Error crossed his arms as Blue fussed over his state. He ignored the way the motion irritated his injury. With the way Error happened to roll his eye lights at the attention, his gaze noticed a colorful new addition to the party. No one seemed bothered, so Error put the weird skeleton from his mind.
"ERROR." Blue said in a voice that asked for no argument. "WHAT'S BROKEN THIS TIME."
Error huffed and turned away to avoid Blues eyelights. He was such a worrier.
"I'm f-f-f-fine." He stated. "It's j-j-j-just a fracture."
"IT IS NOT FINE." Blue huffed arms on his hips. "YOU ALWAYS SAY IT'S FINE. EVEN WHEN A RIB FELL OFF THAT ONE TIME."
"Not t-t-t-true." Error raised a brow bone. "I admitted I n-n-n-needed help when both arms were r-r-r-ripped off."
Blue gave Error an even stirner expression. Error sighed.
Error wasn't exactly known for reassuring others very well.
"Only because you couldn't reattach them yourself." Interjected a childish voice.
Error winced when he received a light bap to his face as Chaos floated into view.
At some point Chaos had snuck up on him, beating Blue to his concerned scolding.
Chaos kept their hand there as they spoke in a disappointed/amused voice. Error was notably uncomfortable with the contact, a few glitches popping up and several Error signs covered his sockets.
He stubbornly refused to acknowledge the hand's presence.
"Dunkle." Chaos said. "You always tell the Chara's how important self-care is. They would be sooo disappointed if I told them you were refusing treatment."
Chaos's smile said they'd be willing to spread the word just to see the Chara's panic as they exaggerated the extent of the injury.
"... f-f-f-fine." Error relented. "T-T-T-Twist my a-a-a-arm, why don't you."
Error glared past the fingers. Not that his gaze held much heat at the threat.
Though Error did remember the last time he showed up at the Chara Realm when he had actually been severely injured. He wasn't interested in being wrapped like a mummy and strapped to a bed again unless it was actually necessary. But at the same time, it was nice to know they cared.
Chaos smiled smugly and stopped holding their hand to his face.
Blue sighed in relief, giving them a smile.
"THANK YOU CHAOS." He turned his blue eye lights on the Destroyer. "ERROR?"
Blue gestured for him to show where it hurt.
"Yeah, y-y-y-yeah."
Error gave an exaggerated sigh, but rolled up a sleeve on his patched up trench jacket, revealing a cracked and slightly leaky humorous. Scars spiderwebbed every inch of his bones, some more noticeable than others.
"Always knew your funny bone was broken." Chaos jokes, nudging Error's other arm.
Both Blue and Error gave Chaos an unamused expression.
"THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO JEST." Blue pointed out, looking back at the damage. "AT LEAST WAIT UNTIL AFTER TREATMENT."
Chaos just shrugged, continuing their hovering. They looked like they wanted to say something, but had forgotten what it was and were trying to remember.
Without further prompt, Blue hovered his hand over the crack to focus the healing on the worst of it. The magic sept into Error's bones, leaving a feeling that could only be described as minty ... somehow.
"Why don't you go play a violent v-v-v-video game or something." Error asked Chaos, slightly annoyed.
"Can't." Chaos admitted. "Core hid my switch."
Error gave a pointedly unamused look.
"Then g-g-g-go ask for it b-b-b-back. Nicely ." He added, realizing it probably wouldn't end well if he didn't. Not that it would stop them either way if they were determined.
"Fine." They said with a smirk. They turned to leave before pausing and turning back, recollection finally dining their features. "Oh yeah! Also have a message from above."
Their smile uncharacteristically shrunk as they passed on Destiny's plan.
By the end, Error's eye lights had gone out, leaving two red voids.
"... you're s-s-s-sure."
"THAT'S ... A RATHER EXTREME GAMBLE." Blue said, having listened in.
"It's just what she said." Chaos shrugged as they smiled. It seemed strained. "The choice is up to you, though. She won't make you do it."
"Yeah ... she w-w-w-wouldn't ..." He said, monotoned.
Chaos left in the direction of Core.
Blue ran a free hand over his skull in shock, still healing Error, but notably distracted from the task.
Error sighed, facing the ceiling. Just because he had the option to not follow her plan, didn't mean it would be in the multiverse's best interest. As Blue had put, an 'extreme gamble' ... but it was one that was needed, considering the state of things.
Even now ... Ink was still creating more.
Risky didn't come close to describing what was needed to do. But Error knew he would do it.
Hopefully they make it out alive.
Error put to words his frustration.
" Funk ."
Error blinked. That ... wasn't what he had meant to say. Even Blue gave him a quizzical look, so he didn't just imagine it.
Expanding his awareness of the codes around him trying to find the cause, he finally noticed nearby tampering. Being as he was in Nightmare's Castle, he had let his guard down. Clearly that was foolish of him as someone had invaded the place right under their noseless faces. But who? A Hacker? It hadn't happened before, but Error hadn't been able to really strengthen the firewall for ... he wasn't even sure how long.
They weren't doing much harm - turning any alcohol into fruit juice, cigarettes into snack foods, censoring swear words, lowering people's guards, etc - but the fact that it was being tampered with at all could only mean that whoever was doing it, they were powerful.
He traced back the signal and focused on the origin of the changes.
His eye lights were drawn (and assaulted) with codes so horrendous it felt like an insult to Error's very being just to view it. It was the new person he had dismissed as unimportant.
