It's almost over now. Things are moving into the grand finale. Alloy is almost relieved, but the last two will be the true test of these monster's faiths: if they can accept reality and live with it. This truth nearly destroyed Alloy's home when he was split apart.

A portal opens, but it's not of Alloy's making. The audience is stunned from their muted seats. They stare and whisper amongst their groups. Alloy knows exactly who it is. After all, Error has been watching this entire event through a one-way portal. The God of Destruction has indeed appeared when Alloy turns around. What he did not expect was to see Paperjam and Gradient peeking out from around Error, the former with a glare and the later with awe.

"Thank you for coming, Error," Alloy nods. It's nice that he didn't have to force the other. Out of everyone in this Multiverse, Alloy's talk with Error lasted the longest. They talked of many secret things, subjects that will never be repeated outside the Anti-void. Alloy expects to have a similar conversation with the God of Creation once Ink is better. Error is the only one who knows what Alloy really is, and that he is not like Fate.

"Let's just get this over with," Error grumbles quietly. Above all else, the destroyer just looks tired. Scars and fractures litter his body. Alloy had earlier healed what he could. It's strange for the audience to see Error so...... still. The destroyer is constantly on the move, fighting someone or ripping apart worlds all with a maniac's grin. That insane smile is nowhere to be found now. Error's frame seems to sag with the weight of the Multiverse. His fire has been extinguished This is the Error from Fate's first universe, one of if not the oldest with his role. This god gave up on hope a long time ago. He's suffered far more than Alloy did in his place. The only reason Error is still standing at all might be the two kids at his heels. Who would ever look after them? Paperjam and Gradient were born of powerful explosions of magic between Error's strings and Ink's black paint. Error isn't even sure that Ink knows they exist.

"I can do all the talking, but your presence says more than my words," Alloy thanks him again. Error doesn't respond with anything more than a slight nod. He seems...... lethargic. He acted that way all throughout that meeting in the Anti-void, too. This is not something Alloy will be able to fix, at least not fully. Error's been through too much to ever be the person he once was. Still, he can be better than he is now. Alloy believes in that with all his soul. No matter how many times Alloy declares his vision for the Multiverse, Error will never grow to hope for it without seeing it first; Seeing it last. Alloy will see to it that it does.

"My next story is one you won't like to hear," the god says as he turns to face the audience, "I only ask that you take it as the truth before casting more judgment on anyone."

The Multiverse has a limit. The forces of the world are forever resting on shifting scales. Alloy explains this all to them. He tells them that Error was created by a Deity, Fate who also created Ink, to be the solution. He steers clear of Ink's unique position and focuses on Error. He was once one of them, but tossed into the Anti-void and formed into what he is today.

"Error, do you remember the first Original you destroyed?" Alloy asks once he's done, audience left stunned and reeling.

"Flowerfell. It's the only Original I've ever touched," Error replies, a faint glimpse of sadness on his face.

"That's...... not true, I'm sorry. You destroyed one other Original right after escaping the Anti-void. You wouldn't remember it," Alloy says softly. The god reaches out his hand and offers it to the other. Error doesn't react right away. He looks down at the hand with wariness. New people who gain his trust are usually the ones who betray him. Still, there's something different about Alloy. Something........ familiar. It's the only reason Error had heard him out int the Anti-void. Alloy's codes know the cruel touch of Fate. Error slowly takes his hand.

The black glitches around Error's body fizzle with static until his entire body is hidden from view. When they die down again, it's a white-boned skeleton holding Alloy's hand. He's fragile looking, wearing nothing but a medical gown. The hand that claps Alloy's has a metal plate drilled into the back.

"The first Original you destroyed was called Handplates. Your AU," Alloys says sadly, "You were from copy #3. Instead of pushing Gaster into the core, you and your brother spent your entire lives in the lab until Gaster succeeded in using the two of you to break the barrier. It should have killed you. Papyrus gave up his life instead." When Alloy pulls his hand away, Error glitches back to his former appearance. He stares at his hand and then at Alloy with an unidentifiable expression.

Alloy then crouches down to address Paperjam and Gradient. "I know the Multiverse hasn't been too open to you guys, but I hope you'll give everyone a second chance after this. I think your cousin would really like to meet you two," he says, motioning to the crowd. Pallet is against and the glass of his room, just like he had been since he saw Apex. He blushes in embarrassment and backs up when Alloy points him out. Error and his children don't stay long after that. So many eyes make them nervous, and they can always watch from the Anti-void with one way portals. The crowd has something very shocking to contemplate.

