The Stage is Set
Chapter 9: The love of a Favorite Toy
Teddy Bear - Melanie Martinez, All eyes on me - Or3o, Love like you - Caleb Hyles (mixed with) Adriana Figueroa, Do you even? - Jorge Aguilar II and Elizabeth Ann.
Error watches Ink's soul closely as he wonders where Ink could be. None of them noticed that all the props, backgrounds, and extras were made of Ink. Cross stares at the three laying with Grillby before turning his attention to Error and his brother's soul. He studies it and lets his shoulders fall slightly with relief.
It isn't cracking, and Ink isn't dying. Not on their watch. Not that he could. Cross involuntarily shudders as he remembers the times he's watched his brother melt into his namesake before coming back with nothing more than a laugh. Dream and Blue try to help Grillby with the others but Grillby shakes his head. He can take care of the three. Besides, they can't touch Leo, he'll accidentally burn them.
Nightmare and Killer are discussing what to do and what to try with Dust. They need to find a way out of the box and get to Ink. They can't just keep watching this. Dust doesn't say it, but he doesn't have hope that they'll escape. If these are creators, then what could they ever do to the creators?
Nothing.
Dust can see that they're going to be stuck there until the creators let them go. Which he doesn't think is anytime soon. He pulls his phone out to see if he could contact Sci, Classic, or Horror. Dust clicks his teeth as he puts it away, no service. Leo involuntarily holds onto Green and Sage a little tighter before relaxing. Pulling them as close as he can without hurting them. He needs them just as much as they need him. The screen crackles to life and everyone's attention is captured quickly.
Blue stands up and looks into the void of white. "Is anyone there?" Blue steps closer to the screen. He worries about where Ink is, his Ink has a fear of white spaces... Wait. His Ink? He shakes his skull to get the thought out.
They're all a little freaked out at the red strings dangling loosely from the ceiling. A silent reminder of who's in power here. As much as they want to just pretend their strong protector can handle them, all of them know that those strings cause Ink to shake in fear because of who pulls them. He's been on the end of those strings for too long. Most of the time, Ink can hide away his fear in anger, but not all the time.
Error looks down at Ink's soul when he feels a soft pulse. Like a hand squeeze, he wonders if they had made a soul bond in a past rewrite, he doesn't remember if they did. Would they last through rewrites?
He doesn't know.
Error looks back up at the screen to see quite a bit of ink fall from above the window. It puddles in front of the window and everyone stops as the rest of it joins the puddle. They watch in sick horror as smaller puddles of ink slowly slither over to the main puddle before disappearing into it.
Dream joins Blue at the window and places his hand against the putty-like glass. He recoils at the feeling before placing his hand back onto it. It's strange, but Dream thinks that it would make sense to be a putty substance. It makes it harder to escape if it won't shatter.
"Ink? Is that you?" Dream squints a little before Error feels another pulse. They all wait with bated breath before collectively sighing as the ink moves around. It isn't quick, but Ink slowly starts to take his form. "Come on, Ink. You're doing good!" Dream wonders if his words can even be heard.
Error moves closer and Ink has half of his form, but it isn't solid just yet. He places one hand on the glass. "Kiki."
The Ink-shaped blob turns to what they think is to face Error. He reaches out to Error. Ink's hand is ivory black as he struggles to form a solid form. He reaches for comfort he knows he can't have, but wants so desperately. Cross gently takes Ink's soul from Error as Error brings both hands to the glass. He presses against it, wishing that it would disappear so they could leave. Nightmare and Killer hurry to Error's side and press a hand onto the glass as well. The three of them wishing and waiting.
Ink slowly makes his way over to the window, as he does his body continues to take its shape. Crawling or dragging his body as it solidifies, a smear of ink behind him. Soon enough, Ink smiles at them as he reaches the window. He slowly stands up, trying to ignore the way his legs don't want to work. Trying to seem indifferent, as if the others hadn't just seen him struggle to get up and pick himself back up.
"Miss me?" His smile shakes before his eye lights zero in on his soul. He looks up at Cross. "Thank you. Don't let anything happen to it okay? I've only got one."
Cross nods and holds it closer to his chest, feeling the pulse of gratitude from the soul. Ink turns his attention to his friends and smiles at them before looking right at Error, Killer, and Nightmare. He places his hand right where Error's hand is. With his other hand, he gently pushes against another spot on the glass. Feeling it melt softly at the touch. Recognizing him as a creator or his magic, it melts enough for him to start pushing his hand through. Nightmare and Killer take a step back, getting some of the idea of what Ink was doing.
"Kiki? What are you doing?" Ink doesn't respond, but Error gets his answer when the tips of Ink's phalanges come through the glass.
Error watches as the rest of Ink's hand comes through before he intertwines their phalanges together. Error blinks trying to stop his vision from glazing over. Ink smiles softly before Error tries to pull him through. Softly tugging on Ink's hand, trying to will it through the window. Nightmare and Killer smile at each other before looking back at the two. They need to try as well, but they'll have to wait until more of Ink is through the window.
"Ruru. I don't think that's gonna work."
"You don't know that! We have to try!" Dream blinks, he's never heard Error so optimistic and full of hope.
Killer, Nightmare, Dust, Blue, and Dream all join in to help as Ink's radius and ulna come through. They keep pulling until Ink's upper torso comes through. Ink tears up at the thought of being close to freedom. The thought of going home and leaving this all behind.
As Error leans forward to get a better hold on Ink, Ink quickly kisses him before using his feet to push himself as well. As he's getting pulled in, his feet start to kick around. Error smiles as half of Ink's body come through the glass. They're so close. Nightmare and Killer almost let out cries of joy as they feel Ink's clothes, knowing that this was real.
Suddenly, Ink's eye sockets widen and his eye lights become pinpricks as a small tug makes them lose ground. A small yelp is all the others get to hear. He looks around as he's pulled a little more. Blue and Dream look behind Ink in horror but do not letting go. No matter how scared, they would never let one of their friends go. Dust look up at the angered figure before falling back, it's them... Cross gulps, moving to hide Ink's soul away from their vision.
