Meanwhile, with Ink....
Ink bounced around impatiently in the original skelebros' living room. Classic had been working on the device for a few days now, and Ink was on his last leg as far as waiting was concerned. It felt like it had been an eternity since he'd lost Error, and he feared he was starting to forget him. He could barely remember their conversation about ending the cycle of creation and destruction, and was afraid that the longer he was without Error, the less he would remember about him. It frightened him to think that his memory would make him forget the person he fell in love with, and his mind immediately went to that night they'd shared their first kiss. He closed his eyesockets and melted into the memory, desperately holding onto every little detail. He sighed, his soul aching more painfully as he thought of those lovely, impossibly beautiful eyes....
"Hey, Ink."
The creator jolted as Dream walked out of a portal. They looked at each other for a moment before Ink turned away, knowing why the guardian was here.
"Look, I know I've been a little overbearing these last couple of days," he said, rubbing his arm guiltily, "but you really should let this go. Error wouldn't want you to obsess over bringing him back. It just makes his memory more painful."
Ink's expression grew spiteful, and he turned back to Dream. Standing, he puffed out his chest in an effort to look defiant, and looked Dream in the eye.
"You think I'm crazy. Hell, Classic thinks I'm crazy! But if I was out in who knows where, lost, alone, scared, I would want Error to come look for me. If he was in my position, he'd come looking for me, I know it! Even though he thinks I'd never forgive him, he'd still try to find me. I will never give up on him, Dream. I did that too often in the past, and I want to amend my mistakes."
With that, Ink turned away. Dream held his hand out, but hesitated. He had no idea Ink's guilt about Error could run this deeply, and it worried him. At length, he sighed. Sitting down on the couch, he folded his hands, and Ink followed suit. Together, they sat waiting.
An hour later, Classic walked in the front door, his usual, lazy grin spread across his face. Ink bolted out of his seat, hoping for good news.
"Welp, I finished it."
Ink gasped in delight. "Great! What are we waiting for?! Let's try it!"
"Hold up," Classic said, holding a hand up to halt the creator. "We need to do a test run. It's pretty standard procedure for this stuff, so we need a volunteer. And not you, Ink. We need to know if it's safe enough to use."
Ink's face fell in disappointment. He looked to Dream, who was looking down in thought. Who could they volunteer as a test subject?
Just then, Blueberry popped out of a portal. He went up and pecked Dream on the cheek, then greeted Classic.
"HELLO, FRIEND CLASSIC! IT IS NICE TO SEE YOU AFTER SUCH A LONG TIME!"
"It was literally yesterday-"
"REGARDLESS, I HAVE COME TO SAY HI TO CAPTAIN. WHERE IS HE?"
"Out training with Undyne-"
"GREAT! I SHALL JOIN THEM!"
"Berry, wait." Dream stopped his partner before he could leave. Talking his hands in his own, Dream looked into Blueberry's eyelights. "Do you know anyone who could volunteer to try out Classic's device? He made it to track down Error, though I still don't think we'll find him."
Blueberry grinned gently and squeezed Dream's hands.
"DEAR DREAM, YOU WORRY TOO MUCH. I AM SURE CLASSIC HAS DONE WHAT HE CAN TO HELP, AND I BELIEVE THAT INK IS CORRECT. WE WILL FIND ERROR, BUT ONLY IF YOU STAY POSITIVE!"
Dream laughed at that, pressing a kiss to Blueberry's forehead.
"You're right. I should try to think positive. But you didn't answer my question."
Blueberry thought a moment, then lit up. "I THINK I KNOW JUST THE PERSON!"
Exactly ten minutes later....
"What the fuck didja rope me into this time?!" Red shouted as he was forced onto Classic's house. The two rivals glared at each other before Red sat down on the couch, pouting and scowling as he looked around. Classic eyed him warily, feeling unsafe having Red, UnderFell Sans, in his house. In his AU. Near his brother. He just didn't like Red all that much.
