Meanwhile, with Ink...

Ink skipped around the same pet supply store they'd visited when he found Error. The list he brought with him had five items on it: shampoo, conditioner, a brush, a towel, and a comb. Ink had found the first three items pretty easily, and was moving on to find the last two things. He'd been thinking about some things. First, he hadn't created an AU in quite awhile now, but he didn't have any inspiration for one, so it didn't bother him too much. But that train of thought led him to Error. Where was the glitchy skeleton? Had he really seen the last of the destroyer? No, that's impossible. Error will turn up again to destroy AUs, eventually. Question is, when?

Ink shook his head, snapping himself out of his thoughts. He got distracted, again. This was bad. If he got too distracted, he might forget all about Cinnamon! And the poor pup could starve to death under his supervision! Ink noticed a nearby bench, and sat down. He put his head in his hands and rubbed his tired eyesockets. Cinnamon needed a good owner, not whatever Ink counts as. It's probably his fault anyway that Cinnamon was alone in the first place. For all he knew, Sci had been responsible for kidnapping and mistreating him! Cinnamon had probably come from an AU that Sci just happened to visit via Ink's help, and somehow Sci got the poor dog in his briefcase. And Ink willingly helped Sci torture an innocent creature!

At this point, Ink was in tears. He couldn't believe he'd trusted Sci. Maybe he was overthinking, though. Yeah! There's no way Sci would intentionally hurt something as tiny and cute as Cinnamon! But, with Ink's memory problems, he couldn't help but feel like those blanks in his memories held secrets he should know. And without someone or something to remind him, they would be lost to time and his own clumsiness.

Ink sniffled, and stood up. Dream's probably wondering where he is, by now. He grabbed the items he'd collected so far, and went to find the rest. He walked up to the cash register, and the same employee was there to greet him.

"Hi! Find everything ok, today?"
The employee said cheerfully, scanning the items one by one.

"O-oh, yes, I did." Ink tried to smile, but it looked strained.

The employee noticed immediately.
"Sir, is there something wrong?"

"Uh, nope! I-I'm fine. Just tired."
Again, he attempted to smile, and it looked even more forced.

The employee wasn't stupid. They had seen Ink sit down a little while ago, and realized something was wrong. The only thing that kept the employee from going over to see if they could help was the other customers needing assistance. They knew the signs of a soul pleading for help due to their experience with their Bitty. Their Bitty was a Sans, Classic to be exact, and they saw right through his efforts to disguise his suffering. He had lost his younger brother in a theft incident a few years before he was adopted, and had been depressed ever since. The employee knew the skeleton before them needed some assurance that he wasn't alone, and that he had a friend in them, at the very least.

"Well, if you say so. Just know I'm always available to talk to if you ever need to get something off your chest. I can only hope I'd be of some comfort to you."

"Th-thanks. What was your name, again?"

"My name's Chris! Nice to meet you!"

"I'm Ink! It's nice to meet you, too!"

After Ink had paid for his items, he got Chris' number. He bid them farewell, then returned to the Doodlesphere, feeling more happy about his situation. He found Dream kneeling in front of Cinnamon on the couch. Dream got up to greet him.

"Ah, you're back. Did you get everything?"

"I think so. Are we gonna give him a bath now?"

Dream looked down at Error, and he looked from Dream to Ink. Dream could feel slight fear from him, and he turned to the creator.
"Maybe later. Right now, I think I'll take a walk outside to think. I'll leave you to spend some time with him, ok? That toy you bought is still on the counter. Maybe he'd like to play with it?"

Ink perked up and raced to the kitchen. He didn't notice the wink Dream gave to Error. Dream turned to Error and sighed.

"Ok, I'll be back in a bit," he whispered. "Please humor him for awhile. I feel a presence outside, and I'm guessing it's one of Nightmare's gang. Good luck."

Ink came back in with the tug-of-war rope, and Dream headed out the door. Before he left, he waved to Ink, who waved back. Ink turned back to Error when the door closed.

"Ok, Cinnamon. I found a fun toy for you to play with! Here!"

He held the rope out, and Error went up to sniff it. It seemed harmless, so Error hesitantly pawed it. Ink smiled a bit, then put the rope on the floor. Error carefully jumped off the couch and attempted to take the rope away from Ink. However, the creator tugged at the rope, hoping to tease Error into chasing it. Error followed it a bit, and Ink decided to throw it.

"Ok, Cinnamon. Go get it!"

Error almost rolled his eyes. Welp, if he wanted Ink to stay oblivious, he'd better do what he's told. He trotted over to the rope and grabbed it in his mouth. He returned to Ink, and the creator beamed.

"Good job, Cinnamon!" He petted Error, then took the rope and threw it again.

He heard a knock on the door, and stood up. He narrowed his eyesockets in suspicion, and drew his paintbrush. Dream never knocks, and there were only a few people who could get into the Doodlesphere without Ink or Dream's help. He opened the door to reveal none other than Fresh.

