Shino's POV

I look around the tower curiously, noticing my change of clothes and hair growing on me. I glance around. I peek out the window to see that it is a looooong way down. 

Welp, looks like I'm staying here for a while.

I found some arts and crafts as well as plenty of books to read. I used those to pass the time in any way I possibly could. But with all the spare time, I found my mind wandering. And I began to think and question some things. 

Why IS Cipher so set on helping Renew? He doesn't care what happens to the multiverse! Just how many deals he can make! And Renew was new to the multiverse when he teamed with them! He could easily take them out! Why would he dedicate so much time to their plans to the point of serving Renew? It doesn't make sense....

Then I recall a time I was in OuterTale near Cipher but he didn't know. I could hear him yelling and arguing with someone, but didn't dare look from the giant asteroid I was behind to see who. They sounded like Renew so I guessed he was talking to Renew. Renew said something like:"Unless you want him erased from the new multiverse I will turn this dump into, you better shut up and listen to me."

That got Cipher to shut up and obey Renew as far as I heard. 

Is Cipher protecting someone? Is he just stuck in deals like Fresh was, except Renew is in control? And if so, who is "he"? Who is he protecting? Because Cipher sure did a good job at hiding it. Hmmm.....Maybe I could help if I find whoever "he" is....

I kept these thoughts in mind but then hear noises from upstairs. I go to an upper room of this tower and find Suave coming out to greet me....with fur, ears and a small nose. 

"Hello, Shino. The place that girl sent me seemed to glitch and I dropped into this place."He says

"Hello."I say

I hear movement in the room behind him. We look at each other, shrugging.

"Guess someone else got taken here."He says

We peek in curiously to see Outer laying in a bed, looking like he is just waking up.

He looks over at us.

"Oh! Hello there....What happened?"Outer says

Suave and I begin to explain what happened.

"And how exactly are we supposed to find said soulmates?"Outer asks

"Just check your soul. It will have a string with your soulmate's name."He says, showing his soul

There was a red glow around it and a string that went from his finger outside the tower labeled DEV. He smiles a bit seeing this. 

I do the same and see my soul had a purple string around it with the label Radier. I grin widely.

"Pfft, he probably won't leave his lab or experiments for this..."Outer chuckles, though seemed upset at his own claim

Suddenly, everything started shaking and I run out to the only window in this place to see what is going on. And ya know what happens? A tree suddenly leaps from the ground, taller than the tower and stood proudly, very strong and sturdy. Once it finished growing, the shaking stopped.

"Eureka! It worked!"I hear a voice cheer

I instantly recognize it. Science.

"SCIENCE! WHAT IN THE WORLD DID YOU DO NOW?"Suave asks

"I'm doing experiments with plants from now on and I just proved that my growth potion works!"Science says as he climbs up

"What are you doing here?"Suave asks

"There is a string around my soul with Outer's name on it that was stretched out. Doesn't take much to know to follow it or where it leads to. I'm just surprised my claculations about you were wrong, Suave. I was sure you'd be near Dev by now."Science says, hopping onto the branch nearest to the windowsill

"Well at least your experiments are safer."He says

Outer comes out of the other room and the two seem to pause. Then Science leapt off of the branch into the tower and hugs Outer. Outer looks shocked.

"What are you doing?"He asks

"Hugging you. You seem upset which is unlike you and hugs are proven to improve moods and release chemicals to make someone happier, so I am letting it take action."Science says

"Translation:Hugging you to cheer you up. He doesn't like seeing you upset."I say with a grin

Suave starts climbing down the tree. I follow him while Science and Outer wrap up their hug session. We reach the bottom and they accompany us soon enough. We start walking around in search of anyone else who could possibly be here. Then some nice folks took us in to give us shelter. I open up a peekhole to check on my friends.

I see Faith through it, holding his bow and arrow, ready to fire. He did NOT look happy.

"Release him before I release this."He growls

"Oh I am so scared! A bow and arrow! You'll probably miss or hurt him instead! Try me!"A voice says

Oh they are messing with the wrong archer!

Faith opens fire and a yell of pain could be heard. Faith snatches Fury, holding him protectively. 

"I got you Fury, that weirdo won't hurt you."He says

Fury's face burns up brightly. Faith smiles.

"H-How did you find me?"Fury asks

"I was lead here."He says, showing Fury the string between their souls

Fury fainted. Faith looks around and smiles. He waves in my direction, then comes closer. He managed to step through with Fury in his arms.

"You should work on concealing your peekholes, Shino."He says before I could speak

I smile and nod.

