In the Unstable Multiverse....

Nightmare paced in agitation outside the medical bay in the Dreamtale mansion, where Inky lay unconscious, but alive. Dream was a strong healer, and he had been working all day and night to keep the creator from bleeding out. The positive guardian finally walked out with a tired smile on his face. Nightmare went up to him anxiously.

"How is he?"

"Ink will live," Dream heaved a weary sigh, turning to his brother. "I did my best to heal him, but there will be a scar. He'll... probably carry it the rest of his life, though with his tattoos, it's not as noticeable."

Nightmare let out the breath he'd been holding. "Ok. Good job, Dream."

The positive guardian beamed with pride. That's the first time in years Nightmare had complimented him! He could feel a burst of energy zip through him, and he put his hands on his hips with a satisfied smile. "Thank you, brother! You can go in and see him if you like!"

Nightmare nodded and went in. Inky lay on a bed shirtless, his ribs bandaged up to make him look like a mummy. He was sleeping peacefully, and the negative guardian kept quiet to avoid waking him up. Nightmare sat next to Inky, slipping his hand into the sleeping creator's hand. He squeezed it, then sighed.

"Thank the stars, you'll be ok, Ink. This was a disaster. I'm sorry I wasn't fast enough to get you out of danger, but I swear, when I find that destroyer, I'll make him pay."

Inky stirred, his eyesockets fluttering open. When he saw Nightmare, he smiled weakly. "H-hey, Nightmare."

"H-hey, Inky- I MEAN, uh- um," Nightmare looked away, his face flushing a bright blue. The creator giggled.

"You're funny, Mare Mare." He snickered at the glare he received, knowing Nightmare wasn't actually mad at him. His own blush spread across his face, and he tried to sit up. He hissed as his injured ribs moved the wrong way, trying to push through the pain. Nightmare carefully pushed him back to a lying position by his shoulders.

"You shouldn't be moving, Ink," his expression darkened, and he growled. "You shouldn't even be hurt in the first place! What made you think that glitch would willingly surrender?!"

Ink lowered his eyelights and gulped. "I-I thought... I thought this time, he would've been willing to listen. But... I was wrong. I-I'm sorry, Nightmare." Large, translucent tears of rainbow spilled down the creator's cheeks, but the negative guardian was quick to wipe them away. Tempering his voice to a soothing whisper, Nightmare held Inky's cheek gently.

"It's fine, really it is. I'm not mad at you, Ink. But Error-! When I find him...." He growled, his eyelight glowing brightly.

Meanwhile, Dream was busy cleaning around the mansion. Cleaning helped him relax and clear his head, though it hasn't been as effective as of late. He had tried to distract himself from the situation at hand, but with Inky being so badly hurt and the failed attempt to get rid of the destroyer, Dream's mental stability was strained. They had no idea what had happened to the destroyer, but they still assumed he was alive. Knowing Nightmare, he'll be preparing a multiverse-wide manhunt by now, aiming to find the destroyer and take him out. Dream doubted they'd find the destroyer soon, but that was no surprise. Error's probably lying low, licking his wounds and waiting for an opportunity to keep killing.

Dream dusted under some vases, his thoughts wandering. Error had never hurt Inky this badly, before. It came as a surprise to everyone that the creator had nearly been killed, considering the destroyer usually retreated after such a brutal beating. Perhaps Error was in fact the bad guy, and nothing could be done to convince him to stop hurting people, However, he hadn't killed Blueberry.

Dream's eyelights lit up. Maybe Blueberry could shed some light on this! He'd been Error's prisoner for over a month, after all. At the very least, he could explain why Error had tried to kill Inky, but spared Blueberry. With newfound confidence, the positive guardian created a portal to Underswap and headed to their usual meeting place. He activated a special bracelet to call the blue-clad skeleton, then waited for his friend to arrive.

With Blueberry....

Pacing in front of his couch, Blueberry waited anxiously for his brother to return. Stretch had said Inky and the Judges had come up with a plan to get rid of Error for good, but Blueberry highly doubted they could kill him. Error was simply... indestructible, and Blueberry was willing to testify that fact. In spite of this, he pleaded with Stretch not to go, warning him that Error would try to defend himself. Stretch had hesitated, but reluctantly said he wouldn't participate. He was just going to watch. Blueberry was grateful for that, since that meant Stretch wasn't completely against Error.

