Chapter Text
It started with a collapse.
No matter what anyone else says, how many times they insist that they're right, it started like this. It did not start with a kidnapping, nor did it start with brainwashing. It certainly didn't start with a case of Stockholm Syndrome, as that would involve kidnapping, which it did not start with.
It started with a collapse, okay?
That is what Error will say. That is what Dream will say.
That is not what anyone else in the Multiverse will say.
Error was, in his opinion, a simple man.
He knew what he wanted and how to get it, and he made sure he always got it. He enjoyed watching his favourite show, Undernovela, and sitting in Outertale, looking at the stars. He even created these puppets of all (...fine, most of) the Sanses in the Multiverse. And no, it wasn't weird or ironic at all that the Destroyer made puppets, and if you try to say that it was, he'd come and kill you himself.
Anyways...he was a very simple man. Yes, he destroyed worlds, but that was because there should only be one; the rest were just disrespectful to the original world. However, everyone else was blinded by that stupid squid of an artist into believing that they were good and meant to be there. So, he had to take matters into his own hands and do everyone a favour.
And he got no thanks in return for it! Can you believe it? Here he was, doing everyone a favour and everyone was getting mad at him for doing it! It's like they don't appreciate it at all...but that was fine! Frustrating, yes, but fine! He didn't need to be thanked for doing his job; he knows that when he succeeded in his goal, that everyone would realize that he was right and then they would flock to him, begging for forgiveness. Until then, he would continue doing his thankless job. After all, somebody had to do it, right?
However, despite him being a simple man, there were some things he didn't understand.
The worlds he destroyed were a given one; he doesn't think he'll ever understand why they're being created and keep being created. He also doesn't think he wants to, or will ever want to. It would just interfere with his job. Besides that, there were a few minuscule things he didn't understand (like the thing in Undernovela that they do when they wrap their arms around each other; like, why? What even is that? Doesn't it hurt? It's always weird when it appears...), and one other major thing.
The thing about 'Soulmates.'
Yes, they are a thing in this Multiverse, however much Error wishes they weren't. Everyone was so, so excited about them, the idea of having the perfect person to grow old and die with. Okay...perhaps not everyone viewed it as such, but did that really matter when it was basically the truth? You're right! It doesn't.
Soulmates...
Bullshit, is what Error thinks of them. Pure, unfiltered, smelly bullshit. Why, you may ask? Because they were just a myth! A myth that everyone fooled themselves into believing because they weren't happy with just one person all their life. They wanted the belief that they would find the perfect match, the one who would accept them for all that they are. And for Error? It makes him laugh.
If you hadn't guessed, Error didn't believe in 'Soulmates'.
Now, he will admit that he doesn't truly understand why he's so against it, but he just accepted it. He didn't want to try and dig for an answer that may not even exist.
Besides, how could you even tell that you're unable to lie? You would need to be actively about to lie to them if you had a chance at detecting it. And for him? He's always honest, so it would be even harder for him.
Kind of. It was hard to determine it when he doesn't believe in it.
Which made it all the more confusing when he found his soulmate.
"ERROR!" Nightmare barked, jumping back as an arrow landed too close to where he had been. He turned to the destroyer. "HURRY UP ALREADY!" He didn't listen for an answer as he had to dodge again immediately after.
Error felt his eye twitch. "I'M TRYING!" He shot some strings at Ink, who sidestepped them just in time. The twitching increased as he sent a wave of bones, only for them to be cancelled out with ink. He growled low in his throat, so close to just giving up and strangling the poor creator with his bare hands.
Ink grinned at his misery, leaning on his brush. "Well, gee, Error," said person narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the creator, dreading what was about to be said. "do need a break? You just keep missing on me!"
"Shut. Up." Error hissed, sending strings after strings as Ink laughed and danced away. He groaned.
Error just wanted to go home. He had been planning to do nothing, anyways, but noooo! Someone, a certain 'King of Negativity', as he calls himself, had to summon him and ruin his plans! And for what? An attack on a random AU? For WHAT? Oh, annoying your brother? Alright then! Let's all just cancel our plans, no matter how important they were, so that we could do something as petty as annoying your brother, Oh Great and Powerful One!
However, don't blame him if he wants to go home.
Error sighed and looked around, deciding to ignore his mortal enemy for now. Nightmare was busy dodging the arrows coming from his brother, who, despite their efforts did not seem annoyed, more so rather just pissed. Which was probably fair; it had looked like they interrupted some sleep when they started this.
He smirked. It was amusing, now that he thought about it.
"Errrooorrrr!" Ink whined, suddenly sounding too close for comfort. Error flinched and whipped around, revealing the artist about an inch away from his face. Ink pouted. "Don't ignore me! It's rude..."
Error scowled, starting to lean away. "Goddamn it, squid!" He snapped, feeling himself start to glitch frantically, the words already invading his eyesight. "Don't you know a thing about personal sp—" He didn't get to finish as the world started to shake.
Ink yelped as he lost his balance, crashing forwards onto Error, who then froze up at the contact, which made them fall onto the ground. Error blinked hard, unable to see with his vision blocked by thousands of words. He could feel someone on top of him, which only made him want to panic more. Ink, his mind snarled and he echoed it out loud, pushing the creator off of him roughly.
