Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The sound of a beeping alarm clock could be heard in the early morning, signaling that it was time to wake up for a certain skeleton. Said skeleton's room is full of dark blues and purples, the ceiling had the texture that of space, as did his blanket and sheets.

The early sun came in through the window, managing to get through a slight opening of the galaxy themed curtains and directly into the dark skeletal monsters face. With a groan he woke up slightly, hitting snooze on his alarm clock before covering his eye sockets with his arm.

Error groaned again as he slowly woke, his senses progressively coming back. He could hear the sounds of the early morning, one of them being the sounds of frogs croaking. 'I wonder if there's a lake near by.' That thought was quickly pushed away as the sound of talking downstairs drew his attention. A few more minutes passed as he laid there, not wanting to get out of bed just yet.

He sighed as his alarm clock went off again. He stared at it, debating hitting the snooze button again. After a few moments of debating he decided it wasn't worth the mental effort to get yelled at for not being up, so he reluctantly turned off the clock and finally got out of bed.

After getting his clothes on he exited his room, walking down the hallway to the stairs. As he walked though, his mind kept flashing back to the weird dream he had. Did it have any meaning? or was it just another pointless dream? Questions for later, he thought.

Walking into the dinning room, his brothers greet him almost immediately as he approached. Error sat in the chair that is right next to Geno. CQ approached them with plates of food in her hands, as she placed them down she spoke. "You need to get up earlier Error. That's the fourth time this week, if you make it to six you're grounded." Error nodded in response, not having any energy to reply with words today. Maybe it was the wrong move cause CQ's expression noticeably hardened. "Error, give me an actual response." Her voice was firm, and filled with annoyance. Error tried not to notice the sympathetic look Geno gave him. "I understand." He stated plainly, CQ didn't look pleased with the tone of voice but let it slid as she walked away.

The glitchy skeleton watched her walk away carefully before eating his food, his mind wondering back to the weird dream he had.

Error opened his eye sockets only to be met with..white? why was it white? He looked around, his head frantically moving as he tried to figure out where he was, but it was all white. Where the fuck was he? He looked down at his hands.

...What? Why did his hands look like they've been crushed and put back together? He noticed the floor, could it be called a floor?, it was pure white as well. He immediately looked up, expecting more white, and while he was partially right, the sight definitely caught him off guard. There in the sky, was it a sky?, was strings, strings that looked like his, and on top of that there was stuff hanging from them, most of it looked like weird red hearts being strung up by the strings, but there was some other stuff he couldn't fully make out.

Looking back down at himself, he took in his appearance. His clothes were torn to the point they were basically borderline rags hanging off of him, and they had more stitches in them then his did. His pants seemed mostly intact though, but still was borderline rags. He had so many scars on his body, everywhere he looked there was a scar. It looks like he was crushed and pulled back together somehow.

"What the actual hell..?" He said aloud, though it seemed to echo around the seemingly endless white space. Was he in some sort of asylum? It didn't look like it had any padded walls, nor did his clothes look anything of the sort. Just where the fuck was he? He yelled out Genos name, but the only thing he heard was the echo. He wondered and kept yelling, his yelling turned into screaming, but still no reply. He was alone.

He slumped to the floor, hugging himself as he did so. Sure Fresh was annoying but it was better then complete and utter silence.

Error came back to reality as the flashback of his dream finished replaying. He looked over at Geno before jumping back in surprise, almost tipping too fair in his chair, the other was way to close all of a sudden. Geno also jolted back in shock before looking guilty. "Sorry Error! I didn't mean to frighten you!" He said quickly. The glitchy skeleton blinked, processing what just happened before forcing a small smile. "It's fine Geno. Just please don't get in my face like that again." The other skeleton nodded, gently smiling before his expression changed into a worried one. "Are you okay though? you spaced out and have hardly touched your food." He said with seriousness that was uncommon for him but not rare. Error just waved off the concern. " 'm fine, just tired." The look on his brothers face didn't seem convinced. Geno sighed as his shoulders fell, he looked back at the dark skeleton with a gentle smile. "if you say so." His voice was soft and calm, and it makes Error feel wanted.

Error quickly finished his food, hopping off his seat as his mother collected the plates. He was starting to head upstairs again to go to his room but was interrupted. "Error!" He gave a silent sigh before turning around to see CQ with an annoyed expression. "what." It was more of a statement then a question, he just wanted to go to his room. "Go clean your dishes." Error raised an eyebrow at that. "But Geno and Fresh don't do their dishes?" Him and his brothers never did dishes, it was always their mom who did them, so why was she bothering him about it now? Why not bother the others as well? "That's because, 1 Geno is sick and hurt so he can't do his own, and 2 is because Fresh is too young. Now clean your dishes!" CQ pointed angerly towards the kitchen as she finished her sentence making Error sigh as he slowly walked over to the kitchen, pulling out a stepstool and standing on it before turning the water on and washing the dishes.

