Guess who finished Chapter 20 :D THIS CHICK! Sorry it's been so long guys. Got a little bit stuck on this chapter and it took some time to touch base with my friend AngstQueen to work past it. But it's done which means you lovely little Gremlings get chapter 18 as a reward for me finishing it :D Enjoy!
Disclaimers:
Undertale belongs to Toby Fox
All other Characters belong to their respective Creators!
Nightmare could honestly say that in the time since Reaper started coming around to give Ink lessons, he had very little reason to converse with the Death God. Yet, here he was staring at the personification of Death as he grinned at him from across his office.
"What do you want, Reaper?" Nightmare demanded, glaring at the other.
"Ink wants to go exploring his doors." Reaper replied simply, causing Nightmare's scowl to deepen.
"You and I both know why that is a bad idea." Nightmare shot back.
"And I still whole heartedly agree that keeping him from the multiverse as much as possible is a good idea. However, you can't keep him from it entirely."
He growled at the thought of allowing his baby brother out into the wider universe. It wasn't safe for Ink and it especially wasn't safe for him to be associated with him and the Gang. They couldn't just take him to any AU and the ones under Nightmare's domain were far too dangerous to take Ink to for more than Portal Lessons. His domain's AUs and Timelines were too hostile and dangerous for a child to play and explore in.
"What do you expect us to do then? I cannot allow him to be seen with any of us in a less hostile AU, the Omega Timeline will try to retrieve him for simply being associated, not to mention what they might do if they discover his role." Nightmare demanded.
"Let me take him to an AU. No one would dare touch him if he's under my supervision." Reaper replied easily.
That didn't ease a single worry on Nightmare's part. Sure the God of Death certainly wouldn't be associated with him in any way, despite the fact he very much so was thanks to Ink, but that could make his charge a target just as much.
"It's too risky. He's safest here in the Castle." Nightmare said with a shake of his head.
"Nightmare, you cannot hide him away forever." Reaper insisted, "I am not saying allow him to explore freely or even often, but if you keep him locked up here eventually his curiosity about his doors will get the better of him. He is a child, Ink will not see the dangers that you and I do, and it will lead to him putting himself into worse danger when he decides to ignore your rule about the doors."
"He has listened so far!"
"And you have been very lucky in that regard. But even now Ink is eyeing quite a few doors in his Doodlesphere that he is immensely curious about. Allow me to take him through one and supervise the trip, it will curb some of his curiosity and show him that you are willing to allow him to visit select doors on occasion."
Nightmare sighed at Reaper's reasoning. He understood it, he did. It was why he opened portals for the Gang to get their energy out and to allow them to get out of the Castle for a bit. Ink deserved the same, but it was so hard. Ink had portals that while better controlled now were not perfect. What if he ended up falling through one and Nightmare couldn't reach him? He knew it was a foolish thought since Reaper could follow Ink anywhere, even the places Nightmare couldn't.
"What AU would you suggest then? Most that would be safe for Ink are under Dream's domain." Nightmare inquired, sighing slightly in defeat.
"Fluffytale. Ink has already been eyeing the door for the AU and has been playing with the origami cats that cover its island. Let me take him there to Ccino's to play with the cats for a few hours. Ccino may communicate with the Omega Council, but he is far more neutral in his standing than they would like to admit." Reaper suggested.
Reaper wasn't wrong. While Nightmare never went to Fluffytale due to the fact he'd most likely have the Star Sans called on him by one of the AUs residence, the Sans of the AU is far more lenient. Ccino was often known to open his cafe to those seeking a place to escape whether it's permanently or just for a little while, this meant those in his cafe were under his protection and were not to be harmed by anyone including one another. The Cat Cafe was the most neutral ground that existed in the multiverse.
It was a good choice and Ccino was the least likely to report back to the Omega Timeline about Reaper looking after a child. And unless those visiting the cafe were from the Omega Timeline most probably wouldn't even take notice of the God taking care of a child.
"Fine." Nightmare sighed, before waving at the grinning Death God, "Go get Ink, I want to cover the mark on his cheek to make it harder for him to be identified if he ever ends up in Dream's domain by accident."
