Chapter Text
error had dragged himself to the antivoid, his soul slowing to a serries of sluggish, agonized thumps in his ribcage. each soulbeat brought a new pump of blood welling to the surface of the cracks and wounds riddling his bones. static hissed painfully through his vision as his eyelights dimmed and sparked. everything hurt, especially his head, which rattled with a splitting headache where his skull had been cracked on the blunt end of Broomy.
he allows his conciousness to be stretched thin over reality, swimming in the purgatory between painful awareness and the gaping pit of dreamland, something that had never been nice to him before. plagued with nightmares for most of his life, error had no interest in what little sleep he needed. but now... it's cool waters lapped soothingly over his wounds, drawing him deeper... deeper...
no.
hissing a swear between his grinding teeth, with a sharp arc of his (less hurt) arm, error opens a portal to the closest thing to a safe haven he knows--the guest room of nightmare's manor.
he doesn't so much step in as much as he rolls into the glitching tear in reality, trying not to feel sick at the sudden change in scenery. he sways on his feet for a moment or two before flopping unceremoniously into bed, his voice glitching painfully in his throat as reality closes around him.
˖ ݁𖥔.⋆༺ ♱ ༻⋆.𖥔 ݁ ˖
his sleep is dreamless, and he's not sure when he's found. the hiss of whispering voices around him and the steady thump of a cracking headache is what awakes him, bundled in plush blankets and with a warm cloth resting on the crack in his skull, which has dwindled considerably to a hairline split. Healing magic, probably.
"what are you boneheads whispering about," he hisses, voice tipped with static as if coming through a low quality microphone.
"oh shit, he's awake!" comes the alarmed voice of killer.
"no duh," sneers dust.
horror looms over both of their shoulders, silent and unblinking as always.
cross is nowhere to be seen- he's been in kahoots with dream apparently. and nightmare's negative presence is elsewhere.
"we patched you up a bit," killer explains, "well, boss did mostly. you were in rough shape. like, half dead,"
"like i don't know that," error snips, pushing himself upright. "i got in a scrap with ink and dream."
"both of them, alone? you're lucky you got out with your head!" Killer chirps.
"i'm not weak, i'm a god," error reminds indignantly.
"still, they're two gods," killer reminds. his smile thins, "besides, doesn't look like you had the last laugh."
dust chimes in before error can retort, voice scraping and low like rock on rock. "we should tell boss he's awake."
horror offers a shuffling nod, and killer just smiles slyly as he pushes the ebony door open behind him and slips out with the other two skeletons at his heels.
error pushes himself upright, gritting his teeth as pain shoots down his back. He's been in this room many times before, and it shows--they call it a guest room, but its practically his. lots of things in the castle are--mugs, thread, and half-made puppets lie here and there, marking where error had come and gone during various shared missions.
where the rest of the castle is decorated in all sorts of elegant clutter, this room is largely empty besides a grand wooden-framed bed dressed in plush indigo blankets. an old tv perches on the floor of the far corner next to where a half-finished scarf sits in a heap.
nightmare's arrival came slow, leaving error much time to reflect on the events that brought him here. he'd gotten bold, cocky even, trying to to tear apart an au that the star sanses had plenty of protections and surveillance over.
it hadn't ended well for him. he'd managed to skitter off with his life, but the stars had ultimately had the last laugh. dream had shot him with pure positivity in his ribs, his skull had been shattered on the blunt end of broomie, and he'd been tangled in his own spidery thread tight enough to leave hairline cracks across his inverted bones.
he felt nightmare's presence coming up the hall before he saw the tar-slick sans. he pushed the door open, his radioactive teal eye already locked onto error. the glitched skeleton leaned back against the headboard with a click of his skull that sent white-hot pain flashing down his spine.
"well, well, well. look what the cat dragged in." nightmare's voice reverberates across the room-error can feel its deep baritone resonate through his ribcage. the negative skeleton pads across the toom to stand at the neatly carved foot of error's bed. "tousle with my brother? you reek of positivity," he observes.
"and ink," error growls, his voice cut by a thin sheen of static.
"hm. pity. we would've come to your aid, you know."
error narrows his eyes, "i don't need your help."
nightmare looks the injured monster up and down slyly, before shrugging. "i had horror patch you up some. he's in the kitchen making you hot cocoa, so that should get your hp up."
error slouches reluctantly in bed, face scrunched into a scowl. he'd gotten the message behind that look loud and clear. "thanks," he hisses.
"of course. here," nightmare reaches into the pocket of his jacket. it's a simple hoodie like tbe other sanses', unzipped to show the more regal collared button-up beneath, gilded in patterned silver like everything else in this wretched place. he pulls out a phone, clean of tar besides some stray specks. "you'll be staying here for a bit to heal, i imagine. and the star sanses are recuperating, growing in strength. it'd benefit both of us to stay in contact."
error takes the device, turning it over to look into its dark screen. he sees the reflection of his own face and almost recoils at how pitifully sick he looks. "what is this for?"
"multiversal phone. the stars keep them to stay in contact and i've invented a similar technology- you can contact anyone from any au at any time. my group's numbers are already embedded into it."
"right. and i won't be staying long. i have my own home to return to."
nightmare's permanent smile carefully thins. "of course. however, i'm sure it'd be beneficial to stay in proximity until you heal, at least."
"maybe." error mindlessly pulls at the tear markings dripping from his sockets, wrapping the threads thinly around his philanges.
just then, horror pushed the door open with a mug clutched in his claws. the bulky skeleton nearly capped nightmare's towering height, and was certainly a great deal broader. still, he always carried a look like a kicked puppy.