It was completely unfair! He gets why Geno can't do them but Fresh is perfectly fine to do them! He can do more complicated things then dishes, why is she making him do it alone?! He could feel as tears of anger and poorly hid sadness started forming in the corners of his sockets, he quickly wiped them away with the back of his arm though, he refuses to be jealous of his brothers, refuses to blame them and he refuses to let this event make him upset.

When he finished washing the dishes he was about to go back up to his room before "ERROR." He sighed 'what is it now you fucking prick.' His words weren't said but definitely showed on his annoyed face he gave her. "Don't look at me like that! You're not allowed to go back up to your room!" Error's expression turned into one of shock mixed with something else. 

He..what...?

CQ glared down at him slightly. "You're not allowed to go back up to your room until after lunch." She crossed her arms as she glared at him. "What? Why!?" Error could feel his building anger and resentment. 'What the fuck!? Why are you making all these rules all of a sudden?!' He thought, it was fucking ridiculous! "Because you're always in that room and I think you should leave it for a bit!" The glitchy skeleton couldn't believe what the fuck he was hearing. He wanted to snap, he wanted to yell at her at how stupid this is.

But that would leave to more problems then it would solve. So he sighed, his shoulders slumping as he slowly made his way to the couch, sitting next to Geno as he reluctantly watched Fresh's dumb cartoon.

Chapter Text

The week seemed to past much slower then Error first remembered. He was currently in his room, sitting at the window with his chin in his hand and his elbow on the windowsill. The weekend had been slightly more stressful then he was used too. He couldn't understand his mothers neglectful behavior lately, what did he do to deserve it? was it the bullying? or maybe because of his attitude? He didn't understand.

The dark boned skeleton shook his head slightly, trying to get rid of those thoughts. It didn't matter, dwelling on it won't help anything. But still...

Looking at the calendar he saw that it was little less then a week before his birthday. Error immediately smiled at that. Maybe he could hang out with his brothers and uncle Asy for his birthday, the thought was pushed away as he heard talking from the other room. Curious, he got up from where he was sitting, going towards his door and cracking it open enough to listen in.

"Sorry Fresh, it seems like we'll have plans on your birthday.." "das alright ma' I don't mind--" Fresh seemed to be cut off by their mother. "Its not alright, you deserve to have a proper birthday." Error exited his room and moved closer to the voices. As they came into view he could see that Fresh had a confused frown on his face and their mother was looking at the calendar. "We'll be free on the fourth.." "ma' dats Glitchys birthday.." CQ looked at Fresh, her expression had a flash of annoyance. Her expression changed fast enough that it could've been easily missed if you didn't have a keen eye, which he and fresh both did. before returning to its sad and/or guilty look.

CQ didn't seem to hear Fresh, that or she ignored him. Error was putting bet on the latter. "We'll move your birthday to the fourth--" "WHAT?!" Error was exasperated, his glitches getting worse with his fury. "Error calm down. We'll just move your birthday--" "NO! THATS MY BIRTHDAY!" He stomped over to his mother, not daring to get too close however. "YOU CAN MOVE HIS TO A LATER DATE!" Fresh blinked as Error pointed towards him, not taking any offense in the gesture. It confused him just as much.

Why would their mom replace Errors birthday with his?

"Error--" "ITS UNFAIR!" Fresh noticed how his brothers hands shook with his anger. it was justifiable, Fresh thought. "Life is unfair Error--" "THat dOesN'T mEAN yOu HavE TO bE!" Error could feel how his hands shook and how unfair, angry tears formed in his sockets. It wasn't fair!

"ERROR LISTEN TO ME" CQ yelled out causing the glitchy skeleton to harshly flinch. Fresh noticed and was about to go comfort his brother before he crashed, but when he took a step forward CQ gently grabbed his shirt and pulled him back. The bright skeleton looked up at his mother, confusion was all over his expression. Why didn't she want him to go try and comfort his brother?

CQ looked at Fresh with a soft expression, silently telling him to leave it to her before looking back at the glitching monster, glaring daggers at him.

"You can deal with it or have no birthday at all this year." Error opened his mouth to argue, to scream about how it wasn't fair that he gets put last but was cut off by CQ speaking again. "And if I hear one more complaint about how unfair things are I'll make sure to give you a reason to complain about unfairness." Her expression hardened, "You are the only one who is healthy and old enough to help around, and I expect you to act your age and not complain." Error could only sit there in stunned silence.

Eventually that stunned silence turned into tears of bitterness. The glitchy skeleton could only stand there as tears fell from his sockets. His expression changed into one of bitter anger before he turned and ran back to his room. It was unfair! He couldn't understand what he did wrong!

Error slammed his door before standing in the middle of his room as his tears fell from his sockets, blurring his vision. It was so unfair! What did he do to deserve this..?

