Quick AN: Funny story btw, I was writing this and then I realized this chapter was almost at 9,000 words so you might get two chapters in a week if I'm feeling up to it. There are probably mistakes in this one since I didn't nitpick this one as harshly like I usually do so if you point mistakes out, I'll probably go and edit them.
Important for your understanding:
Monster instincts are a combination of two different things. Their humanity and their animality. Humanity allows them to be civil, learn quicker, have different forms of governments depending on the AU, and other stuff that could pass them off as human.
However, animality stops them from ever being completely human. It causes their physical attributes but it will not affect their mental attributes. When monsters growl, purr, bark, hiss, or make any other animal like sounds, it's their animality breaking through for a small moment.
In dire situations, monsters animality can break free and cause havoc around them which can lead to injury and in more serious situations, the death of the individual, or death of victims foolish enough to get in their way. The most common is the latter, yet there have been rare cases of the death of the individual. Very very rare cases.
Imagine humanity and animality as crystal balls that can shatter with enough force. If humanity were to crack the monster would slowly go insane but with enough time, the cracks could disappear. If it were to shatter, they would go permanently insane like Dust and some other monsters.
Animality is a bit different. If animality were to crack, the monsters animalistic tendencies would tenfold and make them act more like animals than humans. However, if it were to shatter, the monster's humanity would be permanently buried and cast away and it would leave an animal behind.
The perks of cracking animality would be the heightened senses like the sense of smell, hearing, and the other ones including a secret sixth sense. The downside of this is the huge possibility of losing humanity.
You guys can guess who lost or who gained what in the comment section. Some are more obvious than others.
Error POV
It took my entire willpower to refrain from bursting out laughing at them. Classic uneasily watched them, refusing to look away from them. Nightmare quickly got out of his daze and smirked at Classic's uneasiness. I know he loves scaring everyone and anyone from experience. I rested my hand on Classic to try to calm him down, but he flinched on contact. He's very uneasy with basically every "villain" in the Multiverse surrounding him.
I don't really blame him though. After all, he's been brainwashed by Ink basically to fear them and attack them on sight, including me. Although I have noticed that he seems to have more self-control than the others, who immediately contact Ink. Classic usually assesses the situation before he does anything which makes him stand out. Most of the time, when he sights Nightmare and co, they're in OuterTale relaxing from keeping the balance between peace and violence so he does nothing. Classic, from what I understand, visits other AU's to escape the constant pacifist and genocide routes in his world and his favorite is AU to go to is OuterTale because of the constant starry sky. So why bug them when the sky is big enough for everyone?
"So Error," Blue growled quietly, finally breaking the silence. His eyes narrowed as a scowl etched onto his face. "Where the hell have you been?"
"UhhHhh," was my bright response as I looked around uneasily. "I took aN unexPecTed plungE into tHe Void," I mumbled and shrugged. Classic, who was still standing next to me, facepalmed with an unamused expression.
"YoU'Re aN idIot," Static grumbled in the back of my mind, agreeing with Classic wholeheartedly. I just rolled my eyes and blocked him so he would stop bugging me. I still have yet to see the supposed perks of this merge, besides my glitching slowly disappearing.
I broke out of my trance when I heard Classic growl and glare at Nightmare. I had completely missed what Nightmare must have said (more like insulted) to him and now everyone was tense. Geno had a worried gaze and Blue simply raised an imaginary eyebrow and glared at me. It's as if he wanted me to 'do something.
Well, I sure did something.
"SHut uP!" I yelled, startling everyone around me. Nightmare glared at before rolling his eyes, muttering something about Classic starting it.
"YOu all aCt like blOody childRen I swEar," I grumbled as I watched Cross stick his tongue out in response to something Horror said. "You'rE all fUcking childrEn!"
Blue snickered as he shook his head. "This is much more fun when you're around Error. Why did you have to leave?" He asked in a sad tone but I could hear the underlying anger in it. I was wholeheartedly expecting them to get angry at me for not coming when I could've come a lot sooner. Speaking of sooner, maybe I could have fun with this.
