*Warning! Suicide attempt at the end, plus depressing thoughts. Proceed with caution!*

Four hundred years later....

Inky stood at the head of the huge, rectangular table. He'd had to make a larger one to accommodate as many AUs as he could, though the effort seemed insignificant since he still couldn't fit them all. Nevertheless, he had tried, and that's what counts. He had sent the darker and more unstable Judges to Nightmare's castle, where they were holding a meeting similar to this one. Four hundred years' worth of resets, it had been that long, in which for every AU Inky created, Error destroyed ten or twenty more. Judges from every walk of life had begun to question why some of their friends were disappearing, so Inky decided it was time to inform them of the growing threat. Above the frenzied din of Judges wondering what they were for, he cleared his throat to calm them down.

"As you may be aware," he began, surveying the enormous crowd with a hopeful and confident set of his shoulders, "there have been rumors of a threat to the multiverse. Now, I don't want to alarm you, but these rumors... they are true."

Murmurs rushed through the crowd like wildfire, spreading to those in the back who couldn't quite hear properly. Most of the originals were in the front, while the copies hung out in the back, unused to being acknowledged at this scale. There were more than just the typical Sans or Papyrus too; there were Toriels and Asgores, Asriels and Charas, Frisks - who were regarded with immense suspicion by the monsters - Mettatons, Undynes, pretty much any character in existence. If Inky was interested in them, they would be put into a prominent position somewhere in the core of a universe, thus creating universes and copies with strange and unique twists. The only AUs that didn't have copies or variations were Reapertale and Dreamtale. Their respective roles in the multiverse were too important and too delicate to upset and unbalance. The irony, am I right?

Inky shushed them once again. "You're all probably wondering why I've called you here, right? Well, the Dreamtale twins and I have identified the threat, and have been trying to stop it for the last four hundred years-"

"Four hundred years?!" One Judge cried, outraged.

"Why haven't you said anything?!" Another snapped.

"What's causing this?" Yet another inquired.

"QUIET!!!" Inky yelled. He sighed, choosing his next words carefully. "We did not want to cause a multiverse-wide panic. We have figured out the threat is a black skeleton named Error. He is highly dangerous and mentally unstable. We've managed to drive him from some universes, but not all of them. It's the only way we've been able to stop him, unfortunately. We can't kill him; Nightmare and his gang have tried many times. Some of you might be skeptical of uniting our forces, but this threat, this... Error, is tougher than anything we've ever seen."

Inky sighed as the cacophony of voices rose, remembering their first attempt at killing Error. He'd been strolling through the Doodlesphere, feeling freer than he had in a long time, when he spotted shreds of paper a few feet away, disappearing within seconds. He had followed the paper trail to an AU that seemed to be in turmoil. He had made a portal into the AU, only to stop dead in his tracks and stare in complete shock at the sight that greeted him.

"I-it can't be...."

He'll never forget the smug, insane grin he received from none other than Error, as the glitch sent a torrent of strings at him. Inky had dodged, still shocked by Error's resilience. However, something had seemed... off, about Error that day. Almost as if he was weakened. Of course, he doubted an unprepared trip to Gastale and breathing in the deadly gases permeating the atmospheres of both the surface and underground was too pleasant, but it had only been a week! Surely, even with how strong Error was, he'd still be too weak or sick to move, right?!

Apparently not. The AU they had fought over had been lost to Error's rampage, and Inky had had to retreat. Before he did though, he witnessed Error shudder and hold a hand to his mouth, like he was going to be sick, and noticed that the glitch's head was more scratched up than usual. Inky had pitied the destroyer. He felt it had been unnecessary to put Error through such pain if he wasn't going to die. He had suffered for no reason, and he came back as strong as ever, as if he wasn't in any danger of dying at all! Not that Inky wished him dead. Of course not! If he could just talk to Error, get through to him-!

Inky shook himself out his reminiscing as a host of questions bombarded him. The Judges were confused and scared, that much was obvious, but they wanted to know why. Why would this Error guy want to destroy AUs? Didn't he come from one? Which one? Did he not have a family to care about? Did he not care who he hurts?

