'Dammit!' I thought savagely, 'Why do I do this to myself?! I knew this was gonna end badly!'

Umbra was furious! He was right to suspect this stranger, but he had to admit, this was worse than what he'd been expecting! A single being, not much different than his own advisor, was capable of destroying entire universes! A mass murderer worse than any of his own subjects stood before them, acting like a victim in spite of the things he's done. It made Umbra sick.

"That's ridiculous!" Sumi scoffed. "AUs are indestructible. In fact, the AU we found you and the kids in rebuilt its code when you left! Now it's some weird amalgamation of Storyshift and Fellswap, but it's still intact, for the most part. There is no way you could destroy an entire AU without it stopping you."

Omission nodded. "You're right about that, Sumi. My AU, for all its flaws, still follows a basic code that the whole AU has to follow, no exceptions. I studied it with Neon in the years following the war, and it had been the same ever since. Until Error appeared. I suspected that my AU had finally decided to break its own rules, but that's pure speculation on my part."

"Totes right, brah," Neon chimed in. "Ya radical boi here an' Snips, we dizzity dug through all dat freshtacular info at King Umbra's castle ta all up n' do da math! It be straight up wiggity wack ta try ta kill off an entire AU, yo! AUs are totally tuned up for a beatin'!"

"I see," Umbra growled, turning to me. "How can you expect us to fall for your lies if even the multiverse itself disproves them? Whatever it is you thought you did, it seems you simply imagined it."

"B-but," I started, then stopped myself. They weren't willing to believe me. Just like before. I don't know why I'm surprised, though. It's probably been so long since I was destroying universes that they probably forgot that they could be destroyed at all! Or maybe I did imagine it all. Maybe I dreamt of everything, of living in a white hell for decades, of killing millions upon millions of people, of meeting Blueberry.... Maybe it was all in my head.

"I disagree," Lumen declared. "It isn't right to assume he imagined everything. I would have thought you'd be the first to affirm that, brother."

Umbra cast a disapproving glance to his brother, lowering his eyelight in shame when he met Lumen's disappointed glare. With a sigh, he held his hand up, and suddenly all around us turned black. An upside down heart appeared before me, floating in front of my chest and glowing brightly. It was pale yellow and blue, with a sliver of green running like a river through the middle. Surrounding it were dark blue strings that resembled the ones on my face, seemingly holding the strange thing together. Curious, I reached out my hand to touch it, but my arm wouldn't budge. I looked up at Umbra, and noticed a similar heart-shaped thing floating in front of him. Instead of being yellow and blue, it was black with highlights of blue, green, and purple. Like iridescent obsidian. I stared at both of them, completely entranced by the sharp contrast of colors to the outlines of black and white that swallowed all of the other colors up.

"Wh-what in the world...?"

Umbra suddenly snapped his fingers, uttering the word "CHECK." I looked up at the others, whose faces slowly took on more and more horrified expressions. I didn't know what they were looking at or what they were scared of, but I knew it had something to do with the floating heart in front of me.

Lumen sat in shocked silence as he read the stranger's CHECK box. For a moment, he could feel no positivity around him, and he felt suffocated by the growing concern and fear.

[Error:] God of Destruction
[Formed by entities name_Fate and name_Destiny to destroy universes and prevent the collapse of Fate's multiverse]
[program Voices.exe removed]
[program Soul_Bond.exe added]
[entities name_Nula and name_Vacía added in program Soul_Bond.exe]
[Information:] His multiverse will slowly die without him since his role is essential to its integrity. He was from an AU without monsters, and his body was changed from a human's to a monster's by Fate and Destiny so he would fit in.
[Warning! Unstable connection with server name_Mental:State! Proceed with caution!]

Umbra's expression darkened as he released me, sitting back down and propping his arms up on his knees. I held a hand where the heart thing disappeared to, glaring at him. "What the fuck did you do to me?!"

He rolled his eyelight at me. "Relax. All I did was check you."

I scratched at my wrists anxiously, scanning for any potential attacks. What did that mean? What was that heart thing, and why couldn't I move when it appeared?! My mind ran in circles as the headache forming behind my eyes grew worse, and I raised my hand to my head, unconsciously scratching at the scars. None of this was making any sense! I jerked back when Lumen suddenly stood up.

"STAY BACK!!!" I screeched, stumbling backward in alarm. "I-I'M WARNING YOU!!!"

