Error's POV two weeks later

"Agh! fUckInG hELl!"I snap, trying to finish destroying this AU.

This fight is going further than usual. What the heck is that bastard trying now?

Up to my left elbow was ripped off but I still use my strings to delete the rest. I fire more blasters, erasing the AU.

*Ding!* 55.2% DONE with quota! Complete or any loved souls perish.*

Ink smacks me with his brush and I hit the ground hard. He steps closer, revealing a mixed vial with mostly pink and blue. 

"It's interesting how you act like you have feelings so let's see what happens when you actually feel. I'm sure these will be too much for you to handle and keep destroying. How can a destroyer love after all?"He says, shoving it down my throat

I choke and gag on it but he forces it down. Then he quickly flees before I can attack him. I groan, feeling pain in my soul and crash within seconds.

Little did Ink know what he set off.

NO POV

With the new vials in his system, his reboot code changes slightly. A barrier snaps open and any restraint that he had before is gone. He finishes rebooting and grins, his eyes filled pink with glitching white edges to split from the red of his eyes. He pauses as the blue influence takes effect with the pink and his mind is filled with painful scenarios where he loses his loved ones or they get hurt. Then he grins as these fears fuel a plan to protect them regardless of the costs and making sure nobody gets in his way. He stands up, walking around and finding the arm ripped from him. He quickly uses his strings to tie his arm back together for the time being, then climbs onto one of his blasters to hunt Ink down.

Within hours he wrecked Ink's base which also happened to be the Star Sans base. By the end of that he had Dream and Ink in a cage made of strings and bones surrounded by blasters. It's coded to deny any attempt to escape and any attempts to escape earn them a blast from one of the surrounding blasters. He also caught Blue, tossing him into a giant ball of his strings that's shaped like a giant cocoon. 

"Blue!"Dream shouts, trying to reach him

He touched one of the cage's strings, triggering a blast. Error grins and Dream sees his eyes, gasping in shock.

"Ink! What the hell did you do to him?"He snaps

"I didn't think he'd react like this to feeling love!"Ink says

Error grins, leaving them there in the trap. 

Blue wasn't alone in the cocoon for long. Horror, Farmer, Farmer's brother, and Blip quickly get stuffed inside with him as the strings grow to accommodate them securely. Even Reaper's brother gets tossed in and Lust. 

"What has gotten into him?"Reaper's brother asks

"He seems to be collecting us for our safety. It's reinforced and adjusting for our comfort..."Horror says

"Better than how he trapped Ink and Dream...Plus it seems that Ink drugged him with the pink vial."Blue says

"Oh shit."Lust says

They each frown, knowing how Ink is under the influence of that vial. What would happen when Error's under its influence?

"He probably sees AUs as a bigger threat now and is collecting us so that we don't get hurt."Horror says

"Really?"Lust says

"Yea, I'm confident. This isn't the 1st time he abducted me from an AU and look where it got me."He says, holding Farmer's hand.

"And we're confident that the influence is love? We all know what the pink vial also does to Ink."Lust asks

"He is ace, Lust. I doubt that some pink crap is able to change that and make him suddenly sexually attracted to others or desire it. Let alone with so many of us. It wouldn't suddenly change him or our platonic relationships."Horror says

Then all of the friends close to Raven, Shino, and Goth were tossed in. Palette lands smoothly and crosses his arms, recognizing quickly the influence of the pink vial. He's very annoyed at Ink already for being the obvious cause. 

Shortly after that, the three kids get tossed in and glance around in confusion. What was their father doing? What has gotten into him? Raven tries in vain to use his scythe to break free, causing both of his Uncle Papyruses to try to stop him before he hurts himself. Palette shares his theory with Goth as Shino moves beside her friends to share snacks that she had. She has full trust in her dad despite not knowing his reasons, assuming that this is just another way that he's keeping his family safe. Keeping her safe.

Error continues destroying AUs as he hunts down every loved one that he can find, catching them and putting them in this giant cocoon of his strings, the largest creation that he used his strings for. They can walk in it or lay down but any try to get free only makes the cocoon swing, rocking them like the contents of a baby's rattle. His strings are indestructible after all. And he applied code to keep Fate from getting in.

