Killer sighed in relief as he looked around. Good. Nobody followed him. He'd been spying on Blueberry since he, Sci, Stretch, and Dream left UnderSwap. He hadn't seen much of what happened in the mansion of DreamTale, but had been able to track them to MedicTale. For the duration of the trip, he racked his nonexistent brain for answers on why the Star Sanses had decided to visit this AU. Perhaps they were really trying to recruit the AU for their side, this time? Or one of them was hurt?
But then, they went to a different building. Killer followed, and watched as the creator left the group and followed who Killer instantly recognized as a Chara to another room. Killer had caught a glimpse of something in Ink's arms, and from what the sign out front indicated, Killer correctly deduced it was some type of animal. Why else would they come to a hospital for animals if not to treat some poor, unfortunate creature who happened to melt the creator's soul with how helpless it was?
Killer scoffed. If Ink was even half as caring as the majority of the multiverse thought he was, he wouldn't have allowed for AUs like Killer's to suffer. Then again, he thought, I wouldn't have met Nightmare or the gang.
Fifteen minutes passed, and the group of skeletons exited the building. Killer stealthily made his way out of the bushes and focused on where the portal Ink opened led to. Its destination was DreamTale, and Killer figured he could sneak in a second time. And so he did, taking care he was not spotted.
Error was feeling much better after his visit to the vet. That pressure in his stomach had gone away, but not before a rather embarrassing incident involving a lot of paper towels. He didn't really understand, but he guessed it had something to do with being a dog. Ink still had him trapped in his hold, the bag of doggie treats dangling from his wrist.
"Ok, now that that's been taken care of," Dream said. "I'd like to speak to Blueberry and Sci, privately."
Said skeletons gulped under Dream's gaze, a hint of coldness and suspicion making its way into his soft, golden eyelights. Ink shrugged.
"Fine. But I'm taking Cinnamon home. He's probably exhausted from all this excitement. Isn't that right, boy?"
Error was almost tempted to shake his head no, but he yawned instead, seemingly affirming Ink's point. The creator grinned, and waved at Dream and the others before disappearing into a portal with Error. Dream then turned to Blueberry and Sci.
"So," Dream started, motioning for the two to take a seat at the vacant table. The rest of Judges had left, leaving the mansion empty and silent, save for the three now seated at the table.
"Is there anything you two would like to tell me about Error?"
They exchanged looks. Never has Dream been this intimidating, nor has he ever been curious about what they knew about Error.
Blueberry planted a fake smile on his face and shook his head.
"OF COURSE NOT, DEAR DREAM! WE ARE FRIENDS, AND FRIENDS WOULD NOT HIDE SECRETS FROM EACH OTHER!"
Dream narrowed his eyesockets.
"Then explain to me why you were so eager to defend Error after you supposedly 'escaped' him."
Blueberry's smile grew strained, and Sci shifted uncomfortably in his seat, all the while avoiding eye contact with the positive guardian. Said guardian sighed.
"I won't name any names, but someone tipped me off that there was more to Error than what he seems. And that the multiverse is in more danger than we originally thought. If you guys know something, please. Please let me help!"
He held his hands in prayer-like motion, and put on the most pitiful begging expression he could muster. Blueberry's smile faded, and Sci rubbed his eyesockets beneath his glasses.
"Look, Dream," Sci said, looking the positive guardian in the eye. "We can't tell you if you tell Ink. He wouldn't believe you anyway, and probably brand you a traitor. What Blueberry and I know, it's bigger than the petty fights between the creator and the destroyer. It's what they are doing to the multiverse that is the problem. A-are you completely sure you wanna hear the truth?"
Dream nodded eagerly, and Blueberry nodded to Sci.
"Alright, here goes. Error, as you know, destroys AUs. Ink creates them faster than Error can destroy them, and soon enough, AUs will crash into each other because Error can't keep up. There is not enough space in the multiverse to hold all of them, so the multiverse will try to free up some space on its own. Like a hard drive. Error has been tasked with clearing out some space in the multiverse before it can do this. Let's say a copy was close to crashing into an original universe. Error would be the one destroying the copy, while allowing others of its kind continue to thrive. Do you understand, now?"
Dream sat in silence, his eyelights lowered. So this is the truth. ScienceTale Papyrus was right.
"What can I do to help?" He said quietly.
"I DO NOT KNOW," Blueberry said, looking at Sci sadly. Sci, however, had a smirk on his face.
"Oh, I think there is something you can help with, Dream. So, you both know Ink's new pet, right? Well, I kinda sorta maybe.... turned Error into a dog by accident-"
Dream gasped
"So that's why he was acting strange! Are you sure it's Error?"
"Completely. Nightmare came to my AU searching for him, and he wouldn't leave without answers. I told him what I knew, and he said that Error could not be dead. In his own words, whatever gave Error immortality in the first place would not let him die so suddenly. Especially if you consider all the injuries he's gained, and how many times people have tried to kill him, only for him to get back up again. And earlier, I found out that little dog was Error because I had set up my computer. Error had opened a blank document and started typing, asking me what I did to him, turn him back, so on and so forth. Now, I've told him I'd work on a cure, but it may take quite a long time. If you really want to help, Dream, could you please keep an eye on him? I doubt he still has his regenerative abilities as a dog, anymore."
Dream smiled.
"Of course! But what are you guys going to do?"
Blueberry exchanged a glance with Sci.
"KEEP UP THE FACADE WE KNOW NOTHING. IF INK FINDS OUT THAT ERROR IS VULNERABLE, THERE COULD BE SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES. HE MIGHT KILL HIM!"
Dream's expression hardened.
"Not if I have anything to say about it. Don't worry guys, your secret is safe with me."