In my attempt to put some distance between my enemies, I tripped and fell. My soul pounded with fear as both Umbra and Lumen began to approach me, but I couldn't move. Any moment, Lumen would pull out his bow, and Umbra would raise his tendrils to strike. I couldn't do anything except sit in paralyzed terror, my body distorting into a mass of glitches as my panic rose.

"Wait!" Sumi cried, holding Lumen back. "You'll make it worse!"

"Let us handle it," Omission said quietly, kneeling in front of Error and nodding to Sumi, who knelt down with him. Together, they spoke to the panicking skeleton.

"It's ok, Error," Sumi's soft voice echoed in my head. "Just focus on my voice, yeah?"

"We won't hurt you," Omission's voice, calm as ever, seemed to ripple through the blinding panic, slowly bringing me back to reality. "Count to ten, keep breathing."

I once again did as I was told, trying to breathe with nonexistent lungs that felt like they were on fire. One, two, three....

"Daddy!"
"Dada!"

My eyelights snapped to two figures rushing toward me, and I instinctively pulled some strings down to stop them. My vision couldn't focus on who it was, and I raised my fingers to snap them in half. 

"D-Daddy?"

I shook my head as the glitches in my vision finally cleared, and my eyesockets widened in horror when I saw Nula and Vacía ensnared in my strings. 

"O-oh my god," I whimpered, letting them go and looking down at my hands. I... almost killed them. I almost murdered my.... "Oh god, I'm so sorry...."

Nula's eyesockets brimmed with tears, and she ran to me and threw herself into my arms. Vacía crawled up to me and raised her hands, begging for me to pick her up. I choked on the sob in my throat and pulled them both into a hug, shaking with fear and relief. I never would have forgiven myself if I had hurt them. They didn't deserve to be my next victims. I felt Nula kiss my cheek, then Vacía do the same.

"Kisses make hurt go away," she mumbled, burying her face in my jacket. The girls stubbornly clung to my arms, and I shifted to sit more comfortably on the ground. I closed my eyes and held my girls closer, centering myself as their soft whimpers slowed to silence.

After a few minutes, it dawned on me that we were still in danger. I looked up to find Lumen and Umbra still standing at either head of the table they'd been sitting at, and Sumi and Omission were kneeling on the ground in front of me. No one else had approached, but a few of them had risen from their seats with weapons in their hands. I scrambled to my feet and backed away, flinching when Lumen held his hand up.

"There is nothing to fear, Error. I promised Geno no fights would break out, and I intend for that to remain true," he looked over to Tiberius and Maple, nodding. They saluted, and he turned back to us with a smile. "There are refreshments and games inside, if you'd like to stay awhile. I insist you stay the night, at least."

I gulped, then looked down at Nula. "Wh-what do you want to do, Nula?"

"Stay wif you," she muttered simply, hiding her face from everyone. I looked to Vacía, who once again cooed at TK's goggles as he and the other kids followed Maple and Tiberius in the house. I sighed, wondering what I should do. I definitely did not want to leave them, but I didn't want to risk being ambushed and trapped inside the house. Leaving was practically out of the question; they'd hunt me down and take the girls away, and I wouldn't be able to do anything about it. It's probably best if Nula and Vacía weren't in my care, anyway. I almost killed them, and it could happen again at any moment if I'm not careful.

'So I'd better be more careful,' I thought, holding the girls closer and looking toward the house. If it's really safe, then we can at least get some food while we're here. I had heard Nula's stomach growl, and Vacía looked tired. Maybe some rest wouldn't hurt, either.

Lumen watched as Error and his girls started for the house, slowly settling back down in his chair. He looked to Umbra, who had done the same and was now tapping his finger against the table.

"Uh, your highness?" Ash said, stealing a glance at his king. "Couldja please not do that? Ya know I got issues with that stuff."

"Quiet!" Umbra snapped, but complied with the request. "I'm stressed and this is how I destress."

"I could give you a massage!" Stitch suggested helpfully, earning a glare from Lumen.

"Touch me, and I'll turn you to dust."

Ash perked up at this, and gave Umbra a cheeky grin. "Dontcha mean 'ash'?"

"Who'd wanna be you?"

"I-"

Lumen groaned from across the table. "Bickering like this is getting us nowhere, brother."

Umbra rolled his eyelight and sighed. "Well, I've never seen someone react so negatively to a check, before. It's like he's never seen anything like it before today."

"Not only that," Omission interjected, "I shudder at the thought of what his check box implies. 'God of Destruction'. What does that mean?"

"It confirms he wasn't lying about destroying universes," Sumi squeaked, taking a seat at the table and resting his arms on it. He sat for a moment longer, his brows furrowing before he straightened. "Wait, wouldn't we have seen him destroy something by now if he is this... destructive god?"