He then reached up and rubbed at his eyes, trying to get his sight back as the world shook even more. Eventually, he got it so that he could somewhat see his surrounding, although they were mostly blocked with his glitches. His gaze caught on a cliff in the distance, which had fallen and collapsed into itself as he watched.
He gritted his teeth and stood up on unsteady legs. He did not want to be around for when the whole underground of this AU collapsed. Error snapped his fingers and heard the sound of a portal opening. Turning until he saw the familiar white void, he sighed in relief.
He took a step forward and—
The ceiling collapsed before he could reach his portal.
Error woke up slowly. He groaned, twisting his head to the side as he blinked his eyes open. It was dark where he was and for a moment, that confused him. Then he remembered. The Underground had collapsed and he hadn't escaped in time. It infuriated him a little, if he was honest.
He shifted again and hissed as the movement made pain shot up his leg. He lifted his head up to try to see what was causing it, but it was too dark. It was probably safe to assume it was a rock, though. He huffed, laying his head back down. His limbs ached. He bit back another groan, tiredness seeping across his mind.
He really should've stayed home.
There was a click and clank of pebbles falling to the ground somewhere behind him. Error strained to see back there, but he just couldn't see in the dark. He also heard footsteps, soft and fast, almost silent.
Someone was there, he realized. For a minute, he was relieved; he wasn't alone. Then, he was disgusted with himself. Really? He had never felt this way before, so why now? It must've been just a side effect of the shock of having a ceiling collapse on you. Yeah, that was it.
"Who's there?" He demanded, trying to sound threatening, even if he was in pain. "Show yourself, or I'll kill you!" Yes, so maybe he was bluffing a bit, as he was clearly in no state to be fighting, but the person didn't need to know that. "Well, not really, but—" Wait, what? "—you know what I mean!" That...wasn't supposed to come out.
The footsteps paused. Error could almost smell their confusion. Not that he could blame them; he was also confused. He shook it off though, as it must've been a coincidence. He nodded to himself. Yes, that's what it was. Coincidence.
He heard the person shift. Then, a strikingly familiar voice spoke, "...Error?"
Error froze, glitches overtaking his vision yet again, even if he couldn't notice the difference. He felt himself fall to the brink of a crash, but he resisted it with all of his might. He had to stay conscious for this. "...Dream?"
He heard the guardian (he was ninety percent sure that it was Dream) shift again, walking forward a step before stopping. "Um...yes." Dream said, sounding nervous. "...what are you doing here still?"
Error raised an eyebrow. "Oh, you know, wanted to take a look at the scenery after the collapse. It's not like a rock fell on me and now is pinning me to the floor." Sarcasm dripped from his voice.
"...oh." It seemed like Dream had understood that. Error snorted, amused despite himself. He prepared himself to hear the guardian walk away and never return. It was silent for a minute, which made him wonder if he missed the other leaving, before he heard the telltale sound of someone sitting down.
He froze again. "What are you doing?"
"Um...sitting down?" He could practically hear the smile in Dream's voice.
"Why."
"Because...you might want some company?"
"Well, I do, so you can stay." Error bit out before pausing. He had said, 'I don't, so leave', right?
...
Mortification filled him. He did not mean that. He didn't! "I do." He tried again. "I do! I do, I do, I do!" Again and again and again. No matter what, he couldn't lie.
He...couldn't...lie.
No. No, no, no, no, no. This was not happening. They didn't exist! They were a myth, made up for some delusion so that people could waste their life searching for something that, and he cannot stress this enough, didn't exist. It just...wasn't happening, plain as that! He doesn't care what anyone else says: this was not happening.
It just...couldn't be happening.
"This isn't happening!" He stated to no one and sort of someone, as he did have an audience of one, who giggled—giggled—at his declaration. Oh, he wished he could see the other so that he could glare a hole into the idiot's head, essentially killing him in his eyes.
"You can't lie to me, can you?" Dream chirped, from his seat beside him. Error gave in to his urge and glared in the guardian's general vicinity. He growled also, for good scaring measure, but that only made Dream giggle again. "That's okay! I can't lie to you either."
His glare tampered off into confusion. "What?"
"I can't lie to you, Error." Dream confirmed, his voice gentle and patient. "I actually figured that out a while ago? It took a bit, but I did."
"And you didn't tell me?!"
"Well, I mean you were my enemy at the time, so..."
"...I'm still you're enemy."
Dream paused. "...True." He said it with a hint of disappointment. Error was confused at that. Dream fell silent, apparently out of things to say. Error sighed in relief, laying his head back down and closing his eyes. He just wanted to relax for a bit.
Unfortunately, he never seems to get what he wants.
"Hey, Error?"
Inhale. "What?"
"What's your favourite television show?"
"...why do you want to know?"
"Conversation!"
"Hmph."
"..."
"..."
"...Undernovela."
"...what's that?"
"Undernovela."
"I don't think...I've heard of it?"
"Of course not, it's not an actual TV show, as I don't own a television, but it's an AU that I watch as a show."
"Oh. So—"
"No, no, no. Shut. Up. I'm about to tell you about the greatest show ever, okay? So, as I mentioned before, it's an AU. It's in Spanish, so I don't really understand what they're saying but I've pieced together enough of it to get the story. It goes like this..."