From Murder to Dust

ATE - 23 - E'er

Ink had kept me for eighty years and a month. The resistance had long since crumbled, and Ink was now the undisputed ruler of the multiverse. I was called his right hand by some, a follower by others, a tyrant by many, and a victim by more; I didn't think of myself as any of these. I was Ink's toy, and I would stay that way as long as he needed me. Error was no longer isolated; he now received many visitors, and he would do his best to keep them happy - they needed it. I had also given him my Hope to make him feel a bit more comfortable. My brother was Ink's left hand, doing whatever Ink asked of him in fear that I would do it if he refused. It seemed like everybody was afraid of Ink - except me. My brother had regretfully taken the resistance out under Ink's orders; he said he never should have given in. The members of the resistance were all eventually inducted into the army over a course of two years, and at the moment, there was no such group - only a few single resisters. Ink's only worry would be a large-scale coup, but that would never happen with the prevention methods he had used. I still slept in Ink's room, and high ranks were still allowed to take their anger out on me; I didn't mind. I had just been woken up from my dusty nightmare, and I was ready for another beautiful day.

"Good morning, Dusty!" Ink greeted.

"Good morning, Ink!" I returned.

"Did you sleep well?"

"I always do!"

"We have a busy day today! Are you ready?"

"Always ready!"

"Right! First, you have to come with me to an AU that's resisting and help me crush them."

"Sounds great!"

"Second, you have to solo an interrogation on a resister - force may be used."

"Got it!"

"Third - wait, this should be first..ah, whatever; make this first, okay?"

"Okay!"

"First, your daggers have been cleaned."

"Perfect!"

"Fourth, you, your brother, and I are going to do something special."

"I can't wait to see what it is!"

"You're such a good Dusty!" Ink patted my skull, making me giggle. "Now, go pick up your daggers, and I'll wait for you right here!"

"Right away, Ink!" 

I wasted no time in getting up off the floor and heading out the door; Ink liked it when I was quick. Since the resistance had fallen, Ink had found out that my magic wasn't exactly something to brag about; he preferred my weapon capabilities, and I preferred using daggers. Needless to say, Ink made sure that I had a lot of daggers available; they needed to be cleaned on a regular basis due to how much I used them, but it worked out fine. I was also one of the few people who didn't wear a suit of armor; it was a bit hard to fight when you were heavy and your joints were hindered. I reached the weaponry section rather quickly - two minutes - and found Fell running it today; the guards took turns, and after he wasn't needed as my sitter anymore, he was simply a respected guard. We were still friends, of course; Ink encouraged me to keep any friends that I had, which meant that I did.

"Hello, Dust." Fell waved.

"Hello!" I responded. "Nice day?"

"Better than usual. If there ever was a good day, this is it. Got a lot of work?"