There was an explosion outside. It made each of us jump. I went out to investigate. But Dust was right with me after he got Blue to stay inside. Dust shuts the front door behind him and we turn to see a sight. Ink had Nightmare and Dream hanging from two different trees, purple chains keeping them from doing anything. Ink stood between the trees, shaking his head and rubbing his forehead in frustration.
"What the heck happened?"Dust asks
"Nightmare tried to hug Dream with his tentacles, being friendly oddly enough. But due to whatever that glitchy kid did, Dream didn't like that and well, caused that explosion, knocking him away and attacking. I swear these boneheads fight over the silliest of things no matter the situation or conditions. I wouldn't be surprised if they fought at just catching the other looking at them. Jeez."Ink explains
I facepalm, knowing the reason of the two acting so "odd". I look at Nightmare, but to them I was looking at Dream. Dust and Ink begin talking. Dust was finally getting a full explanation.
"YoU'vE tAlKeD t0 y0ur br0ther witHout fiGhting bEfore. TRy iT agAin, cAuSe yOur fiGhts aRen't hElpiNg."I state
Nightmare looks at me and I narrow my eyes to show that I'm serious. He sighs and nods. I turn to Dream, finding him now using Nightmare's calm form to slip out of the chains and trying to sneak off. I quickly go to him and grab him by the collar of his clothes from before.
"SaMe tO yoU. You'Re GuIlTy aS wElL, dOn'T TrY sNeaKiNg oUt oF tHiS. NoW Go anD tAlK. YoU'Re lEaDeRs anD gUaRdIaNs of pOsItIvItY oR nEgAtIvIty, nOt baByBoNes tOdDlErs. AcT lIkE iT!"I say with a shake of my head
"Fine..."Dream says
I drag him over to Nightmare and smirk.
"InKy, pUt DrEam doWn. I tAlKeD sOmE sEnSe iNtO ThEsE 2. ThEy'Ll bE gOoD."I say, referencing to Nightmare stuck as Dream
"Got it, Glitchy."Ink says, snapping his fingers
The chains melted away and Nightmare hit the ground roughly.
"Dream really has to work on his landing."Dust says
Nightmare let a muffled growl out, muffled by his face in the ground. I shove Dream over to him, but quickly notice something in each of their crowns. I pluck them out and they seemed to be little containers. I leave the two to talk, but made a string barrier around them so they don't leave and have a proper private chat. I go over to Dust and Ink. Just in time to witness Ink put a finger in Dust's face.
"When the heck are you gonna be brave and just tell Blue ya like him already? It's very dang obvious and I'm tired of you teasing Error and I when you haven't done anything that you tell!"Ink snaps, seeming very angry and passionate as he spoke
Dust was silent. He was completely caught off-guard by this. I place a hand on each of Ink's shoulders and gently drag him back to give Dust some personal space.
"WoAh, oKay, InKy. CaLm dOwn tHeRe. No neEd tO pOiNt fInGeRs aT aNyOne. CaLm. BrEaThE. I'm suRe DusT pLaNs tO bE a bRaVe bOi aNd Do wHat yOu sAiD."I say, holding Ink gently and giving a hinting gaze at Dust from behind Ink
"Ugh....Okay...You're right."Ink sighs
"Yep! I'm a brave boi! I can do this!"Dust assures Ink
"Is everything okay out here?"Blue asks from behind Dust
Dust whirls around and jumps at Blue being there.
"Not a brave enough boi for this!"Dust exclaims, then teleports away
(sorry I just got that internet meme on my mind)
Blue was completely clueless to the situation though, he just tilts his head confusedly. He then shrugs it off, not questioning it.
"YeP, eVerYtHinG iS oK. Why dOn'T yOu gO iN aNd cAlL tHe OtHerS tO chEcK oN tHeM?"I suggest
Blue nods and runs inside to do the task. I quickly remember what Cross told me to do, so I whip my phone out and text him quickly.
"Hey. At Dust's place. Safe as far as I know. Have Dream and Nightmare with us. Warning, they may act differently."I typed
Not even a minute after I sent it, a portal opens and in came Cross. I knew why he came so I lower the barrier from Dream and Nightmare. This is gonna be interesting. Cross charged at Dream, little did he know it was really Nightmare in there. Cross wraps him into a hug. I could see Dream glaring his brother down while Cross believed he was hugging Dream. His glare said:Don't mess this up with Cross or I kill you.