"This last one may be the most important," Alloy says to the audience, turning grim. He widens his stance a bit, bracing for a fight. He rips open a portal, tensing. Alloy stands there for several minutes. The other monsters start to exchange confused looks when nothing happens. The god's expression slowly shifts to concern. He still holds his brush in a guard position, but starts to creep towards the open portal to peer inside.

"Oh shit-" his words are cut off when Alloy hurries through, slinging his brush over one shoulder. He reapers a few minutes later, dragging an unconscious skeleton by their arms. Dream yells out somewhere in the crowd. Ink is totally unresponsive, limp when Alloy lets go of him.

"He's fine, he's fine!" Alloy yells over his shoulder. He crouches down on one knee next to Ink. "I forgot how I- uh, how Ink ends up without his vials. He has no soul to feel emotions. It can make him seek them out in other people. That's why he's always creating: to fill the void. Ink should be okay in a bit." In a way, this fit of Ink's is much like Error's crashes, but they have the opposite triggers.

Alloy shakes Ink's shoulder, trying to get him to come back. The god leans further over him and uses his other hand to flick the other's face. It happens only when Alloy is hovering above Ink, off balance and worried for the other. Ink's eye lights come to life. They're bright red. Alloy only sees it for a second before his view lurches. Ink grabs his jacket and slams Alloy onto his side, rolling them both over so the God of Creation is on top. Alloy knows those eyes; he knows this overpowering magic. No one but a Deity has this kind of power. Red strings are now visible. They're tied and tangled in Ink's bones, making him dance like a puppet.

"You will never win against me." Two voices come from Ink, one not his own. Alloy can't help his sudden trembling. Fate has gotten close to destroying him more then once. Before he can try to fight or even get a word in, Fate uses Ink to rip at Alloy's soul. This is too familiar. Soon after Alloy got his first Multiverse, and gave everything to live in it, Fate ripped him in two so she could set up her game once again.

*****************

His own Multiverse. After all this time in the Omniverse, the Deity of Balance is finally being granted his own Multiverse. Something makes him hesitant to start.

All the Deities have one thing in common: they are spectators. Sure, Balance can choose what AUs he wants to starts with, he can ask Fate and Destiny to give him gods of Creation and Destruction. Balance can decide if his Multiverse is full of powerful beings spectated by the codes, or if the creations are all just...... average. Living normal lives. Balance never realized before how much the idea of that power scares him. Deities crave power and control by nature. They relish the influence they have on lesser beings. Balance is different. He always has been. It makes the others slightly wary of him.

Balance didn't want to be an observer. He didn't want to nudge his creations down a predetermined course. He wanted to be there. To see them forge their own lives. To know them. To have....... a friend. Balance does not see their weak souls as play things. With this vision in mind, Balance began to form a plan. Deities could not enter any Multiverse because they are too powerful and could cause mass destruction with half a thought. They can't cause as much influence from outside it. Balance saw only one solution: he had to get rid of his own overflowing power.

Balance requested a 'classic' universe with only one AU to start, but when Fate offered a God of Creation, he refused to have a copy of her champion in his Multiverse. Balance began work on his own champion instead. He took inspiration from two other champions, no doubt, since their jobs combined describe Balance's namesake. When he was done, Balance dropped his champion into the Multiverse. The champion was hollow; an empty vessel. It's body was designed to capture, hold, and dull the mighty gifts of a Deity. Balance made this mortal prison to contain himself.

Telling very few, Balance happily gave up a huge amount of his power for what he thought would be forever. He awoke again in an empty space that went on for miles and miles. How strange this small, fragile body felt. The former Deity of Balance laughs. He jumps to his feet and contorts his body this way and that, eventually simply running around the area and screaming like a child. He feels so full. His emotions are fiercer and warmer in his chest. Life feels like more. He had always been different as a Deity, but this experience has forever altered his mind and mentality. With his new life comes a new name: Alloy.

Cutting himself off from the Omniverse had consequences. Alloy never realized that he had enemies among the other Deities. He trapped himself without the strength to fight back. His influence of balance was still affecting other Multiverses, and a very particular Deity did not like him messing with the fates. Unfortunately, the fact that his codes contain most of the data for the gods of Creation and Destruction only made it all the easier.

*********

All the monsters can do in the audience is stare. Thanks to Alloy's build, anything said in the amphitheater is clearly audible. They can hear the crazy things Ink is saying, but no one understands what it means. They're also helpless to do anything from the glass barriers when Ink tears something from Alloy's chest. A mortal could no longer touch his soul, but this is not a mortal.

