ATE - Extras 4

Heyyyy!


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Happi



Sad



Ink's canon formal (not casual) outfit


Comments truly brighten my day, and requests are always welcome!


Please enjoy!


~~~~~


"Reset"


Requested (and labelled) by TYRANN0S!


Classification: mostly angst.


Warnings: Dust Angst, karma for Ink.


Canonicity: Alternate timeline.


~~~~~


Ink was punishing me. I had inadvertantly knocked over a paint can while playing with my Hope, and Ink didn't take kindly to things such as that..he had decided to pay me back by forcing me to drink the paint off the floor..I wished there was a law against cruel and unusual punishment, but there wasn't, and I had to live with that. I was halfway done with the task when Ink decided that it bored him, and he stopped me by hitting me with his brush. I was flung against a wall, and Ink smirked, preparing to beat me more; I whimpered, backing away from him slowly.


"Run all you want, Dusty..I'll get you." He chuckled, raising his brush to begin to deal blows.


I didn't enjoy beatings; they made me cry, and I didn't like being harmed. Unfortunately for me, Ink loved to harm me..it was all just a game to him. Hit by hit, he punished me, until I could barely stay awake, at which point, he grew tired tired of beating me. He frowned, sitting down on the floor next to me, and rubbed my skull passively.


"Dusty, I don't know what's wrong with me..I just can't get my satisfaction.." He sighed. "I'm going to send you away for a while until I get back to normal, okay?"


Sending me away wasn't something Ink did often..but I didn't like it when he did do it. He would lock me in my room in Dusttale, and I would essentially be isolated..maybe that was what he wanted. In any case, I nodded, and Ink stabbed me through my soul, sending me through a portal..but I didn't see anything. This was..odd. Usually, when I was reset, I would wake up in my bedroom within a few seconds..but I couldn't see..anything. I certainly felt something, though..my soul felt..bad. It hurt..a lot. After what felt like - must have been - an hour, I finally woke up in my room, and I sat up, rubbing my eyesockets; I didn't usually feel this tired..maybe I had just been sleeping all that time. I yawned, standing up and-


Why was the floor so far away from me?


"What in the.." I muttered to myself, looking down at the ground confusedly; was I on stilts?


I..I was not that tall! I was three feet tall..why did I feel four? I looked around for something to test my height with, finding a window..which I..wasn't able to see out of..before..because I was too short. I looked down at the ground again, but my eyelights hit my jacket.


My jacket which was not covered in dust?!


I whimpered at the thought of not being covered in dust..my protection..what had happened to me?! I scrambled in my room, trying to find a mirror - something reflective! - and I found..a trombone. My reflection looked like..Classic. I was back to my old self..back when I was just Sans..I had to work very hard not to hyperventilate at the thought. I put down the instrument, before deciding to try something that would definitely answer all of my questions. I teleported across the room. I teleported?! I wasn't able to teleport! But..I did..and it had worked. Somehow..I was my old self again. And that meant..I had my magic. I heard footsteps from outside my room, and someone knocked on the door loudly.


"Brother, it is time to wake up!" I knew that voice. "I will not allow you to sleep in again!"


"P-Papyrus?!" I stuttered.


"Who else would it be, Sans?"


"Oh.." I realized that he didn't remember..he didn't remember anything.. "Paps..would you come in, please?"


"I suppose, brother."


The door was opened, and the one who was apparently my brother entered..but that wasn't my brother. The happy smile, the bright eyelights..that wasn't my brother. Not anymore. I needed my brother back; if I had to get rid of this impostor to get him..so be it. He wasn't on guard, which meant that I could get rid of him with only one hit; he trusted me too much. Before I knew it, I was once again covered in dust, and a floating ghost's skull materialized in front of me.


"Brother.." Papyrus - my Papyrus - had a sad look in his eyelights. That was my brother.


"Hey, Paps.." I smiled sadly.


"What..happened?"


"I don't know, but I know what has to happen now..will you help me?"


"Of course, brother...is it just me, or are you taller?"


"I'm taller..this reset was different..don't ask me how, but I have my magic back."


"Shall we kill some monsters for the greater good, brother?"


"Yeah..it's time to show the dictator just how much we care."


Dusttale was dusty; that was a well-known fact. As the monster dust blew in the wind, I chuckled at how easy it had been to revert to my old mentality of killing..I hated determination. But it was necessary this time. It had been one week since I had been sent here for my master to take some time to himself, and I had spent the time training; I knew how to counter his attacks, and I knew his weak spots. When the black portal opened in the center of Snowdin, I looked down from my spot on top of my house, watching the dictator as he looked around, confused. A blaster's beam was enough to alert him to my presence, but that was fine; I preferred hand-to-hand combat anyway.


"Dusty?!" He took a step back as I touched the ground. "What are you doing?!"


"I don't know." I replied, summoning a sharp bone. "But the worst that can happen is going back to you, and I'd die before I'd let that happen.."


"You..you're taller..I pressed the reset button, didn't I?"


"It doesn't matter..what matters is that you pay for your crimes."


I attacked.


~~~~~


Would I really leave a request short on a cliffhanger like that and never give a proper ending?


Yes.


Yes, I would.


"Grief"


This short was requested by loseafy!


Classification: angst.


Warnings: death, mention of throwing up, Ink's unstable mentality.


Canonicity: canon.


~~~~~


Ink's point of view.


Another day, another death. Sometimes, I couldn't resist beating my toy more than usual, since I could simply reset him! It was enjoyable to see my toy walk around happily, only to cower in fear as I raised my brush or pulled out some paint; it was too good to see his joy turn to terror. It had been about three weeks since his last death, and he had already been beaten much. He usually would have lasted longer, but one of the high ranks had broken proper conduct and attacked his soul..needless to say, that high rank had been punished severely; Dusty's soul was not to be touched, unless I was doing the touching. In any case, I smiled as my toy lay on the ground, whimpering quietly from our last torture session; it had been quite painful for him.


"Dusty, I-" I paused as my toy coughed up some paint..that was against the rules. "Dusty quit that! Do you want your next meal privileges removed?!"


My toy responded by hacking some more up, until..


"Dusty, that was gross." I gave a disturbed look; I didn't enjoy watching people throw up..especially paint.


My toy whimpered, coughing more before throwing up again; I hoped he wasn't ill..


"Dusty, can you stop that?" I wondered.


"N-n-no.." My toy coughed, letting out more paint.


"Does it hurt?"


"Y-y-yes!" He whimpered in pain; that wasn't very good.


"I'm..going to kill you.."


Dusty didn't try to fight me when I came over with a bladed paintbrush; he wanted this pain to end..and I couldn't blame him. This occasionally happened, when my toy would become ill from my paint, but a simple reset could cure him. With one strike, his body collapsed, lifeless. I opened a portal to Dusttale beneath him, and he would reset automatically; I decided that I wouldn't give him his hour this time, since I was rather hoping to torture him again when that..incident began. I opened another portal when a minute had passed, and Dusty fell through, falling to the ground.


He wasn't moving.


I sighed, giving my toy a good kick to get him up; that usually worked..but not this time. I chuckled softly, deciding that if he wanted pain, I would give him some! A bucket of paint was dropped on my toy, and he...


He didn't move.


I knelt down beside my toy, wondering if he was awake..perhaps he was just deep sleeping. No response to shaking..that was fine. This was fine. I rolled my eyelights at my lingering - horrible - thoughts and zipped down his jacket, lifting his shirt...


No soul.


The reset must not have taken place. That coding sequence had been faulty recently..probably. I simply opened another portal and allowed him to fall through, and the reset no doubt would have happened this time!


He was dead.


I picked up his body, shaking my skull. If one wanted something done right, one had to do it himself. I walked over to the science department with his body, ignoring the scientists who began to approach me; I knew what I was doing. I used a reset device on my toy, bringing him..


Not bringing him back to life.


Funny. Funny joke. This was a hilarious joke! This was so hilarious that I was going to snap the neck of whoever had made it! I chuckled in good sport - denial - and walked back to my room, putting my toy down on the floor. This was obviously just a prank, since my toy would never leave me! He was..he was just sleeping! Yes..my toy just needed some sleep, and when he woke up, everything would be normal again! I would let him rest; he needed his sleep, after all! He was mortal, and mortals needed sleep! I could understand that! I just had to wait for him to wake up, that was all! He deserved some sleep..yes, a toy as loyal as he was deserved sleep; I could let him rest! I could! I smiled and lay down on my bed; my toy was going to wake up soon, and then he would climb into bed with me and cuddle with me! We didn't have to have a torture session if he didn't want to! We could just cuddle..cuddling was fine! I closed my eyesockets as I waited for my toy to cuddle with me; he would come, soon.


"Sir..?" Someone- high rank.


"What?" I hissed, glaring at the guard.


"U-um..y-you left your door open.."


"..Okay. So what do you want?"


"I..was supposed to come here, Sir.."


"..Did you make an appointment?"


"Yes, Sir."


"..." I glanced over at Dusty, who was still sleeping. "I suppose you can wake him up.."


"Thank you, Sir."


The high rank went about his business, and I lay down again; everything was fine. Everything was perfect! Why wouldn't everything be fine?!


"Sir, he's dead." The high rank was wrong.


"...He's sleeping." I corrected.


"..He might have died in his sleep."


"Then reset him."


"I did, Sir..he's still dead."


"No, he isn't!" I snapped. "He's sleeping! That's all he's doing, and I refuse to accept any other answer! He's sleeping..that..that's all.."


"..Sir?"


"Get. Out."


"..Yes, Sir."


The high rank ran out of the room, closing the door behind him, and I crawled over to my toy..my toy..he couldn't leave me! He wouldn't..he wouldn't leave me..


"Oh, Dusty, please come back.." I sobbed, holding his small, frail body in my arms. "I won't torture you anymore..and I'll feed you more often..I-I'll let you play with your bunnies..please don't leave me.."


"Ink?" A small voice called out to me...


"Don't go.." I whimpered, hugging his body closer.


"Ink!"


"I'm sorry.."


"Wake up!"


My eyesockets shot open, and I breathed heavily. I..it was dark. I saw two blurry orbs glowing in the dark, with red and blue colors. Dusty..Dusty's eyelights..he was fine..


"Dusty..?" I yawned. "What happened..?"


"You had a bad dream..it woke me up.." Dusty rubbed one of his eyesockets.


"Oh.." It had just been a dream..just a stupid dream! "Come here, Dusty."


"Yes, Ink.." Dusty climbed into bed with me, allowing me to hold on to him tightly.


"Good night, Dusty."


"Good night, Ink."


Everything was fine.


~~~~~


"Drowning"


This short was requested by loseafy!


Classification: angst.


Warnings: mention of fear of water.


Canonicity: canon.


~~~~~


I didn't like water. Skeletons could float in water, and they couldn't drown from lack of oxygen, but I still hated it. I didn't like the feeling of water filling up my skull or touching my soul..it made me feel helpless. That was probably why Ink liked it so much. There was a pond in the courtyard, which lay right below Ink's window..if five stories down was considered "right below." Ink liked to experiment with the fish population sometimes, and he truly did make many variations of fish to live in the pond. For anyone else, it was a nice, relaxing place..for me, it was..


"Dusty, come on!" Ink pulled on my arm, but my other was fastened safely around a pole, along with the rest of my body. "Stop struggling!"


"I don't wanna!" I whimpered, holding on tighter.


"It's just water!"


"It's scary!"


"More scary than me?"


I looked at Ink's face - he was glaring harshly - and nodded; I was more afraid of water.


"..How do you fear water more than me?" He scoffed.


"..." I might have lied, but water still scared me..just not as much as Ink did.


"Let go of the pole, Dusty!"


I whimpered, letting my grip slip; Ink would have punished me harshly if I disobeyed him any longer. I allowed him to pull me closer to the water, and I let tears fall as he grabbed my neck, positioning my skull over the water. Skeletons weren't supposed to be scared of water..it was stupid for me to be! I couldn't help it..it just scared me! I could drink it, but being in it was an entirely different situation! I took one final glance at Ink as he chuckled, taking off my jacket to keep it dry. I struggled when he began to lower my skull, but it was no use; water began to seep into my skull, and I was sent into a state of panic. I flailed my limbs - that were still on dry land, as only my skull was submerged - aimlessly, trying to get my skull out of the offending liquid. Ink's paint made me act the same way..whenever some fell inside my skull and didn't dissipate, I tried in vain to get it out quickly..in fact, any liquid had that effect. Water was just the most convenient for Ink to procure. I didn't know if I was crying as my skull was held under the water, but if I had to guess, I would have believed that I was. Ink held me under for several hours, and my limbs eventually stopped moving; I had spent all my energy. When Ink was content, he brought me up and allowed the water to leave my skull.


"That was fun, wasn't it?" Ink chuckled.


"Mhm.." I had to agree, lest he do it again.


"Would you like to go for round two?"


"N..n-no-o.." I was too tired..


"Dusty, this isn't fun unless you display emotion."


I was too exhausted to display emotion; I wanted rest. My eyesockets closed without my consent as Ink began to speak about obedience. I wasn't sure what had happened, other than the fact that I fell asleep, but when I woke up, I was lying down on Ink's floor as he occupied himself with a puzzle on his bed. He sometimes played with puzzles or games, when he couldn't play with me; he didn't seem to notice that I was awake yet, either..that meant that I could just go back to sleep, and he wouldn't stop me! I closed my eyesockets slowly, intending to return to a dusty nightmare.


"Dusty, don't you dare fall asleep again!" Ink..stopped me.


Darn.


~~~~~


"Isolated"


This short was requested by loseafy!


Classification: angst.


Warnings: fear of isolation, insanity, mentions of self-harm.


Canonicity: canon.


~~~~~


Isolation: the condition of being or feeling alone, physically or mentally. I was both. I was isolated mentally..constantly. No one cared about me..Ink treated me worse than I could have ever imagined! Anyone who did care for me was unable to visit me enough to truly help, and I more often than not felt more alone than ever after they left! While mental isolation was a constant, physical isolation was a punishment. Ink knew of my fear of being isolated, and he had created an isolation chamber to threaten me with whenever I thought about disobeying him..sometimes, he just stuck me in there because he didn't want to see me. This time, I had only hidden from a high rank who was hurting me..I shouldn't have done that while Ink was watching. When the torture session was over, Ink dragged me down to the isolation chamber, and I was doing everything in my power not to go back in there!


"P-please!" I sobbed, falling prostrate in front of him.


"Get in, Dusty!" He wasn't going to accept my begging.


"P-please..i-it's horrible in there!"


"Would you rather be tortured for eighty hours straight?"


"Yes!" I nodded vigorously, hoping he would pick that option!


"..." Ink raised an eyebrow before shaking his skull. "No arguments; get in now."


"N-no, please..I'll be good..I will! I-I'll obey..I won't hide.."


"No, Dusty, you need a punishment now, so get in!"


Ink kicked me inside the terrible room, and I ran for the exit, only finding myself face-to-face with a door..I heard the lock click, and I knew that I was doomed.


"Let me out..please.." I lowered my skull against the door, not attempting to stop the tears that fell from my face onto the floor. "I'll be good..I'll be good.."


When I heard Ink's footsteps leaving me, I sighed; he was leaving me here. I couldn't keep track of time in this place; I had no idea when the door would open..or if it would open. I turned to see the empty room that I had been locked in, which was..my personal isolation chamber; no one else would ever be locked in here. I didn't like emptiness; I preferred clutter to an empty room. An empty room meant that there was nothing to distract myself with, and I could find myself bored. Boredom was dangerous, as it led to the yearning to do something. The yearning led to desperation, and desperation led to desperate measures. Desperate measures led to desperate actions. Desperate actions led to insanity. If I could distract myself, I could fend off boredom..but there was nothing in this room. Ink never allowed me to bring my Hope in here; my bunnies were also barred from entering. I was the only living being who would ever step foot in this room..and that just made it worse. I walked around the room a few times, skimming the walls with my phalanges, hoping that Ink had left me a way out..but I knew he hadn't. When the walls couldn't hold my attention for any longer, I sat down in a corner, taking off my shoes and tying the laces together in different ways.


Boredom wasn't a stranger to me. I knew what true boredom felt like, and I despised it..but that didn't change the fact that I had to live with it sometimes. When I was thrown into the isolation chamber, I had to do everything in my power to remain sane; it was difficult sometimes. Avoiding boredom was my first and foremost step; once I was bored, it was immensely more difficult to keep my wits about me. Since Ink didn't allow me to have anything with me in the isolation chamber, I had to make do with my clothing. Shoelaces were special, as I could learn to how make complex knots with them to pass the time, and learning how to untie them was a challenge. Knots couldn't hold the boredom back forever, however, and I soon found myself yearning- no! I stopped those thoughts from entering my mind; I was not bored! I shook my skull and put my shoes back on, taking off my undershirt next. I could fold it into nice patterns before I started yearn- no! I held back a shiver as I put my shirt back on, hugging my jacket over it. I just had to stay occupied! I had to..I had to do something! Yes, I had to..I had to..I had to..I didn't know. I whimpered as I felt boredom creeping on my shoulder; the yearning was coming for me!


I..I yearned. I couldn't stop myself from wishing that I was somewhere else, doing something! I wept as I wished I could play with my bunnies or my Hope. I wanted my brother..he would have protected me and kept me occupied! I wished I could talk to someone..I wished I could have been tortured physically instead of mentally. I would have given anything to have Ink pour red paint into my mouth as I screamed and begged for his nonexistent mercy..but instead, I was alone, and no one was coming for me. I imagined my family as they comforted me..but they weren't here. And so began my desperation. I ran up to the door, banging on it for a few minutes until I broke down sobbing in front of it; I knew I couldn't escape.


"S-someone.." I begged for someone to answer me! "P-please..I'll be good..I-I'll obey..I'll obey..p-please let me out.."


The desire to do something was a dangerous thing. Desperate measures was simply thinking..planning my desperate actions..I sometimes couldn't stop myself from carrying them out. I stared at the room in front of me as I sat against the door - when had I turned around? - and wept. The walls were gray..a light, hopeless gray. The ceiling and floor were the same. I had to use every bit of my broken will that I possessed to stop myself from hitting the door..or a wall..I didn't want to do that..I just had to convince my body of it! I clenched my fists tightly as I lay down, looking up at the colorless ceiling; I wondered if a day had passed..was Ink on his way to release me yet? How long did he usually leave me? I didn't know. I didn't try to fight the tears that rolled down my skull into my hood, only curling up and hoping that Ink was coming to get me out of this place..I wanted help! I felt an itch, but I didn't dare scratch it; that would have led to trouble. I whimpered as my body continued to itch, even though I knew that nothing was irritating me..it was just my soul as it looked for something to do. I hugged myself tightly as I resisted the temptation that would have been simple to deal with if I had been anywhere else..


But I eventually gave in. I scratched at my itch, and I sobbed when I felt a sticky substance stain my undershirt. This always happened. I screamed as loud as I could, hoping that someone would get me out of here before the insanity settled in; I didn't want that! When I heard the door's lock being opened, I relaxed slightly; Ink was going to take me back now! He would..he would just torture me, right?! I wanted to be tortured..just not isolation..anything but isolation! My captor entered the room and picked me up as I shook fearfully; I had been very close to insanity that time..I was glad that Ink had taken me out. I clutched tightly to him as he carried me through the hallways back to his room, and I repeated apologies over and over in the hopes that he would forgive me and never put me back into the isolation chamber ever again!


"Maybe that's enough of a punishment for one day, Dusty.." He spoke, and I hugged him.


I was grateful.


~~~~~


"Crack"


This short was requested by loseafy!


This short is an alternate timeline to "Blame," picking up near the end.


Classification: angst.


Warnings: ignoring serious injuries, violence.


Canonicity: alternate timeline.


~~~~~


I refused to allow myself to cry as the high ranks beat me; I didn't deserve the comfort. My brother soon ran them off, and he knelt down beside me.


"Brother, are you all right?" He inquired.


"Yeah, I'm okay." I assured, as he picked me up.


"I..am very sorry that this happened..I should have kept a closer eye on you."


"Can I go home? I don't really want to be here.."


"I apologize..here is a portal home." He created a portal for me, as I didn't have enough to make one at the moment..I needed to eat something.


"Thanks, bro."


I walked through the portal and waved a goodbye to my brother, before walking to a kitchen; we were living in Nightmare's old house for the present time, since I didn't really feel comfortable in Dusttale or anywhere else. I deserved the pain of remembering my late family. I sometimes wondered why I put off bringing them back to life..I could argue that I was busy, but..it was really just because I didn't want to be comforted..they would have noticed that something was wrong immediately, and Nightmare would continue my soul checkups. My soul was cracking..I didn't want anyone to worry. I ate some spaghetti that Paps had prepared a few days ago, enjoying the taste of the meal that I didn't deserve; I deserved the disgusting food that Ink would force me to eat while I was under his power. I deserved to starve..but starving would have killed me, and I didn't deserve the sweet release of death..I only skipped meals every once in a while. When my meal was over, I washed my plate and put it back into the cabinet I had gotten it from, before deciding to visit Ink; I knew that he needed company, and..no one else was going to give it to him..he wasn't even guarded. I created a portal with my newfound magic, and I walked through, seeing Ink in his cage.


"You're back?" He frowned, probably knowing what day it was.


"Yep." I nodded, sitting against the bars.


"If you keep cutting yourself off, you're going to break my record."


"What's your record?"


"Ninety years, isolated from the world."


"It's only been twenty."


"Time will move fast. You should really get some help."


"I don't want help."


"I didn't, either, but I was given it eventually."


I sighed.


"I'm going to miss your visits when you finally break." He said.


"What do you mean?" I questioned.


"You're torturing yourself by forcing yourself to visit me; you've never been able to fool me, Dusty."


"I know.."


"It's not your fault, you know."


"What isn't my fault? Everything is my fault!"


"No, Dusty..it was all my fault. That's the reason I'm locked in here instead of you."


"I allowed myself to be held hostage.."


"I ordered that to be done."


"I wasn't able to rescue Error.."


"I'm the one who imprisoned him."


"I couldn't protect myself.."


"I beat you daily in an attempt to break you, and I remember restraining you."


"I couldn't protect my friends.."


"They were under my control."


"I didn't fight you.."


"I broke you into submission."


"I helped you.."


"I manipulated you into doing so."


"...You wouldn't have been able to do it without me."


"How so?"


"I gave you a chance."


"..What do you mean?"


"I believed that you could be good..and I tried to convince you to change. You didn't like that.."


"..Maybe I did do it to spite you..but you shouldn't change yourself because of me."


"Why not?"


"Because people like you aren't made to be evil; when you try to deny your nature, you will ultimately ruin the lives of those around you."


"..Will I ruin my life?"


"..." Ink exhaled slowly. "It depends."


"On what?"


"On whether you can truly hate."


"..."


"Monsters such as you aren't meant to hate others; their souls work hard not to allow it. I only avoid the consequences because I have no soul..but you..you have a soul..and it's weaker than most. If you try to hate, you'll likely end up dead. Do you understand now?"


"Yes..but what do you mean 'like me'?"


"You're a caring monster..you always try to see the best in people, even if they're like me..you can't change that."


"There are monsters who don't..?"


"..Yes. Caring monsters such as yourself can only hate objects or things..everyone does, sometimes, and souls won't stop that. It's hating others that souls don't enjoy..some souls have certain properties that prevent it, while others..don't. If you try to hate others, your soul will be shattered by tomorrow, Dusty..and you will die."


"Why can some monsters hate?"


"Because their souls..don't have safeguards."


"..I feel bad for them. Do I know any?"


"..Yeah."


"Who?"


"I..shouldn't say. I'm sorry."


"..That's okay. I have to go now..the party is ending soon."


"Bye, Dusty."


"Goodbye, Ink."


I made a portal back home, and I soon sat down on a couch, waiting for my brother to return home, which he did a few minutes later. I smiled as he hugged me, hugging him back tightly.


"Are you well, brother?" He hoped.


"Yeah, I'm fine." I nodded.


"That is good to hear. I have some work to do in a few universes, but it is not urgent; I can stay here with you if you would prefer.."


"No, that's fine..I wouldn't want to dominate your time; if you have work to do, I won't stop you."


"..Are you sure?"


