Ink walked through to the new world he found himself in. He had found a portal while exploring his and Ruru's home and just had to check it out! He wanted Ruru to come too, but that lazybones wanted to read a book.
Blegh!
Anyway, Ink wondered if he'd meet anyone here!
The sounds of laughter and play could be heard from a distance and Ink perked up in curiosity. Ohhh! Someone's here! He picked up the pace towards the voices, bare feet pitter-pattering along the ground.
At the source of the sound, a group of several skeletons seemed to be having a picnic: a goopy one, one with monochrome clothing, one wearing his hood up, a skeleton without eyelights, one with a painful-looking hole in his skull, and one that looked glitchy. At the moment, it looked like the one in monochrome was chasing the one without eyelights, who held a few chocolate bars. The others were laughing at the dark-socketed one's ordeal.
Ink jumped up and down in place; this looks like so much fun!
He spotted the glitchy skeleton and gasped. "Ruru?!"
The company of skeletons were startled by the appearance of the new, smaller skeleton, who looked exactly like..Ink? This one was half Ink's height, though; perhaps he was different? And who was Ruru?
"Uhh..hey, kid..?" The one without eyelights hesitantly greeted. "What're ya doin' here..? And..who are ya?"
Ink ignored him and ran straight for the grown up Error; he looked absolutely scandalized. "You grew up?! Why didn't you tell me?!"
He conveniently forgot that he just saw his Error not ten minutes ago.
Error blinked. "Um..I don't think I'm the same person you're thinking of. I've been an adult since..forever."
Ink stared up at him with squinted sockets. "How do I know this isn't a prank?"
"Because..it isn't?" Error wasn't sure how to respond to that.
"Hey, Dusty, he's about your size!" The one without eyelights chuckled.
Ink turned, curious about what the other adult was talking about; he saw Dusty and lit up. He ran over to him, forgetting bigger Error for now. "Hi! My name is Ink! What's yours?"
"..Dust." The newly-named Dust introduced. "Nice to meet you.."
Ink, not knowing the implications of such a name, grinned brightly. "Cool! You look a lot like me." He looked around at the others, eyelights shifting shapes. "You all kinda do. Except Ruru and you." He pointed to the goopy one. "You look like you rolled in the mud. I just learned that word today!" He started singing about mud.
Nightmare hummed, unsure of what to think about this new skeleton child. Obviously, this wasn't the Ink they all knew and...well, they all knew; this had to be someone else. As to exactly who? Nightmare had no idea. Maybe a child? He looked enough like a child. Maybe he needed to just act calmly; if this was a child, he needed to remain polite and sincere..there was no telling what the rest of the multiverse might have done if they found this child.
"I suppose I do." Nightmare chuckled softly. "So, you say your name is Ink? That's a very nice name. My name is Nightmare, you've met Dust, and these are Error, Killer, Horror, and Cross; all of them but Error are my sons. What brings you to this corner of the forest? Do you have parents?"
"Cool names!" Ink commented. "What are parents? Is that a snack?"
"..No, parents are.." Nightmare paused to think. "Parents are like..caretakers. Does anyone take care of you? Read you bedtime stories, make your meals, and so forth?"
"Ohhhh! Ruru reads me lots of stories! And he tells me what to do. He's bossy like that." Ink tilted his head in confusion. "What's a meal?"
"A meal is food eaten at a certain time of day; do you not have those?" Nightmare was beginning to worry a bit about this child..if he hadn't been already.
Ink blinked. "Ruru tells me not to stick random stuff in my mouth. He got really mad when I ate the color rain. It tasted like...colors." He tilted his head in thought. "I once ate something that was sticky and lumpy. The tall man said it was-" He mashed sounds together to mimic wingdings.
"..." Nightmare was taking this child home. "Well, we're having a picnic; would you like to join us?"
Ink nodded excitedly. "Yeah! What's a picnic?"
One of Nightmare's tentacles twitched; this poor innocent child didn't know what a picnic was?! Unacceptable.
"A picnic is a gathering in which people play games and eat food." Nightmare held out a banana to the child. "Here, try this; it's a banana, and it's safe to eat."
Ink took the banana and bit through it, peel and all. He made a face, spitting it out. "Tastes like pink."
"Pink?" Nightmare didn't understand..maybe the child just didn't like bananas. Nightmare swapped the fruit for something a bit less healthy, but food was food. "How about a piece of chocolate pie? It'll taste sweeter."
