Another Day, Another Bone

More Travelers - 2

I was blankly editing code and fixing... something. My notes said to prepare Undertale for possible future multiverse travelers. So that is what I was doing.

"H̵͙͛ṳ̸̓h̷̢̄,̵͕̔ ̵͈͘ẅ̵͈́h̵͖͂à̷̯t̷̟͝ ̸̻̄ä̶̜r̷͔̐e̴̬̾ ̷̬̿y̵͈̌o̷̞͋ū̶̪ ̸̫͝d̷͚̎õ̸̭i̴͚͗n̷̝̽g̴̫̀".[Huh, what are you doing.]

I blankly looked to my side. A black skeleton was holding my hand. "Who are you?"

"I̴͋͜ ̶͔̂a̶̘̒m̷̱͝ ̵͍̽Ȩ̶̉ŕ̵̹r̴̬̉ô̷̼r̷͔͆,̷̳̽ ̴̫͋d̸͉̿ọ̷̾n̸̖̾'̵̱͂t̶̞͛ ̴̄ͅy̸̜͊ó̵͙u̸̥̇,̸̢̈́ ̶̻̃o̷͖̔ḩ̴̈.̴͔͒ ̸̼̎Y̸̪̓ö̷̯u̶͔͊ ̴͔̃d̴̳̂o̶̹͂n̷͔̈́'̴͍̈́t̵̫̎.̸̠̿" [I am Error, don't you, oh. You don't.]

I shrugged. "Hi Error! Nice to meet you! I got to get back to work, can you let go of my hand."

The sk- No, Error let his hand go. I focused back on the code.

"W̶̙͘h̵̠͘a̷͎̍t̵͈̓ ̵̜̽á̸̹ŗ̴̾ȩ̵̌ ̶̉ͅy̵̐͜o̶̧͌ṳ̸̋ ̵̡̏d̷̘̊o̶̭̿i̶̗̒n̶̩͠g̵͉̒?̷̛̞" [What are you doing?]

"Making my universe capable of receiving multiversal visitors without causing destruction. It is complicated."

"Ĩ̸͍ ̶̼̀s̶͖͗ȇ̷͜e̵̲͒,̶̯̕ ̸̫̄w̴͝ͅh̶̠͆ỳ̸̢ ̷͚̇d̵͚̒o̴̹̚ ̶̠͋y̸̫̕o̵̪͠u̶̹͆ ̸̢̛b̴̻̆o̴̡̽t̷͚̒ḩ̵̋e̶̦͊r̵̤̒ ̵̰̉w̵͙̓ḯ̸̢t̸̥̋h̷̭͑ ̶̻͠t̴̍͜h̶̦̍ȅ̸͕ ̵̓͜ê̵͚r̶̡̅ṙ̶͙o̶̡̿r̶̨̓s̷͓̏?̷̡̔ ̶̞̃I̶̲̍t ̴̰̆s̸̨͝ë̵̳́e̸̼̽m̷̮̕s̷̳̈́ ̴̮̄ȃ̶̢g̴̣̏a̵̩͑i̸̪͝n̸͓̎ș̵͠t̷̪̔ ̴͙̓y̸̯͐o̷͘͜ȕ̸͍ŗ̵̊ ̶̠́c̵͈͐h̴̬́a̵̞̓r̷̨̈́a̴͔̍c̵̪̄t̴͙̐ȅ̶̞r̶͙͝?̴̗́" [I see, why do you bother with the errors? It seems against your character?]

I focused on Error. "You know my character? Are we friends?"

He was silent for a moment. "Ỉ̴̫ ̵̧̈́s̷͚̀u̷̩̔p̷̩̈́p̵̲͝ȍ̸̘ș̴̈́ẻ̴̠ ̸̖̆w̶̳͝ȩ̸̂ ̷̩̑a̷͍͘r̵̜͠ë̵̦́ ̴̕ͅf̴̀ͅõ̸̝ŕ̵͓ ̶̤̀n̵̻̊o̷̺̕w̶̦͌,̴͕̋ ̶͉͌s̸͈̚q̶͙͝u̸̯̿i̵̫̕ḋ̵͜.̵͎͝" [I suppose we are for now, squid.]

"Huh, that isn't my name." I tap on my visor. "It says my name is Coder."

