seat anywhere you'd like."

"Okay." I went to a chair to sit down as the doctor took Ink to a room.

Honestly, waiting for Ink and the doctor to return was..difficult. I wanted to know what was happening so much! I wanted to know if Ink was gone for good or if this lapse in memory was only temporary! And if it was temporary, I wanted to get out of this place before Ink decided to be cruel again! Three hours passed before the doctor came back, firstly saying that Ink was still in the hospital room.

"We can't say for certain if it's permanent or not." He sighed. "With his lack of a soul, it's unlikely that we'll ever get a confirmed answer, but it seems as if he'll be like this for at least three weeks, if it's temporary."

"Can we dismantle the empire?" I needed to know.

"..I think so, but we'll need a way to release everyone from his control."

"Leave that to me." I knew of a certain glitched friend who would be more than happy to help us. "What about Ink?"

"If this is permanent, we can just tell everyone that Ink is dead and that this is just a different version of him.."

"Do you really think they'll believe that?"

"The omniverse theory is a thing."

"Hm..maybe it could work."

"Or maybe you're all idiots." Oh..Ink spoke. "Did you honestly think that I would allow myself to lose my memories?" He scoffed, walking over to pick me up. "You're too easy to fool, really. Come, now, Dusty."

Well, that was anticlimactic.

~~~~~

"Comfort"

Classification: fluff.

Warnings: none.

~~~~~

Ink wasn't always as strong as he tried to be. Despite the fact that he ruled over an empire, he was surprisingly fragile; one wrong word could hurt him more than any wound. Today just so happened to be one such occasion. He had entered the room violently after placing a "Do Not Disturb" sign on his door, before promptly slamming it shut and collapsing onto his bed in a frenzy, clutching his pillow tightly and beginning to cry. Naturally, I walked over, curious to find out what had happened to the one who claimed to own me. I came to his bedside, where he could see me, and I tilted my skull in a silent question, but I received no true answer.

"G-go away, D-Dusty.." Ink sobbed. "I-I don't wanna s-s-see you.."

Well, that was a failed mission. Nonetheless, I walked over to my corner and entered it, climbing under the blanket of my makeshift bed and lying down in it before pulling Thunder and Lightning out of their home to cuddle with; they were good for cuddling, especially when I had enough time to enjoy it. I could hear Ink's sobs from my corner, but I wasn't allowed to let him hear me, since he would punish me for it, and I didn't want to be punished. I simply remained silent and cuddled with my bunnies, until I heard Ink's crying get..worse. His sobbing was honestly painful to hear, and..I felt as if I should have helped him. So I placed Thunder and Lightning back into their home and left my corner without permission; I hadn't done that before. With a timid walk, I slowly came up to Ink's bed, where the dictator in question looked at me with teary eyesockets, silently begging me to go back to my corner, but I didn't. Instead, I climbed into his bed and allowed him to hug me as he cried; he didn't hesitate to grab hold of me as tightly as he could. I stayed there until he finished his sobbing, and I hugged him back as well as I could; my arms didn't reach around him, despite my efforts. After several hours, Ink had exhausted himself, and his sobbing frenzy turned into a light hug.

"Th-thank you, D-Dusty.." He whispered, likely not having enough strength to speak louder.

"Are you okay now?" I asked, quietly.

"Y-yeah.." Ink rubbed my skull softly. "I-I'm glad you're m-my toy.."

"I'm happy to help..you just have to ask."

"I-I'll remember that..thanks.."

We cuddled for the rest of the day.

~~~~~

"Blame"

Classification: angst.

Warnings: mental self-harm, guilt, sad Dusty.

~~~~~

It had been one month since Ink had been overthrown, and it had been a difficult one. Today, Undertale was going to be reset for the first time in a long time, and it had certainly taken many hours of intense searching to make sure that no foreign entities were present during the reset, but we were fairly sure that there were none; most people had gone back to their universes the first minute they could. I was going to be one of the last to leave, and my brother was next to me; I had been almost constantly apologizing for the horrible things I had done to him when Ink had been controlling me..I couldn't believe that I had even considered doing such terrible things, to my own brother, much less! I stood outside the compound that Ink had created next to Papyrus, Classic Sans, and the human child of Undertale, and I was more than ready to-

"Wait!" I startled those next to me.

"What is it?!" Papyrus was concerned.

"I forgot something! I'll be right back! Don't reset yet!"

I quickly ran into the abandoned compound, taking every turn necessary to get to my destination as fast as possible; I couldn't fathom how I had forgotten my bunnies, of all creatures! I must have been too focused on other things, but I was glad that I had remembered them now, at least! I opened the door to Ink's old room swiftly, running over to the corner that housed my pet bunnies; they were still there. I smiled as I pulled my bunnies out to hug them; it had been so long since I had given them attention..I didn't deserve pets. I didn't deserve anything that I had, really..I had forfeited any privileges that I might have once had when I gave in to Ink's manipulation. I didn't allow myself to cry as I left the compound with my bunnies in my arms. I didn't allow myself to cry when the human child laughed, petting my bunnies playfully. I didn't allow myself to cry when I followed my brother through his portal while carrying my bunnies. I didn't allow myself to cry when I sat down on a couch in Nightmare's living room, cuddling my bunnies closely. I couldn't allow myself to cry. I had work to do, and that was what I focused on. I had to set the multiverse right; it was my fault. No matter what anyone said, it had all been my fault.

"Kid, you really don't have to do this." Fell sighed as I removed any traces of Ink's former rule that might have tainted a reset.

"I want to." I said.

"..Wouldn't you rather be at home? This isn't your mess to clean up.."

"..." I paused for only a second before continuing. "I was his second-in-command. Responsibility falls to me."

"Kid, you weren't even here when he took over..this isn't your job."

"..I want to." I repeated.

"Do you..want to talk about it?" He offered. "A lot of people have found comfort in others..you don't have to refuse yourself that privilege."

"No..it was five years ago. I'm fine."

"Dust..it was not five years ago.." Fell placed a hand on my shoulder. "It began over one hundred years ago..you can't honestly stand here and tell me that you've recovered so quickly..nobody has completely recovered from this..you're no exception to nobody, kid."

I took a small breath to keep myself calm. "Please..I-I don't want to talk about it..I-I can't..i-it's too soon.."

Fell sighed, removing his hand. "I understand. Just..don't hold it in too long. There are a lot of people out there who care about you; any one of them would probably be happy to hear you rant."

I nodded silently, going back to work, but I wasn't going to talk about it. I didn't deserve comfort; I wouldn't ever deserve comfort again..I couldn't handle it. I had done so many things to so many people! I had scarred people for life! I had tortured and killed countless individuals! I had conquered universes for a corrupt dictator! I had betrayed my only living family..I didn't deserve to be comforted. I deserved to live the rest of my life drowning in the same pain and suffering I had caused others; I knew that. I deserved the mental strain of keeping everything inside me; I deserved to live a long life of guilt..death would have been a blessing I did not deserve. I couldn't feel physical pain, but I could feel mental pain..I tried to cause myself as much of it as possible; my guilt was always a fallback if I couldn't create anything new. One decade after Ink's being overthrown, a party was held to celebrate the ten years of peace. I didn't go; I didn't deserve happiness. I had been a large contributing factor of Ink's reign; the party would have been ruined by my presence. People asked why I didn't go; I told them that I didn't care much for parties. They..believed me. I didn't know that I was good at hiding things. Ink was held in a cell in an isolated universe; I was his only visitor. He worried about me.

"Um..Dusty?" He wasn't the same as before; he actually cared, instead of acting as if he did. I didn't know why. "I..I'm not..in control anymore..why are you acting like I am?"

I didn't respond. I just sat there.

"..What..did I do to you?" Ink thought it was his fault; I couldn't agree. "Do you want an apology? I'll apologize! Just stop scaring me! P-please..I didn't mean to do this.."

"Do you ever wonder why people apologize for things that aren't their fault?" I questioned.

"..Not really." Ink didn't know where I was going.

"Eight thousand..seven hundred..and ninety-two people have apologized for what happened to me. None of them were at fault. Six thousand..three hundred..and ninety-nine of those people were those that I had hurt in horrible ways. Why do they apologize..when I should be apologizing..?"

"..They feel that you've been hurt worse than they have. They've already forgiven you."

"How do they forgive the unforgivable?"

"They just..do."

"How can they forgive me..when I can't forgive myself?"

"..." Ink sighed. "You've been spending too much time with me.."

"How?" I didn't understand.

"I..used to handle myself like you are now. The moment something bad happened, I would blame myself. The worst time it happened..I locked myself off from the rest of the world for several decades, just wallowing in my own self-pity. I focused on work, and nothing else..but it hurt me - oh, it hurt me!" Ink frowned bitterly. "Dusty..don't end up like me. You're torturing yourself for no reason; if you keep going like this, you're going to end up worse than you were while in my care..and that's saying something. Find someone to talk to. Cry your eyesockets out. Just don't become another me..it's not a good life."

"..Did you ever forgive yourself?"

"..No."

"Then you understand why I can't."

"..Yes."

"Good."

"You're going to break at some point."

"..I know."

I tried to hold it off as long as I could. I knew that someone would come along one day to comfort me, but I tried to avoid it for as long as possible; I didn't deserve comfort. I deserved it when people glared at me as I passed, and I deserved it when people attacked me on sight for the things I had done to them; there was no physical pain, but the mental pain was enough. I never fought back. People were justified when they tried to break every bone in my body. I had to stop myself from telling those around me not to interfere; they would have caught on..but I didn't like it when the beatings were ended by someone who cared about me. I didn't deserve people's caring about me. I deserved pain, and if mental pain was the only kind I could have, I deserved as much of it as I could possibly carry with me. It eventually grew to the point that I could feel my soul's cracking with every passing day. I didn't tell anyone. Twenty years after the collapse of the empire, there was another celebration. I adamantly refused to go, claiming that it would cause bad memories; I was forced to come along. I felt rather glad that I did; many people glared at me and asked why I was even allowed to come in the first place. I felt my soul's cracking more than before.

"Well, lookie who we have here." A group of former high ranks approached the table I was sitting at; I was sitting alone. "It's the little dummy."

"We haven't seen much of you these days; have you been playing with your little friends?" The former diabolical guard chuckled. "Aww, he's just scared."

My soul cracked again.

"What..was that?" One of the group inquired.

I shrugged.

"Whatever.." The former diabolical guard waved it off. "You know, kid, you've caused us a lot of grief; even our own homes don't particularly like us..this is your fault."

I couldn't help my smiling; I had wanted to stay home because I thought people would be apologizing again, but instead, people were causing me more mental pain! Perhaps coming wasn't so bad after all! The former high ranks had always been good at punishing me in the past; they were still good at it!

"What the heck are you smiling for?!" One of them pushed me to the ground; I didn't try to get up.

Another scoffed. "He's just a psycho; he always was one."

"Psycho or not.." The former diabolical guard stepped on one of my legs; the crack was enough to tell me that he had broken it intentionally. "He needs to pay for what he did."

Breaking my bones didn't have much of an effect on me anymore, but I was glad that I wasn't the only one who believed that I needed to pay for my crimes; the high ranks had always believed in justice, after all! The fact that I wasn't screaming meant that my punishment could last longer; nobody even noticed that anything was happening. This was what I deserved. Until I felt something. No, it wasn't pain. It wasn't another crack in my soul. It wasn't someone's threatening me. It was..a tear. No..no..I couldn't cry! If I cried, I would be letting everything out! Someone might have tried to comfort me! I curled up tightly as I tried to hide the fact that I was crying for the first time in twenty years..I didn't want to cry!

"Brother!" No..not Papyrus..I dreaded every footstep he took as my punishers fled.

"P-please.." I whimpered, hoping that I could hide my pain from the one who knew me the best.

"Brother, you are going to be all right!" Papyrus knelt down beside me; I closed my eyesockets..maybe he would forget that I couldn't feel physical pain and mistake the tears for that kind!

"I-I'm okay..r-really, I am.."

"Brother..why are you crying?"

"J-just..hurts.."

"But..you cannot feel pain, brother.."

"I-I want to go home.." I could settle down at home..

"All right..brother.."

Papyrus picked me up and created a portal home, where he laid me in my bed and..sat down..beside me..

"P-Paps.." I needed to be alone. "P-please go.."

"Brother, you have not been acting like yourself.." Papyrus sighed. "Tell me what's wrong, please..I can help you."

"I-I..I'm f-fine.."

"Brother, you are not fine; I blame myself for- brother?!"