"Dreamy! Thank the stars you're ok!"Cross cheers
"Who you calling Dreamy? Get off me!"Nightmare snaps, struggling in Cross' grip
"You, silly! Aww, okay. I get it, the situation still has you uptight."Cross says, releasing him
Cross then looks to Dream as Nightmare. I could tell he tensed. I could see Nightmare's shocked expression as his face lit up. The fact this was happening while he was stuck in Dream's body was hilarious. Dream looks at Cross and grins, tentacles freezing behind him. Cross' face got a nervous expression.
"Hello, Nightmare! I'm glad you're okay as well!"Cross says quickly
Dream turned to the calm form and hugged Cross. Cross was completely caught off-guard. He looks to me for help or an explanation.
"N-Nightmare? Dream? What's gotten into them?"Cross asks
"WheN I sAiD tHeY aCt dIfFeReNt, I mEaNt iT. ThE gLiTcHy kId mAde tHeM swAp bOdIes. DrEaM sOmEhOw lEaRnEd tO mAke NiGhtMaRe look like hImsElF bEfoRe tHe iNcIdeNt nOw tHat hE's in cOnTrOl."I explain
"Ah, interesting. Wait so I was hugging Nightmare and called him...? S-Sorry Nightmare!"Cross exclaims
Nightmare was clearly furious and planning something, but I look at him to remind him that he will regret trying anything. He just huffs and looks away, not answering anyone.
Dream on the other hand, he scooped Cross up and ran off to talk or whatever. Nightmare yelled after them but got no answer and he didn't try anything else. He just laid back against a tree and said that we should plan something....later. He then dozed off. I look at Ink and he shrugs.
"NoW, to cAlM yOu dOwN."I say, popping the cap off the vial he gave me and handing it to him
"Ooo! A yellow one!"Ink mutters, taking and sipping it
His eye lights become stars, bright yellow, then go to a circle and square, one yellow and the other orange. He looks up at me and smiles. He then shut his eyes, nuzzling his head against mine. I gaze at him and smile, he looks peaceful and adorable as usual. I feel a sudden hug from behind. I look behind me to see Blue there hugging me. It was so sudden, so I quickly tensed. He released me and looks at me. I look at him as he smiles.
"That was cool! You really did talk some sense into those childish two!"Blue says with a chuckle
I nod, calming down from the surprise hug.
"Come inside, we're making plans for taking that glitchy kid's plans down. Maybe we can show them the good of this multiverse and that there's no need to swap things."Blue says
I nod. I carry Ink inside and we sit on the couch. Dream, Cross and Nightmare came in and sat on the floor even though there was plenty of space left. Dust began discussing with them the events that have occurred and ideas for rebelling plans. He told of the known info and what can be done. Each of them kept giving suggestions and Blue gave Ink a new sash of vials that he made using the broken ones. Ink soon woke up. Ink looks to find himself in my lap. His face became a rainbow. I smile. I look at the others and explain to them of the containers I saw in Nightmare's and Dream's crowns. I search my pockets but couldn't find it. I look around and see them on a counter, empty now. I was confused.
Blue then approaches me and gives me a chocolate bar as well as Ink. We both thank him, seeing nothing off about it. We munch on it as Dust took Blue to some AU as Nightmare, Dream, and Cross went to find the kid. Ink finished eating it and then had a drop of each of his vials to get balanced again. This knocked him out again, so I took the chance to reboot.
I open my eyes once I thought I finished rebooting to find this odd sight. I was laying in my own lap. How is that even possible? Am I dreaming? Am I glitching up in rebootion and having one of those out of body lucid dreams? Did I die or something? I poke my body and they, er, I open my, eyes? But I still wasn't in my body and seeing from the proper angle. It's hard to explain. I'm just gonna say E for my body from here. I gaze at E. E narrows his eyes, looking at me confusedly. E pokes me, then jumps when I was real. I haven't even seen what my form is currently. E springs up, causing me to hit the floor. E's face lit up my usual yellow. I look around. This was some realistic dream, we were in Dust's place and every detail was gotten correct. I get up and try to dust myself off, then I realize what changed.
I was Ink.
Wait! Does that mean E is Ink stuck as me? Oh no no no no no! Please let this be a dream!