Reaper nodded and left the office to retrieve the child. Meanwhile Nightmare opened a portal and reached through to grab a thing of child safe paint. The benefit of having portals was that he could get supplies swiftly in a pinch, thankfully he had the paint already since Horror and Dust were renovating a common room. From what he understood the white paint had been a base coat which is why they had some left over, it would work perfect to cover the black spot on Ink's cheek while he was out of the Castle.
Nightmare sighed at the thought. He didn't like his baby brother being away from the safety of the Castle and he hated the fact that Reaper was right even more. But he would allow it as much as he disliked the idea.
A few minutes later Reaper returned with Ink bouncing in excitedly ahead of him. The Guardian couldn't help the soft smile that crossed his face at the sight of his baby bones so happy. It both made the decision to let Reaper take him to Fluffytale easier and harder all at the same time.
"Big Brother! Do I really get to go explore one of the doors?! Reaper said you said yes! Do I get to go?!" Ink asked eagerly, scurrying around his desk to grab the edge of his chair in excitement.
"I did and you do. But there's a few rules, okay?" Nightmare said easily, smiling as Ink nodded in agreement, "First, I'm going to use this paint to hide the mark on your cheek. We don't want anyone to be able to distinguish you from other child Sans'. Second, do you remember how you are supposed to introduce yourself if someone asks?"
"Yes!" Ink answered swiftly, tilting his head so Nightmare could use the paint, "I'm supposed to go by Mischief like when we talk to Misfit."
Nightmare nodded as he used a paint brush to carefully cover Ink's mark.
"Very good. Now one more, stay with Reaper. If he says it's time to leave you listen alright?" Nightmare asked sternly, making Ink nod seriously in turn, "Good. Behave and have fun."
"YAY!"
As quick as he bounded in and over, Ink was scurrying back over to Reaper and practically dragged the Death God out of the office in his eagerness. The Guardian watched them leave and felt his worry return the moment the door shut. Hopefully this trip would be enough to put off Ink's wish to explore other AUs for quite awhile, otherwise Nightmare was going to be dealing with daily anxiety attacks at this rate.
Ccino could say he was having a pretty boring day. He had fed the cats, opened the cafe and there had only been a few customers in the last four hours. He wasn't complaining. He enjoyed a slow day, but it did make him wonder what was going on in the Omega Timeline that the Lab Interns weren't being sent on coffee runs every few hours. He had quickly brushed the thought aside though, knowing better than to wonder about the machinations of scientists.
He turned his attention back to his cafe and smiled as he noticed a regular of his walking (well floating in their case) past his window towards the door. Reaper was probably the biggest coffee addict Ccino knew and that was saying something since he owned the cafe. However, his attention was drawn to the door when it swung open to reveal a small skeleton child eagerly looking around.
"Is this the place, Reaper?!" The child called back as the Death God came to a stop behind the child.
"Yep, we can order our drinks at the counter and then you can play with some cats for a bit." Reaper replied easily, his expression soft as he looked at the child.
That was a shocker. Reaper wasn't exactly a people person, let alone a babysitter. What was the Death God doing with a child? Ccino's mind immediately went to the meeting he had missed a few weeks back. After had told him that the Destroyer had dragged a skeleton child to the Anti-void, something none of them had heard of happening before. It was now just a little suspicious that Reaper would show up with a small child under his watch.
Ccino knew coincidences could happen, but coincidences didn't happen when it came to those with major roles in their Multiverse. Reaper was their top God of Death, the one who kept the balance between Death and Life the most. And while the Omega Timeline never saw his purpose, Error was their balance keeper for Destruction. Both of these beings often worked in tandem despite how little they interacted if ever.
Yeah, he had no doubt this child was probably the same child Outer had seen. Why Reaper now had him, Ccino had no idea, but he wouldn't say anything. He didn't know why the child would be under either Role Holders care, but it wouldn't be good if the Omega Timeline got ahold of them he was sure.
"Hey Reaper, been a few weeks since I've seen you." Ccino called with a grin.
"Yeah, I've been a bit busy." Reaper replied easily, waving for the baby bones to move towards the counter.
The child was tiny. He couldn't even look over the counter top. The child even stood on his tip toes and gripped the edge to barely peek his eyes over the top at Ccino curiously. Ccino felt himself soften at the adorableness. The tiny bones looked as cute as his newest cafe addition, Blot.
