CreaseTale 0.4 (ErrorInk ~ Undertale AU)

Shattered

Error couldn't sleep.

He could never sleep. Each night he spent trying to sleep only tortured him with nightmare after nightmare, of Ink's blank, emotionless expression, of that huge beast that ripped through concrete like it was paper. Of Shadow's glowing blood-red eyes, of Fizz's half-shattered skull. Of Ink whispering horrors to Fizz, and of the terrified look in his eyes when Error had torn and clawed the hell out of him with his bare hands.

So he got up, his thoughts still haunted by Ink's petrified skull.

Error summoned his soul - splintered around the edges, but still glowing. White. Upside-down, to mark him as a monster. Alive. He was still alive.

Yet so much guilt weighed down on that soul of his, and if he let himself bow to it, those splinters in his soul became cracks, that spiderwebbed across the white surface, and eventually would shatter him. He didn't let himself spiral down that path.

With nothing better to do, Error created a portal, and emerged out into a snowy pine forest. The scents of winter, trees, snow, dew, and animals were everywhere. The skeleton trudged through the heavy snow, tiny white snowflakes melting on his bones as they drifted down all around him.

Ahead of him, a large rock, with a gaping black hole in the middle of it, like a mouth. Moss blanketed part of the cave, snow sat on the tops of the rocks, and leaves dangled over the entrance. It had only been about six months since Error had last seen this place, but it felt like years.

He let the mouth of the cave swallow him. Darkness engulfed his features, and snuffed out his sight for a second. Error relied on his memory to lead him forwards, towards what he hoped was the second hole, small and dark, on the floor. The cave smelled of dust and bats, but fresh air still tickled his back from the forest outside.

Just as his eyes began to adjust, Error stepped forward, his foot landing on––

Nothing. There was nothing beneath him.

If he had a stomach, it would've dropped.

...

Ink was on his feet in an instant.

Something had echoed down the hall; a thump and a soft groan.

Then–

"Shadow?"

His voice bounced off the walls, travelling all the way down to Ink and Shadow, who quivered in response. The gaster blaster beast flashed an excited look down at Ink, then beckoned him to get on with a flick of his massive dark head. His bones, the colour of the night sky, reminded Ink of Error, which was one of the reasons why he'd decided to keep the beast. And Error had always shared a special connection with Shadow - Ink didn't understand it, but they seemed to care for each other. Possibly more than either of them cared for Ink.

He sighed lightly and agilely hoisted himself up onto Shadow's ridged spine. He burst into a gallop, and Ink had to hastily grab hold of the bones in front of him, to keep himself from falling off as Shadow swiftly crossed the space between them and Error.

"Hey, Shadow." Error's tense shoulders seemed to drop in relaxation at the skeleton beast that skidded to a halt before him and lowered his head to sniff Error. "Has Ink been feeding you? Or should I find you some food?"

"I fed him, actually." Ink snapped, even though Error hadn't been talking to him.

He watched in silence as Error's eyes widened and his jaw tensed. Those strange pupils met Ink's, and then the darker skeleton began to glitch worse than usual.

Since Fizz's death, Error had been freezing up, and glitching like this, every now and then. His eyes would go blank, and then be filled with little warnings and error signs. Like a computer that had crashed. His whole body would go rigid, and he'd stand still, usually for only a few seconds. But this crash seemed to last at least a couple of minutes.