Sighing, the dark skeleton walked over to the chair he had put in front of the window, sitting in it and watching the leafs flow with the calming wind. The wind along with the sound of the leafs rustling and the sounds of nature seemed to calm him, he wondered what nature sounded like from the outside at night, thoughts for a different time.

Sometime has passed, Error wasn't exactly sure how long he sat there but he couldn't bring himself to care much. Now the sun was just about to set meaning his mother was either working on food or has already finished it already, but he didn't seem to bring himself to care about eating. Weird. He'll worry about that later if it becomes a problem.

He suddenly felt like someone was approaching and his first instinct was brace for impact, he wondered why-- "ERROR" 'Oh, that's why.' He thought as the door slammed open.

With a sigh he put on the most expressionless face he could muster up and looked over at who come into his room. And not to his surprise, he saw his mother, looking absolutely furious. 

'What did "I" do this time..' He thought bitterly.

CQ glared at him a bit longer before taking a deep breath and softening her look a bit. "Error, go downstairs, dinner is ready." Error could hear the irritation in her voice. He sighed internally, getting up from his spot and heading downstairs. Which he was immediately was greeted by his brothers as he sat next to Geno.

----

Shutting the door, Error walked to his bed before sitting down on it, the blankets and mattress giving under his wait. He looked out over at the window, silently admiring the stars that he could see for a few moments, they shined brightly, proudly, and Error silently wished he could become a star so he could shine as proudly as they do. Maybe one day he'll be able to shine as bright as stars could. He left his thoughts there, getting under the soft covers and falling asleep.

He ran, ran as fast as he could. He hurt everywhere, his joints felt like he was on fire and being broken. Every little movement made his bones crack which added on to the rest of the pain. But he couldn't stop running, not when [ⱤɆĐ₳₵₮ɆĐ] was chasing him! Who knows what kind of pain he'll go through if that happened, so he kept running, ignoring the ache of his joints, how they screamed for him to stop and rest.

The glitchy skeleton felt like he was going to pass out from sheer pain alone, he couldn't run much longer. The floor swayed under his feet, and just when he thought he was going to get caught, a portal opened under him and he felt himself collapse the moment he touched the floor. He could hear the yelling of people as pain consumed his entire body, and yet, he felt-- no. Knew that this wouldn't end, knew he wouldn't die. Even as pain consumed his entire frame and he screamed in agony, he wouldn't die.

Error shot up with a scream in his throat, immediately covering his mouth to prevent himself from waking the others up. His clothes were covered in sweat, and he could still feel some of the phantom pain. It felt too real, and for a moment he thought it was.

Taking deep breaths, the glitchy skeleton curled in on himself as he processed the night terror. He didn't understand, where did all these come from? why did it feel so real? Too many questions and not enough answers. He swore that was at least the third time this week that he's woken up with a scream in his throat and on the verge of crying.

He looked over at the clock. 3:00AM. Error sighed, there was no way he would be able to sleep again tonight.

The glitchy skeleton tossed the blankets off, getting up and walking over to the window, opening it. He looked up at the night sky, enjoying the wind on his face. A thought flashed in his mind, 'what if I explored a bit?' Error frowned at the thought, as much as he wants too, he fears that he'll worry his mother. Looking at his closet, he pondered for a moment before shrugging and heading over to change into something more appropriate for wondering outside.

Once he finished putting his shoes on he smirked, going over to the window he paused, looking over his shoulder to face the now locked door. As long as he was home before they awoke it shouldn't matter, besides, it's only one time.

Jumping out of the window, he turned around to face it, closing and using his magic to lock it before he turned, putting his hands in his pockets and started to walk aimlessly around his neighborhood.

Chapter Text

Walking down the neighborhood at night definitely was different then he was used too. The sun wasn't in his eyes and the moon gave off just enough light that he could see clear enough, and on top of that there were streetlamps to illuminate the sidewalk as well.

The glitchy skeleton walked around for awhile, how long exactly? he didn't know, what he did know though was that it hasn't been too long sense he left home.

Pausing, Error closes his sockets, putting a hand on his forehead from the sudden pain he felt. "Why do I have a headache? I haven't done anything to cause it." He mumbled.  He took a deep breath, forcing himself to relax before opening his sockets and continued walking.

The night was quiet, and at first it was nice, being able to walk around without a bunch of noise. Only the soft sounds of the wind flowing and leaf's moving. But now it was unbearably quiet, not even the crickets were chirping. 

He saw some sort of shadow from the corner of his eye, immediately snapping his head towards the direction of the figure but he was met with nothing but an empty ally way.

The dark skeleton blankly stared down the ally way. He was curious about what could be that way, but he's seen and heard to many stories about people being kidnapped in ally ways or murdered. But his it felt like his SOUL was screaming at him to go down that way.

With another sigh he hiked up his shoulders, getting in a defensive stance before walking into the dark ally way.

Worry and fear crept into his SOUL as he wondered the ally way. It felt like in those movies where the main character was wondering in an ally way before they get attacked by someone or something, and Error didn't like that feeling.

