Hey!

It's me!

Again!

:3

First of all, I apologize for the false updates; my finger slipped twice, and I wasn't ready to upload (the utter adrenaline and humiliation when that occurs is scary).

Second, I saw something on a comment (I think a request) that expressed confusion with the canonicity rating of shorts. Basically, canonicity is how a short relates to the main story, and if it even happens in the story. I will explain.

Canon: this rating means that a short most definitely occurred in the ATE timeline, and it would be considered "in the story."

Not canon: this rating means that a short is simply a what-if or doesn't work well with the story; this would not be considered true to the characters in the story.

Alternate timeline: this indicates a branching off from the true timeline of ATE, and that several shorts may take place in that timeline. These are not true to the regular story, but are somewhat like AUs in correlation to ATE.

Anything else placed under that rating should be self-evident, and sometimes, two might be put together. Hopefully, this clears up any confusion.

Comments are welcome and appreciated!

Please enjoy!

~~~~~

"Oops?"

Classification: angst.

Warnings: Ink's terrible decisions, memory and overconfidence.

Canonicity: not canon.

This short was requested by TYRANN0S!

Error 404 is owned by SHADIKALY.

~~~~~

Ink's point of view.

Today was the day. It was going to happen! I was going to do this!

"I can't do this.." I whimpered, lying on my bed.

"Can't do what..?" Dusty, my little Dusty..my little right hand who was never going to be put in this type of situation..

"Dusty, I have ruled over this multiverse for three hundred years." I sighed. "I'm going to conquer another."

"Oh..I can help!"

"No!" I quickly shook my skull. "No, Dusty, you are going to stay right here."

"..May I ask why?"

"I need someone to watch the empire while I'm gone."

"Can't Papyrus do it?"

"No, Dusty, because he's coming with me."

"..Why are you taking him instead of..me?" Dusty gave an expression of dejection.

"Dusty, I would take you, but I don't know what we're going to be up against, and if you were killed in a different multiverse, I would never forgive myself."

"Couldn't you just reset me?"

"..Not from there. I'm sorry, Dusty, but I'd rather lose Papyrus than you, if it comes to that."

"..Okay." Dusty nodded with a smile. "Then..can I help you get ready?"

"Of course, Dusty; I'd love that."

"When do you leave?"

"..Ten minutes."

Dusty jumped slightly in surprise. "I'll hurry!"

With that, Dusty began to gather my war materials, and he did so swiftly; he was a good right hand. I rubbed his skull as a reward when he came back within only eight minutes, before realizing that I now had only two minutes to join my legions in the portal room. After being reassured by Dusty that everything would be okay, I teleported. Three hundred years had given me plenty of time to raise an army of powerful judges, and, as of now, I had over two billion soldiers. This was going to be fine; we would take this multiverse by storm. With my tactics, at least eight hundred AUs in the multiverse would be secured every hour, and I had enough soldiers to make a difficult battle for any being who resided in the world..we would conquer. The portal room was a laboratory room in which portals to different multiverses could be made, and I was ready to open one. I stood before the generator, which was powerful enough to bridge multiverses, and I unsheathed Broomie, before saying the words I had wanted to say for centuries.

"Fire it up." I smirked.

Sparks flew from the power that the generator created, and I watched as the eighteen-foot portal opened slowly, lighting up the laboratory in a soft blue..it was a wondrous sight. A step. Another. And another. Until..I crossed. The sensation of being sent to a different multiverse..was exhilarating. Papyrus crossed only moments later, being the second-in-command for this endeavor.

"The troops are on standby, Sir." He stated.

"I know." I chuckled. "Send them in - all of them."

"..All of them, Sir?"

"..Spare Dusty's favorites, but yes, all of them."

"..Yes, Sir."

As Papyrus called in the troops, I looked around this world..it wasn't unlike the ones I knew. This multiverse was supposed to be close to ours, but we weren't sure what was in it yet..I was interested to find out. Leaving my left hand to work, I decided to walk throughout this new land..it seemed to be a version of Outertale. The stars were arranged differently, however..I idly wondered if they were distant AUs, as they were in my multiverse..I hoped so. After walking for several minutes, I found a familiar skeleton..there was an Error in this world. Quaint. Well, an Error could cause mayhem if allowed to run free; I would take him down easily. Opening a code bar, I decided to make this fight "fair." Fair as in his strength wouldn't allow him to be able to pick up a rock. He obviously noticed this when he dropped whatever he had been holding a moment ago.

"My scarf!" He whined, looking down into the abyss below Outertale.

"Surrender, glitch." I chuckled, pointing my favored paintbrush at him.

"H-huh?!" He turned around fearfully, shaking frightfully.

"You're severely underpowered; give up before any violence has to begin..unless you'd like to play a game."

"..." He whimpered slightly, before yelling out. "Dad!"

I hadn't expected him to say that..did Error have a parent in this world? My questions were answered when a glitched portal opened in front of Error..and another glitch walked out. This one was a blue and white one..I wondered if he would pose a challenge in battle.

"Leave this place." He had a glitch in his voice..

"Why would I?" I smirked, hoping to take this opponent down..he seemed to be more powerful than the Error, who was hiding behind him.

"You are an arrogant fool, and you have no knowledge of your opponent."

"..That's harsh." I giggled slightly.

"Go back to your home, and you will be fine; I just want you out." He obviously knew why I was here..somehow.

"..." I brought my wrist up to speak into my communicator. "Papyrus."

"Yes, Sir?" My left hand replied.

"My coordinates - now."

"Yes, Sir."

And just like that, battle began. This glitch was..very powerful.

..Too powerful.

Bones and blasters were everywhere, firing instantaneously, but the glitch seemed unharmed. Different constructs had the same effect: nothing. My paints..only slowed him down. My guards were dropping like flies, and the air was soon full of dust. This had to be handled delicately. The Error had used the term "dad" earlier, which likely meant that there was care between the two..and the Error wasn't fighting. I opened a portal behind the seemingly defenseless glitch, and within a second, I had a hostage. The other glitch didn't stop fighting. I pulled out the whimpering Error's soul, and I didn't hestitate to make a cut in it. The other glitch ceased his fire for only a second..before attacking me. Well, desperate times called for desperate measures. Dangling an Error on the edge of a cliff that led to an abyss seemed desperate enough, and it effectively ceased the attacks of the other glitch.

"Let him go if you don't want your army obliterated." Then glitch warned.

"..If you say so." I let go of the Error.

It was too bad he was more than halfway off the cliff.

"Error!" The other glitch teleported away.

"Sir, I do not think that was a good idea.." Papyrus sounded afraid..

"Of course it wasn't." I chuckled. "Move the troops back home..this isn't a good target. Do it quickly, before that glitch comes back."

"Y-yes, Sir."

Portals opened across the battlefield, and no one looked back before running through one of them. Thankfully, the glitch didn't have the chance to return before we were long gone; I was smart enough to know when to retreat. What remained of the army were sent back to the portal room, and medical personnel were waiting, as I had ordered. Dusty was there, as well, likely wanting to know how the conquest had gone; he hugged me tightly as soon as he saw me.

"Ink, was it good?" He questioned. "I-Ink, you're bleeding.."

"Well, Dusty, bad things happen sometimes." I rubbed his skull to calm him. "I'll be fine."

"..Your clothes are-" Dusty was cut off.

"Dusty, I know what I look like." I wasn't oblivious to the fact that several of my bones were badly broken; I simply chose to ignore it.

"..I'm going to help you get better."

"I'm sure you are, Dusty; how about you go get my room ready for my recovery, and I'll ensure that something like this doesn't happen again?"

"Yes, Ink!" Dusty ran off.

"Scientist." I addressed one of the many scientists who worked on the portal.

"Y-yes, Sir?" He responded.

"Next time, I want scouting done before we go in; I don't need any more blind rushes. Also, if there happen to be any blue and white glitches inhabiting a multiverse, change it!"

"Y-yes, Sir!"

"Good." I looked at my crippled army. "Get the cloning department to make more guards..and make sure there's a fresh prisoner in the dungeon when I recover..I find myself infuriated."

"Yes, Sir.."

Perhaps this multiverse wasn't so bad, after all.

~~~~~

Side note: the Error lived and 404 only took a while because the Error was a scared bean and he had to cheer him up :3

"Negative"

Classification: angst.

Warnings: Dust angst.

Canonicity: alternate timeline.

This short was requested by TYRANN0S!

~~~~~

Ink had a lot of ideas. Some of them were good, but most of them were bad. Bad could mean several different things, such as torture or isolating me. It could also mean ideas that no one in their right mind would ever want to have run through their brain; it was too bad that Ink didn't have one of those. More often than not, I was the victim of his ideas, and I had no choice in the matter when I was. Today, Ink had gotten another of his famed ideas, and I was, again, going to suffer as a result; I always suffered. He had taken me to the laboratory, where many dangerous inventions could be found, and a group of scientists knew exactly why he was here..which was more than I knew. I followed my tormentor through several sections of the laboratory, until..we reached it. In the center of a heavily barred area, a tree stood. The trunk was a dark brown color on one side, while being a light brown on the other. The leaves and their shades of green reflected that. On the branches..were apples. This was the tree Nightmare had talked about..the one that grew the fruits that had made him insane..and Ink had forced me here..

"Isn't it a beauty, Dusty?" Ink inquired.

"I-I want to go back." I whimpered, backing away from the plant; Nightmare had always warned us about it..it wasn't a good plant to mess with.

"Oh, nonsense!" Ink giggled. "You're going to go in."

"P-please don't make me.."

"I'm making you." Ink picked me up and began to walk me over to the enclosed area, and I couldn't fight him.

One death grapple later, I was curled up inside the area, crying in a corner.

"Dusty." Ink was on the other side of a reinforced wall. "Eat an apple."

"Y-you're trying t-to kill me.." I sobbed, curling up more.

"No, Dusty, these apples aren't as potent as the originals; you'll survive."

"I-I don't wanna.."

"..." Ink sighed. "Then you will be forced."

When we had first entered the laboratory, Ink had placed an electric shocker on me; I hadn't known why at the time, but it was becoming increasingly obvious as I was put through large amounts of pain. After eight minutes of resistance, my will ran out, and I gave in, causing Ink to release me from the shocker's hold. Three minutes of uncontrollable shaking later, I found the strength to get up, and I stumbled over to the tree that Ink was trying to torture me with..it would have been pretty, in any other circumstance. Ink didn't specify which fruit I was intended to consume, leaving the choice to me..and I knew which one to pick. Based on the effects of each, I decided to go negative; I was a rather negative individual in the first place, and I wasn't sure if I could get much worse..in any case, I didn't want to be eternally smiling while Ink tortured me mercilessly. Hesitantly, I began to climb the tree, and when I got high enough, I reached for a black apple..I hoped Ink had been telling the truth when he said that they weren't as potent as the first ones..I didn't want to be a goopy monster as Nightmare had unfortunately been turned into.

I took a bite. Surprisingly, it tasted like..an apple. It tasted like a granny smith apple! Based on the outer color, I would have never guessed..I supposed it would have actually made sense for the apple to taste like an apple, but the thought had never crossed my mind. This was actually the best food I had eaten in years! Ink always gave me food that tasted terrible, but this was great! Savoring the taste, I ate the entire apple..and it didn't sit well. I had expected pain, and I had received it. An overwhelming pain surged through my body, and I lost my balance in the tree, falling to the ground; I proceeded to scream in agony until I lost consciousness. When I awoke, I was no longer in the area, and dust littered my surroundings. I looked down.

Ink cowered.

~~~~~

"Murder"

Classification: angst.

Warnings: Old Memories, Sad dust bean.

Canonicity: not canon.

This short was requested by TYRANN0S!

Me: *idly contemplates why the past tense of lie is lay because it sounds weird-*

~~~~~

My name was Dusty. Ink had legally changed my name, and I had had no say in it. I had no room to make my own decisions, as everything was done for me; Ink made sure of that. Honestly, if I simply lay around all day and didn't move on my own, Ink wouldn't mind; he would just drag me to wherever he wanted to go and take advantage of my submission. Today, Ink was out, and he would continue to be out for about a week; he had a mission that not even I could join, and I had been given permission to visit the courtyard once a day to keep myself occupied in his absence. I had been surprised when he had given me the honor, since he usually just locked me in his room, but..not this time; I decided not to question it. A soft breeze blew by to comfort me, as if trying to reassure me that everything would turn out fine in the end; I appreciated the gesture. After a while, a low rank approached me, sitting down next to me with a smile.

"It's nice seeing you out here." He stated.

"Yep.." I lay down to watch the clouds float by. "It's pretty out here."

"I get that." He gazed up, as well.

All was silent for about fifteen seconds, at the end of which, something beeped.

"Oh.." The low rank sighed. "That's my forty-two second break over..well, I hope to see you around, Murder."

The low rank got up and walked away, but I was frozen. He had...what had he called me?! He..he had called me by that name..that horrible old name! The name I had once worn with pride..I had never wanted to hear it again. My name..was Dusty. I was fine with being Dusty! I liked the name Dusty! That name..that terrifying name..it wasn't me! That was the name of a psychopath whose only purpose was to dust people..that was the name of a murderer. How had he known..? I wasn't him..I would never be him. Murder was a monster driven by pure determination and thoughts of revenge..a true monster. Me? I was Dusty! I was the helpless, harmless victim of a tyrannical dictator! I wouldn't hurt a fly! I wouldn't..I wouldn't hurt anyone. I was too weak to defend myself..I wasn't capable of hurting others. I let out a small laugh when I thought of what the old me would have done..he would have lashed out at Ink every chance he got. He would've showed Ink that true monsters weren't able to be tamed..they could only be contented, and not for long. Murder was..never content. Ink wouldn't have liked him. Ink preferred submissive monsters. I was weak. I was submissive. I was..perfect. I was the perfect victim.

"Anyone in there?" Fell knocked on the door of Ink's room three days after Ink had left; it was a feeding day.

"I'm here." I replied, hugging my Hope; I hadn't left Ink's room since the first day..I was too afraid.

"I'm coming in, then."

Fell opened the door softly, before entering and shutting the door behind him. When the door was closed, he sat down on the floor, laying down a plate of food.

"Here you go, kid." Fell always called me 'kid'; I preferred that term.

"Thank you, Fell!" I smiled in gratitude, looking down at the food, which I would put off eating for as long as possible, since it would likely taste horrible.

"No problem, Murder." He-

"..What?" I looked at him fearfully.

"..Are you okay, kid?"

"Y-you called me..wh-why would you.." I was shaking.

"Did I say something wrong?" Fell tried to think of what he had said that was so scary to me.

"Th-that name..wh-why did you u-use it?"

"..You mean Murder?"

"Yes.." I whimpered.

"..Kid, it's your name..?"

"N-no, it isn't!"

"..What are you talking about?"

"I-I-I'm not him..I-I'm not.."

"Kid, calm down!" Fell tried to soothe me. "..Did Ink do something to you?"

"..H-he must have.." I nodded; there was no way he was actually saying that accursed name! It had to be some sort of illusion!

"I'm going to guess it's some form of mental torture..you're hearing something that scares you?"

"Y-y-yes.."

"All right..so you're hearing me call you by a different name?"

"M-mhm.."

"Then I just won't call you by your name; is that okay, kid?"

"Y-yes..th-thank you.."

"Of course, kid."

It continued in that way. Fell convinced me to continue enjoying my limited outdoor time, and I did, hesitantly. Low ranks often approached me, and they often said..the name..but I had to stay strong. Ink was trying to break me down, but I wouldn't let him! One week after he had left, Ink returned, and he came back to me with a smile, but I met him with a cold glare; there were a lot of things he could do to mess with me..but bringing up my past..was just too much.

"Hello-" Ink paused when he saw my expression. "Is something wrong, Murder?"

"Make it stop." I ordered, simply.

"Make...what stop?"

"You know what you did."

"Murder, I have no idea what you're talking about! Please tell me." Ink had his giveaway grin on his face..he knew what he was doing, and he was enjoying every second of it.

"How would you like it if everywhere you went, people called you the 'Corruption Cleaner'?"

"..." Ink growled slightly at the title he had abandoned long ago. "I suppose you have a point.."

"Make it stop."

"And where do you get off ordering me around?"

"Dusty wouldn't do this..but you know what?" I glared harder. "Murder certainly would."

Ink seemed a bit startled by my sudden statement; he obviously had no idea what I was like when I was fueled by determination..and, for his sake, I hoped he never would.

"..All right, I'll stop it.." He sighed, bringing up a code box; he must have manipulated the air around me to distort sounds to force them to come out differently..it was the only logical assumption, unless he had taken the time to adjust all of the guards, and I doubted he would do that. "It's over..Dusty."

"Thank you." I smiled happily, hugging my Hope.

"Well, Dusty, it's time for a long torture session..you will not believe the week I've had.."

I would listen, because that was what Dusty would do.

Dusty was submissive.

~~~~~

"An Omega Problem"

Classification: chaotic comedy (I actually like those two words as classifications..I might widen the classification field to make it more accurate.)

Warnings: scared..everybody.

Canonicity: not canon.

This short was requested by TYRANN0S!

~~~~~

Ink liked toys. He had made me into a toy, but he liked other toys, as well; he liked to call science experiments "toys." Today, his scientists had created a new toy; it was supposed to be able to materialize copies of different beings from multiverses, in case Ink or the high ranks became tired of torturing the same old prisoners. Today, he would test it, and I had to be present. In the laboratory, several high ranks were gathered for the presentation, and Ink and I arrived just in time to be on time; I had accidentally misplaced my Hope earlier, and we had taken some time to find it. Upon our arrival, the scientists who had worked on the machine assembled for the presentation, and we sat down in two chairs that were in front of the regular rows, in which sat the high ranks.

"All right, how does it work?" Ink wanted to get right down to business.

"Essentially, it gives a list of universes." A scientist explained. "After selecting a universe, a list of 'characters' is displayed. After selecting a character, the machine uses the coding magic you provided to..make the character, from a set format."

"Are they sentient?"

"That is an option provided."

"Do they have memories?"

"That is also optional; most core mechanics are, to the point that you could make an emotionless husk..to what would be considered..real."

"I like it."

"Would you like to try it, Sir?"

"..." Ink glanced at me before nodding. "Let's see what this thing can do.."

Ink stood, and he pulled me up behind him, holding my hand to force me along. He stepped up to a panel on the machine, which honestly looked like a photo booth, except with a large screen on the side and no seat or camera on the inside. Ink began to select his options, deciding to go with the original Undertale..and Asriel. He decided to make it as sentient as possible, and a moment later, something began to materialize..but it did not look like a goat..

"...I found a defect." Ink took a couple steps back as the machine began to..expand.

"This was..not meant to happen.." A scientist began to run; that was a smart move.

"Anyone willing to..gain some extra credit..? I'm currently offering a two week vacation.."

No one spoke.

"How about..three weeks?" Ink raised his offer as the metal in the machine began to creak.

Nothing.

"A month..?" Ink was afraid..that was impressive.

Silence.

"..Honor, glory, and wealth?" Ink was desperate.

None of the high ranks were taking that.

"One request..for almost anything?" Ink's final offer was what every guard dreamed of..

"I'm on it." An evil guard wasn't passing up the chance.

"Congratulations!" Ink chuckled nervously. "Get that thing out of here..I don't care how."

"Y-yes, Sir.." The evil guard seemed frightened, but he would do it.

And the rest of the high ranks, along with Ink, were running. I was curled up in Ink's arms, holding my Hope tightly; a Flowey that had been endowed with the power of six souls could scare anyone, and since I was scared of a lot of things already, I was especially frightened. After running for a few minutes, the group of scared high ranks and Ink reached the guard lounge, which was, quite honestly, one of the safest places in the compound; the walls were reinforced, and hopefully, the beast wouldn't be able to break in. Ink's room also had that feature, but the monster was too close behind the running group to get there in time; they settled for the guard lounge. When the door was hastily locked behind the group, I noticed something, and I decided to ask Ink about it.

"Ink..?" I addressed.

"..Yes, Dusty?" Ink seemed frightened, but that made sense to me, since he had quite a few fears; he trusted me with them.

"Why'd you run?"

"Because, Dusty, there was a giant overpowered monster!"

"..Why didn't you teleport?"

At that, everyone who had run either facepalmed or groaned.

"You could have brought this up earlier." Ink glared at me.

"..I get tongue-tied when I'm scared.." I shrugged.

"..Whatever."

"Couldn't you just kill it?" A high rank hoped. "You're powerful enough.."

"I technically could, but those things freak me out."

"You're scared?" One of the high ranks snickered slightly.

"Yes. It's not very surprising, really; on the first encounter I ever had with one of them, it was about ten times larger than normal, glitching out madly, and flying toward me at about eighty miles per hour while screeching like a demon." Ink shuddered at the memory.

"..How did you live?" Another high rank was amazed.

"Being immortal gives me the perk of being able to survive things like that." Ink deadpanned.

"Oh..right."

"So do we just stay here..?" A different high rank wondered.

"Yes." Ink nodded. "We are going to stay here until that beast is gone."

So we did. Most of the high ranks decided to do some work in the different universes in order to get out of the compound, but some of them stayed, along with Ink. During this time, I was, surprisingly, the calmest one present; I didn't really care about living or dying, and while I was scared, I was always scared..it was just normal for me. After eight hours, many other high ranks had taken refuge in the guard lounge with us, and no one was fighting..impressive. In all honesty, I believed that they were too afraid to make any sound and risk attracting the attention of the monster. On the bright side, that also meant that I wouldn't be getting tortured! Instead, Ink used me to soothe his nerves, and I preferred that to torture.

"Ten hours.." A high rank groaned. "This is so stupid.."

"I'm hungry.." I sighed.

"..Today was a feeding day, wasn't it?" Ink remembered..finally.

I nodded. "You told me to wait.."

"..Well, I guess you'll have to wait a while, then."

I whimpered; Ink was going to let me starve..

"Oh, hush, Dusty; it probably won't take that long." He scoffed.

It took that long. Minute after minute passed, hour after hour..until it had been a day. Ink had slept in one of the beds in the guard lounge, holding me close to ward off nightmares. Everyone had been woken up when the monster came down the hallway in front of the guard lounge; the sounds it made were frightening. It had passed, however, and everyone had calmed soon after. Most of the high ranks passed the time with board games or books. Ink simply cuddled with me; I could tell that he was paranoid. On the second day, the door to the guard lounge was opened by a high rank who had obviously seen better days..he had several broken bones, and his armor was hopelessly dented, but everyone hinged on his words.

"It's gone.." He announced, and everyone cheered.

The high rank was granted his request, but I didn't know what it was; Ink didn't care to tell me. The scientists went back to work on the machine, with new instructions to prohibit the possible generation of beings such as..it. In any case, I was finally fed, and that made me happy.

I was content.

~~~~~

"Intimidation"

Classification: comedy.

Warnings: memes, confused everyone.

Canonicity: not canon.

This short was requested by TYRANN0S!

I'm not much of a memer, but I will try to do my best with this..

~~~~~

It started when I woke up. Ink's floor was cold, and I always curled up in order to keep myself warm, especially when sleeping..but when I woke up this morning, I was not curled up..I was lying on my back. I whimpered slightly from the cold, hoping that Ink hadn't woken yet..I didn't think I could take it if he woke up this early..it was still dark outside! Turning over, I-

I couldn't turn over.

Ink had tortured me a lot recently, but..not that much. I should have still had motion, at the very least! I tried moving my arms, but..I was unable. My legs moved fine, but..my arms were..stuck? This was..odd; my entire body was mobile, except for my arms, which were stuck outward..this was just great. I was too cold for this! Due to my arms' inability to move even a little, my entire body was forced to be subject to the coldness of the floor, and I couldn't keep my whimpers inside me; Ink shifted. I tried to be silent, but, in the end, it was in vain; Ink woke, and he was mad. I couldn't even run from him..my arms prohibited my movement. After a cruel beating, I was fairly sure that my arms would collapse...but they didn't. Ink took note, stepping on one of them; it didn't move.

"..What's wrong with you..?" Ink raised an eyebrow.

"I-I can't m-move my arms.." I sobbed; I wanted to move!

"..." Ink grabbed my arms, trying to move them even a little, but all he did was pick me up and shake me violently; my arms were stuck. "I'm not gonna lie, here..I have no idea what do to."

"A-am I t-turning into a st-statue?!" I didn't want that! Dream had told me that his experience had been horrible!

Ink scoffed. "No, Dusty, you are not turning into a statue. This is probably just some joke! A high rank might have poured a solidifier on your bones; there are many possibilities!"

"I-I'm cold.." I couldn't even shiver with my arms..

"I'll get some scientists on it..but you should stay here..I don't want too many people to see you like this..I'll call your babysitter."

