Before there was time, before there was anything, there was nothing.
And before there was nothing
there were Monsters.
They were not monsters in the sense that they were evil, but do not let that fool you into thinking they are good or misunderstood; they are called Monsters in the oldest sense of the word, and you might think that means that these beings are strange, unnatural, grotesque, and you would be right and you would also be wrong.
Look it up, a Monster, in it's most archaic definition
is a warning.
These particular Monsters are other, they are horrifying, almost sublime in a way, something that you can never know or bear to know. In a word, Eldritch.
The Monsters lived (for a definition of lived that applies to them) in the place between worlds, both outside of them and in their innermost core, and for an eternity they were all that was there.
Until, one day, someone came.
The poor man (for a definition of the world "man" that might have meaning in The Place Where The Horrors Dwell) was a scientist, that used to be called W. D. Gaster, and who had fallen into his creation and had become scattered across time and space.
He had, somehow, ended up here, or a part of himself did (it wasn't clear which), and this had allowed the Monsters to examine and observe this other monster (note the dinstiction between the two), and the world which he came from, both his real world and the Real World, (the one home to his Creator).
Most Monsters quickly lost interest in him, mainly because the miserable scientist had lost his mind during his first contact with the Monsters and now mostly spend his time alternating between screaming, whimpering and muttering, but there was one Monster who was still fascinated by him.
His name was ̷̰͙͉̮͎̐̋̑̚͠ ̸̹̹̮̳̰͂̊̀̍̇ ̶͎͙̜̣͓̍͆̄̈͠ ̷̧̘̞̗͌͑̉̃̕͜ (not easy to pronounce, I know), and they were so very intrigued by both worlds, and how they were joined by the most tenuous connection, which nonetheless allowed for it to generate such strong emotions and creations. It was so fascinating!
Some of the other Monsters mocked his interest in such insignificant, inconsequential things, but he ignored them and persisted, eventually deciding on doing as Gaster's Creator had done, and they themselves Created.
At first, the Monster had wanted to make something similar to what the other Creator had done, but that was not enough! They wanted more! More excitement, more new things, and he had so many ideas, more more more!
And so, they made a whole Multiverse out of it, making a single universe with ideas that fit together, and moving onto a new one when he started to notice contradictions, again and again (W. D.'s mind was very helpful with that, providing all sorts of informations about physics, and biology, and society and morality and all those nifty little things that made sure that the Monster was making something that wouldn't break mortal minds too much).
He mostly used Gaster's universe as a template (it was complex, but simple at the same time, and the universe of the Creator was much too removed from him to examine with the same level of care and scrutiny, at least for now), but sometimes he got an idea that was just! so! good! and so made something completely different from all the other Alternate Universes inside his fledgling Multiverse.
At the same time, he didn't make everything that was inside his Multiverse, but instead decided to simply add the concept of multiple timelines to it, and then let things evolve naturally from there. After all, surprise is the key to all art! At least, that's what Gaster had once read in a book, but the Monster was inclined to agree!
And then, when his Multiverse was almost done, when the Monster was about to release it from its stasis, they suddenly had the most amazing idea of all.
He could be there.
He could be part of it!
Oh, that would be delightful!
Being there, in the middle of the action, yes, it would be wondrous!
But of course, the Monster couldn't be there as themselves, no no no, that would break the fragile and beautiful Multiverse he had worked so hard to make (and this was also something that made them add a Barrier to his Multiverse, so that other Monsters like them couldn't enter without his permission. He wouldn't let the others destroy his new toy!), it would be such a waste!
And so, the Monster crafted himself a new identity, something that would fit in his beautiful creation; he made it so that it wasn't as powerful as he really was, but couldn't resist and made itself as a bit of a protagonist anyway (hey, what was the point of being in the middle of things if they couldn't... be in the middle of things?), he created a backstory vague enough that wouldn't be too hard to remember, and he also made himself a body, taking care to make it all pretty and linear and bound by the rules of physics (well, mostly).
At last, everything was ready.
The Monster donned his new body and jumped inside his Multiverse, which was still frozen and dead (but not for long!), landing in the place that would become their home away from home.
The Monster was delighted by the feeling of being corporeal and physical, of all the mass and energy present within him; instictively, he smiled with his brand new mouth (oh, what a nice feeling!) as they looked at their body: he wiggled his ten fingers and ten toes, moved their brand new legs and arms (two of each!), ran their fingers through his tattooed ribcage, marveled at the soft feeling of his new wide pants brushing his calves, nuzzled his cheek in their fluffy scarf.
Ah, everything was perfet!
"Alright!" Ink said, trying out their new voice as he clapped his hands together with a smile "Let's get this Multiverse rolling!"
Next
============
Alright, this is the start of my AU, Eldritchtale! I want to write more fanfictions for it, but I'm also open to questions and asks about it, I have a lot of ideas! Please please ask, I'm bursting at the seams with this!
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Frisk had always known there was something off about Ink.
The impulsive Protector was unlike anyone Frisk had ever seen or known, and given their omniscience, that was quite a tall order. Error, too, was similarly perplexing, but he was also much simpler: Frisk could comprehend his hatred and disdain for life, even if they couldn't understand it or empathize, and he was far from the only person in the Multiverse who had snapped and turned to violence, even if he was the most brutal.
No, Ink was the real enigma, someone Frisk could never seem to figure out. This didn't have anything to do with the fact that Ink sometimes seemed to forget social norms, or didn't react appropriately to emotions, or even about his conflicting actions. Those, Frisk could rationalize and unravel.
Ink simply was, more like a force of nature than a person, always living in the moment and experiencing life to the fullest, only guided by the desire to protect the Multiverse, and you could either get with the flow or be left behind. Dream, who tended to see things in binary and especially put Ink on a pedestal, struggled to understand this: more than once, the grey child had unwittingly witnessed the Guardian of Positivity argue with Ink when they failed to meet his expectations, the betrayal and disappointment clear on his face, while Ink always looked confused at best and uncaring at worst.
What unsettled Frisk, what unnerved them, was something deeper, that they couldn't fully articulate, some instincts that screamed at the child that Ink was not as they seemed. After pondering for a long while, they arrived at the conclusion that it was a mix of not being able to see inside the Doodlesphere (Ink had explained that, just like the Antivoid, his pocket dimension was less of an AU and more of a space in-between, thus escaping Frisk's sight) and the fact that Ink was soulless, so he would probably always have to pretend to some degree, even with their paints.
It intrigued Frisk, the mystery that was Ink: there weren't many things hidden from them, so the child somewhat welcomed the confusion and uneasiness Ink brought, ignoring the alarm bells ringing in their head in favor of managing the Omega Timeline and helping people, accepting that were things they couldn't know despite the powers the fall into the CORE gave them. It was something to think about, a fun little puzzle for them to ponder on in-between duties.
What would Ink do next? Who would they hang out with? What mess would they cause, and who would have to fix it? Frisk's latest guess was on Lust, things had been too quiet on Underlust recently.
