Blue didn't know how right he was when he thought that. It has already been ten minutes with none of them saying a single word and just staring at each others awkwardly. Dream and Ink took the time to observe the brothers, silently cringing at the number of scars on Drako, along with the ones that they could imagine being hidden under Torment's goop. Vibrant seemed pretty much okay, but Drako... Oh Toby Fox, he looked like he was ready to dust at any second. They wouldn't even be surprised if he actually did, honestly, even if it would be an horrifying sight to see. This only fueled their worry and curiosity. What happened for them to end up like this?!
The brothers didn't lose those minutes by doing nothing either; they stared at the Protectors very intensively, trying to find every differences, even the slightest, with the versions of them that they knew to calm themselves down. There was one in particular that Drako saw, which made him smile a little; Ink's vials. Unlike the Ink that they knew in their old Multiverse, this one had his red vial fully filled up. Their Ink's red vial was always almost empty, as he drank the red liquid during most of his fights with Drako, making him an even more dangerous opponent. Drako also knew that he conserved refills in his inventory, just in case he was to lack of some paint to drink during or after a fight. He already saw Ink drink three red vials straight up during a fight, that didn't end well at all for him. It was one of those that ended up with him being blind for a while, too, which was a really annoying and inconvenient thing. He didn't recommend it. So seeing this Ink's red vial completely full reassured him, even if only a little. It meant that he didn't drink it, or at least not as often as their Ink did. Which was nice, as an Ink under the effects of the red vial could be quite terrifying for those not used to the sight. Drako, even if it still scared him a bit because of all the time that he suffered after Ink drank the red liquid, was rather numb to the sight. He almost never directly met Ink under any other vial's effect anyway. It was either the red vial or his emotionless self –which was just as terrifying, if not worse, if he had to say–. The emptier one –and therefore the one Ink seemed to drink the most– was actually the yellow one, which he knew was supposed to symbolize happiness or something close enough.
Finally, Blue had enough of waiting for them to talk and sighed loudly, effectively gaining everyone's attention. "Are you going to stare at each others all day, or will you talk? Because if it's like this, I have the time to make my amazing tacos..." Dream and Ink sweat dropped, a nervous smile appearing on both of their faces. "N-No, it won't be necessary Blue..." The brothers only smirked, knowing fully well that Blue was purposely making terrible tacos to traumatize his friends, like the little demon that he was. Just like their Blue did.
Dream turned his gaze back toward them after sensing a very faint mix of amusement and melancholy coming from them, sighing softly. He could always try the question that had been on his mind since he had learned that Torment and Drako were brothers. Maybe it would make the conversation progress, even if only a little. "So, huh..." Dream felt slightly nervous as all the brothers suddenly turned their attention toward him. "I was curious... You don't have a younger version of me...? Not that I want to see one! But, huh... Torment looks a lot like my twin brother so... Hum..." Oh Toby Fox, this was so awkward!
Torment raised a brow in amusement while the others snickered quietly. "I..." He paused, knowing that he couldn't say that he didn't know a Dream with their slip-up from earlier. "I guess that we used to know one. Like we said to Blue, this is a bit of a touchy subject, that we're not ready to talk about just yet, but your younger self was an ignorant piece of sheep unable to think by himself. Globally. Hopefully, him and our version of Ink are suffering at the moment." Dream winced at the venom in Torment's tone while he mentioned his and Ink's younger selves –well, more Ink's, as he sounded just disappointed in his younger self, for some reason–. It seemed like Nightmares and Dreams really weren't made to get along with each others, sadly enough. Ink easily ignored the venom in Torment's words –perhaps he didn't even notice it– and gasped, his eyelights turning into stars. "You have a mini me in your AU?!" Drako winced at his outburst but nodded, making the Creator squeal in happiness. "YoU... CoUlD sAY ThAT... BuT He WaSN'T a GoOD PeRsON. At LEaST He ThoUghT ThAT hE WaS, BuT He BEaT Us Up FOr THiNGs We WeRE ForCeD tO Do In OrDEr To pRoTeCt EvErYOnE We KnEW... So YEaH, No GOoD MeMOrIES Of HiM." Ink stopped in his squealing when he heard that, his expression turning blank and his eyelights white for a second, making Drako shiver at the sight that he didn't miss. His eyelights then turned into red targets as he frowned in displeasure, making the brother tense up, which he didn't seem to notice but Blue and Dream surely did. "I promise you that if I meet this other me, I'll teach him a good lesson for hurting poor SOULs like you so bad."
