Repurposed

Help

Error continued to stay a little distant from me. I accompanied him on his destroying missions, sometimes bringing home some much-needed supplies. I had found a few books on woodworking and repairs in my library, which helped me considerably. I had no idea how to go about fixing things in the castle, so anything was useful, really.

I had finally started replacing the railings and old floorboards of the staircase. Error was in the living room, taking a nap from all the destroying he'd been doing, lately. I had yet to meet the real challenge of which he spoke often.

The one that gave him all those terrible wounds and scars.

I wiped sweat off my brow once the last nail was in place. Phew. Done with one side of the staircase. I smiled as I stood up, gathering up my tools. I had been taking whatever spare tools I could from the AUs we visited, reasoning they didn't need them anymore since they'll be destroyed, anyway. I shook my head at the thought. It didn't really sit well with me that they were all going to die without really having a chance to live; after all, neither did... Dream.

I shivered from how quiet it was. It was too quiet. All this space.... Only two people to occupy it. Plus Kitty and her litter of four kittens. It didn't make me feel any less lonely.

I wandered into the living room, where Error was sleeping peacefully. I didn't want to disturb him, so I tiptoed over to my makeshift tool closet. Inside, I had organized all the items I would need for repairs and renovations so I would never have to go hunting for them. It currently had very little in it, nails, screws, a hammer, a strange device I found that Error called a "screwdriver," some replacement batteries that I found with it, and another weird thing called a "power drill." I sometimes wondered how Error knew all this, since he had little free time between destroying that he didn't spend resting and healing up.

Well, no matter. All I had to do was figure out how it all worked so I could fix things in this castle. I didn't think I could get someone to do it for me, as my reputation as a companion, for lack of a better term, of the Destroyer of Worlds has probably spread by now.

Even while I was trying to be quiet, Error awoke. He sat up, stretching and rubbing his stiff bones. He looked at me, and I averted my eyelights in embarrassment. 

"HeH," he chuckled as I continued to put things away. "WeRe YoU rEaLlY wOrKiNg ThAt WhOlE tImE?"

I nodded when I was done. "Since I don't have any help around here, I have to do everything, myself." I got the impression he could detect the hint of bitterness in my voice. I didn't really care, but it irritated me that he didn't even try to acknowledge it. He simply stood up, then opened a portal.

"YoU cOmInG?" He gestured to the portal, and I sighed. 

"Yeah, sure," I muttered, beginning to follow him. If he thought something was off, he didn't say anything about it. I just trudged behind him. I wondered, not for the first time, if there was some other way I could use to navigate the multiverse rather than relying on Error. Of course, I should be grateful I even have a way to travel to different universes! I mean, with how vast it was, what were the odds I would find someone else, someone who wasn't like Error, who would be willing to help me? Pretty much zero, the way I saw it.

The AU was pretty easy to take care of. Error and I moved onto another one, but there was someone waiting for us, there. Error let out a glitchy groan.

"CoUlDn'T yOu FiNd SoMeOnE eLsE tO bOtHeR, sQuId?!"

The skeleton before us was by no means what I expected to be able to match Error. They had white bones, a black splotch of what I guessed was ink on their right cheek, and their eyelights....