It takes hours to get through the records, and no one is able to find even a hint of Error 404. It's frustrating to them all. Dust seems to be the only one not seething. Sure, he'd love to break every bone in 404's body, but it was also interesting to read about the different AUs.

"Well, that was the last of them," Dream sighs in frustration, closing up a notebook, "I don't understand it. Ink always wrote down information on the new AUs he created."

"Are we sure this guy even has an AU? Error didn't," Nightmare sighs.

"Error did have one! It just got destroyed......" Blue argues.

"404 seems to hate Ink and Error from what Alloy's told us. Ink might have not even created him," Dust adds, thoughtful.

Alloy is disappointed in himself that he couldn't find what they're looking for. He pouts a bit and watches the others go back and forth. Alloy was sure that they'd find something in this office. He still knows almost nothing about Error 404 besides the fact that he hates the Destroyer and Creator. With no records, it's almost like Creation was trying to hide........

The God of balance jumps to his feet, startling the others. He swipes his hand through the air and creates a green and black screen. This he takes in his hands and starts to run along the walls of the room, staring intently at the code flying across the screen.

"Umm... what are you doing, Alloy?" Dream is the first to notice the strange behavior, and stands up. The others get up as well when they look to see Alloy practically crawling all over the walls.

"No OnE seEms TO haVe knOwn abouT ErrOr 404. He waS kepT as a sEcRet, so it makEs sense that CreAtion mighT also hiDe his files," Alloy explains. The screen he's using shows the codes of whatever he points it at. As he scans up and down the wall, the codes suddenly change. He scoots the screen back over the spot to make sure before de-summoning it. Alloy then uses the butt of his paintbrush to bash a hole into the wall. The thin covering gives in easily. A small space is hollowed out behind, with a single book hidden inside.

"Alloy! You're a genius!" Blue cheers, running up to stand next to the god. He's so close that Alloy flinches a little.

"Would ya' look at that. Looks like Ink wasn't such a saint after all, huh, Dream?" Nightmare chuckles. The other brother is confused. What is so bad that Ink had to hide any existence of it? Ink was one of Dream's closest friends. What was he hiding?

Alloy grabs the book and blows off a thick layer of dust. No one had touched this book in a long time. It has no title or marked time period like the notebooks. Alloy lays it on the table and flips to the first page. The others gather around him to see, being careful not to actually touch him.

The first two pages leave them speechless. Both are each filled with a skillfully drawn and colored picture of Error. One is a full body drawing of him in a battle stance, strings trailing from his eyes to his fingers. The other is from farther away. Error is sitting on a cliff in Outertale. Red rimmed glasses rest on his face, an unfinished doll in his lap.

"What...... is this?" Dust asks the questions that's on all their minds. No one has an answer.

Alloy flips to the next page after a moment. It's full of written information all on Error. Small diagrams of his different attacks are drawn in the corners. Ink wrote down everything he knew about Error here. It's much more detailed than any of the notes on the AUs. It speaks of Error's friendship with the bad guys and how he once kidnapped Blue before returning him. In total, there are six pages of different details on the destroyer.

"Wow, stalker much?" Nightmare raises an eyebrow.

"I'm sure Ink only had this because he couldn't put Error with the other records! That makes sense," Blue offers.

Dream doesn't say anything, but prompts Alloy to turn to the next page. A smiling picture of Ink greets them. He's posing while leaning on Broomie. Another picture shows him laying on the floor and drawing. Again, the next half dozen pages are all about Ink. Alloy doesn't know exactly what this book is, but he's hoping to keep it and read it more thoroughly at a later date. The next two pages show drawings of Fresh. One is up close to his face with his glances tilted down, revealing the soul resting in his eye socket.

"I get it now!" Dream suddenly speaks up, "These are all outcodes! Error and Ink don't have AUs, and Fresh's got destroyed."

"So I was right," Blue says happily.

"If Error 404 really has no AU, we'll be able to find him in here, then," Nightmare adds.

Feeling hopeful, Alloy begins to flip through the pages faster. They find a few more recognizable outcodes on the way. Then, they reach a page with a big red 'X' cut through the picture.

"Paper Crane?" Nightmare reads their name out loud. He's never heard of this Monster before. Paper looks extremely tall in his picture, wearing a black poncho. When the page is turned, it looks like all the previous information had been hastily erased. Only a small note is left from Ink, and Dream reads it out loud.