Ink shakes off their arms to brace himself against the glass. He tries to push against it, only for his arms to be sucked into the other side. He makes a sound of distress as he tries to take his arms back out. Blue panics and grabs onto Ink's right upper arm while Dream grabs onto Ink's left upper arm. They tighten their holds and try to keep pulling Ink through. But what could an ant do against a giant? The others finally see the figure pulling Ink back into the void.
"Guys?!" Ink freezes as the pulling stops for a moment before pulling him in more. Error scrambles to grab his scarf before Ink's pulled through. To get ahold of anything.
"Ink!" They all call out to him as he's pulled through by red strings. Ink chokes on a gasp.
Error had only pulled Ink's scarf through the glass. He falls back from the sudden disappearance of the force, and Killer and Nightmare catch him. Ink would've reached out to them if his arms weren't tied behind his back. He's pulled up to a pissed-off Kitsune. Their eyes glowing in vexation. They pull the strings tight as they pull Ink closer to them. Their hair puffs out and sharpens as they glare at Ink.
"IS THIS THE THANKS I GET FOR BEING GENTLE WITH MY GAMES?!"
Ink shrinks in on himself a little. He hates that he's so scared. There was a time when it was the other way around. They were scared of him, but that time is long gone. Error and the others pound on the glass. It doesn't budge this time.
"You let him go!"
Ink turns towards Error and shakes his skull before turning back to Kitsune. He understands what they want to do, and he knows that Kitsune would allow it before destroying them. But he doesn't want to lose another. He can't afford to let them slip through his fingers. Not again.
So Ink steels himself before glaring back at Kitsune, his soul pounding in fear and anger. "Don't. Involve them."
Kitsune snorts. "'Don't involve them,' how sad this sketch must feel. Tell me. Do you even remember our time watching the tree?" Ink looks Kitsune right in the eyes before Kitsune softly scoffs. He remembers. Of course, he does. "Well? Don't you? #358?"
Ink shakes a little at the number. Is that how many lifetimes he's lived? Is that the number of times he's had to start from the beginning? Starting over and over. He lost count after #98, too many memories to keep track of. Everyone looks at the two of them in confusion.
"Kiki? What do they mean #358?" Kitsune looks over at them in faux shock.
Ink knows exactly what they're doing and hates them for it. He never wanted them to know. They didn't need that burden of remembering. He didn't want them to remember his bouts of anger, madness, and depression. He didn't want them to hurt the way he does. This is his punishment, not theirs.
"What? He didn't tell you?" Their tone dripped with false shock.
Mocking the others. The others stare at the creator with disgusted confusion. Whatever Ink didn't tell them, he didn't say anything for a reason. They look back at Ink who has tears in his eye sockets. Kitsune grips his jaw tightly, if Ink wasn't as soft, they would've worried about hearing his jaw creak and break under the pressure. Their soul-piercing glare stares into Ink, searching for something else to hurt him with.
"This wasn't Ink's first design." The others are even more confused as Kitsune leans closer to Ink. "Isn't that right, attempt #358?"
Ink only turns away. He won't yield to them. Not anymore. Kitsune scoffs as if they heard Ink's thought. They drop Ink to the ground as paper forms in their hands. They show him the roughest sketch of a skeleton with a '#1' written on the corner. The original Rewrite. The original Ink. The one he was made from, the one he was made to replace for the creators' entertainment.
"You were roughly sketched up, but I put you together."
The paper flies from their hand towards the window. The others watch as it passes by, they see the sketch and wonder if this was a different Au that was given up on. It makes their souls ache, those left unfinished often find such a fascination with death, to relieve themselves from the painful existence.
The paper floats back to Kitsune's hand and brings a pen dipped in ink to the paper. "With magic and ink." They continue to doodle on it and Ink doesn't watch as the numbers change. He refuses to move. He doesn't want to remember all those lifetimes.
2
9
12
17
28
"I gave you LOVE. I put a soul inside you." The faintest penciled soul is drawn on the paper before appearing in the white space. "Oh, what else could I do?"
The rough sketch of a skeleton sits there sobbing before ripping their soul apart, the faintest hints of red strings make themselves known. The others gasp in shock as the skeleton falls into a black hole. Ink disappears as well only to return in a way they don't recognize.
Hesitant to talk.
He had the tan shirt he had from his old outfit along with a lighter color scarf. He had his sash of paints, although there were only six colors on it with a pencil and a small paintbrush. He had his arm sleeves on with his old gloves as well. The bottom half of his outfit was the same as his older outfit without the jacket on his waist.
He has the same signature ink stain on his right lower jaw. But he has teal and bright green marks on his skull as well. There are hearts on his temples and souls -both human and monster alike- on his cheekbones. Two dots, one teal and one green, over each eye socket with a soft swirl meeting them in the middle.
Teal seems to outline his eye sockets like eyeliner with a thick green line going down the sides of his skull from the bottom of each eye socket. He holds his mask as he looks around. He cautiously makes his way over to Kitsune.
He takes a small swig of courage before talking. "When you started talking in your sleep. You said things you'd do to me."
He rubs the cheek of the bright green bunny mask in his hands. With marks similar to the ones on his face, but with a few of them reminding the others of themselves.
He looks up at Kitsune. "I didn't care, I wasn't scared." He takes a moment as he bites his lower jaw. "Then I was finding knives under the sheets. Crumbled photographs of us." He pulls out a crumpled photo of them with the fox and Bun Bun. He holds it out to them before faltering. He drops the picture and watches as it turns to ink. "I had despaired. Should I be scared?" He puts on the mask before turning away from Kitsune.
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"Yeah, you probably should've been scared, Ink. That doesn't sound normal." Dust quietly comments as he studies this version of Ink. His murmurs are loud in the silent room.
"Wait. So, Ink knows them? Like he lived with them?" Killer looks to Nightmare who thinks about it for a moment. Killer feels his soul tighten uncomfortably at the idea of Ink being so close to this powerful being.
"It seems like it."
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"My little star, you were my favorite toy." Kitsune tilts Ink's skull up towards them and from behind the mask on Ink's face, they can all see the edges of a grimace on Ink's face. "You were innocent and quiet. When did you become so violent?"
