Collateral Damage

Merciful

Error was not a merciful monster.

Any world he didn't claim as directly necessary to his lifestyle and his alone he'd destroy. If he could.

He's deleted billions into the unknown abyss that was nothingness with only a few quick pulls of a string.

Hell, it was worse if he didn't your universe. He's tortured and murdered for less than a punny quip. And then allowed whoever he's deemed worthy of such a punishment to continue the rest of their eternity with the lingering memory of his encounter with them.

Or however long he allowed them to live.

And that was all because he was a cruel, and sinister person.

And he believed it.

Truly he did. He wore it with pride, a badge of honor.

And then he came along. The "Guardian" who'd dashed his way in circles trying to undo Error's hard work. He was sometimes successful.

This rainbow themed ink blotch made him angrier than he'd been in a long while.

It was exciting.

When he met the white-boned skeleton, he was- disappointed.

The curious skeleton before him did not look like any kind of threat. He wasn't even that tall, he was actually quite short.

Error was disappointed at how easy it would be to kill the shorty.

Oh how wrong he'd be.

The two continued to fight across many Au's. No side ever gaining the upper hand. Ink won as many times as Error did, and their fighting went on endlessly.

To the glitches surprise, instead of him being met with the artist disdain the Guardian looked like he was having fun.

Never did he question Error, or berate him, or curse his name into the sun. Only light jesting.

Then the Protester of the Au's asked for his friendship.

This perplexed Error, and it only made his loathing increase.

Somewhere along the way Ink had gotten to know Error. Intimately. Some of the details were to private for the artist to even have.

And he knew near nothing about the ink stain other than his love of drinking paint, and vomiting it all over Error's clean anti-void.

Until one day he got a tip from a very knowledgeable octopus.

"The Guardian doesn't have a soul."

A chilling revelation. Error could barely believe it. He'd never believe that the cheerful artist with such a small stature was soulless.

But when the destroyer brought it to his foe's attention the Guardian seemed rather pale. Like he didn't want Error to know.

It was then that Error took a risk. He asked questions.

"How are you- the way you are, without a soul?"

Error lowered all his weapons, all his tricks, and allowed a space for the artist to speak.

And Ink sang like a canary. He explained that he only had the ability to feel through contained emotions in his beloved vials. And each color had a designated emotion.

He even let Error try a few. It was strange.

After that Error didn't see the artist for a while. He need a break.