(full chapter title is 'Only plastic flowers never die...Here comes the sun, am I falling up?' ...Wattpd has a title limit ;/)
Error didn't know what he expected when he stepped out in the AU that he had attacked not too long ago in a disguise and cover name along with his previous-enemy-turned-confusing-ally, but he certainly didn't expect for the AU to be doing...
Fine! great,actually.
It was kind of fucked up how well they were doing,there was even kids running around!
It had snowed recently (It was Snowdin,after all) so the snow creaked under his flats like an unoiled door hinge.
Ink - Pup - clung to his arm, to keep balance surely, no other reason.
The residents of the AU gave the pair curious looks but nothing else, not even when they trudged in the opposite direction of where the town was.
A wispy cloud of breath came into view from the skeletons side in the form of an amused huff.
'I don't think they'll be here.'
Error rolled his eyelights and tugged him along to where he thought the general area was (on the cusp of Waterfall,surely),grumbling,
'S-s-so we came all this way fo-for nothhh-ing?'
Ink flailed,phalanges bunched in the front of Errors - Faes - hoodie.
'No,no. Don't say that! We can go portal hopping! Look for it!'
...
Once again,that was the most logical and reasonable solution. ugh,that was annoying... Logical solutions were HIS thing!
'...I gu-guess-ss so. Oh, we're he-here, I think.'
The Destroyer's shadowed eyelights searched the snowy area - next to that evergreen - and found nothing of interest, shocker.
The recent snowfall had covered all of the evidence of their...confrontation. That and it was old news by now,having happened weeks ago.
Ink didn't let go of Error's arm as he inspected the area more closely,kneeling down with his knees to his chest as he picked at the snow.
The other stared at it for a while, it seemed surreal to be back at a place they had fought. He hadn't unlocked any memories in which he did that, but if he were to guess most of those battlefields didn't exist anymore.
A weird state to be in, to be destroyed beyond repair - There but not anymore - and only existing in memory and memorial. There was a sort of forlorn beauty to that. Ghosts of the past.
As The Destroyer of Worlds, he must've made a lot of those - not that he would have remembered. It wasn't him,not really. - and he must've been prevented from making a lot of them. By the stubby skeleton raking through the snow beside him, no less.
Oh, as usual, all his thoughts turn to Ink.
He really doubted he would find anything running his phalanges through fallen snowflakes, but who was he to spoil his fun?
Pup's hand drifted down his clothed arm to take his hand. His bones were chilled to the touch and Error brushed it off like it was a layer of dust, rubbing up and down individual phalanges with his thumb and furrowing his browbones in thought.
Was Ink always this touchy with people? Fae knew he was very tactile and hell he was too, but it was very startling when you've gone most of your existence up until about a few weeks ago characterised by touch being an inherently violent action done only by people who want to hurt him and to people he wanted to hurt.
This... tenderness was alien to him, and as a result? It was frightening.
He'd gotten used to it, absolutely, but it was still so difficult not to flinch at any sort of closing of space the other skeleton initiated between them.
Not that Error didn't like it. He watched a soft smirk quirk at Inks closed mouth, eyelights hidden by a big pair of sunglasses but visible from where he was standing over him and from where they were sliding down his nose somewhat.
The Destroyer smiled a big, dumb, fond smile at The Protector, the latter focused on some trodden spot of snow.
Stars,Error thought he might...
Well, no, what was he thinking? He didn't even know how love felt, let alone romantic love! How could he say he was in love with Ink if this might be just how an ordinary, normal friendship is supposed to feel?
And Error knows he feels far more intensely than the average person, what if he's just overblowing something everyone feels?
A nagging voice (his own, thank the stars) itched at his skull that if he only thought of him as a friend then he probably wouldn't have ever thought of him in a more intimate nor sexualised context.
Unfortunately, he had no rebuttal.
But! He still couldn't be sure! Maybe he co-
'You guys tourists?'
They both jumped, Ink stood up and was almost pushed right back down by Errors arm almost tugging him behind Fae that only halted after realising there was no danger, only a skeleton woman coming up to greet them.
She was average height - well, average height for a sans - and dressed in a very soft looking cream jumper dress.
It was very puffed and voluminous at the cuffs and hem, and it was all tied together with a large sash-like ribbon knotted at the waist.
The woman had a small bundle of cloth and bones balanced on her hip and Ink belatedly realised that it was a child, a very shy child.
Pup fought back the urge to fuss over and coo at the kid, awww.
The man's disappointment was quelled when he noticed the two other little ones circling around the skeleton woman, must be their mother.
He then realised that he was just...blinking owlishly behind his glasses. Whoops,he should probably reply,what did she say? Something about...
'Yeah,t-tou-tourists.'