"thanks," error mumbled as horror brushed past nightmare to grant the steaming mug to him. it sloshed precariously in error's grip as the glitched skeleton tried not to flinch at the brush of horror's claws against his own.
error peered into the cup, watching a sea of marshmallows bob pleasantly in the chocolate liquid. he brought it to his mouth and tipped back, feeling the pleasant heat rush down his throat and wrap snugly around his soul, raising his hp back to near-full. it would take time, a discomforting ammount of it, for him to be back to full health but he already felt stronger.
"tasty?" nightmare asks, and error watches horror visibly light up at his nodded response.
"if i'm going to stay here i don't want you all fussing over me like a hatchling," error mutters, the half-empty mug clasped in his palms. he felt its warmth seep through him like a snake. the closest thing to touch that he could find enjoyment in.
"we're not fussing over you- you're an ally. a powerful one, at that. we simly wish you'd keep your skull intact," nightmare soothed error's sore ego.
"whatever," error muttered, taking another sip of hot chocolate.
"anyway, i'll leave you to your own devices. one of them will bring you dinner later." nightmare explains with a dismissive wave of his hand. with a graceful arc of his coattails he pads away, horror at his heels.
˖ ݁𖥔.⋆༺ ♱ ༻⋆.𖥔 ݁ ˖
error is content to sleep away most of the day. his sleep is fitful and broken up by his raging headache, but it's rest nonetheless, tv droning on mindlessly in the background.
eventually, his pain grows too great for him to fall back asleep, but mild enough to where it's not majorly hindering him. he pushes himself reluctantly to his feet and sinks his toes into the plush carpet.
plush blanket draped over his shoulders, he shuffles down the dark hall, steps echoing against the cavernous roof arching yards above. he wathces his shadow prowl the wall like a hunting tiger until he comes to the familiar arching doorways of the library.
he pads into the maze of bookshelves, offering a short trill of contentment at his findings: the library is just the same as he left it.
the beams between towering bookshelves arch above to support a glass roof. the books are a rare treat--usually taking things from their home au is a finnicky proccess that's hardly worth it, so if he wants anything new he either has to get an outcode to make it (few of whom are powerful enough, and even fewer of whom are willing to do so for the likes of him) or simply suck it up.
error slow strolls his way through the corridors of shelving down towards the mystery section, where he strums his claws down the untouched spines of the books lined up for his selection. a thin layer of dust shivers and kicks up at his touch, reminding him of less pleasant things.
he shakes away the thought, plucking a book with an intriguing title and an intricate cover. he pads across the solid indigo carpet towards his favorite nook in the library, tucked behind the shelf in the furthest corner from the foor.
he feels a familiar tune that he can't quite place begin to buzz behind his feeth in a hum, but it dies in his throat as he turns the corner of the shelf. tucked into his spot is nightmare, curled up on the soft couch with a thick book that error doesn't recognize.
"error," nightmare greeted in that sleek baritone of his, like a ghoulish chorus of deep voices all speaking at once. "did you need anything?"
"i was going to sit there," error's voice comes out as a glitched grumble as he thumbs at the tattered end of his scarf.
"oh yes," nightmare cocks his head, "you do like this spot, don't you?"
"it's my favorite," error responds flatly, snuffing out what he really wanted to say: it's mine. irritated as he is, and close as they are, he doubts night would take kindly to error annoucning ownership to pieces of his castle.
"well," nightmare sits up and pulls his feet closer to himself, drawing the leaking tar across the couch cushions back into his body at will til it was clean. "room for one more."
error stands, stumped as emotion washes over him. first irritation, who does he think he is? just move! then embarassment, he's not some sort of cat, and then resignation. his leg is starting to hurt and hes losing the ability to ignore his pounding headachd again and he's tired.
error climbs onto the couch bedside nightmare until he can feel the cool air emanating off the goopy skeleton in his feet. he rests his head on the arm of the couch and flips open his book.
much to his irritation, the words swim and dance blindingly across the page. his head is pounding at the mere notion of focusing on the letters. he can hardly focus on any of them. With a growl he discards the book on the coffee table across from the couch. he leaves his eyes shut for a few minutes, nearly dipping into the cool waters of sleep, before night pipes up.
"if your eyes're hurting, i can read to you."
error offers a glitched hiss, "i'm not six."
a few beats of silence. nightmare shrugs and returns to his own book. error rolls over. tosses. turns. shifts and rolls. then props his head up on the back of the couch and looks to night, "what're you reading?"
"a dracula retelling. it's good horror." nightmare hums.
error feels childish wanting night to read to him. he furrows his brows and makes another prompt, "tell me about it."
nightmare's brows quirk in surprise, but his smile widens and he explains the book at length. error feels his lids grow heavier until eventually they slip shut, and he drifts into sleep.
˖ ݁𖥔.⋆༺ ♱ ༻⋆.𖥔 ݁ ˖
BADDIES GC
BOSS: He sleeps like a cat.
BOSS:[image attatched]
KILLER: awwww
DUST: Make sure he's alive
KILLER:okay wow morbid
DUST: He likely has a concussion so sleep is dangerous
KILLER: its been like a full day he'll be fine :P
BOSS: I'm watching him.
HORROR: do you think he will stay???
DUST: He's pretty defensive, he needs space
HORROR: we trie to mayke him fele at home :(
DUST:I js don't think he likes being fussed over the way Cross did
KILLER: we do not fuss !!!!
DUST: Sure. N E way i'm just saying. We can be nice without scaring him off.
BOSS: Go to bed, you three.
˖ ݁𖥔.⋆༺ ♱ ༻⋆.𖥔 ݁ ˖
nightmare pockets his phone with a fond sigh, glancing at error's sleeping form before allowing himself to return to his book. due to his multiversal status as a god, he only required sleep when he was injured, unlike error who was slightly less powerful and required short bouts of rest even when he wasn't healing.
still, it was just more time to read. and watch over things.