Blot had been the reason he had missed the Omega Timeline meeting. Well, Midnight going missing had been the reason, but when the fluffy dark gray cat with one eye had shown back up with a small starving kitten dangling from his mouth, Blot had quickly become his reason for being unable to answer the call. The tiny runt had been so small Ccino had thought it was only a couple weeks old. Turns out Blot was actually a couple months, just old enough to start being weaned from milk, but his small size meant Ccino had spent the last few weeks filling the kittens diet with both wet food and a nutrient filled milk that would hopefully help him grow.
The child in front of him reminded him alot of Blot, curious eyelights watching him with hundreds of questions behind them, but remaining quiet. He wondered if the child was shy, but had a feeling that he just liked to observe new people first before talking. An interesting habit for a child to have.
"So who's the kiddo, Reaper? He's cute." Ccino asked, looking at the God.
"This is Mischief. A friend of mine has been caring for him and I offered to take the baby bones out for a bit of hot chocolate and play time." Reaper replied easily, the child looking at him briefly before looking back to Ccino.
"Do you really have cats here?" Mischief asked eagerly, bouncing a bit on his feet.
"I sure do. I got lots of them." Ccino replied with a grin.
Just then Soot came tearing from the back of house with Menace hot on his tail, the former hissing and spitting as he was being chased. Mischief jumped at the commotion and turned to watch as the two felines rushed up a cat tree in one corner before Soot stopped at the top and smacked Menace in the head as he tried to follow.
"Those two, I swear Menace came by his name honestly." Ccino muttered with a shake of his head before looking back to Reaper, "So at least one hot chocolate and the usual for you Reaper?"
"Yep." Reaper replied, smiling before turning to Mischief as the child tugged on his cloak.
Ccino stared a little wide-eyed as the child touched the Death God without consequence or fear. Reaper didn't like to risk people touching him, fearful of killing someone accidentally no doubt. But here Mischief grabbed the god without issue and Reaper didn't flinch away.
"Yeah kid?" Reaper asked.
"Can I go play with them?" Mischief asked eagerly, pointing to where Menace now sat at the bottom of the cat tree glaring up at Soot.
"Sure, kid, just be careful okay? Cats have sharp teeth and claws, they can get you if you ain't careful." Reaper replied.
Mischief beamed at the God before scurrying over to the cat tree. Ccino watched as both cats snapped to look at the child, tensing in fear before seeming to relax when the child slowed his approach and settled on the ground a few feet away. He was impressed the kid knew not to approach too quickly and to wait for the cat to come to him since most children were unaware of this unless they had their own feline at home.
"He got a cat? Never seen someone so young know how to act around cats who don't have one themselves?" Ccino asked, turning to make the drinks.
"No, he's just a smart kid." Reaper replied.
Ccino hummed at the response and made the drinks quietly, listening in case one of his trouble maker felines decided to cause problems with the kid. Mischief looked so eager to play with the cats here, he'd hate for the child to be scared to return because one of the cats scared him too bad. Finishing up the drinks, he turned back and set them on the counter for Reaper to take, only to see the other cats had all made their way out from the back, even Glitch.
He blinked in slight surprise at the kid that was all but piled by his cats. Mischief currently had Midnight in his lap while Blot lay contently in his arms, another shock since Midnight didn't let any of his patrons touch Blot, Glitch curled around the kids shoulders sniffing at the kitten. Menace was rubbing against the kids left leg, occasionally batting at a loose string on Mischief's shorts, while Soot, now joined by Terror, was pressing into the kids right side. Lingo was sitting at the kids' front staring up at him with a feline grin while Cherry was sitting nearby watching Menace with a look of annoyance on his face.
Blossom, his only female resident, had trotted out with Bane behind her and had curled up together at the kids back, the she-cat occasionally getting up to come around and sniff at Blot and Mischief as if to assure herself they were both okay. Bane appeared unconcerned but did not complain when Mischief would reach back to scratch his ears. In fact the only ones that appeared to be keeping a distance were Daylight, Sky and Hollow. Ccino had a feeling that had more to do with the way Midnight would glare at them with his single eye when they'd try to approach.
He was completely shocked by the scene. While his cats weren't aggressive, most weren't overly friendly with new patrons. Glitch being the worst amongst them. The grumpy old man never liked anybody so to see him wrapped around the shoulders of a child was surprising. And Midnight allowing Mischief to hold Blot was another shocker.