Error's - sorry, Fae's voice cut in before he could answer back. Ink was glad he had edited the code of the others hoodie to hide the crackly static that usually accompanied his voice and his entire body. Strange to hear him without it,though. He could get used to it.
The skeleton woman tilted her head and shifted the weight in her arms,
'Figured,you're a little late y'know? Bulk of the crowd was weeks ago! Not that I'm complaining ; I like company!'
Ink was still putting the pieces together in his head when The Destroyer talked for both of them again (Not something he would have expected with his stutter. He preferred he only talk to him,anyway)
'We- uh- We don't li-like c-c-crowds.'
Ink supposed that that was true enough,especially in their current states/predicaments.
Tourism...tourism was pretty common in the Multiverse. I mean,of course it was, but there was a specific kind of tourist the woman must've been talking about.
The Protector remembered this phenomenon had been quite the contentious topic. He couldn't really have an opinion,though.
'Conflict tourism' or 'The most despicable trend ever concocted in the Multiverse' : Depends who you ask, is an activity that is essentially as described.
Visiting an AU shortly after (he has even seen during often enough to be unsurprised by it) an attack by either The Guardian of Negativity or The Destroyer of Worlds, of course, nobody would dare step foot if it wasn't clear that the threat was getting resisted by the Omega Timeline or The Star Sanses.
The skeleton remembered that they'd just...watch from a distance. From behind the shield the Omega Timeline or himself would put up or scatter themselves in bushes or other hidey holes throughout the battlefield.
It made defending himself and the AU harder since he had to avoid them and redirect attacks that came their way. So maybe he did have a negative opinion of them after all.
It was a very voyeuristic approach to the reality of the Multiverse. And Ink didn't blame them ; if he was a nobody from some AU he'd be bored as all hell, no wonder they wanted some excitement.
Some even had cameras! And it was a well known fact (and open secret) that a lot of mainstream news stations sent out some poor intern to record from the sidelines.
Focusing back to the present, the skeleton woman gave them a charming smirk,
'Don't blame ya. Say,I know you probably already know this but i'm still reeling...You know what happened the last time,yeah? Still gives me a chill.'
The sentence was paired with an awkward chuckle and she winked at her little pun,but seemed uneasy. She set her kid down on the snow but he seemed reluctant to scurry off with people he didn't know nearby, which seemed fair enough.
Pup gave the boy what he hoped was a reassuring smile but it did the opposite of what it was intended to, the woman laughed at the sight and cooed down at her son,
'Little Symbol is skittish,'
She leaned down and nudged him in the direction of his siblings - a shorter child that was a spitting image of zhier mother and with a wispy head of hair and a girl that was Symbols height with big curls and who looked human at first glance - a metre or so away from them.
'You'll be okay,I'll be okay. Go play for a moment,please?'
Fae and Pup watched as this woman's kids went off to go play...whatever children played. They wouldn't know, not really. They were never children.
The skeleton woman turned her attention back to them,apologetic smile on her face,
'Sorry, didn't want the kids to hear, they were already in the house when it happened. Emergency evacuations were NOT fun.'
Both Error and Ink felt a stab of guilt somewhere,distant and waning.
Making a face, her eyelights drifted over to the pair. Lingering on Error's barely-covered markings.
'Speaking of : still shocking that it was both The Destroyer and The Guardian at once. Apparently that's only happened about once before and-'
She paused and her entire body stopped moving with her,she looked scandalised,
'I just realised I haven't introduced myself. ₛₕᵢₜ'
The woman smiled again, sheepish.
She held her hand out,
'I'm Sans - which you also are, the Multiverse is so confusing - but I'm known throughout the worlds as Frasl.'
Oh, like Frazzle?
Ink took the initiative this time and shook Frasl's hand,despite her (and most other Sanses) towering over him, her hand was a little smaller - but still just as rough - than his own.
Beaming with the electricity that came with meeting someone new, the man had to let go of Fae's gloved palm to shake hers,
'And I'm Pup!'
Pointing behind him,
'That's Fae!'
Frasl gave them both a warm look that could have melted the snow surrounding her, Ink decided that she was future friend material.
Error looked unconvinced.
'Well, hello Pup,Fae. Weird names! Not that I can say much - ha!'
Wow so true! The skeleton forgot how nice it was to talk to people! Not that Error was Bad Company (haha he liked that band),just that Ink was used to his specific kind of company and being in new company was - well - new and therefore exciting and fun!
The Destroyer seemed to hold the opposite opinion (he seemed to prefer routine familiarity),he was shying away from her. That's so cute,he's shy!
The Protector actually didn't know if Error fell closer to the 'oh no,people' or the 'ew,people' side of the spectrum,but that's okay. Ink could learn that later.
'Yeah! Haha...guess they are weird...'
