Chapter 5: Finding Truth

Error leaned against a tree after having walked for a few hours. As of now he had still yet to find shelter in the large underground woods that filled the large cavern that Snowdin inhabited. At this point he was starting to think he should just slide down the tree and take a nap here, but his fear of getting found and attacked pushed him to keep going. It was starting to get to a point that even with the cold numbing him and him preventing his shoulder from moving that there was constant pain in his arm. He just grited his teeth though and pushed himself away from the tree to continue walking through the dense woods doing his best to ignore the magic he could feel slowly spreading down his arm.

After another agoniving hour of walking, by some miricle or something, Error managed to find a small cave that was both thankfully and annoyingly warmer then the forest outside. Slowly Error walked to the back of the cave and leaned against the wall slowly lowering himself to a seated position with his back against the wall. With as much care as he could do at the moment Error moved his legs to be against his chest as he started at the cave enterence before lying his head back against the wall and letting his eyesockets fall closed as his consciousness faded.

Sadly though that didn't mean he would get a peacefully rest.

Errors sockets snaped open quickly as his eye lights flickered into existence to stare at the the never ending black void. He quickly bolted up right as he realised he had no clue where he was. As he looked around from the corner of his eyes he could see something, but every time he turned to look at wherever it was it seemed to dissapear or move with him to stay just out of sight. Eventuly as he got more and more nervous he finally called out saying "H-hello? Is anyone there?"

After a moment he he could hear mumbling that slowly got loader and louder till it was yelling in millions of voices each of which yelled insults, accusations, or telling him things he already knew.

"Murderer!"

"Useless!"

"You killed us!"

"You don't deserve to be alive."

"Weak."

"You don't deserve love, only LOVE."

"you deserve this pain."

"Glitch."

And so many, many, more. It never stopped and it brought him to his knees, though he wasn't sure if he head ever stud up. His hands flue to cover where his ears would be if he had them to try and block it out as he squeezed his eyes shut begging for the voices to stop.

They didn't.

Instead Error was greeted to something kicking him in the side and sending him sprawling on the "floor". When he looked up he was greeted to the sight of hundreds of thousands of monster, all of which had blank dead eyes as well as every single on of them being a monster he had dusted in the past yelling at him in thousands of different voices. Within seconds the monsters walked forwards punching and kicking and attacking him with anything they had leaving him to scream in pain that would never end.

-some time later-

Ink was at this point wondering if Error had ended up in the Antivoid instead of just some randome AU. Why you may ask? Well Ink had spend two weeks going through a bit under half if his list of possible AUs and so far he had found nothing to indicate the other had or was there. Part of him was worried as well that someone had found the glitch and beaten him to a pulp before throwing him into the void, but there we're no signs of any of that happening so far so he was going to keep his hopes up tat he would find the "destroyer."

He had just finished searching through Outertale, learning by axident when he had listened in on a conversation. Turns out that frisk ocasionly, like once every hundered or so resets, would see a black skeleton sitting at a star gazing cliff staring at the constellations above. He hasn't been expecting that somehow, that Error would enjoy, or at least find watching stars comforting. It was like finding out another peace of what made Error Error.

That peace of info wasn't very helpful now though as he decided where he would go next as he crossed Outertale off his list. As he stared at the list trying to decide which AU to go for next his eyes landed on Underswap, he absently remembered that Error had kidnaped the sans from the AU for a time before for some reason returning them mostly unharmed, though there were a few small bruises on Blue where Ink had been told he was grabbed by Stretch. Maybe Blue had seen the other recently? Unlikely if Stretch even thought Error was in the AU he would have known from Blue calling him up, again, to try and get advice on how to calm his brother down before he broke something.

Still it was worth a shot looking and possibly listening in on conversations to see if there was anything. So, with a swipe of his brush Ink opened a portal to Underswap and left outertale behind.

-more time later-

Ink had been staring at the snowdin woods in Underswap for a long time now, why? He had no clue. He just found himself staring at it even though he was trying to walk towards snowdin, he was guessing Error would have gone to a populated area to steal some food to get his magic back as fast as he could. Since Error likely would want to get out of the AU as fast as he could to go to somewhere safe since this AU wasn't in any way safe for Error. Yet for some unknown reason Ink kept finding stopping and staring at the forest.

Ink groaned a bit as he covered his face with his hands deciding he was probably just to tired to focus, he had been searching without a real brake for two weeks. Yet for some reason a small part of him was saying that that wasn't right.

Ink just stood there staring at the forest before sighing as he walked into in, it wasn't the worst idea to check it just encase. So he walked through the cold forest, even deciding to put on his jacket to keep warm and preserve some magic that he likely would have spent on keeping warm. After a bit or walking Ink noticed something... Out of place in the undisturbed snows of the forest... Fading blue splotches in the snow, the same blue magic he had often seen dripping from Error's wounds in their fights and the same blue magic he had watched Error puke up. Ink stood there in shock as it clicked in his head that Error was here in the AU before he quickly started running following the trail of magic that was starting to disipate.

He hoped Error was still here and that the hadn't just stumbled upon the remnents of Errors trail before he left the AU.