"Not necessarily," they all flinched as Death's imposing voice cut through the conversation. "It said his multiverse will collapse without him. 'His multiverse'. What if... he's not from this multiverse?"

Snips jumped up from his seat with a shout. "Aha! That could also explain his connection with this Fate person! I mean, think about it! If Fate formed him from a human, that explains why his soul is made up of a whole bunch of human soul traits!"

"Justice, Kindness, and Patience," Comic mused. "Integrity if you count those blue strings."

"That sounds far-fetched," Echo muttered. "Who's to say this Fate isn't some crazy scientist who used DETERMINATION to create a monster from basically a dead human? It's happened before, so why not now?"

"He seemed surprised to see his own soul," Stitch said. "Do you think he's never seen blue magic before?"

"You've gotta be kidding," Skull laughed, slapping his hand to his face. "Every Sans has blue magic-"

"But he's not a Sans!" Snips cut him off.

"I didn't finish. Every Sans and Papyrus that we know of can perform blue magic if trained to do so. He should've seen it at least once in his multiverse, if we're going by that theory."

"Maybe so," Teddy said. "But if he's not a Sans, maybe he thinks that kind of magic shouldn't work on him. It might not have in his old multiverse, either. He's a god, after all."

"Doubtful," Death spoke again. "Blue magic works on even the highest ranking god in my universe. It works on Lumen and Umbra, and anyone I've ever tried it on. He'd have to be a higher rank than even the king of the gods to even think he's above even the most basic magic, much less be unaffected by it."

"Well," Hearts tentatively put in. "It did say he is an essential part of the stability to an entire multiverse. Maybe he is high enough."

"Regardless," Lumen said. "He's unstable, and possibly dangerous. Don't think I didn't catch any of you pulling out weapons when he pulled out those strings. I know it may be tempting to defend those children, but they're at greater risk of injury if Error is guarding them. This instability in his mental state may be a threat to everyone if we antagonize him again, so it's best if we tread carefully from now on. That means you too, Umbra." He trained a harsh glare on his twin, who ducked his head.

"Hey! I didn't do it on purpose! You can't blame me for getting upset that a homicidal maniac who destroys entire universes actually was able to infiltrate our inner circle!"

"Just don't do it again, please."

Umbra scoffed, folding his arms and slouching in his chair. "Fiiiine."

... ... ...

I sat in a chair at a large table, with Nula and Vacía in my lap and a board game set up between us and four other teams. Honey, who was on a team with Carrot, was explaining to us how to play this game called 'Aggravation'. Why it was called that we soon figured out, since TK and Tick, who were forced to be on a team when they couldn't agree on who would be on Nula and Vacía's team, were constantly aggravating Cherry, who was on a team with BB and Maple. Tiberius was on a team with Crackle and Lieutenant, but she didn't have to do much. She simply sat back and watched as her teammates rolled the dice and moved the marbles, bored out her mind.

"Ugh," she groaned as Crackle moved the marble that Lieutenant told her to move. "These luck-based games don't teach ya true strategy. Ya don't have luck on your side when you walk into an ambush that you planned poorly for!"

Lieutenant beamed as their marble knocked Carrot and Honey's marble off, setting them up in the shortcut. "But I got us to home! Thanks to me, we're tied with those guys!"

She pointed across the table at me and the girls. Thanks to Honey's instruction, we were somehow winning, with two marbles already in home, and one more on its way. It was our turn once again, and I handed Nula the dice. She shook a six, then took our last marble out. She rolled again and got a five, then moved her marble five spaces to the left. As we did, Cherry sweated nervously.

"Uh oh," he said to BB. "They're getting closer to us!"

"It'll be fine," BB replied. "They have a whole section of the board to get through before they reach us, Cherry!"

"But what if they get like a bajillion sixes?!"

"Hush, you two!" Maple laughed. "It's our turn, guys. Which marble should we move?"

Cherry grabbed the dice and rolled a four. Scanning the marbles in play, he smirked when he found a move he liked. "Let's move that one! We can get into the shortcut and zoom all the way to home!"

He reached for the marble, but BB stopped him. "What about that one? We could knock off Honey and Carrot!"

Cherry whined quietly. "B-but the shortcut!"

Maple met BB's eyes, and the young skeleton sighed. "Ok, fine.... Go ahead and move that marble."

"Yes!" Cherry moved their marble into the shortcut with a smile. Honey and Carrot made their move, then TK and Tick knocked Cherry's marble off. "Hey! No fair!"

