Book 2: The First Fallen Human

New Foes

Error stared up at the top of the Doodle Sphere. A golden glow had spread through all of the papers. All VIOLENCE had ceased once again. But it wasn't a song of sadness. It was a song of joy and it even pricked at Error's cold heart strings.

He blinked. Ink reappeared from the canopy of papers above, still wiping his eyes. He smiled down at Error as he drifted down to settle next to the other. He laughed quietly, still somewhat crying.

Error sighed and reached out, using a glitching thumb to wipe the tears away from Ink's cheekbones. The other blushed and laughed even more before ducking his face inside of his scarf. His nervous, muffled laughter could be heard and it brought a small smile to Error's face too.

He watched as the golden notes rained down around them once again. "This is h-h-h-h-happiness, Squid." He said, closing his eyes. "Th-Th-This is what it f-f-f-feels like..." He wasn't usually a fan of the emotion, but he could make an exception.

"It's amazing." Ink whispered next to him. They listened as the song continued to flutter down from Reapertale. Finally, Ink wiped his eyes and cleared his throat. "Is it really showing color again?"

The question made Error open his eyes and he blinked at him. "Wh-Wh-What?" He asked, his voice breaking and stretching. Ink stared at him expectedly.

"Your SOUL." At the mention, Error felt his face heat up. Ink smiled. "Scooter said your SOUL was showing bits of yellow and red. Is it true?? Is your SOUL not just void black anymore??" The other was clearly excited and it embarrassed Error even more as he awkwardly coughed.

"I g-g-g-g-guess." He stated, clearly flustered by the topic. Ink blinked and bounced excitedly in place, staring expectedly. Error sighed. "J-J-J-Just promise not t-t-to 'experiment' with it l-l-l-l-like last time." Ink nodded and Error opened his hand as his SOUL exposed itself. True to what Scooter had said, flecks of red and yellow showed each time the SOUL glitched. Ink's eyesockets widened and he let out an excited squeak.

"That's INKredible!!" He exclaimed, unable to help himself. He lifted his hands and took Error's light hit, causing him to roll on his back, laughing quietly. Error rolled his eyes, blushing and turning away.

Ink remained splayed in a starfish position as he stared up through the Doodle Sphere. His face had relaxed and showed he was clearly thinking. He fell silent, his smile fading. He stayed like that for a few moments before sitting up. "Error? Do you think she's happy now?" He asked quietly.

Error blinked and his body fizzled in surprise before he turned to look at Ink, a brow raised. Ink seemed incredibly trouble. He fiddled with his skeletal fingers. Error sighed. He lifted his hands and another small silhouette of a doll started forming. "I-I-I-I think so, S-S-Squid..."

Slowly, the doll came into formation. Long, orange hair. Green eyes. Light skin. That yellow-furred red hood, black pants, and black boots. Tiny glints of yellow represented the rings on her fingers. She was smiling. Ink watched in a bit of awe and warmth. It didn't exactly look like her, but...

"That's her if she'd been alive, right?" He asked, lighting up a little. Error blinked before giving a distorted chuckle and nodding quietly. He set it off to the side before starting to form another one.

This one was also Scooter, but with her grey hair and deadpan expression. Tired grey eyes. How she'd looked to them. He finished that doll and set it down next to the first. Ink blinked as he stared at them. The second doll that Error had made was stitched together with red string. He set them down, smiling.

"Do... you think I could make copies of these and give one to Reaper?" Ink asked. Error turned to him in surprise before clearing his throat awkwardly and shrugging.

"D-D-D-Do whatever with th-th-them..." He mumbled, going to back to messing with his strings, weaving them in a cat's cradle. Ink smiled and took his brush, painting an exact copy of the first doll before bringing it to existence. He did the same with the second before pausing. He made more copies of the second, despite Error's raised brow.

"She... knew many more people than we thought..." Ink explained quietly. "They'll be missing her." He stood up with a handful of dolls and pulled a brown knapsack out of thin air. He dumped all of the dolls inside, leaving the original two on the ground. Ink slung the bag over his shoulder, smiling. He turned to go back up before pausing and turning to Error with a nervous grin.

"I don't want to ask too much, but can you go clean up the Save Screen before Geno returns...? We left a bit of a mess, and I'm sure he won't want to see it..." Ink's time was cautious, letting Error know he was allowed to say no. Error sighed and shook his head. That seemed to damper Ink's spirit before Error spoke.

"I'll d-d-d-do it... I w-w-wouldn't want to return to s-s-some human's puked up insides..." He mumbled. Ink lit up and thanked him over and over. Error felt his face heat up as he muttered that it wasn't a big deal. He grunted and pushed himself up, turning away from the still-smiling Ink. "Y-Y-You can stop grinning l-like some idiot!"

Ink snorted behind him before giggling. "Of course, of course! Sorry, Glitchy!!" He teased. It was silent for a moment before Ink sighed. "And... thank you, Error... for helping with everything..."

Error blushed and managed to grumble out again that it was fine. He didn't hear anything before he felt a slight breeze. He turned back to see Ink ascending into the Doodle Sphere. Error, himself, sighed and turned away, opening a hole and entering the everlasting darkness of the Save Screen once again.