Chapter 17 – Between Spaces
Doodlesphere – Ink (Sans) & Error (Sans)
UnderSwap – Berry (Sans), Stretch (Papyrus), Segoe (Gaster)
"Let me out!" screamed the multicolored skeleton from behind the fluorescent green bars that made up his cage.
"Not until you calm down." A bored sigh replied from a couch that rested on air a short distance away.
"I'm fine." Spat the caged skeleton.
"No, you aren't. You are throwing a fit and have already tried breaking several ground rules. You can stay put until you calm down."
The shriek that erupted from the cage proved the second voice correct as it echoed over the empty landscape.
"You were doing so well then you had to go and destroy everything again." The voice, still sounding bored with the whole situation, spoke through the shrieking. "House that you helped build, a nice small bit of land. Even that cat that you thought up. You destroyed it all, just because you could." Annoyance entered their voice. "I really thought you were getting somewhere, dammit." The pencil he had been using snapped in his grip then vanished. Sitting up, Ink buried his head in his hands. "Why? Just tell me why Error." He stood and turned to stare at his counterpart. "Why do you keep destroying everything around you?"
"I don't know." Error was now sitting in his cell, arms crossed and not meeting Ink's stare.
"That's not an answer." Sighed Ink.
"Yeah, well I j-j-j-j-j-j-just d-d-d-don't know." Error rubbed over his mandible. After three syllables he had trouble speaking without breaking and it hurt. Taking a breath, he tried again. "Why my world bro-o-o-oke-e-e-en?" angry tears of yellow formed in his left eye as neon blue ones built up in his right.
"I have tried making you a new world multiple times Error. I can't restore a past reset, I'm sorry" Ink explained with patience. This was an often repeated argument.
"Know. But why?" he snuffled.
"I don't know. I don't control the choices of the humans, or anyone in the worlds I create.
"Good before rese-e-e-e-et." Error hugged himself.
Before the human had reset the world, they had made it to the surface and been doing well it had seemed. He had been teleporting to make a surprise appearance on his brother's show when suddenly the world disappeared and he found himself starring at what looked like his copy, but with a paint brush bigger than himself. The other had looked hopelessly sorrowful and horrified at the same time. That was the beginning of their eternal existence together. Right now, Ink had him trapped in this cage. He had since discovered his body had become glitchy to work with at times and speaking was nearly impossible. He envied and hated that there was a timeline out there somewhere where everyone was enjoying their world completely oblivious of the fact that it could be taken away in the snap of a finger. Might as well wipe them all out now so they don't have to go through the torment of being trapped over and over, but no. Ink wouldn't let him. Ink tried to appease him with things in this empty void space, but it wasn't the same. It wasn't his world and Ink wouldn't let him find where his was so he could destroy it and that damnable human.
A hand suddenly touched his face, causing him to flinch back. His cage bars had disappeared while he was trapped in his memories and Ink had apparently come over. He looked worried. "Sorry. Blipped ou-ou-ou-out for-r-r-r-r a sec." he never spaced out before the accident. Now it happened all the time.
Ink's face eased. "Remembering?"
Error only nodded.
Ink reached out and this time Error didn't flinch away as he was drawn into a comforting hug. "I wish I could restore you to your world. I really do. I know I'm not great company." He fell silent and rubbed Error's arms.
Error curled into him. Ink was the only one who could safely touch him without negative effects. He had visited a world once and when he had come into contact with that world's version of himself, he had had a panic attack and the entire universe collapsed, but not before depositing him right back here.
Since then the two of them had fought often, but also grown closer. Error knew he was a danger to the other verses and when he wasn't on a raging rampage he liked watching them drift over what could almost count as a sky here. They were like the stars to this universe. When Ink didn't decorate his own space, the edges were definite and the void space was visible. Error didn't know how to access the void space and that was likely why Ink stored all the universes there, but when he was initially building them they existed inside his universe. It was then that they were in danger from Error's lapses in sanity. Ink had almost finished his latest creation before Error had lost it and destroyed everything within this sphere of existence again.
