Ink sighed. Error's gestures cheered him, and he wiped away any stubborn tears. But now, he had to think. If chocolate is bad, then what could Error eat? The bag of dog food was still in the kitchen somewhere, but Ink was willing to bet it tasted just as bad as those treats. How can people feed their pets such nasty stuff?

Ink shook his head. No. Error is not a pet. And he deserved better than what Ink had been offering him. He decided to remain positive though, and stood up. Error's good ear perked up and he whined.

"Don't worry, Error," Ink said with a smile. "I need to go get something, but I'll be back as soon as I can. Ok?"

Error's eyes had widened, and he attempted to stand up. Ink knelt down and carefully pushed Error back.
"I'm sorry, Error. You have to stay here. I swear I'll be back, and I won't let anyone hurt you. I know I've been... foolish about who I trust recently, but I know now that I have to be careful. Can you trust me?"

Error put his paw out, and Ink held it, rubbing his thumb over it. Error took a shaky breath, closing his eyes, and nodded. Ink grinned happily, and stroked Error's cheek.

"O-ok. I-I'll be back, so don't go anywhere. I'm not the best at hide and seek, y'know. Heh..."

With that, Ink stood up and made a portal. He looked back at Error, who had opened his eyes and stared pleadingly at him. Ink was reluctant to leave Error on his own, but he was determined to find out everything he could about animals, quite specifically dogs. He was not about to make another possibly life-threatening mistake thanks to his ignorance. He gave Error a reassuring smile, then leaped through the portal.

Meanwhile, with Dream....

Dream knocked on the door of the skelebros' house in UnderSwap. He hadn't seen Blueberry since that meeting, and a lot has happened since then. He hoped to have a nice, long chat with the short skeleton so he could understand the situation a bit better. His soul sank when it was Stretch who opened the door. His expression made Dream more worried.

"Hello, Stretch. Where's Blueberry?"

The tall skeleton twitched anxiously.
"I-I thought he was with y-you."

Now Dream was very worried. Blueberry wasn't the type to disappear without a word. Except... he did leave word. Dream frantically searched his pockets, but they turned up empty.

"Where is that note?" Dream muttered under his breath. Stretch noticed, and his expression turned confused.

"What note?"

Dream looked up, his eyesockets wide in panic.
"Blueberry left me a note, and I must've lost it. I don't- wait." A thought struck him as he turned away. "He said something about Killer being in DreamTale. He must have been taken to Nightmare's castle!"

Stretch narrowed his eyesockets.
"You let my brother... be captured???!!!"

Dream looked back at the taller skeleton.
"Wha-?! No! I just- I got surprised. A-and I don't think Blueberry was captured. I... I-I think he went... willingly."

"Ok, that's going too far, Dream. It's been hard enough trying to convince Sans that Error isn't his friend, but a cruel, heartless monster, and now you're telling me he's defected to Nightmare's side?! How could you? I used to think you were his friend. Now I'll have to tell him you branded him a traitor. I'm going to go find him."

Before Dream could protest, Stretch teleported away. The positive guardian rubbed his arm guiltily. He didn't brand Blueberry a traitor! If Stretch would just listen-!

Dream jolted. But that is exactly what Error and Blueberry had been saying. Dream and all the other Judges had been too stubborn to really and truly listen to what Blueberry had to say about the destroyer. He took a deep breath. No more will Dream be blind and deaf to Error's suffering. No longer will he be ignorant of Blueberry's pleas to reevaluate Error's life, he would be sure of it! But now, he faced the obstacle of finding the short, loveable skeleton.

Wait, hol' up-

Loveable?

Ya might be going a bit crazy there, Dream.

.............

Nah. Dream was certain Blueberry was the most loveable person in the multiverse. Or perhaps, he's biased, having been Blueberry's friend for years. It didn't matter. He was determined to find his friend-!

Dream fell backwards, but was caught by the person he'd bumped into. He opened one eyesocket, then beamed brightly when he saw who it was.