I couldn't make peekholes to everyone, some would be too glitchy or just be static, as if something was keeping me from seeing out of this place. But I was able to see that my brother Goth was safe with someone. Palette to be exact. They seemed happy, swimming together as merskeletons at sea.

Awww! Those two are adorable!

Goth's head perks up and he glances around.

"What's wrong Gothy?"Palette asks

"I feel like we're being watched. And I get a sense that I only get when Shino is near and shi-SHINO!"He snaps, spotting me

I giggle.

"Hey, Goth! Glad the string brought you to him!"I say, then get an idea

I carry the peekhole to the bathtub and fill it with water, setting the peekhole above it. Palette comes through with Gothy in his arms, splashing into the tub.

"Best course of action is to regroup!"He says

I nod. He looks to a clock outside the bathroom.

"But maybe we should rest first."He says

We all agree to that. I slept beside Suave while Outer struggled to get Science to sleep without making claculations of what could go wrong while we sleep. Goth and Palette were stuck together in the tub until we figure out a way for them to turn back, but I'm sure they don't mind. 

Suddenly, Suave jolted up once everything was peaceful and quiet. I woke up, seeing how panicked he seemed and followed him as he ran out into the night. This is very unlike him, he didn't even put his glasses on! His ears and fur fade away, showing that he is back to normal. I see Dev up ahead and then it all made sense. I see someone with Dev that has a knife tucked behind their back and clearly unsettling him.

"Devvy!"Suave shouts

That caught his attention. Dev looks over and smiles. Suave grabs him, pulling him from the other person and grins, holding him in a hug. Suave is glaring at the other person though, scaring the stranger off.

"Since when did you call me Devvy?"He asks Suave

"Oh, I mispoke. I meant my Devvy."Suave responds, kissing Dev on the cheek

Dev becomes a blushing mess and looks shocked. Suave grins. The string appears, showing their connection. Dev's face burns brighter. Dev looks at Suave and kisses him in return. Suave happily scoops him up in the kiss and starts carrying him back. Dev is a blushing mess in his arms.

"I didn't know you had a crush on me..."He says

"These feelings have grown on me longer than you know. I hid it of course to not ruin our relationship, especially after we reunite again."Suave says

I grin as I follow them back to the shelter. They lay down together and Suave goes to sleep with him as if he didn't just randomly run from the home. He grins in his sleep this time though. I go back to sleep and later learned that Suave had a nightmare that the stranger was going to lead Dev away and abuse him before killing him. So since he was there, he prevented that from happening. I found that to be amazing how accurate of a warning the dream gave him but also found it sweet how protective he is over Dev.

When everyone woke up, we found that the world seemed glitchier. I checked the code and it was getting overwhelmed by more incoming code, as in people randomly dropping in. I do some coding and it settles down, able to handle it without nearly collapsing. While I am at it, I fix Goth and Palette's code. They walk out and we travel from the shelter in search of our friends and family or even a way out of here. I could hear arguing. One voice wanted to explore while the other said they shouldn't and should plan since they are lost. The first voice went silent. Then both go quiet.

"SHINO! CATCH!"The first voice suddenly howls

Next thing I know, a book is thrown at me. But not just any book. A book of memes, specifically one that focuses on KERMIT MEMES. I knew who the voices were now. TK and Stärke come over, now with werewolf ears. She reaches for the book but then realizes what TK did.

"Wait a minute....You sly rascal!"She says while TK laughs

"Oh hey you two! How are you both?"Palette asks

"We're doing great! We just ra-"TK begins

"Don't act like you didn't just lure me over here!"She says

"You left me no choice! I know you love kermit memes!"TK says

She sighs.

"You're right..."She sighs

I give her the meme book and she grins.

"So where do we go from here?"Dev asks

We each sit down and start to plan,(which Stärke wanted TK to do in the first place), and ended up going with a plan to split up and meet back to report by sundown, bringing anyone we find along by then. I ended up going alone since there is an uneven amount of us, the pairs left and I could handle myself from what Science "calculated".

Stärke and TK were near me and I caught them sneaking hugs and just seemed to be giddy together, joking around. Subtle affection, yet still there.

I let them be and kept walking, checking the code occassionally.

I wander aimlessly around, trying to locate anyone. 

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

It was late in the day and I haven't found anything yet. Or anyone. But then I see two familiar faces up ahead. Sprinkle and Desire! I start running over to them happily.

