A Tiny Error

Chapter 4

"This is your brilliant plan?" Fate watched the scene unfold, then turned to her brother with a very unamused look.

"Well, I did say it was risky," Destiny smirked. "A small animal will appeal to Ink's sense of compassion. It works with pretty much every species, including monsters. They cannot resist such a tiny and adorable creature."

"But what if he gets stepped on? His body can't regenerate as a dog, so how will he recover?"

"If you have made Ink to be a kind and gentle person, then I doubt he would allow that. He has, in fact, been able to protect what and who he cares about from Error with few problems, so I don't see how, if he grows attached to Error as a pet, he cannot protect him as well."

"I see. What now?"

"We watch and wait."

In Sci's lab....

Error got out of the coat blanket, and ran towards the door. He ascended the steps one small jump at a time, intent on getting some answers out of Sci. What did he put in that potion?! At this point, would it matter if Ink saw him? He probably wouldn't recognize him anyway. He got to the top of the stairs and peeked out the doorway. Ink stood with Dream right outside the house, about to come in. Sci nervously invited them in, and Papyrus greeted them with a large and confident smile.

"SO NICE OF YOU TO JOIN US, INK. YOU TOO, DREAM! WE WERE JUST ABOUT TO EAT SUPPER! WOULD YOU CARE TO SIT DOWN?"

"Oh, that's quite alright, Papyrus," Ink said. "We just had to ask Sci something, then we'll be on our way. But, thanks for the offer!"

"OF COURSE!"

Ink turned to Sci, a serious glint in his eyelights.
"I need to ask a favor."

Sci gulped.
"S-sure."

"I have a plan to stop Error once and for all, but I need you to help us capture him. I'm thinking maybe some sort of magical tech could, like, imprison him, but I'll leave that up to you."

"I-I.... will you hurt him? You know I can't consent if violence is involved."

Ink looked at Dream, who shook his head no.
"Of course not. But, if he doesn't cooperate, we can't guarantee anyone's safety. If you can also make a sedative strong enough to knock him out, it would make it easier for him and us to capture him."

Sci thought a moment.
"I-I'll try. Come back in a couple of weeks and I should have something cooked up." He winked, and Papyrus groaned. He shrugged, then went into the kitchen to eat.

Error had heard all of this. Has Sci betrayed him? He needed to leave. There is no way he is staying in this traitor's house any longer. Question is, where does he go? Ink opened the front door and left, Dream following soon after. He seemed hesitant, as if he could sense something wrong. In this hesitation, Error took the opportunity to make his way out the door. Dream didn't notice, so he exited the house.

Out in the cold, Error almost got buried in the snow. The wind whipped around him like a hurricane, and his little ears swept back onto his head. With this new body, he was more vulnerable to the elements, so he could probably catch a cold much easier. His body had been changed into a teacup Yorkshire Terrier, the smallest dog in existence. The markings were a tannish yellow, and his fur was black and dark gray on his chest. His eyes remained the same, red sclera, cream pupils, blue around his left pupil. If a veterinarian saw those eyes, um.... Let's just say, they would question if the dog has been through a traumatic injury. Or if someone strangled him. Probably general questions about his health. Any way you look at it, it's a horrible outcome for the poor creature.

Ink and Dream had not left ScienceTale. Ink thought again over what he would say to Error once they captured him. Dream coughed to get Ink's attention.

"Ink? I think we should go back to Sci's. I felt... another presence there. It felt extremely scared, as if whoever it belonged to fears for their life."

"Really?" Ink turned fully to face his friend. "Can you still sense them?"

"Yes. It's much stronger now, and closer."

"Let's go take a look."
The two skeletons headed back to Sci's. Ink was just about to knock on the door when he heard a whimper behind him. He turned around and looked down. A few feet away, a small creature stood shivering in the snow. He walked up to it, curious. He knelt down and carefully picked it up.

"Well, hello there, little one. Where did you come from?"

Dream knelt down beside him and looked the creature over. It had shut its eyes tightly, probably from the cold, and visibly trembled from the frigid temperatures.

"Hmm, looks like a cat."

Ink rolled his eyelights.
"It isn't a cat. I should know, I've seen many, many cats, and I've seen plenty of dogs. This is clearly a dog, and it looks like it will freeze to death."

Error opened his eyes when he heard voices. He was going numb from the cold, and he couldn't see what was in front of him clearly.
'Guess my nearsightedness will never go away,' he thought, looking up at whatever or whoever had picked him up.

Ink stood up, carefully holding the little dog to his chest.
"C'mon, Dream. Let's take this little guy back home where it's warmer."

"Ok." Dream opened a portal to the Doodlesphere, allowing Ink to hop inside. He took another glance at Sci's house, trying to pinpoint the sets of emotions inside. Sensing none but the two, he hopped into the portal, hoping he had been wrong.

Sci breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the guardians leave. He was so nervous that they'd find Error in a terribly vulnerable state, he was almost panicking. He managed to stay calm enough not to alert Dream, thankfully. Nightmare had been generous enough to teach Sci to calm his emotions down and feel relaxed. It was sort of payment for allowing Error to take refuge in a place that isn't Nightmare's castle when he needed to relax. Sure, the Anti-Void was quiet and relatively safe considering Ink has a fear of white spaces, but Sci's house was a bit more chill when Papyrus was out training with Undyne. Besides, Sci was like a therapist to the Bad Sanses, so they helped him and he helped them from time to time. All under Ink's nose.

Sci plopped down on the couch and pulled out his phone. He'd outfitted it with technology that was able to cross dimensions. Very useful, since he only used his phone to contact people outside his phone's signal. Gotta save that band width, amirite?

He dialed Error's number, cleverly labelled, "Antivirus," and waited for the glitchy skeleton to pick up. And waited. And waited. It went to voicemail, and Sci breathed a bit to calm down the growing anxiety. He tried again, hoping Error was just watching Undernovella a bit too loudly again, but he got voicemail again. He stood up and tried again, pacing a bit from nervousness. He stopped at the basement door. A sound made its way up the stairs, and Sci dropped his phone. He quickly descended the stairs, hoping to the stars above he was wrong. He entered his lab, and his eyesockets widened.

That was Error's coat.

"E-Error....?" He squeaked, shakily picking the coat up. The phone in the left pocket fell out as he lifted it up.

It was still ringing.

But nobody answered.

'O-oh god,' he thought in horror.
'What have I done?!?'

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Huehuehuehue.

Sci thinks he's killed Error. And right the glitchy boi says he's his friend! What do you think will happen next?

You'll just have to wait and see~