"Phew, you scared me, Fresh. I thought you were one of Nightmare's crew or something."

"Yeeeeeaaaah, about dat, brah.... So's Dreamy is kinda fizzity fightin' one of dem unradical broskis right now-"

"WHAT???!!!"

"Yeah, he's just over by dat one AU dat I cannot, for da life of mah brotastic self, remember. I t'ink he was datta way, brah!"

"Thank you, Fresh. Oh, could you keep an eyesocket on my dog? I'd appreciate it."

"'Course, brah! It'd be mah pleasure."

"Thanks!"

With that, Ink ran off into the sea of AUs, leaving Fresh with Error.

Meanwhile, with Dream...

Dream carefully made his way through the maze of AUs, searching for the set of emotions he'd sensed lurking around the house. He knew it had to be one of the Bad Sanses, since they had a tendency to come here and spy on them.

"Hello? I know you're here. Please, I don't mean you any harm."

A knife stabbed into the ground before Dream, and he stopped in his tracks. He recognized the knife as one of Cross', and his guard went up. Hopefully Blueberry and Sci had informed Nightmare of Dream's willingness to help. Otherwise, Cross might find it appropriate to attack. He watched in apprehension as Cross himself walked into view between the AUs.

"Cross! I knew it. What are you doing here?"

Cross said nothing. He summoned a circle of knives and pointed them at the positive guardian. Dream held his ground.

"Wait! I-I don't want to fight you! Please-"

"How do I know you're not lying?"

"Because I know about Error."

Cross raised a brow.
"What about him?"

"He-he got turned into a dog-"

Cross burst out laughing. Dream's expression turned confused, and Cross doubled over in laughter, desummoning his knives.

"Hahahahahaha! O-oh, man, that's gotta be the funniest joke you've told in forever, Dream! I didn't even know you could tell jokes!"

"Hmph!" Dream crossed his arms in offense. He could tell jokes! He was usually too serious to try, though.
"Then I guess Blueberry and Sci didn't tell you that I know about what happened to Error?"

Cross calmed down a bit, then looked at Dream.
"Oh yeah? What did they say about him?"

"That he's essential to saving the multiverse as a whole, and that he's been turned into a dog. Sci has to find a way to turn him back to normal, or else he can't prevent the multiverse from imploding."

Cross gaped at him. For a moment, he was at a loss for words.
".... Th-they.... told you that?"

Dream nodded solemnly.
"Yes. And I have agreed to help protect him. Do you believe me now?"

"Well.... it does seem unbelievable still, but Nightmare did mention something about a dog being part of Sci's experiment."

They were interrupted by Ink swiping red paint at Cross. The monochrome skeleton was caught by surprise, and the red liquid burned into his bones. Dream ran in front of Cross, and stopped Ink in his tracks.

"Ink, stop."

Ink lowered Broomie.
"Dream, he could've hurt you. I'm glad I got here when I did, or else you might've gotten outnumbered."

"What do you mean?"

"There could be more of Nightmare's goons around here. Come on, get your bow out."

"No. Cross wasn't attacking me."

"Wait, really?"

"Of course! .... There's.... also something I should tell you. It's about Cinnamon."

Cross got up and held the side that got burned. He glared at Dream.
"Dream, don't you dare. If what you told me is true, Inkblot over there isn't gonna believe you. He'll think you're crazy. Besides, you'd put him in more danger by revealing what you know."

"Dream, what is he talking about?"

Dream hesitated, but sighed.
"Fine, I will tell you later, Ink. Where's Cinnamon?"

"I asked Fresh to watch him. He's the one who told me you were being ambushed."

Cross' eyes widened.
"Oh no...."

"What-"

"YOU FRICKIN' IDIOT!!!! FRESH WILL KILL HIM!!!"
Cross raced off with Dream and Ink in hot pursuit. Ink caught up with him.

"But Fresh is a friend! He wouldn't hurt Cinnamon, would he?"

"Ugh," Cross really didn't want to jeopardize Error's position as a dog (if he even is a dog), but Fresh might already know. The Virus has so many ways of figuring things out, not to mention his favorite plaything has been missing for a couple of days now. He has probably grown bored, and might have resorted to torturing people who can't die just to entertain himself.
"Ok, fine. Error's been turned into a dog, supposedly, and you adopted said dog. Fresh, being the creep he is, probably knows it's Error, and will most likely torture and kill him. It's what he does."

Ink's eyes widened in horror.
"Th-that's terrible! Why would Fresh do that?! And I... adopted Error?!"

... ... ...

Error's tail went between his legs, and his ears swept back in fear. Fresh closed the door, and turned back to the frightened dog.

"Well now, broski. You is one difficult brah ta find, yo! Ya know, I been searchin' da whole multiverse ta find ya the past couple o' days, only ta findja as a dog! Heh heh, and dat loopy creator thinks y'all up n' died or some shit. Wow, he really dat stupid, eh?"