Oh! Speak of the devil, Ink was sprawled on a beach in a steampunk AU, simply relaxing in the sun. There wasn't anything that was truly urgent at the moment (Frisk was only having 4 different conversations at once) so they decided to watch him, curious to see what they would do next. They were in luck as, only a couple minutes later, the Protector got up, stretched and took out his trusty brush to create a portal. As soon as they jumped in, Frisk scanned the Multiverse for them, but as they falied to find him, the child concluded Ink was in the Doodlesphere, and they huffed in frustration.
The Protector's domain was as strange as its owner: Frisk was unable to project their consciousness there with the same ease as they could everywhere else. They had done so, on occasion, but since the action required for them to be disconnected from the Multiverse itself, they did it only in the direst of circumstances, and even then, only briefly. It wouldn't do to leave the Multiverse without its watcher.
Still, everything was fine now...
Deciding to spy on Ink a bit, Frisk giggled mischieviously and entered without letting Ink know. They couldn't wait to give him a scare!
Frisk found themselves kneeling, their forehead touching the ground as they took a shuddering breath, shaking all over, their sense of sight returning in bursts.
What had happened?
What had they seen?
"You know you gotta warn me if you want to come here. I was stretching and all of a sudden you pop up!"
Startled, Frisk raised their head and found themselves face to face with Ink.
Creator.
Frisk couldn't move or speak, only shake in terror.
Ink frowned in displeasure (sending a spike of fear through Frisk) and their pupils changed to a green question mark and a blue teardrop as he said: "Ah, are you all there? I thought I put you back together okay, but maybe-"
As his hand moved towards them, Frisk opened their mouth and let out a hoarse: "No please."
Don't touch me don't come any closer stay away I'm scared I'm scared
Ink smiled and took a step back, his pupils back to their default state.
"Ah, so you can speak! Good, that's good! I was afraid you couldn't anymore! But can you understand me though? Nod if you can."
The child's head jerked forward despite themselves. They still hadn't stopped shaking, and they didn't think they could ever again. Ink was- Ink was-
"Perfect!" Ink sat down, cross-legged, and leaned a bit, making Frisk lurch back to get away from them. The Protector (Creator) didn't seem to notice. "I guess you have questions?"
Frisk opened their mouth once, twice, but no words were coming out. How could they even make sense of what had just happened, let alone ask questions about it?
Ink was-
Ink was-
"W-what are you?"
Ink laughed.
"Straight to the hard ones, don't we? Well, let's put it this way kid: you know how sometimes I have to correct people, and tell them I'm a Protector, not a Creator?"
A silence fell, until Frisk realized Ink was waiting for an answer, and nodded.
Ink gave a smile full of too many sharp, sharp teeth, their pupils two golden stars, and whispered: "I'm lying."
Frisk felt on the verge of a panic attack, their vision starting to tunnel, their breath loud to their ears, until Ink put his fingers in front of their face and snapped them once: immediately, they felt devoid of any emotions.
Utterly numb.
"What did you do to me?"
Their voice was so frighteningly monotone.
"Oh, just a small thing. I know you're a very determined soul" he snorted at the pun "and that you'd be disappointed if your emotions made you unable to ask me things! Also, I'm excited! You're the second person to figure me out, and I really want to know what you want to know! So for now, your feelings are blocked! Ask away!"
Frisk paused for a second, considering themselves; just like Ink had said, their feelings were almost gone. The child knew, intellectually, what they were supposed to feel at the moment (shock, horror, fear, anger), but it was like the emotions themselves were locked behind a glass wall, able to be seen but not interacted with. Frisk took a deep breath and nodded: Ink was right, they needed to get as much knowledge as possible on whatever Ink was, what their intentions with the Multiverse were, what were his powers (if they could be killed).
"What are you, really?"
"Mh, I don't really know how to describe it in terms that would make sense to you, really. I think some would describe me as "eldritch"? But simply put, I'm a Monster."
Somehow, Frisk could feel the capitalization.
"So, you're not really a Sans."
"Ahaha, nope! And before you ask, you can't see what I truly look like, I think one glimpse was enough, wasn't it?"
Despite their blocked emotions, Frisk felt a shiver of terror running down their spine. Unconcerned, Ink went on.
"I have to say, you were in a bit better shape than many other mortals who gazed at my True Form. I think your displacement among time and space somehow made you more resistant? I'll check your code later about it."
"I thought you couldn't use codes."
Ink's smile was condescending, and yet almost kind at the same time.
"I was lying, obviously. I didn't want to be too OP, you know?"
"So, all of your past is a lie."
"Yep!"
"What's the truth?"
"Now, why would I answer that?" Ink became liquid and changed position, reappearing on the ground, chin in their hand and legs swaying in the air "There's no fun in that. Next question!"
Frisk thought about it. It was clear Ink wouldn't tell them things if they asked questions that were too specific.
"Do we have free will, or did you plan everyone's story from the beginning?"
"Mh, good question, I wouldn't have thought you'd ask something like this! The first one, it's much more interesting! I made many of the AUs, but only the basis, their respective alternate timelines develop on their own, like flowers on a branch!"
"Do you care about anything?"
Ink pouted, their pupils changing into a pale blue teardrop and yellow oval.
"I care about everything inside my Multiverse. You're all my beautiful creations: so interesting, unique and complex."
"And yet, you let suffering, death, and people like Error and Nightmare exist with no problem."
"It would be very boring otherwise, don't you think? Suffering and death make a story interesting, even when sometimes Error messes things up he creates new possibilities I would have never imagined. That's why Nightmare and Dream are one of the things I'm most excited about: did you know, I didn't make them? That was all Nim! Everything that happened to them was all original, so I don't know how things will end! So cool!"
If Frisk still had their emotions, they probably wouldn't have paid it any mind, but in their state, something in how the phrase was constructed caught their attention.
"Error is another Monster, isn't he?"
Had their Multiverse been unknowingly caught in the middle of a battle between two godly entities? Error had said he had "reformed" and there had been peace for a year till then, but would it last?
Ink's pupils changed to an orange exclamation point and a yellow star.
"Smart cookie! Yup, Ruru is a Monster like me!" Ink's eyes turned into two pink hearts "He's My Mate!"
Not quite was Frisk was expecting, and yet it made sense. The child wouldn't presume to know the intricacies of Monster's love. What if the destruction was a courting custom? Would Error bring even greater ruin to them as a gift to Ink?
"Why did he use to destroy?"
"Well, you see, Error has always been a bit jealous, and he got very grumpy when I made the Multiverse and started staying here. He went on and on about me "neglecting him" and whatnot, so he decided to throw a tantrum, but I knew he'd get over it soon enough, and I was right! Barely two millennia and he has calmed down." Ink giggled "Oh, he'll HATE that I told you, but I don't care, he kinda deserves it for acting like a child."
Two thousand years of suffering and pain for all of the Multiverse, countless AUs destroyed, multitudes of people killed, traumatized, scarred, entire civilizations obliterated... and Ink called it a short tantrum.
"Are there any other Monsters inside the Multiverse at the moment?"
Ink tilted their skull a bit, visibly considering the question as one of his pupils changed into a green spiral.
"You know what? You guessed Ruru, so this one's a freebie: there's only one other Monster in the Multiverse right now, and it's Mistake."
...the cat?
"Error's cat?"