Dream was about to stand up, when a figure materialized behind him and knocked him out. Both Sci and Blueberry deadpanned at Killer as he hoisted Dream onto his shoulder.
"What? We can't trust him! He'll tell Ink, and the whole multiverse is screwed-"
"WE HAD EVERYTHING UNDER CONTROL, KILLER," Blueberry said calmly.
"YOU CAN PUT HIM DOWN, NOW."
Killer did as instructed, grumbling about how he was supposed to bring Dream back, and Nightmare would be proud of him. They left Dream knocked out in his chair, but not before Blueberry scribbled a note apologizing for Killer's actions.
Meanwhile, with Ink and Error...
Ink landed in his living room and set Error in his kennel, stretching his limbs out afterwards.
"Well, Cinnamon, that was an exhausting day, dontcha think?"
Error didn't respond, cuddling into his blanket and watching Ink flop onto the couch. The creator got into a more comfortable position, and soon drifted off to sleep.
It was very dark in the house, despite how the Doodlesphere normally looks. It changes with the day, turning bright and beautiful during the day, and turning dark and eerie during the night. Error could once again hear the creaks of the house, and the shadows of the light outside (which may have been the Doodlesphere's equivalent of the moon) danced around as if there was a breeze rustling through the AUs outside. Error shivered, feeling alone and vulnerable, and snuggled further into his blanket. Suddenly-
𝕆𝕙, 𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕜.
𝕀𝕗 𝕚𝕥 𝕚𝕤𝕟'𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕦𝕤𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕕𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕠𝕪𝕖𝕣.
Uh oh....
𝕎𝕙𝕪 𝕒𝕣𝕖𝕟'𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕕𝕖𝕒𝕕, 𝕪𝕖𝕥?!
𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕕𝕠𝕟'𝕥 𝕕𝕖𝕤𝕖𝕣𝕧𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕝𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕙𝕠𝕨 𝕞𝕒𝕟𝕪 𝕝𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕤 𝕪𝕠𝕦'𝕧𝕖 𝕥𝕒𝕜𝕖𝕟!
ℍ𝕪𝕡𝕠𝕔𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕖!
𝕄𝕦𝕣𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕣!
𝕐𝕆𝕌 𝕊ℍ𝕆𝕌𝕃𝔻 𝕁𝕌𝕊𝕋 𝔻𝕀𝔼!!!
Error had closed his eyes, whimpering. Standing, he paced in his kennel, trying desperately to ignore the voices bombarding his hearing. It wasn't working, and he had walked into the bars of the kennel. Struck with an idea and frantically trying to get rid of the voices, Error slammed his head into the bars.
He did it again.
And again.
And again.
And aga-
"CINNAMON!"
Ink scrambled over to the kennel and opened the door. Reaching in, he took Error out, even as the poor pup squirmed to get away.
"I-it's ok, Cinnamon. Shh, shh, shh, it's ok, boy. Oh no. You're bleeding!"
Sure enough, tiny droplets of blood ran down Error's face, and the pup's eyes were wide with fear. His ears swept back, and he began whimpering from the pain and fear. Ink quickly brought him to the kitchen and set him on the counter. He then went over to a cupboard and looked through the contents, searching for some sort of bandage. Finally finding one, he turned around and approached Error a little too fast.
Error saw Ink quickly come up to him, and tried to bolt. Ink saw this, and rushed to catch Error, who had attempted to jump off the counter. Ink grunted in pain when his knee hit the edge of the counter, and he fell with a thud, barely catching Error. However, Error backed away and out of Ink's hands, ready to bolt again. Ink sat up and leaned against the counter.
"I-I'm sorry, Cinnamon," he began, translucent, rainbow tears starting to well up in his eyesockets.
"I-I know I'm not the b-best person to take care of you. I w-want to keep you safe, but a-all I'm doing is... causing more harm." His voice cracked, and he wiped his eyesockets.
"Who am I kidding? I'm the worst person for this, and yet I th-thought I could handle it." He chuckled dryly, looking up to see Error standing next to the dog bowls.
"Y-you probably can't even understand me. Even if you could, you wouldn't give such a worthless monster a chance, would you?"
He closed his eyes, and brought a hand up to rub them. He gulped, trying so hard to regain his composure, but nothing worked.
That is, until he heard the pitter-patter of tiny feet, and the jingling of a tiny bell.
He snapped his eyes open to find Error standing in front of him. He looked away, but flinched when he felt a wet, soft thing run across his finger. He looked down, and Error had sat down in front of him, looking up at him expectantly. The cuts on his face stood out even with his black fur, and his ears drooped a little. Ink's eyesockets widened, and he lifted his hand up. Error flinched, and Ink hesitated.
"A-are you really willing t-to give me a chance, boy?"
In response, Error came up closer and put a paw on Ink's hand. The creator smiled, and held his hands open. Error cautiously made his way into them, and Ink stood up. Once again, he placed Error on the counter, and this time, Error sat down and waited. Ink decided a bandage would look weird, and opted to simply clean the wounds. Afterwards, Ink brought Error to the couch, and created a blanket for them both. Ink sat down slowly, inviting Error to come to him. Error did so, and the two cuddled into the blanket. Before drifting off to sleep, Ink spoke.
"Thank you for giving me a chance, Cinnamon."
-----------------------------------------------------------
Rawr! I am back from like, a bajillion year dormancy! My apologies for the wait, I had a lot going on. I am currently freezing to death, while skin feels like it's on fire. I guess I'm sick. :D
Probably.
I just don't feel good.
Anyway, I hope you like the chapter. I made especially long as a reward for those who were patient enough to stick around. Heck, even this is getting long. Toodles!