"I found Paper Crane after Error destroyed his AU. He wanted vengeance, and I gave him the power to do so. I should not have left him alone. Crane fought Error alone and lost. I regret his end, but it has given me a new idea to deal with Error.....", Dream reads.

"Error killed Paper Crane?" Blue says out loud.

"It's Ink's fault. He even admits it here that he sent Paper Crane after Error," Dust mumbles distastefully. Him and Nightmare don't mind Paper's death. Error's killed many many more.

"It wasn't..... can't entirely be Ink's fault, though," Dream tries to defend his friend but his voice is unsure.

Alloy doesn't know how to feel about this. It all happened before he existed, but it makes him sad, angry, and regretful all at once. Creation and Destruction should have settled things way before getting others involved. Then again, Alloy wouldn't exist if that were the case. His mind again flips back to that first meeting with 404, and what the other tried to do. Alloy shivers.

The next page of the notebook is the same: an unrecognizable outcode with a red slash through their picture and information erased. Anti-Error. There's more. All had fallen to Error and his strings. All were coaxed by Ink, him getting more forceful with his 'convincing' as time went on. Dream's aura dims until Nightmare barely feels it. For once, the King has a shred of sympathy for his brother. Then, they find him.

The others can't help but be surprised when Alloy's hand flinches back from the page when they find Error 404's picture. The God chuckles, embarrassed and brushing it off in front of the others, but Nightmare can feel his fear. That reminds Nightmare of his new vow to look after him.

On one page, 404 is smiling in the drawing. He stands with his hands in the jacket of his white and blue coat, wearing a lazy grin. The other page depicts him in a battle stance that creepily mirror's Error's. A large, red 'X' rips across both pages. Ink thought 404 was dead.

"Well, not so dead, is he?" Nightmare mutters. Again, all the useful information about him has been erased, replaced with a note from Ink. Nightmare prompts his brother to read again, but Dream hesitates before doing so.

"Error 404 is different from the other outcodes. I couldn't keep watching them fall to Error. I can't keep watching my worlds crumble. I created 404 to be Error's perfect match. I've never done something like this before, and after what happened, I never will again. Life isn't made to be used as a tool. I did it anyway."

Dream stops reading then, afraid of what else he might find. The others are just as stunned. Alloy looks away from the book and at the floor. He can't stand this feeling of..... guilt. He didn't do any of this, but with his two components, Alloy is scared that he may very well be capable of it. The regret in Ink's words give Blue a bit of hope. This book obviously hasn't been touched in a long time. Nightmare is just becoming more annoyed and angry at the creator. Dream continues.

"I created Error 404 with an incredibly strong sense of justice and hatred for Error. My first and only intentional outcode. When I told him about Error, 404 became incredibly angry, and went to hunt him down at once. Skill-wise, 404 is the perfect copy of Error, down to their strings' ability to crush worlds. I've seen Error walk around with missing limbs. He must be near indestructible. That kind of strength is reflected in 404. His bones themselves would have to be grounded down to dust before he can die."

Dream stutters over that last sentence, horrified. They know now that Error isn't really like that. Only his soul is unbreakable. The kind of damage 404 would need to die is tenfold whatever Error took.

"Error 404 returned to me after a week. He had indeed found Error. I was sure that 404 would be able to beat him, but that was not the case. 404 was severely injured and blinded. He said Error sent him back once he realized how much damage 404 was surviving. He really was in terrible condition. I tried my best to heal him, but I couldn't save his eyes. Desperately, I did the only thing I could, and changed his codes again. 404 shares Error's ability to destroy code. I changed his eyes so that he could also see the codes. This was a mistake."

"Error came to us then. He was furious. He screamed and yelled that I was the one messing up the Multiverse, and that I shouldn't be sending all these outcodes to their deaths. I couldn't help but agree internally. I had gone too far this time. Error went on to scream about the others; about how I had used them as tools. I didn't argue back. He was right."

"404 was sitting on the ground behind me. He heard it all. Furious, he attacked us both. What I had done to his eyes made him a much more wicked fighter then I had expected. At some point, he figured out a new ability: Error 404 could see exactly how to rip apart a monster's codes. I felt the strings dig into my bones and rip me apart after a handful of seconds. It was the first time I had ever had to reform in the Doodlespere. It's only ever happened a couple of times. 404 was nowhere to be found, and Error would never say a word about it."

When Dream falls silent, no one speaks.