TK smirked proudly and winked at Nula, and she giggled. "It's totally fair. We shook a three, and you just so happened to be right where we wanted to move. If you roll a five, you can knock Nula off. That's fair, isn't it?"

Cherry looked over at Nula, who smiled back innocently. He sighed, slumping down into his seat. "I'm so getting you back for that, TK."

Geno walked in with a tray of snacks and set it on the table. He put a stack of paper plates next to it, then surveyed the game. "Howzit going, guys? Who's winning?"

Tiberius straightened up in her chair, looking over the board with a frown. "Looks like Error and his kiddos are beating us. Heh, beginner's luck, that's all it is."

I smiled down at my girls, watching proudly as Nula helped Vacía roll the dice. Somehow, this reminded me of something I couldn't quite place, but it felt familiar nonetheless. Like a piece of my life I hadn't thought of in... centuries. If I've lived that long, that is. Even then, maybe I have, and whatever is giving me deja vu happened lifetimes ago. I was sure of one thing, though; I missed this. Enjoying people's company without them trying to kill me, hearing the sound of the kids' laughter and the soft din of adults conversing, playing games with no bad consequences if I lost. It felt... calm. Content, even.

Soon, we finished the game. Nula, Vacía and I finished first, and my girls cheered as they placed their last marble in home. I laughed along with them, feeling accomplished. Geno started handing out plates for the snacks, and I helped the girls grab some carrots and grapes to eat. The adults joined us in the kitchen soon after, beginning to set things up for supper. I helped Nula and Vacía make some sandwiches, but grabbed nothing for myself. Geno noticed, and strolled over. I eyed him suspiciously, and he put on a relaxed smile. Or as relaxed as he could be.

"Hey, arentcha gonna eat something? There's plenty here for everyone!"

I shook my head, grabbing juice boxes for the girls. "Not hungry. They need it more than I do."

Geno opened his mouth to say something, then thought better of it. He returned to his station to hand out more bread, exchanging glances between Maple and Honey. I felt myself tense up as they stole glances at us, the anxiety starting to creep in once again. And just when I thought I could finally relax!

After supper, Maple, Honey and Tiberius began corralling the kids into some bedrooms to get ready for bed. Honey then approached me, a tired smile on his face.

"Phew, finally!" he joked. "Thought I'd never get them to settle down! I'm sure Nula and Vacía must be just as exhausted from all the excitement from today."

I snorted in amusement. "I'd hardly call being almost killed 'excitement', heh heh! Heh...."

I lowered my head in shame and sorrow at the reminder I'd nearly killed my girls. If they had died by my hands, I don't think I could bear it. The guilt would haunt me forever, and I'd never know a moments' peace, remembering their last, terrified, pain-filled screams.

"Hey," Honey put a hand on my shoulder, a frown of concern marring his face. "For all your mistakes, the best thing you can do is learn from them, and make sure you never repeat them. Ok?"

I nodded, and he patted my shoulder. He's right. I should learn from my mistakes. I promised myself that I would never hurt them, and I will try to keep it, no matter what it takes. I looked back at Honey when he said my name.

"C'mon. I'll show ya where you can spend the night. Follow me."

He led me and the girls up the stairs and down the hall to a room with a large bed, a dresser, and a big window. Outside, stars shined brightly with no moon to be seen. It was a bit weird, especially since there didn't seem to be any evidence of a sun during the day, but I guessed it was just this AU's logic. It was nice, to say the least.

I turned to thank him, a grateful smile on my face. "Thanks, Stretch." He looked at me with a confused look, and I mirrored it, wondering what I had done wrong.

"Um, my name's Honey. I dunno anybody named Stretch, heh!"

"O-oh, r-right," I mumbled, lowering my eyelights in embarrassment. "U-um, sorry. I must've confused you with... someone else. Th-thanks, Honey."

He grinned and patted my shoulder. "No problem, buddy. Do ya need pajamas for the girls?"

I nodded silently, having no clue why they needed them but figuring it was probably a good idea to have them anyway. He teleported away, saying he'd be back with some nightgowns, and left us to settle in. I walked over to the window and looked up at the stars, sighing softly. Millions of tiny, white dots twinkled above us, lighting up the sky like spotlights. It reminded me of Outertale, of the swirling galaxies, the comets soaring overhead, the constellations decorating the sky....

A young monster obsessed with impressing their hero.