"Ink, can we g—g-g-g-go som-m-m-mewhe-e-e-e-re?" Error asked. He knew that he was a danger to other verses and he had just essentially wiped this one, but now he wanted to be around others. It wasn't something he desired often.
"I can make a place, if that is what you are asking." His voice was guarded, and with good reason. Error shook his head. "You want to go to another universe? After what you just pulled here?" Hesitantly Error nodded his head. "Absolutely not. I am not taking you out so you can wipe out more worlds. It takes a lot of time and effort to put these places together Error. I can't chance us going out, especially after what you just pulled. I thought you might have been getting better…" he trailed off, but his tight grip on Error's arm showed how distressed he was.
"Sorry. Felt change." He took a breath. He was finding a deep breath helped unbreak his speech. "Break in worlds. Something wrong."
"Yeah. I've noticed it too. Somehow a few of them have figured out how to make a rift between each other. I haven't stopped it, but I'm afraid of what it means for some of them."
"Rift between?" Error's interest peaked.
"Yeah. They've begun passing from their own universe that is specifically designed for them into others where they were never meant to be. I designed a few universes as really bad places just because I wasn't feeling so hot. If they get linked to some of the others, it could honestly have a worse impact than if you went and had an attack in one."
That made Error sit up abruptly. "Worse than me?" His eyes were wide. "Impos-ss-s-s-s-sible."
With a dark laugh, Ink explained, "You aren't the only one with a real dark streak Error. Remember, I'm the one who designs each of these worlds and the physics that run them. All the possibilities that exist are possible because I chose to allow them. I didn't think it would happen, but even your predicament was a parameter I put into the worlds.
"I know. Still want go." Error explained.
"No." Ink replied, deadpanning.
"You come please?" he asked.
"You are not going anywhere and I don't want to go anywhere. Besides, if I did want to go somewhere I could just create that place and visit here."
"Not the same. Want go out." Error grumbled looking directly at Ink now.
"We are not leaving this universe Error." Ink's tone became more demanding. He knew that Error had the ability to leave this universe, just as he did. If Error really wanted to leave he could, but Ink would have to follow and would end up dragging him back. The result could be the destruction of more worlds.
"You no fun!" Error shoved away from him and walked over the white floor-like surface that provided an x-axis for this universe at the moment.
"It has nothing to do with whether I am fun or not Error, and you know that." Ink tried to convince him.
"Want others. Company" Error had to take a breath between, but managed to get the words out.
"I can't make others here Error. It could cause me trouble with my creations." Ink explained exasperated.
"That why go!" Error shot back.
"NO! We are not leaving." Ink had stood as well and stamped his foot.
That's when Error noticed something very important. Ink had left his brush on the couch. Without his brush he was virtually powerless. It was the limit that he had since he was able to do so much. Without it, he couldn't do anything. He made his decision in an instant. Raising a hand he summoned his threads and bound Ink.
"We go out!" he demanded.
"Let me go!" shouted Ink as he fell over on his butt. The threads continued wrapping around him until he was wrapped up like a mummy, only his head wasn't wrapped, leaving him free to talk. "I don't want to go out and I don't need you going out." He squirmed.
Error laughed, a very disjointed sound. "Look like worm!"
"Why you!" Ink squirmed even more, determined to get loose and get his brush. Just as he almost got loose though, Error noticed.
"No no."
With a chuckle he pulled open the side of their universe, creating a portal much like the ones that Gaster and Spike or the monsters from Alchemytale had created and stepped through to a universe he had been watching for a while just because everyone was a bit different than they seemed in most of the other realms. Everywhere else was similar in most aspects. Here everything was backwards.
