The Shadows Speak (and then who answers?)

by Tapewerm, Xx_CringyAria_xX

Summary:

Errors might be rare, but they still exist. Trying to protect everyone he cares about is becoming a Nightmare. Ink splatters across the page, and Dreams are shattered as everything starts turning a little Blue.

What happens when a most sacred secret comes out and war is fast approaching?

Note:
All character thoughts are italicized (love you my readers),
First fic, two authors (love you pookie),
NO BETA (we die like students during finals do),
Strong elements of A/B/O universe (if you don't read the tags),
(Dead Dove: do not eat) type tags ( read them tags /srs ),
pls be kind! or don't!

Chapter 1: 1 - The First Encounter & Descriptions for Days

Notes:

Highlighted author comments:

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Aria: i made the username when i was 11 and now i can't change it, too iconic, no judging allowed

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Werm:01111001 01101111 01110101 00100111 01110010 01100101 00100000 01100111 01100001 01111001

Aria: 01001100 01001101 01000001 01001111 00100000 01001110 01001111 01010100 00100000 01001101 01000101 00100000 01010100 01001000 01001001 01001110 01001011 01001001 01001110 01000111 00100000 01011001 01001111 01010101 00100000 01000001 01000011 01010100 01010101 01000001 01001100 01001100 01011001 00100000 01010111 01000001 01001110 01010100 01000101 01000100 00100000 01010100 01001111 00100000 01010100 01000101 01001100 01001100 00100000 01001101 01000101 00100000 01010011 01001111 01001101 01000101 01010100 01001000 01001001 01001110 01000111 00100000 01010000 01001100 01010011 00100000 01001001 00100000 01010011 01001000 01001111 01010101 01001100 01000100 00100000 01001000 01000001 01010110 01000101 00100000 01001011 01001110 01001111 01010111 01001110 00100000 01000010 01000101 01010100 01010100 01000101 01010010

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Aria: help i don't know how to make him sound hot in a "hot but a bastard" kind of way

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Werm: WHO DREW THAT? WHAT… I'M NOT OBSESSED…. YOU ARE!!!

Aria: I AM. I PLEAD GUILTY YOUR HONOR I AMMMMMMM.

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Aria: this stays in when we post little bro

Werm: *blushes* nuh uhhhhhh *kills self*

Aria: oh you'll be aight because THE ART WAS SO GOOD IT WAS ABLE TO REVIVE PEOPLE

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Aria: "the goopy guy" nah you got me thinking about the purple guy from the grimace shake ads helppp

Werm: I am the glibgogabgalab

Aria: The shwabl-dabbl-wabbl-gabbl-flibba-bla-bba

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Werm:“Terrifying battle” girl that’s a single social interaction be so frrrr (me too honestly)

Aria: are you also out here talking to the trees?? what social interaction pooks?

Chapter 1

It was so dark. Wasn’t a familiar darkness. Not a comforting dark at all. Here, not a sound could be heard, and try as he might, not a thing could be seen. Error stopped walking, and looked up at the sky. He saw the glassy moonlight peek through the dense branches evenly from all angles, and couldn’t help but let out a frustrated sigh. He was in the middle of some random, massive expanse of trees, with no clue how he got there. Deep into the forest now, he gave a sniff to the air as he scanned his surroundings. Glancing around, he realized the only two things left to do were to portal out of the weird place or look at the AU codes. For a moment, he paused his panic, deliberating if the potential knowledge gain was worth the effort of pulling up the codes. Curiosity got the better of him. Option 2: AU Codes it is. Maybe they could help him find out why he’s here...

 

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NAME AU: Morning Woodtale 

DESCRIPTION AU: Ultimate ???? ????????? helps ?????????? with creating ????

01001001 01100110 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01100001 01100011 01110100 01110101 01100001 01101100 00100000 01100100 01100101 01100011 01101001 01100100 01100101 01100100 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01110100 01110010 01100001 01101110 01110011 01101100 01100001 01110100 01100101 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 01101110 00100000 01001001 00100000 01101000 01101111 01110000 01100101 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01100001 01110010 01100101 00100000 01110010 01100101 01100001 01100100 01111001 00100000 01100010 01100101 01100011 01100001 01110101 01110011 01100101 00100000 01101001 01110100 00100111 01110011 00100000 01110100 01101001 01101101 01100101 00100000 01100110 01101111 01110010 00100000 01100001 00100000 01110000 01101111 01110000 00100000 01110001 01110101 01101001 01111010 00101110 00001101 00001010 01010111 01101000 01100001 01110100 00100111 01110011 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01100001 01110101 01110100 01101000 01101111 01110010 00100111 01110011 00100000 01100110 01100001 01110110 01101111 01110010 01101001 01110100 01100101 00100000 01100011 01101111 01101100 01101111 01110010 00111111 00100000 01001001 01110011 00100000 01101001 01110100 00111010 00100000 00101000 01000001 00101001 00100000 01000010 01101100 01110101 01100101 00100000 01101100 01101001 01101011 01100101 00100000 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01110011 01110100 01110010 01101001 01101110 01100111 01110011 00100000 00101000 01000010 00101001 00100000 01000010 01101100 01100001 01100011 01101011 00100000 01101100 01101001 01101011 01100101 00100000 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01100111 01101111 01101111 01110000 00100000 00101000 01000011 00101001 00100000 01010111 01101000 01101001 01110100 01100101 00100000 01101100 01101001 01101011 01100101 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01110110 01101111 01101001 01100100 