They roll their eyes and act hurt. Ink takes a sip of the red paint before growling softly. Not that he needs to. With them, Ink would always feel anger. He had grown up, he understands how their mind works now. He understands their intentions, and he hates them for it.
"Oh, teddy bear, you were my teddy bear!" Ink fingers the royal blue vial on his sash before deciding not to. He doesn't need to feel sad about how their relationship ended. He doesn't need to mourn the loss of a parental figure. Not one like this. "Everything was so sweet until your 'games' killed me."
Ink rolls his eye lights as he faces away from them. Tears of anger and frustration collect in the corners of the mask as Ink looks down. Not letting the mask reveal how he truly feels. He hates this. He hates these emotions, it's one of the few times he's glad to not a soul to feel.
Disregarding the fact that Kitsune is forcing him to feel at the moment.
He stands there before taking the dark paint that looks almost like black. It's his early attempt at a perfect mix of emotions, of course, it isn't perfect since he has fewer colors than he did before. He lifts his mask a little to drink some of it. He looks back at Kitsune.
"You threw me out!" He covers the face of the mask with a hand as he pinches the nose ridge. "I didn't outgrow you! I just didn't know you."
The memories of them sitting in front of the multiverse trees watching them grow flash between each other. The times of teaching Ink his powers. Before the betrayal, and how it hurts now afterward. The innocent questions, became painful to hear the answers to. Ink doesn't think that they feel ashamed of what they did. Maybe it was always their plan, to hurt him like this.
"But now you're back! And it's so terrifying... How you would paralyze me." Ink glances at the red strings above him before looking at a familiar tree not too far from them. "Now you're showing up inside my home. Breathing deep into all our codes."
Kitsune chuckles as Ink marches to be in between the tree and Kitsune. He looks around for his broomie, only for the others to notice in shock that it was smaller than the one he uses now. He grips it tightly before shaking a little.
"I'm so unprepared." He softly gulps as the memories of facing what felt like an army of kitsunes come back to him. "I'm fucking scared." Kitsune chuckles at Ink before coming closer.
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"Did he have to fight them by himself?" Dream looks around the screen to try and see if there was anyone else. Anyone else to help his friend.
"Where were we? Shouldn't we've been there to help? Why weren't we there?! How could we not help with this fight?!"
"Blue, you need to calm down. Maybe this was before you met him?" Dust tries to reason.
Nightmare thinks for a moment. That can't be right. Ink probably knew us at this point. Maybe it wasn't the same version of us? This is too confusing.
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"Teddy bear, you were my teddy bear. You were comforting and quiet."
Kitsune smiles as they lift his mask to show the face of Ink that they know, but with one difference. Two lines would merge into one on each side of his face. From the bottom of his right socket were an orange line and a red line that connected at the bottom of his jaw. From the left, there's a green line and a yellow line that did the same as red and orange. As they move the mask to the side of his skull, it slowly changes to a yellow fox and Ink gasps in horror.
"Why did you become so violent?" Kitsune innocently tilts their head and Ink turns to them in anger.
"Everything was so sweet until you killed me." Ink slaps them with a look of hurt and anger. He sniffles as his number appears above him. #354. Not including the self changes he did to his outfit and such, this is the second to final attempt. As he looks at the number, he holds his sash tightly. "I'm fucking scared."
Kitsune smirks as they throw Ink's broomie in a different direction before walking closer to him. As they come closer, Ink sees Bun Bun overlaps Kitsune. The image flickers as they stand right in front of him. They softly tilt his skull up and Ink stares into their eyes as they bring their hands to hold Ink's skull. There's a soft smile in their tone as Bun Bun holds him close. Ink gasps as the gentle touch changes to a painful grip. He grabs onto their wrists in shock as the illusion falls and he's faced with Kitsune.
"When did you become so violent?" They throw him to the ground.
Ink's mask falls off and lands on the side as Ink picks himself up. Tears pool in his sockets as he sits up. The smaller yellow vial has broken along with his orange and royal blue. Royal blue paint drips from his mouth as a deep blue blush of frustration and torment dusts his cheekbones. He scoops up the broken glass covered in yellow paint before looking up at Kitsune.
"Everything was lovely until you kill me again and again." Ink sniffles as he tries to pull the colors away from each other.
He holds the glass close to his chest as he cries. Kitsune only rolls their eyes before snapping. Ink is back, the right rewrite, and he's gasping as he grabs onto the ground. He looks up at them and growls as he tries to tackle them. Red strings grab him and hold him tightly.
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"Hey! Let him go!"
Blue pounds on the glass and Kitsune doesn't spare him a glance. Why bother with that toy just yet. They'll have so much more fun with Blue in a bit... So much more fun letting him out. Cross hands Sage Ink's soul and she starts to heal it. The brief thought to learn how to heal flows into his mind, he'll ask later.
Sage quietly hums a tune that she prays helps calm down Ink. Not that he could hear it, but she is only doing what she can. Error joins Blue to pound on the glass. The childish idea that they may be able to break the glass. Cross only stares at them before gripping the star patch, the one that Ink made for him, on his inner sleeve. He tries to ground himself, to calm himself so he doesn't do something he'll regret.
"Blue. Error. That isn't doing anything. Please stop, you're going to hurt yourselves." Dream grabs and holds their fists and they stand down. "Plus, we can't hear what they're saying." They turn back to see Ink grabbing the strings and using them to flip Kitsune onto the floor.
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While the others missed what Ink and Kitsune had said, they notice a shift in Ink. While his soul is panicked and shaking in Sage's hands, his body is relaxed. Almost too relaxed. His eye lights have swapped, becoming more unstable. His mask flickers between the green bunny it is and a yellow fox. He stands close to Kitsune's body before walking into the multiverse tree's leaves. He lands on a floating island and taps his foot.
"A long time ago... I had my own little world." He walks towards an Au and cups his hands under it as he stares at it. Everyone can't see which one it is, and they try to. Ink never talks about his past and they're curious. "I was a beautiful, lovable rough draft."