After following the trail for a while deeper into the woods, an area Ink knew most monsters didn't travel into because of his easy it was to get lost, he found the trail lead him to a cave that upon walking into he found held the person he was looking for.

Ink stared at the unconscious Error looking over the other and finding that the arrow Dream had managed to land on the other was still lodged in the "destroyer's" shoulder. He could also see magic pooring off the hand of the injured arm forming a pool of manic besides the injured skeleton. Ink then realised he had never seen Error like this, unconscious, vulnerable, an easy target... It was unnerving after having known Error as a near unstoppable force for so long, even after seeing Error be sick so many times when he was spying on him.

As Ink was looking over Error he noticed the other start shaking as well as heared a mumbled no from the other. Confused on what was going on he walked closer to get a better look just as Error started screaming "I'm sorry!" Over and over again as his uninjured arm moved to cover his head. It then clicked in Inks head what was going on, Error was having a nightmare.

Acting quickly Ink rushed to be in front of Error and quickly started saying calmly as he shock Errors uninjured shoulder "it's okay Error, whatever you are seeing isn't real alright. It isn't real."

After which Error seemed to suddenly wake from whatever nightmare he had been having with his hand moving to cover his mouth instead of his head. That quickly clued Ink what was about to happen so he quickly painted a bucket and forced it into Error's working arm just as the other started pucking.

Ink sighed at the narrowly avoided mess before moving to be sitting next to Error as he waited for the other to be done which could take a bit.

After a while of listening to Error throw up ink noticed that the other had at least stopped for the moment and was just breathing heavy as his body worked to recover from suddenly pucking. When Error's breathing had returned to what Ink assumed was normal for the other he asked "you done for now?"

A groan was Ink's only reply as he watched Error rest his head on the edge of the bucket, though he wasn't expecting much right away anyways. After a few minutes of silence Error finally said in a gravly, tired, voice "so... Now what?"

Ink raised his nonexistent eyebrow at this, before Error added clearly seeing Ink's confusion "I have zero free magic at the moment ink." Which Error added to by taping the bucket he was holding signifying that he has just thrown up whatever excess magic he had gathered to this point "I have literally no way of getting away so I'm at your 'mercy' or whatever you want to call it. So what now? You going to beat me till I can't get up again? Lock me away? Bring me for judgement in front of the councle?"

Ink then realised what Error ment, to the other he was just a threat and he was powerless to stop whatever he was planing. He wanted to know what he was going to have to deal with. So imagine Error's surprise as Ink said "At the moment I just want to talk."

Error sat there in shock for a moment before glaring at the other, though the harshness of it was kind of ruined by the fact that Error's head was still resting on the edge of the bucket, as he said "why should I? Your probably just trying to get my guard down so you can attack me when I least expect it."

Ink raised an eyebrow at before saying "if I wanted to stack you while your guard was down wouldn't I have done it when you we're out cold or pucking up your guts?"

Error then said matter of factly "doesn't mean you can't still do it."

Ink almost facepalmed at the rebuttal, but thankfully managed to restrain himself as he added paranoia to his list of things he had learned about Error. He then tried to ease the situation by asking "alright, point taken. What can I do to make you think I'm just here to talk?"

Error once again glared at ink as he said "your asking me to trust you when you hold all the cards ink? Really? I have no reason to believe you will stick to your words."

Ink frowned at the extremely paranoid rebuttal, but conceded that Error did have a point. Why should Error trust that Ink wouldn't just hurt him at some point? Error only knew him to do that, why should he believe that Ink only wanted to talk? Then Ink came up with a really stupid idea and said "what if I gave you my soul and if you think I am about to attack you can destroy it."

Error raised an eyebrow at that before saying "Ink, you don't have a soul."

"Not in the convention onal since, yes." Ink said before adding as he pointed to his jars of paint "but I do have one. My paints act as a seriget soul you could say. They suplie me with what I seed to live and feel, just outside my body."

Error blinked at that and Ink could easily tell that Error hadn't really thought about it beyond likely "I can't use my strings on him like I normally do so he must not have a soul."

Ink then heard "well that explains a lot." from Error as the injured skeleton looked over Ink's paint vials before asking "you serious about that suggestion?"

Ink quickly noded in conformation as he took of his paint sash and offered it to Error, if it helped him gain Errors trust and get him to talk then he was willing to make the sacrifice.

The "destroyer" just stared at the offered item for a bit greatly shocked by the length Ink was willing to go just to talk for a bit. So hesitantly Error lifted his head up and put down the bucket before reaching to take the offered item. Suddenly through pain flared in Error's injured shoulder causing his to retract his hand grip said injured shoulder as he grit his teeth. Ink could only watch in shock as after a minute of griping his shoulder Error howled out in pain before quickly passing out again and falling over. Thankfully Ink was quick enough to catch Error before he his to ground, though he was panicking a bit as he realised Error needed medical attention now. So, Ink quickly through his sash over his shoulder, not having the time to put it back on properly, before picking Error up bridal style, being very mindful of the injured shoulder, and hastily making a portal and running through it leaving behind only a bucket and a large amount of magic as the only indicator that the two of them where ever there.