"She's not strictly a cat but... yes. She doesn't have the same level of sentience as me and Error, and he kept her as a sort of pet even when we weren't here, so he decided to bring her along after he finally admitted that my Multiverse is awesome."
Frisk started to nod, and then the previous sentence caught up with them.
"You said Mistake is the only other Monster besides you two right now. Are there more coming?"
Ink looked positively giddy.
"You catch on quickly! There's gonna be a couple of new additions in the coming years, but as for who they are... that's a secret. Wouldn't do to spoil the plot all at once now, would it?" They winked "However, if you or anyone else wants to try and guess who there two new mysterious charaters are gonna be, you're welcome to try!"
Frisk took a moment to center themselves and take stock of what else they needed to ask.
"Can you elaborate more about Dream and Nightmare?"
"Sure! You see, when I started making the Multiverse, I realized quickly that it would need some sort of control system-"
===========================
Frisk drifted for hours after that.
Eventually, Ink had gotten bored of answering questions and told them it was time for Frisk to go back to the Multiverse; after a small warning about not telling anyone else what they had learned, the child had been ejected from the Doodlesphere while they regained their emotions. The panic and existential dread had set in soon after.
Their lack of a body had also not helped them calm down: they had nothing to ground themselves with, and the child was too agitated to try and manifest in an AU, any AU, to feel something other than the depth of their own insignificance and meaninglessness, as time and space moved around them in an infinite whirlwind.
They, their friends, their enemies, they were all playthings for an higher being, and while that was something that Ink and Error had both implied many times (another lie, the existence of many Creators, who talked with Error and who had breathed life into Ink. Or was there something even more powerful than Monsters?), it was one thing to accept the fact that something had made them and watched them from afar, and quite another to see your God standing in front of you, laughing and telling you the whole time you were only meant to be entertaining, that he walked among you and pushed and prodded at everything, seeing how far things could go until they broke.
Even after their mental breakdown subsided and they became rational again, Frisk decided against taking a form for the moment: after all, they could still see everything anyway, but they... they couldn't interact with other puppets people at the moment. And so, they drifted, looking at everything around them, trying to find meaning in the simulation they were living in.
"Homie, can ya hear me?"
It was Fresh. Whatever, he of all people Frisk didn't want to see: they didn't mind the fact that he was emotionless, but his presence was the LAST thing they needed.
"I know ya spoke wid Inkblot. Wanna chat about it?"
Did... did Fresh knew?
Frisk hesitated: they still wanted to be alone, to not actually think about what had happened to them, but the possibility of talking with someone who understood, even a little bit...
Unsure, Frisk materialized in front of him, inside the Outertale variant he was in. The parasite peered down at them from above, and tilted his skull with a small grimace as his glassed spelled DA-NG. Frisk had to look much worse than they thought if Fresh had this reaction.
The other took a step back and sat on the edge of the asteroid they were standing on, patting the space next to him. Frisk walked almost mechanically and sat beside him. The child felt the urge to lean on the parasite, but ignored it, deciding instead to hug themselves. They could feel themselves shaking a bit.
"How long have you known?"
Fresh didn't look at them, keeping his gaze on the horizon.
"A while. I don't remember when, for sure, but yearz."
Years. Frisk felt like screaming only a few hours after finding out, and Fresh just went on living as normal. Who says that being emotionless doesn't have its perks?
"How did you find out? Did you see-"
"Nah homie, did ya?" Fresh let out a long whistle "Surprised ya noggin isn't scrambled like an egg."
"Ink put it back together." Frisk said in a hoarse voice, as they hugged themselves tighter, their trembling increasing. The mere thought of trying to remember was-
A hand gently landed on their head, shaking them out of their stupor.
"Das rough, homie. Musta been spooky."
Was Fresh trying to comfort them? The situation was so absurd (the emotionless, soul-sucking parasite trying to comfort the immortal, omnipresent child) that Frisk barked out a small laugh, though it sounded more like a shout than anything.
"You have no idea."
Fresh's hand in their hair gripped a bit tighter, just a fraction, as the parasite said: "I do, actually."
Their voice was slightly strained, but for him to emote even a bit was monumental. Frisk turned to look at him, and the parasite did the same. His glasses now spelled SCA-RED.
"Ya know I have one feel, and one feel only, homie: fear. Das wat keepz me alive. And knowing wat Inkblot and Glitchy really are, and dat I can't do anything tah defend mahself, das scary."
Abruptly, Fresh turned his skull back towards the horizon, but left his hand on Frisk's head. The child let themselves be grounded by the feeling of Fresh's fingers in their gray hair for a bit, and then asked again: "How did you find out?"
Fresh took a bit to respond.
"I alwayz knew Inkblot waz bad news. Deir vibes are rancid, and it's not because he's empty. Wen I'm near dem, I alwayz feel like..." Fresh trailed off, and as Frisk glanced back at him, his glasses spelled PR-EY "Like he iz dangerous. Glitchy too, but dat waz obvious. And so, one day I asked. And he told me."
"Just like that?"
Fresh hummed in assent.
"Uh-uh. Inkblot waz so excited dat I found him and Glitchy out, and even wanted me to possess dem to see wat would happen."
Fresh's glasses now spelled WEI-RDO, making his opinion of Ink very clear and managing to make Frisk crack a smile: God is a weirdo, you heard it here first, folks!
...They were starting to understand why many Sanses turned to comedy as a coping mechanism against existential dread.
"Did you do it?"
"Obvz, I didn't have no clue of wat Inkblot woulda done if I said no." his glasses turned completely black and his smile dropped "I will never do it again. He almost consumed me."
And after that delightful bit of news, silence fell again on the couple for a while. Fresh didn't remove his hand, and Frisk didn't ask him to.
"I'm sorry." Frisk eventually said, leaning against the parasite.
"No use being sorry, homie. We just gotta go on and play it smart. It's tah only thing we can do." Fresh moved his hand from their head and put it on their shoulders, pulling them a bit closer, almost like a hug. "And hope Inkblot don't get bored too soon."
This might not seem much, but she had just come to life, so it was actually a pretty big deal.
She looked around, meeting the eyes of two other beings there with her in the Doodlesphere: the others were a fairy and a dragon shifter, though she didn't know how she knew that.
(If she had been older, Nim would have wondered at how she knew her own name, or how to stand, or where she was, or any number of the other info she had in her mind instantly, but cut her some slack: she was, quite literally, born 5 minutes ago).
"Okay, let's begin!"
Startled, Nim turned towards the speaker, and found herself face to face with a short skeleton; he was smiling and looking at them with a kind expression, but Nim felt uneasy anyway.
There was something, in their gaze...
"Who are you?" the fairy asked, suspicious. The skeleton frowned in thought.
"You don't know? You don't know... I probably forgot to- oh well, it's fine!" He immediately got their smile back and clapped his hands together.
"It's simple, really! I'm your Creator! The Creator of... everything, really."
Nim felt mostly confused by this knowledge, though she had the impression she should have been more concerned by it.
"What does this mean?" the dragon shifter asked, sounding scared. The Creator came closer to the shifter, who shrinked away even if he towered over them.
"Well, my creations, it means I have a job for you!"
