Karma has a surpsingly good day and is very happy with his new prize.
The Bitties are once again struck speechless and want some words with whoever raised this child.

——-

*^&$@ multiverse

UnderFell

Nightmares tentacles gently swayed behind him, trying not to make any sudden moves in front of the babybones. His single eyelight stayed on the dust covered child his tentacles twitched, wanting to fix their appearance , the quiet surroundings holding very little interest to him right now.

He had hoped this AU would be a prime place to gather some more negativity but he had been mistaken, majorly disappointed by the pitiful IQ's of the monsters inhabiting it.

He had been annoyed at the need to dust nearly half of the population, before they got the message to back off, hoping the idiot Creator wouldn't find him anytime soon with how much time he had wasted here.

While he had some confusing new instincts since eating the apples, such as the strange need to gather as much negativity as he could, he felt he had a tighter control over them then he started with, now actually able to think instead of charge straight towards the next source of 'meal' like a wild animal.

He did still need a top up to fill his magic though, his twin having woken up from the state he left them in and making things far more complicated in the grand scheme of things. He didnt hold much hate in his SOUL for them but when he saw them side with the soulless menace, he might have briefly lost it it felt like he was losing them to the villagers all over again .

He could just barely deal with the Creator, who viciously defended any AU he entered, their actions usually aiming to severely maim and subdue but thankfully not dust him. He wasn't stupid enough to think he would actually win a full out fight against them otherwise, knowing they were going somewhat easy on him.

He was suspicious of soulless monsters' motives but after meeting a dozen few Floweys over the years, he thought that was a fruitless endeavour, conjecturing it must be mainly for amusement and leaving it at that.

How his twin could stand to be around the husk was frankly a miracle in his eyes, blaming his brothers stupid compassion that they had even for the least deserving things.

He was starting to get nightmares from seeing the growing affection Dream showed towards the Creator, trying to push back the horrifying thought of the two of them ever getting together. 

He might no longer be accepted into Dreams life for being 'evil' but that hardly meant he wanted any sort of connection to the idiot Creator he prayed they never got together but felt that was a fools hope.

The rustling of wings drew back his attention to the child, trying not to show how unsettled he was by the babybones outfit that had his and Dreams marks stamped all over it, not to mention the muted but very familiar aura coming from them. He might not socialise much due to his somewhat menacing appearance but that didn't mean he was clueless to everything.

He was an empath even before the apples did this to him and could tell something was off with the child..as well as the odd spikes of emotions coming from their scarf, his mouth twitching in suppressed amusement when he was given a stern chirp when he tried to get closer.

They were a bossy little thing and rather fearless which he greatly approved of..but he still remembered snippets of memory from before he regained some logical thought secretly ashamed of some of his actions and the destruction he wrought .

He could never forget the odd babybones though, seeming to be the only solid memory in his mind, even now feeling their magic instinctively call out for him while also lash out in defence. He could hardly blame them, wincing when he recalled chasing them and mistaken them for Dream of all things.

He was somewhat surprised to see them still alive, as it had been a good hundred years since their last 'encounter'. His expression sharpened as he took his time to fully analyse them properly for the first time, intrigued by what he spotted.

The wings were an obvious one, only seeing one monster with wings like that so far but it was the magic that came off them that was truly intriguing. It felt like a strange mix of his brothers, sparking his own magic playfully against it, smirking when it was viciously extingued, just like what occurred when he used it against Dream.

They didnt look or feel like a mortal to him either but he couldnt be completely sure, having heard of rather bizarre terms over the years that could still explain their apparent longevity.

" How many RESETS have you gone through, little apple? "

Sunny was very close to hyperventilating, holding Blot tightly to his chest as they looked alarmingly close to jumping out the scarf to lunge for Nightmares neck. He couldn't blame them really, his own feelings falling to the more violent spectrum after the sheer terror they had to endure due to the corrupted monster.

Recalling the sheer wild animal rage still made his SOUL clench in fear, biting back a hiss when he saw the corrupted monster lean closer towards Karma.

"I didnt really count..was i supposed to?"

He nearly cried tears of genuine relief at Karmas innocent response, the babybones somewhat puzzling thought process working wonderfully right now. They didnt need another overpowered monster trying to take Karma home with them, comparing it to trying to coax a wild cat into a house he wasnt kidding with the analogy, having watched far too many times of Karma nearly doing just that when offered chocolate .

Hopefully this corrupted monster will think Karma has been stuck in an endless RESET and is just another boring monster that they can leave alone...but he doubted anyone could think that of the babybones. Even with the new outfit and a new scarf, the way Karmas magic nearly shone was a massive sign. Their rather distinctive wings hardly helped them to blend in either, shivering at the interest he felt off Nightmare.

How the rage filled monster turned into this was deeply disturbing, greatly disliking how close any of them were to them. 

" I see...i dont think i ever introduced myself. My name is Nightmare and i deeply apologise for the misunderstandingof our last encounters"

Great, now he had to hold Azure back as well, feeling close to foaming at the mouth himself at such a blatant understatement.

They were all nearly dusted!

How could you ever sufficiently apologise for that?!

