Five months later...

In an Anti-Void far away...

Ruru stared at the portals around him. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't breach Ink's AU; it was locked. He had tried to hack it, but the firewall and security measures thwarted him at every turn.

This left Ruru with only one option: waiting for Inky to wander off.

Over the months, the only time Inky was away from the evil adult was when he was at school. Ruru had attempted to grab him there, but it appeared that Ink had expected this; Ruru couldn't open portals there anymore.

Now...he would wait for the inevitable. Eventually, Inky would get bored and want to explore on his own. The moment Ink was distracted, Inky would fall in a puddle, andthenRuru would grab him.

His sockets narrowed. Inky would be upset that he was taking him away from his'Daddy,'but Ruru didn't care. Inky would forget about the adult sooner or later.

He always forgot.

And if he didn't?

Ruru would ensure he would.

Inky washisfriend.

At Ink's house...

Inky woke up and ran to his daddy's room, where he jumped onto the bed and shook the adult's shoulder. "Daddy! Wake up! Wake up! You said we'd go to the park today!"

"I'm up!" Ink sat up, responding to his son; he had gotten used to that.. "Okay, park..yay."

"Yay!" Inky jumped off the bed and landed in a crouch before somersaulting and popping up to his feet.

"You're getting better at that!" Ink smiled, happy that the acrobatics lessons were paying off.

"Uh-huh!" Inky grinned, before running off to get dressed for the day.

Ink smiled, standing up to put his day clothes on, too.

When Ink came down, Inky met his daddy in the living room, positively vibrating with excitement. "Come on, let's go! Let's go!"

"All right, all right!" Ink chuckled. "But don't you want breakfast first?"

"Oh, yeah!" Inky nodded. "I forgot."

"What do you want to eat?"

"Just cereal." He answered; he wanted to go to the park quickly.

"All right." Ink poured a bowl of cereal for Inky.

Inky finished his breakfast quickly, excited and ready to get to the park.

"Done!" He ran up to Ink and started tugging on his arm. "Let's go!"

"Okay." Ink smirked, opening a portal to a park.

Inky ran through the portal quickly and beelined straight for the slide, and Ink rolled his eyelights as he watched his son play, sitting down on a park bench and observing. Inky climbed the ladders and crossed the monkey bars and swung on the swings; he was very busy playing - so busy, he didn't notice he was being watched by someone other than his daddy. Ink didn't seem to notice, either, somehow..he must have been focused on his son. Inky ran around the playground, playing with the other children to his heart's content.

A portal opened on the ground near him, just out of Ink's sight, but Ink was thinking about what to make for dinner tonight, not sensing the portal. Inky, however, noticed it and wandered closer.

He blinked at the inside and exclaimed loudly, "Hello! Who are you?"

To everyone else, it appeared he was speaking to the ground.

Ink blinked; Inky might have talked to lots of people and animals..but he usually didn't talk to bugs in the grass..ornothing.He walked over to his son, expecting to find a praying mantis or a stray firefly.

"Hey, Inky, what've you found?" Ink asked, as he approached.

Inky pointed to the portal. "There's a kid in the pud-"

Before he could finish his sentence, blue strings shot out of the portal and wrapped around Inky. Ink's eyelights widened, and, utilizing his quick reflexes, he swiftly wrapped an arm around his son, intending to protect his child at all costs! The strings pulled more, grabbing onto Inky.

The poor child was confused. "What?! Ow! That hurts!"

The strings faltered at that, unintentionally loosening.

"Inky, hold on to me, okay?" Ink pulled out a bladed paintbrush, reaching over to cut through the strings.

Inky gripped his daddy's arm and whimpered in response as strings latched onto the blade and a glitchy scream of frustration came from the portal. Ink grunted, trying to pull his blade free from the strings; this wasn't going very well..

The strings yanked the blade out of his grip, and they resumed wrapping Inky's limbs in more strings, intent on pulling him from the adult's grasp.

"Daddy!" Inky screamed. His grip was slipping-

"Inky!"Ink was strong - incredibly strong - but..he couldn't hold on.

More strings latched onto Ink's arms, twining through his fingers andyanking.

"Hold on, baby.." Ink tightened his grip, doing all he could to hold on.

Inky was crying now; he tried to hold on to his daddy, but his grip was slipping-

His hands came loose and his arms were pulled towards the portal."DAAAAADDY!"

The strings gave one last tug and yanked Inky from the adult's grasp, dragging him towards the portal.

"No!"Ink reached toward his son; he couldn't lose him now..he couldn't!

Inky's screams echoed through the playground, cut off only when the portal closed behind him.

It was unnervingly quiet now.

Ink stared at the spot where the portal had been, hands quivering.

Someone had taken his son.

His beautiful, innocent, playful, curious son.

He would get him back.

Heneededto..

On the other side of the portal, in an Anti-Void far away, Inky was bawling his sockets out.

"Shhh...it's okay, Inky." Ruru tried to give the younger boy a hug.

Inky slapped his hands away and ran through the white space, but his eyelights dimmed at the sight of the endless white. He didn't want to be here! He didn't want to be here! He didn't want to be here!

Ruru pulled Inky back with his strings; he didn't want him to get lost. "You'll be okay, Inky. You'll see."

"NO! Let me go!" Inky struggled to tear the strings off, scratching and tugging on them. "I want my daddy!DADDY!"

"He'snotyour parent!" The glitchy child shouted. "He kidnapped you! He stole you and made you forget!"

"NO!" Inky wouldn't hear it; he didn't know what the other was talking about. "Take me back! I want my daddy!"

Ruru growled, getting annoyed. "NO! ThIsis yoUr hom-hom-home!"

"No, it isn't!" Inky whimpered, curling up into himself. "Please...I want my daddy..."

"Heisn'tyour dad!" Ruru screeched. "We don't have par-ar-ar-ar-ar-ar- parents!"

"Ido! I want my daddy!"

Ruru stomped his feet and screamed. "NO, YOU DO NOT!"

Inky cried harder; he wanted to go home...

Ruru decided that he didn't want to wait for Inky to calm down and forget on his own; he pulled up a code bar and started typing.

Inky gripped his head, the strings loose enough to allow that.

Ruru winced. He didn'twantto hurt Inky, but the sooner he returned his forgetful friend's memories, the better.

Inky started to hyperventilate. Hisskull!Ithurt!Why did it hurt so much?! It buzzed, and more black tears leaked from his squeezed sockets.

Ink had studied the code changes for an hour now, watching every moment in replay several times. He knew who had taken his son, and he knew that that person would try to turn his beloved child against him.

Ink wasn't going to let that happen. He had a plan, and it wouldn't fail..

He wouldn't let it fail.

In an Anti-Void, one day later...

Inky shivered, curled up in a ball and staring blankly in the distance. His head was resting in Ruru's lap as the older child ran a gentle hand over his head.

"It's okay, Inky. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you, but you needed to remember." He apologized, tilting his head. "Do you remember me?"

"Yes...Ruru." Inky whispered, curling up tighter. He remembered every moment. From the day they met, to the day they had been separated; his memory had never been clearer than it was today.

The buzzing had yet to recede, only growing angrier the more Ruru worked. As the fuzzy, cotton feeling in Inky's head dissipated, the buzzing had retreated to the back of his mind. Daddy had told him he didn't know Ruru. Daddy had said Ruru was a stranger and had sent Ruru away when he had tried to take Inky back.

New tears started to fall down his cheeks, and he closed his sockets again.

Ruru noticed and moved his other hand in front of Inky's face. "Look at something else. I know the white makes you upset, but it's okay. You're going to be okay." He leaned down and hugged the younger skeleton, pulling him closer. "Now that we're together again, everything will be okay."

Inky sniffled and turned around to return the hug, burying his face in his friend's shirt.

"Everything will be okay..."

Ink had been considering his decision for several hours now, and everything was clear to him; he would get his son back. He had formulated a plan that was so devious, sodiabolical..it couldn't fail. It would cater to the child's wishes and needs, and it would probably take a long time to accomplish..but he had to do it.

This was going to be his shining achievement in life..it might have ruined his reputation, but it was a risk he was willing to take.

He opened a portal to the child's multiverse by reverse-engineering the code that had taken his son away, and he entered it, finding himself in a random universe.

The universe was Littlefell.

The local Papyrus, a five year old known as Bossy to a certain artistic child, was walking home from school. His brother was grounded and couldn't walk him home himself, and his father was "too busy." He stood as tall as a five year old could, glaring at anyone who dared look in his direction. Inwardly, he was terrified. He noticed the strange adult skeleton and paused, a flash of recognition on his little face, but he resumed glaring and hurried on. He didn't want to deal with weird skeletons,especiallyif they looked like that annoying brat.

