#they don’t belong to an au. in a sense they never have (error may technically have once as did ink but not anymore)

[wickjump]

okay so i’m not much a fan of there being other dreams and nightmares out there in the mv for whatever reason. but like.

it’s rare for aus to just have one version like dreamtale seems to. and i get its nim being from another world yadda yadda but what if. what if there are multiple dreamtales out there, with “routes” like other aus. the negative route being where nightmare eats the apple, and the positive one being where he doesn’t.

and in the negative route, nightmare is supposed to remain in dreamtale. he’s not supposed to leave, rather rule over the land and be alone, either with dream killing him or dying after 500 years. but neither of them are supposed to leave. but in the dreamtale we know in love, there was a flaw. similar to error, similar to ink, similar to core or fatal error. and nightmare managed to escape, as did eventually dream.

this would also mean that there are positive routes to dreamtale where dream and nightmare live happily. because they’re too positive, nightmare doesn’t go to them. and dream didn’t realize they existed. but imagine being dream, and finding a world like your own, a world that is your own. one you didn’t think existed, you thought you were the only one. and in this world, you’re happy, your brother is alive, he’s happy. or maybe finding your world before the apple incident, and you know this is a bad route. but you know just as much that the one you’re working with (ink) would not be happy with you changing the script.

would he break that rule and hope ink didn’t notice? would he sit and watch, because his memory was so blurry at the time, thinking about what he could’ve done different? would he go to a timeline far back enough that there was no worries, to reminisce on the time he and his brother were kids, yet between the smiles he can notice the bruises he didn’t when he was a young child, and he starts to feel sick to his stomach, because he should have known, and now he can’t do anything about it.

if we go a more fanon route, where nightmare isn’t satan incarnate and is passive except darker morally, how would he react? how would he feel, knowing that there was an easier route to this, where he could’ve stayed happy, that he didn’t need to do what he did. would he regret it? or if corrupted and passive are separate entities, and passive is just a ghost following him around, would he go to other dreamtales per passive’s request?

he gets the mtt treatment whenever they visit a pacifist classic timeline lmfao

[kitseis]

THE PURPOSE (SANS AUs X READER) - ACT 1; CHAPTER 3 (Part 1)

When you opened your eyes, you half expected to awaken in a hospital room. But, instead, you found yourself in a musty little cabin space on a creaky old bed.

Just like when you fell asleep.

You blinked in shock. It wasn't a dream? No, that couldn't be.....it must have been, right? There was no way that soreness that you originally felt could have disappeared so quickly, not after being hit by truck. Not only that, but you had been there for hours, and you didn't even feel hungry. It could be possible that, in this realm, the limits of your body could have adapted. Or maybe time didn't work the same way there? You had read many a book where the alternate realms behaved as such, and your system could still be used to your original time. It was logical. You were an intellectual--you thought many of these things at once, causing one huge headache. Wanting to shake it off, you slid out of the bed and ran your fingers through your (h/l) hair, which luckily wasn't too messy. You wandered over to the edge of the floating island, gazing out upon all the others. Looking upon the view, most of them holding the unique doors you had noted earlier, apart from the one you were on and a select few others. For the first time, you also noticed that the center island held on exceptionally large chunk of land, almost resembling a garden full of extraordinary works and devices. You assumed Ink created all of it, considering he had devised this entire world. It really was quite spectacular. For years you had been plagued with anxiety and loneliness, but here you felt a sort of serenity, and for once, you didn't feel completely alone.

"(Y/N)!"

You snapped out of your thoughts and looked down. There, far below you, you saw Ink waving at you. You smiled and waved back. Internally you wondered if they had been discussing your fate, or if they had figured out how you got here, and how to get you out. Despite all the joy you felt there, a part of you still yearned to return to your world. You wanted to redeem yourself, wanted to prove to all of the people who judged you and broke you down that you were worth it. Yet....something didn't feel right about it.

Shaking away these thoughts, you made your way down the bridge to Ink. As soon as you met with him, he said, "Come on." He led you to the huge middle island, a rope ladder to climb up to it. There awaited Dream, kneeling beside a beautiful, clear pond. Multiple of his little vials, filled with small spheres, were lined up before him. When he heard you approaching, he shifted his attention away from his current activity. "Oh!" he exclaimed, "You're awake, (Y/N)!"

You made your way over to him and crouched beside him. "Are these....?" A memory rushed through your mind. It was of the first time you came to this world, when Dream had found you. He had opened up one of these, and everything you had ever seen and experienced in your life had flashed before your eyes.

These vials held your memories.

Something about this made you uncomfortable. Someone--a stranger, at that--holding every single memory you had in the palm of his hand. Beside you, Dream frowned. He could feel the negative aura drifting from you. He wanted to lay a comforting hand on your shoulder, but decided against it. He might just make it worse. Instead, he replied to your question. "Yes. I've had to review them, as to try to determine just what is it that allows you to come here," he explained, "Before, I assumed it was because of your timeline. But I've realized it's just....you."