Soon the entire gang is in there as well, confused as well but Killer quickly starts a bet on who pissed Error off this time. Nightmare was annoyed at the bets on him despite being there with them. Error only tossed him in since he valued Palette's happiness. Error proceeds to go on a huge destruction spree, eliminating every AU as he searches for Reaper. And knowing that he has them in one place allows him to continue without holding back, pushing his power to the limits to get the most progress that he can. He has code running to delete chunks of AUs at a time, using his strings to eliminate souls and sending armies of blasters through portals to eliminate more AUs. He was never in one place for long.

Goth can hear it all and tries to warn his father, calling him.

"Heeey, Dad? I think you should hide...Papa's not acting normal and he's on a huge destruction spree....He caught us and trapped us in a giant ball of his strings...You'll probably get trapped here too if you get caught here."

"What's everyone doing? Is everyone okay?"Reaper asks

"Well Blue and the gang are placing bets on who is responsible right now aka who pissed Papa off this time. No surprise that Ink is the highest bet so far, 2nd is Dream and 3rd is Nightmare. Horror is covering Shino's head so she can't hear their language. My friends are chatting, Mr. Nightmare is meditating and both Uncle Blip and Uncle Pap are trying to keep Raven from breaking his scythe on the string barriers. Palette thinks that Ink drugged him and set this off."

"I'm not meditating, I'm trying to lock in on his feelings.

"Did he give you any indication on why he did this?"

"Well he said that we're safe here...He didn't say anything else."Goth says

"I'll try talking to him."

"You'll just get caught."Goth says

"We'll see about that."He says, hearing Goth sigh before hanging up.

It wasn't long until he was found by Error, which starts a chase across AUs as Reaper tries to avoid being immediately tossed into the trap. Error shouts at him to come and attempts to tell why but Reaper never stays long enough to hear, either using his wings or list to zip away...only to be hunted down in another AU. All Reaper hears is him shouting about safety and Error shouting his name. Reaper flies around him at one point, seeing his eyes and immediately realizinf what happened. There wasn't the calm, calculating gaze that he's used to in his Glitchy's eyes. No, now it was burning pink with pure desire. And to Reaper, it looked crazed without reason and unnerved him. He also recalls Error complaining of any encounters he had with Ink whenever Ink was on the pink vial. 

Now he isn't trying to avoid Error's strings but instead to escape from how crazed his boyfriend appears. Yet Error is never far behind and Reaper starts to get even more unsettled.

Great, my destroyer boyfriend is high on both a destruction spree and pink vial! I can calm him from destruction sprees but I've never dealt with pink vials or what it does to him! What do I do? Tire him out? Wait! I got an idea!

He zips home to grab the puppet and quickly lifts it, making Error freeze seconds before he got his strings on Reaper. He drops to the ground, only able to gaze at Reaper as his body trembles. Tears form in his eyes as Reaper hovers closer cautiously. For good reason too since he landed on his broken arm roughly and Reaper doesn't realize this.

"LeT mE g0 ReApER! n0w! Y0u pr0miSeD y0u w0ulDn'T uSe tHaT oN mE! WhY w0n't y0u l3t m3 pr0t3ct y0u?"

He was right. Reaper did promise that he wouldn't use the puppet on his boyfriend. That would violate him and his consent to being touched. But Reaper thought that desperate times called for desperate measures.

"You have to stop."

That makes Error freeze up, staring at Reaper in shock. Has he not been listening? How could he order this of him? Demand it from him? Everything in him is telling him to continue his spree and to be strong, that he has to protect everyone from Fate. But he also wants to make Reaper happy. All he desires is to show that he deserves his love but he has a job flashing in the corner of his eyes reminding him of the lack of time. Then the blue vial takes over, filling his mind with insecurities. Does Reaper think that he's weak and unable to do this? Unable to protect him or their loved ones? Is that why he's stopping him? Because he doesn't think he can provide that security? That just makes him feel helpless, useless and weak. Then his thoughts are filled with scenarios of what could happen if he doesn't get free to continue...of losing them...