He walked through, dragging Ink by the feet behind him. The second he crossed through and felt the cold chill of snow on his bones, he shivered. A slew of Error messages read across his body as he tried to keep up with the sudden change in sensory input, then calmed as he let himself acclimate, then continued forward. By the time Ink was pulled through he had just managed to get his arms free and had almost managed to grasp his brush, just to be pulled out of reach, then out of his realm.
The second Ink felt the cold of the snow hit his femurs, then spine, then skull, he started shrieking. "No nononononono! Error release me this minute!"
"Okay." Error grinned, his mismatched teeth bright against his black skull. As he released his magic that held Ink, he also release the magic that had opened the gate that brought them here. He could take them back to Ink's universe whenever he wanted. Now he wanted to walk around.
Ink got up and dusted the snow off of himself then ran after Error. "Not cool. We gotta go back now!" he whisper yelled at Error, who proceeded to ignore him, but was grinning wider than he had since Ink couldn't remember.
"Hey, I don't recognize you. Whoa, you look like me. Who are you? I am the Sansational Sans," a Sans ran up introducing himself in a very bubbly manner.
Error finished his introduction in perfect unison with him, other than his glitched speech. "but you can ca-a-a—all me-e-e-e Be-e-e-er-r-r-ry." He giggled
Confusion crossed Berry's face. "I know I don't know you, do I?"
Ink pulled on Error's sleeve while looking very anxious. "Error, please."
Error ignored Ink's pleas and grinned at Berry. "Nope, I watch. You are fun. You be friend?" he offered a multi-colored hand.
Ink pounced on his arm just a Berry went to meet the handshake. Berry gave Ink a confused look.
"Ah, okay. I don't know what is up with you." Berry told Ink. He looked a bit affronted as well.
Error also addressed Ink. "Not break them." He looked upset, glaring a little at Ink.
"How do you know you won't break them?" Demanded Ink looking square into Error's eyes.
"I just do." Replied Error shrugging.
"Ah, what do you mean, break?" Berry asked, completely confused.
Ink turned around, to try and explain. "Well, you see, we are not from this universe. There are multiple universes and my friend here has accidentally and purposefully erased quite a few of those. Heh heh." Ink anxiously gripped the paint wrap he always wore. He wasn't used to interacting with anybody. It had taken quite a while for him to even be able to talk to Error normally.
"I knew it!" Berry thumped a fist into his palm. "There are multiple universes! I gotta tell my dad!"
"Wait!" Ink called after him.
Berry pauses, spinning and bouncing in place. "Yeah?"
"What is this universe called? I know of a few that it could be but I'm not certain where he brought me." Ink asked quietly.
"Oh, right. This is Underswap! Oooooh, I can't wait to tell dad!" with that Berry was off, tearing through the snow toward the house that Ink normally designed specifically for the skele-brothers when he designed the worlds.
Ink would have paled if he could. Underswap, a world that had not been touched by the anomaly that had been creating rifts between the universes yet, and they had just rifted in because Error was bored. He looked behind him to scold his companion only to find him absent.
Error for his part was entirely too entertained by how easily Ink had been distracted. Once he had looked away Error had made a beeline for the pastry shop. The fire elemental there seemed to always be really happy and talkative whenever Error would watch him in the universe sphere.
Looking around, Ink realized he had absolutely no idea where Error had gotten to, so he decided to follow Berry. No point in wandering around alone even if he knew that his was one of the safest universes he had designed. He walked up to the porch and ended crossing paths with the Papyrus for this universe.
"Ah, Stretch, right? I think that's what they call you, right?" Ink tried to remember aloud. He honestly hadn't looked at this universe in forever.
"Huh, sure whatever." He looked really out of it and was smoking something that smelled noxious.
"Ew, what is that. It stinks." Ink waved the smoke away from his face.
"But feels real good. It's weed, wanna taste?" He offered the blunt.
