Lost Soul

Chapter Twenty-One

"I think this is my favorite flavor yet!" Soul chirps, munching on a Nicecream.

"YoU got tHat kinD lasT time," Error mumbles, picking at his own chocolate cone.

"Did I?"

Error doesn't bother to mention the fact that Soul gets the same flavor every time. Error himself always gets chocolate. It would be surprising for something to change now. There's a comforting familiarity to it.

Over the last week of visits, Error has been experimenting. Soul either hasn't noticed or doesn't care to point out any strange behavior. It's hard to notice, but now that Error's been paying attention, he's realized that the strength of Soul's magic fluctuates wildly without any input. The magic is low and practically undetectable when Soul is playing his role. The aura gets stronger as he acts out and goes haywire when abandoning the AU's story. Completely leaving the AU seems to be the worst. The aura's potency is getting stronger. Even in the last week, Error has noticed the lows aren't quite as low. Error once had to forcefully reset an AU when he noticed literal Death lurking in a shadowy corner.

The Storyshift AU that the two are is rather convenient. Soul doesn't have much of a part to play until the end. Even so, Error has his own destructive aura dialed up higher than usual. He'd rather be noticed than let someone track Soul. It's rather surprising that Ink hasn't come to chase Error out yet. Ink being late is a bad omen.

Lost in thought, Error glances idly at his companion. Soul is fidgeting with the clasp of his cape. The shoulder plates make him look much bigger than he is, and Soul eventually discards the entire cape and drops it unceremoniously into the dirt. The crown is skewed on his head. Error almost snorts. The amusement dies quickly when Error remembers the point of this particular meeting. He's caught off guard when Soul breaks the silence first.

"Oh! There's something I wanted to ask you," Soul speaks up abruptly. "I know it's super important, but I just can't quite remember, and what even is the bal-"

Error has to physically silence Soul by slapping a hand over his mouth. Soul jumps in surprise, staring at Error with wide eyes. "YoU caN'T aSK me tHat." Error looks around nervously for a moment. When intimate doom doesn't come to snatch him away, Error takes his hand off Soul's face.

"I'm sorry," Soul splutters. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"You diD noThiNg wrOng." Error balls up his fists. It's already miracle enough that Soul knows anything at all about the balance. Error doesn't know why he's so agitated over the fact that he can't explain it all to Soul. Already in a sour mood, Error decides to get on with what he really wants to talk about. "How long have you stayed in one body?"

The quick change in topic makes Soul pause. He takes a moment to think before responding. "The longest? Three, maybe four days?"

"YoU speNt leSs time loCkEd up tHan thAt."

"Yes, but that was different. I think..... I think Cherry's body knew that I didn't belong."

"YoU sAid it huRt?"

"Yeah....... like in Candytale, but slower."

Error doesn't want to make Soul uncomfortable, but Error needs to know as much as possible for what he's scheming up. "YoU saiD yoUr faVoriTe AU was UndRrswap?"

"Yeah?"

"I coUld stiCk yOu in a bOdy perMenEntLy."

Error can't create like Ink, but he certainly could destroy part of something. Error has spent some of his free time studying the collection of souls in the Anti-void. If he broke a few pieces off, the same bits that Soul has left, Error is sure that he could get the fractured pieces to fuse in act of self-preservation. Soul would be quite fragile for a while until he got used to it. Error can already picture it: a tiny swap Sans running around Nightmare's mansion and terrorizing the 'Murder Trio'. There would be silly little games and an absurd amount of collected toys piling up in the Anti-void, and Error would grumble about it, but secretly not mind.  No more time limits. Error would make sure that Soul wouldn't have to live through another genocide route. No one would ever be able to hunt Soul.