"O-okay.."

Ink soon left, and I tried to play with my Hope, but..I couldn't. Fell eventually entered the room, yawning, and sat down next to me, noticing my condition.

"..Hey, kid?" He addressed.

"Yes?" I responded.

"What's up with your arms..?

"I don't know..they won't move."

"..It's kind of.." Fell looked at me oddly. "Intimidating.."

"..I don't understand. I'm not intimidating..I'm the least intimidating person ever.."

"Well, in any case, it's a bit early.."

"I woke Ink up..." I sighed. "Shivered too much.."

"Oh..that must have been..I'm sorry.."

"I-it's fine..I just..wish I could play with my doll.." I switched the subject, staring at the doll that lay before me..I couldn't pick it up..

"Well, here, I'll play with it for you."

Fell picked up my Hope and began to move it around, making it hug me and dance all over the floor; that made me happy. I felt better for a while as I watched Fell try to entertain me, until Ink returned.

"Dusty, can you move yet?" Ink seemed annoyed about the entire thing.

"N-no.." I shook my skull.

"Ugh. It'll take at least a day to fix your arms..and I want to torture you.." Ink hummed, before frowning. "I guess it'll have to wait..lucky you.."

"Thank you.." I smiled softly.

"Don't get too comfortable; I'll torture you twice as hard tomorrow." Ink looked at Fell, who had placed my Hope in my lap. "Out."

"Yes, Sir.." Fell nodded and left the room.

"Now that we're alone.." Ink picked me up and made me stand. "What shall we do, Dusty?"

I looked down at my Hope sadly, wanting to hug it tightly.

"Dusty, I asked you a question." Ink took my attention away from my Hope.

"S-sorry..maybe..w-we could..stay h-here?" I suggested; I didn't want to go out in public like this..

"That's a given, Dusty."

"...I don't know.."

Ink sighed. "You're hopeless, Dusty."

In the end, Ink decided to simply leave me in his room as he went about his day, but he had neglected to mention the fact that a high rank would be "visiting" me today. I whimpered as the high rank knocked on the door, before coming in. This high rank was an evil guard, and he..stopped..when he saw my arms; he took a step back when I sat up, and after a moment, he just..ran. I was confused by that, but I wasn't going to question being free from torture! For the remainder of the day, any high ranks who had come to torture me were scared away by my odd arms, and I..liked it. As long as I wasn't being hurt, I was content! My arms were fixed by the next morning, but I had enjoyed the time I had before that; it had been nice to have some peace.

I didn't think I was intimidating, though.

~~~~~

That..probably wasn't the best..

Sorry ;-;

"Redeem"

Classification: angst.

Warnings: torture, drowning, suicide, attempted suicide, lots of suicide, sad Dusty, threats.

Canonicity: canon.

~~~~~

"Come on, wake up!" I heard a voice..

My skull felt..no, everything felt..fuzzy. I felt terrible. Ink must have tortured me to the point of exhaustion..but I didn't remember that; I was glad I didn't remember it, if that was the case. Slowly, I opened my eyesockets, and I was met with Ink..

"Oh, Dusty.." He seemed..relieved..that I was awake..?

"Wh-what..?" I sat up slowly, finding that I was..in Ink's bed?

"..Look, I, uh..I'm really sorry.."

My eyesockets widened; Ink was sorry?! What in the world had he done?! "For..what?"

"..You don't remember?" He seemed surprised.

"..No?" I shook my skull.

"Oh..that's good. In that case, don't worry about it; it isn't important. I'll be going to work, and your babysitter is coming soon."

"Okay.."

I shrugged to myself as Ink left the room, wondering what that had been about; I decided that it didn't matter. When the door next opened, Fell walked through, but..he didn't walk over to me; he just..sat at the other end of the room.

"Fell?" I decided to walk over to him, but he moved over a bit when I sat down. "Are you okay?"

"Okay?" He scoffed, not looking at me. "Oh, sure, I'm just fine!"

"What...what's wrong?"

"Don't play stupid, Dust!" He glared at me, causing me to flinch. "After that stunt you pulled..just don't talk to me."

"..." I didn't know what to say.. "Wh-what did I do?"

"I told you not to play stupid..I guess you just can't help it at this point, can you? I don't know why I ever trusted you..you always were a villain at soul. Bad then, bad now."

Fell..my friend..what had I done?! Was this what Ink had spoken about? This seemed important! Fell didn't allow me to talk to him for the remainder of his stay, and I eventually retreated to the other side of the room, holding my Hope close; it was obvious that he didn't care to be my friend anymore..although I didn't know why. When Ink came back, Fell left without sparing me a glance, and Ink just smiled, walking over to me.

"Hello, Dusty!" His smile didn't help the pain I felt in my soul; it only made it worse, actually.

"What happened?" I asked.

"..What do you mean?"

"Wh-what can't I remember?" I felt tears crawling down my face. "Wh-what did I do?!"

"Oh.." Ink sighed. "I guess I should probably tell you.."

"T-tell me what?!" I couldn't stop myself from crying.

"Look, Dusty, I didn't mean for it to end like this..it was only supposed to be a joke!"

"What..did you..do?"

"..I turned you evil."

"What?!" I nearly screamed; I wasn't evil! I had never wanted to be evil!

"It was only supposed to be for a day, just to mess around with a few people.." Ink shrugged. "The reverse didn't work, and you ended up going on a rampage..you hurt a lot of people before you were caught."

"..." I hugged my Hope tightly. "D-don't they know?"

"It was agreed not to let the fact that I did it go public; sorry, Dusty, but you're just going to have to live with the consequences."

"..F-Fell doesn't want to b-be my friend.." I couldn't fend off my sadness..my best friend hated me.

"You sort of..lashed out at him..when the effects finally took hold of you.."

"..I hurt him?"

"..Broke a few bones. Look, Dusty, I wouldn't worry about it; the only friend you need in this world is me, and I won't abandon you! Trust me, Dusty.." Ink moved my skull to look at him. "I won't ever leave you."

"I-I want to apologize!" I had to get Fell back..I had to make things right!

"No, Dusty!" Ink slapped me, causing me to flinch. "You dare to tell a soul that I was behind those events..and I'll kill them. Do you understand?"

I shook in Ink's hold, before nodding and sobbing harder; I was never going to have my friend back!

"Good toy." Ink rubbed my skull. "Now, if you would like, I can arrange for you to have a different babysitter, just so you aren't tempted to spill the beans."

If I told Fell..Ink would kill him..and he already hated me..I wouldn't force him to suffer in my presence; I had hurt him enough. Nodding sadly, I curled up, hoping that I could possibly find a friend in my new babysitter..since Fell wouldn't want to be near me anymore. The next day, when Ink left me to do some work, Dream entered the room..surely, he would still be my friend! I smiled upon seeing him, but my smile faded when he just sat down, nowhere..near me. I tried approaching him, and I sat down beside him, trying my best to smile.

"G-good morning, Dream.." I greeted.

"What's so good about it?" Dream rolled his eyelights, turning away from me.

"..I-I'm sorry..f-for what I did.."

"Sorry? Sorry?!" Dream glared harder than Fell had.. "Sorry doesn't even begin to make up for it! Blue is in a coma, and you're sorry?! No, no, no, I'm sorry, Dust! I'm sorry for ever thinking that you were more than a killer!"

"..I guess you d-don't want to..b-be friends..a-anymore?"

"Oh, Dust, I wouldn't be your friend if you were the last person in the multiverse! I'd be friends with Ink before ever thinking of befriending you! And, just so we're clear, nobody else wants your friendship either; what you did..is more disgusting than even Ink."

"..." I only nodded, before walking to the other side of the room.

So. This is what it had come to. I supposed I deserved it; I hadn't deserved my friends. It was good that they had realized my worthlessness; now I didn't have to try to be good for anyone..because they all knew that I could never live up to their standards. I was just a worthless slave..that was all I would ever be. I didn't deserve friends..and I didn't deserve life. Those around me..didn't deserve to suffer because of my presence; Ink was right to kill me, over and over. The high ranks were right to beat me mercilessly. Papyrus...Papyrus was right to let me rot here..I didn't deserve to be saved, and I didn't deserve to be happy. Although he hid it, I knew that Dream was unsettled by my presence; Fell had avoided my gaze because of what I had done to him. I had put the swapped Sans in a coma..and I had turned everyone against me. The only question now was..when to do it. I was hurting those I knew by living, and they didn't deserve it; I had to end their suffering..by ending myself. I would do it after Dream left; he didn't deserve to see death. He was too kind of a soul to suffer seeing such a dreadful action.

He left after a while, and Ink hadn't returned; I supposed that he had gotten sick of my presence. Sighing, I walled over to Ink's bedside table, opening one of the drawers; there was a knife there, as I knew there would be. I grabbed it, and I decided to make it quick, impaling my soul in an instant; I fell unconscious immediately.

Then I woke up.

"I hope you slept well, Dusty!" Ink smiled. "I, uh, guess I shouldn't have made Dream babysit you..I didn't think he'd murder you.."

"He didn't." I shook my skull; I hoped Dream hadn't been punished for my suicide..that would have been horrible.

"..He what?" Ink's expression went blank.

"I did it."

"...You what..?" Ink seemed unsettled by that revelation.

"Nobody wants me alive..so I killed myself."

"..No." Ink took a step back. "Y-you're too pure to do that! Y-you..you can't do that!"

"Why not?"

"D-Dusty, never d-do that e-ever again!" Ink ordered.

"But I have to."

"Why?!"

"Because everyone hates me..and I don't want them to suffer because of me."

"Dusty, not everyone hates you!"

"Yes, they do; Dream told me so."

"Dusty..I don't hate you.." Ink put a hand on my shoulder. "Don't kill yourself.."

"..I'm sorry..but I will. I will continue to end my life until you realize that I have no value..and you will give me up..because I have no value."

"Dusty, I need you!"

"No, you don't."

"Yes, Dusty, I do! I need you to keep me sane! I need you.." Ink was..crying. "Dusty..d-don't leave me.."

"..." I reached into Ink's pocket and pulled out a bladed paintbrush.

It was better this way.

"Dusty!" Ink hugged me as I woke for the second time; he was sobbing. "P-please! Stay with me!"

"I can't force them to suffer." I shook my skull, finding that Ink had rid himself of his weapons.

"Dusty, I'll tell them! They'll forgive you!"

"No, they won't; I'm too worthless to be forgiven.." I spotted a pencil on a nearby table, and I lunged for it.

Ink would understand.

"Dusty, please stop.." Ink wept over my newly-reset body. "I'm so sorry.."

"There's nothing for you to be sorry for; you've only made them realize what I am: a good-for-nothing." I found no more art supplies nearby.

"Oh, Dusty.." Ink hugged my tightly. "What will make you stop?"

"Nothing." I rammed the back of my skull against the floor in an attempt to end my life again.

"Dusty!" Ink held my skull tightly, holding it above the floor, but it was too late; I had created a large enough hole on my first attempt, since my bones were so fragile.

When I next awoke, Ink immediately tied my limbs to the frame of his bed to prevent movement.

"Dusty, not everyone hates you." He seemed as if he had allowed me to lie for a few hours to form a plan to keep me alive longer; he wasn't crying.

"Yes, they do." I argued.

"I don't hate you!"

"You'll get over it..I'm just a toy to you.."

"..." Ink sighed. "Papyrus loves you."

"No, he doesn't.." I wished Papyrus loved me..

"Yes, Dusty, he does..and I convinced you otherwise to try to make you hate him..but I refuse to let it continue if it means losing you.." Ink took a long breath. "Your brother tries to rescue you every other day. Every time I say your name, his eyelights gain a fond glow. When I bring up your torture, he fights twice as hard. When..when he gets close to rescuing you..but he fails..he cries."

"..That almost sounds believeable..but it doesn't change my mind."

Ink's expression turned to one of frustration. "Fine..I'll prove it."

Ink untied me from his bedposts, and he opened a portal, carrying me through it. Several screams were heard as people saw Ink, but he paid them no mind, instead simply walking by. After a minute, he reached the place he had wanted to go, and he held me out to face..my brother..who was surprised.

"See?!" Ink was trying to prove his point.

"B-brother?" Papyrus spoke..but I knew he hated me; Ink held my arms by my side to prevent me from grabbing any deadly weapons.

"I'm sorry, Papyrus." I apologized.

"For..wh-what?"

"Being near you..I know you hate me.."

"Brother, what makes you think that?!" Papyrus was shocked.

"It's only the truth..it's kind of you to pretend it isn't true..but you don't have to..I'll spare you."

Upon saying that, I forced my way out of Ink's grasp, and I took a blade from Papyrus's belt, which had spare weaponry inside.

"Dusty.." I woke to Ink, who was sobbing over me. "D-Dusty, please don't l-leave me..I-I'll do anything..just come back.."

"..." I shook my skull.

"...Dusty, I will do..anything.."

"Brother, I am not sure what is going on..but I do know that you need help.." Papyrus knelt down beside me.

"That's kind..you were always kind.." I wished Papyrus still loved me..

"What do you mean, brother?"

"You hate me..everyone hates me.."

"That is not true..I love you, brother.."

"..." I turned my skull to look at my brother. "You..do?"

"Yes, brother..I do."

I didn't know what to say..my brother loved me..he loved me! I hugged him tightly, never wanting to let go, but..I did..because I had hurt someone. My selfish actions had hurt someone..someone who depended on me. I turned to Ink, who was still crying, and I held his hand.

"..It doesn't have to be this way." I decided to say.

"Wh-what do you mean?" He wiped his tears away, but more came.

"You can be good." I stood before him. "You have a choice now: you can either take me back with you and continue to torment me..keep your empire...or you can..end it."

Ink looked into my eyelights, with tears flowing down his skull..and he hugged me close. Honestly, I was afraid that he would take me back..but he didn't. He only nodded into my shoulder and apologized repeatedly. Two days later, the original Undertale was reset, and all the guards had gone home. Ink had admitted to his actions, and my friends apologized for being so rude to me..but they had been justified; I truly didn't deserve love..but now that I had it, I wouldn't let it go..that would have been rude. Many judges called for Ink to be incarcerated..or executed, by those who didn't know of his immortality, but they ultimately left the choice up to me..and I chose to rehabilitate him. His magic was removed, and he was confined to the universe which contained Nightmare's house, where he would live with Error, my brother, and me. Papyrus had initially been against it, but he eventually decided to respect my decision, and Ink was given a home. To everyone's surprise, Ink truly tried to be good, and he did so devotedly; if he ever did wrong, he would immediately attempt to correct his mistake. He also had to find his old sash and vials, since he had previously depended on torture for his emotions; he no longer had that.

"Good morning, Dusty!" Ink greeted me with a smile as I walked into the living room.

"Good morning, Ink." I returned, walking over to sit next to him. "What are you doing?"

"Drawing, but it's something secret.." He hid his work. "Not ready yet."

"Is it for someone?"

"Maybe.."

"Well, I hope it turns out good!"

"Have you heard any word about Blue..?" Ink felt bad about what his actions had led to.

"He's still..asleep.." I sighed, feeling guilty as well. "He'll wake up.."

"I wish a reset would cure it.."

"Resets can't cure..everything. In other news, Dream and Fell are going to visit today; they'll be here in about an hour."

"Oh! I'll make them something!"

"Aren't you working on that?" I gestured to his current canvas.

"It's for next Christmas; I have time."

"I guess you do.." I chuckled, knowing that next Christmas was over five months away.

"I'm going to get my supplies!"

And Ink ran to his room. I was glad that he had found a love for something harmless. I was currently working on bringing the others back to life, since Last Hope had been destroyed in one of Ink's former raids..I needed to rebuild it, which would have been easier if I hadn't had my mind so messed up from all those years of torture..but I would succeed, in the end. Error had been mentally scarred as well, but he was healing well with the support of the judges; they were happy to help him, since they now knew that he wasn't a cruel, destructive monster. As for Papyrus, he was just happy to have everything back to a relative normal; he also enjoyed having me around. Ten minutes after Ink had left the living room, I heard..a scream. Without hesitation, I ran toward Ink's room; if he was screaming, it was serious. Also, he had a fragile mental state already, and nobody wanted a relapse into his..former personality. Error was currently out, but I had no doubts that Papyrus was on his way; I got there first, however. I opened the door to Ink's art room that had been refurbished from a storage room, finding..a shadow..? The shadow held Ink by the neck, and Ink was crying; I decided to listen for a moment, since I was almost certain that I would have no chance in a fight against the shadow.

"I gave you one task." It growled lowly. "Simply rule..and you failed. We had a deal, Creator..you are not holding up your end.."

"I-I don't-" Ink was cut off.

"You don't have a say anymore! You have betrayed my trust..for a mortal. Protecting your sanity, Creator? No, I will not permit that; you knew what you had gotten into when you accepted my terms..or have you forgotten?"

"I-I h-haven't..I j-just.."

At this point, Papyrus came running down the hallway, and I was relieved to see him; he would have been able to defeat the scary shadow monster! Before Papyrus reached the door, I was..grabbed..and dragged into the room; the door slammed behind me, and Papyrus called for me from the other side. I shook in fear as the shadow brought me up to its..face..? It didn't have a face..but I knew that it was looking at me. I tried to look away from it, looking for Ink; Ink had been chained to a wall, and he seemed..terrified.

"Pathetic, really." The shadow spoke..it's voice was like a whisper..a very scary whisper.. "You gave up all that power..for this insignificant mortal..I should have kept a better eye on you. I suppose there's nothing left to do..but to take you back."

"N-no, p-please!" Ink shook his skull frantically. "I-I want to b-be good! L-let me..please.."

"Creator.." The shadow let out a small chuckle. "That isn't possible; your finely revised coding..prevents that. You and I both know..you are just acting..whether it be for yourself or others, you are a fake..and you always will be."

Ink only bowed his skull at that, before speaking softly. "M-master, I like him.."

"I wasn't saying that you didn't." The shadow scoffed. "But you sacrifice too much; you grow too attached to these toys of yours..and sometimes..one must learn to let go."

"D-don't hurt him!"

"Creator, whom do you serve? Do you serve mortals..those beneath you..or do you serve me, your master?"

"..." Ink only wept, closing his eyesockets.

"..I see." The shadow sighed. "I was hoping that we wouldn't have to go over this again..but it seems that you must learn the hard way..as always."

Ths shadow began to walk, dragging me along, until it created a couple poles, chaining me to them..and a glass case..full of water. I questioned what the point of this was, until my soul was brought out, at which point, I came to the frightening realization that the shadow was trying to drown me! Skeletons, despite popular belief, could drown, except only the soul had to be submerged..souls needed air to function. The maximum amount of time that a skeleton could survive with a submerged soul was about an hour..there were no guarantees after that. Ink screamed out his pleas for my life, but the shadow didn't listen, only forcing my soul into the case..with no way out. Thus began the waiting game. After ten minutes, it was clear that Papyrus wasn't the only one on the outside, but he and his friends had no way in; the shadow was keeping them out, and it was doing..an unfortunately amazing job. After thirty minutes, the maximum amount of time most skeletons would devote to water sports at one time, Ink had fallen to begging. Fifty minutes after the start, I began to feel lightheaded; that was usually a sign to get out of the water before it was too late.

"He's an innocent!" Ink wept. "P-please spare him! Punish me!"

"Creator, I am punishing you." The shadow gave a small laugh..I wondered how long Ink had been subservient to this being.

"He doesn't deserve to d-die!"

"I'd suggest reflecting on your past life..you haven't always thought this way."

Sixty-two minutes had passed when my soul began to feel sharp pains..this was the final warning to get out of the water, but I didn't have that luxury. Seventy minutes had passed when the first crack came, and I couldn't help my scream; my brother's panic could be heard on the other side of the wall. When my soul had been submerged for ninety minutes, my legs gave out, and my unfortunate soul tried in vain to retreat to my body; this was when most drowning victims reached the point of irreversible soul damage..I hoped the shadow would let me go. It had been..I didn't know how long anymore..when my vision began to darken. This was death by drowning..it was painful; I would admit that. I was about to close my eyesockets for..what I believed would be the last time..when a voice cried out.

"I give up!" ..Ink..? I believed it was Ink. "I-I'll go back! Just spare him..please.."

"..." The shadow laughed victoriously. "I knew you would see it my way."

I heard glass breaking, and something..came back; had my soul come back to me?

"You will be returned to the morning of the day in which the incident that instigated this betrayal occurred." The shadow's voice seemed clearer. "You are to avoid this incident, and continue as per usual; only those inside this room shall remember the events."

"Y-yes, master.." Ink sighed.

"Don't make me come back to this again."

Everything went black, and a feeling came over me..cold..

"Good morning, Dusty!" Ink's voice startled me awake. "Woah, Dusty..what's up with you?"

"Y-you..d-don't you..r-r-remember?" I stuttered fearfully; I had almost drowned!

"..." Ink paused for a moment, before laying a hand on my skull. "That must have been a crazy dream, Dusty..I hope you're not going insane.."

"D-d-dream?" I..he couldn't have forgotten it!

"Well, Dusty, you were technically asleep!"

"..." I tilted my skull. "B-but you..you were..good.."

"Dusty, I'm an evil dictator; we're not necessarily the best type of person."

A knock came at the door, and Ink walked away to answer it.

"Sir, we have a new invention!" A scientist seemed eager.

"What does it do?" Ink inquired.

"It, uh..w-well, it takes a p-person, and it..makes them..bad..?"

"Enticing, but I don't think I'm taking this one; I think I'll reserve the right to be evil."

"O-oh.." The scientist nodded. "S-sorry to waste your time..Sir.."

"Yeah, yeah, just get out." Ink shut the door before walking back over to me. "Now, Dusty..I see that you are very shaken up from your nightmare..so let's just spend a little while..cuddling..until you feel better."

I nodded slowly as Ink picked me up and carried me to his bed..

And I wondered if it was really a dream at all.

~~~~~

"Baby"

Classification: the fluffiest fluff.

Warnings: cuteness overload, brief moment of unintentional child abuse.

Canonicity: alternate timeline.

~~~~~

Ink's point of view.

This was horrible - absolutely horrible. I had woken up to a cry in the middle of the night, and, believing it to be Dusty - I had tortured him severely before bed - I got out of bed to beat him as a punishment for interrupting my sleep. All I saw of him was his jacket and pants, which I deemed somewhat odd, but he was slightly capable of retracting into his clothing. Upon reaching inside the jacket, I grabbed what I believed was his skull and pulled it out before launching the first blow of a harsh and merciless beating...except..what I hit..was not Dusty. The small skeleton whom I had launched across the room was..smaller than Dusty. Forcing myself out of a sleep-deprived stupor, I ran over to the unidentified skeleton, and I knelt down beside him. He was small enough to fit through the hood of Dusty's jacket, which also meant that he was currently..unclothed. He curled up tightly when I knelt beside him, and I had to force him to show me his skull; it was then that I realized that this..was Dusty...only smaller. I formed my conclusion promptly: somehow, Dusty had been reverted to a younger age..and due to the fact that he was small enough to fit in one of my arms - my arms were big, but still - and wasn't currently pleading for my mercy, he was..a baby. I had punched a baby..with all of my strength..

I was a terrible individual.

"I-I'm so sorry, baby Dusty!" I had standards; every evil tyrant had standards..and mine included being kind to babies.

Baby Dusty was crying quietly..I supposed he had retained his reserved nature, even as a baby. Well, this called for extensive action..also known as healing, because baby Dusty now had a crack on his skull, and that simply wouldn't do! I tried to pick him up, but baby Dusty squirmed out of my hold, likely because I had scared him. Sighing, I ran over to get my paintbrush, before returning to baby Dusty and using my paint to heal his fractured face. When the crack was gone, I decided to make him some clothes; his jacket wouldn't fit him anymore, even if it was small enough for a toddler, since he wasn't a toddler - he was a baby. He was..a baby. He was a speechless..helpless..baby. I frowned as I fitted him in the baby clothes I had created; he was so helpless..I would have to take care of him. I wondered if he still had his memories; if he did, he probably thought that I was entirely out of my mind right now. I hoped he didn't; if he didn't, I would be able to..care for him. When he was dressed, I picked him up, and he went willingly this time, only staring at me with a blank expression; it seemed as if he wasn't sure what to think of me. I set him down on my bed carefully, making sure that he wouldn't fall off when I climbed on.

"Dusty, do you remember anything?" I expected him to reply in some way if he did, but I had to ensure that it was truly a reply..I created two rattles. "Dusty, if you remember anything, reach for the dark blue rattle. If not, this is your favorite shade of light blue, and I'll expect you to go for that."