I raised an imaginary eyebrow as I gazed at Nightmare, who uneasily returned it while his brother suppressed a knowing snicker. "So yOu dIdn't tell thEm I waS aliVe?" I asked in the most innocent tone I could muster. Nightmare's glare grew more intense as the others slowly turned their head and quietly glared at him. Except for Dream. Dream quietly chuckled as he quickly moved to stand by Classic.
"ER-" "Don'T ErRor me NigHtmare," I grumbled as Killer slowly and deliberately took out his knife. "You walKed inTo thIS by youRself," I snickered as Horror brought out his ax and Blue brought out his hammer.
"You should have said something boss," Cross growled as he took out his own long knife.
Dust became tense as his friends grew angrier and angrier. "Come on guys," he said nervously as the others turned their glares on to him. "Let's not get a repeat of last time."
Blue burst out laughing while the others became flustered from embarrassment. "No no no! Let's get a repeat of last time, except this time I'll bring a camera!" Blue exclaimed excitedly.
Classic turned to me with one of his more serious glares. "Error, what happened last time?" He demanded as he watched Geno shake his head at Blue's proclamation.
I shrugged. "How sHoulD I know?" I asked with a bit of sass. "I've bEen stUcK in anotheR woRld fOr like two mOnThs."
Dream cleared his throat, interrupting Classic's response. "Hate to break this up guys, but with the multiverse about to die in like less than," he paused as he looked at his wrist which had nothing on it. "A week, I say we kick Ink off of his high horse and show him how fucked up he is."
"Okay okay okay!" Classic growled causing everyone around him to shut up. "Someone throw me a bone and help me understand what's going on!"
From the corner of my eye, I noticed Nightmare and Dream share a knowing look, but I was not going to interrupt Classic when he was on a rant so I let it slide.
Classic threw his hands up with a furious snarl. Man, I haven't seen him this pissed since Frisk broke their promise. It's honestly terrifying to think how much Classic might have suffered from Frisk being a dick.
"I just want everyone to be happy, but according to everyone with fucking influence over everyone, life isn't fair so let's take the one guy who's suffered the most and let's take him from what family he had left and let's plop him in a totally different multiverse with totally different rules and make him destroy worlds because their son is a dumbass with poor listening skills!"
The throne room was silent. Classic seemed to realize how much he said since his posture slumped and his eyes dimmed although his hands were still curled up into fists. He's still angry.
"I'll... I'll be outside," his voice was soft with a broken quality in it. The anger he had has been diminished. He turned around and opened the door before shutting it tight.
----------
Ink's POV
Sci, Fell, Fresh, Death, Color, Outer, G Sans, and Epic were the only ones here. They were my best fighters and right now we were coordinating the next best course of action. But instead of ideas, the meeting has dissolved into blame them and blame that sort of thing.
"What's next Ink? With all of these AU's collapsing and monsters dusting outside of our AU, everyone is pointing their fingers at Nightmare but we both know that Nightmare isn't at fault this time,"
Sci growled as he closed the digital map with the snap of his fingers. His attitude isn't helping the headache that has been growing and the cloudiness and memory loss I've been experiencing.
"Now that Dream's gone, were down our best fighter and it's all your fault," Fell grumbled as he pounded his hands down against my poor table. I eyed Fell uneasily as the last time he pounded my table, he smashed the table into two pieces.
"You didn't stand up for him either," I grumbled as I dismissed the cracks on the tables sleek surface. I winced as I felt my right eyes magic collapse as I lost my ability to see for a few seconds. This was going to be painful if I have to fight. Sci warned me that permanent damage might be inevitable.
"Why can't we tell the others about the destruction of the AU's Ink? They deserve to know at least some of the truth," Color grumbled as he shared a look with Epic. I know they both don't want to keep lying to their friends.
I sighed. "I suppose they deserve to know part of the truth," I mumbled as I forced the cloudiness away. This was going to be my own decision this time. I wasn't stupid. The cloudiness made me feel drowsy and then the next thing I know, I hurt someone I care about. I still can't believe I didn't believe Dream.
"Meeting adjourned!" I announced as I heard the sighs of relief come from the others. This meeting had everyone tense and everyone couldn't get away fast enough. But apparently leaving wasn't on everyone's agenda today.
"Ink?" Outer asked tentatively. He always was the best at reading expressions.
"Yes?" I asked uneasily. I watched him like a hawk as he took a seat and gestured to the seat next to him. I reluctantly complied.