He looked at me for a second. "Y̴̱͌ö̷͎́u̸̻̔ ̵̨͒t̴͌͜a̸͍̽k̵̠̎e̵̙̍ ̸͚̋ǹ̷̳o̶̦͝t̸̙̆ȇ̴̦s̷͍̈́ ̸̱̍ư̷̘s̶͍̅i̷̳͌ň̸͈g̴̲̒ ̴̲̑ÿ̶̫o̶̬͌u̴̳͗ṟ̵͋ ̵͕̌g̴̤̀ľ̷͙ȃ̸̡s̶̖̉s̴̭̾ę̴͘s̸̪̔?̶̰̅" [You take notes using your glasses?]
I nodded, "I blank out occasionally, I take notes on my visor to prevent losing track of what I am doing. Sometimes I remember things I had forgotten, sometimes I just forget." One day I'm going to forget everything. I shook my head, removing the dark thought. I'm running low on my emotions. With a sigh I move away from the Undertale universe, and start messing with my vials. Following the steps on my visor.

Error came next to me, staring in confusion. "W̵͔͠h̵̺̀a̵̻̿t̵̜̏ ̷̢̏a̴̠͗r̷̘̽ė̵̟ ̶̟͘y̶̫̌ơ̴͎ǘ̴̪ ̶͋ͅd̶͖̿o̶̯̽i̸͖̕n̸̤̊g̶̣͠?̴̪͝" [What are you doing?]

"Running low on emotions, making an emotional cocktail so I'm back at my peak." I replied as I measured out a drop of red."

"Ṣ̶̽o̵̭̿ ̸͙́y̸͎̚o̶̻̅u̶̫͘ ̷̱͛m̵͖̀i̶̲̾x̶͎̃ ̶̻̌à̶ͅl̴͍̿l̷̙͋ ̴̫̌y̶͑ͅo̶̡̊u̶̡͒r̶̛̤ ̴̪̈v̷͕̉i̸̭͝ä̷̠́l̸͙̈́ṣ̸͂.̷͎͌" [So you mix all your vials?] He asked, raising his socket.

I shook my head. "Don't blend. It will turn the mixture gray. Too many mixed colors is bad, it's best to have a dominant color that is supported by the other colors. Having it layer onto each other without actually combining makes it work the way it's supposed to. It's worse than just drinking from one vial at a time."

Error froze, before he asked another question. "W̶̬̽h̴̫͠ǎ̶̰ṫ̷̤ ̴̺̈́h̴̺͆ã̶̢p̶̨͠p̸͖̏e̴̼͑n̴̫̒s̸̹̏ ̵̪̀ï̴͚f̵̡̓ ̴̝̇ȳ̷̱ò̶̬u̸̧̇ ̶͚͝d̷̦͗r̴̤̈i̵͍͆n̴̰̄ḵ̶̈́ ̴̦̐f̷͍̕r̶͓̕o̴͎̎m̷͙̀ ̵̟̿a̴̡͑ ̵̡̅s̶͕̓i̸̧͐n̸̝̂g̶̜̈l̸̾ͅé̴̯ ̶͚̐v̷̻͛i̶̹͝ä̶̜́l̶̘̎?̷̙̑" [What happens if you drink from a single vial?]

I checked my notes. "To put it bluntly, I become a sociopath. I don't really function like a normal person if I take only one, and I stop caring for pretty much anything but getting my fix. Layering it this way allows me to emulate someone with a soul reliably. Allows me to feel both fulfillment and guilt, and the other emotions that aren't on the basic colors in my sash."

He nodded, understanding blossoming on his face.

Looking back at the Undertale universe my eyes widen. "The hell happened?!" The newly made Quarantine Check had caught several dozen multiverse travelers, who were now trapped on Undertale until their code was adapted to.

"W̵̖̃ḥ̷̕a̸̞͂t̵͇̂ ̸̮͗ḣ̸̹a̵̧͛p̶̢̛p̷̤̀e̷͚̅ņ̵͂ĕ̷̡d̸͉̀?̴̜̃" [What Happened!] Error came beside me, looking at the universe in concern.

"A bunch of multiverse travelers somehow ended up in my universe, and now they are stuck there." I said with a sigh. This was going to take a lot of work.