Ink took a curious bite. The minute the taste hit his tongue, his sockets widened and he shoved the rest in his mouth. "That tastes so good! I want more!" He started grabbing for the rest of the pie.
Nightmare chuckled; chocolate always worked! "Well, you can have as much as you want, but don't overstuff yourself."
Ink nodded, only hearing the part where he could have as much as he wanted! Mouth full, he turned to the others and started asking questions, not waiting for the answers.
To Dust, "Why are you your eye lights funny? Can they change like mine? Do you always wear your hood up?"
To Killer, "What's that goopy stuff? Are you crying? Are you blue? I don't like blue. Blue is not fun."
To Cross, "Are you cold? That's a lot of clothes!"
To Horror, "Why's there a hole in your head? Can I stick my hand in it? Would that hurt? If I look in the hole, will I see out of your sockets?"
To Nightmare, "Why are you muddy? Do you like mud? It kinda looks like this stuff." He held up the pie. "Does it taste the same?"
The group of skeletons laughed softly, before giving their respective answers.
"Well, my eyelights have been like this for years, and I can only change them into white dots. I do always wear my hood up, yes." Dust nodded.
"This is liquid determination." Killer flicked off a droplet. "I'm not cryin'..and..I'm assuming blue is sad; I'm not sad."
"I'm only a little cold.." Cross shrugged.
"Um.." Horror looked down; children didn't know about sensitive questions...it wasn't the kid's fault. "I just have it..and it would hurt a little if ya touched it; ya can see through it."
"I'm not muddy; this is negativity." Nightmare smiled. "And it doesn't taste like chocolate."
Ink nodded as if he understood. "What is deter-determmmm...determmm...that word. What is it? Why is it goopy?"
Killer hummed. "Well, determination's a chemical that helps ya do what ya wanna do. It's goopy 'cause I got too much, and this started happenin.' I'm not exactly sure about everythin,' but that's basically it."
Ink stared at the not tears. "Can I touch it?"
Killer shrugged. "Sure, why not?"
Ink walked up to Killer and reached out to touch the goopy stuff coming from his eyes; He rubbed it between his fingers and smacked it in his hands.
Splat!
He giggled.
Splat!
He swiped more off Killer's face and smacked it around in his hands, the determination splashing in his face.
Killer smiled at the child's amusement; he liked this Ink a lot more than the other one.
Ink giggled some more and turned to Nightmare, eyeing his goop. Without asking permission, he walked over and scoops some up, smacking the new goop around. It tingled!
He wondered what it tasted like…
Nightmare was a bit surprised at the child's actions, but he knew how curious children could be; he simply remained quiet and continued to eat his food.
Ink stuck the new goop in his mouth.
"Blegh!" That did not taste like chocolate! "Gross!"
He spit the goop out, using his hand to wipe his tongue. That only put more of the goop in his mouth.
Nightmare chuckled, before grabbing a few napkins and wiping the child's mouth clean of the offending substance.
"Better?" He questioned.
"You taste terrible!" Ink complained. He was never eating people's goop again!
Or at least as long as he remembered not to…
"I told you it didn't taste like chocolate." Nightmare smirked. "Would you like some more pie?"
Ink pouted. He reached out for some pie, but his tummy made a gurgle.
He looked down with a frown and put his hand down. "I don't think my body wants it anymore."
"Very well." Nightmare nodded. "Would you like to play a little, then?"
Ink's eyelights lit up, and he began to jump in place excitedly. "Yeah! What are we gonna play?"
"How about hide and seek?" Killer suggested.
Ink was very excited. "How do we play that?"
"Well, one person counts to a certain number, and everyone else hides!" Cross explained. "When the person reaches the number, they try to find the others, and if they find them all within five or ten minutes, they win! If not, the hiders who weren't found win. Wanna play?"
Ink nodded, vibrating with excitement.
"All right, do you want to count, or do you want to hide?" Dust offered a choice.
"I don't know what counting is!" Ink shouted excitedly. "I'm gonna hide!"
He was already running off into the forest, gigging wildly. He didn't go far, just behind the first tree he found.
"All right, Dusty counts!" Killer decided, before running off with Horror and Cross; Error and Nightmare were sitting this one out.
"All right." Dust acquiesced. "One, two, three.."
Ink giggled loudly. Even if he were hidden farther out, he would've given away his position already.
"Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty!" Dust shouted. "Ready or not, here I come!"
Dust began to stalk the forest.
"You won't find me!" Ink shouted, before realizing what he had done and shushing himself. "Shhhh..."
