Three weeks later, Error's POV

It wasn't long until Reaper tried to take full advantage of this break he has from work. So after weeks of being forced into kitchen training and getting put onto a healthy sleep schedule by our kids, he went off to find AUs that we could visit for more family bonding activities. Goth went to bring Palette over while Raven and Shino are playing outside. I sit on the couch with a clear view of them through the window as I sip my mug of chocolate milk. I smile for a few moments. This a nice life we have settled for ourselves. Then I frown, noticing that it took an extra moment for me to recall who Shino was.

Is my mind getting worse? Why is it getting so foggy and now even losing information? It's like I can't recall the good times anymore...Losing them...Yet I can recall all the horrible times clearly...

I shake my head as this issue sinks in. It's been happening for weeks but usually it was when I was too tired or was numbed by medicine I got for headaches and stuff. Now this is becoming abnormal as I think it over. To be honest, I don't care if I lose my memories from my life as Geno since I'm not him anymore. I like what I have going for me now. It may even be easier to move forward without remembering that part of my life....Having a fresh start...But I don't want to forget the life that I have now. My friends, Horror, this family...Reaper...the kids...I love them all and don't want to lose the happiness with them and the memories of what I've lived or will live through with them. I don't want to wake up one day unable to recall who Goth or Shino are or return to distancing myself from Reaper, only able to remember the past mistakes...I'm happy with the way things are now. I don't need more or anything different.

This life is good enough for me to be happy.

As soon as that comforting thought entered my mind and a smile came to my face, a strong electric shock overwhelms my body as if to deny me this joy. It is shooting out from my neck, right where the necklace is. I drop my mug, trying to scratch at it and rip it off as error signs fill my eyes and warning screens appear to say that I'm glitching too much and might crash. Other screens pop up with the same denial of freedom since Dream isn't the one trying to rip it off, causing the necklace to get tighter at every attempt I make with what feels like stronger electric shocks. I reach out blindly, patting around the couch blindly and feeling a puppet nearby. I can tell that it's one of Reaper and pinch a wing twice before I lose all my energy and crash.

No POV

Upon hearing something shatter inside, Raven and Shino run inside to find Error collapsed on the couch glitching wildly with one hand still gripping the necklace. His eyes are covered with glitching error signs and some sparks of yellow still pop off of the necklace, indicating its power. Shino gently tries to shake him awake, looking for a reboot sign but there isn't one. They sigh with relief hearing him softly snore. Seems like he passed out. Raven cleans up the broken mug on the floor and the drink that spilled.

"He was forced to sleep....That dumb Dream guy really is looking for trouble huh?"Shino comments, placing a blanket over Error to comfort him

She notices the puppet of Reaper nearby and tucks it into his hand as if tucking him into bed.

"Well we discovered that he has sleep mode because of this...I think he'd like it better than his reboots if he wasn't forced into it."Raven says

"True...May help his sleep issues...But we know how he got into sleep mode. How do we take Papa out of sleep mode?"She asks

He shrugs. Then a screen pops up.

*SLEEP MODE ACTIVATED. Downloading positive memories and generating dreams...*

"Well that's just great. What does it mean downloading?"He says

Shino holds the code screen and sees that there's a thin line connecting her dad's soul to the necklace with little lights flowing upward in the line from the soul to the necklace.

"I think it's downloading his happiness..."She says

Then Goth and Palette walk in, shocked at the scene that they walked in on. Palette steps closer first, frowning when he sees the necklace locked around Error's neck.

"No...He can't be wearing that! How is that even on him?"He snaps

"What is it?"Raven asks

"It's one of the many inventions Ink and Dream made to help fuel themselves. Dream uses the necklaces to collect any positivity and look at it closer to analyze unlike how he vaguely senses them for everyone. It can basically replay anything that causes joy like hopes or dreams so that he can plan how to act. It can also transfer it to Ink to make him feel genuine goodness. The only problem is that it doesn't just store the positive feelings but steals the memories and it also malfunctions. When it no longer senses any positive desires like hopes or dreams to collect, it overwhelms the soul and traps the wearer in fantasies to collect more positivity. I've been through it too many times. The only ways to get it off are to overwhelm it with negativity or have Dream take it off."He explains

Goth frowns, upset hearing this. He didn't know what to be angrier about, the fact that they put their own son and his current boyfriend through it or that now Dream is using it on his dad. His dad was annoyed enough when Dream violated his private boundaries with his mind by pointing out what he senses with his desires, and now Dream is getting a VIP seat to see it all. He squeezes Palette's hand firmly and Palette smiles, knowing what he was thinking.

