so i randomly remembered this thing i wrote way back in the olden days- idk if anyone remembers wtf empathic ink au is, but i wrote like- a short ass oneshot that i was somehow proud of?!? anyways that thing really needs some good elaborating because that oneshot was short and definitely not sweet- i'll put the link in the comments but like- bleh.

     since i suck at writing too bad to not let you know this in the actual oneshot, this is when the nintendon't trio is around 11 years old, yay

     now that introductions are over, enjoy!

~

     The night was pitch dark, thin sliver of moonlight shining through the crack in the windows. Usually, Purple would be asleep by then, but today he might have stolen Papa's coffee. It was just a sip, though.

     Yeah, right, a third of a whole mug is totally only a sip, Lilac grumbled. Still, why are you still awake?

     Purple started for a second, not realizing that Lilac's radar was still on, then he remembered that the pesky little midget always went somewhere to make all these machine things at night- the lines of code running through his superspeed head would usually be enough to bore Purple to sleep.

     Don't call me a midget, Lilac quipped angrily, but his receiving was still turned on.

     But you are a midget, Purple replied sleepily. And, I dunno why I'm still up, I feel tired but I can't go to sleep and that's kind of weird. Also I'm bored.

     There was silence for a second, like Lilac was thinking. Then, a signal. I think Foliage is awake, too. I saw him and we said hi. You could go visit, and maybe tell me how he's doing with those vine thingies.

     Purple turned receiving off for a split second just to mutter "lovebugs" under his breath before he replied. Alright, I'll check on him, he sent, and got an affirmation from Lilac a second later.

     Oh- also, go through my window, Lilac said. All the other exits are squeaky, and Dad's a light sleeper, remember that time you were whispering too loud?

     Purple stifled a giggle from the memory of them, three years ago, hiding under his blankets and muttering about how they could possibly raid the cookie jar the next day. They hadn't met Foliage back then, otherwise they would have gotten into much more trouble when Papa scolded them to go back to bed, and that they could have just asked for a cookie. Purple thought he didn't know that they wanted to steal all the cookies, but now that he considered it they wouldn't have finished those cookies anyways.

     Stop reminiscing and go already, Lilac prodded Purple to get a move on, and Purple agreed with a feigned reluctancy. He stepped out of the bed, pulling his navy blue cardigan over himself and tiptoeing through the door.

     He could hear a groan from Lilac. I said the exits creak, not the floorboards, he bantered. Walk faster.

     I'm about to stomp on the floor if you don't shut up, Purple sent back in annoyance.

     There wasn't a reply, but a good wave of frustration was sent over, and Purple knew Lilac had gotten the message. He skipped along, surprised at how awfully quiet the floorboards actually were, and reached the door to Lilac's room. Quickly opening the slightly ajar door and closing it again, he paused.

     Why is it only your windows that don't squeak? Purple sidled over to the said window, pushing it open and jumping out.  The dewy night grass felt wet under his feet, and Purple suddenly wished he'd brought shoes.

     I fixed it, Lilac replied simply. I didn't like the squeaks.

     Purple stopped in his tracks. You did WHAT?

     Lilac seemed to shrug. It wasn't that hard, it just needed smaller screws. I just took the screws and scraped them a bit and put them back.

     Oh, Purple replied as he looked around until he realized the coast was clear. He got up and started sprinting towards the forest, only to realize the forest had even more mud. He stepped out, shivering a little, though the nature didn't seem to be all that bad. A vine shot across the sky before immediately growing back, signaling Foliage's standpoint- he seemed to be in the abandoned city again, and Purple ran over. 

     By the time he'd gotten over, he was starting to run out of breath. "Hi!" he still managed to say, voice light and full of energy. "What're you doing?"

     Foliage looked over for a second, somewhat startled, until he realized it was just Purple. "Oh, hi," he replied, trying to stomp out the wildly growing vines in the background. "It-" he began, but let out a terrified squeak as one of the vines barreled directly towards Purple.

     Purple dove out of the way, barely getting through as the vine dove straight into the ground and uprooted some of the grass that was previously there before. "Dude!" Purple yelled, though when he looked back at Foliage the vine-head seemed absolutely terrified. "Wh-"

     "I don't know! They're not listening to me!" Foliage shoved his hands out, trying to contain the vines, only to make everything worse. "Wh- wait, wrong command- Purple, watch out!"

     A series of vines dove towards Purple again- while he did jump to the side, a series of separate vines caught him in his tracks, and he was tumbling to the floor within seconds. He tried ripping them away but to no avail- while at a later date, ten years later to be specific, he would be able to do this without much effort, eight year old Purple didn't exactly have the strength required to get out of such a pickle. He ended up on the floor, tangled in vines that were growing like ropes around his body-

     Then, in a matter of seconds, the vines grew limp and shriveled as a series of whirring could be heard through the air. A bit of stomping and a flurried stream of apologies and thank-yous could be heard from Foliage, but the only thing that came in return was a small "tch".