I shook my head and turned away from the window, setting the girls on the bed. Vacía yawned and rubbed her eyesockets, looking up at me tiredly. Nula rubbed her eyesockets as well, shivering a bit. I slung the duffle bag I'd been wearing all day off my shoulder and rummaged through it, finding the blanket I'd stuffed inside and wrapping them in it. That should keep them warm, at least for now. Soon, Honey returned with some nightgowns and handed them to me. He handed me a pair of shorts and a shirt as well.

"Here. You guys should get some rest. It's been a rough day."

I nodded to him, and before he left, I thanked him.

"Heh, you're very welcome, bro."

I helped the girls into their nightgowns, then got them settled into the bed. I hesitantly took off my jacket and folded it, then took my scarf off. My eyelights trailed to the stars, and I sighed. Will things go back to the way they were? Will I have to start destroying universes again, be hunted by the authorities of the multiverse again? I took a shuddering breath and put my hands on the windowsill. I hoped to every star there is in this AU that wasn't going to happen. Not only did I want nothing to do with destroying ever again, I had two kids to care for, now. I couldn't just leave them in the Anti-Void and hope they wouldn't go insane from the voices constantly screaming at them and depriving them of sleep they needed. No one deserved to go through that, least of all these precious children whose lives had only begun. Whose lives I've probably ruined by taking them away from their home.

'No,' I thought. 'The fate they faced in their AU was worse than death. I couldn't live with myself if I allowed them to be trapped with monsters that only wished harm on them. I'm the least qualified monster to take care of them, but it's a hell of a lot better than being used as lab rat!'

With a resolve I've never felt before burning in my bones, I straightened up and looked up at the stars. I was going to take care of them, I was going to give them the life I wished I had, and I wasn't going to let anyone stand in my way. I turned around and got into bed, cradling my girls close to me. I lay their for awhile, watching over them as they slept and trying to stay awake. I felt my eyelids grow heavier, and despite my best efforts to stay awake, I felt myself drift into slumber. My last thought was that I would protect these little girls, I would keep them safe, or die trying.

... ... ...

Downstairs, the adults sat quietly, drinking hot chocolate or tea, and mulling the situation over. They had informed those who had been inside what they had learned, and now they were all trying to figure out what their next move could be. The new AU hadn't been contacted since the search for the outcodes had begun, so they had no idea how it was faring. The AU was likely safe enough for the time being; it was rebuilding its code after Error stole two essential pieces to it, and they couldn't risk interfering until things had settled down in case the inhabitants started a war against all outsiders.

That left trying to deal with Error. He was as unpredictable as beings come, and even the Moon Kingdom, those who had experience dealing with unpredictable humans and monsters alike, didn't know what to do. Umbra himself didn't even trust Error, but that affected their predicament very little. If even he was out of ideas, then what could they possibly do?

"There's nothing else for it!" Hearts broke in on the silence. "He's got to see a healer! I can't be the only one who saw those scars!"

"And how do you propose we do that?" Comic asked. "Ya wanna be the one to drag him to a healer? Cuz I sure ain't doing it. He doesn't trust any of us as far as he can throw us, and I'm willing to bet he could throw any us of halfway across the Multi-Void."

"That's... not entirely true," Honey countered. "He seems to relax when I'm around. I'm not one hundred percent sure, but he might've been friends with some other version of me. Or at least, he didn't have anything against me."

"Hmm," Lumen thought a moment. "Perhaps that could work to our advantage. As long as we don't push him too far, I believe there's a chance he can warm up to us. It's likely our only shot at making sure he doesn't turn his divine-appointed job on us."

They all agreed with the plan, and Death went home that night to inform Life. The rest went to their assigned bedrooms and settled down for the night, each fearing this might be their last night alive. The optimistic ones tried to look on the bright side, hoping this would be the start of a friendship with someone from a different multiverse. One thing was for sure, though. Tomorrow, they needed to tread carefully, and salvage the uneasy truce they've found themselves in with the once feared God of Destruction.

_______________________________________

*jumpscare*

Yay, another chapter done! I would've gotten this one out sooner, buuuuut I was too busy making the most delicious supper I've made for myself in a long time. Mmmmmm, cooked spinach is so gooooood-

Anywho, I think I might try doing some artwork for the Empireverse characters cuz they feel a bit... 2-dimensional? I know there are references for some of the characters available from a simple Google search already, but like there are some characters I wanna make designs for. Like Honey! I wanna make him look like Obi Wan Kenobi cuz he seems like that kinda guy-

Anywayyyy, ta ta for now, Imma go maybe write another chapter maybe I dunno still undecided bLEP-