"Hey!" Ink waved to the child. "Hey, kid! Do you know where a kid who looks like me is?"

Bossy kept moving and shouted back, "HOW SHOULD I KNOW? LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"Ugh..stupid kid.." Ink rolled his eyelights, moving on to a different universe.

It was Outerlittle. Or LittleOuter. The multiverse hadn't yet decided.

Sitting on a rock and star gazing was a ten year Sans wearing a light blue jacket and goggles on his head. He was humming a light tune, and he hadn't noticed the new arrival yet. He wondered where Ink went; Error wouldn't tell him when he had asked last week, and he had locked him out of the Anti-Void. Again. TK shrugged. He was sure Ink was fine; that kid had been in plenty of scrapes and gotten out with only minor bruises. He frowned and sweat dropped. He hoped the kid was okay.

"Hello, there!" Ink greeted, rather abruptly. "I'm looking for a child who kinda looks exactly like me but with small differences; do you know anyone like that? If so, can you tell me how to get to him?

TK sat up and blinked at the adult. "Uhh...whoa!"

TK ported behind Ink and lifted his scarf, before porting in front in front and leaning on one leg, holding his finger as if he were making a picture frame. "Dude! You're a grown Inky dude! Sweet!"

"Yep!" Ink smiled. "Can you show me where the tiny me is?"

"Why do you want to know?" TK tilted his head, voice light.

"Well, he's my friend." Ink smiled, remembering his son. "But he went away..and I want to find him again."

"The little dude does that." TK admitted with a shrug. "He just kinda comes and goes as he pleases."

He left out the part where Inky had gone missing five months ago. Something about this adult...he didn't trust him.

"I see.." Ink sighed. "I think he'll probably hate me after everything..I wasn't always nice to him..but he was always nice to me. I want to tell him I'm sorry..what I did wasn't nice."

"Hmm...that's rough, man." TK shifted, placing his hands in his pockets. "He's pretty forgiving, though. How long you known him?"

"A few months..I sorta kidnapped him." Ink sighed. "It was wrong, but..I'm really sorry..I doubt he'll forgive me, but I have to say it anyway.."

TK's jaw dropped. He knew he'd had a bad feeling about this guy, but he hadn't expected him to admit to doing something!

"Dude! Seriously?!" He stepped back from the adult. "That..."

The messed up part is Inky probablywouldforgive the adult. He was cool like that. One of those days, his trusting nature was going to get him in trouble. If it hadn't already...

"I know." Ink frowned. "I used to be a really horrible person, but..he made me realize that being good was..nice.."

TK narrowed his sockets; he still didn't trust this adult. Something wasn't...he was hiding something. Using overhonesty, he was hiding something.

"Sorry." That was a lie. "I don't know where he is." That was true.

"All right, well, thanks, anyway." Ink smiled. "I'll hopefully find him soon..and then maybe I'll figure out how to murder an immortal, finally.."

TK chuckles nervously, stepping back again. "Mind if I ask who?"

"..Myself." Ink answered; he left through a portal before anything else could be said.

"...what?" TK asked the empty air.

He stood there for a few minutes, trying to make sense of that interaction. Eventually, he made a decision.

"I have to tell Lag."

TK opened a portal and searched for his counterpart.

In Storyshift...

Inky hid behind a pillar in the Ruins, hugging his knees. When Ruru had been distracted, he had made a puddle with one of the buckets and left. He hadn't cared where he went; he just needed some space. He had cried again. The evidence stained his cheeks. He sniffled, thinking about what had led to this moment.

Thanks to Ruru, his memory had never been clearer. He rememberd all his friends, Ruru, and...his time with the grown-up him. He remembered everything that happened while he lived there. Going to school, making friends with Fritz, playing board games, spending time with Blue and Dream, meeting Nightmare and the others...

Hurting people. The grown-up him had taught him about that.

Inky hugged his knees tighter. He didn't want to hurt people! He didn't like it!

He didn't feel bad about it though. That was what scared him, not the hurting part. He didn't mind that for some reason.

He should have felt bad though, shouldn't he?

Ink was going from universe to universe, trying to find his so- no..the one he had hurt..why had he done such a thing to such a poor, innocent child?

Eventually, the adult landed in Storyshift. Littlestory? Littleshift?

Inky was still behind the pillar. He had nodded off, and he was curled up on the cold stone floor, shivering. When Ink found the little one, he sighed, creating a blanket and carefully wrapping it around the little one. He sat down next to the child, waiting for his shivering to cease. Inky subconsciously grabbed the blanket and hummed. That felt better...his shivering slowed down as his body warmed up, and he let out a sigh.

After half an hour, he opened his sockets and blinked sleepily.

Ink considered running, but..he had to face Inky one last time..

Inky looked up and flinched, scrambling away from the adult. His emotions were a jumbled, confusing mix. On the one hand, this was the man who took care of him and gave him a home; on the other, this was the man who had takem him away from his best friend. He was happy, scared, sad, and all around confused. He didn't go far, but he stood up, ready to run at a moments notice. He stared at the adult with wobbly yellow and purple eyelights.

"I'm sorry." Ink said, first of all. "I don't..expect you to forgive me. What I did was wrong, and I'm really sorry for it..foreverything.I should have apologized a long time ago, but I was afraid..I didn't want to lose you. If..if you want, I'll leave, and you'll never see me again. I just..had to apologize. I'm sorry, Inky.."

Inky whined, his sockets tearing up again...he didn't know what to do! He wanted to run away and hug the adult at the same time.

Tears fell down his face, and he wiped his face on his sleeve. "Why...?"

"I've..never had a son." Ink admitted. "And you were..I just..I couldn't help myself. I wanted someone to love..and I took advantage of your presence. I'm so sorry.."

"...I just wanted to be friends. I would have visited again. Or...maybe..." Inky shuffled his feet, staring at the ground; he took a shuddering breath as a tear dripped to the floor. "You didn't have to make me stay...I would have come back..."

"..I guess I ruined everything." Ink sighed. "I don't deserve to be your friend..good bye, Inky."

Ink began to walk away, not wanting Inky to watch anything that could hurt have him further. Inky whined, worrying his fingers and shifting from one foot to the other; he debated whether or not to follow him.

He stomped his foot and chased after him. "Da- Wait!"

Ink refused to turn around..he didn't deserve that child's presence in his life..he was too cruel for such a thing. He would only hurt him.

"You- you don't have to go!" Inky says, walking behind the other; there was a noticeable distance between them. "You could stay here, and um...you don't have to go. Please..."

Ink looked down, stopping, but not turning around. "I don't want to hurt you."

"...You were mean." Inky admitted quietly. "But you were also nice. You gave me hugs, and colored with me, and played with me..." Inky played with his fingers and looked aside. "I never had a daddy before. It's just been me and Ruru for...for a long, long time." He paused, sniffling. "I...I don't know...I don't want you to go..."

"..Do you..reallywant me to stay..?" Ink asked. "Even though I hurt you so much?"

"I don't know..." Inky admitted, voice wobbly.

"..Then you won't have to worry about me ever again.." Ink left through a portal before Inky could say anything more.

Just as the portal closed, another opened. Error, Lag, and TK ran out of the new portal.

Little Error immediately ran to Inky and grabbed him from behind. "Inky! Are you okay?"

Inky was still staring at the spot the adult had just been standing, and TK and his glitchy counterpart, Lag, were searching the area for the adult, powers at the ready.

"Where is he, Inky dude?" TK asked, eyelight glowing.

Inky looked down and mumbled.

"What was that, Inky?" Error asked.

"He left...I don't think he's coming back." Inky whimpered. His sockets filled with tears and he started bawling. "Heleftme!"

Error scowled. He opened his mouth to say something, but Lag came up and shook his head. Lag pulled the youngest child from the other's grasp and hugged him, letting the little one cling to him as he cried his sockets out.

"He left me! He left!" Inky shouted; his emotions couldn't handle the confusion. He puked black ink on the older child's shirt.

Lag, to his credit, didn't let go or crash; he just whined in discomfort, grin twitching. TK came back to the others and joined them in helping calm the youngest among them.

This was going to be a long night.