His tone sours. And his eye lights become darker for a moment as he looks away. His image flickers between the other skeleton, the one that tore their soul, and himself. He sighs softly as he turns his attention back to the portal as Kitsune who is leading a pack of foxes and kitsunes walks out. The others bang against the glass to get Ink's attention. They yell for him to get out of there or to run.
He doesn't listen.
"But you would try to take my colors, rewrite after rewrite." Ink's voice is light as if he's telling a joke.
Ink brings a hand to his newer sash, filled with many shades of different colors. He drops his hand and looks back up to them as he takes it off and throws it off the side of the island. He lets them fall, not moving to grab them. The distant sound of them shattering makes all of them flinch.
"After everything, you left me to take all the punishment." His voice goes soft and pain fills his voice as he stares directly at a fox.
Said fox looks both disturbed and nervous. One that never thought to see him again. The one that left him in that blankness. Left him in that buzzing, swarming, suffocating, disgusting void of white. Ink turns his attention to Kitsune and slowly pulls out a paintbrush barely anyone has seen from behind his back. One that only Error has seen what it's fully capable of. Even then, Error has never been on the other end of that paintbrush. The barely hidden aura of danger dances around Ink as he locks his gaze on Kitsune.
It's his war broomie in his hands.
"Dear creators, now it's time you face your own punishment for your crimes." His voice drips with venom-filled honey. The heat of anger makes some of the creators look uncertain of the fight. He paints a portal under him and falls in. The pack of kitsunes and foxes all get into fighting stances. Kitsune only scoffs before rolling their eyes. "3, 2, 1."
Ink leaps out of another portal and splashes half of the group with pink paint before turning it into chains. He snaps and the chains pull them up and keep them there. He laughs at their surprise. He isn't supposed to be this ready to fight. He isn't supposed to be able to beat them.
His voice trails to a wonderous tone as he looks at his broomie. "You made me a creator. Made me out of paint and magic. LOVE and love. You sent me here."
He does the same thing to the other kitsunes and foxes, tying them up. Rendering them immobile. Free to his whims and no one else's. All for him, all for him to hurt. All for him to play with. He walks up to Kitsune and puts a phalange under Kitsune's chin and tilts it up towards him. Their glare through their mask and hair makes him smirk. He pats them on the head before turning away and walking away from both his friends and others.
Ink makes his way towards another portal leading outside the tree. "We've got lots to do little creator."
His smirk grows when Kitsune's eye twitches as he beckons them with his finger before starting to disappear into the portal. The other creators follow him back outside the tree as the strings tug them along. Once out, they look around for Ink only to see him standing away from the tree with three small paintbrushes in his left hand. He tightens his grip on them.
"'To be the perfect creator, some creators must be gone.'" The quote of Kitsune surprises the creators as Ink slides his mask to cover one side of his face. Kitsune smirks at the lone artist. Ink looks towards the tree as a memory of Error smiling at him in joy flashes in his mind. He looks back at the creators in anger.
Ink looks down at his hands as he remembers the mic that he took away from them and broke. He remembers Error explaining the 'voices' he would hear and they were the ones who told him what to do. He remembers feeling betrayed when he saw the creators talking and threatening someone through a mic.
He remembers testing it once before realizing what it was. How he felt something on his own for the first time in a long time before breaking down. How he needed to act but was scared to do anything until that day. How happy Error was when he told Ink that the voices had left. The confusion on Error's face as he explained that one had said goodbye to him and the soft remnants of joy lingering knowing that he was the last one to say bye. He grits his teeth as he becomes ink and forms between the tree and the group of creators. He stares at them in anger.
"You got to choose the ending of their fates. All of their fates! What is wrong with you?! You just hurt them, again and again!" The creators turn to face him in surprise and Ink sticks out an arm to protect the tree. To protect his friends. To protect his family. To protect the ones he loves.
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"Kiki, please be careful."
Error holds Ink's soul a little closer and he watches as Ink's movements stutter for a moment as he brings a hand to his chest briefly. He sends a small pulse of care and watches Ink's reaction. The soul gives a small pulse of care back. Nightmare had also sent his pulse with Error. Killer too. They hold onto Error's arms as well as they stare at the screen.
"Come on bro." Cross has his hands pressed against the glass and the others watch in worry. They hope that he'll be safe. Grillby can only hold Leo tightly as Leo holds Green and Sage close to his chest. Leo's worried for his new cub, and he's scared that if he lets go of his other cubs, he'll lose them too.
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Ink's expression changes to a snarl as his eye lights become bright red targets. He smirks as he sends an attack on the creators. "But not anymore! I'm in control this time!" He takes a sharp breath that dissolves into laughter. "I have control of this story! You can't change their fates anymore! Not when I hold the pen!"
He brings a hand up to his temple as he winces for a moment and his mask changes to a fox. Most of the markings stayed the same as it changed, and he notices the glances to the side of the group of creators. He knows somewhere that where they are looking is where his friends are, but it isn't something he is fully aware of knowing. He snaps loud and clear at the group to get their attention to him. He smirks before frowning. His eye lights become a deep red-orange as he grabs where his soul would be. He softly smiles in sadness and pain as his number flashes again. The numbers keep increasing as he chuckles.
"So many failed attempts, so many 'mistakes.'" He looks down at his hand before blinking and looking back at them. His mouth falls into a thin line before smiling as his eye lights struggle to keep up with his emotions. Even with that problem, a small glint of insanity shows itself. "But I'll go all the way till they're in the perfect shape!" He smiles widely as he rolls back on his heels and leans forward.
He glares at them again and his face darkens a bit. "The consequences can't hurt me now if you're out of my way." He opens a portal under the fox closest to him and they fall through it and he closes it once only their mask is left outside. He walks over and steps on the mask until it shatters and then looks up. The other creators take a step back and look nervous.
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"Why are they acting like that? Why are they nervous now?" Nightmare studies their behavior. Killer looks at the mask and watches it disappear. He looks around and notices Dust staring at the same thing.
"Where did Ink send that creator?" Dream turns to Blue to shrug. He doesn't have an idea.
"I wonder..." Killer turns back to Nightmare to see him thinking. Error turns to him before turning away. Cross studies Ink's soul, which seems to be stressed, before watching Ink tear up.