Dust chuckled as he rolled his eyelights, deciding not to act upon the child's shout; he would let him remain hidden for a while.
Killer, however, was the first one Dust found.
"Gotcha!" Dust pounced on his brother.
"Aw, man!" Killer sighed.
Ink peeked out from his hiding place, spotting Dust a ways off; he decided to sneak to another spot. He got down on the ground and crawls through the bushes until he bumps into something.
Or, rather, someone.
"Shh!" Cross shushed the child, intending not to give away his hiding spot.
Ink sat up, covered in sticks and dirt, holding his finger to his teeth. "Shhhh!"
Cross fought a giggle at the sight.
From a distance, Dust could be heard.
"Found you!" Dust announced.
"Yeah, ya got me." Horror stepped out of his hiding spot.
Ink clamped his hands over his mouth, wide sockets staring in the direction of the others.
Cross pulled the child down to the ground quickly, trying not to make too much noise; they were the last ones standing.
"Where are you?" Dust questioned verbally, using a playful tone.
Ink's shoulder shook with silent giggles. He wasn't going to find them!
Dust hummed as he looked around, looking particularly for patches of white among the green forest; Cross's wardrobe always stood out! Meanwhile, Cross curled up a bit more to conceal his conspicuous clothing choices. Dust began to tiptoe after noticing a bush in motion, coming closer.
Ink crouched low, eyes narrowing mischievously.
Dust came within a few feet of the bush.
Ink could see Dust's feet under the leaves. He smiled and started crawling forward.
Dust was ready to pounce on his prey.
Ink forgot he was supposed to stay hidden and leaps out of the bush, tackling his feet. "Gotcha!"
"Agh!" Dust had not been prepared for that.
Dust began to take a few deep breaths after that scare, and Cross came up beside him in worry.
"You all right?" Cross hoped.
"Yeah.." Dust breathed heavily. "Just give me a minute.."
Ink blinked up at Dust, letting go. His smile fell, his eyelights shifting to a blue triangle and a purple circle. "Dust...did I really scare you?"
"Don't worry, kiddo." Killer patted his shoulder. "Dusty'll be fine; he's just got a weaker soul than the rest of us."
"Y-yeah..I'm okay." Dust nodded.
Ink stood up and reached for his hand. "I'm sorry. Ruru doesn't like it when I do that either...but the tall man does! So I thought maybe...I'm sorry."
"It's..okay." Dust's breathing stabilized a bit more. "I'm okay, see?"
Ink frowner, brows pinched. He grabbed Dust's hand and started dragging him back to the picnic blanket. He picked up a piece of pie and shoved it in Dust's face, smashing it a little. "Here! Make you feel better!"
Dust chuckled, before taking a bite. "Thanks. I feel a lot better now."
Ink smiled brightly. "Good!"
He looked around at the others. He was bored now; he plopped down on the blanket and examined the other foods curiously. His tummy is feeling better, and he wanted to know what all this stuff tasted like.
"Want something?" Error offered.
Ink pointed at the sandwiches. "What are those?"
"Sandwiches." Error replied. "We have peanut butter and jelly, cheese and mustard, ham and cheese, and meatball. Feel free to take your pick."
Ink's sockets widened at the choices. "I want them all..."
He reached a hand for a meatball one and shoved half of it into his mouth. The group chuckled at his food choices, but they didn't try to stop him; if he hadn't eaten before, this was likely going to be an experience for him. Ink chewed the sandwich, swallowing it down. It tasted tingly on his tongue, but not like Nightmare's goop. Once done with that, he tried the other sandwiches in turn. He liked the cheese and mustard, ham and cheese, and the meatball, but the peanut butter and jelly one was gross. He liked the jelly, though, and split it open to lick off the jelly.
"Yummy?" Cross asked.
Ink nodded, finishing off the last of the jelly. He put it down on a plate Cross gave him and yawned. He was tired now. He shoved the plate away and lay down. He didn't care if he was surrounded by practical strangers; he had such a fun day. He can't wait to tell Ruru about this later.
But first...sleep.
Nightmare smiled as the child fell asleep on the picnic blanket. He used a tentacle to cover the little skeleton with a different blanket before looking back to the others, who were looking at him with pleading expressions.
"Yes, we are taking care of him for as long as he will let us." Nightmare rolled his eyelight; that should have been a given. His boys beamed at the confirmation.
Ink curled up under the blanket, a little hand peeking out to hug it close.
"He's so cute.." Killer gushed.