"So he's currently stuck in fantasies against his will? And Dream is getting a look into his private mind?"Shino asks

Palette nods.

"I don't know why he would target Mr. Error."He says

"He did ask my dad out and wants a chance with him. He might be using this to learn how to get my dad...against his will or interest. Ya know, act the way his memories show that he falls in love even though Dad rejected him."Goth says

"Good point."He says

"Hmm...Guess it's time to blast him again...Does your uncle know he did this to you?"Shino asks

"No, but he's currently busy with Dream is causing him trouble."He says

Shino grins, opening a portal with ease. She summons a blaster, setting Error on it with the blanket and puppet still on him. She climbs onto it with him as she codes the portal to a certain location.

"Let's go then. Maybe Dream will need a little convincing about what boundaries are.~"She says, riding her blaster through the portal.

The three boys look at each other, then Raven grins.

"This is gonna be good."He says, quickly follows her through.

Palette and Goth sigh with their own concerns as they follow after them.

Sure enough, the gang is in the middle of another battle against Dream and Ink. Horror even got called in since Dust got wounded in the last one and needs to recover. Nightmare notices the arrival of the children, specifically Shino on the blaster with a blanket. He's unable to see Error beneath the blanket but sees that she's not happy and that's not good. He slaps Dream away and Killer keeps Ink to busy to notice the kids. Chaos vs Chaos is a good way to even a fight. Nightmare glances over to the kids, seeing none of them are happy.

"What are you four doing here? Shouldn't you be having fun somewhere safe?"He asks

"Did you know that Dream used Palette as a living battery to drain of positivity, often against his will? Sometimes just so Ink could steal his emotions to feel for himself?"She asks, playing clueless.

Nightmare's eye turns to a sliver. Shino glances at Dream, hiding her grin in her scarf as she sees his face go pale with fear.

"You did WHAT to my nephew?!"Nightmare snaps

Killer and Horror both freeze up hearing him shout, their gaze going to Dream.

"W-Well it wasn't that often or-I would never-"Dream struggles to speak

Nightmare slaps him down with a tentacle.

"So it's true! How dare you! Killer, catch!"Nightmare growls, tossing Killer some knives and other tools that he banned Killer from using

Killer catches them and grins as he pins Ink down with them.

"Ooo, Boss must be really pissed if he's letting me use these.~ What did you both do to screw up this badly?"He chuckles

He glances to the kids and sees Palette feel his neck anxiously as if he is still trapped, his gaze fixed on Dream. Killer frowns, getting a vague idea.

"Any hints?"He asks

"Well, he might've taken Palette's joy or memories and gave it to Ink or himself."Shino says

"I see...More fun for me then!"Killer says, hiding his anger behind a smile as he stabs Ink in the hand and inches from his neck.

Horror's eye shrinks hearing that and frowns, raising his axe. He strikes Dream from behind as Nightmare knocked him around as if Dream was a baseball that Nightmare just pitched for him to hit. Dream went flying and Nightmare chases after him, patting Horror on the head with a tentacle.

Raven grins, getting some popcorn with a snap of his fingers and eating it as he watches.

"So? How long are we letting this go on for before we have him help Papa?"He asks Shino

Shino smiles at him.

"Well, Dream can fix this the easy way or the hard way. I think he needs some time to consider it. And he should pay for putting Palette through that regardless."She says, smiling at a very nervous Palette.

"Gothy, your sister scares me."Palette whispers

"I know. But she loves you so just be glad that she's doing this to protect you."Goth whispers back to him

They watch as Dream teleports away, trying to flee. Shino giggles at this attempt to escape.

"Ugh, that piece of shit. He locked in on some positivity to escape like a coward. He'll keep doing so as long as he has positivity to lock in on."Nightmare growls

"He's impossible to locate."Palette sighs

"More fun for us. Horror, would you like a swing at him?"Killer says, sitting on Ink's broken brush as he tosses another knife into his spine

Horror shakes his head, going over to the four kids for information. Shino opens another portal and goes through though, determined to get Dream to listen and fix things. Raven quickly follows to protect her and see things unfold.

"What's going on?"Horror asks as the portal shuts.

"Dream is probably going to die."Goth sighs, shaking his head.

"What? But then the balance would be broken."Horror says

"I don't think my sister cares about that balance right now. She learned from Papa how to code so she can lock in on Dream. He can run, but can't hide. And he certainly won't get away unscathed given that it's Papa who she is going after him for."Goth says

"Dream somehow managed to put the tool he used on me onto Error and it is currently malfunctioning as it often did with me. It usually malfunctions when it has no more desires or dreams to collect and the target is content with what they have...Leading to whoever wears it to be forced to dream for more as it steals any memories made of good feelings and positivity. And only Dream can take it off as it denies any other attempt to remove it."Palette explains

Nightmare chuckles as he processes this.