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Ink's frame seems to scrunch a little as he stands tall. "You never came back to finish me! You left me to rot there! None of you stood with me after swearing to fight! I took all the punishment!"
He stares directly at the fox from before and they don't make eye contact. Kitsune rolls their eyes and Ink's eye lights become more unstable, unable to stay set on one shape but always staying red. He flings his arm out towards where the tree is behind the wall.
"You took away their futures and my friends, but now that will change!" He smiles and again that glint shines in his eye lights.
He glares as he notices the nervous looks and lack of eye contact with him. Ink moves his mask to cover his face as he starts to march his way closer. The group of creators starts to back up, pushing Kitsune -who is in the back- as well. He quickly moves the mask to the other side of his skull to reveal four lines going down his face to his chin. He touches them and pulls four yellow-green strings, like Error's but in a different color, before shooting them towards the creators. He catches most of them and repeats until all of them are caught and moves his mask back to cover his face.
"Why are you doing this?! You are one of us! We let you join us, and you treat us like trash! You listen to us!"
Ink pauses for a moment, he loosens the strings for a moment as he looks down. He's silent for a moment.
His sockets go blank and his voice is soft. Yet in the silence, it's loud with disbelief and resentment. "You don't know what it's like to be thrown away, in a pile of drafts." He brings his hands up to cover his eye sockets and curls his phalanges which causes the strings to tighten on the creators. "And you..." He takes one hand away to look at them. He points at them. "Yes, you..."
His frames shake as he narrows his sockets at them. His eye lights no longer have any special shape to them as they glow a bright red. He subconsciously tightens the strings even more. His mask starts to flicker between a fox and a Kitsune as he grabs his skull.
"Made me insane!"
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"Ink! You need to calm down!"
Cross pounds on the glass as Error tries to send pulses of calm to Ink's soul but it seems that Ink is blocking them out. Tears form in Cross's sockets as he sees Ink so crazed. He doesn't want him going down that path as he did. He can't remember when he did, but he doesn't want Ink to do that.
"Ink! Calm down! You don't need to do this!" Blue joins Cross. Leo looks away with the feeling of helplessness growing heavy in his soul. Grillby only holds his family close and kisses Leo on his skull to reassure his love.
"This is concerning." Nightmare mumbles as he watches Ink. Killer nods as he studies Ink. They both know that pounding on the glass won't help. They're worried for their Ink, but at the moment all of them can't do anything except watch.
So that's what they do.
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"But not anymore! I'm in control!" He looks at the strings on his phalange tips and smiles widely as his eye lights blink out. "I'm in control!"
With empty eye sockets, he stares at the creators as his smile changes. His smile grows wider and he clenches his fists, causing the strings to tighten even more as he opens another portal to somewhere far away. None of them seem to know where those portals would lead to.
"NOW DO AS YOU'RE TOLD AND SUFFER THE WAY YOU MADE ME SUFFER!"
He grabs onto one string and throws one fox into a portal. He huffs with effort before looking back at the rest of them. He watches them turn to each other or focus on struggling against his strings. Ink grins as different ideas to hurt the creators fill his mind. He tightens the strings even more, and this time he draws blood from a few of them. His teeth seem to disappear and are replaced with inky darkness that left sharp edges where there used to be a soft smile. His mask stops flickering and fully becomes a kitsune version of his original.
Not that he cares.
He wants them to hurt.
He tightens the strings even more which draws ink from his own hands. Some of the creators softly cry out in pain from the strings. He grips all the strings before wrapping them around his arms. He grunts in the effort as he throws the rest of the creators out of the tree before falling to his knees. He doesn't realize how close he is to the window as he takes deep breaths.
He takes off his mask and glances at it before dropping it as if it burned him. He backs away from it until his back hits the glass. He can't hear anything over his strangled huffing. He grabs his shirt and panics when he feels the vibrations of a tap from the glass. The smile that seems carved in his skull bends to a frown. His empty sockets gather tears as he looks at his hand. He's startled as the vibrations of the glass become more pronounced and violent.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ink! Please, you have to calm down!" Blue pounds on the glass.
"Blue! Don't do that! I think it's freaking him out!" Dream grabs Blue's fist and pulls him away from the glass. Error hands Sage Ink's soul again to heal the stress cracks. Nightmare and Killer follow Error.
"Bro, please. It's okay, we're right here. You have to calm down." Cross presses a hand against the glass where Ink's back touches it.
Error studies the situation for a moment before making his way over to the glass. Cross steps away from the glass to give room for the three of them, and he takes Ink's soul from Sage once she's done. Hoping that his presence would help calm Ink.
"Kiki. It's okay. I'm here. We're here. "
He softly knocks on the glass in a rhythm that Ink knows well. They all watch with bated breath as Ink calms down slowly. Error continues the rhythm as Ink slowly turns around. Error smiles softly at the tears collecting at his chin and the soft movements of his mouth that make it seem like he's trying to say Error's name. Error moves his hand to where Ink can touch and Ink hesitantly rests his hand over Error's as his mouth slowly becomes normal again. Ink turns his skull away from Error and Error sighs softly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"If I could begin to be... Half of what you think of me." Ink slowly tilts his skull back up at the sound of Error's singing. He knows this song. It's their song. Their song from so many rewrites ago. When could he start hearing them again? "I would do about anything. I could even learn how to love." Error's glitched voice is steady, grounding. Reminding Ink where he is.
Ink turns his skull back towards the three and they smile again at Ink. His friends surround them and Leo's pack sits right next to them. Sage places one of her hands against the glass as well. She lets her ecto body fall from her hands, ulna, and radius. No one comments on the deep chips and cracks on her bones where the scars are. She nods to Ink and he sniffles before laying his other hand over hers.
"When I see the way you act. Wondering when I'm coming back..." He turns his attention back to Error as his eye lights slowly make themselves known again. "I could do about anything. I could even learn how to love... like you."
Ink's eye lights change to become a blue teardrop and a pink heart. Error softly chuckles as Ink weakly smiles at him again. Killer and Nightmare both smile sadly at Ink before closing their sockets as they rest a hand each against the glass.