"What's eating you, pal? Somethings obviously bugging you and the others see it too." The genuine tone caught me off guard as I always assumed that he was using me as the others do. I shrugged as I gently touched my eye but pulled away when I felt the sting of the old wound.
"I just feel like I'm doing something wrong and I want to call this potential war off but I'm afraid of the others looking down on me as if I were weak," I explained. The feeling of regret surged around where my soul would be but I don't have one. I destroyed it a long time ago.
Outer stared at me before shaking his head. "I know you can't feel emotions, but if somehow you feel regret, then own it. Don't ignore it and pretend it's not there because, in the end, you'll fall victim to it." After a few moments of silence, Outer stood up and stretched.
"Welp, I gotta go home before another jetpack incident occurs. I'll see you later Ink," Outer said happily as he waved his hand and disappeared. I stared at the spot where he disappeared shaking my head at the thought of giving up like that.
"I'll figure it out sooner or later, but for now, I'm tired," I mumbled to nobody as I teleported to my world to sleep.
----------
Error's POV
Now when someone leaves the room angry or upset, I just leave them alone. But Classic hit a little to close to home for comfort. A guy who's suffered so much and been taken from his family to control an idiot? Pa-lease who else would fit that description?
"I'll go afteR him," I told the others. As I walked away, I could hear a faint argument between Nightmare and Dream about getting wounds taken care of. Meh whatever, I'll figure it out later. It took a while but I eventually found Classic glaring at a wall.
"You know, tHe waLl did nOthing to yOu pal," I mumbled as I sat down beside him. He glared at me before promptly pretending I wasn't there. I sighed in irritation. This is where everyone gets their stubbornness.
"I'm sorry," Classic finally said quietly, shaking me out of my thoughts. I gave him an incredulous look and he seemed to understand my silent shock because he shrugged and glared at me.
"I'm sorry that this UnderTale Multiverse was created by horrible people who used you like a tool."
I was struck speechless, but then it hit me. "WhAt do you mean bY peoplE?" Classic sat up from his slumped position in alarm but before he could pull another disappearing act, I tied him up in my strings. Loose enough to where it shouldn't hurt him if he tried to struggle, but tight enough to where he couldn't get out.
"Are you kidding me?" He growled as he struggled harder and harder until he gave up. I snickered before returning back to my more serious self. "So whAt dId you say abOut people conTrolling this wOrld agaIn?"
Classic scowled as he tested out his flexibility within the strings. "Well seeing as you're hands-free and I am all tied up, I don't think I find this situation quite fair," he growled.
I rolled my eyes and gestured to my string covered hand. "WelL obviously I am tied up as well so spill," I smirked at his irritated face and I found myself missing his more playful side that refused to resurface since the Void.
"Fine! I give up anyways. So what do you want to know so badly?" So that's how he's going to be... "I want tO know mOre aboUt this MulTiversEs oriGins.
"Sure, this is what I know about our Multiverse."
-----
Destiny flapped his oversized angelic wings uneasily as he stood in the murky darkness that surrounded everything around him, including the infinite landscape that inhabited the Void. He shivered as he could hear a croaker pack celebrate whatever unfortunate soul they caught and devoured, although deep down he knew that most monsters and humans down here deserved their demise that Fate and Void deemed fit.
"Well, well, well, look what we have here," He heard a sinister voice chuckle. Destiny quickly whirled around, summoning his dual blades that held more power than what Inks brush could ever hope to hold.
"What do you want Oblivion?" Destiny asked in an exaggerated tone, gripping his blades tighter as he looked around for his hidden enemy. The silhouetted form of a Sans with dragon wings suddenly appeared from the sky, a spiked mace in one hand, as he glided to the ground gracefully.
Oblivion twirled his mace around, the spikes glinting off of what little light Destiny's soul could produce. Oblivion's blood red eye seemed to constrict from the sudden brightness after being in the dark for so long.
"Turn that shit off!" Oblivion snarled as he forced himself to look away. "Your soul is brighter than the fucking sun!" Oblivion took a few more steps back before Destiny finally allowed his soul's brightness to tone itself down a bit.