"Blueberry! Thank goodness! I was just about to come looking for you!"

The blue-clad skeleton's smile grew wider as he pulled Dream up.
"OH? YOU WERE LOOKING FOR ME? HOW SWEET!"

Dream blushed a bit.
"W-well, I-I just thought I'd, uh, y'know... your brother was looking for you," he offered quickly. He hasn't seen the flirtatious side of Blueberry in a long time.

"I'M SURE PAPY IS WORRIED FOR ME, BUT FEAR NOT! FOR I, THE MAGNIFICENT SANS, HAVE COME BACK FROM A HARROWING ADVENTURE INVOLVING SEVERAL GALLONS OF MILK, AND ABOUT A DOZEN STRAY CATS...."

Dream listened absently, thinking about how ScienceTale Papyrus had so easily deceived his brother.
"Blueberry?"

Said skeleton stopped his tall tale and looked at Dream.
"YES, DEAR DREAM?"

"Where were you really?"

Blueberry hesitated a moment.
"I... I WAS IN NIGHTMARE'S CASTLE, HELPING SCI WITH HIS ANTIDOTE FOR ERROR. I THOUGHT PERHAPS, SINCE I HAD GONE TO UNDERFELL, I WOULD ONLY WORRY YOU. BUT, AS YOU WELL KNOW, IT IS NOT MY FIRST TIME FACING DANGER! I SHALL ALWAYS PREVAIL!"

He struck a heroic pose, and Dream sighed in admiration. Sure, he would've been worried if he'd had to wait for Blueberry to get back from UnderFell, but he was safe and sound. And like he said, it hadn't been the first time this had happened.

"It is good of you to concern yourself with my peace of mind. But that's not why I'm here."
Dream motioned for Blueberry to follow, and the two entered the house. Dream sat down on the couch, and Blueberry followed suit.
"Error is with Ink, now."

Blueberry's brows snapped together in confusion.
"YES. I KNOW THAT ALREADY."

"Do you know what happened to him?"

Blueberry shook his head. This was really worrying him, but he patiently waited for an explanation.

"Well, Ink had left Error alone with Fresh-"

"IS ERROR OK??!!!"

Dream flinched at how loud Blueberry was. He was normally quite vocal and rambunctious, but his voice got louder when he was scared. And scared he was, for his friend had been left alone with his tormentor.

"He's... ok, for the time being," Dream said slowly. "We do still need to keep an eye on Ink, though. I was told that chocolate is bad for dogs, and Ink fed Error a chunk of it, possibly more. Ugh, I should've been there. I should've told him that dogs can't have chocolate."

Dream leaned his head on his folded hands, and Blueberry put a hand on his shoulder, rubbing it gently.

"IT IS ALRIGHT, DREAM. FOR ONE THING, YOU DIDN'T KNOW THAT INK WOULD TRY AND FEED ERROR CHOCOLATE. FOR ANOTHER, I'M SURPRISED ERROR EVEN ACCEPTED IT. HE... DOESN'T NORMALLY EAT, ANYWAY."

Dream lifted his head and stared at Blueberry.
"He... doesn't eat... at all?"

Blueberry shook his head.
"I SUPPOSE IT DOES NO HARM IF IT CAN'T KILL HIM-"

"That isn't a good excuse to NOT eat! We need food to function properly, no matter if we are immortal or not. How long has Error been like this?"

"UH... AS LONG AS... HMM, I DON'T REALLY KNOW. HE JUST DOESN'T EAT."

Dream sighed. Well, this situation keeps getting better. Sarcasm aside, it would be wise to go and check up on Ink and Error. It would at least put Dream's mind at ease knowing that they taking care of each other. He stood up, and Blueberry followed.

"WHERE ARE YOU GOING?"

"I want to check up on Ink. I was going to stay here with you for awhile, but I have a nagging sense that something's wrong. Would you come with me?"