The glitching skeleton froze as he heard the sound of some sort of liquid. He looked down at his feet and paused at what he saw. He stood there confused out of his mind, he had stepped in some sort of black liquid. 

'Well things went from zero to a hundred real quick' His eyelights quickly shifted over to the moving shadow next to him, but again, the shadow moved too quickly for him to get a good look at the figure. He wondered what they were doing out at this time of night.

He put on a blank expression, straightening his posture as he walked over to where the shadow was.

There was nothing.

This was dangerous, he knew that. He could be killed here and nobody would find his body, but his curiosity got the better of him and he kept looking.

Error looked down at his feet again as he stepped into another puddle of the strange liquid. The ebony bone skeleton crouched, getting a better look at the strange liquid. It almost looked like some sort of tar. Error frowned as he touched the small puddle of the liquid, rubbing his thumb and digits together, smearing it on them. 

Error quickly looked over at the shadow figure, getting a slightly better look at them before the moved away again. They were about the same height as him, maybe a little shorter, he couldn't tell. 

The dark glitchy skeleton stood up, walking over to the shadow. He was getting tired of this game.

"I know you're here." He exclaimed loudly, his SOUL pulsing with fear. His sockets widened slightly when he heard a chuckle and he immediately snapped his head towards the sound, but saw nothing.

He sighed, continuing to walk around the ally way for a way out as it was surprisingly big. He didn't get far though before he stepped in something, it making a wet sound. Error looked down, his mismatched eyelights fizzling out as he saw what he stepped on.

Blood.

Terror stirred in his SOUL, and he was afraid to continue forward, not wanting to see what or who was killed here. But he didn't want to turn back, he might get even more lost. So he took a deep breath, forcing his eyelights back and bracing himself before continuing.

The night had taken a darker turn then he expected it too. 'This is what I get for going into an ally way' He thought. He was going to regret this, that he was certain.

It didn't take long for him to find where the body would've been, blood being splattered everywhere, he'll never admit to anyone that he thought it was quite impressive how they managed to get blood everywhere in this particular spot. But while the blood of the crime was here, the body wasn't. He figured that the murderer, whoever they are, disposed of the body when they saw him but didn't have enough time to clean the blood.

Taking a couple of steps into the blood covered ally, he noticed more of the tar like substance on the ground. It seemed that the person who is leaving these spots is either the one who's dead or the one who killed them. One thing he knew for a fact was that this wasn't any of his business, whoever the killer was wasn't his problem, the police can deal with that. 

And with that thought, the ebony skeletal monster walked off to find his way home. Not realizing that he was being watched the entire time.

The ivory figure grinned as he watched the darker monster walk away and out of the ally. He was sure he was going to get yelled at for being so careless and almost getting caught, but hey, it was fun watching this monster try to find him.

Chuckling darkly, he wiped his bloody knife on his jacket to clean it, smearing blood all over his jacket. 

"..What are you doing?" A monotoned voice said from behind him. "I'm watching someone." The other figure sighed quietly, stuffing his hands into his hoodie pockets. Blankly staring at the slightly smaller skeleton before him. "b--" "I know, I know." The ivory figure cut off the other, waving his hand. "Lemme finish what I'm doing then we'll head back" And with that, the hoodied figure went silent.

Error used his magic to open the window, climbing in. The sun was just rising, his alarm went off the moment he finished climbing back through the window.

Turning it off, he walked over to his closet, changing out of his clothes for a new pair. The glitchy skeleton looked down at his shoes, frowning in thought. He should clean those. He shrugged, he'll do it later. For now he'll just have breakfast and hang out with his brothers.

He should go out again sometime.

Chapter Text

Walking out of his room, Error headed downstairs to the kitchen. He was greeted by his brothers immediately, like always. He smiled slightly at them, getting in the chair next to Geno.

"How did you sleep?" Error tried his best to sound normal despite being tired, he didn't want his brother to get too concerned. While it was nice to have someone care he just didn't see the point in worrying the other just because he had some bad dream.

"I slept well," Geno started, smiling at the glitching skeleton. He couldn't help but notice the bags under the others eye sockets. "Woke up early due to pain but I'm fine now!" He finished off with a wave. 

The ebony skeleton nodded. "I'm glad you got a good nights rest." He knew that his brother didn't often get a full nights rest because of his pain so he was always happy when the other got a full night of sleep.

"What about you? Did you sleep well?" Error froze, thinking about how to answer that question. He didn't want to tell him about the nightmares but at the same he didn't want to lie to his brother.

The dark skeleton shrugged, not knowing how else to respond to the question. "Didn't really have a great dream but it wasn't horrible." There, not a lie but not enough of the truth to worry the other much.

"oh.." Geno paused, thinking of what to say to comfort Error. "well, at least it wasn't horrible! I hope you'll get a better sleep tonight!" His eyelights shined with determination as he looked at his brother. Error blinked, where did the sudden determination come from??