"No thanks." Ink shrunk away from Stretch. He didn't think that a Papyrus in any of his worlds would stoop to drugs, but he supposed if the multitude of the Sanses resorted to alcohol then this wasn't so different and as the universe he had made as an inverse, it did make sense for the Papyrus to be like any of the other Sanses.
Stretch snorted in laughter. "It's honestly not that bad." Then he noticed Ink's direction. "You a friend of my bro or da?" he asked and placed the blunt back between his teeth and buried his hands in his hoodie.
"Sorta. I was just gonna go talk to your brother." Ink wasn't sure how to act or respond to anything that was being thrown at him.
"Go right ahead. He is happy to talk to just about anybody. Don't mention you saw me though. Don't need him to know that I'm slacking again." He wandered off toward the river that ran out back of town.
Ink watched him uncertainly for a few minutes until he was out of sight and then went up the steps and knocked on the door. He was glad he had taken a step back as it suddenly blew out, banging against the house as it flew completely open with the amount of enthusiasm that as put into just opening. In front of him stood what appeared to be the Gaster of this world.
"Oh my! Berry you weren't kidding! He does look so much like you! Come in, come in." The skeleton ushered Ink in without even giving him a second to be able to say anything. "Berry was just telling me about you and how you are from another universe. How cool is that!" He was very expressive with his entire body, going from leaning down to Ink and gripping his shoulders to speak face to face, to going in the complete opposite direction and jutting his hips out and leaning backward with arms thrown wide. "Well, you must tell us all about yourself and what it is like where you are from. Oh! Where are my manners, I am Segoe, a very great pleasure it is to meet you." He pumped Ink's hand in a hearty handshake.
Ink tried to take in this new person and had some difficulty. His eyes were two different bright colors, one orange and the other blue and when he talked, which was almost nonstop, his tongue was visible and matched his eyes. It was visually disorienting. He was ushered to a couch to sit on and Segoe practically threw himself into the armchair opposite to settle and wait with nervous energy for the tale of this other verse to unfurl. Ink, put on spot, found himself quite tongue tied.
From the kitchen came the voice of Berry, "Dad, give him some room to breathe." He came out carrying a tray laden with bowls full of ingredients for tacos and different types of shells and wraps and set it on the table between the two and sat on the couch beside Ink. "Help yourself to some of my famous tacos. Make it however you want." He offered and began making his own.
"Um, o-okay." Ink watched how Berry built his and copied him, not really sure how to make it properly. He may be able to create worlds, but what the worlds did with the near limitless possibilities he gave them, he didn't really know what would happen and didn't look into it too much. This was his first time actually experiencing life as it was lived in the worlds he created. It was nice in an overbearingly happy sort of way. Was this what Error's world had been like? He tried the food and couldn't believe how good it was. "Woah! This is amazing Berry!"
Berry blushed a very obvious cyan but said nothing as his own mouth was full with taco.
"Tacos are my boy's specialty." Gushed Segoe between bites.
"So in this universe, you are Sans and Papyrus, or rather Berry and Stretch's father?" asked Ink, slowly coming out of his shell to ask questions. He was still worried about what Error was up to, but he wouldn't be able to leave until Error deemed he was ready to leave.
"That's right." Segoe nodded and gave a thumbs up with a free hand. If both hands had been free Ink had a feeling that both would have given a thumbs up. "Am I not their father elsewhere?" he looked a bit worried about that.
"Well, no. In some verses you are their brother, others you have no relation to them, and in some you are not even around anymore. Either something happened or you were not all that nice towards them and either someone or they themselves killed you off. Kinda grim really, but I never thought much about how the one I designed would feel over all I guess." Ink was finally realizing that he was creating living, thinking being when he created these worlds. He also forgot that he was actually talking to others and the last part was said mostly to himself.
Now Segoe got a confused look and the relation between him and youngest son, Berry became very obvious as it was almost identical to the one Berry had worn earlier. Berry was also giving his full attention and seemed a bit at a loss as well. "What do you mean?" Segoe asked, strangely subdued as he tried to think. The only sign of his normal energy was a rapidly tapping finger that he wasn't even aware of.