That did it. Twenty years of guilt and sadness was now breaking free, just because my brother said that he blamed himself for something..I didn't know what. I had latched onto my brother tightly, and I couldn't stop the tears from flowing; they wouldn't have stopped if I had wanted them to. I didn't know how long I cried; all I knew was that I wasn't in pain anymore. I had released all of my inner struggles, and my brother had been on the receiving end of all of it; I felt horrible. I felt even worse when I realized that I had been speaking during my breakdown; I wasn't sure what I had said, but my brother never told me..he just hugged me and told me that everything would be okay.

I believed him.

~~~~~

"Reward"

Classification: probably fluff.

Warnings: none.

~~~~~

I had been Ink's toy for about fifty-eight years, and everything was perfect! I loved being Ink's toy, and I knew that he loved having me as his toy! We had a very in-depth schedule that we followed every day, which was: wake up, maybe eat, have fun, and go to sleep! It was my favorite schedule! Today, Ink wanted to have fun by going through a trick book, and it had some fairly difficult tricks in it; we were currently working on tree climbing, and we were practicing in Ink's beautiful garden! There were a lot of tall trees in his garden, and we were climbing a huge one! I had almost fallen a few times, but in the end, we had both made it to the top without any falls or mistakes, and we were now sitting on top of the tree's leaves, which were stronger than regular trees, since this tree was super sized!

"Wow!" Ink breathed deeply. "Now that is what I call an exercise! Was it fun, Dusty?"

"Yep!" I nodded, sitting next to Ink with a smile as he began to rub my skull softly.

"You know, you did so well that I think I'm going to give you a reward."

I tilted my skull curiously. "What kind of reward?"

"Oh, how about..you choose?"

"You mean..choosing my own reward?"

"Sure!"

"Do you really think I should be granted that much freedom?"

"Hm..let's try it; make a good decision, Dusty."

"I'll do my best, Ink!"

With that, I began to think of what reward I could choose that would make Ink proud..it was difficult. I considered asking for a hug, but that might have been too personal for Ink. Asking him to take a day off would have just been selfish. Asking for my brother's death would have been a good one, but Ink didn't want my brother dead, just captured; my brother wasn't worth asking for, anyway. I wondered if Ink would give Thunder and Lightning a birthday party; I didn't think he would. I spent about ten minutes in thought as Ink rubbed my skull, giving me all the time I needed, but it was at that point that I realized what would truly make a great reward, and I prepared myself to ask.

"I..know what I want." I stated.

"What is it, Dusty?" Ink was so kind to me..

"I want..to make you happy."

"Dusty, that's not a reward.."

"It is to me. I want to know what I can do to make you truly happy - not fake happy."

"..." Ink let out a chuckle, but it sounded unsure; his smile faded. "Dusty..just be yourself. Believe it or not, you really do make me truly happy, just by being yourself..thanks, Dusty."

"You're welcome, Ink."

I was glad that I could make Ink happy.

~~~~~

"Sense"

Classification: angst.

Warnings: manipulation.

~~~~~

My..personalities..kept fighting..my soul was constantly at war with..itself. I often woke up crying in the middle of the night because of it..I just wanted it to end! I didn't care which version of me won..I wanted help! It had gotten so bad that Ink had been forced to restrain me just so I wouldn't try to maim him at different hours of each day. The side that didn't like him was growing stronger; the protective measures he had taken were weakening the side that liked him. Sense was winning. I hadn't slept well in ages due to this meaningless war of emotions..I wanted it to end..to leave me..to go away. And..it eventually did. It was three o'clock in the afternoon; Ink was speaking to me, trying to strengthen the side I had labelled Kind; he wasn't doing much.

"Dusty, I really do care for you; I didn't want to tie you up." He tried to reason.

"Let me out!" I growled violently, trying to break free from my restraints.

"Dusty, I..I'm so sorry.." Ink conjured some - fake - tears.

"O-oh..i-it's all right.." Kind tried to comfort Ink. "I'm fine - you won't be."

"Dusty, you know what I'm going to be forced to do if you decide that you hate me, right?"

"At least I'll be away from you."

"But..you'll lose your mind. You'll eventually be mine either way; why bother to put it off?"

"At least you'd suffer."

Ink chuckled. "All right..all right, you've got me there. How about a deal? You submit to me..and your brother gets to live.."

"..." Sense was thinking; I wished I knew what to think..

"So?" Ink wasn't waiting around.

"One condition." Sense decided.

"What is it?"

"You don't lay a finger on him."

Ink smirked. "We have a deal. Now submit."

I whimpered, wincing as I felt something weakening inside me rapidly; Sense was dissipating, leaving only Kind..me. It took a moment to gain a foothold on my surroundings, but I smiled when my eyelights found their way to the one who had cared for me: Ink.

He would keep me safe.

~~~~~

"Protecting"

Papy is in this.

Classification angst and fluff.

Warnings: threats, bullying.

~~~~~

Papy's point of view.

I loved my masters. Ink was always willing to talk, and Dusty was always ready to cuddle! I enjoyed caring for both of them when they were ill or not feeling well, and they did the same for me; we were happy. Of course, everyone lived with Ink - a few people somehow felt that he wasn't nice, but that was a lie - but..not everyone liked Dusty. Some of the high ranks sometimes came to hurt him, even though he couldn't feel pain..but they didn't hurt him in that way. Some broke bones, yes, but others..said very mean things. Dusty often cried after the cruel high ranks came to torment him; I didn't think that Ink knew about their verbal abuse, but Dusty didn't want Ink to know. Dusty was Ink's toy, and toys weren't supposed to express their displeasures with their masters; it was supposed to be the other way around. Today, another high rank had come to verbally assault my fragile master, who was hugging his favorite doll tightly; I could tell that he was afraid. I wished I could stop the high ranks from hurting him, but I wasn't allowed to interfere; Dusty didn't want me to also be hurt. And so, when the high rank came, Dusty stood alone against him, preparing to be hurt in a way far worse than broken bones.

At the distance I was sitting, I couldn't hear what was said; Dusty didn't want me to hear what they told him, and I didn't. I could see his tears, though. I could see the smile behind the high rank's helmet as my master broke under the weight of his insults. Dusty was a peaceful skeleton; he had always refused to hurt anyone except for torture purposes, and torture was acceptable, since it was an important facet of our daily life. I didn't enjoy seeing my master cry; it felt as if I had done something to wrong him..I just didn't know what. After three cruel hours of watching Dusty crumble, the high rank left, and I was free to offer comfort to the one who needed it most. Dusty wasted no time in jumping into my open arms, and I accepted him happily. I shushed him and told him that whatever he had been told was wrong; there was nothing wrong with him. When Dusty had stopped crying, I suggested a torture session to lighten his spirits; he had always enjoyed the emotions gained from torture, and he knew that I would be willing to give him a reaction if he wanted a specific one. Today, he wanted me to laugh, and I laughed; it was my natural response to torture, at this point, and I was more than happy to give it to him until Ink walked in two hours later.

"Hello, my wonderful toys!" Ink greeted, sitting down on his bed to relax after a hard day's work. "How have you been today?"

"We've been okay!" Dusty replied, putting the knife he had been using aside in favor of having his skull rubbed by Ink. "How about you?"

"Eh, same old, same old. I am utterly exhausted..I hope you don't mind if we don't cuddle tonight; I'm just too tired to stay awake."

"I don't mind! Do you mind, Papy?"

"I do not mind!" I shook my skull; if Ink didn't want to cuddle, that was fine!

"You two are so understanding!" Ink yawned. "Thank you! In that case, good night!"

"Good night, Ink!" Dusty and I harmonized.

My brother often slept in my arms; it was cold at night, and we were on the floor. I shivered, but I managed to keep myself steady for the most part; I didn't want to wake my master up. I didn't generate that much heat, but it was enough to keep Dusty warm, and that was all I needed. That was why I was silently apologizing as I slowly slipped away from him; I felt bad when I saw his shiver, but he hadn't woken up. Waking Ink up in the middle of the night was not a good thing to do by any means, but I had been worried about Dusty recently..I believed that my reason was valid. I hoped Ink shared my beliefs as I slowly nudged him awake, soon finding myself face-to-face with tired, yet colorful, eyelights.

"What..do you want..Papy..?" Ink mumbled, slowly coming back to life.

"I..have a concern." I didn't believe that my response was the best, but I would have to make do.

Ink narrowed his eyelights disapprovingly. "And just what is your concern?"

"I am not sure if you are aware of this, but some of the high ranked guards come into here sometimes..they make Dusty cry..and that worries me. It is my duty as his toy to ensure that he is happy, but..those high ranks do not make him happy."

"You woke me up to talk about bully problems." Ink sighed. "Papy, I don't know what to tell you; the high ranks are fighters, and they're practically made for being cruel. If you want Dusty to be happy, take matters into your own hands; I'm sure he'd understand."

"You mean..I can fight them off to keep Dusty happy?"

Ink paused for a moment, thinking, before replying with a dark smirk. "Papy, I would love it if you would do that."

"Then I shall." I smiled; I was going to protect my master, just as he had protected me. "Thank you, Ink."

"Sure thing, Papy..but just one more thing before you go back to bed."

"Yes?"

"Let me watch."

"I will ensure that you can see my attempt of defense when it happens, although, I am not sure if I will be able to hold a fight for very long..I do not know how to fight."

"Well, I'll be rooting for you; good night, Papy."

"Good night, Ink."

With that, Ink went back to his warm shelter underneath his covers, and I returned to Dusty, who was now whimpering from the cold floor..I shouldn't have left him for so long! I quickly took off my scarf and wrapped it around him, using it as a makeshift blanket for his small body; he fit perfectly, and his shivering was now minimal. I lay down on the floor and took him back into my arms, where he should have been all along; I was glad that I would be able to protect him next time a high rank sought to hurt his feelings, though. And my time came two days later. Upon first seeing the high rank enter the room, I readied myself to press a button which Ink had given me to let him know that someone was attempting to be mean to Dusty; I wasn't allowed to make my move until Ink was present. When the high rank addressed my brother in a way that caused him to flinch, I pressed the button, and I saw Ink, who had ducked behind his bed; neither the high rank nor Dusty had seen him. As soon as I felt the time was ready, I put the button down beside me on the floor and stood up; the mean high rank wouldn't be rude to my master again! I, of course, wanted to settle this peacefully before attacking; it was the right thing to do.

"Please do not be rude to Dusty." I requested politely of the high rank, who slowly turned to face me.

"And what are you going to do about it?" His glare practically radiated from behind his helmet..it was rather intimidating.

"I am going to ask you nicely to stop..or I will be forced to..use force."

I did not expect the high rank to begin to laugh at my threat, but he did. "Oh, right, and I'm a little kid, playing with dolls!"

His remark made Dusty flinch, hugging his doll closer; that..made something in me feel..very odd. I wanted to make him pay for insulting my master on such a personal level! Dusty needed that doll because of his trauma! This high rank knew nothing of mental pain..I wanted to teach him.

"I assure you.." My voice had grown darker, although I did not know why. "When I am finished..you will be."

I didn't recall much after that; I only remembered tiny bits and pieces. One second, I was speaking to the high rank, and the next, I was holding Dusty tightly in my arms, telling him that everything would be okay as a few low ranks did a bit of...dusting in Ink's room. If anything had come of that event, it was that no more high ranks came to hurt my master anymore.

They knew that I would protect him until my death.

~~~~~

"Brother"

Classification: fluff and angst.

Warnings: threats.

~~~~~

I had been Ink's toy for about sixty years now, and everything was going great! Ink was doing fine, I was being the best toy I could be, and everything was really..peaceful. I was happy that I could help my master be as happy as possible! Today, he had gone out to do something important, and I had been left in his room to await his return, which I hoped would be soon; I wanted to cuddle with him, but I would be okay if he didn't want to cuddle with me..I could just not cuddle. After several hours of waiting, the door to Ink's room was opened rather forcefully, but Ink did not appear; my brother did.

"Brother!" He rushed up to me, being met with only a sidestep and a glare as I dodged his..attempted hug. "Um..brother? It is me.."

"I know who you are." I didn't bother to look at him. "Where is Ink?"

"..He is gone. He cannot hurt you anymore, brother..you are safe."

"What do you mean..gone?"

"We overthrew him; his reign is over. He cannot hurt anyone else..are you feeling well, brother?"

"Take me to him."

"...Why?"

"Because I would rather be with him than with you."

"..." He paused for a moment. "What..do you mean?"