And he did choose those names essentially at random from his mental list of names he liked. Don't ask why he has a list of names he likes,it's not important.
Wait- he should probably redirect the conversation back to what happened, fuzzy memory and all...
O! Maybe he could figure out where his brush went!
He was reinstated with a goal and his chest swelled with determination, the corners of his mouth sharpened.
'It really only happened once before? That's...a big deal.'
He couldn't really recall it as perfectly as he'd like but he knew it happened, so he feigned ignorance.
She nodded in agreement, pretty bright eyelights lighting up like she just remembered something important. Oh yeah, Frasl was cool,he liked her.
'Yes! Only once I think...can't remember when....oh,nevermind. Though apparently even that wasn't as bad as this last time! The Protector left that brush of his at the site and, Stars!, they think he got abducted!'
Nothing he didn't know already- wait...
'Who's they? The Omega Timeline? And uh...'
Ink gestured around with his good arm,
'Where'd you think his brush went? Do they also have it? Or do the Star Sanses?'
The Protector tapped his chin,
'The Star Sanses would make the most sense,right?'
Nodding far more enthusiastically now,the woman grasped his hands and then quickly let go of his broken arm and hissed a frantic apology when she heard a stuttered sound of pain from him before pulling him closer in a secretive and almost conspiratorial stage whisper,
'That would make sense! But no one knows! Everyone from the Stars to The Omega Timeline have gone silent!'
Frasl confided with - well - frazzled eyelights.
There goes that answer then, he thinks some portal hopping will probably be in order later.
'Now I don't know about you but I think there's something more to this whole thing-'
Error watched over the whole exchange from a distance, seeing Ink get pulled over by the woman - Frasl, wasn't it? - made a sneaky and displaced feeling like jealousy or envy or possessiveness or something equally sour spread over his limbs,leaving him stiff as a board.
Now that wasn't fair,was it?
He had no right to even feel half of those things at all.
The Destroyer wasn't what one would call a social butterfly, so social cues weren't something he could really pick up on,(among other things) but that didn't mean he couldn't tell that the other man liked her. Or at least her company. He didn't know if it was romantic like or platonic like which threw him off before he recalled he had and is having trouble untangling his 'romantic','platonic' and 'other' feelings for Ink already.
It's not that Fae didn't like the skeleton woman with three kids (and spouse if the wedding band on one of her phalanges was any indication) that had sprung up a conversation with who she had assumed were tourists checking out the aftermath of the most groundbreaking battle between Gods probably ever that just so happened to occur in her AU and essentially right next to her house.
It's that he didn't trust her. Which is a different thing entirely.
Trust was easier to gauge than like or...love,the latters were sticky,personal. Stung if you thought too long and left a residue you couldn't quite peel off.
Trust was far more simple and detached (most of the time). A few internal questions like 'would I trust this group/person with my personal/confidential information? Or trust them to save me from danger if needed? My secrets wouldn't be leaked? They won't stab me in the back, metaphorically or physically?'
Like was all 'Would I want to...?'
And confliction or holding back (even unwillingly) tended to warp what should be a simple yes or no question with maybe's and but's and what if's.
Error, according to that list of requirements, found that - harrowingly - he liked and trusted Ink and that looming threat of admitting the other L word made it all worse.
Oh, wow, right back to that damn Protector again.
Look at him,still chattering on, is it that interesting?
The skeleton had stepped away from the pair so he couldn't hear them fully, but from the bits and pieces he's been able to pick out against the CPU-fan of his own thoughts, It's not about the battle anymore.
He just hoped he wasn't giving them away. Their secret identities,he means. Fae. Error's cover name is Fae. Fae is Error. Error is Fae. Great. He could remember to respond to that and introduce himself as such - unfamiliar situations/surroundings will do that to you - but he might have to remind Ink to respond and introduce himself as Pup.
He's such a forgetful skeleton.
Okay, well, that thought was not in a flavour that indicated malice, it was sticky and sweet and laced with something that hit him like the first effects of a poison and that he knew the name of but didn't want to admit. Ugh, what did he just say about sticky feelings!
Having feelings sucked, couldn't he just rip his soul out like The Protector had and just stay like that?
He didn't think Ink would be very pleased about that.
Like he cared about what the guy thought.
...he did. A lot. Whoops.
This whole situation was bonkers, Error wanted out, he wanted to find Ink's weird is-it-or-is-it-not-sentient paintbrush and go home.
...He realised that home wasn't a place anymore.
FUCK. That's fucked up,that his emotions would do that to him, it's like a personal attack. What the hell,guys.
Ink seemed to finally be wrapping up his exchange with his new friend, Error still didn't understand how he could just...do that.
...Oh,well. His phalanges found his again easy as Pup trotted back towards him. (Now that he thought about it, his legs were virtually all healed, just a small amount of shallow burns really remained. So why is he...?)