Blueberry nodded, and the pair hopped into a portal.

They landed in the living room. Ink was nowhere in sight, but Dream spied Error resting on the couch. He internally sighed in relief at the sight of Error safe, but a slight grimace was making its way onto his face due to the creator's absence. He slowly walked over to Error, who jumped a bit from the new presence.

"Error, did Ink leave?"

Error didn't want to get Ink in trouble, so he stayed still. He trusted that Ink would be back soon, so he figured it wasn't a big deal. Dream, however, did not share Error's view.

"Error, if he abandoned you, I swear-"

"I'm back!" came the cheerful voice of Ink. He stopped short when he saw he had guests. "Oh hey, guys. I-"

"Where were you?" Dream demanded, cutting Ink off. "Error could've been abducted or killed while you were gone!"

Ink took a step back in alarm.
"B-but he wasn't, s-so-"

"So, you still left him alone! What were you thinking? Fresh is still out there, and without Error, the multiverse will collapse! Do you want that, Ink? Do you?!"

Blueberry came up behind Dream and put his hand on the guardian's shoulder. Ink was looking down, holding back tears as well as he could, and the short skeleton knew he had to act.

"WELL, IT SEEMS THAT INK AND ERROR ARE FINE! LET'S GO, DREAM."

Dream tried to protest, but the warning in Blueberry's eyelights stopped him. He took one more glance at Ink, then opened a portal and left with Blueberry.

Ink went and sat on the couch. He had a plastic bag with him, and he dropped it next to his leg. Putting his head in his hands, he rubbed the tiredness out of his eyesockets, then looked at Error. The little pup raised his head and wagged his tail, which raised Ink's spirits a little. Smiling, he looked in the bag and brought out another bag of beef jerky.

"I know that stuff I gave you before probably doesn't taste good, so I went to a store and bought something I think you'll like. I also bought a book about taking care of dogs, so I won't make any more unnecessary mistakes!"

He beamed proudly as he offered a strip of meat to Error. He sniffed it, then bit into it. It was chewy and tough, but the taste was incredible! Pepper, salt, garlic, all these different flavors he'd never had before engulfed his tongue, and he looked up at Ink eagerly for more. The creator giggled, seeing that he wanted more, and offered another piece. It wasn't long before Ink realized that Error would probably also be thirsty from the food.

"You must be thirsty," he said, getting up and walking to the dog bowls. "I'd... better get something easier for you to drink out of, heh."

He opened the cupboard and brought out a short glass. It was wide enough for Error to stick his face into, and Ink filled it with fresh, clean water.

"Here you go!" Ink watched as Error lapped up the water. When he was satisfied, Ink dumped the rest out into the sink and returned to the couch.
"Well, that was easy. Maybe these six weeks won't be so bad after all! I'll make sure you're well taken care of, Error. Until Sci creates an antidote, I will keep you safe, ok?"

Error nodded and tried to smile. Ink stroked his head, and Error nuzzled into the touch. Yeah. Maybe the time he has to wait will be fun with Ink around. As long as he doesn't create any more universes, Error could relax. The voices hadn't bothered him in awhile, which was starting to worry him, but he wanted to enjoy the peace and quiet as long as possible. And maybe get a few more pats on the head. A couple more snuggles, too. Eh, a kiss on the head would be alright. Which is what Ink just did. If Error could blush, he would probably look as blue as a stormy ocean. He didn't care, though. It was nice to feel appreciated, possibly even loved.

"Oh, yeah. We still have to figure out how to walk you...."

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So, here we are. This was a slightly boring chapter, just filler I guess. Next time, I think I'll put in a time skip, just to get past all the boring "taking care of Puppy Error" stuff because it's immaterial. Then, we'll be onto the good stuff. Fluff, angst, rrromance. Maybe a splash of humor. I hope I have whetted your appetites, cuz I plan on doing another chapter, tomorrow. Cya!

:3