Drako took a deep breath, listening to Psyche's constant praises and encouragement and smiled a bit at the promise of an attack on their Ink, even if the two Creators would never met, thankfully. "Oh he wasn't da only one, ya know? There were a lotta unrad Blind Judges." This only made Ink angrier. How dare they hurt those poor children? Granted, everyone knew that he was bad with emotions, having no SOUL and all, but even he could tell how horrible this was! He may not know the entirety of the story, but those poor SOULs were clearly traumatized; it didn't need to be a genius –thankfully because he really wasn't one and he wouldn't even try to say the opposite– to see how scared and tensed they were. He could tell that they were ready to jump out of their seats and fight for their lives if needed, making the Creator hold back a grimace. And whatever they were forced to do, he could tell that they truly didn't want to do it. Why would they, if it exposed them to so much trauma?
Weirdly enough, the Star Sanses had a feeling that there was more behind the term 'Blind Judges' than what they understood, but they didn't question it. The brothers would explain when they would be ready, no need to stress them out more than they already were at the sight of Ink and Dream in front of them. "Well you don't have to worry anymore, if anyone tries to hurt you, you can come to us. We'll protect you, even if it means that we need to intervene in your AU's story." Torment shook his head with a soft smile. He wouldn't admit that talking with a Dream without fighting for some stupid reasons was actually quite pleasant. "They shouldn't do anything from now on... We're free from our old chains. But, even if I talk for all of us by saying that we appreciate your offer, you wouldn't be able to come into our AU. It's too young." It was true; the explanation that they gave since day one wasn't just a mere excuse. It was the same in their old Multiverse; nobody could enter an AU until the story had reached a certain point or it was old enough. For example, the first Pacifist Run, or the first time the three Runs were played by the Human. Of course, the copies were different, as they didn't have the background of the other AUs, who all went through the Great War like Undertale did. They directly started in the Underground with the memories of what happened in their Original version. Which made them accessible even after a second of existence, unlike an Original. The opposite would have made Drako's job way harder.
Dream sighed, knowing that his brother's look-alike had a point. "Right... But don't hesitate to come ask us for help. I know it might be difficult, as we look like your previous tormentors, but we only want the best for you and your family. We can tell that you all already been through a lot, more than anyone should ever live through, and can only wish for your happiness... I..." Dream paused, looking to the side, unsure if he should really talk about his past mistakes with his brother in their shared AU, but deciding that it would probably be for the best. The more they knew, the more they might trust him after all. "I once wasn't any better than those persons you qualify as 'Blind Judges', if I'm being honest. It costed me a lot of things; my relationship with my brother being one of them. But now, I want to be a better person and help those in the need like I should have helped Nightmare back then. You have the right and every reasons not to trust me, but know that I'll be there if you need any help."
It was the least that he could do if he wanted to be worthy of being Nightmare's brother once again. He needed to make things right and protect the ones in need, like he should have done back in their AU. Then, maybe Nightmare will notice that he matured enough and wasn't the ignorant ball of positivity he once called his twin. Truth to be told, Dream didn't even know if he still had a chance to have a correct relationship with his brother, nor what the King of Negativity really thought about him. Maybe Nightmare hated his nonexistence guts with a burning passion, maybe he, too, wanted to make a truce with the other side and go back to how things were in the past... Dream didn't know, and was ready to accept either decision of his brother. He would understand, it wasn't like he deserved Nightmare's forgiveness; he had been an horrible brother to him, not even noticing that his twin was getting bullied and buying every single of Nightmare's poor excuses to hide the treatment that the villagers were giving him.
