The ERROR in your plan

Destruction of all that was

Error was tired. So, so tired. Where did everything go wrong? All he knows is that his world was torn apart from one day to the next.

It started like any other day. He was just doing his job. As creative as his other half was, Ink lost track too quickly. And unfinished AUs fester, violating the structure of the multiverse. His job was to destroy these pathogens before they could become a threat. Ink had never had a problem with it. Were their duties something he had never forgotten. But then one day, when Error destroyed an infected Underswap AU after already taking care of the pathogen, Ink attacked him out of the blue.

"Error!" he shouted angrily, the scales shimmered in a blazing red. Error looked at his other half in confusion, not understanding his anger. At least he didn't do anything to anger him. And yet the other dragon stood in front of him as if ready to kill him. Even then, Error knew there was something odd about Ink. His eyes were… different. Not really fixated on him.

"Ink." He replied, calmly. He didn't want this to escalate. But it seemed that this was the wrong decision, because the dragon lunged at him, snarling, aiming for his throat and knocked the great dragon off his feet in surprise.

"What the hell Ink?! Pull yourself together! I'm just doing my job and you know it! So what's your problem?!"

"You hurt my hoard!"

What? Error looked at him confused. He knew Ink liked to think of his creations as his hoard. But he knew Error had to destroy AUs or his entire hoard would die.

"I only destroy the sick, which would only damage your hoard more! We had a deal!” Ink may have had the momentum, along with Error's unwillingness to fight, but that's enough for now! He turned the tables, bringing the other dragon under him.

Something changed as Ink lay beneath him. His eyes seemed to finally fix on Error, who was really looking at him for the first time since they met.

"Error-! Run!"

He wasn't given time to argue. Because as soon as Ink had just said those two words, it felt like a hand was reaching out for him, trying to get a hold of him. Instantly he jumped from Ink and through one of his portals. His instincts are just screaming at him to get away, away from danger. And this time he listened to them. Because something was terribly wrong, too terribly for him to lean into there blindly.

From there it was all downhill. Ink no longer had those "clear" moments whenever Error met him. He was doing his job, he couldn't just give it up, but it always ended in a fight between him and Ink. But it didn't stop there. More and more the multiverse seemed to see him as a villain, everyone attacking him as soon as they saw him.

For a time he found sanctuary with Nightmare, the one of the last quiet places where he wasn't hunted. At some point it had become his home. However, that too was taken from him at some point. It started with Killer. At first it was small changes. A little more violence than necessary, maybe a few more harsh words than usual. But it just got worse, hurting his partners more and more. He could see it hurting Nightmare. After all, these guys were his hoard, the most important thing in the world to him. And Killer tore them apart, pitted them all against each other until they broke up. In time, Error stayed with Nightmare, trying to help him with the loss. And then, after Error had been gone for a long time fighting a major infection, he saw the gang back together. But he wasn't happy about it. Because he saw that they are just as absent as Ink as the others in this multiverse. Whatever it was, it got them too.

That left Error with only one place where he might have a home. It's time he went to visit his brothers.

He entered the save screen tensely, ready to leave should he be greeted with aggression there as well. Unfortunately, just because it seemed quiet at first glance doesn't mean anything. No longer. Not with this infection that infested the multiverse so silently that it went unnoticed at first glance.

"Broski!"

Suddenly there was a weight on his back. Error tried to get what was on him before he really realized who he had on his back. Only his happy laugh made Error stop. He turned his head to his back, looking at the colorful skeleton monster sitting there on his back.

"Fresh, what the funk?!"

“You were so tense, Broski. And a little surprise has never hurted one's mood!"

Taking a deep breath, Error shook his head. Sometimes Fresh was really incredible. He got on Error's nerves so often you'd think Error would despise him. But on the contrary. He started liking the other. This little parasite crept into his soul. And especially right now, he was hoping that Fresh Otherness could protect him from this infection.

"Where's Geno?" he asked instead, wanting to know if his other brother is infected as well or not.

"Eh, he's fine. Worried about Reaper, but he's fine.” Hearing that relaxed Error a little. Reaper might get worrisome if he's also infected, but Error should at least be able to hold him down. Then Geno and Fresh could take refuge in his Anti-Void. At least there he should be able to complete everything if he gets enough time. Still, he hopes he doesn't have to. It's an alternative he doesn't know how it will end. The Anti Void could do who knows what to his brothers. They could end up like him if he's not careful. This was a fate that he wished on no one.

Shaking his head, Error continued on his way to Geno. He wasn't forcing Fresh off his back, not like he usually did. Not if it gave him reassurance that his brother was okay. Could he identify even the smallest changes better that way. And Fresh seemed to notice, because he didn't even tease Error about it. For always saying he didn't understand emotions and didn't really feel them, the weaker his soul became, he was still able to read them well. A necessary skill given that everyone already saw Fresh as a plague that needed to be wiped out.

"Hello Geno." He greeted his brother, gently rubbing his snout against his brother's much smaller cheek. He looked at Error with a relieved expression as he started stroking Error's snout, resting his forehead against it.

"You're fine." The relief in Geno's voice gave Error a glimpse of just how much his brother must have thought he, too, had disappeared into the chaos. He doesn't blame him. After all, Error assumed Geno was caught too, absent like everyone else.

"Error, we have to get away from here." The urgency in Geno's voice gave him an idea of the reason. "Reaper is acting strange. He wasn't here long, apparently just looking for you, but something was wrong. He was wrong. That wasn't the Reaper I knew. Is Nightmare still okay? Could he-"

"Nightmare is no different." Error interrupted him, lowering his head. “This… infection. It has now caught him too. We could go to the Anti-void. But I don't know what it'll do with you and Fresh once you're there longer.” They both can hear the reluctance in his voice. Error had never liked having someone in his Anti-void. It had always felt wrong. He could sense the Anti-Void reaching for someone else's code, wanting to bury its fingers in it. And he doesn't know what will happen if he can't stop the Anti-Void. Because if he cuts them and the Anti-Void off from the rest of the multiverse, who knows what will happen.

"Don't worry Error." Fresh's hand was gentle but firm on his neck. "Whatever awaits us in the Anti-Void. It won't be worse than this."

"Fine," he agreed softly. At least there, in his domain, his place of power, he could properly protect his brothers. Also, the Anti-Void is a big place and if you haven't been there long enough, like Error, it's easy to lose track. He will simply give up his known location. There are others he can fall back on. So the souls there cannot infect his brothers either, should they be.

He just wished he knew how this infection spreads. It goes into the code, but he just can't find anything that triggers it. Especially since it twists the code in such a way that Error would take hours to fix the code from person. And even then, he can't guarantee that the person wouldn't lose parts of themselves in the process. A risky game that he won't play until he finds out more about it. But now, in this moment, his brothers were more important.

"I'll take you to the Anti-Void."