PREMISE AU: 11100010 10000000 10011101 01011001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01101000 01100001 01110110 01100101 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01100110 01101001 01101110 01100100 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 01110010 00100000 01101111 01110111 01101110 00100000 01110111 01100001 01111001 00101100 00100000 01110111 01100001 01101100 01101011 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 01110010 00100000 01101111 01110111 01101110 00100000 01110000 01100001 01110100 01101000 00101110 00100000 01000111 01100101 01110100 00100000 01101111 01110101 01110100 00101110 11100010 10000000 10011101 00001010

AU Created by: Ink!Sans 

AU Dedicated to: Dreamtale!Sans (PURE), Swaptale!Sans

 

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The skeleton gave a curse under his breath. “D-d-damn it all.” His eyes rolled as he waved the code window away. It was more pointless than a youtube ukulele apology video. The window told him shit in comparison to what he already had figured out. It was clear that he would continue to have no clue what he would come across in these deep, dark woods. Even so, leaving didn’t seem like the right choice, but he had no idea why. A strange part of him, the part that had never before reared its head rebelled. Whatever. He’d take a look into his code later. The only option left now was to keep walking. 

But, deeper into the woods, he saw a glowing object in the distance that wasn’t just another stupid plant. As Error walked towards it, the shiny dot became clearer and clearer, and finally started to take shape. An altar, it looked like, was carved into the trunk of a tree. The tree was massive, bigger than all the other trees there. A portion of the trunk was hollowed out, and inside was a small, glowing shapeless form. Error frowned. The more he looked at the peculiar thing, the more the world seemed to spin. The dizzying effect forced him to blink rapidly and stumble back.

“W-w-what in the wOrld-d?” He asked, into the darkness and the trees. They didn’t respond. No one did. So he approached.

He stepped forward and ran a hand across the delicate object, feeling a slightly grainy, and mostly smooth texture. It was small, something that would fit nicely in his hand. And, although the dark obstructed most of his vision, he recognized the shape with a quirk of his brow. A heart? A SOUL? Weird. Error ran his colorful fingers across its edges, feeling the curve of the surface, his fingers catching on the dips and bends. 

Picking it up, the soul seemed to flicker, grow and pulse, and started beating like a human heart. With a gasp, he stepped back, feeling something powerful shoot through his strings, and as he dropped his hand the sensation was gone. Error blinked, staring at the place the soul used to be with a newfound curiosity. 

“H-hello?” No response. He waved his hand around in the air like tentacles, trying to get the tiny, upside-down heart to reappear. Nothing. He opened a summoning portal, baiting the soul to come back, and got no indication that anything was happening. He gave another sigh, and lazily left that portal open as he turned around to make another one to leave. His strings were still tingling, and a sickening feeling of soul-crushing dread and slimy despair had started to infect the clean forest air. As if on queue, an irritatingly familiar voice erupted behind him.

“Positively delighted to see you again, Error.” The towering figure let out a dark chuckle. “How are you faring on this moonlit night?” (big alpha oh yumm) The gravelly voice purred. In response, Error let out a strangled noise and proceeded to jump at minimum five feet in the air. (Though Nightmare would later tell you that’s a gross underestimate.) 

“AAaa-Aaa-HHHHhhHHHHHH GgGGRRRRRrrr-Rrr–rrr g-GET AWAaY FROM mM- ... o-Oh. Nightmare. I-it’s only y-you. Ww-w-hat is y0ur actuaa-al pr0blem?” Error groaned, and proceeded to let out a slight hiss as the alpha (and his big dick energy) emerged fully out of his left opened portal. That was not the anomaly I meant to summon. To add insult to injury, Error’s portal shut behind the guardian, having done its job by summoning something strange.

Evil, unpredictable, and overall really dangerous, the taller skeleton was covered head to toe in glistening black goop. The one stepping out of his summoner portal was the guardian of negativity himself, his bones dripping with oily black goop that blended him into the shadows of the trees. He entered and suddenly, it was like he had personally taken over the forest, despite never having been here before. 

Error roamed his eyes up and down the figure. Nightmare’s broad shoulder bones filled out the tailored blazer of his suit perfectly, the fabric hugging his physique in all the right places.The suit itself is dark, almost like obsidian, sharp and sleek just like him. “ Perfectly cut to emphasize the curved and more angular lines of his body… huh.” The crisp, freshly pressed out white shirt beneath contrasts sharply with the black suit, its collar flopping in a way that is both refined and effortless, while a loose black silk tie adds an air of elegance and control. Going further down, Error takes note that every detail on the skeleton is impeccable, from the well-polished shoes that shine even in the dim lighting to the white peeking at the end of his suit’s sleeves that catches the light. 

Glancing up to Nightmare’s face, and - of course - it’s obviously handsome in an universally agreed-upon way, all sharp angles, chiseled in a very defining way. Figures. His mug is the kind that looks like it was sculpted rather than naturally grown like all of ours, and there's a mysterious spark in his deep-set eyes that flickers between charming and something darker. Something harder to define, something that appears at the mere mention of an adventure, or a challenge.

His smile is one of his many lethal weapons, not too wide or thin, always perfectly controlled. It’s cold, inviting, and just the right amount of mischievous. That’s the type of smile that makes an omega feel singled out when directed towards them.  Like even if he was theoretically surrounded by dozens of other monsters, Error would still be the only skeleton in the room. He knows how to play the game, overly cocky about always winning it too, and the smaller skeleton warily watches the subtle tilt of his skull, the slight bit of width quickly added to his grin, all the small gestures that add to Nightmare’s allure.