"Love like you." Ink's smile changes to a soft frown as he looks away. He takes a breath, he knows this part. This part always reminds him of his loves. Past and present. "I always thought I might be bad. Now I'm sure that it's true." Error looks back at Ink with a sheepish smile. "'Cause I think you're so good, and I'm nothing like you." Ink looks away and Error softly scoffs with a loving eye light roll. Yellow softly dusts his cheekbones. The two of them, are opposites yet perfectly balanced. "Look at you go, I just adore you-"
"I wish that I knew!" Ink cuts Error off as tears prick the corners of his sockets again. The four colored lines on Ink's face disappear as he opens his sockets again to stare at Error. He searches for an answer that he'll never understand. "What makes you think I'm so special?" Error smiles softly again.
"If I could begin to do something that does right by you."
Ink smiles at the memories of watching Error sew dolls of all four of them, handing him the small Error, Killer, and Nightmare. He wonders how they're doing on his bed. Alone without him holding them close before falling asleep. How long has it been since they were home?
"I would do about anything. I would even learn how to love." He doesn't try to hide his soft chuckles from Error. "When I see the way you look, shaken by how long it took."
Error and Ink smile at the memory of meeting for the first time after Ink gets a soul. How Ink couldn't even get a proper word out for the longest time since all the feelings he hadn't felt had piled up and spilled over all at once. Not to mention how much of a mess he was talking with Killer and Nightmare after. Not as lifetimes of love and despair of loving and losing them.
Error looks at Ink in the sockets, it reminds him of the time before his fear was mostly gone. "I could do about anything, I could even learn how to love like you."
"Love like you. " Ink echoes out as he rests his skull against the window.
Everyone slowly backs off, they stay in Ink's sight but they want to give them their moment, and Error rests his skull against the window as well. Nightmare and Killer leaning against the glass as well. Ink pulls away as he looks over Error's back to his friends and brother. His mind is made up, he can't stay. Kitsune won't let him stay.
"Now, they'll be the Star Sanses." He looks back at Error with a sad smile and Error's expression falls. Nightmare's expression turns grim and Killer looks at Ink in confusion. "They'll always save the day." He tilts his skull to the side as his vision blurs with tears again. "And if you think they can't, they'll always find a way!" Error and his friends all shake their skulls as Ink slowly stands up. Killer catches on and covers his mouth. "That's why the people of your worlds will believe in..."
"(Ink) Lust, Outer, Dream, and Cross, and Blue." Error and Ink sing to each other at the same time. Error blinks at Ink's lack of his name and Ink looks away.
"Even though I can't compare, and I'm sorry if I stare." Ink squeezes his sockets shut as he looks away. He slowly opens them as he stares at the floor. "I just want to do everything, so I could learn how to love." He sucks in a breath as he sadly smiles at Error. He turns to smile at Nightmare and Killer.
"People say this love is wrong, but all I want is to belong."
Ink and Error close their sockets and look away at the memories from the beginning of their relationship. How so many hated it since they were made to be enemies, not lovers. How Ink was soulless, making it harder for Ink to care when he had just gotten his soul. How so many people were against it at first. How Ink had three partners and not one. The names. The taunts. The rumors. Killer and Nightmare also look away.
"I can say without any doubt. Everyone should learn how to love like you."
Error smiles at Ink as thoughts of seeing Ink smile at a newly made AU would pop into existence. How much Ink would cry when an AU would be reset or erased. Error knows that some AUs reset and can change their friends. He doesn't know all of the resets. He knows that the Multiverse can be reset. He does have half the soul to prove it. He's one-half of a whole. So he looks at his other half with a silent plead.
"If I stayed to be everything you thought of me... Could've done about anything, but I think I'd learn how to love like you." Ink smiles sadly at Error as he feels the familiar red strings wrap around his vertebrae. He squeezes his sockets shut as Killer latches onto Nightmare. Nightmare holds him tightly, having seen the strings. Ink is suddenly jerked and flung backward with Kitsune's strings.
"INK!" Error bangs against the glass as they watch Kitsune pull in close to their mask.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ink opens his eye sockets and growls before spitting a bit of ink at their mask. "Well. That's unpleasant." Ink struggles for a moment before Kitsune slams him to the ground and pulls him back up. "Are you done now?"
Ink doesn't respond and Kitsune throws him halfway to the window. A few red strings weave together to create a thick chain that wraps around Ink and holds him down in place. Kitsune chuckles at Ink as he grunts and tries to escape the chains. The other creators make their way back to Kitsune. Kitsune snaps and their outfit changes to one of a ringleader. They smile at the other creators, who are all bringing other papers. Ink looks at them in frustration as they all stand by Kitsune. Kitsune waves to the "audience" of Ink and his friends behind him.
"Welcome boys and girls to our show!" They look from side to side at the other creators coming closer. "Here at your local brand new open multiverse!" Ink's eye sockets widen in horror and he struggles more against the chains. Kitsune looks down at Ink. "We are so thrilled to have you here tonight! Come watch our best creations!" Kitsune makes a beckoning motion to Ink, who can't even move, before stepping to the side as if they opened a door. "Don't be shy, they don't bite~" A few of the other creators snicker at the line before schooling themselves into quietness. "We are just moments away... From letting your worst nightmares come out to play~"
Ink's sockets widen as it goes dark. He didn't know that it could be dark out here. In the darkness, he notices three forms standing in front of him. Their eye sockets snap open and three sets of eye lights focus on him before disappearing back into the darkness.
"Run if you can."
Ink turns to the side as he looks for the source of the voice. He turns as a hand touches his shoulder. His eye lights shrink as he looks at DreamSwap Ink who has fresh dark ink coming from the corner of his mouth.
"They are lurking everywhere beside you there."
He falls backward as his eye lights roll back into his skull. Ink yelps as he feels dust cover his outfit.
"Did you see them? These demons in disguises."
A spotlight shines down on three familiar skeletons. Ink squints at the Dream, Blue, and Ink. As he blinks, he recognizes them as the fallen stars. They aren't from the same Multiverse, but he knows that the creators were trying to force them into the one that Ink had locked. He didn't want them in the Multiverse. The one he calls home. Besides, if Yanberry dared to take a step into his Multiverse, Ink would show no mercy.