"Yes..yes, he is." Error agreed.
It was about an hour before Ink woke up. The others were gathering up the remains of their picnic, intending to wait for the child's permission before taking him home with them.
Ink sat up, rubbing his sockets with a small yawn. When he noticed his new friends packing everything up, he whined. "Are you going home now?"
"Yes, we are.." Nightmare confirmed. "Would you..like to come home with us?"
"We can have a sleepover!" Killer added.
Ink perked up at that. He didn't know what a sleepover was, but it sounded fun. "Yeah!"
"Cool!" Killer grinned. "Let's go!"
Nightmare created an ominous goopy portal, and the others went through. Nightmare gestured to it. "This is the way to our home."
Ink ran through with no hesitation. "Cool!" He looked around the living room, eyelights filled with curiosity, before pointing to a lamp. "What's that?"
"That's a lamp." Cross informed. "It gives light to let us see in the dark."
Ink climbed onto the couch and played with the switch.
On.
Off.
On.
Off.
On.
Off.
On…
The gang laughed in amusement at the child's curiosity, and Nightmare sat down next to Ink.
"So, do you want to do anything special?" He offered. "The others have many different games to play, or I could read you a story; it's up to you."
Ink stopped playing with the light and turned to Nightmare, thinking. "Hmm...I think...I want a story."
"All right." Nightmare nodded, settling down on the couch and patting his lap. "A story you shall have."
Ink crawled into the bigger monster's lap and looked at him eagerly.
"Once upon a time," Nightmare started, "there was a prince who lived in a big castle. He was the smallest prince in the world, and everyone made fun of him for being short. The prince's parents, however, told him that he would one day grow up to be taller than everyone else, as long as he ate his fruits and vegetables. The other princes thought that was silly, since fruits and vegetables didn't always taste good. The prince, however, decided to take his parents' advice, and when he became an adult, he was over six feet tall, while all the other princes who didn't eat healthy were very, very short. The end."
Ink's mouth dropped in awe. He didn't know how tall that was, but it sounded huge! He stood up in Nightmare's lap and got in his face. "What's a vegetable?! And a fruit?! I wanna be tall!"
Nightmare chuckled. "They're different types of foods, and you can have as many as you want, but not right now; right now, it's our movie night. Would you like to watch a movie with us?"
"What's a movie?" Ink tilted his head, thoughts of vegetables and fruits forgotten.
"It's like..have you ever watched an AU through a portal?" Error asked.
Ink shook his head. "What's an A You?"
"An alternate universe? Different worlds?" Error tried synonyms.
"I don't know what those are." Ink admitted.
"Oh.." Error hummed. "Well, you'll like movies."
Nightmare took the liberty of choosing the movie, which was a family-oriented movie, since he didn't want to expose the child to anything inappropriate. When the movie started, everyone sat back and began to watch. Horror held the bowl of popcorn. Ink's eyes were instantly glued to the TV; he oohed and awwed at it, and the others enjoyed the film, as well; it was a family favorite!
When the movie ended, Ink was still staring at the screen, mouth open. "Whoa! That. Was. Awesome! There were tiny people in there!"
"Well, actually it was a recording of normal-sized people that fits on our television, but tiny people works, too." Cross shrugged.
"Can we watch another one!" Ink asked, bouncing on Nightmare's lap. He almost fell off-
But Nightmare wrapped a tentacle around the child before he could fall. "Of course. I have another one that I think you'll like even more."
Ink, unconcerned with the potential danger of falling, kept jumping. "Yeah! Yeah! What is it? What is it?"
"This one." Nightmare turned on a different family movie.
Ink ws suddenly still, eyelights glued to the screen. He really liked movies now…
The others offered him some more popcorn; he had seemed to enjoy it during the first movie. Ink happily ate the popcorn, eyes glued to the TV. Many popcorn pieces fell to the ground in his distraction, but the others didn't mind; they would clean it later. When the movie finished, Ink was bouncing again. He scrambled off Nightmare's lap and ran to the TV to find another movie. He searched the cabinets that the others kept pulling them from. Cross chuckled, going over to help the child find a suitable movie, giving him the option between a fantasy movie or an adventure movie. This was all so new to Ink. He didn't know what to pick! He closed his sockets, sticking his tongue out, and pointed at a random one.
"All right, you're going to like this one!" Cross assured, putting the adventure movie back.
The fantasy movie began to play.
Ink ran back to the couch and crawled back into Nightmare's lap to watch the movie. He spied one of his tentacles and snatched it up, hugging it while he watched. Nightmare was feeling very fatherly..he wasn't sure he could let this one go..