Dream and Blueberry smirked at the tension between the two, and Ink fidgeted restlessly. At length, he broke the silence, nearly losing his temper.
"Could you guys please just get along for five minutes?!"
Classic finally tore his harsh gaze away from the edgy skeleton on his couch to look at Ink. He shrugged, then teleported away. A minute later, he teleported back with two small wristwatches. Or so Ink thought.
"Alright, Red. Put this on."
Red snarled slightly as Classic held out the watch, but took it anyway. He inspected it, fitting the watch onto his wrist rather easily.
"What kinda voodoo didja use ta make this, Classic?" he said, smirking viciously. Classic rolled his eyelights, then pressed a button on the watch. A beep sounded as they synced, and Classic turned a few dials and flipped a few switches. He then scanned Dream.
"Ok, Dream," he said, grinning at the guardian. "I need you to go to the most obscure and remote AU you can possibly find. If this works, Red should teleport to you when I press this button."
Dream nodded, and portaled away. After a few minutes, Classic pressed the button, and suddenly, Red vanished. Ink gasped and was about to bring out his brush, but Classic stopped him.
"Chillax, buddy. All I have to do is press this button, and he teleports back. Simple."
He did so, and Red reappeared, panting. He glared at Classic.
"Don't you fucking dare do that to me, again!"
Classic's expression turned confused.
"Why? Where were you?"
"I was in the middle of a battlefield, ya fucking moron! Lazer guns firing everywhere, giant-ass lazer cannons blasting my nonexistent ears to hell, humongous spider robot things nearly crushed me, fucking lazer sword fighters off in the distance, like why the fuck did Dream go there?!"
"Where is Dream?" Ink chimed in, a look of resolve on his face. Red rolled his eyelights, but shifted uncomfortably.
"H-he was tryin' ta help some person trapped under a frickin' glass building. Said he'd be right back in a jiff."
Dream did come back, wiping sweat from his brow. "Well, at least we know it works. Sorry for that, Red. I thought that particular section of OuterSwap would be relatively safe. I guess not, heh."
He scratched the back of his head, and Red deadpanned.
"That was OuterSwap?"
"W-well, it was a planet close to where the skeleton brothers usually live. I thought I'd test to see if the device could teleport anywhere, not just where we usually explore."
"Good job, Dream," Classic said, adjusting some calculations on the watch. He looked to Ink, and the creator turned to him.
"Welp, here comes the fun part. To get Ink wherever Error is."
Ink could hardly calm his quickening soulbeat. This was it. He could finally see Error again! Before he could grab the watch from Red, Classic spoke.
"We might need someone else to go with Ink, just in case it's dangerous where Error ended up. That, and I dunno if a portal will bring you back, safely. So, I made two more of these, all of which are synced to this one. Ok?"
Ink nodded, and turned to Dream.
"Dream, would you be willing to come with me?"
Dream hesitated. "I-"
A portal opened up, and they all froze. Out stepped Nightmare and Killer, both with dangerous scowls on their faces. Nightmare eyed Ink suspiciously, turning to Dream.
"So Ink didn't go crazy. Or are you finally joining him in his mad schemes, brother?"
Dream rolled his eyelights, but lit up with an idea. He hummed, catching Blueberry's attention. They shared a glance, almost reading each other's minds. A smirk formed on Blueberry's face, and he boldly approached the king of negativity.
"HOW NICE OF YOU TO JOIN US, NIGHTMARE! WE WERE JUST ABOUT TO TEST OUT A DEVICE THAT SHOULD TAKE US RIGHT TO ERROR. CARE TO HELP US OUT?" He sent a wink to Classic, who immediately understood what the blue-clad skeleton was up to. He nodded, and Blueberry's smile grew wider.
Nightmare sensed something brewing between them, and groaned. Whatever they were planning, he wanted no part in it. He and his gang have gone through a terrible loss, and he wasn't about to abandon them in their darkest hour. At length, he addressed the elephant in the room.
"Fine, I'll help-"
"EXCELLENT!"