To my surprise, baby Dusty was immediately enraptured by the light blue rattle, and he tried to grab it almost immediately..he didn't remember anything..or he was deaf, which I didn't think possible, due to the fact that he had looked at me for the entire time I was speaking. After I gave him the rattle he desired, he began to play with it, giggling at the sound it made.

"Well..I guess that's that." I rubbed baby Dusty's skull softly. "I'm going to raise you, Dusty."

"Buh." Baby Dusty shook his rattle, likely not understanding a word of what I had just said, but that was fine!

"Hey, Dusty.." I covered my face with my hands, before popping out at Dusty. "Peekaboo!"

"Bah!" Baby Dusty jumped back in fright, before tearing up and crying..

"W-wait, no, no, no, I'm so sorry!" I tried to calm baby Dusty down.

I had expected caring for a baby to be difficult, but I was up to the challenge. What I was not up to was his sleeping patterns..it was only the first night, and he wouldn't fall asleep..

"Come on, Dusty.." I rubbed his skull as he lay in my arms, trying to coerce him to sleep. "It isn't playtime right now..it's sleepy time.."

Baby Dusty squirmed in my grasp, reaching for the rattle as if his life depended on it.

"Oh, Dusty..can't-" I paused as a brilliant idea came to my mind, and I used my coding powers to lift a certain object up and over to us. "Look, Dusty; it's your dolly.."

"Dah!" Baby Dusty immediately grabbed his doll and hugged it tightly, closing his eyesockets; it seemed as if he needed to sleep with a toy.

"Good night, Dusty.." I muttered, before falling asleep.

I woke to a small hand patting my face..a very small hand. I opened my eyesockets, and the hand..went into one of them..leaving baby Dusty halfway inside my skull. Cautiously, I pulled the baby out of my skull and set him down on my pillow before looking at the time-

"Five in the morning..?" I nearly broke down crying; baby Dusty had woken me up at five in the morning!

"Buh." Baby Dusty hugged his doll, which was literally more than half his size, close to him.

"..I'm going to call your babysitter.." I sighed. "And now he's really a babysitter."

One early awakening via speaker later, a knock was heard on my door, and I answered it, finding Dusty's babysitter..who wore hard..metal armor..

"Take off the armor." I ordered.

"Um..okay..?" He obeyed, setting his armor aside, and he now only wore a shirt and shorts..which was still not good enough.

"Put these on." I created an outfit that was worthy of a babysitter, and I gave it to him.

"..." He simply obeyed, and when it was done, he was wearing a soft jacket, soft pants, and soft slippers.

"Better. This is going to be your new uniform, and you're no longer a guard until further notice!"

"...What?" He reasonably had no idea what I was talking about, but I wasn't going to explain it to him!

"You're a full-time babysitter now, congratulations! Now, first, take this; contact me if you need anything." I handed him a phone which directly connected with one of my own. "Second, don't ask; I found him like this, and I don't know how it happened, but I'm rolling with it, okay?"

"..Okay.."

"Great! Now, I'll be out for a while..doing things..and I expect him to be alive when I get back!"

With that, I pulled Dusty's babysitter into the room and promptly left. Thirty seconds after that, I heard a scream, which sounded peculiarly like Dusty's babysitter, but I paid it no mind; he would figure it out eventually. Now that baby Dusty was taken care of, I was going to find a place where I could get my needed rest! I ended up sleeping on the roof, which was surprisingly comfortable. Three hours later, when my rest was complete, I returned to my bedroom feeling ready for the day ahead, and I found Dusty's babysitter in a better mood than the one in which I had left him in. Baby Dusty was..playing with his bunnies..and he was small enough to ride them, apparently. He giggled as the bunnies allowed him to ride on them, bouncing him along on the floor. I sat down next to his babysitter slowly.

"I'm not gonna lie; this is officially the weirdest day of my entire life." I exhaled slowly as I watched baby Dusty play.

"He's happy." Dusty's babysitter was smiling.

"..He should be glad that I swore an oath to never be cruel to babies." I smiled slightly. "And he should be more glad that I've decided to let him continue under that oath..even when he grows up..if he grows up."

"...That might be the nicest thing you've ever done." Dusty's babysitter didn't have a very high opinion of me.

"It is."

I would protect that child with my immortal life.

~~~~~

"Collar"

Classification: uhh..angst I guess?

Warnings: violence.

Canonicity: alternate timeline.

~~~~~

"Oh, Dusty!" Ink called to me from the door to his room, gaining my attention. "I have a present for you!"

He held out a box, and I took it..I wondered if it was another doll, like my Hope; I loved my Hope! Deciding to believe that it was something along those lines, I opened the box, but..this was not a doll. The strip of red fabric had a design of black threads in diamond shapes positioned around it, and at one point, there was a metal hook that was barely noticeable..with a golden..nametag hanging from it. Hesitantly, I read it, finding that it said, "Dusty"; on the back, smaller letters wrote, "Property of the dictator; return if found alone without permission." As if that weren't bad enough, the collar also came with a leash..and Ink smiled.

"Do you like it?" He inquired.

"..." I shook my skull, hoping he would forget the horrendous idea; I wasn't wearing that!

"..You don't?" Ink frowned slightly. "I made it special..is it the color?" Ink snapped his phalanges. "Oh! I forgot! Your favorite color is blue!"

Ink took the collar from me and pulled out a paintbrush, turning the black in the design to..blue. After that small adjustment, he hooked the leash onto the collar and handed the strip of fabric to me. I simply held it, looking at it..I didn't want to wear it.

"Is something the matter?" Ink wondered.

"..Th-this torture scares me.." I decided to admit; perhaps he would let me go if I simply confessed to being afraid?

Ink's smile dropped. "..This isn't torture; this is a gift. As my toy, I claim complete ownership over you; this collar confirms that..you should be thanking me."

"..I-I'm afraid.." I decided to be more blunt.

"Oh..I see." Ink knelt down next to me. "The commitment can be scary, but you shouldn't worry; it's only an outward symbol of my ownership - nothing else."

"..I-isn't it..torture? M-mental torture?"

Ink looked at me oddly. "No? Stars, Dusty, you act as if everything I do revolves around torture! I am capable of compassion, and this gift is a symbol of it."

"..Y-you're not gonna choke me?"

"No."

"C-crack my neck?"

"No, Dusty, this is yours; only you will be able to touch it."

"...F-full control?"

"Full control."

"..." I looked at the collar; it didn't seem that bad. "Okay.."

"Yay! Put it on, now, Dusty!"

I nodded, latching the fabric around my neck, but leaving it loose enough that I wouldn't be at risk of a broken spine. Ink looked at me happily when the collar was on, and he rubbed my skull softly. After a moment of comfort, Ink declared that he had work to do, and my babysitter would be coming soon. Soon was a term for immediately, of course, and only a few moments after Ink left, Fell arrived, sitting next to me on the floor.

"Hey, kid." He greeted.

"Hello, Fell." I returned.

"..That's..new." Fell noticed the leash that hung down from my neck, and I pulled down my jacket, allowing him to see the collar better. "Oh..I'm sorry, kid.."

"It's okay..he says it's only a sign of ownership..not torture..although I don't doubt that it'll get to that point."

"Well..wanna know a secret?"

"A secret?" I liked secrets; they were fun.

"Yeah, but don't tell anyone.."

"I won't!" I was very trustworthy, unless Ink had me on a table and was waving torture devices at me.

"All right, kid." Fell pulled down his chestplate, and.. "I've been ignoring dress code for forever.."

"You mean.." I stated at Fell's collar..had he been a slave, too? "How did..?"

"Underfell's a different world, kid; these things are common. Sometimes, they mean ownership; other times, it's to put someone under the protection of someone stronger. For me..my brother wanted to keep me safe; it helps me to..remember him.."

"Why do you..keep it?"

"..Because it's the only thing I have left of my brother; I've never taken it off, even for a silly dress code."

"..This one is different; Ink isn't trying to protect me..he's just showing off the fact that he owns me."

"Well, I can't help that..but I can tell you that it isn't necessarily a bad thing; I'd suggest finding something to like about it, so that, when you're afraid, you can look at it, and you can think happy thoughts."

"...Thanks, Fell."

I had to admit that the collar was comfortable; Ink wouldn't offer anything but the best for his toy..and I found solace in that fact. The colors looked nice together, too, and the gold nametag was real gold. The leash wasn't uncomfortable to sleep with, and I often found myself wrapped in it when I woke up, hugging my Hope. To my surprise, Ink never used the collar to torture me; he only pulled roughly on the leash occasionally when I didn't walk fast enough for his liking. In the end, nothing was truly bad, and I grew to..like the collar. Then came the day in which I realized just how much I valued it; a high rank had come to torture me, which I was used to.

"What have we got here..?" He was a new high rank, and he didn't know about my collar. "How quaint..I wonder what will happen if I do this..."

He..grabbed my collar..he grabbed my collar! My collar wasn't for others to touch! Even Ink didn't touch it without permission! I tried to push the high rank away from me, but he wouldn't budge, only grabbing the latch for my collar and tightening it..this wasn't right! He began to laugh, pulling on my leash roughly and shaking me until my vertebrae began to crack..

"Mercy!" I screamed, hoping this would end; my collar was supposed to be safe..not torture!

"Oh, kid..don't you know that mercy doesn't exist..?" He cackled as he yanked harder on my collar, and I found no way to avoid being hurt by the thing I had grown to..love.

"Help!" I begged that someone would hear me..and, to my luck, someone did.

"What are you doing?" Ink..Ink was the one who had promised that my collar was safe! He would make sure nobody hurt me with it!

"Just torturing him, Sir." The high rank didn't see anything wrong with his actions, turning to face Ink.

"Did you somehow miss the portion of the manual that forbids the touching of Dusty's collar, or did you simply not care?"

"..There's..something against that?" The high rank obviously hadn't known.

"Yes! It's in bold!"

"M-my apologies, Sir..I wasn't aware.."

"Because you're new, I'll give you the prestigious benefit of the doubt..but this had better not happen again. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Good. Now, off you go; Dusty's a bit..traumatized."

"Yes, Sir." The high rank left, and Ink walked over to me, kneeling at my side.

"Dusty.." He sighed at the sight of my shaking body. "I didn't know that that would happen."

"Y-y-you said.." I wept. "N-n-no t-torture.."

"I know, Dusty, and I meant it..that was only a rogue; it won't happen again..will you let me loosen it?"

"N-no!" I backed away from him in fear; he would hurt me!

Ink frowned. "Dusty, I promise..I swear on Broomie that I will not hurt you..I only want to loosen it for you."

"..Y-you promise..?"

"I promise."

"..." Hesitantly, I nodded, and Ink gave a small smile, coming over to me and taking the latch of my collar.

Ink was gentle - surprisingly so - as he gave my neck more space to move, and he used a small bit of his healing paint to mend the fractures in my vertebrae. After a minute, I felt..much better.

"There, good as new." Ink chuckled.

"Th-thank you.." I enjoyed the free movement of my neck.

"Of course, Dusty; your collar is for you, not for anyone else."

Perhaps that was why I loved it so much.

~~~~~

"Strict"

Classification: neutral.

Warnings: violence.

Canonicity: canon.

~~~~~

I was Ink's right hand. Ink was often called a tyrant, but..I was, too. I wasn't sure why, but not very many people liked me, except, of course, those who had known me for a while, such as Fell. Unlike the high ranks, I didn't have a section of low-ranked soldiers to command; instead, I had them, and I knew exactly how to deal with them. In the beginning, the high ranks had felt it to be belittling..they weren't used to lining up as their sections did, but when they found out about the punishment for disobedience under my command..they learned quickly. In all honesty, it had taken me a while to decide on the punishment..but I believed that my decision was sufficient. Forcing the disobedient one to be at the mercy of his entire section for three hours was virtual hell for them..especially for those who mistreated their subordinates; some of them had faced brutal torture. Of course, that was only for large offenses; I had several ways to punish smaller ones, and I was the one who dealt them out. Today, the high ranks were assembling for a meeting which I was going to lead; these were much like the ones they had with their sections, and I was really just going to be dictating what they would tell their sections during their meetings.

"Where's your chestplate?" I inquired.

Along with the monthly inspection, of course.

"It..got dented..in battle." A high rank shifted nervously.

"Is it being repaired?" I questioned.

"Yes, it's in the armory right now."

"Have you reported it?"

"Yes.." He seemed oddly unsure.

"May I see your report confirmation?"

"..I..left it in my chestplate..?"

"..." I gave him an unimpressed expression, slightly pulling on his soul as a warning.

"I-I did have it, but...I, uh..don't..right now.."

"That's unfortunate. It's more unfortunate when the fact that report confirmations are to be on the owner at all times. Are you certain you had a report confirmation?"

"...No."

"Thank you for your honesty."

Before another word could be said, I pulled out a dagger and sliced through the high rank's forcefully-summoned soul, but I only grazed it; this wouldn't be permanent, and it would likely disappear in a few days. He walked away when it was over. I wasn't very fond of inspections, but I knew that they were necessary, and I was willing to perform them if Ink desired me to; he did. So, when it was necessary, I punished disobedient high ranks for their insolence, and I cut into souls, and I beat my subordinates, until they learned to keep themselves proper; many of them had already learned. When the inspection was complete, I stepped up to the stage which I was familiar with, and I began to address those below me.

"Sections eighty-four and sixty-three will be on compound cleanup duty." I read from a list. "Section twenty-seven is on probation for disregarding it last month, confined to the compound and menial tasks until further notice. High rank twenty-seven is exempt, due to working an entire day on cleanup duty; low ranks 27-83, 27-45, 27-21, and 27-09 are also exempt for their work ethic. Sections seventy-five, ninety-three, thirty-seven, thirty-eight, and forty are on AU checkup, and they will meet together tomorrow at noon to develop a plan for efficiency. Sections sixty-two and eleven are on compound patrol. Section fifty-five is on the night watch. Section 115 is on kitchen duty. Sections 112, 105, ninety-eight, ninety-one, and section two will be working in the dungeon, armory, arena, laboratory assistance center, announcement center, and courtyard; they will be meeting together for volunteering tomorrow at three o'clock. As for the rest of the sections, general duties and AU patrols will be given to you in the mail within the week. Are there any questions?"

Nobody had any questions; that was good.

"Very well." I looked down on my list. "Will high ranks twenty-five, eighty-two, 113, sixty-four, and thirty-nine please come up here?"

The aforementioned high ranks frowned and came up to the stage, knowing what was to befall them. They stood in a straight line before me, and I looked down at their offenses.

"High rank twenty-five, charged with disobeying a direct order." I hummed. "Conspired with eighty-two, 113, and sixty-four. Order disobeyed: capture a prominent rebel base." I looked to the guilty parties. "Did you fail the capture, or did you refuse?"

"We..failed.." High rank twenty-five sighed.

"Four hundred soldiers failed to capture one base?" I found that to be...unbelievable.

"They had advanced weaponry..access to the surface.." High rank 113 explained.

"That makes more sense." I nodded; surface weapons were deadly. "Very well, I find you deserving of a minimal sentence; you were ill-equipped for that mission."

"Thank you.." High rank eighty-two was grateful for my mercy.

The four high ranks each received a light beating, and they were sent back to the crowd. I moved on, facing the last high rank on the stage.

"High rank thirty-nine." I paused for a moment, reading the charge, before glaring at the high rank, who glared back. "Charged with treason." I had to force myself not to attack him instantly; I didn't take kindly to traitors. "Conspired with a rebel faction..to overthrow Ink. Failed, of course, before the plot was completed. What have you to say for yourself?"

"I stand by my actions." He only glared.

"..Very good." I could almost admire his loyalty..but it was for the wrong side. "In that case, this will be quick."

I unsheathed one of my daggers, and I forced the soul of my victim out. Within a second, a slash mark was prominent on the soul, but the former high rank wouldn't perish; he would only want to, before being sent to the dungeon to continue his yearning for death..forever. I wouldn't deny that, when the beating began, I might have gone a bit overboard..but no one questioned me; they knew that I didn't like traitors, and they knew that he had deserved to have his skull caved in.

It was only business.

~~~~~

"Feeding"

This takes place in the "Baby" timeline because yes.

Classification: fluffy fluff fluff.

Warnings: more cuteness overload.

Canonicity: alternate timeline.

~~~~~

Ink's point of view.

Baby Dusty wasn't growing. That was fine, however; he could remain a baby forever! I was fine with having baby Dusty forever; he was the best baby ever! He didn't know how to speak or walk..even after eight months of constant teaching..but that was was fine! I actually..liked having someone around who didn't care about the fact that I was an evil dictator! It helped me focus on more important things, such as childproofing my room; dangerous paint was not a good thing to have lying out in the open with a baby around, and I had learned that..the hard way..it had taken hours to get him to stop crying. Thankfully, I had entirely childproofed the area, and baby Dusty was no longer at risk of being harmed! Today, I was relaxing, and baby Dusty was playing with his doll; he didn't like to be separated from it.

"Bah, buh bah." Baby Dusty was rather vocal, for someone who didn't know how to speak properly; he often became frustrated when he realized that no one but himself could understand his mindless babble. "Dah bah buh dabuh."

"Dusty, are you hungry?" I wondered, realizing that he hadn't eaten in a while; baby Dusty needed much more food than adult Dusty.

"Bah, bah!" Dusty clapped, signifying that he was indeed hungry.

"All right." I chuckled.

I began digging inside my bedside drawers for Dusty's magic-enriched baby food, which was found within a few seconds, and I pulled out a spoon.

"Open wide, Dusty!" I took a spoonful of the baby food and began to move it closer to Dusty.

"Eee!" He giggled as I waved the food from side to side, until it eventually landed in his mouth; he was always such a happy baby.

"You're so adorable." I tapped his nose ridge softly, and he broke out into a giggling fit.

"Buh bah!" Dusty held up his doll to me.

"You want your dolly to have some, too?"

"Bah!" Dusty nodded quickly, pushing his doll closer.

"All right, then."

I pretended to feed the doll to appease baby Dusty, who watched happily as his doll "ate" the baby food. After a while, I decided that Dusty needed the food more; I could sense that his magic levels were falling too low.

"I think dolly is full, Dusty." I maneuvered the next spoonful to Dusty. "Your turn."

"Aah." Dusty opened his mouth to obtain the baby food, and he giggled happily when he consumed it.

Baby Dusty could always make me happy.

~~~~~

I have a feeling that that timeline is just going to be a bunch of fluffy shorts.

But that is fine.

"Fun"

Classification: ..torture is a classification now.

Warnings: torture, violence, blood.

Canonicity: canon.

~~~~~

Ink knew how to have a good time. As his toy, I was right by his side! It was sometimes difficult to predict when I'd feel the need to hurt someone, but Ink always knew; he said that my eyelights gave it away, and I was glad about it! Ink always knew how to take care of me. Today, Ink picked up on the subtle signs of my need, and that was a good thing; he was planning to do a bit of torturing today.

"Dusty, would you like to play with me in the dungeon?" He offered.

"Yes!" I jumped to my feet in glee, before remembering that Ink had said that he had a slight headache earlier, and he had asked me to be quiet today; I was a horrible toy.. "I-I mean..yes, please.."

"I figured as much. Come along, Dusty."

So he led me to the dungeon, where many prisoners were held for the purpose of being tortured. We spent about ten minutes looking around at the selection, until Ink noticed my interest for a specific one; he knew that I favored Papyruses as victims, and there was a new one..he didn't have a scratch on him.

"Do you want to play with him, Dusty?" Ink smiled darkly in the prisoner's direction.

"If you want to..I'd like it.." I didn't want to force Ink to torture the one I wanted..that would have been rude.

"He'll do, Dusty..he'll do."

I grinned happily as Ink took me over to the new Papyrus's cell, and we stopped before it, chuckling as the Papyrus's eyelights showed fear. I then remembered something.

"Ink?" I looked up at my master.

"Yes, Dusty?" Ink looked down to me curiously.

"Do you still have that headache?"

"Screams don't hurt my headaches, Dusty; I'll be fine."

"Oh..okay!"

"No worries! Would you like to play with him first?"

"I.." I wanted to say yes, but I had to be respectful. "Only if you want me to, Ink."

"So kind..I think I'll let you have some fun first, though; I want to watch for now."

"All right, Ink!"

"And, Dusty?"

"Yes?"

"Don't hold back; I want to see bloodshed."

"Okay!" I beamed at the thought of not holding myself back!

"Get to it, Dusty!"

"Yes, Ink!"

Without further ado, I entered the cell, and I walked to the counter that every cell had..that no prisoner dared to touch. Torture devices of all kinds could be found in the drawers and cabinets, and if there was something that someone desired to use that was absent, a small trip to a neighboring cell could prove fruitful. Thankfully, I mainly used blades. Looking through the stored devices, I found a wide selection of blades, and I chose the one that would please Ink; I would spill blood for him. After selecting my weapon, I carefully turned to my victim, who was fearfully backing away; it made me so happy! I pounced. It was usually rather difficult to get my victims on the ground because of my small size, but this one dropped like a fly when I leaped, likely because of his fear. He whimpered as I waved the blade around to tease him, and he screamed in fear as I made my first cut, right below his eyesockets; he was scared to death, probably because he was so new. In less than five minutes, I had cracked his sternum wide open, and blood poured freely; Ink was very entertained. He laughed heartily as I played with my victim, enjoying the little things that only he could notice; I wasn't as observant as he.

"Dusty." He said, after a few hours.

"Yes?" I looked away from my victim, wondering if Ink wanted to play now.

"It's time to go; I have a meeting in five minutes."

"Oh..you didn't get to have a turn.." I felt bad; I had taken too long of a turn, and now Ink wouldn't have a chance to torture the victim..

"It's fine, Dusty; I truly only wanted to watch you."

"..Really?"

"Of course, Dusty. Now come; I don't want to be late!"

"Yes, Ink!"

Ink always knew what he wanted.

~~~~~

"Guest"

Classification: angst.

Warnings: violence, manipulation.

Canonicity: not canon.

~~~~~

"Dusty, I'm bored.." Ink groaned.

Nothing interesting had happened for the past two weeks. The resistance had been quiet, no rebels had done anything, no new universes had popped up, no riots had taken place, and nobody was breaking laws; it was essentially Ink's worst nightmare. To add to his misery, I wasn't helping; I tended to enjoy the peace. As a result, Ink was cranky, and he had nothing to do; he had ordered that he be notified the second something even remotely interesting happened, however, and he would content himself with being bored until then. Honestly, most people had been expecting the end of the peace to be the resistance, and I was of that number; my brother, the best skeleton ever, likely had a plan, and I was interested to find out what it was. I was taken out of my thoughts when a knock came at the door. Ink, curious as ever, answered it instantly.

"Yes?" He was eager to find out what the reason of the knock was, but he hid his curiosity; he didn't want to break his outward calm demeanor.

"S-Sir, I can't explain it.." The guard who had knocked seemed nervous.

"Spit it out."

"..This skeleton was found in a remote AU..and he isn't..he's not..."

"Just show me."

"..Here."

The guard gestured for a couple of his fellow guards to bring a skeleton forth, and Ink was broken free from his boredom. As for me, I couldn't see the skeleton, as a guard was in the way.

"..." Ink hummed with a tone of wonder. "Bring him in, and leave him with me; tell no one."

"Yes, Sir." The guards brought the skeleton in and laid him on Ink's bed, as Ink gestured to, before leaving.

When I first got a glimpse of the skeleton, I was amazed; he looked just like..Error. An unconscious Error, yes, but..Error. Judging from the fact that Ink hadn't ordered for him to be sent back to his cage, I inferred that this wasn't the Error I knew..and that frightened me; I didn't like the thought of someone resembling my uncle..it didn't sit well with me..Ink didn't like my uncle. The only reason Ink hadn't tortured Error was because Ink needed him in proper condition in the case that the multiverse was overrun by corruption; he would force Error to clear the corruption before putting him back into his cage, in that instance..it hadn't happened yet, but Ink wasn't one to take unnecessary chances. This Error..wasn't Error..he didn't have that saving grace..he was in danger.

"Wh-what are you going to do to him?" I had to ask.

"Not sure yet.." Ink had been scrolling through the Error's codes. "An interesting specimen..not from this multiverse, obviously..this odd lettering might need a bit of time to be translated..Dusty, grab me some paper."

I did as I was told, not wanting to be punished with this new Error around. Ink began to write what he saw.

"Interesting.." He hummed. "Poor, poor soul; his Ink was so cruel to him..but not evil..I wonder what he'll do at the sight of me-" Ink gasped, indicating an idea. "Dusty..do you want to play a game?"

"..What..game?" I usually ended up hating games.

"Let's play..manipulate the skeleton. You, my dear Dusty, are going to play the role of the..reformed murderer. As for myself..I will be the heroic protector..as I used to be."