After a few minutes of readjustment, Oblivion growled and half-heartedly slashed at his opposite with his claws, who in turn dodged them with a chuckle. (Imagine how Wolverine's claws work, Oblivion's work in a similar way)
"You get yourself worked up too easily old friend," Destiny chuckled as his swords disappeared. Oblivion snorted as his mace disappeared and his wings relaxed. "Sorry, I just wasn't expecting Fate's Champion to grace my presence oh wise one," Oblivion retorted.
"Oh wise one? You make me sound old," Destiny growled, his arms crossed as his lavender eye pierced his friend's soul with the most irritable look he could muster. "This is what you get blinding me asshole," Oblivion replied with his trouble maker smirk, ignoring the chills that traveled down his spine from Destiny's glare.
"I suppose, but you know why I am here? Did you do your part?" Destiny asked calmly although Oblivion could see his nervousness from a mile away. 'He must feel Void's presence inching ever so closer,' Oblivion thought to himself.
"Of course I did," Oblivion grumbled as he teleported the "kid" he kidnapped. Destiny recognized them as Codec, Void's other half. To survive the abnormal amount of power that Fate and Void had to hold, their power manifested into "children" or younger versions of themselves. Void had Codec, and Fate's was... missing.
"Why am I here Oblivion?" Codec asked, rubbing his skull. "I know I owe you a huge favor, but this is a little excessive. Fate's Champion? Are you insane?!"
"Yes," Oblivion replied nonchalantly causing Destiny to snicker. "And you won't get into too much trouble with what I need you to do," Oblivion added, doing his best to reassure the young Sans. Codec eyed the guy he looked up to for a while before finally caving in.
"Fine, I'll help you I guess," Codec grumbled as he eyed the lighter being uneasy. "What do I have to do?" Destiny grinned at the kid in approval. "Not much, I just need you to lead a certain destroyer around the Void when he falls down here."
"That's it?" Codec asked suspiciously. Oblivion shook his head. "Nope, you'll be leading Radix and Classic-" "OH HELL NO!" Codec interrupted taking both Champions off guard. "Nope, nada, no no no, I will do anything else then that man. Classic can be venomous to me and I don't even know who Radix is!"
"What if I told you Classic was on board with this?" Oblivion asked as Codec narrowed his eyes in disagreement. "Then I'd call BS because the last time you asked him for a favor this big, his gaster blasters almost killed you," Codec replied as he held in his own laugh. Destiny couldn't help himself as he burst out laughing at the thought of one of the strongest beings across the Void getting beat up by a skeleton.
Oblivion narrowed his eyes at Destiny but didn't respond since he knew very well that he'd be doing the exact same thing right now if something similar happened to Destiny. Codec seemed to notice Oblivion's growing irritation so he quickly changed the subject. "How'd you convince him this time?"
"I promised him freedom to travel in and out of the Void freely if he complied," Oblivion replied, ignoring the baffled looks he received. "Are you crazy?" Codec asked him again. "I think he is a step past crazy," Destiny mumbled as he gave his friend an uneasy look.
"You damn right bro," Oblivion replied ignoring the intended insult. "But that means he would have to be your champion," Destiny muttered, shocked and at a loss of words. "Yep," Oblivion confirmed, enjoying the pure shock that was coming off of his friend.
"I'm shocked. Do you really want to take Fate down? What about the consequences?" Codec asked surprised. "Yes I know, but Destiny already proved he's better as he does most of Fate's job," Oblivion replied, Destiny nodding in agreement. "Well," Codec finally grumbled after a minute of contemplation. "I am in. What is the plan?"
"Sweet, this is how it's going to go," Destiny explained ignoring the glare he was receiving from Oblivion. "You are going to wait down here and do your normal shit until the three I mentioned fall down here somehow."
"Somehow?" Codec asked, confused. Oblivion shrugged as well, not really sure on the choice of words his friend choose. "If I give you full details, it won't go as planned," Destiny explained, rolling his eyes in an annoyed manner. "I need you both to go in the dark for this one."
"Wait, can Fate hear us?" Codec asked, suddenly worried about his well being. Destiny snorted and shook his head. "No, they are to busy watching their favorite child," Destiny grumbled with a hint of loathing. Oblivion gazed at his friend in worry as he started to wonder whether or not his friend would stick to their promise.