While Dream was reflecting on his relationship with his brother, Torment was staring at him with a proud glint in his eyelight. This Dream wasn't like his ever was; he was ready and had already changed for his brother, he admitted his mistakes and he wasn't stupidly following Ink's words. Not like he could testify of the last one, but the gang told him that this Dream actually thought for himself to forge his own opinion. Just for that, which was everything he wanted his own Dream to do, he was ready to give this version of his twin a chance.
Torment smiled, sensing that Dream's emotion were all over the place. They were mostly shared between the hope of having his brother back and the acceptance of said brother's possible rejection, which fueled the Positive Guardian with a surprising amount of negativity. Not like Torment would complain anyway. The teenager version of Nightmare smiled even more, remembering when the gang told him that Dream accepted Nightmare with his corruption, unlike their old Dream, who always wanted to bring him back to 'normal'. Dream understood that Nightmare felt more comfortable in this form, as he was stronger and it symbolized the end of all the bullying. He could understand that this form brought more comfort in Nightmare, and didn't even want to force him back to his old self, which Torment knew Nightmare was grateful for. The goopy skeleton looked at his brothers, who nodded, making him smile softly. "Dream." The positive skeleton looked up toward Torment, flushing in embarrassment at the realization that he lost himself in his thoughts once again. He tended to do that often when thinking about maybe reconciling with his opposite.
Torment smiled when he saw that he got the golden skeleton's attention, tilting his head to the side slightly. "You three should try to talk about a truce with Nightmare's gang. They are all ready for it, and I know that Nightmare would love to spend some time with his brother once again, even if he might deny it." Drako frowned, squeezing his hand gently while Blade snuggled closer to the goopy skeleton's neck in a hug of sort. The brothers heard the unsaid part in this comment; Torment would have loved himself to have a better relationship with their Dream. If only the Positive Guardian wasn't such an ignorant and stupid person. If he had listened to them instead of Ink, he would have known about the Balances and maybe, just maybe, things would have been better between the brothers. But it was far too late now, and Torment officially disowned him. The Dream from their old Multiverse wasn't his brother anymore; it would be insulting for his new family. Or rather, he liked to think that he disowned him, but there would always be a part of his SOUL yearning for an healthy relationship between his brother and himself.
Torment smiled at the small gesture from his older brother, tilting his head to place it on said brother's shoulder. He had to hold back a groan at the sudden wave of positivity following his comment while Dream smiled brightly at the sound of a possible new chance with his older brother. He was almost vibrating in his seat, which earned him a concerned look from his best friends, who wouldn't be surprised if he suddenly started running and jumping around just like Blue after too much sugar. "Are you sure?! He told you that?! I still have a chance with Nightmare?!"
Torment cringed at the second wave of positivity, stronger than the previous, and let his aura surround him to protect him from it. He couldn't deal with too much positivity at the same time, he wasn't used to it. As their Blue always said, they were a mostly sad and depressed gang, which only fueled him in negativity –he wouldn't complain about it, as it made him stronger, even if he hated the fact that the negativity was coming from his family– and very little positivity. Of course, there were some moments during which the gang was surprisingly positive, but those were still bearable for Torment. Since he only met Dream to fight after the Apple Accident, his magic recognized positivity as something dangerous and just bad –the fact that it was his pure opposite considering that he was literally covered in negativity wasn't helping, of course– for him, making him react badly to it. But he knew that it could change, even if only a little. He would never fully enjoy too much positivity, but he would maybe be able to endure it better. He just needed to get used to it without it being in a dangerous situation.
Dream winced at the sudden wave of negativity from Torment, frowning slightly. "Sorry for that, as you already know, I'm mostly like Nightmare. Positivity doesn't do me much good." The Positive Guardian let out a small 'Oh...' giving Torment an apologetic look with a small smile. As much as he could usually control his aura, the news of Nightmare still accepting him as a brother was making him too happy to fully control it, and Torment was fully aware of it. He knew that Dream wasn't spreading his aura like this on purpose, and he himself would have been overjoyed if their old Dream had joined them or just took the time to learn the truth behind their acts as the Multiverse 'villains'. And he was the negative twin. But then again, their Dream idolized Ink way too much and probably wouldn't have cared as long as Ink didn't. A pity, really. "And to answer your question, he didn't outwardly said it, but he implied that he wouldn't be against the idea."