"I mean what I said: I don't want to see you, Papyrus; go away or take me to Ink. If you don't, I'll find him myself."

"..What did he do to you?"

"None of your business. Are you going to take me or not?"

My brother hesitated for a moment before nodding slowly, holding out his hand, but taking it back when I simply started walking. He didn't seem very enthusiastic as he led me through the halls, ending at a room where Ink was locked inside a cage. Ink was frowning..that wasn't good. I ran up to the cage quickly, finding no way to get through the bars to reach Ink; I wanted to get inside with him! Ink, of course, wanted that as well, asking if I could be let in, but those on the outside vehemently refused to allow me to enter; it was only when I started crying that they caved and allowed me to enter the cage. I hugged Ink immediately, and he returned the gesture, rubbing my skull comfortingly. My brother and the others on the outside decided for some reason that I had been brainwashed, but, of course, I knew that they were wrong; I would have known if I had been brainwashed, and, besides, Ink wouldn't manipulate people in that way! He was too kind to do such a thing as that! I took comfort in those thoughts as Ink held me close, giving me all of his attention..until we were interrupted. I whimpered slightly in diapproval when Ink was forced to turn his attention to the people outside instead of me..

"Ink, what did you do to my brother?!" My brother was angry; I couldn't bring myself to care.

"Oh, Papyrus.." Ink chuckled slightly. "Did you honestly think that I'd let you overthrow me..and not have a backup plan?"

"What do you mean?"

"I simply mean that..Dusty is mine now; in return for your work against my empire, I have taken the one person you cared about the most..and I've turned him against you!" Ink pulled me closer, causing me to giggle. "I love the look on your face right now..you already know what I mean; you're smart like that. Never again will you hear your brother tell you that he loves you. Never again will you see your brother smile upon seeing you. Never again will you be met with the childish nature of your brother, because..he is dead. Dust is no more; I killed him. Dusty is all that remains now, and Dusty only likes me. Would you like to know how your brother died?" Ink, upon receiving no reply, continued. "It was only a few short years ago..he lost his ability to feel pain, but his personality shifted into two parts: the one that wanted you, and the one that wanted me. Over time, I weakened the one that wanted you back, supressing it over and over, shutting it down at every turn..until it gave up. When it did, it was begging for mercy; you won't be surprised to know that I gave it none. Then..Dusty was born. My Dusty is all that remains. You missed your chance to save your brother about five years ago; he is dead. You failed, Papyrus."

"Y-you are a l-liar.." My brother was crying; I didn't care.

"Oh, Papyrus, I am many things, but I am not a liar."

"N-no.." My brother fell to his knees in tears; one of the people outside had to take him out of the room, which was good, since I didn't want to see him.

"You're a monster." Classic Sans glared at Ink; that was rude.

"I won't deny it. I'm interested to find out what he'll do to get Dusty back..this will be exciting to see."

"You're not gonna be seeing it." The Outertale Sans scoffed. "We're not going to let you see your victim ever again."

"That's going to be difficult when he's clutching to me like his life depends on it."

"We'll manage."

They didn't manage. Three days later, they had given up trying to separate me from Ink, which I was happy about, since I wanted to stay with Ink! In a way, I was happy that Ink had lost his empire; he spent more time with me! I didn't mind the cage, really, since Ink was with me, and I didn't think that Ink minded either. The people on the outside tried to give me pillows and blankets to make me more comfortable, but I didn't want them if Ink couldn't have any; I was fine with only my Hope and Ink. I was also fed, but they fed me three times every day instead of one time every three days. That confused me, and my body was confused, too; I always felt bad after eating meals with less magic than what I was used to, but Ink comforted me. My friends visited us, too, sometimes, and I was always happy when I was able to see one of them, or even more than one of them! I was content in the cage..until one month later. My brother hadn't visited us since the first day, but after a month of peace, he darkened the doorway of the room we were in, speaking to a few of the people who were guarding the cell before turning his attention to me; I simply glared at him before burying my skull in Ink's shirt to avoid seeing him. Ink held me tighter in response.

"Brother, please listen-" My brother began.

My brother's voice was cut off by Ink's humming a tune I liked. I was able to tune out his voice and listen to only Ink until my brother gave up and left; I thanked Ink as soon as the other left, and he continued to hum the tune as he rubbed my skull. There was only one problem: my brother came back the next day; he was driven off the same way, however. He..kept coming back. For an hour, every day, he would come to the cage and speak. In the beginning, he only begged me to listen to him, which I refused to do, but..he eventually stopped begging. He started talking about other things, such as how his days were going..how the multiverse was doing. He told me that I would like the outside world if I would just give it a chance. Ink told me not to believe him; a small part of me wanted to, but the larger part told me to continue to trust Ink, since he had never steered me wrong in the past. Despite it all, my brother continued to visit every day, and I began to listen. He didn't speak to me in a condescending way..he spoke plainly, as if we were equals; Ink never did that. Ink always treated me like the toy I was..he told me that I was lower..why would my brother treat me any differently?

"A few of your friends had a picnic today in Outertale; you would have liked it." My brother once told me. "There was cake and pie..do you remember how you used to choose between them? You would wait for everyone else to choose what they wanted, then you would take a piece of whatever had the most left..I tried that. The cake was good..it would have been better if you had come, though."

I didn't understand it. Ink told me that he was trying to manipulate me, but..I didn't think he was. He would just come, talk about a few things, and leave..that was it. He didn't try to get me to speak to him, and he didn't try to take me out of the cage..he sat against the bars, sure, but his back was facing us..he didn't even force me to look at him. Heck, if I wanted to, I could have reached through the bars and strangled him! I just didn't understand it. But..after five months..I wanted to understand it. I began to wait for my brother to arrive, and I would listen to what he said closely, trying to find any hints of manipulation..but I couldn't. He was..genuine. Eight months after the visits started, I accepted them as pure visits; my brother was not trying to manipulate me in any way, despite what Ink may have thought. I still placed Ink above my brother, but Ink hadn't been studying my brother's words as I had; he didn't understand that my brother was being genuine, and I wouldn't try to make him understand, since he was higher than I was; I was just a lower being that was meant only to serve my master. I did enjoy the visits from my brother, however; after a long day of play, I liked hearing stories from across the multiverse.

"A group of universes are planning a party to celebrate everyone's freedom in a few months.." My brother said. "I will understand if you do not want to come, but I can take some pictures for you, if you would like me to; perhaps I can bring you a slice of cake. Would you like that?"

My silence was taken as a yes.

"I can use your old camera." He stated. "Do you remember your old camera? You used to take it everywhere; it was unfortunate when it was destroyed in battle, but the others always managed to repair it. They were..great at repairing things..I miss them.."

I missed my family as well..but I had Ink now; I couldn't leave him, especially after all he'd done for me. My brother didn't have Ink, though..he didn't have anyone that I knew of..was that why he came every day? Did he just want someone to be there? He had used to lead the resistance..surely he had someone to look out for him! My soul told me that that wasn't true. My brother came to visit every day because he had nobody to be there for him; he was lonely. I didn't tell Ink why I cried when I figured that out; he would have simply told me that my brother was just trying to manipulate me again. There were many differences between Ink and my brother. Ink cared only about himself and me; my brother cared for everyone but himself, apparently. Ink told me what I would do and when I would do it; my brother never forced me into anything. Ink treated me as a pet; my brother treated me as an equal. Ink was not lonely; my brother was. Ink didn't need me; my brother did. My brother needed me..I didn't remember the last time anyone had truly needed me..Ink certainly didn't need me. Eleven months after my brother's daily visits began, he came early. Today was the anniversary of Ink's loss of his empire.

"Hello, brother." My brother took his seat against the bars, as he did every day. "I came earlier because of the party later today..I still have to get your camera ready so I can show you-"

My brother was cut off by a hand on his shoulder. He turned around hesitantly, his eyelights meeting mine for the first time in what may have very well been a year. I didn't miss the tears in his eyesockets, and I doubted that he missed the ones in mine. No words had to be spoken as my brother moved closer to the door of the cage, unlocking it slowly when I showed no resistance.

"Dusty..?" Ink was confused. "What are you doing?"

Ink received no answer as my brother opened the door slowly, allowing me to walk out before he locked the cage again.

"Dusty!" Ink yelled, causing me to flinch. "Come back here!"

I didn't look at my former master as I lifted my arms up to my tall brother, resulting in his picking me up.

"If you leave now, I will track you down and kill you!" Ink threatened. "Do you hear me?! Dusty!"

My brother and I ignored the screams of the one who I now realized had abused his power over me; just because he owned me didn't give him the right to treat me the way he did..I was just too blind to realize it until I was caught in his trap. I decided right then and there that I wouldn't allow myself to be owned by anyone again; I would obey who I decided to obey, and I wanted to obey my brother. My brother needed someone to be there for him, and I was determined to be that person. My brother was right; I enjoyed the party. Everyone was happy to see me there, and I was happy to be there; why I had ever thought that being locked in a cage with Ink of all people was better than cake was beyond me now.

"I love you, bro." I hugged my brother, speaking the first words I had wanted him to hear in a year.

"I love you, too, brother." He hugged me back.

I was happy.

~~~~~

"Birthday"

Papy is in this.

Classification: fluff.

Warnings: none.

~~~~~

Today was Ink's birthday. Unlike everyone else, Ink celebrated his birthday. Sure, low ranks received a card and a few gifts from friends, if they were lucky, but they didn't receive parties. The high ranks received a card, gifts, and a cake, but they only had small parties. Papy and I didn't have birthdays; we had anniversaries, but we celebrated those with Ink, and the celebrations were still small. Ink, on the other hand, had large parties. Every individual in the entire empire had to give him a gift of some kind, and if they didn't, or if they didn't give something good enough, they were hunted down and brought to the dungeon to be tortured; their torture would be Ink's gift if they couldn't make or buy something good enough. Needless to say, Ink received a lot of gifts on his birthdays, and Papy and I had to help him open all of the presents in order for him to judge them. Today was Ink's birthday, and Papy and I had woken up early. We were giving him a gift together - Ink said that we could do that - and it was, in my opinion, the best gift we had ever created! Over the years, we had picked up different things that had been dropped, left in places, or left in the lost-and-found for too long; when that happened, it was first come, first serve, and we had always made sure to come first. The result..was amazing.

"Do you think he will like it?" Papy wasn't sure.

"I think so." I nodded. "Ink likes paintbrushes, and this paintbrush is special! I think he'll love it!"

"And if he doesn't?"

"Then..we get punished; I think he'll like it, though."

"I hope so."

I hugged Papy to comfort his nerves; he had faced punishment for an inadequate birthday gift for Ink before, and he said that it had been the worst punishment of his life..he didn't want to go through that again, and I understood. As soon as Ink began to stir, Papy and I walked over to his bed, a box covered in wrapping paper in our hands. When Ink opened his eyesockets, he bore witness to our smiles, and he returned them with a smile of his own; his smile was kind today. He sat up in his bed eagerly, instantly realizing what day it was.

"Happy birthday, Ink!" Papy and I harmonized.

"Thank you, Dusty and Papy!" Ink rubbed our skulls softly, accepting the wrapped box we had offered. "What did you two make for me?"

"It's a surprise!" I grinned, hoping that he would open it soon; I wanted to see his reaction!

"Well, I guess I'll just have to see what it is!"

Ink tore the wrapping paper off the box, revealing the box we had chosen; it was meant to come with the paintbrush inside. I had carved the outside myself, and I was quite happy with how it turned out; the designs on the outside ranged from Ink's name to paintbrushes! When he was ready, Ink lifted the lid of the box, and his expression told us exactly what we wanted to know; he brought a hand to his mouth as he looked at our gift for him this year, before hesitantly lifting it from its case to inspect it. The paintbrush itself was made of wood from a tree in Ink's garden - it was a twirl of blue and red - while the brush part was a bright shade of gold; I wasn't quite sure where Papy got it, but it was perfect when we tested its quality regarding painting ease. In addition, we knew that Ink enjoyed blades on the opposite tips of his paintbrushes; we had spent months finding the right blade, and we had found it while on a walk. Ink had been speaking to one of the high ranks on a visit, and he had allowed us to go explore; a glint caught our eyelights in the Waterfall, and we had found a blue crystal shard that was the perfect size to place on the brush. When Ink hugged us tightly, we knew that he loved it.

"You two..are so amazing.." He was crying tears of joy, apparently; we were glad that he enjoyed it.

"Nah, you're simply spectacular, Ink!" I enjoyed the hug, and Papy did, as well.