You shuffled a bit. If this was supposed to be encouraging, it wasn't. You didn't like the fact that he had seen every moment of your life. Dream could tell this, realizing he was digging himself a deeper hole. Nevertheless, he knew he would now have to go on with his cruel theory. "It...it seems that each time you experience a sort of near-death occurrence, you come here. Only, before, it wasn't as severe. This last one may very well have caused enough trauma to keep you here for quite awhile...."

"So, it has something to do with the accidents?" you confirmed. You had figured such, considering the fact that both times this had happened were after you had encountered an immense amount of pain, along with unconsciousness. First, it was the alleyway, and now the truck. And all the time between them, the visions of this world kept returning. And then there was what Dream said about your 'timeline'....did it have something to do with you, maybe? You hated to put importance upon yourself, but you had never heard of anything happening to anyone else, nothing like this at least.

This in mind, you regarded the nearby Ink, then looked back to Dream. With that, you stood up. "I don't mean to be rude," you stated, "But...I think I want some answers about this place. About what you called my timeline, about the AUs I've heard about, about this 'core code' thing...." You took a deep breath. "I don't want to be in the dark anymore." Ink and Dream exchanged glances, then you saw Ink smile softly.

"Okay," he said, "I think you deserve as much. You might want to sit for this, though. We have a lot to talk about."

The three of you sat by the pond, in a small triangle. You held your knees tight to your chest, anticipating the answers to your questions.

"Well," Ink sighed, "To begin, I should probably explain the AUs. AU stands for Alternate Universe, parallel dimensions and such." He spoke with a certain solemnity you had never captured from him before, and it kept you completely drawn in. "There are countless AUs--" Ink motioned around to the doors, "Each of these doors leads to their respective AU. The most well-developed ones are Undertale--the original--Underfell and Underswap."

You tilted your head at these names.

"I'll get to that," said Ink, "These are just names assigned to these universes by the ones who exist outside of them. They create these different AUs."

"Like...God?" you questioned.

He chuckled. "Not quite, but close. All of these AUs exist within this realm that we--Dream, you, myself--live in. I don't entirely understand it, actually, but I assume I'm not meant to. Within these AUs, there are also multiple timelines. That's where we get into your story, I think."

You blinked. All of this was so much, so complicated, but you thought you were getting the gist. At least, you hope so.

Ink continued. "I think the timeline you sprout from is one of the original universe, the one that started it all--Undertale. Specifically, the timeline where the Fallen Child--Frisk--made peace with the monsters and led them to the surface to join with the humans. Am I correct?"

You nodded. "That...sounds right." Dead on, actually, but you were too enveloped in his elucidation to say anything more.

"But...." Ink proceeded, "Something went wrong, it seemed. Somehow, there was a defect in your specific timeline. Something like the possibility of you not belonging there."

His words struck your heart like a lightening bolt. Somehow, though he hadn't meant it in a hurtful sense, it still made you feel a pang of sorrow. You shifted your eyes down, trying not to let on the fact that the idea bothered you.

Ink frowned. What was wrong? He didn't mean it in a cruel way, but obviously it still wounded you. He felt bad, but he knew he had to go on. So, he tried to save it. "Which means you have a specific reason for having been there in the first place." You looked up again, and he internally gave an exhale of relief, and smiled. "We'll have to figure that out later, though. You obviously have something that makes you stand out compared to others, especially in your timeline. Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to get past the core code to access this world." Score. Totally saved it.

"The core code is what protects this place. The way to get into it is....erm....unsettling." Ink laughed nervously. "Which could partially explain the unpleasant way you arrived. It could have supplemented for the actual portal. So, do you think you understand now?"

"I..." You weren't entirely sure, but you assumed this was probably as unclear as it could get. "It's....a lot to take in, but I think I get it." You gave a firm smile and nodded. "Yeah, I think so...still confusing, but I think it'll clear up eventually. But...does that mean that this place is also an AU?" As soon as the words left your mouth, Ink stiffened, his eyes opened wide, as if you had shocked him. You felt a tap on your shoulder.

"That's...a touchy subject," Dream whispered to you. You felt a pang in your heart. Feeling compassion for the odd skeleton, you scooted closer to him and patted his shoulder.

"Sorry...I didn't know," you said bashfully, "You don't have to answer." Ink relaxed a bit, and his normal, casual smile settled back onto his face. He laughed and rubbed his neck.

"Haha, it's alright." He stood up and stretched. "For now, though, let's figure out what to do, before Error finds out....he'll want to...er....dispose of you, if he finds out." Ink chuckled nervously. You gulped. You didn't like the sound of that.

"But, wait, who's Error?" you asked.

"He's the destroyer of AUs," Dream told you, "He sees them as imperfections, as glitches and mistakes in the multiverse. He'll go into the AUs and...." Dream shivered. "He...completely obliterates them from the inside out, and he'll keep the Sanses of those AUs as...puppets."

