AN: There are pros and cons of having a slow internet connection. :')
             

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Chapter 39: Hide

Third POV
     
Geno wasn't given any time to react as he was suddenly tackled to the floor with two pairs of arms cushioning his fall.

He have no idea what happened. He didn't know what to expect but he braced himself for the impact.

He expected an attack, an explosion perhaps, or some disturbance great enough for them to take cover.

Geno opens his eye, which he had unknowingly shut, when he felt Ink's hands retreated and left him in Reaper's care. He watches as Ink pushes himself up on his feet yet remained low and rushed to the window just over their heads.

Ink pressed his back against the wall before peering around from the bottom corner of the window. His expression turning grim.

Reaper followed his example and positioned himself on the other side of the window, dragging Geno with him and setting him half-lying on the floor, an arm around his shoulders and a hand clamped over his mouth.

Geno squirmed against the grim reaper's iron grip, wanting to see whatever they were looking at outside, wondering what caused the sudden alarm, but upon sensing the magic crackling in the air, he immediately eased himself.

He looked up and saw the two immortals' gazes were fixed on whatever was out there. Keenly eyeing 'it' with a foul frown on their faces.

"What is he doing here?!" Came Reaper's strained whisper directed at the artist. "I thought the barrier hides our presence."

He? Geno internally questioned. It was a person, apparently.

"It does!" Ink answers almost immediately. "He probably got suspicious when we suddenly disappears from his radar."

It was enough for Geno to know he is. He wrenched the hand covering his mouth and wiggled free from Reaper's hold. He needed to see him. He grasped the window sill and cautiously lifted himself up just enough to peek over.

He was right there in the near distance by the tiny stream, right next to the spot he had sat on for a good while. A shiver went up Geno's spine.

That was him. Error. The one hunting him down for who knows what reason. From a distance, Geno could only make out a few vague features. It doesn't help that Error's back was at them.

Darker than black, standing under the faint shadows, Error stood motionless. His glitches going haywire, spreading across his body and accompanied by the flashing words that Geno couldn't make out in the distance.

He squinted, trying to make out more unique details, only to be startled by Error whipping his head around, his red eyes glinting bright against the darkness that surrounds it. Geno bit back a gasp and quickly ducks his head down, the other two instantly on high alert. Reaper even summons his scythe.

They waited with bated breaths under the unbearable heavy silence as Error's mere gaze lingered in their general direction. Their bodies were tense like metal spring ready to jump in action at any given moment. Their hands slowly making their way to their respective weapons, preparing themselves for a fight.

The tension only broke when Error turned to another direction. Ink and Reaper visibly relaxed but both knew very well that aren't safe yet.

They continue to spy on Error, hoping that he'll leave soon. They watches as Error turned from time to time as if assessing every direction but stayed put on that same spot right next to where Geno had sat.

It sent a creepy feeling crawling up Geno's spine.

Geno have never even met him and he could only wonder how did Error knew of his existence.

"Please tell me the barrier has an invisibility cloak," Reaper broke the silence as he was getting restless at Error's mere presence.

"I was hoping you wouldn't ask that," Ink's sheepish reply caused Reaper's head to whip towards him so fast it almost hurt, his eyes wide in disbelief.

"What?!" Good thing the barrier was soundproof.

"It's not like he can see anyway-"

"Ink! Be serious!"

"I am serious! He really can't see very well so there's a good chance that he'll miss the entire house."

"A f*cking two-story concrete house in the middle of the jungle. Yes, it perfectly blends in. He wouldn't notice it at all." Reaper voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"That's what the vines are for!" Ink retorted. "As long as he doesn't catch any movement, we're fine!"

"The vines aren't enough to hide it all!"

"Yes, it is" Ink practically yelled. "He hasn't attacked us yet so that means it works!"

Their arguments were interrupted by simultaneous tapping on the glass and they looked up to find the window swarming with blue strings.

Reaper's arms immediately went to pull Geno closer to him, locking it around the latter. "What's he doing?"

"He's looking for us," Ink answers, his mismatched eyes fixed outside. Alert for any sign of aggressiveness in the strings that usually comes before the attack. So far, there were none.

"With his strings?" Reaper doubts it. But then again, it's not like he had fought Error before.

"Yeah, those are real pain in the butt." Ink said, displeased. "They're really sensitive and can pick up the slightest breeze."

"Can it sense magic, too?" Geno spoke for the first time since Error arrived.

"It is made of magic so yeah, it can," Ink said. "But don't worry,"  he added right after seeing the concern in the smaller skeleton's face. "I bet he wouldn't even be able to tell the difference."

Geno blinked. "How come?"

"Because this is the god's realm," Reaper butted in from above Geno. "Everything here is charged with magic, even the air, far more than the mortals' realms. Ever wonder why the mortals aren't allowed here?" It was a rhetorical question.

"No, why?"

It was the god-and-mortal topic again. For a moment, Reaper hesitated. He shared a look with Ink, silently asking for permission but the artist simply gave a shrug of shoulders as a reply.

"Mortals' bodies can't handle the magic. It's too..." Reaper trailed off while searching for the right word. "...dense?"

It may not be the perfect time but a conversation helps ease the tension in the air.

"It's like standing at the bottom of the ocean," Ink simplified but it only made Geno more confused since he's never even seen the ocean. He knows nothing about it and Reaper knows that.

"It's like being crushed by thousands of tons of pressure," Reaper finally got the words out. Geno nods, absorbing the information.