As the movie plays, Ink remembers his friend, and he pouts. He's been gone for a long time; Ruru must be worried about him…
"Are you all right, Ink?" Nightmare inquired.
Ink fidgeted with the tentacle in his hands, pouting harder. "I have to go home. Ruru is gonna be sad if I don't come back." He stared ahead blankly. "The white place is lonely..."
"..White place?" Error repeated, softly; that sounded familiar.
"Ah..do you know how to get back there?" Nightmare frowned.
Ink tilted his head in thought. "Last time I fell in a puddle...puddles take me to a lot of places. That's how I got here!" He said excitedly. "A glowing puddle showed up, and I jumped in!"
"Ah..do you want to finish the movie or go back now, then..?" Nightmare tried to hide his sadness.
Ink looked at the movie; he really wanted to finish it...but Ruru...Ink fidgets. He didn't know what to do! Frustrated tears pricked the corners of his sockets. He doesn't want to go back to the white place, either! He hated it there! If Ruru weren't there, he would never go back.
"Hey, it's all right." Nightmare wrapped a tentacle around the child, pulling him into a hug. "You're all right; there's no need to cry."
Ink accepted the hug and yelled. "I don't wanna go back! There's nothing but Ruru there!" He frowned, grumbling. "And a stupid cup."
"Well, what if we were to invite your friend over, too?" Nightmare suggested. "Would he like it here?"
Ink perked up at that. He can bring Ruru? He looked up at Nightmare's face and asked hopefully. "Really? Ruru can come too?"
"Of course he can." Nightmare nodded. "Any of your friends would be welcomed here."
Ink gasped excitedly, scrambling down to the ground. "Okay!" He started searching the floor. "I just have to find a puddle!"
"Um, like any puddle?" Killer asked, holding a glass of water.
Ink nodded. "Yeah! I just gotta think where I wanna go and jump in."
"Okay." Killer poured his water on the floor. "There's a puddle."
Nightmare sighed; Killer was cleaning that up later.
Ink nodded and jumped in without hesitation. Ten minutes, later he jumped right back out with an angry nine year old.
"Ink! Let me go!" Little Error struggled in his friend's grasp. "I said I don't wanna go through the stupid portal!"
"But, Ruru!" Ink whined. "This place is so much fun! Look! I made friends! And one of them looks like you!"
"Uh..hi." Error waved.
Ruru looked at the bigger him in surprise. "What?! How?!"
"You're from a different multiverse from ours; in this one, you're not children." Nightmare had planned this response.
Ruru looked at the goopy skeleton suspiciously before grabbing Ink and pulling him close, eyeing the adults. "What do you want?"
Ink poked his friend's cheek. "I want to play. Let's play hide and seek! That's a game where someone has to count and everyone else hides." He wagged his finger in Ruru's face, making the older child swat at it. "But no scaring people! That's bad!"
"We can play, if you'd like!" Killer was up for another game!
Ink jumped up and down in excitement, butRuru squeezed his arms around the shorter child to make him stop. "No!"
Ink pouted. "But I wanna play...!"
"Perhaps a movie would be better?" Nightmare held up a DVD case which read Undernovela: The Movie.
"Yeah!" Ink ducked out of Ruru's arms and dragged him to the couch, explaining what a movie is to him.
"I know what a movie is, stupid!"
"I'm not stupid! You are!"
"No, you!"
"Nuh uh!"
"Uh huh!"
"Nuh uh!"
"Uh huh!"
Nightmare turned on the movie, and a Spanish opera song began to play. Ruru stopped arguing and whipped his head around to stare at the TV.
"Asgoro, yo he venido a tomar mi amor!" The Sans shouted, starting the movie.
Ruru plopped down on the floor and stared intently at the screen, all thoughts of arguments gone from his little head.
Ink looked at him funny and pokes his cheek. The only response he got was a swat.
"You're weird." Ink claimed, plopping down next to his friend.
The others offered the tiny Error popcorn as they watched the movie, and Ruru ate the popcorn, way less messy than his friend. The movie continued, with much drama and suspense.
Ruru watched the movie through, never taking his eyes off it. "No, Asgoro! You can't take Señora Toriel away from Sin! They're in love!"
Error was crying, despite having seen this movie 647 times before. The movie ended with a satisfying twist: Sin lived and got the girl, but Asgoro was still alive, despite falling from a tall cliff.
