CreaseTale 0.1 (ErrorInk ~ Undertale AU)

Discarded

Ink clung on with all his might, stroking Shadow fondly until he calmed down a bit. "Error! Get on!"

"No thanks," Error replied, but Ink reached down, getting Shadow to bend, and grasped Error's hand. He hauled him up in front of him on the spine.

Error gripped the bones tightly, but as Shadow trotted around, he found that it was fun. They were so high up, and Shadow moved so fast, it was like riding a giant, unpredictable roller coaster. He grinned, then felt Ink slip his arms around Error's waist and lean onto his back. Ink's skull pressed into his spine, and Error felt his cheekbones get hot. He didn't say anything, just let Ink hold onto him.

"Isn't this awesome?!" Ink exclaimed cheerfully as they rode Shadow up and down the hall.

"Actually, I'm feeling kinda sick--"

All of a sudden, Shadow bucked again, and Error - who hadn't been holding on properly - was thrown off. He sailed through the air, eyes wide with shock, and slammed into the wall.

Everything went black, and the last thing that Error saw was Ink, staring at him in terror.

...

Error woke up, dizzy, with everything aching. He groaned, rubbing the back of his skull, where it hurt the most. At the moment, he couldn't see anything, but that might've been because his eyes were closed.

He could hear voices, they were too hard to make out at first, but slowly they became clearer and clearer. It was Ink, talking to Toriel.

"He should be okay. He'll wake up soon," Toriel's voice said, reassuringly.

"It's all my fault..." Ink sniffed. It took a second for Error to realise that he must be crying, judging from the sharp inhaling and occasional sob or sniff.

Toriel tried to calm him down. "I'm sure you couldn't have done anything on purpose--"

"I made him ride Shadow. I distracted him, and he didn't hold on and then--" Ink broke off, his voice cracking. Error wished that he could be in Toriel's position, patting Ink's back and telling him it would be okay. When he imagined that, he quickly shoved the thought away and decided that he didn't want to be.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but to me, it sounds like just an accident," Toriel told him kindly.

Error tried to force open his eyes, to see Ink and Toriel, to see where he was. His eyelids were heavy, and the cloak of darkness around him felt too strong to lift, but he tried anyway.

"Shh, I think he's waking up. And then he can tell you that nothing is your fault and that he's fine, because I'm sure he is. Come on, Ink, you don't want him to see you crying, cheer up," Toriel's voice moved, it sounded like she'd walked over to Error's side. He heard footsteps, presumably Ink's, and then managed to open his eyes.

The room was bright at first, but slowly it came into focus. The walls were a simple cream colour, and the floor was planks of birch wood. Error vaguely recalled a similar room from another AU, and wondered if this was Toriel's house. He lay on a soft, comfortable chair, with his legs hanging over one arm and his head leaning on the other. Ink and Toriel stood on either side, smiling softly.

"How do you feel?" Toriel asked immediately. There was a meaningful look in her eyes, seeming to say: Lie, and say you're fine, for his sake.

Error didn't really know why, but he thought that Toriel would probably crown him if he didn't say how great he felt, so he told her, "Great,"

Ink looked up at Toriel and she gave him a smug smile. "See?"

The skeleton couldn't help but smile and sigh, looking away. Error watched him curiously, observing his strange reaction and change of mood. After staring into space for a few seconds, Ink frowned and glanced down at the rainbow vials. He unclipped one and took a small sip, then winced.

"What?" Error pushed.

Ink looked back at Error in surprise, like he'd forgotten that he was there, then said hesitantly, "The elixirs that Alphys made are wearing off quickly. And they taste different," he added, narrowing his eyes.

"I thought they didn't taste of anything...?" it was more of a question than a statement. Toriel looked from Ink to Error, trying to understand, then gave up and ambled away from them, mumbling something about getting biscuits.

As soon as she was gone, Ink started to rapidly unclip the vials, sip some, then reattach them to the band slung over his shoulder. Error watched, with nothing else to do, then tried to climb to his feet. He wobbled where he stood beside the chair, for a few seconds, until his balance came back and he stood easily. However, he felt a little sick and his vision was swimming. Error hoped it would go away soon.

Toriel returned with a plateful of chocolate chip cookies. Ink's eyes lit up and he pounced on them, gathering a handful and stuffed them in his mouth. Toriel and Error stared in silence and confusion at how he was able to fit so many cookies into his mouth at the same time. Once he had finished ravenously devouring every single cookie on the plate, he wiped his mouth and thanked Toriel.

"What the hell..." Error murmured.

Ink just shrugged. "I was hungry,"

...

Later, Ink took Error back to his AU space. He observed the AUs for a while, before Ink turned, looking sullen and decided.

"Error..." he began.

Error rolled his eyes, and didn't turn around to face Ink. "What?"

Ink walked forward and put a hand on Error's shoulder, and spun him around so that he was facing him. Acting on instincts, Error tied Ink up in his blue strings, tying him to the invisible ceiling. Ink hung in the air, limbs sticking in all directions, looking vaguely annoyed.

"Whoops," Error grunted, sarcastically.

"I was gonna say that it's probably best we... don't really hang out anymore," Ink sighed.

Confused, Error responded, "We don't 'hang out'."

Ink shrugged, only making himself more tangled in the strings. "Whatever you want to call it. I mean, it's better we stick to ourselves and don't see each other... for a while. All I do is get you in trouble,"

"Uh, sure..." Error wasn't sure what else to say.

"So, can you free me, and be off? This is my space, after all." Ink pleaded, struggling in the strings.

Error began to realise the weight of what he'd just accepted. Ink didn't want to see him again. Was that a bad thing, or a good thing?

A bad thing, his mind told him, but he felt embarrassed of that thought.

"Nah, you can untangle yourself. I can see I'm not wanted. So I'll see you later, Ink. Or maybe not." Error said coldly, then created a portal to his own AU.

"No, wait, Error! That's not what I--" but Error didn't hear what he said, because he closed the portal after disappearing into his own world.