"A job?" the fairy was instead somewhat angry. Nim felt mostly curious.
"Of course! I need you to keep this little Multiverse of mine up and running! So I made you! To keep it from falling apart! I can't be here 24/7, you know? I want to go back home from time to time!"
As he talked, the Creator kept gesticulating and moving, and all of that made Nim dizzy.
"And what if I don't want to work for you and do your stupid job?!"
The fairy stomped her foot on the ground and ungracefully flew at the skeleton, hobbling in the air, to then jab a finger in his still smiling face.
"You can't make me!"
"Of course I can."
A chill fell over Nim, and she could see that the fairy and the shifter also felt it.
"I made you, I can change you if I want." he kept on smiling, as if what they were saying wasn't horrifying. "I don't really want to, I like my creations to not be mindless puppets, but I made you for a reason Lanny, and if you don't like it, I can make you like it. You three are too important for that."
The fairy, Lanny, flew back down, cowed.
"No no, I'll... sorry."
"It's okay!" he pat her head, and she flinched "You're still so young after all! But you have to understand, I need you, three of you! Three points of Balance for the Multiverse! Did you know, the triangle is the strongest shape? You three are just right!"
"Okay..."
Lanny took a step back, then when she saw that the Creator wasn't stopping her she moved back near Nim and the dragon shifter. Nim offered her hand, and felt Lanny take it, huddling close.
"Aww, look at that, you're already getting along! See, I knew I made you just right!"
"What... what about the job?" the shifter asked in a low tone.
"Job...? Oh, the job! Right!" the Creator clapped his hands like a little kid.
"Well, you see, I made this big big Multiverse, and I love it! It's still in its early stages, and that means there's not a lot of stuff yet. But I want it to have a lot more stuff inside! And that stuff is gonna be very delicate, so if I were to control it, I would have to spend all of my time doing that, and I don't want that! That's boring!"
The Creator pouted, and then waved his hands in the air. Ink coalesced into them, forming a black image of three trees in the air.
"So, I decided to create three conduits, that would handle the most important forces in the Multiverse: Magic, Feelings, and Life. And that's were you come in! Your job, is to guard them!"
The Creator threw their hands in the air, sending each of the ink trees towards one of them.
"You, Lanny, will be guarding the Tree of Magic!" Lanny's Tree burst into color, showing that it held rainbow pears. It was pretty (just like Lanny) "Every Pear is a fraction of the collective magic of the Multiverse, and so you must be careful there's not too little, or too much of them. If there's too much, you eat some of them: this will grant you magic power and knowledge above all else!" He then wagged their finger at her, (probably) jokingly "You better not abuse it, missy!"
"I won't!" Lanny said, scared.
"You, Quetzalcoatl, will be guarding the Tree of Life!" Quezt- Quetzi-Que- Q's Tree burts into color, showing that it held crystal apples. "Each of them is a soul in the process of rebirth, waste not want not, you know?" it was clear he didn't, but Q nodded anyway "Every time an Apple falls down, that's a soul being reborn, and every time an Apple grows, that's someone who died. If there's too much Apples on the Tree, give it a scroll and make some fall down. I don't want you to handle the actual process of putting the souls inside the Apples and of taking them out though, I'll take care of making you a psychopomp or two for that, and someone to actually craft life, mh... I could make a whole AU for them, and all other minor gods, that's an idea..."
The Creator started muttering and turned around, ignoring them, and Nim panicked. They hadn't given her her Tree! It was still all black and hidden, she didn't even remember what her third thing was supposed to be! What if she messed up?!
"Uh... C-Creator?"
They turned back to look at her, his eyes an orange question mark and a yellow exclamation point.
"Y-you didn't tell me... what my Tree is like."
"I didn't? I didn't!" his eyes changed to two red exclamation point "Sorry Nim! Your Tree is the Tree of Feelings!" her Tree burst into color, showing that it held golden and purple apples. "The golden side is Positivity, and the purple one is Negativity, and you just be careful about one side not overwhelming the other, otherwise everyone's emotions would get out of whack!"
"So, everything clear so far?"
With no other option, the three of them nodded.
"Good." The Creator's expression got serious for the first time, his pupils two green squares "Each of your fruits hold a lot of power inside of them, so you cannot let people eat them, okay? That's the whole reason why you're Guardians, to protect the Trees from people who'd try to use them in the wrong way."
He came closer and closer to them, stopping a few inches from them and looking at them with their penetrating gaze.
"I really hope you won't fail."
The two longest seconds of Nim's life passed.
"Great!" The Creator jumped back with a smile, again clapping his hands together "Glad we had this talk!" He took off a big paintbrush from their back and swiped vertically, creating a portal in mid-air "Now I'll just bring you to your worlds and you can start being Guardians. And oh! One last thing!"
They put their hands behind his back and titled his skull a bit.
"Nobody else has to know I'm the Creator. For everyone else, I'm Ink, okay?"
===============
For a long time, Nim lived a happy life. Thousands and thousands of years spent taking care of her Tree and making sure Balance remained.
Ink, the Creator, almost never came to visit her, and for that Nim was glad: it meant she was doing what she was supposed to, that they didn't need to change her or anything scary like that.
If she ever felt lonely, she made a portal (another innate knowledge of hers) and visited Lanny or Quetzalcoatl in their own world to spend time with them.
At some point, Ink had put mortals in her world, saying it would be "fun", but Nim didn't want to interact with them. They were fleeting, and greedy, and exactly the kind of beings Ink had told her to not let touch the Apples (why had he put them there?), and she didn't trust them.
They weren't Lanny and Quetzalcoatl, who were her fellow Guardians and friends, so she didn't care for them.
She shouldn't have underestimated them, though.
The knife in her side hurt. A lot.
She managed to kill the human, to stop him from getting her Apples, but she was feeling her life slip away. She never thought she could die, she was immortal after all, and this scared her more than anything.
She called out for help.
"Crea-tor! Crea-!" a cough stopped her and made her tear up "HELP! ME!"
But nobody came.
Was this her punishment? A test to see what she would do? Was he just busy?
Did they even care?
She crawled closer and closer to the Tree, wanting to prop herself upright, and when she touched it, she knew what she had to do.
A Guardian was still needed, but if she... cheated, a little bit, and made one using part of her essence, the rest of her could still live on inside the Tree.
She had never tried Creating things before (that wasn't what she was supposed to do) but her life was slipping away, so she had to. She immediately grabbed some energy and hastily put it inside a body, a human one like the one who tried to kill her. Not ideal, but it was the first thing she could see and copy quickly.
It exploded.
She panicked, she had made a mess! Why did it explode, was it too much energy?! She halved it, creating two smaller beings instead of only one, but was it good enough?! What if the next bodies exploded too?!
Racking her brain, the next being she latched on was the Creator. She knew he was full of magic and energy, and yet he could hold it in, it almost seemed to flow and ooze out of all the spaces between their bones.
Skeleton Guardians wouldn't be that unusual either, she knew that Quetzalcoatl had two of those to gather the souls he needed (though neither of the three Guardians had even seen them, as they tended to keep to their worlds and not interfere with the wider Multiverse), they probably looked kinda like the Creator, she could make the same thing!