"Of course! Besides, the quicker all the work is done, the more free time we have later!"


"I suppose that is correct..but I will be gone for at least three hours."


"I'll be playing with Thunder and Lightning."


"All right, brother..good bye."


"Bye, bro."


With that, Papyrus left, and I went to my room, where Thunder and Lightning now lived. They had a nice enclosure with lots of grass and water, and they received more than enough comfort to thrive on, now that I wasn't being tortured every day. Before playing with them, I walked up to a mirror and brought out my soul, noting a new crack..I didn't know why it was breaking, but it was. I couldn't feel the pain, but I knew that if I could, I would be in agony every waking moment..my entire soul was littered with cracks. Perhaps it was cracking because of my guilt and the way I chose to torture myself..that was probably it. After contenting myself, I went over to Thunder and Lightning and took them out of their enclosure, setting them on my bed and lying down next to them. They were the only ones who knew about my soul's cracking, aside from Ink; they seemed to know what it meant, somehow, and they chose to cuddle up next to me, almost offering comfort, in some weird way. I simply pet them and enjoyed their company. Four hours of comforting later, Papyrus entered my room, finding me cuddled up with my bunnies, allowing them to climb on me.


"Hello, brother." He greeted, sitting down on my bed next to me.


"Hey, Paps." I smiled, sitting up, but I frowned when I saw the look on Papyrus's face. "Is something wrong?"


"Brother, I.."


I hugged Paps to comfort him. "Tell me what happened; I'll make sure everything's all right."


"A universe I went to..the judge had locked himself in his home. It turned out that he had not spoken to anyone about his time in the army, and he had been suffering alone..he would not even tell his brother. I convinced him to speak with me, but.."


"Did something go wrong?"


"Brother.." He looked down to see my eyelights. "Before he consented to speak, he had an expression.."


"And?"


"It was the same expression I see on you every day.."


"..Paps, I'm still a Sans."


"Brother..tell me one thing, please."


"Sure, bro."


"Are you still hurting from it? Are you suffering in silence?"


"No." I said, quickly.


Fate had a different answer, as there was a cracking sound.


"..What was that, brother?" Papyrus looked at me concernedly.


"Probably just Thunder." I gestured to my black bunny, who was munching on a carrot top.


"Brother..I know what I heard."


"And..what would that be..?"


"It is a sound I feared and dreaded when I was in the resistance..and a sound I heard nearly every day; that, my brother, was the sound of a soul..cracking."


"Do bunnies have souls?" I hoped he didn't ask-


"Show me your soul, brother."


"Paps..I'm fine."


Another crack.


"Then you won't mind showing me." He insisted.


"Really..you don't have to do this.." I scooted away slightly.


Another crack.


"Brother, I care for you immensely, and I would gladly respect your wishes..but this is not the time for that." He looked at me steadily. "Show me your soul now, brother."


"P-please, Paps..I'm fine!" I shed a tear.


Another crack.


"You are not fine, brother, and I am sorry for not seeing that sooner, but I have to know.." He wasn't going to let me go.


I ran.


"Brother!" Papyrus called after me as I ran into a portal.


I didn't turn back; I couldn't. My brother knew, and it was too much for me to bear..he was realizing what I had been trying to hide for the past twenty years, and he was doing it too quickly! I ran through a forest, with tears streaming down my face. I didn't know where I was going; I just didn't want to hurt my brother! He deserved a better brother than me..I was just an ungrateful idiot..I couldn't make him happy! All I did was ruin things..and now I was ruining my brother. I ran until I collapsed from exhaustion, at which point, I curled up on the ground and sobbed. I was so stupid! Why did I think that I could hide this for so long?! I couldn't..and now, as the truth came out, my brother was being hurt..and it was all my fault.


A crack.


I deserved it.


Another crack.


I deserved it.


More cracks.


I deserved everything that came to me.


"Brother!" A shout rang out through the forest.


Except that.


I continued to sob as my brother fell to his knees beside me, and I refused to allow him to see my soul.


"Brother..please show me.." He tried to coerce me.


"N-no.." I wept. "I-I won't let you.."


"Brother, please do not make this harder than it has to be."


"I c-can't hurt you.."


"..." He sighed. "You already have, brother."


"Wh-what..?"


"It hurts me to see you in this state..please show me your soul."


I..I had hurt my brother. I had hurt my brother! I cried harder at the thought..every second I refused him, I was hurting him! I whimpered, acquiescing to his request and baring my soul to him. The gasp told me all that I needed to know, and I clutched to my brother like my life depended on it. He took me to a doctor..and he forced me to release my guilt upon him.


I had never felt so bad and good at the same time.


~~~~~


"Rock"


This short was requested by loseafy!


Classification: angst with a tidbit of fluff.


Warnings: violence, Ink.


Canonicity: canon.


~~~~~


Ink liked to hurt me. He had captured me to hurt me, and he had carried out his intentions every single day..hurting me. Today was another normal day, and he was torturing me, as usual. There was something unusual about this torture session, however: I was restless. I had been ill for an entire week, and Ink had forced me to stay bedridden until I recovered..but when I did recover, I had gotten my energy back. I wanted to run around a bit to burn off my excess energy, but a high rank had decided to break my legs to the point of immobility, causing me to keep my energy. That had been four days ago, and I had too much energy to spare! During today's torture session, I was struggling constantly with my arms, since I needed to get rid of my energy somehow, and Ink was having a difficult time keeping me in one place.


"Stay still, Dusty!" Ink smacked one of my hands down once again. "What's gotten into you?!"


I was screaming too much to respond with words. Ink didn't care, only continuing with the torture. When the session was over, and when I had stopped screaming, Ink sat down next to me, rubbing my skull softly as I whimpered, shaking slightly.


"Dusty, I think I understand what's going on." He stated. "You have excess energy, don't you?"


I nodded quickly, hoping he would allow me to move!


"All right, try your best to hold still while I heal your legs." He pulled out some green paint and a small paintbrush.


I was constantly shaking as Ink healed my fractures, but he didn't scold me for it; I had been restless many times in the past, and Ink knew that when it happened, I only needed to run around for a little while, and I would be fine after that. When he was finished healing me, he tied a long rope around both of our wrists to keep me within a specific area around him - that time I had gotten lost had been horrible - and opened a portal, allowing me to lead the way through as I happily used my legs. He had brought me to a stony area with lots of large rocks to climb, which would be good for spending my energy. When Ink had taken a seat on a nice rock, he allowed me to run around, snickering if I tripped or fell, but that was fine; I was draining my energy. At one point, I decided to climb the rock just above Ink's seat..which wasn't a bright idea. It turned out that the rock was..unstable. One of the ledges that I climbed onto was loose, and the moment I stood on it, it fell. I managed to grab hold of another ledge, but Ink hadn't been paying attention..the ledge fell onto him! The yell of annoyance and pain was enough to tell me that I was in for the punishment of my life when Ink figured out that I had caused that..I tried to hide myself on the ledge, but the rope that led up to me was condemning enough.


"Dusty!" The furious dictator shouted angrily. "Get down here, now!"


I felt that my chances would have been better if I disobeyed this time..an Ink that had to pull me off a ledge and expend energy to do so was better than one that was running on pure adrenaline. I speedily untied the knot around my wrist and let the rope fall, infuriating Ink even more, but I would be coming down the moment he calmed slightly.


"Dusty, I am going to murder you!" Ink threatened..maybe I would wait until he calmed down more than slightly.


Ink tried several ways to get me to come down from my safe ledge, even attempting to teleport up, but the ledge was only big enough for me, not him. After an hour of schemes and plans to get me down, Ink was beginning to tire, but I was going to wait longer.


"Dusty, come down here!" He shouted. "Look, how about this: I won't punish you! I understand now that it was just an accident, okay? If you come down now, we can just..cuddle for a while! You like cuddles, right?"


I popped my skull out to see him. "Y-you promise?"


"Yes, Dusty, I promise!" He..promised. "Please come down!"


"..Okay."


I made my way down the rock safely, and Ink picked me up, carrying me through a portal home, where he climbed onto his bed with me in his arms. Ink was a lot of things, but he was not a liar, and he would never break a promise. He would occasionally lie to someone, but he didn't enjoy it, and he had never broken a promise to anyone. When he began to cuddle me, I enjoyed the soft touch, knowing that I wasn't going to be punished for my mistake this time..I just hoped he wouldn't make up for it with a super-strong torture session..he probably would, but at least this time was peaceful enough.


I just hoped it would last.


~~~~~


"Destruction"


This short was requested by loseafy!


Classification: angst and fluff.


Warnings: object death, sad Dusty.


Canonicity: not canon.


~~~~~


I was playing with my Hope. My Hope was my favorite thing in the entire world, alongside my jacket and my bunnies! I enjoyed playing with it, and Ink knew better than to deny me time with my favorite doll! My Hope was very special to me, and everyone knew that. Sometimes, my play was just hugging, and other times, it was making my Hope walk around, but it was always considered playing. Ink was watching me as I played, and this time, I was hugging my Hope. I had played for several hours when ink finally spoke up.


"Dusty, playtime is over." He stopped my play, and I looked up at him. "I'm going to go visit a universe, and I need you to come with me."


"..Why do you need me?" I tilted my skull curiously.


"Because I said so!" He snapped, causing me to flinch harshly. "Now come along, Dusty."


I held my Hope tightly as I approached Ink, walking through a portal with him. We came out in a universe's Hotland. I didn't exactly like Hotlands, since they were very..hot. Being as sensitive to temperature as I was, the switch from the coldness of Ink's room to the boiling heat of a Hotland was..disorienting. I tugged on Ink's sleeve to ask him if we could perhaps get a cup of water on the way to..wherever we were going, and he turned around-


His hand..hit my Hope. I..I dropped it..I dropped my Hope! I forgot about the water, switching every thought I had to one of my Hope..I couldn't stop it from falling down..into the lava. I broke down into a loud sob as I helplessly watched my beloved Hope sink into the red hot lava..and Ink had to grab me and hold me back from trying to follow.


"Dusty, stop!" He picked me up and held me in place.


"D-doll..?" I sobbed as Ink prevented my movements.


"Oh, boy.." Ink muttered. "Look, Dusty, I can get Error to make another doll for you, just like that one."


It wouldn't be my Hope..but it was the only option. It would just be..Hope 2.0? Hope reincarnated? Maybe a different name..I didn't want to think about replacements while I mourned my Hope. When I stopped crying, I silently followed Ink through the Hotland, counting the seconds until he took me to Error..would I be able to speak to Error? That was only supposed to be once a year, but maybe Ink would forget? I hoped I would be able to see Error. It took a few hours for Ink to finish all of his work, but when he did, he set me down on his bedroom floor.


"Dusty, do you want a replacement doll?" He wondered, coming down to my eyelight level, and rubbed my skull softly. "You've been very good today."


"P-please.." I nodded desperately, hoping that I would have another chance.


"All right, I'll have Error make another for you. Because you've been so good today, would you like to come down to see him with me?"


I nodded again, smiling a little at the thought.


"Okay, Dusty." He chuckled.


He smiled encouragingly at me, taking my hand and leading me to the door I entered only once a year..before now. I followed behind him with swift steps, not letting go of his hand as he walked quickly. As soon as we reached the long staircase, he gestured for the guards to open the door, which they did, giving me small smiles when they realized that I was going to be able to see Error. The stairs didn't seem very long, with Ink practically running down them, and we reached the bottom in only three minutes, which was probably a record, short of falling down from the top. I was excited to lay my eyelights on my uncle again so soon - my last visit had been three months ago - but that wasn't my primary concern, unfortunately, since this visit would probably only last a few minutes..my Hope would last forever. Error seemed surprised to see me, but the smile he gave was more than enough to cheer me up. Then Ink spoke.


"Glitch." He insulted Error a lot with that term, but Error didn't seem to care all that much when I was around.


"What is it, jerk?" Error scoffed.


"Seriously..? You can do better than that."


"Not in front of the child, I can't. Come back later, and I'll teach you a few words you've never heard before!"


Ink glanced down at me for a moment, before looking back to Error. "Fair point. I need you to make something."


"And why would I do that, pray tell?"


"Because..I may or may not have knocked Dusty's doll into a pit of lava."


"..." Error glared at Ink. "Did you even apologize to my nephew?"


"...No."


"That's cruel. But I will make another, for him, not you."


"Perfect! How long will that take?"


"Give me three hours at the very least; five hours gives more detail."


"Do the five hour." Ink rolled his eyelights.


"And my price is my nephew's company as I make it."


"..You're real clever, aren't you?" Ink growled lowly. "Fine, but only because I don't want to deal with his whining. I will return in five hours, no more."


"Deal."


"Be good, Dusty."


Ink teleported away, and I managed to get one of the guards to unlock Error's cage and let me in. I hugged my uncle tightly as he prepared to sew, and I enjoyed watching the process of Error's creation, which was better than Ink's by a long shot! We spoke about various things as he created the doll, and I enjoyed watching the show. One hour in, he had finished a detailed doll that looked like Killer, but better than my old Hope! Then he..started another?


"What are you doing..?" I wondered, watching the black strings align themselves with Error's magic.


"Well, I may have exaggerated the amount of time it takes for me to create a detailed doll." He chuckled, and I realized what he was doing, hugging him tightly and continuing in conversation.


Hour by hour passed, and Error made doll after doll. First, Killer. Second, Nightmare. Third, Cross. Fourth, Horror. Fifth, Error himself. I hugged him tightly when the fifth doll was finished, knowing that we didn't have much time left. He reassured me as I hugged my dolls, and I comforted him as well. When Ink teleported down to us, he raised an eyebrow at the five dolls, but after a few moments, he simply shook his skull and took me out of the cage. A few minutes later, I was in Ink's room once more, playing with my dolls.


"Huh.." Ink looked closely at the doll of Nightmare. "I wonder if I could market these..I'm sure Error would like something to do down there."


I hoped he wouldn't.


~~~~~


"Arts and Crafts"


This short was requested by loseafy!


Classification: fluff.


Warnings: none.


Canonicity: canon.


~~~~~


Ink was really nice to me. Whenever I wanted to do something fun, he would usually oblige, especially if he had had a rough day at work. Today, it looked as if he had, and I was ready to cheer him up with a suggestion. At the moment, we were sitting on his bed, and he was rubbing my skull as I thought of the perfect thing to do! Of course, Ink didn't know that I was thinking of something to do, since I wanted it to be a surprise! After thirty minutes of intense thought, I confirmed my thoughts.


"Ink?" I spoke up, catching his attention.


"Yes, Dusty?" Ink sounded tired.


"Can we do arts and crafts?"


"..Arts and crafts..? You mean the thing kindergarteners do?"


"Yep! It might make you feel better!"


"..I guess we can try it."


"Yay!"


I happily ran over to Ink's drawer of artistic tools, finding some glue and other things to use in order to make Ink happy. When I was finished, I set the tools on the floor, since I was sure that Ink didn't want any glue on his bed, and I started to sort the things I had grabbed, making sure that everything was organized enough for Ink to use confidently; he wasn't always as confident as usual when he was having a bad day. As soon as he came over, I gave him some popsicle sticks and crayons, and I began to draw a picture. We continued playing with the art supplies for a few hours, until Ink spoke to me.


"This is actually very fun, Dusty!" He giggled at his tower of popsicle sticks. "Thank you for suggesting it!"


"I'm only doing my duty!" I smiled back, continuing with my drawing,


"What are you making?"


"A surprise.."


"Oh, I can't wait to see what it is!"


"I think you might like it, but you also might not, since I can't compare with your artistic talent, Ink."


"I think I'll like anything you make, Dusty!"


"You're a very kind master, Ink."


"You're a very kind toy, Dusty!"


"You're the best, Ink."


"I know, Dusty; you're the best at reminding me."


With that we continued, and I finished my drawing not too long after the start; Ink was interested.


"I'm done!" I exclaimed, although I did it quietly, since Ink didn't enjoy it when others shouted, especially if it was me.


"Oh?" Ink looked away from his melted crayons. "What did you make, Dusty?"


"I made a picture of you!"


I showed Ink a picture of himself, with a small me in the background! I had tried to make Ink look as detailed as possible, but I didn't do much with myself; I didn't deserve such treatment.


"Dusty..this is wonderful!" Ink hugged me tightly. "You're so good at cheering me up!"


"It's nothing, really." I assured. "I just want to make you happy."


"I am happy, Dusty..thank you."


I loved to make my master happy.


~~~~~


"Sick"


This short was requested by loseafy!


Classification: fluff.


Warnings: Ink.


Canonicity: canon.


~~~~~


Ink usually took care of me. He treated me as if I were a pet, but he at least took care of me. When I was ill, he would sometimes - when it suited him - comfort me. When I had a bad night's rest, he would occasionally turn his skull the other way when I fell asleep as he cuddled me. When my Hope was lost, he would ensure that it was found and returned to me. Whether I liked it or not, I owed him for those times..and one day, I found myself in the position to return a favor. I had woken up without Ink's voice to stir me, and I was confused, to say the least. I was used to being roused by the dictator's loud "good morning," but it was a rare day that I woke up alone. Naturally, I tried to get some more sleep, but I was interrupted by a loud groan..coming from Ink. I sighed, rising to my feet and approaching his bed; this was going to be a long day. Yesterday, Ink had been on a mission in a swamp..not the best place for a dictator, but he couldn't avoid it..he must have caught something. I couldn't check his temperature, since he had no soul, but it was easy to see that he wasn't feeling at his best. I decided to ask him.


"Ink, are you feeling ill?" I had to ask; he sometimes played tricks on me.


"Does it look like I'm..f-feeling ill?" He sneezed.


"Can I go get something to help you?"


"Y-yes, Dusty.."


"I'll be right back!"


With that, I ran off to the guard lounge, where I went to the swapped Sans; he knew a lot about caring for others, since he was skilled in medicine. When I found him, he seemed worried.


"Dust, is everything okay?" He wondered.


"I think Ink is sick.." I told him.


"Oh.." He sighed. "I'll be in his room in a few minutes."


"All right.."


I decided to go back to Ink's room and wait for the swapped Sans to come, which he did, ten minutes later, holding a bag that was no doubt full of good things. He pulled up a chair next to the bed and pulled put some medical supplies and healing food, and I watched as he tried to figure out what was wrong with Ink. Twenty minutes after the beginning, the swapped Sans figured out what was wrong.


"He has a simple fever." The swapped Sans shrugged. "He should be healthy in a few days if he gets enough bedrest and plenty of fluids."


"Okay." I nodded, looking up to Ink. "Should I feed him?"


"It'll make him heal faster."


"I'll do that, then. Where can I get fluids?"


"The cafeteria. I'd recommend soup, since that's got a lot of fluid."


"Thank you!"


"Sure thing, Dust! You know where to find me if you need anything else!"


The swapped Sans left at that point, and I walked to the cafeteria, intent on procuring some soup. Ink had taken care of me many times when I was ill, and I felt that he deserved my care at least once..he looked as if he were in a lot of pain, too..Ink knew that I didn't like to see people in pain. When I reached the cafeteria, I spoke with one of the guards who was working there today, and he kindly gave me a large container of soup, along with a small treat to eat when Ink wasn't looking: a cookie! After thanking the guard, I returned to Ink's room with the soup in my arms and the cookie in my pocket, and I set the soup down on Ink's bedside table, which was thankfully large enough to support two large containers! I then grabbed a bowl, which the guard had also given me, and a spoon before filling the bowl halfway with soup.


"Ink..wake up.." I didn't want to wake him, but I had to feed him fluids as the swapped Sans had said.


"Mm.." Ink groaned slightly, rolling over to face me. "Dusty.."


"Open wide, I have soup to help your fever."


"You sound..like me.." He mumbled, before opening his mouth.


"Well, you deserve care.." I spoonfed him.


"Lot of people..would disagree.."


"I owe you, anyway.."


"You got..weird ideas..."


"Whatever the case, I'm going to take care of you until you're better."


"Good luck.."


"Thank you!"


"Wasn't..encouragement.."


"Keep your mouth open; skeletons don't need to swallow."


"I know..feed you paint every day.."


"Don't make me regret helping you."


"Past that point..aren't we?"


"..I'm still doing it."


"You're weird..Dusty.."


I fed him all of the soup that was in the bowl, and I saved the rest for later; monster food didn't spoil. When that was done, I allowed Ink to fall asleep once more, but I would wake him again to eat when it was lunchtime. As soon as I was sure that Ink was fast asleep, I took the cookie out of my pocket and nibbled it, enjoying the sweetness of the chocolate chips that had been baked into the dessert..what Ink didn't know wouldn't hurt him, after all! When the cookie was gone and all traces of its existence had been removed - I was not above eating the crumbs off the floor to avoid possible punishment from Ink - I played with my Hope until it was time to feed Ink once more. This cycle continued for multiple days, until Ink could sit up in bed by himself to eat soup and speak normally.


"Are you feeling any better?" I asked, as I fed him another spoonful of soup; he didn't want to feed himself just yet.


"I still have some pains, but I'm sure I'll be better within the next few days." He nodded, eating the soup.


"Okay.."


"It's very nice of you to do this for me.."


"I wouldn't want you to feel uncomfortable when you're ill..it's not a good feeling..and you've done the same for me."


"You're the kindest toy a person could have, Dusty." He smiled weakly.


"I'm not so sure about that..open wide."


Another week passed, and Ink was..still in bed. At this point, I was beginning to doubt whether he was really ill, but I decided to allow him to continue, even if he wasn't ill..at least he wasn't torturing me; I would take spoonfeeding him over being tortured just about any day of the week! Another week passed, and I was still caring for him.


"You need to drink this." I urged for Ink to drink some water; he needed fluids!


"I don't wanna.." He whined, glaring at the drink.


"It's good for you."


"But.."


"Please, Ink? You'll heal faster!"


"I don't-" Ink paused when I made an odd face. "What are you doing?"


"I-I-I-" I sneezed.


"Dusty..did you catch my fever?"


"..I hope not."


One week later, Ink was caring for me as I lay ill in his bed, and he fed me some warm soup to help me heal faster.


I had caught his fever.


~~~~~


"Heirs"


Okay. Okay.


Please read the entire following note before reading this short, please! No skipping unless you're an absolute rebel! And please don't stop reading after the first sentence!


This short has...OCs *dun dun dun* *scary music* *audio of Dream screaming with lightning cracking in the background*! Yep, you read that right, those weird things we create that some people straight up ignore because they don't know a thing about 'em (I'm not going to say I'm not guilty of doing that, because I am, but people should at least give a brief description instead of just saying, "That's my OC," right?!). So, anyways, I'm getting off track. What I mean to say is that this short contains characters that have been crafted from the enigmatic inner machinations of my mind to fit a certain plot, because...Ink has no canon children. Not that I know of. This short is dedicated to the idea that ATE Ink could have children, and this is how he would treat said children. Dusty is most certainly the nanny of these wonders of life. This is also an idea that I've had for a while, and I really want to see what happens to these poor (or maybe not poor) kids. With that said, I hope you enjoy this short? If you still don't want to see the OCs, that's fine, but I promise you that you will be missing out on baby fluff. B a b y f l u f f . Thanks for reading this paragraph, and I hope you enjoy this!


There will probably be another short in this timeline, so..


Please enjoy!


Classification: fluff and angst.


Warnings: violence, torture, jealousy.


Canonicity: alternate timeline.


~~~~~


I had been Ink's toy for about fifteen years when it happened. Ink had seemed lonely for the past few weeks, and I had done my best to lift his spirits - a sad Ink meant more painful torture sessions - but it was hopeless; Ink was just..lonely. Today, he hadn't bothered to torture me, just leaving me in his room as he went out to work. He returned eight hours later..with a smile. Naturally, I was confused, since this was the first genuine smile I had been from Ink in several weeks..I was curious. He was carrying two small blankets in his hands, and he seemed..very ecstatic about whatever was wrapped in them. He danced over to me happily, kneeling down next to me.


"Dusty, this is the happiest day of my life!" He nearly squealed..in fact, he did.


"What..are they?" I couldn't see what was in the blankets, due to Ink's golding them so close to him.


"My.." Ink moved the blankets aside, allowing me to stare into..eyelights. "They're my children."


"You..how?!"


"I made them..with code. I..infused some of my code into them..they're genetically..mine."


