Meanwhile, in Nightmare's castle...

Blueberry shifted uncomfortably, watching as Sci studied the contents of the potion which had turned Error into a dog. He didn't like that Sci didn't know what the potion was or where it came from, not one bit. It was as if the thing just... appeared out of thin air.

"I don't get it," Sci grumbled, sighing harshly as he straightened from hunching over his chemistry equipment. "I've never seen something so... peculiar. It has the same atomical structure as the healing potion, but altered to fit the DNA of an animal..... But, that gives me an idea."

Blueberry perked up at Sci's change of tune.
"CAN YOU REVERSE THE EFFECTS?"

"It's risky," Sci replied, taking out the actual healing potion he'd made for Error. "but I feel like we have no choice. I'll have to see if I can get my healing potion to fit the DNA of a skeleton, and that should bring him back to normal. Only problem is, I don't have a test subject."

Blueberry remained quiet for a moment. Suddenly, he smirked.
"HMM. I MAY HAVE JUST THE PERSON FOR THAT."

Sci eyed him suspiciously.
"And who might that be?"

He grinned with an unsettlingly knowing glint in his eyelights.
"OH, YOU'LL SEE. BUT, YOU MUST TRUST ME ON THIS."

Sci rubbed his forehead, hoping to the stars above that Blueberry wasn't going to try to play matchmaker again, especially with a life, and subsequently the rest of the multiverse, on the line. He nodded to the short skeleton, who leapt out of his seat and bounded out of the room. Maaaaybe that wasn't such a great idea...

... ... ...

Blueberry skipped into the Snowdin of UnderFell, humming a familiar tune. It was difficult to hide his upbeat attitude, especially when the subjects of his shipping obsession would get to spend some quality time together. If he was right, and he was sure he was, Red would like nothing better than to visit Sci and watch him work. The hard part is convincing him it's his idea.

He continued past the skelebros' house, knowing Red wouldn't be there unless he was done with his sentry shift. It was typical for the edgy skeleton to avoid his brother, since Edge had the tendency to yell out his thoughts, which Red mistakenly assumed were directed at him. Blueberry, sneaky as he was, had witnessed one of these exchanges, and quickly realized that Red feared his younger brother. He also found out, by following Edge around, that the tall skeleton feared losing Red. It was all a huge misunderstanding, one that Blueberry hoped to remedy in the future; for now, though, he had a mission to accomplish.

Swinging the doors to Grillby's bar open, he strutted over to the counter. He took a seat next to the only one there: Red.

"WHY, HELLO, RED!" he exclaimed, catching the attention of some of the other customers. "HOW GLAD I AM THAT YOU WERE HERE AT THIS HOUR!"

Red glanced at him, sipping his mustard and placing it in front of him.
"Oh boy, here we go again," he drawled in a bored tone. "What brings you here, berry Blue?"

"OH, NOTHING MUCH. JUST GETTING AWAY FROM THE USUAL MULTIVERSE SHENANIGANS AND THE LIKE."

Red sat up straighter and turned to his companion.
"No you're not. When you're here, trouble is bound to follow. Don't think I forgot when you and Dream came here, askin' around fer some oreo skeleton, then Boss comes huntin' me down and demands where his favorite boots are! We found 'em in the river, spray-painted with smiley faces, and Boss was furious! I had ta do extra sentry duty that week!"
The scowl on his face didn't faze Blueberry; in fact, he smirked at the memory, knowing full well it had been his fault the boots had gone missing.

"OH GRILLBY! ONE ORDER OF FRIES, PLEASE!"

Red stared at him incredulously. Blueberry hated greasy food. Why the sudden change?
"Uh, Berry? Ya know fries are greasy, right?"

Blueberry lowered his eyelights to his hands.
"WELL, THEY AREN'T FOR ME. I THOUGHT I'D GET SCI A SNACK WHILE HE WORKS. HE HAS BEEN QUITE BUSY THESE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS, AFTER ALL."

A nearly unnoticeable blush settled over Red's cheeks as he shifted in his seat.
"Wh-what's he busy with?"

Blueberry rested his chin in his hand to hide his smile.
"SOMETHING VERY IMPORTANT. ALAS, I AM NOT ALLOWED TO SAY ANYTHING, ELSE HE'D HAVE MY HEAD. AFTER ALL, ONLY HIS DEAR, BEST FRIEND WOULD BE IN ON THE SECRET-"

"What secret?!"

