Fading Ink

Chapter 13

This was getting boring.

Error had tried three times to make the same God damned puppet, each time ending up with only a ball of tangled string.

He sighed to himself, the tangled ball of string sitting immobile in his hands. An unfamiliar sound echoed in the corridor, and Error looked up.

It was either Ink or Blueberry, but one of them was crying.

Error had heard the sound of crying before, it was just a little unexpected, considering-

Well, it was Ink and Blueberry.

Literally two of the most annoying monsters Error had ever had the misfortune to meet.

It didn't seem like either of them to start crying.

Well, Blueberry did once, but Error didn't see any reason for him to be crying now.

So instead of ignoring them like he usually would, Error listened in, mindlessly playing with the tangled string in his hands.

Ink's voice echoed across the hall, accompanied by Blueberry's, and Error could barely hear what they were saying.

Oh but he tried.

He tried, but he couldn't hear them.

For what seemed like forever, he listened to the sobbing, and he sat, and he waited, and absently played with his strings.

And then, something struck him in the soul.

It wasn't an attack, physical or magical, and it didn't deal damage to his glitchy HP, but it resonated so strongly that Error could feel his magic trying to act up on it's own.

He forced himself to push it down, his eyes widening in shock.

There was something wrong with this universe.

He could feel it.

It felt almost like something was creeping slowly into this universe, and destroying little parts of it.

It was very disconcerting.

Only then did he notice the lack of sound from the other two, and still kind of in shock, Error looked up.

And then, clear as day-

"I promise."

What?

Ink was staring at him.

What could he possibly have meant by that?

Error felt another shot of magic burst through his soul, panicked and burning. He gasped, clutching at his chest with a hand, in pain.

Undertone was on the verge of dying.

Error frowned.  How could he feel this universe's lifeline?

Why could he feel it?

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ink hastily get to his feet, take a second to right himself, and promptly rush towards him. This didn't quite register, and his jumbled thoughts returned to his pain.

Amidst the burning in his soul, Error glanced down at his other hand.

Clutched tightly in it, lay a completed puppet.

Specifically, Undertone Sans.

~~~~

Blueberry still couldn't see.

So naturally, he was confused when Ink scrambled up and ran across the hall.

"ink? what's happEning?"

On the other side of the hall, panicked gasping echoed, and then, a shout.

"dOn't yOu daRE tOuch mE!"

Blueberry stopped.

Error sounded like he was in pain.

His glitchy voice was strained, and it was accompanied by a small gasp for breath.

Ink had run over there.

Ink was probably trying to help.

He should be trying to help too.

A ringing silence fell over the corridor, and gave Blueberry second thoughts.

This was Error.

He knew Error, he'd manipulated Error before, and he knew that trying to help Error when he was vulnerable was practically a death sentence.

Error could be very unpredictable.

And then, anther horrifying thought occurred to Blueberry.

Ink didn't know that.

"i-ink!" Blueberry immediately scrambled to stand, almost loosing his balance and toppling over again.

He tried to run, blurry orange and yellow running together in his vision, and he tripped, only halfway across the hall.

He felt the rush of magic before he heard the cry of pain.

"ink!"

"ERRoR!"

"Blueberry!"