"..." I cast away my confusion and didn't question if Ink was qualified to be a parent, opting to ask about the children. "What are their names?"


"Paintbrush!"


"..I don't understand."


"Oh, here.." Ink showed me one of the babies better, and I found a snow white skeleton with..Ink's eyelights; they changed with every blink - I realized that the left eyelight remained a stable red, to my surprise, while the right changed color - but aside from that, there were no other discernable features, at least on the skull. "This one's name is Paint, and he's a boy."


"Oh..so the other would be.."


"Brush, my baby girl!" He allowed me to see the other small skeleton, who much resembled her brother, with but her right eyelight changed only shape, contrasting the left's frenzy of colors, with the same red as her brother's; I wondered why, but I didn't ask. "They're both so adorable!"


"Who's going to take care of them while you're..dictating..?"


"Dusty.." Ink chuckled. "You're the only one I'd trust with the lives of my children."


"..." I sighed.


So I cared for them. Caring for two babies was difficult, but at least I wasn't tortured as much; I had to spend a lot of time with them. Ink's room was fit with baby supplies, including a crib and toys, and I was to ensure that the children were happy while Ink was at work.


"Stay still, Paint.." I was trying to feed the small skeletons, but they wanted to play..


"P'ay!" Paint struggled in my lap, trying to grab a toy, although I wasn't sure which one; Ink had given them hundreds.


"Play after food, Paint! Don't you want a yummy.." I tilted my skull at the baby food. "Spoonful of mush?"


"No!"


I groaned slightly; the babies had picked up speaking rather quickly, right after walking; I understood the walking, but baby skeletons didn't normally begin to speak so early on..


"How about you play while I feed you?" I decided to compromise.


"'Kay!" Paint giggled as I allowed him to grab a toy before pulling him back for food, which he ate, thankfully.


"Your turn, Brush." I turned my skull to the girl, who was trying to escape.


"Not nummy!" Brush pouted; she didn't enjoy baby food, despite being a baby.


"Brush, this is all we have.."


"Get mo'!"


"I can't leave you alone to get more.."


"Daddy!"


"Brush, your daddy is at work.."


"Wan' nummy!"


I sighed, taking a spoonful of the baby food. "Here comes the train, Brush!"


"...T'ain?" Brush was interested.


"Yes, the train of nummy food, and it's going right into your mouth!"


"Nummy!" Brush opened her mouth, and I inserted the baby food, which apparently tasted better when presented in train form.


"You like it?"


"Num!"


"Good, good..Paint, you're up again."


"Wan' t'ain, too!" Paint requested.


"Choo, choo!"


"Choo choo!" Paint ate the baby food happily.


I chuckled at the children's antics as I continued to feed them. Later in the day, Ink came back to his room, and Paint and Brush were excited to see him; they didn't see him as anything but a hero.


"Daddy!" They exclaimed in harmony, smiling happily at their dad.


"Hello, my little angels!" Ink came over, hugging his small skeletons. "How was the day?"


"It went well." I replied, ignoring the multiple unidentifiable substances that had spilled on my clothes over the course of the day.


"Good to hear! Are you two ready for bed?"


"No!" Paint didn't like bedtimes.


"Yes, Daddy!" Brush, on the other hand, did.


"How about a story, Paint?" Ink appealed to his son.


"'Tory?" Paint was intrigued.


"Yes, a story, one with lots of pictures."


"F'uffy bun bun?"


"Fluffy bun bun."


"Okie!"


"Dusty, grab the story."


"Yes, Ink." I walked over to the children's bookshelf that lay nearby, grabbing the book in question and returning promptly.


"Thank you, Dusty." Ink grabbed the book. "Now get them ready while I read."


"Yes, Ink."


I went to the children's dresser, grabbing two pairs of pajamas for the little ones and climbing into the crib with them; yes, I could fit in the crib, and I usually found myself inside it most of the time, since the babies were too young to walk very far on the paint-covered floor. As Ink read his story, I changed the babies' clothes and tucked them in, as I did every night, and they fell asleep holding eachother's hands. When they were certifiably asleep, Ink brought up the bars on the side of the crib and pulled me out, allowing me to collapse on the floor; taking care of two babies was tough. I fell asleep before Ink could say goodnight. The next day was similar. Day after day, month after month passed, until the children were three. They had their own beds now, but they were right next to eachother, since the twins didn't like being apart for very long, although there were exceptions, but those times were rare.


"Dusty, can I have a cookie?" Brush hoped.


"Me, too!" Paint joined.


"Did you eat your lunch?" I asked.


"Yep!" They harmonized.


"Even the vegetables?"


"..I ate one.." Paint shrugged nervously.


"You have to eat your vegetables if you want to grow big and strong."


"Is that why you're a tiny adult?" Brush inquired..


"Um..no, I just have a medical condition."


"A wha'?"


"..A sickness."


"You're sick?" Paint frowned.


"Sort of..but I won't ever get better."


"That's sad.." Brush made a sad noise.


"Will you eat your vegetables now, please?"


"I'm gonna grow up big and strong for you, Dusty!" Paint declared, running over to eat his vegetables.


"Heh..thanks, Paint."


"And I'm gonna draw you a get-well-soon card!" Brush proclaimed.


"Are you going to eat your vegetables?"


"Nope!"


"Why not?"


"Paint ate mine!"


"..I guess I can't really tell you to eat them, now.."


"Cookie?"


"All right, but eat your vegetables next time?"


"Okay, Dusty!"


Each of the children was granted a cookie, and playtime started soon after. Ink wasn't always working, of course, since he had subordinates that he could simply drop a pile of work on; it meant that he trusted them to get the job done, but it also came with responsibility. When Ink wasn't working, he would often take his children to surface universes and allow them to play - with close supervision, of course.


"Brush, follow me!" Paint called out, running through a forest; skeleton toddlers were quite proficient at moving by the age of three.


"Don't go too far, Paint!" Ink warned, trailing his speedy toddlers.


"I won't, Daddy!"


"Paint, Paint!" Brush giggled, stopping in front of a small spring. "Water!"


"Ooh!" Paint clapped at the spring, hopping giddily from foot to foot.


"Oh, this is pretty!" Ink grinned, kneeling down next to his children and splashing some water at them, receiving splashes back.


I sat down as I watched the family play, smiling at the joyful moment. For a brief moment, I remembered how my family used to play..but they were dead. I decided not to think about that..it was easier to focus on what was in front of me. Two more years passed, and Paint and Brush were starting school today; they had been looking forward to it for a while, but now they were starting..the years passed so quickly. Ink had gotten them a private instructor, but they still left the room for school, since Ink didn't want anyone snooping around his room. As for me, I was left alone in the room; Ink was able to pop in on his children at any time, and I had to keep his room tidy. I spent the first day cleaning and preparing dinner for the family. Ink walked them back home from school, and they seemed excited to talk about their experiences; they did so over dinner, while I continued to clean, since I didn't share their mealtimes..I was still just Ink's toy..just a pet. At one point, a part of their conversation interested me, but I didn't cease my cleaning.


"Daddy, do we have a mommy?" Brush asked.


"..Where did you hear that word?" Ink wondered.


"Teacher said it."


"Oh.."


"So do we?"


"No, honey..I made both of you from my code, by myself."


"..What does a mommy do?"


"They..take care of the children, and they make sure the home is neat, and they care very much about the little ones, no matter what they do."


"Like Dusty?" Brush's words made me pause for a moment in my cleaning, but I resumed quickly.


"..." Ink hesitated. "N-no..Dusty is just a toy."


"But Dusty takes care of us and cleans up after us!"


"Yes..but he's different. A mommy would have a strong connection with the daddy, and children born would come from the mommy instead of code."


"..Why does Dusty act like a mommy?"


"Because I told him to."


"Why does he do it, though?"


"..Perhaps it's because he loves you. Not as much as I do, but he loves you."


"Why doesn't he eat with us?"


"He's just a toy, dear; he's lower than we are."


"What does..lower mean?"


"It means..we're more important than he is; he's here to do as I command..and someday, he'll obey you two."


"Why doesn't he now?" Paint interjected.


"Because you're too young to know how to handle him, and because he's in charge of making sure you're healthy. Until you're old enough, he will order you to do things, but only for your benefit. When you do grow old enough, he will be obliged to obey you."


"How old is enough?"


"It depends on when you fully mature; you have to be ready. I can't simply pick an age and expect that you'll be ready for him when that time comes."


"Is he a temporary mommy?" Brush continued.


"I suppose..in a way, you could say that."


"Why doesn't he grow like us?" Paint questioned.


"He's always been short, and he won't be growing any taller."


The conversation continued with the things the children had learned in school. A few days later, the weekend came, and the children stayed in the room with me for the day. Then it happened.


"Mommy?" Brush's word made me freeze; she had..was she calling me that?!


"Wh-what did you say?" I looked at the little girl fearfully; was Ink going to punish me for this?!


"I think you're a good mommy!"


"Oh, no, no, no, I'm not your mommy, Brush."


"You are because I say you are!"


"I..your daddy will be angry if you call me that.."


"No, he won't!"


"..Maybe not at you.."


"..You mean he'll be mad but not at me?"


"Yes.."


"Who will he?"


"..I shouldn't tell you. Brush, please don't call me that."


"But I wanna.."


I sighed, going back to making the children's beds. Four hours later, Ink walked in the door, and it didn't take long for Brush to bring up the subject. Ink was..very angry. That was the first time he beat me in front of the children. When they were younger, he would take me to the dungeon to torture me, but..this time was the first exception. The children were frozen as they watched their dad brutally harm me, and they flinched every time I was thrown into something or a bone broke. At the end of it, I was quivering and crying at Ink's feet.


"Don't let me ever hear my children call you that again!" Ink growled. "Understand?!"


"Y-y-y-yes, I-In-Ink.." I sobbed.


"We will be sleeping in the spare room tonight; I want this place cleaned by morning, and only when it is spotless may you get some rest."


Ink took his children and left me in a wrecked room. Books lay on the floor, drawings that once hung on the wall were scattered around, and one of the children's beds had been broken, along with a myriad of other things that I had to repair. I rose to my feet with a limp, but I wouldn't cease in my work. The room was clean by morning, but I had gotten no sleep when Ink returned to see my progress; I had to make breakfast for the family. The children never called me "mommy" again. By the time the children were ten, they had grown used to seeing their dad beat me; Brush simply looked away, and Paint watched with an unreadable expression. Their bond with their dad never wavered, even after the first incident; they simply accepted that he would beat me if I did wrong, even if they didn't always agree with his view of "wrong." Paint eventually mostly stopped speaking with me, accepting his dad's viewpoint that I was a lower being, while Brush still maintained contact, finding me to be a good person to speak to when she was feeling less than happy, and it was obvious that she still saw me as a sort of parental figure, despite her dad's wishes. One day, Ink's words claimed a permanent place in one of the children's souls - despite the fact that Ink was soulless, the children had quite beautiful souls.


"Dad!" Paint shouted, running through the door to Ink's room; Ink was taking a break from work today, but the children still had school.


"Paint?" Ink looked up from a book he was reading. "Is something wrong?"


"Yes!" As Paint came closer, it was easy to see the tears in his eyesockets.


"My son, what happened?" Ink hugged his son comfortingly.


"I-I'm not strong!"


"What do you mean?"


"I-I want to b-be strong, b-but I'm not!"


"..." Ink looked at me, his expression turning to a smirk. "Paint, I think that..if you want to be strong, I should begin to teach you how to use Dusty."


"Wh-what's he going to do?"


"My wonderful son, Dusty is for more than simply cooking meals and cleaning the room..he'll help you get stronger."


Paint wiped his tears away. "H-how?"


"I'll show you."


Ink led Paint over to me, and I placed the children's clothes aside; I had previously been putting the laundry away, but Ink's immediate whims came first. He gestured for me to sit, and I did, getting down on my knees.


"Dusty is obedient; if you order him to stay still, he will." Ink chuckled. "Whenever you're angry or sad, or if you want to become stronger, you can beat him."


Paint looked at his dad with an unsure expression. "But..I thought only you did that.."


"I did. But now, you may, as well. Simply begin to hurt him, and I'll teach you how to get some true training from your workout."


"..Do I have to hurt him..?"


"Paint, Dusty is here to be whatever we want him to be; he's been a torture dummy before, and, if you wish it, he will be your training dummy."


"..Dad?"


"Yes?"


"Is what you said really true? That he's not a real person? That he's only a..toy?"


"Of course it is, my son."


"What makes him different from us?"


"I broke him. We have free will, and we can make choices for ourselves; we're free to be whatever we want to be..but he is not."


"...What is breaking?"


"Torturing someone to the point of no return..to the point where they'll do whatever you want because they don't know any way to avoid it..to the point at which they'll do anything to avoid a punishment."


"So you..hurt him before he was like this?"


"Yes, Paint, I did."


"Was he lower back then?"


"No, he wasn't."


"..." Paint gave his dad a sad expression. "So..if someone hurt us like that..we would be lower, like him?"


"Theoretically, yes, but I wouldn't allow anyone to hurt you or your sister in that way."


"Why did you want to make someone lower?"


"I needed a companion. There aren't many lower beings out there, in that large multiverse; I had to make one."


"Can a lower being turn back?"


"Yes..but it would take much time. It's far too easy to break someone, but healing can take..decades."


"What if he healed?"


"I would break him again."


"Could he heal after that?"


"No, that would be highly unlikely. If he ever did, I would break him a third time, and that would be that; two times is the rational limit for healing."


"If I hurt him..would I break him?"


"He's already broken; you would simply instill a fear of yourself into him, which is a smaller version of breaking."


"..Will he scream, like he does when you hurt him?"


"If you're strong enough, yes."


"...Is it right?"


"In this family..yes."


Paint took a hesitant step forward, and, taking a deep breath, he struck me. I flinched very slightly, but I wasn't very affected; Paint was only ten, after all, and I had felt worse pain..my bones were weak, though.


"I.." Paint whispered.


"Do you feel any better?" Ink inquired.


"Actually..yeah.." He struck me again.


"I knew you'd enjoy this!"


For the first time since their birth, Brush didn't understand her brother. They didn't speak about it, and Brush didn't pay attention when Paint was hurting me. Honestly, I was fine with it; I knew my place. I was just a toy, as Ink had said so many times in the past. One week after Paint began to use me, Brush decided to have a talk with me while Ink and Paint were out doing something together; Ink made sure to spend time with both of his children individually when he could.


"Dusty." Brush stopped me from my work, which, at the moment, was reorganizing the children's dresser and throwing out any clothes that were too small for the children.


"Yes?" I responded, turning to face her.


"..Can we talk?"


"Of course." I sat down on one of the beds and waited for Brush to speak as she sat down next to me.


"..Why do you let them hurt you?"


"I'm just a toy, Brush."


"You're not just a toy, Dusty! You're a person!"


"..." I sighed. "Brush, I know you don't want to accept it, but I am what your dad says I am.."


"Don't you at least want to fight back?"


"No..I gave up fighting a long time ago..before you were born."


"How can you just stand by?! They're breaking your bones, Dusty!"


I smiled slightly at the only girl who could've been Ink's daughter. "Brush, don't waste your time with me; I'm lower-" I was cut off.


"You are not lower! You're wonderful, and I want to waste my time with you!"


"No, you don't.."


"Dusty..I need help.."


"..With your homework?"


"No..I just..I don't understand why Paint is acting this way..why I have these thoughts..why Dad encourages it.."


"What thoughts?" I questioned.


"I..I keep thinking..hurt..use..betray..why am I thinking these things?!"


"You think..those words?" I felt that those words were familiar..I had heard them before.


"Yes, and I don't know why!"


"..You truly are Ink's daughter.."


"What? What do you mean?"


"Ink used his code to make you..you must have inherited his skills."


"..I don't understand."


"You inherited his manipulative tendencies. I think Paint inherited his anger and pride."


"My dad..manipulates people?"


"How else would he get this empire?"


"..I don't want to manipulate people."


"Brush, you will. Despite the ways you may try to avoid it, you will. Talk to your dad about it; he'll help you."


"Dusty, I want your help!"


"I'm not fit to help you, Brush..you're better off asking a guard..but please talk to your dad."


"Why can't you help me?!"


"Because I'm a slave!" I snapped, pausing when I realized that I had scared the ten-year-old..I was an idiot.. "I..I'm sorry.."


"I get it.." Brush shed a tear. "You're just a lower being, right? Just like everyone tells me..but I didn't want to believe them..I'm sorry you do.."


"It's best if you just forget I exist..I'm meant to be work, not be seen or heard.."


"I cry every time I hear you scream.."


"I know.."


"Dusty, I don't care if you're a slave or a lower being..you're the only person I can speak freely with that isn't family..you practically raised us! Since you're so indebted to my family..will you at least accept that I want this of you? Please.."


"..Fine. I'm yours to command, whether you want to just talk, or something else.."


"Thank you, Dusty."


"Of course, Brush."


"Will you help me better my manipulation if I can't avoid it?"


"You've already manipulated me into doing this..I'd say you're on the right track."


"I..did?"


"Yes.."


"..Maybe I should tell Dad.."


"That's a good idea."


"Thank you, Dusty."


"You're welcome."


Brush spoke to Ink about it, and Ink was proud of his children; Paint was increasing in strength, and Brush was interested in honing her manipulation, after a talk with Ink, who likely sold her on the idea. Paint continued to become stronger using me, and Brush began to manipulate a few guards every once in a while, although she wasn't ready to sway a high rank yet. As they grew, the twins wanted different things from life; Paint wanted to rule beside Ink, and Brush just wanted to have fun. Their teenage years were surprisingly smooth, with only a few hiccups in the time span; Paint nearly sent me into a coma when he was sixteen, Brush messed with the wrong guard at the wrong time - Ink and Paint got their revenge on the guard who dared to hurt Brush - when she was fifteen, and a few other events occurred that didn't really end up with much significance..but today was a special day. Paint and Brush were turning eighteen, and Ink deemed that age to be the age at which they would be considered mature..and Paint was going to take his place next to Ink. Brush wasn't interested in ruling the multiverse, but she was still coming, of course. At the moment, I was in Ink's room with Paint; Ink and Brush were already at the ceremony grounds.


"Why am I so nervous?!" Paint paced back and forth in his room as I tried to put his shoes on; he was making it very difficult, but I was no longer allowed to tell him to do anything..or even speak without being spoken to. "I shouldn't be nervous..this is just the biggest day of my life!"


He bent over to see me.


"Do you think I'll have to give a speech?" He asked.


"No, I think your dad will probably give the speech..but maybe you'd feel more confident with shoes on?" I held up his shoes.


"Oh..right. Put them on, then."


"Yes, Paint."


I obeyed his orders, slipping his shoes onto his feet and tying the laces neatly.


"How do I look?" He wondered, before facepalming. "I sound like my sister, don't I?"


"Yes." I nodded. "As for your look, you're fine..at least..to me.."


"I must be nervous if I'm asking you for advice..ugh.." He took a deep breath. "Whatever, I'm too desperate right now to complain..gloves or no gloves?"


"You'd probably look better without them."


"Very well..is that all? I'm forgetting something..I know I am.."


"Your medal?" I reminded Paint of the medal Ink had given him for his courage a few years ago..I didn't recall what it was for, but Paint valued it highly.


"Uh..yes, that's it!"


Paint seemed ready to go now, with his red suit and black shoes.


"Oh, boy, what would I do without you?" Paint regained his confidence, gesturing for me to follow him out the door, which I did.


"You would probably-" I was cut off.


"That wasn't a question, Dusty."


"My apologies.."


"You aren't forgiven."


"I know.."


I stayed silent for the rest of the walk to the ceremony grounds, where Ink was waiting next to the stage for his son, and Brush was next to him. The crowd was filled with guards, and the high ranks sat in the front row. Ink seemed very proud when he saw us approach, although I was fairly sure that he didn't notice me; his gaze was trained on his son. A tight hug took place between the family, and I stood by, as always; I wasn't part of their family..it made me miss my own. After the hug, Ink offered his hand to his son, and Paint took it, being led up to the stage. I stayed behind with Brush, who was also proud of her brother. Ink gave a long speech to the crowd, but it wasn't so very long that it was boring; it was just the right amount of long. When the speech finished, Ink said a few words that struck fear into my soul..


"And now, Dusty will present the crown." He..uh-oh.


My eyelights nearly flickered out as I realized that I was going to be dead or severely beaten soon..I hoped it was the former.


"What's the matter?!" Brush didn't know.


"Nobody told me about a crown!" I was panicking, since there was no crown of any sort within my sight!


"I said..Dusty will present the crown now!" Ink was irritated.


"I'm dead." I whimpered, curling in on myself.


"No, you aren't!" Brush was confident. "Um..are you sure there wasn't any crown mentioned to you?"


"I would have remembered something like that!"


"Uh.."


"Dusty!" Ink shouted in frustration.


"Okay, okay, okay, don't panic.." Brush was thinking.


"It's a bit late for that.." I would have been writing my will if I had had paper.


"Guards, we seem to be having some difficulties..I'll be right back." Ink began to walk off the stage.


I began to cry when Ink reached the bottom of the staircase and grabbed me by my jacket, slamming me into a wall. His expression presented true fury..this was not good!


"Listen here, Dusty." His skull was nearly touching mine. "You are not going to ruin this ceremony; get the crown and get out there!"


"I-I-I d-den't..d-din't..I-I.." I couldn't speak coherently.


"He says nobody told him about a crown, Dad!" Brush spoke for me. "I don't think he's lying!"


"..High rank forty-nine was supposed to tell Dusty of his duty.." Ink growled out. "Did he?"


I shook my skull rapidly as I whimpered; no high rank had approached me about such a thing! Ink dropped me and inhaled slowly, before exhaling slower.


"All right." He said. "Dusty, you and I will speak later..after I speak to high rank forty-nine..until then, we need a crown."


"Can you make one?" Brush suggested.


Ink sighed. "I suppose it will do. Dusty, hold your hands out."


I did as instructed, and Ink used his paintbrush to create a golden, jeweled crown in my hands; that was..impressive.


"I'll command you as we go; now come, Dusty." Ink turned to walk, and I went after him.


I followed Ink up the stairs and onto the stage, where Paint was waiting - surprisingly patiently - for our arrival. Ink stood next to Paint, and I stood in front of him.


"Now put the crown on him." Ink whispered to me, not moving his mouth.


I did as I was instructed, although Paint had to bend down a little, but that was fine.


"Now get off the stage." Ink ordered.


I obeyed quickly, running off the stage and making myself scarce as I sat down on the ground and listened to the rest of the ceremony, which was fairly straightforward; Ink simply made a few dramatic moves and said a few words, and it was over. There was a celebration involving cake, but I had been sent back to Ink's room after the crowning; I had to clean up after the preparations. A few hours of cleaning later, the room was spotless. I decided to play with my bunnies for a little while before my inevitable punishment; even if the incident wasn't my fault, I would still feel the consequences. Thunder and Lightning were good cuddlers when I wasn't necessarily happy..they could always cheer me up. When the door opened, I put my bunnies away before turning to see who had come in; Ink, Paint, Brush, and a high rank entered the room, and the high rank did not look happy.


"This room looks clean.." Ink approved, with a smile. "Dusty, open that window over there."


"Yes, Ink." I walked over to Ink's bedside table to grab the key for the windows, and the window was promptly opened, with the key being placed back inside the drawer of the bedside table.


"All right, high rank forty-nine."


I stepped aside and made my way over to Paint and Brush as Ink grabbed the high guard and held him over the windowsill, allowing his victim to see the courtyard that lay several stories below.


"Did you tell Dusty that he was to crown my wonderful son?" Ink interrogated.


"I-I.." The high rank knew he hadn't, and Ink was essentially a lie detector; Ink would know if he lied.


"Well?"


"I-I did!"


"..." Ink pushed his victim farther. "Tell me the truth, won't you?"


"I-I-I'm sorry!" The high rank was sobbing. "I-I f-forgot!"


"I see.." Ink pushed a bit more. "So..you forgot..the most important order..you've ever been given?"


"Y-yes!"


Ink pushed another inch, the high rank's torso now entirely off the ledge. "Are you sure about that?"


"I..I-I...I w-wanted to s-see him h-hurt!"