But it's not just his appearance; it’s also the way he carries himself. Every move he makes is deliberate, almost magnetic in an odd way. One simply cannot take their eyes off him. When he walks, there's a cool rhythm to his confident stride, his tentacles swish and jerk about as though he owns the space he’s in, as though the world should just step aside for him to glide through. Nightmare never has to try too hard, because as an alpha he already exudes an aura of superiority, one that’s downright impossible for the destroyer to ignore. He doesn’t need to speak to dominate the area. His presence does all the talking. Yes, Nightmare moves with the precision of someone who knows exactly what he's doing.

In that damn suit too… It's as though he was made for the suit and not the other way around, as though he was created for this kind of elegance and poise, the kind that only a few are able to pull off without breaking a sweat or their soul. Nightmare’s the embodiment of effortless charm, yes that’s it exactly, someone who doesn’t need to be loud to be noticed, who wears his confidence like a second skin. Maybe Error is simping. Just a tad. 

The being of negativity was here, in all his glory. Nightmare stalked closer, coming face to face with Error. Angling his head slightly upwards, Error could see those piercing eyes look down at him, ready for whichever one of the four F’s came next. Annoyingly, he didn’t quite make out what Nightmare said next as he couldn’t help but hyper-focus on the stray tentacle that Nightmare had forgotten to pay due attention to, breathing turning erratic as it started to poke and prod at his lower… arm. 

“Yeah ok, ignore boundaries and trigger my haphephobia, because why not.”

To make matters worse, the two were still standing in the middle of the woods. 

“Alone… but with him.”

One Alpha.. 

“Kinda hot.”

..and a single, lone Omega.

…

“Fuck.”

He had to act before the other did. When recounting the story later, Error would swear that he had never thrown open a portal faster in his life. At the present moment, he effectively turned tail and ran, leaving behind nothing, except an irked guardian at the scene.

 

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Damn. Nightmare had blinked, and the destroyer had seemingly vanished off the face of the earth. If it weren't for the sound effect of the portal opening, there would be virtually no indication of the smaller skeleton ever being there.

“The omega must find delight in overtesting my limited amount of patience.” Pushing down the annoyance, the monster proceeded to walk around, breathing in deeply as he enjoyed the fleeting moment of solitude. In his opinion, these woods were quite peaceful. The air waved through the dark landscape, the wind making an egregiously creepy sound that Nightmare found slightly comforting. Other than the wind, and the sound of his own breathing, there was not another sound.

Might as well enjoy it while he can. After all, upon returning to the castle he would find a massive headache waiting for him. He could hear the stupid quips and quotes of his lackeys even now, echoing through his mind:

Cross, XChara (male & alpha, non-bin & alpha, respectively): His seconds in command. See, the weird thing is that “seconds” shouldn’t have been plural in the previous sentence, as Cross and X shared a soul, and therefore a body and a life by definition. Whatever. Get the two (one?) their chocolate and Nightmare usually had no problem with either of them. Their knife skills were unparalleled in battle, and the guardian would bet good money that XChara could take down at least half of Ink’s council on their own. Yes, Cross wasn’t very talkative, and even a little shy. Yes, XChara was still a little shit whenever they did open their month. Nightmare was glad that the two really only talked when absolutely necessary, when trying to stop the other members from killing themselves, or when fighting for control of their shared body. "-sigh-Yes boss. -snicker-Sure, tentacles."

Murder Time Trio: Three terrible toddler-like entities as individuals, but much worse when they ganged up on him as a group. They delighted in telling those god-awful puns and playing loud, annoying card games that he would inevitably end up having to stop after a fight broke out. Nightmare actively avoided putting the three together alone for extended periods of time. Honestly, they were all competing for the most room temperature IQ at all times, with the intended unit of measurement in degrees Celsius. “Killer: Vegetable oil is made from vegetables… Horror: Coconut oil is made from coconuts… Dust: so BABY OIL- Nightmare: CAN'T WE PARTAKE IN A PEACEFUL DINNER JUST ONCE?!” 

Dust (male, alpha): MVP in the difficult to deal with category. The floating Papyrus (male, omega) didn’t help his case either, although it did make Dust more accepted by the rest of the murder time trio. Not much else to say. A bit lacking in the personality department. Murder!Sans was… arrogant and brutish on a good day. “ Tch. ‘I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy’ I would. Pussy. ‘I’m not gonna sink to their level” I will. Coward. Get some balls.”

Horror (male, omega): Key member in the difficult to deal with category. Loves cooking, doesn’t always make edible things. The nests the skeleton makes are weird, usually far too big in comparison to the actual amount of people that his little group had. Nightmare had to deal with his trauma in some unique ways, most of which involved assuring the omega that they would never starve him. It was rough. “I'm so tired of this life. I want to be a roomba. I want knives taped to me. And I want to be set loose.”

Killer (male, omega): VIP member in the difficult to deal with category. Makes really good food, and even better drinks. Issue: Prone to burning down the kitchen when he gets even slightly ticked off. Very friendly, could be a good potential mate if no one else manages to catch his eye. Gets along with anyone, really, but has a special affinity towards the rest of the murder time trio because of their shared murderous tendencies. “I’ve been described as a ‘heartless villain’ and a 'little shit’, but I prefer… 'has alternative ways of having fun’.”

Lust (female & alpha): Honorary mention in the difficult to deal with category. As the only female on the team, she lives in her own AU most of the time, only venturing out when necessary. All the better then, in Nightmare’s opinion. Sure, the girl has her … quirks, but she was an EXCELLENT spy. Lust’s skills were unparalleled when it came to gathering information for him and his gang. That liquid confidence and seductress nature of hers is what let her bounce back and forth between the two groups so well. Nightmare didn’t fully trust her, but Lust also knew when to keep her mouth shut about certain things. Not very talkative. Overall, still two out of five stars. And, if she ever tried to take his suit off again, they might be down a spy by the end of the day. Responds to most things with a sexual innuendo: “Hmm… Kinky.”