Geno suddenly perked up. "Oh! by the way! Uncle Asy is coming over today!" The glitchy skeleton smiled. He liked Uncle Asy. "Well, that's nice." He turned to CQ as food was placed in front of him.

"Uncle Asy!" Error was snapped back into reality at the sudden yell. How long was he dozing?? Would his mom get angry at him for dozing? His thoughts were interrupted as a familiar figure approached him. He looked up at the person, confused.

"Heya Kiddo" The ebony skeleton blinked, processing who it was before standing up. He swayed slightly, suddenly feeling lightheaded. "You okay kid?" Error closed his eyesockets, trying to rid of his dizziness.

A few moments passed before he opened his sockets, looking up at Asy with a smile. Said skeleton looked worried, his hands were stretched out to catch him if he ever fell. "you good Error?" The darker nodded, steading himself. "Yes, just st-tood-d up too f-fast is all." He winced slightly at his voice, it barely being noticeable by anyone but him.

Asy nodded, putting his hands down once Error was stable. "Asy, can I talk to you for a moment?" CQ peaked around the corner from the kitchen. "Oh-- yeah! sure." The taller looked down at Error, smiling gently. "I'll be back." He said before walking off towards CQ.

Error sat back down on the couch, groaning as his head started pounding from an on coming headache. 'Just great.' He thought. Just what he needed right now, a fucking headache.

Why was this happening? Perhaps it was from not sleeping much last night? yeah, that sounds about right.

The glitchy skeleton leaned into the couch, perching his elbow on the arm of it as he leaned against his hand, closing his sockets. What happened? What did he do for this to start popping up? Everything was fine a month ago.

He shrugged. No need to get worked up, if there was a reason he'll remember it eventually. It frustrated him really. He hates his shitty memory, it never helped him in the slightest and he always remembered the thing he wanted to remember after he doesn't need to anymore.

Sighing, Error let himself relax. If he's lucky then his mother won't get bitchy at him sense Asy is visiting. His thoughts wondered as he dozed off, would things have been different had he never bullied Fresh? Would it be different if he was the one who were having health problems? or was emotionless like Fresh? if he had only been nicer, would it be different? would he still be treated the same if he changed? if he stopped bullying Fresh? He's already stopped mostly, too distracted with new problems. Too confused to even think about insults. If he just went that extra mile, would things change..?

It wouldn't hurt to try...Right?

Snapping out of his thoughts, Error opened a socket as he felt a presence. Seeing a figure in front of him Error blinked, trying to process who it was. He looked up at the person, stilling at who it was.

CQ was pissed, and rightfully so! She caught her son dozing on the couch instead of doing the chores he was told to do. "Why are you sitting here?! You're haven't even done the dishes and you're dozing!?"

Error blinked up at her as his SOUL twisted with emotions, he should've known that luck wasn't on his side. "I-I'm sorry, I forgot--" "FORGOT? HOW COULD YOU FORGET!? I ASKED ONE THING OF YOU AND YOU CAN'T EVEN DO THAT! MY STARS YOU'RE SUCH A MISTAKE!" Error winced at the insult, looking down at the floor in shame. How was he supposed to reply to that?

"I'm sorry.." "IS THAT ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY?! 'SORRY'? I THOUGHT SURELY YOU WOULD'VE HAD SOMETHING BETTER TO SAY!" Tears pricked in his sockets, he really didn't know how to react. Was he really that pathetic..?

CQ sighed, glaring angerly at the ebony skeleton on the verge of crying. "Are you seriously crying? How much more pathetic can you get?" Error shrugged, curling his hands into his shorts to ground himself. He tensed as CQ sighed again. "Whatever, just go do the dishes. You're grounded anyway." He nodded, standing up and walking over to the kitchen, placing a stool and standing on it. He wiped his tears from his sockets.

He really was pathetic, wasn't he? If his own mother said it then it must be true. He shouldn't even exist.

"You're really good at this Fresh!" "Thanks brah!" Error walked out of the kitchen, staring at his brothers and Asy sitting on the couch playing one of Fresh's games. He wanted to hang out with uncle Asy too, but he'd probably be more of a burden then an enjoyment to be around. So, with a short glace at their game, the glitchy skeleton walked passed them and up the stairs.

Asy watched as Error went up the stairs with a frown. Did he not want to hang out with them? He looked back over at the other two children. "I'll be right back. I'm going to check on your brother." Geno looked over at the taller, smiling. "Alright! We'll wait for you!" He nodded, putting the controller down and standing up, walking up the stairs.

The skeleton paused, blinking as he stared at Error who was standing in the middle of the hallway, staring at the floor with hazy eyelights.

Getting closer. the ivory skeleton got a better look at the other. Error had dark spots under his sockets and he swayed slightly like he was having trouble standing up. Asy frowned, approaching the smaller more. And now that he thinks about it, when was the last time the darker skeleton got a full nights rest? He had just assumed that he slept all night. Maybe Error isn't as okay as he thought he was.