"Ah." Ink pulled the high rank a bit closer, granting him more stability. "So..you intended for my son's crowning to be ruined."


"N-not exactly.." The high rank yelped as he was pushed farther. "Yes! I admit it!"


"Mhm.." Ink pulled. "And you thought you could pin the entire thing on Dusty.."


"Yes!"


"Were you expecting a public beating?"


"M-maybe.."


"I get it." Ink pulled the guard closer. "You just had a sadistic urge, and with your opportunity, you thought that a good target would be little Dusty, whom you knew would be punished if he didn't have the crown ready..correct?"


"Yes!"


"All right." Ink chuckled. "No harm done, I suppose; it was just one of those things, right?"


"Right.."


"Heh..that's funny."


"Wh-what's funny?"


"Just..just the fact that the most important day in my son's life was nearly ruined..and it's all your fault."


Ink slid the high rank farther out the window.


"W-wait!" The high rank whimpered. "P-please, m-mercy!"


"Hm.." Ink looked down to the courtyard. "I suppose I can grant you a twinge of mercy.." He smirked. "Paint, he nearly ruined your day..what do you wish to do with him?"


"Dad, he wanted to see a public beating.." Paint smiled nonchalantly. "Why don't we give him one?"


"Oh, the sweet, sweet irony.." Ink chuckled at the thought. "My son, you truly are my son..let's do it."


"Y-you mean..y-you're going t-to beat him?" The high rank hadn't realized that they weren't talking about me; even I knew that.


Ink and Paint simply laughed. The high rank still didn't know.


"Dusty, go set up the courtyard." Ink ordered, and I ran; if I were lucky, I wouldn't be punished...at least until later..


I didn't waste time when I reached the courtyard, setting up the equipment that had often been used on me in the past; both Ink and Paint enjoyed beating me in front of others, but they would have a different victim this time..and hopefully, I would be spared..although I doubted it. I had everything set up soon enough, and the high rank obviously hadn't been told that he was going to be the one receiving a beating, since he was walking casually with the family; Brush had come along, even though she didn't enjoy things such as this..perhaps it was because her brother had been slightly embarrassed, and she needed revenge? I didn't know; all I knew was that the grin on the high rank's face was about to be wiped off. I sat down on a nearby bench as guards who had been walking - mostly high ranks, since they enjoyed pain - by stopped if they had nothing important to do. After five minutes, a decent crowd had formed, and the high rank smirked at me, thinking that I was going to be beaten..he was wrong, but I wasn't going to tell him that! Brush sat down on the bench next to me when Ink and Paint were ready, and the high rank began to walk to the crowd to watch..but he was held back.


"Um..wh-what are you doing..?" The high rank had a sudden realization when Ink and Paint grabbed him.


"Can't forget the guest of honor, now, can we?" Ink chuckled lowly.


The beating started soon after that, and the guard certainly was beaten; I felt bad for him. After being hurt so much for so long, I simply couldn't take seeing others hurt..I looked away when I couldn't take it anymore. The high rank was beaten all night for his treasonous act, and when morning came, Brush was asleep, resting her skull on me..she wasn't very heavy, but her sleep prevented me from getting any..I stayed up all night to the sound of torture. When the beating ended, the high rank was left lying on the ground, and Ink decided that it was a good time to go to his room. Upon finding that Brush had fallen asleep, Ink picked up his daughter and carried her to the room, while Paint walked beside him and I followed behind. As soon as we reached the room, Ink laid Brush on her bed, and he ordered me to ensure that she slept peacefully; honestly, if it was prolonging the amount of time I wouldn't be punished, I was glad to! Ink and Paint soon joined Brush in sleep, while I stayed awake, making sure that they all had good rests. I was..very tired..but I couldn't sleep; I would have likely been punished harder if I had. Brush woke up first, of course, and she was met with my tired eyelights as I tried to focus..it was harder when I was so exhausted..


"Dusty?" She yawned. "What's going on?"


"Ink and Paint are...sleeping.." I forced my eyesockets open as they tried to close again. "And..I'm not..I'm not allowed..t-to sleep.."


"Oh? That's unfortunate.."


"It's..f-fine.."


I looked up at the clock to see what time it was, finding that it was the usual time I would make breakfast. I stood shakily, walking over to the small kitchen area that Ink had installed in a corner of his room when the children had been about two; I had made their meals ever since then.


"Dusty, you're not in a good condition." Brush took me by my shoulders and set me in a chair. "I'll make breakfast."


"M-my job.." I rubbed my eyesockets slowly. "Can't..shirk.."


"You can barely see straight, Dusty!"


"I can.."


"How many fingers am I holding up?" Brush held her hand in front of me.


"F-four.."


"How about now?" She held up two hands.


"Uh..two.."


"One, Dusty, and the last was two; you need rest."


"C-can't..I-Ink said.."


"Dusty, I think that if you're pushed to the point of not being able to do your job properly, you need to rest."


"H-he doe..doesn't..." I yawned.


"Dad!" Brush's shout made me flinch.


"Huh?!" Ink fell out of his bed in a rush, standing as soon as he could; ever since the children had come into his life, he had forced himself not to immediately try to kill anyone and everyone around him when he was abruptly woken..I had had to protect the children from him multiple times in the middle of the night before he had mastered it. "What is it, dear?"


"Dusty needs sleep!"


"No, he doesn't.." Ink scoffed. "Brush, you care too much about that thing."


"He's on the verge of collapsing, Dad!"


"This is his pre-punishment punishment, Brush."


"Punishment for what?"


"For the crown thing!"


"That wasn't even his fault!"


"He's being punished anyway."


"Oh, Daddy.." Brush's voice betrayed a tone that would have been first thought to be several years younger. "Won't you please let him go? You already punished the bad guard for it.."


Ink hummed begrudgingly.


"He can barely walk, Daddy.." Brush could even manipulate Ink..


"Oh.." Ink sighed. "Once. That is all."


"Thank you, Daddy!"


"You're welcome..Dusty, go to bed."


I muttered a small, "Thank you," before collapsing onto the floor and falling asleep in an instant; Brush was always very kind to me, even though I didn't deserve it.


True to his word, Ink didn't punish me for the incident. His children may have had conflicting views on things, but they always had a strong bond; I loved that about them. Despite the fact that I wasn't supposed to, I loved those children; even when they hurt me, intentionally or not, I loved them. I looked forward to seeing what they would do as adults.


I supposed I was going to find out.


~~~~~


Oh..that was long.


*looks at word count*


Yep..that was long..


If you bothered to read it, even with the presence of OCs, did you enjoy it?


I hope so..because I already have the next short with them being planned..


But for now, have something different!


"Treats"


Classification: kind of fluff.


Warnings: questionable science experiments.


Canonicity: not canon.


~~~~~


"Dusty!" Ink entered the room abruptly, making me jump slightly. "Roll over!"


I was a bit confused, but I obeyed; Ink sometimes made me do tricks.


"Good toy!" Ink rubbed my skull, putting a bag down on his bedside table and sitting on his bed. "Now..flip."


I sighed, knowing that this was going to progressively get harder, but I performed a flip for Ink. He ordered me to perform several more tricks, pulling out a trick book at one point to ensure that I didn't need work on anything, and I didn't, of course. Then he ordered me to perform the trick I was currently practicing.


"Spinning flip, Dusty!" He commanded.


I hadn't mastered that one yet, and it showed..I fell on my face.


Ink snickered. "Again."


I fell on my face again.


"How about this, Dusty?" Ink reached into his bag and pulled out..a cracker? "You do the trick successfully, and you get this!"


"..And why would I want that?" I scoffed at the cracker; I wasn't going to allow myself to be lured around with a small cracker that didn't even give much magic!


"Well..if you prefer, I could use this.."


Ink reached into his bag and pulled out..candy. I scoffed once more, curling up on the ground and resting my skull on my arms; I didn't need or want candy! It was rare nowadays anyway..only children could truly enjoy candy anymore, and I was not a child, no matter how much Ink tried to convince me otherwise!


"You're a tough customer.." Ink hummed, searching his bag. "What about this?"


Ink had several items in his bag, from granola bars to cookies, but none of them interested me; they all had incredibly low magic levels, which decreased their worth to me infinitely. I couldn't care about taste..I could only care about my magic intake.


"All right, Dusty, this is the last thing I have for you." Ink didn't seem too confident about this one.


He pulled out-


"Dusty?" Ink looked at me oddly. "What, you like these?"


I looked at the wonderful objects with awe; they were..amazing!


"You have weird taste.." Ink didn't see much in the tree berries, but I did!


He had unwittingly presented me with fruit! In my isolation years, I had survived for three years only on the magic-filled berries, and they had much more magic than those other things! Ink probably didn't even know! With those berries, I would be able to fend off the hunger pains if Ink punished me by removing my meal! Even if for only an hour, they would do good! I would be more open to doing tricks for Ink now..perhaps he would never find out!


"All right, Dusty." Ink obliged me. "Spinning flip."


With the prospect of gaining a bit more magic in my bones, I stood immediately and actually put effort into the trick, doing something that resembled the requested action within five tries. After a few more (maybe twenty), I had done it!


"Good toy!" Ink tossed a berry to me, and I ate it happily; the magic I felt was invigorating! "Let's try the next one, shall we?"


The berries' strong taste usually fended off anyone who would have wanted to eat them; the trees that grew them used the taste as a protection mechanism, somewhat like a certain species of butterfly..when was the last time I had seen a butterfly? I didn't know. In any case, nobody really cared about the berries, but when I had discovered that they were edible back then, I had stockpiled them! I actually enjoyed the taste now; it was unique, and I liked unique. Upon realizing that I would do tricks for the berries, Ink used a lot of his free time teaching me new tricks, and although they were difficult, I would always attempt to perfect them, if only for the extra magic boost. They didn't give that much magic, which meant that they wouldn't give me an overflow of magic, but they certainly helped! Eight months after Ink had introduced the berries, he was taking me on a walk, and he had collared me..I didn't like collars, but Ink had an entire section of tricks to be performed with one on..I was just going to have to get used to it.


"So what does this do?" Ink asked a scientist; we were in the laboratory, and Ink was seeing the new inventions that had been made.


"It measures the amount of magic in different objects, Sir." The scientist's words caught my attention..I hoped Ink wouldn't test this device.. "There's a surprising amount of magic in everyday items!"


"Huh.." Ink looked down at me. "Does it work on living things?"


"I..believe so, Sir.."


"Do it on Dusty..this should be interesting.."


"Yes, Sir."


I sighed as the collar and my clothes were removed; they would have apparently "altered the result." When Ink ordered me to, I stepped up to a platform and sat down, waiting for the chance to get my Hope back, which had unfortunately been taken with my other things. Ink was known for testing his devices on people - specifically, me - and the scientists knew by this point not to question him unless they were certain the experiment was dangerous; they obviously weren't, this time. I shuddered as a beam of light came over my body and reached for my magic levels, but a minute later, it was over, and Ink was dressing me again.


"How did it feel, Dusty?" Ink inquired, as I pulled my hood up.


"Invasive.." I hugged my Hope.


"Cool. So, what's the result, doctor?"


"Currently, he has 2,568 magic points circulating through his body." The scientist replied.


"..What?" Ink raised an eyebrow. "That..isn't possible..I fed him two days ago! He should have less than two thousand!"


"That's what it says, Sir..and this test has been accurate on everything tested so far..it shouldn't be inaccurate in this instance.."


"Then how could he have over two thousand?!"


"I-I'm not sure, Sir..h-have you been feeding him anything out of the ordinary?" The scientist's question caused me to stiffen slightly..


"..Only these..they're just treats.." Ink held out his bag of tree berries.


"We could check the magic content."


"Do so.." Ink gave the scientist a berry, and I mourned my time with higher magic levels..it had been nice while it lasted.


After the test, the scientist grabbed the results.


"According to this, each of those berries has roughly one hundred magic points." The scientist said.


"..I see." Ink sighed and looked down at me. "That's why you liked them so much.."


I bowed my skull in sadness, knowing that Ink wasn't going to allow me to eat any more tree berries, now that he knew that they lessened the impact of my perpetual torture. I kept my skull down through the rest of the walk, and I kept it down when we reached Ink's room. I didn't play with my Hope this time, only sitting down on the ground silently.


"You really liked having more magic, didn't you, Dusty?" Ink gathered; I nodded lowly. "Well, I'm not going to allow you to eat them as much, but..if you're obedient, perhaps I will occasionally give you one, no more though."


I raised my skull to look at Ink with wide eyelights. "R-really?"


"Sure, Dusty, obedient toys deserve rewards, after all!"


"Thank you.." I gave a small smile; Ink rarely gave me small mercies such as this.


"Now get a bucket of paint; I'm going to punish you for not telling me."


I sighed. "Yes, Ink.."


I obeyed.


~~~~~


"Conquering"


Classification: basically angst.


Warnings: violence.


Canonicity: canon.


~~~~~


I had been Ink's right hand for several years, and I always enjoyed making Ink happy! Whether it was cleaning his clothes or taking out a rebel base, I would always get the job done! Today, Ink hadn't given me an assignment, but I was keeping myself busy by checking in on the various workplaces in the compound; someone needed to make sure that everyone was doing his respective job! A few hours after I began, I was approached by a low rank.


"Dust?" He addressed.


"Yes?" I responded, with a smile; my brother was sick in bed today, which meant that he couldn't ruin my day!


"Ink wants to see you."


"Oh, thank you for telling me!"


"No problem, Dust."


With that, I began to walk to Ink's room, where I found my master as he sat on his bed.


"You wanted to see me, Ink?"


"Yes, Dusty." He nodded. "I want you to conquer an AU for me; can you do that?"


"Of course, Ink! Shall I do it alone?"


"Yes, Dusty." He handed me a bag of supplies. "Now go."


"Yes, Ink."


I created a portal to a universe I knew hadn't been conquered as of yet, and I stepped through to a forest. This specific universe had only existed for a few days, but it needed to be conquered, and I was going to conquer it! I had conquered universes alone before; it was easy, once I had gotten the hang of it. I began in the Ruins, opening the door by force and closing it right back up to prevent anyone from knowing of my presence too soon..well, anyone I didn't want to know. I entered the house in the Ruins, finding the old lady of this universe asleep in the living room; this part was easy. I locked some magic suppressors on her wrists, and she was helpless as I grabbed some chains - Ink was always so thoughtful when giving me supplies - and trapped the old lady to her chair; it would do until I was able to build a suitable cage, which I decided to construct right inside the room. It didn't take long, since Ink had also packed me some sturdy iron bars - I wasn't sure how he could make them so small and have them be able to elongate to become so big - to make one with. As soon as the cage was done, I trapped the old lady in there and retrieved the chains I had used. The rest of the ruins was a cinch; the monsters who lived there couldn't stop me.


Snowdin was next on my list, and, although I had to fight the judge, it wasn't very difficult; I had fought many judges that were stronger. Once the strongest monsters in Snowdin were in the cage with the old lady, the rest submitted; they knew that there was no use in fighting. The local Undyne was a difficult fighter..as in, she found fighting me to be difficult; I won easily. The king didn't even try to fight me; he simply gave in, after watching me conquer the rest of the Underground. I had to spend about an hour attempting to capture both the human child and the flower, since they had teamed up together, but they eventually lost, as well, and a few hours after I had arrived in the universe, I was waiting for Ink to come and see my progress.


"Let us out!" The Undyne was not happy about being trapped, but I couldn't care less.


"I-I know there is good in you!" The Papyrus thought. "Y-you don't have to act this way!"


"Look, you're another version of me, right?" The Sans, the judge, had figured out. "You must have a home, right? Would you want this to happen to your home?!"


"Already did." I replied. "You're better off giving in; you'll feel less pain."


"Wait..then you didn't do this on your own?" The old lady figured. "Then..whoever took over your home is making you do this, right?"


"Not necessarily making me do it; I like this work."


"What kind of sadistic jerk do you have to be to like hurting innocent people?!" The Undyne hissed.


"The same kind who knows what it's like on the receiving end.." I chuckled slightly. "It's much better on this side; trust me."


"..Someone..hurt you?" The Papyrus was saddened by that thought.


"..." I had revealed a bit too much..I was allowing my emotions to get in the way of my work..but I didn't want to stop..I had finished my job, anyway; a simple conversation wouldn't do any harm! "Yeah.."


"By..who?"


"Lotta people." I twirled a dagger in my hands. "Just about everyone at some point, really."


"How many people..is everyone..?"


"Paps, he's a murderer." The Sans reminded. "People don't necessarily like murderers."


"If the murderer was only doing it because they were forced to, I would try to like them!"


"No, you wouldn't." I scoffed. "You're a carbon copy of my brother..he didn't.."


"..What..did he do?"


"You don't want to know."


"..I do.."


I rolled my eyelights at the Papyrus's sincerity..I almost missed- no. "Fine, I'll tell you. Instead of maybe, I don't know, helping me, perhaps persuading me not to kill, he..took me."


"What do you mean by 'took'?" The Sans was interested.


"Manipulated me. Used me for his own best interests. Only a few people ever understood me..but they're long dead now.."


"I refuse to believe that any version of me would do that to his own brother!" The Papyrus huffed.


"I've seen versions of you who have abused their brothers..don't give me that innocent look."


"And you're a saint?" The Sans glared.


"No, but I don't wish to be; I'm fine right where I am."


"And where is that?"


"Obeying orders, just like you will be."


"There's no way I'm obeying any orders!" The Undyne crossed her arms.


"..Who said anything about you?" I chuckled. "Only he will be taken..none of you."


"What..d-do you mean?"


"You're going to be recruited into an army; every judge is."


"You..you're part of an army?" The Asgore questioned.


"Yes."


"What's your rank, soldier?" The Undyne received a few odd looks. "What? I've always wanted to say that!"


"Second-in-command, if you must know." I sighed.


"Wait..you mean someone so high in rank would risk his life just to conquer one place?" The old lady didn't understand that.


"Yes? Is that weird?"


"Usually, generals and the like just direct the soldiers from the sidelines..why would you be fighting?" The Asgore was confused.


"Because I was told to? Even our leader enters battle sometimes.."


"And who is your leader?" The Sans asked.


"My master."


The group stared at me with looks of shock.


"Is..something wrong?" I tilted my skull; had I said something wrong..?


"Usually..that word isn't used in military..." The old lady stated. "It would mostly be used as signs of respect or..ownership.."


"And..why does this bother you?"


"Does everyone in your little army refer to your leader as that?" The Sans shuddered.


"No, only me..why is that unsettling to you?"


"What exactly is your relationship to your leader?" The Asgore wondered.


"I'm his property..? Is that so weird?"


"Yes!" The Papyrus shouted. "It is very weird! People do not go around owning other people!"


"..I hate to break it to you, but that's fairly common in the army..a lot of high ranks have claimed low ranks in their sections as virtual servants..is that not common in this universe?"


"No..it is not.." The Sans seemed angry. "Is that what you meant what you said people had hurt you?"


"Well, somewhat..my master allows the high ranks to beat me if they want to, but I can't really feel pain anymore, so it isn't that big of a deal, really."


"That's inhumane!" The Undyne yelled. "There's no way you're taking Sans with you! Papyrus, hold on to your brother and never let go!"


"Already on it." The Papyrus had grabbed his brother, who was now tightly pressed against his brother's sternum.


"That's..not going to do much." I stared unamusedly.


A portal opened, and I stood; Ink walked out, facing the cage.


"Well done, Dusty!" He rubbed my skull, and I giggled slightly. "Bring me the judge."


"Yes, Ink." I saluted.


Obeying Ink, I entered the cage and..tried to grab the Sans..who was being held out of my reach by the Papyrus..


"Dusty.." Ink facepalmed. "You're helpless.."


"I'm sorry.." I sighed, leaving the cage and allowing Ink to enter it; he managed to snag the judge away from the Papyrus, fortunately.


"Hold him, Dusty."


"Yes, Ink." I held the judge by his shoulders and forced him down to his knees..until he ran.


"Dusty!" Ink shouted, causing me to flinch. "You idiot!"


"I-I'm sorry!" I was so weak..I didn't deserve to be Ink's right hand.


"You stay here..and I am going to get the judge.."


"Y-yes, Ink.."


Ink teleported away, teleporting back with a struggling judge in his hands within a few seconds, but this time, I had some chains ready to hold the judge in place. When the judge was forced to remain in one place, Ink gave his offer.


"So, forgetting that mishap, would you be interested in joining my army?" He smiled at the judge.


"Never." The judge glared.


"Not even if it meant the safety of your dear brother?"


The judge hesitated.


"I thought that might persuade you..you see, if you join me willingly, you'll be able to visit, and you'll have privileges..if you don't, you will never see your brother ever again." Ink chuckled lowly.


"P-Paps?" The judge looked to his brother with a fearful expression; they must have had a strong bond.


"You jerk!" The Undyne shouted. "Do you think you can just turn everyone into your slave like him?!"


"Like..who?" Ink turned his skull to the cage.


"The little guy..he's your slave, isn't he?"


"..." Ink's gaze shifted to me.. "Dusty..you aren't supposed to talk about that.."


"I..I m-must have gotten carried away.." I looked to the ground.


"Excuse me for a moment.." Ink walked towards me, grabbing me by my neck and forcing me up against a wall; I was in so much trouble.. "You were being so good lately..you followed orders, you made me happy..what happened?"


"I-it was j-just a talk.." I quivered in his hold.


"Just a talk?" Ink pulled something out of his pocket..something I feared.. "Dusty, I thought we went over this..you don't speak to the captives..can you tell me what you don't do?"


"I-I don't..s-speak to the c-captives.."


"Louder." He brought it closer.


"I d-don't speak..to the captives.."


"Louder." He held it up to my neck.


"I don't s-speak to the captives!" I sobbed.


"And..why are you being punished?" He locked it around my neck.


"I s-spoke to the c-captives.."


"That's right, Dusty." He activated the collar. "Now, be a good toy and scream."


Ink grabbed one of my arms roughly..and snapped it; I screamed. I had disobeyed; I deserved this. I had spoken to the captives, who I wasn't allowed to speak to; I deserved this. I had made Ink disappointed in me; I deserved this. He beat me; I deserved every fracture. By the time Ink removed the collar, he had broken my limbs and many of my ribs, along with giving my skull many fractures and doing many other things..but that was fine, since I had deserved it.


"Are you ever going to speak to captives again, Dusty?" He questioned.


"N-no.." I whimpered.


"That's better; now do your job."


"Y-yes, Ink.."


I limped - Ink had bent one of my legs into a position it couldn't escape from - over to the judge, who had tears in his eyesockets from seeing my punishment. Upon seeing my predicament, Ink kicked my leg back into its correct positioning, and I thanked him quietly, holding the judge in place despite his chains.


"Sorry about that!" Ink shrugged, resuming his talk with the judge. "So, you've had some time to think over my offer..would you like to join my army willingly?"


The judge looked over to the cage, where some of the captives were nodding, and others were shaking their heads.


"You..say I can see my brother if I do?" He sighed.


"Of course." Ink smiled.


"..Do you treat everyone like that?"


"Like Dusty? No, only him..he's special."


The judge looked longingly at the other captives. "I can't leave him.."


"You will either way, but if you join me willingly, you'll be able to visit at least once every few days, not taking into account possible long missions or other possibilities."


"..All right, I'll join you..but only for my brother.."


"You've made the best decision of your life." Ink approved, removing the judge's chains. "Dusty, take him to the guard lounge and get Dream to give him the tour; I'll finish up here and catch up with him later."


"Yes, Ink." I took the new high rank's hand and opened a portal.


I just had to obey.


~~~~~


"Trouble"


This short has Papy in it.


Classification: angst.


Warnings: violence.


Canonicity: alternate timeline.


~~~~~


Papy was having trouble. Ink had been treating him worse than usual lately, even going so far as to use a punishment collar on him when there was no reason to punish him..I had tried begging, but Ink simply insisted that Papy needed to be taught a lesson. I didn't know what the lesson was; only Ink did. I usually wouldn't worry about it - Ink sometimes used the collars without reason - but he had done it every day for the past month! Papy was suffering, and his days were spent recovering from his last punishment..we couldn't spend any time together. If I tried to play with him, he backed away in fear; Ink was taking away his confidence, and I didn't know why! Papy seemed as if he knew why Ink was treating him this way, but he refused to tell me...he hadn't even spoken to me since this started, and Ink simply told me that it was none of my business. I found myself cuddling with my bunnies more often for comfort; Papy was always too tired to cuddle with me now. Every day was the same; Ink would wake us up, leave for work, come back, punish Papy cruelly, and send us back to sleep..I thought Papy's mental tests had ceased decades ago! I felt..neglected. I sighed when Ink returned from another work day.