"So why are we doing this?"Sprinkle asks

Desire holds Sprinkle's chin and pulls him in for a kiss. Sprinkle gave into it and when the kiss ended, the string between them appeared.

"Proof that we're soulmates."Desire says

"You're just figuring that out?"Sprinkle says

"Huh?"He says

"I kinda figured that out with the Apple Incident."Sprinkle chuckles

I may or may not have taken a picture of them together.

"Yep, that's going in the scrapbook."I mumble

They look over to me and Desire's face burns up.

"Hey, Shino! What are you up to?"Sprinkle asks

"Looking for everyone to regroup. Hmm...What time is it?"I ask, then see the sun starting to set

"Okay, we'll follow you."He says

"We should head back. This way."I say, knowing it may take time to get back

We start strolling along.

"So, Shino? Have you found your soulmate?"Desire asks

"Desire!"Sprinkle snaps

"What? That girl that put us here said finding our soulmates is the key yo get out of here."He says

"Mama Geno is going to kill you for bringing that up!"Sprinkle says

"Oh shoot, you're right."He says

"No...But I know who it is."I say

"Who?~"Desire asks curiously

"DESIRE!"Sprinkle snaps again

"What? If I'm gonna die from Mama Geno I might as well know who Mama Geno will kill next."He says

"It's-"I begin

"SHINO!"I hear a familiar voice yell

Radier knocks me to the ground, hugging me. He smiles at me and holds me tightly.

"You're okay! I'm so happy that you're okay!"He says

I grin happily. I look at him and he helps me up.

"Hey, Radier."I say

"Excited I see."Sprinkle says

"Oh, hey you two."Radier says, as if he just noticed them beside us

"Why am I not surprised you zoned in on her?"Sprinkle teases

"She's my best friend Of course I zone in on her first!"He says

"Sure.~ Best friends.~"Desire teases

I grin, checking my string. It showed me that it had Radier's soul at its other end. I smile, glancing at him. His tentacle-arms pull me closer while he chats with Sprinkle.

"Oh! I see we have another pair of soulmates!"Desire says

Radier's face burns up.

"I'm not her soulmate!"He says

"Yeah you are!"I say

"No I'm not, Shino. I dunno what your dad told you, but he was probably just tricking you to mess with me and Mr. Geno."He says

"Then I am your soulmate!"I say

"That's the same thing, Shino! You just reworded it!"He says

"Exactly! Just like 2+3 and 3+2 still equal 5! It's still true!"I say

"No it's not! We need to find your soulmate to get you out of here!"He says

"Already done! You're here!"I say

"Shino NO!"He says

"Shino YES!"I say

"Oh my stars this is adorable!"Sprinkle says

"I am so showing this to everyone else. You can tell that he loves hearing it but is in denial."Desire says

Radier glares at Desire who had his phone out, recording for some reason.

"Shino, please. You're beating a dead horse!"Radier tells me

"No I'm not! Horses are nowhere nearby and I'd never hurt animals!"I say

"That's not what I mean! I mean that this topic is a lost cause! I am not your soulmate and you can't change that!"He says

"Tell that to the string around our souls! Cause it disagrees!"I say

He summons it and his face becomes a burning mess.

"I told you so!"I say, sticking my tongue out at him

He pulls me close.

"Let's regroup."He mumbles

I lead them back to the meeting spot and see that everyone else have found some more of our team. I hug Raven and Blueprint as Goth and Palette return with them. I see Suave surrounded by Fallacy, Jasper and the others as he was getting most likely teased, questioned or congratulated on the relationship with Dev while Encre and Dev just watched from a distance, probably questioning what the heck is going on with them. I see Mother and Father nuzzling their heads. I approach them curiously.

"Where were you sent?"I ask

"We were put at an extremely large distance from each other, farther than any other time before."Dad says

"You were on the other side of a lake! That is nothing compared to being universes away!"Mama Geno says

"That just means that I wanna stay by your side, Gen.~"Dad coos

"You're such an idiot."Mama Geno coos

"Your idiot.~ I love you Geno."He replies

"I love you too..."Mama Geno admits

I go back over to Radier and he hugs me almost instantly, holding me close.

"Are your parents here?"I ask

"They're busy. Ghastly is resting with Palette guarding him though."He replies

I glance over to see Mister Nightmare and Mister Killer kissing each other, holding each other in a loving embrace.

"So...you actually wanna be my soulmate?"He asks

I nod.

"Why wouldn't I?"I ask

"I wasn't sure if I'd be good enough, you're so sweet. I want you to be with someone special."He says

"But you are special, Radier."I say

He nods, but seems down. A screen pops up behind him as he rests his head on my shoulder, hiding his face.