"You okay Error?" the ebony skeleton snapped his head to the voice, his eyelights suddenly focused and he stopped swaying. Asy put his hands up in surrender at the reaction he got. "Hey, its okay, its just me." Error stared at him for a few moments before his shoulders slumped and his expression softened as he started swaying again.

"oh, hey uncle Asy." The glitchy skeleton sounded tired, and not for the first nor last time Asy wondered, if he was okay. 

"What are you doing in the middle of the hallway?" Error blinked as the words processed. He looked around. Sure enough, he was in the hallway. The dark skeleton parted his mouth in a silent 'ah'. "Must've blacked out or something" Error mumbled to no one in particular. He looked back at the ivory skeleton, shrugging. "Was thinkin'" "About?" "Stuff."

Asy sighed, finding the others response slightly amusing. "That's not an answer Error." "Yes it is." Error puffed up with a smirk, he liked talking to uncle Asy. He'll take any chance to simply talk to the taller, not for long though, Asy had to help Geno and hang out with Fresh. That was fine, he could handle not hanging out with the ivory skeleton just as long as he could talk to him once in awhile.

The taller smiled, crossing his arms playfully as he looked down at Error. "its not!" "It is!" Asy shook his head playfully, finding the shorters antics quite amusing. His smile fell as he let his arms drop. "Are you okay? You seem exhausted.." The glitchy skeletons smirk fell slightly as he tried to come up with a lie. What could he say? He probably looks like he hasn't slept in months, if he even hints at not sleeping well then it might not go as planned and Asy will worry. H̶e̶ ̶d̶i̶d̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶w̶a̶n̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶,̶ ̶h̶e̶ ̶d̶i̶d̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶w̶a̶n̶t̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶a̶ ̶b̶u̶r̶d̶e̶n̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶f̶a̶v̶o̶r̶i̶t̶e̶ ̶p̶e̶r̶s̶o̶n̶ ̶t̶o̶o̶! "don't lie please Error.." Said skeleton sighed, Asy already caught the lie before he could come up with one.

"I haven't been sleeping well, I've been having nightmares a lot recently and they tend to wake me up." The ivory boned skeletons frown deepened. That isn't good at all. "Well, I'm staying the night. Would you like me to sleep in your room with you? Just for comfort?" Error shook his head, he hated to be a bother just cause of some stupid nightmares. "No need, Geno will need you more." "but--" "not needed."

The taller sighed. "Okay, just...Tell me if you changed your mind?" Error nodded. "I will." Asy turned around, starting to walk before he paused, glancing back over at Error. "I'm always available if you need anything, just gimme a call, okay? I care about ya" He turned away, going back downstairs. 

Error stared at where Asy was, blinking at the sentence. His SOUL pulsed with joy but was soon after was replaced by a sickening mixture of guilt and sadness. He didn't deserve that sort of joy, he didn't deserve love. He's pathetic, a mistake, an error...oh..well, now his name makes sense. Errors aren't supposed to be loved, nor exist. Errors are mistakes, meant to be thrown away. And that's exactly what he is, isn't it? A mistake.

The glitchy skeleton walked the rest of the way to his room, fighting back tears. He shut the door with a small 'click' before curling up on his bed.

His shoulders shook with silent sobs, he didn't deserve love, didn't deserve a family, and he sure as hell didn't deserve someone as caring as Asy.

Error jerked awake suddenly, when did he pass out? He couldn't remember. He looked at the clock, sockets widening in shock at what time it was. 

3 AM.

He had slept all day. He began to panic, his mother would surely be pissed at him. Why didn't she wake him up?!

Error's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden knock on the window. He tilted his head, getting up from the bed and walking over to it.

'Please, for the love of the stars above, don't be a face right against my window.' He opened the curtains but saw nothing. Weird. Well, he wasn't going to question it.

Closing the curtains, Error went back over to his bed, turning on the desk lamp that he kept on the nightstand. He pulled out his sketchbook, he might as well finish sketching out the jacket design.

The glitchy skeleton didn't get too far into sketching before there was another knock on the window. Slowly, he put his sketchbook down, walking over to the window and opening the curtains. Seeing nothing, again.

He opened the window, poking his head out of it and looking around, hoping that it was just bugs hitting the window. 

His mismatched eyelights quickly looked around, looking for the cause of the knocking. He swiftly looked at the forest when he saw a shadow move. He squinted slightly, trying to get a better look at the figure.

The other seemed to be at least 5ft tall, he couldn't fully tell though from the distance he's at. They had ivory bones. 'A skeleton.' Error thought. They seemed to be smiling but the night makes it hard to make out. They're wearing a jacket of some sort from what he could tell, and shorts that reached their knees. He must admit, they blend in pretty well with the night. He couldn't see their eyesockets though, nor their eyelights. Weird, normally their eyes would glow in the dark.

