#in my vision Ink does the star sanses bit as a friend thing. he's not a full member and he doesn't exactly stand for all of its values

[old-desert]

Inktobertale 2024 Day 5: Camping

Cross doesn't know that the first law of the multiverse is that there's nowhere Ink can't be.

[annaraebananawriter]

(Part One) Cold Truths

Yellow again everyone! I am back yet again with another oneshot. In fact, this oneshot will have around three to four parts. I think. That’s the plan anyways, but it might change. Who knows.

And I want to say this now, this is meant to be seen as platonic, however you can think of it as a ship, if you want. This is also my first time wring FGOD Error. If you don’t know who that is, then I suggest checking it out! 

Fandom: Undertale, but specifically Dreamtale and Errortale

Characters: Dream and Nightmare (Who both belong to Joku), Error (Who belongs to CQ)

Pairings: None really, but you can read it as such

Warnings: Implied/Referenced panic attack/flashback, and I think that’s it? Let me know!

Word Count: 2649

~oOo~

Someone was crying.

Error blinked, closing the portal behind him.

He stood there for a moment, mildly surprised by this. He says mildly because he always figured someone would find out about his reoccurring visits to Outertale without it being destroyed. It was only a matter of time.

Hopefully, it wasn’t any of the ‘light’/’Good’ Sanses. He doesn’t think he could handle another run-in with them so soon after a battle. Especially if that battle had ended up…well, let’s just say no one got out of it without injury. Even him, and he had all these glitched stats that made it impossible for him to die. Though, he could still feel pain.

He was getting sidetracked.

Where was he…ah, yes! So, hopefully, the crying wasn’t a trick from his enemies. He doubts it was, but he could never be too careful.

Although, there was a possibility that it was Blue, who was his dear friend. He smiled despite himself. Blue had been his friend for a few years now, ever since he kidnapped the Sans and told him about the balance. From then on, the other saw through the creator’s lies and basically acted as a spy for Error and the ‘Bad’ Sanses.

The smile widened slightly at the thought of Nightmare and the others. He could still remember the first time they met…

~oOo~

He stumbled blindly through whatever AU he had ended up in.

Error signs had overtaken his vision, leaving him defenseless. He was glitching quite frantically, too. Pieces of him breaking off and slamming back into place, only to unsettle another piece opposite of it, repeating the process over and over.

It hurt. It hurt so much. But he was used to it. This happened to him all of the time, so how could he not be? Even if the pain was amplified by the injuries leftover from his latest fight with Ink. The creator did know how to throw some mean attacks, he’ll give him that.

“Stupid squid…” Error grumbled to himself, voice glitching so much that he could barely make out his own words, tripping and just managing to catch himself with a tree, which he leaned on after. He growled, frustrated with himself. “Stupid soulless bastard…” He closed his eyes, not that it made a difference, and leaned his head against the bark of the tree, breathing for a moment.

“My, my…you don’t look good at all…”

However, when a smooth voice spoke from right in front of him, his eyes snapped open. He flinched and squinted from the sudden light. His eyes had cleared up.

Well…at least he could see again.

Once his eyes were somewhat adjusted, he glared at the person in front of him. He then blinked, half in shock and half in curiosity. The person in front of him was covered in a sort of…black…goo…thing. He didn’t know what it was. Despite the sludge on him, the other was surprisingly calm, gazing at him with a piercing cyan eye (the other was covered with the sludge) that almost seemed to both glow and look deep into his soul. There was also a hint of…concern in his gaze.

Error couldn’t place a reason about why. He was the Destroyer. No one was supposed to care about him, as much as he wanted that to happen. He was just a filthy glitch. He was—

None of that mattered right now. Well, it did, but it wasn’t the most important thing. That was knowing who this newcomer was and why he radiated a powerful aura, which he only now realized. He straightened so he wasn’t leaning on the tree anymore.

“Who are you?” He croaked out, voice back to the normal amount of glitches.

The other blinked, tipping his head forward. Error got the feeling that he was surveying him, sizing him up. He tensed, prepared to fight if need be. The other seemed to notice this and frowned further. A cold feeling, like if someone dumped ice down his shirt, overcame him and he froze. The other was CHECKing him.

He watched warily as the other’s eye grew in surprise. Then, Error grew surprised when the others surprised faded to…concern and…anger? At Error? No, for Error. Interesting. No one reacted like that before. Then again, no one even checked him before so…

He could never be sure of anything. This was all new.

The other seemed to come to a decision and walked a few steps toward Error before stopping when Error tensed, his hand coming to rest by his cheek, ready to draw his strings to fight. “I’m Nightmare,” the other spoke, finally revealing who he was.