We spent the next hour with Ink - his party didn't begin for an hour, which gave us time - as he told us how much he appreciated his gift, and we were entirely prepared to return his compliments tenfold, cuddling all the while. The hour moved swiftly, however, and before we knew it, we were on our way to the party grounds, which was the same area used for all large events; we knew it well. The first thing that caught our attention was the pile of presents that was stacked high into the sky; the pile became larger every year. The high ranks were the only guards who presented their gifts to Ink personally, which also gave them no excuse for having an inadequate gift; if they didn't have a good one, they would have been embarrassing Ink, and their punishment was a full month of merciless torture. The high ranks gave good gifts. As soon as Ink walked onto the stage - Papy and I sat with the high ranks, but we were proud that Ink was holding our gift to him all the while - he gave a short speech, and his speech was directly followed by the high ranks' gifting. From expert drawings to marble sculptures, the high ranks managed to keep Ink happy; none of them embarrassed him, which everyone was happy about.

After a few low ranks hauled the gifts from the high ranks away to Ink's room, Ink decided that it was time to eat his cake, which was..huge? It was enough to feed the entire army, and many guards had seconds; it was an impressive cake. Papy and I sat at Ink's reserved table, which was only for his closest and most trusted friends and guards; there weren't more than ten people. Ink was happy to show off the gift we had given him, and everyone at the table agreed that it was the most intricate paintbrush they had ever seen; Papy and I were happy that they liked it. When the giant cake was (mostly) consumed, Ink decided that it was time for the opening of the huge pile of gifts, which only Ink, Papy, and I would be present for; the army cleared the large field in a matter of minutes, and we were left in a few-mile-wide, empty field, with a pile of presents that towered above us. This had occurred every year, and every year, Papy and I were scared of being crushed; it was a very real possibility with the present pile. But we were determined to make Ink happy..under one condition.

"Ink?" I approached our master with an unsure expression.

"Yes, Dusty?" He knelt down to my level to see what I wanted.

"W-well..the pile has fallen before..and we can see how much you like the gift we gave you..and it's kind of small.."

"I understand, Dusty; if the pile falls, you don't want me to lose your wonderful gift." Ink summarized, receiving a nod. "All right, Dusty; I'll put it safely in its case and return in a moment. You two get to work."

"Thank you, Ink!" I smiled.

"Of course, Dusty; I wouldn't want to make my toys sad on my birthday, and you have a valid concern - this thing could be lost easily. I'll be right back."

"We'll get started! Come, Papy!"

Papy and I ran to the pile as Ink teleported away with his new paintbrush, only to return a moment later without it, running with us to the pile of presents that seemed to reach higher than the sky itself. We giggled as we began to open the gifts, with Papy and I doing the actual opening as Ink judged the presents - with or without our help - and wrote down the names and universes of those who hadn't done well enough; it was a difficult task, but we could handle it. I recalled a time when I was Ink's only toy, and I had been forced - in those days, I hadn't necessarily wanted to participate, but I was glad that Ink had shown me the error of my past ways - to open all of the gifts alone; that had been difficult, and it had sometimes taken multiple weeks. Nowadays, with two people opening gifts, it..still took multiple weeks, but they were more enjoyable, since we were together. I actually liked opening the gifts over the course of many weeks; skeletons didn't need a regular diet, since we lived off of pure magic, and that essentially meant that eating only cake for several weeks - or really forever, if one wanted to go that long - wasn't unhealthy in the least. We loved that part. That was probably our favorite part. When the pile was completely gone, and when every gift had been sorted depending on if Ink wanted to keep it or not, Ink sent the list to the dungeon, brought us to his room, and cuddled with us for the rest of the day; we were all tired out.

I was glad that Ink had enjoyed his birthday.

~~~~~

"Insanity"

Classification: neither?

Warnings: uhh..Ink's mere presence?

~~~~~

Ink had been overthrown one hundred years ago. The multiverse had had a celebration a few weeks ago to commemorate the event, and it had honestly been awesome! It had been more fun enjoying it with my family, though; they were always by my side. About one week after they had been brought back to life, I had decided to tell them what had happened while they had been dead, and, suffice to say, they had been utterly shocked at the story..I wished it had only been a story, but it hadn't been. They had been shocked when I mentioned the details of Ink's reign, down to the tiniest details, but I had saved the parts involving my..imprisonment..for last; I hadn't wanted to make my family cry, but it was unavoidable if they wanted to hear the true tale. I had become more timid after my experiences; I was frightened by the mere mention of torture..I had been the last person to visit Ink, and that had been over eighty years ago..he had been isolated from the rest of the world for eight decades. As much as I had been hurt by him, I felt pity for him; I had been isolated before, and I wouldn't have wished it on even Ink..which was why I had made the decision to approach the Council of Judges: a group of influential and impartial (at least as much as possible) original judges that took the place of Ink's old multiversal meetings. Honestly, the system was much better now.

"How have you been doing, Dust?" Classic Sans greeted me kindly; the council was certainly not all serious, and that was the way we liked it.

"I've been doing better recently..thanks for asking." I gave a small smile, holding my brother's hand tightly; he had agreed to accompany me to address the council, but he didn't know why.

"So, what have you called us here for?" He continued.

"It's..complicated. I want you to hear me out on this, because it's going to sound absurd."

"Heh, we like absurd; we just had a 'serious' debate over condiment preferences last Tuesday!" Fell chuckled.

"Even so, I'd like to clarify that I've checked myself over several times before coming here, and I've found every time that I'm thinking completely clearly; my thoughts are my own."

"..Where are you going with this?" Classic Sans was beginning to catch on to the subject.

"Isolation." I was knew that every judge on the council was aware of my fear of isolation. "I've seen what it can do to people, and I know its effects. Being absolutely isolated for an extended period of time can break a person's mind; memory loss and desperation are common. Being in the absence of color can intensify the effects, and..nobody deserves that."

"Dust, you'd better not be saying what I think you're saying.."

Classic Sans's expression turned to a concerned frown when I nodded.

"Dust, you, of all people.." He tried to argue, but I had to make my point.

"Of all people, I know what I'm talking about." I sighed. "He may have been a villain, but that doesn't mean that we can strip him of his mind; that's worse than murder. Although in different circumstances, I have had my mind taken from me, multiple times, and I wouldn't wish it on even him."

"Brother..y-you cannot be serious.." Papyrus couldn't believe it.

"Paps, I do. You saw it happen to me the first time..you saw the effects of the second..he may have been my and many others' personal torturer, but that doesn't mean that we can torture him. If we leave him there alone, he will succumb to the deepest levels of insanity..and if we can stop it, we should."

"This will require time." Classic Sans sighed, bowing his skull.

"I understand."

And time it did take. In fact, it took a year of time before the council was ready to even consider my proposition, but they did, and they found that I was right. Ink didn't deserve to suffer like that; nobody did. But he already had. For the first time in over eight decades, visitors went to the AU that Ink had been sealed in, and they found a broken skeleton; he didn't seem to remember his empire, much less his name. The council wanted to give him a home in an isolated AU and be done with it, but things didn't work out that way..I wished they had. On the second visit, my family and I were going to accompany the party, and what we found was worse than what the first group had described..it seemed as if Ink had lost his entire capacity to think..until he saw me.

"Dus..ty..?" Ink's voice was scratchy and clearly hadn't been used for decades, but the look in his eyelights showed trust; of all people, he remembered..me. If I hadn't known my place before, I knew it now, and I was determined to make sure that my true role in this skeleton's life was served; I was meant to save him.

"Hello, Ink.." I walked up to the bars of his cage, offering my hand; he took it without hesitation, smiling when he realized that it was I.

"He..l-llo.."

"He might be trying to trap you." My brother was skeptical of Ink's trust.

"He isn't." I shook my skull. "If he was trying to do that, his smile would be sharper..his eyelights would have a majority of red..the shapes would be more complex. He's genuine."

"I'm still not convinced." Nightmare focused his eyelight on the former dictator, and Dream was right next to him, sharing his sentiment.

"Does he really deserve a second chance?" Dream didn't think so.

"..Did you deserve a second chance, Dream?" I questioned.

"What do you mean?"

"Dad might have been the one to start it, but you never held back in battles. You never saw his pain when we had to extract the arrows that became stuck in his goop; you never heard his screams when the balance was offset. You never wrote letters, never visited, never tried to reconnect without something else triggering it. Sure, there were times, but they never lasted long; you always went back to fighting. Yet..you were given a second chance, and you have made the most of it. Did you deserve it?"

"..." Dream fell silent.

"He conquered the multiverse." Classic Sans added.

"Yes, he did." I admitted. "But I was right next to him. I was his right hand for several decades. I enjoyed torturing innocent beings, and I scarred many for life. I killed several thousand people just because they annoyed me, and I even framed a few for horrible crimes just to see them suffer..because I felt like it. I conquered universes, and I punished innocent guards mercilessly for things that were out of their control. It can be argued that I had been brainwashed, but deep down, I knew exactly what I was doing, and I was enjoying it; I was just as bad as Ink, yet I was given a second chance. The question is not if he deserves a second chance, because he doesn't, because nobody does; the question is if we will offer it to him. If he makes the same mistake twice, that's his fault, but he should at least be given a chance. Will we give it to him?"

There was silence for a good minute, and many glances were passed through the group, but in the end, it was decided.

"Yes." Everyone agreed.

"Then let us give it to him." I unlocked the door to Ink's cage, resulting in his hesitant leaving, before he ran up to me and hugged me happily; I had the feeling that this was the beginning of something amazing.

Training Ink to be a good person wasn't difficult in the least; he did his best to be polite upon seeing that it was accepted as good, and even if he messed up (hilariously) sometimes, he still did his best, and that was all that mattered. He lived with my family in Nightmare's house, and he never regained his memories; we counted that as a good thing. After a while, it truly felt as if he were a completely different person! The past Ink would never have asked how another's day was, but the new Ink was willing to listen to even Killer's rants about his days and activites; that was truly impressive. Ink had been completely reformed in only five short years, and it was a surprise to the multiverse when word got out that he had turned good; not everyone (barely anyone) actually believed the news, but it was soon found to be true. Overall, everyone had a happy ending.

"Dusty?" Ink yawned quietly.

"Yeah?" I responded, lying down in my sleeping brother's arms.

"Thank you."

"It was no problem; you deserved it."

"Heh.." Ink watched as I slowly fell asleep, descending into a comforting dusty nightmare. "I'm glad someone thinks so.."

All was silent as Ink lay down on his pillow.

"Because faking all of this is hard.."

~~~~~

"Withdrawal"

Classification: fluff comforting angst.

Warnings: desired torture, violence.

~~~~~

Ink had been overthrown twenty years and one and a half weeks ago; my family had been brought back to life, and everything seemed to be going great! Until I felt a pain. No, I couldn't feel normal pain, but this wasn't normal; my soul was telling me something..something very bad. I couldn't simply hide it, either, since I flinched at the pain, and my family were by my side immediately.

"Dust, are you all right?" Nightmare was by my side in an instant.

"..I..don't know." I muttered, but it was loud enough for Nightmare to hear.

"Is everythin' okay, Dusty?" Killer inquired, coming to my side with the rest of my family.

"Was it pain?" Error seemed a bit confused at the thought that it could have been. "You can't feel pain, can you?"

"N-no.." My hands began to shake as I swiftly stuffed them in my pockets.

"Brother, we can help you." Papyrus assured. "Please tell us what is wrong."

"C-can't.." I mumbled, although it was to myself, not the others..I was telling myself that I couldn't, but the others took it in a different way.

"Can't or won't?" Error wanted to know, but I was a bit busy trying to stop myself from stabbing my family.

My family began to ask questions concernedly as I fought off the temptations to hurt someone; it was difficult, but I eventually managed to lower the amount I was affected enough to speak, and I did so - rapidly.

"Guys, you g-gotta listen." I clenched my fists in my pockets as the temptations grew. "Y-you have to strap me down and keep me i-immobile.."

"What for, brother?" Papyrus didn't understand.

"T-take my weapons..m-make sure I can't hurt a-anyone.."

"Brother, you cannot be suffering from torture withdrawal.." Papyrus was entirely wrong, and he was surprised when I nodded vigorously, my entire body now shaking. "..I will not ask how..but we will take care of you, brother."

"What's wrong with him?" Killer didn't know.

"I will explain on the way; this is a side effect of his captivity, I am afraid."