I slap myself, I saw my hp drop. It wasn't a dream. This was real. I look at Inky to see that he must've caught onto this as well. His face lit up in yellow. Huh, it really is bright like he says. Dang. I feel my face light up, which I knew must've been a rainbow. I step back at my, er, Ink's hands flew to my, er, his face. This is so confusing.
"I-Ink?"I ask
"WaiT E-ErRoR?"Ink exclaims, his hands flying to his face as well
Yep. It was confirmed. We had swapped bodies. Just like Dream and Nightmare. I panic. He panicks. We're both panicking.
(drew myself with base and help of Ibis Paint backgrounds)
Dang, he even sounds like me as I sound like him!
I was ready to crash and reboot, but then realize that he's in my body again, meaning I couldn't. The one time I felt that I'd be okay with it, I can't do it. I take some deep breaths, trying to calm down. How could this have happened? Who could've caused it? What caused it? Think! Think! Gotta retrace my steps! I remember the surprise hug from Blue, then not being able to find the containers. Blue gave us chocolate bars after that and then left us....Ink knocked himself out, I rebooted. I gaze at empty containers and realize what he did. He did his taco trick.
"Blue...Blue did this!"I mutter
"HuH?"Ink asks
"Blue put some liquid from the containers I found and told ya all about into the chocolate bars! He gave those to us and caused this! The containers are right there, and I can promise you that they were not empty when I found them! Wait, that also means that he used the cure for Nightmare and Dream on us! He is so gonna pay! Wait, hah! Imagine when those two find out! We may not need to do anything for him to pay!"I explain, chuckling midway after making a realization
"Oh! WhY aReN'T I surPrIsED? WeLl, I nOw sEe wHat yOu mEan bY sKiTtLe ShOrTiE! AnD mAy I sAy, yA mAke iT sEem cUtE!"Ink says, his tone growing to a tease
"Shut up, Inky! I can say the same about you, mister glitchy star! This seems so weird, though. Good luck with the reboot."I say, lifting my scarf and looking away
"What rebo-"Ink begins, but was cut off by crashing and rebooting noises
I look curiously, watching. So that's what it's like when I do it! Ink finished rebooting and looks around wildly in a panic. I smirk.
"Congrats, you did your first reboot!"I say
"Ah, sO tHat'S whAt iT'S liKE. InTeReStInG."Ink states
I then got this curious thought. I roll up a sleeve. I always wondered why Ink hid his arms so much. I find swirling tattoos along his arms of which seemed to go lower. Where'd these come from?
"HeY! DoN't lOok aT tHoSe! ThEy'Re pRiVaTe!"Ink snaps at me
"Alright, they looked cool just so you know."I say
"Eh, jUst cReAtIon mArKs iF yOu aSk mE."Ink states
I roll down the sleeve and look at him to see him looking under the scarf and collar of my shirt. I felt my face warm.
"Hey! Don't look!"I snap, lifting his head up with my hand
"Ok. We'Re eVen nOw. We bOth iN tHiS eXpErIeNce sAw sOmeThInG pRiVaTe."Ink says
He gets revenge so quick. I sigh and nod.
I get a call, but on Ink's phone. I take it out and see that it's from Blue. I look at Ink and he gestures for me to answer it. I shake my head. We debate over it quickly for a few moments before I ended up answering and lifting the phone up.
"Hey, Blue! Hi Dust! What's up?"I say, trying to sound upbeat and happy like Ink does but I was really feeling angry and nervous
"Hi, Ink. Is Error there? There's something that needs to be discussed."Blue tells me
I put it on speaker. I hold the phone between us.
"Discuss away, Blue!"I say
"Error?"Blue calls
"HeRe."Ink responds, shrugging and giving me a look that says he doesn't know what to do about this situation
"Okay, nevermind. Just had to check on you both. Bye."Blue states
"Oh, cmon! Blue, just be honest and tell them tha-"We hear Nightmare say as Dream but get cut off by Blue hanging up
I look at Ink and he looks back at me. Both of us were confused. What were they gonna tell us? There was suddenly another ringing. Ink pulls out my phone.
"It'S frOm DusT."Ink says
"Ok. Answer it."I tell him, tucking his away
Ink accepts the call and greets presumed Dust. From there, his expression went dark and he was silent besides uh-huh's and OK's. He soon lowers the phone and Error signs covered his vision.