Dream won't even try to deny the fact that he squealed in happiness. It was not too late! He could still be a family with his older brother! He was so happy! They could still have their happy ending! Ink and Blue smiled at the sight of their friend being so happy. Blue himself was quite happy; being friend with Nightmare's gang –and more importantly Error–, a truce sounded wonderful to him. It wasn't like they were really enemies per say, as Nightmare's gang was mostly a gang of troublemakers rather than real criminals. Dream knew that they mostly caused mischief to balance positivity and negativity. It was his and Nightmare's Balance after all, just like there was Life and Death and all the others. There was also the one between Ink and Error, but it wasn't a problem now that Ink stopped creating too much. He just does once in a while and most of the time, he only creates Originals. Unless Fresh needs a new host, of course. So yeah, their Multiverse was extremely stable –which made the brothers quite jealous, even if they didn't know that– and peaceful. There was no real animosity in either side, and a truce really seemed to be a good idea.
Ink smiled brightly, Dream's aura greatly influencing his 'emotions' despite not having a proper SOUL to feel. "I'm sure that I can get Error to bring Nightmare's gang to a meeting to talk about it... As long as I don't forget... Ahaha..." He laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head in an embarrassed manner while Dream and Blue just looked at him with a deadpan expression, the brothers seeming strangely amused. They were quite surprised that he was actually willing to try to make a truce, as their Ink would never have done so, even if he knew about the Balances. He liked playing the hero way too much after all. But their amusement was greater than their surprise; Ink's memory was a running gag at this point for them. They were pretty sure that Ink –whether it was the one from their old Multiverse or this one, both were possible– had already forgotten his name more than once.
Ink cleared his throat, looking to the side with a small blush. "Alright, I'll write it on my scarf, stop looking at me like that, I feel judged." Blue crossed his arms with a smirk as Dream raised a brow and gave a pen to Ink. "Do it now, we all know that you'll forget after." Ink raised his hands in surrender, grabbing the pen and his scarf. He stared at it for a few seconds before turning his gaze toward Dream, his eyelights now having the shape of a diamond and an interrogation mark. "What were we talking about already?" The two other Star Sanses face palmed as the five brothers burst out laughing at the display of Ink's forgetfulness, which made the Stars smile, as they didn't expect to hear them laugh considering how tensed they were around Ink and Dream. Speaking about Dream, the Positive Guardian sighed in annoyance at Ink's terrible memory. "The truce, Ink. Between Nightmare's gang and us."
Ink gasped, his eyelights now turning into exclamation marks as he quickly wrote it on his scarf. "Perfect! I'll just need to ask Error and hope he isn't being a grumpy cat..." Blue raised a brow. "He isn't that grumpy unless you play bad pranks on him." Ink only answered with a close-eyed smile, making Blue roll his eyes. Ink always pranked Error whenever he could. Which was rather often, if the Creator was feeling bored. The glitchy skeleton seemed to be one of his favorite prank victims, for some reason. Drako giggled softy at this, finding it oddly comforting that the thing Error feared the most from Ink was the pranks and not the beatings, as there was no beating at all in the first place. 'What a lucky bastard.'
"I can hear your jealousy through your thoughts, Glitchy." Drako smiled a little at that, swaying gently his hands that were still holding Torment and Vibrant's own hands. 'Perfect then.' He pretended not to hear Psyche's sigh of exasperation –and amusement–, throwing a glance at his brothers, who were looking at him proudly. He himself was quite proud of himself; he wasn't reacting as badly as he thought that he would. The brothers were almost certain that there wouldn't be a conversation and that they would attack at the first word from Ink. Thankfully, they didn't.