"If it is safe."
Red grumbled, saying something about it wasn't safe, but Nightmare couldn't hear him over Ink's yell of excitement.
"Yes!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you, Nightmare! I promise, you will not regret this!"
Classic handed them both the watches, then synced them up. He brought out the puppet of himself Ink had found in the Anti-Void, and scanned it with the watch. There were traces of the destroyer's magic within the strands of yarn, and he singled them out on the watch's interface. He pressed a few buttons, then looked up at the two gods. Nightmare had a slightly annoyed scowl on his face, and Ink's eyelights had turned to magenta and purple stars. He was clearly excited, but Nightmare could detect a hint of nervousness and fear in him as well. Maybe a hint of guilt, too. He wondered about what, but he had only a few seconds before Classic would activate the device. He walked up to Killer, who had remained quiet and apprehensive since Nightmare agreed to this plan.
"N-Nightmare?" he squeaked, an eyelight glowing faintly in his normally empty eyesocket. "Y-you will come back, r-right?"
Nightmare tilted Killer's chin up slightly, looking into the grey eyelight. "Of course I will, Killz. I want to believe that Error is still alive, too. I'm gonna find him and bring him home, and I'm counting on you to keep the others safe. Can you do that for me?"
Killer gulped and stared into Nightmare's single, deep blue eyelight. He really didn't want his lover to leave, but if it meant getting back a part of their family, then it would be worth it, right? Yeah, it would be worth it. It had to be. Otherwise, they would be risking their lives for nothing. Killer held Nightmare's hand to his cheek, brushing a kiss against it. He hoped with all his target-shaped soul Nightmare would come back to him. He was all he had left.
"O-ok," Killer looked up at Nightmare, a soft smile on his face. "I-I'll try."
Nightmare smiled back, then pressed a kiss to Killer's skeletal lips. Finally, he turned to Classic and nodded. "This had better work."
"Oh, trust me," Classic said, pressing a button. "It will."
Ink and Nightmare were suddenly plunged into darkness. Ink looked around frantically, hoping to spot the king somewhere in the darkness, but there was nothing. He was alone. He shivered at the feeling, almost hoping Classic would just teleport them back, already. But, he reminded himself who he was doing this for, and a surge of resolve began to burn in his bones. He would find Error. He would bring the destroyer home, he would apologize for everything, and he would beg for Error's forgiveness. He didn't care too much if Error hated him. He was too desperate at this point to care about anything except getting Error home. Getting him safe.
Safe in the creator's arms.
A light made him look up and breath out in relief when he could see Nightmare's silhouette against the black background. He squinted as the light came closer, and he realized he recognized that light. He smiled as Destiny floated into view.
"Hello, Ink."
"Destiny!" He waved, hoping the deity could see him. Destiny laughed at Ink's antics, but grew more serious after a moment of silence.
"I have something for you."
He raised his hand, and a potion appeared. Ink stared in admiration at the glass phial, wondering why it looked familiar. It was a light blue with flecks of gold in it, and he tilted his head in curiosity as Destiny pushed it over to him. He grabbed it and studied it further, then looked up at Destiny. The deity's light was already fading, indicating Destiny needed to leave. Ink tried to stop him.
"W-wait! What am I supposed to do with this?"
Destiny chuckled. "You will know when the time is right, Ink. Trust yourself, and you'll find your way."
With that, the light faded completely, as Destiny had disappeared. Ink groaned as he secured the potion to his belt. Typical. A mischievous deity like him would obviously be vague and unhelpful. Well, now here he is, waiting for he had no idea what.
Back in Fallacy's Castle....
"I knew I had that book around here, somewhere," Fallacy muttered, rummaging through his library. Jasper and Suave looked through some bookshelves and on the desk respectively, and Suave picked up one from the desk.
"Could this be it, my lord?" he asked, holding the book up. Fallacy strode over, lighting up with a grin as he took the book from Suave.
"Yes, this is it. Thank you, Suave."