She was out of time; she made two skeleton bodies as fast as she could, infused the knowledge of her duty into the two golden and purple flames that she held in her bloody hands (somehow) and then put them inside their newly created bodies.
As soon as she did, she felt herself become one with the Tree, and then she knew no more.
===============
"You've made a bit of a mess."
The voice of the Creator, leaning against her trunk, awakened her from her slumber.
Being a Tree was weird: Nim could see without eyes, hear without ears, feel things against her bark like she would on her skin, and a couple of other senses she never had before. However, she couldn't speak, to try and tell the Creator she didn't mean to, and that she had tried to fix it.
"Oh, I know. I'm just a bit mad that all my hard work making good Guardians was wasted." they pouted and crossed his arms "There's not even three of you anymore, there's four now."
Right, her (sons? daughters? children? children) children were huddled together, sleeping peacefully. They looked so small and helpless, and Nim realized she never even named them.
"You didn't?" the Creator wondered curiously, leaning over the two kids and casting his shadow over them with a smile "Then I guess I'll have to do it! Unless you have any ideas?"
Nim didn't, at the moment. She... she was unsure...
"Yay, it's up to me!" Ink actually jumped up and down a bit, before kneeling down and grabbing both of them by their chins with one hand, turning their skull this way and that, peering into them with a surgical stare.
"Well, they have to have opposite names, obviously! They are twins, and each controls one half of the Tree, it only makes sense!" Despite its rather loud volume, Ink's voice didn't seem to rouse her children, and Nim suddenly realized he must probably be willing it so. "Maybe I can name them Black and White? No, they're yellow and purple, it makes no sense. Yellow and Purple? Booooring! Sun and Moon? Mh, it's missing something. Maybe Day and Night!" he got up and somehow faced Nim right in the eyes she didn't have anymore "What do you think?!"
Nim wanted to disappear, she didn't know what to say, she, she didn't know, she wanted the Creator to stop looking at her, but he was waiting for an answer, she, maybe Night was a nice name?
"Mh, I think you're right, it's still missing a certain pizzaz, you know?" Nim did not know "Night... Night, Nighty, Nighttime, Nightingale, Nightlight, Night...mare. Nightmare! It's perfect! And that makes the other Dream! Ah, I get to keep N and D as the initials! It's decided!"
The Creator scooped her unconscious children in their arms and twirled a bit, excited.
"Your names will be Dream and Nightmare! I can't wait to see what you two will do!"
He laid them back against Nim's trunk.
"I will be watching closely."
===============
Ink watched closely, but he was no help in what happened next.
===============
Her children were fighting to the death.
The same children Nim had made, the two little boys who she had seen grow every day, who she had learned to love even if they weren't aware she was there to watch over them, were now trading blows and she could do nothing to stop them.
She had kept on screaming and screaming, but only one being could hear her voice, and he wasn't there (and even if he was, they wouldn't care).
Her Nightmare (her sweet little Nightmare, who was so inquisitive and smart and loyal) was now corrupted and feral, wanting nothing more than to rip Dream (kind Dream, brave Dream, strong Dream) to shreds.
It was obvious that Nightmare, thanks to the boost given by the Apples, was stronger, and it was only a matter of time before Dream succumbed. Why wasn't the Creator stopping them?! Why wasn't he helping them?! Even if he didn't care about them (they were just kids) Ink still cared about their stupid Balance, didn't he?! Couldn't they see that he had to save Dream?!
SAVE HIM! SAVE HIM! SAVE HIM!
Nim was helpless as Nightmare's appendages sharpened and shot against Dream's ribcage.
Oh no she heard in a whisper that won't do at all.
Instead of piercing his chest and soul, the moment the appendage made contact stone started creeping all over Dream's body, encasing him and crystallizing his terror. Nightmare snarled as he pushed the statue on the ground, but (to Nim's relief) it didn't break, not even as the corrupted child rained blows upon it.
Nim waited, hoping that Ink would also help Nightmare now, but deep down she knew they wouldn't: he was probably so intrigued by what was happening, brother turning against brother, a battle for the faith of all the Multiverse's feelings, he would never put a stop to it, too curious to see how everything would work out.
She had seen enough horrific AUs to know how their mind worked.
How presumptious the same voice from before whispered in her ears in amusement and yet you're right. I can't wait to see what happens next. You have given me such an amazing story.
Nightmare stopped trying to destroy his brother's statue and roared at the sky. He was all alone in a dead world, with nobody else to target his fury towards.
Almost nobody.
Just like the last time, it hurt a lot. This time, Nim knew there would be no avoiding it.
The last thing she saw was Nightmare's sneer.
The last thing she heard was Ink's uncaring whisper.
Too bad you won't be able to see how it ends.
===============
"You're so special, you know?"
"Really?"
Dream felt so warm inside. He always treasured the compliments, because now that he was living with Miss Lanny, he never talked with anyone else, and Miss Lanny could be... a little mean, especially during training, so Dream loved whenever Mr Ink came to visit.
"Really!" Mr Ink said, his pupils a yellow star and a blue circle. "It still amazes me so much that you were made from your mother, and yet don't have any of her memories or knowledge. You're something completely new! And unique!"
Mr. Ink was always saying things like that to Dream whenever he visited Miss Lanny to chech up on his training, and those were the only times Miss Lanny wasn't mean to him, because she was scared of Mr Ink (he could feel it in her aura), even though Dream couldn't understand why. Mr Ink was so nice and fun! Even if Dream couldn't feel his feelings, he knew they were a good person, Dream could tell.
"Thank you!" Dream said, making sure to give Mr Ink his best smile "Am I ready yet?"
Mr Ink's pupils became a green spiral and an orange square as their smile softened, and Dream deflated. That meant no.
"Sorry buddy, you still need to train! But don't worry, Lanny tells me you're improving so much! Soon, you'll be a perfect Guardian and I'll bring you out there to help me with the Balance, okay?"
Mr Ink was always saying that, and Dream couldn't wait to get away from mean Miss Lanny, who never hugged him or told him he was good (like Nightmare used to do), and be with Mr Ink instead.
He would be the bestest Guardian ever, and make him proud.
"Okay!"
"Aww, look at how cute you are now!" Mr Ink said, patting his skull.
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I would like to hear about eldritch family relationships, yes!
Also I mostly asked that because I was wondering if at any point ink nearly broke errors hand and cursed his name while he was delivering the twins. It sounds like it wasn’t that bad for him tho.
So the twins were born into the multiverse, and at the same time their eldritch forms were off chilling in eldritch land?
What was error and ink’s introduction to the concept of ‘the deed’? Did ink just see some AUs where people did it and thought he’d give it a try?
You don't know how much you made my day! Okay, I'll leave the ramble about the Errorink family for last, under a read more
As for the rest, I think Error's hand is fine lol. I recently read how @askfriskandcompany thinks about skeleton pregnancy on the side stories, and I think it's something I will start incorporating in my own headcanons: basically, after the deed, skeletons don't form ectobodies, but they have something that is described as a "bubble", floating stomach-height thanks to magic, in which the little skeleton grows and grows until it pops and here's the baby (almost all other monsters are super jealous, they have to go into labour). So, it's kinda like an egg? Super cool worldbuilding and makes sense (why go through all the trouble of making a body for 9 months? Nature is energy efficient).
