Despite the announcement of his own death sentence, Ink seemed completely placid. He wasn't bothered by Dream's efforts to start a debate. He ignored my attempts at dissuasion. His attention was on his work and his work alone. He strode from sketchbook to sketchbook, flipping through pages, scribbling chicken scratch in a tiny notepad, then moving to the next binder.

Colorful magic drifted around him as he inspected his past art, like rainbow koi, solemnly swimming around a fellow fish that's fallen to the bottom of the lake. It was gathering, clouding around him. At this rate, he'd be obscured from vision within a few minutes. He didn't seem aware of the consequences of his intense concentration.

Just as the magic was closing, he reached into the folds of his scarf and snatched out a small, glowing sphere. He tossed it into the air before him. Though it happened in a matter of seconds, I saw everything, as if in slow motion.

As the sphere left Ink's fingers, the magic swirling around him followed, snaking up his body, down his arm, and to the orb. Just as the last of the energy left Ink, folding in on itself around the dot of light, it imploded, crushing into a tiny, compact zone of color and light. Then it exploded.

Flaring petals of rainbow reached from a widening hole. Dream and I gazed at it in amazement, entranced by its beauty. Ink kept his hand out, then the other, struggling to contain the field.

"Go, Serif," Ink said. "Papyrus misses you."

My mind balked. My soul stumbled. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"w… what?" I breathed.

"Home," Ink answered, wistfully staring into the blinding swirl. "It's a risk, but C. Frisk says it should work. Your world will be safe from Error; he's blind to it, as I'll soon be. But this gateway won't last forever. Go."

I turned my gaze from the wormhole, to a bewildered Dream, back to Ink, and to the portal… that would lead me home?

I'd longed to return home for so long. I missed my bro. I missed my friends. I missed my house, my cluttered little room, even that snow-encrusted sentry station! I'd wondered what it would be like to go back. It was doubtful anyone even remembered me. My very existence had likely been forgotten, just like Gaster was erased from memory when he fell. When I returned, though, it would probably be as if I'd never left. No one would notice the gap, and no one would ever believe the tale I had to tell.

I looked back at Dream. He seemed as surprised as I was, but as he pulled his gaze to meet mine, he nodded slightly.

"I guess… this is goodbye," he admitted, briefly embracing me. I glanced back at Ink, alarmed.

"but… what about you? ink, please don't—"

"Go," he said simply, cutting me off. "No matter what happens, whatever comes—it'll be a lot easier if I know you're safe. Please, Serif; let this story have at least one happy ending." And with that, despite everything… he smiled a genuine smile, bittersweet though it may be.

I hesitated a second more. Ink flinched suddenly. Alarmed, he promptly turned his attention back to the portal as it wavered. His hands began to shake, as, gritting his teeth, he ordered—

"Go, NOW!"

Suddenly, all I could see was Papyrus's smiling face. home. I started running. i'm coming home. i'm coming home, papyrus! Right as I plunged through the portal—

"thank you, ink."

I splashed into the swirling galaxy of light and color. A gurgling, laughing current swept me away at the speed of sound, distant booms of sonic thunder reverberating through the liquid rainbow. Up ahead, I could see a sphere of pure white. home. Brimming joy filled my soul. The brightness neared. If I reached out, I would soon touch it—

I slammed into a wall. Every fiber of my being crackled as a jolt of electricity hit me, sparking like plasma. High-frequency vibrations splintered through my bones. The current ripped me away from the white. I grabbed desperately for it. It was gone. I tried to cry out. I couldn't. Violent streams tore at me from every direction. My HP plummeted, my life unnaturally preserved by some tormenting force. A smothering feeling scattered my wits. Epileptic flashes of ultra-bright assaulted my senses. Painfully loud screeches—like knives on a ceramic plate—carved gashes into my consciousness. The mind-numbing brightness seared into my vision, beginning to turn to darkness. Just as the white blinded me, choking out the last of the light—

I felt a hand grab the back of my jacket.

Dizzying, free-falling physics made the grip on my clothes tighten, desperate to hold on. There was a hand, grabbing for something. There was a distorted sound, muted yet clear, distant yet earsplittingly near—shattering. Suddenly there was liquid splattering everywhere, a gushing river of wet, splashing into my face, over every inch of my body. Blinking as though through sand, I managed to make out a wobbly, thin green film. It surrounded me… formed a bubble… filled with teal paint… and suddenly—

There was a final flash of light. A few seconds passed in oblivion. I soon found myself coaxed back to reality by motion and sound. Quivering uncontrollably, on his hands and knees beside me, was Ink. He gripped my forearm tightly, weak color magic striving to hold my HP at its miraculous 0.0001. My eyes fought to focus on him as he coughed up shards of rainbow space and black ink, like someone saved from drowning. A few shaky breaths later, he let himself fall flat. Turning his head, he met my gaze, and after a moment of confounded silence, quietly said—

"I'm so sorry, Serif." Dream's distant cries and sprinting footsteps were nearing fast as Ink concluded—"I don't think I can ever get you home."