"Pay attention, Papy." He grabbed Papy roughly and locked a collar around the half-conscious skeleton's neck.


I had almost grown numb to the screams. The first couple times, it was enjoyable; I had thought that Ink just needed to get some anger out, but I was soon proved wrong. I began to beg for Ink to stop, only receiving a harsh glare for my troubles and being yelled at not to interfere..after a few of those events, I simply stopped. I was currently lying down with my bunnies, silently weeping as I heard my toy's screams behind me. I cried myself to sleep tonight. I knew that I needed to get Ink's attention away from Papy in order to protect my toy; I just wasn't sure how. As I slept, I formulated a plan to grab Ink's attention; it was foolproof, of course. I didn't necessarily want to interfere with my master's plans, but Papy was..suffering; I had no idea why Papy was being treated in that way, but I wanted to grant him a bit of mercy, even if only to delay his torment. The next day, when Ink woke me up, I initiated the first part of my plan.


"Good morning, Dusty!" He greeted.


"Good morning, Ink.." I frowned; he didn't notice.


"Can you wake Papy? I need to get going."


"..Yes, Ink."


"Thanks."


Ink was out the door before I could think to stop him. I decided to let Papy rest today; he needed it. With a sigh, I looked toward a window; the only way to get Ink's attention away from Papy would be to get myself in trouble, and as much as I didn't want to, I had to. Grabbing the key to the windows from Ink's bedside table, I climbed onto a windowsill and opened one of the large windows that were lined up on the wall.


"I hope this is for a good reason, Papy.." I bowed my skull, dropping the key onto the ground and closing the window behind me as I climbed down to the ledge that lay next to it.


Ink's room was on the top floor. The compound had about ten floors. Nevertheless, I walked on the ledge that lined the building, knowing my destination. My plan was rather simple; Ink's room overlooked the courtyard, which was an outdoor area which the compound was built around, for the most part. That offered corners, and the ledge I was walking on certainly had those! It didn't take long for me to reach one of those corners, and I was officially in a safe spot; I could easily lie down on a corner in any direction, since I was small. With that in mind, I lay down with my Hope and waited; someone was sure to find me eventually, and Ink would probably turn his attention away from Papy! I didn't mind a punishment if it was to protect Papy. Several hours passed with nothing but my Hope and I.


I didn't expect night to fall before my absence was noticed; I had expected Ink to forego Papy's punishment to look for me, but..I heard Papy's screams from inside just the same. Perhaps he had gotten so used to my going to sleep by myself that he just hadn't noticed; that sounded reasonable. He always made sure to wake me, however! I decided that I could sleep on the ledge tonight; I didn't move much in my sleep, if at all. When morning arrived, my absence was noticed, and that was made clear when I heard Ink's scream.


"Dusty?!" He shouted, loud enough for me to flinch at the volume, even from a distance.


With that, I sat up on the ledge and decided to wait for whoever was going to find me, hugging my Hope tightly. The hours passed slowly as I awaited my "rescue," but I didn't show myself voluntarily; I didn't want to. It took them nine hours to find me after Ink's yell, but none of the guards was going to dare to teleport up to me; they decided to use a ladder - a gigantic ladder. After another half hour of messing around with the ladder, the guards managed to get the ladder up to me, and a low rank climbed up to me; I didn't fight him when he offered to take me down to the ground. Soon enough, I was walked to Ink's room, where the artist in question was anxiously awaiting my arrival; he wasn't even hurting Papy. He ran up to me and picked me up when I was sent in alone, hugging me tightly and scolding me for going missing.


"Oh, Dusty, where were you?" He had true worry in his tone; I felt bad, but I had done it for a reason.


"Outside." I replied.


"Who took you?"


"No one.."


"..What do you mean?"


"I left by myself.."


"You..what?" Ink let go of me, setting me on his bed.


"You spent all your time hurting Papy..Papy couldn't spend any time with me because he had to recover..and I guess..I was lonely.."


"You..must have known that you would be punished.."


"I know..but I just wanted some attention..the only time you spent with me was to wake me up..and that was the only time you even realized I was gone.."


Ink lowered his skull slightly and sighed. "I guess I have been spending the majority of my time with Papy..I'm sorry, Dusty."


"You don't have to apologize; I know there was a reason for your hurting Papy, and I'm sorry for ruining it, but..I had no one to talk to..or even play with..Papy is afraid of playing now.."


"He..is?"


"Uh-huh..he's terrified of playing.."


Ink glanced at Papy, frowning.


"I know I don't have any rights to ask, but..why were you hurting Papy?" I questioned.


"..I can't tell you, Dusty." Ink shook his skull. "It's between him and me, and that's all you need to know. But..I guess I have been neglecting you.."


"When will it end?"


"He did something very bad, Dusty..I don't know how long, but I promise that I'll spend some time with you when it's over, okay?"


"Okay.." I hoped it would be soon. "Are you going to punish me for this?"


"...No, Dusty, you were right to want a bit of attention; I can't fault you for that. Don't do it again, though; I will punish you next time."


"Yes, Ink." I looked over to Papy, who was still lying on the floor. "I'm sorry for worrying you."


"It's fine this time, Dusty. I do have to punish Papy some more now, though."


"Okay.."


I slid off Ink's bed and made my way over to a corner of the room, waiting for the screams to begin. Papy's punishments continued for a few more months, but when they ended, I was glad.


Ink kept his promise.


~~~~~


"Ink's View on Heroes and Villains"


Classification: angst.


Warnings: manipulation, Ink being Ink.


Canonicity: canon.


~~~~~


Ink's point of view.


Today had been a bad day. First, I was woken up early by a high rank who was now in a coma. Next, Dusty lost his daggers; he was a good right hand, but he was sometimes so good that he forgot about the little things. When we found the aforementioned weapons, I was informed of an uprising across multiple AUs; Dusty was sent to stop that, along with a few hundred soldiers. Now..the last thing that had gone horribly wrong today..was something that I had never thought of..I had been kidnapped. Sure, Dusty had been kidnapped before, but I didn't see the point in kidnapping me! Dusty was used for ransom; what was I supposed to be used for?! The rebel band that had taken me was strategic, but in the end, their reasoning seemed severely flawed. When I woke up in a cell, I decided that I would simply enjoy this; I could use a vacation, after all, and Dusty would take care of my work in my absence. When a group of rebels approached the cell I was inhabiting, I simply smiled.


"So, what'll it be?" I chuckled. "You must have a solid reason for wanting to kidnap me.."


"We're going to execute you." The leader of the group had a stern expression.


"That sounds fun..I've died a few times before, but it's a little hard to get rid of an immortal; I'm interested to see what you come up with."


Their faces paled; they obviously hadn't known that I was immortal.


"You mean you didn't know that?" I laughed heartily at their ignorance. "Wow, talk about uninformed!"


"..We could pay him back for what he did to everyone else.." Someone in the group had ideas..someone like me..


"I like you." I looked at the one who had suggested paying me back, who seemed surprised. "It's not every day someone suggests torturing me for a change..you're like me.."


"No, I'm not!" He glared at me.


"Hot temper..willingness to torture..unrelenting glare..are you sure we're not related?"


"Stop your creepy line of thought!"


"He's just trying to get in your head." The leader assured. "If we can't kill him..perhaps we can interrogate him."


"Wonderful idea, really." I smirked. "Go ahead and question me; this will be exciting."


"..Why did you establish your empire?"


"I spun a wheel."


"..You what?"


"Well, with Nightmare's gang dead, there was no one who could stop me, so I wrote a bunch of things to do on a spinner wheel, and it landed on 'take over the multiverse.'"


"That..that is what happened?!"


"Well, yeah."


"What other things were there?"


"Oh, I had a lot of fun things! There was 'force Dream to take over Nightmare's old job,' 'destroy life as we know it,' and 'give Blue an armed nuclear missile'! There were, like, twenty things, but it landed on what it did, and I like this outcome, truly."


"...You're sick."


"I won't deny it!"


"Have you ever considered being good?"


"..." I hesitated. "Not..recently."


"How so?"


"..I tried to be good once.." I frowned slightly at the memories. "People hated me..it was always, 'Why didn't you save them?' 'Why couldn't you stop it?' 'Why did you do that when there was obviously no choice, and sometimes tough decisions had to be made, and I made them!'" I took a small breath to calm myself; I was getting too stuck in the past. "They expected me to be like those stupid fairytale heroes, who made everything better, no matter what they were up against! But I couldn't, because this is real life! They hated me..is it really so surprising that I decided to conform to their outlook? Being evil is more fun, anyway; being hated hurts less, because you want them to hate you..because now..you can shift the blame to the real heroes..and nobody suspects you."


"..Like you did with Nightmare's gang.."


"Precisely."


"If you were the hero, what did people hate you for?"


"..Everything. Do you know how easy it is to hate the person who killed your loved one? I had no choice but to kill, sometimes..and people hated me for it. When I couldn't make it in time to save someone, I was hated. When I entered an AU, I was a bad omen! People love to hate those whom they think are selfless; the only time a hero will be loved is if they're a mascot - a phony. Because when the chips are down, the hero is expected to protect everyone..but that isn't possible. The only real heroes are the ones who are hated, and the real villains are the ones who are loved. The heroes will try to explain that they aren't perfect; the villains will tell everyone the opposite. Do you know how soulbreaking it is to know that however much you try, you'll never be able to save everyone? That every time you save a life..you condemn two more? Being a hero requires self-sacrifice..and the willingness to be hated for what you do..because you will be hated, even if you're right!"


"..Why become a villain?"


"..Because I was sick of being hated."


"But everyone hates you now."


"Yes, that's true..but do you remember when I was still the 'Protector'? People loved me..because I turned the true heroes into the villains of the story. Because I introduced to them a threat, and I 'protected' them from it. Because I labelled myself the hero. Would you like to know what would have happened otherwise?"


"..."


"Nightmare's gang wouldn't have lasted for a week; the people of the multiverse would have teamed up and imprisoned them, on Dream's request, because he would have told them that his brother was corrupted, and they would have forced Nightmare to reveal that he was actually simply keeping a balance. Once that was known, the people of the multiverse would have taken it upon themselves to keep the balance, because there was no hero. With myself as the hero, they trusted me; I milked Nightmare's gang for all they had, and when I became bored of the monotony, I ended them, and I started a new game, with myself as the villain."


"..This is just a game to you?"


"Of course it is..and I've successfully fixed the multiverse."


"..What do you mean?"


"The problem before was that..with a hero..people were..dependent. They trusted the hero to protect them, instead of trusting themselves, and that's what conquered the multiverse: dependency. When the common folk are offered an easy solution to their problems, they won't question it..they'll just..accept it. The ones who don't accept it..are the 'villains.' People hate the ones who make their lives harder - the ones who are more than often right - because they don't want to believe that they're being lied to..and that's how someone conquers the world: making it easy. There are no more heroes..people now only depend upon themselves..and, despite the fact that I don't intend to lose my power any time soon..if I ever do, this multiverse will never depend upon heroes again; they don't want to be tricked again. In that way, I've fixed the multiverse: by ridding it of dependency."


"..You think of yourself as the hero."


"Didn't I tell you that the true heroes are the ones who are hated?"


"But you're supposed to be the villain.."


"So I am.."


"What kind of psychotic.."


"I'm only making life better..if the people ever take me down, I'll know that I've saved them..but until then, I'm content with being called the villain..because all true heroes are hated..and I am the true hero."


"..."


"Fool me once, shame on you.."


He fainted.


"Fool me twice..shame on me." I chuckled.


I loved messing with minds.


~~~~~


"Captives"


This takes place in the "Heirs" timeline - also known as OCs.


Classification: mostly angst.


Warnings: violence, mention of potentially sensitive subjects.


Canonicity: alternate timeline.


~~~~~


Paint's point of view.


I was twenty years old. Ruling with my dad was a bit difficult at times, but I enjoyed the power; I had looked forward to it for years, after all! Today, my sister wanted to go on a trip through a few AUs, and I was going to go with her; Dad said that I needed to know a bit more about what I ruled over. It was going to be an all-day trip, and we were currently being woken up.


"Good morning, Paint." Dad woke me gently.


"Morning, Dad." I returned.


"Brush is already awake; I still need to wake up Dusty."


"All right, Dad."


Dad didn't waste his time in walking over to Dusty, who was sleeping soundly..not for long.


"Good morning, Dusty!" Dad always woke Dusty with a louder and more abrupt voice than he did with us; Dusty was sitting up within a few seconds.


"Good morning, Ink.." He rubbed his eyesockets before grabbing his doll..I didn't know why he even had that thing, but I wasn't going to ask.


"Go get breakfast ready."


"Yes, Ink."


Dusty stood up obediently and walked over to the kitchen, where he would cook breakfast. Brush was no doubt in a different room changing - she preferred privacy while she changed, which I didn't really understand, since we were skeletons..it must have been a girl thing. I had no qualms about changing right next to my bed. When I was ready, I joined Dad at the table, and Brush soon joined us, wearing one of her favorite dresses..I didn't know why she needed so many, but that was apparently a girl thing, too; Dad told me not to question it, however much I wanted to. A few minutes later, Dusty had finished breakfast, and he placed our plates on the table before sitting on the floor; he had been fed yesterday, and that was good enough for the likes of him. Breakfast was good, though; Dusty was a good cook, if nothing else. When our meal was finished, Dusty collected our plates and went to wash them as Brush and I prepared for our trip.


"Will Dusty be coming with us?" Brush wondered; she actually cared about the slave, which was another thing I didn't understand.


"No, honey, I'm going to be using him today to test a few torture techniques." Dad had the right ideas.


"Do you have to?"


"Yes, Brush. Enjoy your trip."


"We will." I assured, opening a portal to a random AU; that was the best way to explore. "Bye, Dad!"


"Good bye, Dad!" Brush waved.


"Bye!" Dad saw us off, turning to Dusty when we walked through. "As for you.."


We came out into a forested area, which wasn't uncommon; some versions of the Underground were half forest! Brush enjoyed looking at the different types of trees that littered the forest, while I preferred climbing them.


"Paint, what's that?" Brush saw something through the trees.


I climbed up one to get a better look, finding..a base.. "I think it's a rebel base, Brush."


"Should we go to a different AU?" Brush wasn't one for violence, but I wanted to take them out.


"No, it's probably only a few rebels." I stated, jumping to the ground. "I can fight them, maybe even wipe their base out; Dad would like that."


"Must you always take the fighting route?"


"You can stay back and watch, Brush; it won't take long."


"Fine, but be quick about it."


"It'll be a piece of cake."


Brush simply gestured for me to go, which I did, unsheathing my weapon of choice, which happened to be a sword; I was going to be able to choose a more customized weapon when I turned twenty-five, but until then, I would be experimenting with normal weapons. I sneaked up to the base stealthily, intending to sneak-attack it. Bursting down the door, I immediately attacked those inside, who happened to be taken unaware; it was easy to fight them, and Brush met me inside the base once I had secured it.


"Can't we just continue our trip now?" Brush wanted to go. "I want to see a waterfall..a surface waterfall!"


"This'll only take a minute, Brush." I rolled my eyelights. "Besides, Dad will be proud; would you want to deprive your amazing brother of some praise?"


"I'll give you five minutes."


"Thanks, sis."


"Don't mention it."


I smiled and knelt down to restrain the prisoners with more than just rope..when a portal opened behind me..and someone walked through. I unsheathed my sword quickly, and Brush knew to get behind me; I would protect my sister. I was faced with someone I had heard of, but never met: the Papyrus..leader of the resistance. I smirked as I thought of what honor Dad could bestow upon me if I brought him home..but first, I had to fight him, which likely wouldn't be too difficult; he was only one Papyrus, after all!


It turned out that one Papyrus could do a lot..and I wasn't very sure about how I had been tied up next to my sister..in the resistance base..now being faced by several resistance soldiers.


"'Piece of cake,' he said." Brush sighed. "'Only a minute,' he said. Remind me where you said this."


"I wasn't expecting him to be so strong!" I defended myself.


"Dad's not going to be happy."


"At least act as if you believed in me!"


"Oh, brother, it's so inspiring that you've managed to get captured by the resistance."


"..." I had nothing to say to that.


"Who are you?" The Papyrus decided to speak, since we were no longer talking at the moment.


"None of your business." I replied.


"Why do you look like the dictator?"


"Also none of your business."


"Are you part of the army?"


"None of your business."


"Are you going to say that to every question I ask you?"


"None of your business." I smirked.


"This seems to be getting nowhere.."


"How about you just let us go? We're not answering any of your questions, and you'll gain nothing from us."


"Some AUs have a nice place called 'Niagara Falls'; can we go there?" Brush..was set on going to a waterfall.


"We're literally in the custody of the resistance..and you're worrying about that?"


"Well, I'm not part of any army, and, therefore, I have no enemies!" Brush reminded. "I'm an innocent civilian!"


"Some civilian.." I sighed.


"Since you are not part of the army, would you mind answering a few questions?" The Papyrus was just asking for trouble.


"Of course.." Brush had her ways of messing with people..I wasn't going to interrupt.


"Who are you?"


"Brush."


"..Who is he?"


"Paint."


"Why do you look like the dictator?"


"Why do you look like a Papyrus?"


"I am a Papyrus.."


"I never would have guessed.."


"..Are you related?"


"Depends."


"On what?"


"On what you classify as related.."


"Are you biologically related?"


"Yes."


"How?"


"We were born together."


"..What is your relation?"


"Biological, didn't you hear?"


"..I can see that you are messing around."


"Oh? How nice!"


"Would you mind truly answering my questions?"


"Perhaps..for a price.."


"..." The Papyrus hummed. "Tell us your price, and we will discuss it amongst ourselves."


"To go free. If I'm being truly honest, I didn't intend on being here today; I wanted to go on a trip, while he decided to attack one of your bases."


"Give us one moment."


The Papyrus walked away with the other leaders to a different room, leaving Brush and I tied up.


"Why are you offering them information?" I had to know.


"Because I want to see a waterfall." Brush answered. "You got us into this mess, and I am going to get us out."


"I guess that's fair.."


"Yes, it is."


We remained silent until the resistance soldiers returned, and they seemed confident when they did.


"All right, we will release you once you have answered our questions." The Papyrus confirmed.


"Perfect." Brush smiled. "Ask away."


"How are you related?"


"We're siblings, twins."


"Why do you look like the dictator?"


"He's our dad."


Our interrogators seemed unsettled at that, but the Papyrus soon regained his calmness. "How old are you?"


"Twenty."


"And..you are his biological children..?"


"Yep!"


"How?"


"He coded his DNA into us when we were created."


"For what purpose were you created?"


"He wanted children; he wanted souls to look after and care for."


"..How did he keep you secret for so long?"


"It stopped being a secret when we were five; you're just way behind in your news."


"..Is there anything else we do not know about?"


"Well.." Brush was going to tell them the one thing they didn't need to know.


"Brush, don't you dare.." I warned her.


"Paint's co-ruling with Dad."


"Brush..they didn't need to know that.."


"You didn't need to attack that base, but you did."


"..There are two dictators..?" The Papyrus needed a moment to process that.


"Yep!"


"..." The Papyrus took a deep breath. "Does anyone else want to ask questions?"


No one spoke.


"In that case, do either of you know my brother?" The Papyrus picked up.


"Probably not; who is he?" Brush inquired.


"He was known as Dust before Ink took over.."


Brush blinked. "Dusty?"


"You know him?!" The Papyrus had a look of hope on his face.


"Short, wears a hood all the time, blue and red eyelights, quiet voice?"


"That certainly sounds like him!"


"Then, yeah, we know him!" Brush chuckled. "He practically raised us."


"..My brother...raised..the dictator's..children..?"


"Love to break it to you, he's a slave." I smirked; the Papyrus's expression turned to one of sadness and pity.


"That was rude, Paint." Brush scoffed. "He may be a slave, but he's nice!"


"How..how is he?" The Papyrus was worried for his brother.


"He's.." Brush thought about the reason Dusty wasn't here with us right now. "Overall.." Brush recalled what Dad had been doing with Dusty for the past couple decades. "Yeah..not so well, really.."


"..How is he treated?"


"Uh..I treat him nice..and he has a few friends.."


"How is he treated?"


"..Bad."


The Papyrus sighed, bowing his skull.


"..I just realized something." Brush smiled at me.


"What?" I wondered.


"Dusty used to tell us all those stories about the bravest Papyrus in the world..your childhood hero.."


"..." My eyelights must have flickered out; my childhood hero was the leader of the resistance..


Brush began to laugh heartily. "You dreamed..you dreamed of being just like him!"


"That's enough, Brush." I shook my skull. "Can we go now? We answered your stupid questions."


"I..suppose.." The Papyrus nodded.


"Good." I smiled as we were untied and given back our magic, opening a portal to a surface AU. "Come on, Brush; let's go see your waterfall."


"Yay!" Brush was excited.


We spent the rest of the day at a waterfall, which Brush enjoyed greatly; that was it, though. How Brush could spend several hours entranced by one waterfall confounded me, but I wasn't going to ruin her fun..until it was time for dinner. When that time did come, I was more than happy to drop her through a portal - after asking her permission, of course, since I didn't want Dad to ask why I opened a portal under my unassuming sister - home, hopping through right after her. Dad didn't seem to be home yet, but that was fine; Brush and I could take this time to decide that we definitely had not been captured by the resistance today.


"We shouldn't tell Dad." I proposed, sitting down at the table.


"I think he should know." Brush was visibly lasping into a psychotic state and should not have been allowed to speak for the next week.


"That-that's insane!"


"And attacking a base by yourself wasn't?"


"Everything turned out fine in the end!"


"Because of me."


I whined, crossing my arms.


"We're telling Dad." Brush decided.


"Okay, fine, but I will tell him."


"Fair enough."


The door opened promptly, and Dad walked through, with Dusty slowly following him; scars of recent torture were evident, despite his covering clothing. Dusty trudged over to the kitchen to prepare our meal, while Dad sat down at the table with us, smiling.


"So, how did your day go?" He inquired, not knowing that his smile would likely vanish soon.


"Um..about that.." I had to tell him in the best way possible..


"Did something wrong happen?" His smile was already gone..great.


"Tell him, Paint." Brush prompted.


"It, uh, it was just an accident.." I decided to begin with that.


"What happened?" Dad was already not happy.


"Nothing big.."


"Paint got us captured by the resistance." Brush had had enough of my hesitance.


"..You what." Dad was visibly concerned and agitated.


"It wasn't..my fault.." I wasn't doing well.


"He attacked a base alone." Brush decided that she would tell the story. "And he got us captured."


Dad took a deep breath. "Dusty..come here for a moment."


Dusty, oblivious to our conversation - the kitchen was far enough away from the table that he wouldn't have been able to hear us unless he was focusing very hard - walked to Dad's side.


"Do you need-" Dusty's question was cut off by Dad's fist, which made its way into Dusty's face, sending Dusty flying across the room into a wall.


"You were saying?" Dad had gotten some of his rage out.


"Um..we found a resistance base?" I tried to show the bright side.


"So I hear."


"They interrogated us." Brush wasn't going to leave anything out, unfortunately.


And she truly didn't. She told Dad everything that happened, ending with our leaving...but she had a question.


"Dad?" She addressed.


"Yes..?" Dad wasn't in the best mood, and Dusty had been flung across the room several times in the past few minutes.


"Why didn't you tell us that the leader of the resistance is Dusty's brother?"


"..." Dad's rage seemed to dissipate, leaving a calm expression. "Interesting question..I thought he would have told you.."


"He hasn't.." Brush frowned. "Is that why you enslaved him? Because he's the brother of your enemy?"


"..No." Dad glanced at Dusty, who was slowly limping over to the kitchen again, not hearing our conversation. "I made him into my toy because I needed someone to do whatever I wanted with..it was coincidence that he's related to my enemy..but it is rather ironic."