And yeah, that's basically it: as already stated, Ink, Error and the kids have bodies, but they're more like avatars (actually, kinda like in the Avatar Movie, where the body is there, but if it breaks the soldiers wakes up in a pod).
Ink already knew about sex from when he first examined Gaster's mind before creating the Multiverse: basically, everything that Gaster knew, consciously or subconsciously, Ink also knows, and then he used Gaster's presence to peek inside the Original Undertale and get all kinds of details Gaster couldn't possibly know.
And now, Errorink family!
I and @stargazeraldroth have quite a few headcanons regarding Errorink, PJ and Gradient in general, and those tend to transfer in most works, so this is valid for Eldritchtale, but also usually for any of my other works.
The first thing is PJ and Gradient's personality and powers: PJ and Gradient are both similar and opposites in a lot of ways. Physically, PJ looks more like Ink, while Gradient looks more like Error, but this doesn't reflect exactly in their personality.
PJ is surly, rude and sarcastic, so personality-wise they're a lot more similar to Error than they are to Ink, and this includes their propension to destruction and violence rather than creation and art; Gradient, meanwhile, is soft-spoken, shy, socially awkward, a rather talented artist and a bit of a people-pleaser, so he got Ink's personality more than Error's.
(In many other AUs, I always headcanon that, if Error and Ink were to die/retire, PJ would become the next Destroyer and Gradient the next Protector for this reason).
However, if we go deeper, we can see that PJ cares a lot about things, that they're very loyal and driven, even if they can be impulsive (this is Ink's side coming through); following the same reasoning, Gradient is nice, but he can be calculating and obsessive, and even cruel if push comes to shove (this is all Error).
To explain with an example, if PJ wants revenge on you, they'd probably just shout at you or beat you up if you deserved it, but then they'd let it go; Gradient, on the other hand, would probably act nice to your face and then hit you were it hurts when you least expect it.
Basically, PJ is the brawns and Gradient is the brains.
In terms of powers, both kids can use either creative or destructive powers, though they each prefer one side (Gradient creation, and PJ destruction), but they also have another type of power: PJ has power over time, while Gradient has power over space.
So, PJ can create time loops, go forward and bacwards in time a bit, see different branches in timelines, while Gradient can teleport effortlessly through the Multiverse better than anyone else, create portals linking places together, make pocket dimensions.
(@stargazeraldroth wrote a throwaway line in a story about PJ and Gradient working together to create a never ending corridor as a prank by combining their powers, and I think this sums up their relationship perfectly).
All of this to kinda contextualize, what is their relationship with each other and their parents?
The twins are very close, best friends, and together they're an unstoppable tag-team (if they decide you're dead, you're dead); whevener they fight, it's always resolved quickly, and there's no hard feelings.
Regarding Ink, both kids are mama's boys: very affectionate with Ink, just as protective as their dad. PJ is a bit louder about it ("What did you say to my mom?!") but Gradient is a bit more proactive ("Oh my, you tripped? How unlucky..."). Ink the one that also disciplines them more often, because Error doesn't care about the mess they make inside the Multiverse as long as it doesn't affect him lol. Gradient is a bit closer with Ink, because he shares similar interests, while PJ will willingly spend time with Ink painting, but doesn't enjoy it themselves.
Error is a bit more hands off, but it doesn't mean he loves the kids any less: he rarely tells them he loves them or that he's proud, but he knows and remembers everything they tell him/talk about, and gives them thoughtful gifts taking those things into account. When he spends time with Gradient, it's them together in silence doing things they both enjoy, while with PJ it's a bit meaner, but the fun kind ("You ready, brat?" "bring it on, old man!").
One last thing that Error and PJ both share? Their dislike of Dream lmao, because given his upbringing, he developed some confusing feelings for Ink: the poor guy idolized Ink from a young age, so he's in-between wanting a parental bond with him and having a crush, and neither option is something Error or PJ like, despite the fact that Ink would never replace either of them with Dream. Ah, they're jealous, what can you do?
All in all, they're very close and happy together.
Eldritchtale: Error is a silly goose (who sometimes commits genocide)
.̷̮̻͍̒̈́͌.̵͎̩̹̜̤͔̅̿͠.̷̡́̔́̈́͝ͅ was mad. This wasn't unusual, as he was often angry, but the object of his fury usually wasn't His Mate, the one Monster he cared for and who he would never harm.
It made him feel conflicted, and nervous: .̷̮̻͍̒̈́͌.̵͎̩̹̜̤͔̅̿͠.̷̡́̔́̈́͝ͅ wanted His Mate to be with him forever, never leave his side, belong to him like they were meant to, but he had been so obsessed with that Multiverse thing of theirs he had gotten from that weird mortal.
.̷̮̻͍̒̈́͌.̵͎̩̹̜̤͔̅̿͠.̷̡́̔́̈́͝ͅ didn't like that at all. His Mate was spending so much time with his Multiverse, and that was time they weren't spending with HIM! It was unacceptable!
His Mate was being uncharacteristically stubborn about this, even forbidding him from entering the stupid Multiverse unless he made himself a "body" like His Mate had. Bah! A "body", sounded like something useless and pathetic!
But His Mate had been gone for so long already! Millennia! The other Monsters mocked his clinginess, but he didn't care.
.̷̮̻͍̒̈́͌.̵͎̩̹̜̤͔̅̿͠.̷̡́̔́̈́͝ͅ would do anything to be with His Mate.
Having decided to follow His Mate's rule, the Monster moved closer to all the mortals: ever since His Mate had created their Multiverse, a lot more mortals had appeared, just like the first one, the one who had enticed His Mate and made him leave: .̷̮̻͍̒̈́͌.̵͎̩̹̜̤͔̅̿͠.̷̡́̔́̈́͝ͅ hated him most of all, but all those others, too, he considered abominations and parasites. Still, just like His Mate had taken inspiration and made his Multiverse, so .̷̮̻͍̒̈́͌.̵͎̩̹̜̤͔̅̿͠.̷̡́̔́̈́͝ͅ would use those mortals as a guide to make his own new "body" (ugh).
He eventually found a mortal that seemed less awful than the others, and hastily modeled a body that would make him bypass His Mate's Barrier, before quickly jumping inside the Multiverse, where His Mate was.
It felt weird, and wrong, and unpleasant to have a body, to feel so constricted and limited (he didn't know how His Mate could stand it), and he was also a bit convinced he had made some mistake while building it (he dismissed the ridiculous thought as soon as it came up, the Monster was perfect, just like His Mate, and he didn't make mistakes).
"Hey buddy! Who are you?!" a voice shouted. The Monster would have found it annoying, if he hadn't recognized His Mate.
Even in this imperfect, insignificat form, he could always recognize His Mate, and always find him enticing. They were now looking at him with wonder and excitement, his pupils a yellow question mare and an orange exclamation point.
"You look so weird, friend! Wonder which AU you are from..." His Mate trailed off, coming closer and touching his face. It burned! The Monster flinched and moved away, snarling in pain.
