Karma encounters a few more obstacles he has to deal with but he handles it, so its all fine! (its really not)

———

*^&$@ multiverse

Karma had never been so thankful that he had wings then at this exact moment, as it was most likely the only thing keeping him in one piece. He doubted he would have made it far, if he was bound to the ground, the newly corrupted Negativity Guardian strangely persistent in their pursuit of him.

"Karma?! Your w-wings are-"

"It's fine, Sunny. Just focus on holding on tight"

..well, he was mostly in one piece.

This Nightmare was a tad too good at aiming magic considering their state, annoyed he had to use his ability to float so he wouldn't crash into the ground. He flapped his wings instinctively, despite knowing it was useless, a tad upset at the damage to them.

He could tell it would going to take a while to grow back some feathers, his flight feathers all burned quite badly from a lucky shot from Nightmare. The attack magic would have landed around his scarf if he hasn't used his wings as a shield but at least the Bitties were still alive and unharmed.

"HE IS GETTING TOO CLOSE!"

Azures warning was greatly appreciated as he quickly dodged right to avoid a bunch of tentacles, unsure how he missed them sneaking up so close to him. He would have floated higher to try and avoid their reach but Blot seemed to get a tad queasy whenever he did so and he didn't particularly want to stress the tiny monsters out further. They were worryingly pale already, really hoping they weren't injured by his fast flying.

" DrEaM! "

Sunny was terrified, unsure how things had changed so quickly!

The malice in the air wasn't helping matters, the negativity feeling like it was weighing him down and although he was still alarmed at Karma blocking their emotions, it was also deeply comforting to focus on the void of emotions. It was grounding, which he desperately needed with the pure negativity that was tracking them down.

He yelped when he felt a sudden drop in elevation, the sudden stop jolting him near violently but surprisingly not feeling hurt in the slightest. He wasn't even giving a moment to thank this small victory, nearly screeching when he realised their new predicament.

He was not pleased in the slightest to come face to face with a goopy face, realising with a renewed sense of horror that Karma had been grabbed by their pursuers tentacles.

" FoUnd yOu DrEaM "

He shuddered at the distorted words, worried when Karma let out a quiet hiss of pain as the tentacle visibly tightened around them.

Karma was doing his very best to suppress his magic, knowing without a doubt if he didnt he would dust the insane monster. It wasnt helping matters that he could feel his role pulsing in warning, tugging at his neck like a collar that he was unable to throw off.

If he acted, he would for certain die. If he didnt, there was a small percentage that he might live. Terrible odds but he had a plan to hopefully improve his terrible chance of survival, stiffening when he felt his SOUL be tugged from his chest and shuddering at the unsettling feeling.

He watched in silence when Nightmare froze when his SOUL was finally revealed to them, guessing they finally realising that he wasn't Dream but it was what was about to happen that made him tense up.

He waited for the protection on his SOUL from broth- Traveller to kick in, with Nightmare soon being thrown back as he hastily made a portal beneath himself while holding the Bitties close.

-

Doodle Sphere

Karma held in a sound of pain when he landed hard on his wings, just relieved his portal had actually worked for once. He wasn't sure what was up with his magic but knew for sure that he didn't have time to check, shakily getting up and quickly taking in his new surroundings.

His wings lowered in relief at their location, even if the Bitties tensed right back up. He had nearly forgotten that his friend's last experience with a Doodle Sphere wasn't that great but to him it was absolutely perfect. He knew this place was practically endless and the Creator would take a while to notice his presence..at least, he was hoping so.

He really needed to check over the Bitties first and his wings were kind of hurting, frowning when he noticed some of his feathers on the ground. He would need to take those with him, shaking his wings to try and loosen any other damaged feathers.

He stiffened at the odd numbers floating in front of his face yet again, hastily walking away and doing his best to ignore them. He had to focus on the important things, such as what was his next plan and how to leave this multiverse.

He could see the hanging AU's not far from his location so he made sure to stay far away from those, recalling that some Creators had wards up on them to alert them to intruders but couldn't remember if this place did. He might have been here before but it felt so long ago and he didn't exactly examine things that closely, so he would rather play it safe.

"Avoid the house as well. Let's see if they have those pile of assorted items yet. Would be a great place to hide my magical signature-"

The Bittie silently took in the babybones muttering, slowly compiling an image of what was happening.

Blot had a certain dislike of the Doodle Sphere, not liking his larger variant much. He had met a few of them so far but that still didn't shake the image of the first one he had the displeasure of meeting, the Inks emotionless stare and cold actions would be one that would follow him into his nightmares for many years to come he feared of becoming like that, only his friends reassurances helping to reassure him .

He reluctantly began to look around, rather surprised when the seemingly empty area in front of them was replaced by what he frankly thought looked like a junkyard.

What weird magic was this and how did he miss it?!

"Perfect. Now, let's check to make sure everything is fine"

He was confused by the babybones words, even more so when they sat down and began unwinding their scarf. He and the two other Bitties were soon sat in front of Karma, the babybones gentle touch checking over them and causing his SOUL to ache at the clear care he was being given.