"No, I n3eD t0 pr0t3ct y0u! I hAv3 t0! I hAv3 t0 pr0t3ct y0u aLl! I cAn'T....I cAn'T b3 weAk....I cAn'T lOsE y0u...N0t agAiN...Or aNy0ne....Pl3asE..."He cries

Error completely breaks into tears, feeling helpless and overwhelmed. Reaper carefully pulls him closer, hugging him.

"You're not weak, Glitchy. I just need you to stop this."Reaper says

Error continues to cry, too out of it to understand as the demands given to him seem too conflicting. He passes out in Reaper's arms, broken under the vial and the pressure.

Reaper sighs, hating the sight of Error like this, but knowing that it had to be done or this would've never ended. He lifts Error up, finding Error's broken arm and stains on his coat from the vial he was forced to drink. He frowns, extremely concerned for Error. He was so drugged that he worked through the unbearable pain of a broken arm without a hint of hesitation or concern for himself. Reaper will never let him work like a machine like this again. He takes Error home, healing his broken arm.

Hours later, Error wakes up with the vial still in his system but now the second vial that was mixed in is stronger. Sadness. Yeah Ink really wanted to torment him thinking Love and Soulache will ruin his destroyer abilities. Now his mind races with how so much can go wrong and everything in his vision is blurring. He finds that he could move slightly and reaches out, feeling Reaper's wings. He quickly takes the chance to find comfort by snuggling into his wings, waking Reaper who had dozed after setting Error in bed with his back to him. He glances over, surprised to find Error buried in his back.

"PleAsE....Don'T gO...."He pleas softly

Reaper shifts to face him.

"I'm not going anywhere, Glitchy."

Error kisses him, clinging onto him. Just those few words provided truckloads of comfort to him and he desired to give Reaper some affection. If Reaper thinks he can't protect him, he wants to prove that he can be loving. Reaper gently holds him and wipes his tears.

"I lOvE YoU..."He says, leaning into Reaper's touch on his cheek.

"I love you too, Glitchy."

"ThEn wHy wOn'T yOu l3t m3 ke3p y0u sAf3?"He asks

"You're not yourself right now, dear. You're not in the right mind or under the right influence. Ink's vials and messing with you and I won't let Ink mess with you and have you go past your limits. If you caught me, who'd be there for you when you crash?"

"I'd bE f1n3 aS loNg aS yOu'r3 sAf3."He says with a shrug

"No you wouldn't. You're not rebooting alone. I won't let you endanger yourself. Now, can you please release our loved ones?"

Error thinks for a few moments.

"....NeXt wEeK I wiLl."

"No, Glitchy. Let them out now."

"NoT uNtiL I kNoW iT's sAfE...FaTe's qUoTa....NoT sAfE....WoN't lOsE tHeM. NeXt wEeK fReE...TheEm..."

Reaper listens and then it connects for him. Fate's quota started making itself known to Error after Horror's wedding. Has the vials influenced the pressure he feels and made him crack?

"Glitchy, has this been a plan against Fate? Is that what this is about?"He asks

Error crosses his arms, pouting.

"YeS! YOu wOuLdn'T liStEn tHoUgH! No, yOu'd rAtHer fLy aRoUnd tHe mUlTiVerSe! WhAt diD yOu tHiNk tHiS wAs abOuT? I'm nOt iNk!"He snaps

Reaper is quiet, wondering if he should say what he thought given how emotional Error is. Error glares at him.

"Did yOu tHiNk tHaT i'D aCt liKe tHat fReAk siNce hE drUgGed mE wiTh hIs viAlS?"He asks

"..."

Error frowns, taking the silence as a yes.

"Is tHaT wHy yOu uSeD thE puPpEt tO rEsTrAiN mE? CuZ yOu tHoUghT I'd aCT liKe hIm?"He asks

"You did complain a lot about how crazy he'd get with pink eyes without any sense of reason..."Reaper says

That's Error's confirmation. Reaper quickly realizes that was the wrong answer with the glare he gets and Error tears away from him, turning his back to him with his arms crossed.

"Glitchy-"

"SaVe iT, ReApeR."

Error checks his progress and sees that he's 98% done already. He grins, then uses his puppet of Reaper to send him into the string cocoon with everyone else.