Nightmare chuckled. Imbeciles, the lot of them. Regardless, they were the closest thing he had to a family. On the other hand, that didn’t mean they weren’t still annoying as hell. He groaned at the very thought of dealing with his insolent subordinates, and decided to extend this little one-off adventure a while longer. Nightmare pressed onward, maneuvering his way through the thick forest with a natural calmness that eased his aching bones and trodden pride. 

 

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Error rubbed roughly at the spot on his ... arm (lmao still funny the second time) where Nightmare’s tentacle had prodded at, a heat in his cheeks that he attempted to push down with all his willpower. What was that jerk’s problem, anyway? He thought he was so high and mighty just because he was an alpha. Error slapped his hands over his eye sockets and attempted to peel the blush from his face instead of facing his feelings. 

He fell back onto the plush cushion of his beanbag, in his Anti-Void, a comfort he sorely needed after his run in with the goopy guy. An array of blue strings descended down at his will and he fiercely snatched a half-stitched doll and brought it close to his face. Can’t really see. Forget it. Not about to go look for my glasses now. Sure, it might strain his eyes, but one perk of going potentially blind is that he won’t have to see anymore stupid and kinda hot alphas.

He commenced, and stitched quite aggressively. Force, fierceness, that was all he could handle, not feelings. He started sewing piece after piece together with harsh movements. It worked. Slowly, his pent up frustration eased, and he took a second to look down at the doll. He grimaced at the messy, too-tight stitches, and made quick work of replacing them with neat, nearly invisible ones. He smiled down at the doll, content with its finished base. Doll-making and anything of the sort always managed to ground him in a way nothing else ever had, giving him an escape from stuck up skeletons and annoying squids. Sighing, he summoned his strings to take the doll away, choosing instead to sit up and contemplate his life. 

(Enter life contemplation)

Again, that same odd sensation rippled through him, a tick in his senses that reverberated in his soul like the ringing of a bell, brief and loud. As it passed, he was suddenly reminded of the strange soul-shaped object in the woods. Nightmare’s presence had distracted him from the magic, and remembering the events of the forest scene caught him off guard. That damned thing clearly infected me with some kind of curse, I swear. 

He realized with suffocating dread that strange soul-like things that pulsed with energy and disappeared in a cryptic way in the woods probably WERE the start of some kind of curse. He also realized something like that would entirely fuck up his code. Great. Excess magic and things that are prone to disappearing randomly were the hallmarks of the start of some painfully annoying virus. Fresh would know. Sinking somehow further into his seat, he opened up his code and scanned through each line for any hint of malware. He was both surprised and skeptical when he found nothing out of place and no bugs. No glitches beyond my usual ones here. 

Despite his disbelief, he pushed the issue to the side, and made a mental note to check over his code again when he got another chance.

However, much time had passed since the beginning of it all, and Error felt his eyelights starting to dim. Turns out a terrifying battle with a tree followed by a mental battle with an alpha followed by a bloody battle with a home-made doll takes a lot out of someone. The omega let out a sleepy yawn, seemingly more tired than he ever remembered feeling in his life. Once again, Error briefly wondered if his encounter in the woods fucked up his code. His little leftover energy, however, was wasted on trying to process what had happened, and Error slumped down further into the beanbag. He drifted off to sleep, safe in his white, soulless, colorless void, stress-free, relaxed, yet not alone.

 

 

(okAY BUT CAN WE TALK ABOUT TAPEWERM’S ART 10/10 I’M IN LOOOOOOOOVE BROOO - Xx_CringyAria_xX)

(ahahhhhhhh ily poookkiiieiee ahhhhhh kmssssss - Tapewerm <33)

 

Notes:

Aria: Hi hello hi our lovely readers! Here's where we put comments, highlights, and our raw thought processes! Hope you enjoy :)))))

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Aria: ANYWAYS— THAT’S THE FIRST DRAFT OF THE FIRST CHAPTER FINSHEDDDDDDD :DDDDDDD SHOULD WE BOTH POST IT ON OUR ACCOUNTS, OR I FIRST POST ON MINE AND THEN MARK AS DUAL AUTHOR??????

Werm: I think you should post on your account first!! And dual author it- idk how dual works of ao3 and we can always switch it up if it don’t work ykkk

Aria: Ok no problemmmm i’l post as soon as i finished obsessively describing the bad sanses and aggressively rereading

Werm: Fer surrreeee

Aria: Also i don’t think that (Beta reader) is going to want to beta read this one anymore :((((((((

Werm: It might be for the best 🙏

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Aria: I think I want to switch chapters every time we flip back and forth between the good and evil side. Like we write a chapter with the Bad Sanses side of the story, then the next chapter alternates to the Star Sanes side of the story, ya know? It will make the readers a lot more sympathetic to the bad sanses if we tell the story from both sides

Werm: YESSS, and it’ll be refreshing to get other povs besides the main pairing

Aria: I know righttttt ANYWAYS x2 AHHH IM SO EXCITED MY FIRST LONGGGGGGG FIC. MAN THIS IS GOING TO THE MOON !!!!

Chapter 2: 2- Umm...Officer? Yes, this one right here. Wait nvm, Mr.Aura arrived

Summary:

All written from Ink's POV. Trigger warning for rape/non-con themes. Please read with caution.