'Don't be a stranger,now!'
His head nodded and Ink replied as if she were an old friend and not a skeleton he'd met less than an hour ago.
The Destroyer didn't quite catch what he called back, admiring the sure and strong timbre of his voice in his ears, he was fine with it.
Fae startled when Pup addressed him,
'I'll make the portal - where d'ya wanna go?'
Blinking and getting used to the sensation of the snow leaking through his hood, the other skeletons hand intertwined with his and his cloudy humid breath hitting the corner of his face and neck in a way that sent a heated shiver down his spine, Error stuttered,
'U-uh...maybe we could go...to....'
。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°
It reminded Blue of the human concept of the uncanny valley - things that looked familiar but...off, awful in its mimicry of normalcy.
He could use that phrase to describe a lot of things now, the way Dream seemed to smile a bit too wide and a bit too fake and a bit too late like he just realised it was appropriate and the robotic set of The Guardians limbs that trudged around aimlessly like a predator stalking.
The Magnificent Sans sat at his own table watching The Guardian of Positivity pace around as if he'd pounce at any sudden movement.
At first he didn't know what he was afraid of since Dream had never once in his time of knowing him even raise an ill-intentioned finger to hurt him.
But whoever was wearing the unconvincing masquerade of one of his best friends right now? He didn't know if it would hesitate to hurt him, hell, the skeleton wasn't even sure if it wouldn't dust him if he got in the way as he didn't seem to know nor care who he was - to Dream or anyone else.
He was willing to bet that his teammate only followed his invitation to Blue and his brother Stretch's cosy little two-storied terrace on Underswaps surface out of his own insistence.
Dream had refused tea or anything the other Star offered him to calm his nerves and while the other skeleton was used to his self-destructive habits by now this was evidently something different.
When he got like that in the past he would usually ramble, injecting the silence and his own head with requests and observations he clearly didn't want answered to distract himself from the effects of his own neglect, and it would continue like that until one of them (Blue was usually more successful) talked him down enough or until Dream passed out from exhaustion.
And this? He had not said a word.
And whenever Blue prompted him or asked him a question all he got was a distant one or two word answer, spoken through gritted teeth and slurred like an infants first word.
Blue could have understood if this was his reaction to one of the members of The Star Sanses getting 'abducted' (the more he thought about it the less he thought Ink's case was filled with that much hate or bad intention) but he remembered Ink telling him all that had went down in the few times The Magnificent Sans himself had gotten captured by The Destroyer (even someone as magnificent and talented as he had bad days sometimes), and he had told a very different story.
The youngest member of The Star Sanses shifted uncomfortably in his seat, in his own chair in his own home.
And he had to get out of here.
He had been thinking about what he saw back in Outertale.
Blue had to speak to Ink. Find him. Without Dream.
He just didn't know where to start, it's not like he could just pay the Antivoid or Doodle Sphere a visit.
The skeleton supposed he could try Outertale again...
He paused where he was tapping the edge of a mug rhythmically with the outermost phalange of his forefinger, suddenly enough that Dreams skull snapped towards him, Blue flinched at the sight. It reminded him of an owl, how ironic. Dream was terrified of owls.
The stall in movement was due to something he remembered The Destroyer had said to himself one of the times he was captured.
Mumbled under not-as-glitchy-as-usual breath while he was knitting of all things, if Blue wasn't straining for any kind of sound or movement in there to negate the growing flares of helplessness and anxiety he would have missed it.
'Shit...have to go back to Fluffy to get more of that...shit...'
Fluffy as in Fluffytale, and Blue knows for a fact that Error left his knitting needles in Outertale (among other things) so - thanks to The Magnificent Sans' brilliant deduction skills - he should be heading to a little yarn shop in Fluffy to get new ones.
He also remembered being outraged at The Destroyers blatant disregard and how relaxed he was overall in the situation. Then again, it was Blue that was kidnapped.
He hoped that was enough of a start, though he was unsure how exactly someone like him could enter an AU without everyone running for the hills as soon as he set his physical foot down.
Blue is sure he found a way,though.
He shifted in his seat again,this time to stand upright as quietly as he could to not arouse the other man's suspicion again, if he could even call it that.
Glancing in the direction of the front door as he stood up - only a room or so away - he couldn't suppress a shiver when his eyelights unwittingly flicked over to the analogue clock ticking on the wall that gave him confirmation that his big brother would not be back any time soon.
Dream's gaze had already left him but the sensation of being watched still lingered as he hovered by his front door.
'I...I need some air,...'
His mouth faltered around his words as soon as he tried to say 'be back soon' because he wasn't,really. That would be a lie. The skeleton only said something to announce his departure out of instinct and some sense of politeness or courtesy...Dream probably didn't care. The door shut behind him.