"𝓓ᗝภ't tᗝ𝓾ᶜ𝓱 𝓂乇!(DON'T TOUCH ME!)"
He cared deeply for His Mate, but he was angry with him for hurting him. His Mate, however, simply smiled as his pupils turned into a star and a heart.
"Error! It's you!"
"𝕎𝓱Ａt 𝓭𝐢𝓭 𝕪σ𝕌 נ𝕌şt 𝓬Ａ𝔩𝔩 爪Ｅ?!(What did you just call me?!)"
His Mate simply snorted and came closer, making the Monster move away again.
"Well, I can't just call you by your name, can I? These bodies cannot handle those sounds, this is the closest equivalent!"
.̷̮̻͍̒̈́͌.̵͎̩̹̜̤͔̅̿͠.̷̡́̔́̈́͝ͅ resented this knowledge, but he had to admit that even thinking his and His Mate's name was causing him an headache (stupid mortal bodies) and so .̷̮̻͍̒̈́͌.̵͎̩̹̜̤͔̅̿͠.̷̡́̔́̈́͝ͅ , or rather, Error, begrudingly accepted the moniker.
"I go by "Ink", by the way!" His Mate said, putting one hand on his hip as he pointed their thumb at his chest. He then frowned (no! why was His Mate frowing!) and crossed his arms.
"Look at your body, it's all glitched! You did such a rush job! Mortal minds can barely look at it without breaking! I bet touch hurts you, doesn't it?"
"ภσ!(No!)" he said, like a liar. "ι 𝓭𝐢𝓭 𝐢t σŇ ｐ𝕌яｐσşＥ, şσ t𝓱Ａt ŇσŇＥ σⓕ 𝕪σ𝕌я Ａᵇσ爪𝐢ŇＡt𝐢σŇş 𝓬ＡŇ tσ𝕌𝓬𝓱 爪Ｅ!(I did it on purpose, so that none of your abominations can touch me!)
Ink then smirked (making Error sigh in relief at the sight of His Mate being happy) and came closer, careful to not touch Error.
"Oh really? Not even me?"
Damnit, Error had not realized that. Having His Mate so close was making his new body experience all sorts of pleasant sensations he couldn't wait to explore, but the thought of not being able to touch His Mate while he was inside his Multiverse was torture!
Ink's smile softened as he saw the conflict on Error's face, raising a hand to his forehead, almost brushing it, but still oh so carefully not making contact.
"Want me to fix that? It'll only hurt for a moment, I promise."
Error nodded, the trust in His Mate full and unwavering.
True to his words, Ink's touch only hurt as their index and middle finger made contact with Error's forehead, a shock that ran through his body and then immediately stopped, leaving him able to enjoy His Mate's touch. The Monster leaned into Ink's hand, purring.
"All done, Ruru!" The nickname sent a pleasurable shiver down Error's new spine "Though I only fixed it for me, wouldn't want my "abominations" to touch you after all!" He then let out a laugh, a cute little snorting sound that Error decided was his new favourite thing.
Ink's fingers then moved away (making him growl involuntarily) and a glowing blue rectangle with writing on it appeared before them; Ink started examining the text in earnest, and Error couldn't help but feel angry. His Mate had stopped touching him for that stupid screen! What was so important that demanded His Mate's attention?!
"Error, where did you get the inspiration for your body from?"
"𝕎𝓱𝕪 𝓭σ 𝕪σ𝕌 𝓬ＡяＥ?!(Why do you care?!)" Error snarled, clenching his fists in displeasure. Ink didn't even seem to notice, too busy looking at the stupid screen.
"Its code is very interesting! It says that it belongs to an AU that doesn't exists yet, that will form only thousands of years from now! It seems like all of the people who get thrown out of this Multiverse's linear time for whatever reason, end up where we live, always having existed there! Isn't it amazing?!"
"ภσ! 𝕎𝓱𝕪 𝓭σ 𝕪σ𝕌 𝓬ＡяＥ Ａᵇσ𝕌t Ａ𝔩𝔩 t𝓱Ａt şt𝕌ⓕⓕ?! ιt'ş ᵇσя𝐢ŇＧ, ＡŇ𝓭 şt𝕌ｐ𝐢𝓭!(No! Why do you care about all that stuff?! It's boring, and stupid!)"
"Aww, Error, don't be like that! I'm sure you'd like it if-"
"ภᗝ! ι 𝓱ａt乇 ιt! ι 𝓱ａt乇 ιt!(NO! I HATE IT! I HATE IT!)"
Error felt himself grow so angry that his mortal body almost couldn't contain him: his form started seizing and decomposing, a flurry of glitches running all over his body in an effort for his true essence to break free and destroy everything, but Ink's Barrier, so carefully crafted, stopped him from doing so.
Eventually, he crashed.
He was frozen, and paralized, and blind, but he could still hear Ink sigh and carry his unconscious body somewhere else, all the while chiding him for his tantrum. It hadn't been a tantrum! And he wouldn't have needed one if Ink had just listened to him and paid attention to him instead of some stupid code that didn't even MATTER!
He came to after a short while, laid down on something soft, a bean bag. Ink was seated cross-legged in front of him, on a nest of pillows.
"All good Ruru?"
Error snarled in embarrassment and didn't respond, averting his eyes. To be caught so vulnerable in front of His Mate was a source of great shame for him.
And yet, His Mate simply smiled softly (his pupils two pink hearts) and put their hand on his forearm, caressing him with tenderness. Error leaned into the touch, once again counting himself so lucky that someone so amazing as Ink had chosen him.
"What was that all about?"
And there went the sweet moment. Error grew angry again at the thought of the neglect His Mate was subjecting him to.
"You got very worked up, why-"
"ι נ𝕌şt 𝓭σŇ't 𝔩𝐢𝕂Ｅ 𝕪σ𝕌я şt𝕌ｐ𝐢𝓭 𝓂𝕌𝔩t𝐢ѶＥяşＥ, 𝐢ş t𝓱Ａt Ａ ｐяσᵇ𝔩Ｅ爪?!(I just don't like your stupid Multiverse, is that a problem?!)"
Ink looked sad, but Error ignored the small voice at the back of his mind that despaired at the fact, instead focusing on his anger at His Mate.
"Of course it isn't, you don't have to stay if-"
"ａяＥ 𝕪σ𝕌 şσ ＥＡＧＥя tσ ＧＥt я𝐢𝓭 σⓕ 爪Ｅ, t𝓱ＥŇ?!(Are you so eager to get rid of me, then?!)"
At this point, Ink's pupils changed to a green spiral and a blue exclamation point.
"Error, are you jealous?"
"𝓂Ｅ, נＥＡ𝔩σ𝕌ş?! ᗝⓕ 𝓬σ𝕌яşＥ Ňσt! ιⓕ 𝕪σ𝕌 ⓌＡŇt tσ ＡᵇＡŇ𝓭σŇ 爪Ｅ tσ tＥŇ𝓭 tσ 𝕪σ𝕌я Ａᵇσ爪𝐢ŇＡt𝐢σŇş, ᵇＥ 爪𝕪 Ｇ𝕌Ｅşt!(Me, jealous?! Of course not! If you want to abandon me to tend to your abominations, be my guest!)"