"..You want to make him trust you." I figured.

"Correct. I want him to trust me with his life..and you are going to help me."

"..I don't want to." I shook my skull; manipulating the Error would have been wrong.

"Oh..in that case, I guess we can just skip the game..and I can just torture him."

I froze for a moment; Ink was going to hurt him if I didn't play along..but he also would if I did. If I did, however, the Error would have at least a little peace..I had to play along..in my own way.

"Fine.." I sighed. "I'll..play.."

"Good toy." Ink ran a hand over my skull. "I knew you would want to play with me!"

"..Am I going to be nice?"

"Yes, Dusty, you are going to be yourself; you can literally just treat him how you normally would. That should be easy enough for you."

"Yes, Ink." I nodded; I could be myself.

"I'll-" Ink was cut off.

"What about your room?" I quickly questioned.

"..What about it?"

"Dangerous red paint everywhere..doesn't give the best first impression..if you want him to trust you.."

Ink looked around for a moment. "Dusty, you're right..good toy." Ink rubbed my skull for a few seconds as a reward. "I'll do a bit of..redecorating."

Within five minutes, Ink's room had been entirely changed..his previously red, dangerous, and dark room was changed to a soft shade of brown, now resembling..an art studio. Well, if anything, Ink knew how to fool people. In addition, he placed a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door, to prevent unwanted interruptions. After that, the Error began to stir, and Ink had only a few seconds to clean the dried paint from my clothes and heal my broken bones; no one would have suspected that he was an evil dictator, aside from his permanently red eyelight, but he would manipulate the Error's code to prevent his noticing. The Error's eyesockets opened slowly, and Ink was the first person he saw. I somewhat expected the Error to scream in fear, from the earlier conversation, and I wasn't surprised when he did, backing away frightfully.

"Hello, my name is Ink!" Ink waved kindly; I wouldn't have guessed that he was evil. "You're injured; do you want me to heal those wounds?"

"..Wh-what are you doing?" The Error's voice sounded like the one I knew..hopeless..

"Greeting you! A few of my friends found you passed out in a forest or something, and I volunteered to help you out! This is my home!"

"..This is..your entire home?" The Error seemed suspicious.

"Yep! Every AU has an apartment here, and I make do with what I have!"

"You..have an AU?"

"Well, no, but I have enough friends to make up for it! Oh, this is my roommate, Dusty!"

"H-hello.." I gave a small wave.

"..Dust?" The Error looked at me confusedly.

"I think I can clear up your confusion." Ink sat down on his bed, causing the Error to back up a bit more. "You see, a friend of mine took a look at your..I think they were called codes? Anyway, it turns out that you're not exactly from our multiverse, and you somehow..got here?"

"..Void..I-I fell into the void.."

"..The void? That's...interesting. Do you have a name?"

"..How do I know this isn't some twisted trick?!" The Error was smart.

"I know that you probably won't be open to trusting us immediately, but we're genuine..and I'm afraid that we're not very open to trusting you right off the bat, either..you're to be confined to this room until we can verify that you aren't a threat to our peaceful multiverse..sorry."

"..Error..my name is Error."

"Oh, that's just like ours!" Ink acted surprised. "Now we have two Errors!"

"...What is..he like?"

"Our Error? Oh, he's..well, after the incident, he just sorta..doesn't come out much."

"..Incident?"

"..Did you have a Nightmare's gang?"

"..Yeah."

"We did, too..except they were really..bad. Nightmare was bent on world domination, and..we gave Dream centuries to get him back, but..right when we thought it would happen..Nightmare just..cracked. He turned on his men, and he killed most of them..only Dusty survived it, and..he's not the same. We had to put Nightmare down before he killed more..there was no choice."

"...How did he survive?" The Error looked at me sadly, and I pitied him for believing Ink's story.

"He..almost didn't. Nightmare dusted most of them immediately, but he neglected to notice that Dusty hadn't gone all the way; we came in time to save him, barely. He was so hurt by the betrayal that he..his mind just couldn't handle the stress; he lost his murderous tendencies, and now he's a beloved member of society, entirely harmless. His mind did regress, however; don't be surprised if he acts somewhat like a child..he can't help it."

"..." The Error looked at Ink hard. "I don't believe you."

"I don't expect you to..I find it a bit hard to believe that you ended up in the void and lived."

"..A Nightmare wouldn't do that."

"...When people lose their last bit of sanity..they can do anything."

"I'm hungry." I decided to ease the tension by expressing a need; Ink would be forced to fulfill my request, since he didn't want the Error to become suspicious, and I wanted some decent food for once!

"It's not a mealtime, Dusty." Ink's eyelights held a silent warning.

"I'm still hungry.."

"Dusty, I'm not allowed to feed you outside of mealtime..you know the rules.."

"B-but.." I conjured some tears; I was going to get that food, and if Ink wanted me to play along with his stupid game, he would give in. "P-please?"

"Dusty, no." Ink shook his skull.

"Why won't you feed him..?" The Error's suspicion rose, and Ink had to think fast.

"Rules..he's still not entirely rehabilitated, and he has to eat special foods at special times..no matter what he says."

"That's really..suspicious."

"Rules are rules."

"I'm hungry..." I whined.

"Aren't those..rules..a bit..strict?" The Error thought.

"Perhaps..but I didn't make them." Ink shrugged. "Speaking of making things, I'm going to make some conversation with some friends; I hope you don't mind."

"I don't mind.."

"Perfect! I'll be back in a while!"

Ink teleported, and I was left with the Error. I sat down on the newly-cleaned floor, beginning to play with my Hope; I was sad that I couldn't convince Ink to feed me, but I supposed that I never really had a chance in the first place..Ink would probably confiscate a meal for my actions..

"Hey, kid?" The Error caused me to look up.

"Y-yes?" I knew that Ink was evil, but..I still wasn't sure about this Error..different multiverses had different rules, after all..now that I was alone with him..I didn't feel very safe.

"You know that every word he just said was a lie?" The Error could obviously read Inks; I only nodded. "Why're you playing along?"

"..Don't have a choice." I decided to be honest.

"..Is he listening?"

"I don't know; he's likely not, but I can't tell for sure."

"..What's this place really like?"

"..I can't tell you." I looked back down to my Hope. "Just accept his game..he'll treat you better for longer if you do."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"He went through your codes..he said something about a cruel Ink."

"Misguided..jerk."

"..Imagine something like that, but he's fully aware of what he's doing, and he enjoys it."

The Error shuddered slightly. "How'd you end up here..?"

"..He killed my family..kept me alive for his own entertainment."

"Why play along?"

"I do it because I don't want to be hurt..you should for the same reasons..he doesn't like our Error..he won't like you."

"..Does everyone fear him as much as you do?"

"Some try to be brave.." I sighed. "It never lasts for long..especially when he takes a special interest in someone..just go along with it; you'll be happier for longer."

"What was that with the food earlier?"

"..I tried to get him to feed me something..he only feeds me every three days..I'll probably be punished for it later.."

"..Why try?"

"..Sometimes..I try to take advantage of situations..sometimes, he plays along..sometimes, he doesn't.."

"Why are you telling me all of this?"

"I don't want you to be hurt before you have to be..just oblige him, if you value your safety."

"..You're very kind."

"Everyone tells me that.."

"I suppose they would."

I said nothing else. When Ink returned, the swapped Sans - he looked better without armor - was by his side, and it seemed as if the swapped Sans was going to spend some time with the Error, and he would likely advise him to oblige Ink, as I had. With the Error being watched, Ink could take me from the room, under the guise of "rehabilitation classes." In reality, he dragged me to the dungeon for a long torture session..I shouldn't have tried to get food earlier. After breaking most of my bones and bringing me to the point at which I begged incessantly for his mercy, Ink brought me back to the room, and because he hadn't healed me, he formed the excuse that some judges simply couldn't accept that I was good now..it was obvious that the Error saw through the lie, but he pretended to believe it, to my joy. As I had expected, Ink continued his game for several days, but by the time a week had passed, he was beginning to grow bored..that wasn't good. A few high ranks had played along with the game, likely having been promised something, but Ink still grew bored. Two weeks had passed when he decided that he was sick of it.

"Hey, Error.." Ink's tone was playful..too playful.

"Yes?" Error didn't pick up on the tone change..I felt bad for him.

"Do you want to go on a trip?"

"..What kind of trip?"

"You'll see, but we have to teleport for it..is that okay?"

"..I guess so..but didn't you say I was confined to this room?"

"That's why we're teleporting."

"..." The Error looked to me for guidance, but I just bowed my skull in sadness; that told him what he needed to know. "I think I'd rather stay here.."

"That's no fun.." Ink seemed to realize that the Error wouldn't leave without a fight. "But I think I can change your mind quite simply.."

"How-" The Error was cut off by Ink, who tackled him almost instantly, teleporting before the poor Error could realize what was going on..

I was left alone. Ink's room faded back into its normal coloring, and I wept. I never saw the Error again, but..occasionally, when Ink led me through the dungeons, I saw a flicker of a glitch in the corner of one of my eyelights..I hoped that my eyelights were lying, and that the Error was dead.

Living would have been so much worse for him.

~~~~~

"Blankets"

This takes place in the "Baby" timeline.

Classification:fluffflufffluff.

Warnings: adorable Dusty bean.

Canonicity: alternate timeline.

~~~~~

Ink's point of view.

Something was wrong. For the past three years, I had been woken up at five in the morning sharp by small hands that wanted nothing more than to play or eat..but this morning, I didn't feel them. Naturally, this raised some suspicion. I opened my eyesockets slowly to find that the time wasn't five..but seven. At this, I looked down to the one who slept in my arms, finding that the child was still asleep..his face was tinted a light shade of purple. Now, skeletons didn't blush for the same reason most monsters or humans did. Sure, there was a small amount for embarrassment or the like, but skeleton blush was entirely magic..and magic wasn't supposed to be too concentrated in the face, with the exception of eyelights. When a blush was this concentrated, it usually only meant one of two things: the skeleton was embarrassed beyond measure..or he was ill. Considering the fact that I didn't think babies could be embarrassed in their sleep, I decided to check the baby's temperature..and my theory was proven correct; baby Dusty was ill. He clutched to his favorite doll in his sleep, shivering slightly; I was going to have to keep him warm. Laying him on my pillow, I covered him with a blanket.

"Bah.." Baby Dusty whined in his sleep, shivering more..I was going to need more blankets.

I picked up my paintbrush, and I created another blanket for baby Dusty, laying it under him for some extra comfort. He shivered. I created another blanket, laying it on top of him. He shivered. I created more blankets. He shivered. I created a hat to go under his hood. He shivered. I continued to create blankets and warm clothing until he ceased his shivering, which took a good ten minutes. By the time he stilled, I had created a mountain of comfy blankets around him, and he was in the middle of it, sandwiched on all sides by the cozy warmth. When he woke, he found that he was unable to move, but he didn't fight it, only hugging his doll and allowing me to feed him his breakfast. A few hours later, his face seemed clearer.

"Are you feeling any better, Dusty?" I inquired.

"Bah." Dusty nodded slightly.

"Do you want me to take off some of those blankets?"

"Bah! Bah bah?!" Dusty shook his skull rapidly; I had long since found that he understood my speaking, but he was unable to convey his own thoughts that well, only being able to do his best with what he had.

"You want to keep the blankets?" I assumed.

"Bah!" Dusty giggled.

"Okay. Well, I'll have your babysitter come in soon; I have to go to a meeting."

"Bah.." Dusty didn't like it when I had to go to meetings.

"I have to, Dusty; you'll have a good time with Fell, right?"

"Bah!" Dusty did enjoy playing with Fell, however.

I left for my meeting as soon as the babysitter came, and I spent the entire time worrying about Dusty..he hadn't been ill as a baby before. It turned out that I had little to fear, however, since, when I returned to my room, I found Dusty still snug in his blankets, and the blush had left him; he was healthy once again.

I knew that blankets were a cure for colds!

~~~~~

I am in love with this baby fluff-

"Returning"

This takes place in the "Collar" timeline!

Classification: neutral.

Warnings: mm..none.

Canonicity: alternate timeline.

~~~~~

I would have been lying if I told anyone that I didn't like my collar; it made me feel safe, for some reason. Ink's gift made me happy, and I accepted the joy it gave me; it wasn't as good as my Hope, but that was fine. Today, Ink was taking me on a walk, leading me through a universe by my leash. I honestly didn't mind being led by a leash; Ink knew how to handle me, and he did so professionally. I had lost the ability to care about my standards long ago..I couldn't feel embarrassment. Ink had also made slavery publicly legal, and every slave was marked with a collar; not everyone liked it, but it certainly made things easier..there was no doubt as to who were higher and lower beings anymore. Those laws had been made about five years ago, and it was now commonplace for people of status to have at least one slave..many had more.

"Good morning, Sir.." A guard spoke to ink, who had stopped.

"I received a call about a disturbance?" Ink wanted to get straight to business.

"The inhabitants...staged an uprising. We managed to quell it, but..a few of them are still loose, and the ones imprisoned are refusing to submit to your rule again."

"Hm.." Ink nodded, taking in the information. "Out of curiosity, why couldn't you have just called a high rank?"

"We did..they were beaten."

"I see.." Ink hummed. "Dusty, you may go run around, but stay in sight; guard, tell me more.."

"Well, Sir.." The guard began to explain the situation, but I was going to take advantage of Ink's offer; I enjoyed moving freely!

So I did. I looked around the area, determining where "in sight" was. After figuring out where Ink could see, I decided to play, running around with my Hope happily and giggling giddily as I did. I didn't expect anyone but Ink to watch me..but I hadn't accounted for secret watchers. After a few minutes of play, someone grabbed me from behind.

"Hey!" Ink saw the person, although I didn't.

Before I could figure out what was going on, I was thrown into a portal, and I hit solid ground. The portal closed behind me, leaving me stranded in..wherever I was. I held my Hope close as I stood, finding myself in a forest..a dark forest. I whimpered slightly at the thought of being stuck here..it didn't sit well with me. I decided to stay where I was; Ink would be able to track the portal's destination, hopefully, and I didn't want to be punished for making his job harder. Sitting down, I hugged my Hope tightly and backed up against a nearby tree to prevent anyone form sneaking up behind me, and I waited. I waited for ten minutes before I saw some color..moving color..there was a person here! The person seemed to notice me, since the figure stopped, before walking..towards me. I hugged my Hope tightly and curled up, until I saw who had found me: a guard.

"What are you doing here, little guy?" He didn't seem to recognize me. "This is no place for a kid.."

"I-I was..I-I don't kn-know how I-I got here.." I really didn't know all the details, and I didn't want to have to answer a million questions in the middle of a dark, scary forest. "Wh-where..is h-here?"

"Kid, this is a corrupted AU..you won't last long without proper equipment." The guard offered a hand to me, and I took it; he began to walk me through the forest, and I followed closely.

"C-corrupted?" I didn't like hearing qbout corruption; it was scary.

"Yeah..we guards who don't want to do military work get to risk our lives in these places; thankfully, we tracked the portal that brought you here before anything bad happened."

"Wh-what do you do?"

"Mostly, we study the corruption and prevent the spread..there used to be beings with the purpose of doing this work..corruption cleaners, I think they were called..but no one's seen one of those in a long time."

"Y-you clean corruption?"

"No, we just contain it; a lot of people die doing this work, but I guess it's for a good cause..we're probably the only part of the army that actually does some good, at least. If we didn't do this..possibly trillions would die.."

"That sounds important.."

"It is..I just wish there were still cleaners.."

"Ink was a corruption cleaner." I knew that; Error had been the unwilling recipient of his job when he quit.

"What?!" The guard was shocked, and rightfully so; Ink didn't like it when people found that out. "How do you know that?!"

"He told me.."

"...You speak with the dictator?"

"..More like he talks to me..I'm not much of a talker.."

"..Who are you..?" The guard paused for only a second before speaking again. "Actually, let's get you somewhere safe first..this is no place for a child."

The guard brought me to a small cabin in the woods, which was likely his team's base of operations here. A few other guards were inside, working with substances I had never seen before..

"A kid.." A different guard spoke.

"He came through the portal we traced; he doesn't know how he got here." The one who had found me stated.

"Take a seat, kid." A guard gestured to a chair, and I sat down in it.

"What's..that?" One of the guards noticed my leash; it wasn't hard to miss.

"..M-my leash?" I didn't think that it could be that odd; many beings wore leashes nowadays, due to the increased rate of slavery.

"..Why are you wearing a leash?" The guard who had found me wondered.

"..." I was confused. "Don't you know about the new laws?"

"Kid, we're constantly working in corrupted AUs..we don't get updates on laws."

"..Oh." I contemplated how to say this, deciding in the end to be blunt. "I-I'm a slave.."

"...There's slavery now?!" A guard seemed outraged.

"Th-there has been for a long time..d-don't you know?"

"No..we don't."

"Oh..I'm sorry." I frowned; I wished there weren't slavery. "D-do you have contact with the outside world?"

"We have a radio.." One of the guards held up a radio. "What do you need it for?"

"..M-my owner will be m-mad if I'm not returned.."

"Can't you stay for a little while?" The one who found me didn't want me to leave. "We can say you were unconscious for a while."

"H-he would know..please return me."

"..All right, kid..just tell us where to call." A guard sat at the radio, preparing to call.

"The compound, please."

"All right."

The compound was called, and a portal opened almost immediately; Ink walked through. Upon sighting me, he immediately rushed over to pick me up, whispering to me that everything was okay and that he had savagely murdered the one who dared to touch me..I didn't necessarily enjoy hearing that last part, but I had no choice. The guards at the base were promptly left behind, to my sadness - I didn't get to say goodbye - and Ink took me home, where he promptly calmed me down from my "terrifying experience"; honestly, I believed that he had been more scared of it than I had been.

Ink was very protective.

~~~~~

"Friendly"

This short was requested by loseafy!

Classification: angst.

Warnings: torture, blood, child abuse.

Canonicity: canon.

~~~~~

Ink liked to hurt people. He liked to cut them, and he liked to douse them with paint. He liked to beat them, and he liked to frighten them. He liked to find out their worst fears and constantly torment them by taking advantage. He liked to cause pain. He caused pain to the old and the young, and he would torture whomever he wished. He used knives, and he used clubs; he used electricity and water. He used heat and cold, and sometimes, he used the sheer fear of nothing. Most prisoners were released within a week or a month, but most of them were scarred horribly from their experiences. Most of them were adults; the adults would rather put themselves in danger than risk their children..but sometimes, a child was dragged to the dungeon. Those were the ones that were pitied the most; the children in the dungeon died more often from the torture, and they were scared to death of being reset to begin it all again. None of the guards enjoyed hurting children, except for a few rogue high ranks; Ink did, though. He loved hurting children..and whenever a child was arrested, he was to be notified immediately. He was always the first one the children saw. Today had been quiet until the knock on the door came.

"Come in." Ink looked to the door, giving me a break from some torture.

A guard walked into the room with a frown across his face. "Sir, a new prisoner has been locked in the dungeon.."

"And...what is the significance of that?"

"A-an Undyne..four years old."

"Oh!" Ink smiled. "What's her number?"

"Eighteen, Sir."

"Very well; you may go."

"Thank you, Sir."

The guard left, and Ink turned his attention to me.

"Isn't this great, Dusty?" Ink enjoyed torturing children.

"..." I did not enjoy that thought.

"Come on, Dusty."

Ink promptly grabbed my hand, beginning to lead me to the dungeon. Along the way, I pitied the small Undyne; four-year-olds didn't deserve to be tortured. Ink and I eventually made it to the dungeon, and Ink knew exactly where cell eighteen was..he had memorized the layout of the dungeon. When we reached the cell in question, a small Undyne was curled up in the corner, crying out of fear. I sat down outside the cell, not wanting to watch the proceedings but knowing I would be forced to. Ink wasted no time in entering the cell and looking for the best tool to hurt the Undyne with; it didn't take long for him to decide. A knife would suffice for him.

"Time to scale a fish." He chuckled lowly, turning to the Undyne, who screamed in fear; I pitied the poor child.

Unfortunately, Ink never lied about torture; he began to scale the Undyne. The unfortunate child's scales were forcefully removed from her body, falling to the ground below in small thuds; the screams were horrifying. I found myself weeping as the child used all her strength to get away from her tormentor, but ultimately failed. The torture lasted until Ink had plucked every last scale from the child's body, leaving the Undyne looking like a bloody mess..and Ink laughed. A high rank walked through the dungeon with the intent to take Ink somewhere; there was apparently an emergency, and Ink left promptly, telling me to stay..but he forgot to close the door to the cell. I decided to take my chance, entering the cell and quickly grabbing a device; I had seen guards perform instant resets with them, since not every universe had a machine to revive the dead, unlike Dusttale, which only had one because I died so often. I quickly targeted the Undyne, forcing a reset..and she looked better - her scales had returned. She curled up and backed away from me slightly, likely thinking that I was planning to do the same as Ink had. To her fear, I did approach her, but instead of torture, I simply sat down on the ground, quietly inviting her to come closer.

"I won't hurt you." I said, softly. "Not everyone here is bad.."

"I-I-I don't w-wanna hurt.." The Undyne sobbed.

"I won't hurt you." I repeated. "I only want to help."

The Undyne took a lot of convincing, but after ten minutes, she was curled up next to me, wrapped in a warm hug. I covered her ears when a neighbor screamed loudly, and I tried to make her as comfortable as possible until Ink came back. He seemed angry when he noticed that I had reset the Undyne, but he was obviously preoccupied with something else; he only grabbed one of my arms and dragged me out of the dungeon, forcing me to leave the child behind.

I hoped he wouldn't visit her again.

~~~~~

"Underestimate"

Classification: comedy.

Warnings: Ink being stupid.

Canonicity: alternate timeline.

This short was requested by TYRANN0S!

Not gonna lie I started reading The Scarlet Letter today and this is giving me those vibes-

~~~~~

Almost every guard was a judge. Almost every judge was a Sans or Papyrus. Ink often spoke of other multiverses in which there were judges with more diversity, but ours was nice; I preferred the consistency. There weren't only Sanses and Papyruses, of course, but the majority were. Only taking judges seemed rather ridiculous in my opinion; there were plenty of other capable fighters in every universe, but Ink simply refused..I didn't question it. Today, Ink was just waking up, but I was already awake..and I was frightened. Ink soon took note of this, dragging me out of my hiding spot and into the open to witness what I had been hiding from.

"Dusty, what are you-" Ink had traced my line of sight, and he now beheld what I had been scared of. "What the actual stars-"

Outside Ink's windows, an army of universe inhabitants stood; they glared through the windows, and it frightened me. Ink's windows were unbreakable, yes, but this was very intimidating, and my fragile mental state was ill-equipped to handle it. They just stared, unmoving and unrelenting..staring as my very soul. I held Ink and cried as their harsh glares dug into my bones and threatened my livelihood. Ink didn't seem to mind it, only walking to the windows and giving a blank stare.

"Can you wash the windows while you're out there?" He requested.

But they didn't move. Ink allowed me to stay with Dream in the guard lounge that day, since I was scared stiff of the stalkers. The next day, they were still there. Staring. Being scary. Ink took me to the dungeon to torture me. The next day, they were still present; I was still afraid.

"They're only trying to scare us, Dusty." Ink didn't understand my fears.

"I-it's working.." I whimpered, hiding behind him.

"Dusty, come out and face your stupid fear." Ink was beginning to become tired of my fearfulness.

"I-I'm too s-scared.."

"That's it, Dusty!" Ink turned and slapped me. "You are going to stop being afraid of that stupid attempt to scare me, and you are going to act normal, or I will give you something to be scared of!"

"...Y-yes, Ink.." I was more afraid of Ink; that was for certain.

"Good."

So I tried to ignore the scary starers. They had probably planned to break into Ink's room, but they had likely been uninformed about the fact that his windows were unbreakable; his walls were much the same. After discovering that, they likely just decided to intimidate him, since breaking in would be too difficult, due to all the security measures. The staring crowds outside eventually thinned out, and the stalkers either became bored or hungry, deciding to leave; Ink was happier when they were gone, since that meant that he had won the silent battle.

