Karmas mere existence causes many headaches for Blue and Dream but Ink is still having a great time

——-

*^&$@ multiverse

Doodle Sphere

"Have you gotten bigger? You look like you have. Still very cute though~"

Dream and Blue looked on in disbelief as Ink, the most socially inept monster they knew, that they had witnessed multiple times make grown monsters cry, babytalk a babybones.

"Do you need more food, Goth?"

"Im good, Ink"

"...i think you need a few more snacks. You are looking far too thin and look at your poor bones! You should have called me!"

"I didnt want to bother yo-"

" Goth . We talked about this..just eat your snack and then i will preen you. Dont think i didnt notice how messy your feathers are"

"..ARE THEY BEING RESPONSIBLE ?"

Blue said faintly, Dreams hand on his shoulder the only thing grounding him and making him believe this wasn't a weird nightmare. He hadnt been sure what to think when Dream had contacted him that they had some 'shocking news' feeling they had made a massive understatement.

Actually visiting Inks home had been a surprise but then seeing the babybones in Inks arms, had completely blown his mind. This interaction was very odd to watch, Ink only having briefly glanced at him before their entire attention went back on the child.  

He could hardly believe that this was the same monster who had once gotten distracted by a butterfly and somehow ended up fighting a Gaster in the Underground ten AU's away from where they should have been meeting.

"ARE WE SURE THIS IS INK? NIGHTMARE DIDNT LEARN A NEW SKILL OR TRAP US IN A SHARED HALLUCINATION, DID HE?"

"Yes Blue. It is Ink"

Dream said patiently, despite this being the sixth time he had been asked but he could hardly blame them. He had been with Ink ever since they brought the babybones here and used his magic to try and dispel any illusion magic and even he was puzzled by this new side of Ink.

His gaze shifted to the babybones again, before something that had been nagging him suddenly clicked in his mind.

Why couldn't he feel any emotions from them?

...were they soulless like Ink?! Is that why they connected?

While Dream was having another mini breakdown, Ink continued to fuss over Goth, hardly having put them down since finding them again a few hours ago. He had listened intently when they told him how they left the Doodle Sphere he hadnt thought they would even know how to travel to other AU's and kept the calm look on his face when they described what they had been up to with Nightmare.

It seems Nightmare would get to live another day, surprised to realise that his rogue creation wasnt as far gone as he believed he wouldnt erase them from existence but he still had plenty of ideas to show his displeasure .

He hummed in question when Goth pat his face, realising he must have been lost in thought. He gave them an amused look when they huffed, resisting the urge to coo when their wings puffed up in annoyance before sighing and grabbing his hand and putting it on his paint vials.

He ignored the gasps from his two friends unsure what that was about , his full focus on Goth who was looking rather like a puffed up baby bird right now.

Utterly adorable!

...maybe he should paint this later to make sure he never forgot it?

He decided to play ignorant of what they could want, enjoying watching their frustration build up, not realising just how much he had missed them.

"How are you so cute?!"

Karma ignored Ink when they began to nuzzle him, able to tell they were overloaded on paint and unsure if they were able to even think clearly.

He adjusted his scarf when he felt the Bitties tremble, carefully using his magic to cover them further to hide them from Dream but unsure if this was hindering Sunnys senses at all, unable to think about that further with his current issue he was dealing with. The Creators eyeshapes seemed to be stuck in a red bullseye despite how tiny was clearly showing other emotions as well, unsure what was up with them.

He remembered them being much more stable before but the way they were talking about past events, was kind of surprising. He was shocked they even recalled he existed, let alone what the things they had done together but was mostly tuning them out right now.

He had something far more important to do, as he felt it could be quite dangerous to leave this issue unaddressed.

Dream watched in shock as the babybones somehow bullied Ink to drink their white paint then unflinchingly dealt with a blank Ink, before getting them to drink some of their other paints.

They made it look easy , as if they had done it many times in the past and he was lost on what to think. He didnt even get a chance to ask a question, as Ink soon spun around while holding the babybones and began chattering a million miles a minute. He was deeply relieved their eyeshapes had gone back to normal and he was no longer staring death in the face, hoping to never deal with that again.

He was frankly surprised he had been able to convince Ink to allow them in the Doodle Sphere in the first place but sighed when Ink began acting like nothing unusual happened in the last few hours, wondering if he would ever grow used to their sporadic nature.

"Ink..you haven't introduced us"

He spoke up when Ink started to ramble about sea life for some reason, really wanting some answers right now. He had an arm around Blue in support, who was was dangerously tilting and worryingly pale, almost forgetting for a second how mortals were not as durable. He would have to work on that, mentally planning some more training for them later and thankful Ink looked to be far more focused in the present again.

"I haven't? Im sure i had done that earlier..oh well! This is Goth! Look at the cute little outfit they are wearing! I made it and all the-"

..he was not getting much from this, Ink jumping from seemingly unconnected topics every other sentence and in the end he only had the vaguest idea of who Goth even was.

Although, he was impressed how effortlessly they held Goth and adjusted them in their arms, blushing when he noticed the look he was getting from Blue. It wasnt his fault that Ink acting so paternal affected him, he was just shocked, that was all!

He did his best to ignore those feelings deep in his SOUL, doubtful they would ever go anywhere.

He twitched when Inks hand suddenly lashed out and grabbed Goths hand, worried he would have to intervene but paused when he noticed that Inks hold was still gentle and their eyeshapes were still calm.

"Goth, i thought we talked about this. You need to stop doing this"

"..sorry"

Karma reluctantly relaxed his hand on his wing and let Ink open his hand, having pulled out a few of his feathers again without realising. He didnt say a thing as Ink reached over to check the damage, just resting his head on their shoulder as he let them deal with it.