Ink's expression became frustrated, his pupils a red cross and a grey square.
"I'm not abandoning you, that's ridiculous."
"ᶜσ𝕌𝔩𝓭 𝓱ＡѶＥ ⓕσσ𝔩Ｅ𝓭 爪Ｅ…(Could have fooled me...)"
"Errooooor!" Ink sighed, rolling his eyes and leaning back "I was gone only for a few millennia!"
"t𝓱Ａt'ş Ａ ⓕＥⓌ 爪𝐢𝔩𝔩ＥŇŇ𝐢Ａ tσσ 爪ＡŇ𝕪!(That's a few millennia too many!)"
"Are you gonna make such a fuss every time I go back here?"
WHAT?!
"𝕎𝓱ａt 𝓓ᗝ үᗝ𝓾 𝓂乇ａภ 𝑔ᗝιภ𝑔 ᗷａᶜķ?!(WHAT DO YOU MEAN GOING BACK?!)" he shouted, standing up.
Ink looked at him in disbelief.
"I put a lot of work into this" he said, tone slow and condescending, looking up at him "I'm just gonna see it through. I'll keep coming back here till the Multiverse reaches its natural end."
"t𝓱ａt'ร tᗝᗝ ℓᗝภ𝑔!(THAT'S TOO LONG!)"
"Error-"
"ι 𝕎ᗝภ't รtａภ𝓓 千ᗝ尺 ιt! ι 𝕎ᗝภ't ℓ乇t үᗝ𝓾!(I WON'T STAND FOR IT! I WON'T LET YOU!)"
Ink rose as well, putting his hands on their hips as his pupils became a red crosshair and a grey cloud with a lighting bolt coming out of it.
"You "won't let me"? Please, elaborate."
Error knew he had fucked up, but his mouth ran faster than his thoughts.
"ι'ℓℓ 𝓓乇รt尺ᗝү үᗝ𝓾尺 รt𝓾ᵖι𝓓 𝓂𝓾ℓtι𝐯乇尺ร乇, t乇ａ尺 ιt ａᵖａ尺t!(I'LL DESTROY YOUR STUPID MULTIVERSE, TEAR IT APART!)"
And then His Mate would be back at his side, where they belonged.
"No."
Error froze. Outwardly, Ink still look as angry as before, but to a Monster was clear as day that now Ink was pissed, his True Form writhing and thrashing in a threatening display.
His Mate had always been powerful, even more than Error himself, but the other Monsters tended to forget it, as Ink never flaunted their prowess and strength.
Error was usually better at remembering it.
"This Multiverse is MINE, Error, do you understand? I worked very hard to make it, and if you actually destroy it all, I'm not gonna forgive you ever again."
And oh, how that threat was effective. Error could not image a punishment worst than His Mate forsaking him.
However, the mere idea that Ink might abandon him for such a disgusting abomination filled him with even more rage, so with a snarl Error teleported away and appeared in the middle of what appear to be papers floating without a care, but that Error can recognize as so much more.
In his rage, Error snatched one at random and ripped it in half, then again and again until the page is only confetti. The Monster was still not satisfied, so more pages follow the same fate.
This is next to nothing, this isn't destroying the Multiverse that Ink worked so hard to create, this is more akin to trying to destroy Mount Everest by removing a rock at a time, but it's still something against the hated creation that stole His Mate, and so Error kept doing it.
Eventually, Ink appeared to yell at him, to scold him and tell him to stop (his earlier rage is gone, replaced with irritation; Error may be doing next to nothing, but it's still ruining his delicate Creation).
Error didn't even slow down: if Ink really wanted to stop him, he could; as it is, Error destroyed even faster, wanting to keep Ink's attention on him.
Ink kept yelling, until they decided to instead ignore Error and start repairing the ripped pages. Seeing as Ink was once again favoring their worthless Multiverse over him, he jumped inside one of the pages, continuing his destruction there.
His mortal form wouldn't allow him to rip it apart as easily as with the pages, but Error is still the most powerful creature inside the Multiverse, second only to Ink, and so he began a chaotic annihilation of everything and everyone he laid his eyes on, with the ultimate goal of making the AU collapse in on itself.
Ink followed, but he, too, is limited by his mortal body and (to keep the illusion that he's part of the Multiverse and not its Creator) is forced to fight hand to hand with Error if they want to stop him.
The battle between Destruction and Creation starts.
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Just to clarify the deal with Error/Geno.
Canonically, Error is Geno, because Geno experimented with Determination or something else, and ends up into the Antivoid, where he then gets glitched, crazy and becomes the Destroyer we all know and love.
Here, in this AU, when Geno experiments, instead of being send to the Antivoid, he somehow ends up in the Place Where The Horror Dwells (aka the Void) but, due to the nature of the place, he kinda gets send back in time. As soon as Ink created the Multiverse, all of the people who would eventually end up in the Void materialize there instantly, due to the "getting scattered across space and time" deal, so Geno is there, even though the Sans that will become him isn't even born yet. Clear enough? Then Error simply chose his body as a template at random.
Was it a ‘normal’ birth? (For lack of a better word)
Does ink’s physical body feel pain?
How long did he carry the twins for?
I’m also guessing error was definitely involved in creating them, and thus approved of their existence as well.
Did they have to do anything special to bring them into the multiverse? Did they just poof into existence inside ink?
When I say normal birth, I mean what's normal to us (so, pregnancy, 9 months, the whole thing), and what I mean is that, in actuality, eldritch births are more "esoterical" and weird. So, basically, since Ink is inhabiting the Multiverse, his body reflects what's truly happening in a way that follows the laws of physics and biology, aka "normal birth". This also means that, for everyone else living in the Multiverse, it lasted 9 months, while the twins have been forming whatever way eldritch are incubating in the Void during the course of decades.
I don't really want to describe it, because it's supposed to be ambiguous and weird, and if I explain what happens it's not "otherwordly" anymore lol, but you can visualize an eldritch pregnancy and birth as something like, forces and ideas coalescing into something alive.
Error was, of course, involved and approving. The twins are not some game Ink created like the Multiverse, they're eldritch and they're theirs. He loves them just as much as Ink, and would do anything for them. (I can expand on Ink and Error's relationship with the kids in another ask, if you're interested).
And yeah, Error and Ink did the deed many times while inside Ink's Multiverse, but it could never lead to another kid: this is because, of course, these are not their real bodies, more like avatars. When Ink realized it was almost time, he decided it would be more convenient to have the kids born inside the Multiverse (as explained in the previous ask) and simply... willed himself pregnant lmao.
Now, regarding pain. Ink's physical body does feel pain (he wanted things to be as realistic as possible, much more fun this way!) but he has an unusually high pain tolerance, and he respawns every time he dies: he tells people this is because he has no soul, but that's not the truth. He could be captured or tortured (and sometimes he let it happen for the sake of plot and whatnot), but in the end he's the Creator of everything, so if things are getting too uncomfortable or unpleasant, he can always change things to suit his needs. And also... Error would never let anything happen to him.