Ink gets up off Alloy, clutching an ugly soul in one fist. He starts laughing in Fate's echoing voice, gripping his skull. "You couldn't do it! You can't even fix the little tear I put into you!" she cackles.

A skeleton lays on the ground, but he's not quite Alloy. Even his magic feels different. He's wearing Alloys clothes and weapons, but they've all shifted to black and white. The white-boned skeleton has a smudge of black paint on his cheek. He looks freakishly similar to Ink. He blinks and looks up at the God of Creation numbly, expression dull.

"You were so young and naive when I put that spilt in your Deity code," Fate continues laughing, overjoyed that Alloy hasn't escaped her clutches. "And you can't fix it! Not even Destiny can do it for you. In this form, you have no power. All Inks belong to me."

The monster on the ground mumbles something quietly, and Fate is curios enough to order him to repeat it. They look up and met the puppeteer's eyes. "I'm not Ink".

Fate laughs at that, the twisted expression looking unnatural on the God of Creation's face. "Your condition says otherwise, fallen one. You have no power here without a proper vessel. However, if it makes you feel better, go ahead and pick out a new name like you always do. It won't matter when I cave in your skull," Fate snickers.

"Splinter"

"ANd FraCture"

The second voice comes from right behind Fate, and she whirls around, almost frightened. A black-boned monster stands there with another copy of Alloy's gray-scale clothing. Old tear tracks stain his cheeks. The soul Fate had been holding is glowing strongly just under his left collar bone. The arm of Fate's puppet is dangling uselessly after Fracture had nearly shredded it.

Fracture growls savagely and grabs Fate's puppet by the shoulder before throwing them to the ground. This half of Alloy holds his soul. Fracture has a glare plastered to his face, but he stomps forwards and offers a hand. Splinter pulls himself up, expression stuck in a neutral daze. The two of them are quite unsure of this situation. Who are theses people? Who at they? What is very clear is what holds the Ink on the ground.

"It's her again," Splinter says in a flat tone, "And we're here again."

"No nO No! I wOn't leT her hUrt theM agAin!" Fracture nearly screams it. He can hardly contain what he's feeling, panting and twitching. He can't remember it now, not everything, but centuries of hate and despair are all pouring out at once from him. Before Fracture can lose it, Splinter places a calm hand on his shoulder.

"Listen." He points up at the sky.

Fate is seething. She is one of the oldest Deities in existence! Many young Deities of 'Balance' have fallen to her before. Splitting one up into pieces is the perfect way to keep another from forming. Growling, Fate forces her puppet to turn and look down at its ruined arm. Black ink leaks from the breaks and drips onto the floor. Fate growls, taking a hold of this Ink's and her own magic. She forces the ink to harden and squeeze the fractures together. It's not even close to healed, but functional enough to fight. With Alloy split up like this, his ethereal gifts are inaccessible. Not to mention that it throughly scrambles their thoughts. Fate got them to play the roles of Creator and Destroyer for centuries. She can do it again, and without the Deity of Balance to speak in front of the other Deities, she can get away with it again.

"No one can best Fate," she snarls, "This is my Multiverse, and you belong to another of my worlds. It's fate for the worlds to have a Creator and Destroyer. Your balance is nothing to that!" Neither of the too hardly respond, caught up in their own world. Even Fracture has calmed down some. When Fate hisses another threat and steps forwards, they both turn and speak.

"Listen."

"lIsTen."

The sky above the amphitheater rips open. It appeared as a haze of heat before, but now the crack opens up wider to the point where it's a gaping maw full of darkness. Alloy is not the same as he once was. Before, he had smothered and contained his power in a lesser body. That is not the case anymore. A massive figure moves behind the tear until a giant eye is looking through.

"You woke us up," Splinter says simply.

Both Splinter and Fracture then teleport out of the pit. They can now reveal it for what it really is: a trap. A ring on the pit's outer edge begins to glow and heat up as code activates. When Fate tries to teleport her puppet out, she finds that none of Ink's magic is working. Golden chains manifest in the sky and bury themselves like javelins all around the pit in a circle, pulling taunt like the thread of a needle. It takes a tremendous amount of power to break a Deity's seal. During all this time that Alloy's been running back and forth around the Multiverse, he's kept coming back here to pour his power into this creation. Alloy's known he would have to this ever since he saw the seal acting as this Ink's soul. It's possible that there might even be others in different Multiverses with the same problem. For now, he'll settle with this one.