Good thing there was a sequel.
Ruru wanted to see the sequel.
Right.
Now!
Ink whined. "But, Ruruuuu! That movie was boring! I wanna play hide and seek!"
"Well, how about you guys play hide and seek.." Error picked up Ruru. "And we'll watch the sequel."
Surprised, Ruru at first struggled in the bigger skeleton's grasp, but then he heard those magical words. "Yes! Ink, go play!"
Ink huffed at his friend, but turned around and started walking down the hall. "Fine! I'm gonna hide, and nobody's going to find me!"
"Crossy, you count this time!" Killer giggled as he ran in a different direction, Dust and Horror joining in.
"Let's find out what Asgoro's up to.." Error smirked, turning the movie on.
Ruru smiled brightly. "Yes!"
Ink, meanwhile, was searching for the perfect hiding spot. He opened doors and would peek in to inspect them, slamming them shut when they didn't match his standards and moving noisily to the next.
Eventually, he forgot what he was doing when he discovered a very interesting room.
"Darn, we're out of popcorn.." Error frowned.
Ruru blinked at the empty bowl and hummed thoughtfully. He wiggled out of Error's arms and dropped to the floor. There, he opened a portal to someone's kitchen and snatched a bowl of freshly-made popcorn with his strings.
A squawk of surprise could be heard as the portal closed. "Yo! Who be wack stealin' my grub?"
Ruru held his stolen goods for Error to see with a proud smile.
Error blinked. Well..what no one else knew wouldn't hurt him.
Nightmare simply rolled his eyelight; it was obvious that these children weren't acquainted with morals..yet.
Ruru, happy with his acquisition, trotted over to the couch and climbed up. He sat, swinging his little legs in anticipation for the movie. Error resumed the movie, returning to Sin's dilemma.
"Gotcha!" Cross found Horror, who had been hiding in a closet.
Ink could hear Cross searching down the hall, but, once again, he was distracted by this cool room!
There was an object by the wall.
He wondered what it did?
"I heard footsteps!" Cross chuckled nearby.
Ink climbed up the device and found some bottles. He pulled them down from the shelf and opened them. It smelled like flowers.
"Aha!" Cross found Dust, closer to Ink's location.
Ink's grip on the bottles slipped, and they dropped into the machine next to the one he's on. He saw that there was a lid and closed it to hide his mess.
Then he pressed a button.
"Killer!" Cross chuckled, moving closer to the sound of the noise, thinking that it was Killer.
The machine clunked and banged, shaking so hard that it knocked Ink down.
He landed on the floor with a thump. "Ow!"
Soupy bubbles leaked from the top of the machine.
"Uh...oh..."
"Huh?" Cross opened the door to the laundry room, finding..a mess.
He quickly unplugged the washing machine before picking up the small child and searching him for injuries.
"Are you okay?" He hoped.
Ink stared at the bubbles, trying to wiggle down. "I wanna touch it! What is that?"
"It's..soap." Cross replied, deciding that the time to search for answers had already passed. "But..instead of touching that soap, how about a bubble bath?"
"What's a bath?"
Cross smiled. "You'll see."
Cross carried Ink outside the room, finding Dust and Horror, with Killer by their side.
"Is everythin' okay?" Killer hoped. "I heard a bang."
"Well, there's a small mess, but everything is all right; I'm going to give Ink a bath."
Ink patted Cross' face. "What's a bath? Tell me!"
"Just hold on a minute!" Cross giggled.
"We'll clean the mess!" Killer volunteered, running into the laundry room.
After that was settled, Cross took Ink to a bathroom, and he began to fill tho bathtub with water.
"You'll have to take your clothes off." He stated.
Ink tilted his head in confusion. "Why?"
"Because you don't want your clothes to get wet, do you?" Cross asked, as the bathtub filled up. "Unless you do, but we'd have to find more clothes for you, then."
"Ohhh!" Ink said.
He started taking his clothes off, revealing dirty bones. It was clear he'd never had a bath before. He peeked into the tub, where he found that the bathtub was now full; Cross stopped the water flow.
"Ready to get in?" He inquired.
Ink nodded and tried to climb the side of the tub. Cross helped the child into the tub, and when Ink was in, Cross brought out the bubble soap, pouring a generous amount into the water. Ink watched the bubbles form with awe.
"Fun, huh?" Cross smiled.
