A week had passed. I laid on the couch, unaware about the private talk between Dust and Ink. I had senses of what it was about, but couldn't confirm. Nor could I know if Ink believes Dust or not. So, I laid on a couch, playing with my strings. Beats being in the anti-void. But then I remember something from two days earlier.

I had seen that Ink was seeming down, two days after he and Dust supposedly talked. He didn't reply when anyone asked him what was wrong. He then came over and did something strange. His color was gone from his eyes and face. He gave me his brush and viAl sash. That's when I realized something was bad and wrong. He left, saying to check on OuterTale. I opened my portal to see what he was doing. I followed him to find him at the cliff. Then he saw some asteroids flying by and bent his knees. He was gonna jump at one! He was gonna get himself hurt! Hurt enough to die! Was that possible with being soulless? Had to be if he's trying this! Right as he was about to jump, I summon my strings and lasso him, then pull him close to me.

"DoN't dO tHat agAin! EVerYonE cArEs aBoUt Ya! I Do! InKy, plEaSe, dOn'T TrY iT aGaIn! WHat iS eVEn cAuSinG yOu TO Do tHIs?"I tell him

"A...A nightmare. Then I woke up to find a message from Fresh.....I was scared of it becoming real....I'm sorry!"Ink cries

I hug him then bring him back while he cried and calms down. He then hid away in his room. I haven't heard anything since.

Once I was done going down memory lane, I returned to playing with my strings. I've seen Ink pass me and has regained his paintbrush, sash, and confidence. Blue, Dream, and Dust are clueless about the incident. I saw Ink when he was trying to wander around, but that was now hours ago. I was back to my usual clothes but kept the scarf in my pocket and the outfit in the guest room. Ya never know when you'll have to hide your face. I kept the puppet of Ink in the other pocket.

Dust came over, seeming serious. He's rarely serious, usually joke-like and such. I stop what I was doing and make my strings disappear. Dust grabs me by the arm and forces me to stand. I ask him what's going on and gets him to release me.

"Blue says that Ink wants to speak to you in OuterTale. Seems important as far as I know."Dust says

I froze as my mind tried to find a reason Ink would want to talk there. It seemed a bit intimidating and got the importance part across since if it weren't so important,  he probably would've told me here. It was worrying.

"O-OkAy, I'lL gO."I say, opening a portal and going through

I sit down in a grassy part of land floating in the atmosphere of Outertale. I take the puppet of Ink out.

"WhAt c0uLd YoU wAnT?"I whisper, though knew that it wouldn't give the answer

I sigh and lay down, tucking the puppet away. I began to wait.It was silent as usual. Time seemed to pass and I couldn't see Ink anywhere. I was beginning to wonder if Dust tricked me when I heard a familiar voice. Ink's voice.

"Blue! Q-Quit shoving! You still have to explain what's going on!"Ink shouts

"I've already told you! You're just trying to stall! Now go, or I, the Magnificent Sans, will continue to shove!"Blue's voice says

"F-Fine! Cya, Blue! I promise if this is some trick, you'll pay!"Ink snaps

"Ok! Bye and Good luck! Mwehehe!"Blue says

There was the sound of a portal closing, then footsteps. Then there were whispers.

"What could you want? Heh, how silly. I'm speaking to a puppet. It won't answer me."I hear Ink whisper

I stay silent. I sit up and look around. I see Ink come into view, but in a different outfit. He seemed to have spotted me as well because he quickly tucks the puppet of me away. I make sure the puppet of him is tucked away as well. I put my glasses on. As he walks closer, I notice more details of him. His vials were around his wrists. His eyes were the usual star and oval. But even though he had a giant scarf still, he was different.....

(credit to original owner, love the art :3)

He was adorable. At the thought, I felt my face light up and my glasses slip off. I then felt my urge my urge to crash kick in but I internally scream at both what I'm seeing and dealing with in my head.

(credit to owner)

I get up and nervously rub the back of my skull, the other gripping the scarf in my pocket. Ink approached me, gripping the end of his large scarf.

"HeY InKy, hOw ArE y0u? DuSt tOlD mE tHaT BlUe sAyS yOu waNtEd t0 tAlK aBoUt sOMeThINg."I say

"M-M-me? I-I-I'm ok but confusedI was told by Blue that ya had something to tell me!"Ink replies, his eyes becoming an orange question mark and blue exclamation point

"O-Oh, w-W-W-wAiT! BluE tRiCKed uS iNto bEiNG sET uP! He'S dEaD! *sigh* CoMe sIt, mIgHt aS wElL hAnG oUt."I say, sitting back down.

"O-Ok, t-that seems alright. I'm so gonna kill him later though....Maybe Queen Toriel would like revenge on him for tickling her once."Ink says, sitting beside me

"Ah, gO0d IdeA. He dOeS sAy tHat hE fOuNd hIS bRo's ticKlIsH SpOtS, sO cAlLiNg HiM iN w0n'T wOrk."I say with a chuckle

We both laugh, but fall into a silence. His eyes become the star and oval again. I try to make a conversation but fail miserably since I couldn't get a single word out. I sigh and look away, wrapping the scarf around my face nervously. I guess Ink wanted to try the same as me so he spoke.

"So I hear from Dust you kept a puppet of me even before you were his friend because it made you feel safe. Is that true? And does that mean you feel safe a-a-around me?"Ink says, looking at me

"D-D-DaNg iT! He DiD tElL yA! I'm g-G-GoNNA KilL hIm!"I snap, though stuttered and glitched while trying not to crash

I could feel my skull burn under the scarf.