The electric blue strings retreated and just as Ink had suspected, Error can't differentiate the barrier from the rest. The destroyer gave no indication that he had sensed something suspicious. Ink's plan worked!

They watched as Error opens a portal far too different than the usual swirls of light. It looked like he had torn down a hole through a brick wall. He stepped through and disappears.

They let out a big sigh of relief. "We need the curtains after all," Ink muttered as he pushed himself up on his feet.

He and Reaper had previously argued if they should put up curtains. Reaper refused. He said he didn't want to block the view of the outside world. For Geno, of course. Welp, it turns out to be a bad idea.

Ink knew from first-hand experience that Error can see the slightest movement despite not immediately recognizing what had moved. In a still forest like this, void of any creatures, it could be a fatal mistake.

Reaper also stood up, helping Geno up as well and remained close to the latter.

"Now you know more about who we're dealing with." Ink scolds Reaper. If Reaper had taken Geno out of the barrier, they would've encountered Error face to face.

Reaper looked away. Guilty but not sorry. "You could've just put up the invisibility cloak and we don't have to worry about him spotting us." The argument began again.

When it comes to Geno's safety, Reaper will be judge.

"Wouldn't it be more suspicious if he found something that wasn't there?" Said Ink.

"So what? He cant see anyway-" Reaper folded his arms over his chest.

"I didn't say he was blind! He can still see but it's kinda messed up."

" 'Messed up' how?" Came Geno's curious inquiry. Soft and quiet compared to the others'.

"Well," Ink thought about it for a sec. "He can still recognize me and see my moves so at some degree he can still see." Ink shrugs his shoulders. "I'm not exactly sure."

"How could you not know?!" Reaper asked incredulously. He had expected that Ink knew everything about Error by now considering that he had been fighting him for thousands -or maybe even million- of years.

"Reaper! Stop arguing with Ink!" Geno scolds him, having enough of Reaper starting a fight with Ink. Too bad his voice was ignored.

"Well, it's not like we're in good terms with each other, are we? I can't just walk up to him and ask 'hey, is something wrong with your eyes?', can I?" Ink sassed and Reaper made an act of rolling his eyes.

"Anyway," Ink cough in his fist. "I assume you now understand the plan, yes? You stay here until I do something about Error." Ink spoke like a leader. "And don't ever step a foot outside of this house," he warned, his tone turned that of a strict mother.

"The moment you step out of the house, Error will be on to you in an instant," Ink pointedly said to the smaller skeleton.

Geno lowered his head. An act of submission that Reaper admittedly found cute.

While Geno feared being trapped, the fact that Error was just out there waiting for him to come out feels more terrifying than the former.

He only had a glimpse of him from a distance and that alone scared him. There was something off with him. Error was... different from Ink or even Reaper, the god of death himself.

There was something about him that sent shivers up Geno's spine. Something very wrong and terrible. Far worse than the death that Reaper brings.

He's...hostile. Dangerous.

A question arises in his head. Why was Error targeting him in the first place? It was a question none of them had the answer.

"I should get going," Ink muttered.

With a bid of goodbye and one last warning, Ink left through the front door which Geno was forbidden to even go anywhere near.

Oddly enough, when Ink pulled it open, it shows a completely different reality. Geno easily recognized it as a portal cleverly fitted to the door frame.

Ink says it's to prevent Error from tracing his presence back in their location.

The door closed and the couple was left in silence. Reaper took Geno's hand in his and began leading the latter up the stairs and back to their bedroom.

Upon seeing the bed, Geno have the sudden urge to lie down and sleep. His previous fatigue coming back to him much heavier than before, plus the additional anxiety and stress. The entire situation was wearing him even if nothing happened yet.

Reaper pushed him down to sit in the bed and Geno felt the god of death's gaze studying him. It only lasted for a few seconds before Reaper ran to their shared closet and pulled out a pitch-black scarf. He  loosely wrapped it around Geno's neck, who gave him a questioning stare.

"You've been reaching out to your neck," Reaper briefly explained, worry seeking into his voice. "You didn't notice?"

"I...am?"

"Since Pap-... your previous one was gone." Reaper caught himself. It would do no good to remind the smaller especially with the amount of stress he was already in.

"Oh," was the only thing Geno could say as his hands immediately went to latch onto the soft fabric. A habit that he had grown to do whenever he's not feeling okay.

"You should rest," Reaper softly says as he pulled the blanket up, gesturing for Geno to lie down. "Don't worry, we're safe here," he assured the smaller.

Geno did and Reaper tucked him in. Then Geno watched as Reaper walked over to the windows and draw the curtains close. The fabric must've been really thick because it completely blocked out the sunlight. If it weren't for the glowing crystals scattered around the room, they would've been plunged in darkness.

Reaper then laid next to Geno, over the blanket. "I planned to bring you to different worlds," he began as he gently stroke the smaller's skull. "But sh*t happens." Reaper's tone sounded disappointed.

"Can you wait for just a little bit longer until all these things are settled?" Reaper almost pleaded. "Can you do that for me?"

How could Geno say no to such sweet and caring pleas. But he has a condition. "Will you stay with me?"

Reaper's response was a reassuring smile.
        
       
      

To be continued...

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AN: I'm not sure if you noticed the sudden change in my writing style, but if you, do you like it or not? Is it better? Or worse?

Or do you prefer my 'traditional literature' (wattpad itself told me it's how I write) writing style?
       
      
Also, I'm trying to break my social media addiction and having a slow internet connection is very helpful to me. Hopefully, I now have time to write.