Becoming Error, The Forced God Of Destruction

Chapter 20: Incident

"So, Ink is a bad guy?" Cross asks after I told him everything. Chara huffs in agreement, as if this proved their case. I flail around my hands for a no.

"He isn't. He's just doing his job! If anything, I much fit that category. You know, being the destroyer and all that." I say, pushing up my cracked glasses.

"I don't know, you don't look like you'd fit the part. Ink is more suited to being the bad guy if you ask me." Chara says after observing me carefully.

"Well...he isn't. And I don't think anyone can fully be the bad guy. We're all just doing our job after all."

"You know what's your problem?" Chara asks. They float in front of my face closely. "You're too trusting."

"Too trusting?" I tilt my head, a little hurt at that statement.

"Yes. I mean, he rarely visits us. But the few times he does, I could always feel that something was off about him." Chara huffs and floats up. "We only tolerated him because he was the only one who would come visit us. If not, we'd never get along."

"Oh..." Did Ink seem off? I couldn't tell. I've been with him for a long time that I just considered everything he does now as normal. Although right now...

"...I have a question." Chara asks, bringing me out of my thoughts. I look up at them, motioning for them to go on. "...Is it possible to bring back an already destroyed au?" They ask with a little hope in their eyes. I can see Cross tense up at this question.

I think about how to respond to that. It's obvious to me that this means a lot to them. "...It's possible to create a whole entire au similar to the one you previously resided in, but it is impossible to fully bring back an already destroyed au."

Chara's eyes dim at this. I clutch my toy bunny, sad at being unable to bring back their dead friends. I try to change the subject.

"You guys should come with me to Nightmare's castle. Being here all alone isn't a good idea. If you die here, all of your copies vanish as well." I state, shaking in worry. "Although I can't promise you'll be able to move on from this, maybe you can find a job in preventing this disaster from happening once again in other timelines."

"Nightmare was the friend you said you live with?" Cross asks, I nod.

"Yes. And like I explained before, if you don't want to work for him, we could come to an understanding."

"Yeah, as much as it would pain me to take a break, I feel the need to mess with happy aus with their happy endings. After all, why should they get a happy ending when I didn't?" Chara's animosity leaks out. I can feel their rage.

"Calm down, we're not here to mess with aus. Just keep the balance if we do agree to help them." Cross states, being the voice of reason. He looks down at me. "...Can we only leave if we agree to work for you or him?"

"No. I can always find a place for you to reside in. I'm sure there are plenty of aus good enough for living in." I say, shaking my head.

Cross stares at me, as if gazing through my soul. He sighs, standing up. He stretches a bit as Chara and I look at him, waiting for his response.

"...A peaceful life was never for me. He's got plenty of bedrooms, right?"

And I take that as confirmation that we now have a new recruit for Nightmare's gang. I smile, standing up. "Great! Here, wait a moment." I wave a hand, opening a portal to Nightmare's castle. Cross and Chara stare at it in amazement. "Follow me."

Once we step inside it, the portal closes behind us. Chara quickly floats in front of me in excitement. "You have got to teach us that! I want to go to aus as well!"

"Maybe some other time. I do have to teach Geno how to make portals to aus as well." I smile, sweat dropping at their energy. I've gotten used to speaking more but I am not entirely calm with it. But it does feel nice to know Ink won't be creating any aus anytime soon.

"Right, that other homeless Sans." Chara mumbles out loud. If Cross could smack them, he would. "I hope he gets here soon then. I want to start making portals now!"

I feel a shift in the environment around me. I tense up, going into attack mode. Cross also follows suit, summoning a huge knife as Chara looks around for what is causing this aura. "Who's there?" I ask out loud. The sound of heavy footsteps walking down the stairway echoes through the room. I calm down when I realize who it belongs to. "Oh, it's just you Horror."

Horror can be seen eating a drumstick. He has bandages wrapped around his chest that are stained with fresh blood. From himself? I am unsure. He stares at Cross in silence, clutching his ax at his side.

"A friend of yours?" Cross asks, still on guard. But he un-summons his big knife at least. Chara's face contorts at the sight of his cracked skull. From pity? Can't say.

"Yes, the one who eats a lot and rarely speaks." I ran up to Horror. "Did you guys grab Geno from Ink's base? How is everyone?" Horror nods to answer my first question. He points upstairs with his ax to answer the next. I look up, trying to feel their auras. One feels very faint, giving me a bad feeling. "Um...Horror, meet Cross. He's a new recruit I found sitting inside a blank au. Watch over him please."

I don't wait for his response as I quickly teleport to where the faint aura is resting in. I end up outside Dust's room, knocking for anyone who might be in there as well.

"Come in." I hear Killer say.

Opening the door slowly, I gasp at the sight of Geno trying to heal Dust's wounds. Nightmare stands by, looking defeated about something. His eye brightens when he sees me though. "Error! You're here! Quick! Dust needs to heal before he dies. Ink really did a number on him."

I ran up to Dust's bedside. I motion for Geno to let go while telling anyone to pick me up so I can reach him. I feel Killer pick me up as I grab Dust's hand. Slowly, I started using green magic.

"I've never seen Ink inflict wounds this bad! This isn't acceptable. He knows Dust is an original. Why would he risk his death like this?" I ask, mostly to myself. But deep down, I realize, it must have been for me.

"But thanks to this incident, I now realize we need a healer in our group. You won't always be here to heal us. And I am not as good as my brother in healing magic." Nightmare says as I finish healing Dust. I look up at Killer and see he too is a bit hurt. So, I started healing him too. "Know anyone who fits the bill?"

"Let me see..." I envision the thousands of aus Ink has created. "...Well...there is Life. She is a Toriel residing inside Reapertale, but I don't think we should bother her. There is also Sans from Sciencetale. He has access to equipment good for healing."

"Then let's go for the second option. Although, I have to ask, why not bother Life?" Nightmare asks, making a thoughtful look.

"Simple, really. Her emotional state impacts all life within the multi-universe. If she is feeling unhappy, many deaths will occur. If she's feeling happy, everything is normal."

"I see..." A knock at the door interrupts our conversation. I see Horror open the door. "...Last question..." Nightmare starts as Cross stands there tensely. Chara looks around at everything in curiosity. Their eyes brighten when they spot a certain area near Dust. Can they perhaps see Papy? "...Who is this?"