"Of course, my lord."
Fallacy thumbed through the pages, stopping at one in particular. Jasper leaned over to get a better look, glancing at his father as he did so. His brows snapped together in confusion, and he narrowed his eyesockets in suspicion.
"Enchanted Jewellery, Father?"
Fallacy nodded, flipping to a page with a complex and scary-looking amulet. "Yes. I suspected he would probably be able to tell if he'd been hexed, so I thought the next culprit would be something he's wearing. Now the question is, what type could it be?"
Jasper got a better look at the different types, then pointed to something that caught his eye. "What's that?"
Fallacy stopped at the rings section. There was a ring similar to the one Encre was wearing, but not an exact replica.In large, bold print, it read, 'Cursed Rings.' Fallacy took a look through the section, not really finding what he hoped was the right thing. Cinnamon had gotten onto the table via the chair, looking at the rings with them. His little eyes widened as he spied the ring Encre had purchased from 'Gaster.' He barked and put a paw on the page, stopping Fallacy from continuing.
"Hey! Get off, mutt!" Jasper snapped, about to swat Cinnamon off the book. Fallacy had stopped moving, stopped speaking, and Suave put a hand on Jasper's shoulder. He motioned for him to look at Fallacy, and they exchanged looks. Fallacy couldn't help but stare. Encre's ring was a cursed ring, alright. But not just any ring.
It could only be removed by the afflicted person's true soulmate.
What's more, the ring infected its host with a curse that took hold at night, one that turned the host into a horrifying creature of darkness. Until the ring is removed, the curse will persist, and the ring will call to the soulmate until they either remove the ring, or die trying. At that point, the host is better off dead, since the death of their soulmate makes it impossible to remove the ring. They would be forced to live with the curse until they died, then the ring would find a new host.
And Fallacy had never been happier and more terrified.
He finally found the person he could spend his life with, though they would have to get past Encre's slight homophobia. Fallacy was confident he could convince Encre to drop those hideous ideals, but he was faced by a much bigger problem. They had to find the artist, first. He swept out of the library, a set look of resolve on his face.
Jasper had read more about the ring too, and followed his father out into the main hall. "Father, can we really trust that dog? Maybe it's trying to trick us."
Fallacy scoffed and turned to his son with an amused smirk. "So now you don't want me to date? Make up your mind, Jasper."
The young prince hesitated, then continued. "I-I just don't want to see you get hurt. I don't want you to lock yourself up in your room, again. And I especially don't want to waste your affection on some dumb mortal who was foolish enough to try to kill you." He pouted, and Fallacy shook his head in amusement.
"Once he sees that we aren't so barbaric as he thinks we are, I'm sure he will warm up to us. Now, though, we have to find him and bring him home without getting ourselves killed. Are you coming?" Fallacy turned to leave, stopping at the door as Cinnamon came running with Suave. Jasper hesitated, but nodded. "Good. We'll split up to cover more ground. And Jasper?"
The young prince perked up at Fallacy's uncharacteristic change of tone. He met his father's eyelights, noting a tender and concerned gleam in the king's eyelights. "Y-yes, Father?"
Fallacy sighed, his soul heavy with worry. "Be careful, son."
And with that, he left, Cinnamon trailing at his heels.
... ... ...
The wind howled through the trees as the corrupted husk of Encre staggered through the trees. It was apparent there was some semblance of sentience still trying to fight its way to the surface, but for the most part, the creature was a mindless animal, aimlessly wandering through the woods.
It stopped for a moment, holding a hand to its head as if it was in pain, then continued on. Where it was going, your guess is as good as mine, but if one were to ask the creature, I'm sure it would end in blood, dust, or both. The creature stopped again, looking up at the crescent moon shining through a clearing in the trees. It stared at the moon for a long time, before walking towards it. It felt drawn to it, as if the moon contained an enviable power, and it used its tendrils to lift it into a tree and sit on a branch, staring longingly at the bright, silvery moon.