Indeed, Stretch had begun to feel off about the whole situation. He couldn't tell what it was about the destroyer, but after meeting him, he felt... almost compelled to try and understand him, as if someone was whispering to him and suggesting things to him. He attributed it to his tendency to believe the best in people until they proved untrustworthy, but only at first. It bugged him that, even though Error had basically kidnapped his brother and subjected him to weeks of unabated nightmares and restlessness, Stretch still felt the urge to figure out what was making Error do this... "job" he was allegedly forced to do. Something was missing, some piece of the puzzle was evading him, and it frustrated him. It made him wonder if there was something or someone manipulating him into walking into a trap.

Blueberry gasped as his brother emerged from a portal and plopped down on the couch. His haunted expression made the blue-clad skeleton more concerned, and he sat down next to his brother, alarm evident in his eyelights. "Brother! Are you alright?! What happened?!"

Stretch sighed and rubbed his tired eyesockets. "It wasn't good, bro. Ink got hurt badly, and Error disappeared."

"What will the Judges do now?"

"Probably go lookin' for Error. Do you have any idea where he could've gone?"

Blueberry lowered his eyelights in thought. He had several ideas, but he didn't know if Stretch could be trusted with the information. He could use it against Error, and cause him more pain. "Did you... help them?"

Stretch's expression turned shocked. "N-no, of course not! It was hard enough listening to the screams! I'm relieved you weren't there, bro. Error, he sounded like... l-like he was literally dying."

Blueberry nodded in understanding. Stretch had made it a point to keep him in their AU, and now, he was sure it was for a good reason. He didn't want to imagine how it had sounded to listen to the cries of pain and pleas to stop as the multiverse unleashed its pent-up fury on the one trying to destroy it. Still, that begged the question whether it had been successful. "Do you think they... killed him?"

Stretch shook his head. "No. I saw him open a portal. He's still alive, for better or for worse."

"At least, we're hoping he's not." Blueberry rubbed his arms idly. He hated to think of the wounds Error had sustained after this horrible beating. He'd seen enough of them to know it was just another day for Error, no matter how ruthless the fight had been. He was all alone, scared, hurt beyond what could be healed. He didn't think anyone should go through that, no matter who they are or what they've done.

Suddenly, Blueberry's bracelet lit up, and he quickly hid it from Stretch's view. Dream was waiting for him, hopefully with more information. He stood up and smiled at his brother innocently. "Thanks for telling me, brother! I-I think I'll go train with Alphys to take my mind off of this. And Papy?"

Stretch perked up at the soft tone in his brother's voice. "Yeah, bro?"

"Thank you for not causing Error any harm."

Stretch watched his brother leave, staring at the door blankly. Blueberry still thought the destroyer could be convinced to stop. Why? What had Error done to make him think the glitch could change? He sighed harshly, standing up and pulling out a cigarette. He needed to clear his head, maybe not think for awhile.

Blueberry arrived to find Dream staring up at the sparkly walls, seemingly lost in thought. He tapped the positive guardian's shoulder, startling him out of his trance.

"O-oh, Blueberry! There you are," Dream let out a breath, then smiled. "I was beginning to wonder if you were coming at all."

"I came as fast as I could," Blueberry said breathlessly. "Please tell me you have good news!"

Dream lowered his eyelights. "Not really. Ink got hurt, but he's alive. And Error, I... I don't know what happened to him. According to my brother, he got away after leaving Ink to die."

Blueberry huffed. "Don't talk about him like that! I'm sure he didn't mean to hurt Ink! He needs someone to help him, not attack him!"

"Are you sure, Blueberry? He could be tricking you into taking his side."

Blueberry rolled his eyelights. "You're starting to sound like Papy! He keeps me stuck in our AU, with no actually useful information on what's going on outside in the multiverse! Please, Dream. Just this once, I need you to trust me. He needs a healer, especially after what happened!"

Dream shook his head. "Why does he destroy, then? Why does he kill innocent people, and destroy AUs without warning?"