Ink paced in the Outertale of this multiverse. In the worst-case scenario, he could cast himself into the void and hope he didn't end up in a foreign multiverse; he didn't want to have to jump into the void more than once. He couldn't manipulate his code to make himself mortal..he wished he could. He tried to consider his other options when a clock-shaped portal opened fifteen feet away. TK jumped out of the portal and scanned the area; his face set when he caught sight of the adult.

"Hey! I want to talk to you!" He shouted, marching forward.

"Huh?" Ink was taken out of his frightening thought processes as the child approached. "What do you need to talk to me about?"

"About Inky dude." TK stopped a small distance away, hands in his pockets. "What exactly did you do to him? The good and the bad."

"..A lot." Ink answered. "Too much. That's why I need to rid this world of me."

TK looked at the cliff edge. The adult wasawfullyclose to it...

"...That would hurt him more." He reluctantly says. "When you left earlier, me and the others showed up and the kid started bawling about how you left him." He shook his head with a grimace. "I don't know what you did, and apparently you don't want to tell me. Whatever." He glared at the adult. "But you're taking the easy way out. You do realize that, right?"

"Yep." Ink nodded, sighing. "I'm a coward..I deserve the death of one."

"And a jerk!" TK shouted. "You're seriously just going to make a bunch of kids deal with this junk?"

Ink looked down intot he void below; maybe he should have put it off..he needed to leave before doing this.

Or maybe he needed to get it over withnow.

TK huffed and stomped closer. "Hey! Whatever you're thinking,don't!Despitewhateveryou did, Inky still likes you." He frowned and pressed on. "You said being good felt nice, right? Thenkeepdoing good. Keep trying. You just have to want it."

"..What if I just make things worse?" Ink asked, voice breaking.

"How much worse can it get?" TK scoffed. "Dude, in case you haven't noticed, we're a bunch of dumb kids running around doing dumb stuff. If you really do care, then you won't just abandon Inky."

He wasn't entirely certain why he was doing this. If what Error said was true, then this guy was bad news, but...Inky really loved him. Poor kid just wanted to feel safe. Have the sort of security a parent could provide. Out of the four of them, TK was the only one who knew or truly remembered what that was like.

Even if his dad did forget them from time to time, TK and his baby brother had someone to go home to at the end of the day. Most of the time. From what he knew, Inky had never had that.

A bad parent was better than none.

Right?

"...Okay." Ink nodded. "I'll..I'll stay...for him."

Ink wasn't sure how it would go, but..he would try to be good.

TK huffed and lightly glared at the adult. "Good. Now you just have to deal with Error's tantrums." He rolled his eyelights. "Bro isn't going to like it, but he'll get over it."

Ink chuckled at that. "I'm pretty sure he hates me.."

"He hates everyone at first." TK shrugs. "Probably doesn't help that you altered Inky's memories and erased his closest friend from his mind. Just a hunch."

"Guess not." Ink sighed. "I guess I should face him sooner rather than later, eh?"

"Probably best." TK kicks a random rock. "Prepared to be screamed at."

He opened a portal to a random copy Error and Lag had taken Inky too. The youngest of their group hadn't wanted to go back to the Anti-Void. Ever since he had discovered the multiverse, he had avoided going back whenever he could; Error was the only reason he went back.

"Come on, let's go." TK jerks his head towards the portal.

"All right.." Ink sighed softly, following the child through these portal. He expected, quite simply, the worst.

What he got was a crying Inky, angry Error, and a tired Lag. Lag was the first to notice the two, and he froze, eyelights darting to Error.

"Hey, guys...look who I found." TK anounced, noticeably stepping away from the adult.

Error looked up, and his eyelight glitched with rage. "YoU!whataReYo-yo-yoUdoINnngHERe?!"

Lag had to tackle the other and pin his arms down to stop him from attacking the adult. "No! Don't!"

Error struggled in the older boy's grasp, glaring daggers at the adult.

"I, um..I'm sorry.." Ink said, softly. "I guess I ruin everything, huh?

Error and Lag wound up wrestling on the ground, with Error using his strings and trying to escape, while Lag was doing what he could to keep the other from attacking everyone. TK sighed, looking way too tired for a ten year old. Inky looked up, confused why they were fighting, and he froze when he saw Ink. He wanted to run up and hug him, but he was scared. So he just sat there and stared at the adult with tears sliding down his cheeks.

"Hey, Inky dude..." TK glanced between the two Inks nervously. "Are you going to say 'Hi'?"

Inky frowned, but he waved at the adult.

"Hey, um.." Ink sighed. "I'm sorry. I thought you wanted me to leave..so I was going to. If you..still want me to..I will."

Inky stood up and shifted on his feet, looking all around the room and and whining. He debated with himself, wondering what he was going to do and what he should do and what he wanted to do-

He sprinted past the fighting glitch children and tackled Ink in a hug, clinging to his waist. "Please don't leave me!"

"..I won't." Ink hugged the child back, tears of his own forming. "Ipromise.."

Error finally got free and was about to charge the two when TK got in the way, arms out. "Bro, don't. Leave them be, okay? He isn't hurting Inky."

"But he did! He hurt him and took his memories away!" Error argued, readying his strings. "He's going to do it again!"

"Not if we have anything to say about it." TK smiled confidently, leaning on one leg. "Don't worry, dude.Wegot this!"

Lag stood up and laid a hand on Error's shoulder. "Don't worry, Error. If he tries something, we'll just stop him."

Error gave each of them a scared look, glancing fearfully at the adult hugging his best friend. He whimpered, "No...he's stronger than us. He's worse than other adults..."

With Ink, Inky refused to let go, as if he were afraid the other would disappear again.

"I won't leave; I won't leave." Ink repeated, doing his best to comfort the child.

Inky looked up at the adult and frowned, brows creased. He still wasn't sure what to think in this situation. He just knew he wanted the adult here. He wanted...he wanted his Daddy.

"You're going to stay? For real?" He questioned.

"..Yeah." Ink nodded. "For real. I won't leave..ever."

Inky wiped his tears away and smiled hopefully. "Okay..." He then pulled away from the hug and grabbed Ink's hand. "Come meet my friends!"

"All right." Ink followed, letting Inky drag him around.

Inky dragged him towards the other three and pointed at each. "That's TK..."

TK lazily waved, one hand in his pocket. "Sup?"

"That's Lag..."

A child dressed similarly to TK, but glitchier, gave the adult a wide grin. "Hi!"

"And my best friend Ruru..."

The tiny Destroyer glared up at the adult; his hands were clenched at his sides. "If you try anything..."

"I..I won't." Ink shook his skull, tears still falling. "I..won't. I'm sorry. It's..nice to meet you. I..I didn't think..I don't know what to say.."

TK tilted his head and rose a brow. "Didn't think what? That the little dude had friends?"

Inky frowned. "Of course I have friends!"

Error marched forward and pulled Inky away. He dragged the smaller child away, intent on leaving, but Lag grabbed his arm before he could. Error glared at the other glitch, but Lag just shook his head at him.

Inky huffed and whined. "Ruru...stop that! You're being mean."

Ink looked down, holding his arms close to himself.

"I..I'm sosorry.."Ink apologized again; it seemed as if that were all he was capable of, in his current mental state.

Inky squirmed out of his friend's grip and ran back to Ink to grab his hand again. "It's okay! I forgive you!"

TK, despite being the one to bring the guy here, was very concerned about that declaration. He cringes and shifts to his other foot. "Right...well, we should probably get going. The Tori here is still mad about the frogs."

Lag and Inky giggled at that.

"Thank you.." Ink sighed, looking up at Inky with as much of a smile as he could muster. "I don't deserve it."

He was confused about the comment about frogs, but he wouldn't question it.

TK opened a portal and led the group through, where they walked into a large room. There were various colored carpets on the floor, beanbags scattered about, an lumpy old couch shoved against the wall, two blue woven hammocks in the corner, and a beat up looking fridge. Posters of cartoon characters, famous singers, and video games were plastered on every available wall surface, many overlapping others. Various art supplies were gathered in a corner, but the crayon drawings on the far wall and dried paint on the carpet revealed that they weren't always contained to one spot.

"Welcome to our home away from home!" TK stood in the middle of the room, arms held out.

"Or just home, for some of us." Lag commented. He went to the fridge and grabbed a soda pop, before holding it up and asking, "Do you want one?"

"Um..no, thanks.." Ink shook his skull.