Notes:

Highlighted author comments:

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Aria: words are mispelled on purpose (ink is the type of skeleton to make up words lets be real here) example intrepidacious: "Intrepidacious" a made-up word, combination of "intrepid" and "audacious"

Werm: Could’ve fooled me I would’ve started saying that in like essays to sound smart and got humbled

Aria: LMAOOooooo I'm not sry at all

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Aria: rottenuck: wombo combo "rotten" and "luck"

Werm: I can’t wait for EVERYBODY to be just the right amount of confused

Aria: *giggles and kicks feet*

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Aria: blandank: a made-up word, combination of "blank" and "bland"

Werm: I fear at some point, you will be so consumed by ink that the entire chapter will turn into mambo jumbo words like "And then he slocked toward the door, exhaustberated at the wildacity of the jerkiton in sleemenable guffawkson. Frunkleshirt, abuncklebeck glythomagarthia venturamania fertanja."

Aria: REALLLLLLLLLL this is just facts and bonus funny

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Werm: OH. Ink.... thats not.....
Aria: 😞 yeAH (i wrote the line)

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Werm: what natural dialogue!

Aria: we are tryinnnnggggg
also what in the infinite aus is natural about ink my guy

Werm: you make a very good point

Aria: thank you, thank you

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Werm: Big side note but like… Ao3 is so weird for this fandom?? Like why no ship other than sans/sans? What? That narrows down nothing!!! I never realized it was like this smh

Aria: I KNOW RITE biggest pet peeve of mine since DAY one bro I sighhhhhh

Chapter 2

Ick. If there was one thing Ink despised, it was white, soulless, colorless voids. Make it at least pop a little. Splash some blue there, maybe a burst of red over there or something. Seriously… What kind of wild animal lives like this? Wait a minute… Who lives here again??? Sigh… Dream always tells me to write things down on my scarf… maybe I should have listened to my little sunbeam. Ignoring his own advice to himself, Ink started to amble deeper into the void. He screamed into the nothingness, fully expecting to get an answer. 

“hhhhhhHHHHHHELLLLLOOOOOoooooOOOOO?”

But no one responded. Everything was still all white, empty, and sterile. However, randomly looking up, he noticed the tangled deep blue strings and countless bright red souls hanging from the ceiling. His original goal came back like a freight truck. 

Right, that’s right! He had a purpose. Can’t wait! For Ink was a skeleton on a mission today. …so excited~... Nothing would stop him. Let’s gooooo! 

For Ink was going omega hunting. 

Everybody better watch out. I’m being… intrepidacious. Connected to the command center. Firing all engines. Initiating top-tier Plan A. Ink crouched down, and shuffled forward for a bit, before getting back up rather quickly because his knees started to hurt. Umm… time for second-tier Plan B. How about we just find the omega normally? Yeah, that’s smart. But, after just a few more seconds, Ink realized that he had absolutely no idea where to start. 

He thought to himself. He looked around. The omega was black-boned, right? So Ink probably needed something that could help him find a dark skeleton in a well-lit, bright as hell void. Let’s see here… what do I have? Reaching into his satchel, he pulled out just the thing he needed. Ah-ha! My trusty, crusty flesh- Flashlight! Ink clicked a button, and with a flick of his fingers, a stream of white (light) shot out of the cylindrically shaped tool. He gripped onto it tightly, looked up, and jerked the object around to try and find the destroyer. 

Wait a minute. Ink you funko pop! Flashlights are used to find things IN the dark, not dark things! Drat. I snafu everything. What rotten luck. Let’s see… Do I have anything else in my mix? In an effort to find something that would actually be useful, he slipped up and dropped his bag, paintbrush, credit card, passport, and SSN on the floor of the antivoid. Oh, for the love of COMYET-

Exhale. He closed his eye sockets. Slow inhale, hold it, 2, 3, 4. Exhale, 2, 3, 4. Gathering himself, Ink stopped everything he was doing and repeated the exercise. Inhale, 2, 3, 4, Exhale. He tried to focus on the feeling of air pushing against his ribcage, going through the deep breathing exercises he had forced Blue to teach him in a moment of pure hyperfixation. His initial anger simmered to a low hum in his bones. Opening his eyes, he glanced around the void once again, a feeling of vague numbness washing over him. No sign of my glitchy . He pouted slightly, eyes wandering around aimlessly, to no avail.

It really wasn’t working. Well this is going nowhere fast. What else could I use… hmmmm… oh sugarsnaps, I got it! I’ll use my wicked awesome sniffer! That was actually a good idea, as alphas are able to smell any omega from up to a mile away, and a heat extends the range to 5-10 miles depending on the intensity level and state of the omega. Ink sniffed the air, once, twice, searching for the intoxicating scent of the destroyer omega. C'mon… almost… haha, gotcha! His grin reached his ears as the familiar scent of chocolate and emotional dysfunction filled his nasal cavity, extending a heavenly hand out from somewhere in the white, blandank void. Time to get risky-friskily quickly. He downed a vial, not really focused enough to even check if it was the correct color. Then, he started.

Ink broke out into a full on sprint, heart pounding as foot after foot struck the ground. He could hear the blood rushing in his ears as he got closer and closer to his target. His nose locked onto the prize ahead (crisp yet spicy scent, burning with need?) and every system of his body was echoing with a single thought: just get there. The fierce air resistance chilled him down to his very empty soulspace, yet still he crossed mile after mile to get to his prize. Nothing could slow him. Not now. Not when what he wanted was finally within reach. 

