Mr. Erratum

Chapter Ninety-Two

It took Pigment a few hours after Erratum woke for him to return. 

When he did return, he walked with a stumble in his step, as if he wasn't quite aware of where he was. As much as Erratum would like to say this was the first thing he noticed, It would regretfully be a lie. No, the first thing Erratum noticed was the brightly coloured and ever changing eyes of the skeleton, and the fullness of the vials on his work belt that hadn't been there for years.

Regretfully, Erratum would not notice the concerning stumble in Pigment's step, or the far too excited grin he had on his face despite the now dry tear marks Erratum could see as he walked around the AU without really realizing he was there, until a primal, resurfacing fear Erratum hadn't felt in years disappeared along with said skeleton.

It would not be until Erratum's forgotten fear of Ink vanished would he notice the fact that Pigment was staring at him in a way he hadn't done in years.

In the way that made Erratum feel like he was staring at a stranger.

They were once again sitting with Alter and Sci. Unlike before, they were joined by the two familiar faces of Outer and G. While Outer stared at Erratum with his usual indifference, his stare similar to the look he used to give Erratum when he saw Erratum staring at the stars, albeit with more curiosity than usual- G was eyeing all of them except Pigment with poorly concealed distain and distrust. 

Erratum, he realized after a moment, was no longer used to such stares, if the uncomfortable feeling setting in his stomach was anything to go by.

To Alter and Sci's credit, they seemed much more composed over both his and Error's presence than they were the last time they talked. Perhaps the existence of two Error's wasn't as surprising to them as Erratum had initially thought, maybe due to the fact that this wasn't the first time they had met a copy of people they knew.

"You couldn't of come at a better time" Alter admitted to them, pointedly looking at Pigment. Pigment grinned at them, "oh?" he responded lightly, staring at them with the amused interest Erratum remembered Ink having with most people he spoke to.

(As if he didn't view them as actual people)

The sudden change in personality didn't seem to concern Alter and his group, not in the way it worried Blue, Error and even Nightmare. In fact, they actually seemed less concerned than they were before. Their lack of concern, Erratum realized after a moment, probably came from the image of Pigment they remembered. 

They probably just rationalized his behaviour as 'Ink being Ink'. And, as loathe as Erratum was to admit it, erratic changes in behaviour and personality was just 'Ink being Ink'. Those were the exact things that made 'Ink' who he was, or what the vials he took made him.

Erratum glanced down at the work belt wrapped around Pigment's waist. While the vials were slightly obscured by a brown satchel Pigment had somehow obtained during his disappearance, Erratum could still clearly see the vibrant colours in almost every one of them.

Erratum had to rip his stare away from the clearly empty vial beside the rest of the fully colourful ones. Every colour Erratum knew to be in the vials was full. Every one but blue.

Both sympathy and annoyance flared through Erratum. It upset him- far more than it honestly should- that Erratum had no way of making Pigment feel better about his loss. A loss, Erratum knew, Pigment was surely pretending wasn't one. 

He knew Pigment cared for Dream and Blue, even if the skeleton was currently trying to deny that to himself.

"we've been planning to infiltrate his prison" Alter told them, a determined look on his face that felt rare for the skeleton. Erratum gave them a surprised look, "YoU KnOw WhERe THey ArE?" he asked them, shocked. The skeletons in front of them gave them all slight nods, "Yes. Outer found them a few months back" Sci explained, "They're all being kept in the same place the council met up in. He's completely taken the place over" He informed them, a pinched expression crossing his face briefly.