Blueberry's eyesockets widened in fake surprise, and he put a hand to his mouth in shame.
"OH DEAR, IT SEEMS I HAVE LET HIS PLANS SLIP OUT. BUT, I HAVE BEEN SWORN TO SECRECY, SO EVEN IF I WANTED TO TELL YOU, I COULDN'T. NOT WITHOUT BETRAYING MY DEAR, BEST FRIEND, SCI!"
He spoke with such convincing innocence, it would have taken a detective with years of interrogation experience to tell that he was intentionally inciting hostility with Red. And, of course, Red was no detective.

"Alright, ya little blue devil. I'm going to Sci's to see just what exactly he's doin'. And ya better not stop me!"
He got up to leave, but not before Grillby came in with Blueberry's order.

"WE SHALL TAKE THIS TO GO, GRILLBY!" He beamed, noting the irritated grimace on Grillby's normally placid features.

"The fuck do ya take this for, a fast food joint?!" he growled. "You'll have ta pay extra, squirt!"

"Aw, lay off him, Grillbz," Red rolled his eyelights. "He's a customer, and it's bad fer business ta run 'em off, ain't it?" He snickered, and Blueberry shrugged while taking out his gold. He paid for what he ordered, winking at the fiery bartender.

"WHY YES, YES IT IS. YOU'D THINK THAT, SINCE IT IS NOT A 'FAST FOOD JOINT,' YOU'D GET BETTER SERVICE. I WONDER WHY YOU INSIST ON COMING HERE, RED."
With that, he walked out the door with Red, leaving Grillby fuming in anger.

They portaled to Nightmare's castle, and Blueberry shoved the basket of fries into Red's hands and forced him into the room Sci was in. Then he left, leaving his ship to sail on its own.

Red grumbled lowly, feeling a bit cheated by Blueberry's smooth talk. It was so easy to forget how sly and manipulative he could be when he looks as if he was made of sugar, spice, and everything nice. But, he didn't have time to dwell on it. Bravely, he puffed out his chest in an effort to look intimidating, and marched up to the nerdy skeleton.

"H-heya, Sci."

Said skeleton jumped at the sudden remark, nearly knocking one of his beakers over. He sighed, turned around, and blushed deeply at the sight before him. Red stood less than a foot away, a basket of freshly made fries in his hands. They both stood awkwardly for a minute before Red cleared his throat.

"U-uh, I-I brought you a-a snack, cuz I thoughtcha might be hungry..." he glanced away as he handed Sci the basket, then shoved his hands in his pockets.

Sci adjusted his glasses and grinned, his soul skipping a beat at the kind gesture. He put the basket on the counter, then turned back to him.
"Th-thank you, Red. W-would you... like to stay awhile? I-I mean, if you want to, that is."

Red grinned and met his eyelights, causing his blush to darken.
"S-sure."

Red sat back leisurely in a chair, his hands behind his head, surveying Sci as he continued to poke around in his little chemistry station. It occurred to Red that they were in Nightmare's castle, and he decided to ask about it.

"Ya seem stressed, Sci."

The nerdy skeleton rested his hands on the counter before him, taking in a breath and letting it out slowly. Being around Red was a blessing and a curse, as it made him feel happy that Red was paying attention to him, but it distracted him from his mission. Every time Sci caught his gaze, he couldn't stop his soul from hammering out of his chest. That toothy grin, that caressing look in his eyelights, the way he made Sci feel like he was going to melt with just a glance....

Frustrated with his stubborn train of thought, he turned around to face Red. Another of those lazy, roving glances moved down his figure, and he couldn't stop the color from rising to his cheeks. Red seemed to notice too, and he smirked briefly.

"So, I get that we're in Nightmare's castle, 'n I got nothin' against him, but why's he needja anyway? And Blueberry said yer workin' on some hush-hush project. What's this all about, Sci?"

Sci gulped and twisted his sleeves nervously.
"U-um, I-I don't r-really have the a-authority t-to tell you...."

Red stood up and walked up to him. Sci glanced at him, and had the fleeting thought he looked like a predator about to pounce on his prey. Sci tried to back up, but ended up pinned against the counter as Red put his hands on either side of him.

"Aw, c'mon, Sci. Ya wouldn't keep a secret from me, woudja?~"

Sci gulped and averted his eyelights. Red was a few inches taller than him, and it made him feel small and insignificant. But having Red this close to him made his blush darken further, and he attempted to stutter out an excuse.

"W-well- y-you see, I- I- uh, it-"

Red put a hand under Sci's chin, tilting his blue-covered face upwards. He looked into his eyelights, deciding he liked how cute Sci was when he was flustered.

"Heh, heh, you're so cute when you're nervous, babe."