NEW ABILITY UNLOCKED!:❤️FLIRTING❤️

-Use this ability to show your special someone your affection through your words or cheer them up! You'll know it worked when you see a twinkle in their eyes!◑v◐

I start pressing the button behind his back to engage in it. Words start spilling from my mouth, my grip on him tightening. They were all true, no lies of course. 

I could see his eyes twinkling at each word I say. He looked like Mama Geno when Dad talks to him, or as Dad puts it:"Gets him flustered with love". It's a good thing as far as I know and he seems much happier now, so I don't stop until he tells me to.

"Shino, thank you but you've said e-enough."He says

"Okay."I say

"Besides, Mister Geno won't let me date you until we're teens regardless."He says

"I don't care. As long as you stay in my life and are happy, I'm ok with it."I say

He buries his head into my shoulder, holding me tight.

"Aww! Her first time flirting! How adorable!"Dad says

"Oh dear..."Mama Geno says

"I am so going to help her level up on that ability."Dad says

"Reaper no!"Mama Geno says

"Reaper YES!"He responds, chuckling

"Those two are so adorable."I hear Mister Killer say

I look over to him.

"Agreed."Mister Nightmare says with a grin

Radier's grip loosens on me. I see that he passed out. I carry him to Mister Nightmare, who happily hugs him happily. I wander off, spotting a bench that was occupied. Mister Blue and Mister Dust sit together on it, both of their cheeks glowing and Dust's eyes having a dark shadow over it.

"Hello,"I say

"Hey, Shino."Mister Blue says

"What's wrong?"I ask, looking at Mister Dust

"He has amnesia, so he forgot a lot of things. But I will be with him regardless, helping him every step of the way to recovering his memory."He says

Dust smiles slightly, seeming happy to hear that even though he may not understand it completely yet.

I grin.

"Where are the kiddos?"Blue asks

"Fury is with Faith and Sprinkle is with Desire."I say

"Alrighty."He says, snuggling his lover

I wander away and see someone watching from a distance. I recognize them and grin a bit, seeing an oppurtunity to answer the questions of the thoughts I had in the tower.

I approach him carefully.

"Hello Cipher, what are you doing here?"I ask

"The same fool that put you here put me here. Dunno why."He says

I check his soul and see a string around it. I grin.

"Anything you want?"He asks, hovering close in a position where he laid on his belly in the air at eye level with me

"You always ask that to make deals, but have you ever dealt with yourself?"I ask

"Huh?"He says

"What do you want? Please be honest. Perhaps I could help."I ask

His eyes twinkled in a way I've never seen before. It was genuine.

"Really? No strings attatched?"He asks

"Do I look like Error or Gradient to you?"I replies

He chuckles.

"Nobody asked before...Well, there was someone but that's a different story...Most assume it's trouble..."He says

"You can tell me."I say

He grins, holding my hand with both of his, seeming grateful. 

"I thought that I could make some easy deals with the newbies, but turns out I put myself in a trap from the start. It became a deal of protection for someone special to me. Hard to believe, but it's true. I wanted to keep him safe."He says with honesty in his eyes

"Shino! Come here!"Dad yells

Cipher teleports away but left a note in my hand saying to call him if he could speak openly. I tuck it away, go to see what Dad wanted and was free again. I knew I couldn't tell anyone or they'd think Cipher was using me. Past events seem to prove that they think that I am a gullible little kid. For crying out loud, when I told Dad that Mama Geno got taken and was trying to return the sphere holding his death abilities to him, he thought I wanted to play with a ball! Nobody would listen until Goth came because he is older! Excuse me, but I CAN handle myself and tell the difference between good and bad people! I did have to travel ALONE across the multiverse to find my siblings again for a certain amount of time after all! Suave and his friends from his AU don't underestimate me so why do they? I wasn't with Radier the entire time and even when I was with others, I wasn't stupidly getting into trouble! 

And knowing this, they might go after Cipher for no reason! Cipher seems to have some good in him, there seems to be hope. He wants trust, seems to be keeping something in for who knows how long and just wants someone to listen as they speak openly. He seems to want some sort of freedom and has genuine emotions shown, I could tell. He's like a genie looking for freedom. He makes deals like wishes but nobody seems to want to help him unless there is something in it for them. Well that's going to change.

Suddenly, our surroundings get horribly glitched and I see the numbers 404 pop up in front of me. I know exactly who was here. I stabalize the code and quickly run off to locate him. I peek around a tree and frown. He looked horrible.