A rustle in the bushes made the creature whirl around, and it crouched lower in the trees, hidden by the leaves of the fall-colored trees. It tilted its head in curiosity as three people emerged from the brush, and it watched as they made their way past its hiding spot.
"Ugh, we've been searching for days, Azure," Eterna groaned, keeping a hold on her silver flintlock just in case. "Encre's probably dead by now."
"PLEASE DO NOT SAY THAT, ETERNA," Azure retorted, holding the lantern higher as he walked. "I KNOW ENCRE IS ALIVE, AND I AM SURE WE WILL FIND HIM! WE MUST REMAIN HOPEFUL."
The captain groaned again, earning a snicker from the third member of their party. Neil slapped his robotic hand over his mouth as Eterna glared at him, but they continued forward. A few minutes passed, and Neil suddenly shivered. Eterna smirked at him, deciding to get revenge.
"Aw, you a little scaredy cat, Neil?"
He deadpanned at her, then looked around him. "No. Feels like we're being watched. And it's cold outside, and this armor does diddly squat to protect from the cold."
"Psh, how do you think I feel?" she said cockily, but her eyes wandered around her as they walked. The vampires hadn't been a problem so far, posing little to no threat as they searched the forest. There was the occasional blood-starved vampire, desperately searching for an easy meal, but they quickly met their end from a single shot from Eterna's flintlock. Being watched certainly wasn't a good thing, but they didn't think it would be worse than what they faced, so far.
The creature quietly made its way through the trees, stopping when they stopped, following their every move. It was curious about the name 'Encre,' for it sounded familiar. It realized that must be its name, and internally recoiled from it. It did not like such a title, but it could not think of anything more suitable. Nevertheless, it followed the search party, watching them like a predator about to pounce on its prey.
... ... ...
Ink fell out of the sky into a forest. He groaned as he sat up, holding a hand to his head. He checked to make sure he hadn't landed on the potion Destiny gave him, and he sighed in relief when he found it safe and sound. He stood up and looked around. It was dark, and there was a nasty nip in the air.
'Hmm,' he thought, taking in the scenery. 'Must be fall or something.'
He turned around and discovered he was alone. A chill ran up his spine as one of his worst fears took hold, and he held his arms close to his body to drive away the cold and the terror creeping into his soul.
"O-ok, Ink," he muttered shakily. "You're ok, You're ok, just-" he took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "-calm down. Error should've been here. We were supposed to teleport to his location. Why isn't he here?!"
He continued to shiver, turning every which way to make sure nothing ambushed him. He began walking, hoping he'd find something, someone, to tell him where he was. He hated being lost and alone. But, he would remain positive. For Error.
In a flash, something hit him like a freight train. He grunted as something, more accurately someone, pinned him down. He looked up to find a dark figure glaring down at him with strangely familiar eyelights.
Fallacy hesitated when he looked into the mismatched eyelights of the intruder. That's funny. They look almost like....
Before he could react, the intruder disappeared in pool of ink, and he suddenly found himself in inky, purple chains.
"What the-?!" he paused as the biggest paintbrush he'd ever seen was shoved in his face, and he looked up at the familiar intruder. He then realized why they seemed so familiar. "E-Encre?!"
Ink's brows snapped together in confusion, and he lowered his paintbrush slightly. "Who's Encre?"
___________________________________
Man, I might just keep writing! Sorry for the wait, things have gotten... bad. Something strange happened to my dad, and he's... acting off. Whatever happened during his stay in the hospital must not have been a good thing, cuz he isn't acting like himself. It might have been Covid, or something else. Whatever it is, it's got us concerned. If I don't update for another, I dunno, week, month, longer time than that even, it's probably just work and nothing to worry about. But if this... behavior keeps up, I might never post again.
Ok, stop being overdramatic, Dory.
It isn't like you're gonna die.
Probably.
Anyway, enjoy the chapter. There might not be another one for a few days, depending on how much time I'll have for myself over the weekend.
Sincerely, a stressed out author.