"Ẏ̷̘o̵͕̚ǘ̴͔ ̴͓̕c̷̼͒ă̸̞n̶͉̕ ̶͖̋d̶̗̒ö̶́ͅ ̶̻͗t̵̺͑ḧ̷͍́ä̵́͜t̵͗͜?̴̥̓ ̶̮͑Ỹ̷ͅo̵̙̚ǔ̸̢ ̴̜̋c̶̱̓ȁ̶̪ň̸͖ ̴̻̈́ț̴͘r̸̭̐a̶̩͂p̴̖͠ ̷̦̈́p̵̡͋e̶̺͐ó̴̥p̶͎̉l̸̗͛ȅ̵̦ ̵̼̈ī̶̼n̷͔̆ ̴͍̔á̸͓ ̸̠̎u̵̪̍n̸̨͐i̴͙͝v̸͍͠e̴̖͆ṙ̷̼s̷̝͆è̸̞?" [You can do that? Trap people in a universe?] Error asked with widened eye sockets.

I nodded. "Yeah, It's not too difficult when you know what you are doing... Ah, I guess I should probably go say hello. I can't leave you here by the way."

He looked at me. "Ȳ̴̥õ̵̝ű̷̢ ̶͔̑c̶͓͌a̶̢͠n̵̹̂'̸͉̈́t̸̳͗ ̴̖͗l̴̯͑ḛ̸̔a̴̭̕v̵̨͛ẹ̷̽ ̴̺́m̴̺̌e̸̞͝ ̸̼͂ẖ̵́e̶̩̒r̶̲͝e̵̡̒?̷͖̈" [You can't leave me here?]

I nodded again, I've been doing that a lot recently. "Too dangerous. I don't allow anyone to stay here when I'm around. What if someone accidentally scratches Undertale? It would be disastrous and take forever to fix."

He grumbled acceptance to me, and I pulled him through a gateway I made. Stepping into Surface Snowdin Town. In front of us was the Font Brothers house. The location of the multiversal errors. I groaned. "Why are so many errors focused around those two!" Every iteration had some sort of problem that caused me so many issues.

I sighed. "Well, let's go introduce you to the brothers."

He spoke, "I̷̘͐ ̷̣̚m̸͍͌e̵̛͕t̵̹͋ ̶͎̅t̸̟͝h̵͇̐ẹ̶̄m̵̨̏ ̵̯̑ȧ̸͉ĺ̸͍r̵͔̂e̶͌͜a̶͎͊d̶͇̊ÿ̵͎.̵̤͗" [I met them already.]

I looked at him in confusion. "When?"

"B̴̲̊e̷̥̍f̶̼̋ọ̵͆ŕ̴̳ê̷̡ ̶̾ͅy̸̘͑o̴̼̓u̷̗͂ ̵̭̄k̶̺̚i̸̎ͅd̴͙̅n̴̜̂ä̵̧́p̶͇̋p̵̜̑e̴̥͐d̷͙͌ ̶̠̑m̶̢͆e̵̚ͅ ̸̝̑f̷̭́ṛ̵̀o̷̮͑m̶̖̀ ̵̖͐t̴̛̜ȟ̷͖e̵͎̅i̶̳͐r̵̬̈ ̵̬͛c̷͔͌a̴͎͑r̶̖̔é̴̢.̷͉̈́" [Before you kidnapped me from their care.]

I blinked. "When did I kidnap you?"

"À̵͓ ̵̣̎f̸̪̅ẹ̶̋ẁ̴͙ ̴̞̉h̸̠͌o̸̲̅u̵͉̚r̵̟̊s̴̥̍ ̸̦̀à̴̰g̶̬̀ȏ̸͉" [A few hours ago.]

Looking over my notes, I nodded. "Found it, oh you're a multiversal traveler as well? Hmm, you must be the reason I had to start work on making it where travelers could go to Undertale. Alrighty then. Come, let's go say hi."

"Y̸͎̑o̷̥̔u̷͍͐ ̸̥̑s̴̯̾ú̷̼r̴̼̆e̵͕̋ ̸͍̑t̷̪͛h̶͉͂ă̸̘ṫ̷̘'̷͓̎s̶̡̐ ̴̧̿ṣ̵͝m̶̤̕a̸̠͊r̷̯̽t̴͍̅?̴̝̿ ̵͉̈́T̸͙͒h̶͎͋e̶̦̍ỷ̶͍ ̴͚͛m̷̥̋i̵̮͒ğ̴̣h̷̜̔t̴͍̓ ̸̳̊a̸̹͊t̴̻͛t̴̖̑à̶̲ĉ̴͙k̵̹̀ ̵̖͊ÿ̴̖́ö̵̬ŭ̷̥.̷̟̕" [You sure that's smart? They might attack you.]