Ink always won battles.

~~~~~

Btw I'm not gonna do these requests in order because the second and third ones are difficult for me to fingure out, but they will be written! Just..later.

"Swearing"

Classification: comedy.

Warnings: none.

Canonicity: alternate timeline.

This short takes place in the "Papa" timeline.

This short was requested by TYRANN0S!

I may have taken this request too literally, as with the last one, but I couldn't resist the temptation sorry-

You said fruity-

~~~~~

Fell was my protector, and he was a huge influence on my life! He always told me great stories, and he made sure that I was always safe! Whenever the high ranks or their children decided to hurt me, he would protect me, and he kept me safe; I was glad that Papa had given him the job of being my protector. Today, a group of high ranks had tried to attack me while Fell was occupied with another duty, and they were..very successful with their endeavours. I had been trapped in one of the many unused rooms in the compound, and the high ranks were taking advantage of their chance, beating me without mercy; I wished I could scream out for help, but they had prevented that, as they always did. Twenty minutes after the beating began, I was curled up on the floor, crying silently and hoping that someone would save me from the mean high ranks..I wished I knew how to fight back, too, but I didn't. Forty minutes later, the door was kicked open, and Fell glared at my attackers harshly before attacking them. Fell was a very skilled fighter; he had to be, to deal with the high ranks! When they were gone, Fell knelt by my side and began to check my wounds, pulling out his first aid kit.

"Hey, kid, are you all right?" He wanted to make sure.

"I'm okay.." I said, quietly; I truly felt horrible..

"Those bananas.." Fell grumbled. "They shouldn't even think of hurting a great kid like you."

"I-I'm not great.."

"To me, you are, and I'll fight any fig that says otherwise. Those dumb mangoes shouldn't be allowed near you..farkleberries."

"..Why are you talking about fruits..?" I didn't understand.

"..Child-appropriate insults."

"..." I shrugged, nodding; I didn't want to know what non-child-appropriate insults would have been.

"Can you feel this?" Fell pressed down on one of my bones, causing me to cry out slightly. "Oh, date..I'm so sorry.."

"I-it's o-okay.."

"Those..peaches."

Fell continued to insult the high ranks as he bandaged my wounds, using many words, such as oranges, olives, strawberries, watermelons, pineapples, kiwis, and grapefruits; I didn't know that fruits were insults. Actually, I soon realized that Fell used those words a lot..I didn't know why. I simply accepted it. Today, I had some difficult homework; history wasn't my best subject, considering the fact that different universes had different histories. Papa was reading a book beside me as I worked, ready to offer his assistance as needed; he knew everything!

"Avocados, I can't do this!" I whined.

"..What?" Papa seemed confused.

"It's too hard.." I frowned.

"But what have avocados got to do with it?"

"It's something people say when they're frustrated; I'm frustrated."

"..." Papa put down his book. "Where did you learn this 'frustration' word?"

"Fell."

"...I see. Has he told you any other words?"

"Yeah?"

"..Like what?"

"Like..carrot?"

"Fruits and vegetables?"

"Uh-huh. Is something wrong, Papa?"

"No..no, I'm just going to speak with Fell about some things. You, uh, take another look at your history; I'm sure you can get it."

"Okay, Papa." I nodded as Papa stood and walked to the door.

Papa was gone for eleven minutes, and I figured out the answers while he was gone; I had just been looking in the wrong chapter of my history book. When Papa returned, he sat beside me once more, rubbing my skull softly.

"Dusty, do me a favor." He told me.

"Yes, Papa?" I responded.

"Don't use frustration words."

"Yes, Papa." I decided to trust my Papa.

He was always right.

~~~~~

"Massacre"

Classification: angst.

Warnings: Dusty angst, scared Dusty, Ink's suicidal thoughts, self-harm, depictions of violence, killing, murder, Ink being more Ink than usual, blood, gore, and lots of bad stuff. If you are sensitive to literally anything, this might not be the best short for ya.

Canonicity: alternate timeline.

This short was requested by TYRANN0S!

~~~~~

Ink's point of view.

I felt empty. My emotions had been fading faster recently; I had occasionally been forced to take a sip of one of my old vials to feel better..that wasn't the best sign. My toy had been spared much suffering during the past few days for the pure fact that I didn't feel like torturing him..he had begun to worry about me..I should have felt more excited about that prospect, but I didn't feel anything. I didn't want to do anything, and that was..very unlike me; I was usually eager to do anything. I was currently lying in my bed, ignoring my toy's attempts to put some life back into me; I believed that he was worried sick about me, despite my being his tormentor..his soul was too pure. I wished I had a soul..I wouldn't have this problem.

"Ink..I-I'll let you torture me!" Dusty was desperate to get my old personality back; I wished I could find interest in that. "D-don't die.."

"..." I slowly shifted my eyelights to Dusty. "..Die?"

The word felt unfamiliar in my mouth; I didn't believe I had ever said it..perhaps I had, and I had just forgotten? I had said death..oh, yes, I had said die; Dusty was one that I didn't want to die so often. Die..to perish. To cease living. I had wanted that once; I was immortal, however, and could not attain it. I had switched to torture. I had tortured whoever bothered me in private, sometimes killing them in the end. Sometimes I wiped their memories to keep my facade of friendship. When I didn't have a different target, I would use myself; I recalled breaking every bone in my body..it gave me such a thrill..until it lost its luster. The day eventually came in which a blade didn't offer comfort, and a bonecutter wasn't exciting; electricity was lost on me, and walking into a dark AU to be attacked was boring. I needed something new. Something exciting. Something...Dusty.

"Are you okay?" Dusty hoped. "I-Ink?"

"..Thank you, Dusty." I smiled at the thought that had entered my skull.

"Huh?" Dusty tilted his skull.

"I'm going to be away for a while; you can have two hours of outdoor time a day."

"..Yes, Ink."

I created a portal to my desired destination, finding myself in a surface town. I usually didn't go to surface AUs, since I couldn't conquer them successfully yet...but using one for my enjoyment wouldn't hurt. Not hesitating, I found my first victim, and I used my paint to kill. I felt..good..as I watched the human rip itself apart in pain. I felt..happy. More victims fell after the first. Blood was splattered on the sidewalks and the streets, and humans that had lost their lives now lay lifeless, mutilated, and dead. The best part was..I didn't even kill them! They killed themselves! My paint wasn't harmful..it just made the victim think it was being harmed..causing it to overreact, and, ultimately, rip itself to shreds as it tried to get the paint off. I only incited the process. When the codes showed that no living beings remained in the town, I moved to the next. The local militia tried to stop me; I used my magic as a shield while flinging paint at them. They dropped their weapons instantly, and they screamed in false pain, scratching at their skin enough to break through it..letting their insides meet the outside. I chuckled as they killed themselves; this was better than torture..this was entertainment! I moved to the next town.

Civilization after civilization fell with my paint, and I committed genocide..without committing a thing. I only spilled paint on people! It wasn't my fault they ripped themselves apart! I caught one of the humans in an abandoned building at one point, and I tied it to a chair. I shaved its head, and I took out an eyedropper. One drop on the head. The human screamed for dear life. I giggled like mad until the human quieted. Another drop. Screaming. Quiet. Another drop. The human begged for mercy. It didn't realize that this was mercy; I wasn't killing it. When the single drops became boring, I filled a vat with my paint, and I threw the human inside. It never came out. I went to the next town. The country was wiped out within two weeks, and the continent took only three months; I loved this! The entire planet was on an alert, begging the inhabitants to hide from me, lest they die. They didn't know that I could track them. Country by country fell, and the suicide rates skyrocketed. I wanted to do this forever. I knew I couldn't. Dusty was at home, waiting for me; my empire needed a leader. Just a little longer. I wiped out half the planet before deciding to go home; I left a note that said I would be back someday.

I planned on keeping my promise.

~~~~~

"Mathematics"

Classification: fluff

Warnings: I got a 100 on my geometry exam, and I am extremely pleased.

Canonicity: alternate timeline.

This short takes place in the "Papa" timeline.

This short was requested by TYRANN0S!

~~~~~

"Papa!" I ran into the bedroom crying.

"Dusty?" Papa looked at me with concern. "Are you okay?"

"I-I-I can't d-do it!" I clutched a few pieces of paper to my sternum; I was worthless!

"Hey, son, what's wrong?" Papa picked me up, hugging me close.

"I-I failed!"

"Let's see this.." Papa took the papers, looking over my failed test..I was so dumb! "Math, eh? Let's see..this is advanced for fourth grade.."

"Th-th-the s-substitute..t-teacher..s-s-said I-I should kn-know more.." I wanted the old teacher back, but she had been called to her universe on urgent business for the whole month..

"Did you learn any of this before taking this test?" Papa frowned at the red x's on every question.

"N-no.." I had been scared stiff when the substitute teacher placed the test in front of me..

"Then I don't see any problems." Papa rubbed my skull. "It was unfair, and I say that you pass by default."

"Really?" I grinned happily.

"Absolutely."

"Thank you, Papa!"

"Of course, Dusty." Papa hugged me comfortingly.

"Papa?"

"Yes, Dusty?"

"How do the problems work?"

"These?" Papa looked at the test.

"Uh-huh."

"Well, these are called proofs; they're used to prove that things are true using things called theorems, corollaries, axioms, postulates, and other things. Some of them are easy, while others are hard."

"Why would someone need to prove things?"

"Math is complicated, Dusty; this is geometry."

"I don't understand."

"Many people don't; it's normal, especially at your age."

"Would you teach me one?"

"Well..all right, Dusty." Papa looked for a good proof to teach me. "This is just proving that two lines are parallel. First, we have this line, called a transversal, which intersects both of the lines and forms angles. Now, proofs have things that are given; these help you to solve the proof. This one says that this angle and this angle are supplementary; that means that, when they're put together, they make a straight angle, which is 180 degrees.now, do you notice anything about these two angles?"

"They're..both on the right side?"

"Yes! They're both on this side of the transversal. What else can you see?"

"...They're in the middle?"

"Great! They're between the parallel lines, and they're on the same side of the transversal. These angles are called interior angles. Knowing this, we can come to a conclusion using one of the theorems or corollaries. One of them states that, if the two interior angles on the same side of the transversal are supplementary, the lines are parallel. Do you see?"

"Ooh..that's cool!" I giggled at Papa's knowledge; he was so smart!

"Now, I'm going to have a talk with your new teacher; would you like to come along?"

"Yes, please, Papa!"

"Come along, Dusty."

I smiled and followed Papa as he led me to the classroom. The high ranks' children had made fun of me for not knowing the math earlier, and Papa frowned when he heard that; he had a plan, though. He entered the classroom ahead of me, finding the teacher in the middle of a lecture.

"Teacher." Papa addressed the teacher sternly.

"Yes, Sir?" The substitute teacher responded.

"You are meant to teach, not hand out tests which have material that has not been discussed."

"My curriculum-" The teacher was cut off.

"Your curriculum means nothing; you will teach the appropriate grade level for every student in this class accordingly with their age, and you will do so for the remainder of your limited stay here. Dusty is ten; you will treat him as the fourth grader he is. Am I understood?"

"...Y-yes, Sir."

"Good. Dusty, who made fun of you earlier?"

I whispered the names of the ones who had performed the offending actions, and Papa went to each of their desks, laying down a copy of the test I had failed earlier.

My Papa was the best.

~~~~~

"Physics"

Classification: comedy.

Warnings: none.

Canonicity: alternate timeline/not canon.

This short has Papy in it!

This short was requested by TYRANN0S!

~~~~~

Papy was the best toy ever! He was always so caring, and he never made me feel bad! Whenever I needed help with something, he would drop everything he was doing immediately, and he would help me; he was an amazing toy. Sometimes, when I did something bad, he would take the blame for me, even when he didn't have to; Ink always allowed him to do that, since he didn't care who was punished, as long as one of us was punished. Of course, I sometimes took the blame for things he did, too, to make it more fair. It was something like a game now, and Ink enjoyed wondering who he would punish for a certain offense. Today, we were in the courtyard, and Papy and I were playing together as Ink watched; Ink liked to watch us play. We were currently playing with a ball, and Papy could throw it very strong! We threw it back and forth, although I couldn't throw it very far, since I was weak. Papy didn't mind having to run a bit more to get the ball, however; he was the best toy! At some point, the ball ended up in a nearby tree..and I was unable to get up to it. I whimpered as I tried to jump up to get it, but it was useless; the ball was over thirty feet above me..and I was short.

"I am sorry, Dusty!" Papy didn't mean to throw the ball that high.

"It's okay, Papy..but we need that ball.." I sighed.

"I will get it!"

"If you two need help-" Ink paused his sentence when Papy stepped onto thin air.

Papy walked all the way up to the ball, and he grabbed it before descending to the ground, where he handed the ball to me. Ink walked over with a shocked expression.

"..How did you do that..?" Ink didn't know.

"What do you mean?" Papy tilted his skull.

"You just..walked..on nothing!"

"That was simple; I only told physics that I didn't want to listen to them."

"..." Ink was confused.

"Ink, do you need comfort cuddles?" I didn't want my master to be confused.

"..Yes, Dusty..I need lots of comfort cuddles.."

"Okay! Come, Papy!"

Papy and I took Ink to his room, and we cuddled him until he felt better. Not everyone could ignore physics; Papy was just one of them. It just made Papy a better toy!

I loved my toy.

~~~~~

"Armor"

Classification: comedy.

Warnings: confused Dusty, throwing up.

Canonicity: canon.

This short was requested by TYRANN0S!

~~~~~

"It's unfair." A high rank grumbled.

Ink sometimes took me to meetings. The meetings were usually about torture or the empire's current well-being, along with future conquering possibilities and the like. When they were about torture, Ink brought me along, since I was a good torture dummy. Today, there was a meeting about torture, and I was dreading the new ways in which I would be injured; I didn't enjoy these meetings. Ink sat at the head of the meeting table, in a chair that was much more extravagant than the others in the room; next to his, a highchair sat, and that was where I was seated, if I was brought along. It probably should have felt more demeaning to be placed into a highchair, but I couldn't complain; Ink would have punished me. The meeting had only just begun, and a high rank was first to speak when Ink asked about grievances.

"What's unfair?" Ink inquired.

"Him." The high rank gestured to me. "All of us have to wear these constricting suits - no offense to you, of course - and that runt gets limb freedom?"

"..He isn't a soldier..it's infinitely more difficult to torture a person who's wearing armor."

"I'd say just wearing it is torture." Another high rank remarked.

"..Are all of you in agreement on this subject?" Ink seemed..intrigued.

Every high rank nodded.

"Then I suppose I'll oblige you." Ink chuckled. "All right, I'll have little Dusty wear a suit of armor for the week, starting tomorrow."

The high ranks were pleased with Ink's decision; I was not. Of course, my opinions didn't matter, and, therefore, remained unsaid. The meeting passed swiftly, and the torture techniques I had dreaded were showcased. The next day was what I now dreaded, and when Ink woke me up, he held a cardboard box.

"Good morning, Dusty!" Ink smiled at me, placing the box on the floor.

"Good morning.." I sighed, sitting up and holding my Hope close.

"Do you remember what we agreed to yesterday?" Ink knew very well that we didn't agree to anything; he likely didn't care.

"Mhm." I was obliged to keep my peace on the matter, despite how much I wanted to argue.

"Good!" Ink rubbed my skull. "In that case, stand up!"

I did so, and Ink opened the box.

"I know that you probably don't know how to put this on, so I'll do it for you!" He grabbed a helmet that looked..much too big for me. "This is the smallest suit I could find, and since this is only going to be for a week, I'm not going to have a custom suit made for you. Now, work with me, here."

Ink began to put the suit on me, which was easier said than done. The straps needed to be tightened much more than they had originally been intended to, since my bones were weak, and the gloves were at least five times larger than my hands. The boots went all the way to my pelvis, and the leg armor was useless. Ink had to be creative, and in the end, the leg armor and some of the arm armor was discarded, possibly with other pieces. I couldn't move my arms or legs.

"Well, at least you don't look too bad." Ink shrugged. "Time for the helmet, Dusty!"

Ink placed the helmet onto my skull, and I whimpered as I was plunged into darkness. Ink opened the visor, but my eyelights couldn't reach it! My skull was too small for the helmet, and I couldn't see a thing!

"That's that, then." Ink patted the helmet a bit hard, causing me to fall down. "Now come, Dusty; I want to take you for a walk."

I tried to get up, but I ended up failing, only succeeding in rocking the armor back and forth.

"Dusty, I mean it; get up!" Ink wasn't happy with my behavior. "Stop playing around!"

"I-I can't m-move!" I began to cry; I wanted to move!

"...You seriously are stuck?"

"H-help.."

"Ugh."

Ink pulled me to my feet, where another problem arose. I tried to take a step, lifting my leg; as a result, the balance of the armor was offset, and I fell down again.

"..Dusty, try shuffling; don't lift your feet." Ink pulled me back up.

I obeyed, moving my legs only a little bit to prevent falling, and it worked! I began to shuffle around the room, hoping that I wouldn't trip. As I became faster, turning became a bit harder, and..well, I may have walked into walls and fallen down a couple times, but it wasn't my fault; I couldn't see where I was going! When Ink decided that I had become good enough at maneuvering, he tied a rope to one of my gloves' wrists and began to lead me to wherever we were going, which appeared to be a different universe, if the sound of wind meant anything. Ink led me down what I believed was a pathway, and he stopped after a bit of walking; I had no idea why, since I was essentially blind at the moment.

"Um..good morning, Sir.." A voice, likely a guard, spoke.

"Good morning." Ink returned. "How is the conquering going?"

"Everything is going well..may I ask..?"

"The high ranks wanted to see Dusty in a suit of armor; it's a good idea, isn't it?"

"..I suppose."

"Good! Now, give me the gist."

Ink continued with his work, pestering the guard for details about the conquered universe. As for me, I mainly tried to stay upright; it was difficult, and I fell at least fifteen times, but I lived, at least. After this universe, Ink decided to show me off to the high ranks, taking me straight to the guard lounge; I could feel myelf being stared at.

"That's great!" A high rank's voice was clear as he laughed with his companions.

"Feel free to play around with him; I'm going to be playing with some real victims in the dungeon." Ink pushed me forward harshly, causing me to fall onto the floor, before walking out the door.

I whimpered on the floor, wiggling around to try to get up, but it was of no use.

"Aww, does the little twit need help getting up?" A high rank taunted me.

"Let's help him!" Another picked me up and placed me on the ground, before spinning me around, causing me to grow dizzy.

I didn't like being dizzy; I sometimes...oh, dear.

"That's gross." A high rank made a disgusted sound.

I didn't enjoy throwing up paint; it was significantly worse than throwing up food, since it burned. The high ranks forced Blue to clean up my mess, which made me feel bad; I didn't want to make work for my friend! I had no choice in the matter, of course, since the high ranks could, to a point, do whatever they wanted. Their usual style of playing involved torture, but they soon realized that it was difficult to torture someone in armor, causing them to switch to a more passive form of play, which was essentially making me walk into things and fall down. Honestly, I didn't mind the repetition; it was better than torture, at the very least. The next week passed similarly, and when it was over, I was glad to be free of my metal prison!

I never took motion for granted again, in any case.

~~~~~

"Error"

This short takes place in the "Revived" timeline.

Classification: lil' fluff.

Warnings: none.

Canonicity: alternate timeline.

This short was requested by loseafy!

~~~~~

It had taken a lot of begging. In the beginning, I had gotten onto my knees to plead for my family to be able to visit Error with me. Ink had waited and listened to my pleads for four hours before relenting..on the condition that my entire family begged. When they next visted me, I brought it up.

"Ink said that he'd maybe let you guys join me to visit Error." I said, in passing conversation.

"What?!" My family were shocked - a good shocked.

"But.." I frowned when my family's expressions lowered slightly. "He wants us to..beg."

"..That's the most demeaning thing I've ever heard of." Nightmare growled lowly.

I bowed my skull; I understood his concerns. My family weren't like me; they had reputations..and begging wasn't good for a reputation. I had no reputation, and I didn't care about what people thought of me. It was a stupid idea; I shouldn't have expected my family to go through such hardship for me..I was so selfish! I shouldn't have tried to coerce my family into this..I was just stupid. I began to weep at my selfish tendencies; why couldn't I think of others for a change?!

"I guess it's worth it." Nightmare's statement brought me out of my self-deprecating thoughts; he was...actually going to do it..?

"R-really?" I tried to wipe my tears away.

"If the others will, I will relent; there are worse things than begging."

"I'll do i.'" Horror nodded.

"I-I've done i-it before." Cross shrugged.

"For Error." Killer was determined to see Error.

"Then we will." Nightmare declared.

"Th-thank you!" I hugged my family; they were the best family ever!

The road ahead was difficult. After begging to allow my family to beg, Ink forced my family and I to our knees before him as he sat on his bed, awaiting our pleads. I began it. My family weren't very sure how to beg, but they learned along the way that it was best to say Ink's name, along with various phrases that demeaned them; I was skilled at it, unfortunately, since I sometimes had to beg for simple meals. We begged for a full day, unceasing; Ink savored the event, and when it was over, he granted permission for us to visit Error, but my family had to wear magic suppressors and restraints for the duration. I was allowed to go without those, since my magic was always suppressed, and I was too weak to escape, even with determination. When the day came in which we were allowed to visit Error, I could hardly contain my excitement! I wore a smile from the moment I woke up to the point at which my family came to escort me, and even then, I continued to smile. They led me down the long staircase, and they opened the door that led to the room in which Error's cage lay. I walked in first, receiving a big smile from Error, which only grew when the others showed themselves.

"Y-you.." Error began to tear up. "Y-you're really here!"

When my family opened the door to Error's cage and entered, Error couldn't keep himself from hugging them, and I joined the hug, too. Error began to speak joyously about our old adventures, and my family and I reminisced about them alongside him..those days had been the best. I tried not to dominate the conversation, speaking only when spoken to; I wanted Error to be able to hear the others instead of me.

"When he said you were back..I didn't believe him.." Error admitted. "I thought..I thought it couldn't happen.."

"Well, we are here." Nightmare assured. "And we love you."

"I l-love you, t-too.." Error was crying tears of joy; I hadn't seen him this happy in...decades.

"I's good ta see ya, Error." Horror smiled.

"It's amazing to see you.." Error hugged us tighter. "Don't leave..p-please.."

"We have no choice." Nightmare sighed. "We'll find a way to return."

"Pr-promise?"

"...We'll do our best; we can't promise anything more."

"R-right..s-sorry.."

"Remember that time we filled the dining room with bread?" Killer wanted to change the subject.

"That was ridiculous to clean up!" Error laughed.

The rest of the visit was filled with smiles and laughter; we couldn't hold back our tears when we had to leave, but that was fine.

We would see him again together..someday.

~~~~~

"Vantablack"

Classification: angst.

Warnings: Ink angst, torture, severe mistreatment of Dusty, blood.

Canonicity: alternate timeline.

This short was requested by TYRANN0S!

~~~~~

"This is a very bad idea!" I tried to stop him; this was insane!

"Since when did your opinions matter?" Ink glared at me cruelly.

"I don't want to see you hurt!" My inability to hate made me more determined to stop Ink.

"Dusty, go back to my room, now."

"No!" I clutched to one of his legs as he walked.

"Then just stay still." He used a some paint to bind my arms and legs together, while also gluing my mouth shut..this wasn't good.

Ink had gone insane. When he had ordered the regrowing of the Tree of Feelings, no one had questioned it. Today, he had finally revealed his reasons for his actions..and they were horrifying. He professed that his emotional state had been constantly declining and that he felt emptier than usual; he was going to use the tree to regain his emotions. The thought terrified me! He had ordered a free day for all guards and the like, forcing them to stay in their rooms as he went about his business; I was the only one who knew his plans, and I was the only one who had a chance to stop him. I was failing. The tree had been grown in ideal conditions in the laboratory, and Ink and I were the only ones present. When we reached the growing chamber, he shook me off his leg, and he tied me to a chair with his paint before entering the chamber in which the tree had been grown.

Without hesitation, he picked a side.

He walked toward the negative side, eyeing the black apples with a small smile. Ink grabbed the first black apple he saw, and he consumed. And another fell. And another. I sobbed as I watched the events unfold, unable to stop him..this was going to end horribly. By the time it was finished, he had eaten every black apple, and he was crying from the pain it caused him; I wished I could have stopped him. About ten seconds after he had finished eating, he fell to the ground screaming. He continued to scream for half an hour, when when the cries of pain ceased, he rose to his feet, and he exited the chamber, eyelights set on me. I whimpered as he came closer, not wanting to know what he planned to do with me; I could tell that he wasn't the same..his mind had been..altered. He said nothing to me, only releasing me from my bonds and carrying me to his room; his unrelenting grip told me not to try to escape along the way. When we reached his room, he harshly brought me to the floor, pinning me by my shoulders. The smirk he wore told me that he was in a great mood...for torture.

"Dusty.." He giggled. "Did you disobey me earlier?"

"I-I-I.." I was too afraid; torture always frightened me.

"You did, Dusty. I told you to stay here and wait for me..but you disobeyed." He reached into one of his pockets, pulling out a blade. "And now..you will pay for it..with your blood."

"M-m-m-mercy.." I begged, almost inaudibly.