Ink jumped, surprised. "Ah, well, that is, er. I sort of create the universes?" he shrunk into himself, not sure if admitting his hobby was an appropriate answer.
"You mean you created all this?" exploded Berry in awe as his normally circular eye-lights burst into stars.
Flinching from the exuberance, Ink just nodded.
"That is AWESOME!" Berry and Segoe said in perfect time.
Uncurling from the ball he had curled up into, Ink finally began to relax and tell about what he did and how he would normally do it.
In the meantime, Error had found the pastry shop, known in most other verses as the bar in Snowdin. He slipped in, his presence announced by the tinkling of a bell near the top of the door. The walls all had torches lining them and each one had decoration in the semblance of different pastries molded into the metal brackets. Skipping around dusting nonexistent dust from surfaces was a small green elemental. Upon hearing the bell she turned and chirped with delight and ran into the back, presumably to get the shopkeeper, who Error knew from watching, was her father. Shortly after a taller and slightly chubby Grillby made his way out from the back with an apron on that read "Gotta make the donuts." And a picture of said pastry illustrated beneath it.
"Welcome." Grillby crackled with a chuckle as he patted his daughter, who now bounced beside him. "Can we get you anything today?"
It was then that Error realized a very major mistake. He had no gold. He hadn't needed it in his universe at the time it had been destroyed and Ink never required it in his world and didn't let Error out to places that he would need it. "Sample please?" he asked.
"A sample? Are you insinuating that my creations would be sub-par buddy!?" He growled, completely insulted that someone would dare think such a thing of his perfect works of art.
"No! No gold. Sorry. No insult." Error tried to explain in short sentences so he wouldn't glitch out his speech pattern.
"Hmph, so you are no better than the average beggar. None too smart either apparently. If you aren't going to buy anything, I must ask you to leave or else I will assist you to the door." The elemental no longer seemed cheery or friendly. He wasn't anything like what Error expected him to be like.
"You rude mise-e-e-e-r-r-r." he stamped a foot and glared. Then he turned to start toward the door.
Insulted and horrified by the impairment of the strange looking skeleton, Grillby reacted violently. "Why you useless excuse of a piece of trash. Get OUT!"
Error glanced behind him and that was all that saved him as he dodged the fireball and made a quick exit from the shop. It was very different here than he had expected. He no longer wanted to be here. Recognizing the feelings in him and determined to show Ink he could be allowed out, he checked the string he had secretly attached to Ink's soul and traced him back to the house of the house that was designated for the skeleton family. He didn't bother knocking as this was equally his house as theirs, even if in a different universe, and walked right in. The laughter that had been quite loud before cut off immediately.
"You're an interesting looking fellow. Would you be the other who came with this one?" Segoe gestured to Ink.
Ink's eyes went wide at Segoe's comment on Error's appearance. It was a very sore subject.
Error messages rapidly flashed over Error's body as he tried to control and contain his anger. "Le-e-e-eav-v-v-ve n-n-no-o-ow." Error ground out looking directly at Ink. With his heightened emotions, controlling his voice became harder.
"O-of course. Whatever you say Error!" Ink jumped off the couch and nudged past Berry.
"What's wrong with his voice?" asked Segoe innocently.
"Dad, be nice!" scolded Berry. He could tell something was wrong, very wrong.
Before Ink could finish navigating around the table in the middle of the room, bright blue strings appeared around him, effectively trapping him if he had wanted to flee.