The three of them froze when they peaked out the scarf, seeing a dark tentacle get closer, unable to see what it dropped into Karmas hands.

" I know this isn't much but i truly am sorry for how our interactions occurred. I hope you like this small token of my apology "

Hah! As if anyone would accept an item from such a manic and think that was sufficient-

"I love it! It's so shiny and bright!"

...of course he forgot this was Karma he was dealing with, never one to conform to what was expected but he still wasnt happy by this severe lack of self preservation they had going on. God he hoped they wouldn't try and follow Nightmare home they probably lived in some cave with how creepy they were , getting ready to convince Karma what a terrible idea that would be. 

Karma chirped happily at his new shiny, carefully examining it with his fingers so he could memorise every nook and cranny of it. He hadnt gotten a new rock in ages and knew this one would fit perfectly in his collection!

He hummed gleefully when he noticed that it even sparkled in the light, wings flapping in his sheer joy at such a wonderful find. His friends were right, going outside really had been a good idea.

" Are you not going to go home, little apple? "

"Not yet. It will take a while for him to notice im even gone, so i have some time"

He said distractedly, close to purring at how beautiful his new shiny purple 'rock' was. It was even shaped like a SOUL, amused when he felt Nightmares magic in it. It was nice having more magical signatures near him again that were vaguely familiar, feeling a pang in his SOUL at being unable to wear his scarf just yet.

It was sadly still far too early for that, doubtful he would be able to change into other outfits apart from ones made by Ink, if he didnt want to affect the timeline too badly.

Some multiverses could be so delicate, not particularly wanting to witness the whole thing unravel due to a small mistake his role nearly burned in warning, wings twitching at the sudden pain .

He huffed when a weight settled on his skull, quickly realising it was Nightmares tentacle when it began to slowly pat his head. He made a face when he saw their expression, tempted to whisper to Sunny for help he still wasn't great at parsing emotions but considering the quiet whimpering suddenly coming from his scarf, he thought it wise to let them be.

Maybe they were tired...?

He wouldn't be surprised considering how exciting the day had been, yelping when he suddenly found himself in Nightmares arms, not pleased in the slightest. He nearly dropped his new shiny, quickly putting it in his Inventory before it could get lost.

He frowned in confusion when he took in that they were running, trying to look over Nightmares shoulder at the new SOUL, chirping in protest when their tentacles covered him.

"Why are you-"

"NIGHTMARE! What are you doing now, brother?!"

He flinched at how loud Dream was, more than happy to stay where he was to try and block out the sound. He hissed at the jarring stop, his wings feeling far too squished in their hold.

He carefully spread his magic to check for danger before grumpily pushing past the tentacles, wincing at how loud it was outside his previous cocoon.

"-stay away from-"

" -never listen to anything, Dream! Why dont yo- "

"-hostages?! What are you-"

" -completely your- "

He had no clue what they were on about, it sounding more like random words being screamed at each other and he had the misfortune of being in the middle of it. He tried to wiggle out of his current hold, hoping they were distracted enough he could just slip out.

He had just managed to get his arms out, feeling very smug and quickly made sure the Bitties were ok when he suddenly paused, looking behind Dream in surprise at who he spotted.

He hoped he wouldn't be in too much trouble, chirping to catch the third monster's attention over the still shouting Guardians.

"Hey, Ink!"

The area went oddly silent, watching in confusion at how still Ink was, only seeing them like that when they ran out of paints. He whined when the tentacles squeezed too tight again, slightly worried they might hurt the Bitties who were thankfully being quite, not wanting Ink to notice.

".. Nightmare. Why are you holding, Goth?"

Huh, Ink must have drunk a lot of red today and they even remembered him!

Today was really full of surprises.

Creators were so useful having such helpful indicators of their emotions such as eyeshapes, purring and going nearly boneless as Inks magic suddenly drenched the area. 

He hadnt realised how low on magic he had been until he fed, yawning when the sudden desire to nap came over him. He sleepily hissed when he was abruptly moved, settling down when he realised it was only Ink holding him, not realising how much he had missed them until he saw them again he didnt like being alone anymore, unsure how long he would last like this .

He quietly purred when they covered him in their scarf, it feeling rather nostalgic, letting himself fall asleep.

His magic said he was safe, so he was sure he didnt have anything to worry about.

~~~~~

Nightmare: *Holding out a shiny rock* I apologise for my past actions. I hope this will convey my true sincerity

Sunny: *Scoffing* As if anyone would shake off a murder attempt with something like-

Karma: *Already having snatched the shiny rock and purring loudly* Apology accepted!

Sunny: *Speechless*

Blot: *Very alarmed* Maybe this 'therapy' idea should happen sooner rather than later

-

Karma: *Spotting Ink and waving* Wow, it seemed like they remember me! Today really has been full of surprises!

Ink: *Radiating death and truly considering dusting Nightmare* Why are you holding, Goth?

Nightmare and Dream: *On the same wavelength for once* GOINGTODIE! IMGOINGTODIE-

Bitties: *Shivering in fear and bewildered at how calm Karma is* WHO RAISED THIS CHILD?!