The term was torture withdrawal. It resulted when my temptations to hurt someone were ignored for too long, but I had been convinced that it wouldn't bother me anymore, especially after twenty years! I was wrong. As I was carried to my room, I realized why it was bothering me now. After Ink's being overthrown, I had blamed myself for just about everything, and I had been unknowingly torturing myself; I wasn't doing that anymore, and my soul knew it. I had been accustomed to torturing someone, and now that I had no victim, the withdrawal symptoms were coming into effect..I should have been worried when they didn't occur shortly after the overthrow, but I was too busy torturing myself to realize it! The worst part, in my opinion, was that I was going to have uncontrollable urges to hurt my family until the symptoms wore off..and there was no way of knowing how long that would take. I had a lot of LV, and every single EXP gained just prolonged the time I would feel the symptoms; I didn't know by how much. When I was laid in my bed, surrounded by comforting pillows and blankets, Error was practically begged to use his strings to restrain me, but he eventually gave in, knowing that my condition was serious.

"Is Dusty gonna be okay?" Killer hoped so.

Papyrus sighed. "It will take a while, but he should be fine once this gets out of his system."

"What is it?" Nightmare wasn't sure.

"Torture withdrawal. While under the control of Ink, my brother was forced to torture innocent beings and..enjoy it. Despite the fact that he is not being controlled anymore, he still has to overcome this."

"Why now?" Error inquired.

"I am not sure, but I know that my brother has not been sneaking out to harm others; I have my assumptions, but he needs our support in this situation.."

"How l-long will th-this take?" Cross questioned.

"I have no idea..according to his past experiences, it could take anywhere from a few days to several months; there is no way of knowing."

"What happens if he can't last that long?" Dream was worried.

"He cannot die in this state by the withdrawal or by his own hand. We will have to take care of him, to the point of feeding him, however; he cannot take care of himself while going through this."

"If he gets his hands on someone?" Error asked.

"The timer will reset, and he will be fine for a few days, perhaps a week or two, but this will happen again eventually."

"Can he distinguish friend from foe?" Dream wondered.

"..I do not think so. If he can, I believe that he will do everything in his limited power to keep himself from hurting us, but if we are the only ones present, we would not want to allow him to roam freely; he will hurt us if his temptations are strong enough, and he will not give mercy."

"So we have to wait.." Nightmare assumed.

"Indeed." Papyrus sighed. "Words of encouragement would be helpful, but I would not recommend getting too close..just in case."

So it began. The others were kind in my time of need, making sure that I was comfortable, depite the fact that I had to be tied down to the bed; despite the tightness of Error's strings, they didn't feel uncomfortable, and I couldn't feel physical pain anyway, which meant that I was perfectly fine. For the most part, at least. In terms of comfort, I was the luckiest skeleton alive. In terms of sanity, I was not; I didn't enjoy glaring at my family when they were only trying to help me, but I wasn't in control of my actions. The symptoms persisted for multiple months, to my disappointment, and they didn't seem to be weakening; they were actually getting stronger as time went on..I hoped Error's strings would hold me.

"Open wide, Dusty!" Killer was trying to feed me some soup with Error, and although my mind was willing to eat, my body was not.

"It's your favorite, Dust!" Error tried to convince my body to eat, but I just growled..that soup smelled amazing, though.

A snapping sound was heard.

"What was- agh!" Killer was tackled to the floor by my body, but Error intervened before I could do anything, wrapping me in more strings before my body could forcefully end the withdrawal by hurting Killer.

"Oh, Dust.." Error sighed, forcing me back into my bed and using more strings to restrain me; that was the third time I had broken free of them, and there seemed to be more strings holding me back every time. "Are you all right, Killer?"

"Yeah, just a bit shaken up.." Killer stood, returning to the soup that was on a nearby table, thankfully; after the first two times, they weren't risking spilled food. "Now open up, Dusty!"

My body fought Killer as he tried to maneuver the food into my mouth, but he eventually succeeded, and the bowl was emptied. Many events such as that one occurred during my withdrawal, but I just had to hold on...which I found more difficult to do as my soul changed my thought processes to match my body. With my mind went my mouth, and I found myself saying horrible things to the ones I loved in order to torture them mentally.

"Let me out!" I growled, struggling against my binds. "I hate you! All of you!"

"Brother, please calm down; this is not you." Papyrus tried to stop me from struggling.

"This is me!"

"Brother, the real you is hidden underneath..please come out.."

"You're insufferable! Leave me alone!"

Many days passed. Weeks. Months. Then..

"He's waking up.." Error sighed.

"Who's feedin' 'im this time?" Horror asked.

"I can do it." Paps volunteered.

"Agh.." I groaned slightly from exhaustion; I wanted to sleep. "What time is it..?"

"..Noon?" Killer sounded unsure.

"We have a sandwich for you today, brother." Papyrus said.

"That sounds nice.." I yawned, attempting to move my arms to get up, but finding that I couldn't. "Um..why am I tied up?"

"Precaution.." Error's voice dragged the word out.

"What for?" I was a little bit more awake now, confused as to why I had been restrained in my own room.

"Your..withdrawal?" Papyrus sounded hopeful.

"What withdrawal?"

"..Torture withdrawal?"

"Oh..did I have one of those?"

"Yes..you did, brother..do you not remember it?"

"No..I'm feeling kinda hazy right now..how long did it last?"

"Nine months, brother.."

My eyesockets shot open in surprise. "What?!"

"Are you feeling all right, brother? Do you feel any urges to hurt anyone?"

"No, I don't..I'm sorry if I caused you pain.."

"You did not, brother; you did not hurt anyone."

"Good..thanks, guys."

"No problem, Dusty!" Killer hugged me as the restraints around my wrists vanished, allowing me to hug him back.

I loved my family.

~~~~~

"Initiation"

Classification: angst.

Warnings: violence, Ink.

~~~~~

Swapyrus's (Underswap Papyrus's) point of view (ooh, a first for these- wait was Swapyrus even in any of the chapters or extras before? Uh..welcome to ATE, Swapyrus).

Ink's takeover was unprecedented. Blue had brought up the event regarding one of our copies in a multiversal meeting, and Ink - when everyone still trusted him - was happy to check out the copy with us and a few volunteers. If I had known that our conversation after the meeting was the last time I would be speaking to my brother before we were taken by Ink, I would have said so much more..I would have told him how much I truly loved him, and I would have told him that he was the best brother in the world..it was too bad that I didn't know. Instead, we only had a small conversation..it wasn't even much of that, really.

"I hope the copy will be all right." Blue was concerned about the copy. "My alternate seemed very sad.."

"I'm sure everything will turn out fine." I shrugged. "Could have just been a genocide gone wrong, you know."

"I'm not so sure.."

"We're ready!" Ink called out, taking my brother and I out of conversation.

We walked over to the skeleton we shouldn't have trusted, entering blindly into his portal and coming out into the copy of our AU. Instantly, we were faced with a group of at least fifty soldiers in armor, and they attacked. Within minutes, every individual who had volunteered to check out the copy of the AU had had their magic suppressed and had been locked in a metal cage; Ink had gone unnoticed until he finally spoke up.

"Well done." His voice took on a more sinister tone as he approached the cell with a malevolent grin; this was not the skeleton we knew.

"Ink, what are you doing?!" I glared at him, holding onto my brother protectively.

"Well, I'm afraid that you're all my prisoners now..congratulations. You are among the first soldiers in my newly-formed army..but I must ask you: would anyone like to join freely? I'll make sure you're treated well, no worries."

A chorus of declines and threats were hurled toward the traitorous "Protector"; he simply chuckled.

"All right..Blueberry, why are you afraid?" Somehow, Ink teleported my brother out of my hands, and he was now holding him up by his bandana; Blue whimpered, kicking his legs to escape, to no avail.

"I-Ink, you're not in your right mind!" Blue tried to reason, which resulted in his being thrown to the ground and Ink's stepping on him, crushing his left leg; the scream of my brother paired with my uselessness brought me to tears.

"Blue, I only want to offer you the best; you aren't like the others..you're like me.."

"I-I am not like you.."

"Perhaps not yet..but you were still a Star Sans. I owe it to you to give you a place of honor in my army. Congratulations, Blue; you will be the first of my high ranks..I can't wait until Dream joins us - the gang will be back together again! Until then, however.." Ink glanced to the soldiers. "Hold the blueberry down and bring his brother to me."

"Yes, Sir." The guards did as they were told, and I was forced to my knees in front of a person whom I would have trusted with my life an hour ago; I wasn't so sure now.

"Swapyrus, will you join my army willingly? Join your brother?"

"Absolutely not!" I growled, trying to escape the grip of those who held me.

"Fine, then. Hold still, Swap."

Ink then used his powers to open some sort of..screen? It looked as if he was checking me, but he was interacting with the checkbox? I had no time to ask questions as a searing pain swept my body, sending me into forced convulsions as the soldiers struggled to hold me down. I tried not to scream, but it was simply impossible as every part of my body felt as if it were on fire. My brother's pleads for mercy toward me were only whispers as my sight and hearing vanished; soon, pain was the only thing I could comprehend. Then, in a flash, everything returned to me clearly, and I breathed heavily, despite not needing to; I whimpered and curled up, crying on the ground as I was pushed to the side and the next prisoner was brought out to face my fate. Blue knelt by my side and tried to heal me, but the pain did not subside; it was only going away if it was natural, and natural took time. From that day forth, I was forced to obey Ink's whims and orders as they came, with the alternative being torture..I chose to obey.

I was never going to know if my choice was the right one.

~~~~~

"Death"

Classification: angst.

Warnings: death, torture, suicide, multiple suicides.

~~~~~

Papyrus's point of view.

"Papyrus, I should have known that you would betray Ink!" My brother yelled as as was strapped into our machine.

"We have one hour." I stated.

"That's not enough time!" Classic shouted.

"Not enough time for what?" Ink..Ink?!

"U-um.." I had turned to face Ink as soon as I heard his voice, as had the rest of our group; we were utterly doomed.. "Anniversary present?"

"Right." Ink wasn't convinced. "Papyrus, Outer, Dream, Starstruck..Classic? Interesting tactics, dressing him up in a guard uniform, but he's still a prisoner. Dusty, get over here."

"I'm stuck.." My brother struggled in his restraints in vain.

Ink sighed, walking over and freeing my brother easily; both of them then walked to the front of the room.

"So, explain your plot to overthrow me; I may find it interesting..I might even let you go." Ink ordered.

"I do not believe that would be wise.." I said.

"Quite right. Papyrus, have you forgotten what I use to keep you in line?"

"Y-you use my brother..Sir.." I bowed my skull.

"Indeed. It seems that I'm just going to have to discipline you.." Ink used his magic to form a wall between his and my brother's side of the room and our side of the room; we could not get to him or my brother. "Dusty, kill yourself."

"Yes, Ink." My brother unsheathed a dagger.

"No!" I pounded on the wall between us in an effort to get to my brother, but I was too late; a strike to his soul finished him, and his body fell to the ground. I fell to my knees crying in a similar fashion.

"Aww, that was so sad.." Ink opened a portal under and above my brother's body, and my brother fell through both of them, but he was now living again. "But one death is not enough. Dusty, kill yourself again."

"Yes, Ink." My brother repeated the process as Ink's accursed magic forced me to watch.

And it happened again. And again. And again. Ink ordered my brother to take his life over and over, talking all the while.

"Did you ever wonder how many times he's watched you die?" Ink questioned. "Dusty, kill yourself. Watching your skull being sliced off? Dusty, kill yourself. Maybe he remembers killing you himself more. Dusty, do it again. Do you wonder if he still feels remorse? Dusty, again. No, because he hates you. Dusty, kill yourself again for me. He would probably enjoy killing you now. Dusty, kill yourself."

Hour after hour passed, and I was forced to watch my brother kill himself over five thousand times as a punishment for attempting to overthrow Ink; he was being punished..and he had done nothing.

"All right, Dusty, don't kill yourself anymore." Ink finally called a halt to the cruel treatment.

"All right, Ink!" My brother left his dagger sheathed.

"Let that be a lesson to you, Papyrus; don't try to overthrow me again, or maybe he just won't come back next time. Am I understood?"

"Y-yes, Sir.." I was still sobbing.

"The rest of you will be tortured except for Classic. Dusty, take Classic back to his cell, and remove the armor."

"Yes, Ink!" Dusty seized Classic and began to walk him back to the dungeon; I was forced to take the others down, as well.

I wasn't going to try that again.

~~~~~

"Switch"

Classification: uhh..neither..?

Warnings: confusion.