"You all look good. Do you need more magic? Food perhaps? I have plenty to sha-"

"WE ARE FINE. I'M MORE WORRIED ABOUT YOU"

He had to agree with Azure, the babybones did look oddly pale and that wasn't even mentioning the state of their wings, wincing at the mess of broken feathers on their back.

"I'll sort it out in a bit but first we have a few things we need to talk about"

-

Karma was very pleased with how well the chat went, carefully tucking the sleeping Bitties into his scarf. He would have left them in a safe spot in the Doodle Sphere instead of carrying them all time but with how finicky his portals were lately, he didnt want to risk not being able to come back for them.

He felt calmer after having a rough plan formed but knew how easily it could go wrong. He was really hoping that his memories of this place weren't as bad as he recalled, pausing in his actions when he realised he forgot a few major details. 

"...i should really change and remove a few things"

He muttered, once again removing his scarf before looking in his Inventory for some more bland clothing. He sighed at how many colourful and animal themed outfits he owned before grinning triumphantly, chirping at spotting the perfect clothing.

He hadn't worn this in years , especially not when the majority of his outfits were now created or bought by his fami- people he knew.

"Not even a speck of recognisable magic on it. How useful"

It was a simple black and white outfit that he had way before he began travelling, pretty sure this was one of the first outfits he ever received from Reaper directly. He was surprised to see he still had the red scarf that went with the outfit as well, really needing to sort his Inventory out one of these days.

He carefully transferred the Bitties to the new scarf, reluctantly putting his current one away before his gaze went to the golden anklet around his ankle. His wings drooped as he realised he was going to have to find a way to hide it or take it off, the magic far too strong to not bring up questions.

He was lucky he only ran into an insane monster so far, not sure how he would avoid any awkward questions from more lucid people without a quick way to escape.

He sighed, feeling he should have stayed in the Void for longer, mindlessly beginning the task to sort his feathers out.

He wasn't sure how much time passed, this place not exactly being known to have consistent time and its not like he could just ask the owner of the place what the time dilation was.

He was hoping it was long, then perhaps things could go back to normal he knew it was a false hope but he could dream . He had just finished straightening the last feather when a voice rang out, wings bristling in shock as he spun around to face them, shivering at being snuck up on so easily.

"Oh! I don't remember making you. Did I forget to write it down again..? Let me have a quick look"

He froze at the flickering eyeshapes of the Creator, briefly considering making a run for it but knowing it would be futile in his condition.

"Hmmm. Nope, not written down anywhere..maybe a quick CHECK would help!...Now, how do i do that again...?"

That sounded like the worst case scenario to him, quickly trying to distract them from performing that action.

"H-Hello i'm Goth . I seem to be a tad lost"

He winced as he felt old name forced out of him, wanting to cry at yet another thing being taken from him.

"Goth? What an odd name. I don't remember you at all. Are you an anomaly?! How exciting! You even have wings! I love making those but they can be so fiddly to get right"

Ink was intrigued by his new find did he know them? They looked weirdly familiar , leaning in closer to get a better look at them. He analysed them with an artists gaze, not bothering to ask before he stretched out one of their wings to examine them better, rather intrigued by the strange patterns on the feathers.

He felt a slight tingle in his fingers after, now very curious what magic they had. It would be so exciting if this was a new type of monster, his other hand titling the small monsters head up so he could examine their face better.

"Only one eyelight? Can you even see out of the other socket?"

"Y-Yes i can"

He hummed in interest, unsure why they were fidgeting so much but far too focused on taking them all in to bother asking. Maybe he would remember more about them later but for now he was having way too much fun, their wings absolutely fascinating!

Although, there was something odd about the magic he could sense on the feathers. If only he could figure out what...

He shook his head to clear off that weird thought and idly took a sip of his yellow paint, grinning widely as his excitement returned. He was having a bit of an artistic block right now, not having been able to think of a new AU to create in days but perhaps this was a sign!

Nodding to himself in decision he quickly snatched the monster up, holding them close in case they tried to run away still unsure why so many monsters tried to so before he froze when he looked at their shirt.

His eyeshapes switched to exclamation points at spotting their striped shirt, their small size suddenly making a lot more sense.

He found a child ...even better!

They were much more entertaining in his opinion, never knowing what to expect from the tiny creatures.

"Oh, before I forget. I'm Ink! The Creator of the multiverse and everything you have ever experienced in your life. We are going to have a great time!"

~~~~~~~

Karma: *Suppressing his dark thought likes its his only goal in life* Things are going great. I have this in the bag!

Bitties: *Screeching as they watch Nightmare try and kill them all*
-
*Landing in the Doodle Sphere*

Karma: *Extremely casual* I think that went well

Sunny: *Trying not to burst into tears*

Azure: *Staring at Karmas severely damaged wings in horror*

Blot: *Examining their surroundings and having horrific flashbacks*
-
Karma: *Broken feathers* This is fine. Ive dealt with this before

*Realising they have to remove all identifiers and comfort items*

Karma: *Shakier* T-This is fine. I can still do this

*Bumping into the Creator and being compelled to use his old name*

Karma: *Having all his triggers and trauma viciously stomped on, staring dead eyed into the distance*..t-this is f-fine