"No, no, Dusty.." He held the blade up to my soul, which he had forced out. "There will be no more mercy; there will only be obedience..or punishment. I think you'll find the new changes I have in store..perfect."

Ink had been changed. Instead of a light warning against a small offense, he would immediately punish me, and he offered no shred of mercy. The rules on the entire empire became stricter, as well; torture sessions and punishments for everyone were increased in length and intensity. The resistance was forced to become stronger to defend against Ink's new policies, but they would be outmatched eventually; hope was lost for the multiverse. Ink no longer ordered me to do tricks, and he no longer rubbed my skull; he was cold, and he was indifferent. I was no longer woken with a, "Good morning"; I was expected to already be up by the time Ink was awake, and if I wasn't, he would wake me with torture. I had woken to the sound of my bones being sliced more than once. Speaking of waking up, I was forced to stay up..Ink wouldn't grant me sleep. When I collapsed from exhaustion, he would torture me. When I died, I was brought straight back to my personal hell; all of my friends were cut off from seeing me. Ink didn't call me "Dusty" anymore..I was just "toy," or a different title..he was cruel. My food was no longer given to me; I had to beg for scraps. My Hope had been taken away, as had my bunnies; Ink won the silent standoff, and I was left to suffer.

"Get up, cretin!" Ink's loud voice forced me from an illegal slumber; I began to weep when he grabbed my neck to force me up to him. "When did I say you could sleep?"

"N-n-never.." I curled in on myself, crying.

"Tell me..why did you think you could?"

"I-I was s-so tired.." I whimpered. "I-I couldn't st-stop.."

"You blame it on your exhaustion?"

"Y-y-yes.."

"Oh.." His grip increased, and I felt a crack form in my neck. "What a pity. It's time for a lesson, then."

"N-no!" I struggled in his grip as he walked me over to his bed.

"Lesson for today: exhaustion is a lie."

He lifted me into the air, and he brought me down. Ink's bedframe had always been metal; he enjoyed the firmness it provided. I..hated it. Remnants of past torture sessions made the formerly silver metal shine in a light crimson, displaying the amount of times he had abused me with it. Sometimes, he threw me against the metal, and other times, he held me firmly as he repeatedly smashed my body against it; he was using the latter technique this time. My body had been littered with cracks before Ink had eaten the apples, but..the amount of cracks I had sustained increased at least tenfold. My bones were held together with paint - nothing else - and my soul was constantly dimming..I didn't think it gave forth light anymore. This torture session lasted two hours, only stopping when someone knocked on the door; Ink threw me onto the floor before answering.

"What?" He snapped.

"R-r-r-res...res-resistance.." A guard was terrified of Ink; I didn't blame him.

"Finally." Ink had been growing impatient. "Begin the protocol; it's straightforward enough."

"Y-yes, S-Sir.." The guard ran off, and Ink returned to me, picking me up.

"Toy, you are going to behave."

I only nodded; I couldn't find the strength to speak.

"Good; sit down and be silent." He ordered.

Ink set me on the ground, and I stumbled onto the floor next to his bed, doing my best to gain a sitting position. I didn't react when my brother was brought into the room; I didn't have the strength to. There were two others with him, but everything was too fuzzy to make them out; Ink had aimed for my eyesockets too much recently..

"Brother!" Papyrus's voice was easy enough to make out, but I didn't have any strength left.

"Ignore him; he's no one." Ink said.

"What have you done to my brother?!"

"Normal, everyday stuff. Don't worry, Papyrus; I intend to force you to join me in it."

"You are sickening." Papyrus growled.

"I won't deny that. Would you like to hear a fun fact?"

"We would not."

"Shut up and listen. Take a good look around this room; what do you see?"

"..Paint?" A different voice guessed.

"..There's no paint in this room.." Ink giggled lowly. "That's blood. It's his blood, to be exact."

"You..y-you monster!" Papyrus's voice betrayed a small amount of fear; I knew it well.

"Yes, I am a monster; I wear the title proudly. I have definite plans for all of you, of course. Classic will be held in a cell for the rest of his life, Outer will serve me as a guard, and you..Papyrus..will have the distinguished honor of being..corrupted."

"...What?" Papyrus was scared; his tone betrayed it clearly.

"I'm going to turn you evil; you will learn to love it, trust me. Guards, take the other two to their duties; Papyrus will be staying here."

"Yes, Sir." A few guards escorted the others out of the room.

Ink forced Papyrus under his wing. Papyrus was given a lesson in evil every day, and with every lesson, Ink forced his way a little bit more into Papyrus's mind; I was prohibited from doing anything to keep my brother's goodness. Papyrus resisted for years successfully, but it was no use; Ink's manipulation was destined to overwhelm him. Ink started with general evil, and he eventually delved into specific evil. Papyrus ended up bowing to his master, and I found myself with two torturers.

Evil was contagious.

~~~~~

Hehe, now get ready for the reverse!

"Repent"

Classification: ansgt.

Warnings: Ink angst.

Canonicity: alternate timeline.

This short was requested by TYRANN0S!

So essentially, this short was requested to be the opposite of the last one, so that one sentence that stood alone near the beginning is going to be used as the branching point.

~~~~~

Without hesitation, he picked a side.

The golden gleam of the positive apples must have caught his eyelights, since he didn't pay any mind to the black ones. He didn't look at the apples as he began to eat them, only glancing to make sure that they were the correct color. I struggled in my restraints as he consumed the fruits, but I really had no chance; I was too weak. Surprisingly, Ink didn't give much of a reaction to the fruits, and when they were all gone, he stared at them blankly..until a light began to glow in his..chest. Ink looked down to the glow curiously, pulling up his shrit to see what was going on, and inside him floated..a soul. Ink had a soul! I stopped struggling when I saw it, silently wondering what this would mean; Ink had a source of emotion..he didn't have to work to get any of them! He looked up to me with fear lingering in his eyelights..and he passed out. I wasn't sure if it was the shock or his body's bonding with the soul, but I didn't want to take chances; this could have been a chance to have a nice Ink..one who wouldn't rule over everyone else in an evil empire..one who could be called..a friend. So I fought against my restraints, and I tried most of all to get the dried paint off my mouth. It took a few minutes, but when I had broken through enough, I screamed.

"Help!" I hoped someone was near..I hoped anyone was near. "Someone help!"

To my surprise, someone was. A scientist soon popped his skull into a doorway, and upon seeing Ink's condition, he called his coworkers to help. Ink was soon brought to the medical wing, where a host of doctors tended to his condition nonstop..he was in danger of losing the soul he had gained, and everyone knew that that soul..was our saving grace.

"Is he okay?" I immediately questioned the doctors when they exited the hospital room Ink had been brought to; I hadn't been allowed inside, since some surgery was required.

"We're doing everything we can." A doctor replied.

"Will the soul stay?"

"..There's a chance. It's not the best chance, but it's something."

"..Personal thoughts?"

"...We'd better be lucky."

Ink was kept in the hospital room for weeks. The empire still moved on without him, since the high ranks were trained to take control in the instance that Ink was incapacitated, but if he had a change in..soul..he could easily tear down what he had built. After the first six weeks, I was allowed inside the room, and I found Ink in an unconscious state; he hadn't woken up yet. I didn't leave the room once I was let inside; I only waited, holding my Hope tightly and waiting for the outcome. I waited for four months. The doctors had accepted my presence, and they set aside a small corner of the hospital room for me, since they knew that I wouldn't leave. They fed me, and they made sure that I knew if anything happened with Ink. Five months and three weeks after Ink had collapsed in the laboratory, he shifted. I had been sitting next to his bed when it happened, and my giddiness had alerted the doctors; when they entered the room, Ink..awoke. His eyesockets opened slowly as his eyelights adjusted to the light, and the first one he looked at was..me. I smiled softly at him, hoping that his new soul would change his perspective on a lot of things..such as torture.

"How are you feeling?" A doctor quietly inquired.

"I.." Ink's voice was quieter. "I-I feel..okay..?"

"Do you remember anything..?" I hoped he didn't..

"I-I'm not..sure.."

"Just think about things; tell us whatever comes to mind." A doctor gently instructed.

"...M-my name is Ink..r-right?"

"That's right." Another doctor nodded. "What else?"

"...I like..chocolate."

"He does." I confirmed; it was little-known, but entirely true.

"Tell us more about things you like." A doctor was looking for the answer, 'torture,' which would, quite frankly, give us what we needed to know.

"I like..." Ink thought for a moment. "Colors."

"Continue with things you like."

"Board games..clouds..painting..water, skies, inventions, books, creativity, friendship-" Ink froze when he said that. "F-friendship..wh-what..wh-what have I done...?"

Ink began to shiver in fear; he was recalling the recent past..the empire.

"Calm down, Ink!" I decided to try to help him; this level of stress wasn't good.

"I-I hurt them..I hurt..a-all of them.." He began to cry.

"They'll forgive you." I hugged him. "I forgive you, Ink."

"I-I'm so sorry.."

Ink continued to sob for the next three hours, and I made it my goal to comfort him; he had definitely had a change in soul, both figuratively and literally. When he finished crying, he vowed to change his ways, and he took down his empire, freeing every prisoner and guard and allowing everyone to return to their homes. He made peace with the resistance, and he gave himself up to them for judgment; albeit hesitantly, they decided to let him roam free, but he would have no use of his magic ever again. Ink accepted his punishment with dignity, however; everyone was proud of his changes.

In the end, everyone was happy.

~~~~~

"Cannibalism"

Classification: angst.

Warnings: cannibalism, I learned that people actually eat bone marrow, gore, like seriously it's cannibalism.

Canonicity: not canon.

This short was requested by my brother!

~~~~~

Ink's point of view.

I hadn't meant for this to happen. I had meant to bring back Dust. I hadn't meant to bring back..him. The Sans of Horrortale, commonly referred to as Horror, had a bone to pick with me, and I was, unfortunately, going to feel his wrath. He had tied me to one of my own chairs, inside an interrogation room, and he had tied a cloth over my mouth to muffle my screams.

He bit into my leg. He had decided on how to punish me, and it was cruel, even by my standards! I felt the tears crawling down my face as he ripped a chunk of my tibia out, and I flinched when he began to chew on it, savoring the crunchy texture of my bones, and..sucked the marrow out. That was my bone marrow! Those were my bones...he was eating them! When he had consumed that portion of bone, he smirked darkly at me, and he went for more. I was forced to watch him slowly devour me..I sobbed as my bones were crunched by his teeth..and he didn't stop. When my legs were gone, he ripped a part of my pelvis off..and kept eating. Legs, arms, ribs..he ate every part of me he could get to, and it hurt so badly! At one point, he stopped for a moment to pick bits of marrow out of his teeth.

"Y'know.." He spoke. "Marrow's got a lotta..healthy stuff. Mighty tasty, too. Ya taste..kinda like nuts..mayhaps 'cause ya are nuts."

He continued after that statement, laying his disgusting teeth on my skull..and biting. I wished my screams could be heard..but I knew that they wouldn't be. I was doomed to perish in this existence, or be left paralyzed..I preferred the former; I could always be reborn into a different body, after all. It was a pity, though; I honestly liked this body.

"'M full." Horror said, at some point. "Yer gonna stay li' that. Bye."

He walked out of the interrogation room, and he locked the door behind him, leaving me in the dark..with no way to move..

I hated him!

~~~~~

My brother didn't think that the request "Horror eats Ink" would be gory...

How do I make eating someone not gory-

"Bring Your Baby to Work Day"

This short takes place in the baby timeline!

Classification: fffllluuuffffff.

Warnings: *sleeps cutely*

Canonicity: alternate timeline.

~~~~~

Ink's point of view.

Baby Dusty required a lot of care. He needed special food, and he needed companionship. Usually, his babysitter would take care of his needs when I was away, but..his babysitter was ill today, and I had a meeting that I could not ignore. In light of my circumstances, I packed Dusty's essentials in a bag, and I brought Dusty to the meeting. The high ranks were...unsettled when they saw that I had brought a baby, but they knew better than to question my authority. When the meeting began, I had Dusty on my lap, and he was playing with his doll.

"Good morning, high ranks!" I smiled, addressing my loyal high ranks. "Today, we will go over new disciplinary measures. Does anyone have any ideas?"

"What if we dress them up as babies?" One snickered.

"..That's actually not bad." I looked down to the resident baby. "Do you approve of the idea, Dusty?"

"Buh." Dusty blinked cluelessly.

"Do you think bad guards should be dressed as babies?"

"Duh." Dusty patted the table.

"He thinks it's wonderful." I smiled.

"Are we seriously letting a baby direct this meeting?" One of the high ranks scoffed.

"..." I pulled out a green piece of paper and a red piece of paper and placed them on the table in front of Dusty. "Now that you've brought it up.."

"You've gotta be kidding me."

"What baby says goes." I decided. "Any other suggestions?"

"I think we should increase torture sessions by an hour." One of them voiced an opinion.

"Bah!" Dusty patted the red paper violently.

"Ouch, denied!" I giggled, knowing that Dusty knew exactly what the high ranks were talking about.

"Wait a minute, does that thing understand us?" One of the high ranks inquired.

"Bah, bah!" Dusty patted the green paper.

"Oh, boy.." Someone groaned.

"I think all babies should be given candy every day!" Blue spoke up from the back, which was interesting, since he usually never spoke during meetings; Dream smirked, sitting up straighter as he decided to play the game.

"Yee!" Dusty patted the green paper happily.

"There should be a week in the year when there's no torture!" Dream said.

"Bah!" Dusty vehemently tapped the green paper.

"Ink should give up his empire!" Blue wished.

"...Buh." Dusty retracted his small hands, before moving slowly to the..red paper..

"..What?" I noticed that everyone in the room was shocked, but..I was the most shocked..

"Bah buh.." Dusty began to suck his thumb, hugging me.

"Huh..he likes me.." I..hadn't expected that.

"Bah.." Dusty yawned quietly, intending to fall asleep on me.

I had never felt more loved.

~~~~~

"Medieval"

This short was requested by my brother!

I have no idea how this is going to work so I apologize in advance.

Classification: kinda angsty.

Warnings: violence, death.

Canonicity: alternate timeline (this can also mean that there's just always been a difference in the story).

~~~~~

"My liege!" A knight ran up to the king's throne.

"Speak." Ink commanded.

"The enemies of the crown are attacking the castle!"

"Call the troops to defend at all costs; do not allow them near the dungeon or near me."

"Yes, Sire."

"Servant." Ink looked to me.

"Y-yes?" I looked up to the king, who had been using me as a footstool for the past eight hours.

"Rise."

I did so, bowing my skull slightly to the king. The story of how I had ended up here was an unfortunate one, really. I had once lived with my family in one of the villages scattered around the land, but the Dark Empire attacked..and my village was burned to the ground; I was one of the only survivors. After the raids, any and all survivors were hunted down; my brother had left to join a resisting faction against the king long ago..I wished he could have been there to protect me, but he wasn't. The knights of the Empire soon captured me, and I had been imprisoned with the other survivors of several villages. When we had been brought to the king's castle, the king had been searching for a new personal servant, and he had been walking the grounds that day; his eyelights met mine, and my fate was sealed. It was later that he learned that my brother was a prominent enemy of the crown, and I became a way to let out his frustration more than a servant; he taunted the enemies of the crown with me, daring them to try to rescue me..I just wanted to be free.

"Bring me my sabers." He ordered.

"Yes, king." I nodded.

I walked over to the wall behind his throne, and I reached up for his blades of choice; the king had exquisite tastes. When I grabbed his blades, I had forgotten that my hands were too small to hold more than one of his blades at one time, and I..dropped them, with a clatter.

"Servant..come here." The king was angry.

I picked up one of his blades quickly, hoping that he would spare me if I brought it to him. I handed it to him, and he looked at me expectantly..

"Where is the other?" He narrowed his eyesockets at me.

"I-I can get it-" I was cut off by an arm that prevented my escape, and I was pushed in front of the throne.

"I said sabers - not saber." He growled, raising a hand. "Can you not do the simplest of tasks?"

"I-I am n-not very st-strong.."

"I do not desire your peasantry! You are a king's servant, and you will act like it! I will not tolerate your excuses, and I will not spare you from punishment; down."

I let out a small whimper as I descended to my knees, and I bowed my skull lowly. The king was very strict about commoners in the castle; we were forced to act in a certain way, and it was much different than what we were used to. The king raised his blade, and he moved to strike-

"Stop!" Someone shouted out, running into the room and causing the king to cease his movements.

"No.." The king growled, grabbing me quickly and bringing his blade to my neck.

The throne was surrounded by enemies of the crown, and the king's only defense was me. My brother stepped forward as much as the king would allow him.

"Release him!" My brother demanded.

"Not a chance!" The king hissed, cutting slightly into my neck; my brother backed away immediately. "You will leave now, or he will perish."

The enemies of the crown began to back away a bit, not wanting to risk my life..until one stepped forward.

"One life..or countless others.." He was making the decision, and I smiled softly at my brother, silently telling him that it would be all right.

I only felt the pain for a moment.

~~~~~

Wow that was dark at the end-

"Gone"

Classification: kinda..angst and fluff?

Warnings: death, dust (not the bean - the particles of death), threats, wee bit o' torture.

Canonicity: not canon.

This short was requested by my brother!

~~~~~

Ink was torturing me again. I would have been lying if I said that I wasn't used to it. The paint fell onto my clothes and into my mouth, and I screamed; it was an almost everyday occurrence. Until this one. In the middle of a standard torture session, Ink dropped his can of paint, clutching his skull; I wondered what was going on..this wasn't normal. I looked up at him, stifling my screams for the time being, and I watched as he...dusted.

"D-Dusty.." His voice sounded so..desperate. "P-please..h-h-help.."

I whimpered as his form..his immortal form...turned to dust. Within thirty seconds, the dictator was...dead. I rose to my feet rapidly, running out the door, and..suits of armor lay everywhere in the hallways; dust was everywhere. I whimpered as I begged for this to be a dream..this had to be a dream! I ran through the hallways of lifeless dust and armor, finding only guards that were..Papyruses..Undynes..but no Sanses. I ran to the guard lounge, hoping that what I feared had occurred wasn't true. When I arrived, I found...Dream. He was crying in the midst of the dust and armor everywhere.

"D-Dream?" I was frightened.

"Dust..?" Dream gasped. "H-how are you.."

"I..don't know..how are you?"

"..I'm not a real Sans; I only have this form.."

"I-Ink is dead.."

"Every Sans is dead..except you."

"..Can we bring them back?"

"Not without Classic's dust..and a reset."

"I-I'm scared.."

"I know." Dream walked over to me, pulling me into a hug. "I know.."

"This way!" A loud voice echoed through the halls, and I recognized it instantly.

I ran out of the guard lounge swiftly, and Dream followed close behind me; at the end of the hallway, my brother stood.

"Papyrus..." I gasped, running for him. "Papyrus!"

"Brother!?" Papyrus smiled widely, sprinting to meet me, and he picked me up into a hug when he did. "H-how did you survive?"

"I..m-my code must not think I'm a Sans anymore.." I felt that that was the only logical assumption.

"That makes sense." Papyrus admitted. "Brother, we have a plan; Classic agreed to this. Is the dictator.."

"H-he dusted right next to me. Wh-what's gonna happen?"

"My team is securing the area; we are going to evacuate the building of anyone who is not a native inhabitant."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Dream offered his assistance.

"Absolutely."

Papyrus offered some instructions to Dream for evacuation, and Dream went to help.

"What can I do?" I wondered.

"You can stay by my side, brother; I am going to collect the dictator's dust."

"That sounds important.."

"It is. Do you know where it is?"

"Yes, it's in his room."

"Thank you, brother."

"You're welcome!"

Papyrus allowed me to ride on his shoulders as he went about his work, since I was small enough to not be a burden on him. He collected Ink's dust in a jar, being careful to collect it all, and he put the jar into a small bag. When that was done, we left Ink's room, and Papyrus carried me to the front of the compound, where several other monsters were waiting. He spoke to them about a few things relating to their mission, and Classic Sans's dust was brought out.

"I will place the dictator into the holding cell, and you will receive a signal when it is ready." Papyrus stated.

"We'll be waiting." The Outertale Papyrus nodded, holding the dust of Classic Sans.

Papyrus opened a portal to a place I didn't recognize. It was almost like the Anti-void, except..darker. It was a room, upon further inspection, with a cage in the center, illuminated by a sole spotlight overhead; it was a prison. Papyrus pulled out the jar he had placed Ink's dust in, and he opened it, sticking the jar through the bars of the cage enough to pour the dust out. When the jar was empty, he pulled out an electric device, and he pressed a button, which beeped.

"What's that..?" I asked.

"It is a signalling device that works across universes." Papyrus smiled at my curiosity. "I have just signalled my friends to reset Undertale."

"Is..everyone in the dungeon free?" I didn't feel very well..

"Yes, they are."

"What about Error?" My soul hurt..

"The ones escorting him have another device like this one; my friends are to wait for both signals."

I opened my mouth to ask another question, but..the dust in the cage began to move. The dust fluttered high, forming a body-like shape, before materializing; it was mystical, almost, to watch. Ink's body had been restored to its former state, and Ink soon regained his mind.

"What.." He looked around, trapped in the cage. "Where am I?!"

"This is your prison, dictator." Papyrus caught Ink's attention.

"..You killed Classic."

"He volunteered."

"Heh..that's pretty desperate."

"It worked."

"I see that there's no magic here.." He chuckled, unable to summon anything. "What's the matter, Dusty? Feeling lightheaded?"

"I'm...t-tired.." I lost my grip on my brother's shoulders, but he caught me before I could reach the ground.

"Brother.. Papyrus realized that the lack of magic in the environment meant that my magic restorer couldn't function properly; I couldn't survive very long without it.

"What a pity..you can't use such a powerful magic as portals in this magic-free environment." Ink chuckled lowly. "When were you planning on being picked up?"

"..One hour." Papyrus muttered, trying to think of something.

"What a pity..I wonder how long he'll live..perhaps he won't."

Papyrus pulled out his electric device and sent a signal. "You are very foolish to think that we would not have had a backup plan."

"Pity.." Ink scoffed. "I wanted to see death."

"You will not see it today, dictator."

A portal opened below me, and I fell into a warm grip as my magic restorer resumed function.

I knew my brother would save me.

~~~~~

"Big brother"

This short takes place in the "Baby" timeline!

Classification: flufffffffffffy!

Warnings: utter cuteness.

Canonicity: alternate timeline.

~~~~~

Ink's point of view.

Baby Dusty was my best friend! He was always the most kind, caring, and considerate person I knew! Of course, there were points in which he was a handful, or times when he was in a bad mood, but overall, he was just..the best! He always listened quietly when I spoke about things, and he never complained! That was probably because he couldn't speak, but that was fine! He was still the best baby I had ever known. Today, I was taking a day off work to spend time with him, and he was excited..probably - it was sometimes hard to tell. We were currently playing together on his play mat, and we were engaged in a special form of play with his favorite doll; he would move his doll around, and I would cheer!

"Buh." Dusty moved his doll back and forth.

"Yay!" I smiled. "You're so strong, Dusty!"

"Gah!" He giggled, hugging his doll.

"Are you adorable?"

"Badah!"

"You're very adorable, aren't you?" I rubbed his skull softly.

"Hee!" Dusty clapped happily.

"Do you want to fly, Dusty?"

"Fah!" Dusty lifted his arms in excitement, and I lifted him up, along with his doll, into the air, making sure not to drop him.

"Let's go flying!"

I made several airplane noises as I maneuvered Dusty through my room, savoring his giggles of enjoyment as he pretended that he was a real airplane. I, of course, made him narrowly miss many obstacles, congratulating him when he "avoided" them. I..really enjoyed playing with Dusty; it made me feel..good. I liked spending time with the baby.

"Ready to land?" I wondered.

"Buh bah!" Dusty confirmed, causing me to lay him down gently on my bed, tickling him slightly as he made contact. "Eehehehe!"

"Does baby Dusty want tickles?"

"Guh gahba!" Dusty rolled over to dodge my tickling fingers, using his doll to shelter him.

"Hey, you, stay still!" I chuckled, sneaking past his defenses. "Now I've got you!"

"Beebah!" Dusty laughed, attempting to avoid my playful tickle frenzy.

"Surrender, or feel my wrath!" I giggled alongside Dusty, watching as he tried to ground one of my hands.

"Bah bah!" Dusty successfully put one of my tickling hands out of operation, but there was still one!

"Now that I have you right where I want you, prepare for the most-" I was cut off by the door opening abruptly and several people rushing inside.

"Stop!" A familiar voice cried out, causing me to turn my skull to see..that Papyrus..did this really have to happen on my off day?!