Fate screams. Her tie to this Multiverse is cracking and drawing thin. The seal is breaking. Intense magic fills the amphitheater and runs down the chains. It's so strong that it causes many monsters in the audience to collapse or even faint from the sheer force brushing against their own magic. Alloy made sure it wouldn't actually hurt them. For a moment, a look of grim realization crosses the puppet's face. Alloy has bested Fate. The seal explodes. The chains only hold long enough to hold back the fierce energy before disintegrating. Ink lays motionless on the ground. The few that are still coherent only stare. Splinter teleports back into the pit first, prodding Ink with his foot. Fracture appears next to him.

"She's gone. Connection snapped," the first says.

"I need somE time to alert AncIent of this cOnnectiOn with the Creators," Fracture says with evident concern, "We havE to fix this ourselves."

"Right. He'll die now without a seal." Splinter kneels down next to Ink and motions to Fracture. The unmoving figure on the ground already shows signs of dusting. Fracture crouches and grabs Splinter's arm just above the elbow, the other doing the same so that their lower arms are locked together. "Green to heal," Splinter says out loud, as if the other could forget, and sends a pulse of his power through their linked arms. Fracture nods his head and pulls threads from his eyes with one hand. They turn green with Splinter's help. These are thickly wrapped around Ink's damaged arm. He may always have black scars from the forced hardening of the ink.

"i hAve the pieces, but you have to put the sOul together," Fracture points out. He looks up at the audience, remembering that they're here. "Your Ink Had a soul, once, when he was fiRst born. It made him willfUl and defiant. Fate didn't like tHat, and she broke his soul inTo a hundred pieCes and scattered it into the cOdes of countLess AUs. I found tHe pieces by visitIng each one."

Fracture pulls up a hovering screen with one hand. He scrolls through the codes for a moment before finding what he's looking for, swiping a finger across the screen. A visible bundle of code flies away at his touch for Splinter to catch. He does so, squeezing and compressing the code back together in his hand. A perfectly white soul is revealed when Splinter opens his hand again. Ink's soul doesn't appear very impressive. The aura it gives off is also very subtle, like a spring breeze sending the grassy hill a-waving. It's nothing like the loud and arrogant Creator everyone knows today. Dream, however, feels something familiar in this calm daydreamer. Splinter carefully guides it back to its rightful place before standing up and pulling Fracture with him.

"Do you think we will meet again?" Splinter turns and asks his other half.

"goD I hopE not," Fracture snorts, but then he becomes more serious, "We were nEver suPpose to be here, anYways."

"No," Splinter agrees, "But it wasn't all bad. I'm sorry, for what it's worth."

"I knoW yoU are. I am, tOo. It's HaRd to saY I misS them when we'Re still hEre, but I wiSh I couLd talk to theM again onE last time. For theIr sakEs."

"They all know we're not really gone, Error, I'm sure of it."

"ThaNks, Ink."

"I think it's time to wake up, now."

"Good. I'm tiRed of fiGhting."

"We both are," Splinter sighs, real weariness flashing across his face. He steps forwards and lets his head fall against Fracture's chest. "But we aren't done yet. Balance isn't through."

With a gasp and a surge of energy, Alloy finds himself falling back onto the ground, breathing hard and looking around wildly. It takes him a few confusing moments to realize what happened. When he does remember, a hesitant and goofy smile grows on his face. It worked. Fate has been completely cut off from this Multiverse, and Ink has a soul. Alloy flinches when he looks down. Said God of Creation is awake. Alloy and Ink stare at each other. Ink speaks first.

"You....... You chased her away." He bursts into tears. Alloy sits up and then pulls Ink into a sitting position as well. Alloy then grabs onto Ink's empty sash, unclips it, and tosses it to the side.

"It's gonna be okay now," Alloy says quietly, hugging Ink, "You don't have to create AUs anymore to feel." Ink cries harder, overcome by a swarm of emotions he's no longer familiar with. Alloy raises one hand briefly to bring down a nearby glass wall. As soon as it's down, Dream and Pallet are in the pit. Ink pulls away from Alloy when he sees them. The God of Balance wants to give them space and stands up before walking a few feet away.

He's done it. Alloy has helped the residents of this Multiverse all take he first step to understanding one another. It will still take time, and there will be many set backs, but one day soon, peace will reign in both of the worlds under his protection. The Deity of Balance's influence is also spreading and beginning heal other Multiverses. For once in his long existence, Alloy can relax. Things will be better from now on.