The house was certainly interesting..and he probably should have expected a place belonging to a bunch of children to look..exactly like this. He wasn't very surprised, after thinking about it for a minute. Lag shrugged and went to the couch, where he jumped onto it and bounced. Ink could hear the springs creaking. Meanwhile, Inky led Ink to another room while the other three children settled. Well, TK and Lag settled; Error was forced to sit between them so he wouldn't attack the adult. Inky brought Ink to a room filled with art supplies; most were old and used. Empty paint buckets were stacked like a pyramid, a broken easel was held together with scotch tape, and scraps of paper with half drawn doodles were scattered about. There wasn't an inch of wall that hadn't been colored.

"Is this your room?" Ink asked, looking around. "It's very nice; I bet you like it, huh?"

"This is my art room." Inky nodded. "I like to come and make stuff here, when I'm not exploring."

"I see; you have some great pictures here." Ink complimented.

"Thank you!" He dragged the adult in further, stepping around the papers and abandoned crayons. "Look!" He picked up an old painting of a grumpy Bossy.

"That's very good, Inky." Ink smiled; his so- Inky was really a great artist..

"Thank you!" Inky grinned

He ran back to grab another painting. This one was a picture of a colorful skeleton and a tiny goopy child; they were turned away and looking at a frog, as if they couldn't see that they were being painted.

"That's great, Inky." Ink complimented, letting out a sigh. "You're so good.."

Inky lowered the painting and frowned. "What's wrong?"

"..How can you forgive me so fast? I hurt you so much, and you're just..howcanyou?"

Inky looked down and kicked a pencil. "Um...I don't know. You're sorry, so...that makes it okay."

"I..nobody's ever forgiven me so fast.." Ink looked down. "How do you know if I'm being honest? F-for all you know, I'mlying!"

"...Are you?"

"No.." Ink replied. "But..no one's ever been this nice to me before.."

Inky put the painting down and took the adult's hand; he stood on his toes and smiled brightly up at him. "I'll be nice! I'msupergood at being nice. TK and Fell say I'm too nice, but that's silly."

"..Thank you.." Ink smiled, tears still in his eyesockets. "I promise I'll be nice, too.."

"Good! Being nice is...nice!" He claimed.

"Yep..it is." Ink nodded. "I love you.."

Inky's sockets widened, and his smile faltered for a moment, but..

It quickly returned, and he tackled the adult in a tight hug. "I love you too!"

"Thank you.." Ink hugged Inky tightly, trying to hold back his tears.

Inky hugged him for a long while before letting go.

"Come on! Come draw with me!"

"All right." Ink nodded; maybe that would help him keep himself under control..and keep a few offending tracks of thought out of his mind.

Inky ran off again to grab paper and various drawing implements. He brought an armload of pencils, crayons, and markers back to the adult and dropped them on the ground. He then plopped down and started drawing, his tongue stuck out between his teeth. Ink smiled down at the child, before beginning to doodle something of his own. Inky drew the a picture of Ink and himself eating ice cream at the park. This was one of his favorite memories. Since he didn't know how long his memory would be so clear, he wanted to draw pictures of every memory he could think of before he forgot. Ink simply drew a landscape; those were simple..he could get lost in them. Inky craned his neck to look at the landscape drawing and opened his mouth in awe; the lines were crisp and clear, the scene perfectly drawn.

"Wow! That's so pretty." He said.

"Thanks.." Ink smiled. "It's..a place I liked..when I was younger."

"Where is it?"

"..A place that doesn't exist anymore." Ink frowned. "I used to go there a lot, but..it's not what it used to be."

"Oh..." Inky looked at the picture sadly. "I'm sorry."

"It's all right." Ink assured. "At least I still have the memories.."

"Hmm..."

Ink set his crayons down and crawled over to Ink, where he wrapped his arms around the adult's neck and hugged him.Ink smiled at that, although he still felt as if he didn't deserve it. He decided not to say anything, however..he didn't want to hurt Inky's feelings; he had done thatfartoo much already. When he felt that his hug had done it's job, Inky went back to his drawings, and after a few minutes, there was a knock at the door. Ink looked up with a hum, wondering who was there, but also not really wanting to know..he just wanted some time to clear his mind.

TK was at the door, leaning against it; he gave the two a small smile. "Hey, Lag got pizza. What kind do you want?"

Inky gasped. "Pizza! I remember that!"

TK chuckled. "Glad to hear it, Inky dude. What kind do you want?"

Inky didn't answer, instead running out of the room, and TK shook his head in amusement. Ink smiled, glad that Inky still acted like..well, Inky. People had always said that children recovered quickly from things such as these types of incidents..Ink was beginning to see why.

"Your name is, uh, TK, right?" Ink asked, deciding that this might have been his time to ask a few questions.

"That's right." He stuck his hands in his pockets, still leaning against the doorway. "It stands for Time Kid. I'm from Quantumtale."

"..Never heard of it." Ink admitted. "So, um..I guess most of you probably don't want me here for very long..I mean, I kidnapped and brainwashed one of your friends - whywouldyou want me here? I guess..I should ask when you want me to leave.."

"Hmm... you're right." TK shrugs, eyes closed. "Error kind of wants to kill you, and Lag certainly isn't your biggest fan. I'd personally wouldn't mind if you left," He turned his head and his left eyelight glowed cyan, the outline of a clock seen,"And never returned."He closed his sockets again and shrugged, a lazy grin on his face. "But it's not up to us. That's Inky's choice."

"..What if..hewantsme to stay?" Ink asked, even though he highly doubted that this scenario would ever occur. "What would happen? I'd stay, if he wanted me to, but I don't know this world..it already seems so different from the one I know.."

"...Then I guess you stay." TK opened his sockets and stared blankly at the wall. "It's Inky's choice; he's the one you wronged, so he's the one who decides." He turned his head and gave the adult a hard look. "But if you hurt him oranyof my friends, then it won't matter what he says. You're out of here."

"..I won't hurt anyone.." Ink stated, shaking his skull. "I've hurt too many people. I don't deserve to evenbehere.."

"Yeah, well...we'll see about that." TK muttered. "Now, come on - pizza is gonna get cold."

He walked out before Ink could answer, and Ink sighed; it seemed as if his other questions were going to remain unanswered for a while. After taking a deep breath, he followed TK, and he silently promised himself that he wouldn't mess this up..he was going to be good from now on.

Hehadto be.

The kids were in the living room, eating their pizza. They didn't have plates, just using their hands. Inky was on the couch next to Error, enjoying a pepperoni pizza; his face was already covered in sauce. Lag was in his hammock, his legs kicked over the side as he dangled a cheese pizza over his face and let the cheese slide off into his mouth. TK was picking up two sausage slices for himself, deciding to plop down in one of the beanbags. Ink sighed, sitting down next to a wall; he didn't feel very hungry right now, and with the way his emotions were bubbling, he didn't think he would have eaten even if hewerehungry. Error glared at the adult across the room; he didn't want him here. At all. Inky perked up and slid off the couch, running over to the pizzas and grabbing a random slice.

He brought the slice of pizza to Ink and handed it to him with a bright grin. "Here you go!"

Ink looked at the slice of cheese pizza, before accepting it. "Thanks."

He did his best to ignore the fact that Inky was probably the only one here who would tolerate his presence.

"You're welcome!" Inky said, plopping down next to him.

TK was subtly watching them, looking as if he didn't care and was calmly eating his pizza..

Error wasn't subtle. His food forgotten, he openly glared at Ink. Ink did not return the glare; he knew that he had been in the wrong. He deserved the hatred.

Inky looked up at Ink and asked, "Aren't you going to eat?"

"Yeah..I guess so." Ink sighed, taking a bite of the pizza; it did not cheer him up.

Inky was satisfied with the action, but he could tell the adult was still upset. He frowned, not sure how to help; he knew Ink felt bad for hurting him. Inky didn't like those memories. There some that were scary; he wished he could forget those ones...

Lag sat up after finishing his pizza slice and went to get another. He looked over at Ink warily as he got another cheese slice. He was no stranger to abusive adults; due to their glitchy appearance and echoey voices, he and Error were often seen as unnatural and strange. Which was stupid, given the wide variety monsters came in. But people, adult especially, always knew they were different. He decided he would sit next to the younger glitch, offering his brand of comfort while the adult was here. He really hoped this arrangement wasn't permanent...

"Um..Inky?" Ink looked up at the child. "I know that you..might like having me here, but..I can't stay here forever."

Inky's gaze fell and his grip on his pizza tightened. "Why not?"

"Well..for one, your friends aren't comfortable with my being here." Ink gestured to the room full of wary children. "Also,myfriends are going to wonder where I am. Unless your friends change their minds about me and I figure out a way to leave my multiverse in peace, both of which would take a lot of time and effort..I can't stay. It would be unfair to your friends."