"Buh?" Dusty was confused as to why I was no longer attacking him with tickles.

"Um...brother?" Papyrus was confused.

"You could have knocked!" I huffed; some people had a lot of nerve! What if Dusty had been undressed?! That could have been dangerous for the poor child!

"What in the..."

"You people are nutcases!" I decided to speak my mind. "All you do is work! Don't you take vacations?! Get out of my house!"

"We..came to..overthrow you.." Papyrus had no clue what was going on.

"I'm busy right now!"

"...What happened to my..brother?"

"..Honestly, I can't answer that; I just woke up once in the middle of the night, and he was like this." I shrugged.

"Weren't you just torturing him..?" Outer thought.

"...No?"

"Then what was the, 'face my wrath,' about?"

"..He's ticklish."

"Bah.." Dusty wanted to play; he began to pull on my arm.

"Can you people maybe get out?"

"You are still an evil dictator.." Papyrus wanted to overthrow me.

"Buh buh!" Dusty pulled harder on my arm, desiring only to play.

"Now the baby's upset!" I glared disapprovingly at the invaders of my home. "What have you got to say for yourselves?"

"Spec, I think we should just get this over with and deal with the little one later." One of the resistance members voiced his opinion.

"Right.." Papyrus nodded, stepping forward with a sharp bone pointed at me.

"Guh.." Dusty began to climb my arm..and he looked at the sharp bone curiously..too curiously.

"Dusty, no sharp." I held the baby close to me.

"Bah.." Dusty reached for the unknown sharp thing.

"No, Dusty."

"Bah bah!" Dusty began to cry.

"Hey, Dusty, don't cry.." I picked up his favorite doll and gave it to him. "See? It's your dolly.."

"Rah!" Dusty sobbed loudly, and I sighed, pulling out his pacifier.

"In we go." I put the pacifier in his mouth, and he calmed slightly, turning his attention to sucking on it. "Much better, Dusty. Happy now?"

"Numnm.."Dusty held his doll close as he sucked on his pacifier.

"...Are we sure this is the same guy that enslaved the multiverse?" One of the resistance soldiers was baffled by my actions.

"..I think he deserves at least a trial by this point.." Classic sighed.

"Why are you not in the least bit concerned that we are overthrowing you?" Papyrus was suspicious.

"Eh, when I stop to think about it, I really don't care about ruling an empire; after Dusty became a baby, I've really only cared about him..and all that work gets in the way of time with him." I answered.

"Numnmnm.." Dusty stole my attention, desiring food.

"I've got it, Dusty." I smiled at him, reaching into my bedside table drawer.

"Hey!" Outer stopped me in my tracks. "What's in there?"

"..." I raised an eyebrow. "What do you think?"

"Weapons."

"Paint." Another growled.

"Torture devices!" One more called out.

"You people are really untrusting.." I scoffed. "It's baby food..for the baby."

"Oh..proceed, then." Outer still kept an eyelight on me.

I took a jar of baby food nonchalantly, and I grabbed a clean spoon to feed Dusty with. After putting his bib on, I removed his pacifier and began to feed him.

"Here comes the train, Dusty!" I bounced him on my knee as I fed him to imitate a train.

"Coo, coo!" Dusty still needed work on imitating train sounds, but it was much better than 'bah, bah.'

"Open wide!"

"Aah!" Dusty munched down on the baby food, giggling as I imitated a train whistle.

"Next shipment inbound!"

The next few days were interesting. Dusty cried when he was taken away from me, resulting in his being returned after a few hours. I was held in a prison cell, but I really didn't mind, as long as I had baby Dusty with me; he was all I needed to be happy. The day of my trial came one week after my empire was gone, and it was decided that I would be sentenced to "reform school," since I was going to continue as Dusty's main caretaker...but I would live with Papyrus, since he technically had custody of Dusty, despite the fact that I had him first. In any case, I accepted the terms. I spent several hours a day in a classroom, being taught good and bad, right and wrong. As long as I showed improvement, I would be allowed to care for Dusty; in light of that, I actually tried to succeed. Most of my day was spent with Dusty, of course, and I found myself more than content with the situation I was in; I no longer had to worry about empire business! My literal job was caring for Dusty! It was, quite honestly, a dream come true! Dusty was happy, the multiverse was happy, and most of all..

I was happy.

~~~~~

"Cell"

Classification: angst.

Warnings: torture, violence.

Canonicity: canon.

~~~~~

Classic's point of view.

The resistance had fallen, and its members were being inducted into Ink's stupid army..except for me. I, being the "original Sans," had the stupid honor of being imprisoned..forever. Two guards escorted me to the dungeon, where I thought I was going to stay..but there was a hallway branching off of it, and that was where I was taken. I saw many familiar faces as I was walked down the corridor, and many of them were surprised, to say the least, when they saw me. Instead of being imrpisoned in that hallway, however, I was taken to a different on that branched off it..to a small room with fewer cells than the others..the long ago dubbed "main characters" of the universes. These rooms were decorated to the inhabitants' likings, and the one I was brought to, at the end of the hall, was soft. Pillows and blankets were strewn about, entirely covering the stone that no doubt lay on the other side. Instead of bars, I noted that these cells had glass..undoubtedly unbreakable glass..it was like a display case, and I immediately found hate for it. I was pushed in, nonetheless, and the door was locked behind me.

"Hello, Sans." ..My brother spoke; I hadn't heard his voice..coming from him in..forever.

"P-Papyrus?" I looked up, finding his cell directly across from mine.

"There's speakers in our cells to let us talk to eachother." Undyne notified. "You know, Sans, you always were slow; I didn't expect you to be last to be imprisoned. Got any news?"

"..The resistance has fallen; that basically means that we won't be escaping anytime soon." I sighed.

"I assume that was the resistance against the dictator?" Asgore assumed.

"Yeah..I was one of the, uh, leaders..'til today, that is."

"Classic!" The door to the hallway opened abruptly, and an old friend came up to my cell.

"Hey, Dream." I smiled at my old friend..I hadn't seen him in decades.

"I came as soon as I heard..I'm sorry that happened."

"If I can get a reason, I'm up for forgiveness."

"..Papyrus was threatened into it. If he refused, Ink would've sent Dust..who's been manipulated heavily since his capture..his mind isn't in the best of states..he would have killed all of you; Papyrus did it to spare you."

"In that case, I'll thank him. Anything else?"

"..We secured a slip that grants you freedom of the compound for an hour later in the week; we'll talk then."

"Aye, aye, Dream captain." I saluted.

"It's good seeing you again.."

"You, too."

"I should be going; there' a lot to do right now, but I'll catch up with you later!"

"I'll be here..I guess."

Dream then left the hallway, and I was left with the others.

"You are rather popular.." Papyrus hummed. "It took the rest of us at least a month to get our first visitors.."

"Yeah...I have a lot of connections.." I wanted to speak with someone face-to-face..this indirect communication wasn't my favorite.

The doors opened again, and I felt as if I had made a grave mistake in thinking that..I was right, of course, since Ink entered the room. He came straight to my glass wall, with Dust by his side.I pitied the small skeleton..there had been horrible rumors.

"The final piece in my collection!" Ink likely thought that we really were just things to be collected.

"You're a disgrace." I glared, wishing this stupid glass wall wasn't keeping me inside this cell.

"Hey!" Ink scoffed. "No tapping on the glass!"

"You can't hurt me; you'd risk yourself, and we both know you're too cowardly for that." I growled.

"..." He smiled malevolently, teleporting into my cell. "I'm not a coward, Classic; you..of all people..should know that."

"Do you really want to take that chance?"

"One torture session never hurt anyone, Classic..I'm certain that you won't be an exception."

Ink became very close, but I didn't lower my glare.

"Dusty, handle my affairs until I finish, and don't mess up; you're my right hand now, and I don't want to have to punish you again.." He chuckled.

"Y-yes, Ink." Dust ran off, leaving Ink behind.

I never thought he would actually dare to hurt me..but I was soon proven wrong. In the end, I was just glad that it only lasted for five hours; he would have done more if I were anyone else. A small amount of chatter kept the silence at bay until the next visit, when Dream returned. He opened the door to my cell quickly, and he dragged me out. Before I could ask, he began to lead me out of the hallway and up to the main compound area, where I was promptly dragged into..a closet.

"Welcome to the first meeting of the inside resistance!" Dream chuckled, seating me at a table with several others I remembered from the resistance.

"So how does this work?" I wondered.

"Okay, so, in essence, you won't be able to come to every meeting, but we'll get you out as much as we can." Blue spoke up. "The rest of us will gather intel from our daily tasks and report it here. Dream, Fell, and I have been organizing this for a while, and we're certain that the inside resistance will be a success, especially since Ink won't be actively fighting us off. Classic, we'll go over your duties first, since you have the least time here. You will be getting information from the other originals, if they do know anything. When we secure passage for you to leave, you won't have any jobs to do, and you'll likely have free roam; striking up conversations will be the simplest way to get information, and gaining access to secret files will be the most profitable. Any questions?"

"People to approach or stay away from?"

"Low ranks are the best to approach, but don't be open about our organization. High ranks are a no-go, unless they're here. Under no circumstances approach Dust; if you speak to him, do not try to gain information; he will tell Ink every word you say to him, and although he will be naive enough to give straight answers about most things, Ink will be suspicious, and this entire organization will be in jeopardy."

"Got it." I saluted.

"Now we'll get code words!"

The rest of the meeting was about being sneaky when gaining information, and when I had to return to my cell, I began to ask for information immediately.

The sooner the dictator was gone, the better.

~~~~~

"Mastermind"

Classification: angst.

Warnings: mean Dusty, torture, injections.

Canonicity: not canon.

~~~~~

Ink was a good dictator. He had a strong voice, a comanding tone, a tall stature, and a power to sway minds; those were things I unfortunately lacked. Of course, I wasn't that helpless; I was the one above him. It had started out as a simple injection with the intent to turn me evil, but Ink had neglected to realize that...the purer the soul, the more corrupted it would turn out; he had inadvertantly made me more evil than himself, and it wasn't difficult to take over his empire when he realized that we now shared the same goals. Of course, everyone thought he was the ruler..they never would have suspected that it was me, after all! I was his toy; I was his pet..but, in reality, he was mine. We didn't break character often, however, since we wanted the public to believe that it truly was Ink in control; he was a good dictator, and he followed orders well. Today, he was taking me for a walk in a surface universe, which was one of the only times we let our guard down.

"Can we sit down?" Ink groaned. "I'm tired.."

"We've only been walking for ten minutes; how are you tired when I'm the one with less magic?" I scoffed.

"Because you're used to it!"

"You're just being whiny."

"This is stupid; who takes walks, anyway?"

"People with pets. Come, pet."

"Sometimes, I wonder why I thought making you evil would be a good thing."

"The old me was so pure..do you remember that?"

"I do, and I miss it."

"What's so different between him and me?"

"For one thing, I owned him.."

"It's funny how that changed."

"He was submissive.."

"If only more people were." I glanced at my pet.

"..He actually cared."

"Caring is quizzical; I could have been pretending."

"No..the sort of care that he had..was one of a kind..you could practically feel how much he cared for you..even if you were the worst person in the multiverse."

"The old me sounds like a perfect pet."

"He was.."

"You should try to be more like him; I'd enjoy having a pet like that."

"I'm not like him.."

"Tell me..do you prefer him or me?"

"...You already know the answer to that."

"Yes, I do, but I want to hear you say it."

"..I prefer the old Dusty.."

"That's good. Perhaps you will be more cautious before injecting beings with serums to make them evil next time, hm?"

"..There isn't going to be a next time."

"Unless I say so."

"..Unless you say so, yes."

"It's hard to believe that it's been a year."

"I wasn't keeping track."

"He did."

"..I regret it."

"..Regret what?"

"Making you..killing him.." Ink sighed. "He was begging me for mercy that day..he promised to be submissive forever and never question a thing, if only I didn't do it..he promised to stay by my side forever, even after the empire fell, if need be. He promised to never be upset about a torture session, and he promised to do whatever I asked, when I asked.." He chuckled hopelessly, falling to his knees in a silent sob. "And I did it..I killed him..and I made you..he was so much better than you.."

"..." I shook my skull in disappointment. "Haven't you already mourned him? Just move on; he's dead, and there is nothing you can do to change it."

"I-I want him back.." Ink sobbed.

I let out a sigh of frustration, walking back to face my pet. "Do you want a punishment? I'll give one to you!"

"I w-want Dusty.." He was being insufferable..I would have preferred having my old self as a pet; at least he sounded nice.

"Very well."

I reached into my pet's pocket, finding a blade; he was really a pain, sometimes. Cutting into his bones one by one usually did the trick however, and within ten minutes, he had quieted, ceasing his sobs to appease me.

"Are you sane now?" I hoped.

"Y-yes..I-I don't know what came over me.." He nodded shakily. "S-sorry.."

"Whatever." I tossed the blade back to him, and I sat down against a nearby tree. "You may rest for a while."

"Thank you.."

We sat in silence for a while, before Ink asked a question.

"How long has it been?" He questioned.

"Since?" I inquired.

"I killed him..?"

"Four hundred days..add the months..another eighty-five..485 days. He has been dead for 485 days."

"..Will you ever cast me aside?"

"..What?" I didn't understand the inquiry.

"..Do you care about me? I-if I was in trouble..w-would you come?"

"Absolutely not." I scoffed at the ridiculous idea. "You're capable of handling yourself."

"..If I needed help..w-would you help me?"

"Only if it benefited me."

"..Do you hate me?"

"No, I don't hate you."

"..How do you feel about me?"

"You are a good puppet, and you are an okay pet; I could do better than you, but you were the only one available."

"..I asked how you felt. Not what I am.."

"I do not feel anything for you; you are substandard, at best."

"..." He shed a tear. "I tried to make myself believe that you were like him.."

"What part of evil is like good?"

"..I guess I have no reason not to do it."

"Do what?"

"You really are evil..more than me." Ink stood.

"Hey!" I struggled as bonds were formed around me.

"..You are nothing like him.." Ink smiled sadly, picking me up. "So..I'll try to bring him back..and if I can't..at least I can rest happy knowing that you are dead, too."

"Release me!" I growled as Ink pulled a syringe out of a bag.

"I asked Dream to make it...he said it made bad things good..come back, Dusty."

He brought out my soul, and he violently plunged the syringe into it. I screamed out from the pain; I hated injections! He slowly injected the substance that he had brought into my soul, and every drop felt like poison. I found myself..begging. He didn't listen, though; he only continued to inject me, slowly..slowly..he dragged out my death, likely as some last-resort attempt to pay me back for all the pain I caused him. I felt a definite change as the last of the serum entered my soul, and I screamed out in agony as it took effect on me..cleansing me..purifying me..until I couldn't feel anymore..couldn't think...couldn't....couldn't...help-

"Dusty?" A voice called my name; I felt tired..

"Mm.." I yawned; I felt as if I had taken a very long nap..and I was still tired.

"..Dusty, please speak to me.." The voice sounded clearer; it was Ink..I decided to sit up.

"D-do you need something?" I wondered.

"...Do you remember anything from the past year?"

"Um..." I thought very hard. "I remember th-the isolation chamber..y-you locked me in it..b-because I y-yelled at you.."

"..That was a week before I did it.." Ink muttered to himself.

"D-did what?"

"..Nothing, Dusty." Ink smiled, rubbing my skull. "Don't change."

"Um..okay.."

"I want to cuddle, Dusty."

"Okay." I lay down next to Ink, allowing him to cuddle me as he pleased.

"At home, Dusty."

"O-oh!" I stood, slightly embarrassed by my mistake. "S-sorry..I'm..r-really tired.."

"That's fine, Dusty; I'll carry you."

I was a bit surprised by that; Ink usually forced me to walk..I wondered why he changed. I considered asking, but that might have been inappropriate; he didn't seem to want to speak about it, and I woudn't force him. Instead, I simply allowed him to scoop me up in his arms and hold me close..I enjoyed the comfort. He brought me to his room and laid me on his bed before covering me in warm blankets and cuddling; I wouldn't deny that I felt slightly pampered by that, but I wouldn't ruin the moment with speaking. I would just accept it.

Ink preferred my submissive nature.

~~~~~

"Another Torture Short Because We Definitely Need More Angst"

Classification: angst.

Warnings: torture, violence, sad Dusty.

Canonicity: canon.

~~~~~

I was hiding. Ink was angry for no reason, and I was the one he searched out to harm. Upon his entering the room, he had grabbed his oversized paintbrush and growled lowly; that meant that he would be searching for me to torture. Therefore, I was hiding. I..didn't manage to hide for long, of course, since he was stronger and more powerful than I was, not to mention the fact that he could likely identify my magic signature just in the air by this point! He found me quickly. When he found me, he grabbed my jacket and pinned me to he floor instantly, before whispering an order.

"Stay still." He commanded; he didn't like it when I moved sometimes, and this was definitely one of those times.

So I stayed still. I did my best not to flinch as he raised his brush, and I didn't dodge when he brought it down. I only remained still and cried; Ink liked it that way. He continued to hit me with his brush for a while before deciding that he wanted more; he dropped his brush, and he began to beat me with his fists. The blows came quickly and painfully, and the cracks in my bones came similarly. I had to endure it; Ink was strict about torture. If I died, he would beat me more. I did endure, for several hours, but I did have a limit...and Ink was reaching it. After eight hours, I was beginning to tire. I began to beg for him to stop..

"Please - agh! - st- agh!" I sobbed. "P-please - agh! I-I - agh! - b-beg y- agh!- you!"

He didn't stop, of course; my pleads went unheard. I slowly fell into a relative silence as I acepted the fact that he wasn't going to let me go until he had satisfied himself. It took several more hours for that to occur. When he finally stopped beating me, I let out a small sigh of relief, and I allowed my body to relax as my eyesockets closed.

"Get up." Ink..wasn't done.

My bones were broken; the only way I was going to be able to get up was if he healed me, and I knew that he would never do that. I tried to obey, but my body denied my requests to get up, leaving me helpless and vulnerable to another possible beating.

"Are you deaf?" He growled. "Get up."

Ink's tone promised a punishment, and I knew that he would give me one if I didn't rise to my feet; I simply couldn't obey..I was in too much pain.

"Get up!" Ink kicked me roughly. "Are you disobeying me?"

"C-can't..." I decided to voice my predicament. "M-move.."

"...Oh." Ink must have noticed the various new cracks he had implemented into my bones. "I suppose I can't punish you for that..but I can punish you for existing!"

I whimpered slightly as he kicked me again; another beating began. Ink was very angry today, and it showed; he was barely keeping himself from killing me! I decided not to beg for mercy this time; I knew that my pleas would go unanswered. With that in mind, I only wept and hoped that it would end soon. Bedtime came two hours after the second beating started, and Ink took note, sighing and stopping the torture; he had made it a point to cease torture at bedtime, but that rule wasn't always followed. It was, this time. He put on his pajamas quietly, and he wished me a good night before slipping into his warm bed.

I was glad that the day was over.

~~~~~

"Petting"

Classification: fluff.

Warnings: none.

Canonicity: canon.

~~~~~

Ink regarded me as two things: a toy, to torture, and a pet, to gain comfort from. Most of the time, he made it clear which one he regarded me as at a specific time, but, occasionally, his emotions would grow unstable, and I was left guessing whether he would be kind or cruel every ten seconds; in those instances, he was usually cruel. On normal days, he would treat me as a toy; the same went for great days. After conquering a universe that had resisted for an extended period of time, he was thrilled to torture me! Bad days were my favorites, however. When Ink had a bad day, it was up to him what to do; he would either torture me much harder than usual..or he would seek out comfort. He usually sought to be comforted, and that was when I was happy. When he desired comfort, he wouldn't torture me, likely fearing that I wouldn't oblige his requests if he tortured me before ordering me to comfort him; I had actually done that once, and he never tortured me before asking for comfort again. Today seemed to be a bad day, since he walked into his room with tears running down his face; I hoped he wouldn't torture me. He didn't, only walking over to his bed and collapsing before crying loudly.

"Ink..?" I always addressed him softly, to figure out how he was feeling; if he snapped at me, I thought twice about comforting him.

"D-Dusty.." He wept. "C-come here.."

He hadn't shown signs of hostility, which was a good sign; I approached the bed. After climbing to Ink's level, I lay down by his side and waited for his actions. At this point, it was entirely up to him; he could either seize me and begin torture, or he could take the offered comfort. He raised his hand slowly, possibly making his decision now. On the descent, I flinched slightly; this part always frightened me, and he knew that. He began to stroke my spine. He had chosen comfort, and I relaxed, hugging my Hope happily. Ink continued to pet me, and his crying eventually slowed down to a quiet sniffle before ceasing altogether. I didn't know why, but I kind of..enjoyed being pet; it was a time in which no harm would come to me, and I took solace in that fact. He pet me for an hour before I began to feel tired; the warmth of his bed often brought that feeling upon me, especially when contrasted with the cold hardness of the floor. I let out a yawn.

"Tired?" Ink assumed, continuing to stroke my spine.

"Mhm.." I hummed quietly.

"Rest."

I obeyed, closing my eyesockets and holding my Hope close; Ink rarely allowed to me to sleep before bedtime, but on his bad days, it was much more common. I fell asleep promptly, and I slept well. When I awoke, I found that it was dark outside, since the curtains were closed; Ink always closed them at night and opened them in the morning, with some exceptions, such as torture possibilities. I soon realized that I couldn't move; Ink had fallen asleep, likely some time ago, and he had no doubt decided to use me to ward off nightmares, since I was trapped in a strong embrace. He hugged me much like I hugged my Hope. That was fine, though.

It was better than torture.

~~~~~

"Alive"

Classification: comedy.

Warnings: slight horror themes.

Canonicity: not canon.

~~~~~

Ink's point of view.

Dusty's doll was his prized possession. He took it everywhere, almost never let go of it, and went so far as to threaten me if it wasn't safe. Sometimes, I regretted allowing him to have it, but there was no going back now; I didn't want him to change, and revoking his doll privileges would incite much change. I took it away when he was isolated, of course, but that was the extent. Today, Dusty had been locked away in the isolation chamber; he had refused to compliment me when ordered to, and his sentence was one week. I truly loved revealing his punishment when it was the isolation chamber; his expression always dropped instantly, and he tried desperately to fix his mistake. I never accepted his attempts, of course. I soon returned to my room, and I lay down on my bed, staring at the doll I had taken from Dusty; I didn't see the appeal. Sighing, I tossed it onto my nightstand, and I pulled out some paperwork to look over; I didn't want to review troop requests, but someone had to, and if anyone else was left with the responsibility, bad things would happen, particularly in the realm of the empire's finances. Grabbing a pen, I began to read over the requests, deciding whether they were worthy of my time or not. Most weren't.

I had been working for two hours when I heard something drop to the floor, and I looked down, seeing..Dusty's doll. I rolled my eyesockets as I picked it up, putting it back on my nightstand; I didn't want to deal with a whiny Dusty if I happened to lose it. I went back to work, intent on finishing this stack before bedtime. Four more hours passed, and I finally finished my work! Putting the papers aside for the next guard who entered my room to take out, I-

"What in the multiverse..?" I had placed the doll on my nightstand..why was it on my bed?

I must have just shifted a bit too much earlier and knocked the doll over. Scoffing at my overactive imagination, I put the doll back where it belonged and began to get ready for bed. When I climbed into my bed to get some sleep....the doll was there. I had watched way too many horror movies in my time, and I really didn't like this. I decided to make an educated decision, and I walked down the hall to the guard lounge, handing Dusty's toy to Dream and telling him not to let it out of his sight. Feeling confident that I would be spared from any horrific moments tonight, I returned to my room and climbed into my - thankfully empty - bed, warming myself under the covers. It was probably just a touch of paranoia; I never did feel quite right when Dusty wasn't with me. I fell asleep quickly, hoping that Dusty might have a breakdown tomorrow that forced me to end his isolation period; I wouldn't deny that I missed him while he was isolated, but the fear in his eyelights when I told him that he would be was too good to pass up! I woke up in the middle of the night for a reason I couldn't place, and I opened my eyesockets to see-

"Gah!" I jumped back from the doll; I was not going to deny it any longer..that thing was alive!

Standing up from the floor, I looked at the doll fearfully; I could deal with a lot of things, but an object that was not supposed to be alive..being alive..wasn't part of that. It freaked me out! The doll simply stared at me with its pitch black eyesockets, seemingly..wanting something.

"D-do you want something?" I inquired, cautiously.

The doll nodded; I somewhat found myself being thankful that I had watched so many horror movies in my time, since I was more inclined to do the correct thing, which was appeasing whatever demon had possessed Dusty's toy.

"What..do you want?" I continued.