Sci averted his gaze again, embarrassed. Red did some crazy things to him, and he secretly liked it. He was about to ask him to kindly step away from him so he could breath, but a voice broke in on their little moment.

"Heh, am I interrupting something?"

Red turned and glared at the newcomer, who happened to be Dust. He had a box of supplies Sci had requested, and he casually walked in before Sci could say anything. He set the box down and winked at the pair, knowing exactly what was happening, and what could've happened if he hadn't decided to interrupt them. And yes, I'm implying he'd been standing there for quite some time. Should've brought a camera.

Sci slipped out underneath Red's arm, and looked into the box. A few test tubes, some ingredients labelled for healing, a few petri dishes. Perfect.

"Th-thank you, Dust. I-I'll be sure to put these to g-good use."

Dust's smirk widened at Sci's stammering.
"You're welcome, princess."

Sci turned away to unload the items and hide his blush. Dust glanced behind him to find Red glaring at him, and he winked. This made Red angrier, but before he could blast him, Dust teleported away. Red growled softly, but turned around to help Sci with his stuff, pushing the urge to disembowel the cocky skeleton to the back of his mind, for the time being.

Meanwhile, with Ink and Error....

Ink lay on the couch, softly petting Error. He wondered now how Error was feeling. He's probably very tired of being a dog and Ink's idiocy, and the thought made Ink want to cry. All of this had been Ink's fault. He'd been stupid to believe he could handle taking care of an animal, who happened to be a former enemy, and that had ended disastrously. But maybe, if he could somehow make this up to Error, they could be friends! Then again, he thought with a quiet sigh, Error might never accept his friendship. He wasn't a very good friend, anyway. He forgets things easily, he spaces out like that's his job, he made Error's life miserable.... What's not to hate about Ink?!

He was snapped out of his thoughts by a tiny bark. It was so quiet, he had to strain himself to hear it. He looked down at Error, and another tiny bark came from the sleeping dog. Another few barks sounded, and Ink realized: Error was having a nightmare. He gently shook Error's shoulder, urging him to wake up.

"H-hey, Error? It's ok, it's ok. C'mon, buddy. Wake up."

Error jolted awake, and tried to stand up. Ink carefully got off the couch and sat in front of him. He smiled reassuringly, and petted him.
"It's ok, Error. It's ok. You're safe. Please don't worry, you're safe."

Error breathed out shakily, looking into Ink's eyelights. Once again, he searched them, looking for some hidden agenda in the creator's eyes. He could see none, only the kind and gentle concern he seemed to have for him, and him alone. At least, for now.

"A-are you hungry? I-I can give you something to eat!"

Error nuzzled into Ink's hand. He was surprised himself how much he craved affection, being starved of it for so long. So, so very long. For once, he felt completely at ease, as if everything was alright, that his job didn't matter, that he was cared for. But he felt awkward and clueless about being waited upon, by none other than Ink himself, to boot. After a tense silence, he nodded.

"Ok," Ink said with a grin. "I'll be right back."

He got up and headed to the kitchen. On the counter was the bag of treats he'd received from the vet the first time he'd brought Error to the clinic. Curious, he went through the bag, and found that the treats were little bite-sized pieces of meat. He wondered if it was any good, and decided to try it for himself.

Welp, that was a mistake.

He immediately spit it out, wiping his tongue off with his hands in a desperate attempt to get the taste out. It didn't work, so he resorted to drinking some water, swishing it in his mouth, and spitting it out in the sink. That made the taste mote bearable, but it was, nonetheless, still revolting. Now, he might not be an expert on dogs, but no skeleton would eat that and enjoy it!

He rummaged through the fridge, hoping to find something a little more suitable to eat which didn't taste like it's been through a meat grinder twice. Nothing seemed to catch his eye, until he saw it.

The shiny aluminum of a chocolate bar wrapper.

Beaming, he pulled it out and unwrapped it. He broke off a piece and tasted it, deciding it tasted alright. He walked back into the living room, and knelt down in front of Error.

"Here," he said softly. "This tastes better than those gross treats we got."

Error sniffed the chunk of chocolate Ink presented to him. It wasn't a large chunk, just a bite, and Error's stomach growled. He opened his mouth, and Ink fed him the chocolate. It tasted amazing! Error tried grinning, and Ink smiled at the effort. He fed him another piece, seeing no harm in giving him more.

A portal opened up, and Dream came through. He smiled when he saw that Ink and Error were safe, but his smile dropped to a horrified frown when he saw what Ink was feeding him.

"INK!!!"