"Hey!" Berry shouted, thinking that for some reason Error was attacking their new friend. He leapt to try and break the strings, but before he could, a large black gap appeared in their living room wall and Ink was flung via the strings through. Error followed, as he stepped through and pulled the edges shut, only his neon bones and eyes could be distinguished. Then the rift was gone and Berry was left standing in the middle of the room with his summoned blue bone and Segoe's jaw was hanging open in complete disbelief. They looked at each other then back at the wall. "They really were from somewhere else." Stated Berry. Hearing it as a story and seeing them disappear like that were two very different things and it made the whole thing a lot more real for both father and son.
Looking back at each other, they said in unison. "That is so COOL!" and fist pumped then did a jig around their living room.
When Stretch arrived later they were still dancing and carrying on about visitors from another universe. "You guys sure you didn't mix my herbs in with that taco seasoning?
The scowl from his father just made him shrug even as he ignored indignant denial. He made his way up the stairs, then paused halfway up. "By the way, there is something weird happening in the backyard, and before you ask, no it isn't one of my hallucinations." Having nothing else to share, he finished the short trek to his room and slipped inside quietly.
Berry shrugged it off. Sure, Stretch said it wasn't one of his imaginings, but so were the pink birds that had filled the sink. Berry didn't put much stock in anything his brother said, even if he did love him very much. There was also the fact that he had stunk to the stars of his drugs when he had walked by. He set about cleaning up the leftovers from the tacos.
Segoe on the other hand, put a bit more stock in his son's words. Recently Stretch had become more withdrawn and rarely spoke to his family. Maybe he really had seen something. "I'm going to go check what it is that Stretch saw." He let Berry know and got up to go put on his snow boots, big fluffy things that were more suited to an artic clown than anything else.
"You won't find anything." Sighed Berry. He remembered when his brother hadn't been high all the time. Stretch used to actually play and occasionally cook with him before he had found his drugs and become addicted.
"Maybe not, but I won't discount his words. He talks to us to rarely anymore." Segoe replied sadly, remembering the same memories.
Behind a closed door on the floor above, Stretch wished he had the strength to tell his father and brother how much he loved them, but the scathing looks and disbelief his brother offered him kept him from doing so. He knew he put his family through the ringer with his addictions, but they brought a small amount of comfort to him when he remembered the children he had killed for the Queen. They helped him forget temporarily. He didn't want his happy and innocent father and brother to know about that part of his job. Curled up with his back to the door, he cried silently and waited for the last blunt to finally kick in and take away his reality for a short time.
When Segoe came back from checking the yard, he was quiet.
"Nothing there, was there?" snorted a scornful Berry. He hated those damn drugs and what they did to his brother.
"No, there is something there. He was lucid. He spoke to us and we brushed him off. How could I?" Segoe collapsed into his chair and felt empty. He had thought he was still being supportive of his son, but now, when he should have accepted, he had taken it with a grain of salt. He had become numb to his own son. What kind of father was he?
After a few minutes Berry came out of the kitchen and was horrified to find his father bawling into his hands and mumbling to himself. "I'll give him a piece of my mind." Berry's eye flashed with his fury until his arm was caught by his father.
"Leave him be. Go look for yourself." He said between hiccups.
Confused, Berry went and check the backyard. He couldn't make sense of what he saw. Floating in the yard was some sort of swirling distortion. It wasn't like the break that Ink's companion had made, but it had the same feel.
Uncertain, he went closer to try and get a better look at it. In the back of his mind he wished he could have believed his brother. Wished that he would be happier and more like himself and wish his father was stronger and better able to support them so that his brother wouldn't have to work so hard when he wasn't slacking.
He was right next to it, but still not able to understand anything about whatever this was. He put a hand against it and it went right through as if nothing were there. The air looked weird but seemed to act like nothing had changed. He walked through it himself, then back. Repeating the process several times, he didn't see any difference from one side or the other. Shrugging, he made his way back around the house and walked back inside. He completely missed the lack of bright lights on the eves.
The second he stepped inside he knew something was off. The furniture was wrong and the one snoring in the chair looked weirdly like himself. On the couch was a human pass-out. He immediately passed out from shock.