A Splash of ink

Chapter 41- Normal? Far from it!(Shattered? Multiverse)

Everyone is stressed and has no clue what is going on and Shattered finally wakes up..but why are they acting so weird?

——

Shattered? Multiverse

DoodleSphere

Ink watched with teardrops in his sockets as Blue placed the magic suppressing cuffs on Dreams Shattered's wrists, unnerved by how still the Positivity Guardian was ever since their unexplained collapse. He wanted to go over and check they weren't about to dust, twitching when the golden corrupted tentacles dissipated into thin air as the excess magic was cut off.

They looked so small like this, exactly as they were before they decided to take a bite out of the Corrupted apple, that day still stuck in his mind like a horror show. He felt so much guilt for never noticing Dreams struggle, their many fake smiles or how distant they had been growing lately.

He shuddered as Shattereds corruption suddnly gained black and iridescent specks in it and felt that couldn't be healthy. In the entire time Nightmare had been corrupted their colour had never changed, wondering if the Corrupted apple Dream had somehowobtained was corrupted another thing he missed and bitterly wondered if he was even a good Creator at this point.

He wished Error was here to confirm as he feared to try and check himself, Error much better at reading Code and not wanting to accidently harm Shattered further.

He felt like an awful friend for the many ways he knew he failed, never feeling more like a pathetic soulless creature then right now, his hand drifting towards his blue vial which was growing rather empty but was stopped by a firm hand.

"They are just unconscious. Relax, Ink. We will work something out. You can't keep blaming yourself for this. None of us noticed"

Nightmare never thought he would be in this sort of situation, it was almost like a fever dream due to how much life had changed some days. Watching Killer and Blue quietly chat not far away was a sight he would never expect, many things having changed since the Balance was forcibly shifted.

The lack of corruption on his bones was also strange, finally able to see the slight cracks from the battles over the years and feeling ever so nostalgic that his magic had returned to its previous colour.

He also worried about Error, not having seen the Destroyer much since the entire 'incident' but apparently they were trying to make sure the multiverse stayed stable. He had worried what that could mean exactly but Ink had waved it off and said it was understandable as the same thing had happened when Nightmare had eaten the apples.

That had caused another rush of guilt to enter him, hating the thought of how much stress he had caused his friends despite not knowing them at the time.

For now all they could focus on was trying to help Dream, SOUL clenching at the shiver they let out and placing a blanket over his other half. He truly had no clue what to do but he wouldn't give up, knowing his own team never did.

Neither did Dream and look at what happened to them, sometimes wondering if he was destined to taint everything he touched.

~~~

Brom and Broomy watched on with worry from a place not too far away, staying hidden from all eyes and keeping an intense watch over 'Shattered's' body. They anxiously waited for the Codes to settle, neither understanding what Star had done and worried what would happen next.

Neither had seen anything like this before and Brom didnt like how some of the Code was glitching in ways he hadnt ever seen before. What they both agreed on was that they were in way over their heads but had the sinking sensation it would take a while until they were found by Origin and End.

They had chosen this multiverse specifically due to the time dilation with both suddenly regretting thinking any of this would be simple.

~~~

Shattered felt like they had been in a fight with a bear and lost badly. There was also a heavy weight on their mind, their thoughts jumbled as were their memories. They grunted as they sat up, squinting at what they were laying on and it taking far too long to realise it was a sofa.

"DREAM! YOU ARE AWAKE. HOW ARE YOU FEELING?"

They scowled at the noise, staring blankly as the short monster Blue/loud abomination kept talking, quickly tuning them out and staring at their hands in confusion.

'Did their hands always look like that?'

Their confusion only grew at the gold substance on their bones, having a brief thought of trying to taste it before shaking that thought away as childish, instead standing up and nearly falling down when they misjudged their reach.

"DON'T RUSH! YOU HAD A HARD FALL AND-WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!"

They ignored that and stumbled out of the room, frowning at how often they had to lean on the walls. The house they were in gave an odd sense of Deja vu but had little time to think before they stumbled yet again.

Lucky they had a soft fall but wasnt pleased by suddenly being picked up like a child.

That was a lie, finding comfort in the hold and not realising how much they relaxed.

Nightmare was unsettled by how placid Shattered was being, tilting their head to check their twins eyelight and cursing at how fuzzy it looked.

"You should really slow down, brother. Your friend had the right idea, Dream"

He stilled when he only got a huff in response before Shattered nearly collapsed in his arms, the warning signs going off in his head. He knew Shattered hated when he called them their old name and acknowledging them as a brother always got him some scathing response.

"Hungry.."

"Just relax, brother. I will sort out everything"

He tried to keep his expression light at how wrong they were acting, worried the cuffs were the cause but also scared to remove them in case they tried to fight again. It had taken them months to be able to even locate them, impressed but mainly alarmed how quickly they were adapting to their new state.

He gently placed them on the kitchen chair, turning to make some food and not worried about having them out of his sight. Ink had made sure to add wards to the house to keep them inside.

He was just finishing his sandwich but flinched at a sudden crunching noise, spinning around and speechless to see Shattered munch on a fork, noticing that a few plates were missing and warily eyeing the small pile of dust on the table.

He quickly tried to stop them when they tiredly reached over to the vase with flowers in it, wondering what the apples had done to Shattered's mind. The collapse was far from normal, checking Shattered for any damage and frowning at noticing their slightly sharper teeth.

Something was terribly wrong and he was going to get to the bottom of it even if he had to drag Error back himself.

~~~~~

Ink: *Worried at seeing Shattered collapse* I hope he's ok

Nightmare: *Trying to be reassuring* Relax. I had to go through something similar. We will work this out

Brom and Broomy: *The only ones knowing how terribly unnatural this whole thing is and having zero clue what to do*

-

Shattered/Star: *Waking up disoriented after the merge* Where are we? Who are you people?..and why do we have a craving for plates?

Everyone else: *Panicking* Are they dying?! What is happening to them?