"AAAH!! WHAT IS IT???!!!"

"DOGS SHOULDN'T HAVE CHOCOLATE!!!"

Ink's eyelights shrunk, and he looked down at Error. The poor dog was breathing heavily, startled by Dream's sudden outburst. Ink looked back up at Dream, then hung his head.
"I-I'm sorry...."

Dream rubbed his eyes, then knelt next to Ink. The creator's eyesockets had filled with tears, and his breath hitched as Dream put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's alright, Ink. You didn't know. I shouldn't have overreacted. But now, we have to take him to the vet, again."

"Again?!" Ink looked at him in fear.
"No! He's been through too much, already! M-maybe it's not so bad. Maybe he'll be alright if w-we just wait...."

"Ink, we can't risk it. If he dies...."

Ink covered his face with his hands, tears running down his cheeks. He can't do this! He just can't! Taking care of a dog was way too hard for him, and he's bound to make another mistake. He hasn't had Error for longer than two days, and he's already caused him so much harm! He shouldn't have taken this responsibility. He's bad enough at making AUs; half of them are negative ones, and their inhabitants would love to get their hands on him just to make him suffer the hurt he's made them go through. And he couldn't blame them. They were right. He's only made them suffer, and for what? An interesting storyline? Fascinating characters? Struggles to overcome??!!! It didn't matter. They all hated him all the same.

Dream sighed and rubbed Ink's shoulder. The poor creator was sobbing his soul out, and had pulled his knees up to his chest and buried his head in them. He really was trying his best for Error, and Dream was making things worse. He realized this, and decided he would stay out of the way for awhile. Ink knew it was Error now, so he could handle the situation, right?

"Ink... I think you're right. We will wait. And while you wait with him, I'm going to UnderSwap. Blueberry will want an update on this, since he and Sci were the ones who told me Error was a dog."

Ink lifted his head and looked at Dream.
"Wh-What? I-I thought Cross t-told you."

Dream shook his head.
"No. I spoke to Blueberry, and he informed me that Error isn't... intentionally bad. In fact, he's been trying to help. The multiverse needs him, Ink, because it's getting too full of universes. The reason it's been stable so far is because you haven't created any more AUs since.... Was it a week ago that you made MetalTale?"

Ink nodded and gulped. He looked at Error, and the pup's good ear drooped a little. He sighed, then turned back to Dream.
"S-so what you're saying is, I've been u-unknowingly destroying the multiverse...."

He sounded so defeated, so dejected and broken, that Error's soul ached for him. He wanted to tell Ink he was sorry, that he wanted to take back everything he's ever done to him, that he wanted to start anew. But as a dog, he could only whine. And whine he did, which caught Ink's attention.

"Wh-what is it, Error?" his voice was tired and raspy, and Error wagged his tail when their eyes met. He scooted closer to him, and Ink got closer to the couch, putting a hand where Error could reach it. The small dog snuggled into it, licking it and nuzzling his nose into it. Ink gave a teary laugh at his antics, feeling relieved and happy that Error was trying to make him feel better. Dream grinned at the sight, then stood up.

"Well, it seems he doesn't mind too much that I told you. Can you fix it, Error?"

Error stopped giving Ink affection briefly and nodded. Dream nodded back, and the little pup went back to comforting the creator. Dream shook his head and created a portal, a soft smile on his face. Before going in, he waved at Ink.

"Take care of him."

Ink waved back, but Dream left before he could respond. If Ink caught Dream's true meaning, he didn't show it, for he was too caught up in enjoying Error's gestures of affection.

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F L U F F

Hello, people who read my crap! Here is an especially long chapter, because I'm bored.

Also, little thing I'd like for you to know: Ink is not, I repeat, not the bad guy. So, for goodness' sake, stop treating him like one! It's not his fault that Fate made him so he has memory problems! It's not his fault that Destiny decided to turn Error into a dog! And it certainly is NOT HIS FAULT THAT HE GETS DISTRACTED EASILY! You try going a whole day without getting distracted from the one thing you have to get done tomorrow, and while this may not be the case for all of you, I can guess that means you have school.

I am stating this because I feel kinda attacked for how Ink is. People are bullying him for being forgetful. I'm forgetful. They're bullying him for spacing out. I space out. And if you who are against him for that kind of stuff start to bully him for things he doesn't know, well. I am disappointed. I'm disappointed in your lack of empathy. Empathizing with Error's plight is one thing, but being antagonistic towards my comfort character is a whole other ballgame. Please don't bully my comfort character. He's my baby Q^Q

Go bully Fresh. He's cringe.