"Why doesn't he ever speak about his brother?"


"He's lost hope..he doesn't believe that anyone is trying to save him, and that is what ensures his obedience..if he thought that there was a soul out there that still cared for him, he wouldn't be so willing to obey..because he would know that that one person would want him to hold on.."


"You mean he would act differently?" I couldn't imagine the thought..Dusty had always been obedient to a fault..hadn't he?"


"..Yes. He lost hope about five years before you were born, and he's been this way ever since..but I wouldn't want him to know that there are those who still care for him; I spent over a decade molding him."


"But.." I wanted to say more, but Dad stopped me; Dusty was coming with our dinner.


"Dusty, make some dessert for us." Dad ordered.


"Yes, Ink." Dusty walked back to the kitchen after placing our plates down.


"What were you saying?" Dad returned his attention to me.


"If he believes that no one cares for him, why does he continue?" I questioned. "Why go on? He could easily end his usefulness and force you to give up on him."


"He could..but Brush keeps the thought from entering his mind."


"Me?" Brush didn't understand.


"You don't treat him as the slave he is..you value his opinions..you make him feel wanted. You and the few guards whom he considers his friends encourage him to keep living."


"Isn't that only..four people, or something?" I didn't get it. "Why would he live through what we put him through for only four people?"


"His soul. As both of you know, different beings have different souls, and the properties within those souls shape the type of person someone will be, whether it be cruel or caring, empathetic or apathetic. Dusty's soul gives him the properties of a caring, loyal, friendly person..one who is incapable of natural hate..and one who is willing to stay live to please even one person..his only weakness would be his self-esteem, but that's a desirable trait for a lower being. Once he's convinced that he's nothing more than a servant, he'll never question his masters."


"What do you mean by natural hate?"


"Well..if someone conditions him to hate, it is possible..but he'll never be able to hate on his own..unless it's himself, of course; convincing him to do that was simple."


"He..hates himself?" Brush seemed concerned about that.


"Yes, he does; he believes that everything bad that happens is somehow his fault, and that the world would be better off without him..but the few that care about him prevent him from acting on it."


"Why would you want to make someone think that?"


"Because anything that he thinks of himself is automatically disqualified from being reasonable, and only the ideas and opinions of others mean anything."


"So escape plans and ways to resist are eliminated from his thought patterns.." I understood now.


"Quite right."


"What if he met another lower being?"


"He would likely value the other's opinions, since he only thinks of himself as inadequate, but it's hard to say..he might treat the other's opinions as worthless..I'm not sure.."


"If-" I was cut off again, since Dusty was bringing our dessert; we had finished our dinner.


"This looks amazing, Dusty." Brush complimented.


"Th-thank you.." Dusty's eyelights beamed at the praise.


"Wash these, Dusty." Dad gestured to the dirty dishes.


"Yes, Ink." Dusty gathered the dishes and left us once again.


"You were saying?"


"Nevermind..I think I understand." I said.


"All right."


We finished our dessert silently, and when we were done, Dusty obediently washed our dishes before sitting on the floor. Dad sat down to read a book about ancient torture techniques, while Brush wanted to speak to Dusty; I decided to listen to their conversation, to make sure that Brush didn't mess with the slave's mind..that simply wouldn't do.


"Hey, Dusty." Brush greeted, almost sitting down next to Dusty, but Dusty wouldn't allow that, getting Brush a chair before sitting back down.


"Hello, Brush." Dusty returned, holding his stupid doll. "Do you need something?"


"I..learned something today."


"That's good; learning things every day makes people smarter, from what I hear."


"Dusty, how many times do I have to tell you that I regard you as just as much of a person as the rest of us?"


"..I'm not." Dusty was correct.


"To me, you are."


"..Thank you for thinking so.." Dusty smiled slightly.


"You're very welcome..would you like to know what I learned today?"


"Sure."


"I learned who the Papyrus in your stories is.."


Dusty's eyelights widened in surprise. "Y-you did..?"


"Yep! I never would have thought that your brother was such an important person..I really didn't even know you had one."


"It..never seemed that important..he's your dad's enemy..I didn't want to make you think that your dad was fighting the best person in the world..even if he is, to me.."


"You could have at least told us that you had a brother.."


"It never came up..I apologize for not telling you.."


"No need to be sorry, Dusty; I just think it's really cool that you have a strong family member looking out for you."


Dusty froze. "What..do you mean..? He doesn't..look out for me.."


"Well, I mean in the rescue sense..doesn't he try to rescue you from your life as a slave?"


"No!" Dusty flinched at his own loud voice; Dad looked over curiously. "I-I mean..n-no..he d-doesn't.."


"Are you yelling at my daughter, Dusty?" Dad wasn't happy when Dusty raised his voice above a soft tone; toys weren't meant to be loud.


"M-maybe.." Dusty admitted, gaining Dad's full attention.


"What do you mean by that?"


"I m-mean..I don't feel well.." Dusty sighed, hugging his doll.


"Excuse me?" Dad's voice betrayed his irritation.


"Please don't talk about my brother..." Dusty begged. "He doesn't care about me, and I'm fine with that..but don't give me hope when there is none.."


"But, Dusty.." Brush didn't understand.


"Brush, a word?" Dad wasn't happy that Brush was trying to give Dusty some hope.


Brush sighed, walking over to Dad as Dusty retreated across the room in the other direction to cry. I decided to look over to Dad and Brush, wondering what was going to happen between them.


"Brush, I know that you care for Dusty, but I will not allow you to give him the hope that someone is trying to rescue him." Dad was firm. "Can you manage that?"


"Why not?" Brush didn't understand. "Why does he have to think that his brother hates him? I would feel horrible if Paint hated me.."


"Dusty is a lower being, Brush; his feelings are of no concern to us."


"They are to me.."


"Just don't speak about his brother, Brush."


"Why? Why does he have to suffer?"


"Because that's what he's here for, Brush; he is a slave, and we are his masters."


"Can't we treat him nicely?"


"You may treat him as you will, but if you give him even the slightest shred of hope, he will run with it, and he will resist; he is better off without the pain of hope, because when I'm forced to take it away, he will shatter. You don't want him to shatter, do you?"


"..No."


"Then don't give him hope."


"..Sorry, Dad.."


"It's fine, darling."


Brush decided to leave the room to change into her pajamas, and I approached Dad.


"Hey, Dad?" I glanced at Dusty for a moment, who was still crying.


"Yes, my son?" Dad responded.


"What is 'shattering'?"


"I figured you'd want to ask that." Dad smirked. "To shatter someone is to completely rid them of all hope..forever."


"Hey, Dad?"


"Yes?"


"Are you sure we don't want to shatter Dusty?"


Dad chuckled, shaking his skull. "It would hurt your sister..he wouldn't speak to her anymore; I don't want to do that to her."


"..What if she didn't care about Dusty anymore?"


"..Perhaps..if that were possible.." Dad looked back to his book. "But not until then."


I would look forward to it.


~~~~~


"Resistance"


Classification: neither fluff nor angst.


Warnings: references to aftermath of trauma.


Canonicity: canon.


~~~~~


Classic's point of view (ooh, this is new!)


Since the takeover, there had been many groups that chose to oppose Ink, but the resistance, the resistance..was the biggest. Rebels who didn't agree with our policies went off to establish their own little resistances, but they had more of a chance of being overtaken by Ink's forces. The resistance had had several leaders over the years, but three were currently the most important. Dream had used to be an important leader..until he had been captured. Now, it was Papyrus, Outer, and myself. Outer was in charge of training soldiers to fight, and I was in charge of maintaining the Dreamtale base. Papyrus..was in charge of overall maintenance; he was the one who took Ink's hate, and he sometimes managed to match it, whenever we got word of what was happening to his brother..Ink was sick. Right now, I was beginning my rounds around the Dreamtale base, intending to ensure that everything was going smoothly, and my first stop was the farming area. In the beginning, we had been forced to scrounge for food wherever possible, but when we discovered that the land in Dreamtale was fertile, we began to plant whatever we could, and our current farms stretched for miles; they had to feed everyone in the resistance.


"How's it going?" I approached a Toriel who had come from a farm-based AU; those ones had been very helpful in teaching us how to maintain a farm.


"It seems as if we will have a good harvest this year." The Toriel smiled. "We may be able to increase rations, but we shouldn't count on it..it's very likely, though."


"That's the best news I've heard all day!"


"I can give you some more."


"Oh? What's the good news?"


"The strawberries should be coming in soon."


"Nevermind, that is the absolute best news I have heard in my life!" I loved strawberries! I had literally dug in the dirt to find seeds for them, and it was finally going to pay off!


"Have a nice day, Classic."


"You too, Farm Tori!"


I smiled as I left the farm area, thinking about Dream..he had been the one with the initial idea for the farm..he would have been proud to see how it had grown. I shook my skull softly; I couldn't afford to think about the friends that the dictator had taken..I had to look forward. It was a good thing that I did, or else I would have walked straight into Outer!


"Hey, Outer." I greeted.


"Classic, how's it going?" He returned.


"Fine. How're the trainees faring, if you'll give me an excuse not to have to walk all the way over there?"


Outer snickered. "Lazy even in the apocalypse, eh? They're doing fine; they're more invested than a few decades ago, too."


"It's a bit hard not to be, with the entire 'dictator taking over the world' thing."


"Yeah.."


"Do you know if a healing session is going on? I have to check in and make sure everything's all right."


"I think one starts in ten minutes or so; you should be able to catch them before they begin."


"Thanks."


"No problem."


I speed-walked to a room nearby, intending to speak to someone before the session began. The room was commonly referred to as the "safe room," and it was where people who had suffered at the hands of the dictator or his soldiers were offered a chance to heal with daily activities. When we had first begun to find and rescue those who had been prisoners of the dictator, some them had just been..unresponsive. Ink's dungeon was literally a torture chamber, and those who went inside never came out the same..some were afraid of anything and everything, refusing even to look others in the eyes, while others had breakdowns almost constantly..it was never a pleasant sight. Dream had used to lead it, until he had been captured..when that happened, the group was taken over by an Underswap Sans who had been a prisoner in the dungeon for several years before escaping; he could also empathize more with the others, which Dream hadn't been able to do. I knocked on the door lightly instead of opening it; the souls who used this room had to be treated with the utmost care.


"We haven't begun yet; you may enter." The Underswap Sans answered my knock.


"Thanks." I proceeded to open the door, finding about twenty people inside the room, which was covered with blankets and pillows. "I'm just checking in; is everything all right here?"


"We're fine, for the most part, but.." He paused for a moment, likely thinking about individual needs; different people needed different things to heal properly. "Do you think it's possible to find some more puzzles? They're very good for keeping the mind relaxed, but putting the same one together fifteen times sort of..hurts the healing process..the repetition isn't always healthy.."


"I'll see what I can do."


"Thanks!"


With a smile, I promptly left the room in order to allow the session to begin, and I went on my way to the sleeping quarters, where I would finish my checkup by making sure that everything was all right. We didn't really have separate quarters except for the ill and those who had once been Ink's prisoners, who were now afraid of sleeping near so many people, but that was fine for the rest of us. Our largest room was filled with beds, and almost every bed had someone's personal items under and around it. Some had stuffed animals, and others had pictures of family. A few had schoolbooks - children were rare to see free nowadays, and those who wanted to learn were fewer..we really needed a proper school for the few children we had, if only to keep their minds off current affairs - or personal projects..but only one had a vow, and it was the one next to mine. On the headboard of the bed, carved clear as day, was a promise that said, "I will save my brother." I remembered the day Papyrus had taken a knife and carved those words into the piece of wood that would stand over his bed; it had been the day he had last seen his brother, and it was the day he had tried to save him..it wasn't his fault that he couldn't reach the portal that had sucked in his brother, not that he would ever believe that.


"Hey, Papyrus." I sat down on my bed, facing the tall skeleton who had been looking through an old camera which had once belonged to his brother.


"Classic." He gave me a small smile, placing the camera beside him. "How are you?"


"I'm doing fine, how about you?"


"..He was captured today.." Papyrus sighed; no one would doubt his loyalty to his brother.


"Oh..sorry.."


"It was easier..when he was dead..I could imagine that he was in a better place, with those he loved..but knowing that he is not.."


"I know..it hurts.." I held Papyrus's hand tightly to offer some reassurance, although I didn't think it would do much on a day such as this.. "I feel the same way, sometimes, with my brother..knowing where he is, but not how he is.."


"..Do you ever find yourself wishing that you could trade places? That you would have been the one in the line of fire, instead of him?"


"..Yeah..but it doesn't really matter who's taken, in the end..because if we had been taken, they might just be having the same conversation we're having. I know it's hard to think about it this way..but they're probably glad that we made it..that we weren't the ones who were taken..because they believe in us. We have to be strong for them."


"..Sometimes, I wonder what he does think..does he think I am still trying to save him, even after all these decades? Has he given up on the thought entirely..?"


"If it's the latter, it's just Ink's fault; even if he didn't think you were coming, I know that he still loves you..and a lot of other people do, too. He probably spends every day wondering what his amazing brother has been up to; I'm sure he'd be proud if he knew."


"..Do you think he does know?"


"I'd say that if there were a way to get that information, he would be all over it. He loves you, Papyrus, and that's a simple fact."


"..Thank you, Classic."


"Sure thing, Papyrus."


Our quiet was interrupted by quick footsteps running towards us, and both of us looked to see Outer, who had a desperate expression on his face.


"What is it?" I asked.


"It..Spec, it's your brother..he was outside the door; he looks bad.."


"My..brother?" Papyrus was shocked for only a moment, before running to the main room.


I wished I could have stopped him.


~~~~~


"Schemes"


This takes place in the "Heirs" timeline, partly because this idea is forcing me to write :3


Classification: angsty.


Warnings: violence, threats, mention of blood.


Canonicity: alternate timeline.


~~~~~


It had been about one week since Brush and Paint had been remporarily held by the resistance, and I had only known because of Brush. Paint had been eyeing me oddly for the past week, but he hadn't acted any differently than normal; he only spoke with Ink more often, usually when Brush was absent. I knew he was planning something. While Brush had inherited Ink's manipulative tendencies, Paint had inherited hate, pride, and cunning; those were the major traits, in any case - there were many minor ones between the two. I wasn't allowed to speak out of line, which prevented me from simply asking what Paint was planning; I knew he would have told me if I did get up the courage to ask, but I wasn't going to risk a punishment just because of some curiosity. Instead, I was left to wonder, but I didn't have to wonder for long.


"Thank you, Dusty." Brush smiled at me as I placed her dinner in front of her. "This looks great, as always!"


"Thank you.." I was grateful for Brush's consideration; she had always been so kind to me!


"Dusty, get me a new fork; this one is bent." Ink handed me a perfectly normal fork, but I wasn't going to question him; it wasn't my place.


"Yes, Ink." I took the fork and walked to the kitchen to exchange it for a new one.


I had gotten used to being ordered around; it was easier to take than daily all-day torture sessions, in any case! I made sure to be obedient; they liked it when I was obedient, and I wasn't hurt as a result of it. After procuring a new fork, I walked back to the table, finding that Brush had left the table to get something in a different room, likely, and Paint and Ink were speaking. Ink usually cut off conversations before I could hear them, since I wasn't supposed to know of their affairs, but for this one..I caught some.


"..hate him, but-" Paint stopped speaking when I came close enough; I should have paid more attention, but I hadn't, at the time.


"Is this the same fork, Dusty?" Ink inspected the fork I had gotten for him.


"No, Ink; I placed the other one in the sink." I shook my skull.


"..Did you just say no to me?"


"..To answer your question." I didn't like it when Ink twisted my words.


"Can you ever say no to me, Dusty?"


"..I cannot."


"Then why did you?"


"..It was not my intention to anger you.."


"You did."


"I apologize.."


"You are not forgiven."


"I..know."


"Get us some dessert, Dusty."


"Yes, Ink.."


I turned and walked away as Ink and Paint continued to speak to eachother, glad that Ink hadn't taken his chance to punish me for the mistake he forced onto me..he usually did. Whatever he was talking about must have been important, if he was passing up my screams. I didn't question it..Paint was probably having some trouble with a guard, and everything would be fine again in a few days. Brush sooon returned to the table, and I bowled a cold dessert - nice cream - for the trio, as I had been ordered to, before serving it and taking the dinner plates to wash. The clean dessert bowls were soon placed in a cabinet, and before I knew it, Ink and his children were getting ready for bed; their dinner had been eaten late tonight. I curled up on the floor and hugged my Hope tightly as Ink and Brush came over to say goodnight to me; Ink had never broken the habit, and Brush simply cared enough to do so, unlike Paint..


"Good night, Dusty!" Ink rubbed my skull softly.


"Night, Dusty." Brush smiled.


"Good night." I returned, yawning quietly as they walked to their beds.


I slept peacefully that night, enjoying my dusty nightmare greatly.


"Wake up!" Someone roused me.


Well..until that happened. I looked at the clock before my vision fully cleared, finding that it was two in the morning..had someone had a nightmare? After rubbing my eyesockets tiredly, I looked in the direction of the voice, finding a red eyelight and one of many colors; it soon dawned on me that it was Paint. I wondered why Paint had decided to wake me up so early..he hadn't done that before!


"Paint..?" I questioned.


"Keep your voice down!" He whispered rather loudly, but I wasn't going to comment on it.


"Do you need something?"


"Yes, I need something."


"How can I help?"


"Quite simply, really: don't speak to my sister."


"..She ordered me to; I cannot defy orders."


"Well, this is an order."


"..." I hesitated; I had never been given conflicting orders before.. "I'll have to ask Ink; until then, your sister's order still stands, as it has seniority."


"..Fine, but don't refer to this order specifically."


"Yes, Paint."


"And I will be using you tomorrow for something."


"Yes, Paint."


"Now go to sleep."


"Yes, Paint."


I lay down again, wondering what that had been about..I didn't like the feeling it gave me. When morning came, Ink woke me first to feed me; I was always woken first on feeding days.


"Good morning, Dusty!" He came down to my level, holding some sort of magic-filled food..it would taste horrible, but that was fine; I was used to that.


"Good morning, Ink." I returned, sitting up.


"Open."


I opened my mouth, allowing Ink to throw whatever he had brought into my mouth; he had begun doing that when I once refused to eat something due to its taste..I regretted that choice. After shuddering slightly at the taste of the food, I decided to address the problem of last night.


"Permission to speak?" I requested.


"Granted." Ink was curious.


"Do either of them have more control over me..?"


"What do you mean?" Ink didn't understand.


"If..Brush told me to do one thing..and Paint told me not to..who do I obey?"


"..Did this happen?"


I nodded slowly.


"Is it possible for you to choose a middle ground?" He asked.


"No.." I answered.


"Hm..what is it?"


"I was ordered not to tell you.."


"Dusty, I have higher authority than both of them; tell me what it is."


"..Brush told me to speak to her, and Paint told me not to."


"..Paint told you not to speak to his sister?"


"Yes.."


"He doesn't have the authority to do that; disregard his order."


"Yes, Ink. Thank you, Ink."


"Of course, Dusty. Now go make us some breakfast, now that you've had your own."


"Yes, Ink."


I smiled as I went to the kitchen to make their breakfast, knowing that Paint couldn't prevent me from speaking to his sister, since he had no jurisdiction! I was halfway through cooking breakfast when Paint grabbed me from behind and picked me up.


"Dad, can I take Dusty with me to train?" He requested.


"It's gonna burn.." I whimpered, reaching for the breakfast that was on the stove; I would be punished if it burned..


"I guess, but-" Ink was cut off.


"Thanks, love ya, bye!" Paint prepared to teleport.


"Paint, don't-" Brush's sentence was cut off by Paint's teleporting..I hoped Ink wouldn't punish me.


Paint had teleported to his private training area..I knew it because I had been here before. Paint had received it for his thirteenth birthday, and it was essentially a tract of land that was separated from the high ranks' roaming area by a noticeable fence; any unauthorized high ranks in the area would be reprimanded, unless they had been in the army for less than a year, in which case, they received the benefit of the doubt and a warning. He often practiced torture techniques on me here; he was interested in causing pain, as Ink was. I soon found myself forgetting about the breakfast - Brush could finish it anyway - as Paint threw me down onto the ground and growled at me.


"You know what you got me?" He questioned.


"Wh-what?" I didn't understand.


"You got me grounded!" He kicked me. "Why'd you have to tell him?!"


"H-h-he ordered me to!"


"You could have lied! I'm stuck in this stupid universe for an entire month!" He stepped on one of my arms hard enough to snap it. "And you..are going to pay.."


I didn't regret telling Ink about the orders, but my decision certainly had painful consequences..Paint beat me for the remainder of the day. I gained more broken bones than I could have kept track of, and I was rendered immobile by the end of the day, barely being able to move my eyesockets..Paint could be as cruel as Ink when he wanted to be. When Paint was finished taking out his rage on me, I was lying on the ground in a puddle of what I could have only assumed to be my own blood..today hadn't been a good day.


"Pitiful." Paint glared at me harshly. "I don't know how my sister finds you worthy of care.."


Paint proceeded to teleport away, leaving me alone in his training area to suffer in silence.


"H-help.." My voice strained..screaming sometimes did that to me; I didn't really expect anyone to hear me..I could barely hear myself..


Unfortunately, and expectedly, no one came. I lay on the ground, in pain, for an hour, unable to move, and my pleas for help went unheard. Eventually, I stopped trying, simply waiting for someone to come looking for me. When dinner time came around, I knew that at least Ink would be wondering where I was, if only because he wanted his next meal cooked for him. The sound of teleportation was a pleasant change from occasional screams from my spikes of lingering pain, and I was honestly glad to have Ink's figure tower over me..as long as he didn't increase my pain, of course.


"So this is where you've been.." He hummed. "I figured Paint would be mad..but I didn't expect him to paralyze you.."


"P-please..h-help.." I begged.


"All right, Dusty; I will help you, but only because Paint is grounded, and he obviously didn't hear me when I said, 'No hurting Dusty.'"


"Y-you..?"


"Grounded means grounded, Dusty; I told him not to harm you, but I suppose his anger got the best of him. Hold still, now."


Ink's healing magic was cold. Partly because it was paint. Green paint was something that I could handle, as opposed to red paint, however; it made the pain go away instead of bringing it. I shivered slightly at the cold paint, but I soon got used to it, not flinching as Ink painted my bones a different color. The green paint dissolved, however; Ink didn't want anyone to be able to save any of it, since it was some of the most potent healing magic in the entire multiverse, and he wanted that only for himself. When he had coated my bones, I sat up and-


"Doll..?" I looked around for my Hope..I knew I had dropped it earlier, but that had been expected; Paint had been shattering my bones.


"..." Ink took a swift glance around the training area, saying nothing.


"Wh-where is it..?" I needed my Hope..I needed my Hope!


"Look, Dusty, you probably dropped it when he teleported you earlier; you also might have put it aside when you were cooking breakfast."


"Oh.." I nodded; that made sense.


"Come on, Dusty; I'm hungry, and there's still time for you to make something quick."


"Yes, Ink."


I held Ink's hand as he teleported to his room, and I walked to the kitchen promptly, looking for something easy to make for Ink and his children. I didn't see my Hope on the counter, but that was fine; I would be able to look for it as the family ate, provided they didn't constantly ask me for things. Thankfully, they didn't, although Paint glared at me constantly, occasionally smirking, although I wasn't sure why. When the family began to eat, I began to search for my Hope, looking around the kitchen and cabinets, checking inside drawers, and even looking over the painted floor..but I couldn't find it. Then it clicked. I looked over to Paint, who gave me a sly smile as I realized that he had taken my prized - and only, aside from my clothes, since I didn't regard Thunder and Lightning as possessions - possession. I felt tears form in my eyesockets as Paint relished his victory over me..breaking my bones was one thing, but taking my Hope was another..


"Why are you crying, Dusty?" Brush took note, and Paint's smile turned to a glare, giving me a silent warning not to reveal anything, but my Hope was more important than myself; everything was more important than myself.


"M-my doll is g-g-gone.." I answered, and Paint's glare became harsher.


"Oh, that's not good..I'll help you look for it after dinner."