The small toy bent its head downward, in the approximate position of..the isolation chambers.

"..You want me to let him out." I realized.

It nodded again.

"..Fine." I acquiesced.

So I picked up the doll, and I teleported to the dungeon, into the hallway in which the isolation chambers were kept. I discerned the one which belonged to Dusty easily, knowing it by my nonexistent soul. I opened the door to the chamber promptly, and I found Dusty on the ground, crying his eyesockets out. He looked up fearfully when he realized that the door was open, and he ran up to me, hugging me tightly and mumbling apologies for his earlier behavior; when he quieted, I held out his doll.

"Doll!" He accepted it happily, hugging his favorite toy; it..hugged him back..?

"..Dusty?" I looked at the doll suspiciously.

"Y-yes?"

"..That thing is alive.."

"Yes? It always has been..did you not know?" Dusty tilted his skull confusedly.

"..I hadn't been aware."

"Oh..I'm sorry."

"Whatever, Dusty..I need comfort tonight; you're with me."

"Yes, Ink."

I didn't look at the doll as I led Dusty back to my room, nor did I speak of it again for the rest of the night. I had had enough trouble for tonight as it was, and I really didn't want to deal with more.

At least Dusty was normal.

~~~~~

"Bandaids"

This short takes place in the "Baby" timeline!

Classification: fluff fluff fluffity fluff.

Warnings: smol blood, big cute.

Canonicity: alternate timeline.

~~~~~

Ink's point of view.

I was woken in the middle of the night by a cry. Getting up rapidly, I somehow forgot that this bed was not the one I was used to, and therefore misjudged my landing point; I tripped, and something cracked. I ignored it for the time being; the small one who was crying in the next room was more important than one of my legs. Running with a slight limp, I quickly made my way into the room next to mine. The walls were lit up with glow-in-the-dark stars and planets, which made a better nightlight than an actual nightlight, and they were more impressive. In the corner, two bunnies slept soundly in a house that Dusty's brother had built for them; Dusty loved his bunnies. Scattered about the room were several toys and games, and in the back lay a baby crib, where..where was Dusty?

"Dusty?" I flicked the lightswitch, nullifying the effect of the 'nightlights.'

"Wah!" A small cry came from..under the crib, and I looked under it, finding Dusty..he must have fallen.

"Here, baby Dusty." I reached under the crib, pulling out the crying baby, and I began to look over his bones, trying to find any possible injuries; he had a small crack on one of his arms.

"B-buh.." He whimpered quietly, shaking slightly in my grip.

"Don't worry, Dusty; I'll make it feel better."

In the past, I would have used healing magic to fix the crack in an instant, but I didn't have my magic anymore; it had been stripped from me as punishment for my past misdeeds. In light of that, I stood up and carried baby Dusty to a comfortable chair that sat next to a dresser, which was filled with various essentials. I opened a specific drawer of the dresser and began looking for a box of bandaids, which was easy to locate. Dusty seemed curious about the bandaids, since he hadn't seen any before - not as a baby, at least.

"Pah?" Dusty reached for a bandaid, but he hurt his arm again while doing so. "Wah!"

"Hush, baby." I took out a blue bandaid and laid it on the crack. "It's all right, now."

"..Bah.." Dusty was enraptured by the colorful strip of paper that made the pain go away, and he used his good arm to reach for the box.

"..You can have one to play with, but that's all." I handed him a green bandaid.

"Buh, bah!" Dusty waved the bandaid around, likely wanting to see it work like the other, but it wouldn't. "Bah!"

"You have to take these off first, Dusty." I pointed to the covers that hid the sticky parts.

"Bah, buh bah." Dusty fumbled a bit, but he eventually peeled them off, and he patted the bandaid onto my skull.

"Dusty, I don't have an injury!" I chuckled.

"Bah.." He reached for the box again.

"No, Dusty."

"B-buh.." Dusty began to tear up; he wanted to play with the bandaids.

"Boy, I'm a pushover.." I handed Dusty a purple bandaid.

"Bah!" Dusty giggled, waving the bandaid around happily.

Dusty continued to occupy himself with the bandaid, playing around with it for a while, before stopping at staring at me.

"Boo-boo!" He gasped, looking at my leg sadly.

"Huh?" I looked down, finding that the crack I had sustained earlier was bleeding.. "Oh..I forgot about that.."

"Boo-boo!" Dusty pulled my pajama pants off the crack, and he put the purple bandaid onto it. "Bah!"

"Thanks, Dusty." I smiled at the baby; the bandaid actually helped immensely, since it had a bit of dormant healing magic in its design.

"Bah!" He giggled.

"Sleepy time now, Dusty."

"Buh.." Dusty frowned; he wasn't too fond of sleeping.

"You can sleep with your dolly.."

"Bah!" Dusty reached for his crib, wanting to hold his favorite toy close; it wasn't in the crib, however, and I eventually found it under the crib, which answered the question of why Dusty had fallen earlier.

"Good night, Dusty." I rubbed his skull softly.

"Nah!" He hugged his toy, smiling and closing his eyesockets.

He was the best baby I had ever had the pleasure to care for.

~~~~~

"Windowsill"

Classification: neutral.

Warnings: none.

Canonicity: canon.

~~~~~

Ink had a lot of windows in his room, and each window had a windowsill. They were large enough for people to sit down on and gaze outside, but for me, they were essentially beds. Being as small as I was, I could easily lie down on them, and I often did, looking up at the clouds that floated overhead and admiring their forms. Ink didn't like it when I climbed on them, but when he was out, I could do as I pleased; he didn't care as long as he didn't have to see it. Today, he had left for a meeting the with the high ranks, and I was left alone; Fell would likely be coming soon, but he knew that I liked to climb onto windowsills, which meant that he wouldn't be surprised to find me on the one I now took refuge on. I was currently curled up, watching the guards in the courtyard below as they went about their duties; it was a pleasant change from the usual torture that I endured. When Fell came in, he walked around the room, looking for me, but he didn't want to disturb my silent peace, which I appreciated. When he found me, we exchanged smiles, and he took a seat on the other side of the windowsill, watching the everyday bustle below us; it was sometimes better to simply relax and watch the world continue without me..I enjoyed not having anyone's demanding my attention at any given point in time.

"It's peaceful." I spoke, after half an hour of silence.

"Yeah.." Fell agreed. "Almost enough to forget..almost."

"..Do you ever think you could have changed it? That you could have stopped it?"

"..Yeah."

"So do I..every day."

"It wasn't your fault."

"It wasn't yours."

"..I wish I could believe that."

"You will, when I finally break through that thick helmet of yours."

"I don't doubt it."

"There's Blue." I looked down to see my friend, who was sitting under a tree, resting.

"Good eye." Fell complimented.

"Thank you."

Silence reigned once again after that small exchange, and we savored it.

I liked the peace of the windowsill.

~~~~~

"Playing"

Classification: angst.

Warnings: torture, torture, torture, violence, torture, sadness, torture.

Canoncitiy: canon.

This short was inspired by the new chapter of the story by Me_Paina on Ao3!

~~~~~

"Dusty!" Ink called my name, startling me out of my previous thoughts; I had been thinking about my late family.

"Y-yes?" I responded, looking at my captor.

"We're going to play a game."

I whimpered slightly; games were painful! I had once thought that games were fun, and that they were simple, harmless play..I was wrong. Games were torture, warped into a form resembling children's play, but it wasn't fun. They came in many forms, and the variety expanded with Ink's imagination. Today, it appeared as if we were going to play "Break Dusty's Bones," which was one of Ink's favorites. He sat down on the floor and pulled me into his lap before pulling one of my arms behind me, taunting me.

"All right, Dusty." Ink chuckled. "Question one: what game are we playing?"

"B-Break Dusty's B-Bones.." I knew that one; I had forced myself to memorize the names of many games, since he often asked me those types of questions.

"That's right! What's eighteen minus seventy-three?"

"U-um.." I thought fast as he applied more pressure to my arm; how long it took for him to snap it was the timer. "N-negative..agh!"

"Too late, Dusty." Ink chuckled, dropping my broken arm and grabbing the other. "The answer was negative fifty-five. How many paint cans are under my bed right now?"

"T-twelve?" I was guessing; I had no clue.

"..That's right..lucky guess." He seemed surprised that I had gotten the right answer. "How many high ranks are there?"

"O-one hundred..seventy-five." I had kept close track over the years.

"Wrong!" Ink snapped my arm, before throwing me down and grabbing a leg. "I just installed a new one; the answer was 176. On what days do I allow on-patrol guards to take breaks?"

"I-I don't know th-that!" I hadn't ever been told that!

"Too bad." Ink broke my leg, and he grabbed the other. "The answer was my birthday and the empire's anniversary. Do you think I'm going to break your last leg?"

"Y-yes.." I wept; I knew he would.

"That's absolutely.." A snap rang out, followed by a scream. "Correct."

I thought it was over, now that he had broken all my limbs; I was wrong, of course.

"Pick a letter, Dusty." Ink ordered, and I thought.

"..J." I couldn't think of a torture device that began with the letter j..unless javelin counted..I should have picked something else!

"And the opposite of j..is w." Ink scared me. "You know what starts with w, Dusty..don't you?"

"..Walrus?" I hoped he wouldn't..

"Try again..think about torture."

"W-wind?" I was mentally begging that he wouldn't..

"Cold wind, I suppose, would be torture for you..but I'm talking about everyone."

"..." I whimpered, figuring that it would be best to simply say what he wanted me to say. "Wh-whip?"

"That's right, Dusty.." Ink pulled out a paintbrush and began to create; I sobbed.

He didn't take very long to create a whip, and I was left dreading this next game; I was terrified! He turned to me when he was finished, softly stroking the weapon he had created.

"I think ten lashes should be enough for a missed question, Dusty, don't you?" He inquired.

"M-mercy.." I begged.

"Dusty, that wasn't the right answer."

"N-no, p-please-"

I was cut off by the crack of a whip. I whimpered as Ink whipped me mercilessly, and he didn't stop at just ten, seemingly forgetting the rules of the game; he was having too much fun. He continued to torture me until the force with which he handled the weapon managed to crack my fragile bones, at which point, he begrudglingly stopped, only just realizing that he had broken the rules of the game about ten minutes ago. He dropped the whip, which dissolved just before it hit the ground, and walked over to me, kneeling down beside me and rubbing my skull.

"I win again, Dusty." Ink chuckled. "I'm very good at these games, am I not?"

"Y-yes.." I whimpered.

"..I'm not?" Ink's tone was laced with irritation.

"I-I m-mean.."

"I suppose we'll have to play again..then we'll see who's truly the best at our games."

I wished I had a chance.

~~~~~

"Reasons"

This short takes place in the "Papa" timeline.

Classification: kinda angsty.

Warnings: sad Dusty.

Canonicity: alternate timeline.

~~~~~

Papa had an army. Everyone in his army was very strong, and those who weren't were assigned jobs that didn't involve fighting; my Papa was very smart for making it that way! Not everyone in the army liked being in the army, although I wasn't sure why; working for Papa sounded like the best job ever! Fell hadn't enjoyed his past job in the army as a soldier, but he like his current job, since he got to protect me! I was happy that Fell was happy, but I did wonder about his preferences; what wasn't to like about working for my papa? I decided to ask him. Today, we were sitting on a bench in the courtyard, watching the guards and other workers go about their business, and I felt that it was the perfect time to pose the question.

"Fell?" I addressed.

"Yeah, kid?" Fell looked down at me.

"Why don't some of the guards like their jobs?"

"What do you mean..?"

"When you were a soldier, you didn't like your job..why?"

"..Kid, this might be hard to believe, but Ink isn't necessarily the kindest person in the multiverse."

"..But he lets me stay up late sometimes if the bedtime story is long."

"That's because..you're his son." Fell sighed. "He cares for you more than anyone else, since you have a close bond; he doesn't treat anyone else like that."

"How..does he treat them?"

"..When I was a guard, my room was a four-foot by three-foot area with a bed, a shelf overhead, and barely any room to stand up; every low rank has a room just like that."

"That's..that doesn't sound very nice.." I frowned. "Did he make you sleep there?"

"Unfortunately..yes. Your papa isn't kind to people..he hurts those that break rules, even by accident..and he doesn't forgive."

"But..he always forgives me.."

"Because you're his son."

"..Why isn't he nice to everyone?"

"..He doesn't know how."

I hummed in thought before smiling determinedly. "I'm going to teach him!"

"Good luck, kid..I don't think you'll get far, though."

"Why not?"

"He..depends upon his cruel tendencies." Fell thought for a moment before resuming. "I didn't understand his lust for torture until I asked him. You were in school, and he was using me to help him organize some paperwork..I saw a compilation of everyone he planned to torture..and I asked him why he did it. Right off the bat, he gave me an excuse, saying that he liked it; I told him that I saw through his lie. I continued to ask him, over and over, until he finally gave in and told me; he said that torture provides him with emotions..and however twisted that truly is..it's not hard to believe. He always does seem more lively after a session, and he's always livelier than he was with his vials..torture replaced them..and I don't know what he'd do if you urged him to stop. As much as I don't support torture, it's..logical, when thinking about it with a lack of morals. Torture is more effective and offers a wider range of emotions, while also lasting longer; he also seems to enjoy it..and I don't think anyone will be able to change his mind."

"..So he tortures all those innocents for his emotions?"

"Yep, that's the gist of it."

"What if he didn't?"

"I guess he'd lose his emotions. I've never seen him without emotions..and from the stories, I don't want to."

"What are the stories?"

"..A small number of people have seen Ink when he hasn't taken his vials for a while. They told stories about their encounters, and all of them are bad."

"Tell me one?"

"..I don't remember who this one was, but it doesn't matter; I know the story. A Sans, judge, had been in his AU, on the surface..and Ink walked by. He waved to greet him, since he was aware of the multiverse, but Ink didn't respond. The Sans got closer to Ink, assuming he hadn't seen him, and when he came close enough..Ink just stared at him, eyelights a blank white, with no life behind them. He tried to take Ink to his house to help him, but..Ink attacked him, and the Sans ran. The Sans was lucky; Ink could have easily killed him. When Ink had taken his vials, he immediately turned to apologize - whether for real or fake I'll never know - for his actions, but the Sans was scared of what he had experienced, and he turned him away..that AU was destroyed by 'unknown causes' a few days later."

"..." I held on to Fell's arm tightly. "I-I don't like that story.."

"I know..I'm sorry for telling it to you."

"P-please don't talk about my papa in that state anymore..I-I don't like it.."

"I won't." Fell hugged me, and I hugged him back. "I promise."

"Thank you.."

"Dusty!" Papa called for me, and I looked around for him, wondering where he was; he soon walked in front of the bench, and his expression dropped when he saw that I was on the verge of tears. "Are you okay, Dusty?"

"P-Papa..." I wanted to hug my papa; thinking of that story scared me!

"Come here, my son.." Papa took me into his arms, comforting me gently as I wept. "What's wrong?"

"I told him a story, Sir.." Fell sounded sad. "..It was one about you..lacking emotion.."

Papa paused for a moment, before continuing his soft comfort. "Well will talk about your reprimand later."

"..Yes, Sir.."

"Don't cry, Dusty; it was only a story."

"A-a-are you r-really like that..wh-when you don-don't.." I was crying too hard to finish my thought.

"No, Dusty, no.." Papa's tone was reassuring. "When I'm emotionless, I'm entirely in control of what I do and say, and I would never hurt you. Other people I would hurt, but never you."

"P-promise?"

"I promise, Dusty; I'm sensible enough even without emotions not to harm you..and if I ever do, I'll make it up to you a millionfold."

"Th-thank you, Papa.." I felt a bit better after hearing that.

"You're very welcome, Dusty. Now, dinner is on the table, and I made your favorite."

"I love you, Papa." I hugged my papa; he was always so kind to me.

"I love you, too, Dusty; let's go grab some food now."

"Yes, Papa." I clung to my Papa as he carried me to our room.

I knew he would never hurt me.

~~~~~

"Amusement"

Classification: neutral.

Warnings: scary amusement park rides.

Canonicity: canon.

~~~~~

"Dusty, just trust me!" Ink urged. "I would never let anything bad happen to you!"

"I-I don't b-believe that!" I whimpered.

"Just do it!" Ink snapped at me, and I felt it best to obey.

I whimpered as I let gravity work on me, and..I hit the ground. Ink's snickers could be heard above me as he enjoyed my suffering. Today, Ink wanted to take a vacation from his work, and he had decided to take me to a surface theme park to play around on rides and to play mean tricks on me. A "trust fall" booth was our first stop, and I absolutely despised the design of this cruel invention! It was made to cause suffering! I supposed that I shouldn't have been surprised; the world was cruel, and everyone was probably out to hurt others..I was only one of the billions of helpless victims. When I stood up from my position of shame, Ink grabbed one of my hands and began to drag me to a different place. There was a game in which one had to throw hoops around sticks; I didn't understand it, but Ink did, apparently, and he wanted to play it. When we arrived, the person running the game took a form of surface currency to allow us to play the game, and when Ink paid him, we were granted as many games as we wished, since Ink paid a lot. Ink wanted me to go first, of course, and I received a number of hoops. I was..horrible at thowing them, and I only landed one, but Ink seemed happy with my results.

"Good job, Dusty!" Ink congratulated me. "My turn!"

Ink stepped up to the counter and grabbed his hoops. He was much better at the game than I was, and he managed to land all his hoops around the sticks, and he..won a prize. He selected a large toy that resembled a..dolphin. He gave the toy to me to carry next to my Hope, and we continued our journey. Ink played a variety of games at the park before moving on to the rides, and I was stuck carrying all his prizes; I could barely handle all of it! When we came to the first ride, I was able to put down the prizes to get on, which I appreciated very much; maybe the world did have a twinge of mercy! Ink led me onto the first ride, which was a rollercoaster; I had never been on a rollercoaster before..they seemed scary. Nevertheless, I followed Ink, and we were seated in the front car..I was terrified. When the coaster began to move, I began to shake in fear, but Ink pulled me close to him to comfort me, likely because he didn't want the ride to be stopped prematurely if I screamed in fear. I held on to him tightly, and he offered the necessary comfort to keep me from screaming as the ride moved quickly on the tracks. In the end, we survived the rollercoaster, but I was going to scream if he forced me onto another one.

The next ride was a ferris wheel, which I felt slightly more comfortable with; I actually managed to enjoy that one. I was afraid of tall heights, and when we had stopped at the very top, I had been terrified, but the view was nice when I forgot about the fact that we were at least dozens of feet in the air. Ink led me to several other rides, but one in particular..I didn't understand. The merry-go-round was popular with children, and Ink wanted me to go on it alone, since he wanted to watch; I was obliged to obey him. I stepped up to the ride cautiously, and I tried to get onto the horse - I didn't know why they were horses - that Ink had selected for me, but..I was too short. The people running the ride had only allowed me to enter because Ink had slipped them a large sum of money, and they eventually had to lift me up onto the horse to get the ride going. They also strapped me to the horse, which frightened me; what kind of torture was this?! I gripped the pole that went through the horse - I felt bad for the poor horse, which must have been in such pain! - tightly when the ride began to move. The horse began to go up and down..this was horrifying! I didn't know why this was called a merry-go-round; there was nothing merry about this!

When the ride was over, the workers unstrapped me from the horse and handed me to Ink, who seemed happy with his results. He walked me through the park grounds as the sun began to set, but I was looking forward to going home..I wanted to see my friends and play with my bunnies.

This torture was too much for me.

~~~~~

"Thunder"

This short takes place in the baby timeline!

Classification: fluffy fluff fluff.

Warnings: scared Dusty, cuteness.

Canonicity: alternate timeline.

This short was requested by my brother!

~~~~~

Baby Dusty did not like loud sounds. When I had still had my empire, I had been forced to soundproof the dungeon to keep him happy; thankfully, he had never seen the dungeon. In more recent years, he had cried at loud clatters and..really, anything loud that wasn't fun. He liked loud fun things. Today, it was raining outside, and Dusty was curled up in my arms; the thunder frightened him.

"Shh, it's only rain." I was, of course, comforting him. "Nothing to be afraid of, Dusty."

"Buh..guh.." He cried a bit softer with my comfort.

Thunder rumbled.

"Bah!" He clutched to his doll tighter, shaking in fear; this wasn't working.

"Hey, Dusty.." I looked at some blankets, which gave me an idea.

"B-buh?"

"I'm going to build you a safe fort!"

"..Bah?"

"You'll see."

I held Dusty close as I went over to the blankets, and I began to arrange them in a way that would be comfortable to him, while "protecting" him from the thunder. When the small cave-like blanket formation was completed, I placed Dusty inside.

"B-b-buh?" Dusty didn't understand.

"This will keep you safe from the thunder, Dusty; it can't hurt you in there!" I enlightened.

"Bah!" Dusty reached for one of my hands, grabbing it and pulling it toward him..he wanted me to be safe from the thunder, too..

"I can't fit in there, Dusty!" I shook my skull.

"Dah! Dusty began to cry, and I had to figure something out..

"Okay, Dusty, I'll be right back."

I ran to my room with a mission, and when I had grabbed enough large blankets, I returned to baby Dusty and enlarged the safe fort; I could now fit.

"Yee!" Baby Dusty hugged me tightly, and the thunder didn't scare him..

Okay, maybe it did, but when I brought him cookies, he didn't show it.

~~~~~

"Balloon"

Classification: fluff.

Warnings: none.

Canonicity: canon.

~~~~~

Ink was the best master a toy could have; I loved being his toy, and he loved having me! I always loved to make him happy, and I would do anything in my power to do so! One day, he entered his room with something special, and I was instantly curious as to what he was holding.

"What's that?" I tilted my skull curiously at the flat rubbery..pancake?

"This is a balloon, Dusty." Ink chuckled.

"Aren't balloons bigger?"

"This one will be, Dusty; watch."

I obeyed, watching as Ink brought the rubber up to his mouth and..blew. The rubber expanded! I gazed in awe as Ink continued to blow the balloon up, and I finally realized how balloons worked! I hadn't seen them flattened out before..or perhaps I had forgotten..my memory wasn't the best these days, although I didn't know why. When the balloon was big enough, Ink tied it off to prevent the air from flowing out, and he handed it to me. I decided to entertain him by playing with it; he always enjoyed it when I played with things. I proceeded to bounce the balloon up into the air and watch it descend, bouncing it back up into the air before it hit the ground. Ink was amused by my play, and that was my goal.

I loved to make people happy.

~~~~~

The end.

Blooper time!

~~~~~

"Okay, Dusty, this game is called 'Minecraft.'" Ink informs. "This will be fun!"

"All right.." Dusty loads in.

*Hissss*

"What's that sound?" Dusty wonders.

Dusty was blown up by a creeper.

~~~

"It's a nice day to be alone on a balcony.." Ink smiles, watching a sunset from a balcony.

"Ink, I'm cold.." Dusty whines.

Ink pushes Dusty off the balcony.

"It's a nice day to be alone on a balcony.." Ink smiles, ignoring the screams of pain below.

~~~

"Dusty, eat your food." Ink orders.

"I don't want to kill it.." Dusty whimpers.

~~~

Ink crosses the street without looking both ways first.

A car rams into him, immediately being bounced back.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" Ink yells angrily.

~~~

"I want to see my brother!" Papyrus demands.

"He isn't available right now; I can put you down for never o'clock, if you're willing to wait." Ink shrugs.

"..I will sue."

~~~

"Sir, what are we fishing for?" A high rank wonders, on a fishing boat.

"That Papyrus." Ink answers.

"..Is that why we're using Dust as bait?"

~~~

Ink stands at the starting line, intent on winning this race.

"Prepare to eat my dust!" He cackles.

"Mercy!" Dusty pleads.

"..Not you, Dusty."

~~~

"Hi, I'm Flowey, Flowey the flower!" A flowey greets.

"Yo, I'm Ink, Ink the weed whacker." Ink returns.

Flowey was whacked.

~~~

"Things change people." Classic states.

"People adapt to their circumstances." Outer expounds.

"How did 'adapting' turn my brother into a child..?" Papyrus is confused.

~~~

"I have problems." Ink sighs.

"The only one you have is Dust." Dream says.

"Exactly: problems."

~~~

"I will care for anyone and everyone." Dust declares.

The entire multiverse screams out for care.

"That's okay; I have enough for everyone!" Dusty hugs everyone.

~~~~~

The end!

In all honesty, this would probably still be half done without your requests; I was essentially stuck. Thank you!

With that said, any more requests? I'd be happy to oblige!

Thank you!

I must now proofread.

Words before that: 40,377 words.

Words after that: 41,195 words.

~~~extras end woot~~~

Thanks for reading my extra extra extra extra extra writing!

Bye!