Misery Loves Company

To Deal With The Destroyer

Your slightly startled as a portal is ripped open to your right, an injured destroyer stumbling through, “fuck, fuck, fuck, oh, fuck, it huRTs!” he exclaims, falling to his bottom as a crack resounds through the white plane.

Your tendrils writhe in excitement at his pain and despair. “hello” you greet, the battered and mean looking skeleton jolting as he turns to face you, jumping back up. “who thE FUCk aRe y-y-you?!” he says, error signs becoming much more noticeable at his panic.

“hey, calm down, i just want to talk to you” you say, standing as still as you can, even as strings fly your way. “d-do yOU-YOU evEN kn-KNOW WHO I A-A-AM?!” he inquires, glitching harshly as the strings slide smoothly through your corruption and gripping nothing.

His angered and indignant feelings makes your tendrils wag, “of course i do, you’re the destroyer of aus, not the first but the only current destroyer” you state, him growling and sending even more strings. You feel his frustration at your current freedom.

“you can keep trying but you won’t be able to capture me with your strings” you say, watching him blankly as he falls again. He looks at you with a face of caution and suspicion before turning to his legs, one broken and splintering badly.

“i can help you with that, all i need is a favor” you say, watching him look over his injuries. He pauses at your offer, “why?” he asks and you scoff slightly, a little put off at having to repeat your words.

“i already said, i need a favor, do you accept?” you repeat, feeling like a record. He narrows his sockets, hand on his broken leg, he feels frustrated at showing you a weakness. “what’s the favor? you need to tell me now or i won’t accept, i’m not bill” he says, eyelights glowing with threats.

“someone that i am close to has been kidnapped by a powerful multiverse traveler and i need to find him” you elaborate, eyelight a little dimmer than earlier. “you are the best in the multiverse, that i have the power to reach out to currently, at reading and manipulating code” you say, “ you may have a request and i’ll fulfill it if you complete this for me” you assure.

The dark boned skeleton looks to be thinking for a moment before agreeing, “there is no assurance that i will succeed, only that i’ll try” he says, you nodding at this, “and for my requirement or whatever, i wish to have you as an ally and healer”, you pause for a moment before nodding in agreement with a sigh.

“very well, you have a deal” you say, holding a tendril out to him. He pauses, “don’t worry, i’ve done my research on you, this shouldn’t hurt you as it isn’t my or anyone else’s magic, simply corruption” you say, the tendril slipping closer.

He takes the tendril in his scarred hand, sockets shut tightly as if preparing for something, though you know it’s a crash he’s preparing himself for.

Nothing happens...

His sockets open, growing wide as he grips the tendril. “i-i can touch it” he says, “i can touch you!!” he exclaims, looking excited. You chuckle, “yes, i did say you could, there is a thick layer of this covering my bones so it shouldn’t hurt to touch me directly but let’s not test that” you say, moving a bit closer now that the deal was sealed.

“here, stay still, i’ll heal you” you say, pouring your magic into the wounds, each one closing in a timely fashion. The destroyer looks shocked at the speedy healing, “my healing is my best ability, otherwise i’d be dead by now” you explain.

“so i guess, i should ask for my ally’s name, i can’t keep referring to you as the destroyer” you say, implying that he should tell you his name. “my name is error” he says and you frown, you know it was Error, but it literally means ‘mistake’, “yeah, no, i’m not calling you that” you say, “i’m sure there are thousands of you, named error, let's switch it up a bit”, you hum.

“how about-”, you look around, not very good at originality, “-thread? thread is beautiful, and very useful, just like you are to the multiverse” you suggest, the originally named Error shrugs at your choice, flushing yellow and blue. “okay, i guess” he says, standing up and testing his newly healed leg.

“i’ll do my thing now, what's the person’s information?” he inquires, pulling up a screen full of numbers and symbols. “he’s a sans, from x-tale version one: exe.erased, his soul is fused with x-tale chara, is named cross, and has code that’s been overwritten” you say, listing the noticeable abnormalities. Thread begins to type and tap around on the screen; numbers, colors, and symbols flashes through the screen.

Suddenly three names flash onto the screen; Swap! Dreamtale, Dreamtale! Abnormality, Underverse.

What...?

What the fuck?

You furrow your browbones, confused as you search your memories of your past life, you can remember Swap! Dreamtale and Underverse, barely, but not Dreamtale! Abnormality. “those are separate multiverses, most being centered around the balance of destruction and creation but some are centered around negativity and positivity or something else” Thread explained.

“do know what they are?” you inquire as you point to the screen briefly, Thread hums. “i think underverse is about cross and ink going against the multiverse” he guesses, a look of confusion. “hmm, and that one?”, you point at the title of Dreamtale! Abnormality. Thread looks unsure, “i think it’s us, we’re one of these and we’re certainly not underverse or swap! dreamtale” he says.

“so this multiverses’ cross is either in underverse or swap! dreamtale?” you inquire, “yeah, pretty much” Thread clarifies, closing the screen. “you’ll have to figure out how to travel over there though” he says, looking at you, you nod, “already was figuring that out, here” you fish out a blank paper and pen from your tunic’s pocket, writing your number.

“you should know what universe i reside in, dreamtale” you say, passing him your number before opening a portal to your castle, “come by when you need help or food or you know, anything pretty much” you say before stepping through and closing it behind you.

Underverse or Swap! Dreamtale?