"ThAt waS nOt DusT. It wAs NiGhTmAre, wHo I'M guEsSinG rEaLly iS DreAm. He fOuNd DuSt'S pHonE sHorTlY aFtEr hE cAlLed hIm sAyInG hE fOuNd tHe kId aTtaCkInG oUr bRotHeRs. Ni-DrEaM sAys tHat hE's gOiNg tO iNvEsTiGaTe whIlE CrOsS stAys wIth hIs bRo. He haSn'T tOlD thEm oF hiS fIndInGs oR plAn, aNd I thInK wE bOtH kNow hOw thIs mAy gO sIncE hE haRdLy kNoWs hOw t0 fiGht aS NigHtmAre."Ink explains
"Well, let's go then! Nobody messes with our brothers or Dust! Besides, I don't think Nightmare would like finding out that Dream got captured as him and the kid did something else experimental."I suggest, picking up his paintbrush.
"Be caReFul wItH Bro0miE!"Ink snaps
"Broomie?"I echo, looking at him curiously
I see his face light up.
"AhEm. I meAn mY brUsH. Do yOu EvEn kNoW hOw tO uSe tHaT?"Ink asks
"Yep! How do you think I made that space for you in the anti-void? I took your brush while you rested and drew it up! Then I returned it to you before you woke up!"I assure him
"Oh! PaRt oF mE thOuGhT thAt y0u st0le iT!"Ink admits
My jaw drops and I place my hand on my chest. I let out a gasp.
"I am offended! I worked hard on it! Wait..."I state, then place my hand on his chest
"Now I'm offended. Heh."I say, once again pointing out the fact that we swapped bodies.
Ink lifts the scarf up to hide his face. He turns away from me and says nothing.
"Do you even know how to summon my strings or really any of my attacks?"I ask
"N-No...."Ink replies
"Okay, I'll show you."I say, then grab him and take him outside
I'm not gonna get yelled at by Dust for house damages. I decide to start off simple. A bone attack will be taught first. But first....I dig through the pockets and pull out my glasses.
"What were you doing with my glasses?"I ask
"YoU drOpPeD tHem wHiLe wE wEre fIgHtInG!"Ink replies defensively
"Well, congrats. Cause you'll wear them now. I know how bad my eye sight is."I say, putting them on him
"Ah oKaY."Ink says
I show him how to summon bone attacks. He caught onto it quite fast, which I expected. It was his aim that needed work. I placed a blank paper on a tree and had him try to get it. In the first round, it took him fifteen tries to get a bone to hit it. But by the fourth round and fourth paper, he got each bone to hit the target, even if he had to run. He soon got the hang of summoning Gaster Blasters. I simply had to show him how to blast them. I'd circle him and adjust any of his gestures or attempts. He seemed uptight and nervous, looking away whenever we made eye contact.
Finally, it was time to show him the strings ability. I decided to see how he was doing first. I was proud of him, but worried that something was wrong.
"You okay? You've seemed very nervous this entire time."I say
He nods.
"Y-Yep, jUsT nErVoUs aBoUt ThIs. AlSo iT'S kIndA haRd nOt tO wHen I cAn sEe yOuR eMotIoNs nOw!"Ink replies
I remember the eye lights of Ink's change with his expression or how he feels. And since I'm in Ink's body, it must be doing that for me. I feel my face warm. I look away and nod.
"Good point and fair. You can do many things with strings summoned. You just gotta reach up and want to use them. From there, it's just planning what to do with them."I say
He nods an attempts it. He quickly got the strings out. He then got an idea. I could tell by his smile and the glow in his eye lights.
"I gEt iT."He says
I step aside, letting the puppet I had set up for the practice come into view. Now he could easily grab it and practice his skills on it. But now his gaze stayed on me, his smile growing. The fact that he was staring at me as me was weird enough, but his unknown reasons or ideas was making me nervous. I took another step back to ensure that he could see the puppet and possibly lower the chances of him getting me.
"Inky, what are you pla-HUH?!"I ask, then yelp as he wraps the strings around my wrists
He pulls the strings and I fly off my feet, getting yanked toward him. He places his hand on my cheek and I feel my face warm up quick. He stared me dead in the eyes with this sly grin on his face.
