Broken Souls

Chapter 4

Fresh walks over to the head table and takes four fist sized balls of glowing blue string from his inventory and sets them in front of Dream before going back and settling by Geno.

The room went very quiet even those not knowing the significance of the thread recognized it as Error's.

Blue grins at them and leans his elbows on the table folding his arms.  "As you all know it takes something pretty damn significant to get me here. But Dream finally did something I respect enough to at least talk to you."

Classic sets up straight glancing from the balls of strings to Blue and back. "I would call Error being alive pretty damn significant."

Blue just smiles looking at the string, "Yes considering I want the multiverse to still be around for my grandkids to live in.  Or hadn't any of you noticed that sealing Ink only slowed things down a lot, the multiverse is still crumbling."

Red nods, "Sci told me that at this rate the multiverse would be down to a handful of AU in two generations.  About a week before his AU disappeared."

Dream sighs and takes the little bundle of strings from his pocket and holds it up.  "As some of you may know, my brother has not been handling his grief well.  When I found some of Error's strings while cleaning out Ink's room I went to talk to him.  Nightmare collapsed completely and I took him home.  That is what brings us all here today.  For me personally I need to get my brother's SOULmate back. For the rest of you we need to restore the balance of creation and destruction so the multiverse doesn't collapse."

Edge frowns, "so you are saying you are in this only for your brother who you hate and not to save yourself or the multiverse?"

"I have never hated my brother.  I may have been foolish enough to believe Ink's lies about Nightmare but I never hated him.  On the other hand I am looking forward to punching Ink when he breaks free."  Dream shrugs giving them all a flat look, one they had been seeing increasingly over the last six years.

Classic watches with a worried frown he recognized that look it was the look Papy gave the kid when he stopped pretending not to know about the resets when the multiverse quakes started.  "I am in, hell Papy would probably go back to pretending not to know how to cook if I didn't help."

Geno nodded, "we will get our brother back even if it means working with the council."

Fresh put an arm around Geno nodding. "We really want our glitchy brosuph back."

Reaper rubs the back of his skull, "getting him back would make my AU pretty happy. Apparently I was one of the few who didn't know about the balance of creation and destruction.  I think we can count Knowledge and Wisdom in, on whatever you are planning to get Error back."

"So all sides are in agreement? Good now we know Error isn't in this multiverse that leaves the VOID or another multiverse.  How do we find him?"  Blue looks around not focusing on anyone in particular, most Sanses or Swap Papyrus had at least some science in their background and those that didn't tended to have some interesting magic in its place.

Unexpected Sans from UnexpectedTale #0 raises a hand lazily, "anyone else have something they've been tinkering with in their basement hoping to get Gaster back?"

Almost everyone raised a hand, "ours is a primitive AU hopper." Red rubs his sockets looking tired as several nods.

"Mine actually tracks timelines.  I gave up on making more out of it a long time ago because of the resets."  Classic looks around getting nods and shrugs.

Blue sighs, "the only ones that are close to having something like a working basement machine are the trap AU Error didn't bother with because there was less than twenty of them and they cleared their own space by collapsing the AU the machine stole the Sanses and Papyruses from when it malfunctioned that is why Ink didn't make many of those.  In cases where it can't snatch a skeleton pair like Dream, Nightmare, Ink and Error, what shows up are nerfed copies with most of the core code changed.  Error watched them sometimes and said they were wish fulfillment AU for the part of Ink that wasn't an asshole."

Stretch leans forward frowning and actually putting his honey bottle down.  "What exactly do you mean by trap AU bro?"

Blue taps his fingers on the table frowning, "I have obviously never been to one both Error and Ink made it clear that would be a bad idea but the problem is anyone who enters can't leave all portals in, are one way.  Sure Error could open viewing portals but that is it he couldn't even pull back a thread if it went through a portal to one of them.  Error didn't mind, there weren't many of them.  They made their own space, and they were all mostly peaceful, none resetting AU.  He said it was better for the ones that ended up there that they didn't have to be destroyed with their old AU especially if they got pulled out of a dark AU like HorrorTale.  No offense Horror but your AU isn't exactly a healthy place."

"None taken Blue, you are just telling the truth." Horror shrugs meeting Blue's eyelights with a tired smile.

"So does their machine actually work or is it part of the plot line Ink put in place?" Lust frowns at the potential dead end.

"Given the nerfed copies of those that play major roles in multiverse stability I would say it is a function of the AUs and the machine is just a plot device."  Blue frowns slightly.

"If we are going to do this it has to be in an AU without resets and the full resources to draw on.  I don't know of any, like that the resident monsters need what they have to survive."  Bird looks around hoping someone has a suggestion.

"Something Different, Killer's AU we maintained it over the years heck we stored stuff there because unlike the base it wasn't likely to get attacked. The core is functioning at full capacity, gardens too, the houses and shops are kind of falling apart if they aren't made of stone but it could work."  Horror folds his arms on the table looking around.