He was so tired of being here and just wanted to be somewhere safe again.

Ink hummed as he sat on the ground and put Karma in his lap, methodically looking at each of their feathers. He pulled out his small paintbrush and got to work, patting Goths back when he felt them lean into him.

"Ink..?"

"What is it, Dream?"

He asked distractedly while snapping his fingers and letting out a burst of magic when he noticed Blue wander off, making sure all of the AU's were now locked. He should have done this with Goth but at least he wasn't going to make the same mistake again, going back to sorting Goths messy wings. 

"Does Goth have a..you know..?"

He looked up in confusion, watching them fidget and make wordless gestures before slumping and making an upside heart shape with their fingers. He snorted, sometimes puzzled how Dreams mind worked some days before going back to Goths wings. 

"Of course he does!"

"B-But his emotions-"

He let Dream ramble, knowing it was just them trying to gather their thoughts. He grinned when he finished Goths wings, pulling out a cookie from his Inventory and handing it to the babybones. He knew he read somewhere that positive reinforcement was important, pleased they stayed still the entire process.

"You are overthinking this. Lets just go and find Blue before they got lost. This place is endless!..i hope they didnt find the black hole I was working on, it would be a shame if they fell in."

"..im sorry the what?!"

-

Dream sat on the couch with his face buried in his hands, sighing in utter exasperation on what he had learned in the past few hours. He reached out a hand and pulled Blue down to sit with him, feeling their emotions spike again and not blaming them in the slightest after what nearly happened he had not been impressed to learn that Ink really did have a black hole laying around.

"..DO YOU THINK HE KEEPS WORSE STUFF AROUND HERE?"

"Without a doubt"

He often found Ink eccentric but now he was finally realising that he had only reached the tip of the iceberg, almost fearful imagining what else they kept in this place. He didnt get to stew much longer before he suddenly had something placed on his lap with Inks loud voice shattering the silence.

"I need to check on a few things, so do you mind holding them? Thanks Dream! I shouldn't be long. Be good, Goth!"

By the time he looked up Ink was gone without waiting for a reply, looking down and seeing Goth stare up at him with just as much confusion at least he thought it was, deciding to try and study expressions more than focus on emotions. 

He twitched when magic suddenly washed over him before it vanished just as quickly, noticing Blues sheer shock but kept his gaze on the oddly silent babybones he was pretty sure this wasnt usual for children , arms slowly moving around their body to help keep their balance.

"...are you hungry?"

He said awkwardly, not having spent much time with them but relieved when they nodded, glad to now had a task to focus on.

"Right...does Ink even own a kitchen?"

"It's down the corridor and the second door on the left, the door with a painted spaghetti bowl on it"

He knew he shouldn't be surprised that Goth knew this, considering he was pretty sure they had spent a lot of time here but it still felt weird how they effortlessly showed him to the kitchen and pointed out what each room was on the way.

He pushed the kitchen door open and just stared, feeling he was in a 5 star kitchen and wondering if any of the appliances had ever been touched.

"...CAN INK EVEN COOK? DIDNT HE GIVE FOOD POISONING TO THAT SANS, WHEN HE GAVE THEM COOKIES?"

He winced at the reminder, the headache in trying to straighten things out and having to convince that AU that Ink hadnt been trying to poison them or was insulting them.

"He can but he gets bored if you leave him to do to alone, so tries to finish as quickly as possible"

Both Blue and Dreams head snapped to where Goths voice came from, Dream paling when he saw them start to chop up vegetable but Blue was quicker to grab them.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! BABYBONES SHOULD NOT BE NEAR SHARP KNIVES! ARE YOU HURT? DID YOU-"

While Dreams SOUL raced from the sudden scare, he took note to scold Ink on taking better care of children sure this was all their fault finally looking up where Blue was still going with their lecture.

They could go on for hours if he let them so subtly reminded them that they still needed to feed Goth, relieved when they stopped and shouted about 'tacos', dearly hoping they wouldn't add glitter to it like last time.

Lunch turned out to be a success, honestly shocked that Ink had remembered to make cutlery and plates. He was just finishing the last of the taco when Ink barged in, not giving them a glance before grabbing Goth and leaving the room.

"..IS THIS SOMETHING WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO GET USED TO?"

Blue said hesitantly, Dreams sigh not exactly reassuring as he started the process of cleaning up. This isn't what he expected when he first befriended Ink and Dream but he had to say, it did make life more exciting.

His smile froze at Inks voice, sharing a look with Dream whose face was showing deep irritation.

"Want to go get something on fire, Goth? I know a perfect AU!"

"..can we do it now?"

"Of course we can, Goth! Let me go an-"

"Ink?! You better not be teaching the babybones bad habits! Dont you dare try and run away from me!"

He snorted when Dream ran out of the room in panic, wishing them luck with that .

~~~~~~~~

Ink: *Overdosed on red paint and highly erratic* Im having a great time!

Dream and Blue: *Walking around on eggshells and trying to think of ways to calm them down*

Karma: *Staring at Ink unimpressed with no fear while casually bullying them to take their paints* You are being too loud, Ink.

Dream: *Shocked it worked and Ink didnt even object to the babybones helping*..where did Ink find this child?!

-

Dream: *Sitting in thought* I wonder why Ink gets along so well with, Goth?

Blue: *Equally as confused* NO CLUE. MAYBE SOME SORT OF SHARED INTEREST?

Ink: *Speaking in the hallway to Karma* Im bored...want to go set some fires?

Karma: *Already grabbing some matches* Lets go, Ink! 🔥

Blue: *Speechless*

Dream: *Quickly running out the room to stop them* WHAT ARE YOU TEACHING THEM, INK?!

Bitties: *Crying in hope to find a decent adult for Karma soon*