Overhearing, TK calmly ate another slice. Maybe Inky would let the adult go, and they could go back to their lives as normal. He glanced at Error, who was looking glitchier than usual, and he frowned.

If only their lives were normal.

Inky was looking at the adult with a distraught expression. "But...you just got here!"

"..Perhaps so, but that doesn't give me the right to intrude on other people's lives." Ink frowned.

Inky pouted; he didn't want Ink to leave yet!

An idea popped into his head. He grabbed the adult's arm, smearing tomato sauce on his sleeve. "What if we go explore? I can show you around!"

"I guess so." Ink nodded, deciding that it would be better than..whatever this was.

"Okay!" Inky jumped up and grabbed Ink's free hand. "Come on! Let's go! I can show you so many cool places! And you can meet Fell and Bossy and the stabby kids!"

TK shot up in his seat with wide sockets. "Um, Inky? Maybe that's not such a good idea!"

"Its agreatidea!" Inky insisted with a grin. "I forgot about them. But I remember now!" He looked at the adult and shouted excitedly. "They have knives just like you!"

"Oh..great."Ink sighed; he wondered if it was wrong to wish one of them would stab him..repeatedly.

Inky ran to the fridge and grabbed a soda pop, pouring the contents onto the floor. Error frowned at the mess. And the implications. He moved to get off the couch, but Lag stopped him; Error turned to glare at the older glitch.

"We'll watch them from here." Lag assured him. "Just let them have a moment, okay?"

Error grumbled, but the strings of the other wrapped loosely around him; he wouldn't be going anywhere if the other had a say.

Inky looked up from the puddle he made and grinned at Ink. "Come on! Before it disappears!"

Ink nodded. "All right, let's go."

He approached the puddle portal, where Inky grabbed his hand and jumped in, dragging the adult through.

They landed in a snow poff in Littlefell.

Inky wanted to see Fell and Bossy again. It had beenforeversince he'd last played with them!

"Where to, little guy?" Ink asked, standing up.

Inky jumped up and held a finger to his mouth. "Shhhh! We have to be careful; people are super grumpy here."

"I know." Ink nodded, beginning to whisper. "Where are we going?"

"To Fell and Bossy's house." Inky whispered back, looking around the area cautiously. "But we have to make sure their daddy isn't home. He's mean."

"If he is, I'll protect you." Ink assured.

Inky smiled up at Ink, his chest filling with warmth. "Okay..."

He then led Ink through the forest, careful to avoid any traps and other monsters. They soon came to the infamous bridge, where they find a scarred rabbit monster standing by it and glaring at the trees. They appeared to be a guard. Ink simply followed Inky; if anyone gave him or his so- Inky any trouble, he would make sure they regretted it. Inky sneaked around to hide behind some bushes, where he picked up a rock and threw it across the path.

The guard looked at the rock, and his head snapped in the direction it came from. "Show yourself!"

Ink looked at Inky in question; was that necessary? Inky blinked and ducked further down. That usually distracted the guards...

The rabbit guard started stomping towards the bush with a glare.

"Excuse me!" Ink approached the rabbit monster. "Hello!"

The rabbit halted and pulled out his weapon. "Who are you? I've never seen you here before."

"I'm from the capital - his royal majesty has ordered a meeting of the guards in the center of Waterfall, and I'm the messenger." Ink lied. "You should get going."

"Where's the royal seal on your clothes?" The rabbit asked; there was one on his own jacket. "No one who works for the king and queen doesn't have a royal seal."

"Right here." Ink turned around, and, lo and behold, a copy of the seal had appeared on the back of his shirt

The rabbit grumbled, but put his weapon away. He glared at Ink, but did as he was told and left for the capital. He would be very confused when he got there. And quite possibly dead.

Inky popped his head out of the bushes and grinned when the guard left. "Yes! He's gone!"

"How was that?" Ink asked, smiling as he let the fake seal fade from his clothing.

"That was awesome!" Inky complimented, running up to Ink. "Usually, I have to just run away when they find me. I'msuperfast!"

"I know you are!"

Inky nodded his head with a grin. He then led Ink across the bridge and down the path, once again avoiding the traps. Ink chuckled; his mood seemed to have brightened with Inky by his side. Inky led the way to a big two story house, where he sneaked up to the door and pressed his skull to it. He could hear shouting on the other side.

"Something wrong?" Ink inquired.

"Their daddy is yelling at them..." Inky whispered.

"Shall I intervene?" Ink offered.

Inky looked up at him with wide sockets, and a smile grew on his face. "Yeah!"

The shouts were getting louder, and there was a bang.

Ink kicked down the door and dropkicked the adult in the room. The Gaster fell to the floor, having not expected that. Across the room was a whimpering toddler. Bossy was curled into himself after having been thrown across the room; he now had a crack on his little face that wasn't there before. A nine year old was shielding his baby brother from further pain, shaking with fear and anger.

The Gaster sprung back up to his feet and snarled at Ink. "What do you think you're doing in MY HOUSE?!"

He summoned bones and threw them at Ink.

"I'm here for your mortagage payment!" Ink grinned, summoning a shield between him and the Gaster. "The penalty for not paying within fifteen seconds is spending four hours on the ceiling!"

The Gaster growled. "Get out of my house, before I rip your skull off your body!"

He was not concerned about such concerns as child-friendly threats.

Ink shrugged, using his code magic to disable the Gaster's magic and pin his opponent to the ceiling.

"Have it your way." Ink chuckled. "Inky, you can come in, now!"

Inky came in and ran straight to his friends.

Fell flinched and growled at him; he glared around Inky at the other adult. "Who isthat?"

"That's a grown up me." Inky explained with a smile. "He's gonna help you!"

"Well, what should I do now, Inky?" Ink asked.

The Gaster was shouting threats at the Ink, many graphic and painful.

Inky hummed, before pointing upstairs. "Put him in timeout! He was mean!"

Fell growled, muttering under his breath; red tears were rolling down his face as he hugged Bossy closer to him. "Stupid kid..."

"Very well." Ink looked up at the Gaster. "You're in timeout for the rest of the day; think hard about what you did, young man!"

"What?! Why, you little freak! I'll kill you when get down!! You hear me?!"

Bossy started crying harder; he didn't want to be here...

Inky frowned. He didn't want to see his friends sad. He walked closer to Fell and Bossy. "It's okay now. He can't hurt you now..."

"Maybe we should put yourmouthin timeout, too.." Ink duct-taped the Gaster's mouth.

The Gaster's muffled screams were the only thing to fill the room, as the children's tears were silent. Inky hugged his friends, trying to make them feel better.

Ink watched the moment carefully, before humming. "Does anyone need healing?"

Inky nodded.

Fell stared wide-eyed at the new adult. "Ink, who is this?!"

"He's me, but a grown-up." Inky explained.

Fell glared at the adult. "What do you want from us?"

"He wants to help. I told you that." Inky pouted, letting go of the hug. "He's nice now!"

"Nicenow?"Fell snaps. "What? Was he not before? Seriously, who is this freak?"

Inky put his fists on his hips and huffed. "Nowyou'renot being nice."

"I used to be bad, but now I'm good." Ink stated.

"I don't care! Stay away from us!" Fell covered his crying brother more.

"Okay." Ink nodded, standing in a corner of the room; he didn't want to hurt anyone mentally..

Inky huffed and was about to scold his friend, but TK walked in instead. He tried to look relaxed, with his hands in his pockets and a lollipop on his mouth, but if one looked closely, one could see his tense shoulders.

Inky blinked in surprise. "TK? What are you doing here?"

"Just taking a walk." The older boy answered nonchalantly, before he walked calmly to the three by the wall and handed Fell some monster candies.

The sharp-toothed Sans growled, but he accepted the healing items;thiswas someone he trusted.

"Why don't you two come back to the hangout? Take a break?" TK shrugged, side-eyeing the adult in the corner.

Ink stayed silent; he knew that he wasn't welcome here.

Inky huffed and crossed his arms. "You were spying on us, weren't you!"

"Nah..." TK replied, opening a portal for the other two. "I'm too lazy for that."

"Walking is more work." Inky accused.

"Oops. Must have forgot." TK rested his arms behind his head and grinned lazily.

"I don't blame you." Ink shrugged. "I'm not trustworthy - I get it."

Fell huffed, picking up his little brother and went through the portal. Lag was waiting on the other side for him.

TK followed, waving back at Inky and Ink. "See you guys later."

"Don't spy on us!" Inky shouted after him. "It's rude!"