"Each AU has it's own Sans?" you queried, though it was more of a statement, "I'm guessing both you and Ink are both variants of Sans?" You remembered the Sans from your world. A quirky, pun-loving skeleton with not an ounce of seriousness in him. He was so different from these two that it was hard to believe they were technically the same entity. "That's....weird."

Dream laughed. "Not once you get used to it."

Suddenly, Ink intervened. "Something's off..." You and Dream looked up at him. His face was set in a severe expression. "Speak of the devil..." Ink whispered, and took off.

"What's going on?" you inquired Dream.

Wide-eyed, Dream gazed at you. "Error." He grabbed your hand. "Come on. We have to get somewhere safe." He pulled you along, persuading you down the rope ladder and rushing your way opposite of Ink's direction.

"Will he be okay?" you asked as you ran.

"Ink's dealt with Error plenty of times before," said Dream, "He'll be fine. We just need to--" Dream was cut off my an ear-piercing static, causing both you and him to collapse, clutching your ears. You forced yourself to look in the direction of the noise. There, in the stark whiteness, opened a black hole rimmed with glitched-out colours. Behind all the static, you hear a deep, sinister howl of laughter emanate from the hole. Then, out of it came corrupted black hands, clutching the sides of the portal as the being dragged himself out.

What came from the chasm was unlike anything you had ever seen before. He was made of a malfunctioning black matter. His eyes were a swirl of red, yellow and blue, and he held an insane amber grin. He wore a bright red shirt underneath a heavy black coat with a dark, grim blue fur hood, along with blue-striped charcoal basketball shorts. His legs glitched between red and black, along with his fingertips and face. In fact, all he did was glitch as error messages emitted from him. This must have been Error, there was no doubt about it. Who else could it be, for crissakes?

"H̪͝e͕͑H̩́Ēͅh̫͠Ẽ͎ḧ̜́e̛̹!̩̎ the disturbing creature cackled, "Well, well, look-see what we have here!" His voice was deep and defective, changing from what sounded like radio waves, to high-pitched squeals, to low, demonic rumbles. As he emerged from the void, you could feel the world around you shake. The empty whiteness suddenly whirled into a pit of deep blackness.

You tried to stand, but found that the change had left you weak. Your head pounded and your stomach churned, your bones and muscles aching and throbbing. You clenched your abdomen in pain, hardly able to bare it.

You heard footsteps approach. Clenching your teeth, you gazed upwards. There he stood, grinning down at you maliciously. Cocky bastard, you thought furiously.

He leaned down, his face now inches away from yours. "You're unique," he pondered aloud. He then stood straight up again, snapping his fingers. Within a moment, blue strings burst from his fingers and shot straight towards you. Just as they were about to reach you, and arrow went flying towards Error. You looked the direction the arrow came from and saw Dream standing there, poised with his bow and another arrow ready to go. Error screeched in pain, clutching his side, where the shot had hit.

"Come on, (Y/N)!" Dream's usually soft and kind tone was now solemn and severe. You scrambled to your feet, following after Dream as he darted in the opposite direction. "We have to find Ink," Dream heaved, "Error must have somehow caused a distraction elsewhere as to get to us. Ink is the only one who can contend with Error. We wouldn't stand a chance--"

"(Y/N)! Dream!"

In the distance, you could see Ink rushing towards you. At the same time, you could hear Error's static not far behind you. You picked up pace, but before you could blink Ink darted past you, ginormous paintbrush in hand. You stopped and looked to see him clash with Error, tossing the bugged skeleton fly backwards. Error clenched his teeth, curling his hands into fists. In another instance, the same blue strings as before shot from his fingertips, attempting to wrap Ink, but the paint-covered Sans cut them off easily.

"(Y/N)!" Dream called to you, but you were mesmerized by the fray. When Dream had called your name, Error had somehow blasted Ink backwards. His gaze shifted to you, and he smirked.

"(Y/N), huh?" He chuckled. "W̛̮ó͎u̗̍l̬̽d̥̎n͇͆'̟̚t̔ͅ ͕͊y̡͂ȏ̦u̳̇ ̣̕l͉͋į̽k̰̀e̡̒ ̲͒t̜̉o̜̔ ͙͗b̰͌e̬̔c̖̓o̡͑m̼̈́e̻̍ ͔̅â̬ ͈͐p͓͑ā̭r͍͆ṭ͋ ǒ̜f̲͘ ͕̓m̼̈y̤̅ ̖͝c̡͊ò͇l̪͆l̨̉e̜͝c̥͘t̻̐i̢̊o̓͜n̆͜?͍̂" He lunged for you, but at that moment you felt yourself being dragged away from him. You whipped around to see Ink, who had grabbed your wrist and was now pulling you towards a mysterious looking door, on an island connected to the ground by a bridge similar to the one you had seen Ink build. Dream followed closely behind, firing an arrow every-so-often to keep Error back as best as possible.

"Where are we taking her?" Dream shouted.