"Oh, my..."
Ink flinches as a bloody and dusty gloved hand grips his shoulder. He turns his head to come face with Yanberry. Yan looks down at Ink with a crazed smile. His red eye lights contract as he brings a knife under Ink's jaw.
"Is it too late to escape this game? That they made especially for you?" He lets go of Ink's shoulder and disappears into the darkness. Ink glances around in worry.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"What was that?! Who were they?!"
"That's not me! I'm right here! A-and my eye lights aren't red!"
"Blue, calm down. We know that's not you, you're right here in Dust's arms-" Dream murmurs to Blue, the lack of positive emotions is slowly getting to him. He almost feels light-headed, yet still very aware.
"Why would they threaten Ink?! T-that's not me! I-I wouldn't do that!" Blue continues to freak out until Dust turns him around to not look out the window. Dust holds him close to his chest.
"Just don't look." Dust knows it's not much, but it's all he can offer Blue as a comfort.
"What happened to that other one that looked like Ink?! Did he just die?!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Do you really even have a clue?"
Another Ink steps into the small light surrounding Rewrite. He immediately notices that this is fallen Ink, with a blank dead look on his face as he steps closer. His eye lights are nothing more than white dots. As he gets closer, he grabs a purple glowing vial from his sash and looks at it before looking back at Ink with empty eye sockets oozing black ink as his wicked smile reveals fangs and darkness that none know.
"That this is your fate?"
He moves his face right into Ink's and studies it for a moment before disappearing back into the darkness. Another spotlight catches Ink's attention and he turns his head to see Dream and Nightmare. Nightmare is standing there and waiting to Dream talk. Having already spewed his hateful speech at Dream, who stands there with little expression. He just arches a brow bone as he tilts his skull.
"Do I have a clue?" Dream brings a hand out from behind him. Nightmare doesn't notice the change in Dream's tone as he repeats Nightmare's words. Dream stares at the apple in his hands with interest. He glances back at Nightmare for a moment before looking back at the apple. "Do I even have one?"
Nightmare finally notices the black in Dream's hands and reaches out to him as Dream takes a bite. The light goes out for a second and Ink calls out to his friends, and when the light turns back on, Shattered is holding his brother in the air by the neck. Nightmare, without his corruption covering him, tries to claw at the goo. He tries to breathe as what used to be his brother, strangles him. He feels himself shiver from the smile Shattered gives him.
"All the evil things I will do..." Shattered rolls his eye as he throws Nightmare to the stump of a tree. He turns his back on Nightmare as he starts to walk away. "Surprising that don't you run."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"T-that's not p-possible! I-I-I can't eat a negative apple! T-that would kill me!"
"It's that dream again." Nightmare whispers to Killer and Killer looks back at him.
"You mean the one that led us to hunt down Green?" Nightmare nods and Killer looks to Green only to notice Green staring at them already. They all know. A hidden truth. The fear. The reason that led to a wish. Killer and Error both lean onto Nightmare.
"Dream! Are you okay?!" Blue looks over at him with worry.
Dream looks at his fingertips and takes a shaky breath in as he hides his hand. He uses his other hand to cover his mouth as he nods. Error looks at the other fallen stars and prays that it isn't true. Who knows what would happen to the balances. He focuses on comforting Ink's soul.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A headless Blue comes from the darkness in front of Ink and his body language makes it seem as if he is studying Ink. And Ink's too scared to scream. He makes his way behind Ink and forces Ink's eye sockets open as he turns Ink's skull towards another spotlight.
"Knowing you will die here."
The haunting voice of Blue comes from nowhere and everywhere as Blue stands in the snow, his arms open for a hug. Only for the sound of a knife cutting through the air to be heard as his skull falls forward with a look of shock. His body falls to its' knees before dusting. He lets go of Ink to disappear back into the darkness.
"Knowing there is no way out..." Ink's attention is taken to DreamSwap Blue talking to his version of Error. Ink tries to intervene as Blue brings a phalange under Error's chin and tilts his skull upward. "Fate is evidently clear."
He suddenly grips Error tightly, causing Error to glitch out and start to reboot, but Blue continues to touch him until Error is screaming in pain as he glitches to a point that seems extremely painful. DreamSwap Blue turns his skull towards Ink and puts a finger to his mouth.
"Seems you're just oblivious." The light shuts off.
A version of Dream comes into his spotlight. To everyone's surprise, his eyes and wings are different than all the other Dreams before. He seems like he's leaning against something.
"Do you have a clue?" He looks up to Ink and squints at him as if he's trying to see who Ink is. "Do you even have one?"
His expression changes into something more sinister as he walks closer to Ink. He smiles as Ink looks behind him and sees so many bodies of the villagers. This Dream sees Ink's line of sight before the 'tsk' before shakingly reaching out to someone else. Ink turns to see a different version of Nightmare standing there with a sword sticking out of his chest. He looks up towards the other Dream before falling over and dusting.
"All the evil things we do..." A reset button appears in front of this other Dream and he presses it with a smirk. "Surprising that don't you run."
Once he presses it, a new Dream takes his place standing there. He's scared. He was just in the other room trying to stay positive enough to stay moving. He can't feel his hand. He looks around in panic before focusing on Ink. Taking a breath in relief, Ink is strong, he'll know what to do, all Dream has to do is get him free. Ink only looks for a moment before realizing that he's his Dream. That the one standing there is his friend.
Dream starts to run towards Ink, unable to speak. Fear takes Dream's voice as he involuntarily cries. Both of them are unaware of Nightmare pounding on the glass trying to get Dream's attention. Nightmare and Blue are pounding on the glass as hard as they can as Cross shouts as loud as he can for Dream to turn around. As soon as Dream gets close enough for Ink to see the tears in his friend's sockets and the grey coloring on his hand, Ink sees what's behind him and tries to cry out to him.