"Okay.." I smiled slightly at that, knowing that Brush would be able to find my Hope, even if Paint had stolen it, because Brush knew all of her brother's hiding spots!


"May I be excused?" Paint immediately requested.


"Where are you intending to go?" Ink had added more restrictions upon Paint due to the fact that he had brought bodily harm upon me when he wasn't permitted to.


"..The guard lounge."


"For what purpose?"


"To..make sure everyone is ready for bed..?"


"That's not a valid reason."


"Aw, come on, Dad! I'm an adult! Grounding is for kids.."


"My compound, my rules; if you want to someday build your own base, then you will be able to make your own rules, but for now, I have the final say."


"..Would I be able to take Dusty with me?"


"Dusty stays here."


"..Fine."


"Dad?" Brush addressed.


"Yes, dear?" Ink responded.


"What is Paint grounded for?"


"Something between us, honey; you don't have to worry about it."


"All right.."


Their dinner soon finished, and Brush undertook the task of helping me find my Hope, which was very kind of her; she was always kind to me! When bedtime came, however, we hadn't found it..and I began to cry.


"Oh, quit it, Dusty." Ink scoffed at my childishness. "It'll probably turn up in the morning; now get some sleep."


"..." I sighed sadly. "Y-yes, Ink.."


I lay down on the floor with tears in my eyesockets, wishing that I had my Hope in my hands..it felt wrong to be without it. I found that I couldn't sleep without my Hope, even in comfortable positions..I wanted my favorite doll back. I was interrupted in the middle of my attempts by someone's shaking me, and I tiredly opened my eyesockets to see the one person I really didn't want to see: Paint.


"Rise and shine, little guy." His voice was laced with a million dares for me to scream out..I didn't. "You and I both know that you're not getting your stupid doll back until I'm satisfied."


"..What do you want..?" I asked.


"You."


"Ink said-" I was cut off.


"My dad says a lot of things. I'm going to tell you to do something, Dusty, and you are going to do it." He paused. "Make my sister despise you."


"..." I flinched at the words that he had put together.. "That would be h-hurting her..I-I can't do that.."


"Then..you're out of a doll."


"..Take it, then..see how long you can hide it; your dad is going to be upset when he hears the news.."


"..Is that a threat?"


"Good night, Paint."


I rolled over and fell asleep happily before Paint could respond; I would be getting my Hope back soon enough. Morning came swiftly, and Ink was waking me up right on time.


"Good morning, Dusty!" He greeted.


"Good morning.." I returned, finding that Paint and Brush were already awake and getting ready for their days; Brush was no doubt in a different room. "Permission to speak?"


"What is it, Dusty?"


"I know who took my doll."


"..Someone took it?"


"Mhm."


"Who?"


I tilted my skull in Paint's direction, and Ink sighed.


"I'll get it back for you, Dusty.." Ink stated.


"Thank you!" I smiled happily.


"Whatever."


Ink walked over to Paint, who glared harshly at me upon realizing that I had told his dad about his actions; I went a bit closer to hear the interaction, since it directly involved me, and I wanted my Hope back.


"Paint, Dusty says you've taken his doll." Ink said.


"He's a liar." Paint accused. "He's just angry about yesterday and trying to pin something else on me."


"Paint, I can sense lies."


"..." Paint sighed. "Dad, I inherited your hate..I can't not want to hurt him! I've tried! But I can't!"


"I understand that..but think about your sister; she wouldn't want this."


"..Why can't I have a say? He's just as much mine as he is hers! When I want to do anything to him, it's always, 'Your sister wouldn't like that,' or, 'Think about your sister!' Maybe I want to do something to him that I want to do!"


"Paint..?" Brush..had entered the room.


"B-Brush..I.." Paint's expression saddened.


"What's..going on..?"


"Nothing..it doesn't matter..I'll never get my way.."


"What do you want, Paint? I'm not stopping you..am I?"


"..Yes. You are.."


"How am I stopping you? Stopping what?"


"..I want to do something to Dusty..and you would probably hate me for it if I went through with it.."


"..Well, what do you want to do to him?"


"..I want to shatter him.."


I didn't know what that meant..but it sounded bad..Brush obviously did, however, since she gasped, bringing a hand up to her mouth.


"I knew it.." Paint bowed his skull. "Now it'll never happen, because you're upset by it.."


Brush looked at me pitifully for a moment before walking up to her brother and hugging him. "I know you can't help your thoughts..I'm not upset with you."


"Doesn't change anything...Dusty's essentially yours..not mine.."


"He is yours.." Brush assured. "But shattering him would change a lot.."


"How so?"


"For starters, he wouldn't give recommendations anymore, and he wouldn't care about us..he'd just be an emotionless husk whose only goal is to follow orders. He wouldn't scream when you or dad tried to hurt him, since he wouldn't care, and he wouldn't cook such wonderful meals..he wouldn't put any love into anything he did, since there wouldn't be any. I don't think you really understand what shattering is, brother..it's taking the care out of an individual and robbing them of their thoughts..it's stealing someone's life from them and replacing it with a meaningless existence. Don't you enjoy having Dusty around? Don't you enjoy seeing his little eyelights light up witht he slightest bit of praise? Perhaps you enjoy the fear in his eyelights when you threaten him better. If he were shattered..he would be..indifferent. No fear, no joy, no smiles, no frowns, no incentive, and no will. He would be the epitome of enslaved, and no one would be able to give his life back.."


"..That's..what would happen..?" Paint seemed afraid of the revelation.


"I'm afraid so. I'm not mad at you, Paint; I'm fairly sure that you just thought it would make him more afraid, right?"


"Yeah..that's what I thought..I guess I was wrong.."


"It's all right, Paint, but maybe when you hear something new and want to try it out, make sure you know what it is, first, okay?"


"Okay..thanks, Brush."


"No problem, Paint."


"Brush?"


"Yes, Paint?"


"How did you know what shattering was?"


"..Manipulation requires knowledge, brother."


"..Do you know anything fun that I can do to him?"


"I'll lend you some of my old textbooks later..just don't go doing anything you'll regret.."


"Since when have I ever done something like that?"


"About a week ago."


"Touché."


"Dusty, what are you doing just sitting there?" Ink glared at me. "Why aren't you making breakfast?"


"I want my doll." I requested.


"...Paint, would you give Dusty back his doll?"


"Why does he need it so much?" Paint scoffed.


"Because he's a baby." Ink snickered slightly. "But seriously, give it back, or he won't make breakfast; he's more stubborn than me when he doesn't have his dumb doll."


"It's not dumb.." I mumbled, pulling my knees up to my sternum.


"..All right." Paint acquiesced, and I smiled happily.


Paint reached inside his pillowcase and pulled out my Hope, tossing it to me.


"Thank you!" I hugged my Hope.


"Make breakfast, Dusty." Ink ordered.


"Yes, Ink!"


I ran over to the kitchen and began to prepare some breakfast for the family. A few hours later, Brush had left to manipulate a guard she had been working on for about a month, and Ink had called a meeting of high ranks, leaving me alone with Paint, who was still grounded for the next month. I was cleaning a bookshelf when he approached me.


"Dusty." He addressed.


"Yes?" I turned to face him.


"..How are you so carefree?"


"..What do you mean?"


"You just..get over things..you content yourself with being a slave..how do you do that?"


"I have to..if I didn't, I wouldn't have survived this long..or I'd be a lot less happy."


"But everyone hates you.."


"No, they don't; only the high ranks, maybe some low ranks, and you, and Ink hate me; everyone else just pities me or is indifferent."


"..You say that as if it were possible to cope with such an idea."


"It is..it just takes a long time."


"I don't get it.."


"Don't get what?"


"You..you should be furious with me..you heard what was said earlier..but you don't show any emotion to it.."


"Being angry with people is no way to live your life; take it from someone who's felt the consequences."


"..Who did you hate?"


"A human..I used to be in an Undertale timeline, but my hate and determination drove me to alter the timeline..my decisions led me to good and bad places..but it's ended up in a bad one..I haven't hated anyone for decades..it's better that way."


"Don't you care what others think about you?"


"..I used to have people who cared about me..I cared about it back then, but there's no point anymore; I can't change the way people think about me any more than I can get away with yelling at Ink."


"..Have you ever yelled at my dad?"


"..." I thought for a while. "I don't think so, unless begging for mercy counts. If it does, I've yelled at him a lot."


"You take everything so casually..you do realize you're talking about torture, right?"


"I've been tortured for the majority of my life, starting when I was three years old..but you don't want to hear that story.."


"Perhaps I do.."


"..Do you really want to hear my life story? I'm only a slave, like you said.."


"Consider me curious..I don't really know much about you in the first place, aside from the fact that my dad owns you."


"..." I considered it.


"Tell me - that's an order."


"..Yes, Paint." I supposed I had no choice now. "I was born into an Undertale timeline. Unlike some, I wasn't a science experiment; I had parents. I was born with an above-average intellect, and I could read almost immediately after my eyesight had fully developed. My Dad was a Gaster..and I don't remember my mother well enough for it to matter. When I was three years old, my dad was trying to become the royal scientist with a machine - I don't remember what it did - that he had created, but it didn't work. I..sneaked into his lab one day..and I don't know what I did, but the machine began to work..and my dad hated me for it. He was envious about the fact that a three-year-old who truly didn't know what he was doing managed to fix a machine that he had spent years on..in a day. He became..cruel. He refused to allow me near his equipment, and he degraded me whenever my mother wasn't around..he loved my mother. She never found out. When my brother was born..the birth was complicated..and she..fell. My dad was distraught..and he became abusive instead of simply cruel. I protected Papyrus when he tried to hurt us, but I ended up receiving many broken bones as a result of it.


"When I turned five, six months after Papyrus's birth, my birthday present was full custody of my little brother..he threw us out into the streets. I wasn't ready to take care of a baby, but I had to learn fast..I had to know what to do when he was ill, what babies ate, what not to do..mostly by experience. After the first thousand mistakes, I finally began to understand. New Home wasn't a place for a baby, though..it was essentially the city of the Underground, and I wasn't stupid; I moved us out of there as soon as I could. Hotland was too hot, and Waterfall was nice, but the dampness wasn't an ideal thing for a developing baby. Despite what it may have seemed, Snowdin was actually the best place..Papyrus loved it there."


I continued my tale for the next couple hours, recalling everything I could about my past life..Paint seemed to enjoy the story, but I knew that it wasn't going to change how he felt about me. I was fine with that. My life had had many twists and turns, but I wasn't going go argue. Even if I were intended to be Ink's slave for the rest of eternity, I would survive. I always had, in any case. It was actually nice to see the next generation..I couldn't call myself unlucky.


I had people to care for, even if they didn't care back.


~~~~~


So..question.


Do you guys want a Dusty bean origin story? It'll basically be Dusty's life until the resets, perhaps including them or going a bit into Nightmare's gang. He'll also be Sans in it, since no multiverse, at least at the beginning..or I could do one of those "everyone gets trapped in some weird parallel dimension and is forced to watch the main character's memories as the main character dies inside" things. I'm probably going to write it anyway, but I wanna know you guys' opinions.


Please tell me..I need feedback.


Thanks!


Now back to your regularly scheduled programming!


"Relieved"


This short was requested by Me_Paina, who resides on AO3!


This short takes place in the "Revived" timeline.


Classification: fluff.


Warnings: none.


Canonicity: alternate timeline.


~~~~~


My family had been guards for a decade. They had tried numerous times to overthrow Ink from the inside, and their plans had been good ones, but..Ink always knew. He also always knew when I was hiding something from him..which excluded me from the list of people who knew about the plans; I had once had one of the better plans beaten out of me when Ink was suspicious, and I had ruined it for everyone..I didn't deserve to be part of an amazing plan. Whenever a plan failed, Ink took me to the dungeon and tortured me mercilessly as a punishment, but that was fine; my family were safe if I was hurt instead. Today, my family were visiting me, and I was eagerly awaiting their arrival; I knew that they had something awesome to tell me, since they were the best family ever! Sure, Ink had tortured me with paint this morning, but that was fine; I was used to paint, even if it was unpleasant in the present time.


"That's odd.." Ink remarked, looking to the clock. "They're late.."


"The clock is fast." I reminded; Ink had to fix the time on his clock.


"Oh..right. How off is it?"


"Two minutes."


"In that case, they're not late."


A knock rang out from the door; my soul practically leaped for joy!


"They're early.." Ink walked over to the door, answering it. "Come in; I have to go."


"Yes, Sir." Nightmare nodded, entering the room with Killer, Horror, and Cross.


"Have fun!"


Ink closed the door behind him, and my family came rushing over to me; I hugged all of them happily, enjoying the peace of their presence in the midst of life's entropy. They kept me much more sane than I would have been without them, and they always made sure that I knew that I was loved, even if I sometimes didn't feel that I was. Though their visits were sometimes separated by weeks, they helped me more than anyone else, and that was something that Ink couldn't take away, as long as they were obedient. He could take my will, and he could take my courage, but he couldn't take the joy that my family gave me, and that thought kept me warm on many cold nights. When the introductory hug was finished, I curled up in Nightmare's lap - his goop was warm, even through the armor, and warmth was a comfort that I could rarely afford - and smiled; I loved my family.


"How have you been, Dust?" Nightmare inquired, placing a warm hand on my shoulder.


"Same old." I replied, savoring the moment.


"Does anything hurt?"


"...He checks me over when you leave..you can't heal me."


"I know.." Nightmare had heard it a million times, but he always insisted. "Where does it hurt?"


"..." I sighed. "He broke my legs again..and cracked my skull bad."


"Thank you." Nightmare pulled down my hood and began to heal the crack.


"Have you guys had any fun the past few days?" I inquired, hoping to hear something nice.


"Well, we were sent out to an AU to conquer it, but we decided to be rebels." Killer began to explain.


"An' the nice cream guy was near." Horror continued.


"S-so we ordered t-two hundred n-nice creams!" Cross chuckled.


"Actually 204, since we got some." Killer reminded.


"The guy jus' gave us the cart!" Horror snickered.


"So we wrote 'AU' on the nice cream cart!"


"An-and we gave it t-to Ink!" Cross laughed at the memory, and I giggled a bit.


"He was so angry, but it was so worth it!" Killer declared, with a smile.


"Did he let you keep the cart?" I wondered.


"Nah, but it's in the guard lounge; we're hidin' it."


"Didn' let us kee' it." Horror shrugged. "Didn' make us throw i' out, either."


I smiled at that. "Anything else?"


"W-well.." Cross smirked.


"We were the ones who swapped Ink's paint with food dye!" Killer burst into laughter, and the rest of us followed suit.


"Y-you did that?!" I could hardly contain my laughter; Ink had been so confused when I hadn't screamed out in pain a week ago.


"Yep!" Horror confirmed.


"Anythin' new on your end?" Killer asked.


"Not really." I responded. "Just the same as always."


"How a-are you feeling?" Cross questioned.


"I'm..better than before. I don't feel like the entire world is out to get me as much, if that matters.."


"That's good improvement, Dust." Nightmare praised.


"Thanks.." I shifted slightly as Nightmare moved his healing from my skull to my legs. "Do you think Ink will ever give me up?"


"Whaddya mean?" Killer inquired.


"I mean..do you think he'll ever..kill me? For good?"


"..I h-hope not." Cross frowned at the thought.


"Don' worry, Dusty; we'll make sure yer a'ight." Horror promised.


"Thank you.." I smiled sadly.


Those promises were what kept me going.


I loved my family.


~~~~~


"Disturbance"


Classification: angst and maybe fluff depending on point of view.


Warnings: sad Dusty, mean Ink.


Canonicity: canon.


~~~~~


Ink's point of view.


"N-no.." A voice..what time was it?


I opened my eyesockets tiredly; I wasn't enraged, which meant that I had likely gone to sleep only a few hours ago at most. I looked around my room, wondering what was going on; hopefully, no one had broken in. Upon my inspection, nothing notable came to my attention.


"P-please.." Until a voice drew my gaze toward it.


I looked to the source of the voice, finding...Dusty? He was whimpering in his sleep, curled up, as if trying to protect himself..had I finally invaded his dreams..? In an attempt to figure out what was bothering him in the realm of dreams - he had never had a nightmare before this, that I knew of - I slipped out of bed and knelt down next to him on the floor. When I placed my hand on his shoulder, he shuddered and tried to curl up more, whimpering and begging whatever was in his dream to stop..that interested me. I picked one of my phalanges and found a crack in one of his bones; it was quite easy to irritate it. Dusty began to cry in his sleep, poor thing; I had to keep myself from laughing.


"S-stop..I-I'm s-sorry.." He begged in his sleep.


When I leaned in to irritate his crack again, I..stopped. Whenever I had nightmares..Dusty would always come to my aid..even if he didn't have to. He was my toy, and that was his job..but torturing him in his sleep just felt..low. What if he refused to help me with my nightmares after this? I couldn't go on without Dusty! I soon made up my mind, softly placing my arms under his neck and legs to carry him into my bed; I wasn't going to risk my nightmare relief for a bit of fun. Placing him under the covers, I softly rubbed his skull to calm him; he even purred in his sleep! A small smile graced my expression when Dusty's whimpers faded into only contented purrs, and I closed my eyesockets when his body began to relax, losing the fearful shivers that he had had before.


We both slept well that night.


~~~~~


"Laws"


Classification: could be translated as fluff but probably angst.


Warnings: silent threats.


Canonicity: canon.


~~~~~


Ink was a ruler; everyone knew that. Rulers made laws; everyone also knew that. Ink, therefore, made laws. Guards who were stationed in the compound had a curfew of ten o'clock. Guards in universes took turns on the night watch; they had a curfew of nine, along with those who inhabited the universes. Aside from direct orders and night watches, no one was allowed to be up past that time. Another law was taxes; every universe had to produce at least one thousand G every year, which would go to Ink - anything extra went toward the value of the universe. Other laws covered schooling; every child would live in a designated school for the school year, and would only be allowed to go home for summer vacation. The schools taught the children not to question Ink. Anyone who did would be tortured. Ink had laws concerning me, as well, but they were mostly for other people; no one was allowed to touch me without Ink's approval, and no one was allowed to try to claim me as their own. Some people didn't understand that, and that was why Ink made sure that he knew when people were looking at me oddly. Honestly, I preferred being kept by Ink; I didn't want to know what those who wanted me wanted from me..


"Dusty, keep up!" Ink ordered, dragging me through one of the many hallways of the compound.


"Where are we going?" I asked, wondering what the rush was; Ink hadn't told me.


"We're going to visit an AU, but first, we need to check up on something. Now hurry!"


I sighed, trying to run behind Ink; sometimes, I despised my shorter legs - for every one step Ink took, I had to take three! - but I had to live with them. We soon came across the armory, where Ink allowed me to sit down in a chair and catch my breath while he spoke to one of the guards who was working in the armory today.


"How is the production going?" He got right to business.


"We're ahead of schedule, Sir." The guard answered.


"I need the numbers for the past week."


"The eighty AUs captured in the past six months rendered eighty judges, and the copies alone gave about four hundred. We've made about six hundred sets of armor in that time period, with roughly one hundred sets per month and twenty-five sets per week. When the guard initiation ceremony is held in three days, everyone will receive a suit of armor."


"That's better. Does the transport crew know what to do?"


"Yes, Sir."


"What about sections?"


The questions continued, but I didn't listen; I was staring at a high rank who was staring at me, and he was making me feel very uncomfortable. I could practically feel the smirk behind his helmet..it was unsettling. I held my Hope tightly as the high rank subtly made his way over to where I was..Ink didn't seem to notice. Twelve feet away from me, the guard pulled out a weapon..it looked like a hammer..I didn't like the looks of this. When the high rank came within five feet of me, his next move was to pass directly behind Ink..which he didn't do. Ink was quick to spin around and grab the high rank by his neck, causing the high rank to drop his weapon onto the floor.


"Hello, there!" Ink's tone was so casual.. "Where are you going with that?"


"U-um..n-nowhere, Sir." The high rank chuckled nervously.


"Uh-huh, that's what I thought." Ink smirked. "If you want to play with Dusty, make an appointment..it is the law."


"..Yes, Sir.."


"Have a nice day."


"You, too..Sir."


Ink smiled and turned to me as the high rank walked away.


"I'm done here, Dusty." He declared. "Let's go."


Ink grabbed my hand and opened a portal, leading me through. As we walked through the forest, I couldn't help but ask.


"Ink..?" I addressed.


"Yes?" He responded.


"Why..did you do that?"


"Do what?"


"Protect me..?"


"Oh, Dusty, you're my toy! That means that I do more than just torture you; I have to protect you from others who want to use your for their own purposes!"


"..You could have let him hit me."


"Yes, but I chose not to; I didn't want your skull to be smashed in before coming here, since it would have been inconvenient."


Inconvenient.


Of course.


~~~~~


"Chicken"


Classification: fluff.


Warnings: meanness.


Canonicity: canon.


~~~~~


Ink and I were on a walk. I enjoyed walks, since I got to spend time with my favorite person: Ink! I skipped happily by his side as we went through the universe, and I made sure that he was happy! This universe was farm-based, which meant that there were animals! I liked animals, and Ink did, too! He sometimes liked to pet my bunnies, and he was very gentle with them!


"Moo moos!" I giggled, looking at the cows.


"They're called cows, Dusty." Ink corrected.


"I know!"


"..Then why do you call them that?"


"Because I sometimes forget!"


"..Okay." Ink hummed. "What do you call those, Dusty?"


"Baa baas!" I smiled at the sheep.


"..." Ink chuckled, pointing to some chickens. "And those?"


"Chick chicks!"


"You're silly, Dusty!"


"If being silly makes you smile, I'll be silly all the time!"


"Thank you, silly Dusty!"


"Can I pet the chick chicks, please?"


"I don't see why not. Go ahead, Dusty!"


"Thank you!"


I grinned widely as I approached the chickens, reaching out to pet one. Ink shook his skull playfully as the chickens gathered around my hand, allowing me to pet them..until one bit me. I didn't feel pain, but the chicken wouldn't let go!


"Bad chick chick!" I pulled away from the bird. "Let me go!"


"Let go of Dusty, ya stupid bird!" Ink berated the chicken, which decided to be disobedient and bite down harder on my phalanx.


"S-stop! Ink said let go!" I whimpered as the chicken refused to let go of me..and I felt bad that a chicken was stronger than I was..


"If you can't beat 'em, kill 'em."


Ink had chicken for dinner that night.


~~~~~


"Logo"


This short was inspired by Me_Paina!


Classification: angst.


Warnings: violence, torture, sad Dusty.


Canonicity: canon.


~~~~~


Ink had had his empire for about twenty years. He had had me for about fifteen. Today was the anniversary of the founding of his empire, and he had planned something special. When everyone had arrived at the celebration grounds, he pulled me up to the stage happily, but there was something different..I didn't know what it was. Perhaps it was just the suit; Ink didn't wear his red suit often. I decided to ignore it, since Ink would no doubt give light to the subject momentarily. Sitting down, I waited for Ink to speak to the crowd.


"Guards and others, this day marks twenty years of unparalleled success!" Ink was certainly excited. "For years, I dreamed of this..having a place to call my own..having subjects at my will..having everything. I won't lie; it's everything I'd ever hoped it would be, and more. But you're only here because you have to be, aren't you? Ah, yes, the unwilling army. Some of you, the older generation, will remember my past..and you may have noticed something about me that is..different. For the first seven years of my reign..nothing was different..but now...I noticed something, long ago, that I hadn't had before. For the longest time, my eyelights changed color and shape. Now..one does not. Most of you know by now that my left eyelight doesn't change..it is stable. And that interests me. I thought, 'Why would that happen?'" Ink chuckled. "I've learned that it is simply a reflection of my personality, but I figure..if it is a reflection of my personality..and it came about because of the empire..why not use it? That thought led to my declaration. From this day forth, my empire will be marked and known by this symbol!" He pointed to his left eyelight, and I realized what was different; the symbol had been painted onto his decorative shoulder armor. "And it shall be painted onto every suit of armor; I want every guard to wear it by the end of the week, no exceptions!"


Ink looked down at me.


"And the first to be marked.." He picked me up by my neck. "Will be you."


