CreaseTale 0.3 (ErrorInk ~ Undertale AU)

Teleport

While Error, Swap, and the strange demon skeleton called Fizz were catching up, Ink was thrashing in Shattered Dream's grasp.

"LET GO OF ME DREAM!" Ink screeched as he slammed his elbow into the dripping mess of a skeleton. Instead of landing a painful, winding blow, Ink's elbow got lodged into the goo. Shattered Dream used it to hold Ink still while he tightened his grip and began to whack him.

All of a sudden, Nightmare flung the other, unknown skeleton into the coded cell, and he was launched into all of the closed walls of the prison. He rebounded off the ceiling and out of the open area, rolling over and over on the ashy sand. The stranger was only a flash and a blur of bright crimson, like a missile that failed to reach it's target.

When the stranger didn't move, slumped on the ground, lifeless, Ink didn't feel anything. He felt no pain or sadness inside, not until Nightmare lunged for him and grabbed his ankles, yanking him right out of Shattered's sticky grip and into the ground. His skull was throbbing as Nightmare dragged him back across the uneven sand. He hoisted Ink up like he was going to throw him, with Ink struggling and kicking and lashing out all the while.

But before Nightmare could hurl Ink into the cell, a spur of fire shot out of the corner of Ink's vision and rammed into Nightmare.

Nightmare was thrown by the impact right into the cell. He didn't hit the far coded wall, but just as he regained his composure and tried to get up, the one exit and entrance to the cell snapped shut. Binary computer codes blocked the area that had once been open, and Nightmare was trapped.

Shattered Dream was nowhere to be found, but the red blur had reduced to a figure, knelt on the floor. The red that Ink had seen wasn't only his hoodie, but it was also the blood that stained his clothes and bones. How could skeletons bleed? Ink had no idea, but because of his lost curiosity, he didn't care. He wasn't scared of the figure, or of Nightmare, or whatever would come next. He'd lost all hints of happiness and joy ages ago, and now he didn't even feel hopeful anymore.

Ink was stuck in this wasteland, lonely, emotionless, struggling.

"Boss, I got trapped in a cell. The wall closed on me," Nightmare hissed furiously into the strange device he held. There was no sound from the other side, not even a crackle. "Boss?"

...

"You don't have to trust us," Fizz shrugged, looking a little huffy. "But I'm gonna teleport now, so if you guys wanna leave this place... well, you might as well come with me. This place is programmed by the way, so prisoners can't leave or teleport or portal or whatever. I'm an experiment," he spat, then flashed Error a fake, almost cruel smile. Although it disappeared so quickly that Error thought he might've imagined it.

Swap raised his eyebrows, then grinned. "Well, my mind's made up!"

Error was reluctant to accept this stranger's offer, but he wanted to see Ink more than he mistrusted this stranger. He finally gave him a sharp, curt nod then waited for Fizz to move.

"You guys gotta hold onto me. One at a time," Fizz instructed, catching Error's gaze and holding it.

Swap perked up instantly. He shoved his hand into the air like a kid in a classroom with the answer to a question. "I wanna go first!"

Fizz had expected his reply, and offered his hand to Swap. Without the slightest bit of hesitation, the short skeleton took it, and with a flash of purple light... they were both gone.

And Error was alone.

So, so alone.

Ink would've jumped out of his skin if he had any.

A blinding violet flash, leaving an afterimage in the sky. Everything was silent.

...

"Ink!"

Swap careered into Ink, almost knocking him over. The short, optimistic skeleton hugged him, but Ink felt no happiness or joy at seeing him. Swap didn't seem to notice that anything was off, and simply buried his face in the light blue hoodie that was tied around Ink's waist.

The unknown figure, still crouched on the ground, sprang to action.

He leapt to his feet and pounced on someone behind Ink with a strange noise, between a yelp of surprise and a squeak of happiness. Ink tried to lean away from Swap and look at the figure, but Swap was a surprisingly strong hugger.

"Is that everyone?" a voice asked from behind. It was confident but tired, with a certain lilt to it that Ink didn't recognise.

Fabric rustled. Another voice spoke, this one slightly higher and cooler. "No, there's one more. Now get off me so I can get him,"

Another rustling noise. Ink guessed that they'd embraced, and now were pulling away. Swap backed away a little, releasing Ink, and glancing at something over Ink's shoulder.

The taller skeleton spun on his heel. Two skeletons stood, but the one with a red hoodie had his back to him, and the other one disappeared with another flash.

"Uh, hi," the stranger said with a tiny, awkward wave.

Sweetly, Swap gave the skeleton a large, friendly smile. "Thank you for saving us," he said, blinking cutely. He peered at Ink, then the smile grew a little smaller. Directing the question at him, Swap mumbled, "Do you know where your vials are?"

Ink shook his head, keeping his gaze fixed on the stranger.

He was a Sans, wearing an unzipped red hoodie with a lighter hood, the sleeves stopping just over the elbows - exposing the bones of his forearms - over a plain white jumper. Black shorts hung around his hips like most Sanses, but instead of a white stripe down each side, the strips were rainbow. He had a bad on the right side of his chest, and if Ink looked closed, he could read the word 'Cure' in black against white. Underneath the word was another rainbow line. On his skull, underneath his left eye, there were three stars. A few scars decorated his skeleton.

"Name's Cure," the skeleton grinned sheepishly. He leaned to the side slightly, most of his weight on his right leg.

Swap held out his hand for Cure to shake. "I'm Sans, from Underswap. Most people call me Swap, Blue, or Berry. Or Blueberry. I have a lotta nicknames,"

The stranger - Cure - shook his hand. He peeked at Ink, then whispered to Swap. "What's up with him? He's awfully quiet,"

"Oh, he... you see, he doesn't have a soul, so he doesn't have feelings. He has to take these special medicines to have them. But they were taken away from him when we got here, so now he can hardly feel anything. Sorry if he seems rude, he's actually pretty awesome. His name is Ink," Swap told Cure quietly. Ink heard all of it, but decided not to speak.

A few minutes passed, and nothing happened. Nobody talked.

"So, which AU are you from?" Swap asked Cure casually, probably hoping to break the silence. Ink stood and watched them, his arms crossed over his chest. He needed his feelings. Desperately.

Cure suddenly seemed uneasy. "Uh... I dunno. I'm not really from anywhere,"

"Neither is Ink. He's the protector of the AUs!" Swap cheered.

Neither Cure or Ink responded to this. Cure tapped his foot impatiently, then inhaled, then started humming a random tune.

"What is taking him so long?" Cure finally shouted, startling both Swap and Ink.