     "Seriously, Foliage, you need to control those better," Lilac muttered, wiping bits of cut-up vine off of a chainsaw. "I swear to god, if I'm trying to make something and Purple sends me a series of emergency alarms again... by the way, be careful."

     Purple shook himself off, getting up with still weak knees and ending up having to cling onto Lilac for support. Still, though, he couldn't resist making a snide remark back, especially with how annoyed Lilac always seemed.

     "Ah, yes, we'd rather have me dead," he muttered, managing to balance himself standing- a shocked look of terror came from Foliage and vines started to subconsciously creep their way out of the ground until Lilac went over and nudged him a little.

     Haha, lovebirds, Purple sent over to Lilac, earning a temporary look of surprise on the shorter boy's face before being sent back with a NO from him.

     "Foliage, go to sleep," Lilac grumbled. "You're clearly too tired for this."

     "Am not," Foliage retorted while suppressing a yawn. "I was doing just fine before I got jumpscared."

     "Wh- okay, first off, I did not jumpscare you, I said hi. Second, there was a vine shooting straight through the clouds the last time I checked!" Purple crossed his arms, feigning offense at the remark. "Still, though, we should probably all check out."

     "Well, to be fair, it's only..." Foliage stared into space for a second before shaking his head. "..12:30. In the morning, midnight- obviously."

     "Oh," Purple replied. "Then let's go find something to do."

     The two looked at Lilac for confirmation, who sighed. "Fine," he said. "Let's go find something to do, but don't expect me to give you any ideas."

     "That's great!" Foliage's voice immediately took on a singsong tone, and the vines in his hair curled up a little in excitement. He patted them flat again, putting his abnormally long hair back into a messy ponytail immediately after.

     "What now- oh, hang on," Purple said, getting an idea. "Watch this!"

     And he sprayed a splotch of ink towards Lilac's direction. "Ha!" he said. "That's what you get for being so annoyed all the time!"

     Lilac sputtered, lost at words for a second, before picking up a cluster of dirt and throwing it back. "You can't just do that, I don't have cool ink abilities like you do!"

     "You don't?" Foliage said, as he sprayed a section of ink at Purple to add on, dark patch of sage green making a series of wildflowers grow on Purple's neck before they withered away a moment later. "I thought everyone could- at least the markers, anyways."

     "I'm an inkless marker- wait, Purps, watch it-" Lilac was cut off by Purple throwing a literal rock at him, though it just bounced off of his chainsaw.

     "Oops," Purple giggled, before immediately splaying a series of ink at Foliage instead. "Ha, got you t- wait, what's it doing?"

     The ink that had hit Foliage was slowly turning into a deep grey, eventually hitting such a dark shade of ash that it could almost be mistaken for black in the moonlight. It slowly rose into a perfect sphere, floating into the air. The previously harmless ink was a chilling sight to see- especially for the three inexperienced kids standing around it.

     "What... is that?" Lilac muttered. "What's going on?"

     "Uh..." Foliage didn't seem to be so sure, either. He tried to poke it, but the ink avoided his touch- it seemed to repel from him, but kept a glossy surface still.

     Purple forgot about how dangerous it could be for a second, wanting to try as well. "Ooh- lemme do that! That looks cool, lemme-"

     "Purple, no!" Lilac looked as if he wanted to shove Purple back and yell about it, but he was rooted to the spot. His hand balled up into a fist, the other one unable to because Foliage was gripping it tighter than he could handle.

     The ink didn't avoid Purple- rather, it dissipated at his touch, dark matter within it seemingly sucking back into Purple's finger as the rest of the ink evaporated into the air. Purple's eyes widened for a second as he withdrew his hand and shook it, though nothing seemed to have happened.

     Then, a severe wave of panic rushed through his body, and he didn't know what to do but stand there, shaking, unable to think and unable to talk. He knew he wasn't doing anything, but an irrational fear that he was going to accidentally kill someone sent the neurons in his brain firing up all sorts of random emotions. He didn't hear as Lilac called his name, but eventually, someone shook his shoulders so roughly he almost fell off his feet.

     "Purple! Purple, Purps, can you hear me?" Lilac seemed to be almost frantic, gripping his shoulders tight and more worried than Purple could remember him. "Geez, I don't remember you ever shaking like that before, are you okay?! What happened?!? Wh-"

     "I think it was his ink, Lilac," Foliage said. "Just- calm down, look, he's coming back."

     Purple opened his mouth, closed it again, not knowing what to say, thought about what had just happened, and opened it again. "I- I dunno," he finally choked out.

     Lilac squinted at him for a second before stepping back. "We should all get back to sleep," he finally said, colder demeanor back. "Come on... Foliage, we'll see you in the morning?"

     Foliage didn't seem to have the energy to argue. "...okay, I'll see you," he finally said.

     Purple usually didn't like getting lead back to his own house, but given the situation he didn't really mind. He felt somewhat drained- and by the time he'd somehow snuck back to his own room, he was barely able to keep his eyes open.

     Never again, he thought, and a small yeah of confirmation came from Lilac as he drifted off to sleep.