"Oh yeah, he is definitely dead then."He says

"What's so funny about this?"Horror asks

"Nothing. I just know for a fact that Death's daughter won't be the only one trying to collect that idiot's soul. I'm pretty sure he has a list for those who pose a threat or trouble for Error."He says, referring to Reaper

Horror nods. Nightmare grins at the fact that he was the one being warned not to bother Error or end up on the list, yet Dream is the one who actually gets to experience it.

Goth checks his list and sighs, summoning his scythe to make a portal to Shino and the pair go through with Horror. Nightmare stays behind to entertain himself with Killer torturing Ink.

They go through, finding Dream who is shocked to suddenly have a blaster inches from him. Shino glares down at him with a hand raised at it prepares to fire. The other hand holds Error gently.

"Take this off my Papa now."She says

Then Reaper appears behind Dream, having felt the pinch on his wings before Error passed out which was their signal that Error needs him to return and then got a coded message from Shino with their location. He got the idea of the situation and quickly came, pointing the blade of his scythe at Dream's neck.

"Enough fleeing like a coward. Obey her orders."He says

Dream freezes up and glances over at Error, realizing clearly what happened now. He senses things from the glitch clearly now.

"He no longer has any hopes or dreams...He's content....You really make Error happy, don't you?"He says, glancing at Reaper in speechless shock

"How is that such a hard concept to grasp? Wait...."Reaper says

Reaper glances over, seeing the kids with Error glitching unconsciously as the necklace glows and sends shocks across his body. Reaper is furious at the sight, glaring at Dream.

"You're about to get more than a blast from my daughter."He growls

That's when things go from bad to worse.

Another code screen appears.

*Threat against Guardian and Balance Holder detected. Alert sent* FATE ALARM ACTIVATED!

Shino frowns and then there's a loud rumbling. A strange grey spark rises from the ground and is almost invisible yet shining so brightly. It quickly gets in front of Reaper's face, blinding him and forcing him to back up.

*Death cannot harm the Balance Holder Dream. It isn't Death's job...yet.*

"But he harmed Error!"Palette snaps

*Scanning Destroyer....Violation found. Will correct DESTROYER ERROR privately. Balance Holder Dream must be corrected. Collecting BALANCE HOLDER INK for his violation....Must correct Death as well...Collecting now.*

The kids watch as disembodied hands grab Dream and Error, pulling them out of sight as cuffs appear on Reaper's wrists, yanking him through a portal with his wings tied. A strange force held them in place with Horror and left them unable to do much other than watch. This didn't help as it only caused Shino's fury to boil up at these higher forces.

*Judgement complete. Processing...*

*Balance Missing. Assigning Substitutes...New DEATH-RAVEN. New DESTROYER-GOTH. New BALANCE HOLDER(I)-PALETTE. New Balance Holder(D)-TBD*

*Complete jobs and updates will be done later after corrections*

Then it fades away and they're freed. It's silent as the events sink into each of them.

"Wait...so now we're replacing them? We're supposed to be enemies now?"Palette asks

"No, we don't have to act like them. We can work together to keep the balance. But what do we do about them? They just got taken! We can't just accept this as the new normal!"Goth says

"I'll go work things out with Uncle Paps."Raven says, teleporting away with his scythe.

The three boys quickly accept and try to adapt to their new positions, but Shino wouldn't. She couldn't when her fathers were taken to face some unknown "corrections" that will undoubtedly be painful. Her papa is in no shape to be put through that. He's in enough pain thanks to Dream! And her dad did nothing wrong! Judgment? That isn't judgment! It's unfair and shouldn't be allowed!

She clenches her fists and Horror sees sparks from her fingers, having the two step back with him. They see her eye turn a deep red with a blue glow around it. She won't let them lose their parents to this...injustice...Four scales of justice land around her and the ground rumbles with lines forming on the ground. Then it glows, a beam shooting up and when it fades, Shino is gone.

The three stare in shock at the sight but Goth is the first to recover.

"Welp, they're dead."He says

"Shouldn't we be concerned?"Palette asks

"Trust me, Palette. When her eye glows like that, she isn't the one in danger. Hell hath no fury like a sister scorned."He says

Palette hums, nodding.

"Now, let's go get help before something else unfolds."Horror says

They nod, going through a portal to meet with Nightmare and plan the next moves. Completely unaware of how things will go.

TBC