"Told you to hide."Goth says

"Good news is that I know why he's acting like that. He's on the pink vial and trying to protect us while he handles Fate's trouble. Bad news is that he's mad at me and won't let anyone out until next week."Reaper says

"Yeah, we figured that out already. Horror and Blue guessed that and Palette confirmed the vial while Nightmare found the motives in his feelings."Goth says

"I got a feast of negativity from him. Seems like he had a breakdown as soon as you came into his focus. Then there was fear, insecurities, doubt and pain instead of the concern about Fate that was fueling him before. Did you do something to break his trust as he felt it? Think that he's weak? He grew extremely sad after that and then it faded. Shortly after that I sensed anger aimed at you so you did something to upset him."Nightmare says

"I did nothing and said nothing to imply that he's weak. He probably got upset that I stopped him from continuing his spree and that he wasn't strong enough to get past me. The pain may also be because he has a broken arm that he was neglecting to fix. I always let him do his destruction without getting in his way so that might've broken his trust when I tried to stop him."Reaper says

He knows the real reason but doesn't feel the need to tell Nightmare those private details.

"There was a pause between his sadness and anger at you. A few moments where he felt happy...What did you do to ruin that?"

"I said something dumb and ended up here. I might be sleeping on the couch now."He says

"What did you say, Dad?"

"I might've told him that I used what he told me about Ink on the pink vial to consider how to act with him in this situation..."

The entire group facepalms and Shino shakes her head, tsk-tsk-tsking him .

"You used INK as a point of reference for him? Compared him to INK? Oh yeah, you're in the dog house."Horror says

"Oh come on! It's Ink's pink vial! I couldn't be the only one wondering based on that!"

"Yeah, we've all seen him and had our thoughts on it. We each wondered about it."Dust says

"Difference is that we don't assume that he will act like Ink because of it. We don't compare him to Ink. We sat here wondering how it will influence him, not how it makes him like Ink."Blue says

"And we certainly didn't dare to consider saying such a comparison to his face. No, that's looking for trouble. That'd be like telling Nightmare a comparison of him to Dream. It's never going to end well and not even I am dumb enough to try that! I like living!"Killer says

Blip sighs and the family gathers around Reaper, starting a tutoring session on how to fix this when they're freed. The rest hang out and chat or try to entertain themselves. It was a long week.

Error gets his quota complete and this time Fate agrees to reward him with everyone being safe for another decade. He got that in writing too. So he frees everyone and the last of the vials leave his system. But Reaper wasn't completely free. Physically he was but his connection was a bit strained because of his dumb assumptions. Reaper was indeed in trouble for another month. Error wasn't happy with the comparison to Ink and Reaper's assumption that he'd act like Ink. Meaning no cuddles for a month.

Then one night he is surprised to find Error climbing in bed to snuggle him. 

"C-CaN i sNuGgl3 y0u? I'v3 bEeN hAv1nG bAd dReAmS..."

"Of course, Glitchy."He says, happily providing comfort.

Error rests his head against Reaper's chest.

"So...y0u d0n't tHiNk tHaT i'm wEaK?"Error asks quietly

"If you're weak then I'm the god of life."He says, making his Glitchy laugh

"Y0u tHinK i'm sTr0ng eNoUgH t0 pr0t3ct y0u tHeN?"Error asks

"You don't need to worry about that, Glitchy. You're never going to lose me or anyone."

"Mmm...BuT fAtE..."

"Screw Fate. Do I need to prove your worth to you? You're not alone, Glitchy and you don't need to be strong all the time to be worth loving to us. You can be vulnerable and weak as well. I'll be here for you when it's too much for you. You have to consider yourself too."

"BuT-"

"But nothing. If that vial showed me anything, it's the lack of self-care or love you hold for yourself. To be pushing yourself on a destructive rampage when your arm is broken....That's an extreme lack and I don't ever want to see that again. Now, are you going to keep arguing this? Let me hear you agree."

Error doesn't give him this confirmation. Reaper chuckles.

"Then I guess it's time to spoil that soul of yours.~"

Reaper grins, very eager to show his Glitchy some needed affection until he remembers how loved he is. And given that Reaper wasn't able to even hold Error's hand for a  month, he didn't exactly hold back with his affection.

All while the kids slept down the hall from them.

TBC