"One at a time, please!" Inky tried to calm them down again. "We don't know where he's from, we don't have much info on him at all besides his temper. This meeting is meant simply to warn you. So far, we've been... somewhat lucky that he hasn't destroyed any originals. I know the alternates and copies are important too, but even one original going down will bring its copies with it. If he begins to target originals, we risk losing those that were created with the original in mind. So, for you originals, keep a sharp lookout. If you spot Error, do not hesitate to call me, Dream, or Nightmare, whoever you can get into contact with first. We will get to you as soon as we can and drive him away from your AU, hopefully for good. And should he see you, do not engage. Do you understand me? Do NOT engage!"

A resounding clamor of yes and yes sir rang out, and Inky nodded in satisfaction. Underswap Papyrus, more commonly known as Stretch to his fellow originals, agreed with them. As lazy as he was, he'd do his part, no doubt about that. And if that meant he basically did as he always does, going through the motions until something unusual pops up, then sign him up! But, if this Error was so dangerous even the darker AUs had to be careful, then he had to be extra attentive. He owed that much to his AU, especially his brother. He was loyal to a fault, and would do anything to keep him safe, even if that meant taking on the destroyer of worlds, himself.

... ... ...

I was destroying a random anomaly, again. I went from area to area in no particular order, destroying buildings, killing monsters, just getting rid of another mistake. I felt... numb. This no longer felt as fun as it used to. Maybe it's the lack of opposition, or it was this dumb, defenseless world. Not a single monster tried to stand up to me, not even to save their life. It was so boring! And I hadn't seen any of the usual inhabitants, which was weird. I expected to fight Undyne, or Mettaton while I was going through Hotland, but neither of them showed up. Suspicious, I headed to Snowdin, intending to taunt the Sans into a fight. Heh, maybe I'll get some action if he actually grows a backbone and confronts me! Or he cowers in fear, and then I kill him. Wouldn't be fun, but at least I could destroy this stupid world faster if there are fewer people still alive.

I made it to the skeleton brothers' house. I pounded on the door, itching for a fight. The skeleton who opened the door, however, was not Sans. He had cracks snaking up and down his face, and he wore a black suit and turtleneck. I shot a bone through his chest, annoyed as hell. Where is that filthy mistake?! This isn't Papyrus, either; too short, and too depressed looking. I shook the image of the bags beneath his eyesockets away, stepping over his dusting corpse. I almost felt sorry for him. He must've been... tired, running low on energy and motivation. I shook myself more firmly, reminding myself that he and I were nothing alike. Nothing! I wasn't losing interest in taking lives, or destroying universes! I'm not tired, and I'm certainly not depressed! I could do this forever!

With the sneakers I stole from some AU I destroyed, I walked quietly into the house. They were much more comfortable than those stupid fucking slippers. Still salty about that, by the way. And they made much less noise, especially when I was walking through the grass of Waterfall. I flinched as I stepped on a creaky board, searching for any indication I had alerted anyone. So much for stealth. I listened carefully, my senses reaching out farther than any normal monster's. I had learned to train my hearing better than my other senses to catch a surprise attack after the last few times, and it's kept me considerably less wounded. Very useful, especially when Tentacles tried to ambush me. One can't really see the tendrils coming in complete darkness, so one has to rely on other things to avoid those sticky, slimy tentacles, ew!

I heard a noise coming from upstairs, and teleported to Sans' room. What I found made me stop in my tracks.

Two small, bright white eyelights stared up at me in fear. My own eyelights shrunk in shock as my hearing honed in the monsterling before me. I was completely entranced by the sound of the little one's soulbeat, and I could feel it quicken with fear as I gazed down at him.

I jumped as the tiny tot started crying, glitching intensifying from the ruckus. This scared the child more, and he cried harder and louder. I held my hands over where my ears would be, my sensitive hearing taking a beating from how loud the toddler was.

"PlEaSe... StOp," I muttered, feeling a headache form in the back of my skull similar to when the voices would scream away at me. "STOP!!!"

Instantly, the child stopped crying. I sighed shakily as the slow drum of the headache faded, and my glitching body calmed down to its normal buzzing. I looked up at the kid and tried to smile, hoping that would calm him down enough to prevent another bout of insufferable screaming.