His only response was a light chuckle and the portal closing. Inky huffed; that wasn't as fun as it was supposed to be.

"Well, what do you want to do now?" Ink asked.

Inky perked up and went to the kitchen, ignoring the angry adult on the ceiling. He pushed a chair to the sink and turned on the water.

He looked back at Ink. "Now we go see the stabby kids!"

"Thestabbykids?"

"Mhm...they like like knives. I forgot what they were, but Error helped me remember stuff." Inky plugged up the sink and let the water fill. He added absently, "I remember a lot of things better now..."

"I see.."

Once the sink was filled, Inky climbed up on the counter and looked at Ink. "Come on! Let's go!"

He held out a hand for Ink to take, and Ink took the child's hand and prepared to leave. He wondered if the Gaster on the ceiling would ever get down. Inky pushed the faucet out of the way and allowed himself to topple in.

The two landed in the snow just outside a wooden shack, and Ink stood up quickly, looking around.

There was a [KEEP OUT] sign on the door of the shack written in sloppy comic sans. There were other signs as well, warning bodily harm to anyone who dared to approach; barbed wire stretched across the top of the shack with red paint on it to mimic blood stains. Inky wasn't bothered with the warnings and ran up to the shack, where he knocked on the door excitedly. Ink shrugged, following after Inky. The door soon creaked open, and an orange eyelight peaked out from the bottom.

Inky bent down and smiled at the shorter child. "Hello! Can we come in?"

Ink smiled; he hoped that this would be a good experience..he wanted to make a good impressionsomewhere..

The child on the other side of the door opened it wider and stuck his head out to look at Ink. He was the local Underswap Papyrus; everyone called him Carrot, because he liked carrots. He pointed at Ink quietly and looked up at Inky for an explanation.

"That's my friend, Ink. He's me from another place." Inky explained to the three year old. "Can we come in and play?"

Carrot gave Ink the stink eye; Inky's friends were weird. Ink sighed; he was never going to make a good impression, was he? Carrot did open the door though, letting them in the club house. Inky happily entered and looked around.

No one else was here.

Carrot looked up at Ink with the grumpy expression of a toddler who hadn't had lunch yet. He silently stared at Ink. He wore a too-big orange hoodie that looked more like a dress on him, and the sleeves covered his hands.

"..Nice weather outside, eh?" Ink had no idea what to talk about.

Carrot kept staring at him.

Inky pouted when he couldn't find the others. He asked, "Carrot, where is everyone?"

Carrot shrugged and pointed to the corner.

Inky hummed and went to the box in the corner. He opened it, looking for a snack, but there weren't any.

"Oh. You got no more food." Inky commented.

Carrot nodded sadly.

"Um..do you want me to make something for you?" Ink offered.

"Yeah!" Inky grinned at Carrot. "He can make lots of yummy foods!"

Carrot looked uncertain. His tummy growled though, and he nodded; he hadn't eaten since breakfast, and that had only been half a granola bar.

"All right..I hope you like sandwiches!" Ink smiled, creating some sandwiches. He made sure to make a variety; he wasn't sure if Carrot had any allergies.

Carrot picked up a ham sandwich and started eating it. Deciding it was good, he smiled up at Ink and whispered, "Thank you..."

"Sure thing!" Ink grinned, happy he could help.

Carrot went and sat down on a bench by the wall; it looked homemade. Inky started putting the food away in the box for the others when they got back.

When he was done, Inky clapped his hands together and looked back at Carrot. "Are you done eating now?"

Carrot nodded, wiping the crumbs off his clothes. He hopped off the bench and looked at Inky expectantly.

Inky grinned and took the toddler's hand. "Come on! Let's go play!"

Ink smiled, wondering if he would be invited to play, too..

Inky grinned and led them out of the clubhouse. "Come on, big me! Let's to play!"

"All right!" Ink followed along.

They go outside to the snow and start building snow people. Ink made a snow monster that was about his height; he was great at building with snow! Inky made a snow person that that looked like a spider; it was surprisingly good. And Carrot made a lump of snow.

He pat the snow lump and said, "Dusty..."

Ink flinched at the name, but he said nothing, instantly going back to his work.

Carrot hugged the snow lump and moved on to make another one. He named this one, "Choppy..."

Another he named, "Killer..."

And a final one he called, "Sans..."

"Do you have a brother, Carrot?" Ink decided to ask.

Carrot nodded and pointed to the lump he had called Sans.

Inky looked up from his building and said, "Swappy and the others are probably looking for food."

"I can just make some more, if you need it." Ink offered.

Carrot smiled at Ink; he liked that idea. Then his brother and friends wouldn't have to leave him alone again.

"That's a great idea!" Inky agreed.

"When the others come back, we can tell them, too!" Ink smiled.

Maybe..he could help someone. He didn't want children to go hungry..he could have apurposehere..

Carrot hummed happily at that. His brother and friends would love to hear that.

It was an hour later of playing before four more children returned to the clubhouse. First, there was Swappy, the local Sans; he wore a blue sweater and matching bandana. Behind him was Choppy, an older Sans with a hole in his head and a giant axe. Next to Choppy was Killer, a child with empty sockets and a terrifying grin. Hiding behind them was a Sans in a dusty blue hoodie. This was Dusty.

Swappy ran up to his brother and grinned up at the new adult. "HELLO! MY NAME IS SWAPPY! WHAT'S YOUR NAME?"

The other three stared at the adult distrustfully, stalking closer to their friends.

"I'm, uh, Ink." Ink introduced himself awkwardly. "Nice to meet you, Swappy."

"YOU AND INK HAVE THE SAME NAME." Swappy noticed, pointing to the child in question. "AND YOU LOOK LIKE HIM."

"I'm an adult version of him." Ink clarified.

"THAT'S SO COOL! ARE YOU FROM ANOTHER UNIVERSE, TOO?"

"He's from a different multiverse!" Inky jumped in to explain. "Isn't that cool?"

"Yep..another multiverse." Ink nodded.

"WOWIE! IS THERE AN ADULT ME THERE TOO? ARE YOU AND HIM FRIENDS LIKE ME AND INKY?"

The other three shared a look; they didn't trust this new Ink. Choppy stepped forward and asked, "What...are you...doing here?"

"Yes, there's another you, and we are friends." Ink nodded. "As for what I'm doing here..I don't know. I was going to kill myself, but Inky didn't want me to, for some reason, and since I trust him more than I trust myself, I decided to do what he wanted."

Inky frowned. He didn't want his da- friend to die. Even if he did do mean things to him.

Killer stared at the adult for a moment, before giggling. "Inky certainly knows how to pick 'em..."

Dusty huffed, deciding he doesn't care enough. He carried his bag of supplies to the club house to put them away.

"I, uh, noticed your shortage of food, and I can help with that!" Ink tried to smile, but he didn't do very well. "You see, I can make things, including food."

"Whatever." The eleven-year-old Killer snickered. "Do whatever you want. Just don't hurt my friends, k?"

"I won't.." Ink nodded, before thinking; maybe he wasn't being nice enough..he hadn't been a good person in alongtime..maybe he wasn't doing enough.

He decided that gifts would be in order; he wasn't sure if they would help his case, but he decided that it wouldn't hurt to try. He created several latex balloons, one for each child. Perhaps he was being a bit lazy by not manually blowing them up, but he figured that it would be okay for a start. He held the balloons out to the children.

"These, uh, are for you." He smiled weakly.

Swappy smiled wide and took a blue balloon for himself and an orange one for Carrot. "WOWIE! THANK YOU, BIG INK!"

Carrot smiled gratefully; he already liked the adult.

Choppy stared at the red balloon in his hand. "Thanks..."

Killer giggled and bopped the red balloon in his hand; he was easily entertained.

Inky was also easily entertained and giggled. He ran back into the club house to give Dusty his own purple balloon.

"Of course..uh.." Ink waited until Inky was far enough away to not hear him before speaking again. "I, um, guess I should tell you..I'm not really a good person; I'm trying to change, though, so, um..don't feel like you can't correct me if I'm doing something wrong, because I'm not perfect..at all. Am, um..am I being good enough right now?"

Carrot nodded, calmly enjoying his balloon. He liked watching it sway in the breeze.

"I THINK YOU'RE DOING AN EXCELLENT JOB!" Swappy encouraged. "YOU HAVE BEEN REALLY NICE!"

Choppy narrowed his good socket and asked, "What...did you...do?"