"Hey, I can see you!" Error yelled out, glaring slightly at the trespasser. He heard a giggle from the forest before they faded into the dark.

The glitchy skeleton went back inside the window, shutting and locking it before closing the curtains and heading back to his bed.

Weird.

Chapter Text

It was a normal morning, the birds are chirping, the breeze that came through the window was calm and breakfast smelled absolutely delicious.
Everything was calm and quiet, with light chatter going all around the table as breakfast was made. The only thing different was that one of them is missing.

The sound of the front door opening and closing doesn't affect the chatter much until the ivory skeleton walked into the kitchen, grin knife sharp.

Killer strutted into the room, carrying himself with confidence. "Where have you been?" The stained skeleton looked over at Nightmare, who had his browbone raised. "Out," His grin widened at the glare he got from the goop covered one. "Where." It sounded more of a statement then question, giving away that the smaller wasn't in the mood to deal with his bullshit this morning.

"I followed the one skeleton I told you about," He answered, pausing solely for dramatic effect. "Found his house." he finished, waiting for the reactions.

Everyone had paused at that, looking at Killer with wide sockets. It stayed like that for a few very tense moments, but Killers grin didn't falter.

"WHAT." ah, there it was. Not to his surprise it was Nightmare who spoke first, now standing up as his tentacles all swayed in his fury. "Killer!" Dust had spoken next. "You aren't suppose to follow people without backup! let alone without telling us!" He scolded, much to the ivory skeletons amusement.

"That's very uncalled for, Kills." Cross commented, crossing his arms in annoyance at the others antics. "Not smart.." Horror added, walking over to the table to place a plate down with tons of pancakes stacked on top of it.

Killer sat down next to Cross, wrapping an arm around him as he smiled brightly. Said skeleton groaned, annoyed at the stained skeleton still.

"You do realized someone could've followed you right to our house, right?" The dust covered skeleton jeered, glaring at the reckless monster in front of him. "I wasn't, chilllll." Killer rolled his non-existent eyelights, making it obvious he did so by rolling his head.

The other tsk'd, looking away from the hate filled skeleton. "I promise Dusty, I wasn't followed. I made sure of it." He reassured, it not making Dusts glare lessen but the tension did release from his shoulders slightly.

"You know.." Killer started, leaning on the table. "They kinda remind me of someone." Dust paused, taking a moment to think about the monster they saw in the alley that one time. "I mean, yeah, I also recognized them." He then looked back at the hate filled one.

"So," Nightmare suddenly spoke. "You're telling me, that you followed a skeleton because you thought you recognized him?" The stained skeleton nodded, a big grin on his face. The goopy monster sighed, pinching his nose bridge in annoyance. "It's too early for this," He stared at the group. "Everyone eat, we'll deal with this later." He commanded, making everyone nod before going back to having breakfast.

Maybe he should go search for this skeleton. Dust and Killer both seem to recognize him and to be quite honest, Nightmare was curious. Basing the description they gave him when they got back from that one mission, he wondered if he would to, recognize this strange monster that managed to grab even Dusts attention. If the weird dreams everyone is getting seems to indicate anything.

He sighed, he'll think about it more later. Perhaps even have them keep an eye on the strange monster.

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Error groaned as he heard his mother approach. Turning to her, he gave her his blankest face, so tired of this bullshit. It was only 8 in the morning and she's already on his ass about every little thing.

"Error! I thought I told you to sweep when you were done with the dishes!" The glitchy skeleton rolled his eyelights. "Why not have Fresh do it? He can't break anything unless he swings the broom around like a god damn sword, which I highly doubt he's stupid enough to even do." He watched as CQ's expression changed to annoyance. "Plus!" He adds before she could speak. "I made food today! and cleaned the table! Like you asked, have Fresh sweep!" "Absolutely not!" She sneered, "I told you to sweep!" Error glared at her. "Don't look at me like that! Now go do what I said!" The dark skeleton rolled his eyelights, walking away to go grab a broom to sweep the floor.

Little did they both know that someone was watching their argument from afar.

Asy was a little shocked that CQ was already placing so much work on the poor kid, sure it's about the normal amount of chores a kid his age should have but Errors doing all of it, Fresh is definitely old enough to sweep a floor. So why isn't CQ making Fresh do chores as well? Even just helping Error do them would be efficient!

Error walked outside, taking a deep breath as the breeze hit him. It was now noon, he had done all the chores that his mother had asked him to, so he was free for now, hopefully.

The glitchy skeleton opened the gate to the front yard, going through it before shutting it. He then walked to the back of the house where the forest was. He walked into it, deciding to go straight ahead as to not get lost, looking around every once in awhile to remember everything so he was 100% sure he won't get lost. After some time he made it to a clearing.

The clearing had a beautiful lake with a small waterfall connected to it and a river that moved water to somewhere else in the forest. He was in awe. Of course he's seen things like this before, it's quite common after all. But seeing it now, in the forest where its just him and no one else? It makes it seem like something new! Almost as good as the stars. Almost.