Ink giggles, splashing the water and popping the bubbles. He picked them up and blew them at Cross's face. Cross laughed as he blew a few bubbles back. Ink giggled as the bubbles landed on his nose ridge, scooping more up and shaping them on his head. He looked as if he had clown hair. Not that he knew what a clown was, or how they styled their hair.
He didn't know what hair was, for that matter.
"Like it?" Cross wondered, grinning.
Ink smiled up at him brightly. "Yeah! This is so much fun! I've never had a bath before."
The fact that the water had turned brown from all the gunk that had come off his bones proved that claim. Cross blinked at that; maybe multiple baths would be a good idea. Ink, however, splashed the water around, uncaring of its murky state.
"Hmm.." Cross picked up some bath toys and put them in the tub.
Ink blinked at the rubber duck that floated towards him. He picked it up and gave it an experimental squeeze.
Squeak!
"Cool, huh?" Cross smiled.
Ink giggled, squeaking the duck again. This was definitely his new favorite toy.
"What is it?" He asked.
"It's a rubber duck." Cross replied.
Ink nodded, as if he understood perfectly. He had no idea what a duck was. Or rubber.
Ink played in the bath for a few more minutes before yawning.
"Tired?" Cross assumed.
Ink nodded, his sockets heavy. He put the rubber duck down and reached his little arms up towards Cross.
"I want Ruru now." He said, making grabby hands.
"All right." Cross nodded.
Cross walked over to the bathroom closet and pulled out a kiddie towel, one with a hood that looked like a dino head. After lifting the child out of the tub, he wrapped Ink in the towel and grabbed the child's clothes; they would need to be washed, too, by the looks of them. Cross carried Ink back to the living room, where the drama had escalated to a heated battle in the streets, gunshots ringing out from who knew where.
Ruru was on the edge of his seat, staring wide eyed at the screen. "No! Señor Sin, look out!"
Sin, ever the hero, jumped in front of a nearby child caught in the skirmish, taking a bullet in the ribcage.
Ruru gasped. "Nooo!"
Ink wiggled down from Cross's arms and waddled over to the TV. He tilted his head at the dramatic deaths. "What happened to him?"
"He'll be fine, but not until the third movie." Error informed, rubbing the saddened child's back.
Ink didn't care what they put on; he just wanted to sleep. He crawled up onto the couch and laid his head on Ruru's lap. Ruru glanced down, but he didn't say anything. His eyes went back to watching the TV.
The third movie started with Sin in the hospital. By the end of the movie, both children were fast asleep. Ruru had flopped over Ink's head, using him as a pillow. Nightmare had covered the children with a soft blanket when they had both fallen asleep, and Cross had dressed Ink in his newly-washed clothes without waking the child up. The kids were unlikely to move from their positions any time soon. Error mumbled Spanish in his sleep, dreaming of car chases and forbidden love. Ink dreamed of bubbles and sandwiches, reaching out in his sleep as if to grab one of those imagined delicacies.
"So, we're keeping them, right?" Cross asked, when Nightmare entered the room again after a period of absence.
"As long as possible, yes." Nightmare confirmed. "I've already prepared a room for them, and if they want separate rooms, I can do that, too."
Ink shifted in his sleep, dislodging himself from Ruru's hold and landing on the floor with a thump. He did not wake up, simply curling into himself and hugging his scarf.
"Dust, you're on toy duty." Nightmare informed. "Disguise yourself as an Undertale copy and buy as many toys as possible."
"Okay, Dad!" Dust left through a portal.
"Horror, can you start dinner?"
"Sure, Dad." Horror nodded.
"Killer, you go get clothes for them."
"Yessir!" Killer saluted, portalling away.
"Error, can you watch them?"
"Sure." Error smiled.
His pillow gone, Ruru sleepily sat up. He blinked at the room in confusion. "Inky?"
Ink started snoring.
"He's down there." Error pointed out.
Ruru looked over the edge of the couch and frowned. "What are you doing down there?"
Ink snored some more.
"He's just snoring." Error snickered.
Ruru huffed and slipped off the couch. He grabbed Ink by the shoulders and tried to pick him up. "Come on, lazybones. Wake up!"
Ink ignored him, curling further into himself.
"He seems pretty tired." Error commented. "How about you and me continue our movie? You fell asleep."
Ruru looked up at him with a look of consideration. "Hmmm...okay." He sat down on the floor with Ink and waited for the movie to pick up where he left off. "Sin was about to save Frisk from the bad guys." He informs them.
"All right." Error skipped to that part of the movie.
Ruru was able to finish the movie this time and stayed awake. By the end, though, he was ready for bed.