~~~~~

I had been Ink's toy for twelve and a half years (I believed, anyway, but it was hard to tell without a proper calendar) at this point, and I was..all right. Well, I was as all right as a person who was tortured every day could have been; it wasn't exactly the best life. Actually, I wasn't doing very well..at all. At least, not now. I had made Ink very angry yesterday, and he had broken many of my bones in a frenzy; I didn't expect that today would be much different, but I was planning on not making Ink angry..I was going to be as submissive as I could..Ink liked that. When I woke up, I was shocked. No, it wasn't because I was covered with a blanket. It wasn't because I was warm. It wasn't even because I didn't have my jacket. I was shocked..because I wasn't in pain! Perhaps I had been reset during the night? Had Ink had a nightmare and reset me to use me as a teddy bear? I didn't know. All I knew was that I wasn't in pain, and I was going to savor that feeling! I was just going to stay where I was until Ink came to say good morning; perhaps today would be a good day. I was content with my circumstances, no matter what they might have been, until I heard a groan...my groan. But I wasn't in pain..and I had made no move to do something..that was peculiar.

"What in the-" I heard..my voice? But I hadn't said anything! I opened my eyesockets curiously to find myself..myself?!

I screamed. Yes, it was childish, but Ink had made it clear to me that I was nothing more than such. I screamed again when my scream sounded like Ink, since that wasn't normal. That wasn't normal in the least. I wanted to curl up and cry. So I did.

"Dusty, quit it!" My own voice told me what to do? Oh, that was just great..today was not a good day! "Dusty, get down here, now!"

Ink's commanding tone lingered in my voice, causing me to obey it, not paying attention to the fact that I was now taller than I had ever been in my entire life! I whimpered as I sat down next to what looked to be myself, but I knew that it was likely Ink..somehow. We had probably switched bodies, and I wanted mine back!

"Dusty, do you know what's happening?" Ink..in my body..questioned.

"N-no.." The fact that I had Ink's voice scared me.

"Dusty, stop crying and listen to me!"

It took a minute, but I eventually obeyed, wiping my tears away.

"All right, Dusty." Ink (I thought, anyway) took a breath. "Are you actually in this much pain at a time? Gosh, this hurts!"

"M-mhm.." I nodded shakily.

"All right, then. Give me my paintbrush."

Hesitantly, I did so, and Ink growled when nothing happened as he held the brush.

"Dang it!" He groaned, pushing the brush toward me. "Dusty, it seems that you have my stupid powers; you have to heal me, now.."

"I-I don't know how.." I was shaking; this was too much for me..

Ink sighed, reaching over to grab my hand; he knew that I was freaking out, and I wasn't any good when I was freaking out. Despite the fact that he was a sadistic maniac, he knew how to calm me down; rubbing my skull was his preferred method, and it worked. When I was finally calmed down, Ink began to teach me how to use his paintbrush to heal him; it only took thirty minutes to teach me, and when he was healed enough, he began to think of things to do. One hour later, someone knocked on the door. Well, this was a fairly difficult predicament we had found ourselves in, and we really didn't want anyone else to know..but if we didn't answer, the person on the outside wouldn't be happy..and Ink always answered the door.

"Dusty, drive him off." Ink ordered.

"How?!" I whisper-yelled.

"You've known me for over a decade! Do what I would do!"

"A-all right.."

Without another word, I took a deep breath and answered the door, being met with a high rank.

"What is it?" I tried my best to imitate an annoyed Ink; it was easier said than done, but I seemed to be doing all right, if the nervous expression in the guard's stance meant anything.

"W-well, Sir, you didn't make an announcement this morning..i-is everything all right?" He inquired.

"Everything's just fine; I simply didn't feel like making an announcement this morning. Do you need anything else?"

"N-no, Sir.."

"On your way, then."

"Yes, Sir.."

With that, the door was closed, and I curled up at the foot of it. Ink came over soon enough.

"Well, that was basically what I would say." He shrugged, sitting down next to me. "Good job, Dusty."

"Wh-what do we do?" I was afraid.

"Dusty, get my mobile speakerphone and call my top scientists and doctors here immediately."

"D-do I just say that?"

"No, you say, 'Science and medical departments, levels nine and ten, report to my quarters immediately - no excuses.'"

"A-all right.."

The announcement was sent, in those exact words. Within ten minutes, there were over thirty doctors and scientists grouped together in front of Ink and me, and the door was locked.

"What are we here for, Sir?" A scientist wondered, looking at me, but everyone's gaze soon switched to Ink when he spoke.

"I'm not gonna sugarcoat this or make it longer than it has to be." Ink used my voice in such a comanding way..I didn't even know my voice could sound like that! "Someone has switched Dusty's and my bodies, and I, for one, do not like being three feet tall! Your job is to switch us back, as soon as possible. Is this understood?"

"Y-yes, Sir." The doctors and scientists knew better than to question it.

"Now get to work."

"Yes, Sir." The group left immediately, and Ink and I were alone in his room.

"What..do we do now?" I asked.

"Now, Dusty, we do fun things." Ink's giggling sounded weird when it was my voice. "Such as..oh, Ink, you're so amazing; how could I ever match up to you?"

"It doesn't count when you're controlling my body.." I deadpanned.

"You're right, but hearing 'you' say the words is good enough for me!"

"If we're only judging by that, then.." I smirked. "Attention all subjects, the empire is officially over; you can all go home and live in peace while I go die in a hole."

"That's harsh."

"Perhaps in your point of view."

So it basically continued like that. The scientists and doctors only took a day to switch us back, and all was normal again. It was fun hearing Ink's voice say that he entirely supported the resistance and hoped they would win against his evil rule, though.

It was nice while it lasted.

~~~~~

"Arena"

Classification: angst.

Warnings: death, violence, Ink.

~~~~~

Ink had an arena. Ink also sometimes found himself bored. When the dictator was bored, everyone was on high alert; deaths weren't uncommon, since forced resets existed. Today, Ink was bored, and he had taken the liberty of scheduling an event in his arena this afternoon; I was dreading it. Prisoners who were being tortured for crimes were often used as competitors in the arena, forced to battle eachother to the death; the winner could choose to have his torture ended early, or he could choose for any individual in his AU to be spared for one offense. The loser was force reset and had his torture period extended by one month. Needless to say, any prisoners who were chosen took their battle completely seriously, and from an entertainment standpoint, it was very exciting. From my standpoint, I was entirely paranoid, since Ink sometimes chose to make me a competitor. If I won, I could go the rest of the day torture-free, and if I lost, life went on as usual. Depending on whom I was fighting, I either tried to win or lost intentionally; I didn't always have the choice, however. When Ink was ready this afternoon, he began to lead me through the halls to his arena, where I could only speculate my fate.

The arena itself was rather large, but it wasn't too large. The walls were made of smooth gray concrete - it hurt when someone was slammed into it, while also being impossible to climb - and the floor was a layer of light dirt - it was light enough to be used as a weapon if one's opponent had eyes, or it could be used to distract an opponent as one ran away, leaving behind a dense cloud of dust - lying above a concrete floor. In the center of the round arena was a similarly circular wooden platform, standing about a foot above the rest of the arena; it was a good vantage point, and it offered the choice to jump onto an opponent from a height..unless one was my height, in which case, it only allowed me to be slightly taller. When the twenty-foot tall walls were topped, one could see seats for spectators, but one in particular stood out: a golden chair meant for the dictator himself, and, to the left, there lay a conveniently elevated seat with a pillow, which was meant for me..Ink insisted that I got a good view of battles, despite the fact that I would have rather been anywhere else. Inside of the concrete walls were four gates made of iron bars, and behind each was a room backed by an entirely metal door, which led to a back room; the competitors were forced through the metal door to await the opening of the barred door, to either face one, two, three, or more opponents, depending on Ink's mood. It was usually a one-on-one encounter, however.

"This will be fun, Dusty." Ink chuckled, taking his seat while forcing me into mine.

As the crowds came, I watched the arena's being prepared for battle; weapons were rarely permitted in the arena - Ink didn't want blood everywhere - but they were sometimes given..not this time. Competitors were allowed the use of their magic; however, it was severely weakened and restricted to the arena boundaries. I watched the first competitors as they were forced into their small waiting rooms, and I dreaded the moment when the gates would lift, beginning a confrontation. Ink's seat was practically overlooking the wall, which meant that our only blind spot was directly below us; there wasn't even any protection..anyone who fell into the arena was deemed a competitor, whether it was an accident or a cruel act by a fellow guard. When the seats were filled, Ink declared the battle's start, and the gates were lifted. Two competitors battled for their lives. An Undyne won against a Papyrus. Next, a Sans defeated an Asgore. Then a Flowey impaled a Temmie. A Toriel killed a young child. The fighting continued for hours, and I cried at the sight of it. After five hours of vicious battling and killing, Ink grew bored. A contestant was forced into the arena alone, and that could only mean one thing.

I sincerely tried to dodge Ink's abrupt push, but it just wasn't meant to be; I fell. A twenty-foot drop was no easy thing to survive; I knew that well. I landed on my feet, which, as I soon realized, was a big mistake; I screamed in pain as my legs snapped, hitting the ground violently. Unfortunately, I had found myself in this position more than once - most people who fell did - and I had knowledge fighting without the use of my legs. I soon looked up to my opponent, who seemed more afraid than most; a young Papyrus did not deserve to be here. Just by looking at the child, I knew that he had likely either been caught stealing for survival, or he had been framed; there was no way in the entire multiverse that I was going to kill him. So I didn't make a move; I simply lay on the ground, deciding to whimper in pain rather than fight. Ink had often put me up against versions of Papyrus, since he knew how much I loved my brother; most of the time, I just let them kill me, unless it was a version of Papyrus that was from an AU that forced him to be evil, in which cases, I had no problem fighting for my survival. Ink soon realized that I wasn't going to fight my opponent, and the young child on the other side of the arena was much too afraid to fight me.

"Fight!" Ink ordered.

Neither of us moved. Ink groaned.

"Come on!" He yelled. "One of you kill eachother!"

We didn't.

"Ugh!" Ink huffed. "First guard to jump down and kill them both gets a whole week of free time!"

Needless to say, someone took that offer. Actually, several guards took that offer; they were mostly high ranks. Unfortunately, most of them neglected to recall the fact that they were jumping down twenty feet; several cracks were heard from newly-broken legs. The first to realize that created a blaster and used it to safely hover down before stabbing both of us with sharpened bones; I found myself back in Ink's room an hour later, and Ink was preparing for bed.

I didn't like the arena.

~~~~~

"Stolen"

Classification: more on the angst side..but it's enjoyable.

Warnings: sad Dusty, angry Dusty, threats.

~~~~~

I loved my Hope. When nobody else was around, my Hope was there to keep me happy. I liked to play with it, talk to it about my problems, and take care of it - taking care of a doll was important. My Hope reminded me of..me. Ink regarded me as a toy, while my Hope was one; I wanted to prove that I wasn't like him. Ink abused me and sometimes neglected my health; I didn't hurt or neglect my Hope. I liked to think that my Hope was alive, and that it was happy, knowing that, despite the fact that I was treated horribly, I didn't mistreat my Hope. Everyone always said that Error's dolls truly seemed as if they were alive sometimes; if they were, I wanted my Hope to be happy, and I did everything in my power to ensure that that was the case. I sometimes held my Hope tightly when I was afraid, but I didn't think that I hurt it too much..I hoped I didn't; I always apologized if I might have done something to wrong my Hope, just in case. Today, I woke up..without the presence of a small doll. That wasn't uncommon; I sometimes dropped it in my sleep, or Ink might have wanted to play a game with it. I opened my eyesockets nonetheless, looking for my Hope as Ink spoke to me.

"Good morning, Dusty!" He greeted.

"Good morning." I replied, looking to him expectantly after finding no traces of my Hope; he must have hidden it somewhere for a game.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Yep."

"That's good to hear! I'm afraid that I have a lot of work to do today, Dusty; I won't be able to have you around as much, but you should be fine. With that said, I have to go! Bye, Dusty!"

"W-wait!" I called out to Ink before he could leave the room.

"Yes, Dusty? What is it?"

"What about my doll?"

"..." Ink gave me a confused expression. "What about it?"

"D-didn't you hide it?" I hoped he was just joking..

"Uh..no?"

"B-but wh-where is it?!" I was tearing up..my Hope was lost!

"..Aw, shoot." Ink sighed, walking back over to me. "Dusty, where did you last see it?"

"U-um..l-last night?"