Midnight had been down right ferally protective of Blot since he brought him home, originally only allowing Ccino near him to feed him his bottle. Even the other cats weren't allowed near the kitten in the beginning. It took time for Midnight to allow most of the others near, Lingo being the one Midnight fought the hardest on keeping away, but failing at. The only ones Midnight would down right brawl with over keeping from Blot were his three friendliest. Sky, Daylight and Hollow weren't allowed anywhere near Blot. The one-eyed cat barely tolerated them being in the same room most days.
"Impressive. I've never seen that many of them warm up to someone so quickly." Ccino commented.
Reaper's chuckle told Ccino that he knew something the Cafe owner didn't. But if Ccino had to guess, he'd say that the reason his most troublesome cats liked Mischief so much is because their Multiversal Counterparts most likely adored the child just as much. Which meant, Reaper wasn't the main caretaker for this kid. Nightmare was.
The thought had Ccino wanting to check the child, silently wondering if perhaps he was the final one they needed to properly balance things in their Multiverse, but quickly brushed the thought aside. Ccino had no doubt that if he checked Mischief, Reaper would reap his SOUL without hesitation. Nightmare most likely wouldn't have allowed the God to take his charge out to an AU if the Guardian wasn't certain that Reaper would protect him at all cost. And for Ccino he wasn't necessary for the Balance, reaping one SOUL before its time wouldn't affect it either.
He'd have to keep an eye out on the Omega Timeline from now on. If they ever got ahold of this child, Ccino feared it would result in an immediate rampage on the Guardian of Negativity's part. While in recent years Nightmare appeared to be more focused on keeping his part of the Balance stable instead of over spreading, he had no doubt that the Guardian would toss it aside to keep Mischief safe.
Ink loved the cafe. Ccino's hot chocolate wasn't as good as Horror's in his opinion, but he supposed he was a bit biased in that regard. He wouldn't tell the Cafe owner that though. It was still good hot chocolate. What was even better was all the cats he had.
Most of the cats had congregated around Ink, making him giggle when their whiskers would tickle him. His favorite was the kitten the dark fluffy cat had brought him. He was so small and loved to cuddle. The kitten was white with patches of brown and darker stripes in the brown patches. When Reaper had come to settle with him a bit away from the cats, he had asked if he knew their names. Ccino had been the one to answer.
Blot was the kitten, the youngest and newest addition according to the cafe owner. Blot's self proclaimed caretaker was Midnight; a dark gray fluffy cat that had one of his eyes sealed shut while the other was a bright blue. Ink liked Midnight, he was fluffy and soft. Next was Menace; a light gray tabby cat with darker stripes. He reminded Ink of Killer with how he liked to mess with the other cats, especially Soot.
Soot was a white cat that had parts of his fur that appeared to fade to a light gray in spots. He liked scratches behind his ears and had a pair of eyes that were dual colored. One was a maroonish brown and the other was a bright blue with a ring of that same maroonish brown around the edge. Next to Soot was Terror; another fluffy cat. Terror had mostly white fur with spots of dark gray on his back and tip of his tail. He was also missing his right eye and left ear, which made Ink scratch his chin lots to show him how amazing he was.
The one on his shoulders was a dark color with spatterings of orange all over him. Ccino said this one was Glitch and that he liked nobody, including himself. Well except Ink apparently. Glitch was content to use Ink as his personal bed as he dozed on his shoulders.
Cherry was a dark orange cat who appeared irritated by Menace's constant horseplay. Lingo was a very colorful patchwork of browns, tans, and oranges and reminded Ink of Fresh alot, especially with the way ones like Menace would jump away from him hissing and spitting when he got too close. This didn't seem to bother the colorful cat since he would only continue to harass whoever he was harassing.
The only she-cat amongst the group was a beautiful fluffy cream colored cat that had a sunflower-esque white shaped patch on her chest. Ink could understand why she was named Blossom based on that mark and he liked her alot, she seemed to think he was a big kitten with how she would sniff and lick at him to try and clean him like she would Blot. Her constant shadow was Bane, a nearly entirely black cat. The only part of him that wasn't black was his face, it almost appeared to be skull shaped in its appearance with the way it was patterned. He seemed to like Reaper and was the only cat that stepped somewhat close to the Death God, but never touched him.