Only for Dream to be speared through the back by a different version of Nightmare's tentacle. The tentacle is sharp and flat like a blade before fattening back into its normal shape in front of Dream's ribcage. Dream's eye sockets widen in shock and pain before he looks down. Everyone in the room screams out and tries to break the glass. Grillby holds Leo close and Leo holds onto Grillby. Error watches in worry as he tries to calm Ink's soul before it can shake too far from his hands. Killer holds Nightmare closer as he shakes and starts to cry. Error leans close to them and they huddle together trying to calm both Ink's soul and Nightmare. Dream is raised into the air as the different Nightmare walks closer, keeping his eye on Dream. He throws Dream through the window, and into the arms of Blue.
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"Dream!" Blue lays him down on the ground and Nightmare makes his way over.
"Brother!" Dream coughs up some bright yellow blood as he turns his skull towards his brother. Cross moves to hold Dream's hand. None of them notice his other hand.
"Out of my way! Get out of my way!" Sage tries to shove her way to Dream. "Stop crowding! I can heal him! So GODDAMNIT GET OUT OF MY WAY!" Blue, Killer, Dust, and Green all get out of her way. She bends down and leans over him. "Dream? Dream. Can you hear me?"
Dream barely grunts in response. Everything hurts to move, and it feels like he can't move at all. Nor can he feel anything below the injury. This isn't something he could die from, but he could never recover from it if he's not careful. Sage nods curtly before bringing a finger in front of Dream.
"Follow my finger." Dream follows it as she moves it from side to side. "Good, I'm going to move you to your side. Do Not Move. This is going to hurt." She turns to Nightmare and Cross, "I'm going to need one of you to help me."
"I will." She nods and Nightmare backs off. She moves to grab ahold of Dream's legs and Cross moves to hold Dream's upper back.
"Okay, On three. No more no less. Make sure that we stay at the same pace or we will make it worse. Do you understand?" Cross nods. "Good. One. Two. Three!"
They turn Dream on his side and Dream lets out a loud grunt of pain. Sage motions for Cross and Nightmare to keep him on his side before she lifts the back of Dream's top. Her facial expression doesn't reveal anything.
"What's wrong?" She only stands up and looks around.
"Does anyone have something straight, smooth, and flat?"
"No."
"I have a knife-"
"That won't work."
"No."
"No. Other than my knives or daggers, no."
"I don't, but what's wrong?"
"I just really need something small, flat, smooth, and straight!"
"Wait! What about my charm on my crown?" She turns to Nightmare and looks at it.
"Yes, that will work. Mama? Can you help?"
Leo nods and takes the crown from Nightmare's hand. He heats the metal where the charm meets the base of the crown before snapping it off. He hands it to Sage before handing the rest of the crown back to Nightmare.
"B-brother. Y-your crown."
"If she can use it to help you, I'd rather it be broken."
Sage holds it in her hand before lifting her top skirt. She gathers up the bottom part of her soft silky underskirt. She grabs a point of it and rips it. She keeps ripping it despite everyone's cries for her to stop her. Once she has a long strip of fabric she sits back down next to Dream's back.
"Dream. I'm not going to lie, this is going to hurt really badly. I can't start to heal it until I put it back into place. Okay?"
"Put what back into place?"
"I'm going to count to three, and then it will hurt like hell for a few moments. Then I can start to heal you. Okay?"
"O-okay."
"Alright then." She grabs onto Dream's spine on the two different sides of the injury. "Are you ready?" Dream nods. "Okay, What's your favorite color?"
"Wha- PURPLE!"
Dream cries out with a strained voice as he grips Nightmare's hand tightly. A few cracks form on Nightmare's fingers. At the same time as Sage forces the spine vertebrae back together. There's a loud crunch as the bones grind against each other. Nightmare squeaks as Dream huffs in pain. "T-that wasn't three."
"Sorry. It's better when people aren't expecting it." Sage responds as she places Nightmare's charm against his spine in a way to stop it from getting worse before tying the long piece of fabric around the charm and going higher and lower than the injury to keep it cushioned and secured. "...Okay. Now, I can start to heal." She lowers his top as she watches the blue fabric start to become a deep green. She starts to heal him and Nightmare looks at her.
"Thank you."
"No problem. I didn't teach myself to heal only to heal no one."
Green smiles at her before the comment processes. He turns to Leo who only shrugs in return, none of them talked much of what they've been through. Some things none of them have said before. The three of them all have things they don't want to think about ever again. They all let out a sigh of relief as she stops healing and nodded to them.
"Okay, your good. Just... Lean against Cross, and don't move too much."
"Thank you, but how's Ink?"
They all turn back to the window to see Ink oozing ink from different places.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ink's expression makes it look like he wants to scream, but the tape over his mouth makes sure that he can't.
He watches as a different version of Error blasts him at point-blank range and his body wavers as ink before his soul shows and cracks in half. He watches as Error's expression changes to one of horror as his soul breaks apart and he dusts. He watches as the different Error falls to the ground and screams out in horror and agony.
He watches as the Error crawls over to the pile of dust and cry as he scoops some of it up before the light goes out. The light turns back on to show lots of blue strings holding up a life-sized Ink doll. Error sits at its feet rocking himself back and forth as he cries. The doll seems to stare at him with its lifeless button eyes.
Error stands up and grabs the doll and hugs it tightly before starting to dance with it. Ink tears up at the scene.
Now he understands why he was benched for so much after getting his soul. He cries out, he just wants his Error right now. The spotlight goes out again.
"Do you even have a clue?" In the darkness, he hears footsteps coming closer. "Do you even have one?" A tentacle slides against his cheekbone from behind and he turns around to see no one there. "All the evil things we do... Surprising that don't you run."
Shattered leaning into Ink's face before pulling back, but staying in Ink's line of sight. He turns to the side to bring forward fallen Blue. Yanberry's bright red eye lights and sadistic grin. He summons a bone handle sword and points the tip under Ink's chin and raises his skull.
"Knowing you will die here." Yanberry coos to Ink as he tilts his skull to the side. His eye sockets close halfway as if he was tired, but the way his eye lights stayed on Ink said otherwise. "Knowing there is no way out."
Red strings wrap around Ink and tie him down to the ground even more before dragging him away. His muffled scream fades as he disappears into the darkness. "Fate is evidently clear. Now it's time to scream and shout." The screen goes black and everyone goes quiet as they wait for something to happen.
But nothing does.