Breaths sharp and fast, strange feelings coursing through him, but he persisted, his whole body leaning into the motion, driven by false hope, by hunger, by something deeper than either... determination. 

For isn’t that the purpose of an omega in the first place? Ink believed that they were all his personal toys at best, mere objects to play with in complete honesty, and that they had one sole purpose in life. That was the reason he was here today. That was the reason he kept on declaring Error as his omega, despite not having any sustainable claim over him. Omega’s just needed to belong to someone. As the (self-proclaimed) best member of the Star Sanses, Ink had given himself the duty of helping all AUs and any of their inhabitants who might be in need. So, in an admittedly very mentally twisted way, he was really only helping Error by invading his home and planning to forcibly… take him. It wasn’t because Error was the only omega he had ever met that didn't adore him, and also had the nerve to outright hate him…. no… why would it be that…

Ink told everyone that he was chasing Error in order to get him to stop hurting AUs, but Error hurt his pride more than anything else. The audacity of the damned skeleton, that Error wasn't keen on mating with someone as perfect and organized as him. And think of the creation and destruction pairing we would make, haha, what's not to like? They say opposites attract, do they not?  

The bitchy omega was pretty damn powerful too, and everyone and their mother knows that powerful omegas created some pretty powerful offspring. That’s why this mission was so important. He couldn’t afford to let his instincts take over and end up creating another destructive child. But oh Comyet… what in the underground would my rival look like completely at my whim? Pleading at my feet, down on his knees, in front of the council, begging me to spare his life and the lives of our unborn children? The sight could compete with a precious, multicolored sunset on the surface, or endless, dominating waves stretching out across a sea… yeah. The thought consumed him, stirring up something black and dark inside his soul. Reinvigorated, again he sprinted forward, legs pumping with wild urgency, as if the floor might disappear beneath his feet. 

Finally, he arrived. The omega was in sight. He started slowing down, so as to not prematurely disturb the peace. Ink dragged a long, deep breath in, and slowly forced it out. Later, I can almost picture it. My sunbeam is gonna be so proud of my wonderhoy ability to keep calm right now, even when I’m so close to my goal. Maybe that wasn’t too far off from the truth. The kind-hearted, smaller than small, omegan skeleton forgave him for everything eventually, even things that Ink was sure should have ended his relationship with Dream and Blue. So you know, the secret thing that he’s been planning for a while now, premeditated and executed on this very day was probably no big deal. He stalked closer, keeping his steps light until he caught sight of the skeleton’s charming abode. I always forget how cute his little base is. Almost as cute as him. He slowed his pace, a devilish thought crossing his mind as he approached Error from behind. There was no way his omega would know someone was in the void. Like, hello? He had been completely silent this whole time. He hovered over him, arms reaching in preparation, and drew an inhale for a monstrous roar that would surely terrify the daylights out of any omega, being the intimidating alpha that he was.

“D-don’t ev3n th-think ab0UT it-t, I-Ink.” 

The glitch warned. His tone of voice left no room for argument or discussion. Ink deflated, the air leaving his mouth unceremoniously. He sighed, skipping over to stand in front of the irked skeleton. He assumed an unconcerned manner, not unlike an apex predator who had lost the element of surprise.

“Wouldn't dream of it, pal,” he raised his hands innocently, as though he wasn’t about to commit something akin to omega terrorism just a few moments ago. Damn this observant, paranoid omega. He shoved his bony phalanges into his teal jacket pocket, put some stars in his eyes, and gave his rival a dopey, lopsided grin. Error glared at him, rolling his eyes. 

“What-t the h311 do y-y0u wa-want?” The shorter skeleton crossed his arms, his annoyance palpable. He clearly despised the fact that the taller skeleton kept getting into his sanctuary. Oh well. Ink rubbed thoughtfully at his chin, racking his brain for the reason he was here in the first place. uhhhh… anti-void… omega… council meeting… attack… r-34… He remembered. I have a feeling that “Hey, I came here to claim you like a surface German regime tried to claim Poland” won’t go over too well… yeah. So he started racking his brain for an excuse. 

He snapped his fingers. The council decision! “I’ve got something important to tell you! It’s-” he paused. “Uhhhh…” One of his eyes flickered to an orange question mark. …what did they decide?… As he tried to remember, his eyelights kept changing, and he started to fidget. He paced, his eyes turned into squares, he sat down in front of Error, his eye lights now triangle shaped. The darker skeleton pinched the bridge of his nose after an entire three minutes of awkward shifting and pure radio silence.

“I-Ink-k,” Error sighed. The creator looked up at him and smiled. He sounds so pretty when he calls my name. “IiiINK. W-What did y0u ha-have t0 tell me-e?”

Ink pulled his hand out of his pockets, and waved at Er-

Error interrupted. “Why-y d0 you h-hav3 a f-flashl-l-light?” He had to ask. Ink had, by mistake, pulled his flashlight out of his pocket along with his hands. Whoops . The smaller skeleton looked very judgemental. He sounded genuinely perplexed at the necessity of such an object in his blindingly white void.

Yikes, that’s embarrassing. Ink plastered a confident grin across his face. “Ohhh, it’s MUCH more than just a FLASHlight, buddy. Use that imagination of yours.” At least it’s not dirty. He waved the object in Error’s face before stuffing it into the gap of his scarf. Actually it might be dirty. Error made a gagging noise and his eyes filled with error signs. Ink didn’t care.

“W-WHY D-D0 Y0U-” Error stopped himself abruptly, as if realising the question would get him nowhere. “Y0u kn0w-w what-t? N-Neverm1n d . Fo- For get I ev3r asked-d.” He somehow sunk further into his beanbag chair. 