"I did a lot." Ink replied. "Too much to talk about, really, and I'd probably traumatize you if I said everything, and I don't want to traumatize you, so let's just say that, uh..you watch movies, right? With supervillains? Yeah, let's just say that I was worse than..all of those supervillains."

"WELL, THAT'S NOT VERY NICE." Swappy placed his hands on his hips with a small frown. He didn't realize what Ink was implying.

The other two did and gave each other meaningful looks.

"I know.." Ink sighed. "But I'm trying to be good now! Ireallyam! I hope I can..I'm doing my best.."

"THAT'S GOOD. AS LONG AS YOU YOU DO YOUR BEST, THEN YOU WILL SUCCEED." Swappy grinned with the childish optimism of a seven year old.

"Thanks." Ink smiled.

"YOU'RE WELCOME!"

"So, do you think there's anything else I should do?"

"UMM... YOU COULD PLAY WITH US!" Swappy suggested, jumping up and down. "WE COULD PLAY HIDE AND SEEK!"

Killer shrugged, not really caring what they did, while Choppy went inside the clubhouse to get something to eat.

Inky ran back outside, his balloon tied to his arm so it wouldn't be lost. "Are we playing a game?"

"YEAH! WE'RE GOING TO PLAY HIDE AND SEEK!" Swappy informed him.

"Yeah!"

"Oh, that sounds fun!" Ink smiled.

"I'll count!" Inky volunteered; he closed his sockets and started counting.

Everyone ran off and hid.

Ink hummed, running off to hide in a tree. He climbed about halfway up before using some leaves to obscure himself.

"One...two...three...four..." Inky counted slowly until he reached ten.

Then he started looking. Removing his hands from his eyes, Inky crept around the forest to look for his friends.

He peeked inside a bush and-

Found no one. He went to another bush, and another, and another...

Nobody was hiding in the bushes.

He pouted, but he perked up when he heard a giggle. He sneaked closer to the giggle; it was coming from behind a tree.

Inky jumped around the tree and shouted, "Found you!"

Swappy held his hands to his mouth and giggled. "YOU DID!"

Ink smiled, chuckling a bit from his hiding place; his- ..Inky was great at this game! Inky searched some more, going behind the clubhouse. Swappy followed him. They found a suspicious pile of snow and brushed it aside, revealing a sleeping Carrot.

Swappy tsked, hands on his hips. "Lazy, brother..."

The child picked up the sleeping toddler and took him inside to sleep on some blankets instead of the snow, and Inky giggled, continuing his search for Killer and Ink. Ink smiled as he watched Inky look around; this was much more fun than playing hide and seek in his house! Inky walked into the tree line and looked around. He looked around trees and under more bushes.

Crack!

He gasped and looked up, grinning when he spotted Killer. "There you are!"

Killer huffed and ported next to Inky, where he smirked and rubbed the younger's skull. "So close..."

Inky giggled and looked back up. Maybe Ink was up there too? Ink chuckled quietly, deciding to let Inky find him; he exposed a foot. Inky scanned the trees for Ink. He walked through the forest, looking around for any sign of Ink. He lifted a hand to tap his chin in thought, eyelights roaming from branch to branch. Ink wiggled his foot a bit to be more conspicuous, and Inky finally spots the foot and gasps, running under the branch Ink hid on.

Just through the leaves he could make out the adult's form. "I found you!"

"Ah, I guess you did!" Ink chuckled, hopping out of the tree. "Good job!"

"Thank you!" Inky shouted with a grin.

Killer stood next to him, perma-grin relaxed on his young face. It hitched up into a teasing smirk as he addressed Ink, "Your turn, old man."

"All right." Ink smiled, covering his eyesockets and beginning to count.

Inky ran off to hide in a cluster of thick bushes, his footprints in the snow leading right to the spot, while Killer ported to another branch, somewhere he could keep an eye on the adult. Ink continued to count, making sure to space the numbers out enough to give the children ample time to hide. Swappy managed to drag Choppy out to hide when he heard the counting, and they both hid behind a good sized boulder. Ink soon finished counting, beginning to look around. He wandered the forest, chuckling at the obvious footprints, but ignoring them to give whoever was hiding a sporting chance. He called out the children's names, hoping he could elicit some giggles.

"He-" Choppy had forgotten what they were doing, and Swappy had to cover his mouth to keep him from giving away their location.

Killer shook his head in amusement from where he stood on the branch.

"Did I hear something?" Ink chuckled, looking around dramatically. "Where are you?"

Swappy held a finger to his mouth. "Shhh..."

Choppy nodded mutely. He wouldn't give away their location. He tilted his head in confusion though; why were they hiding?

"Could you be..here?"Ink looked around a rock.

Swappy gasped and squealed in surprise at having been found so quickly.

Choppy nodded, face blank; he was still confused. "Yeah..."

"Found you!" Ink giggled. "Now, where could the others be?"

Swappy shook his head and giggled. "I DON'T KNOW, BUT I'LL HELP YOU LOOK!"

Choppy looked at the hyper child and nodded slowly; were they lost, or something?

Ink hummed loudly, calling out for Inky; if he knew hi- the child, he would be somewhere..obvious. Inky was still under the bush. He had gotten distracted by an interestingly shaped leaf, and he was now making a snow castle to use the leaf as a flag. Ink skipped around, dancing slightly as he looked for the other children. Inky was still distracted and didn't notice the dancing adult. Killer, however, thought Ink's antics were hilarious, and his shoulders shook with silent laughter. Unfortunately for him, his shaking caused the branch to a move and rustle the leaves.

"Hm?" Ink looked up, searching for the child. "Who's up there?"

Killer ported quickly to the next tree over, onto a sturdy branch out of sight. He was quieter than a mouse. Inky finally looked up from his snow castle and remembered what they were doing; He could see Ink's feet from where he was hidden.

"Hmm.." Ink saw nothing, deciding to look around somewhere else. He began to look at some nearby bushes.

Inky tried to muffle his giggles by shoving his face in the snow. It was cold, and the silliness of his actions only made him giggle more.

"What's that I hear?" Ink peered closer into the bushes, moving closer to the giggles.

"Mmuthinn..." Was the muffled response he heard before there was more giggling. Inky was still face down in the snow.

"And what if I had a cookie?" Ink created a cookie in his hand, making sure that its scent was strong.

Inky jumped out of the bush with a wide grin. "Cookie?!"

Snow stuck to his face, and there were sticks stuck to his clothes.

Killer rolled his head in lieu of eyelights and sighed; the little ones were always easy to trick.

"Here you go." Ink gave Inky the cookie. "Now, who's left?"

"Killer is!" Inky said helpfully, before munching on his cookie.

Killer had moved to a different tree again. He could still see the two below, keeping them in sight as he crouched on a branch.

"All right.." Ink hummed. "Killer, where are you?"

Killer, being older than the other two and a little smarter, did not answer. He did, however, slide deeper into the shadows of the tree, only the glow of his SOUL seen.

Ink chuckled a little, deciding to see if he could bribe the child. "I'll give you a present if you come out!"

What, does he think I'm five or something?Killer smirked in amusement as he watched the adult and other children from his vantage point high in the trees.

"..I have a knife!" Ink held up a knife; it was made of rubber, but he wouldn't tell Killer that.

Killer deadpanned from his position. He'd used knives - real ones on real people. He knew a fake one when he saw it. Inky looked up at the rubber knife blankly; knives weren't pretty to him anymore. They didn't scare him, but he isn't as interested in them as he had used to be.

"No bribes, huh?" Ink chuckled, spinning the blade in his hand as it solidified into a real knife. "All right, I give up; I'm tired."

NowKiller was interested. He crouched on his branch as he studied the knife; he was too far away, though. He squinted, trying to make out the details of the blade, the handle. The metal caught the light and shined. How was the grip on the handle? Ink spun it expertly. So the balance looked good...he wanted it.

He ported into the air just behind Ink and snatched the knife before porting ten feet away to inspect his prize. Ink blinked; he hadn't expected that. In hindsight, he probably should have. He supposed that he wasn't going to get his knife back, and judging from the reactions of the other children, Killer probably knew how to use a knife.

"Does this mean I win?" Ink asked.

"Nope!" Killer chirped, grinning widely. He ran his finger over the blade of the knife in appreciation; that was sharp... "You said you give up. That meansIwin."

"Fair enough." Ink shrugged. "What do you want to do now?"

"Hmm..." Killer smirked, titling his head up and twirling the knife in his left hand to get a feel for it. "I'm going to play with this. It's nice~"

Inky nodded, having expected that; he looked up at Ink and said, "We can go play a board game with the others."