"Did you have it when you went to sleep?"

"Y-yes!"

"Hm.." Ink sighed. "How about I take you with me to work today, and maybe your doll will be here when we get back?"

"R-really?"

"Absolutely." Ink rubbed my skull comfortingly. "Come, Dusty!"

"O-okay!"

I wiped my tears as I followed Ink out the door; if he said that my Hope would be there when we got back, it would be! Ink was a lot of things, but he was not a liar! At least..I didn't think he was..I hoped he wasn't. Our first stop of the day was the announcement room, which gave me great hope that my Hope would be found! I waited patiently as Ink spoke to the Head of Announcements.

"Another announcement so soon, Sir?" He was a bit confused.

"I'm afraid so; it won't take long." Ink assured.

"Do you want to make some recordings, or is it something more simple?"

"Simple."

"All right. Well, I'll leave you to it then, Sir; if anything goes wrong, I'll be ready."

"Good."

Ink brought a small microphone up to his mouth and began to speak; I hoped someone knew where my Hope was.

"Attention all guards." He started. "Dusty's doll seems to have disappeared overnight. If anyone knows where it is, kindly give it back. Failure to do so will result in being severely beaten about the skull and scapula..and everywhere else. Anyone caught harboring the doll in question without the intent to give it back will be sentenced to a month of torture on the dungeon - rank doesn't matter. If the doll is not returned, or, at the very least, found by the end of the day, the consequences for the one who took it will be worsened. If the doll is returned today, the one who returns it will be granted one pardon from any offense or a day off from work; this offer only lasts for today, however; tomorrow, there may be a different reward, but this is the best you'll get. With that said, have a nice day, and find the stupid doll before Dusty drives me insane."

With the announcement done, I was sure that my Hope would be found soon; it had to be, with the entire army looking for it! As for the day ahead of us, Ink was starting with an interrogation. I wasn't very fond of interrogations, since Ink often hurt the prisoners in order to convince them to tell him what he wanted to know, but an interrogation was better than thinking about my lost Hope; I could handle watching Ink hurt someone. I didn't show much emotion when Ink led me into his personal interrogation room, nor did I speak when the prisoner said my name concernedly; he must have been a resistance soldier if he knew who I was. Ink sat down in his chair and set me on the floor, where I decided to listen to the conversation above; I couldn't just play with my Hope, since my Hope wasn't here!

"Good morning." Ink greeted.

"What's so good about it?" The prisoner wasn't in a good mood.

"Not much, all things considered. So, you're a resistance soldier, correct?"

"Shouldn't you know that by now?"

"Perhaps, perhaps not. I-" Ink paused when I grabbed his hand. "Dusty, what are you doing?"

"I'm scared." I replied sadly, not releasing Ink's hand.

"Do I look like I care?"

Ink glared at me when I nodded; everyone should have cared about my Hope, since it was the best doll in the world!

"I don't." Ink growled, making me tear up. "Now let go of my hand before I break yours off!"

Well, I had to make Ink realize that my Hope was an important part of my existence, and I wasn't below anything to force him to accept it. So, after forming a small glare of my own, I tightened my grip on his hand and forced him to look at me.

"You'd better care if you expect me to come running every time you have a bad dream." I threatened.

All was silent. I didn't release Ink's hand, nor did I soften my gaze. Ink simply stared at me; anyone watching would have seen a simple glare, but I had known Ink for long enough to see the beginnings of fear in his eyelights..he knew that I was serious. Neither of us moved for five minutes, until Ink looked to the ground for a moment, clearing his nonexistent throat with a cough and sitting up to look back at the prisoner, who was terribly confused. Ink pressed a button on the table that made a buzzing sound, and a guard walked into the room, awaiting Ink's orders.

"Yes, Sir?" The guard inquired. "Is everything all right?"

"Kill him." Ink's voice was nearly devoid of emotion, while the prisoner jumped slightly at the order.

"E-excuse me, Sir?" The guard wanted to be sure that he was hearing Ink right.

"He can offer us nothing..kill him..and cancel my appointments for the day."

"Y-yes, Sir.."

The guard was uncertain of the situation, but he did as he was told nonetheless; the prisoner was soon removed from the room, and Ink turned his full attention to me.

"..You should know better than to threaten me in front of a prisoner, Dusty.." Ink said, slowly.

"I want my doll." I stated, still holding on to Ink's hand.

"..Do you not care that your actions have led to someone's death?"

"Just because I said something that caused you to want him to die does not make me accountable; I want my doll."

"Dusty, do not argue with me."

"I'm not arguing; I just want my doll."

"Shut up about your stupid doll!"

"It's not stupid. Now we are arguing. I want my doll."

Ink growled at me, sounding quite like an animal. "If I hear the word 'doll' one more time, I am going to burn it when it is found!"

"No, you won't."

Ink was visibly angered even more when I said that. "And just how do you figure that?!"

"If you burn it, you'll have to kill me."

"Why?"

"Because I'll annoy you until you bring my doll back. I'll never leave you alone. I'll make sure that you never sleep again in your miserable life. I'll ensure that your empire falls within the year. And I will find out if an immortal can heal after being turned to dust."

"..." Ink was shaking; I didn't know people other than myself did that.

"I want my doll."

"D-Dusty, we're gonna make sure your doll is found and returned to you safely!" Ink finally realized what I was trying to convey; I was glad that I wouldn't have to carry out my threats.

"Yay!" I smiled happily.

Ink spent a lot of time searching for my Hope with me, since he knew how much it meant to me; he was being really nice to me between torture sessions, too! Of course, torture sessions weren't the same without my Hope there to comfort me, but the memories of it combined with thoughts about my brother helped me endure. I was very sad when a whole month had passed without any sign of my Hope; the reward for someone's finding my Hope was only a piece of cake now! If I didn't know anything about my Hope, I wouldn't have searched the entire compound for it!

"I could have Error make another one, you know." Ink suggested, one day.

"It wouldn't be the same.." I frowned.

"What if he makes a doll of someone else? Nightmare might be a good one, or Cross..Horror? Heck, I can have him make one of himself!"

"I don't want to disturb him."

Ink looked at me as if I were crazy; I probably was. "He-he's isolated! He has nothing better to do!"

Someone knocked on the door.

"Ugh..who is it?" Ink called out.

"High rank forty-one, Sir." The guard outside the door responded. "I have something that I think might interest you."

"..Come in."

The guard walked in, carrying a cardboard box; I recognized him as one of the guards that would often torture me - a mean guard. Ink went over to speak to him, leaving me alone on his bed; I decided to lie down and wait for him to come back. I heard a bit of commotion from their conversation, and there was a bit of yelling, but I didn't pay attention to them. After I had waited for ten minutes, the guard left the room, and Ink came over to me with the cardboard box; I couldn't deny the fact that I was curious as to what was inside it..

"So..it turns out that he did a not-so-very-nice thing." Ink opened the box, revealing- my Hope! I grabbed it happily, hugging it tightly and mentally comforting it. "He, uh, stole it..and ransomed it. But everything's okay now..don't ask what I gave him."

"Okay!" I hugged my Hope with renewed strength. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome, Dusty."

I was happy as long as I had my Hope.

~~~~~

"Childlike"

Sequel to "Brother" (the one in which Dusty hangs with Ink for a year in his cell before going with Paps finally)

Classification: fluff and angst.

Warnings: violence.

~~~~~

I had been staying with my brother for nine years now, and everything was going well! I didn't know why I had spent another year with Ink; being with my brother was so much more fun! Also, my brother needed me, and it was my duty to make sure that he knew that he was wanted; he sometimes forgot that, but I was always there to show him the right path. Today was the ten-year anniversary of Ink's overthrow, and a lot of people were going to come! I was excited to accompany my brother to the party, although, right now, we were just waiting for people to arrive; we had arrived early to help with the final preparations, but now that they were done, we were just waiting.

"Do you think a lot of people will come?" I inquired, sitting on Papyrus's lap.

"I believe so." He nodded, hugging me; I hugged him back!

"Paps?"

"Yes, brother?"

"Why do we celebrate the fall of the empire?"

"Well.." Paps sighed. "Ink hurt a lot of people when he ruled..you are included in that number, if you remember correctly."

"..I don't.."

I hadn't been able to recollect much of anything from before I accepted Ink as my master..it was difficult to remember why I had even disliked him in the first place! I didn't dislike him anymore..I just didn't understand. It felt as if my very soul was trying to hide those memories from me..and I didn't want to question my soul's judgment. People told me that Ink treated me horribly; I decided to just believe them and leave it at that. About an hour after our small conversation, many people had arrived - I wondered how many there were! - at the party, and a lot of them stopped to talk to Paps about all the awesome stuff he did!

"So, you were the head resistance leader?" One Asgore could hardly believe it, but it was true!

Paps chuckled softly. "Ah, those days are over; now I just want to spend time with my brother."

"I know the feeling. Were you in the Royal Guard, by any chance?"

"No, not when it mattered; we started out as an Undertale copy, actually - small changes to time can mean big differences to people."

"I see. Well, I won't hold you up; have a nice day."

"The same to you." Papyrus smiled as the Asgore walked away, turning his gaze to me, who was sitting on his shoulders. "Are you enjoying the view up there?"

"Yeah!" I giggled, looking around; Paps was so tall! "You're the best, bro!"

"I am the Great Papyrus!" Paps grinned. "And you are my great brother."

"I..I don't think I'm very great.." I frowned slightly. "I don't do cool things like you.."

"Actions speak louder than words, brother, and your actions convince me of your greatness."

"Uh..what actions?" I didn't recall doing anything like that..

"You keep those around you happy; that is a trait that very few have."

"..But that's just my purpose..that doesn't make me great.."

"Brother, your purpose can be whatever you want it to be; I will find you great no matter what."

"..Thanks, Paps."

"Of course, brother."

"Hey!" A happy greeting was heard as Fell approached us; it was weird having to look down to see him, since he was taller than I was by a lot!

"Hi, Fell!" I waved, almost losing my balance, but Papyrus caught me; he's the best!

"Hey, kiddo, how's it going?"

"I'm okay! How are you?"

"Just fine! This is some party, eh?"

"We helped set it up! I even blew up a few balloons, but it was really hard, but I did it!"

"That's awesome! Pop any of 'em?"

"No..why would I pop a balloon I just blew up? That doesn't make sense.."

"I popped one by blowing too much air once."

"You can do that?"

"Yeah, but there has to be a lot of air!"

"Wowie!"

"Wanna go play some games with me? I hear they have a dartboard with a certain someone's face on it."

"No thanks, I want to stay with Papyrus; maybe we'll see you later?"

"Maybe. Have fun, kid."

"You know, you do not have to stick by me at all times, brother.." Papyrus mentioned.

"I want to; we missed so much time together, and I wanna make it up!" I reasoned.

"Well, all right.."

"Papyrus, can we talk?" Error had quickly approached us, and he had a desperate look on his face; I wondered what was wrong..

"Of course; what is the matter?" Papyrus was instantly ready for whatever could come his way; he was so awesome!

"Well..come here.."

Error grabbed my brother's hand, leading him to an empty room with only a few chairs and a couch, before sitting down in one of the chairs.

"First thing's first; how is Dust doing?" Error asked.

"He is fine..why do you ask?" Paps was confused.

"Has he shown any signs of regaining his old..personality? Any idea of how to bring the others back?"

"..No..I believe that Ink damaged that part of him far too much to bring it back..his intelligence is comparable only to that of a child; why are you asking this?"

"Well, second thing..Ink..w-well, he.."

"Error, what did he do?"

"They were understaffed! One shift saw him, and the next didn't!"

"Y-you mean he.."

Error nodded meekly as Papyrus's expression sharpened into a more serious tone; he took me off his shoulders and gave me to Error.

"Get him in the crowd and do not let go of him under any circumstances; Ink has sworn to kill him on sight, and I do not doubt that he intends to do just that." Papyrus ordered.

"Right.." Error held me tightly; I was confused.

"Wh-where are you going?" I quietly questioned, as my brother started for the nearest exit.

"I am going to protect you." Paps looked to Error once more. "Error, under no circumstances will I send anyone to care for my brother in my absence, and I will not try to reclaim him myself until Ink is returned to his prison. I don't care if the multiverse begins to collapse at the seams; do not let go of my brother."

"Got it." Error saluted, increasing his grip on me.

"Good."

My brother left the room, and I sat next to Error quietly as he held my hand tightly; I wondered why he wasn't glitching. Error had always glitched, to my knowledge, and I didn't believe that he could just stop..I decided to ask.