He walked over to a decently big rock near the lake, sitting on it as he watched the water and the fish in it.

It felt like eternity that he sat there, it was like he finally found what a shard of piece looks like. He definitely found a new favorite spot as well.

The ebony skeleton quickly shifted his mismatched eyelights to the tree's on the other side of the river when he saw something move. He fully turned his head towards it, his sockets widening slightly when he saw what it was.

The same strange person from last night was there, but now he was closer and Error could make out some finer details. First of all, the other was about 5'5, that he could tell now. It was hard to tell before with how far the other was but now he knows.

The other wore a blue, stained jacket with some black shorts that reached his knees. And now that he could get a good look, the jacket looked like it was holding something heavy, with how it sort of dangled? He wasn't sure. The stained skeleton also had some sort of black liquid coming out of his sockets, and no eyelights, which would explain their encounter last night.

Error stood, eyesockets narrowing as he stared at the stained monster, and the stained monster stared back.

The ivory skeleton shifted, their grin getting wider as the took steps towards him. The action made the darker skeleton tense, getting into a defensive stance.

Killer was walking through the forest, when he laid his eyes on the skeleton from last night, staring at the lake with a seemingly blank look. Kind of how Nightmare looks when he's concentrated.

He stepped closer, letting himself into view, and immediately the other noticed, snapping their head towards him.

He got a better look at the strange yet familiar skeleton. Sure he probably had a better idea of what he looked like then the other did of him, but he was curious about some exact details.

The dark skeletons clothes seemed almost too small for him. His sockets were red and his eyelights seemed to be mismatched. The left one being yellow, blue and a small dot of black. The other eyelight was pure white. Strange.

There were blue tear marks down his face, it makes him look like he's crying.

The stained skeletons grin grew, now this was someone interesting! He approached the other, making the ebony skeleton stand up and get in a defensive position. As he approached he realized how much taller the other was. He looked to be at least 5'7. Taller then he was by 2 inches and slightly smaller then Horror. His curiosity grew immensely.

"Heya pal, couldn' help but notice you awhile back. Got curious about you cus' you seem different from the others." Error raised a browbone at that. "What do you mean?" The shorters grin widened again. "You didn't freak out or call the police despite the fact that there was supposedly a dead body in that alley. Normal people would've called the police or somethin'" He answered, jumping on top of the rocks that laid across the river before landing on the other side.

He stopped a few inches away from the taller. Error rolled his eyelights. "Wasn't my problem, I didn't know them so why would I care too much? I mean, being murdered sure is bad but like, I didn't know them sooo." Killers interest peaked more. Geez, the more he's around this skeleton the more interesting he gets!

"So you're fine with murder?" He questioned, to which the taller shrugged. "I mean, as long as its deserved and isn't someone I care about then sure." Interesting, very interesting.

"What's your name kid?" Error looked slightly offended at the name but answered nonetheless. "Error. Yours?" "Killer." He stated proudly, puffing up confidently. The glitchy skeleton looked amused. "Well you seem confident." He remarked. "Of course, I am the hottest person here right now." Killer smiled at the 'tsk' he got from the glitchy one. Now this is someone he can get along with!

"How old are you, Error?" Said skeleton raised a browbone again, sockets narrowing. "10." He answered blankly and with slight warning. The answer made Killer raise his own browbone. 10? What's a ten year old doing out alone? He shouldn't be one talking, but still, at least he had a reason, the kid still had a home.

"What's ten year old doing in the middle of a forest where a bunch of predator's live?" "I could ask you the same. You don't look much older." The glitchy one crossed his arms and Killer faked a look of offensiveness, gasping in fake hurt. "I will have you know I am way older then you are!" "Really?" Error raised a browbone. "Yes!" "How old are you then?" "I'm thirteen!" He stated with confidence. The ebony skeleton paused for a moment before smirking. "That's not much older you dingus! You're still a kid!" He snickered.

Error wasn't going to lie, despite knowing this kid for less then an hour he was already liking him. And if he's becoming friends with a murderer then he's at least funny as hell.

They both talked for a long while, Killer even showed Error some of his knives that he carried around. The stained skeleton had gasped when he showed his strings, saying that he could "Wrap them 'round someone's throat and choke them to death and still could fight with free hands." He wasn't sure why Killer had such a fascination with murder by hey, he isn't one to judge.

"Hey Error?" Said skeleton paused his sewing and looked over at the smaller with a 'hm'. "Would you like to meet the rest of my friends? They're really nice once you know them but can be quite intimidating at first." Error let out a loud laugh, startling the other skeleton. "Sorry," he waved his hand. "I would love to meet your friends!" Killer grinned, grabbing the tallers sleeve and proceeded to drag him towards the other side of the forest.

"You'll love them! I promise!" He exclaimed, happily dragging Error towards his house.