Both skeletons sat quietly in the uncomfortable atmosphere, one clearly more on edge than the other. Ink sniffed the air again, looking for something to break the silence. His eye lights snapped back to the destroyer as a particular scent wafted over to him. Oh. That’s new. He eyed Error with carefully practiced boredom before opting to crack a joke about the flashlight again (because the alternative, at least in Ink’s head, was straight up jumping the heat-addled omega.) That wouldn’t do. He couldn’t scare his prey and risk it getting away. As much as he wanted to, he wouldn’t frighten his omega; at least, not yet. 

But, that didn’t mean he was going to be anywhere near demure and mindful though. Rather, Ink started out quite boldly: “Seems like you’re gonna need it more than me, anyway, so you’ve no room to judge.” Error’s face contorted in accusing confusion. Genuine.

“W-What? What-t ar3 y0u-” 

“It’s- nothing, Glitchy, don’t you worry about it.”

Scratch that. Make that a heat-addled unaware omega. This just got interesante. Error has no clue he’s going into heat! Alright Ink, calm down, play it cool and play this off…  “Aaaaannnyways, what were we talking about? Something about the… erm, the… uhhhhhh,” he held the note aimlessly. What was it again? Damn, I should’ve written it down like Dream told me to. Was it about my little Sunbeam and Sky? No, no it wasn’t that. Or something about an attack… mission? A fission? No… he wracked his brain for a slimmer of memory, but alas, nothing came up for him. By chance, Error offered a push in the right direction on the first try.

“…L3t-t meE gUess-s what it is-s. Is it-t s0m3thing to-o do-o wIth y0ur StUpid-d c-c-C0uncil? Or was it-t” The omega didn’t get to enunciate the rest of his sentence. Regarding what Error said, Ink wouldn’t have been surprised if a lightbulb materialized above his head right then and there. His eyelights sparkled with yellow stars, and he jumped to his feet, reaching out for Error feeling nothing but pure elation. 

“That’s it! Yes!” He cried.

“H-H-H3Y-!”

His omega shrieked out a noise of protest at the alpha’s lunge and Ink forced himself to hold back the growl building in his throat. Error jerked away from his touch, but not before his fingers could graze his omega’s cheek. Ink delighted in the way his bones grew warm with the contact, the feeling of the destroyer’s glitching body underneath his fingers sent a buzzing tingle through where his soul had once been. He had to remind himself to take slow, practiced breaths again. 

BePatient!BePatient!BePatient! Inhale, exhale. C’mon Ink, it won’t be very long. It’s one omega, his instincts have to take over soon. Soon you will get more. Don’t shadoink this or else he’ll skedaddle.

However, Ink couldn’t help the smile that pulled at the corners of his mouth, his phalanges twitching with excitement. You will be mine soon enough. No hope of escaping. He allowed the thought to consume him, and relished in the shiver that traveled up the length of his spine. It took great effort to pull his hands away, allowing his omega to slip into a false sense of security. Error’s hands curled around the small spot where Ink had touched him, the area glitching wildly. Ink smiled. One of those creepy, minecrafter youtuber smiles. In response, Error’s eyes started to overflow with red glitches.

His omega would come around eventually, he just had to be patient. He would understand exactly what Ink’s intentions were very soon, whether Error wanted to or not . Ink leaned in closer to the weakened, blinded omega, and puckered his lips. It’s showtime.

 

 

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Werm & Aria: Anyways that’s it for this chapter guys!! Don’t forget to like comment and-

-SUDDENLY, there was a bang. A deafening noise. The sound was so loud it surprised the authors. Ink gasped and both his eyelights changed into purple exclamation marks simultaneously. Error’s red eye glitches faded due to the sheer terror, and the adrenaline was the only thing keeping him from outright crashing. The shockwave from the impact shook the entire anti-void. Both skeletons turned around completely, and then Error realized just how close Ink had gotten and scooted back a few inches.

The anti-void seemed to dim, as if rejecting the creature of darkness that corrupted the very surroundings. Not only did the blinding whiteness dim in color, but the warmth, too. It was a living, sentient void that moved like a jet black snake through a snow landscape. With each step he took, the crisp magic drained from the air, and the pure whiteness of the void withered into grey. 

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Nightmare growled. The words came out slowly, his voice low and dangerous. Ink could tell he wasn’t in the mood to joke around (when was he ever) but how dare he interrupt what the rainbow skeleton had planned? This was supposed to be his “Error and me” time, you know?

Ink felt a hot rage beginning to boil within him. Mine . He thought. He is MINE. You won’t just take him from me that easily . But regardless of how much he wanted to let out a rippling growl at the intruder, he knew that such an action would end in nothing but total catastrophe. So, Ink took on an unamused expression, grinning goofily.

“Juuuussstttt up to the usual, you know, annoying my lovely little counterpart, the whole shabang .” He stretched his arms behind his head, standing to his full height beside Error. He stuck out his chin, eyeing the dark guardian. A sharp slit of cyan stared back at him. 

Nightmare did not falter, just methodically continued forward step after step until he was directly in front of Ink, towering over him like a grown wolf did a small pup. Nightmare bore a deadly eye into him, a silent warning that threatened all the wrath of an angry god. No, not threatened. Promised. And Sanses never break their promises.

Ink felt the anger in him flare. Why? Why now? In his opinion, this was literally the worst possible time for the other alpha to show his face. Just when he was about to steal his kiss! Yeah, kiss probably would have been received poorly anyways, but still. Why!? 