I shrugged. "Eh, wouldn't be the first time they've attacked me. Although they don't remember the last time they attacked me."

He gave me a blank look in reply. I shrugged as I knocked on the door. The crashing noises in the house stopped. A few seconds later someone behind the door spoke. "Whose there."

"Letter." I replied.

"Letter who?"

"Letter me in." I said with a slight grin.
There was a snort and a few groans on the other side. Before the door opened. My eye sockets widened a bit as I saw a slightly shorter version of myself in the room. The others however, were more focused on Error. Who shimmied closer to me. Felt him holding onto my hoodie with a death grip. The Sans, my Sans, had opened the door, and his eye lights had shrunk to pinpoints when he saw me. I decided to not dally and enter before he shut the door on me.

Then the rush began.

—

It took a few minutes for everyone to calm down. There were a LOT of alternative versions of Sans and Papyrus. They then began to talk about how they were all stuck here, so naturally I told them.

"Ah, you can't leave because of me." Everyone was just staring straight at me, including my Sans. "Currently your Quarantined until your code is fully accepted by the universe, meaning you're stuck here until then."

"Wait, so my machine didn't bring them here?" My Sans asked.

I shook my head, "I have no clue. I certainly didn't bring them here." I noticed the smaller me called Ink start to fidget as they looked at Error. "Anyways, they should be able to leave in about a year."

Now that caused a bit of anger, Sans and Papyruses shouting about duties and responsibilities, and Ink was upset about being unable to create. Meanwhile I just waited for everyone to calm down.

Ink then spoke to me. "Is there any way you can make it go faster?! My universes are in trouble."

"Nope. Attempting to pull you out from the Quarantine will tear you to shreds, you'd be effectively brain dead." I replied shrugging. "The only one capable of leaving this universe right now is Error and myself."

Ink narrowed his sockets, "Why is Error able to leave." He was staring at Error with hate, which is amusing to me cause I could tell he was just as soulless as I was.

"Because he got here before the Quarantine was built, so I integrated his code already, and then set up the process to be automatic. Hmm... Maybe you can tell him what's wrong so he can possibly fix it?"

"Tell him?! He caused it by linking himself to the multiverse and jumping into the void, it's obviously his plot to destroy all of the AUs!" Everyone was staring holes into Error, meanwhile I stared at Ink.

Error was about to open his mouth when I spoke, "So?" I was a bit confused, and since they were silent I kept talking. "If the universes are destroyed just make some new ones to replace the loss. I don't get this drama?"

"But I'm the Protector and Creator of AU's! I can't let them get destroyed!" Ink said, a bit upset that I didn't understand.

"But then, what do you do about heat death in that case?" I asked, not comprehending.

He stood proudly, "I devised a reset mechanic that will keep looping for a certain period of time, preventing heat death completely."

Ah, I see. It happened once and he doesn't want it to happen again. "I see. I got over that a long time ago. This is the... sixtieth iteration of Undertale I believe?"

Everyone was silent as they stared at me now. I laughed as I thought back, "My oldest current memory is the twelfth time Undertale was recreated. That was a good time. Humans and Monsters made it to space and built space colonies! There was even a space war! It was awesome."

Sans then spoke. "So... we are constantly reliving our lives over and over again?"

I shook my head no. "Definitely not. Each iteration is different. Sometimes you two don't even appear. Sometimes a monster human war doesn't start. Sometimes all humans are eradicated. There were two or three times that humans were sealed underground instead of monsters. You have to realize that every heat death is a couple billion years apart."

Error spoke behind me. "H̵̡̎ö̵̬w̸̼͛ ̵̱͗o̸͇̎ḷ̵̒d̴̟͠ ̵̮̅â̸̯r̶̯̿e̸͐͜ ̸͈͒ÿ̸́ͅò̴ͅu̶̝̿?̴̢̂" [How old are you?]

"Never counted."