Ink placed the pen on the table between the two couch, making Drako tense up a bit –it wouldn't be the first time an Ink stabbed him with a pen. His eyes still remember the pain– but calmed down surprisingly quick as Ink just placed the pen on the table, reading back what he wrote on his scarf –he won't admit that he already forgot about the truce– before placing it correctly around his neck, the message clearly visible. Just in case he forgot. Which he wouldn't, of course, it wasn't his type!... Oh who was he kidding, he already forgot three times, he will forget again.
"So... Huh... Would you mind talking about your AU to us? I don't recall ever creating one with mini us so..." Of course this question would come; Ink never created them after all. Maybe he created Dragontale, but not them. Dream and Blue just threw unimpressed looks at him. "No offense, but with your memory, I wouldn't be surprised if you actually forgot that you did." Ink grimaced at Blue's words, knowing that it was sadly pretty true. "Well... Yeah but I don't think I would have forgotten this! Or at least I would have written it on my scarf!" Which was true; he wouldn't have panicked like this when he learned about them if he created them! Granted, glitches were a possible thing in an AU's creation, but five of them –Reaper told him that the dragons also had SOULs not unlike his own and Cross'. He was quite thankful that he wrote that down– was a bit much for a simple glitch. Not to be mean toward Error's mini self, who was basically a glitch himself.
Drako sighed. There was no point in trying to hide things from them, not if they wanted to gain their trust. Plus, he had the feeling that Ink wouldn't leave them alone until he got his answers. "I... We DoN'T hAvE mUcH To Say HoNEsTLy. ThErE'S No UnDerGRoUND, BuT HuManS ANd MoNSTeRS LivE ON SEPErAted CoNTinENts WiTH tHe POssIBILiTY tO gO tO THe OtHEr CoNTiNEnT As ThEY PlEaSE." Ink hummed while Blue gasped at the mention of an AU without Underground –not like it was the first, but still pretty amazing– but with continents instead. What an original change! He wouldn't say it to Ink, not wanting an angry artist –who would probably forget why he was even angry in the first place while running after Blue– after his nonexistent ass, but all the AUs in the Underground were a bit repetitive, despite the numerous differences with Undertale. "Every Monster also has a dragon bound to their SOUL at birth. Other than that, I don't know what we could say... Vibrant?" He shrugged, his glasses showing the word 'NOPE'. Ink nodded, more to himself than to them. He really didn't recall making this AU, but he was quite excited –or as excited as he could be with Dream's aura and the yellow paint he currently had mixed with his magic– to visit it.
"Interesting... Oh, and who are your parents? Because I can't imagine what the Monsters who would give birth to mini versions of Error and Nightmare could look like. You don't even look like brothers!... Sorry, was that offensive?" Ink chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his skull. He didn't notice Blue and Dream glare at him for this question, and wouldn't have understood why they did it if he noticed anyway. There was no problem in asking, right?
"We'd rather not talk about that." The Star Sanses –except Ink, who was strangely oblivious of the problem with his question– guessed that it was because their parents were dead, but really it was because they didn't have any idea of how to describe fake parents, and never really thought about it. "We don't even remember them, honestly." Ink winced, finally realizing that their 'parents' were dead. Which was logic since Gaster adopted them, but Ink wasn't known to be the sharpest tool in the shed anyway.
There was an awkward pause for a few minutes before Ink forgot what just had been said and the questions continued. Blue and Dream gave them an apologetic look, glaring slightly at Ink while the brothers internally sighed. It was going to take a while, maybe more than it did with the gang.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Everything's fine, for now :')
The gang and the Star Sanses possibly having a truce? Damn, my chaotic gremlin could actually be the harbingers of peace, how ironic-
My bois are proud of how they didn't have a breakdown yet or try to run away <3
Also, they reek of jealousy but that's just a detail- x)
You got two chapters this week because I don't know if I'll be able to post next week, and I didn't get the opportunity to write a Christmas-themed chapter or One Shot. So yeah, little gift I guess x)
Merry Christmas to you all <3
I hope that you enjoyed this chapter!
Lunar's out!~