"Well, Void's been wanting to step down for a while and I have refused since I would have work with Fate so I think Void will keep this quiet," Oblivion mumbled, doing his best to break the sudden tension between all three of them. "Good," was all Destiny said as he started to walk away.
"Wait! What about the plan?" Codec asked, with a hint of seriousness in his voice. Oblivion snorted as he eyed his friend uneasily. Destiny stopped and cocked his head to the side, the shadows hiding most of his face from his two allies.
"Stick close when they get down here. Classic will confront Error sometime in the future, and when Classic regains his memories of our conversation, he'll tell the destroyer the things he needs to know."
Oblivion growled, not liking how shady Destiny was being. "And if he doesn't?"
Destiny gritted his teeth, not liking being talked back to by his opposite.
"Then this whole plan will fail. By the time Fate hears there conversation, I'll be down here hiding from Fate's wrath. They won't be able to take back the Champion title since I have had it for over 1,000 Chaos Years. They will fail."
"And if Error makes a mistake?"
"Then we are doomed. Fate will RESET both Multiverses and replace me as a champion," Destiny replied, disappearing into a cloud of mist. Oblivion stared at the spot where his friend used to be before he gestured to Codec to follow him.
"Where are we going?" Codec asked curiously. Oblivion snorted in amusement. "We are going to Classic, it is finally time."
"Are you sure he's good enough for this job in particular? He's more of a jokester than an undercover agent."
"Meh, Classic would surprise you if you got to know him better," Oblivion replied but before he could teleport the two to Classic's multiverse, a voice interrupted him.
"Don't bother, I am right here."
-----
Error's POV
"And that's all I remember from eavesdropping on their conversation," Classic added in a bored tone. Gone was the Sans I've grown used to. This one is quite serious and I could not have been more curious. But there was a nagging question in the back of my mind.
"So what's with the act?" I asked, confused. Classic chuckled as if I asked him the dumbest question in the world. "If other Sanses had my abilities, that could lead to trouble since Ink takes a lot of his inspiration from how I act," Classic told me, very serious.
"So... are you going to act like you usually do, or you going to act differently?" I asked. Classic snorted and shrugged. "Should probably stick to how I normally act to keep Ink off of my ass and keep this between us by the way."
"He's already on your ass," I replied a little miffed at his lack of faith in my lying skills. "And I'll keep your secret for now Classic." "Good," Classic replied, clearly relieved. "Now let's get back to the others. I believe it is time for a war council."
-----
A knife sailed through the air and landed on to the center of the map that Dream drew in the time me and Classic we're having our chat. I gazed at Killer, who just threw the knife with incredible precision. Impressive to say the least.
"So we are striking here Dream, correct?" Killer asked as he twirled his knife around. Dream snorted, ignoring Killer's disrespect to his work. "Yes, this is the most secretive spot that only Ink's best and most trusted friends are allowed to meet. In fact, they recently met here."
"That's nice and all, but what is our plan of action?" Cross grumbled, glaring at Dream in irritation. I know we interrupted his chocolate raid and he wasn't too happy with us right now.
"The plan," Dream grumbled in return, "is for all of us to surround this place with mine and Nightmare's help."
"So you want us to conceal our auras?" Dust asked. "Yep, and I'll call Ink and try to get him alone, but I am counting on him to bring in his best."
"His bEst?" I asked suspiciously. Dream nodded and began to list out a bunch of names I recognized. "Sci, Fell, Fresh, Death, Color, Outer, G Sans, and Epic. They are the only ones who know about this place."
"Sweet, so who is killing who?" Horror asked excitedly causing Nightmare to let out a deep sigh of annoyance. Dream snickered and glared at Horror in amusement. "No killing, but you can injure them if you have to," Dream replied causing everyone to perk up, including Classic.
"So who is going against who?" Cross asked, with a bit more enthusiasm than before. Dream smirked evilly and everyone grew excited. "Well, I have been fighting with and against all of you for a very long time. So I've taken notes on patterns, individual skills, and most importantly, grudges."
"What is so important about grudges?" Dust asked, confused. I was kind of confused as I had an idea of what he was trying to say, yet I wasn't one hundred percent positive on it. Dream chuckled as if Dust's question amused him.