His excuse of doing the usual was flimsy at best though, and the two alpha in the room both knew it. Ink had to be honest. “I’m over here, putting on my antic disposition, and Error’s just not amused.” What was most surprising though, was when the negative guardian smiled wide. His face filled with self-satisfaction at Ink’s clarification.

“Good. You’ve failed at being an alpha. We are finished here. You’ve had your fun skittles, and now you are dismissed. You should leave,…” He tipped his chin down, leaning in even closer, voice pointly directed so that only Ink could hear him. “…before I fucking make you.” 

Ink instinctively reached for his paintbrush, only to find it missing. Damn my pigheadness. What, did I drop my Social Security Number too? Nah, I would never do something that stupid. He scowled internally, and his eye twitched. He drew himself up to full height, coming barely up to Nightmare’s chin.

A voice interrupted their posturing.

“Uh-h-hh… Gu-Guys-s ? Can w-we n0t-t?” Error voiced, glancing between the two of them uncomfortably. Adorable. Listen to that unsure stuttering. He’s Mine . Ink thought. Yes, Mine. But not today . He clenched his fists till they hurt. Nightmare eyed the Omega, and then lazily turned his head back to the alpha in question, a cocky grin on his face. 

“Don’t-t get me-e wr0ng, I w0uld l-lo-love to w-wAtch Nightmare wipe-e the flo0r with-th I-I-I-nk-nk, but-t I-I don’t fe-el up t0 it t-t0day.

Darn ittttt. Talk about embarrassing, yeesh. The other had won, and Ink knew it immediately. Nightmare had completely dominated this round, with nothing but his arrival and continued presence. So Ink dragged his eyes onto Error, with a forced smile half-attempted on his face.

“Of course. Sounds great! Why not? Yes. I was just leaving.” He watched his Omega, so small and clueless as he squirmed in his beanbag. I can’t do anything now. He looked back to Nightmare, allowing his anger to slip, if only for a moment. The eyelight color changed twice, then faded entirely. Ink growled, low enough that only Nightmare could hear him, “He’s all yours. For now. But I know who gets the last laugh.”

He knew that his threat wouldn’t land.

Regardless, he waved his hand, and threw himself into an inky portal, eyes not leaving the other Alpha’s stupid, shit-eating grin. I’ll have him. Just you wait. I WILL have him. He can try anything, do anything, be anything, but just not alone.

 

 

 

(Werm: Some fanart ahahaaaahh IM NOT OBSESSED YOU ARE)

(Aria: I AM. I'm guilty, your honor, im guilty)

 

Notes:

Aria & Werm: Hi hello hi our lovely readers! Here's where we put comments, highlights, and our raw thought processes! Hope you enjoy :)))))

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Aria: OK BUT LIKE 200!!!! HITS ON THE FIRST CHAPTER THANK YOU SO MUCH BRO I LOVE ao3 AND I LOVE YOU ALL AND I THINK I BROKE MY CAPS LOCK BUTTON DAMN IT

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Aria: Two truths and a lie: Yes there are a ton of straight up made up words in this chapter, yes it was fun to write, No, Pookie and I aren’t apologizing.

Werm: damn straight!!

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Aria: Why did this take so long? I have no excuse, I am just the president of the procrasti nation at this point.

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Aria: ANYWAYS Ink is such a gremlin. Kinda reminds me of someone…

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Aria: Ok, so apparently my image link aren’t working so ya girl went a made a entire ASS LOCALLY HOSTED WEBSITE for your art (only ao3 readers and people that access this document will ever see it) you can see all the artwork on this site https://sites.google.com/view/tapewermart-cringyariacomments/home

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Aria: "So then nightmare comes and saves him from this CUNT this absolute BITCH i’ve never hated a fanon character more and I WROTE HIM"

Werm:"GRRRRRR ANGEERRRRRR YES SIRR"

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Aria: Also I had to highlight this because this was the newest author’s note on a different fic I’m currently following: “Content warnings: Standard stuff for this fic, mental illness, possession, assumed character death, implied suicide, running away, losing yourself. So...sorry for the late update. (It’s only two days late) I went back to school last week, and on the second day of school there was a shooting. Because of that, my mental health hasn't exactly been very fantastic recently. Oh and also, in the past three weeks I’ve: Begun learning how to drive, lost tech access for five days, had to say goodbye to a very close friend who moved to the literal other side of the planet, had my depression act like an illness instead of a silly goofy thing the squad jokes about, school’s been kicking my butt, my parents marriage is getting a tad tense, woke up and wasn’t able to breathe and subsequently got diagnosed with a rare lung infection (it's getting better dw), and gotten into my first car accident as the driver!!! (Nobody was harmed, and the only damage was a microscopic dent in the hood) But regardless!!! Chapter!!! :D
Like broksi WHAT IS WRONG WITH ao3 AUTHORS BROO

WERM: The curse is gonna get us bro- one of us dies and the other has to take over in their memory 3

Aria: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO POOKY DONT DIE

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Dialouge, Plot, Pookylicous good ideas: done by Werm
Wordcount, plot, CRINGE ASS FUCKINH BEAUTIFUL GORGEOUS dialogue: done by Aria

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Past Werm: “Hey, sweet cheeks,” nightmare strutted in. “What’s a smokin’ hot skeleton like you doing in a void like this?” Error fainted in blushness as Ink imploded with anger!!

Werm: WAIT I LOWKEY FORGOT ABOUT THIS HELPPPP IM SORRYYY
Aria: AIN'T NOTHING TO BE SORRY ABOUTTTTTT