"Tired?" Error inquired. "Nightmare's got a bedroom set up for you two."
Ruru looked up in sleepy surprise. "We can stay?"
"Sure." Error nodded.
Ruru frowned at him, disbelief written on his face. "No one ever lets us stay...what do you want?" He gripped his friend protectively.
"Well, you know Nightmare?" Error started.
Ruru nodded, wondering where bigger him was going with this.
"Nightmare loves children." Error explained. "And when I say that, I mean that he really loves children. If he could adopt and raise you right now, he would."
"Like a...a dad?" Ruru asked slowly. There was a pang of grief in his chest. He couldn't remember his dad very well, but he knew his dad loved him.
He wished he knew where he had gone.
"Exactly." Error confirmed.
Ruru thought about that for a moment, staring at the floor in thought. He believed...he would really like that. And he knew Ink would, too.
Ruru looks back up, suddenly shy. "Okay..."
"Heh, you don't have to decide now; I'm sure he'll be fine if you wait a bit until deciding, but you can still stay." Error smiled.
Ruru nodded. He stood up and grabbed Ink around the middle. He started to drag him across the floor. Ink..was still snoring.
"Where are we sleeping?" Ruru asked.
"Um..I'm not sure." Error got up and rang the bells. "He'll be here in a second."
Ruru sits down and placed Ink's head in his lap. "Okay."
He looked around the room for the first time since getting here. He had been a little distracted before. The room was rather plain, with really only a few couches, a fireplace, a coffee table, and a few pictures on the walls. The gang, however, enjoyed it; this was their space to chat and play around. This was their home.
Nightmare arrived soon enough, taking Ruru away from his observation, and he was happy to lead the children to their room. Ruru, still dragging Ink like a sack of potatoes, trotted over to the bed and used his strings to climb up.
"Good night, little ones." Nightmare smiled as he tucked the children in.
"Goodnight..." Ruru said quietly. He rolled over so he was hugging Ink close to him and fell asleep.
Nightmare sighed happily at the cute scene before him, before leaving the room silently.
Ink and Ruru slept the night through peacefully..at least, a small bit of it. Ink was the first one to wake up. He looked around the room in confusion. It was dark, except for a sole nightlight. Ink squinted into the darkness and crawled off the bed. He felt around the room for the door. To his luck, the doorknob was noticeably colder than the rest of the wall. Ink turned the knob and left the room. He wandered the halls and discovered the dining room, where he climbed on top of the table and sat there. The fire in the fireplace was making a crackling noise, despite not actually being real fire. Ink leaned forward to watch the fire. The bright colors and lights were pretty…
"You're up late." A voice came from behind the child.
Ink bent backwards to see who was there. It was Nightmare; he seemed a bit tired, but other than that, he was the same as ever.
"What are you doing up, little one?" He asked.
Ink bent so far back he fell on his back; he stared up at Nightmare with blank confusion. "Who are you?"
Nightmare chuckled; it seemed that this child had some memory issues, but that wasn't surprising, considering the fact that this was a variant of Ink.
"My name is Nightmare." He reminded. "You're in my home, remember?"
Ink blinked slowly. "You're from the picnic..."
"Yes, that's very good remembering!" Nightmare encouraged.
Ink smiled up at him brightly. "Yay!"
Ink stood up on the table. "Ruru has been helping me get better. He says it's annoying telling me the same things over and over and over and over again."
"Well, it seems that you're certainly making some progress!" Nightmare commended. "It's rather late right now, Ink; are you tired?"
Ink yawned, nodding his head. He reached up to Nightmare with grabby hands. Nightmare smiled, picking up the child and carrying him back to his room.
Back at the room, Ruru was searching the closet for his friend. "Inky?!"
"Over here, Ruru!" Ink waved from Nightmare's arms.
Ruru pulled his head out of the closet and glared at him. "Where have you been?"
"He just wandered for a bit; he's all right." Nightmare assured, laying Ink down on the bed. "Now, you two sleep tight."
Ink crawled quickly under the covers, patting the spot next to him. "Come on, Ruru! Bedtime!"
Ruru grumbled. "You were the one who wandered off..." He got into bed and got under the blanket.
"Good night, you two." Nightmare tucked them in again.
"Goodnight!" Ink chirped. He immediately fell asleep.
Ruru gave him a weird look, but lay down. He hugged his friend close so he wouldn't wander off again. "Night..."
Nightmare shut the door quietly behind him, leaving the two children in silence.
The children slept the rest of the night through.