"Remember when Death almost killed you? I can imagine you want to kick his ass just a little bit, right?" Dust's angry growl was the only response Dream received, as well as angry glares from the others. I remember that day vividly.
I was too injured to fight so I had to retreat to the Anti Void and I watched the fight from there. Dust was fighting Geno when Death appeared out of the shadows and surprised him. Dust sensed him and managed to dodge most of his scythe but his soul didn't leave the fight unscathed.
I thought he was going to die slowly and painfully. So did everyone else. Nightmare was prepared to let him die in his AU so his death wouldn't affect surrounding AU's, but to everyone's shock, he pulled through. He told us it was his high LV and determination that saved him from death's doorstep.
Now, Dust was quiet. I knew he was angry and wanted to get revenge on the god that caused his makeshift family such strife. Dust seemed to make up his mind as he nodded his head and cracked his knuckles. Dream nodded back and continued on.
"This is what I mean by grudges. For example, Dust is mad and any anger towards the individual he is mad at, whether or not it's for revenge or he just hates them, will give him more strength to permanently hurt them,"
"HOW IS THAT GOOD?" Nightmare asked curiously. He's been silent this entire time so it surprised me that he spoke. "It's not," Dream growled irritably. "I need all of you to turn your anger into power so we can win this. I know you all are formidable foes, especially you Error," Dream added, shaking me out of my trance. "But I know the others have held back their attacks on you guys on Ink's orders."
"Why?" Horror asked in confusion. Blue snorted and gave him a look. "Just in case you guys were more powerful than he thought, he wanted to hold back to take you lot by surprise." "Also Ink didn't want anyone's death on his hands if everyone went all out so yeah," Geno added.
The room became silent before Dream broke the ice. "It is time you guys. Here is the game plan to save the multiverse."
"Cross, you are Night's best assassin, so I need you to silently take out Sci and then move onto Fell and take him out."
"Roger that," Cross replied, with a mock salute.
"Killer you're on Color."
"Ugh," Killer grumbled irritably, glaring at Dream as if he'd been given a month worth of chores. "Fine."
"Dust you are going to take out Death."
"He won't know what fucking hit him!" Dust growled, cracking his knuckles again in excitement.
"Horror, you get to chop down G Sans's ego a tad bit."
"Sweet, he's too tall for his own good anyway," Horror grumbled, swinging his ax around like a maniac.
"Blue, Geno, you guys get Fresh. Take him seriously because there is no cure if he infects you."
Blue scoffed in mock disbelief as he crossed his arms. "You doubt our skills? We are the best tag team here," He boasted proudly. "Blue, we are the only true tag team here," Geno grumbled causing a couple chuckles from the entire group.
"Classic? You okay hurting Outer?"
"Yep," Classic replied irritated, his glare increasing every second. I could tell he was mad that Dream doubted his strength.
"Night?" Dream asked tentatively. "YES?" Nightmare replied, looking slightly annoyed. "Me and you are taking on Epic to take him out quickly."
"EASY ENOUGH," Nightmare replied, stretching his tentacles. I snorted as Dream has obviously never seen Nightmare go all out. This would be easy for him depending on how serious Epic was going to take them.
"And Error?"
"InK?" I asked, hoping I was right.
"Yep," Dream replied before glaring at everyone, making sure that we were paying attention to him.
"Remember guys, no killing or dismemberment but you can certainly maim them. Healing magic is simple enough and a couple of broken bones won't hurt them," Dream reminded everyone as he walked out of the room. After he left, I heard Nightmare snort.
"AND THAT IS WHAT I CALL COMMAND MODE. I ACTUALLY TOOK HIM SERIOUSLY THIS TIME.
-----
(Character references. About time too. Made a mistake with Static's hands and I forgot to draw Fresh but oh well)
Characters (starting from top left)
Dark Blue Background- Radix
Dark Red Background- Edge
Cyan Background- Swap
Light Yellow Background- Cosmo
Grey Background- Reaper
Rainbow Background- Paint
Gold Background- Reverie
Purple Background- Bane
Red Background- Butcher
Darker Red Background- Grim
Magenta Background- Scourge
Faded Rainbow Background- Sketch
Even Darker Red Background- Static
Dark Purple Background- Codec
Reddish Brown Background- Oblivion
Light Blue Background- Destiny