"Error?" I looked to him after about thirty seconds of being alone.

"What?" He responded.

"Where are your glitches?"

"..." Error's smile turned into a sharp grin. "Very observant."

"E-Error?" I was frightened of my uncle's newfound behavior..I didn't like it! I wanted my brother!

"No, not Error." His voice..it changed..this was not my uncle! "Someone..just as close.."

I tried to back away from the one who was not Error, only resulting in my being drawn closer..he was strong! It had only been less than a minute since my brother had left! Maybe he would hear me if I screamed loud enough! I took a few deep breaths to calm myself before trying to call for help.

"Pap-" I was cut off by a swift hand covering my mouth.

I could only hope that my cries had been heard in the split second I had been granted to try; I somehow doubted it. I had no room to do anything but struggle and cry as I watched the yellows, reds, and blacks vanish from my captor's bones, revealing white; he had been doused in paint. I worried for my uncle's well-being for a moment before being roughly thrown onto the ground, bearing witness to someone I had thought I would never see again: Ink. I took my chance to scream on the floor before he could stop me, and this call for help yielded results; the door to the room was kicked open, revealing a host of former guards, the real Error, and my brother..he hadn't left me! My small internal celebration was cut short, however, as Ink stepped on my cervical vertebrae, commonly known as my neck. Now, I wasn't able to feel pain, but I was entirely able to feel fear, and I was feeling it very much right now! If Ink stepped down hard enough, he would kill me! I felt myself shaking as my brother and uncle stood frozen in the doorway; it was a silent threat that Ink would kill me if they came too close. The only other option was bargaining..I hated that word.

"Look, Ink, we won't hurt you if you just tell us what you want.." Error was the first to attempt a compromise.

Ink scoffed. "Are you serious? All I want is to kill this little twit; betrayal comes at a price. As for further negoatiations, I am immortal; I can wait until I'm entirely forgotten and come back in about three thousand years to wreak havoc again. You can't stop me; all I want is to erase this pitiful being from his meaningless existence."

"Ink, please do not hurt my brother!" Papyrus pleaded.

"You act like such a baby; maybe you're just as much of a twit as your brother is..I suppose that runs in the family, doesn't it?"

"You act as if you are superior to all, yet you miss the way in which you are lower than all of us."

Ink rolled his eyelights. "Don't give me your useless, 'There's no way I can stop him with actions, so I might as well talk,' idiocy. I am going to take much pleasure in killing you, Papyrus; your stupidity is only matched by your uselessness, and, I assure you, you are useless."

Ink..insulted my brother? It was one thing to dislike my brother, but insulting him?! That was just..ridiculous! Ink needed to be taught a lesson in manners, and I was going to teach it to him!

"You shouldn't say that." I pointed out.

Ink's glare shifted down to see me, and he growled fiercely upon hearing my voice. "Excuse me?"

"My brother isn't stupid or useless; saying things like that is very mean, and you shouldn't do that."

"And why should I care?"

"Because being nice is for everyone, not just nice people; being mean all the time makes people not like you."

"Oh, Dusty..you always were an idiot. I'll miss you - I think I really will."

"Oh, no, you don't!" Error exclaimed, grabbing Ink from behind and placing him under the influence of a magic suppressor.

"Wh-what?!" Ink was confused as to why he was no longer threatening my life.

"You get very invested in conversation; I suppose that's your weakness."

Ink screamed in rage, but nobody paid attention to him; nobody had to. I hugged my brother tightly when he picked me up, and I was glad to be back in his arms; I didn't want to ever leave them again! The rest of the celebration was better without Ink's presence, since he wasn't trying to kill anyone in his cage; he was the only one in his cage! I actually liked the games at the party, although I wasn't very good at the darts game; I kept hitting the ground in front of me, but everyone said that throwing a dart forward and having it plummet to the ground took a lot of skill, which meant that I was obviously doing something right! The thing I liked the most, however, was being with my brother. I didn't think that words could describe how much I loved him, and everything was only made better when I knew that he felt the same way; we were brothers forever, and nothing was ever going to change that. I would make sure of it.

I would never leave him.

~~~~~

"Rain"

Classification: fluff.

Warnings: none.

~~~~~

I liked the surface. Ink's coumpound was located in Undertale, and it was so large that it was actually bigger than the mountain! The main entrance might have been inside the mountain, but most of the compound was completely on the outside! Ink might or might not have killed every human on the surface except for those Ink was sure wouldn't find our home; any of them that did either had to run for their lives or were captured, and Ink loved to torture humans. A lot of the guards enjoyed the surface, too; they didn't get often breaks unless they were high ranks, but most guards at least made it outside once a day to look at the sun, or they tried to get a glimpse at the moon. As for me, Ink allowed me to watch the sunset every day, but I really preferred to watch the moon's rising; it reminded me of my old family. It was a good thing that I could do both of them at the same time! Well, actually, I didn't watch the skies every day; it sometimes rained. Most of the guards disliked rain, but I absolutely loved rain! It might have blocked out the sun, moon, and stars, but I couldn't help enjoying it! Today was a rainy day, and I was working up the courage to ask Ink if we could go outside to play..well, I had actually already gotten the courage, but Ink wasn't present yet; I was waiting for him.

"Oh, Dusty!" Ink shouted, entering his room with a smile. "How's your day been?"

"I've been fine; have you?" I walked over to my master quickly, resulting in his rubbing my skull softly.

"I've been great! I finished all my work, and there's nothing left to do but to play with you!"

"Wowie!" I giggled.

"So, what shall we play?"

"Um..can we go outside and play in the rain?"

"Hm..I don't see why not; let me get some appropriate clothing, though, since we don't want you getting wet."

"Okay!" I grinned happily, sitting on the floor while Ink went to his dresser.

Ink liked to play in the rain, too, but he was less..ecstatic about it; he had to keep a serious outlook, since he was a dictator, but I had no such restrictions, which gave me the freedom to laugh and smile. Of course, Ink did laugh and smile, but only when he was sure that we were alone or around those he trusted. Ink laughed and smiled in..different ways when he was around others. Soon enough, Ink had gotten two raincoats and a couple pairs of boots for us to use in our play, and he began to put his on first. His raincoat was all the colors of the pastel rainbow, and he had brown boots, while my raincoat was blue; my boots were black! When Ink had put on his rain attire, he looked to me.

"Take off your shoes, Dusty." Ink ordered, resulting in my doing the action. "Good."

He wasted no time in putting my boots and coat on, and soon enough, we were ready to go outside. On the way, Ink told me that he believed that this was a thunderstorm that we were about to play in, but that was fine, since we didn't have to worry about safety; Ink had been immortal in the first place, and if I died, he could just bring me back to life. We received a few confused looks from guards, but not many; most of them knew that we played outside a lot, and it didn't matter if it was raining or not. When we reached the great outdoors, we were met by a large rumble of thunder; this was going to be awesome! I giggled as I hopped into a puddle, spinning around while Ink chuckled, looking around for any unwanted spectators. When he found none, he jumped into the large puddle with me, laughing as the rain came pouring down around us. Yes, this was real fun: jumping in puddles during a vicious thunderstorm. I decided to move to a puddle farther from the compound, and Ink followed behind me; we found a huge puddle- no, it was more of a lake of water amassing in a ditch, and we were definitely going to play in it! Ink made our play even more fun by creating a small boat in the "lake" and putting me inside it!

"Row, row, row your boat, Dusty!" Ink placed a paddle in my hands, laughing as he did it.

"Right!" I began to row the small boat, but I wasn't very good at it; I just made it spin in circles - that was probably more fun! "Wee!"

"Or spin, that's fine, too!" Ink laughed at the sight.

Well, it was fine, until the boat tipped over. In hindsight, we probably shouldn't have picked a ditch that was four feet deep, but Ink managed to pull me out, depite the fact that the raincoat and boots were weighing down on me. We laughed and played for about an hour after that, until the rain ceased; we were a bit sad that it stopped so soon, but we also wanted to go inside - it was cold now. We went back to Ink's room after taking off our rain clothes and washing them, and Ink immediately climbed under his blankets, inviting me along; there was no way I was going to decline the offer, since Ink's room was always cold, and I didn't want to become ill. Unfortunately, that turned out to be exactly what happened..we probably should have stopped playing when I fell into the "lake." Ink took care of me, though; he always knew how to take care of me, whether I was ill or if I was sad. I was happy in Ink's care, and he never made me feel as if I were doing anything wrong. I enjoyed that feeling, and it gave me the impression that I was wanted..I wouldn't leave Ink, and I knew that he would never leave me.

I liked it that way.

~~~~~

The end.

Hehe, nah, we need more bloopers because yes.

~~~~~

"Woah, woah, woah, you mean you have a spa?!" A random low rank is amazed.

"Well, yeah, but it's self-serve." A high rank nods.

"But..how do you give yourself a massage?!"

"Well, there are robots that do it."

"Aren't you afraid they'll kill you?"

"We have..resets. We're the flipping immortal army but better."

"Have you ever died during a massage?"

"..."

The low rank runs away screaming.

~~~

"So are we going to be in this group of shorts?" Dusty's human child, Cross, Chara, and Horror look at the script curiously.

"Um.." The author writes a few things down. "Yep! Totally! See, Cross and Horror get to talk right here!"

"So what about us?" The human and former human glare at the author.

"Uh.."

The humans were yeeted into the trash can.

~~~

Ink and Dusty: playing in a thunderstorm.

Dream: hyperventilating in a closet somewhere.

Nightmare: facepalming in the afterlife.

~~~

Dusty: loses doll.

Ink: confused screaming.

~~~

"Dusty, I need you to perform a ritual to summon magical chocolate." Ink says.

"Yes, Ink, I can do that." Dusty begins the ritual.

"So why can't you do it?" Papyrus questions.

"I'm immortal, not stupid!" Ink scoffs.

~~~

"Do you offer maternity leave?" A judge inquires.

"You're a skeleton!" Ink points out. "A freaking skeleton! You don't need maternity leave!"

"What about income tax? Do you offer reductions?"

"I don't pay my soldiers!"

"What kind of benefits areyou even offering? Do you at least offer vacations?"

"Well, yes, but.."

"Yeah, I don't want your job; I can just get a job as an accountant."

"A what?! I'm taking over the multiverse!"

"Well, yeah, but you don't seem like the type to invest in a bank."

"..." Ink pulls out a revolver.

"Maybe you're a Communist."

"Shut up!" Ink shoots the judge.

"Accountants can survive these types of things, you know."

"I don't care!"

Ink continues to shoot the accountant.

~~~

"Wow, the leader of the resistance!" A random monster squeals.

"Um..there are other leaders, you know." Papyrus gestures to Classic, Outer, Dream, and Fell.

"Can I have your autograph?!"

"How about asking for their autographs?" He gestures again.

"Who are they?"

"..."

~~~

"I want my brother!" Dusty exclaims.

"No, join me!" Ink yells.

"Never!"

"I have cookies!"

"Ink, you're a wonderful being!"

Dusty munches his cookies happily.

~~~

"Dusty, I need you to open this jar!" Ink states.

"Yes, Ink!" Dusty does so.

"Dusty, I need you to do all of my work!"

"Yes, Ink!" Dusty does so.

"Dusty, I need you to talk to your brother!"

"Yes, Ink!" Dusty does so.

"Wait, you were supposed to say no!"

"But he owes me two G."

"Oh..okay."

~~~

"Hey, Ink, since you have a toy and I have a toy, can Papy also have a toy?" Dusty wonders.

"Oh, no, it's toyception!" Ink shakes his skull furiously.

"Okay..can he have a pet chicken?"

"Sure, whatever."

"Yay!"

~~~

And that ends it!

Honestly, I'll probably make another, but not for..a while? Hopefully? I dunno. Requests are still open, if anybody's interested! With that said, I hope you guys enjoyed this! Honestly, I think the first batch was better, but there are good ones and bad ones, in my opinion.

And for those of you who know of or use Ao3 or are reading this there, me_paina has created an awesome story using ATE Dusty, and I'd highly recommend that you check it out! There are only a few chapters right now, but I'm already hooked xD

And I'm still taking a break from the multiverse shorts; this extra doesn't change that, unfortunately.

I hope you enjoyed reading this, because I enjoyed making it!

Now I just have to do that crazy proofreading stuff and blah blah blah..

Word count before: 41,767 words.

Word count after: 42,017 words.

~~~extras end woot~~~

Thanks for reading my extra extra writing!

Bye!