So. Much. Neon.
It was a skeleton.
"W-W-W-Who or w-w-w-what is that abomination." Error asked, keeping his voice fairly measured.
Blue followed his line of sight as he refocused on his healing magic again.
"OH, THAT'S FRESH. HE'S ... NEW." Blue summarized what he knew like he was reading off a bullet point list. "CHAOS BROUGHT HIM. EVEN CORE DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT HIM UNTIL TODAY. HE PUNCHED INK IN THE FACE AND SOMEHOW CONVINCED HIM TO BE BROTHERS??? THERE'S A LOT WE DON'T KNOW. BUT!! HE KNOWS ABOUT THE BALANCE SOMEHOW AND I THINK ..." Blue became a little uncertain and quieter. "I THINK HE CAN MANIPULATE CODE?"
Error saw how Fresh reacted to Lust uncomfortably. Error took out a chocolate bar to snack on while he watched the awkward interaction. The extra healing from the item wouldn't be unwanted if this 'Fresh' turned out hostile. Not that the fight with Ink had even really started.
It was good to be a little cautious. Especially because one of the effects was lowering people's guards.
"You're right about code m-m-m-manipulation." Error said between bites, not taking his gaze off the unknown. "He's passively doing it by j-j-j-just being in the room."
"REALLY???" Blue asked, surprised. "I, UH, DIDN'T NOTICE."
"It's subtle. Y-Y-Y-You wouldn't feel it with how m-m-m-minor your glitch is ..." Error gave an apologetic look. "Sor-"
Blue held up his free hand to interrupt what was not the first, nor likely the last time Error would try to apologize about the whole 'kidnapping in insanity and forgetting Blue in the Antivoid for too long' moment.
"ANY IDEAS ABOUT WHO OR WHAT HE IS?" Blue asked, getting to the point. "COULD HE BE ONE OF THOSE HACKERS YOU'VE TALKED ABOUT?"
Error squinted at Fresh's confusing code once more. A particular line of code that flashed by, that shocked Error. It was a mere chance that he caught it with how fast it moved on, to the point he might have missed it should he have blinked. (Luck gave a fist pump at her assist working)
"... n-n-n-no." Error said, hesitantly. "He's s-s-s-something ... else ."
Fresh finally seemed to be at his limit for dealing with Lust. Both Error and Blue felt him create the foam sword now in his hold that he slapped Lust with.
They exchanged quick glances.
"HE SEEMS TO BE COMING OVER HERE." Blue pointed out, finishing what he could with his healing.
"Yep." Error rolled his sleeve back down and flexed his hand, then rotated his shoulder.
The wound wasn't completely healed, but it was better than it was. It just took too much energy to heal Error completely. Even for Blue who was stronger than he lets on to most.
"WE SHOULD PROBABLY STOP TALKING ABOUT HIM BEFORE HE GETS IN HEARING DISTANCE." Blue said, fiddling with his fingers.
"Y-Y-Y-Yep."
"SO ... UH. LOVELY WEATHER WE'RE HAVING, ISN'T IT?" Blue said stiffly.
Error didn't even bother to respond past giving Blue a dead panned expression. Which was fine as Fresh had already walked right up to them.
"Yo yo yo!" The walking color bomb greeted the two, holding out a hand to Error. "What up muh radical Blue-dawg and his fabtastic plus one, the Destroyer-bro? What's the 411?"
Fresh had an amused grin and his body language showed no fear. Strange, considering he seemed to know who Error was ... unless what Error saw was true.
Orange track pants with a white stripe, jacket of varying colors (two blues, green and pink), purple under sweater and a baseball cap of primary colors he was quite the eye sore.
Error was just going to get straight to the point and ask about what he saw in his code. Error's not exactly known for his conversational subtlety.
"Are y-y-y-you an Ad-?"
However, Error's was interrupted by (-RAID: SHADOW LEGENDS (jk)-) a shadow reverse melting into a barrier between Error, Blue and Fresh.
Nightmare was between them.
"Fresh was it?" Nightmare asked, clearly not hiding his intention of keeping an eye on him discreet. The protective goof must have finished decorating. "Why don't we put your name in for the karaoke game."
Nightmare linked arms and started to drag Fresh toward the stage in a way that barred no argument.
"Hey, yo!" Fresh pouted but didn't resist, even if he was thrown a little off balance. "I was up an' in da middle o' introductions, squid-boy!"
"S-Squid-boy!? " Nightmare scoffed, unamused. "What happened to 'King'?"
"Ya didn't look comfortable when I mentioned your title." Fresh gave an amused one armed shrug. "Thought this nick would be better, bro-slice!"
"How is that better!?"
"No?" Taking it as a challenge to find a better nickname, Fresh started giving a few options. "What about Nighty? Moon Child? Tentacle Dadd- no, sorry, didn't think that through. Goopmare? Negative Nancy? Nootmare?" Fresh seemed to ponder that one. "Nootmare. Noooot -mare. Noot-noot!" He snapped his phalanges. "Imma go with Nootmare!"
The sound of Killer snorting nearby ensured the nickname would be common knowledge within the hour.
Finally they were far enough that Blue didn't think they would overhear.
"... WELL THAT JUST HAPPENED." He turned to Error. "SO WHAT WERE YOU ABOUT TO ASK HIM?"
Error sighed.