Two weeks later, NO POV

"Wrong name again."Reaper groans, looking around at the AU.

"How do you have so many names mistaken for each other?"Nightmare asks impatiently

"The list is made very briefly where it doesn't name the exact AU that the soul belongs to. So unless the soul is specifically named Anti-Error, Fatal-Error, etc., then it's just the same name numerous times without specification. The makers of this list don't think it should matter since I'm supposed to be reaping the souls regardless of whether it's a human AU or not."Reaper says

"Greeaaaat...."Nightmare groans, seeing humans walk past them looking confused.

"I learned to be more specific from this when making the revenge list. But based on the ones we've tried, there are only a few options left. Aren't you glad that you left Horror in charge?"He says

Nightmare nods.

"What is your relationship to Error anyway?"He asks the god

"Is it any of your business?"

"When it involves an ally of mine, yes. Yes it does."He says

"Put simply, it's a long, complicated, personal mess that I'm trying to fix. And if Error didn't already tell you, then I won't. It's none of your business and would break his trust. Don't want to get onto my list, do we?"Reaper says

Nightmare frowns but doesn't push it. That wouldn't end well for him.

Then a code screen appears as it pings Reaper's soul. Reaper gazes at it in awe as it loads.

*Another soul wants to communicate with you. Accept?*

*Yes.                 *No.

He slams his hand on the yes button. It loads again.

*The soul is asking if you're okay. If you're safe.

Nightmare watches, recognizing it as one of Error's code screens as Reaper responds yes.

*The soul is asking if Goth enjoyed his birthday or Killer caused a mess.

"Yes to Goth and no to Killer."Reaper says, the message copied in the screen.

*What are you doing now?

"Depends, are you the one I'm looking for?"

*The soul asks how he can prove that.

"Are you the one who loves 3-8-O-3L-1T-E?"He asks

"What the hell did you just say?"Nightmare asks

"Ssshhh, just wait."

*Yes, can't believe you still remember our code.

"Anything for you, dear! Now, where are you?"

*A little tied up at the moment. Fate seemed to be in a punny mood and decided to use ironic punishment.

"Where can I find you then?"

*The soul is sharing their location. Follow?*

*Accept. *Decline.

Reaper presses the accept button and the code screen becomes a portal with a blue trail of glitches leading through it. Reaper grins, tucking his list away.

"What the heck was that?"Nightmare asks

Reaper grins wider, glancing at him. Nightmare is clearly confused how things went so smoothly, especially with code, and that made Reaper feel special in a way. He understands it and his connection to Error still has something unique that others don't have as he sees it.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You don't have a special code language with him?"He asks Nightmare

"Coded language? Nah, we are very clear and don't need that crap!"He says

Reaper rolls his eyes.

"If you say so. Sometimes to cover our tracks or to keep our conversations secret, we would use a code language that we came up with to either use verbally or over text. Some letters would be replaced by numbers based on their place in the alphabet. I basically asked if he likes chocolate in this one. Now, let's go. You've been groaning and complaining this whole time."He says, soaring through the portal and zipping away

"Hey! Wait up! Stupid birdbrain..."Nightmare grumbles, following after him and annoyed that he is flying ahead.

Reaper doesn't wait up though. No, not when Error is so close. His wings flap as he quickly zips ahead as his mind races through different concerns to have. For all he knows, Error is still recovering from being drugged by Ink and this is just causing him more pain. The trail leads him away and he frowns when he sees Error at the end of the trail. This wasn't a good pot of gold to find at the end of the rainbow.

"No...."He mutters

He softly lands, staring up at the sight as Nightmare finally catches up to him.

"What the hell is this?"Nightmare snaps

Reaper frowns, at a loss for words. What it appears to be is a large web made of thorny stems and roots tied together like long, skinny vines. And at the center of this web is Error, covered in scratches or wounds especially on his head. He is tied by the thorns around his arms and legs so much that they seem to dig into him and swarm around his chest. Or he could be the source of it, given that the thorny stems seem to be growing from a colorful flower in his chest and another flower is growing out of his eye. Error seems to have passed out, his head hanging low as the code screen still blinks beside his head and his fingers still stiffly hanging as if ready to snap them to do some code or summon something.

Nightmare turns to Reaper who is still staring at this in shock.

"What are you waiting for? Get him down from there!"He snaps

"No...It's too risky. My touch could kill these plants and if they're growing from him, it could seriously hurt him. I'm not hurting him."Reaper says firmly

But he does get curious. He snaps his fingers, summoning Error's soul and frowns when he sees that thorny stems or roots of some sort have wrapped around the small shard trying to beat. He dismisses the soul back to its place and frowns. How can he get Error free without hurting him?

Then Error starts groaning, blinking his remaining eye as he slowly wakes up again. Reaper quickly flies up to meet his gaze and observe him for wounds closer without touching him.

"ReApEr...?"He mutters softly

TBC