"It-it's ok, little one. It's ok, you're ok," I knelt down in front of his crib with my hands raised, sighing softly in relief when the little skeleton only hiccupped in response. He must be the Sans of this universe, and that other skeleton must've been his caretaker. Maybe his father? A deep ache formed in my chest at the mention of a father, and I tried to blink away the tears that were forming in my eyesockets. I... took this child's father from him. Why did that... bother me so much? I've killed thousands of Asgores, all of whom must've still had some version of Asriel or Flowey to care for. I killed thousands of Toriels, almost all whom had taken care of the human child at some point before they had embarked on their journey through the underground. So why, why was I feeling bad for this one Sans who lost his father?!

"H... hurt?" I looked back up at him. He had stood up and gripped the bars of his crib for support, tilting his head slightly in curiosity and concern. He was perceptive, for his age. He pointed at me, blinking at me with those wide, innocent, white eyelights. "You... hurt?"

I gulped back the lump in my throat. This is gonna hurt, killing him. He hadn't deserved what I did to him. It wasn't fair. It's not fair! Neither him nor his father had deserved to die! They could've lived their lives in peace, and I ruined it! This is my fault. I did this to them. I'm no better than the voices, tearing people apart to build myself up. I'm the worst monster to have ever lived.

I stood up abruptly, making the child jump slightly. He didn't seem as scared, anymore. Those little white eyes were gazing up at me with curiosity, and...

Trust!

He was about to learn the hard way he shouldn't trust me. But he won't live long enough to regret it.

Unable to look into those trusting eyelights any longer, I turned away with my arms wrapped around my torso. Raising one arm slowly, painfully, I snapped my fingers. A sharp bone was summoned, and I closed my eyesockets tightly, a few stray tears slipping down my cheeks. I took a shuddering breath, raised my arm, then swung it down quickly. I heard a single, shrill scream, then turned my head just in time to watch the right half of the little skeleton's skull turn to dust. The soulbeat was gone, and a small sliver of blood stained the blue onesie the child had been wearing. I stared at the pile of dust, my mind spiralling. What have I done? What have I done?!

I dropped to my knees, holding my head in my hands. I don't know how long I sat there crying, but when there were no more tears to shed, I stood up and opened a portal. I left the AU as it was, ignoring the indignant voices screaming at me to go back.

'Hey! You haven't finished destroying that one! Go back at once!'

"No."

'What do you mean "no?" Listen to us!'

"No."

'We control you. We own you. So go do as we say, or you will be PUNISHED!!!'

"I don't care." I sat down on the floor of the Anti-Void. I thought back as far back as I could remember, counting the times I had to kill someone who might've been a parent. I couldn't even begin to number the AUs I've destroyed, much less the people whose lives I took, and the thought filled me with a despair I hadn't felt since I was first trapped, here. For the first time in my memory, I fought to ignore the voices and think for myself instead of listening to them. I focused on the hum of static that seemed ever present around me, and I realized I had a choice. I didn't have to destroy, to kill, to make people suffer! It had long ago grown repetitive and monotonous for me, and the thought of killing someone who had a child waiting for them to come home made my nonexistent stomach churn. How could I have been so blind, so selfish, to inflict pain on everyone who crossed my path?! I never should have listened to those stupid voices!

I stood up quickly as an idea formed in my head, suddenly happy with my moment of clarity. For the first time in years, decades even, I could do whatever I wanted without caring what those voices did to me! I teleported myself to the top of my web of strings. The glowing souls caught in my strings pulsed frantically, and I felt tears burn my eyesockets. They must've had families to go back to, as well. And I selfishly took them away.

'Don't worry,' I tried to tell them in my head. 'If I have my way, no one will suffer by hands, again.'

I weaved my strings into a loop, securing it with a knot I was sure wouldn't break. I tied it around my neck, smiling and giggling hysterically. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I closed my eyes. Take this, Fate!

I jumped.

*Snap!*

_______________________________________

I am so sorry for the wait on this one! For those who have stuck around, guess what? I actually have this book finished in my rough drafts! And this chapter, though it was relatively short, only took me a couple of hours to refine and type out! I am very excited for this cuz I technically have this one finished, which means I can start working on the next book I have started! Eeeeee, it's giving me happy jitters just thinking about it!

Also, I think I'm gonna change up the font for the Voices so it's easier for me to write. But other than that, enjoy!