"That answers one of my q-q-questions...."Ink says, his oval becoming a question mark

".....I d-D-Do....."I say, lifting my glasses on again to keep myself busy

Ink gave a small smile, then looks away.

"S-So you're saying that you feel safe around me, huh? Does a shortie like me give good protection, Glitchy?"Ink asks teasingly

I was silent, but then came up with a comeback.

"Oh mY StArS! Is InKy tHe ShoRtIE AdmITiNG tHaT tHeY ARe inDeED a Sh0rtIE?"I tease with a chuckle.

"N-No! I'm not! Sh-Sh-Shut up!"Ink snaps, his face lighting up rainbow and shoving me lightly.

"AwW, oK, InKy. Hey! WaIt a SeC! A-A-ArE yA StuTTEriNG? WhY? WhAt h-hApPeNEd tO tHe cOnFiDeNT InKy?"I ask, noticing his stutters

My glitching is an excuse for stuttering. What excuse could he have? Ink took a breath in and out, as if to calm himself.

"No reason. Hey, look! A shooting star!"Ink exclaims, pointing to the sky

I look in the sky and see a shooting star. I've never seen one before. I could feel my jaw hang as I watched it soar, lost in awe. Then there was a flash and Ink giggling.

"This one's a keeper."Ink states, holding his phone in hand with his rainbow face covered in a smile.

I gaze at the phone screen from a distance. It showed my awe-struck face, my glitches and error-signs everywhere, my eyes locked on the sky, my scarf lowered and my yellow blush shown. But hopefully he didn't know it was blush. I was in shock at first but smile at the sound of Ink's giggles. I take my phone out and take a picture. I check the photo to find this:

(credit to owner)

Adorable Inky.

"AnD I aM s0 kEePiNg tHiS."I tell him

His face turned into more of a rainbow, going silent and staring at me. I was confused at this reaction. Then I began to wonder if he meant what he said about liking me.

"HeYa, InKy? ThIs mAy bE a sTUpiD qUEstIOn bUt dID yA mEaN iT wHeN YOu sAiD yA liKeD mE?"I ask

Ink's eyes became exclamation point and small white dot. His face was basically all rainbow now besides his little ink thing on his cheek.

"....I did. I meant every word....Though I didn't want to tell ya at the time. Why?"Ink replies, looking away from me to the sky, a nervous expression shown

I heard a twig crack, knowing that this AU's Snowden Forest was nearby, so it didn't bother me. But then a second cracked as I was trying to figure out what to say. That was not normal. Someone was close and I had a bad feeling.

"ThAt's beCAuse....I...."I say, trying to figure out what to say and how to act with the potential danger

I then see something behind Ink. A figure with a huge knife. Cross. He had his knife out and aimed right at Ink, Ink being clueless and gazing at the stars. Cross had a look of regret but determination that gave me a sickening sense. Cross then surged his knife forward.

"L-Look out!"I exclaim, shoving Ink out of the way.

I felt the knife slice me twice and deeply. Followed by another three. I took it, trying to shield Ink. I check my stats to see my hp falling rapidly. I summon my strings and make them take Ink away. I then look at Cross.

"HeY, cAn yOu sToP? I wAs tAlKiNg tHerE."I say.

Cross froze, as if not realizing who he was attacking. Idiot. He drops his knife and looks at me in shock. I check my injuries to find many and in severe conditions. I check my stats again to see I was dangling by the smallest amount, a tap on the shoulder could finish me. 0.2 hp. I hated that fact. I couldn't move and my strings disappeared. I felt my glitching get worse.

"E-Error! I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking! I didn't want to! Nightmare wanted to try and get you back to evil and the gang so he thought taking Ink out of the picture would work! I'm so sorry! I-!"Cross explains, nervously reaching down to me

"DoN't tOUch mE! YoU'Ll kIlL mE! JuSt gO, I dOn'T wAnT tHe IdIOt wHo hUrT mE tO sEe mE DuSt. TElL NiGhtMaRe tO sTaY AwAy fRoM InK, oR I'lL hAuNt hIm. Or iF I suRvIVe, hE wIlL pAy, hE aIn'T gETtING me bACk iN thAt gANg."I snap at him, causing him to jump back

Cross nods and runs off. I hear a portal open and shut, so I assume he left. I sigh and lower my head. I weakly take the puppet of Ink out. I then got an idea. I used my magic to summon a post-it and to write something on it before placing it on the puppet. I hear footsteps and soon, Ink came towards me. His pace became a run and he slid to his knees, dropping beside me. I could see the shock and sadness in his eye-lights, plus he began to cry. He lifted me up gently. I try to smile.

"HeYa, InKy.....I tO0k cArE oF tHe dANgEr....hEhEh. AnD t0 aNsWeR yOuR QuEsTiOn, hErE."I say, handing him the noted puppet.

He didn't even look at it, just set it beside him. He cried even more, the tears rolling down his face. I didn't like seeing him cry so I weakly reach up, feeling his cheek.

"Error, I-MMPH!"Ink says, his face lighting up in rainbow and his eye lights shrinking

I kiss him. I no longer cared if I was blushing a bright yellow and if he saw or not. I was gonna die anyway. I smile as I part from him.

"ThAt's fOr kISsInG mE iN yOuR sLeEp tHe oThER DaY, aSsUmINg i'M gOnNa bE asleEP fOr a BiT. StAy sAfE, sHoRTy...."I tell him

"Don't say those things, Error! Please! Sta-!"I hear Ink say before it just became glitching sounds.

I lost my hearing. I shut my eyes, feeling him pull me close. I hug him tight, then felt my body go limp.