Error narrowed his eyes.

Nightmare noticed and held his hands up in a surrendering position. “Relax. I’m not here to fight you. In fact,” he smiled, “I want to help you.”

~oOo~

Error had been rightfully surprised. No one wanted to help him. No one was supposed to.

After some explaining on both ends, and getting to know each other a little, Nightmare asked Error to come with him. To come to his home and stay there. Hesitantly, Error had agreed. It was the best decision he ever made. He got to know Horror, Killer, Dust and Cross, who had become good friends of him.

Now, they all saw each other as a family. A family who protected each other.

No matter what.

Coming back to himself, Error shook his head. None of this was important now.

Now, he had to focus on finding who was crying.

Yes, it could still be a trap. Yes, he could get hurt, even if it wasn’t. But he couldn’t ignore it. Just because he destroyed things, does not mean he didn’t have morals. He had feelings. And besides…the crying reminded him too much of himself.

He shook his head again, scolding himself. Focus, Error, he thought to himself, Focus.

He followed the crying to near the edge of the rock they were on. Any further, and you would fall from existence. You would fall into the Void. This was, in his opinion, the best place to view the stars. It was so clear and pretty. It was so peaceful, too. He loved coming here and relaxing, making some more of his dolls.

But that’s not what he was here for.

The crying was coming from behind a boulder a few steps away. Whoever it was, it seemed they were quite sad, or whatever emotion they were feeling, they were surely feeling it strongly. Error watched the boulder for a few seconds before walking around it, to the source of the crying.

He blinked in surprise.

Dream was there.

The positive guardian was curled up into a ball, hands held over his ears with his head bowed low. His chest was heaving rapidly, almost like he was just on the edge of hyperventilating, but he wasn’t quite there yet. He sobbed, tears running down his face as fast as his chest moved. It was like…it was almost like he was trying to block out someone who was saying something mean.

Suddenly, Error felt a great deal of sympathy for the guardian. He knew how it felt, trying to block something out that only you could hear. He himself did it all the time. Usually, no one helped him.

He won’t let Dream suffer the same. Even if the other was his enemy. Even if he had a sinking feeling that this wasn’t the first time this happened.

He knelt down next to the other. Hesitating slightly (he briefly wondered where Nightmare was. He should have felt all this negativity.), he reached out and placed a hand on Dream’s shoulder. He flinched at the contact, glitches wreaking havoc on his arm in his dislike. But he pushed through it, ignored it.

“Dream?” Error said, watching as Dream didn’t react to his hand. He frowned. He was worried now. “Dream? Can you hear me?”

All he got was a sob in return.

He sighed, settling down. He knew he would be here for a while, but that was fine. He didn’t really have anything he was going to do anyway.

~oOo~

Error wasn’t sure how long he had been sitting there, rubbing Dream’s arm in hopes that that was enough, before the other finally broke out of his…trance? Flashback?

Whatever it was, he perked up once he felt the other shift. He retreated his hand just in case, but stayed where he was sitting. He wanted to make sure the other would be alright before he left. So, he had to wait for Dream to get his bearing and notice him.

(He might be attacked, but he was willing to risk it.)

Anxious, but hiding that with a calm attitude, he watched as Dream took a few shaky breaths. The guardian blinked a couple of times, his eyes focusing more on his surroundings. Then, he stiffened. He didn’t look in Error’s direction, not yet, but the destroyer could tell that he knew he was there.

Neither of them said anything for a while. Error figured that Dream was expecting to be ridiculed or attacked, much like he did. But he wasn’t going to do that, so he just shifted into a more comfortable position and looked at the stars. They were as beautiful as ever.

He waited.

After a few more minutes—probably even longer but he had no way to track the time, so oh well—Dream shifted as well. Error suddenly felt like he was being stared at, being judged. He forced himself to ignore it, however.

“…what are you doing?” Dream finally said. His voice was a bit rough and small.

“Watching the stars.” Error replied. It wasn’t the answer Dream was looking for, he knew that, but it was the truth.

“What are doing here? Now?” Was that annoyance Error heard?

He turned to look Dream in the eye. The guardian flinched slightly, wound up like a cat ready to run, and Error felt the slightest bit of guilt. “I told you. Watching the stars.” He continued before Dream could get even more annoyed. “And making sure you’re okay.”

Dream blinked. It seems he had expected something far worse.

Error laughed inwardly, finding a bit of amusement in the guardian’s reaction. He decided to explain anyway. “I came out here to relax, originally. Then, I heard someone crying, which worried me.”