Error growled slightly. Fresh may be his worst enemy, and he may be at the disadvantage as a dog, but he wasn't about to let Fresh insult someone who showed him such kindness and dedication to take care of him, even as he cowered in fear. Fresh could burn in hell for all he cared!

The Virus took a menacing step toward Error, but he stood his ground. If he's going down, may as well go down fighting. He ran up to Fresh and clamped his jaws down on his leg. Fresh yelled out in pain, and grabbed Error by the scruff of his neck. He threw him at a wall to his right, and Error yelped. He managed to get up, and charged at Fresh again. He dodged the bones thrown at him, and bit down on Fresh's other leg. Fresh growled and tried to shake him off, but Error refused to let go. Fresh staggered backwards to a wall and leaned against it, successfully kicking Error off with the other foot. Error once again got up, but was kicked harshly to the wall dividing the kitchen and the living room. He tried to get up again, but Fresh knelt down and picked him up.

"Hmph, dat isn't very nice o' ya, brah. Ya straight up attacked me, broski, and dat is totes unrad."
He said it like he was lecturing a naughty child, but Error knew it hid the Fresh was very angry. Then again, can an emotionless parasite get angry? Regardless, Fresh stood up and took Error by the neck. Error started squirming, gasping for air, and Fresh slammed him against the wall, choking him.

"Ya know, mah unradical broseph, it would be so easy ta just straight up crush ya right now. Yo is so tiny, I could throw ya in a bin of toys, and some lil tike could pick yo up and squeeze ya ta death. That'd be hizzy hilarious ta watch. Howzabout you and I go do dat?"

Error could swear he saw a faint glowing behind Fresh's shades, and he was now positive he'd made the Virus angry. To hell with being emotionless, Fresh was most definitely furious. Error couldn't move, couldn't make a sound. He knew he couldn't make it out alive, so as he was choked to death, he accepted his fate, falling limp in Fresh's hold.

"Not so fast!"

Fresh turned to see Ink, Dream, and Cross, all with their weapons drawn. He smiled in a friendly manner, and waved.
"Aw, what a surprise. I was hopin' ya all up n' murdered each other. Oh well, more fun fer me."

"Let him go, Fresh." Ink was about ready to pounce on the Virus. He couldn't believe Fresh would try to kill Cinna- Error. Ink felt horrible for allowing someone in his care to be put in such danger. And to make matters worse, it was Error he'd been protecting! He must have felt so annoyed to have to put up with being Ink's pet. And he must have felt so alone and afraid being without people he trusted. Ink snapped out of his thoughts when Fresh laughed.

"Why? I'm doin' ya a favor, broski. He's been all up n' messin' up yo precious creations fo' as long as ya can remember, right? Dat's reason enough ta get rid of him. Ain't dat right, Inky brah?"

Ink hesitated. That was true, but he didn't want to kill Error! He's never wanted to kill Error!
"No."

"'No'?"

"I don't want him dead. Especially not now. He's harmless, and I would rather convince him to stop destroying than kill him. Now let. Him. Go!"

Fresh scoffed and threw Error onto the floor between them. Ink dropped Broomie and ran over to him. Picking Error up gingerly, he looked up and glared at Fresh.

"Get. Out."

Fresh remained motionless for a few seconds, then shrugged and created a portal. He saluted the others, then jumped into the portal with a smile on his face.

Ink looked down at Error. There were cuts here and there, but what really stood out were the irregular positions of some of his bones. Both shoulders looked bent out of place, and one of his hind legs was dangling funny. Not to mention his breathing was raspy and shallow. His ear, too, was lopsided, and Ink carefully brushed his fingers against it. It was completely limp, and Ink took a shaky breath. He turned to Dream, who knelt next to him.

"We'll have to take him to the vet again, Ink. They are the only ones who can help him, now."

Ink nodded, and Cross knelt down on Ink's right.
"Ugh, if only I had gotten a hit on that damn parasite. He's Error's worst enemy, and he's been pestering Error for decades. Sci was making a potion to stop that fucker, along with a healing potion to help Error recover from you two fighting all the time. But, according to Dream, it turned him into a dog."

"Dream," Ink looked to his friend.
"I-is this true? How did you know? Why didn't you tell me?"

Dream sighed.
"We should get him to the vet so they can heal him. I'll explain everything there, ok?"

Ink nodded, and the three of them hurried into a portal, Ink carefully carrying the poor dog in his arms.

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Ooh, we are really getting into the thick of it, here. Yes, Froot Loops Boi is evil. That name is courtesy of somebody who read this, buuuut I can't remember who. You know who you are. Anyway, hope you like this chapter. I spent nearly three hours on it, and that's not counting rereading it to make sure I stayed on track. The thing that's really bothered me is that some people (aka my siblings) think it's weird to reread what you've already written. And here's a question.

Who else rereads their stories to keep it consistent?

Please let me know. I don't wanna feel alone

(._.)