The final three kept their distance, though Ink thought that was most likely due to the fact Midnight started hissing and spitting when they tried to approach. Sky appeared to be a Siamese in appearance, though Ink wasn't sure if he actually was, the dark fur on his face, paws and tail suggested he was. Daylight was a darker cream color than Blossom and appeared to not like Midnight much if the way he watched the other was any indication. Ccino had confirmed that the two had never liked each other as long as they'd been here though Midnight had only become this hostile since bringing Blot home.
The very last cat sat beside the other two that kept their distance. Hollow was their name and they had no eyes. Ccino had said they had arrived with their eyes already removed and sealed shut, making the owner believe someone had done this to them and they'd run away from them. Hollow was a dark gray tabby with even darker stripes all over and despite their blind status appeared to know exactly where to turn their face to appear as if they were staring directly at you. It was a little creepy in Ink's opinion but he supposed it meant Hollow was happy and healthy at least.
Most of the cats had grown bored with just sitting with Ink after a little while and began walking away when a few other guests came in. Though Blot, Midnight and Glitch all stayed with him enjoying pets and scratches with loud purrs. Bane also stayed close, sprawling out in the space between Ink and Reaper to sun bathe while Blossom ran off to greet other guests, occasionally coming back to sniff at Ink and Blot to check on them.
Ink was just using a feather cat toy to play with Blot when he heard the door chime signifying a new guest had arrived and looked up to see the person. It appeared to be a Classic Sans, so most likely someone from an Alternate Timeline rather than an AU, but oddly he wore a white turtleneck instead of the usual t-shirt.
"Hey Ccino, having a slow day?" The Sans asked as he stepped in, smiling at the cafe owner.
"For once. Not that I'm complaining with Dior busy with the release of his new line, I don't have my usual help around here." Ccino replied, returning the smile as the other approached, "What do you want today After?"
"My usual and Outer's as well please. I'm meeting up with him to discuss a few patrols." After replied before seeming to notice Ink's curious gaze and glancing over, "Oh, got a new young patron huh?"
Ink turned his attention away from the other and back to Midnight as the older feline pawed at him for attention.
"Yeah, the kid likes cats so he came to play with them." Ccino agreed, oddly making no mention of him being associated with the Death God a few feet from him. He supposed it wouldn't be hard to tell that he was with Reaper since the God was the only adult in the cafe with him.
"Oh? Did his guardians drop him off?" Or perhaps not.
"Yeah. I assured them they could leave him with me for a bit while they handle their errands."
He blinked at the lie and carefully glanced over to where Reaper sat near the window sipping at his coffee. The God appeared to be ignoring the exchange, but Ink could tell he was carefully listening and most likely ready to jump up and handle anything if something went wrong.
"Makes sense. Your cafe is a safe place to leave a kiddo for a little while, especially a baby bones that tiny. Shocking that Midnight is allowing him near Blot though or that Glitch seems to like him." After commented, pulling Ink's attention again.
"Yeah. Well, here you go pal. And enjoy your date with Outer." Ccino said as he handed over two cups to the other.
Ink giggled softly as After sputtered and started blushing at Ccino's implications.
"It's not a date, Ccino. We're discussing patrols." After vehemently denied.
"Whatever you say buddy. Tell Outer, I said hello." Ccino said with a chuckle. Ink giggled again as After flipped the other off and made his way towards the door.
"Have fun with the cat's baby bones." After called back, giving Ink a salute that made him wave back in turn.
The door chimed as he left and the cafe fell into silence for a moment before Reaper shifted to turn towards Ccino at the counter.
"You didn't tell him he was with me." Reaper said. It wasn't a question, it wasn't even accusatory, but it definitely had a hint of inquiry behind it.
"It's no business of After's who the kid belongs to anymore then it's my business who his real Guardian is." Ccino said simply, taking a cloth to wipe down the counter with as he gave Reaper a grin.
"Knew there was a reason I liked you, Ccino." Reaper responded with a chuckle as he turned back to his coffee.
Ccino laughed in turn as Ink watched the exchange curiously wondering if he'd missed something. He shrugged it off and returned to playing and petting the cats around him. He wondered if he could convince his brother's to get a cat for the castle, he knew Killer liked them but wasn't sure if the others would. He'd have to ask Nightmare when he got home, if nothing else maybe he would let him come back and visit the cats here more often.