CreaseTale 0.1 (ErrorInk ~ Undertale AU)

Cave

Ink was watching one of the Undernovela episodes when Error got back. On his face was a faraway look, like he was daydreaming rather than watching the show.

"I see you've been having fun," Error said gruffly. His voice was layered with sarcasm.

Undeterred, Ink responded, "Yes! I've looked through all your stuff!"

"Oh heck," Error uttered under his breath.

"Look! You had this beside your TV!" Ink breathed, waving the photo of them both around in Error's face. Flustered, the black skeleton snatched it out of Ink's hands and shoved it into a drawer in his plain white cabinet.

Ink looked at the sack of rainbow vials in Error's hands, then bounded at it and grabbed it. He pulled out various coloured bottles, the rest chinking and clinking about in the bag, then took a sip of each and slotted them into place on the strap over his chest. With each sip, his pupils changed to a different colour that matched the colour of the liquid.

Once he had sipped all of them, his emotions would be equal and balanced out. He would be able to feel whatever anyone else would feel.

"Um," Ink began. "Thanks for the vials and er... I am extremely sorry about how I... acted,"

Error waved his hand dismissively, feeling the heat rush up on his cheekbones again. Acting his usual careless self, he shoved Ink aside and plopped down on the sofa next to him, then watched Undernovela. Ink's attention strayed back to the TV, and they chilled out for a while.

After a couple of episodes, Ink reluctantly got to his feet. "I have to go," he told Error, who dragged his focus away from the screen.

"Bye then. Please don't smash up any more vials, I'm not getting more."

Ink gave him a small smile. "Where did you get them from anyway?"

"I found Alphys in a random AU and got her to make some. She was incredibly efficient." Error responded.

"She did a good job. I hope you paid her," Ink raised an eyebrow, and Error winked at him. The white skeleton turned away hastily, created a portal, and leapt away.

...

Bored at home, Error decided to go find Ink and spy on him, to find out what he was doing and why he was constantly getting hurt. He travelled to various AUs, but Ink was nowhere to be seen.

"Nightmare?" Error found the black, gloopy monster in Underfell.

Nightmare turned around, his single visible eye narrow and focused on him. "Sup, Error,"

"Ya seen Ink?" he asked.

Nightmare's tar-like tentacles lowered a little, and he frowned thoughtfully. "Yeah, I have, actually. He went that way." one of the tentacles rippled and pointed to the west. "Follow me,"

Error strode after Nightmare, following him into the forests that surrounded Snowdin, and down a well-worn path. On both sides, they were hemmed in by tall pine trees and evergreens, with branches blanketed in heavy, sparkling white snow. When it caught the light, the snow glittered like a thousand crystals, and somewhere nearby Error could hear the rushing of a stream or river.

"Down there, in that cave. That's where they went," Nightmare motioned at a steep hill leading to a pile of rocks. There was a gap between two of the smoky grey boulders, and a doorway shrouded in shadows was hidden inside. Error gave a curt nod of thanks to Nightmare. They'd always been fairly good pals, helping each other when necessary, although they had different goals. Error made his way down the slope, slipping and sliding all over the place, and finally reached the dark cave.

At the end of the tunnel, was a single torch, the only light source in the darkness. Amber and scarlet tongues of flames danced as they licked a low-hanging outcrop of rock, their flickers casting strange, pitch-black shadows on the walls and door. The torch illuminated a strange crack in the floor, which Error would've fallen into if it weren't for the stone that he tripped on and stubbed his foot. He hopped forward, yelling out into the darkness, and stopped right at the very edge of the crevice, only just noticing it.

Error yanked a blue string free of his cheekbone and tied it to a bone that he made, which he sent travelling down to the bottom of the crack. It dug into the ground with a thud after falling for a while.

Then, Error created another bone and broke the string, then tied the free end to the newer bone, and buried it deep in one of the rocks in the wall. He clasped his hands around the string and gave it a firm tug, then began to agilely clamber down.

Error descended into darkness.

...

Very slowly at first, light started to seep into the crevice in the ground. Error was faintly aware that he was getting lost amongst different worlds, AUs and timelines. Something was going on, something wrong, but he was too inquisitive and suspicious of Ink to notice it as he reached the bottom.

The floor was cold white marble beneath him, and a strange new room loomed ahead of him. Fire burned in torches, hanging from the high, rocky ceiling, which was held far above his head by tall, thick, quartz pillars.

"Hello?" Error called into the room. It seemed endless, with an array of blank, empty boards lining the middle of the corridor. They looked like windows or mirrors, into other worlds, and as Error walked past one, he wondered if it was actually a window, looking over another AU.

He didn't really know what to expect, so when the black skeleton came across smears of Ink's rainbow blood and paint, he was extremely creeped out.

Further down the tunnel, Error could hear faint rumbling, or maybe it was growling. It sounded distant, although he didn't know how fast the creature could travel - if it was a creature.

The panels, or windows, or whatever they were, just continued further and further. They seemed to stretch out ahead endlessly, and Error was debating whether to go back when he heard a crash, like glass being shattered, then a howl of fury.

A huge, dark figure appeared on the horizon. Well, it looked small from afar, but Error knew that when he got closer it would get bigger. He guessed the endpoint coordinates and teleported.

A huge, skeletal figure roared at him. It was a large skeleton of an animal with charred black bones and glowing crimson pupils. The strange thing about it was that it's skull was the exact shape of a gaster blaster. It reminded Error of his own gaster blaster, but instead of being just a skull, this one was a full skeleton. It had a long tail that lashed menacingly from side to side, and it's mean glare was focused somewhere else.

Error had overestimated the distance between them, and ended up a few metres away from the animal and the figure that it fought.

The figure.

Error studied them for a second, but it didn't take long for him to recognise them. They were crumpled in a heap on the ground, with one half of a snapped paintbrush in their bony hand.

The gaster blaster creature lunged forward, about to strike.