Blueberry looked down. "He hears these voices that tell him other universes aren't needed. I believe they've made him think every universe is a piece of trash he's getting rid of, but he doesn't want to do it, anymore! I'm sure if we could just help him, we could get him to stop!"

Dream hesitated, then nodded. "Fine. I'll help you. Where should we go?"

"To the Anti-Void."

Dream made a portal to the blank world and led Blueberry inside. Together, they emerged in the white space and started looking around. The blue strings above them glowed as bright as ever, the puppets strung high up in the web swaying slightly. Blueberry tried calling out for the destroyer, scanning the area carefully.

"Error! Hey, Error, it's me, Blueberry! I brought someone here to meet you!"

But there was no answer.

The pair continued to look around, occasionally calling out for the glitchy skeleton to show himself, but to no avail. Eventually, they stumbled upon Error's jacket, which was covered in blood. Blueberry's eyesockets widened, and he ran up to it and picked it up. "O-oh no...."

Dream caught up to him and gasped. "I-is that-?!"

"Error's jacket...." Tears pooled in Blueberry's eyesockets when he realized what this meant. Error... was gone. They had done it. The destroyer was dead. He and Dream were too late to help him.

"I-I'm sorry, Blueberry," Dream put a hand on the blue-clad skeleton's shoulder, and Blueberry leapt to hug him. Dream returned the hug, and the two stayed like that for a long time, mourning someone they could've saved.

They returned to Dreamtale just as Nightmare was organizing a search party. He noticed them approach, and eyed Error's hoodie curiously.

"Where have you two been, dare I ask?"

Blueberry hugged the hoodie closer, and Dream sighed. "Error's gone, brother."

Nightmare scoffed, turning to face them fully. "You're not serious-"

"We are. We went looking for him, and this is all that was left of him."

Nightmare gaped at them, unable to answer. He'd been so eager to beat the shit out of the glitch who dared to hurt Inky, he hadn't even considered that Error could be gone for good. "That's... unbelievable."

Dream shrugged. "I know it seems that way, brother. But you can go see for yourself. Error really is gone. You and the others saw to that."

Nightmare winced at the contempt in his brother's voice. He'd never seen Dream get so... cold and distant with him. He looked to Blueberry, but the blue-clad skeleton turned away, his sorrow dying down to make way for justifiable anger. The negative guardian was confused and a little concerned, but decided to leave them alone. They could work out their feelings without him. Now, he was excited to tell Inky the good news.

"Inky!" He burst into the medical bay, startling the creator as he was attempting to walk. He used his paintbrush as a crutch, but Nightmare's sudden entrance made him lose his balance. He cried out as he fell, expecting to hit the floor painfully. Instead, he found himself being lifted up and placed back on the bed by one of Nightmare's tendrils. He breathed out in relief.

"Phew! Thanks, Mare Mare. What did you need?" He pulled himself up to stand again, looking to Nightmare expectantly.

"Error is dead!"

He nearly lost his balance again. Error? Dead?! How? "R-really?!"

"Yes! He's finally gone, and you'll never have to worry about him destroying any of your creations ever again! Isn't it great?"

Inky nodded slowly. While it was nice not to have to worry that his latest creations would be destroyed the moment they came into existence, he would've liked to know why Error had taken it upon himself to destroy them in the first place. It wouldn't feel so abrupt and impersonal if he had just gotten to know the glitchy skeleton. Alas, Error wasn't interested in friendship. He was consumed by his all-important mission to make Inky miserable to the very end. He only cared about hurting everything Inky cared about, and it made him sick. The destroyer had deserved to die. Right?

"Hey," Nightmare's soft voice broke in on his thoughts. "Are you alright, Inky?"

"O-oh, yeah. I'm alright. I just... I wish it didn't have to be this way...."

Nightmare sighed and pulled the creator into his arms. "It's ok, Inky. He'll never bother you, ever again."

Inky melted into the embrace, sighing contentedly and closing his eyes. Nightmare was right. He no longer had a care in the world.

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Fate: *is triggered* I WANNA MAKE SOME CALAMARI, BITCH

Me: *desperately tries to hold him back* I'm sorry, but I can't let you interfere- OW! MOTHERFUCKER BIT ME-