"Inky, w-w-w-what are y-you d-doing?"I stutter
"Heh, yOu'Re tHe sHorTiE aGaiN! So hErE's ReVeNgE fOr YOUr TeAsInG! LoVe yA GliTcHy!"Ink teases with a wink
I feel my face burn even more. Ink kissed my forehead. I tensed up and froze. I then felt the feeling as if I crashed and rebooted. I blink and there was ink on the ground between us. Ink didn't seem surprised. I then realized I must've puked like he does when I do those kinds of things. I felt scared and surprised, which usually causes it to occurr. I then realize that he called me a shortie even though I was really just in his body. I get an idea.
"So you admit that you're a shortie!"I exclaim, winking back at him
His face lit up.
"N-No, I just-I....I-!"Ink stutters, but crashed
I chuckle.
Once he finished rebooting, I kiss his forehead as he had done to me. He frees me from the strings. I get the brush out and make a portal to where we could locate Dream based on Dust's phone. We went into the cave and I grip Ink tight so he doesn't somehow get taken. It was quite dark in this cave, with no real interior or sign of life. No cages or traps like the other kid had in their place. He and I ease our way into the cave, deeper and deeper.
Suddenly, I felt a hand grab my ankle. I did not make a sound. I look at Ink and he gazed back at me. I could feel that my grip tightened on him. I try to kick the hand off my ankle, but it just held it tighter. I decide to look for who it is. I gaze to see a skeletal hand grabbing it. Definitely not the glitchy kid or the multi-colored kid. I look along the hand to an arm that led to a head resting against it. I recognize them. It was Dust! I kneel down and see that he was severely injured. I look at Ink and he was looking at Dust in shock as well. He quickly stood in front of us protectively. I look at Dust as well and lift him up gently.
"Dust, what happened? What did they do to you?"I ask
"T-They....hu-hurt y-your br-brothers....w-we....fight....they took us....I....I can hardly remember m-m-much."Dust says weakly
"Don't worry, we got ya. Where's Blue?"I assure him, lifting him up
"Sent....B.....lue.....to Cross."Dust replies
"Ok...."I say, putting him on my back and made him hold on.
"Error? Ink?"a voice calls
Ink panicks and fires strings out to the voice, dragging Dream over, as Nightmare of course. He seemed to have just entered the cave. I look at him confusedly.
"I just found this place and woah! Dust, you okay?"Dream says
"Do I look okay, Nightmare? No."Dust says sarcastically, still believing Nightmare is Nightmare and not Dream
Dream was caught off-guard and apologized. I then get an idea. I bring Dust to Dream and hand him over.
"Get out of here and get Dust to Blue. Make sure they stay safe. Okay?"I tell him
"Okay! Good luck getting your bros and cya later! Don't let Error cause any trouble! Bye!"Dream says, then runs off
"He still sees me as troublesome after everything..."I mutter
"PoOp tO hiM tHen, cAuSe I dOn't!"Ink says, holding my hand
I smile.
"Thanks, Inky. Now let's find our brothers."I say
We stroll through the cave and smile, feeling safe by Ink's side. Soon, we reach the hole that should drop into the underground in most AUs. I see some strange-looking roots dangling from the hole. I grab Ink's arm to hold him back from falling. These roots were multi-color and kept switching rapidly, or glitching out. I could see two were holding something. I hesitantly grab two pebbles and cautiously toss one at each of the roots that seem to hold something. The roots sway and the end of the roots come into the light of the hole. I could see my brother clearly now, wounded nearly as bad as Dust, possibly worse. Ink!Pap's head could be seen peeking into the light.
"There!"I say, pointing to them.
Ink looks and nods. He smiles and I could see he got an idea. He fires some strings down to the two brothers of ours. I make a bigger rock and throw it at the roots. These roots took the hit and release them. This caused the two to fall into a blanket or bag-like net that Ink made below them. Ink gently had the net close and wrap around them, lifting the two cautiously up. Ink began to lose his ground while trying to bring them up, but I grab him and help him get away from the edge. I could tell he was panicking a bit.
"It's okay, I got you, Inky. It's gonna be okay."I assure him
Ink looks at me and nods. We soon successfully pull them up. Ink opens the net and quickly the brothers hug us. But of course they didn't know we swapped so E!Pap was hugging Ink while Ink!Pap was hugging me.