Hours later, Error's POV

Ummm, I thought he said this would be casual...Why is he in a suit? And why in a restaurant?

I see him smile at me from across the candle-lit table. He rests his head on his hand and grins wider.

"So uM, wHat d0 y0u wAnT t0 diScuSs?"I ask

"Hmm...Well, how about that quota that you mentioned?"He replies

"HmMmm, oKaY. WeLl, i WaSn't AlWaYs a glItCh bUt tHiS iS wHat I aM...WhAt FaTe dEtErmiNEd i w0uLd b3...Be1nG a d3str0y3r 1s t0ugH, eSpeCiAlLy wiTh requ1r3meNts sEt f0r iT. GoTh...wAs juSt a bAbY tHen, a f3w dAyS oLd. A f3w f0lKs cAlLed FaTe's hElPeRs wAntEd t0 cHanGe h1m t0o oR el1miNaTe h1m c0mpLeTeLy. BuT i st0pPeD tHeM anD a d3aL wAs mad3. If i r3acH a cErta1n qu0tA bY tHe t1m3 h3 tuRnS 13, h3 is sAfE. If i d0n't...ThEy'lL tAk3 n0t juSt h1m bUt eVeRytHiNg i l0v3."I say, shaking my head

"Hmm...Are you sure these helpers are still around?"He asks

I nod.

"ThEy mAKE tHeIr pReSenCe vErY cLeAr."I say

"Hmm, well I'm not sure how long that will last."He says with a grin

"WhAt d0 y0u m3an?"I ask

"Well, Death does get to everyone."He says

I pause, a bit surprised. Is he referring to Reaper?

"What's your relationship to Reaper anyway? Do you talk often?"He asks

"NoT muCh lAtElY...It'S c0mpLicAtEd."I say

"Do you know that he has a hit list for you?"He asks

"WhAt?"I say

"Yeah, he's another level of crazy when it comes to you for some reason. Apparently, he screwed things up with you from what he said and basically threatened my life if I dared to make the same mistake. He doesn't want you hurt and he has this specific list titled A-holes that crossed Error or something like that. You said he was coffee addicted and sleep-deprived, not this crazy."He says

He...Has a list? For me? He's trying to protect me...Make sure I don't get betrayed again...Yet recognizing his own mistake...He's really doing this? Giving the security I wished to have with him? Reaper....

Soon after that our orders came and the subject changes. We continue chatting as we dine and I smile, hardly noticing the odd taste in my drink. Then my head starts hurting and I notice my glitching increasing. A few minutes later, Blue approaches the table with a concerned look on his face.

"Heeey, guys. Sorry if I'm interrupting something but I thought it'd be important to tell you ASAP."He says, glancing around

"WhaT'S wr0nG, BluE?"I ask

"I just left the dumbest meeting ever with Dream and Ink. They plan to take Palette back, even if it's by force. I had to remind them of what they're up against if they lay a finger on him, so their focus shifted to Goth which is even dumber. I had to make that clear to them since forever reason they thought that it'd be easy. How many uncles would they be up against? Honestly, it's the opposite of easy. But knowing them, they're going to try it anyway. Ink isn't pleased with your destruction, Error. He's looking for any option to get back at you and hurt you. I thought it'd be good to warn you ASAP."He explains

"Thank you for the report, Blue."Nightmare says

"Nobody gets away with threatening my nephew! Or his best friend! That's a line that isn't crossed! Also, I saw Ink run in here earlier so I'd be careful. I wouldn't drink anything either in case he has a plan."He says

Everything starts blurring more in my vision but instead of error signs filling my vision, random blobs of yellow and pink fill the corners of my eyes.

"Uh, that's a bit late. We've already had a few refills. Error, are you okay?"Nightmare asks

"I-"I begin but then everything goes dark.

No POV

Goth works in the kitchen, learning simple cooking from his Uncle Horror who was left in charge with Dust. Basically anyone but Killer was left in charge. Raven and Shino were napping upstairs after playing around to exhaustion. Then a portal opens and he is surprised to see Nightmare walk through with his dad wrapped in tentacles, his Uncle Blue following through before it shut.

"What the heck happened?"Horror asks

"Ink."Blue says with a sigh

"Is Papa okay?"Goth asks, stepping closer

He examines his dad closer, seeing his glitching increase and his eyes blocked by abnormal blobs of pink and yellow. His cheeks are tainted with a strange yellow glow that he never saw before on his dad and he keeps mouthing stuff with no words coming out, his fingers twitching.

"He's close to crashing if he hasn't already."Nightmare says

"He has never gotten this bad before...The yellow isn't normal...This won't be a normal reboot if he does. Come on, he recovers better at home where everything is familiar to him."He says, opening a portal to the anti-void.

They go through and Nightmare sets the glitch on his beanbag seat carefully. Goth places blankets on him to help him. Then a blur zips past them and Shino appears in Error's lap, wrapping a fluffy pink scarf around him as a new pair of wings flap on her back.

"Papa! Papa okay!"She says 

Error smiles for a moment. Then Horror picks her up to soothe her.

"I'll go research this and some solutions."Nightmare says

"I'll go find Ink for answers."Blue says, then hears a distant shout from Killer offering to join him.

Using a portal device Error gave Blue, he and Killer head off. Horror carries Shino as he follows behind Nightmare to help however he can. He made comments about cooking something to help or watching the kids while he recovered. Goth kneels beside his dad, extremely worried. He has seen his dad crash or reboot and the warning signs. This isn't that. His dad is hurt and that's clear with how he twitches or scrunches his face in pain. He twitches rapidly, his head jolting or tilting at random as he continues mouthing things his son can't hear. Goth sees tears form in his eyes and frowns, worried about what will happen to his dad if they don't find out what is wrong.

So he calls his Uncle Blip, informing him of the trouble. Uncle Blip just so happened to be handling an AU with his Uncle Paps, so he learned about the situation as well. So guess who gets called next? 

Yep.

Reaper.

He was in the middle of completing his personal list that he showed Nightmare when he got the call. All he heard was "Error is hurt and won't wake up and-" before he zipped out of there, furious. 

So guess who Nightmare met in the library?

But in his defense, Nightmare forgot to lock the door.

TBC