I struggled in Ink's grip as he forced me down to the ground, whimpering fearfully. Ink wasn't exactly known for being polite with people, and I had learned that firsthand! My eyelights must have flickered out when he pulled out the object I knew he would pull out..and his magic was sufficient to heat it. My jacket was unzipped, and my shirt was lifted; Ink was going to hurt me. I knew that my sternum was exposed, and I squeezed my eyesockets shut as I prepared for the pain that was sure to come. A sizzling was barely heard before my scream filled the area; my bones were being charred! Tears flowed down my face rapidly as the unbearable pain overcame my body, and a few of the guards in the crowd joined my sorrow with some of their own. But Ink didn't lift the brand. A minute later, he was still holding it firmly, and he continued to hold it..until he had nearly burned a hole through my sternum. Only then, when my fragile sternum was able to be considered paper-thin, did he lift the accursed brand, and I curled up crying.


"And that, my subjects.." Ink chuckled lowly. "Is what we will do to every prisoner who enters my dungeons. Consider yourselves lucky that you will only have it painted onto your armor."


Over one hundred years after that incident, when Ink was overthrown, the mark remained. The sting of pain no longer touched it, but my sternum was still fragile..more fragile than it had been before. I wasn't the only one who had been marked..but every one of us remembered the pain, even decades later, and Ink had been right; the mark inspired fear in the souls of millions. Papyrus couldn't drive the memories away, as much as he tried, and my family could only distract me when I fell into a haze. It had helped to talk about it, but I wouldn't fully get over the trauma until Ink healed..only at that point, when he apologized, did I truly feel that the empire had passed.


It was too bad that my relief wouldn't come for over a century.


~~~~~


"Ticklish"


Classification: fluff.


Warnings: none.


Canonicity: canon.


~~~~~


Ink always knew how to have fun! As his personal source of happiness, I had to work hard in order to ensure that he was always happy! It was difficult at times, but Ink had to be cheered up, and that was my job! Today, I was waiting for Ink to return from his work, since he couldn't take me with him today; that was sad, but I was happy to wait to see the face of the best person ever! When he came through the door, eight hours, seventeen minutes, and four seconds after he had left, I ran up to hug him happily, but I had to make sure that he was willing to be hugged first.


"May I hug you, Ink?" I requested.


"I guess, Dusty.." Ink sighed.


I hugged him tightly; he seemed sad today.


"Are you sad?" I wondered.


"Just a little down, Dusty.." Ink confirmed.


"I'll make you happy!"


I led Ink by the hand to his bed, where I knew that he would be more comfortable; sitting was easier than standing, after all! After he was seated, I climbed into his lap and thought of a good way to cheer him up. As I thought, Ink held me tightly, probably for support, but one of his hands..touched one of my lower ribs...that tickled!


"Why are you laughing, Dusty?" Ink inquired, not knowing that his surprise made his hand brush up more against my ticklish rib!


"You're tickling me!" I giggled as I attempted to move his hand away; I had to think of ways to cheer him up!


"..Really?" Ink's voice portrayed interest.


"Yes!" I pushed his hand away.


"Dusty.." Ink moved his hand closer. "I wonder how ticklish you are."


"Wh-" I couldn't continue to speak as Ink began to wiggle his phalanges around my ribs.


"I think you're very ticklish, Dusty!" Ink chuckled as he looked for more of my ticklish areas.


Ink ended up cheering himself up as he tickled me mercilessly in order to make me laugh, and it was tiring after the first ten minutes, but if it made Ink happy, I would continue for as long as I could. It was just too bad that it was only an hour. My laughing died down when my body hit the point of exhaustion, and I fell asleep to the tune of a happy Ink; I was glad that I had been able to make my master happy. A little while later, I woke up in Ink's arms; he was sleeping with a smile, and I felt that my job had been completed!


I loved making my master happy.


~~~~~


"Picnic"


This short takes place in the "Papa" timeline!


Classification: fluffy fluff.


Warnings: none.


Canonicity: alternate timeline.


~~~~~


Papa always cared for me. He worked a lot, but when he wasn't working, he liked to spend time with me! A few days ago, he had promised that he would go on a picnic with me today, and I had picked out the universe, place, and guests for the event! Fell, Papyrus, Papa, and I would be having a picnic together! For some reason, Papyrus and Papa didn't like to be in the same room as eachother, and I was intent on making them meet! I had invited Papyrus secretly, and he didn't know that Papa was going to be there, but I was sure that they would like eachother if they just met! They had a lot in common, since they were both leaders of important organizations, and I was certain that they would be able to find some sort of middle ground! Fell knew about my plan, since I had told him, and he wasn't very sure about the idea, but he trusted my judgment! He knew how much both Papa and Papyrus loved me, and he believed that they would at least try to get along, if only for my sake! I was currently playing a game with Fell as I waited for Papa to return with the picnic supplies; he had promised that he would bring everything that we would need, and I trusted him to make sure that this picnic was one of the best picnics ever!


"Doll goes next." I stated, rolling the dice for my Hope.


"Oh, boxcars!" Fell smiled at my Hope's amazing roll! "The doll's piece moves twelve places, then gets to roll again."


"Here we go!" I moved the piece the designated amount of spaces. "Doll, do you want to buy Guardwalk?" I knew that my Hope did. "Doll buys Guardwalk!"


"That'll be eight hundred."


"I thought it was only four hundred.."


"We're playing double money, remember?"


"Oh, right!" I had almost forgotten! "Thank you, Fell!"


"No problem, kid."


We continued to play for a few minutes, until Papa came home! I smiled and stood when I heard the door open, running over to hug Papa tightly.


"Hi, Papa!" I greeted.


"Hello, Dusty!" He smiled at me, keeping the picnic basket above my skull. "Were you having fun?"


"Yep! Fell and I were playing Inkopoly, and my doll was winning!"


"Oh? Your doll must be a very good player, then!"


"It is! Are we going on the picnic now? I know the exact universe I wanna go to, even the place!"


"Well, someone seems excited..you must have put a lot of thought into this outing, haven't you?"


"I really did! Can we go now, please?"


"Of course, Dusty!"


"Yay! I love you, Papa!"


"I love you, too, Dusty!"


After our hug, Papa opened a portal to the universe that I had selected, pinpointing the exact location! Papa was always great at doing those types of things! Fell entered the portal first, just in case there was something dangerous, and Papa and I entered a few seconds later, feeling happy when there was no danger to be seen. I smiled widely when I saw Papyrus, who was sitting on a rock nearby, waiting for us. At the moment when Papa's eyelights met Papyrus's, silence was heard, except for the calm water that flowed smoothly in the breeze nearby; the water was the reason I had picked this place.


"Dusty?" Papa was the first to speak.


"Yes, Papa?" I responded.


"What is he doing here?"


"I invited him."


"..." Papa took a deep breath. "Why?"


"Because I wanna spend time with both of you instead of just one of you.."


"..You're sly, Dusty."


"Thank you, Papa."


Papa walked over to the water to set up the picnic supplies, and Fell hummed as Papyrus approached us.


"I think this is going well." I smiled at Fell.


"Brother, it is nice to see you..but I did not expect to see him.." Papyrus stopped in front of me.


"Fell comes everywhere with me, Papyrus! Don't you remember?"


"I meant the dictator."


"Oh, Papa's here, too!"


"You must have known that we would not have agreed to come if we knew the other was coming."


"Yes?"


"Why did you not tell us?"


"Because I'm not part of your conflict; I want you to get along, even if it's only for a day.."


"Brother, I know that you find no reason for our fighting, but it was not right to trick us into this."


"Papyrus..it's not a trick. If I had a party and invited you two and a bunch of other people, and if I didn't tell you every name on the guest list, this is just like that, except it's not a party, and Fell is the only other person."


"..." Papyrus sighed. "I am only doing this for you."


"Thank you, Papyrus!" I hugged him tightly.


"You are welcome, brother.." He hugged me back.


"Come on, I think Papa packed lots of treats!"


"I am coming, brother."


I led Papyrus by the hand to the picnic grounds, where Papa had set up the picnic blanket and basket, laying out the food; there certainly were a lot of treats! Papyrus and Papa sat down together, albeit on opposite sides of the blanket, and listened to me as I told them about my day, making sure that it was known that my doll was the best doll ever! After my story, Fell helped me climb a tree as Papa and Papyrus sat silently on the picnic blanket, not looking at eachother; that wouldn't do. When I had scaled the tree and gotten back down - with Fell's assistance, of course - I sat down on the blanket with Papyrus and Papa, and I thought for a moment. Papa and Papyrus both fought a lot, especially against eachother..and I got a brilliant idea! I sent Fell back to the compound to get a few things, and when he returned, he met me at the small lake we were picnicking next to and helped me do something. A minute later, I presented Papa and Papyrus with their weapons.


"I declare war!" I announced.


"..On whom?" Papyrus wondered.


"Everyone!" I giggled as Fell put the water guns in each of the competitor's hands.


"Oh.." Papa smirked. "I see.."


"But not on the food!" I quickly made a rule.


"Very well. Free for all?"


"Yep!"


"Well, then! Let us have war!" Papa stood up, as did Papyrus, and they aimed their weapons at eachother.


"War it is." Papyrus chuckled.


War began. Papa and Papyrus were both soaked within the first five minutes, while Fell and I were both relatively dry. Papa and Papyrus used strategy in their war, with both of them trying to secure the lake to keep the ammunition from the other, but the one who was blocked off didn't have any qualms about climbing to the top of the waterfall to refill his weapon. Fell and I didn't really care who had access to the water, calling a temporary peace while one of us had to refill, and Papa and Papyrus allowed us to fill whenever we wanted, since they didn't want me to climb the waterfall and potentially be injured. When I became hungry, Fell and I stopped for a snack, but Papa and Papyrus continued their war; they seemed to be having a lot of fun!


"This was a great idea." Fell smiled at the two warring skeletons.


"Thanks!" I giggled, munching on a cookie. "I think they're getting along better than ever before!"


"It certainly seems that way. Have you decided on how we'll get them away to eat?"


"...I didn't think about that."


"We could just eat everything while they're fighting."


"You're right.." I took a piece of pie for Fell. "But then they might be sad."


"It would teach them that war doesn't pay."


"They'd probably war either way."


"We could team up on them."


"Now that is an amazing idea!" I jumped up happily.


"Still hungry, or no?"


"Hm.." I looked at the cake longingly. "Maybe a little more."


"I figured as much." Fell sliced the cake for me.


After some cake and other treats, Fell and I refilled our weapons and began to attack Papa and Papyrus, who were reasonably surprised by our actions, trying to fight us while also fighting eachother. At some point, they agreed on a silent truce to fend us off, and that was where the fun began! Fell and I fought against Papa and Papyrus, who worked together to take us down, while also teaching us some cool war tactics! At the end of the day, we all lay on the ground, soaked to the bone and laughing as we recalled the events of the day. Papa and Papyrus had done the one thing that no one would have anticipated: they had gotten along! The day was a dream come true, and I decided that I would arrange more of these wars in the near future, with different teams each time for variety..maybe we could use water balloons next time! Or maybe snowballs! I looked forward to the next war, but this day still wasn't over.


"Well, Papyrus.." Papa spoke. "It was nice fighting with you..I guess."


"It was unexpected, but enjoyable.." Papyrus summarized.


"Yeah..I don't doubt that Dusty will try this again, so I will only say..until next time."


"Next time, then."


"Indeed.." Papa looked at Fell's watch. "Dusty, it's time to go home; we might not have time for a bedtime story at this rate."


"What?!" I jumped to my feet in shock. "Fell, please help me put everything away!"


"On it!" Fell rushed to help me put the picnic supplies away; I was going to ensure that I received a bedtime story!


Papyrus smiled, leaving us soon enough, and when Fell and I had packed the picnic basket, Papa took us home, with Fell's taking his place outside the door and my putting my pajamas on quickly. When I had snuggled up beside my Hope in bed, Papa sat at my bedside and began to read me a bedtime story as I slowly drifted to sleep.


Today had been a fun day.


~~~~~


"Manners"


This short was brought to you by my life management class.


Classification: neither fluff nor angst.


Warnings: Ink.


Canonicity: undecided.


~~~~~


I had once heard that moral people could have horrible manners, and immoral people could have the best manners. At the time, it had just been a saying to keep me from judging others based on how they acted. Now, it was simple fact; Ink was one of the most well-mannered people I had ever known. Aside from holding doors, of course - he was above that, so he said - and his tendency to torture others, he took manners very seriously. At least, sometimes. Every once in a while, he would treat the high ranks to a formal dinner, just to see how they would act, and that was when manners came into play. In the compound, on an average day, he would be ignorant and rude, but when a formal event was being held, one couldn't imagine a more considerate host. Today, he was hosting a dinner, and, contrary to all expectation, I was being brought along. Of course, he had to teach me what to do first, since he didn't want me to be seen as "uncouth," whatever that meant. So, for the five hours before the dinner, he taught me how to act in a public banquet setting, although I would have much rathered to be left behind to play with my Hope. I didn't get my wishes. The only thing I managed to keep was my jacket, after ten minutes of fighting Ink; he wanted me to wear a suit!


"Are you ready, Dusty?" He inquired, politely.


"Yes, Ink." I relied in the way he had told me to; the only good thing that was going to come of this was the fact that I was being fed.


"Come along, then, Dusty!"


Ink led me out of his room and through the halls of the compound, eventually bringing me to the courtyard, where a large table had been set up, and many high ranks were already present, sitting at the table and waiting for Ink to arrive. Ink sat down at the head of the table, with me to his right, and he eyed a few high ranks that had their elbows on the table; Ink's glare was enough to keep their arms down. After a few minutes had passed and a few more high ranks had arrived, Ink stood and spoke.


"Good evening, high ranks." He greeted. "As of right now, I would like you to please adhere to the section in each of your manuals about manners. Failure to do so will result in reprimand, as listed in the discipline section of the manual. With that said, I hope you've all read that section, because I will be taking serial numbers. Now, our first course will be out shortly."


I noticed quite a few high ranks pulling out their manuals as they waited for the first course, but I was ready; Ink had made sure of it. Honestly, manners weren't that difficult; keeping my elbows off the table and selecting the silverware from the outside in was simple! And waiting for the host to begin eating to start my own food was also simple! I didn't fully understand the entire "putting one's napkin in his lap" thing, but I did so anyway; Ink wanted me to, and I wasn't going to argue with him..I had already put myself at risk by arguing about my jacket. The first course was a salad, and the table was soon filled with chatter, none of which was directed toward me, since no one - not even I - knew why I was present in the first place. In any case, I took pleasure the the extra magic levels offered by the salad, since I wasn't sure if I was going to be fed tomorrow because of this dinner; I needed to get as much magic as possible during this dinner. When I finished the salad, I placed my fork in the center of my plate, as Ink had instructed me to do earlier, and a low rank picked up the plate promptly, taking it away to wherever used plates went. When everyone had finished their salad and had their plates taken away, the next course came. There were five courses in all, but I managed to eat everything on all of my plates, since I needed a lot of magic; most of the high ranks skipped at least one course.


"Thank you all for coming." Ink smiled, when the dinner was over. "Those of you who failed miserably will be receiving a little letter in the mail tomorrow; I suggest you all look out for those."


The high ranks chuckled nervously at that.


"Honestly, I'm surprised that Dusty did better than over half of you." He smirked. "Sleep well tonight, high ranks."


I was sure they didn't, with a goodbye such as that.


~~~~~


"Documents"


Classification: angst.


Warnings: torture, violence, mean Ink, sad Dusty.


Canonicity: canon.


~~~~~


Ink liked to keep records. If there was a large battle between the resistance and a part of the army, it would be recorded. If a prominent rebel band rose or fell, it was recorded. If something special happened on one of his birthdays, it was recorded. Even if I simply screamed loudly to a new form of torture, Ink would make sure that it was recorded. With that being the case, Ink kept a large record hall, which was more like a library, really, and it was filled to the brim with history. He often consulted it to see what battle tactics had worked in the past or failed, and he had used several tactics more than once to win battles. Honestly, I didn't see the point in documenting everything, but Ink found pleasure in it, and, therefore, he did it. Today, he was documenting my reactions to new torture methods that high ranks had suggested, and he was..eager to test them out. I had been brought to the dungeon for the documenting, and Ink wasted no time in strapping me down to a table in a cell; this was going to be painful.


"Are you ready, Dusty?" He asked a meaningless question.


"N-no.." I whimpered, looking at the torture equipment he had placed next to the table.


"Too bad." Ink reached for the equipment, taking a file from the pile. "Remember, Dusty; tell me how much it hurts, on a scale from one to ten."


I began to sob when Ink brought the file up to my eyelights; he was going to hurt me! A skeleton's eyelights were fragile, just like any other monster's eyes, but small substances such as dust didn't affect them as much. If someone were to poke his finger into the eyesocket, the skeletons would be fine, but if it was the eyelight, we would react just the same as any other being! Ink had blinded me before..it was the worst feeling in the world, knowing that one could once see, but no longer had the ability. I closed my eyesockets tightly before Ink could use the weapon on me; I didn't want to be blind!


"Come on, Dusty; open your eyesockets for me." Ink ordered.


"N-no.." I begged.


"..Are you denying me, Dusty?"


"P-please.."


"That's it, Dusty; if you won't open your eyesockets, I will."


I screamed in fear as Ink forced a blade into the ridge of my eyesockets, tilting it to forcibly open them; he was cruel. After doing so, he used his painful paint to force my eyesockets open, practically gluing them open to give himself free range to do whatever he wanted to me..I was terrified. He brought the file up to my left eyelight, and I screamed in pain as he began to file away at my sight, scraping the magic away into tiny bits of nothingness that dissipated into the air, leaving me with less sight than before. I screamed until my eyelight had been filed away into nothing..and the pain stopped, because there was nothing left to feel pain.


"How did that feel, Dusty?" Ink was curious.


"Seven, then zero at the end." I replied accordingly to my experience.


"Maybe I should have left some.." Ink wrote down his notes, as I saw with my remaining eyelight.


"C-can I be reset?" I hoped, since I wanted to see normally again..


"I suppose.." Ink stabbed me through the soul before resetting me, and a moment later, I was strapped to the table again, but I could see! "Let's try this next."


Ink grabbed a small, pencil-sized rod with a spike at the end, and he used some wires to force my mouth open..I didn't like where this was going. With an evil smirk, he forced the rod between my two front teeth..and I screamed. After savoring my sound of pain, he jiggled the rod that had been jammed between my teeth, forcing them apart from eachother painfully..I hoped he wasn't going to take all my teeth. After a few minutes of simply moving my teeth apart, the two began to brush up against their neighboring teeth, moving them out of alignment..and I wept. At different points, Ink switched rods to larger sizes, since the initial gap was becoming rather large..and my teeth began to fall out. My front teeth fell first, clattering onto the table with the sound of defeat, and my next two were quick to follow. In the end, my upper teeth were no more. That wasn't enough for Ink, who copied the process with my lower teeth. After an hour or two of rearranging the insides of my jaws, I was toothless, and Ink was happy.


"How was that, Dusty?" He should have been glad that skeletons could speak without teeth, unlike the way they couldn't see without eyelights.


"I-it hurt.." I whimpered.


"I'm aware, Dusty; I heard your screams clearly. I mean how did it feel in terms of pain?"


"E-eight..the length..m-made it worse.."


"Ah, that's much better, Dusty; I'll make sure that it takes at least three hours in the future." Ink wrote that down.


"A-are we done yet?"


"Not yet, there's one more thing I want to try."


Ink unstrapped me from the table and strapped me to a chair instead, wrapping a reinforced rope around my ribcage. He said nothing before pulling on the rope, and I realized that he was trying to constrict me; he wore gloves to protect his hands as he pulled on the rope. The chair was nailed tightly to the ground, which meant that only I would be feeling the effects of this. Pull after pull, Ink forced my ribs tighter and tighter, until they hurt from crushing my sternum from both sides. The compacting process eventually cracked the aforementioned sternum, and I would have certainly been grinding my teeth together in pain..if I had still had any. As it was, I could only sob, cry, and scream, and that was fine; Ink wanted that. At some point, my sternum split into two parts, and my ribs were compressed more without the resistance. When my ribs had eventually had enough, they began to crack, and with one move..one pull..all of my ribs shattered. My scream this time was louder than the ones earlier, and Ink's joy was unparalleled. After a swift reset - one of the parts of my ribs had impaled my soul - I was standing next to Ink, weeping at the memories of a few minutes ago.


"How was it, Dusty?" He questioned.


"Nine.." I hugged my ribcage to make it feel better.


"Ooh, that's a keeper!" Ink wrote it down. "We just need soul guards, and we're set. Oh, it's time for bed, Dusty! Come along!"


I sighed and followed Ink.


At least I would be getting some sleep.


~~~~~


"Purring"


Classification: fluff.


Warnings: none.


Canonicity: canon.


~~~~~


Ink liked to rub my skull. I didn't understand the appeal, but he enjoyed it. One day, I felt the need to ask. He was on his bed, rubbing my skull as I lay in his lap, wondering what made this repetitive action so appealing to him..


"Ink?" I spoke up.


"Yes, Dusty?" He replied.


"Why do you do this?"


"Do what?"


"Rub my skull..why do you do it?"


"Because you purr, Dusty."


"..I what?"


"You purr, Dusty, like a cat."


"I..do?" I felt that to be odd..I had never heard myself do such a thing..


"Yes, Dusty, you do. That's why I rub your skull; I like to hear your purrs."


"..I never heard it."


"That's because you don't listen, Dusty; try to listen for it."


"Okay.."


I tried to be silent as Ink rubbed my skull, and, to my surprise, I did hear something...but it wasn't purring..


"It's my soul.." I realized.


"Hm?" Ink didn't understand.


"Souls..they do that when they're happy..you must make mine happy when you rub my skull."


"Interesting..does everyone's soul do that when happy?"


"Not everyone's..most don't, but mine always has..it's something to do with the type of soul, or something along those lines.."


"You have a gentle soul, Dusty..I suppose that's why."


"Maybe.."


Ink continued to rub my skull, and I listened to my soul's joy.


It did sound a bit like purring.


~~~~~


The end.


Nah, bloopers!


~~~


"The sky is falling!" A guard screams.


"It's natural." Ink shrugs at the falling sky. "It's just shedding."


~~~


"Dusty, how high can you count?" Ink wonders.


"How high do you want me to count?" Dusty asks.


"A billion."


"That'll be a billion G. I take cash or credit."


~~~


"I am here to stop you!" Papyrus points a sword at Ink.


Ink pulls out an AK-47.


"I am here to negotiate a peace treaty!" Papyrus corrects.


~~~


"Why doesn't the sky wave back at the ocean?" Dusty inquires.


"I don't know, Dusty, why?" Ink questions.


"I was asking you.."


~~~


"My Dusty is a cross between a cat and a bunny." Ink says. "That is all."


~~~


"Ink, do you brush your teeth?" Dusty wonders.


"Yes, but only on Tuesdays." Ink answers.


"Why only then?"


"Because it sounds like toothday, and I remember that my teeth exist."


~~~


"I fell into a trap." Ink states.


"You look fine." Dusty mentions.


"No, I mean I pushed Fell into a bear trap."


~~~


"If your name is Dream, can you see dreams whenever you want?" Dusty asks.


"Yes, but I don't have much time for that." Dream nods.


"Why not?"


"Because I have my own dreams to worry about."


~~~


"Why does the grass in the courtyard always look short?" Dusty inquires.


"Because it's not meant to grow." Ink answers.


"But it's grass.."


"Well, I'm not mowing it!"


~~~


"Is your favorite color blue?" Dusty questions.


"Yes." Blue replies.


"Does that mean you love yourself?"


"Well, I guess so."


"What's that like?"


"..." Blue frowns. "Let me hug you, you poor child."


~~~


"I used to be a ghost." Papyrus says. "It was tough."


"You literally never got injured, though." Classic reminds.


"Yes, but I also couldn't taste food. Do you know what it's like, watching others eat food, but never being able to have any yourself?"


~~~


The real end!


Reminder: if anyone wants to see a Dusty origin story, please, please, please tell me!


I would love to write it :3


Requests?


But for now, I need to proofread and classify this..


Words before: 40,458.


Words after: 40,820.


~~~extras end woot~~~


Thanks for reading my extra extra extra extra writing!


Bye!

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