Hiraeth (Ink x Error)

Quietus

Quietus(n.): an end. Death.

Ink tried to open a portal to the Doodlesphere one last time. The paint was only regular paint. Of course, it was blocked for some reason. Worst case scenario it shut down completely and ceased to exist, but whatever happened, he couldn't even access its code.

"Paint doesn't work anymore Squid?" Error joked.

"No, I was trying to get to the Doodlesphere...it's like the file was corrupted or locked." Ink said deep in thought, not finding Error's joke humorous. He suspects it was Blueberror. He seemed to find the Doodlesphere faster than Error knew how to even portal to different universes.

"I could try breaking into it."

"What?

"You forgot what we were talking about, didn't you?" Ink looked away sheepishly. Error sighed, "I could try hacking the code and getting in."

"Oh! Do that!" Ink said excitedly.

"Ok." There was an odd lingering silence. "Well, tell me the code goddamnit."

"Oh! Wait, hold on..." He pulled up the end of his scarf and looked for something, flipping it to the other side and mumbling something. Then he 'ah-ha!'ed in a burst of energy, slightly making Error jump, but Error would never confess to that. "That small handwriting down there," Ink pointed. Error put on his glasses to see the scribble at the bottom of the fabric. "Hehe, now you are truly a geek."

"Shut up with your perfect eyes." Error squinted are him.

"Aww..." Ink gushed in a teasing manner, "Thanks Glitchy."

Error mumble something angrily under his breath while he tried to open a portal with the numbers Ink gave him. The entry didn't work. Error huffed and tried something else.

"What are you doing?"

"Ink, I'm a glitch—I hack things for fun." Error grinned as his own glitchy portal opened up to the Doodlesphere. "Do you want to go first?" Ink nodded and stepped through, unsure if he was actually ready to see what was on the other side.

The twisted other side.

It wasn't what Ink was expecting at all. It was much worse. There were souls everywhere and not just any souls, Ink looked closer at the code that made them up.

They were Papyrus souls.

"What the hell?" Error looked around. This wasn't as disturbing to him as was to Ink, but it was odd. Error heard a retching sound and looked to Ink who threw up ink in a scared panic. "Ink?"

"This is..." Ink looks dizzy and terrified. "This is all Papyruses. They all—" He got cut off by a quiet sound only he could hear. "I can hear them Error. They're angry and confused—and I can't do anything." Tears fell down his face, he was curled up in a ball, still floating in the dull Doodlesphere.

"Ink, calm down. There's nothing we could—"

"How can I calm down? How can I do nothing about it when the only job creators gave me was to protect them?" He shot back angrily at Error, but he wasn't angry at him. "I can't do my one job right." He said in a quiet whimper, retreating back into his curled position.

"Ink, it's already been done. It's not your fault this happened. If anything it's mine, and I'm so sorry—but Ink, you need to stop blaming yourself for every AU that crumbles."

"But it's my job to keep them alive." Ink felt Error grab his arms, holding Ink in place in front of him and making him look him in the eyes.

"But imagine an animal that is at the end of its life. It's suffering and there isn't anything you could do for it. Wouldn't you let it pass?" Error did have a point, "Some stories aren't meant to be."