“Worried you?” Dream sounded like he couldn’t believe what he had been told.

Error felt a bit annoyed. He rolled his eyes. “Yes, worried.” He shook his head. “Is that really so hard to believe? I followed the sound to you.” He gave Dream a searching look. “It looked like, to me, that you were having a flashback, or panic attack.”

Dream looked away and Error, somehow, knew that he was right.

A flashback or panic attack.

Hm…

Those weren’t two words that he thought of when he heard the title ‘guardian of positivity’.

Error sighed and continued, looking at Dream even if he wasn’t being looked at in return. “I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Dream was silent. He didn’t look back at Error, who only sighed again, diverting his attention back to the stars as he waited again.

“…why?”

Error blinked and looked back to Dream. The guardian hadn’t moved his gaze from the rock in front of him. “Why what?”

Dream huffed. “Just…” He waved his arms around, gesturing to nothing in particular. “Why?”

Error tilted his head. He was confused. Did he mean why he stayed to see if he was okay? “I wanted to make sure you were okay because I was worried. I—”

“No!” Dream interrupted him, snapping his gaze over to meet Error’s confused one. “I mean, well, yes, thank you, but…” He sighed in frustration. “I didn’t mean that. I meant…why do you destroy?”

Error blinked. Once. Twice. His confusion intensified. What did that have to do with the current events? Why he was here with Dream in the first place? He raised a brow at Dream. “What does that have to do with anything?”

Dream sighed and gained a pleading tone in his voice. “Just tell me, please.”

Error gave him a last searching look. He didn’t find what he was looking for. He didn’t even know what he was looking for in the first place. “I destroy because of the balance. If I don’t destroy, the AU’s will start to crash into each other, which will cause the Multiverse to collapse.”

Dream nodded slowly. “The balance…” He repeated. There wasn’t any confusion or disbelief in his voice, which cause Error to become confused.

“Yes.” Error was very confused and beginning to get a bit mad. “Did you know this already?” If he did, then why didn’t he speak up? Why didn’t he see the suffering and put an end to it? Was he just that selfish?

Error shook his head. No, he shouldn’t jump to conclusions like that. There must be a reason for this. A good reason, not a bad one.

“The balance…” Dream mumbled. He didn’t seem to have heard Error at all. As he continued, he seemed to be in pain, like something was stopping him from knowing this stuff. “There are…f-four…main balances…in the multiverse.”

“Yes.” Error confirmed, leaning forward. “Did you know this already, Dream?”

“I-hng!” Dream doubled over, suddenly grasping at his left forearm, like it was causing him pain.

Error’s eyes widen and he sat up a little, now on his knees. He shifted towards Dream, hovering over the guardian, but not touching him. “Dream! Are you okay?”

Dream breathed hard for a few minutes. He then let go of his arm slowly, though his hand was shaking quite bad. He shook his head and leaned back up, which made Error move away a tad. Dream’s gaze met Error’s and Error frowned in concern. Dream’s eyes were clouded with pain and confusion.

Dream swallowed and cleared his throat. “I-I knew that.”

Error blinked. “Knew what?”

“About…about the balances.” Dream frowned at himself, like he couldn’t believe himself. “I knew that. But I also didn’t.”

Now Error was confused. “What?”

“I know I knew about the balances, but I don’t…I don’t remember knowing about them. But I…” Dream frowned even further and screwed his eyes shut. “I swear I knew about them. Why did I forget?”

Error also frowned, thinking over what was just said to him. “I don’t know.”

They sat there for a minute, trying to find an answer.

They didn’t have enough pieces, though, so it was hard.

Eventually, Dream groaned in frustration and stood up, prompting Error to do the same. Dream met Error’s eyes and smiled weakly. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have put this on you.”

Error frowned. “It’s no problem. I’m happy to help, if you’ll let me.”

Dream laughed. “Of course, sure. I think I’ll need it.” He took a deep breath, turned and opened a portal. He stared at the golden circle before turning back to Error. “What are doing today?”

Error blinked and tilted his head. “Blues made us some tacos, so probably just eating those and chatting with Nightmare. Why?”

Dream nodded his head. Something had flashed across his face at the mention of his brother, but it was gone too fast for Error to pin down. “Okay. I just wanted to know.” He smiled at Error. “Hope you have fun.”

Something warm entered Error’s chest and he smiled back. “I will. Thanks.”

Dream laughed again and waved him off before disappearing through his portal. Error watched the empty space before him for a few seconds before sighing, looking to the stars one last time before entering a portal of his own. It was time for tacos.

He ignored the uneasy feeling in his chest that told him something bad was going to happen.