"Mister 404?"I say

He looks at me.

"O-Oh...Hey, Shino..."He says

"What happened to you?"I ask

He was bleeding all over, cut and wounded. I was very unsettled. Error 404 was another friend that I had made, he protected me and kept me safe before I joined Radier. He knows exactly what's been going on with the threats in the multiverse, but we haven't seen each other in a long while. He taught me different skills and proved to be very strong. So for HIM to be hurt this bad, it can't possibly be good.

"Ehhh, some idiots tried to get rid of me...Heads up, this place is just an experiment to see who you value most like your soulmate for example so the enemies learn who to use to get to you all and hurt you the most."He says

"Don't move, I'll get first aid."I say, teleporting home

I get as many med kits I could find and return, quickly trying to take care of him. I help him to his feet and we walk, him limping a lot, back to the shelter. Mama Geno was opening a portal out of here since everyone was accounted for by now. Everyone started going through without even noticing Error 404 and I. I look over my shoulder, seeing Cipher watch from the shadows. I subtly gesture for him to come along. He shouldn't be stuck here alone. He's not stable for that. We walk through, coming back on the raft. The codehere was so unstable, all the weeks of coding stability and defenses gone by now. So, the adults decided that it was best to return to the group of houses in that one AU. Mama Geno checked the code, finding it intact. We settled there and I noticed Cipher hiding in the nearby woods, knowing if he is seen that he is dead. He disappeared into the shadows and thick woods. That's when everyone seemed to notice that I brought someone with me.

"Shino, what did you do now?"Raven asks

"Bring a friend with me! This is Mister Error 404, or Mister 404 to cause less confusion!"I say

Mister 404 glanced around and wraps an arm around me protectively. Nobody dared come close due to how unsettled he seems. Like I said, he's pretty powerful. But there seemed to be one person that he knew. Hesummoned another hand like a Gaster can and brought Error over once spotting him.

"404?"Error says

"Long time no see, huh?"He responds

"WHaT ThE hElL hApPeNeD to YoU?!"Error asks

"That takes some explaining, but Shino took care of my wounds."He says

"How Do yOu kNoW hEr?"Error asks

"In a similar way that I met you. I found her in an empty space, lost and took her along with me, teaching her so she could find her family. Then she got taken by a portal so I thought they found her instead."He says

"Nope! I was dropped into Vampireverse!"I say

Suave comes over, wishing to give him a checkup. 404 told him that I did that already. Suave was pleased with my written report on his condition.

"Now, what have I missed from you, Error?"He asks

"ThAt'S a lOt tO exPlAiN bUt-"Error begins

"DaD, who iS tHiS?"Gradient, who had just come inside, asks

"DAD?!"404 says in surprise

"YeS. ThiS iS mY sOn GrAdiEnT. GrAdIeNt, tHiS iS ErRoR 404. He Was OnE of The FirSt pEopLe I mEt aNd Is lIkE a FaThEr to Me."Error says

"And you were a little rascal to take care of!"404 chuckles

Gradient shakes his hand and then Ink comes over with E!Pap and E!Gaster.

"I'm hiS bRoThEr. ThIs iS oUr dAd."E!Pap says

404 nods, hugging Gradient and E!Pap as if they were family but only glanced to show acknowledgment to E!Gaster.

"AnD tHiS iS InK, mY huSbaNd."Error says

"Ah, nice to meet you. How fun was it to get him flustered?"404 asks

"404!!"Error snaps

"Very enjoyable. His reactions were adorable."Ink says

"INKY!"Error exclaims

"I'm just being honest."Ink says

"Okay, now who were his buds at the altar or wherever you married?"404 asks

Error's "gang" buds all raise their hands.

"How hard was it to get his anxious overthinking behind up there?"404 asks teasingly

"Oh you would not believe the troubles! One minute he is crashing and rebooting, the next he is yelling at himself, another he is questioning what could go wrong, another he tries to flee, is crying in a corner with regrets and fears...A complete mess! Luckily Suave scheduled a whole hour prior for him to let it all out or we would have never gotten him up there!"Dust says

E!Pap shows 404 pictures and slowly everybody gets to know him or tell him what stories they can talk about. It was fun to sit and listen to all their stories. Error was a flustered glitchy ball, yellow in the face and held lovingly by Ink after he got teased a bit. Things seem to be bad, but moments like these are lights in dark times.

A reminder that we'll get through this together.

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TBC