Choppy hummed. "I like...that idea."

"Board games sound nice." Ink smiled, ready to play!

Inky took the adult's hand and led him back to the clubhouse, with Killer and Choppy close behind. Killer stayed outside to practice swinging his new knife at some practice dummies they have in the back. Dusty, Carrot, and Swappy were already setting up a game of Candy Land. Since they don't have the player pieces, they're using pretty rocks instead.

"Can we join you?" Inky asked.

"YEAH! THAT WOULD BE FUN!" Swappy pullee out a box of rocks and held it out for them to pick one. Inky chose a pretty white one with black speckles.

"Oh, that's cool.." Ink hummed, picking up a smooth gray rock. "Who's going first?"

Swappy pointed at Carrot. "YOUNGEST GOES FIRST."

Carrot picked up a card and moved his rock to a purple square; this was a simple enough game for the quiet toddler to grasp. Next was Inky, Swappy, Dusty, and finally Choppy. Dusty was in the lead on a green square. Ink hummed, making his move silently; he was enjoying this. They went through another round. Inky was now stuck on a sticky fudge square, while Carrot and Ink were now sharing a square after landing on a shortcut; hey were in the lead. Since the game made Choppy hungry again, he got up and brought the group sandwiches and a bag of chips for them to share. Ink was having fun; in the heat of the game, he almost forgot about his troubles and the fact that he was the worst person to ever walk the multiverse!

..Almost.

Inky ate his sandwich, getting mustard on his face while he waited for the next turn. He was stuck until then. He looked up at Ink and said, "I like this game."

Even though he wasn't the one being spoken to, Carrot nodded his head in agreement. It was a fun game.

"I do, too." Ink nodded down at..Inky. "It's pretty fun."

They played for about half an hour before Choppy won the game. Somehow. He didn't even remember what they were doing, just that Swappy was very happy for him; he smiled at the blue-eyelighted skeleton, glad that he was happy.

"LET'S PLAY AGAIN!" Swappy exclaimed.

Inky hummed. This was fun, but he wanted to show Ink more of his multiverse. The adult seemed to like it here. That was good! It meant he might stay, and wouldn't leave him...

"All right, I'll set it up." Ink smiled at the children, settting up the game neatly for them to play again.

Inky would show his grown up self more of the multiverse later. Right now, they were all having fun. He smiled and moved his rock to a blue square when it was his turn. "I'm beating you, Choppy!"

Choppy blinked at him before looking at the board. "Uh-huh..."

Dusty rolled his mismatched eyelights and moved his rock one square ahead of Inky's. "And I'm beating both of you."

"And I'm beating no one." Ink chuckled, in last place.

The children giggled. Even Dusty gave a huff of amusement.

The game continued. The food was put away, ready to be divided up into rations so the older children wouldn't have to go out on another supply run so soon. With the sandwiches Ink made, chances were they wouldn't need to for another three weeks. Ink looked up from the game after making a move, watching as the older children began to ration. Children..shouldn't have had to do that. Children deserved better. What would happen if they couldn't find food? They would starve. Ink shuddered at the thought; he couldn't let that happen.

"Hey, um, what are you doing?" He asked, looking over to the other children.

Dusty, one of the two who had gotten up to take care of the food, looked up and blinked blankly at him. "Stuff. Why?"

"Well..can I help?" Ink offered.

Choppy stared at him, the gears clearly turning in his skull as he considered the adult's offer. After a few minutes of careful thought, he nodded. He pointed to the food they were dividing up into smaller bags and said, "Half...a sandwich per bag. And twelve...chips. Then...one other item..."

Today, they had splurged a little and eaten more than usual. The sandwiches really were a big help. It was nice to indulge a little every now and then, but after today, they would need to return to watching how much they ate.

"..I have a better idea." Ink informed.

Ink pulled out his paintbrush and created what looked like a minifridge. This one, however, in contrast to normal minifridges, was magical, and it harnessed Ink's powers of creation to code food into being every time the door was opened. If it was attuned to the desires of the person who opened it..he wasn't going to mention that. The children stared at the fridge in surprise. Dusty went over to inspect it and noticed it was on, but not plugged in...

He opened the door, and his sockets widened at the sight of more food already inside. "Whoa...cool."

"It, um..makes food." Ink explained. "It doesn't even have to be cold..it can be warm."

"Huh... neat." Dusty pulls out a toasted ham and cheese sandwich, proving the adult correct. It was so warm...when was the last time they had a warm meal?

He handed the sandwich to Choppy, who happily took it. The thirteen year old's eyelight was blown wide, sparkling with emotion as he took a bite of the food. He was used to eating less, and he often did so, despite the protests of his friends. Tears formed in his sockets when the warm food started to fill him. He finished the sandwich quickly and immediatly hugged the adult. He was so overwhelmed that he couldn't form the words needed to express his gratitude. Ink blinked in surprise when the child hugged him, before slowly hugging him back..had he done something good? Was he being good?

It felt nice..he hoped he was doing good.

Inky grinned widely at the two; he was so happy he didn't ask to leave yet and they had stayed. This was great! Ink was making friends with his friends, and they liked him.

This meant he would stay, right?

He had to.

Killer and Dusty shared a look; maybe this guy wasn't so bad after all...

"Hey, Choppy. Its your turn." Killer nodded to the board game after a few minutes.

Choppy stared at him around Ink's waist and blinked at the game. "Oh...right..."

Ink looked back to the board game that he was losing, and he sat down to continue playing with the children. Choppy took his turn, somehow ending up in the lead again. He didn't really know what he was doing; he just copied what the others were doing. He liked games where he didn't have to think hard. Ink smiled as he played; he was enjoying this quiet moment. It was Carrot's turn again. He moved his rock, and now he was ahead of Choppy by two squares. Ink absentmindedly munched on a chocolate bar he had created as he watched the others take their turns, and at the end of the game, Carrot won. He was happy with that and snuggled into his big brother, ready to take his victory nap. He would have napped anyway, but now it was a victory nap. When the child was asleep, Ink created a blanket and covered the toddler with it; he didn't want him to be cold. Swappy smiled at Ink gratefully; he nodded and tucked the blanket around Carrot more, hugging their youngest close. Ink smiled, glad that he could help; he wanted to do more..he liked being good for a change. Inky blinked at Carrot and yawned. It had been a long day for him.

Dusty looked over at the sleepy little artist and went to grab another blanket. He wrapped it around his shoulders and went to do the same for the others. Killer came in then, having finished playing with his new knife, and he noticed the younger children getting tired. He went to the far side of the clubhouse and started arranging some blankets and pillows from his inventory in a sort of nest. Choppy and Dusty helped him, whispering to eachother.

Inky scooted closer to Ink and leaned against him as his sockets began to droop. Ink looked down at h- Inky and lulled him into a hug, making sure that he was in a comfortable position to fall asleep. While the older three led Swappy and picked up Carrot to move them to the nest, Inky remained where he was and fell asleep. Once they had the other two settled, Dusty walked back to the board game to put it away. The rocks went in their box, the cards in a baggie, and the board folded up. All together, he put them away in a toy box. He then looked over at Inky and Ink.

"He likes you." He commented lightly.

"Hm?" Ink raised an eyebrow, wondering what the child meant. "Who?"

Dusty nodded down at Inky, who was reaching up to grip Ink's shirt in his sleep. "Him. He likes you." He lifted his eyelights back up at Ink's face, his own more serious than any twelve year old's should have been. "Don't break his trust, okay?"

Ink nodded in understanding. "I'll..do my best..but I'm not a good person.."

"Neither are we." Dusty said simply, face blank. He joined his friends in the blanket nest, settling in; he closed his sockets, but he didn't fall asleep.

Ink hummed softly; it seemed that-

He got an idea.

It was a horrible idea.

But he had to.

He created a sharpie (it was washable - he wasn'tthatcruel) and brought it down to Inky's face, drawing a mustache. He used his code magic to lift the marker out of his hands and over to the other sleeping children, drawing mustaches on each of them one by one. Dusty was the designated guard for today and cracked open a socket to watch Ink prank them. He didn't try to stop him, just smirking lightly as he imagined what the others' reactions would be.

Once he had his own mustache, he opened his sockets fully. "Imustacheyou to make it even and give yourself one."

"Very well." Ink obliged."Hairyou go."

Dusty snickered as Ink drew a mustache on himself. He closed his sockets again and pretended to sleep again. Ink put down the sharpie and decided to get some sleep; he was going to need his rest if he wanted to deal with the children in the morning.